Connoisseurs of insomnia know there are at least three types:
1.) Can't fall asleep for hours.
2.)Fall asleep, but wake up for hours in the middle of the night.
3.)Fall asleep, but wake up at least an hour too early and can't get back to sleep.
The first is hell on earth. The third, which I'm fortunate enough to have as my insomnia mainstay these days, is downright pleasant by comparison--you get a jump on the day, you can read the paper, maybe catch up on some reading, send insincere friend requests to people you hate on myspace, stuff like that.
Or sometimes, you go down and flop on the couch and find something on that turns out to be just incredible. Such was the case when, at about 5 in the morning, I caught New York Doll on tv. This movie, a documentary about New York Dolls bassist Arthur Kane, completely kicked my butt. I was way too young for the Dolls, and so I never got to revere them the way some people do, but even still, this is a brilliant, profoundly moving documentary about, among other things, the incredible power of music to bring people together and change lives. Now, it's not unusual that I have a tear trickle down my face when watching a movie, but I was full-on bawling at the end of this one. It's just one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. And if you're into the New York Dolls beyond "Trash" and "Personality Crisis," you'll probably like it even more than I did.
Here's the trailer:
