Bean goes to the Capitol

Forbidden love
Originally uploaded by beancounter.

Is it wrong to have a crush on a building?

Part of yesterday's training on the legislative process was a surprise visit to the State Capitol. Score! I was the only one in the group with a camera. They marvelled. I felt like telling them, 'Hey, I'm a blogger. I've trained myself to carry a digital camera with me everywhere. I have Discipline Of Iron.'

Our tourguide, Brandon, took us around to offices, and even to the floor of the assembly and the senate. Gave us a great insider's look. At the end of the tour, he even passed out business cards to us all. 'I like to give tours to people who can affect change in our state,' he declared, which was over-stating our importance by a long shot but we loved him for it.

One non-legislative thing stuck out in my mind. He was telling us about Ahnold's star quality. 'No matter what you think of him politically,' Brandon confided, 'if he were to walk into this chamber right now, you'd all be like - 'and here he mimicked star-struck people fumbling for pen and paper to ask for autographs, and cameras to ask for pictures.

There I was, trying to hide my own camera, thinking, shit - that's how I already feel about the *whole building*. What more could Arnold's presence bring?

Comments

[Anthony]

Building love I can understand (after all, I've had my own "I can't deconstruct you" relationship with the Sydney Opera House for decades now) but Ahnold star quality? As Kurt Weill said, gimme a Brecht. If he walked in the room I would make it a point of saying "It's Howie Long: cool!"

[BB]

I sang at Arnold's inauguration. It made money for the CSUS Choral department and the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra. I was not impressed by Arnold, but all of the movie people, the ‘to perfect to be from nature’ in their glory, were fun to watch striking a pose. I always seem to be raising money for the arts by singing for conservatives. The Gallo's (Actually it was Maria Gallo) had me sing at her tea party after I won The New York Met opera auditions. I have been a liberal Democrat my whole life, and seem to be always asking for money from conservatives to further "ART". Sometimes I feel like a not so well paid whore.

[Dan]

Lovely picture. Lovely building.

Hasn't anyone noticed that Arnold's a liberal Democrat now? He has deep feeling for our planet and its future. The Republican part of him just doesn't want to ask us to pay more taxes to do anything about the planet (or anything else).

[molly]

I've got such big crushes on a few buildings in Baltimore that I am painting pixtures of them!