DUers do Bloomington Pitt style: A tale told with pictures

[prolesunited]

The impetus for the two-day extravaganza was Will Pitt's appearance on the Indiana University campus. This as well as a visit to Indianapolis was spearheaded by salin, who is as intelligent and dynamic in person as she is online.

While salin was handling the details of Will's appearances, we have bloom to thank for stepping in to coordinate the DU gatherings, making local arrangements and herding the posse.

The first night featured dinner and drinks at a downtown eatery. In attendance were:
bottom row from left, Nlighten1, IAmJacksSmirkingRevenge, bloom and top row, RainDog and Blue-Jay.



Will and salin cut out a little early for a student-run discussion, leaving us to our own devices. Probably not a good idea. :evilgrin:

Judging by it's graffiti, Bloomington has a slightly radical edge, so our roving band of left-wing thugs fit right in.



RainDog, a woman in the know who seemed to run into people she knew every time we were out, took as on a grand tour of the downtown — the highlight of which was the funkiest bathroom in town, located at Soma's. The group traipsed in, piled into the bathroom, snapped a few shots, laughed uproariously and then filed back out the door.



Obviously, Blue-Jay is a leg man. ;-)

[Skittles]

1. DIDN'T I USED TO DATE BLUE-JAY IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Yes..............wasn't he the one who FELL OUT OF THE CAR WHILE BACKING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY? My dad wanted to kill him. :7

[Blue-Jay]

14. That was YOU?!?!

It takes talent to fall out of a moving car. Coupled with my bicycling skills, I'm quite the phenomenon.

Note to all of DU: I DATED SKITTLES AND SURVIVED! I'm not to be trifled with.

[prolesunited]

16. Are you two serious?

Or am I just incredibly gullible. :shrug:

[Blue-Jay]

19. I dunno.

What do your instincts tell you?

[prolesunited]

21. OK

Never mind. :P

But who would have thought RainDog and I would have the same birthday? The chances were 1 in 365.

[RainDog]

2. the amazing thing is how limber you are, Proles!

I mean, you must be triple jointed to get your legs into that picture.

[prolesunited]

3. We wandered back on campus

Will had heard that some local Young Repugs were planning a counter event. Nlighten1's ears perked up upon hearing that, but, sadly they apparently chickened out and were nowhere in sight.

Salin ushered us in the back way and we listened to Will's Q & A session with a group of students. They passed out slips of paper on which we could write questions for Will. We had some, but we pocketed them for later at the bar. :D

IAmJacksSmirkingRevenge has a little fun with RainDog



Can't you just see the inner peace shining from Nlighten1?



Blue-Jay was a trooper. Although he had injured his arm in a cycling mishap, he fortified himself with OTC pain relievers and beer and hung in there with us. This was one of his more comfortable positions.



Proof that Pitt was, indeed, there. Don't you recognize the top of his head?

[Nlighten1]

4. Cool

Anyone else have their pics from Bloomington? Thanks for the shots!

[prolesunited]

5. After a few beers

Will obligingly answered our questions, which ranged from matcom's smiling ass to how to monger a sailor. We also learning how to get back into Skinner's good graces after a blow-up.

This was Will's commentary on the evening. Not sure if we wore him out or he's hoping if he closes his eyes, we'll go away. ;-) If you look closely, you'll see he's sitting in a booth once occupied by Kurt Vonnegut. That's his autographed picture above Will's head.

[never cry wolf]

6. Thanks for the pix!!

Sorry I missed a midwestern meetup.

Now, how can we get Will to come to Chicago??

[nickgutierrez]

58. Hey, I second this idea

He'd make a great guest speaker at the U. of C. :D

[prolesunited]

59. Do you have any connections there?

It certainly could be arranged.

[nickgutierrez]

75. Well, I'm a student there

Does that count?

[WilliamPitt]

63. Ask.

:)

[slinkerwink]

7. damn, no pics of will's face?

now I'll always wonder what he looks like....:-)

[RainDog]

9. He didn't want to be seen with us

but I can tell you he's a muffin.

[PVnRT]

61. Actually, he's a dead ringer for Alec Baldwin

With glasses, anyway.

[prolesunited]

8. RainDog was sweet enough to let me

stay at her house, where we stayed up until 3 a.m. discovering that we had oddly parallel lives.

