deborah's march vlog, a highlight of my life
it's time for another monthly vlog from deborah, here is a short concrete description of every shot in the video. i watch rough cuts of this video all month as it accumulates (in addition to...living them) and it is a highlight of my life. the kind of description/transcription in these notes is an artistic gesture that has deep roots in dada and oulipo and fluxus and seventies conceptual art but in my head when i thought to do this or think to do other kind of work like it what i always think of is some miranda july video piece that i read about/experienced like decades ago (maybe it was in a...dvd supplement...of the believer? so old) where it's like this silent film where the slides are white transcriptions against a black background describing something in concrete details shot by shot and the bit is that the text reads as super scary and dark but she's transcribing the video for "thriller" i am failing to find anything about it online (or in the external mind of my gmail account searching the back issues of this newsletter, since i could swear i talked about it) anyway i always think of that thing when i do this kind of thing (i remember during my first email newsletter one day desperate to meet a self-imposed content deadline i just wrote a sentence describing the covers of every back issue of the new yorker i had piled up, which i thought of recently because in the most recent harper's in the readings section there's an insert where they had an AI do that and someone presented a paper on it at a conference which makes me think about another thing i did, which was a laboriously handwritten horoscope where after writing about how "I don't know if I succeeded or if they're even really "horoscopes" anymore. Maybe more like affirmations, maybe prayers; either way, a different kind of form, I guess. It might seem silly the way I wrote them all out, like a waste of labor, but what I want to believe is that it's not a waste but instead a focusing, a channeling, a charge, that maybe the simple fact of my hand on the page today repeating the runes will do something for you, even if that thing is so small as to feel almost meaningless" and every sign's forecast was the same text "maybe today will be great and maybe it will suck and maybe it will be in between (probably) but anyway a week from now in retrospect it will make more sense or not but at least then you'll be through it and on to something else. i hope your today is okay, though, and maybe that hope will help"). i'm thankful to keep repeating the runes.
dune 2 poster outside the theater the day we went to see it
me reading in the attic with miso sitting behind me
delivery from eem, with papaya salad, fried rice, and white curry with brisket and cauliflower pictured
me writing some thank you notes with miso in my lap
miso
miso with a leftover chinese takeout container
miso dragging a stuffed pig my brother and his wife sent her away from us
me trying to get miso to give high fives to tiny plastic hands also sent by my brother and his wife
foccacia dough gleaming with oil
miso lying on the couch with the cardboard tube from a roll of aluminum foil
deborah petting miso in her lap
fresh flowers on deborah's desk
miso accepting pets while guarding a tiny piece of cardboard
me reading in the attack with miso beside me
me petting miso while reading in the attic
miso standing in the doorway of our bedroom waiting for second breakfast
deborah flexing her bicep after a workout in our basement
deborah and i in my office testing out the new webcam that didn't work on her computer but works on mine
deborah finishing her mise-en place for a broccoli, garlic, and mushroom pasta
graffiti on the side of the building depicting a house surrounded by wild overgrowth
picnic table outside a cafe with topo chico, san pellegrino, a pastry, shiba baggu, and notebook
wall of books in cafe
miso outside on a leash scampering outside
miso outside on a leash scampering outside as i talk about work while we walk
fork playing with trader joe's flat noodles mixed with sauteed brussels sprouts
opening joe sacco's graphic novel palestine
me playing distorted electric guitar
deborah petting miso who is guarding a small piece of cardboard
homemade larb ready for dinner
us sitting on the couch after dinner
miso trying to hump my leg while we sit on the couch after dinner
miso chewing on a small piece of cardboard
miso with the couch blanket in her mouth guarding that
deborah appreciating her hair in the bathroom mirror
panning shots of flowers in the sun
beginning of dogwoods flowering against blue sky
deborah blurred in the foreground with interesting clouds behind her
me eating something miso wants while reading, camera zooms in on miso's desire
deborah petting miso in the living room
reverse shot of 39 showing the sky outside the front window
deborah reading with miso in her lap
fresh sundubu in a dolsot on our coffee table
me playing bass while watching the real world: new orleans
me cradling miso who is annoyed to be cradled
comparison of new and old vacuum cleaner floor heads
me playing guitar while watching survivor
k pulling miso across the backyard in a wagon as frankie stands in the sun smiling
t grilling smashburgers with assistance from k
wide shot of me playing with and trying to record video of miso and frankie
POV shot of deborah's girl scout cookie which is printed with "I AM BOLD" and miso tries to steal the cookie
everyone hanging out watching tiktoks in the attic
everyone hanging out watching tiktoks in the attic and discussing hotpot
frankie sprawled out on the rug
ec playing with miso on the rug
POV shot of deborah watching miso watch her use her computer
deborah petting miso in the living room mirror
deborah kissing miso against her will
miso looking out the front window
miso lying on the couch baring her teeth
miso on a walk stopping to pee
miso on a walk
tree budding
beginning of cherry blossoms flowering against the sky
me playing guitar while watching the real world: new orleans homecoming
slow pan up to reveal the tree in our backyard that they're cutting down
indoor view french restaurant where we were having lunch
oysters on the half shell in a small bed of ice
french sandwiches
pink and red flowers
miso scampering around in the backyard after they cut the tree down
alison roman ragu with trader joe's pappardelle and air-fried asparagus
petting a sleepy miso
new bouquet of flowers in front of clairo album
cherry blossom flowering intensifies
cherry blossom flowering intensifies
deborah flexing her bicep after a workout in the basement
edited bouquet of flowers in front of clairo album
six lemons on the kitchen counter
dinner table at restaurant for k's birthday
orchid flowering in front of clairo album
grating parmesan onto alison roman ragu
t and i playing big buck hd at barcade
t and i figuring out the rules for big buck hd
ec and k getting their pictures taken for their avatars in mario kart
ec and k racing
ec and k racing (cont.)
