Society have mercy on me

April 30, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I take it back. I take back what I said yesterday about patterns out of banalities. I do think that they are important. Or else is not our lives simply just a random series of events?!

Don pulled out his guitar last night and played for nearly 2 hours. I love it when he plays and sings. Is too bad that he does it so infrequently. Most of his music writing is all done in Logics and in the computer. There is a romance lost when it is not just him, guitar, some paper and a pencil.

I realized this morning that is possible that I actually have the life that I want - I simply have yet to find a way to enjoy it. I have been cultured to "think that you want more than you need / until you have it all you won't be free." Need to break away from that, need to enjoy what I have.

lyric from "Society" by Eddie Vedder

"These pieces are not confessions"

April 29, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

Over the last few weeks I have been trying hard to learn certain terminologies used by framers and in the framing business. We are down to the wires here a bit. I need to have all of my pieces (11, including one at 7 feet x 2.5 feet) framed and to New York in the next couple of weeks here. So I have been trying to understand the difference in price and workmanship and what am I really looking at here when one framer can do a job for $90 and another needs $260 for the same thing.

I have always been a believer of quality and paying for said quality but when you have over 20 piece to frame and you are hoping to at least make some of your money back when you finally sell a piece or two - $90 seems to be the way to go. But I digress. What no one told me whilst in my effort to educate myself about framing is that the $90 framer is buying pre-made, pre-stained frames from a supplier and the $260 framer is making it all by hand himself. Now, that I understand! Why didn't anyone just tell me that to begin with?

I was made aware of this essayist Megan Daum over the weekend at the LA Times Festival of Books and subsequently picked up one of her books. In the forward of this collection of Essays, "My Misspent Youth" she says that she is not "a person who keeps a journal. Instead, I;m inclined to catalog my experiences and turn them over in my head until some kind of theme emerges and I feel I can link the personal banalities to something larger and worth telling." I think that is perhaps how Don's mind works. Where as I am the opposite. I keep a journal, not everyday, but enough, and I like to catalog certain events as if the act of doing so will provide me with insight and an objective view to the individual events. Now and then, patterns emerge out of the series of banalities and I am attempted to try to grasp onto the pattern but then I think that perhaps I am overreaching and over interpreting. Or as my therapist would say - that I was projecting out the patterns to exert control over the situation. She was a therapist who was all about teaching her patients that they have no control and that shit just happens. I think its a good thing that I quiet seeing her.

Fortune Cookie Chronicles

April 23, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

I just finish reading "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles" this evening by Jennifer 8 Lee. A friend turned me onto it, as there is a 6 degree of separation between Ms Lee and I and my thought that Ms Lee might be interested in Wok the Dog.

So naturally being addicted to research as I am, I picked up her book and gave it a good read.
Needless to say, when a book starts with a quote from the New York Times "Mott Street Chinamen Angry - They Deny They Eat Rats" how could you go wrong?!!! She made me laugh aloud many times over - and often she made feel like the humor she shares are a private joke between us (two strangers with friends in common) - not just because the humor is poignant but also because we have similar upbringings.

At one point towards the end of her book, she say "this book began as quest to understand Chinese food. But 3 years, 6 continents, 3 countries, and 42 states later, I realize it was actually a personal journey to understand myself." Sometimes I think that is part of the mission of Wok the Dog as well. Our efforts to understand ourselves and this mix bag of cultural heritage whether its a pot of stew, a plate of salad or a bowl of stir fry, we are all trying to understand ourselves and the world at large through the very basis of food.

By the way - Chinaman do eat rats! I have seem dried rat jerky for sale in Guangzhou.