We even share the same birthday. Yikes! :wow:

RainDog checks in at DU Monday morning



IAmJacksSmirkingRevenge paid us an early morning visit. Here's his opinion of Bush.



Following a morning of DU, chit-chat and backgammon, we headed into town for lunch. Blue-Jay, who had spent taking in the sights by car, calls us and we meet him at Borders. Being the good evilDUers that we are, IAmJacksSmirkingRevenge and I had lots of fun in the politics section. :evilgrin: Then we drove back to RainDog's house for a private screening of "Unprecedented."

[RainDog]

13. Hey, where are the pictures of YOU

And I'm so glad you didn't show all the dust bunnies..uh, more like dust dinosaurs, in my house in those pix...

IamJack'sSmirkingRevenge looks right at home though! :)

[prolesunited]

20. Well, salin and I do have our super secret identities

to protect and all. :-)

Here's Blue-Jay's theory: I'm guessing that you're both living under assumed identities, due to some "trouble" with protest-related bombings in the latter stages of the Vietnam War. Either that, or you lit bags of dogshit on Reagan's front porch and laughed while he stomped it out in his bare feet. Maybe the witness-protection program?

[prolesunited]

10. Time for dinner

Nlighten1 and IAmJacksSmirkingRevenge had to leave early and salin was at the event site making preparations, so it was just us.

[RainDog]

25. The Awful Truth

arrrrggghhh. okay, I guess I have to overcome my frappuccino addiction. it wasn't enough that I can't fit into my clothes, of course, to make me wonder about those fifteen pounds in six months...

of course, being a DU slug hasn't helped either.

ooooh. the truth hurts.

[prolesunited]

11. And for all those Pitt fans wondering what he looks like

here you go!



This woman's husband is in Iraq and the book Will is signing is being shipped out to him.

[Catherine Vincent]

12. To Bluejay

Hubba hubba...

[Blue-Jay]

15. Hubba Bubba was my favorite gum as a kid.

Or something.

[prolesunited]

17. Here you go!

But I hardly think that was what she was talking about. ;-)

[RainDog]

18. glad to see you made it home!

thanks again so much for driving over. it was great to meet you.

[Blue-Jay]

22. It wasn't easy.

But at least I didn't have to flirt my way out of a speeding ticket like someone else. (of all the times I wish I'd had a camera on hand....)

[RainDog]

23. Did you go to the doc about your shoulder?

how's that doing?

[Blue-Jay]

24. I went.

Thanks to the miracle of vicodin, heating pads, electric massagers (no, not THAT! kind) and bourbon, I'm much better. I'll be falling off of high places in no time.

[RainDog]

26. But most importantly---

can you play the sax???

(and can you learn that sax part in Tom Waits' "Alice?"

command performance in Bloomington!!

next time you bring your sax.

[Blue-Jay]

28. Next time I will.

Also, I won't be learning someone else's sax solo because a) there's no art in copying someone else and b) I'm lazy. Mostly "b".

[RainDog]

30. but I was gonna sing like Tom Waits!

I'm big in Japan!

[salin]

35. so does that mean you also do a rendition of

"I think I'm turning Japanese..." ?

[RainDog]

38. Of course! And I pogo, too.

...but if I'm really gonna go all nostalgic, I'd rather hear a little Madness and One Step Beyond.

Hey Blue Jay, do you do ska on your sax?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

71. I thought harmonicas were your thing!

And I love the pics. I can hear that Tennessee drawl now :D

[RainDog]

74. moi?

I don't think I have much of a southern drawl, at least not compared to most southerners.

..and I've been avoiding harmonicas. or I'm "just friends" with harmonicas, or working on it.

[salin]

36. falling off no high places

with that mix of fix for the ache... don't need to fall from the "high" :o

[prolesunited]

27. Ssshhh...

You weren't supposed to tell. :spank:

You're just jealous that I was able to get a $90 speeding ticket and two points on my license turned into a $25 seat belt violation and no points. When he asked me if I had any other tickets, I could honestly answer no. I had flirted my way out of those, too. :P

[RainDog]

29. busted

at least on DU. :)

how come I get my car towed at a charity event in a bar and you talk your way out of everything???

maybe you're really my evil twin skippy. LOL

[Blue-Jay]

31. She can't be your "evil" twin.

No goatee. That's pretty much a rule.

