The first 10 pounds are the hardest  . . .

and after a week on my current regimen, I have lost eight of those first ten. The loss will be slower after this week, but I am motivated and sticking to the plan, so I know that there will be less of me to love during the coming months.

 

"Then why does he blog?!"

The following comment from Paul Stanley of Kiss reflects my attitude with sharing certain aspects of my personal life. Read and heed --- besides, it is further proof that positive life lessons can be learned from Kiss and "Seinfeld."

Q: You always read about Gene [Simmons]'s girlfriends and Gene has books and everything, why don't we hear that stuff about you? Is that a choice, or don't people ask?

A: Most people don't ask. You put it out there if you want to talk about it. Stuff starts because you keep talking. I've chosen not to. If I tell you I came in last night on a flying saucer with Elvis, I would have to wonder why you would believe it. But people do believe stuff. My private life is private. It's not for public consumption as a rule, and I try not to embellish on that.

I made a cameo at karaoke last night, as I could only stay until 10:15ish. I was able to do one song that I had never tried before, because I didn't think it was available. But the KJ said that she knew she had it, and there it was, under "N" in the song listings book --- ? and the Mysterian's "96 Tears." What a great song! I would have tried it any time during the past year if I could have found it. And I swore I looked everywhere possible for it, including "N" in the song listings book! If it is not there next week, at least I can take solace in the fact that the whole thing was a Fortean mystery . . .

I am extremely proud of my article in issue 36 about the films of Jean Cocteau, one of my favorite and most-inspirational-to-me artists. He was a true poet and considered everything he did --- films, novels, plays, ballets, paintings, and so forth --- to be different forms of poetry. If you have never seen his film "Beauty and the Beast," rent it with his "Orpheus" and prepare to be enchanted. The reason that I am so proud of it is because this was the first freelance article I ever pitched to a magazine --- and they not only accepted it, but made it their cover story. 

This is issue 40, in which my second Filmfax article, about the film collaboaration of Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel, appeared. Yes, it was the most highbrow article that issue. 

This is issue 42, in which my original version of the Osamu Tezuka/Astroboy article appeared. 

Support your local film historian!

 
If you want to seem "hip," "with it," and "now" to your friends who like to keep their fingers on the pulses of international pop culture, coerce them to your favorite bookstore (nationwide chain or local, most stores should stock this magazine), flip the shiny, brand-new copy of FilmfaxPlus (#103) open to page 96, point to the byline, and say in your best off-handed, devil-may-care, name-dropping voice, "Yeah, I know this guy."
 
Indeed you do. For he is me! That is, I wrote the article on Osamu Tezuka --- creator of Astroboy and many other beloved anime figures from the 1960s and beyond --- that appears in the current issue. My byline even reads, "A Filmfax classic by Joseph Warren Perry" (the editor's opinion, not mine) . . . probably because this article first graced the pages of Filmfax more than 10 years ago, and evidently being more than 10 years old makes something classic. Hey, I'm not arguing! Nor am I arguing with being paid twice for writing an article once!
 
If there is a run on this issue before you make it to the store to purchase your very own copies --- one for reading, another for bagging instantly and keeping in mint condition --- you can order copies by visiting www.filmfax.com.
 
Speaking of my Filmfax oeuvre, I am going to post the covers of the three back issues in which I have had articles published, all available at the aforementioned website. If you haven't heard of this internationally distributed magazine, you owe yourself a favor by checking it out if you are a fan of films --- especially horror, mystery, and science fiction --- from the silent age through the late 1960s. I can't post the cover of the current issue because it is soooo hot off the presses!

Making thousands jealous . . . yet again

I received a notice on my Blogger sign-in page that I am eligible to sign up for Google's new G-mail. I let it sit there for several days, until my son brought up G-mail and how cool it is, as well as how hard it is to get an account. We looked on E-Bay, where dozens of folks are selling --- and, amazingly to me, bidding on --- G-mail accounts to the tune of a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars! Yes, I can be a step or two behind on pop-culture news when it comes to tech stuff. I told him about the notice (which, it turns out, only 1 out of every 20 Blogger vets received, if memory serves), and he went nuts when I let him have my opportunity at an account.
Then I found out I could also create my own account! So I am hipper than I know. Friends who know me, e-mail me using my full first and last name @gmail.com. Internet weirdos who don't know me will have to be content using the anonymous comment feature . . .
Also, props to the A-Man for helping me get my blog back to the way it is supposed to look!

Have a fantastic Independence Day weekend, everybody!

Eighties night was, well, eh.

My son and I are headed to see Rush in Portland tomorrow, which should start the Fourth of July weekend with a raucous bang. I actually de facto gave up on ever seeing Rush live again circa 1981 when they played a reggae version of their rock classic "Working Man" on the "Moving Pictures" tour at the Oakland Coliseum. That was a bit much for me; because of that and their sometimes-oddball cultists/loyalists, I never listened to Rush's subsequent releases until the very strong "Vapor Trails" was released two years ago. I don't hold personal or musical grudges very long usually, so for their 30th anniversary tour, I figured it was time to forgive and forget. After all, their body of work from their first 10 years rocks extremely well, and they still have rock's current finest drummer, Neil Peart, at the top of his game (not to short change Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, both amazing musicians in their own rights). However, according to web site reviews, guess what they dusted off for this tour? Yep --- the reggae version of "Working Man" that they haven't played since 1981.

Scary-oke!

Three different karaoke venues, three different nights . . .

Monday night is fun karaoke. Saturday night karaoke lately has been iffy karaoke --- sometimes fun, sometimes a bit sketchy. Wednesday night karaoke is now officially, in my opinion after three visits a few weeks apart, scary karaoke. Scary as in stuff I don't even want to make note of in this blog (no stories directly involving yours truly or friends in attendance), but suffice it to say that if Hollywood wanted to shoot "Barfly 2" on location using locals as extras, the location search is over. I think that last night was my final visit to that place, ever. Hmm, what's this listed in the Weekly? "Kung Fu Karaoke" on Sunday night at a fourth venue?! Sounds interesting . . .

Tonight marks my return to Eighties Night in so many months that I cannot even fathom a guess as to the last time I attended. To say I have missed it would be stretching things quite a bit, but reflecting on it, I do miss the aspect of a few extra hours on Thursday nights spent with friends, with an eighties soundtrack pumping in the background. Last year between July and, oh, Novemberish, I attended every Thursday night possible. Then I went coooooold turkey. There used to be a couple of "political" reasons that soured my wanting to attend, but those are both historical footnotes now. I can attend tonight, relax and converse with buddies, have lots of opportunities for people watching, and still get eight hours sleep afterward. Not a bad Thursday night plan.