Current mood:	satellite
Current music:	Elvis Costello- "Red Cotton"

Weakness was his talent.
The new Elvis Costello record is absolutely gorgeous. It's streaming for free on his website-- http://www.elviscostello.com. It's a decidedly bluegrass and country-flavored affair, no real percussion to speak of. It's twangy and it's southern and it's graceful in a way I never thought I'd hear in a record made up of ragtime, chunky slide-guitar ballads. It's strange how someone from the skinny-tie new-wave English scene from the late 70s recorded what is, from what I've heard, the most authentically "American"-sounding record of the year. It's also remarkable to me how someone with 30 years of making music is still releasing consistently strong albums so prolifically-- 10 full-length records in this decade.

Next Sunday I'm going to go see the Jonas Brothers: The 3D Experience movie with a group of stoned film students too numbed-down from school to really take themselves too seriously anymore. It's funny-- they say most schools make you loathe your career of choice. I find it a small victory that these Italian Neo-realism kids aren't so up their own asses anymore that they can take a couple hours to get stoned and watch the pelvic gyrations of the Jonas Brothers in 3D. I mean, I'm as much a Cahiers du Cinema wannabe as they are (and probably even more so), but even Truffaut didn't take himself so fucking seriously. I also reckon Truffaut would've probably been a JB fan.

I went to a Gay party called La Fiesta Plop last weekend. And while I had an incredible amount of fun, the first few minutes were the most out of place I've ever felt anywhere-- ever, and that's saying something considering I feel out of place 80% of the time. I felt like I was violating some sort of code by being there-- walking through the crowd I'd feel like everybody was staring at me. It only took a few minutes, some drinks, a "Pokerface" remix and reaffirmations of my sexuality by means of my partner being shamelessly salacious to really get into it. The evening ended with a 7:30 AM subway ride with one of the transvestites who was with our group and kept talking to me about "Lost". All in all, one of the strangest and most wonderful nights I've ever had.

This was followed by a visit to Buenos Aires Chinatown-- which isn't really a chinatown per se, just a bunch of Asian-owned and Asian-themed (sort of) business strewn across a few blocks in uptown Buenos Airess-- and then a Korean-operated karaoke bar with La Cosa and her friends (hear us perform the Smiths classic "How Soon is Now" here). And it's been lovely and wonderful and nice. But then something happens-- a small, insignificant thing-- and everything comes crashing down because I think this is some SIGN that everything's doomed. I mean, nothing this good can last, right?

And that's what I meant in my last entry when I said my life has been an emotional rollercoaster. It's been extremes all month long. It's pretty ridiculous. Things are okay but I feel my neuroses taking over from time to time and I think I'm so guarded but really it takes very little to completely disarm me. Fact of the matter is, I'm doing okay-- things are fine, my romantic life is picking back up-- reluctantly, but still picking up! But I find enough negative feelings and dread in me to weigh it all down. And I come here and I whine. And you think of these things as teenage histrionics, or teen angst-- the word "teen" always preceding it, as to diminish it. But then you're past twenty and all of the things you were supposed to grow out of-- all that fear and insecurities and neuroses and paranoias-- they're still there. And you're fucking 22! Fuck, I mean, does it ever end?

I don't know. I'm taking it easy for now. This weekend promises to be nice and relaxing. And really, that's the best I can hope for for now.

Happy friday, everybody!