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| small heroes: the niece, the nephew and
the dog |
03.30.02 || saturday || 
There's a very good reason I haven't written in two weeks —
ribbit, I'm a frog.
I've spent the last two weeks getting acclimated to my new work
environment, putting in long hours and neglecting montview.com.
To all my readers (definitely Beth and possibly Dan, Ryan, Marc,
Abla, and Rona) I apologize sincerely. I will do better, I promise.
Right now, I am too tired to continue, but there's a lot to say
about what's transpired (and all I've learned) in the last two weeks.
I intend to spend some time tomorrow jotting down some thoughts.
In the meantime, thanks for your patience and continued support.
03.14.02 || thursday ||
Come Friday, I am wrapping up my participation in sxsw.
I am suffering a little bit of withdrawal knowing I have to return
to my normal, vanilla existence next week.
Enough of that, the festival is still going on and I am still going
to films. Today, I caught a documentary on Benny
Mardones. Don't know him? That's okay, neither did I. Turns
out Benny is the singer-songwriter who made it big in the early
80s with the song Into the Night.
Not ringing a bell? Try this: She's just sixteen years old/Leave
her alone, they say/Separated by fools/Who don't know what love
is yet...if I could fly/I'd pick you up...
Still nothing? Click here
for a sample. It is track #4 in the "Listen to Samples"
area. Funny, I always thought Steve Perry from Journey sang this
song.
Although the director kept apologizing for the roughness of the
cut shown, I really enjoyed the film. We track Benny from the top
(living large on American Bandstand following the release of Into
the Night) to the very, very bottom (a cocaine-bloated Benny
who has no memory of the years 1983 to 1985). His life is full of
near misses and unlucky turns; the latest being a diagnosis of Parkinson's
disease two weeks ago. And yet, nothing seems to get Benny down.
Furthermore, he is instantly likeable, even though my bullshit detector
kept going off while he was relating stories of the good old days.
It is this gregariousness, incidentally, that has elevated him to
near Elvis status in his adopted hometown of Syracuse. While no
one in Binghamton (60 miles south of Syracuse) remembers Benny Mardones,
Syracusians are nearly rabid in their devotion to him. They live
for Benny, fighting over sweat-drenched towels he tosses during
his concerts. One fan (diagnosed with clinical depression) relates
how Benny saved him from suicide with a single phone call. I mean,
these fans, they are DEvoted.
If it comes to a town near you, I highly recommend a viewing.
In the meantime, long live Benny!
03.11.02 || monday ||
sxsw 2002 is
now in its fourth day. I've attended interesting panels, met fascinating
people and been generally disappointed with the movies I have viewed
thus far. More on that later, I gotta head back to the show.
03.05.02 || tuesday ||
Happy Birthday, Christine!
Anyone visiting me in Austin will now be required to go on an Austin
Ducks Tour while here. We took our friends Tom and Poorwa on
this highly entertaining, highly educational tour of Austin.
We sat 15 feet off the ground in our urban assault vehicle (below)
and "quacked" at people (with our complimentary duck calls)
while rolling past some of Austin's more historic sites.
We learned about the Bob
Bullock Texas State History Museum, the Texas
Capitol, and the O.
Henry Museum among other sites. And then we took a nice drive
through Tarrytown and Clarkesville and plunged into Lake Austin
near Oyster Landing.
I think we would all agree it was $16 well spent.
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