The Furnace: February 2005

HOUSEWARMING FROM HELL: The story that won't go away...

Not too surprisingly, the perpetrator of the verbal assaults at my most recent event has requested me to cease and decist all references to him on my site, supposedly on the grounds that I refer colleagues to my website which could jeapordize his future career. And while I don't necessarily feel that a) there's much career to jeapordize or b) anyone who would be reading through my blog would be doing so to research FX artists for low-budget independent films, I am complying with his request in the interest of putting the issue to bed for both parties. This means that the mini-movies I posted within this blog will no longer be active links within these pages, and as well, all references to the individual (let's call him DICKHEAD for my purposes) have been removed, save his own post in response to Part 3 of my trilogy. So if you're really feeling masochistic and bored, you can read through his rebuttal in the "COMMENTS" section on that blog entry.

It is oh-so tempting for me to post herein a rebuttal to his rebuttal tit for tat, but mostly, I'm just not into perpetuating this crap any further. The experience sucked: I felt as though I'd lost a friend (more to it - the illusion of a friend), or, at the least, a talented colleague whom I planned to gainfully employ, and my pride isn't as such that I feel the need to hang onto the issue when I wanted it to die well before it grew into this monstrous bit of ugliness in the first place. Perhaps this is an ironic statement since I posted my short video takes on this blog for all (and by all I mean my few friends), but I do and did have my reasons. As I then pointed out, the videos were more of a creative exorcise since the whole thing had left me feeling rotten, everyone at the party was either pissed off or confused (or both) and no one really knew what happened (will we ever know? probably not), and, lastly - c'mon, folks - that voice message was gold (how often do you get that kind of hatred directed your way?). Perhaps there was some mean-spiritedness to my portrayal of DICKHEAD, but after such heated words and bilious intent are hurled my way, I felt like he had a little payback coming (and I don't mean he deserved to be mugged).

So I hope that removing the reference's to DICKHEAD's name helps to give his career the boost that it needs. And for those of you who are interested in seeing the films, you can contact me directly and I'll point you in the right direction. For those of you who have sifted through the crap-ola to gain some understanding of this situation in the first place, I am more than happy to detail to you my hypothesis on DICKHEAD's motivations that evening and why he is the ultimate loser. One small antectode of some noteworthiness is the fact that he and I were heaping praise upon each other minutes before the good vibes went south. There is oh-so-much-more to the whole thing than what meets the eye on this here blog. But, ultimately, who gives a fuck? A drunk DICKHEAD is a drunk dickhead is a drunk dickhead. The whole affair was a vacuum of energy in the first place and it needs to RIP. I just hope to never see said DICKHEAD again.

And with that, stay tuned for the next drama-rama which I will unfold in true Napoleon, brat-like fashion in the near future.

ALL PRAISE THE MIGHTY MUG!

HOUSEWARMING: A Natural Disaster Part 3

And so we're down to the brass tacks, folks - let us get to the real deal. When you come down to it, there is not one person that can solely take the blame for what happened... everyone involved in the shenanigans detailed herein did their part to either exacerbate or alleviate the problems that had begun to brew hours prior. So here, in the terrifying conclusion of my housewarming disaster, is my raw take on the events that transpired leading up to that heinous voice message from my ex-friend DICKHEAD {name removed}

Enjoy!

LINK REMOVED

THE FINAL WORD
(to be read after viewing clip)
This sucked. Make no mistake in understanding that for me, as a person, this was a very disturbing experience. I am, however, like a cat in that I know how to land on my feet and not let things rattle me too deeply. It is very regrettable to me that DICKHEAD {name removed} and I fell out this way because I did respect him for his work and the fact that he saved my ass by fulfilling some key FX (namely flagpole, stomach & oven) in my featurette, The Family Tie. I was not happy to hear that he got mugged, especially in my neighborhood, but after living in Greenpoint/Williamsburg for 4 years and nary an altercation, I happen to look at the incident in a somewhat karmic fashion. Also, he was probably staggering along Wythe, which is a scary place to haunt late at night and I would have advised him otherwise except he was taking no advice from anyone upon his departure.

