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For me, the lame part of the Sixties was the political part, the social part. The real part was the spiritual part.
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Sunday, June 6, 1999
One year ago: The Sugar Factory
Two years ago: Recharged For the New Millennium
I've joined another mailing list, related to a local swing dance organization. We'll be sharing ideas and brainstorming on how to make the local swing scene better. Actually, I think we have it pretty good around here, compared to what I read about in other cities.
Hey! Remember Dondi? (courtesy of Cardhouse).
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I caught up on some sleep this morning, then went down to wait in line for the Secret Festival. It turned out to be a good movie, one I enjoyed! So, time to evaluate the worth of buying a Secret Festival pass for next year. What were the results for this year?
So it's not certain that I'd buy the Secret Festival pass next year. Besides, none of my film buddies are buying it now, and that does take away part of the fun. On the other hand, it's a crap shoot every year, and I saw some movies last year that I'd have been sorry to have missed. What a dilemma!
* * * * * * * *
In between shows, I read my J.G. Ballard book, A User's Guide to the Millennium, which I've been reading for quite a few days. It's a collection of his reviews and short essays, so it's very good to read in line or while waiting for something. When A---- arrived, we started talking about the film we were about to see. "A bunch of French prisoners sitting around talking," he joked.
- Le Trou
(IMDB page for this film) I enjoyed this! Supposedly based on a true incident, with one of the French convicts playing himself. The long sequences of digging make us impatient, just like the prisoners. Well worth seeing.
After the film, A---- and I headed down the hill, prepared to walk or take the bus to the Pacific Place theater for the closing gala. We met up with Hyper Dan, who offered us a ride down there. He's a fast driver, of course! And such a fast walker that even though he dropped us off and went to park, he ended up entering the building at the same time as us.
There was a huge line outside the theater, at the top floor of the Pacific Place downtown mall. There were line shepherds telling us where to stand, so we wouldn't block the entrances to the other businesses there. I was amused by the woman and man, in fembot and Austin Powers gear, who were dispensing Starbucks coffee from a tank strapped to the woman's back. "So Tiny! Can't I have a full cup?" asked Dan. They gave him a second small cup, filled to the brim. A----, being a platinum pass holder, didn't need to stand in line with the rest of us, so he went in and saved us seats.
While we were waiting, Dan and I talked about why he has totally lost interest in dancing, but I'll admit, I still don't understand it. His thoughts now are only devoted to the movies he wants to make on digital video. (Mr. Toad, anyone?) We'd talked before about me doing a few things toward maintenance of the lindyhype.com site. It's a valuable local resource, too good to just let it wither away, so I'll probably try to keep a few pages up to date. I miss Dan as a dance buddy. What a shame!
The line we were in was so long as to be worrying (to me, not Dan) but the theater was large enough to hold us all, and A--- had saved us seats in the the area that he and I prefer. Dan decided to go more towards the front, but appreciated the thought. They'd reserved a lot of seats, some for the platinum pass holders, some for other VIPS, I think, but of course we didn't sit in that section. A---- preferred to sit a bit further back than that. We waited a good long time until everyone was in and seated.
Darryl MacDonald, the festival director, announced the Golden Space Needle awards. I suppose the results are reasonable, now that they've gone to a film rating system instead of a ballot-box-stuffing system, so I think I'll vote next year, instead of abstaining. The "thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers" remarks were kept to a blessed minimum.
- Austin Powers 2: The Spy who Shagged Me
(IMDB page for this film) I was suprised to learn that Michael Myers isn't the director of the movie, Jay Roach is. He said a few words before it started, thanking Starbucks for being a good sport. The reason for this became clear when the new location of Dr. Evil's Secret Lair was revealed. The movie overall was good fun, and if you liked the first one you will enjoy this one also. It didn't have the big ending you would hope for, though -- endings are hard in comedy. How to save your biggest, best jokes until the last reel? The only thing I really didn't like was the gross fat-hating stuff. I don't think he'd have done the same type of humor with any other physical characteristic. Anyway, most of the movie is funny, and the music is catchy.
A--- decided to stay at the theater for just one more movie, but the rest of our gang went to the party. I'd skipped this for the last two years, but this time I went, and I'm glad I did! Because of sponsorship from the Fine Line Studio and Starbucks, they had some money to spend on this, and it showed. (I was surprised to see two Fine Line feature trailers preceding the movie!) They'd chartered the monorail train to ferry us to the Space Needle and back, and had a fairly lavish party on the mid-level and the observation deck level of the Space Needle. There were bands on both levels, and the lower level was Monty Banks, a local swing favorite. I wasn't able to find Dan or Jon at a good time for dancing, though.
I had ice cream with some other film buddies, and crab cakes, and other good food bits. Cold non-alcoholic drinks were hard to find, but there was plenty of Absolut vodka around. I got my fill of the refreshments and talking, then made my way home. A fun evening!
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