The Noms

Well it's that time of year. Oscar time is upon us and I'll be honest, no real surprises in the nominations for me this year. Unless you count the fact that Brokeback Mountain got 8 nominations and it was merely an okay film in my opinion. I won't bore you with a recap of all the categories, but you do get the majors with a sneak peek at my thought process on who might win this year. As soon as I get my fantasy pick 'em league up and running, an invite will be posted here on the old blog for any and all takers. Stay tuned.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Terrence Howard
Heath Ledger
Joaquin Phoenix
David Strathairn

Here's the thing about Best Actor, I genuinely like 4 of the 5 guys in this group and the fifth, Heath Ledger, gave the best perfromance in his movie Brokeback Mountain. Since Heath has been getting shut out by Hoffman in all the major awards this year, you have to think Philip Seymour is becoming a lock. Three of the five are playing real people, something the academy leans towards, but I must be honest I've only seen 3 performances (Phoenix, Ledger and Howard) and the one I enjoyed most was Hustle and Flow's Terrence Howard.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
George Clooney
Matt Dillon
Paul Giamatti
Jake Gyllenhaal
William Hurt

Matt Dillon was incredible in Crash, but I've only seen his and Jake's performances. Giamatti's nomination appears like a make up for getting snubbed for Sideways, so he ain't winning. Clooney has 3 nominations this year, so look for him to get shut out of this one as well. William Hurt from what I hear is only in his movie for 8 minutes of screen time, something that hasn't prevented Paul Newman and Judi Dench from winning in this type of category in the past. However, I think the good money could be on Matt this year.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Judi Dench
Felicity Huffman
Keira Knightley
Charlize Theron
Reese Witherspoon

Felicity Huffman has been battling Reese for trophies this award season, making this more interesting that you might think, but ulitmately Reese will have the edge based on the fact that she is playing June Carter. Looking across the nominations here I can't help but think that woman's roles are starting to suck again. What happened ladies?

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams
Catherine Keener
Frances McDormand
Rachel Weisz
Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams getting a nomination is exciting to me as a former Dawson's Creek die hard, but honestly she doesn't have much of a shot against such heavys as Catherine Keener and Frances McDormand. Rachel Weisz in addition to being the hottest nominee this year, apparently adds a lot to her film where as the other nominees are just what the title implies, supporting roles. But, the buzz is all over Amy Adams and Junebug, so she could pull this one out and shock us a la Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny.

Achievement in directing and Best motion picture of the year
Brokeback Mountain
Ang Lee
Capote
Bennett Miller
Crash
Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck.
George Clooney
Munich
Steven Spielberg

I can't recall when the last time all 5 nominated Best Pictures shared the honor with their respective directors in the Best Director category, but it's nice to see. I am always mystified when a movie is nomiated for Best Picture and the director, the guy or girl who put the fucking thing together gets overlooked. Right on Academy. I think this is a two horse race between Crash and Brokeback Mountain, with the edge going to Brokeback due primarily to buzz. I would give it to Crash to be honest. What I don't get is the omission of Walk the Line here? Did Cloonely do that great a job with Good Night, and Good Luck?


Adapted screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Capote
Screenplay by Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener
Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence
Screenplay by Josh Olson
Munich
Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth

Brokeback can pretty much lock this one up. This pick is my LOCK of the show. Mark my words.

Original screenplay
Crash
Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco
Story by Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
Match Point
Written by Woody Allen
The Squid and the Whale
Written by Noah Baumbach
Syriana
Written by Stephen Gaghan

Cool to see Gaghan nominated again, Traffic was a solid winner a few years back, and now that he is nominated for a movie starring a fellow writing nominee in Clooney is an interesting twist on things. The Wood man usually squeaks in a direting nomination, but here he is at 97 years old getting a writing nod. My dark horse is the buzz heavy The Squid and the Whale, but Crash has the best shot here.

So there you have it. My lingering questions will hopefully be answered before the big night, I have several of the major films on my Netflix list so I can handicap things accordingly, so some of my predicitons may change based on a viewing.

