HAPPY 2006!!!

I had a GREAT Holiday!!!

Tuesday I drove up to Dallas to see my friend Laura!

I couldn't get to sleep until 4a or 5a -- my normal bed time -- so I didn't get on the road until about 3:30 pm.

On the drive up I listened to the Focus On the Family Radio Theatre production of C. S. Lewis's THE HORSE AND HIS BOY (the 3rd Narnia book, chronologically), and I have to tell you THESE ARE GREAT PRODUCTIONS!!! Seriously, these radio shows make EXCELLENT uses of the medium!!! They really put you in Lewis's world!

Laura and I had dinner at Terilli's. Neither of us was really hungry, so we has some Italchos -- Italian Nachos -- which were FANTASTIC! Laura had to give me a hard time about the direction of my life and why I haven't made all my dreams come true yet (a service we provide for each other, to keep us both honest). She's doing well right now, so I didn't get to harass her.

After that we drove around looking at Christmas lights and catching up.

After she went to bed I watched an episode of the super-viloent ELFEN LIED... Some nice images to stick into my subconscious before I close my eyes and surrender myself to its mercy for the next 8 hours...

Actually, I fell asleep listening to the radio production of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE -- I watched the movie Christmas day, but I still hadn't listened to the radio production -- and woke up around 2:00 am, when Tisha text-message-ed me. We had a short conversatio, and I was asleep again a little after 3:00 am.

Wednesday, I woke up a little after 7:00 am, when the sun hit me full-on in the face! It wasn't annoying, though; it was REALLY pretty! But I wasn't fully awake, a drifted back to sleep until around 11:00 am.

Breakfast was this HUGE homemade waffle and bacon and sausage and some good coffee, compliments of Laura's mom!!! Now THAT'S the way to wake up!!!

Then Laura and I did lunch with her friend Paul. He was cool!

Then I accompanied Laura for some post-Christmas returns. I got to cat around some simi-posh stores that I would never normally go inside. (I'm a Walmart-at-3-am kind of guy...)

Then we went to Plano to a Christmas party with some of Laura's friends -- a handful of whom I had met before on previous visits to Dallas and New York. All GREAT people!!!

On the way home, we searched for a good pic of the Dallas Ball. I'm sure that's not the ACTUALL name for the thing, but if you look at a bunch of postcards from Dallas, some of them are going to have this elevated, lighted ball. That's the ball I'm talking about.

Then, after Laura crashed, I watched another episode of ELFEN LIED and fell asleep to Seal.

OOH! I also worked out a doable schedule for the first draft of the first script of the -------- project! That should be done on or around February 13th! (Wish me productivity and luck!)

Then Thursday was all Laura and me!

First, we drove to Fort Worth. She took me to the Kimbell Art Museum for an exihibit of Gauguin's lost impressionist work. Apparently, before the work that made Paul Gauguin famous, he explored impressionism. And this exhibit did an amazing job of showing this exploration! In fact, there were sometime 2 or 3 paintings of a single subject matter -- say, the view of a French village from a low hill -- that allow one to see 3 takes on it from the same artist! VERY COOL!!!

Plus, now, if I ever find myself at a party and the conversation turns to art, I can actually and genuinely utter the phrase "Although Gauguin isn't my favorite, I really like his Impressionist work." I mean, if pressed I'll have to explain that I like the landscapes and the pretty colors, which will loose me Cool Points, but that's okay.

After the Kimbell, she took me to The Modern, a GREAT Modern Art museum. Now, I'm not into Modern Art. A lot of the stuff that get media attention seems, to me, to be the hack work of people who are so afraid of putting THEMSELVES into their work that they contrive these lame "approaches" that offend or merely baffle non-Art-World-"intelligencia". I believe that REAL art moves even the un-informed. If one has to hear this big long explaination of what the artist is trying to convey, the work is crap.

And stand by my assertion, PARTICULARLY after seeing the Heaven and Earth exhibit of German artist Anselm Kiefer's work!!!

THIS CAT ROCKS!!!

All these Art-World cliches popped into my head as I viewed his exhibit, only Kiefer makes them TRUE!!!

First of all, "A reproduction doesn't do the original canvas any justice!" TRUE with Kiefer! Many of my favorite paintings of his are the size of one the livingroom walls in my appartment. Not exaggerating.

Secondly, he uses texture, in addition to color. I'm not talking brush-strokes, I'm talking additional materials. But it doesn't feel contrived in the slightest! It feels like the piece ISN'T COMPLETE with out it!

Then, his 3-D work (sculpture and such) just isn't the same when you're looking at it on a postcard. When you're in the room with the piece... DAMN! You know? Just DAMN!

An example of this is here at The Mordern's website for the exhibit. That winged book just looks small, and a little pretentious, in the pic. But when you're standing in the room with the thing, and it comes up to your chest (I'm 6' tall, or close to it) and the wing-span is easily longer than you are tall, IT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!!!

More than that, when you're looking at the texture, and compairing it to Kiefer's other works... DUDE!

This guy has the darkness that's attractive on some level -- at least, to a horror fan; Laura wasn't as interested, but she has a brighter, more vibrant artistic sensibility -- contrasted by a strong sense of spirituality! THAT'S EVERYTHING I'M ABOUT!

In the 1980s and 90s when horror filmmakers (the hacks) were all obsessed with bringing HR Giger's look to their films, they could have been stealing from Anselm Kiefer's palate and had films that look FRESH and ORIGINAL!!!

I'm sorry, I know Giger's revered by many -- particualrly horror fans -- but he's kind of a one-trick-pony, isn't he? I mean, black and jointed. That's kind of IT.

But Kiefer...!!!

Seriously, you won't be able to get a really good sense of the actual peices without seeing them in a museum, but take a glance at his colors and textures. Seriously, this guy's got some stuff on his mind!!! On his soul!!!

Anyway, I'm no art critic. But the cat excited me!

After the museums we had lunch in Fort Worth, then drove back to Dallas and caught a movie -- KING KONG!!! -- before I drove back to Austin.

On the way back, I listened to PRINCE CASPIAN, the 4th book in the Narnia series!

Then, um...

Friday I spent most of on Brian's computer, re-loading my ZVUE. That night I had me a 21 JUMP STREET Marathon (Season 2)! I discovered that it's Season 2, Episode 10 when JUMP STREET started getting good. The Season 1, and the first 9 episodes of Season 2, are more about potential than actual successful exicution. Starting with Episdode 10, the execution catches up with the potential! (The guest actors actually start reining their performances in and begin ACTING, rather than merely chewing the scenery and sweating with a cigarette in their hand while they drag the other hand through their hair contemplatively!)

NEW YEARS EVE!!!

Brian and I watched KISS: ROCK THE NATION LIVE!, followed by SMALLVILLE "Lexmas" and ROSWELL's New Years Eve episode "A Tale of Two Parties"!!! That was fun! Got to count down the New Year on the phone with Tisha!

New Year's Day was spent with Mom, and then Brian and I had a ROSWELL, Season 3 Marathon. Brian made it through 6 episodes and I made it through 7.

And now I'm at work. And you're caught up. (Possibly more thoroughly than you would have WISHED to be...)