the pod bay door

Last night was another NYC ritual: visiting and having dinner with Leo and Diane Dillon in Brooklyn. I first met the Dillons at a regional sf convention I had helped organize, Context’89, in Edmonton that year. We’ve been friends ever since, and every time I visit NYC, I take the subway to Brooklyn and we meet, visit, and have dinner. Last night was no exception. They signed a number of copies of their books for me, in addition to a few posters and post cards. I love them both a lot, they are wonderful folks and brilliant illustrators. They showed me their current work in progress, another title by Margaret Wise Brown called “Where Have You Been.” Wise passed away in 1952, having written hundreds of of books and stories during her short life. The Dillons also illustrated her story, “Two Little Trains“.

Today is a runaround day, for lack of a better description. I hope to see The Grey Zone this afternoon, maybe get a half-price ticket to see 42nd Street, wander through a couple record stores, visit the Pop Shop. If there is an emerging theme to this trip, it’s laziness.

The one enduring image I have of New Yorkers this time around is that of cell phones: they are everywhere. Every third or fourth person is walking and talking on a cell phone. It’s like the plague. Speaking of which, for the first time in 100 years, the plague has hit NYC.

It’s Wed afternoon in NYC, cool, some drizzle. The movie Tully was better than I expected. Getting to watch Julianne Nicholson for two hours swayed my opinion, but seriously, it’s a fine little film. Tully is one of two sons of Tully Coates, Sr, a midwestern farmer who discovers that he owes $300,000 to the bank, but can’t determine why. Nicholson plays a friend of the family. Tully is played by Anson Mount. As the centre of the movie, he faces his family’s problems, and his own (as a womanizer without any responsibilities beyond the farm itself). The movie is gorgeous to watch, and the themes at times devestating. Of note is the performance by Bob Burrus as the father, who apparently hasn’t laughed or smiled since their mother’s death 15 years earlier. Recommended.
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Just left Joe’s Pub, where I saw Al Franken perform an hour of brilliant standup. Most of his bits were related to the US election, which is tomorrow. We applauded afterwards until he returned for an encore, for which he admitted he was not prepared. Backstage I heard him say to someone that maybe one time before in his career did he receive an encore ovation. It was deserved. I’m currently reading his book Oh, The Things I Know, and afterwards he autographed my copy, and allowed a picture to be taken of us both. He’s a stand up guy (no pun intended). Now I’m off to see Tully (the movie).

Returned from New Haven last night. Before I left I realized I’d lost my nice cotton sweatshirt, most likely left it at The Oakdale Theater, where we’d seen Yes the night before. *sigh* Once in NY I headed straight to Barbara and Anthony’s house to retrieve my suitcase. Anthony invited me to come with him to the guitar shop district on 48th Street, dominated by Sam Ash’s stores. I tried a few guitars while he exchanged foot pedal units.

I checked into the Leo House shortly afterwards, settled in, and went to see Secretary, the new James Spader/Maggie Gyllenhaal movie. Gyllenhaal, brother sister of Jake, plays a young woman recently released from what appears to be a psychiatric hospital, recovering from whatever mental problems she has (she likes to cut herself, among other things). She attended typing school, and applies for a job at Spader’s law office (he’s a solo practioner). From there the movie moves slowly into their mutual discovery of the pleasures of S&M. Spader, the King of Creepiness, never goes over the top into Very Strange Territory, and Gyllenhaal is a revelation to watch, as she slowly discovers a side of her she didn’t know existed. These two are made for each other. At times the movie is so quiet (scenes in which Spader literally whispers his commands) that you must strain to hear what is being said. This movie is not for everyone, and while I enjoyed it, it could have been about 20 minutes shorter.
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David and I attended the Yes concert tonight at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford CT. The opening band (also from the UK), Porcupine Tree, was inspired by Yes, and a handful of other 70s art-rock bands like Rush and ELP. They wandered on stage at 7:25 pm, and played for about 40 minutes.

Yes walked on stage around 8:40 or so, and played a solid two hour set. The crowd was mostly over-35s, many of whom bought a lot of beer, and screamed their lungs out, trying not to embarrass their kids in many cases. Sitting two seats from us was a guy with his 17-year old kid. The kid told us he was seeing Yes for the 12th time, and his dad was attending his 44th concert. When Porcupine Tree would finish a song, he’d scream, “WHERE THE HELL IS YES??”, and after the second time, someone a few rows down yelled, “PUT A CORK IN IT!”. We sat in the second balcony, and the seats were fine. Mostly older people surrounded us (yes, I include myself in the definition of “old”), so no one stood up and danced through the 11 songs the band performed. (The set list is below).
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David, Susan and I are on the Quinnipiac University campus, in the library where Susan works. The campus sits at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park, a local mountain covered in trees that are all changing colours as I type. The campus is a private institution, and has lots of money (and Canada geese). The library building is two years old, and is, frankly, gorgeous. The PAC stations are black, with flat screens, and the campus is about to go ubiquitously wireless. (U of Alberta, just watching…)

We are off shortly to take more photos of the breathtaking scenery (not the geese). Then into New Haven for more fun and lattes. Later tonight: Yes.