"Grindhouse" is king and Coincidence is Queen.
The Navy Seals supposedly drown you three times during their training. Three times. Drown.
"We are gonna weight you down. You WILL drown. We'll bring you back, but you WILL drown."
The idea is that they need you, as a SEAL to not fear drowning. You just can't. So, they do it for you, enough times that the fear of it is driven away. So, you can accept the situation, not panic, and do what you need to do to protect yourself and others.
That said, I think I will be taking a gun safety class soon.
I loathe guns. Awful devices. Among the technological advances that moved war off the battlefield and much more into civilian lives. That's simplistic, yes, but there WAS a time, not too long ago, that you couldn't have a war if nobody came.
Anyway, I think I will learn a little about guns soon. I think I owe it to myself to start being able to back up what i say about 9/11 and now about Blacksburg: That people running to protect themselves is what helped, in this most recent tragedy, a very screwed up young man kill 33 people and take his own life. He had pistols. His death toll rose because few challenged him. Three people at once could have probably taken him down.
But guns are scary.
The stats of just how non-lethal a gun can be sometimes just fade away when we are looking at one, close up. So, I will be taught about them. I will learn where the safety is, how the magazine works, how they come apart. But, mostly, I hope I will learn that just because I see a gun, I shouldn't automatically head for the hills, thinking of my safety alone.
Perhaps I can do this. Perhaps not. Perhaps I will be a useless windbag, railing against my culture of fear, yet, when the moment calls, I will end up being the coward I call the friend of violence.
And yet, I love zombies. Tonite, as much as I hate guns, I watched the Rodriguez/Tarantino double-feature "GrindHouse" for the 3rd time. It's got zombies. And guns. And badass chicks with guns. And I am a big, fat hypocrite.
Last nite I got back from a beautiful trip to Spokane, Washington, US. Before that, the farthest west I had been in this country was Houston, TX. Spokane was gorgeous. I saw wild quail, I took pictures of bear-prints in the snow on a mountain and I danced in a cage.
Today, I was back into my life and took my dear friend DanAddict to see Grindhouse. It was just that good. And cathartic. And just what I thought she needed for the craziness that is her life right now.
Okay, let me back up, just slightly, and quickly, before the cheap-ass whisky sets in.
I took very few calls while in Spokane. I got even less, because most of my Family knew I was unreachable except in emergency. One of the two calls I got was from Peter. Peter didn't know I was gone, so didn't kow not to call. So, I took it. He just wanted to meet when I got back because he has a street show that he is trying to convert to a theatre setting. I agreed to meet him today. While waiting for him, I bumped into DanAddict and we talked about the shitstorm her week had been. Peter arrived, we talked about his show and agreed I would workshop and ghost-write it for him in exchange for a PA speaker he had that I need and that he would credit me. So, that reminded me I was a writer. Then, DanAddict told me about her life and I said, "Well, that's it. We're going to a movie and we are going to see one with empowered women kicking ass." Which movie, of course, was "Grindhouse". A movie, I would like to say, is the only film that I will have paid three times to see in a theatre. Ever. (As well as paid for the women I was with each time.)
So, we head to the cinema. On our way from the parking garage to the film, we encounter a street performer. I'd seen him before, a jazz trumpeter, and loved his stuff. We gave him a few bucks and said if he was still there after the movie, we'd say hello again. He was and we did. We talked with him, Carl, for a while. During the conversation, I gave him my card. I know I can tweak his 'repartee' to turn his vignettes into a full, 20 minute street show.
And then, finally, we find out he is homeless.
He is a brilliant musician and homeless. I can't give him a home, but there ARE things I can do for him.
He said he would call. Somehow. He knows how to find me. There are people I could introduce him to, things I could do to make him more profitable.
I can get him to a city more appreciative of artists. I can refine his banter between songs. I can introduce him to other street performers.
Can I give him a bed? No. I just don't have that luxury.
But I can help him, as a performer, as an equal.
Then again, my Family is pretty big.
And Coincidence is Queen.
Who knows where this will go, but if a stupid, Hollywood movie hadn't come out when it did, none of this would have even begun.
The Navy Seals supposedly drown you three times during their training. Three times. Drown.
"We are gonna weight you down. You WILL drown. We'll bring you back, but you WILL drown."
The idea is that they need you, as a SEAL to not fear drowning. You just can't. So, they do it for you, enough times that the fear of it is driven away. So, you can accept the situation, not panic, and do what you need to do to protect yourself and others.
That said, I think I will be taking a gun safety class soon.
I loathe guns. Awful devices. Among the technological advances that moved war off the battlefield and much more into civilian lives. That's simplistic, yes, but there WAS a time, not too long ago, that you couldn't have a war if nobody came.
Anyway, I think I will learn a little about guns soon. I think I owe it to myself to start being able to back up what i say about 9/11 and now about Blacksburg: That people running to protect themselves is what helped, in this most recent tragedy, a very screwed up young man kill 33 people and take his own life. He had pistols. His death toll rose because few challenged him. Three people at once could have probably taken him down.
But guns are scary.