What I'm bummed about is that Jeff Daniels didn't get a nomination for The Squid and the Whale, nor did Steve Carell for 40 Year Old Virgin. It would be nice for the Academy to step up and acknowledge that it's not easy to play comedy for once. And with regard to Jeff Daniels, he's just a guy who has been plugging along for years and he could use the encouragement.

Grizzly Man

This documentary is nuts. I'm not even sure that it isn't fake, even though it appears to be completely real. Who decides to live among Grizzly Bears in the Alaska wilderness to protect them from poachers? A clearly mentally unbalanced man named Tim, that's who. The footage of the bears is astonishing, but the staged interviews are borderline creepy. Worth a view.

The Weekend, Thus Far

The rare 2 for 2 weekend for me. I managed to leave my house both Friday and Saturday night to partake in some night life. Friday night was a much overdue appearance at the Firehouse, which was kind of mellow to be honest. The usual crowd was thin, so I just 5th Wheeled it with Joolie, Eric, Mike and Erika. Mike recently moved in with Erika, a sweet single Mom with a Supersuckers fetish like mine, and she was giving me tips on houses for sale in her neighborhood. Otherwise, pretty tame night consisting of 4 beers and some conversation.

I took it easy Friday night to be in a position to go to this coffee house near Augusta State University on Saturday morning to see Science! at her work place. We were overdue on a conversation about her love life, so I was going to see her and grab some coffee. As an added bonus, my friend Sydney was there and we wound up hanging out for a few hours reading the paper, fucking off on the internet and talking about long distance relationships. I followed up my coffee overload with a viewing of Hostel, a disgusting porn with blood as Syd likes to call it. I'm in agreement with both Joolie and Syd that the movie was entertaining. I'm not a huge fan of Cabin Fever, but Eli Roth does make interesting horror films. Never knowing who is behind the evil is the lingering scare that is kind of cool. However, whenever I see Jay Hernandez in a movie I think of Kirsten Dunst's boobs due to Crazy/Beautiful, so it was kind of like boobie overload.

Last night I went to a new bar that I have never been to here in downtown Augusta called the Still Water Tap Room. It was very quaint, lots of fancy beers on tap for a flat rate of $3.75 a pint. I'd say the place was moderately packed for the star attraction, this honky tonk band from Tennessee called the The Tennessee Rounders. These guys were amazing, both guitar players sing and have distinctly different voices, and I'm a sucker for Upright Bass. Do yourself a favor, (especially you Jared) and check them out here. The song Pabst Blue Ribbon was a crowd pleaser, but I'm partial to Black Cadillac from this collection available on Myspace.

Being There

For once I was not a contributor or a victim in an emergency room visit.

Yesterday while minding my business at work, an associate and friend of mine just completely freaked out and had a severe panic attack. Now I've never been around someone who just couldn't breathe, was vomiting and crying relentlessly in my life, so I was 100% shocked and shaken at the sight. It's possibly the scariest thing I've seen in real life. Once the ambulance arrived and our victim was situated on board, she pleaded with me to accompany her to the ER.

As tempting as it was to get a free ambulance ride, I decided that driving my car there would be a better option than having both of us stranded at the hospital 25 minutes away from work and near both of our residences. It pained me to not be on board while she was afraid and hyper ventalating, but I more than made up for it by sitting in the ER with her for the next 6 hours. Yep, six fucking hours. Took 3 hours just to have a doctor come by for the consultation. We passed the time by talking, me being funny to take her mind off the madness, and with her trying to relax and rest as much as possible considering.

All in all, it's not how I would have wanted to spend a Thursday night, but sometimes in life you have to just be there for someone else. I know that if the roles were reversed and something happened to me, I would want someone to be by my side while I was sitting in a hospital. This might be the biggest hurdle to deal with associated with relocating to a new area of the country. You are forced to bond with people who will get your back when the shit goes down. I'm sure she would have much rather had her Mom or boyfriend there with her instead of me, but at the same time she was elated to have someone be there for her. And I was happy I could be there for her. Selflessness is empowering, and I don't live my life like that enough.

