Disappointments

dis·ap·point·ment - n.
The act of disappointing.
The condition or feeling of being disappointed.
One that disappoints.

I saw the movie version of RENT this past weekend. Needless to say (because of the title of this post) I was quite disappointed. Before going, I read the reviews online and was hoping that they were a bunch of snotty, stuffy bastards who had nothing better to do than slam this movie. I was wrong. They were right. The movie was lukewarm at best. Let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE RENT fan. There was a time in my life when I considered myself one of the RENT HEADS. I have seen the show on Broadway, seen many tours, own the soundtrack, and even personally know some of the cast members. I was still disappointed. This story was written for the stage. A very specific stage. The songs are very expository. The lyrics speak for themselves, and the story unfolds in the mind of the audience. It seemed as if the director called up all the original cast members, threw them into the East Village and said, "Do the show!"

After watching the movie, I pondered if the making of this movie was a task that anyone could have done. I like to believe so. I can remember years ago when the buzz was starting that a movie would be made, I was so very excited. This story spoke to me. It had to speak to everyone. What better way for it to speak to everyone than to put it on ever silver screen.

Maybe its my age.

Columbus has directed such box office hits as Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies. Why didn't he direct the last 2 Potter movies? I believe that they reason is because of CONTENT. Columbus is very good at directing, dare I say it, children's movies. His lush, indulgent, shallow style is quite beautiful, but empty. And that is how I felt this movie played. Emptily.

Did I care about the characters? Yes. Because of the movie? No. The actors in this film appear to be slightly distant from the world that they are portraying. Is it because the actors are 10 years older and 10 years beyond the material? Perhaps.

The movie Chicago is a great example of what should have happened to this story. That movie LEPT off of the stage and on to the screen. But Chicago isn't the same as RENT....ok, how about TOMMY--thats another rock opera. That movie rocked the screen. It was rediculous, over the top, yet still gripping. The story of RENT is already gripping. I think that the movie could have been.

Unfortunately this movie doesn't speak to a wide audience. Perhaps it just doesn't speak to me anymore. I had hopes that this film would have a mass appeal. Somebody's grandma in the Midwest would go see it and be shaken to her core. I was when I saw it 10 years ago. Why? Because I lived it....or at least thought I did...or at least wished I did.

Now that I have actually been here and seen the gentrification of the lower east side and village and how it is now...and seen neighborhoods that were like it was then, i know i wouldnt have wanted to be there. Maybe thats why the movie made me feel empty.

But I know these characters. I love these characters. I have lived with them for many years..their words and stories echo in scrapbook-like sections of my life.

Has "No Day But Today" lost some of its hold on me? Yeah I think it did a little...yesterday.

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Our DISASTER

Sometimes in life there are disasters. Hurricane Katrina was one such disaster. New Orleans practically wiped off the face of the earth. Large gambling ships in Biloxi blown onto the beach. Sea animals blown into parking lots. These are huge disasters. Era-defining disasters. Then there are other kinds of disasters.
Little teeny tiny disasters that only seem to have their effects felt in the tiniest of microchasms. Take this little dog here to the left, Kate. Kate broke her leg. Did you know about it? No? Why not? Her owner, Michael, felt so sad and destroyed that his dog had an accident that he posted an entire webpage on the internet discusing the dog's accident and chronicling her recovery. You mean you didn't read it? Well, needless to say, neither did I. This disaster (large though it may be to Kate's family and friends) did not affect my life at all.

How about this disaster here to the right? Extremely high gas prices. Staggeringly high gas prices. Did this disaster affect you? Does this image echo in your heart and wallet? Most likely it does. For me, though, this image was just a photo on the web, a blurb on the news, a bitch session from my family. Why? I have no car. I live completely at the mercy of the ever so wonderful New York City mass transit system, MTA. Our loving subway runs on electricity, so gas prices did not affect fares. Our busses and cabs run on gasoline though, yet Mayor Bloomberg would not let fares rise in order to protect his precious economy and tourism revenue. Cab fares are still reasonable. Prices have not risen one penny. Gas prices in New York City never shot up. Now the unthinkably high gas prices that have always been here are about even with the rest of the country. Payback? I think so. All those years of tourists driving here only to scream, kick, spit, and yell when looking at the prices at the Sunoco or the Gaseteria. (Gaseteria is my favorite of the gas stations. One thinks of a toothless woman wearing a hair net dispensing gas and mashed potatoes). Now after all of this dissertation on disasters, I have a disaster of my own to share with everyone.
Just the other day, I awoke, took a shower, got dressed for work like I always do. When I was standing at the bathroom sink brushing my teeth, I happened to look up at the ceiling and noticed that the ceiling appeared to be sagging a little. I stood there in my "before noon" haziness and contemplated if the ceiling always sagged like that and I never noticed it before. Then to test it out, I jumped on top of the toilet and placed my hand on the sag, and it felt like it gave a little. Note that I did not press on the sag. I decided to call the landlord. After telling them that the ceiling appeared to be sagging, and having her ask "what do you mean sagging" and me explaining "Sagging means that it is hanging down a little bit from where it used to hang before." I hung up and went to finish getting dressed before leaving for work. Then I heard it. It sounded like the ceiling fell in. Well, the reason it sounded like that is because that is exactly what happened. The ceiling fell in. Thats the photo over there of what our bathroom looks like now. Note that it is much cleaner now than I found it. When I went to investigate the sound, there was half a ceiling hanging down from the ceiling, and there was gross shit and black mold all over the bathroom. Thank God our toothbrushes have covers on them. After I called the landlord back to tell them that the ceiling indeed had fallen, they came over and speculated that it was because the upstairs neighbors had been using too much water in their bathroom...like washing clothes in the floor or something. That was all they said. They also said later that the ceiling had to be left open for several days to dry out. Meanwhile...there is still debris and black mold falling from the ceiling onto the bathroom floor. Justen and I both have horrible allergies, but most importantly, little Naomi has allergies. And she is so little. That's her over there being all little and stuff. Now, not to sound persnickedy (sp.) or anything, but shouldn't we be given some other answers? Shouldn't we be given some BETTER answers? Shouldn't we be in the Ritz-Carlton now with a view of the park? Okay maybe not a view of the park, but at least a view of the city. Shouldn't we be furious? Well, we are furious. Shouldn't we go upstairs to the Walker's apartment (not their real name..its a pseudonym because they walk constantly all around the apartment..24 hours a day) and beat them senseless. Or at least cave in their ceiling? How can we get catharsis for OUR disaster? When will FEMA arrive to help us? (well its only day 2. They didn't go to New Orleans till day 3) Shouldn't Anderson Cooper be over here crying and interviewing us while CNN presses cameras into the gaping hole in our ceiling through which you can see the upstairs BATHTUB? Shouldn't our landlord at least had the decency to call after the maintenance men left to say "We're working on it" or "You have to let it dry out" or "Did you understand the maintenance men? I know that English is not their first, second or third language." Did any of this happen...NO. Anderson Cooper is not here. FEMA is not here. Our phones have not rang. All we know is what broken Spanish Justen could scrape out of the maintenance men. I guarantee you if the ceiling fell in at THEIR apartment, it would be fixed. I guarantee that the LANDLORD wouldnt have to stay in the apartment with black mold falling from the ceiling. Don't we deserve better than this?

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Diarrhea Donut Shop

I know that this post has a HORRIBLE name, but sometimes its best just to share it with everyone in a way that gets attention. Sometimes on the way to work, or when out leisurely walking along, i get a little hungry and have frequently stopped into THIS bagel shop.

it has to be one of the most popular bagel destinations in the neighborhood, and i see them EVERYWHERE. This one in particular is at Broadway and 35th in Astoria.
The first few times that I ate there, I noticed that every time I would get where I was going, I was having terrible abdominal pains and immediately had to go to the bathroom....DIARRHEA.
Since I am one of those people who have chronic stomach problems, I thought this was mere coincidence. So I decided to break it up a bit. I would eat bagels from other local shops. No problems....then I would go back to this place:

and give it another try. DIARRHEA. So, i have come to a decision. This place should change its name to Diarrhea Donuts. Thats what they serve. Justen even said that after eating one of the bagels from there his tummy felt funny. Maybe he was just sympathizing with me...or maybe it is a conspiracy.
I know how supermodels and lots of other New York types would welcome watery bowels. There is nothing better for the figure than an epidemic.

BUT faithful friends, I need to be able to keep my food down. I work sometimes 16 hours a day! How many hours does Kate work? How many lines does kate snort?
Anyways...the morale of the story is...Diarrhea sucks. errr, blows.

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The HBO Premiere

Oh, I forgot to post the picture of me at teh HBO Premiere for the Tourette's Documentary. Without further ado...here is me and my boss and my $600 suit.



and thats all she wrote.

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Pochahontas

Tonight I spent a lot of time adding photos to my photobucket.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d181/dmeredith2/
Its kinda fun to pore through digital images of yourself and put them up for potentially the entire world to see....potentially.

So, I decided to give a little story from my life.

Justen and I worked together at the outdoor drama, UNTO THESE HILLS in the summer of '03. One evening when we were there, for some reason or another, there was no power. No, the dorms we were in had no air conditioning, so we depended on the fans in our windows to put cool air from the mountain stream outside our window into the room. So when the electricity went out...no dice...

We were stuck. would we stay there all night long sweating and cursing..or would we brave the tourist trap cum historical landmark that is Cherokee, NC and look for suitable accomodation. We braved it. (note use of the word brave. we were playing indians in the drama. ironically, cherokee did not call their young warriors braves. That is just a baseball phenomenon)

It was at about 4am that we stumbled across the pochahontas motel. We had tried many others, but they were too expensive. We just wanted to take a bath, turn on the airconditioning, and go to sleep.

While Justen was taking a bath, I wanted to give him peace and quiet (a luxury we had not yet experienced since being on the hill together) so I went outside armed with my digital camera.



This is what awaited me. The swimming pool that used to be in front of the motel is now a gravel flower bed. It had been raining. The roads were deserted. I dont look the least bit tired.



As can be seen in this photo taken minutes later.

Well, nothing exciting happened. To my left there in the last photo is a Coke Machine (which is no longer there last time I drove by Pochahontas). I bought a soda, took a bath, and Justen and I went to bed with the TV on. We had not had a TV in quite a while either...well one that wasnt playing DVDs.

Gosh I miss living up on top of a mountain. The biggest decision of my day was whether I would go to dance class today...or skip it and have to go the rest of the week.....

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