I had to share my birthday week with inauguration this year, which was not cool. I keep talking to people about how this could have happened. (Not the unfortunate birthday/inauguration reality, but the election itself). I think most people (or, most people I know) have just been in a sort of confused haze for the past 2 months. And, maybe because of the past 8 years, kept thinking something would stop this: someone would swoop in and save us. I've never been really into comic-book style heroes, but lately I've been watching Luke Cage. It was filmed where I just moved from in Harlem; in fact, a few scenes were literally in our building. It's fun to recognize all of Harlem in the show: a version of home. But, what's really lasting about it, is that the cast is full of diversity. Black actors and female actors are in all of the important roles. This seems crucial, especially now. I miss Harlem for its deep culture. I'm going to miss seeing Obama--who, in many ways, came to embody a sort of hero--and his family in the White House. Politics aside, the Obama family has been empowering, beautiful, humbling, generous, hilarious, and healthy for this country.
So, as Luke Cage and Barack Obama have both said, Forward, always. My twin brother came to Colorado to celebrate our birthday. We talked about a lot of things: NYC, art, the seeming impossibility of the new president, and what comes next. We went skiing, and (indoor) rock climbing. We ate cake. I've been thinking about what, specifically, I should do to counter the extreme anxiety that seems to be clouding the nation, and my own mind. Get strong, I guess. Get as strong as possible in as many ways imaginable.
To close out the birthday weekend, we went to see Louis CK in Denver: it was fabulous. Without mentioning names, he walked us through all kinds of humor about the current state of things. It's good to laugh. It's good to be surrounded by creativity. It's necessary to have people help us look at things in a way that makes sense. Louis CK paints pictures--or, makes little films, actually--with all of his narratives. As an artist (of sorts), I've always thought that the ultimate goal would be to write something that is equivalent to an aching violin. But now I think being a narrative stand-up comedian is it. Maybe a violin-playing narrative stand-up comedian. Goals.