anywhereisbetter

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how a shift in my musical tastes has left me thinking that I must be getting old. Since then, whether by simple coincidence or subconscious effort to recapture my youthful ebullience, I’ve gone through a bit of a personal renaissance. Instead of the usual weekend activities, which usually consist of following a well-travelled path from bar to bar or hanging out with friends at home, I’ve mixed it up little. It’s good to get out and actually do something else.

This isn’t to say that my typical weekly activities are wholly without merit. On the contrary, there’s a lot to be said for hanging around the house with a bunch of great people having good conversation. Of course, adding alcohol to that equation by taking that same crew to the bar can be a good time, too. Sometimes good ideas are spawned from these conversations (along with plenty of lousy ones), and some perfectly healthy group activities–Sunday morning mega-brunch, for instance–develop from all of this. But taking a step back, I realize that I could really benefit from looking a little harder for things to do. Life didn’t always seem so… sedate.

So in this spirit, here are a few of the things I’ve been up to that make me feel somewhat reinvigorated:

The Lyres with Sky Saxon and the Seeds at the Knitting Factory.

If you haven’t seen the Lyres, you probably should. I hadn’t seen them since they played the Las Vegas Grind (RIP) more than 6 years ago, and I’m pleased to report that they’ve still got it. Though I’d like not to sound like some hack at Rolling Stone, I can’t resist saying that their organ-heavy garage sound really did rock me from beginning to end. Sky Saxon and the Seeds were terrific as well, but the Lyres really stole the show. I will not be missing their next show in NYC.

Ice Skating at Wollman Rink

I’ve already posted about this, so I’ll keep it brief. We’ve gone three weeks running now, and from the sounds of it, a fourth is in store. This week’s crowd was especially teen-thug heavy, but it made it kind of exciting. One guy wore a mink half coat and donned a thick head of Al Sharpton-style hair. Another couple were so dressed up that they might as well have been coming from their wedding, and the whirling dervish known as “Goggles Guy” was there yet again, tearing things up in his dorky but endearing kind of way. Time is running out on our Saturday night skates–the rink closes in mid-march–so I want to get as much skating in before then as I can.

The Third Man at the Museum of the Moving Image

The Third Man is one of my favorite movies of all time. The playful smirk on Orson Welles’ face as light is suddenly cast upon him in the doorway is an image I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Every shot, every shadow, every line of dialog (written by Graham Greene) seems meticulously deliberate, all without feeling manufactured. Pardon me for gushing. Ahem.

It should also be noted that the Museum of the Moving Image has quite a few great exhibits right now as well. While waiting for the film, we sipped on coffee and watched a collection of presidential campaign ads from Ike to W. Included in these was the infamous 1964 campaign LBJ ad, in which the image of a pretty little blonde girl picking petals off a flower is shockingly juxtaposed with a nuclear explosion. In a post-Cold War America, the sheer brutality this image might seem positively hilarious, but in 1964, I bet this scared the living shit out of people. I’d vote LBJ, too.

Yeah. It feels good to get out and do things again. Maybe this week I’ll go skydiving or something.