Flora Fling's Filings

Willie Nelson's 4th of July Celebration

I went to see the most obscure (concert) movie, Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic. First of all, I have never been to Anthology Film Archives and I have no idea why. Its an NYC cultural institution. Secondly, this film brought back a flood of childhood memories of growing up in Texas in the 70's. It ocurred to me during the film that my parents were in their late 20s/early 30s during this time period. It felt very strange to sit in a dark theater in New York City watching this familiar time period unfold.

My parents used to take me, my brothers and cousins to the honky tonks and when it was bedtime, they'd put us down on a blanket in the corner, covering the sawdust floor. And we'd sleep. Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Charlie Pride or the local band blaring through the speakers. One parent would stay at a table near the blanket and the rest would be drinking, dancing, smoking --- honky tonkin' as they call it. (Note to all hypersensitive parents who think their child's enviroment must be endlessly controlled, I'm proud to say we all turned out normal.)

The nostalgia was so intense I felt if someone had opened a door and told me I could walk right back into that time period, I would've and it would've felt completely comfortable. My cousins, my aunt and uncle, my Oma and Opa, watching The Dukes of Hazzard, playing Nerf football with my cousin in the street....

It made me realize how (s)crappy everyone looked when "country was cool" but also what a musical genius Willie Nelson is. His career has gone on forever. Seeing him so young, back in the 70s, was fascinating. He's the same old musical icon, he just looks like my grandad now.

Happy 4th!

Like Sands in the Hourglass....

My neighborhood has changed in the past year. The social network I really enjoyed has moved into another, less dynamic phase. I used to really enjoy the people I would see at the coffee shop but it has now turned into a more vanilla, generic customer base. Some of the regulars still make an appearance but the group of people flowing in and out now has a different energy.

A friend, after 10 years in the burg, moved away this week. This means I won't see him on the streets or join him and his son at the playground anymore. The hottie bartender at the Thai restuarant is going to law school. I was there on Wednesday with the new bartendar. It just isn't the same. Another friend got married to someone in DC so he's a "commuter husband" now.

Life ebbs and flows but I'm hoping for a little re-energized vibe.

The End of Two Eras - Part Deux

As I stated in Part Un - some of my colleagues don't understand the signficance of losing Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Both were a huge part of my childhood. Farrah was the eptiome of sexiness in the 70s, back when I was a girl and didn't know what exactly "sexy" was (though I know Rod Stewart was singing something about it "If you want my body <and you think I'm sexy>).

Michael got weird as he became older but he was still a complete genius as a musician and was one of the artists of the 21st century. He moved the video age from its crap one shot white backgrounds, into short movies, a la Thriller. I remember MTv playing the 15 minute (15 minutes!!) video every hour, on the hour. It scared the crap out of my little brother who would run out of the room in fear.

The obit news montages remind me of how he was on the cutting edge of music, videos, advertising, superstar. You can't wrap him up in one paragraph.

 

 

 

 

 

The End of Two Eras - Part Un

What a sad day. Some of my colleagues at work are too young to even understand that today was the end of two eras, the 70's and the 80's.

Farrah Fawcett and her amazing beauty and her hair. I found a website that started playing the Charlie's Angel theme and the music instantly cheered me after an evening of watching sad news about Michael Jackson (he gets a separate post).

 

Dry July Part trois

I'm feeling a Dry July coming on. I have categorically dismissed the music producer (he won't do as a summer fling), I need to focus on taking care of myself, discipline, blah, blah, blah....same as every July.

Can I do it once again?

My first tri....

My first triathlon after two years. I lost last season due to a broken foot.

Seduction

I'm beginning to think seduction, James Bond style, is dead. Sigh....I fear seduction may be dead altogether.

      

Hump Island

I learned at the bachelorette party there is a place called Hump Island.

"If you had to be on a deserted island with three men, who would it be?"

Hmmm....well that didn't take long. I would take:

1) Donovan McNabb

   

2) Barack Obama

 

3) Daniel Craig

Recovery

I am still recovering from my (soon to be) sister-in-law's bachelorette party at LBI in NJ this past weekend. The theme? You guessed it, penises and cocks. I never heard so many joke references about those two words in a 48 hour period. Note the penis shaped cookies and the fact that some of them have blue balls.

 

As it turns out, LBI is the land of the unironic t-shirt. The men in the bars had t-shirts that said things like "Local Celebrity" and "Dante's Peak" ?!!?!?

T-shirts, jeans and flip flops at the bars. I was not yet ready to see "man feet" this season.

A good time was had by all though its taken me about three days to recover from being up late two nights in a row.