Big Wheel

The little big wheel rolled in on Monday and had me laughing from the second I saw it.

It's retro in every way:

1. spirograph
2. that painty spinning wheel thing that I can't remember the name of
3. hippies!
4. Laughing Cow, I presume :)

 I must quote from the contents (three hippies (four if you count their dog), and two spirographs):

On the back of the spirographs:
"...J and his friend C helped make this box and the only thing I could think to fill it was: Hippies.  A box full of hippies for you.  Growing up in Cali, a hippie sighting was like bird-watching and very satisfying..."

The Hippies:

"We will not eat processed, genetically altered food. Locally grown and organic ONLY. Amen.

 "I have modeled my entire life after Jerry.  I carry on his legacy."

"I will grow up to be an investment banker!"

(this has to be an homage to "I'm used to be a heroin addict, now I'm a methadone addict".? )

"Woof!  Woof!  I have a tick on my thigh! Woof! Woof!"

(another homage to: "My name is Rags.  Woof!  Woof!"?)

I feel like I know these people.   I won't mention any names but some of my best friends are hippies!    Some are born hippies, some become hippies. And in 2012, some buy their hippieness at Target and wear it on casual Fridays.  

*   *   *

I read the Eudora Welty short story.  Thanks for the handy link!  It was really atmospheric and transported me from the couch to a place I'd never been before, and it also reminded me of some of the fly specky towns we'd just driven through on our trip.   Sometimes this town reminds me of the smallness of that town...where you can't even go out into your own yard without bumping into twenty people you know and probably don't want to see.  Most of them being hippies and all!

I never had a thing for Woody Allen, just the movies.  I must've been very influenced by Annie Hall.  She was so non-commital.  It was a very useful attitude in so many ways: "oh, I'm not into addiction...it's too much of a commitment", that sort of thing.  I don't remember celebrities I had crushes on, do you?  I must have...but this memory of mine is not very memorable.  Jeff Bridges was always interesting, especially in The Last Picture Show.  If I were a little kid these days and had to pick a celebrity, I don't know that any are really that intriguing.  I never went in for those guy bands but then again, they didn't really exist in the 70s/80s, did they?  Does David Cassidy count? 

I haven't been reading much lately.  I'm working my way through a partially annoying graphic novel, "Friends with Boys".  I don't know where it's going but it's kind of boring.  Then, for work, I'm going to try to get into Negima, a manga series.  I tend to like non-fiction more than fiction.   I wish I liked fiction more.  What have you been reading?  If you have any title suggestions, I'd love to try them.  

Do you want me to look into doing a display of our mail art here?  Or if you'd like to, you can ask to use one of the display cases at your local public library.  Let me know what you think.  

Well, my aunt and cousin are visiting for the next three weeks which will make it challenging for me to work on much...I will try, but please bear with me.  I will get something out to you...

PS: yes, I would love to get together in SF at the maritime museum and musee mechanique (my favorite place even in its new incarnation)...let's try for September?

PPS: do you want to knock around some ideas for a screenplay?  Nothing very serious, just brainstorming, etc.

Ah, I see what you mean...

Ho ho! You are such a clever mail-arter! We loved this so much and especially the wee cut-out lettering. Lovely. Of course, I had to see if I could use it as a window and so I tried framing a cherry tomato in one of the circles and then framed Jackson. I could do this throughout the day, actually. It's quite entertaining. Kind of a different postcard for all occasions and locations.

I really hated to blur out the address since the lettering/numbering were a huge part of the charm. I have photos of everything intact. What a cool card. I'm still trying to figure out ways to display this stuff in the family/computer room. Mobile, I think.

I haven't seen the new Woody Allen yet. Barney? Shower? Wow. I remember having a huge crush on Woody when I was 13. I thought he was the only man in the world who would ever "understand me." Ironically, he probably would have liked me quite a bit when I was 13, if you know what I mean. *WINK*. And sorry.

