Chi-town Rundown
Current mood: enlightened
Category: Life

Everyone's been asking about "the weekend," and I've got a case of Vegas throat from rehashing the tale time and again today, so I figure a blog might at least save myself some carpal tunnel e-mailings.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, The Company sent me on a short-notice Sunday shoot to the Windy City (I could tell you why, but then I'd have to . . . resort to cliché), and it just so happens this is where Roger, the heretofore-unknown half-brother I've recently e-connected with lives. Ya know, eff that "half" stuff. Blood's blood. "Bro" it is. Broham, brocephus, brah – take your pick. Anyway, too much coincidence and convenience to pass up, so I decided to come in a day early and hopefully do the big dramatic meet-n-greet. Oprah was not invited.

Drove straight to his condo from the airport – a sweet pad (modern and glassy) right on the riverwalk at the edge of downtown. The kind of place Patrick Bateman might live if he weren't a psychopath. And I mean that in the nicest way; the guy had taste. Didn't check the CD collection for any Huey Lewis or Genesis, though. Wait, actually, I did, and Radiohead and The FLips set me at ease immediately.

As I'd never spent any real time in the city before, we tempered our whole familial bond thing with some neighborhood sightseeing, filling in our life-story gaps between art-fair booths and ethnic fooderies and pub pints. Then we caught the el train to Wrigleyville and partook of the madness adjacent to the ballpark on all sides – something completely unexpected – and those ticketless mobs love their Cubbies. The day was bookended with sidewalk dining featuring some groovy brunch at Kitsch'n and baked ziti at Maggiano's that evening (yeah, it's a chain, but was delish and dress-code friendly after a swampy day of hiking).

No italian-beef hot dogs, unfortunately. And while I actually did pack my video camera, not a single shot was taken, which I will forever regret. Further proof that laze can trump preparation any day of the week, and twice on Saturday. As for the personal details, well, they're exactly that, but suffice to say that we have a lot in common for a couple of Indiana boys who grew up hundreds of miles apart. Even if I've never raced cars professionally or acted in feature films with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale or managed a fund.

A great day it was, and hopefully only the first of many.

Currently listening : The Trick to Life By The Hoosiers Release date: 2008-04-15

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July ’08 Update
Current mood: creative

Time for another semi-annual update; lots to talk about. . . Be sure to check out Medialysis, where I post regularly about creative/industry stuff (writing, filmmaking, design, musicology, etc.) – I just gave it a slick facelift this week. Otherwise if I blogged here at MySpace much, it would mostly just be grumblings about culture-devoid suburbia or gas prices or the Chiefs season. And you can get that shit anywhere.

Alrighty, first up. Jason Kane conducted this in-depth feature interview with Yours Truly, now online at the newly-redesigned Oxyfication. You'll also find profiles of other artists on the rise (many who work in multiple mediums), reviews and essays, and a community of creatives with diverse interests. Really cool site.

Many months ago, my short story -Esque was published in the premiere issue of the Colored Chalk lit 'zine, each submission having the theme of "two guys enter a bar; one leaves." They're on their fourth ish now. Yeah . . . sorry.

Speaking of shorts, I had a very productive spring season coming out of a six-week workshop intensive with one of my favorite authors, the mad dermaphoric contortionist Craig Clevenger. Currently these tiny tales are making the rounds in various stages of rejection and acceptance, but in the meantime I'm hosting them here on my site for your enjoyment until/unless they get picked up, so read 'em quick.

No news on the novel publishing front. It's been a year, and despite my tenacity (and your encouragement – I thank you), self-publishing unfortunately looks to be nearing my horizon. Regardless, time for a new soul-consuming project for sure.

A few weeks ago, a fellow cinephile asked if I ever posted online movie reviews, and we all know if the Web is lacking anything, it's assholes with movie opinions . . . Anyway, it then occurred to me that I'd been posting these bite-sized critiques for friends on a creative forum for quite awhile, but hadn't realized their sheer quantity until I ventured to index them. So I now present my gFilms mini-site! Just a few thoughts each, but everything a snob needs to know before arranging that Netflix queue. Mostly from the last few years, but I'm updating it all the time with older (and newer) flicks.

In other news, Winebox is still on hiatus. Shannon and I truly feel horrible about the delay, but it's just been one thing after another in each of our lives obstructing the full attention it deserves. I assure you, though, tunes are written, throats are lubed, and codpieces are being fitted (maybe not that part), so savor your remaining days before the acoustocalypse.

I do have a couple more things in the oven that I wanted to include here, but they're just not . . . quite . . . ready yet. Stay tuned.

And finally. Several months ago I learned that I have a half-brother. I already have a half-sister, Kristi, of the same age – no secret there. Long story (buy me a beer and I'll spill it), but after the initial cardiac and rare maternal finger-pointing for having kept me in the dark, there's a connection taking place that I'm pretty excited about. Turns out, Roger, as we'll call him (because that's his name), is on freakin' MySpace! Are you kiddin' me? So I had a "Friend Request" into my half brother, with whom I'd yet to speak. Me, who grew up a so-called only child. But two halves are certainly greater than one whole.


