Cracks In Sidewalks

I think the first time I saw Gary Oldman in a movie he was playing Sid Vicious in the movie “Sid and Nancy.”  From the very start he felt like a force to be reckoned with.  His talent was obvious!  Next it was his part as British playwright Joe Orton in “Prick Up Your Ears.”    Soon after that it was “Henry and June,” “JFK,” and Coppola’s “Dracula,” edited by my friend Glen Scantlebury, and the list of wonderful performances just kept growing.  I became a big fan, found him interesting to watch, marveled at the variety of characters he played and wouldn’t want to be friends with many, but always figured that if Gary Oldman was in the film it was probably worth checking out.

Since then I don’t think he’s disappointed me.  Some films I liked better then others, some I didn’t see like “Hannibal,” because I’m not good with scary movies.  I thought he was brilliant as was Kevin Bacon in “Murder in the First,” loved his performance as Beethoven in “Immortal Beloved,” and really liked his character of  “James Gordon” in the “Batman” series.  Actually it was after seeing “The Dark Knight” recently that I started thinking about Oldman again and how much I’ve enjoyed him as an actor over the years.

Gary Oldman doesn’t get a lot of publicity he gets accolades and respect.  He’s what you call an actor’s actor.  Something you might not know is that as a child he was also an accomplished singer and pianist who finally settled on acting instead of music. (I can relate to this because I was always torn between art and music.)  After winning a scholarship and getting a BA in drama from the British drama school Rose Bruford College, Oldman applied to the Royal Academy of Drama and was rejected.  They told him to “go do something else with your life.”  I’m certain they have since regretted their decision.  Oldman has also tried his hand at writing, directing and producing most notably with his award winning film “Nil By Mouth.”

Oldman does his best to do his work and stay out of the spotlight.  He isn’t interested in being famous, he’s interested in being the best actor he can be.  He’s been married three times and has three sons from two of his previous marriages.  He’s had a major problem over the years with substance abuse, but is now clean and sober after rehab and his affiliation with AA.  He was born in London and moved to the states in the early 90’s and currently lives in LA.  It looks like 2009 will be a busy year for the actor as he has 4 movies slated for release.

I got home late from work today.  I’m working a big freelance job now through the first week in October.  I was trying to think about what I wanted to write and it needed to be somewhat simple as I was complex all day and what came to me tonight was pet insurance and what a good tip it is and what a lifesaver it has been for me this past year.

I got pet insurance for the first time 3 years ago when I got my cat Suki.  I realized that I had never had a pet and at some point in their life not spent at least $2,500.00 on them for some sort of veterinary care.  I decided that over the course of my pets life at around $22 a month I would spend quite a bit too, but coming up with that small amount each month would be less taxing then having to come up with a large sum all at once.  So I got insurance for Suki and my older cat Yoshi too.

Well Yoshi got very sick this past winter.  She became diabetic and developed IBS.  Yes that’s right, cats can get IBS.  Anyway it has seemed to be one thing after another for months on end now and her meds alone are very costly.  Truthfully I don’t know what I would have done without it or what Yoshi would have done.  I’m embarrassed to say the amount of vet bills I’ve racked up, but I didn’t know what else to do.  She was never at death’s door or close enough to it to not justify helping her and taking care of her.  Besides I love her.  But I have to say loving her with pet insurance is a lot easier then trying to love her without it.  The treatments she’s had would have been prohibitive without the help of this plan.

So my “crack” for today, if you have a pet and dearly love your pet, highly consider looking into it.  I use Petcare Insurance and they’ve been great.  They have several plans you can choose from.  If you’re interested go to www.petcareinsurance.com.  If your pet gets sick they may not thank you, but you will thank me.

I think it was my Irish blooded brother in law who first turned me onto The Corrs playing their music in the car when picking me up at the airport.  I remember really liking their sound.  I can’t tell you what year that was, but it was a while ago.  Since then the band has come and gone, not completely gone, just on hiatus while some are raising families and one sister Andrea pursues a solo career.

Born to two musician parents who performed and encouraged their children to learn instruments and play music, it was not a far stretch to think that the “Corr” children would become professional musicians too.   Besides Sharon playing violin, Andrea learning tin whistle, Caroline drums, and Jim guitar, their father Gerry taught them each piano.

The band formed in 1990 when the two siblings, Jim and Sharon started playing pubs as a duo.  Having practiced for years as a family, it wasn’t long before the duo added their younger siblings, still in school, to the group.  With younger sister Andrea as their lead vocalist their career took off in 1991 when the group auditioned for the Irish movie, “The Commitments.”  They all got small parts, but more than that they caught the eye of soon to be manager, John Hughes.

In 94’ the American Ambassador to Ireland heard the group and invited them to play the FIFA World Cup in Boston.  This led to the band performing at the World Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, which led to even greater recognition and worldwide exposure.  From the beginning with David Foster getting them signed to Atlantic Records to Bono recently executive producing Andrea’s solo album, the group has achieved varying degrees of commercial success over the years.  Finding their greatest popularity besides Ireland, in the UK and Australia, several of their albums have gone multi-platinum including their most popular, “Talk On Corners.”

The group’s music has been described as a combination of traditional Irish music and modern pop-rock.  They incorporate acoustic instruments with modern technology including violin, tin whistle, and an Irish hand held drum.  Then of course there are the harmonies of the siblings and a blend that only siblings seem to be able to find.