I also liked Rick Moranis and Martin Short back then. I definitely had a "type." I don't think I would have been a Justin Bieber girl if I was young now. Hmm, I think I know what you mean about the lack of shower/inspiration...? The mail art helps keep me focused, but in a fun way. It's not work if you're making and receiving surprises all the time. Perhaps childhood is when we have the most surprises, since we're discovering so much all the time. It's good to have that feeling again, however you get there.

It would be fun to meet up with you and N, yes. Jackson is not a hiker. His joints/feet get achy. He loves bike riding and going to the beach though. Do you think it's too ambitious to plan an outing to Angel Island with bikes? I've always wanted to take a ferry and ride around. It's supposed to be an easy ride and incredibly scenic. If that's too crazy, we could meet up at Crab Cove in Alameda, or one of the Marin beaches, which I haven't been to in a long time. Also the little beach by Ghirardelli Square is fun because there's lots of ships, swimmers, pelicans, and the revamped Museum Mechanique nearby. These are all ideas I have for summer outings that are not too hot or dry. The ridges around Walnut Creek are great for little hikes but are really tortuous in the summer, although it's been windy and cool lately.

I have something to send to you very soon that will require a few little tweaks and a visit to the p.o. Have you ever read that short story by Eudroa Welty, "Why I Live at the P.O."? A good example of narrative voice. I just re-read "Great Gatsby" for Norm Macdonald's twitter book club. There was an argument about who was safer to be around, the poor or the rich. It was ridiculous, but I'm beginning to think that Norm is the most ridiculous person on Earth. He actually gets paid to be, so in a way, he's very lucky. Anyway, I love that book but I really hate Tom and Daisy, as Fitzgerald intended. He was an ambitious, self-hating kind of person. I love how he makes the born-of-wealth so deluded and selfish and awful. Sounds about right.

OK, I'll write more. I'm thinking about your last Flintstone's post. Keep singing, somehow. It is hard sometimes. If you can get your hands on a hammock and lie in it occasionally, I think that would help. The rocking motion is very soothing...

Already Been Said

I know this has been said several times over, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to use it as a metaphor for today's frame of mind. Not in general, just for yours truly and just today (I hope).

In an earlier post, I mentioned having discovered after seeing a youtube video of Betty Boop and Louis Armstrong (I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You"), that it appears this bizarre cartoon inspired a short film by Woody Allen (his segment of New York Stories). I emailed his publicist asking if this were the case, and predictably, to date, have not heard back.

Then, a few days ago, after reading a review of his most recent movie, "To Rome with Love", in the New Yorker, I realized he most certainly is and most likely has been very much influenced by cartoons. I was amazed he would take such a memorable scene from the Flintstones and use it so obviously in his new film. I mean, everyone remembers that episode, don't we? Aside from every scene involving Dino, isn't the Barney shower singing episode the only one you really remember from your childhood of lousy 1970s t.v.? Anyhow, the deed is done and it's been noted by every blog in the stratosphere. What's really interesting is there are no, and I mean not one, image to be found of Barney in the shower on the internet. The clip itself isn't even on youtube. But I digress.

My metaphor is kind of sloppy but I'll muddle through regardless. Today is one of those days when I need not *a* shower but *the* hypothetical shower to do any sort of hypothetical singing. At least Barney knows he's got singing and everyone agrees he sounds good when he's singing in the shower. Today feels like singing could occur but we've got a problem with the plumbing, i.e., there's no water. I think if I knew what my personal shower was, today might be different. Do you ever feel this way? Is this listlessness? I suppose I'm filling the well, as they say. Yes, yes, another manifestation of this terrible metaphor.

How are you, by the way? I meant to write an email back to you because some of the stuff we write about is so personal, too personal for this blog. Without going into too many specifics, every time you write about J, I realize N is so much like that. They really have so much in common. If you want to correspond, or even talk more about this, we can try to get together, maybe for a hike? I can take a ride out there.

In other metaphorical news: I managed to send out an installment on Monday, before the shower went on the blink. I have other ideas lined up...these mail arts kind of force me to do something, which is good. I hope it made it through the mail here...it was kind of hard to see if you weren't paying attention, which was kind of my idea. Very transparent of me. :)