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contours provocations
journal - 2002-0625 - tue 2100 Music to my Ears; Doing the St. Frank Thing; Love at First Bite; NNW In front of me is a folded piece of paper which has several song titles that I've heard, and liked, the past couple of days. Actually this is but one of many such lists which are piled up on my sofa table. (BTW: The sofa table happens to be a battered tray table that comes apart if you pick it up. Or if my largest feline companion jumps on it.) The lists derive from my workday listening to web channels. I don't know how I existed before discovering net audio. What a great way to uncover old and new sonic treats. My first attraction was to Radio GoGaGa. Which guickly overextended itself and vanished. I'm still a fan of 3wk.com, but it is so relentlessly angst-driven that it makes you want to reach for the gin bottle. And I did the wfmu.org thing for a while. And when it's good, it's great. But there is a wee trend toward esoterica. To the point, that I'll stop what I'm doing and mutter, "What the fuck is this shit!" I've given up on VirginRadio due to the commercials. And to the demented call-in sessions. For several months I was into new age sites. But these were too middle of the road; I like new age with a bite. And Vangelis does not a bite have. Also, new age at 10:00 am is too soporific. It's like smoking clove cigs. Yes. I've also done kexp.org out of Seattle. But for some reason, I keep having connection and "feedback" problems. I love John in the Morning. I just like his voice. And his photo makes me want to DJ-nap him. So for the last couple of weeks, I've been hearing radioparadise.com. All in all, one of the best mixes around. So what's on the piece of paper, you ask. Jeff Buckley, "Grace"There's so much music out there. And so much of it is commercially-driven. Or aimed at ten-year-olds. Or horny buckle bunnies. So it's refreshing to find something I really like. At lunch I sat outside on the patio of the deli. As usual, there were several small birds that appeared nearby, more or less, asking for a handout. And I was happy to oblige. I tossed one a crumb or two from my chocolate chip cookie. It was far too big for him. But he was able to nibble it in half before being interrupted by the foot traffic. These are very fearless wee creatures. I'm sure if it were quiet, one would land on my table. There's the cutest little guy who works at the deli. Long brown hair, a grey deli tee, khaki pants, and white trainers. And very polite. He reminds me of a hobbit. I know better than to be too obvious. It would just freak him, I fear. If you've read these demented ramblings for long, you by now know I have this thing about guys who work in the restaurant trade. For months, I ate almost every day at one of the national franchises. To the point that I became very much a regular. I loved the food, but I also liked the manager. The tall, slender, dark-haired man from London. Who moved on before Christmas to another franchise in Florida. I now realize my liking was far more than I'd thought. I miss the guy! Once or twice, I've even thought of making a trip to Florida to drop in at lunch. This is all very odd, because it is only recently that I've thought about how much I liked him. I guess in my fumbling way I'd fallen in love with him. Alas, the story of my live. I read a fascinating viewer's comment at imdb.com last night concerning "Minority Report." Tom Cruise is on the run having been falsely accused of a crime. In one of his attempts to escape, he winds up in a Lexus plant. There's a mad chase, and he falls onto the assembly line. And disappears. The chasers stroll outside, thinking he has been killed, and a brand new Lexus rolls out the door -- with Cruise at the helm. The viewer said this was one of the rejected ideas for Hitchcock's "North by Northwest." In NNW, Gary Grant is accused of a murder, and goes on a cross country trip to prove his innocence. One of the considered stops was to have been Detroit, with a chase across the plant, and Grant would have popped out in a new car. What a curious piece of movie trivia. By the way, Hitch's title is a reference to a quote from "Hamlet." "I am but mad north-northwest:Now on that sliver of Shakespearean info, I shall bid thee adieu. PAX!
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