Archive for June 2006
Fine
Ask me how I’m doing and I’ll tell you, “Fine.” Ask me again (“No, really, how are you doing?”) and I’ll tell you the truth. I’m feeling kinda lost. My life of late has felt like sound and fury, signifying nothing. My goal was to take this year easy, to stay off the road, play…
Read MoreGood
It was Family Weekend at Chez Wagner. My cousin Luke arrived from Bangkok Saturday morning. He’d been volunteering in a Bhutanese monestary for the last eighteen months. So his parents flew in from Colorado to greet him. His brother flew in from Chicago, two of his best friends from Los Angeles and Seattle, and with…
Read MoreThe Place Where You Live
I have the best ringtone ever. I was a senior in high school when R.E.M. released its first Warner Bros. record, “Green,” on November 8, 1988. The band had (of course) crawled from The South, releasing five sonically and lyrically unique pop albums on IRS Records and setting the bar for what would become “alternative…
Read MoreGardening At Night
I’m out to dinner with my mom. She’s been a Istanbul for the last three weeks, so there’s a fair amount of catching up to do. A lot has happened, but mostly, I wanted to tell her about progress on my Mr. Rogers documentary. Mrs. Rogers gave me her blessing for the project two years…
Read MoreLove, Rain, Or Me
I woke up slowly this morning. The windows were thrown wide. The screen door was open. A breeze blew through my bedroom. And then I heard the rain. The sky was growing light. The air was cool. The patter was soothing. The clock read 5:31. My alarm was set for 6:30. I decided to forgo…
Read MoreMedallion
Most afternoons around one o’clock, I take what I call (with respect to The Daily Show) my “Moment of Zen.” There’s not much to it, really. It’s basically a walk around the block. I head out the uptown exit of 1515 Broadway, walk west to Eighth Avenue, south to 43d Street, pick up lunch at…
Read MoreThat Helping Feeling
After three days of rain, the skies finally began to clear this morning. So Abbi and decided to spend the afternoon indoors at New York Presbyterian Hospital. I spent the wee hours of Saturday night online, executive producing MTV News’ coverage of the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. The show doesn’t air until Thursday, but it…
Read MoreEvery Little Decision
I knew right away that I didn’t need my sunglasses. The city was locked in clouds. There was no skyline to speak of, only a cool, gray drizzle. I stood there a moment, four flights from Abbi’s apartment on East 71st Street, already outside, already in my running clothes; there was no turning back. So…
Read MoreThunderstorm
Growing up in the Midwest, thunderstorms were an event. In New York City, thunderstorms are merely an inconvenience. Cabs become scarce, and pedestrians run for cover. Everyone disappears indoors and beneath awnings. No one looks up to relish one of nature at its most beautifully chaotic. In the Midwest, as Des Moines, Iowa, was reminded…
Read MoreX
On any given Thursday night, you will find me wracked from a long day at the office, reclining on the couch before the mighty television. Staring me down from across the shag rug, my guitar sits still and quiet as if to taunt me. It rests there, leaning comfortably, grinning, almost, as if to dare…
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