Despite all the drama, I managed to have an okay weekend. My sister and I are determined just to get on with things and so far it seems to be working. We spent a lot of time at the hospital but there is not much we can do there other than consulting with the doctors and making decisions here and there and my grandmother is asleep all the time anyways. She’s getting very good care so we can rest easy on that. Thursday really was the worst the day.

On Friday night I went to a party at a former co-worker's apartment. She and her husband live in one of those billion dollar new condos on 13th so every one always gets insanely jealous. They have a great balcony. Suede furniture is really unwise, especially if you are going to entertain guests with beverages. Actually, suede in general is problematic, especially suede shoes during rainstorms. Well that’s what I learned on Friday night at least. I met a couple of nice people and went home after a bit because I was exhausted and had to get up early the next day to do the hospital thang.

Saturday between hospital visits I finally saw Bon Voyage. It was a little too light on its feet for me and I was easily bored. Maybe I was distracted. A lot of old chatty types at my screening so there was somne tension and near violence in the rows behind me. The film reminded me a bit of the Carole Lombard/Jack Benny Nazi farce, To Be or Not To Be (later remade by Mel Brooks). Just an aside, I read in Entertainment Weekly this weekend that Morrissey lives in Carole Lombard’s old house. Sorry, I’m not a huge Morrissey person. I’m also not very fond of Isabelle Adjani. She really bothers me for some reason. So much plastic surgery. Maybe she feels pressure with Monica Bellucci nipping at her heels. I kept on looking for the scars during her many close-ups during Bon Voyage but I guess she went to a really good surgeon.

I also got the new Cardigans, Long Gone Before Daylight. I’ve never been a Cardigans fan per say and this ids the first album I own by them. I really, really liked Nina Persson’s solo outing A Camp. I was turned on to that because Mark Linkous/Sparklehorse worked on it. I heard the beautiful single, “I Can Buy You,” and was sold right away. Also, Nina Persson is married to ex-Shudder To Think’s Nathan Larson and they’ve done some nice work together. Jealous God had some good songs. Long Gone Before Daylight is a real tour de force, a really solid collection of songs. At first listen it sounds very 1970’s FM classic AOR rock radio. I like that sometimes. Very mature intimate sound. Then the songwriting and the hooks really get into you and you can’t get it out of your head. The tone of the album is very bittersweet, sad almost – no “Lovefool” bounce here – and judging from the lyrics some one in the band or close to Nina Persson is going through some kind of recovery. One song is even downright Nick Cave. They’ve definitely been listening to a lot of Neil Young. Persson’s voice is in fine, fine form. I just love this album. Warm like a fireplace on a cold winter's night. Maybe I'm just a little extra sensitive this week.

I kept on telling all my friends to buy the new Cardigans all weekend. My friend T called Saturday night to say she is getting boob implants next week. She claims she is getting them for herself and that she has always wanted them but I know she is doing it to get her man back. I told her “You gotta get the new Cardigans now! I’m serious.” Another friend is going through some man shit and I said, ‘You will totally relate to this album,” even though its probably totally not her scene. I can be such a goof ball. This album is definately going to be “the time my grandmother was in the ICU” soundtrack. Equally blessed and cursed. At any rate, it brings me comfort.

I also got the new The Real Tuesday Weld, “I, Lucifer.” It is a riff on Peter Duncan’s of the same title. The album is pretty awesome, a real roller coaster ride, and has some real stand out tracks, but I’m too tired to write about it right now. Combinaton funhouse/cabaret/chanson-y with plenty of beats and bleeps and stuff you can equally cry or jitterbug to. I used to put the real, real Tuesday Weld in a lot of my drawings in college.

Things are a little tense at mi casa, my little l’auberge espanol. I’ve been away for quite a few days but apparently Housemate D is officially not speaking to Bumblefuck right now (not that they see each other much anyways). Bumblefuck must have done something really absolutely disgusting this time… I don’t want to know. As usual when I’m stressed out and things are out of my control – as they are with my grandmother’s situation – I obsessively clean and repair things and run out and buy more plants for my garden. I’m a madman that way. For some reason I absolutely had to buy ferns this weekend. Dunno why, never cared for them before. Well, now I got quite a few.

Comments

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Hey T,

Thanks for the nice words you left at Torn. Your blog actually brightens my day inspite of (or maybe because of?) the occasional bitching :)
First of all, the yellow works. But I like reading about your life in that part of the world. So different from here. You get good films, good music, etc. but the french film fest was in town & that was great. I caught 10. See Torn. If there's a chance you can get a copy of the cd The Waifs ("Up All Night"), check them out. We saw them at the Byron Bay blues fest. A young Aussie band made up of 2 sisters and a good lookin guitar player. Country-ish but great tunes and words. Haven't gotten into a cd like this in ages. Nice talkin to ya!