Things one remembers watching the matrix
***NO SPOILERS WHATSOEVER***
I am not really planning to talk about the film - although I did see it yesterday, and generally enjoyed myself. Talked to my sister about it on the phone today, and we had a similar take on the flick - those 20 minute action sequences are twenty minutes we'll never get back!
Soo, I am watching the movie and seeing Lawrence Fishburne, and I kept flashing back to Mardi Gras, 1997, when he was the celebrity for our parade. I was one of the founding members and officers of the Krewe of Orpheus - which we started in '94. It was the brain child of Harry Connick Jr. (some time I'll tell the story of why I wouldn't cross the street to piss on Harry if he were on fire.) Where was I? Oh yes, Larry F. - So he was our "monarch" that year (or at least one of them, David Copperfield and Delta BUrke were as well. Gerald McRaney had been a monarch of another krewe in a previous year, so he was there, but ex officio. Let me just say that Delta and Mac are two of the sweetest, most laid back people I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. They had a house in the French Quarter, so I had many oppotunities to shoot the shit with them. You could always see how much in love they are - and Mac has that deep voice that just runs through you, and tuns your insides to jello.) OK, I got sidetracked again....
OK, Fishburne...We had the parade on Monday night (Lundi Gras) and Fat Tuesday was spent in the hotel - one of the big assed suites at the InterCOntinental, ordering $40 shrimp cocktails from room service and watching the parades (Rex and Zulu) from the windows. So, we are all hanging around, hung-over and generally dead to the world, when Fish comes in, followed by a scary entourage he had picked up in the quarter. First off, he was wearing the costume he had worn in the parade the night before, which was vaguely turkish-looking, red-satin, bare-chested number. He had picked up some soap opera queen (I don't recall her name, even when she was there I couldn't remember it) along with the teenaged son of some Metairie (a New Orleans, wealthy suburb) doyenne who was influential in the parade that the Soap Opera Queen had been in earlier in the weekend (Iris parade on Saturday) And somewhere along the way they also found this really odd guy, with long black hair and black leather pants that laced up the sides, and revealed quite clearly that he wore no underwear. He also, apparently, wore no deoderant, but that is neither here nor there.
SO...Fish couldn't find his brother, and decided he would come by the suite to eat $40 shrimp cocktail and watch the parades and just generally be odd. He was certainly nice enough, although he got a little close-mouthed when I asked him about the days when he was 'Larry Fishburne' playing "Cowboy Curtis" on Pee-Wee's PLayhouse. He admitted that it was not the proudest moment in his acting career. I guess what I couldn't get over was that he was ostensibly wanting to find his brother, yet he spent his time in a different room.
This was a long a pointless story, but the reason for twlling it was simply tat I was reminded of the day I spent trying to find Fish interesting (he insisted that everyone call him 'fish')
Those were some interesting years that I lived in New Orleans. Of the celebs who passed my way through that parade, some were absolute gems: Vanessa Williams, Branford Marsalis, Debbie Allen...I remember the Saturday before the parade, Debbie was in town, and she came down to the Krewe headquarters, which was very well located to watch the Endymion Parade. I had been a huge fan of "Fame" so I glommed onto her, and basically became her impromtu escort for the evening. So we are watching the parade, and they had the Village People on one of their celebrity floats, and it happened to stop right in front of us. Well, the Indian looks down and sees Debbie, and all of a sudden, all of the 'people' were leaning over the side of the float to hug her and catch up. It was too cool. OK, other cool celebs - well I already mentioned Delta and Mac - John Goodman crashed our Ball one year, drunk off his ass. Dan Ackroyd was pretty cool - but a bit out of control. Whoopi was pleasant but I didn't get much time with her. Francis Ford Coppola and Quincy Jones were like being in the presence of royalty - and they are two incredible gracious men, in addition to being absolute legends. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) is one of the funniest little guys I have ever met - we were watching Bacchus at one of Anne Rice's houses, and this company was testing a new cellular connection for a digital camera - it was brand spanking new, and this was one of the first live webcasts, and I think the very first using this technology. Well Trent is an absolute technophile, and once he got hold of that camera, he was running all around the party with it like a kid at Christmas.
Celebs I didn't care for: Little Richard (what a pain in the ass!) Harry Jr. (not time for the story yet - but it shows him to be the huge asshole that he is) David Copperfield - not that he was bad - but he is very quiet and somewhat shy, so he didn't make much impression on me. Sandra Bullock (diva - pain in the ass - insisted on staying at a gay B&B, which means we were paying for a $1,500/night hotel suite that wasn't being used...well, I used it..but it still wasted the krewe's money) Jasmeene Bleeth and Ricky Paul Golden (too vacuous to be alive) and the really stupid child who played Pacey on Dawson's Creek - I've blocked his name in my mind because I found him to be such a waste of flesh.
One of the oddest things about being part of this krewe was the fact that I ended up on an episode of "Road Rules" and "The Real World, New Orelans" which I was always amused by since i haven't watched MTV since 1986.
Well, this was a rambling, pointless post - which is why people who read lj's are obviously maschoists of the sort unimagined by the Marquis de Sade
Sent in my resume for a really fucking cool job in Seattle. I don't what it would pay, and of course, have no idea if I am even in the running as of yet. I've never been to Seattle, but from what I can tell, it is just as expensice to live there as it is here in the bay area. Of course, I might end up moving to Pennsylvania - which would mean that I could spend some time with my nona (grandmother) who turns 92 next week. I would also see my parent more often, especially mom, sionce she tries to come up from Flroida every other month. I would take a HUGE pay cut, but I think I might actually be happy with my work again - and central Penna is a pretty damn cheap place to live.
Thats plenty for now - I got the BBC production of C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles on DVD - MIght spend the next seven hours watching those.