ec and k racing (cont.)
me playing donkey kong (badly)
me playing metallica pinball
v starting playing big buck hd
v expertly shooting targets in big buck hd bonus round
ec and i filming v playing big buck hd
me at korean restaurant sipping tea with a painting behind me
panchan spread at korean restaurant
oversized bulgogi soup at korean restaurant pan to ec eating marinated crab in plastic gloves
miso sitting in deborah's lap while she watches youtube
me testing out my new running shoes in the living room
miso sitting in the kitchen waiting for food
miso standing on the back patio waiting to come inside
tea tray with chicory coffee with milk and sugar and lemon cake
me petting miso on the couch in the attic
telegram chat where deborah sent me a sticker of a small bear rending itself with anger and a chick bearing a knife and i wrote back "lolll both stickers are so you" and deborah reacted with 🤣
me swaddling a soaking wet miso in a gray towel
miso still wet sitting between us on the couch in the attic i am wearing my "even my feelings have feelings" hoodie
miso lying on the couch baring her teeth
bouquet of flowers on deborah's desk
miso trying to break into a tube treat
deborah explaining that miso has missed the second tier that she built into the tube treat
orchid flowering in front of clairo album (cont.)
pouring a shot of tequila into a glass
slicing an orange
squeezing the orange into the glass
cutting another orange
juicing a cut lemon into the glass
swirling agavate into the glass and stirring with a fork
sliding ice into the glass
stirring with a fork
deborah explaining her cocktail, the fruit used, and then toasting the camera
taking flowers out of vases and putting them on a piece of parchment paper on the kitchen counter
pouring out water from flower vase and trimming a flower
assembling a new bouquet and trimming more flowers
sweeping flower petals off counter into hand
two bouquets on the counter
petting miso's neck
petting miso's back
panning up a plant in front of a window at the top of the stairs in the attic
a pink tulip blooming
tracking shot looking up into a flowering tree
miso and i from behind walking up a street littered with cherry blossoms
miso and i from behind closer up walking through cherry blossoms later on
deborah smiling in her pink ghost hat in the sunshine
camera looking at the blue sky and sunshine and flowering trees
tracking shot of spent blossoms on the sidewalk
tracking shot looking through a tree to the sky
tracking shot of spent blossoms on the sidewalk
panning around tall trees
panning around tall trees with more of the sky and sun
upside down stop sign with sticker "THE GENOCIDE Free Palestine Now!"
more blossoms against the sky
the blossoms are blowing in the breeze
ec sitting on a picnic blanket with miso in front of a reservoir and then we pan to the sky
cherry blossoms blown by gusts across the picnic
k films cherry blossoms blown by gusts across the picnic as miso explores on a leash in golden light
frankie and miso getting their leashes entangled with k and t
miso sitting in between k's legs and getting pets
ec cradling miso in the shade
our favorite sushi on the coffee table
eras tour film on the attic tv
miso trying to lick deborah's face while she wears her light mask
Previously on this day:
2016 (from fsa) (the way i always linger between hating and loving the alarm clock in the morning, making love in new orleans what sunflowers mean to me)
2017 (a secular holiday that isn't solemn (like veterans day) or nationalistic (like independence day) or genocidal (like thanksgiving) or dedicated to buying things (like black friday)
2018 (the first weekend we've been able to open the window without feeling frozen, a stupid concern i had early in our relationship, a shock to the mental model) (2) (french protest sign)
2019 (sharing funny tweets with deborah) (2) (march 25 issue of the new yorker)