Reality Show

sleep. overrated. overheard.

“Go. Go. You don’t give a shit what happens to me. I’ll die tonight and you don’t care. Go. Go. I’m going to kill myself for you. I’m going to kill myself for you. I’m going to kill myself for you! You’ll live your whole life knowing that I killed myself for you. You’re such a nimrod.” – Claire, 4am, under my window, NYC.

reaction

8am. Walk of shame. Last nights clothes, an evening of sludge on your teeth, make up smeared, and you forgot your sunglasses. You make your way through the subway car and to your surprise and delight find the one available seat in the corner. The squeeze into the seat and find your ass drowning in a puddle of air conditioner drippings – the train is traveling express from 59th to 125th.

reaction

Rush hour. Crowded, pressed up against each other so tightly no one has to hold the railing. You are absent mindedly blowing bubbles with two pieces of trident peppermint (no small feat) when the bus jerks and woman in front of you steps on your sandled foot. She turns unexpectedly and suddenly, to apologize, unfortunately taking with her your bubble and wad of gum lodged in the back of her blowout.

reaction

You are emerging from the miniscule bathroom in a local dive bar where you just succeeded in peeing on the back of your jeans (you didn’t squat far enough/you didn’t pull your pants low enough) and walked into the middle of a crowded pool tournament where your name has just been called and you are handed the pool cue.

face in the crowd

Urban setting. Takes place on the street. No one else is around. You look, they look back. A momentary encounter where you see somebody, and something gets passed back and forth. But its never named - that flicker of recognition in which nothing gets said. You are left guessing. You begin to make up things about their life. For a moment you forget your own. (blink. sigh. breathe. blink.) We, I, they, you, me - are estranged from each other, yet inhabit the same space. The same time. We traverse them all the time, these moments. On the subway, walking down the street, waiting in line at the market. (blink. sigh. breathe. blink.)

Born

Richard Nixon becomes President of the United States . 250,000 march on Washington in protest at the Vietnam War. The first man is landed on the moon. Police raid Stonewall ending The Stonewall Riot. Senator Edward Kennedy driving a car plunges into a pond and a body of a woman passenger is found in the car.Charles Manson cult members murder five people. Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast killing 248 people. Wal-Mart incorporates. Average Income per year $8,550.00. The trial begins of "Chicago Seven" accused of inciting riot at 1968 Democratic National Convention. Charles de Gaulle resigns as French President. The Allman Brothers are booked to play the Atlanta International Pop Festival on 4th July by a phony promoter and are not allowed to play. Woodstock, “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music", is held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the town of Bethel, New York. The U.S. Air Force closed Project Blue Book concluding there is no evidence of UFO's. John Madden, a photographer, receives the first human eye transplant. The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its debut. The epitome of the American muscle car, the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is introduced. Average Cost New Car $3,270.00. A free concert Rolling Stones is held at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California - Hells Angels are hired as bouncers resulting in a number of deaths."And now for something completely different," Monty Python's Flying Circus is shown for the first time. The Beatles release Abbey Road. Sesame Street debuts on PBS. Brian Jones drowns in a binge of pills and booze and pool water. The Love Bug, Funny Girl, and Easy Rider are the most popular films. The Rolling Stones release “Honky Tonk Woman ". David Bowie is a Space Oddity. The Archies " Sugar Sugar " is the number 1 song. Penthouse Magazine begins publication. New York Mets win their first World Series. "Midnight Cowboy" wins Best Picture. Honeywell releases the H316, the first home computer, priced at $10,600 in the Neiman Marcus catalog. Crosby, Stills and Nash win the Grammy for Best New Artist. Average Monthly Rent $135.00.