newsflash: have just been pulled from soccerbook to examine a very secure unprintable pdf of the third part of a very succesful if trashy series of action films starring sweet fangora. this one has a western feel to it, taking our heroine and her trusty dog to a vegas buried in desert dunes where she battles skeletal undead and bloodthirsty crows before facing off with an evil genius.
update: this of course is extremely sensitive material. apparently only the director, star, and producer have read this. i got to pitch it to my boss and i am under nu circumstance whatsoever to relate the above to anyone, ever. because i'm worth it.

84th post

i realize i have not been as constant and reliable a blogger as i wanted to be, so what follows will be an attempt at channeling the random biographical maelstrom of words into more of a trickle than the occasional burst.
right, so what i am supposed to be doing is writing a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of this non-fiction soccer book 'we' are adapting into a feature film, instead i have been writing lovely posts on s. stevens and emailing short gossips across the states. not as productive, but surely anything is more fun than soccer (especially since i'll be working on this for the next two weeks i'm sure).
for my lunch break i walked up broadway some 9 blocks and got stuck in the labyrinthine strand bookstore, where i was only intending to buy the new bret ellis book (since i'll be going to a book signing of his tomorrow) but where i also scored dan rhodes, sam lipsyte, dennis cooper, and a paris review collection of 'people with problems' that with an introduction by magnetic field stephin merritt and a piece by 'm, y, a.e.w.k.'s miranda july (download this unsettlingly funny mp3 for instantaneous membership to the july fanclub) demanded immediate absorption into my overflowing library.

come on feel the illinoise

sufjanstevens_boweryballroom02
Originally uploaded by the modern age.

at the urging of my friend k. in amsterdam, i joined a web-service a few months ago that documents my itunes use. apart from displaying what i'm currently listening to, it also, more disturbingly, creates weekly and monthly charts of the songs i've listened to most. one perverse look at my current charts shows my sufjan stevens obsession has quite possibly reached its pinnacle after yesterday's lovely show at the bowery ballroom (also note my equal play appreciation for the jubilant work of julie delpy, journey, and elton john).
stevens and his illinoise makers had been celebrating spirit week for the previous three nights and after celebrating fake injury and pirates night, yesterday evening brought us fake tattoo and facial hair on each of the, i think, nine performers. all the big no-no's in indie rock performance were there: pom-poms, cheers, costume changes (one involving a one-piece tracksuit made out of an american flag), balloons, as well as numerous mentions of the unmentionable capitalized lord.
the show was nothing short of amazing (horns, lovely girl sing-a-longs, and the amazingly cute 50 states song) and i can only feel sad when tonight, while watching this summer's indie hit 'me, you, and everyone we know' with glorious g. at the ifc, i'll realize the ballroom is hosting the culmination of sufjan's spirit week, the illinoise homecoming dance.
ps. i did not take this picture, found it on flickr, but was standing right behind its photographer right in front of the stage. oh, the joys of being in a city so dense with digital cameras.

woodstocky pic of central park m.i.a. show

summerstage
Originally uploaded by nyresolutions.

my first real weekend in new york has been as magical as one would expect. after finishing my paper, i went for a free swim and sunbathing session at a brooklyn pool, then to ps.1 for crappy techno and art, afterwards to queens when confusion necessitated i co-pilot my friends car as she drove and i manned the ipod clickwheel for an hour and a half while our friends saved us a seat at the ginormous astoria beer garden. add to this a particularly good review of my writing, interesting plans for my next semester and following thesis, as well as succesfull administrative activities and all of this makes me a particularly satisfied boy.

then manhattan bridge at the magic hour

mebridge
Originally uploaded by nyresolutions.

so this appears to be a summer of firsts, or at leasts activities that are out of my usual character. i have been running, much to the chagrin of my legs, the bridges of lower manhattan. first the manhattan, then the brooklyn bridge.
aided by the inevitable ipod, playing dance punk, new old favorite robyn, ladytron and of course perennial fitness favorite peaches, i have come to sort of enjoy this activity. sporty yes, competitive no. when performed at an unholy early hour it is also extremely pretty: boats, rising sun, reflecting windows, skyscape, the expected and the beautiful.