check it

I was talking to my mother the other day about keeping a "to do" list. She is really good at it. My earliest memories from childhood include her writing stuff down and muttering something like "I better put this on my list so I remember to do it..." and she always managed to get things done. My mom doesn't know the meaning of procrastination. If she even thinks of doing something, it is as good as done. Here, the apple has fallen far from the tree... I can't even see the orchard.
Don't get me wrong. I get a lot done. I am pretty much always busy. And I am not inefficient or anything. But when it comes to getting a specific task done, my body physically revolts, often conveniently forgetting what it was I wanted to do. At some point, I decided to stop fighting it and start keeping a list. In so many ways I am already becoming my mother, so why resist the "to do" list. So I keep lists. All over the place. I have lists on scraps of paper that reside in the bottom of my bag, wrinkled and forgotten. I have lists on my phone that get longer, not shorter. I got a composition notepad that I carry around with me everywhere I go. "oooh, let me write that down so I don't forget!" Yea, right.
Keeping a list is one thing. Using it is another, my friends. Funny thing, I was reading my friend Oliver's column today, and lo and behold, he is talking about the bloody checklist! Maybe it is no mere coincidence; the end of a year, the anticipation of starting a new one and wanting to start with a clean slate, perhaps...
Back to my conversation with my mom... I was asking her how it is that she manages to tackle the items on her list, confessing to her that although I do keep a list, I suck at actually using it. My mom told me about a friend of hers from college, a super smart, creative genius who would keep notes on a stack of paper - when something got to the bottom of the pile, he would throw it out. Then she laughed. "He ended up killing himself."
Note to self: keep checking the list.

oh SNAP! (I've Got The Power)

Ok, I am totally having a love affair with the interweb.. The access to free music and videos is INSANE. Don't get me started on Google Maps. Anyway, this morning, Tosso was asking if I remember that song "I've Got the Power" and presto, I can find it instantly on youtube. Badassss. Absolutely badass. The mixture of anger and innocence is totally endearing. Check it, yo!

friends, family and loved ones...

This holiday season, I am humbled by the great friends and friendships I am so lucky to have and the amazing and generous support I have received from loving family members. So many amazing characters in my life. I can't wait to see what happens next... XO

let it snow

NYC was covered with an awesome foot deep blanket of snow. Now it is a dirty mess. That reminds me of this great image of The Captain (Cole Kutz) and his Second Wife (the amazing Agatha Downing...)

All About ON'D Part 1: Meet The Captain

We recently started gathering bios from the fabulous people behind Otis N' Dwayne which we will be adding to our website along with an EPK and all sorts of other good stuff. But I just can't wait to start sharing so I will be letting it out in dribs and drabs for ya'all here on the ON'D blog. Let's start with The Captain, shall we? The following is from a recent interview:
Cole Kutz was approached by his agent to audition for the role of The Captain in Otis N' Dwayne in 1997. At the time he was playing Hamlet at the prestigious Duke of York's Theatre in London. "After first looking at the script I asked my agent if he had gone completely mad!"  Kutz said in an interview in NYC.  "He then told me that he felt that this film was bound for Greatness, and that I should stretch out & expand - flex my acting muscles as it were, to try to do something other than Shakespeare, which I had been performing exclusively for the past 11 years.  I mean, I was a Purist.  He told me to CAREFULLY re-read the script.  I reluctantly did, but later was overjoyed that I did.  I then discovered how oh so very subtelty this script brilliantly reflected many of The Bard of Stratford-On-Avon's works in oh so many ways!  Otis N Dwayne is indeed a profound statement of current global issues in modern literature, as well as an innovative cinematic masterpiece.  I feel honored to be a part of it". 

it's wind's illusions I recall...

I was walking in Red Hook the other day. It was cold as a motherfucker. Then came the wind. I was leaning forward at a 45 degree angle; it was like climbing a steep hill. Tosso, trying to see the bright side, said, "well at least the wind will be going the same direction as we are on the way home."

"Don't be to sure about that," I said, having observed that the wind often changes, for some strange reason, and I get it gusting in my face, blowing off my hood, making my eyes water, cracking my lips, no matter which way I am headed, as if it is some strange metaphor for my life.

We made it to Fairway with only mild ear pain and loaded up on groceries to lug back in our packs. Froot Loops were on special and I got two huge boxes for seven bucks. Score!

On the way home, luck was on our side, and the wind was at our backs. What a difference. So much easier to walk. But then came the paranoia. If the wind is coming from behind us, then I won't be able to see when some huge chunk of garbage or a garbage can lid comes flying at me. I fantasized about a flimsy section of a corrugated metal wall with razor wire on top, which I was walking next to, getting ripped out and toppling over on me... getting sliced by the wire. Or those chalkboards that stores put out - one of those could totally come flying at me and I wouldn't know it... At least it wasn't raining so I wouldn't have to contend with stray umbrellas spiraling towards me - especially those cheap, two dollar umbrellas that invert at the first sign of wind and lie scattered on the sidewalks after a good rain.

Needless to say, I made it home in one piece where I promptly treated myself to not one, but two bowls of Froot Loops.

Bark at the Moon! Blast from the Past!

Anne's Post of the little doggie howling reminded me of a short film I made in college...

Kap'n Krunch and the Kool Aid Kid Acid Test Movie! We used Ozzy's Bark at the Moon song...

Enjoy!

howl at the moon

Must be some sort of mistake???

RE: 9550-UNF- Otis N' Dwayne

Dear Anne,

On behalf of our Programming staff, I would like to thank you for submitting your film to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately, we are not able to include it in our program this year. We received a record 9,800 submissions this year, and many tough decisions had to be made in order to narrow the field down to under 200 films. Please know that your work was carefully considered by our team, and we viewed far more worthy films than we had room for in the program. I sincerely hope that this decision does not discourage you in any way. We wish you the best of luck with your film, and we look forward to having the opportunity to view your work in the future.

Sincerely,

John Cooper

Director, Sundance Film Festival