Like I was remarking at work today, I'm still probably going to hell, but I may have gotten an upgrade by my actions yesterday. Where I'll be will be slightly less hot perhaps?

Chris Penn - Dead @ 40

Brother of Sean and Michael Penn was found dead today in a condo. Cause of death is unclear, but I'm gonna guess heart related considering he has gotten bigger and bigger over the years. Mix in some possible drug use for good measure perhaps. But does it matter how he died? Not really. It kind of sucks to die at 40 years old. Even if you are the least sucessful member of your family.

In looking over Chris' career I can't help but notice a shitload of clunkers on the resume.

Beethoven's 2nd
Corky Romano
Stealing Harvard
One Tough Cop
Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar

Yikes.

But something about his early work makes me think about how much I liked the guy when he was in his early twenties and so fucking cock sure and goofy.

Footloose - Everyone remember's him learning how to dance to the strains of Let's Hear it For the The Boy.

Rumble Fish, All the Right Moves - He played a good side kick kid.

At Close Range - Chris Walken playing Dad to the Penn boys was something to behold.

The Wild Life - Incredibly underrated teen comedy from 1984 with Eric Stoltz. I love this fucking movie!

Pale Rider - Clint Eastwood obviously saw some potentil in Chris to cast him in this cowboy classic.

Resevior Dogs - Nice Guy Eddie is probaby his signature role, and this movie is a cult classic is it not?


Anyway, Chris hasn't done much of value since 1996, the year Mulholland Falls was released, but it's still tough to see him go.

I guess I'm trying to say Rest in Peace dude.

Copious Amounts of Useless Junk

Forgot to mention that on Saturday, oh wait, let me back up a second. So downtown Augusta is like a giant hospital much like Temple pretty much occupies all of North Phily at this point. We have Medical College of Georgia, University Hospital, some Veteran's hospital, etc. In any case, trying to locate someone who is stuck in one of these hospitals can be quite a challenge or so I found out on Saturday morning when I spent an hour trying to locate the right hospital. The worst part is that I had the name of the hospital (MCG) and the room number, yet I was still in 2 other hospitals before I located the right one.

I, yet again, digress.

So this really good guy Chris I met down here apparently got a mean case of Acute Pancreatitis and wound up spending a few days in the hospital. In case you, like I, wonder what the hell Acute Pancreatitis is, let's see what WebMD tells us...

Acute pancreatitis is associated with excessive alcohol drinking and gallstones about 80% of the time in the U.S., with the rest as a result of viral and bacterial infections, drugs, blockage of the pancreatic duct, trauma or surgery to the abdomen, elevated calcium levels, or extremely high triglyceride levels (a type of fat that circulates in the blood).

Considering that this is Augusta, GA and most, if not all,of the people I associate with are found nightly in the Firehouse take a guess as to what put old Chris in this situation? Yep, excessive binge drinking. Looks like he will be the second guy I've met here that has to quit drinking. This other guy Jason, another swell dude, blames his crumbling marriage and the assault of one of his friends on the evil beast known as alcohol. I'm so thankful that I don't have an addictive personality or a desire to get loaded all the fucking time. Finally my irritable bowels come in handy!

I've been listening to the same rotation of songs over and over again lately and can't seem to get sick of them. Since I'm all about sharing, here's the list.

1. Ordinary People by John Legend. This is a song that's time has come and gone, but I can't help by sing along with it at the top of my lungs daily. It's my black side I suppose. Joking. I do dig a passionate, soulful tune from time to time. I have this fantasy of singing it for Ms. Beele since I know she likes Mr. Legend, and in the fantasy she rather enjoys it. I'm sure this plays out better in my head than it ever would in person.

2. Song For You by Alexi Murdoch. This dude sings that song Orange Sky that was featured I'm certain on the OC since every trendy, indie band/artist appears to be these days. In any case, this song is better than that one.

3. Friend of a Friend by Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl is probably my favorite song writer/singer over the last 10 years. This song might be about Kurt Cobain, who I always thought was an idiot. But I like it.

4. Life on Mars? by Seu Jorge. This is from the Life Aquatic soundtrack and it's in another language. It's real pretty and such.

5. Jackson by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. "We got married in a fever..." Not the best song, but the harmonies are sweet. Makes me think about Walk the Line and just Johnny Cash in general, and that's cool.

West Wing got walking papers today by NBC. And I just literally got into the show over the holidays. On the plus side, I only have to catch up on 7 seasons as opposed to like 12 or 14. I guess they have to make room for Skiing with Celebrities or some shit.

I learned the other day that I have been mispronouncing Sufjan Stevens first name for like 2 years now. Interesting.

I totally said I wasn't going to watch American Idol this season. I lied. That shit is like crack I tell ya.

Oh yeah, Intervention made me cry tonight while I was eating dinner. Eating and crying simultaneously is just a horrible scene. And then on top of it I got a phone call that I had to take. Ridonkulous.

Brokeback Mountain

I'll give you this, Brokeback Mountain is the Best Gay Movie of the last year. However, it don't think it's the Best Picture of 2005. There is no doubt that the nominations for Oscar will flow in Ang Lee's way in the coming weeks, but I honestly think that this movie is slightly overrated due to the it's casual handling of the gay factor. If you aren't shocked by two men kissing, for the record I'm not, then really what it comes down to is that this movie is a historical portayal of closeted gay men in the 1960's Wyoming and it plays out really slowly, so bring a catheter if you can. I'm not saying I was bored, and I don't think Sydney was bored either. What? You think I'm going to a gay cowboy movie while the AFC Championship Game is on without a female escort? Anyway, like I was saying, the movie is kind of slow. Wyoming is beautiful to look at, and I'm guessing for the ladies so are Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhal, but it's not quite enough for me to stay connected. Instead I was focusing on bad wigs and horrible facial hair. The acting was solid, Heath did a great job and I was worried about him pulling this off. Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway both shed some of their teenage pigeon-holing as well as their clothes. Jake had a tougher time "transforming" into a 39 year old, but was still solid. I guess I just found the material a little dry. Usually I cry at the slightest emotional tug in a movie, yet with this one I didn't even get upset. Maybe that's the direction? In any case, I'd still recommend the movie to others with the caveat that there is some need for movies like this to widen the exposure of homosexuals in the world. Even if this one is just good and not great.

Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear?

Hot on the heels of me declaring the SNL might be funny again due to a musical bit revolving around a kid's movie and reefer comes this horribly UNFUNNY revelation. Rick Moranis of SCTV and Honey I Shrunk something movie fame has release a country CD this past week. I am not lying. I swear on my mother's grave.

Click the link and see for yourself. If you are brave, sample some songs.

Why? Why? Why?

Chronic (Narnia)

Is SNL funny again? Well, I always liked Chris Parnell anyway. Click the link and watch this shizzz.

Organized Chaos?

I'm venturing a guess that Georgia doesn't run the smoothest Traffic Court in this fine land based on my experience this morning. I was naive enough to think that "my court date" at 8:30 AM this morning was just that, mine. Instead, it was about 100 people's court date as well. Two mind numbing hours of waiting and then I don't even get to speak to a judge, just a clerk who asks if I'm pleading Guilty or Not Guilty to the charges. Apparently, this court date is just an arraignment and there will be a round two if you want to fight the ticket. That's fucked. Needless to say I didn't fight it and wound up just paying the fucking thing. However, the prosecutor let me plead No Contest and pay the fine in lieu of assessing points on my license and considering it was a 4 point offense, I guess it was worth it. Especially in light of getting a ticket just 4 days ago for the same violation in the same state I like to call home now.

Book Report(s)

So I've read a few books of late and thought I should pass along the good word on them to strum up sales. I've just begun that book A Million Little Pieces, even though it is apparently falsafied and shit, but so far it's quite good.

Oedipus Wrecked by Kevin Keck is a hilarious memior about basically jerking off. Entertainment Weekly called this guy incredibly perverted and funny, so I had to check it out. Adolescent sexual experimentation is the topic of this short book that is a funny and quick read. I'm guessing guys will like it more than the ladies.

