Saturday Night Goodies

David and I headed West last night for a couple of hours. We hit two bookstores (didn't find anything. Haven't found anything at either store, unfortunately, in months.) I had phoned Dick Blick earlier in the day and was happy to discover that their West Los Angeles location carried the Molotow markers. Unfortunately, they don't have the replacement tips or the extra fine empty pen cases but I managed to find a few new colors that had to go home with me.  We popped on over to Westwood for (forgettable) pizza and yummy ice cream cookie sandwiches at Diddy Riese. The line for ice cream was insane but we passed the forty five minute wait talking about movies, books, you know, the things we love. We managed to get to our car before the meter ran out. Parking in Los Angeles can be crazy but weekend nights always seem to be the worst. We rarely go out on weekends (as I'm usually working) so it was a nice treat. We ended our trip out at one of our favorite bookshops, Book Soup on Sunset. We reminisced about how we miss the days when they were open until midnight and how easy it was to pop across the street to Tower Records or Tower Video. (Virgin Megastore is gone, too. We're lucky to have Amoeba Records still!)  I always loved Tower Records. When I was a teen, I'd take the T (train) from Wollaston, MA to Downtown Crossing in Boston. I'd walk around to all of the local record shops (the small, indie ones as well as Strawberries, an East Coast chain), through the Commons and then head up Newbury Street to Tower Records. I loved how my parents trusted that I was able to take the train, find my way around and stay out of trouble. I was always a quiet kid who could get lost in art, books, movies and music. I spent a lot of time day dreaming (I still do.) It's nice to have found someone who shares my passions.  Back at Book Soup, I was ecstatic to find Volume Two of Julie Chen's Handmade Books. Happy dance! I bought it (hopefully to encourage them to get more books like this as well as to support an indie shop that I love so much.) David found a couple of books in the bargain section. David pointed out that they expanded their recommended section which probably spells trouble for both of us! I always love their recommendations. I noted that both the Bunuel and Cocteau books I mentioned yesterday were on their recommended shelf along with a few others I have on my own shelves.  Home to Tristan and a family viewing of The X-Files. Tristan has been asking to watch it every night. With over ten years of episodes, I think we'll have something we all can enjoy watching for some time.  I ended the night staying up late reading Bunuel while everyone else was snoring. I've got about twenty pages to go and I don't want it to end. Like director Akira Kurosawa's autobiography, I've enjoyed it immensely. I appreciate books where the author talks about not only their experiences, passions and thoughts but they also open your eyes to new perspectives. I loved hearing about Bunuel's life as one of the Surrealists. His thoughts and idiosyncrasies made me feel less alone in my own strange mind. It's well worth a read even if you've never heard of Luis Bunuel, it may make it all the better! Now to bug David to watch some of our Bunuel films on dvd and laserdisc. "I am the sum of my errors and doubts as well as my certainties. Since I'm not a historian, I don't have any notes or encyclopedias, yet the portrait I've drawn is wholly mine-with my affirmations, my hesitations, my repetitions and lapses, my truths and my lies. Such is my memory." Luis Bunuel