FYI The Corrs were born in the Irish town of Dundalk, a small harbor town of about 35,000 people between Dublin and Belfast.  They say that music is in the blood of the people of Dundalk and they like nothing more than to go out and hear live music in the pubs.   In Dundalk these live sessions are known as “Crack.”   And with that I couldn’t resist!  As this was the first time I had heard that expression and given the name of this site, and my “Daily Crack,” etc., I googled Irish “Crack” Wikipedia.  This is direct from Wikipedia, not me.  “Crack” now takes on a whole new added meaning.

Crack or craic is “fun, enjoyment, abandonment, or lighthearted mischief; often in the context of drinking or music.”

So for some more “crack” or fun, below I’ve included a link to an “unplugged” video of The Corrs performing an arrangement of Jimi Hendrix’s song, “LittleWing,,” tin whistle and all.  Very lovely with great vocals!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5rVgxmekeM&feature=related

I went to Fire Island on Friday night.  It was pouring!  No one was on top of the ferry basking in the glory of the wondrous view and fresh air.  Everyone was huddled inside the ferry wishing they were in rain gear.

When we finally landed in the little town where I share a house with some friends, the rain still decided not to let up.  By the time I got to the house I was sopping wet and was greeted at the door by my friend with a towel, happy to be inside.  That night we had a big vegetarian stew, nice and hearty, and attempted unsuccessfully to make a fire, everything was too wet.  We stayed up and talked, watched a little TV, and then went to bed.  Saturday we woke up to clear skies and soon sunshine, it turned out to be a perfect beach day and perfect weekend!

Always great no matter the season or the weather, Fire Island is a special place.  A small barrier island off of Long Island it is the antithesis of New York.  Having moved to NYC from N. Central California I needed to find some place where I could relax, be outside, and have access to a beach, so about 12 years ago I researched this weird NY phenomenon of summer beach shares.  Before this I had never known that anything like this existed.  I had always had access to a beach, and I couldn’t believe New Yorkers had to work so hard to get there and then pay so much money on top of it to do so.  But now I was a New Yorker too so it was time I learned about these things.

So I investigated “The Hamptons,” all of them, east, west, and south, and several other communities out on Long Island.  I had already been to Montauk a few times which was lovely, and I had been to East Hampton a couple of times too, and I enjoyed myself at both.  Then I remembered that a friend had mentioned something about this little island off of Long Island called Fire Island, I got curious, and I started to learn about its various communities.  There are about 14 plus on Fire Island and each has its own distinct style and population.  There are family communities, younger singles communities, gay communities and mixed communities; towns with bars and restaurants, towns without bars and restaurants, towns that don’t even have a grocery store.  But one thing that all the communities share is that almost the entire population gets to the island by ferry boat, and in season no cars are allowed on the island with very few exceptions.

Somehow the lure of no cars, people bicycling and toting little red wagons instead of SUV’s appealed to me.  I wanted a place where I could truly chill and shed city life so I found myself taking a share with a group of people who at the time I did not know, and I took it in a place I had never been, Fire Island.  I couldn’t quite imagine how it was going to work.  A bunch of grown professionals, doctors, lawyers, musicians, writers, advertising creatives, etc., sharing bedrooms, bathrooms, cooking big meals together, and living together every other weekend for an entire summer.  But I was willing to give it a try.  That was now 12 years ago and I’d have to say it was one of my best NY decisions.

When people are out on Fire Island there isn’t much to do but get to know your neighbor, eat, drink, read, bicycle, take walks, run, go to the beach and plan your day around what you are going to fix for dinner that evening.   Then you might possibly think about going out dancing or maybe to a house party, but often dinner is so late and happy hour so long, that you find yourself just staying home and socializing with your own house.  The busy folks of NY drop their harder urban façade on Fire Island and I think it happens the second they get to the ferryboat landing.  They begin to let down their guard and they become approachable.  It’s really an environment and time where friendships can blossom and grow.  People say hi and acknowledge one another when passing each other on the sidewalks which act as streets.  And unlike NY where the first thing I did when I moved here was to install a Medico lock, on the weekends on Fire Island no one locks their house.  People come and go and they don’t worry.  I’ve also never known of anyone being robbed.  At the grocery store, we have one in my town, you can run up a weekend account, just give them your name, call at the end of the weekend for your total, and drop them a check on your way to the ferry on Sunday.  Fire Island is everything NYC is not!

With summer coming to a close I wanted to share with those who don’t know about Fire Island, this special place off of Long Island.  And for those of you who do know Fire Island, you know I speak the truth.  Easy to get to by the train, you can simply take the Long Island Railroad out of Penn Station to your stop on Long Island, for me, that stop is  Bayshore.  Waiting for you at the train station are buses who for a small fee will shuttle you to your ferry boat.  Very accessible time wise as a day trip, you either need to be visiting friends or go to one of the few towns that have public restrooms, like Ocean Beach.  There are a few small hotels in some of the various towns, but very few so check that out beforehand.  But if you want a day, a weekend, a week, or a month, consider a summer rental or a day trip.  The beaches are beautiful, the people friendly, you can walk to the Lighthouse or the Sunken Forrest, stroll the sidewalk shops of Ocean Beach, get some great baked goods from Amy’s, watch the sunset over the bay with your friends, or sit in a pub sipping beer thinking how lucky you are to be where you are.  Fire Island is a wonderful place to rejuvenate and a true escape!

Putsie Lu, “I don’t know why they don’t understand., sleep is work too!”