Will Jack Ryan Save Us Next Time?

I just got in from a “Sum of All Fear” screening. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a film junkie. John Wayne’s “Sands of Iwo Jima” is in my DVD player. And as you’ll recall, I just screened the better part of the Kubrick box set last weekend.  I love big dumb blockbusters just as much…

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Standing On The Edge Of The Ocean

I was in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, all weekend with my brother and his wife, though I mostly kept to myself, reading, writing, running, riding… sleeping. Friday night, the moon was almost full over the waves, Wildwood’s ferris wheel glowed to the south. I spent hours and hours sitting on the beach staring out at…

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Pretty Lucky

I’m a little out of breath, a little sweaty, just in from a late-night ride along the river. And what a ride! Man, every time I’m out in this city, I fall deeper in love with it. The moon cast diamonds on the Hudson, a beautiful brine smell rising heavy on the cool wind, the…

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At Least I Can Fake It For You

As a kid, I used to doodle in the margins of my notebooks: self portraits, rocket ships, airplanes. As an adult, the tendency has manifested itself as writing track listings for imaginary CDs that I’d record were cost — not to mention demand — non-issues. So, I thought I’d share the current doodles. I’d call…

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Bleeding Out Loud

So. Where to start. What to say. I’ve spent this Saturday alone in my apartment, watching a Stanley Kubrick documentary, and “The Shining.” Perhaps not the best way to spend a day that began in a dark mood to begin with, but fitting, perhaps, what with this unseasonable cold snap, the wind and rain. Last…

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Skipping The Second Half Of The Question

I broke up my twelve hour work day with an absolutely excellent rehearsal with Julia and Todd. Julia and I were harried. I sprinted into the studio from work she was on her way to a sound check. But Todd was there before us, ready, and chill. We raced through the set twice and, man,…

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The Optimist Has Returned

Despite the soggy, windy, waterlogged day, The Optimist has returned. I just got in from rehearsing at Julia’s apartment on 2d Street and Avenue B. It’s a little lived-in place with odds and ends in every nook and cranny: masks from around the world, rubber flies and spiders, shelves and shelves of CDs (from Dumbhead…

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Tribeca Talks ’02: Martin Scorsese, Jay Cox, Richard Price

Of my rocknroll fantasy, a friend from L.A. said to me yesterday, “Your in the wrong town.” I think about moving to L.A. frequently. About relocating the rock star dream there. The Hollywood Dream. Celluloid Dreams. I have the requisite screenplay under my belt (“Mo’ Hart,” a coming-of-age film about an aspiring — surprise —…

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On Cellos And Blueberry Pies

I’m not sure if it’s been inordinately foggy this spring, or if I’ve just been staring out the window a lot, but, well, the fog’s rolled in over Hell’s Kitchen again. I just got done typing out all the chords and lyrics to next week’s set for Julia. She’s the cellist who was once in…

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What Would Frank Black Do?

I’m in the middle of the mailer making process. It’s the first one in ten years to have me — my face — on it. It’s a really overlit, straight-faced, U2-kinda’ photo, basically (plus some text). I didn’t have anything else, or any other iconographic ideas, so… I hope it’s not too pretentious. It’s actually…

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