Although I'll have to admit that you're both ranked high on the Cool-Chick-O-Meter.

[RainDog]

32. yeah, well, I just sculpted an effigy of you and

I'm worshipping it right now. :)

...or something like that.

[Blue-Jay]

34. awwww.

Stop making it so difficult to be a smartass, willya? 

<tries to remember if he accidently left any hair or
personal items at the Rain-Dog palace>

[prolesunited]

40. She said effigy

not voodoo doll. So, how's that shoulder and arm feeling? ;-)

BTW, since you have a goatee, does that mean you're the evil twin?

[RainDog]

42. heh heh

<tries to remember if he accidently left any hair or
personal items at the Rain-Dog palace>

heh heh

[salin]

43. sounds like I missed some interesting

events ... the soma bathroom legs, and fears of wild lost hairs at RainDogs?!

[RainDog]

46. Not to mention

when IAmJack'sSmirkingRevenge was shooting up...

(that's not sorta true, Johnny Law)

[salin]

48. And how did you explain

the peas stuck to the ceiling, to your kids?

[salin]

41. That takes some skill... rock on!

you could charge for that talent. ;-) Glad that you got home safely, even if it was a little exciting.

[prolesunited]

45. Well, now that I've bragged

I'm terminally jinxed. :-( I did drive pretty much the speed limit the rest of the way home, though.

[salin]

47. Thats smarter than the dude I saw pulled over on today's commute

cop comes from behind me - a couple of miles ahead he has a car stopped... and no more than 10 minutes later the car speeds by me clocking at least 70 (in a 55)....

I am assuming there wasn't much traffic but you and the semis?

[salin]

33. A picturebook-thread! Well Done!

and quite the agile bathroom trick!

What a fabulous group! Thanks for Bloom for pulling the DU side of things together. I was a bit... overwhelmed.

[Blue-Jay]

37. Still waiting for the pic of you and Hunter Thompson on a tricycle.

<taps foot>

[salin]

39. have to admit

I was sort of scanning the pictures displayed with a tad bit of trepidation.... at least the bike didn't have a banana seat and basket!

[RainDog]

44. of all the gin joints in all the world...

your first boyfriend had to hear us talking about Hunter S. Thompson by way of Johnny Depp...

[salin]

49. eighth grade ...

Was that not unbelievably... odd? But that is one of the charms of Nick's.... never know who else will come passing through... Doesn't everyone in the state have to go to Nicks at least once in life to officially earn "Hoosier" status?

[PVnRT]

60. Christ, that guy was high out of his mind

I wonder if he even remembers coming in there that night.

[salin]

69. one has to wonder...

I would bet... no.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

72. HAHAHA She KNEW someone would post that!

[BeHereNow]

50. Wah, I miss Indiana!

I grew up in Terre Haute and used to spend time in
Bloomington every chance I got!
My band used to play at the Bluebird, is it still there?
and Mama Bears...does it still stand?
I miss Indiana!
Covered bridges, Brown County- GOD'S Country!
I am so happy you guys had a good time with Will-
Is he the best or what?
Thanks for sharing the pics!
BHN

[RainDog]

51. Bluebird just celebrated 30 years in biz

what was the name of your band?-- what kind of music?

Bears is also still in biz, and still booking shows. Last one I saw there was Anson Thunderburke with Sam Evans.

They show Ryder films there too...was the Ryder around when you were here?

And they do comedy caravan.

The Runcible Spoon is also still here, but I didn't take them to the bathroom with the fish swimming in the tub.

Blue Jay took a drive out to Yellowood Forest/Brown County when he was here. Said it was a great place to dump a body (and this was when he was sitting in my house...)

We all met at The Uptown Cafe for dinner on the night Will spoke- that's been here for forever.

[BeHereNow]

52. Oh cool!

I am so happy to hear it!
The band was called "Buckskin" and we did bluegrass new grass
style- this was in 1978? 79? Somewhere in there...
God I can't believe it's been that lon ago...we used to tour
with JD Crowe and the New South. Same agent out of Louisville.
There was some GREAT music in that part of the country back then-
still is from what I hear.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and I really miss the non-ego
approach to music that I had back there.
People played because they loved to play-
out here, it is all about your hairdo and your car...
LOTS o bullshit and not much music.
so sad.
the best time I ever had playing music was when I lived in Indiana...

