Always On My Mind

Not always, actually, but here's what's on my mind today:

* I got a phone call from a woman who set up an interview for me with Alex Gibney, the man behind the new Hunter S. Thompson movie, Gonzo. She was brusque -- actually, kind of rude -- and wanted to know why the interview wasn't in the paper. Well, it wasn't in the paper because a) we don't run interviews in the movies section of the paper, as a general rule; there isn't enough space to run as many movie reviews as I would like, and I'm not wasting that space on an interview, and b) I arranged for the interview with the understanding that it would be posted online as a supplement to the film in the paper. I did make Gonzo the top film for the week -- because I thought it deserved the standing: I fully enjoyed it and think everyone interested in Hunter's life should go out and see it immediately (or at least when it opens tomorrow).

So anyway, she calls me and she's rude in the voicemail, so I call her back and leave what I thought was a very nice message explaining that there must have been some kind of misunderstanding, that the interview is posted online and I would be happy to send her a link if she would like one. And then she figures out that she was, in fact, wrong, and sends me an e-mail saying "Sorry! And could you send that link?"

It miffed me. Mostly because for me to even get the screener for Gonzo, I had to explain exactly what I was going to use it for, and I told them we would use that and the director material for supplemental stuff online. The paper is shrinking, and we simply don't have the space to run everything in print, but I personally have been posting a lot on the website to make up for the fact. To the point: People shouldn't be rude until they have their facts in order and are certain that they actually have a reason to be rude.

* Aside from that, work today was kinda brutal. I have tomorrow off (good!) but that means I have to do my usual Thursday and Friday tasks today (not so good). It seemed to go pretty smoothly until about 3 p.m. when I realized I was missing a story for Night&Day. And not missing a story as in someone was late turning it in -- missing it as in no one realized it was missing until just then. Luckily, I had something I had written for online that could fill the spot. And it was especially fortuitous because while writing this particular online piece, I had told my contacts that it was going in the paper (people get a little weird about being "only" online, even though quite a few people still see it on the website). I figured I would just deal with the fallout next week when they didn't see it in the paper, but now it actually will be in print, and I didn't have to do any extra work to get it there. Then all I had to do was upload the online stuff and wipe down my desk with my grapefruit-scented cleaner to get rid of the toxic black dust. Hello, weekend!

* I'm wearing these cute slide wedge shoes that I bought one or two summers ago (can't even remember). I never wear them because they're not properly broken in, so they tend to hurt my feet (although they must be getting close; they're rather comfortable today), and also because summerwear is so time-consuming. I usually miss it when it's gone and can't wait for it to come back so I can put on my cute summer clothes, but seriously ... you have to shave, if you're wearing open-toed shoes then your toes should be painted, and that by itself is more maintenance than I usually give my body. But today I've got a green shirt, my brown city shorts and the shoes, which go perfectly with the shorts. I guess it's worth the effort.

* I get to go to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival tomorrow! I love the arts festival. It's all way too expensive for me, but the work is beautiful and it's fun just to walk around and take it all in.

* I have about four or five broken small appliances that need to leave my home, but I'm not sure what to do with them. I can't just throw them away; how wasteful! I'm looking into recycling them -- but some places charge to recycle small appliances. Which I guess makes sense if they can't make their cash back through the actual recycling, but it still feels a bit extortionate to me.

* Why is it that vitamins make your pee bright, radioactive yellow? I've been taking this stuff called Passion4Life that my brother Art introduced me to; it's a good vitamin. It's liquid, so 98 percent of it gets absorbed (way, way more than regular vitamins). It tastes nasty, so I blend it into a breakfast smoothie every morning. And then I pee bright yellow. Why is that?

* Finally, if you want to read my blog (and the following comments) on Widespread Panic that I wrote for Westword, go here. And if you're so inclined, leave a comment; it'll help me with my plans for world domination.