Rand to the Rescue

April 21, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

Suffering a crisis of faith today. Talked to a friend of mine who is notoriously afraid of commitment, marriage, children - he is expecting a baby in Aug with his girlfriend. Its not so much that he is having a baby that triggered the crisis of faith - I am not sure that one thing has anything to do with each other - I think its just a shock to the system - he is the last one I expect to have a baby.
I think I need to consult good old Ayn here - The Fountainhead is always good for times like these.
Sometimes I wish I was young and naive, that I knew nothing and feared nothing. Simply thought that if I gave it my all - then the world will open itself up to me. Knowing too much makes you afraid because experience has taught you differently. Experience has hardened you, robbed you of your innocence and made you cynical. Its hard to keep the faith sometimes.
"Innocence gives me confidence.."

In the Land of the Setting Sun

April 18, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

Reading the New York Times this morning, this art review of Olafur Eliasson - upon seeing the image that ran with the review, I immediately wondered if he was the artist that had created the most memorable piece of art that I had seen on the particular trip to London 5 years ago. Sure enough, Mr Eliasson was the genius behind "the grand setting sun he created from lights and haze at the Tate Modern in 2003. It was a one-piece blockbuster. Tens of thousands of people came to soak in its glow, as if they were at the beach. Or Woodstock. Or Lourdes." - NY Times, Hollan Cotter

Glad to have found you again. I hope your install at MOMA will still be up at the end of May - I am really excited to see it!

Why do men like carzy girls....

April 17, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

This was a conversation I had today via IM with a friend down in Mexico City:

2:59:20 PM Charlie Grosso: why do men like psycho girls? i don't get it
2:59:31 PM Charlie Grosso: but its lasting the longest
2:59:42 PM Charlie Grosso: that is gotta be something? no?
2:59:42 PM Eric: i was thinking about that..
2:59:48 PM Eric: it's exciting at first..
3:00:27 PM Charlie Grosso: or is it like that there is a built in fail safe - it will never be real since they are crazy to start with - its made to self-destruct eventually
3:00:28 PM Eric: then you realize that their disorders cause them to be different and interesting at first, but in fact have impeded those people to have the kind of social and exploratory experiences in life that would make them genuinely interesting..
3:00:36 PM Eric: then they share the suffering of their disorder with you..
3:01:08 PM Eric: ..and then you decide that they're actually boring..
3:01:52 PM Eric: this girl i'm seeing now still hasn't revealed any serious craziness to me though, after 2 months- so whatever her problem is, it must be REALLY serious..
3:02:18 PM Charlie Grosso: maybe that is why you are still interested. you have yet to figure out what kind of crazy she is yet.
3:02:40 PM Charlie Grosso: i am telling you - its the built in fail safe thing - i am convinced!
3:02:43 PM Eric: hah
3:02:58 PM Eric: usually i get bored of nice, sane girls..
3:03:07 PM Eric: but i've been having a lot of fun with this one..
3:03:26 PM Eric: maybe it's because she's not a goth, that she's not crazy like the others..
3:04:02 PM Charlie Grosso: goths are crazy - that is my opinion - having been one myself - i think i can say that without being too much of a bitch
