Coronavirus Virus Days 30 – Nerves

My nerves are shot. Stacey is on her way home from Florida and there’s not a child in the house washed.

What needs to be cleaned? Did I leave anything out in the wrong place? Do the windows need washing? Did I shrink our best sheets? What are those white patches on the towels? Was there always mold on that counter? Did I fold properly? Is there lint in the dryer? Why is there a spare sock? Why are there blotches on the glasses? Is the dishwasher broken? Should I clean the oven? Is that mildew? Are the pillows in the right cases? Is the bed made properly? Will Stacey still recognize me?

Me nerves.

It’s been blowing a gale up here the past two days. My sisyphus theory proved true, raking and blowing leaves in the middle of a forest is pointless. Theeeeeeeyre back! Thanks for clearing up the mythology reference Jenny Lee.

I usually cannot get the garden shed door to close. Today it blew shut and locked me in while I was getting the hedge clippers. I had the choice of phoning a neighbor to drive up and let me out and look like the idiot I am. I went with manly option two. I kicked the latch off.

Nothing disturbs me quite as much as an errant Bush. My disheveled bramble was bashing my bathroom windows with all this wind. It doesn’t bother me but keeps Stacey awake. Time for a trim.

As I’ve mentioned more than once before, since I quit the booze nine years ago, I made a pledge to see live music at least twice a month. I had lots of time and not a lot of responsibility. Last year alone I saw 38 live shows. For half of those shows, some of you accompanied me, a lot I preferred see solo.

This has obviously become a truncated music season but some of my favorites the last year were Muse, a rare combination of spectacle and real rockers. Bestie Hannah joined me for that one, her first MSG show.

A real surprise for me was Lionel Richie at Radio City. I went solo and cynically and had one of they most fun evenings of my concert going life. The man is an entertainer. And I will admit I got teary eyed for Three Times A Lady. My song of the night was Brick House, all kinds of cool hearing that 70s classic livex I also scored my best concert souvenir ever.

I did feel my age a bit at some recent concerts. A lot of shows were 40th anniversaries; ranging from UB40 in Huntington (with bestie Maria) to Stray Cats at South Street Seaport (with bestie Lauren) to Brian Ferry in Washington Heights Paramount theatre (with bestie/wifey).
Great music never gets old.

Here’s why I’m revisiting concerts tonight. Quite a number of bands are giving free virtual concerts to support fans and charities. Songkick has details. I use their app for tracking artists. WWW.SONGKICK.COM

Willie Nelson and Melissa Etheridge, amongst others, are performing free online this week. Andrew Bocelli has an online show tomorrow afternoon. I guess it doesn’t really make much difference if he has an audience in front of him or not.

I watched the Farm Aid live broadcast tonight. It was very easy to stream. I felt like Neil Young was playing for me alone in my living room. It got creepy when he asked for a sandwich. When you cannot get out to see these performers this is a pretty wonderful backup option.

My binge recommendation today is Paul Verhoeven films.

Since he started making movies in the United States this Dutch Director has produced some of the greatest pop culture over the top films of the past thirty years. Even his awful movies (Showgirls) have a high gloss trashy cult entertainment value.

All his films are worth a peek, but my three favorites are:

Starship Troopers (1997) – the most beautiful collection of male and female soldiers you’ve ever laid eyes on go through basic training and are sent to fight giant aphid aliens on a distant planet. Severed limbs and bloody thoraxes abound. This is an R-Rated comic book hoot.

Robocop (1987) – a murdered cop’s body is salvaged and melded into a robotic frame and primed with the directive to protect and serve. Robocop is an action packed thriller with a ladling of dark humor. It also serves as a commentary on consumerism; the fake ads are still hilarious. Robocop is often imitated never equaled.

Basic Instinct (1992) – this iconic trashy smash hit of the nineties still looks great. This film made a star of Sharon Stone, as crime novelist Catherine Trammall, accused of murdering a Rock Star. There’s of course that famous interrogation room scene. Get ready with the pause button boys.

Any Paul Verhoen film is worth a watch. He never fails to bring something different and extreme to the screen. Throw Elle, his controversial most recent film, and Total Recall, the Arnie on Mars classic, on your list too.

Sticking with the Dutch theme, I’ve read two books by Author Michel Faber. Both were odd, disturbing and stuck with me. The only thing stranger than his book, Under The Skin, is the movie version. I highly recommend both film and novel but they are definitely not for everyone. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as you’ve never seen her, nor I expect will ever see her again.