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November 28, 2004

A Little Sneak Peek...Just for You.

Just you wait to see what I have in store for you.

Yesterday was full of daydreaming and photoshooting and laughing and creating and becoming....The Parisian Vamp, the Burlesque Bombshell, and tributes to our lovely Bettie and Miss Marlene Dietrich.

AND...I'm going to unveil a glamourous, adventurous, and divine super super secret exclusively "Dame" daring piece of clothing that I've been dying to show you.

Are you ready? Come over here and take my hand. Let's whisper our plans for world domination to each other...as we edge one step closer to it all.

Five more days.

Let the countdown begin.

Posted by Veronica at 04:21 PM

November 25, 2004

Thankful....

Okay...I haven't been around on my journal this week...I'm not going to lie to you it's been crazy with me. Over the past week and 1/2, I've been plagued with a splitting headache that feels like it could take over New York if it wanted to. My doctor was really concerned about me and had me take an MRI last Thursday.

I've been terrified this week over the results. I've had migraines in the past...and this was nothing like those. No medications were working at all. I was reduced to sitting on the floor of my kitchen holding a pack of frozen peas to my forehead and crying. For a week and 1/2 straight. Not very glamorous. And you all know with all the things that I've been through in the past year, I pride myself in being a pretty tough cookie. I mean, I've had a total of 27 stitches in my face through means beyond my control in the past year and I didn't cry once. That's why this was freaking me out. I was worried. Something seemed very wrong. What if...?

During this time when I was really unsure of what it could be, I thought a lot about my family, my friends, and the things that I want to do in this life. It really put things into perspective yet again. I am so thankful for my friends and family and all the beautiful and wonderful things that happen in this life. I truly am.

Yesterday I went to see my wonderful, amazing Dr. Manna...and he said that my brain scan was fine...and that I'm just suffering from an insane sinus infection.

Whew. Wow. I wanted to make out with him right about then. Then I wanted to make out with everyone I passed on the street.

It's Thanksgiving and I'm not going to die.

That rocks. I really have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Anyway...Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I can't tell you how thankful I am for all of you. Through this journal and your emails to me, I've been able to share wonderful life experiences with people from all over the world. You've sent me your pictures, your stories, your encouraging emails and your ideas for world domination. The internet in that respect is such a wonderful thing because I've met so many unique and awe-inspiring people (yeah...I'm talking about YOU!)

It's amazing to me to have that kind of web of support around the world. Thank you all for encouraging me in all my adventures...and you know I'm always there for you...encouraging you in yours.

And I have always believed that all of us together can create such a force to be reckoned with. And the positivity that emanates from all of you in your letters has had a wonderful impact on me and inspires me to reach even further.

May that circle back to you in abundance!

Thank you for everything.

I mean that.

♥ ♥ ♥

Posted by Veronica at 08:29 PM

November 15, 2004

1/2 a Tank of Gas and a Hula Girl

Just enough to get the hell out of dodge....

It's off to the middle of nowhere, but first...

the hula girl dances lively in the face of death. "Ha, ha, Death," she laughs. "I defy you."

There is something about the road that makes me want to rob banks. It makes me want to throw everything I own in my old trunk and just drive forever.

Driving forever...and robbing banks. Who's in?

It was only a matter of time....

put your hands to the sky, get down on the ground...and don't anybody move...

The road makes me daydream. Especially when I'm in the passenger seat...boots kicked on the dash, singing along to the radio, watching all the signs and things that pass. We stop at a roadside diner and I meet Harvey...

I heard his laugh across the diner. He was reading an article outloud that he enjoyed. So he ripped it out. Grabbed his tape and smacked it up on the divider between booths. Only his booth had all this decoration. The rest of the diner was just plain.

The waitress told me that he's been coming there for years, everyday. Sometimes twice a day. That's his booth. I had to talk to him. He was really really cool. He made me write my name down on a piece of paper so he wouldn't forget me. I wrote underneath it: I ♥ Harvey" with hearts around it. He laughed, then he taped it up on his wall. I told him I wanted to take his picture to put in my journal on the internet. He was really excited about that. He doesn't have the internet, so he'll never see it. But he knows it's going up...So here he is, World.
Harvey's internet debut....

By the time we get upstate to lil' ol' Oliveria, it's late. Well, okay. It's not late. It's like six at night. But it's been dark for hours.

I hate daylight savings.

I ♥ waking up at two in the morning to catch the first snowfall of the year....

I wake up ready for adventuring. I'm like a little kid in the woods. I'm a city girl...so everything in the woods is really cool to me.

The stream by the cabin.

This is the trailbridge higher up on a mountain trail. I would love to tell you I conquered the mountain trail. I really would.
I CONQUERED THE MOUNTAIN TRAIL (um...the bottom half).

