Monday afternoon I went down to the opening at the Anna Leonowens Gallery. Graeme Patterson has an amazing setup going on in the downstairs gallery this week. He’s doing claymation, and he has the whole gallery set up as an animation studio, with elaborate sets and everything.

His work blows my mind. It’s funny and entertaining, and yet I’ve never seen claymation with such a gritty atmosphere. I’d almost have to say it’s oddly realistic. I can’t imagine how many hours must have gone into constructing that city street set.

One of the characters is a little claymation guy who pushes around a little claymation shopping cart with a synthesizer on it. Hey! “That was inspired by you,” said Graeme. Except his little dude gets to push a shopping cart up the stairs, a skill I’ve never mastered.

I tried to persuade Graeme to let me give him a track for one of his pieces, but he said he’s really been getting into writing the music. The soundtrack fits the visuals really well. By all means, go down and check out the show for yourself this week.

My NASCAD dream girl was at the opening. She’s a hot little blonde with beautiful eyes and an impossible smile. I got talking to different people, and by the time I went looking for her, she was gone.

I saw her last week at the Marquee as well. And again, I got wrapped up in a conversation with a drunk friend. I finally excused myself to go find her and uhh, do whatever it is I do. But she had left.

The solution is obvious, I’m going to have to stop talking to people.

Tuesday night I went to hard rock open mic night in Hell’s Kitchen and bootlegged a couple of the bands with my minidisk. Here’s a sample of the Heelwalkers doing “US Marine.”

~Heelwalkers – U. S. Marine [900K mp3]

That’s the soundtrack to me checking out a really cute girl. Shaved head, leather jacket, combat boots… excuse me, but would you mind being 100% my type?

On my way out, I went up to the cute girl and introduced myself and told her she was really cute and rubbed her fuzzy skull. She gave me a hug and a big smile. At the back door of the club I thought, “Why the hell am I leaving?”

But then I remembered: because it is the correct thing to do.