Keep warm,

Gordon
_______________________
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. - Bertrand Russell

Currently reading : The New York Trilogy (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) By Paul Auster

7:30 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Tag, You’re It
Current mood: dazed
Category: dazed Quiz/Survey

Rules of the Game:

Once you have been tagged, you must write a blog containing 10 weird, random things, (facts, habits or goals) about yourself. At the end, select 10 friends to be tagged, send them a message ("You're It") and instruct them to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me back, let me know when you've posted your blog so I can see your answers.

1.) Once did three "three hour tours" (promos) with the cast of Gilligan's Island.

2.) Never been stung by a bee.

3.) I've written well over a hundred songs, but only a couple dozen I'd share.

4.) Worked 6.5 years in an underground limestone cave for a man who also lived there.

5.) For a short period, I shared a Guiness record as part of the team that created the world's longest man-made sand sculpture. Now I'll share a Guiness with anyone who'll buy a pint.

6.) I got to meet Cal Ripken, Jr. the night he broke the consecutive-games record.

7.) Haven't thrown up in twelve years.

8.) Mr. Platte County 1991. Bow, motherfuckers. (Can you say "peaked in high school"?)

9.) I'm the last male with my family name, yet want only one child, if any at all.

10.) I never learned to read. Okay, not true. But I can't whistle very well.


People I'm Tagging:

Caleb
Craig D
Rob
Roger
Logan
Bella
Kristi
KC Bluesbird
Bella
Nik

Currently listening : Once By Original Soundtrack Release date: 22 May, 2007

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A reading from the book of Major Inversions
Current mood: anxious
Category: Podcast

I've updated the promo page for Major Inversions, the novel I'm shopping to agents and publishers. Included is a reading of Chapter 12 (Mere Exposure). Just right-click and Save Target to download the podcast for later.


Happy winter solstice holiday of your choosing,

Gordon

Currently watching : Metalocalypse - Season One Release date: 02 October, 2007

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R&R in the O.C.
Current mood: rejuvenated

Now back on terra firma after a weekend in Orange County, CA with my longtime hetero lifemate T-Roy. He had a business function there this week, so I tagged to log some prelim debauchery with Jason, our tripod's third leg.

Spent one day up in L.A. (half of it in traffic) people-watching in Venice (finally got to see that little neighborhood canal of its namesake) and cruising through Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Sunset, and downtown, as T was a first-timer. There was a street fair in Huntington Beach ("Surf City, USA"), so we grabbed some mex and cervezas at a cantina overlooking the ocean with a couple of J's buds. Then it was off to to hoist some steins at Oktoberfest in a Bavarian village only 6000 miles from Munich. This is the real deal – seven straight weeks – my kind of crowd that I could return to nightly. Capped off with some stripper-hot St. Pauli frauleins in the haus serving up the Spaten. Called it a night after we tired of one of our entourage's incessant lechery with the wait staff, something I cannot tolerate.

Sunday morning it was seven hours of football at a nightclub that turns sporty during the day, where my Chiefs embarrassed themselves in front of a Chicago team that handed us the game. It was cool to know the score two hours before my midwestern brethren, though. Then T and I kicked it on Newport Beach where my Arrested Development pilgrimage was fulfilled (sadly not via Segway), yet my hunt for a Bluth frozen banana stand was fruitless. The theme continued through a screening of Michael Cera's Superbad and some houseburgers at the local greasy spoon. For the third consecutive CA trip, my lust for In-N-Out (um, the burgers, I mean) was denied, but at least this time I was sated by a reasonable facsimile.

Took a morning drive through Laguna Beach and into The Hills overlooking it. Beautiful. Though the rental car's handling left me longing for my own as I navigated the treacherous first-gear curves with one foot over the e-brake. I don't understand how people can pay millions for a house three feet from their neighbor. The view was truly spectacular, though (wish I'd taken a camera). Took in a ribeye lunch with J, and then it was homeward bound, where the Monday Night Football game was a welcome in-flight timekiller.

Overall: good times, best friends, perfect weather, not too much sunburn on my redneck self, and plenty of relaxation (though very little sleep). I've decided I'm gonna start prefixing all the interstates here at home with "the": The 435, The 29, etc.

Currently listening : The End Is Begun By 3 Release date: 24 July, 2007

9:45 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

7/7/7: What's Goin' On

So-called "vacation" is drawing to a close. Then Monday begins a few days in New York for a video shoot in Times Square.

