Tuesday, October 31, 2006

I have become boring

Though we didn't go out tonight, the baby spent the day in a Tigger baby outfit. I've talked to the wife about it, she knows about the blog but doesn't want to read it, and I've had a no pictures policy in the past, I don't like putting pictures of myself up on the internet, and I sure as shit don't want to put my family up here. But... Leonard ... Is... So... Damn... Cute...

David Cross did a whole routine about how parents get fucking boring. He's kind of right.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

United 93 is truly a great film

Best of 2006 (so far):
1) United 93
2) Miami Vice
3) Brick
4) Down in the Valley
5) The Departed
6) Dave Chappelle's Block Party
7) Inside Man
8) Cocaine Cowboys
9) Taledega Nights
10) Monster House

Best movie (period) released in America in 2006:
Army of Shadows

Watching the sups on U93, I'm struck how great this movie is on a moral level. These people died because there is no god. And World Trade Center? That movie is a piece of shit in comparison.

Hooray for narcissism!

That's very much the definition of Wes Anderson's cinema. WA is fascinated with the involved narcissist who learns to sort of accept the outside world a little bit. That may be why I value Bottle Rocket and Royal Tennenbaums over Rushmore and The Life Aquatic. Narcissism breeds narcissism, and Where BR and Rushmore are about the beautiful dreamers, I think TRT at least deals with the grief such painful insulation can cause.

That may be why I find Life Aquatic so troubling - it sacrifices youth for knowledge. Publicly I have bad mouthed such directors as PT Anderson, Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Smith (among that entire generation of filmmakers) because they never seemed to leave their bubbles. Wes strikes me as one of the best, but ultimately these people need to experience more, to understand more to truly become great directors. We'll see how it goes, but Tarantino, for better or worse bests these guys because he knows that "a man's got to know his limitations."

Watching the United 93 supplements

An idea for a not great film, but interesting nonetheless: An actor/actress playing someone's husband/wife in a recreation of a tragedy ends up fucking/in a relationship with their widow/widower.

Amoeba/Sympathy Blow Job

Went to Amoeba the other day, such the best store in LA. Or my favorite. Got Modern Romance, a present for my friend Jeremy (alas, baby duties kept me away from his party), and some other things. I got a bag for my discs, and when I touched the bag it was wet. It was an insta whoa, and then I smelled my finger. It was gin. Huzzah! Drunkards ahoy hoy. This amused me to no end.

I feel sorta weird cause I got a pity BJ from the wife. She's not up for fucking. I don't know if I'm totally all "yeah let's get it on!" but as a man with seed, after about a week or so I start getting squirley. And Aili noticed, and though it's been a busy week and a half, and I've been on temporary leave with the J and still working from home, we put the baby to sleep yesterday and Aili whipped my pants off. Aili also went from a B cup to milk filled, so that's sorta fun too. TMI, for sure, but there's something (at least now) kind of thrilling of hoping to get finished before the baby wakes up again. I mean, if this was really TMI I'd talk about breast milk. I mean, sometimes that stuff leaks. Okay, shit, I've tasted it, but suckling (besides stealing from my son) was too enfantlizing. But even playing with them, they can squirt. We've got a pump, but still.

Aili got a three month leave. My mom is coming in a week for four days (on a road trip), and my bro's coming at some point soon. In a couple months I'll be working at home and being the primary care person. Fuck me.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Home again

We're home, crazy week. Tiring. And now we've got the baby. You don't sleep as much, that's for sure. Maybe I'll get to fuck again in a month or two. Maybe I'll get a full night's sleep in a year. Great. Great.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Born to feel the Illinoise

When I was at a wedding a couple weeks back I played for the Bride "After the Curtain" by Beirut. To me that song is the wedding. When my wife started having contractions late last night we drove to Illinois. For some reason Aili wanted a boom box while she was in labor (we were going to induce at the end of the week), and so it was mostly Sufjan Stevens who was to be played as our baby came into the world. I must say I agreed with this idea to no end, and besides, it helped things out for her end. We made an iPod playlist excising stuff like John Wayne Gacy Jr. (and almost exed Casimir Pulaski Day, but I made an appeal that held), threw on some Talking Heads (Naive Melody [This must be the Place] was the big one, Once in a Lifetime though it seemed too cheesed). I got away with a recent addition of Arcade Fire's Rebellion (Lies), some Beirut, some Mathew Sweet, some BSS, and Prince's Erotic City simply to fuck with the nurses (I love my wife that she let me get away with that). We just let it play at random while the contractions got closer and closer.

At 8:27 am on 10/16/2006 (that being a Monday), Aili gave birth to Leonard Evind Houx. As it was it was Vito's Ordination Song that was on when he popped out, here are the lyrics to that song:

I always knew
You
In your mothers arms
I have called your name
I have an idea
Placed in your mind
To be a better man
I've made a crown
For you
Put it in your room
And when the bride groom comes
There will be noise
There will be glad

And a perfect bed

And when you write a poem
I know the words, I know the sounds
Before you write it down,

When you wear your clothes,
I wear them too, I wear your shoes.
And the jacket too

I always knew
you
In your mother’s arms
I have called you son.
I’ve made amends
between
Father and son.

And if you haven’t won
rest in my arms,
sleep in my bed,
there’s a design

(repeat about twenty times):
to what i did and said
rest in my arms,
sleep in my bed,
there’s a design

Jesus, that's making me cry. Even cutting and pasting the lyrics. That song (for better or worse) will now be cemented into my life. I think for better (better than Once in a Lifetime... lucky me).

I'm near my wife, who's asleep right now, working off some wireless. We're both exhausted. Her more than me, obviously. The nurse told me I spent all night trying to keep everyone entertained. I guess I kept checking up on everyone. I've napped off and on during the day, had to run home to get some stuff around noonish when Aili was just passed out. I've spent some brief quality time with our kid.

And writing that sentence, it's just too much right now, it's too overwhelming. I can't type right about it anymore now, sorry. Just, you know, so you know, right now being a father feels pretty fucking awesome. And I'm not using awesome lightly.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Unexpected

There is evidence that I am sexier than other people

Expected: The baby's due in a week. I haven't had a lot of time. Or sleep. There's a lot I haven't covered, The Departed, fucking in the baby's room, cutting in line while we waited for Departed (the short story, my very pregnant wife asked to sit in the lobby and then we got our pick of the seats. I told her I should get her pregnant more often after that, and then she hit me). Etc. etc. More soon.