My video regurgitation on this blog is a creative exorcise and a creative exercise in that it helps me to figure stuff out. And yes, I am a showman, so I hope that I have not offended any of the partygoers with their unwitting participation in my vision of housewarming trauma. The truth is always relative. And, the optimist in me looks at the whole thing as a learning experience.

Here are the two key lessons I surmised that will (hopefully) prevent this from happening at any of my future housewarmings...

a) you can't reason with a drunk

b) especially when you're drunk yourself

Oh, and...

c) Don't invite DICKHEAD {name removed}

I promise the next one will be better, folks! I can only hope that I haven't lost anyone's trust that is near and dear to me and you guys are willing to take the risk to venture into the nefarious Greenpoint for a bit of the ol' "good vibe action" at 135G for the next round. Methinks it will kill.

HOUSEWARMING: A Natural Disaster Part 2

For the first hour or so of the party, I was running around - still in "prep" mode - concealing dirty fans, sweeping dirt under rugs, washing dirty dishes, etc.. The sight of the ghastly polish lady notwithstanding, the party picked up, albeit with some hesitation, and good times were underway once again. A big shout-out to all those that came and went within this period... I believe that the turnout was good and the quality of folk was even better (though I did and do gripe about the lack of liquor walking in the door with their smiling faces). Still, my mates are my mates, and you all know who you are and who you aren't (and by aren't I only mean to exclude one individual whose identity will NOT be revealed in the course of this next video WHICH HAS BEEN REMOVED AS PER THE REQUEST OF THIS DICKHEAD).

So, pour yourself a drink, have a toke, and party on with the "good vibes" in this, our most exciting segement in our trilogy of housewarming tribulations. Ta ta for now!

THIS LINK HAS BEEN REMOVED
contributing photos by Anthony Lopez, Jen Rock & Amber Siegel

HOUSEWARMING: A Natural Disaster Part I

Last Friday marked my official "housewarming" party here at 135 Guernsey in Greenpoint. I limited the invitation to people that I am either close with or folks that I wanted to get to know better... ultimately, the goal was to share this new space and open up the doors to some of the possibilities that such a space can inspire. As many of you know, since the move here, my mind began to burn with manic excitement - not only was this space an amazing stroke of luck in terms of location, aesthetic and a statement of my own growth as an adult, it immediately inspired the idea for a possible home business - Post Sweet Studios - and that's only the beginning!

But I digress - for the most part, I think that people were happy for me and enjoyed their time here; however, even with the best of intentions for my houseguests, I watched my party tail-spin late in the evening into such an array of drama-rama that I must ultimately deem the event an unmitigated natural disaster.

Let's go back now... let's have a look at how this started as a party like any other of its ilk before it degenerated into a quagmire of negativity and resentment. Below is the first of three short clips documenting the evening's progression. As more and more people arrive and the going gets good, Anthony Lopez' rendition of Neil Diamond's AMERICA disturbs the trainquility of the tenant below my apartment. She shows up at the door yelling for us to "BE QUIET" donning a tacky purple bathrobe, frazzled hair and shocked-wide eyes. In lieu of having this moment on video, I substituted it with a scene from one of my favorite movies, Roman Polanski's THE TENANT.

THIS LINK HAS BEEN REMOVED
photo by amber siegel

TO BE CONTINUED...

MY MORNING MOVEMENT

errr... morning MOVIE (sometimes the lines blur)

Housewarming tonight! Everyone is gonna get laid! (RIP, RD)

M

the cats are happy...

Admittedly, this sister on brother action is kind of sick, yet curiously sensuous

SOMETHING STUPID

W/ CLEMENCE AND MUGS

VIDEO WILL FEATURE ALL THESE RIDICULOUS CHEEZY SETUPS OF ROMANTIC MOMENTS LIKE WE’RE IN A MOVIE MUSICAL, BUT DURING EACH SEGMENT WHILST WE ARE SINGING SO BLISSFULLY ABOUT BEING IN LOVE, ONE OR THE OTHER (OR BOTH!) ARE DOING SOMETHING TO KILL OR PREPARE TO KILL THE OTHER PERSON AND WHEN EACH SCENE ENDS, WE PICK UP WITH ANOTHER FORCING A NEVER ENDING SERIES OF MURDEROUS SCHEMES THAT FAIL TO GET RESOLVED AD INFINITUM.

HA!