recycle

Getting mail used to be fun. How thrilling it was getting credit card applications personally addressed to me, recognized for my fiscal competence and demographic desirability. I would tirelessly pore through layers of BMG stamps, pulling apart titles like Fried Green Tomatoes and Working Girl with care. Hand-written letters from friends were sacred.

Now, I rifle through legions of credit card applications, mentally replaying Fight Club's ending scene. I smirk at address labels allegedly designed by the kids of St. Jude's Hospital (which I still use though my name is misspelled and donations total less than $10.) BMG packets get tossed. Letters from friends fail to arrive unless I enter my password and click "Inbox."

When did the thrill of seeing my printed name fizzle out? When did checking the mailbox become a chore? I blame lazy penpals and obnoxious credit card companies. I suppose there's not much to be done about friends, but for credit card companies, there's a small way to fight back. It's nothing new, but it's one worth re-telling.

For every credit card application and other unsolicited piece of mail that clogs up your mailbox, take the included No Postage Necessary envelope, fill it with candy wrappers and grease-stained Chinese take-out menus, and send it back to them. It won't stop the applications from coming, but at least you're doing your part in recycling.

Remember, the greasier, the better.

Artco

Yesterday, I hopped on the #10 bus heading toward Nordeast Minneapolis to check out Artco Gallery's current exhibit, "Art with Text: A Multi-Media Exhibition Showcasing the Written Word within Visual Art." [Specifically, I went to check out local fontographer Chank Diesel's acrylic pieces.] I especially liked the clean, simple broadsides from the Laurel Poetry Collective. The gallery was fun and eclectic, stocked with works from over 100 local and national artists, all selling their stuff in this little space. If you find yourself driving down Central Avenue into Art-A-Whirl territory, it's worth stopping in and saying hello.

teen films

Teen films are fun. Unlike real high school, there's at least a 67% chance of coming out relatively unscathed. They can be hit or miss. Usually miss. The following, in my very humble opinion, are a few noteworthy films that warrant a trip to your local video store: Election, where Reese plays an obnoxiously cute, grade-A Type-A. Bend It Like Beckham, because it made me want to kick some balls around. Hard. Edge of Seventeen, because it was gutsy and un-sentimentally sweet. OT: Our Town, an admirable documentary which gave the teens of Compton their dues.

[I should probably mention the more obvious ones, Dazed and Confused, Donnie Darko, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Not Another Teen Movie (take what you want from that one). If I'm missing an obvious one, plop in a comment. I'd hate to be remiss.]

I'm looking forward to Thirteen, which just barely crosses the teen threshold. It marks the debut of 15-year-old actor and co-writer (!) Nikki Reed, and stars Another Very Young Actress, Evan Rachel Wood, and Jeremy Sisto, who played a slimy wanker in Clueless, a slimy wanker in HBO's Six Feet Under, and will likely play some slimy wanker in this film. These 7th grade girls look a lot more fierce than I ever did in all of my high school years. [As I recall, I was still playing with Barbies until the 5th grade.] Wes Anderson fans will recognize the film's soundtrack guy, Mark Mothersbaugh.

Now to regress back even further past high school: elementary school, specifically 4th grade. Dazed and Confused's director Richard Linklater's latest film, The School of Rock, will be released in early October. The poster had me worried about Jack Black's career. Then I saw the trailer. It's cute. Alongside Jack Black (who all of you T-D fans know and love), is the droll yet endearing actor and writer Mike White (of The Good Girl and the very creepy Chuck & Buck). With the combination of Linklater, Black and (hm) White, my better half will be happy to know that I am indeed looking forward to it.

[Seeing Mark Mothersbaugh's name, I decided to check what Wes Anderson was up to these days. Some of you Wes fans may already know that he's in pre-production for his fourth film, Life Aquatic. The cuddly Bill Murray and exquisite Angelica Houston have been casted. For the first time, he won't be sharing writing credits with Owen Wilson. Instead, he's teaming up with Noah Baumbach, writer of the wry Kicking and Screaming with a small role by Parker Posey in her indie-heyday, post-Party Girl and pre-You've Got Mail. I really miss those spank-n-smile roles. Sadly, her latest film pairs her with Chris Kattan in a romantic comedy, albeit set in NYC.]

meet your neighbor

. . .

I conducted a small survey made up of twelve short questions. The survey had no purpose other than to quench the curiosity about my fellow Minneapolitans. Folks were chosen at random. Everyone I approached, twelve in all, agreed to take the survey.

Click here to read the first four interviewees.


Neighbor #5



I asked if they would mind taking a survey. I repeated the question in my rusty, Peggy-Hill Spanish. They patiently sat through my wild hand-gesturing and butchering of their language, shrugged, and allowed me to take their photo.


Neighbor #6 & 7



They were sitting at a bus stop in front of the Gap. Neighbor 6: "What kind of survey? It better be quick." Neighbor 7: "Survey? Sure, okay. Do you want to ask us one at a time?" Neighbor 6: "No, she can ask us at the same time."

Where do you live?
#6: "Brookyln Park"
#7: "Minneapolis"

What do you do?
#6: "I'm a teacher." [where?] "at a middle school."
#7: "I sell produce."

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
#6: "I'd want to mind-read."
#7: "Oh, that's a good one. That's a good question. Well, I'd want the power to choose our government officials."
#6: "No, you wouldn't want to be in control or anything... ha ha."

In three adjectives, how would you describe yourself?
#6: "Interesting, kind, a listener."
#7: "Oh yes, I'd agree, she's a good listener. Well, hm. I guess I'm thoughtful... I'm fortunate... and I have a good soul."