Okay, so I was sick and in high heeled boots. Not the most practical of girls. I'll give you that.

Sorry if I've destroyed your rugged image of me. **wink**

Rewind to these woods a year ago...with the only thing that could have made it better than it was...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ forever and ever - My Little Gret

Exactly a year ago, right when that picture of Gret was taken, I took off her leash and collar so she could run around all over. She never really needed a leash or collar anyway. I put it on the ground and it got covered in leaves. We couldn't find it, so we ditched it. So her collar is up there somewhere in the woods still.

That makes me happy.

I love being in this place again. Where there is miles and miles of just nature and not much else.

To just close my eyes and listen to the birds.

To be able to hear the sound that the wind makes.

It's nice to leave the world behind sometimes. For a few days. I got so much writing done, things that I've been trying to work on. Burke got a lot of writing done, too...he came up with a great new film idea for our little group. It was a good chance to scheme about getting Revolver out there (which by the way, if you haven't downloaded the trailer...you need to seriously stop what the hell you're doing and go here - then email me and join us.)

You don't wanna miss out, do you? Get over here and let the freaks love you.

The road is screaming my name again already...Listen for my beep outside.

Posted by Veronica at 10:02 PM

November 13, 2004

GK2 Wins!

One of GK2's many scary creatures in the abandoned factory

So I just got back into town and got an enthusiastic message from Zina letting me in on the great news that the video he directed and created, GK2 won Best Video at the International Festival of Horror! Which made me squeal in delight as we all ♥ our Zina Brown and all his beautifully twisted and magical films. It's nice to see someone who worked so hard on a project get the recognition that he deserves!

THEN...this morning, I found out that there is a screening of it tonight in New York City! It's going to be at the 3rd i Festival happening tonight at 5pm and 7pm at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater. Zina's going to be there to entertain you and answer any of your questions, and I'm going to be there at the late show after I get my stitches out of my gums this afternoon.

How hot is that?

All for a mere nine bucks! This segment of 3rd I celebrates "Free Speech, Artistic Excellence and Community"...so come on down and support Z and damn good independent films if you are in NYC tonight. It's going to be a good time.

And stay tuned for tomorrow to hear all about my silly adventures in the woods (which is kind of like a horror film...but not, um, at all).

Posted by Veronica at 10:34 AM

November 06, 2004

Beauty in The Little Things

This morning I was in the kitchen at around 7am. I saw this bizarre dancing shadow from the sun rising against the wall that I'm certain that in the years I've lived in this apartment...I've never seen.

The sun was catching the leaves of the tree next to my fire escape and setting it in a blaze of golden color...reflecting against my wall. Because the sun was rising so quickly, it only does that for about four minutes in the early morning.

And I saw it. For the first time.

It reminded me of recently when I was walking into the gates of Columbia University and this one golden leaf was catching the sunlight and floating down to the earth. I looked at it for a moment, and looked away. Then in a split second looked back to it. Watching the rest of its dance as it swirled and spiralled and went back to floating, until it finally landed softly on the cobblestone in front of me.

It occured to me, that that was the only time ever that particular leaf was going to fall from that high. The moment it released from the tree branch. It's first and last...simple sweeping dance.

And I was the sole witness.

For some reason that really affected me. And since then, I've made more of an effort in this crazy, hurried life to recognize the beauty all around me.

So my wandering road tripping self is going to Upstate New York to stay in a falling apart cabin in the woods do a shoot and write until Wednesday.

I'm looking forward to dancing around like a five year old in piles of leaves for a few days.

See you back here on Wednesday!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Posted by Veronica at 03:37 PM

November 04, 2004

November 3rd

I. don't. even. know. what. to. say.

Posted by Veronica at 07:01 PM

November 03, 2004

Halloween Pictures!!!

Zombie Nurse carrying around a constant blood supply

Okay. So I lied. I didn't post the pictures when I said I would.

Never believe me when I tell you I'm going to do something and it's almost 7am and I still haven't slept.

So while I'm going to be up all night anyway waiting for word on the election, I figured it would be a good time to post about Halloween before it's Thanksgiving.

The day of Halloween I woke up really excited. There's something about going out and dressing up and seeing almost everyone else in the city (all ages!) getting dressed up, too. In the morning, I baked two fresh pumpkin pies that ended up being really good - (yes, any baking ability I have surprises me to no end. Especially with my easy bake oven.) And then I ran out looking for some random last minute makeup. I picked up a pair of insane false eyelashes that are twice the size of my usual ones. They were so big I felt like I should've carried around a soundtrack that said *blink, blink* every time I opened and shut my eyes in true cartoon character style.