I finished my book a couple of weeks ago at long last, and am currently shopping the shit out of it. Publishing is a numbers game, law of averages and all that, but I haven't been rejected this frequently since junior high. Good thing my regular career's thickened the dermis sufficiently. Anyway, if perchance you're sleeping with an agent who reps literary fiction, there's a value meal in it for ya if you'll drop my name. Might wanna wait until afterward.

I've not touched a guitar string in over a month. It's been refreshing, actually. But soon. Soon the rapture will reign down upon thee in a progressive blues maelstrom the likes of which . . . eh, not so much. But some stuff's in the oven.

Speaking of gestating projects, I'm brainstorming ideas for the next short film at the moment (got any?). I'll certainly be looking for assistance during production this fall, both pretty faces in front of and strong backs behind the camera. Given enough advance notice, I could maybe even write in a nude scene for you. Or some demo-reel-worthy soliloquy.

Well, enough of my yappin'. Stay warm.

G

Currently reading : The Raw Shark Texts By Steven Hall Release date: 10 April, 2007

9:22 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Still Employed
Current mood: relieved
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Well, as some of you know, today was "Black Friday," and I've survived this round. The Company cut 20% across the board, and my group is rumored to have lost up to 50% in some areas.

I'm still working for the same person (whom I really like), and my seven-person team is intact. Video and multimedia is apparently in demand and valued, and I'm coming off about a month of hardcore ass-busting. (Behind the camera, I mean, not what was in front of it.)

Lots more going on, but not much to say about it. Musically on semi-hiatus. Almost done with the first draft of The Book. Vacation starts tonight. Blah fucking blah blog.

But I do feel a little lucky. I'm sure it'll go straight to my head.

Have an interesting weekend, all.


G

Currently reading : Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto By Chuck Klosterman Release date: 22 June, 2004

9:45 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Mandatory Update
Category: Friends

State law says I have to provide this service to my friends and nemeses since it's been so long. So let's see what's been going on in my world. . .

Much of my free time (although never enough) has been spent working on my novel, "Minor Inversions," which should be done around February. Originally I was going to self-publish it, give some away and try to sell the rest on my site, GDotCom. But it's turned into something much better than expected, and I've put so much into it that I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least roll the dice and try to get it published legitimately. So that's the plan, and I'll fall back on self-publishing if things don't work out. Unfortunately, even if there's interest right away, the whole publishing process is frustratingly-long, so I appreciate your patience, those who are in rapt anticipation.

Musically, Shannon and I have been working up our duo act, and should be ready to rock your fucking socks off in a few months. We're used to having a slammin' band holding down the groove, and it's been really interesting figuring out how to strip down some of our favorite songs. It'll be a combination of originals and covers in every style of music, from torch songs to folk-blues to hard rock. I've been writing some cool tunes, and we'll augment those with some prerecorded tracks on stage.

Chiefs season is in full effect, so I've been riding the crests and troughs of our favorite team, with many, many Sunday afternoon hangovers. It's harder than it sounds to crack that first tailgate brew at 8:30 am after I was inevitably out until the wee hours just before.

Other time has been taken up with the blog I started a couple of months ago. I'd love to go on about it, but it's an industry/professional one that I'm keeping anonymous (yeah, I know, that's contrary to every whorish instict I've ever had. . .). That's part of the reason I'm not on here all the time detailing my favorite cereal-du-jour or petitioning The Monkees or whatever it is the kewl kids do on MySpace.

Thanks for lending an ear, and drop a note to catch up sometime!

Your pal,
G

9:10 PM - 4 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment

The Journey Begins
Category: Music

I've said it before, I'm no blogger (first one, in fact), but I get bugged about this kinda shit enough that I suppose there are a few who are interested. I started on The New Album this past weekend. . .

I figure it might take up to two years (last one did), so I'll be sure to post again when I'm done. =P Toying with the idea of putting out a song at a time as I complete them. Doubtful, though, cuz that tends to undermine the sense of accomplishment a whole CD gives. It's a helluva lotta work, folks, especially cuz I do everything by myself right here at home. A band CD would be a piece of cake by comparison, and it wouldn't surprise me if that actually happened first.

I'm taking a slightly different approach this time. Each song is going to be recorded as soon as possible after writing, and all of them will have the music and words written simultaneously (sounds silly, but that's a pretty novel concept in my world). I'll get down the basic tracks while they're fresh, and embellish later, instead of torturing over every little detail until I've sucked the soul out of it. Brand new stuff, too, nothing based on my massive collection of old "seeds and stems" idea tapes. I have nothing but Track One planned at the moment. Maybe one cover song this time.

And no, it shouldn't reeeeally take me that long to do this stuff, but I have a (more than) full time job, a few large personal video projects, and a book to do. Yeah I know, cliche, but fuck off; I'm halfway done, and it's good. =) So, wish me luck. And in the meantime, you can check out some of my older music at GDotCom

Hugs N Kisses,
G

PS - Anyone know how to change your regular myspace page to a Music page without having to create a new user?

8:13 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment