Missy | August 30, 2007


St. Paul’s Chapel, between Broadway & Church in lower Manhattan.

I’ve fallen bonkers in love with Fuji Provia color slide film. The photo above was shot on my first roll, along with a few over here. The only modifications were of the resizing variety.

Despite my devotion to Tony Leung Chiu Wai, I regret to inform you that I will not be seeing Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution at Toronto, on account of I’ve chosen to stay in New York through the 8th to see Midlake (and I have the added bonus of hanging out with Lane). That said, I had an exceptionally difficult time creating my schedule for the 6.5 days I will be there. If I end up (and I most certainly will end up) purchasing more tickets following this initial early lottery (the results for which I’ll find out in a couple of days), I may ultimately see something like 28 or 29 films, and that won’t come close to hitting all of those I’d like to see. Fortunately, many of the biggies I might miss at Toronto will be showing up at NYFF (like 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days, which I had to kick out of my TIFF schedule for reasons I now forget.) Being a member of the Film Society of Lincoln Center means I get an early crack at those tickets as well, except that everybody in New York City is going to want to see the Palme D’Or winner.

By the way, the batshit-crazy little all-star musical directed by John Turturro that I saw two years ago at TIFF and was pretty kind of fond of, Romance and Cigarettes, is finally getting some play in theaters. [Trailer here.]

In other news, not only do I now have stronger eyeglasses, I have prescription sunglasses as well (and, no, they wouldn’t put the little Ray-Ban logo on the new lenses like I asked, because I am superficial). The march toward the graveyard continues.

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Missy | August 22, 2007


Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies, deep in the heart of Red Hook

Apparently distracted by being sleepy, I neglected to rinse the conditioner out of my hair this morning. At work, immediately after paying for my breakfast, I dropped my coffee and it splashed all over my white pants. (I tend to be somewhat klutzy with my hands. And I just got new glasses!) Following that, I waited all day for Bad Thing #3 to happen. Lo, when I came home around 7:30 and flipped through my mail, there it was: Jury Summons. Fortunately, I will be out of the country on the specified date and, I believe, I am free to pick an alternate date of my choosing.

I have really great luck with jury duty. My first time, I sat in a room all day with a stack of magazines. Nobody got called and we were sent away at 2:00. Though I was closer to work than home, I went home. The second time, there was a blizzard the day before and the DC city government (as well as federal government) was shut down. The third time I received a summons (again in DC), I had *just* signed my new lease on a Brooklyn apartment. I sent back the form and, in the 2 millimeter space for one’s excuse of why one cannot serve, I wrote “Moving to New York City”. They believed me and sent me a letter thanking me. No, District of Columbia, thank you.

Here’re a couple of links:

  • So You Think You Can Be President? I think Alex Tabbarok is on to something here. Coase it out, baby. Be sure to read the comments.
  • Bots or no, I can say with certainty that both Kriston and Catherine are indeed hot.

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    • Missy | August 19, 2007


    Outtake from the banner redesign. [My thought was to give the page a dance (and photography) theme. I was unshowered, I look like I swallowed my own torso, and those socks were so black afterwards that I had to throw them out.]

    Today I gave two sets of motorists and one pedestrian directions. One to the BQE, two to the Red Hook ball fields & food vendors. Later, when I was waiting to cross the street in the rain, I helped a woman with a crutch and a (surprisingly heavy) bag off of a bus. While I try to be benevolent whenever possible, I don’t think I’ve ever been in the right place at the right time so many times in one day.

    This weekend, I finally broke away from B&W film and braved Fuji Provia, which is a color slide film. From what I’ve read, there’s not a lot of leeway for making mistakes with slide film. I’ve got a good camera, and I shot outdoors (except without any filters…I probably need to invest in some filters now), but who knows what will happen once I get it processed. Hopefully something good, since the roll contains the last of my eligible photos for What’s the Hook.

    Musician and photographer John Vanderslice has a new record out and to accompany his actual tour, he is playing a “blog tour”. See this list for some of his favorite sites and links to webcast performances. Though most were recorded at his San Francisco-based Tiny Telephone studio, Gothamist recently put up one from the roof of the Hotel Chelsea. He invariably creates a great live show, but I don’t think that these blog shows capture the essence of his live performance so I encourage you to check him out where you can. He’s playing the Bowery Ballroom on September 26 and tickets are still available.

    Finally, amid all sorts of change in Listen Missy land, my friend and teacher for the past two years is retiring from dance to build bikes full time. Check out his hand-crafted fenders page. Fortunately, my other teacher comes back from his summer hiatus in a couple of weeks, but it’s now up to me and me alone to practice knuckle push-ups and one-arm planks, among other torture forms.

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    Missy | August 11, 2007


    Brooklyn Bridge on a sunny day, intentionally blurred

    It occurred to me today that for all the running around town I’ve done this summer, I’ve yet to get a single mosquito bite. How is that possible?

    Meanwhile, I’m slogging through the first two Bourne movies so that I might enjoy the third, currently in theaters and earning rather rave reviews.

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    Missy | August 10, 2007

    Harriet Zucker, a longtime resident of Red Hook, Brooklyn, is organizing a community photography project that is running August 12-18. Everyone is welcome to participate. The project seeks to capture a community in the midst of change and answer the question, “What does Red Hook mean to you?” In Harriet’s words:

    What’s The Hook? is a community-based photography project designed to document one week in the life of Red Hook, Brooklyn, one of New York City’s most unique and rapidly changing neighborhoods. Open to locals and visitors alike, “What’s The Hook” encourages photographers of all backgrounds to submit digital images captured during the week of August 12th

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    Missy | August 4, 2007


    Hose hook-up somethings-or-other

    If it’s too hot for you–and it is for me–and if your air conditioner threatens to poop out–as mine does–may I suggest the films of Pedro Costa at Anthology? If the name Pedro Costa sounds familiar, it may be because the New York Times has given him & this film series quite a bit of press lately. In other movie suggestions, tomorrow BAM is screening Tsai Ming-liang’s I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone which, placed against the rest of his oeuvre, I found to be weaker. Plus, its humidity may not offer much physical or psychological relief. Film Forum has its noir series well under way, and they’re also screening No End in Sight.

    As for me, if I don’t make it out for Costa, I’ll be revisiting some Antonioni here at home. Last night I collapsed in chair parked in front of the AC, lights off, watching L’Avventura. I’ve got some photos to finish up, but otherwise I lack the energy for much of anything. My furry brain can’t even make heads or tails of yesterday’s or today’s crossword.

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    Missy | August 4, 2007


    Hose hook-up somethings-or-other

    If it’s too hot for you–and it is for me–and if your air conditioner threatens to poop out–as mine does–may I suggest the films of Pedro Costa at Anthology? If the name Pedro Costa sounds familiar, it may be because the New York Times has given him & this film series quite a bit of press lately. In other movie suggestions, tomorrow BAM is screening Tsai Ming-liang’s I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone which, placed against the rest of his oeuvre, I found to be weaker. Plus, its humidity may not offer much physical or psychological relief. Film Forum has its noir series well under way, and they’re also screening No End in Sight.

    As for me, if I don’t make it out for Costa, I’ll be revisiting some Antonioni here at home. Last night I collapsed in chair parked in front of the AC, lights off, watching L’Avventura. I’ve got some photos to finish up, but otherwise I lack the energy for much of anything. My furry brain can’t even make heads or tails of yesterday’s or today’s crossword.

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