We got ready in a total storm, leaving the apartment in shambles--blue paint, empty stilts boxes, glitter, stuff thrown everywhere. We headed off in a hurry to the Halloween Parade. It was mind-blowing...the costumes there were amazing. Most of them built from scratch. We were late and there were people mobbed everywhere, making it almost impossible to get to the parade route. I had my heart set on walking with the parade (because you see more and it's fun) - so I did what any girl in my situation would have done.

I fought my way through the mobs and then jumped the police barricade.

Okay...so maybe "jumped" is the wrong word. I was wearing a rubber gown. Jumping in a rubber gown is not recommended because they can tear easily. I very politely sat on the barricade as two revelers lifted me over as a really sweet older woman stood lookout for me, so I wouldn't get thrown back into the crowd. It was a covert operation with her forcefully saying, "NOW!" as two women with her helped me to sit up on the barricade and help get my legs over as the two other costumed parade people carried me to the parade side.

Burke didn't have to worry about the barricade at all. He was over eight feet tall on stilts.

The eyeballs looking up at 8 foot tall Burke

I love the parade because so many New Yorkers come out to be in it. So many artists and creative people really put a huge amount of time and love into the most unbelievably remarkable costumes. It's like stepping into another world.

Where's Waldo?

A picture by Raymond Perfetti of this year's crowd that came out to see the parade, lining the streets for miles.

It's a beautiful coming together of dreamers. The people dressed up in the parade and the people who come out in droves to watch it. Because either way...there is a tremendous show of love for the make-believe and the fantastic. It's a time to play and be silly and be children again (except with no curfew, a better budget for costumes and no one telling you how much candy you can or can't have...)

Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster

Everyone kept looking up at Burke in the stilts (exclaiming - That's what I'm doing next year! - because the parade was so monumentally packed that it was hard to see sometimes). Not only did he walk the entire parade route, which is twenty something city blocks, but he danced as well! The ghosts on roller blades were there again. Which I love because from a distance as they roller blade along, the wind catching their costumes, they do look like floating ghosts zooming down the city streets. There was way too many amazing costumes to count...most of which I couldn't even take pictures of because of the small flash on my camera. One I thought was pretty creative was a woman dressed as Tippi Hedren from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. She had birds attached all over her 1950s style suit with blood peck markings everywhere. She completely wrecked a gorgeous vintage suit to do it. So that costume was terrifying on many different levels.

Zina and James went around hunched over and lurking - scaring the crowd.

Zina the Vampire

The crowd loved them. On an interesting little side note...James' costume was designed and handmade by James for Zina's video GK2, which at the exact moment that the two of them were running around gleefully scaring the city, GK2 was having its Festival premiere showing in Cincinnati. So the white spiky monster was scaring people simultaneously in two cities.

That rocks.

James and Me

After the parade we all went out dancing to my favorite party in town...the MF Party hosted by the glamorous and darling Michael T. They spin old punk, new wave and brit pop all night. The club was packed with about a thousand people (literally) - all in head to toe costumes. One of the club kids pulled me up to one of the go-go ledges and I danced for about three hours straight. If I could make the perfect mix tape, it would have been everything they played Sunday night.

The fabulous Miss Guy

Then sometime around three or four in the morning they had a costume contest. Burke entered reluctantly. So many people wanted to be in the contest, they had a line and the judges decided whether you could even get on the stage or not. Burke ended up getting picked to go up on stage and the crowd cheered him as the winner. He was really graceful in the stilts and he worked really hard making his costume, so the gang of us were screaming for him. He won $300, a night's stay at a fancy hotel in the city, and tons of fans at the party.

Jack Sparrow

Burke and one of the runners up of the contest, My Little Pony

We danced some more til right before the club closed and the gang of us just left there on cloud nine...rushing out to the brisk October air with the sky starting to lighten slightly. On the car ride home, we sang along to Nick Cave's Red Right Hand, which is a great Halloween song if there ever was one. I sat curled up in the backseat watching the world go by thinking about how happy I am to live in this crazy beautiful city.

The bunny from Donnie Darko

The bottom pic is from Tony Liford...who had a way better flash than me!

Posted by Veronica at 12:34 AM

November 02, 2004

Election Day

I just returned home from doing the sexiest and most powerful thing I've done all year.

I voted.

Using your voice is a beautiful thing.

Let it be heard.

Posted by Veronica at 04:21 PM

November 01, 2004

Snow White Takes a Bite of the Big Apple

It's 6:53 in the morning. I danced til I watched the sun come up.

This was one of the best Halloweens of my life.

(pictures tomorrow when I wake up. promise)

New York City is golden right now with the sunrise reflecting off the buildings.

All good girls are asleep and dreaming...

Nightnight.

Posted by Veronica at 06:55 AM