3:04:20 PM Charlie Grosso: all that black is way too hot in the summer time!
3:04:26 PM Eric: yeah, but many of my closest friends are goths.. or crazy.. : )
3:04:36 PM Charlie Grosso: not practical at all -
3:04:38 PM Eric: yeah, being goth in L.A. is a mistake : )
3:05:10 PM Eric: but a little pink and a bad haircut (and a labotomy) and you can convert a goth into an EMO! : )
3:05:22 PM Charlie Grosso: haha that is pretty good!
3:06:06 PM Charlie Grosso: i like how the description of a EMO on the show was skinny black jeans and eye liners - wait is that not almost the same uniform as a goth or a punk?
3:06:17 PM Charlie Grosso: well i have long ceased to like james in anyway.
3:06:34 PM Eric: well, honestly, Michael isn't the best person to authoritatively define these people
3:07:42 PM Eric: i've been tortured by quite a variety of psychotic, histrionic, borderline, manic nutcases!
3:08:10 PM Charlie Grosso: you ask for it though - you are seeking them out in many cases - you just admited that you like them crazy!
3:08:57 PM Eric: well, it's not that i wanna date crazy girls, it's that i find their quirks amusing
3:08:57 PM Eric : ..and intriguing sometimes..
3:09:15 PM Eric: ..until i get sick of their shit..
3:09:52 PM Eric: i can think of these two weirdo goth girls now, that i dated in the last few months.. both very hot, both socially odd, both teases..
3:10:04 PM Eric: ..i eventually lost patientce for their games..
3:10:32 PM Eric: heh, some 23-year old mexican goth girl just sent me a myspace friend request..
3:10:36 PM Eric : why are they all 23?
3:10:42 PM Charlie Grosso: do you see yourself as some sort of cultural anthropologist who wants to understand this weird species of women and you are simply trying to imbed youself (in more ways than one) and get a close look on the inside?
3:11:12 PM Charlie Grosso: because by the time the are 28 they are fat and preg and have husbands that likes to drink?
3:11:39 PM Charlie Grosso: or they are career driven and wants to marry someone who will give them a leg up in the world?
3:11:41 PM Eric: the answer is yes, i see myself as some sort of cultural anthropologist..
3:11:46 PM Charlie Grosso: i don't know...
3:12:15 PM Eric: my pep talks to my friends about surviving women have be requested to be written so many times that i've started toying with some idea for a book on the idiocy of american man-women relations..
3:13:02 PM Charlie Grosso: why not ? my friends in publishing tells me that fiction doesn't sell - people like non-fiction apperantly
3:13:07 PM Charlie Grosso: i don't get it but ok
3:13:24 PM Eric: i detest the thought of being published
3:13:29 PM Eric: this is purely for my own amusement
3:13:36 PM Charlie Grosso: you could write a book about dating goth girls
3:13:42 PM Eric: heh
3:13:47 PM Charlie Grosso: you could publish under a false name
3:14:04 PM Charlie Grosso: it could be so good! i love the idea already!
3:14:30 PM Eric: i'm not sure if i wanna write some kind of Houellebecq/Bukowski-esque story of my troubles and conquests, or if i wanna write a technical service manual for women
3:14:34 PM Eric : well, for men, but on women
3:16:37 PM Charlie Grosso: maybe a mixture of both - you could start with a narrative and then pepper in chapter at approiate times of these dry technical manuals on women and then switch back to the narrative! it will be brilliant !
3:16:48 PM Charlie Grosso: don't waste this brilliant idea!!!!!
3:16:55 PM Charlie Grosso: don has taken to news leacher
3:17:01 PM Eric: um, not a bad idea, but it's so bourgeouis!

