She with the Painful Shoe Wins

I’ve often found women’s relationship to shoes to be an exercise in examining the hilarity of society. Men did not have such an irrational relationship, right? I turns out they did when they wore frilly shirts…and they’re starting to have it again. But men and women still see shoes differently. Or are seen differently because of their shoes.

Now I’m open to the changes in fashion trends…all right, the pants hanging off boy’s backsides isn’t fashion-I’m saying that right now, but other trends I find interesting; however, the moment a guy’s shoes become bigger than his head, he’s umm..thinking with his arse! I’m not sure I can trust the fate of the world to a guy who can’t learn to tie his own laces!

I make fun of men and their shoes only because I have my own obsession. I’m anti-shoe. There, I’ve admitted it just like an alcoholic going off the sauce HI I’m DRIVER and I’m anti-shoe. No I’m not a nature nut or trying to save the “born for their hide” animals in 3rd world countries. I’m anti-shoe because I’m not a fan of my feet.

Feet are an industrious and wondrous invention. We should really thank our Lord that we are bipeds and have this pair of flexible flippers to march us from here to there. I don’t object to them for that reason. My objection to feet is this: women and men are not even remotely equal when it comes to shoes. Women and men can wear the same kinds of suits, pants, glasses, watches, bracelets, necklaces and even earrings and nary an observer would chasten them for doing so, but put a woman in a comfy loafer and all of a sudden our sex, sexuality and overall girliness is called into question. What was I thinking trying to save my back or my bunions (kidding, I don’t have bunions..really) or my toes? I was thinking we could all just get a little practical, but noooooooo practicality is for the weak. And women must be strong or stylish as the case may be.

For the first ten years of my working career, I almost always wore skirts and high heels. Yes, I crammed my toes in those svelte pointy-toed monstrosities every day and limped home every night, soaked my digits in a nice hot bath and begged for extra peppermint foot balm in my Christmas stocking. Who was I trying to please? Not myself, because I was in pain. My toes were in serious trouble. Then the magic happened. I dropped out of the working life and went back to college. This would seemingly have no effect on the shoe issue other than the fact that classes are a bit more casual, right? Wrong-O! Why? Because the university of choice for me was Hills and Stairs University (name has been changed to protect the semi-innocent). There wasn’t a chance I’d survive a day having to cover over 800 stairs-not including the two flights to my dorm room.

Hills and Stairs U stepped me into a new way of life. Shoes were irrelevant. Really, people were barefoot, flip-flopped, sneakered or booted de la hiking store and one pair got a person through for the year. Yes, the year. Hiking boots and dresses were common and nobody cared. Of course, women with hairy legs were common too, but I just got the shivers around them. HSU was a true change of lifestyle. Men didn’t evaluate women on the whole package, the just did it on the package from the knees up. That way everyone could survive the two mile walk when they had to find a place to park their car at 4am. How did this change me? My feet recovered from their pains and I actually liked to walk! I had gotten so used to several pains, I didn’t even think they were shoe related, just signs I was getting older. Limping was now only done in reaction to a sprained ankle and shoes with heels were thrown into the corner and buried under the empty pizza box experiment with the roommate during senior year.

So, it’s been a while since I’ve lugged around books for educational purposes, but I stuck with the comfy shoes for a good long while. And that’s how I noticed the difference between men and women and their shoes. Why can’t we (women) all just revolt and wear the same grungy pair of Vans? Oh that’s right, Vans are now expensive and cool. Funny, when I was a kid, they were the poor kid’s shoe…and I was the poor kid. So what kind of show could be a universal equalizer for men and women? I surely hope it’s not the UGG!

driverpicksthemusic

Driver Picks The Visitor

The Driver saw a film recently called The Visitor. It is written and directed by Thomas McCarthy. When a writer/director is a good actor, one of two things happens. One, that person gets a chance to become a dictator and creates/destroys the pictures made. Two, that person adjusts the equation and makes brilliant pictures. Thomas McCarthy is the latter. In this case, he uses his knowledge of acting to write and direct a smooth piece in which he does not act.

The Visitor follows an ordinary professor, living life alone, as he happens upon an immigrant couple living in his rarely visited New York apartment. His encounter and subsequent connections with the couple (a Syrian musician and a jewelry maker from Senegal) bring a spotlight on his true separation from the world around him. As he begins to seek life again through the vibrancy of music, the rules of the world around him jeopardize his new friendship and then introduce the possibility of an even larger life.

This film is smart with rich non-American characters that we don’t find in American films. I happened upon this film not knowing the writer/director also made another Driver favorite called The Station Agent.

