We were sick most of the last two weeks, but got back on our feet and went a few places this weekend.
On Saturday we went to the Mia Marie Winery on Highland Valley Road, only three exits and four miles up the winding road from Anne's place. Astra Kelly was playing, which was a treat since she had just moved to Arizona and I wasn't expecting to see her in town again. Then again, I hadn't seen her play since before COVID, you know, before so many things broke down and don't feel as real anymore.
Some things I wanted to point out: she let's you know where she's going to be appearing and brings swag to her shows. So many creative people have completely forgotten to send out newsletters. I would get to more shows if to performers would give any kind of advance notice. Half the time, I only know a show happened when someone posts about it on Facebook it after it's over. And most musicians have given up on bringing actual items -- CDs, anything you can buy -- to help them out. Honestly, a tip jar and a blurb about how you can find their stuff somewhere online (sometimes followed by mumbling about how the downloads don't pay shit) doesn't really cut it. Astra brought her new release on vinyl, several past CDs at a reasonable price, some of her aromatherapy items, and other bits of projects I never knew about. Apparently she is now the voice of a cat on Instagram. That is how you do it.
One thing she had that I had never seen before was a "download card". That was a little plastic card like the ones you get Google Play points on, except it has a URL and a code, and if you enter the code at the URL then poof, you get the download as promised. As a pleasant bonus, she included both MP3 files and high-fi WAV files. You can find her here.
(Nov 3 note: we saw her again today, this time in Ramona, and she had her whole shop with her again. It was nice seeing people walk over and check out her things, and Kim at the wine counter was talking about how "crafty" she was. If we don't let people know what we do, how will they ever know?)
That was inspiring for whenever I have an upcoming event. I would rather bring too much than not have anything to show.
Now on Sunday, we went down to Balboa Ave to check out Book-Off, a big jam-packed bookstore where I found the first Dresden Files novel a few weeks back. I didn't really plan on spending any money, but there was a gorgeous, like-new four volume set of all the Elric stories. Michael Moorcock had always been inspiring to me, from his writing style and imagination to his works on Blue Oyster Cult albums. I enjoy when someone can be creative across art forms and genres. I root for underdogs and far-out creativity. This set was not cheap, but once in a while I see a definitive set of something, and feel like a collector again. I had to have it. Throw in a nice trade paperback Game of Thrones for $5.
Meanwhile, I got the new Jeff Vandermeer book "Absolution" from Barnes & Noble, and it dives right back into the crazy creepy Southern Reach world that started with "Annihilation". I expect to ramble about that in the future. Jeff and Ann Vandermeer have edited many magazines and projects, and I even submitted a story or two and I was never accepted, and they wouldn't know me from a bump on a log, but I can enjoy being a fan sometimes. Anyway, I believe today was the official release date, so poof: mentioned.
As for the Dresden Files, I read book one (Storm Front) again, and it's such a quirky world, a real gem. It is hard to make a supernatural setting that's even 10% different from all the rest, and these books have character to spare. He does get beaten to a pulp more than he should be able to recover from, but that mix of crime noir and White Council shenanigans is classic.
We watched the whole series, and I have no complaint about it: I thought the cast did a fine job, and don't care that they had to shuffle the episodes or make monsters easier to film. Paul Blackstone was top notch although blah blah he doesn't fit the exact description in the book. He gets points for personality and holding together the mix of humanity and madness. I've read pages and pages of gripes and production issues, but I enjoyed it back then, and just as much this time around. My only complaint was that it ended after only 12 episodes.
One of the monsters in the Storm Front episode, loosely built on that first book I had just read, replaced an ugly toad demon with ... big John DeSantis from Master and Commander. Hey, I knew that guy.
John was an all-around nice guy every time I saw him on or off the set. After M & C, it was always a treat to see him guest star in my favorite shows, from Supernatural (a golem) to Stargate (Jafaa warrior) to all the other places he showed up, and in 13 Ghosts, OMG he was terrifying. It must be weird to only get the meanest, most evil roles when he just wanted to kick back and chat -- he definitely knows how to use his looks and voice. I always wish him the best out there in show biz.
Here is a shot of John DeSantis and I from the Master & Commander wrap party 20-odd years ago.
Memory lane ...
So this has been an indirect tribute to the people we meet in this mad creative life. They feel like friends when we see them at shows, or at conventions, or on the page or on the screen. Maybe we never actually sat down over dinner, or went on road trips together, but "acquaintance" never felt sufficient. As for the fictional characters, they fill niches in my mind in other ways.
BTW, all or most of the Dresden Files books are available as audiobooks read by James Marsters, who has a great voice to these. I enjoy listening to them with Anne after hours.
I wrote 8 or 10 poems while Astra was singing, and I hope some of these things help to rip more works out of the depths and onto paper.
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