Coco and I went to a SXSW film called "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" at the Alamo downtown Wednesday night. It was about Acrassicauda, the only heavy metal band in Iraq. The experience was fun and the movie was interesting, but I'll talk about the movie first. It wasn't just about heavy metal-- thank goodness, since I know only enough about heavy metal to understand that the screaming didn't mean they were doing it wrong. I realized as the camera panned across the view from the filmmaker's hotel room and filmed through the windows and windshield of their car that I only ever see still photos of chaos in the papers. It was a very different, much more personal view of Iraq than I (we) get from embedded newspaper and radio reporters. The movie was more about people's attempts to make music-- in Iraq under Saddam, in Iraq after Saddam, in Iraq under chaos, in Syria, and now in Turkey-- than about the music itself. Although it's not a stunningly well-put-together documentary, as documentaries go (it is co-director Suroosh Alvi's first film), it is very interesting. Watch it if you get the chance. The movie's (and band's) website is here. It will have a limited theatrical release, and probably a tour of about 50 colleges.
Since last Friday, and until this one, chez me has been fairly bursting at the seams with furry things. In addition to the two (2) kitties and our one (1) standard-issue dog, we have the neighbours' one (1) freak of nature dog and the neighbours' parents' two (2) cute-but-emasculating furball dogs. And the names? Ally, Johnny, Chiisaii, Poco, Noko, and Koku. On walks-- oh, don't get me started on walks. Well, if you insist.
Walking two trained dogs and one untrained dog is vastly easier than walking one trained dog and two untrained dogs. And walking one trained dog and two untrained dogs is easier than walking one trained dog and three untrained dogs. In all combinations, the beginning is a bit rough. Between the leashes, the dogs, the dogs' legs, the gate, and the first excited foray outside, the stretch from yard to street is better gone unnoticed. But then we get moving, figure out which leashes do best in which hand, and it's all cool. The fact that I am competently walking four dogs at once-- even if I'm a little hesitant to be seen in public with three of them-- makes me, I'll admit, a bit cocky. Then...then we stop. One dog lunges for a totally innocuous patch of grass, jerking everyone else to a stop. Another dog realizes what is going on, and scampers around my legs to see what the fuss is about. Then another. And even the coolest of dogs eventually gets curious, generally right around the time the first dog's curiosity has been satisfied. Then it's a devil's game of double dutch in order not to fall over or strangle a dog while trying to sort out all the leashes again. Repeat from step 2 as necessary.
17 hours ago
