weather
It's 82 degrees F. Some are outside in shorts. I put my shorts away last weekend. I guess I'll get a pair out for today.

Cremaster 1 and Cremaster 4
Definitely the event of the season. Some ticket holders were mysteriously guided upstairs to the balcony of the Byrd Theatre. I viewed Cremater 4 and Cremaster 1. The five parts are scheduled in such a way that you cannot view them in order. I've decided that 4 is shot backwards. If I reverse the events in my head it makes some sense although not a lot. 1 is more concise. It takes place in one location and the events are related. Although, why I don't know. What does a woman arranging grapes on the floor of a dirigible have to do with dancing women on a blue football field below her? The dancing women make formations in the shape of the graped symbols. The music in the dirigible is echoed by the music on the playing field.

You can read more descriptions and see a trailer at cremaster.net. Two parts out of five is all I can handle. The last three parts are tomorrow morning. What was more surreal than the movies was the crowd outside after the show. The next event, this afternoon at the Byrd, is a family cowboy-style Saturday matinee with sing-a-long. I left the theater accompanied by mostly art students in their regalia. We emerged into bright sunlight glinting off of a hoard of middle aged cowboys and cowgals. I think the cowboys were more stunned than we were. We were beyond stunning.

The surrealism didn't wear off until I finished grocery shopping. Everything from moving my parked car down the street, to standing in the natural foods section contemplating tofu, to picking out pomegranates had an ethereal atmosphere. I expected Mr. Barney to jump out with a camera.

I enjoy having my awareness heightened by art, whatever the artist's intention may be. Even if the artist had no intention at all. I'm so immersed in normalcy and social compulsion that it takes a pretty big kick to get me where I need to be to see the world as the artist that I am. This is a situation I hope to remedy some day. Soon. Eventually.

I have published my first iMix. You need iTunes to view it.

If gatherings can be judged by their edible offerings, then the VCU Friends of the Library Fall Lecture can be labeled a success. I wasn't the only one guiltily returning for more stuffed mushroom caps. The chicken kabobs were left almost untouched. I wish I had tried one sooner. I had too many of the rolled pastries filled with marzipan and drizzled with chocolate. Barboursville provided the wines, of which I drank the Chardonnay. Someone told me the Merlot was also quite good.

I thoroughly enjoyed my status as outsider drifting through the cozy group of Richmond's insiders. No one was overdressed but I did get that mildly startled "Who are you?" look from just about everyone. Except Karen, who introduced herself and started up a lively discussion about the house, VCU and the Bococks. Thank you, Karen! Also thanks to the sweet woman who made me feel welcome and showed me where to hang my coat. It was fun to soak up the atmosphere of this historical landmark while listening to tales of it's residents as told by someone who had actually lived there herself. I never did find out who the portrait of that woman was embedded in the mantel-to-ceiling mirror in the sitting room.

Besides reading from her own book Never Ask Permission, Mary Buford Bocock Hitz also read from Lang Gibson's book, which thrilled me because I designed the dust jacket and photo plates. I didn't see Lang there and I can't now find the passage Mary read. The title of Mary's book attracted me to the reading but I did't hear anything about how Elisabeth Scott Bocock, the subject of the book, forged ahead without asking permission. I guess I'll have to read the book.

The Scott House (919 W. Franklin St.) is yet another fine example of VCU caring for the community's legacy. This house was built and lived in by Mary's parents. Elisabeth, her mother, was a strong proponent for historical preservation in a town that is second to New York in registered historic landmarks. (It is the capital of the old south and just up the river from one of the first European settlements in this country.) Anyway, back to the Bococks ... Elisabeth was a person who could look into the future and see trends and their interactions. She made her children ride the bus even though they lived in an ornate, large home. She also made the family walk a mile and a half to church on Sundays. She preferred her bike to a streetcar. She fought to preserve the trees, too, as they counteracted the pollution generated by that new invention - the automobile. She also started up various institutions, many still thriving and benefiting the city today.

Elisabeth had the opportunity to grow up with her vision intact, resources to put them into practice and social connections to keep them going. Once again I am impressed by how much life is a crap shoot. For every Elisabeth there are a thousand born with the same energy, sensitivity, intelligence and motivation who are cut off at the knees by fate.

Today's message from artwells: Thursday is a mouth. Nourishment enters at the edge of the voice.

I wonder if there is such as thing as opera stand-by tickets. What about haven't-sold-them-yet-here-you-go-last-minute-tickets? Operatini got me out of the house this rainy evening – so now I know what it takes. I missed the hour of martini drinking and talking, which is good because I didn't know anyone and I'm still amazed when someone I don't know finds me an interesting specter and addresses me. There was a sikh with helmet head and a blonde so dressed to kill I figured she must be in the wrong place. The sikh, I don't know, but the blonde turned out to be the famous lyrical soprano Mary Ellen Schauber. I feel guilty now about giving her my "Who are you?" look. She sings perfectly. I really enjoy great phrasing, strength and perfect pitch. If I had an extra $30 I would have bought a ticket tonight for the performance this weekend. I lust for season tickets.

The non-martini program (no drinks allowed downstairs) was quite good, running the gamut from intellectual analysis of a fable to demonstrations of the ancient art of Comedie del Arte. Talk about your spectrum! Well worth the price of a $5 martini (not required).

I discovered that I don't really like martinis unless they are flavored with banana or apple or chocolate. I hate gin. So although James Bond will talk to me there's no chance of a long-term affair. ::::sigh:::: It's incredible that people have been writing for centuries but have only just discovered the emoticon.

Next event: the VCU Friends of the Library lecture. They know I'm coming now and are quite okay with it. In fact, I may be forced to talk to someone since Kim told me she's looking forward to seeing me there.

Richmond's Event of the Season
... has to be the showing of The Cremaster Cycle at the Byrd Theatre at the end of the month. I may be able to handle three of them. 1-3 can be seen in order. But 3 is three hours long. There's an intermission but I may need more than that after watching 1 and 2.

I'll also be attending "OperaTini" (not a tiny opera, but martinis with the cast of Virginia Opera) and the fall lecture at VCU (though they don't know that yet), I love opera and martinis (in moderation—say one every three months). I also love free food and wine (this is where VCU comes in).

Now Listening to:Pecularioso, Leo Kottke
Latest scheme: Make a living as an illustrator

Can there be a point to the mutilation of beauty? Christpher Reeve is dead. Is this a lesson in flying too close to the sun?