Superstud by Paul Feig is a book by the creator of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared (two shows I adored) and therefore this book was a no brainer to buy. The subtitle of Or How I Became a 24 Year Old Virgin drew me in and made me think this book would be relatable for me and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, if you want to know more about me, read this book. Some of the hobbies and events are slightly different, but all in all it's close to my experience as a teenage lothario. Again it's a memior, my genre of choice these days, and the guy is very funny, another commonality I'm breaking with Million Little Pieces I suspect.

The Truth by Al Franken basically says G. W. Bush lied a lot. And frankly I enjoy this type of book when it's funnier. Al went straight on me and I was kind of bored. I get that GW is an a-hole, but I kind of like when Al makes fun of him a lot more. Sorry.

The End of an Era

Okay, so I just got back from a couple days in VA Beach for my old man's retirement party and here's what I figured out:

1. Bad things happen to me. Example; My return flight from Atlanta to Augusta was cancelled, with no re-scheduled flights until tomorrow, forcing me to land in ATL, rent a car for $200, drive 140 miles home and naturally I manage to get clipped doing 90 MPH in a 70 MPH zone. Total bullshit. This story is way more involved considering that my brother in law just made sergeant in the police force and supplied me with a new family member PBA card just two days ago that failed to work on the Good Old Georgia cop who flat out lied about my MPH. How do I know he lied? Because I was on cruise control at 80 for about 20 miles before he snagged me. Crooked cops.

2. My Dad apparently was quite the man at his work place for the last 37 years. The people who came out to honor his career said some incredibly nice things about him, not only in a speech setting, but to my face nowhere within earshot of the old man. He was responsible for advancing a lot of people's careers and there were a lot of grateful people there. I learned that I get a lot of my management style from the guy whether it be osmosis, genetics or his mentoring and I feel kind of validated to know he really was a vital part of his company's operations for oh, so many years.

3. While on the subject of dear, old Dad...he's incredibly unashamed at his love for Avril Lavigne. The man made me watch a DVD concert of hers from a few years back and I honestly felt odd watching it. Not as odd as having to watch this New Jersey chick Lisa Bouchelle that he adores play at his retirement bash in the flesh. My Dad was so well liked that his company paid this chick a couple grand to come sing for 30 people in a ballroom on the beach on a Monday night. It was cool for him since he is such a fan (his wallpaper on his cell phone is a picture that he snapped of her a couple months back), but it felt strange being in the same room as my Dad and his "celebrity" crush at the same time.

4. My sister loves the mall. Yesterday I spent hours and hours in the mall with my brother in law, my Dad and my sister wandering around looking for shoes that she just had to have. I will admit that I took the opportunity to buy some cheap clothes at Old Navy and this t-shirt place, I even bought a new book to read.

5. I love reading. I finished another book, one that I'm working on describing for you all in the form of a review, so stay tuned. Dealing with airports and air travel goes so much smoother when you have a book that you can get lost in.

6. My Dad's new apartment in a high rise down by the beach is incredibly nice. 16th floor, pool, steps from the ocean....you can bet if I were a shore guy I'd be there all summer long. Apparently the old man is doing well for himself, let's just hope now that he is retired he doesn't blow through my inheritance like a crack head looking for a rock.

Anyway, I just got back in town, my mail is like an overgrown lawn that needs addressing and I'm incredibly sore from sleeping on a futon for 3 nights and sitting in a car/plane all fucking day today. Just wanted to pepper in a little something about the weekend. And oh yeah, Glory Road was just okay. Remember the Titans with basketballs.

Eureka!

I was packing tonight for my trip to Virginia and had to use my back pack that has gone untouched since moving here and I found all kinds of tee shirts in it that I assumed I tossed out in the trash before I left Philly. It's like getting a new wardrobe without spending a cent.

Tripping

So in the midst of having a slightly bad time at work this past week, I'm under the gun on completing so appraisals for my team and I've inadvertantly allowed gift card redemptions to pile up to an unacceptable level, I'm about to head to Virginia Beach for a few days. Before I explain why I'm heading to VA Beach, let me first say this about web shoppers. When you get a gift card for Christmas, there is no rule somewhere that you have to use it within the first 2 weeks of ownership. Take your time, mull over some purchases, think about what might be hot in 6 months. I swear to God everyone I sent a gift card to at work has decided to use them this past week. It's downright annoying! I have performance appraisals to write people!!