What's your favorite city or town?
#6: "Santa Barbara, California."
#7: "Oh I've never gone there before!"
#6: "Well, we'll have to go now!"
#7: "Yeah. Oh, my favorite city. I like that question. I'd choose New York."
#6: "I knew you were going to say that!"

If you won the Powerball, what would be the first thing you'd do?
#6: "Oh easy, I'd set aside education funds for my nieces and nephews."
#7: "Oh, you thought about that already! Well, I'd put 5 million in the bank, and find ways to give the rest away."

In three words, how would you describe the United States?
#6: "I'll let you answer this one first. You're more opinionated than I am."
#7: "I would say it's still the best! ...and highly troubled. I think our common citizens need to wake up."
#6: "You mean, they're asleep."
#7: "Yes, exactly. They're asleep."
#6: "I'd have to say, it's irreplaceable. ["good one!" said neighbor 6] "Yes, and very troubled. It's a work-in-progress."
#7: "Oh I like that. A work-in-progress."

Do you own a gun? If not, would you?
#6: "No, and no."
#7: "Same here."

Who is your favorite movie star?
#6: "Kathleen Turner."
#7: "Ooh, Al Pacino! I like Meryl Streep, too."

What's the strangest thing you own?
#6: "A cadillac!"
#7: "Oh, I don't really have one. Oh, okay, a sail boat."
#6: "Yeah, you don't talk about that much anymore."
#7: "Yeah, I need a sailor."
I'll send you one.
#6: "Do you know one?"
No.

What's your favorite restaurant in Minneapolis?
#6: "P. F. Chang's"
#7: "Oh, I like Vincent's. I like restaurants that are independently owned."

Can you dance?
#6: "Social dance, yes, but not contemporary."
#7: "No!"

They said I should add another question the next time I do the survey.

What are you going to be in your next life?
#7: "I'd be an elementary school teacher by day, and a dancer by night."
Hm. What kind of dancer?
#7: "Modern or ballet."
#6: "I'd be a lawyer. Or a paralegal. But by night, I'd be a professional musician. Like in a band or orchestra."
#7: "Oh, good one!"
#6: "See what thirty years of friendship will do! I know how she'll answer these questions."

I had some penguin stickers in my back pocket. I asked if they'd like to have one. They both said yes.

impulsive shopper

I am very, very guilty of impulsive shopping.

When I'm checking out at Target, my eyes thirstily scan the racks for something fun and bright to purchase. A tangy new candy in a snazzily designed tin? In it goes. Lint roller replacement? Toss it in. Hand-held, battery-operated fan with spongy blades? Need you ask?

I try to refrain myself to one item per shopping excursion. Even gum will do the trick. Hey, I'm not proud of being a sucker for slick packaging created by some marketing asshole who always refers to himself in third person. It's just that it's so very pretty and cute. I like it. I want it. And if it costs less than $5, I'm gonna get it.

It could be worse. I could be a COMpulsive shopper, binging on thousands of dollars worth of crap every Saturday. Taking out second mortgages, facing a future of interventions by friends and family members.

So I guess what I'm doing is excusing myself for something I know I shouldn't be doing, but in the grand scheme of things, is pretty harmless. Hey, a pack of tissue always comes in handy. And if they're printed with little globes all over it, well, that's just a bonus.

uffda

Today, I said "You bet!" twice in a single phone call. Involuntarily. I had officially entered the rite of my Minnesotan passage.

I've spent four years mimicking "oh you betcha" and "yah, dontcha know" with embellished exaggeration. And now fragments of these phrases have seeped into my subconscious and slipped into my daily lingo.

I joked with a co-worker about this. After sanctioning my new midwesterness with a "well, how 'bout dat!" we talked about accents, slang, dialects. He asked why I didn't have a southern accent anymore. I thought about it. I grew up down south, spent two-thirds of my life there. I didn't consciously try to lose it; my accent was never that strong to begin with, to me at least. Sure I said "y'all" without thinking twice, but I never pronounced "oil" in a single syllable.

But even my modest accent stuck out like a giant smurf when I moved abroad after college. My London flatmates would giggle at my elongated vowels. I once chided my girlfriends with "y'all behave" and they had a near seizure. I was much more aware of my accent, but that didn't stop me from asking for the mawlt vinegar.

But somewhere along the way, I must've lost the y'alls and replaced it with "cheers" and "salut." With my multilingual mates, I spoke crisply and deliberately. I had to or they would never have understood me. After a year of whipping my lazy vowels into shape, I lost my little southern drawl. I kinda miss it.

I've always liked listening to different accents, poking light at local lingo. And I suppose that after four years, I was bound to pick up a little Minnesotan slang. I just hope I don't pick up "uffda." That's when I'll know I've crossed the threshold. Yuppers, you betcha.

Uh...hello

Hi S...and anyone else who might be reading. I've never blogged before, so if I say something offensive or just plain stupid, please forgive me.

I got your e-mail(s) this morning, inviting me to join up. So I did. I've had a personal computer for a whole year now, and I have yet to join a chat room, or a blog group or whatever the hell this is called. Nope...when I purchased a PC, I basically bought myself a $1,200 porn locator. It works, too...

Anyway, I thought it was time to venture out into the cyber world a little bit. So here I am. Out here...alone...in outer space...wondering why the hell anyone would care about my postings. So I'm going to hold back on this first one. I'll read what others have to say before I say my piece. My peace. My peas. More, please. Wait...did I just write a poem?

Joe Griffin

welcome

. . .
Hi, friends.

I've started this blog for folks to ramble about good movies they've seen, trips they've taken, anything little (or big) thing they want to share. I admit, I'm a little shy about letting folks read my journal entries. But I posted them to share with you, and I hope that you will do the same.

So, feel free to pull your chair a little closer to the keyboard and introduce yourselves. I hope you'll come and visit often.