A bluebird in the backyard woke me up. Damn the noisy bastard. Haven't seen him all summer so he's back. Hope says she hates Nature and loves towns. How refreshing.

John also has a fun relationship with family pets. No kitty-poo nonsense. Some mild, fond abuse as all friends deserve and mete out every now and then. He needed a there-there as he got handcuffed and locked away by the pigs for selling his DVDs in Union Square Park. Don't they have better things to do? Law or no law, there has to be some judicious appreciation of what makes New York New Yawk.

And then he got jumped on in the nabe. A bias crime that also makes New York New Yawk. I'm sure it confirms the worst for his folks back in lily-white Ottawa. I am a little worried that it will affect his green card application. Must call him and give him Scrappy Dave's number. He was the only attorney who even suggested I apply for A-1 and made me Alien of Fuckin' Amazing Ability, and to national interest to boot. Boot is right since every one thinks I'm overqualified for any mildly interesting job.

Back to John. He came over for lunch Saturday. Dee's idea. She stands by people. Rare. Of course it doesn't excuse her from not picking up beans and collard greens from Harlem, but she did make up for it by buying me a pound of coffee from Sahadi's. She loved it. Esp. the dinky non-deethnicized Arab stores on the other side of Osama Avenue. Great afternoon hanging out and shooting the breeze.

What a rare week. Made three new friends I feel: John, LH and Raju (OK OK an old acquaintance refurbished after 30 years). Raju still carries the torch for Neena. Funny how schoolboy crushes die hard. Karl sent me pics of Mounties reunion. How appropriate it was in Colorado. Anyway, since Raju hopes Neena is old fat and ugly, I haven't had the heart to tell him she still looks gorgeous from what I can see from the pics on the web. K and Ken I would not have recognized on the street. They are looking good, prosperous and - yes, aren't we all - hitting, ahem, youthful middle age! Boo looks the same. Barbie same same. And I don't know who Quack's sister is. Maybe she was very junior. Hmm. Do I contact some of them I wonder? Life is so life-consuming here.

Raju has a phenomenal memory. Watched my tape of old pics. That place was so Hogwarts I can't believe it. Except for the owls. Our share of witches, natch. He was a fount of rude nicknames, some best forgotten. SSRM: Short Strong Man from Rangpo! Called me Puppet and a shim! Told him I was shimmier than ever. That got him going with all sorts of indelicate questions that I was happy to answer in lurid detail. Heehee!

Still plays a mean guitar. He said, had he been able to stay for my Thursday dinner, he would have played "And the Wind Cries Mary" for Hope. Somewhere a queen is weeping... Somewhere a king has no wife.... Nice. He told me it was fun to make friends anew not just meet up school buddies. And it came via Buddhahead connections - Zette's friend Judy in SF. who she says I've met when we were doing the Tibet Film Festival.

I am glad Raju is here. America is good for him. As it is for me. I told him my mother once sighed she had sent the wrong son to the US. Bobby would have made tons of money as an MD. I think she is wrong. I am sho' glad it was me. A doc is a doc anywhere, not that he's doing anything about it. What the fuck would I have done with those liberal arts degrees anywhere else? I don't even claim them in verbal resumes: when people ask me where I went to school I say Little Flower School and wait... Hehe.

Gotta get going. NYFF press screenings starts today. Haven't even read the Sunday Times; I was so busy finishing up the AppalSeeds proposal. Then Tim came over and we dissected his dating life. Same old shit. Kept trying Venn diagrams when I was positing my "marrying-up and marrying-down" hypothesis for same sex couples. I think he was too dense for it last evening though he blamed the Samuel Barber violin concerto distracted him. I think he saw glimmers though. I do harangue my friends. Fond, mild abuse was meted out.

I need lights! Must get more Christmas lights. It was so dark out in the yard no-one could see anything. I mean the candles and the antique lamps on trees were fairy-twinkly and all but they didn't do much when it can to seeing what was being served!

Three kinds of dumplings - Chidu liked my "Do you like dumpling? I dunno. I never dumpled" ref. - served with pomegranate sauce, miso soup, steamed watercress, tofu. Nice, nice, nice. Couldn't have done it without Tomiyo's help. She's the only person I know who is a good cook AND a good baker. Anyway, everyone showed except that Foreign Ministry guy. Don't know him so I can't say I missed him. But Mickey came and finally met up with Hope. After all these years. So glad that worked out - Mickey's been dying to see her after I told him about her in DC. And she looks great after that huge hike in Wales. Much get that Through the Green Door book by Nigel something or other.

Chidu was here too - always a blast with him. Prabal was brought by Steven so who knows how my fashion project will go? Works for Cynthia Rowley he told me, to which I said, wot? who? Tickled him when I told him my dumplings dinner was because he was coming. Told S there'd be four queens at dinner but I think there may have been five. Six? Hehe... Tania came with Peter and Pascal. I wonder if we've priced the Appalshop benefit tix too high? Peter seemed to think so. Coffee on the St George rooftop after shortbread and berries-and-ice cream at T's afterwards. I was relieved not to run into Rich in the elevator!

H left early having to go back to Bronxville; Mickey and Chidu too, being called away on assignment - the downside, of many, of being close to political Pooh-Bahs. And T tells they ran into Peter riding the elevator up and down at the St George subway Hehe.

Time for my nap before Greg calls from Portland. This budget is killing me. How much money should I charge? Hmm. I meet up with Dee, Kathy and Roberto at Heddy's do tonight. She's sposed to be on NPR at 12? What happened? Was it yesterday? Missed it like I missed H's picnic at Bethesda Fountain?

Must get together with Hope privately. I like her ideas. Which prolly just means we have the same outlook. Ha!

Well here goes. Welcome me!

Wish I had kept my comments and stuff from my previous website. It would have been great to put it here. I guess I just have to start anew one as soon as I have time to relearn GoLIve. Remind me not to date a webdesigner again. Ha!

But I can do only one thing at a time; which is not usual given my multitasking ways. Each project is at that think-and-write stage.

Shot off a couple of emails to Gangtok - Hope L and Arthur (at least I hope that addy was Arthur's) - to get some figures.

My proposal for the film conferences is half done and I need to hunker down again. Dee vetted/gutted/proofread it. Who does she think she is, talking to me like that? But wow! what suggestions, what clarity. Its a better writeup now.

I don't know where Greg is (maybe Seattle? NAMAC?) and whether Sanjoy is back a base. Email makes it hard to remember where people are physically, especially the kinds of people I know.

But the ideas are shaping well. They are new and builds on the Appalachian experience in China.

OK I will make my posts more specific in a few. Never even kept a diary before, much less something lovers and other strangers can see. So I am not sure about the public/private thing. It will affect what I put up. Who reads other people's stuff anyway? But hey, Anne Frank wrote with publication in mind!

Anyhow, I am glad I am on as I propose a blogger site as part of the film/media coference. I should do as I say, no?

Today's Bobby's birthday. Won't wish him a happy as usual. I've got to clear the air with him.

Now how do I get pics on to this thing...