BHN

[RainDog]

54. You should come back to visit for the Beanblossom Blues Fest

you can camp out.

year before James Cotton played.

But you might prefer the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Fest. :)

I know what you mean about L.A. -- and not just about music.

I used to do some work related to the whole L.A. scene and, yes, it was so much about weird status power games when I was there. As a female, I found (and so did a friend of mine) that few cared about your talent or lack of, and too many cared if they thought you were f*#@kable. Then, if they thought you were, they didn't take you seriously.

And I know what you mean about the music here. Of course, it would be nice if people who were getting by with "day jobs" could actually earn enough to afford the rent.

[BeHereNow]

55. I used to play at Bean Blossom...

Magical, mystical place.
I would LOVE to visit again...maybe this summer?
Hmmm, now there is a thought-
must check calendar for event schedule at Bean Blossom,
yes, yes...
My daughter is going to attend a summer program at a
Chicago Art school, so I will be in the area when I drop her off...
Can't wait to meet my fellow DUers in Indiana!
And yes, LA sucks, that is why I don't leave my house very often.
SCARY, ANGRY people here, driving HUMMERS on the freeways!
HELP!
BHN

[RainDog]

56. Have you ever been here for the Lotus Fest?

You really, really should make the trip for that one. it's in September...third weekend? It's three days of world music, roots music, and dancing.

what instrument do you play?

we should get you and Blue Jay here at the same time. I have a crappy drum set in my basement (my son's), a guido, a crappy half of an electric piano, two recorders, a guitar...

and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee

and now I've gotta go to sleep. 'night.

[BeHereNow]

57. This September won't work,

but I will certainly be there during the summer.
We shall make wailing DU music then,
Good night- Salin has a CD of some of my tunes btw...
BHN

[salin]

73. And it is amazing

I am just sad that I must have just barely missed being able to hear you play live in the area, back in the day.

[Blue-Jay]

53. Random thoughts on the Bloomington DU meet-up before bed time.

In the style of the recently-deceased Irv Kup (or Larry King. Same thing):

* It was my first DU meetup experience and I have to say that I absolutely adored everyone.

* I liked Bloomington. Good restaurants, and a positive vibe permeates the entire place. I'll no longer poke fun at IU students (goat-ropers that they are)

* It's a rarity for me to meet a bunch of new people and not get annoyed with at least one of them.

* In addition to being a great speaker/writer, Will is cool and fun to hang around with. He doesn't smell half bad, either.

* The Motel 6 on Walnut Street could invest in some new pillows. I'm glad that I brought my own.

* The extra-spicy Vegan Curry kicked ass. My colon would like to thank the chef at Cafe Django.

* To RainDog, Proles, Bloom, & Salin: Wow. Just wow. You guys made me feel at home without even trying. Buncha classy broads, you are.

* To SmirkingJack & Nlighten1: Which one of you dickheads stole my wallet?

* I saw the Deliverance Kid as I was driving through Yellow Wood Forest (or whatever it's called)

* The local Waffle House cooks the bacon a little TOO crispy. I prefer bacon to have less of a slate roof texture.

* I promise that I'll be more fun next time, instead of constantly wincing. Let mw know when the "next time" is going to happen, OK?

-Jay-

[PVnRT]

62. Good times, good times

Although next time I think we need to take someone on the Crawl and see if they can make it. I have yet to see anyone come out of that walking.

[bloom]

64. nevermind....

:hi:

[prolesunited]

67. Thanks!

Sorry for being a pain. I hope you understand. :D

[bloom]

68. no problem

[salin]

70. YEA Bloom!

Thanks so much for taking the reins - and doing so wonderfully at it!

[bloom]

65. Thanks prolesunited!!

for putting all the picts together. Great Job!!



P.S. The next day I was in the Soma bathroom and I got worried that it was the men's room - when I had been thinking it was the woman's room for some reason. (Turns out it is unisex :) ).

If anyone is putting toegether a cool bathroom book - that should be in it.

[prolesunited]

66. Please check your inbox

:hi: