A New Day at Midnight, A New Cat at Dusk

I've decided that she is my outdoor cat. Her name is Anew, because: (1.) David Gray has a great song called "A New Day at Midnight," and (2.) Midnight is a very common name for black cats. When I first moved in to my new, downtown Phoenix condo, this black cat ran in while my hands were too full to stop her, like she owned the place. She comes around every time I get home from work, so I've decided to feed her and dub her my outdoor cat. The other neighborhood cats are jealous, but I think they understand. It's a territorial thing. It's a dibs thing. Also, I've always wanted a black cat. When my first cat, Amazo, stops hissing at her through the window, I might let Anew in again. Sure, black cats are supposed to bring bad luck . . . but what if bad luck was there first, and you treat it right? Can you turn bad luck around by realizing your just a guest in its house?

*****

The Karaoke Chronicles: T.O.I.L. I was excited to discover recently that Hazelwood's First Place Bar & Grill has a very decent selection of David Gray songs ("Babylon" is usually the only one to be found), so I signed up to sing "The One I Love." When David includes this song on concert song lists, it's abbreviated "T.O.I.L.," which I think is an ironic way to describe the one you love, but you can't find the alphabet, plain and simple.

You also can't fight a large lady on her fifty-third birthday. Hazelwood's has a Celebrity Room apart from the main bar, and I like to sing to the folks that think they may be safe from the karaoke. In this case, when they saw the title of the song, they were more than eager to have me dance for their birthday girl. They didn't suspect the gravity of the song, and honestly I didn't let it stop me from simulating a lap dance, to the best of my ability. So, I was singing lines like, "I'm leaking life faster than I'm leaking blood," while this rather large woman slapped my butt and pulled me onto her lap. I sang, "Don't see Elysium, don't see no fiery hell" when my head was in her chest. Well, I guess David got that right.

So, "The One I Love" is a song of juxtapositions. I'm really not surprised.

*****

GB: The Pitch Internet rumors have long circulated about a third Ghostbusters film. I have a better idea. GB:NY. Hear me out.

GB:NY is an hour long comedy/drama featuring a new branch of the Ghostbusters in New York, with aspirations for nationwide franchising (i.e. GB: Chicago, GB: LA, etc.). GB:NY would feature a different aspect of ghost-busting, since the use of nuclear accelerators on one's back is prohibited in a post 9/11 New York; now, the Ghostbusters have to find and isolate the specter by figuring out why it hasn't passed into the afterlife. (This would save a network quite a bit on its SFX budget.) Each episode is a mystery, with an opening teaser that features regular folks discovering a haunting (like the old, "Hey, is that a body?" motif in the Law & Order series), followed by an investigation that plays like the library and sewer scenes in Ghostbusters I and II, respectively. Of course, the Ghostbusters still trap and contain ghosts, much to the EPA's chagrin, establishing an ongoing civil subplot. An ongoing series allows writers the chance to fully explore and exploit the hilarity of the genre, like Venkman did, but also integrate some of Winston's smoldering spiritual curiosity. Further, shot with a handicam like The Office, with the CSI plot unfurling formula, GB:NY could combine the most successful motifs on television today with one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.

So . . . who are ya gonna call?