What I like about The Visitor is that I feel like I’m a fly on the wall of the lives of the characters. I could just as easily end up in these situations (they’re never out of the realistic realm of possibility,) and would feel the same conflicts. It’s much more vivid when I’m watching it play on screen than I’m sure I would feel if it were my own life. In the end, I feel resolution, but not an end. I like that. It leaves me wanting to write more of the story. Or at least wait for Thomas McCarthy to dream up something else. Whatever writing juice he’s drinking….the Driver wants some too, please.

No Politics, No Religion and…No Music?

Is music like politics? Or Religion? Those things we aren’t supposed to talk about? I’m starting to think so. Used to be we, lovers of sound, would smile and have an “OH JOY” moment when we discovered a great new song or rediscovered and old artist. After the joy, we would tell all our pals about it. And strangers too. We would blare it at the drive-thru so the others waiting in line would also have a joy moment (although they may have used a few choice words other than joy.) But something has gone horribly wrong.

Awhile back I was a happy cat at work, jammin’ to my iPod in my own office and a co-worker tromped in and gave me that small head-shake scowl. Was I supposed to stop my enjoyment just for this dog to hand me a couple sheets of paper? Nosiree, I say! And I did say, “Hey, have you heard of Beth Hart? She’s one great bluesy rock broad…or rocky blues broad.” Nothing…only the scowl. “Have you?” Papers slough onto my gargantuan desktop, already covered in stacks of junk, and Mr. Scowl o’ Lantern departs. Not a word.

Recently, I’m in Driver mode, cruising along and then I have to stop at a light. It’s  summer/fall, so I have my window open and the back passenger window open for nice cross-breeze. My music is up.. ‘cause DRIVER PICKS THE MUSIC. I get some soccer mom yelling over my music. Now it’s not anything racy, nor is it a Christian tune (which seems to offend, I’ve found.) It was THE POLICE. Come on! Message in a Bottle! How can that not be a classic?

The last straw came today, when I was in my office again (yes I work, it sucks often,) and a guy (Bob-to protect the guilty) came in and was actually excited to hear Mais Que Nada by Sergio Mendes. Wow, someone with eclectic taste like me. I thought I was going to get back on track. That Bob was going make me believe music hadn’t become a forbidden subject. Just then then I got this whole story of how Bob’s dad loved Sergio Mendes. Nice info and love to chat dude, but ummm the song is still going!

What’s happened here? People don’t actually want to hear sound anymore. They just want to talk (yes it’s like I’m talking here, but you can listen to music in parallel, so no prob, dude.) Is it the instant rewindability of digital music? I’ve had to hear my fair share of “teen now trashy” blondes screech junk until my ears bled in a zillion places-even bathrooms, but I’ve LET IT GO..all for the good of society. Music expands the mind. But NOOOOOOOOO (read in Steve Martin style please), my choices must obscure the line of social acceptability and put me on the Short Bus of Life.

I say tusser off! I want to impact people with scads of music diversity. That’s one of the ways we grow from each other, right? In the office, out the home window and in the car. Most definitely in the car! That’s why my license plate frame says DRIVER PICKS THE MUSIC, SHOTGUT SHUTS HIS CAKEHOLE!
But you’re welcome to reply

Where to start?

• Beth Hart – Bottle of Jesus (just some bluesy rock chick fun!)
• Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 – Mais Que Nada (I’m sure it’s in some car commercial now)
• The Police – Message in a Bottle (because you didn’t live through the 80s without them)
• Korn – Coming Undone (I think this should be screaming during the “previously” section of Supernatural)
• U2 & BB King – When Love Comes to Town (how can you not play air guitar or imaginary drums when this plays?)
• Brian Setzer Orchestra – Jump, Jive & Wail (I’ll always be a fan of the former Stray Cat)
• The Cajun Dixie Cups – Iko Iko (I can’t count how many movies this song, or some version of it, is used to set the tone of the flick)

I saved the BEST FOR LAST

ARTIST

• KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD (start with Blue on Black or Everything is Broken)

Kenny is my go to guy for modern blues. He has that voice.

What James Earl Jones is to the spoken word, Kenny Wayne is to the blues song.

SONG

• O FORTUNA (from Carmina Burana)

This music is often in movies when that crescendo is needed as the team of Vikings or warriors come galloping through the trees in that last stand battle scene.I dare you to go back and watch the trailers for all the summer action flicks. You’ll find it in a few of them.

Have you noticed it too? The HORRIBLY WRONG PART OF NOT BEING ABLE TO SHARE MUSIC ON THE STREET CORNER? Music relates to movies and TV…and life. I didn’t mention it yet? Pick an important song in your life. It’s important because you remember something about yourself when you heard it before. I remember my first junior high dance every time ROCK LOBSTER plays on the radio. I also remember wearing my DEATH BEFORE DISCO sweatshirt when I got a Saturday Night Fever album as a Christmas gift. Music is a tent pole that holds up the circus tent covering our lives. Can’t we share the pole so others are protected too?