A big happy birthday shout out to my Da, Andy!

(And, your present is on its way.  And, it is not McCabe & Mrs Miller.  You will get it next Wednesday.)

But I use this clip below just to show what a massive and positive impact my father has had on me.  On how I look at and appreciate life, and art, and politics, and good manners.  And, how to understand that I am still gonna screw up sometimes, and that I have to own up to my mistakes when they happen, and then try not to repeat them.  He has been a superb model to me for what it means to be a good citizen, and a good person.  Just what a father is supposed to do.

He is also hip enough to appreciate the work of someone like Robert Altman, who brashly fought the Hollywood system with unorthodox sound, editing, photography, story, film length, etc; but still hungered for and thrived within many of Hollywood's most traditional practices.  Altman truly was an Exile on Main Street.  

That is one of the many reasons I love Altman's work.  Maybe Andy agrees with me.

Happy birthday, Bud! Hope you guys have a great dinner tonight! You guys going to Palace?

--M

Another bad-ass Aries: David Letterman,

Born April 12, 1947.

I can not tell you how much Mr Letterman has influenced my art and life.  I still use lines of his ("I don't know what that means.") and deliver jokes in the exact same style as him.

My Da, Andy, was the person who turned me on to Letterman in the Spring of 1983, when Letterman was still on NBC.  I remember telling Andy the next day that I did not get it, did not think the show was all that funny.  He said, "You have only seen one show.  You have to watch it every night."

Boy, was my Da right.  And, I watched every night for over ten years, even moving over to CBS with him in the 90s.

I do not watch the show now, and I doubt it could ever be nearly as good as the 80s NBC glory years with Pee Wee Herman, Brother Theodore, Sandra Bernhard, the Top Ten Lists, Stupid Pet Tricks, Brush with Greatness (I have a brill one, by the way, but have never been anywhere New York City), Viewer Mail, Chris Elliot, and on and on, ...

Happy birthday, bruvver Letterman!


Mwah, ... 

Mum called yesterday and told me

That the house we used to live in in Dallas is up for sale.

Here are a couple of pictures:

The tree in front was not there when we lived there.

The round "hobbit window" (as we liked to call it) has not been changed.  Nor have the steps and doorway.  They also kept the gravel driveway to the garage, which seemed odd to Mum and I.

I lived here from about fourth/fifth grade up until my freshman year of high school at Arts Magnet. We moved in the Summer of 1983 to Austim.  My room is through the windows on the left.

It is great to see the pecan tree still there.  We would harvest tons and tons and tons of pecans every other year, freeze them, and then Donna (my Mum) would make pecan pie and chocolate pecan pie with them.  

A lot of really great memories at this house.  I really hope whoever buys it loves it as much as we did.  

All my love, 

Michael

This must be the greatest Twelve Days of Michael's Birthday

In a very long time.  The best days have been the last four:  Day Five (dinner w/ my folks at Metro); Day Six (Dinner w/ my folks at our house and Renee makes a stunning risotto, profiteroles, and serves a delicious burrata, too.  Plus, we watch the brill movies:  The Art of the Steal and The Trip); Day Seven (my folks treat us to a scrumptious dinner at Rivoli); and last night, Day Eight, which deserves some special mention.

Day Eight began w/ me seeing a beautiful, giant wild turkey, strutting his regal way past my bedroom windows. Work was work, I threw the load, ho hum, but then, I bought my birthday present on my walk home, an iPod Touch (just 8gb, which is fine for me.)

But Meghan hung out w/ us, bringing us amazing pizza from Rotten City Pizza in Emeryville.  She also brought over vodka for martinis for the girls, and made yet another one of her sterling green salads.

Meghan & Renee (iPhone Gurls both) got me all hooked up and running on my new toy, and we were like a bunch of teenage gurls on a sleepover, constantly texting eachother, even though we were all in the same room.

We watched Bedazzled (the good Peter Cook/Dudley Moore/Stanley Donen version) and then some really crappy girly teevee.  I think I even asked Meghan if she did want to stay the night.

(By the way, if I ever am in another band, we will most definitely be covering this song.)

************

When I talked to Nick C this morning he said he had had a girly night, too.  He got in his jammies, had popcorn & ice cream for dinner and watched a bunch of v girly teevee.  There must be something in these Aries stars right now.





All my Aries love,
AH












"I want cake and pie."