I bumped into Nayland this morning, on the way to Andy’s with BC for pancakes. I hadn’t seen Nayland for a few years, experiencing his visage only through his art and videos. As he crossed the street I paused for a moment as if I were about to see a video, but then it hit me that it was the 3 dimensional Nayland. Great to see you, Nayland, and sorry to have missed your panel Thursday.
Last night I took in two Ozu films at the Castro, and am looking forward to spending most of the next week there for a retrospective of his films. Watching his films is like meeting these people and spending 2 intimate hours with them in their homes. Last night I saw Late Spring and Tokyo Story, and was too moved to do more than say hi to David W, whom I adore, wiping a tear from my cheek as I passed and blew a kiss. In between films I watched the humpy bear dude in front of me, engaged in a singular sensual experience. His hair was cut very close to his head, almost shaved, but not quite. Slowly he ran a finger from the back of his neck forward over his head, feeling his stubble, over and over. Every so often, he’d slowly draw a finger through the crease between his ear and head and then bring his finger to his nose. His enjoyment of his own surface and smell moved me, like watching the stones at Ryoan-ji in Kyoto, imagining the feel of moss on stone.
My video has steered into a different direction, so I’m following this new path, and will re-shoot (D) North by Northwest in December.