Practice Radio

April 15. 2008
Los Angeles, CA

I had some friends over last night to help quiz / prep me for this radio interview I have tomorrow. Evan Kleiman of Good Foods on KCRW is gonna interview me about Wok the Dog for a segment of her program.
I was glad to have the practice, cause something a simple question is not so simple. For example, how did it turn into a series? The answer is long and complicated and not really radio friendly. The exercise almost made me feel as if I didn't know how to answer the most basic questions about my projects and what I do. Its a strange experience.

I wonder if we should get back to the travel story at all, the rest of the journey through Tibet and China? We are already planning for the next trip, June, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

====
maybe I should...

December 5, 2007
Lhasa, Tibet

We have been to the top of the world! and now we have returned to Lhasa. I was eager to seek out this lamb kabob vendors for dinner. Before we had left for EBC, we ate with them every night we were in Lhasa. They set up a medium size tent with a small characol stove in the center with tables and chairs around them forming a U shape. They only sell lamb kabobs, for 1Yuan you get one metal stick with 4 tiny bits of lamb meat on it with 1 piece of lamb fat in between. It was seasoned with a mixture of spices but coriander was a predominate flavor. It was delicious and cheap! We would have about 10 sticks each with a biscuit to share and we would be happy and satisfied.

We got to talking with the Lamb Kabob couple quiet a bit these evening when we ate at their stalls. They were Tibetans from a province that was south of Lhasa, they have a 6 year old boy that they left at home with their parents. They sent money home every month cause they can make better money selling Lamb Kabobs on the street than they can working their farms back at home. They live in a one bedroom apartment near the Portola Palace and only gets to go home once a year to visit their parents and see their boy. The couple can sell kabobs from 5pm-6am in the summer time and make as much as 6000 Yuan a month. In the winter months, they sell from 6pm-3am and may only bring in 2000 Yuan monthly.

The couple were as nice as they come. Warm, welcoming, friendly, open - I really liked them. Salt to the earth! I liked visiting with them every night and hear about their lives. It made me sad that they don't get to spent much time with their child but this is not the first time where I have heard similar stories in my travels.

We eagerly went down the ally heading to the delicious lamb kabob stall that we have been thinking about all day - at last - they are not there!

a prayer and a wish

April 13, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

We saw Eddie Vedder again last night at the Wiltern.
During the first encore, towards the end, the lights were dimmed so that you could barely see anything, eddie started to sing, without words, just guttural sounds, he then looped it and then sang on top of the loop. That was then looped again and eddie continued to sing in conjunction with it. Only guttural sounds, in the melody of "Hard Sun." It was a religious experience!
It was prayer and wish from eddie, from all who feel the plight and suffering of humans, wordless prayed for and wished upon.

Eddie was calling

April 11, 2008
Los Angeles

Sorry for the long absence, there are much news to report, but I must hold off on a day or two to get a few more hard facts before I can share them with you.

In the mean time, desperate for some R&R, and since Don and I are unable to have anytime off without leaving the city, exiting the house, we headed up to Santa Barbara to see Eddie Vedder on his little two week solo tour.

I was quiet a bit nervous at first. What if he only plays the songs from Into the Wild? Will there be any Pearl Jam song? What if Eddie is not good just by himself? What if this is the start of Eddie's new solo career? Well, Eddie did not disappoint! He played for nearly two hours, a mix of covers, PJ classics, and of course tracks from Into the Wild.

My love and respect for him is renewed every time I hear him play. All I needed was to hear him sing "I am Mine" and let deep tones of his voice resonate within to know that there is something magical about what he does.

Thank you Eddie!

Home at Last!

April 6, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

Home...
I made an embarrassing mistake when I attempted to come home to LA on Thursday 4/3.
I arrived at JFK, after much ado via subway and then air train, with a suitcase that is too heavy (damn my portfolios ! Must make lighter ones). The automated check in machine rejected me and told me that I was too early to check in for my flight! So I went to the counter, only to find out that my flight back to LA is for the following day, 4/4.
I had the option of paying difference in fare or take the air train then the subway back to my friends, work, lug my suitcase up the many flights of stairs and then only to have to repeat the same exercise again in less than 24 hours.
I paid the fare difference and came home. I couldn't believe how I had been confused. This whole 10 days I was in NY, I was convinced that I was flying Thursday, so naturally, I did not schedule any meetings for Thur afternoon or Fri morning. Why would I?
My only consolation is that had I stayed in the city for another day, without much to do, I probably would have just spent money on things I don't need.

I am the April Fool!

April 1, 2008
NYC

Today is the worst day on this trip so far. I dropped my book off at Nylon this am, had a little bit of time to myself to visit a few galleries and what not, was feeling pretty good. After lunch, I ran up to Conde Nast to pick up a book I had dropped off there, only to find that my book has been shipped back to LA. Sans book, I had to cancel my meeting with an Ad Agency and run back down to Nylon to get the one I had dropped off this am. I have more meetings tomorrow and the next day and since I only came out with 2 books, and am now down 1, I thought it would be best to pick it back up, since now I am paranoid that it would get shipped back too! Of course, they have not looked at the book yet, so "Hope" (yes, I actually named my portfolios) came back untouched while its sister "Faith" is in transit back to LA.

Entirely waste of a day!

However, I did stop by Printed Matters and took a look at my friend Valerie Phillips new book, I can't believe a girl is playing Metallica and its BRILLIANT!