I love theater.
I remember in 2006 when Angry Steve directed that Dario Fo play in Pusan. That was truly awe-inspiring. The fact that it was done at all was monumental, the fact that the show rocked made it climactic. Showbiz and Anabelle and the Irish guy with the funnyname -- I really enjoyed that. In fact, that short Italian song that they sung I video taped. I still watch it sometimes.
So in the last week, I've seen two plays in LA. The first, at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, near my house,I saw Annette Benning starring in Female of the Species, by Australian writer Joanna Murray-Smith about a blocked feministed writer who deals with a deranged fan who wants to kill her and her own daughter's nervous breakdown at the same time, as well as her husband played by David Arquette from Scream fame. Every actor in the play was known from some recent TV role. That's what's so cool about LA theater. Talent. There's talent here. The play was especially poignent since it dealt with feminism and feminists and poked a lot of holes in a lot of arguments and tried to explain a lot of the past, while remaining very relevant to modern times. Charles McNulty, the theater critic was very critical of the perfomance and the play itself, but he doen't like anything. He even ripped the new Renoir exhibit which just arrived from the D'Orsey in Paris. Annette Benning, was as always -- I loved her role in American Beauty -- phenomenal.
In the next theater, but in the same Geffen Playhouse, Ed Harris is starring in Wrecks -- a one act play about a used car salesman. Wrecks premiered in Ireland 4 years with Harris in the role, moved to New York and is now in LA till March. We're gonna see it next week. Also, Coen Bros leading lady Frances MacDormand does theater work with a group called The Wooster Group and she and Maura Tierney and the group are doing a farcical musical comedy play called North Atlantic. We're gonna see that one too,.
Last night, I saw the classic, The Subject was Roses, which starred Martin Sheen. It was a father, mother and son and took place in the 40's after World War II. At the broadway production over 40 years ago, Jack Albertson from Chico and the Man played the father and Martin Sheen played the kid, a 21 year old soldier returning from 3 years in the army. In 1968, the year I was born, they made a film of this play and Sheen starred as the boy. Now, he plays the father.
The acting was phenomenal, the play would have been very insightful 30 years ago since the issues of silent American roles is kind of a played out theme. Then again, I'm a modern thinking guy. Maybe a lot of America is still stuck in 30's mentally. Wouldn't surprise me. I haven't lived here for a long time and I try to keep a positive outlook, even if that means lying to myself.
After the play, my mother and I drove from the Music Center in Downtown to the Rosalyn Hotel on 5th and Main. 5th and Main is the sight. My East LA drummer/artist buddy Jose was having some kind of art exhibit. He told me about this ART WALK thing and I told him I'd check it out. There was no where to park and I was with my mom so we didn't stay, but I would've liked to have stayed and hung out. Lots of cool looking younger LA crowd. Leather, hot chicks, cigarette smokers, my kind of crowd.
First -- NYC, LONDON -- people walk in these cities and there are lights. It's not dark on the streets at night. In downtown LA it's dark. My mom commented on that tonight. She said she's going to write a letter to the Mayor. "I don't want my city to look like Tokyo, but there should be more light on the street." Apparently writes letters a lot. In December, when I saw Jeff Bridges and Maggie Guillehall (sic) and the director of his latest country western singer movie, my mother told me that she wrote many letters to LA Country Art Museum NOT to cancel their film series with the actors, which they had planned on stopping for lack of interest. She wrote many letters to the higher ups at LACMA, "If not in LA then where can people see movies and hear the director talk about his film after the movie?" My mom is awesome.
For this ART WALK there were SO MANY people on the street. It was impossible to park, and I didn't want to pay 10 bucks to park. I was with my mom anyway, so we left.
Point is, art, theater, music. There's a lot going on in LA. In April, Jeff Beck is coming to town. His opening act -- Zappa does Zappa. Hopefully, all my friends will have tickets on the same night. That will be so cool.
As for the book
You can expect CULTUREBOOK -- the true to life novel about youth in asia to be available in stores by April.
Hopefully before.
I'm taking it a little slow. I have a printer. It's going to cost me a little over 2000 US to print 1000 copies with a slick cover that Jose and I already designed. I'm going to distribute it myself. I need to talk to book distributors. I have to finish it. It's all been written. 85% of it is done. The first story, the last story, the table of contents -- done. I just have to tighten up some stories and cut out some stuff. It'll be over 200 pages. Hopefully not too much longer. And the I-Book version with pictures and video will be out for christmas.
I'm hoping, as the publisher to make 5 dollars per book. I'm hope to make a million dollars by 2012 and having residual checks and future publications support me till I die. And at the same time I hope to employ a lot of people letting them do what they want like cook in their own restaurants and play music and write. I just want a house and some animals. Who needs a wife if you got animals?
I heard a saying the other day. People don't always get the leaders that they want, but they always get the leaders they deserve. It's so true. I wonder if it was Mark Twain who said that.
And my website that I hope to have -- I hope to pay somebody to take all my writings and all my tens of
thousands of photos and video footage from all over the world and doing something cool with it. I sure as hell don't want to do it. But somebody's got to do it, or else my life has been a waste.
I don't believe that Jesus was god, but I believe that Jesus was a man, a great man. I believe that Jesus survived the crucifixion and then travelled to India where he lived for the next 50 years. Am I wrong? That's a much stronger message, if you ask me. How did you survive the crucifixion?
I rose from the dead. I'm god.
OR
I'm a man like you. Live like I do and you TOO can be as strong as me.
Today is Mardi Gras. Tonight I had a polenta dinner at the ICF, the Italian Catholic Federation's annual Mardi Gras dinner. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.
Time to prepare for the coming of our lord. Whatever that means.
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