I am not really planning to talk about the film - although I did see it yesterday, and generally enjoyed myself. Talked to my sister about it on the phone today, and we had a similar take on the flick - those 20 minute action sequences are twenty minutes we'll never get back!
Soo, I am watching the movie and seeing Lawrence Fishburne, and I kept flashing back to Mardi Gras, 1997, when he was the celebrity for our parade. I was one of the founding members and officers of the Krewe of Orpheus - which we started in '94. It was the brain child of Harry Connick Jr. (some time I'll tell the story of why I wouldn't cross the street to piss on Harry if he were on fire.) Where was I? Oh yes, Larry F. - So he was our "monarch" that year (or at least one of them, David Copperfield and Delta BUrke were as well. Gerald McRaney had been a monarch of another krewe in a previous year, so he was there, but ex officio. Let me just say that Delta and Mac are two of the sweetest, most laid back people I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. They had a house in the French Quarter, so I had many oppotunities to shoot the shit with them. You could always see how much in love they are - and Mac has that deep voice that just runs through you, and tuns your insides to jello.) OK, I got sidetracked again....
OK, Fishburne...We had the parade on Monday night (Lundi Gras) and Fat Tuesday was spent in the hotel - one of the big assed suites at the InterCOntinental, ordering $40 shrimp cocktails from room service and watching the parades (Rex and Zulu) from the windows. So, we are all hanging around, hung-over and generally dead to the world, when Fish comes in, followed by a scary entourage he had picked up in the quarter. First off, he was wearing the costume he had worn in the parade the night before, which was vaguely turkish-looking, red-satin, bare-chested number. He had picked up some soap opera queen (I don't recall her name, even when she was there I couldn't remember it) along with the teenaged son of some Metairie (a New Orleans, wealthy suburb) doyenne who was influential in the parade that the Soap Opera Queen had been in earlier in the weekend (Iris parade on Saturday) And somewhere along the way they also found this really odd guy, with long black hair and black leather pants that laced up the sides, and revealed quite clearly that he wore no underwear. He also, apparently, wore no deoderant, but that is neither here nor there.
SO...Fish couldn't find his brother, and decided he would come by the suite to eat $40 shrimp cocktail and watch the parades and just generally be odd. He was certainly nice enough, although he got a little close-mouthed when I asked him about the days when he was 'Larry Fishburne' playing "Cowboy Curtis" on Pee-Wee's PLayhouse. He admitted that it was not the proudest moment in his acting career. I guess what I couldn't get over was that he was ostensibly wanting to find his brother, yet he spent his time in a different room.
This was a long a pointless story, but the reason for twlling it was simply tat I was reminded of the day I spent trying to find Fish interesting (he insisted that everyone call him 'fish')
Those were some interesting years that I lived in New Orleans. Of the celebs who passed my way through that parade, some were absolute gems: Vanessa Williams, Branford Marsalis, Debbie Allen...I remember the Saturday before the parade, Debbie was in town, and she came down to the Krewe headquarters, which was very well located to watch the Endymion Parade. I had been a huge fan of "Fame" so I glommed onto her, and basically became her impromtu escort for the evening. So we are watching the parade, and they had the Village People on one of their celebrity floats, and it happened to stop right in front of us. Well, the Indian looks down and sees Debbie, and all of a sudden, all of the 'people' were leaning over the side of the float to hug her and catch up. It was too cool. OK, other cool celebs - well I already mentioned Delta and Mac - John Goodman crashed our Ball one year, drunk off his ass. Dan Ackroyd was pretty cool - but a bit out of control. Whoopi was pleasant but I didn't get much time with her. Francis Ford Coppola and Quincy Jones were like being in the presence of royalty - and they are two incredible gracious men, in addition to being absolute legends. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) is one of the funniest little guys I have ever met - we were watching Bacchus at one of Anne Rice's houses, and this company was testing a new cellular connection for a digital camera - it was brand spanking new, and this was one of the first live webcasts, and I think the very first using this technology. Well Trent is an absolute technophile, and once he got hold of that camera, he was running all around the party with it like a kid at Christmas.
Celebs I didn't care for: Little Richard (what a pain in the ass!) Harry Jr. (not time for the story yet - but it shows him to be the huge asshole that he is) David Copperfield - not that he was bad - but he is very quiet and somewhat shy, so he didn't make much impression on me. Sandra Bullock (diva - pain in the ass - insisted on staying at a gay B&B, which means we were paying for a $1,500/night hotel suite that wasn't being used...well, I used it..but it still wasted the krewe's money) Jasmeene Bleeth and Ricky Paul Golden (too vacuous to be alive) and the really stupid child who played Pacey on Dawson's Creek - I've blocked his name in my mind because I found him to be such a waste of flesh.
One of the oddest things about being part of this krewe was the fact that I ended up on an episode of "Road Rules" and "The Real World, New Orelans" which I was always amused by since i haven't watched MTV since 1986.
Well, this was a rambling, pointless post - which is why people who read lj's are obviously maschoists of the sort unimagined by the Marquis de Sade
Sent in my resume for a really fucking cool job in Seattle. I don't what it would pay, and of course, have no idea if I am even in the running as of yet. I've never been to Seattle, but from what I can tell, it is just as expensice to live there as it is here in the bay area. Of course, I might end up moving to Pennsylvania - which would mean that I could spend some time with my nona (grandmother) who turns 92 next week. I would also see my parent more often, especially mom, sionce she tries to come up from Flroida every other month. I would take a HUGE pay cut, but I think I might actually be happy with my work again - and central Penna is a pretty damn cheap place to live.
Thats plenty for now - I got the BBC production of C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles on DVD - MIght spend the next seven hours watching those.