The stats of just how non-lethal a gun can be sometimes just fade away when we are looking at one, close up. So, I will be taught about them. I will learn where the safety is, how the magazine works, how they come apart. But, mostly, I hope I will learn that just because I see a gun, I shouldn't automatically head for the hills, thinking of my safety alone.
Perhaps I can do this. Perhaps not. Perhaps I will be a useless windbag, railing against my culture of fear, yet, when the moment calls, I will end up being the coward I call the friend of violence.
And yet, I love zombies. Tonite, as much as I hate guns, I watched the Rodriguez/Tarantino double-feature "GrindHouse" for the 3rd time. It's got zombies. And guns. And badass chicks with guns. And I am a big, fat hypocrite.
Last nite I got back from a beautiful trip to Spokane, Washington, US. Before that, the farthest west I had been in this country was Houston, TX. Spokane was gorgeous. I saw wild quail, I took pictures of bear-prints in the snow on a mountain and I danced in a cage.
Today, I was back into my life and took my dear friend DanAddict to see Grindhouse. It was just that good. And cathartic. And just what I thought she needed for the craziness that is her life right now.
Okay, let me back up, just slightly, and quickly, before the cheap-ass whisky sets in.
I took very few calls while in Spokane. I got even less, because most of my Family knew I was unreachable except in emergency. One of the two calls I got was from Peter. Peter didn't know I was gone, so didn't kow not to call. So, I took it. He just wanted to meet when I got back because he has a street show that he is trying to convert to a theatre setting. I agreed to meet him today. While waiting for him, I bumped into DanAddict and we talked about the shitstorm her week had been. Peter arrived, we talked about his show and agreed I would workshop and ghost-write it for him in exchange for a PA speaker he had that I need and that he would credit me. So, that reminded me I was a writer. Then, DanAddict told me about her life and I said, "Well, that's it. We're going to a movie and we are going to see one with empowered women kicking ass." Which movie, of course, was "Grindhouse". A movie, I would like to say, is the only film that I will have paid three times to see in a theatre. Ever. (As well as paid for the women I was with each time.)
So, we head to the cinema. On our way from the parking garage to the film, we encounter a street performer. I'd seen him before, a jazz trumpeter, and loved his stuff. We gave him a few bucks and said if he was still there after the movie, we'd say hello again. He was and we did. We talked with him, Carl, for a while. During the conversation, I gave him my card. I know I can tweak his 'repartee' to turn his vignettes into a full, 20 minute street show.
And then, finally, we find out he is homeless.
He is a brilliant musician and homeless. I can't give him a home, but there ARE things I can do for him.
He said he would call. Somehow. He knows how to find me. There are people I could introduce him to, things I could do to make him more profitable.
I can get him to a city more appreciative of artists. I can refine his banter between songs. I can introduce him to other street performers.
Can I give him a bed? No. I just don't have that luxury.
But I can help him, as a performer, as an equal.
Then again, my Family is pretty big.
And Coincidence is Queen.
Who knows where this will go, but if a stupid, Hollywood movie hadn't come out when it did, none of this would have even begun.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
Tell you what, I saw an article in yesterdays paper that had photos of the 32 victims spread over 2 pages. Till that point, it was just a number, when you actually connect that with real people, real faces, it really brings it home to you. I think the whole gun thing is pretty fucked in the states to be honest. No way back, and more events like that bound to happen again in the future......not good.
So, on a more positive note, chilling with Danaddict. Haven't seen her on here for a quite a while, I've been a bit lax about myspacing her as well. Hope she's doing well. It's a shame that some people you're destined just to have this lovely, but utlimately, rather impersonal, relationship with. Should I win the lottery, I'm heading in your direction, taking both you, Danaddict, and potential others for a coffee/hot chocolate. Not all at the same time, it would just get a little too noisey.
I think the fact that you're doing what you can for this person is great. You can only really effect things to a certain point within your power. That you act on this, and make yourself available, is enough of an olive branch.
Oh, and don't worry, your drunken internet skills haven't failed you, you're firmly on my friends list
Which is your preferred method of interwebby communciation? Being sat at a computer for a large part of the day means I get a bit obsessive about checking all my various contact points. Although less so, now I've got an exciting, and difficult shot to work on. Finally finished on the bloody Potter film! Now on the next Bourne film. Can't see any shots without saying 'Matt Damon' in the style of Team America
Stay well, speak soon,
Dan
We have a few homeless people, mostly veterans around my work complex. One, Dan, is an avid chess player and I feel safer with him spending nights inside since 9/11. We are a government facility and security has stepped up insanely to enter my office building. Still, the main concourse is open to the public though and that is cause for concern since we are twin towers also. I think he would actually try and stop someone from placing a bomb there over night or something similar. No one messes with him. Then we have Patches who collects bottles to supplement his disability checks. The State Police are tolerable of both guys. Some they are not though. Panhandlers are frowned upon and sort of ruin it for the others who just like to keep warm, sit inside and read or people watch.
Sometimes I wonder what if the terrorists took a wrong turn and mistook our buildings as the WTC.