Anyway...

So my Dad retired after 37 years of employment with Household Bank on 12/20 of last year. I know saying last year this quickly after New Year's is kind of retarded, but so be it. I've committed at this point. I guess when you retire from work there is a mandate somewhere in corporate America that you are required to be roasted/taken to dinner by all the big wigs and shit. So that's why I'm going to VA Beach this Saturday morning at the ass crack of dawn. My Dad's employers thought it would be nice for him to have his kids there to share in the joy that is retiring and since the old man bought me a plane ticket, it's the least I could do. Ha.

Speaking of plane tickets, I scored a nice cheap fare heading North to see Ms. Beele (the flame to end all flames for this whiner) from Travelocity yesterday. For a little over $200 I get to not only spend a nice, relaxing weekend with a stone, cold fox....but I also get to fly through picturesque Detroit on the way there AND the way back. I hope I see Eminem! I only hope that the airfare remains at this affordable rate for some time so that I can visit Philly a decent amount this Spring.

Munich

Steven Spielberg is probably the greatest living movie director. The man can switch genres effortlessly and always bring his A game. And his movies as a result are very watchable and very, very good. He does get a ton of money at his disposal everytime he goes out there, so why shouldn't they? Munich is a nice mixture of history lesson and thrills that turns out to be quite topical considering we live in the age of TERRORISM. In 1972 a terrorist group, Black September, raided the athlete's village in Munich at the Summer Olympics and held hostage the Israeli athletes ultimately killing them after a long drawn out stand off that was shown around the world on TV.

Munich cleverly incorporates both reinacted scenes from this attack with archival footage featured on ABC anchored by Jim McKay, a young Peter Jennings and Howard Cosell but the focus of this movie is the aftermath rather than this vicious attack in Germany. Munich follows the Israeli governments covert operation to target and assassinate "backers" of this tragic event, many of the who's who in the Arab world sprinkled throughout Europe. Eric Bana, who hasn't impressed me since Chopper, stars as Avner Kauffman the leader of a band of operatives from different countries assembled to take as long as it takes to enact revenge. Bana does a fine job portraying a devoted family man and Israeli who eventually is driven to madness by hunting down human targets. There are elements of the movie that are very Ronin or Mission Impossible in nature, the team of assassins dynamic is a familiar one in action movies, but what makes this movie better than most is the insightful way Spielberg explains what has happened between Palestine and Israeli without giving too much time to think that the movie is preachy. The action is swift and furious, like his Minority Report or War of the Worlds, but more representative of the era, late 70's. Home made bombs replace robots, but the man knows how to make even a blow gun murder seem larger than life.

The close to three hour commitment might scare you off, and it's definitely about 20 minutes longer than it needs to be, but the performances, especially by Geoffrey Rush and Daniel Craig, are of the highest caliber and the story is very engrossing. I'm not saying it's the best movie I've seen this past year, nor is it Spielberg finest work, but it's certainly better than most of the shit our there at the local multiplex.

Slumber Party Weekend!

So this weekend I basically laid around my apartment drinking, watching TV and playing board games. Why you ask? Well, two reasons actually. One, I'm still not 100% healthy from my return from Philly. This flu or ebola or whatever it is just isn't going away. Two, my sisters and their friends were in town to visit and since they are under 21 and this is Augusta, GA, there weren't many options. And so, I loaded up the fridge with Beer, Vodka, Red Bull, Mike's Hard Lemonade and we went to town.

My apartment was aptly renamed the giggle factory by me ,since at times that was all I could decipher from the ladies' conversations. I had not spent time in a confined space with 5 girls at once in so long that I wasn't prepared for the transition into sleep over mode. Most of the time everyone was in comfortable clothes and either lounging about or hooting and hollering drunkenly at something someone said or did. Night one saw me take a rare loss in Cranium while teamed up with Danielle, my sister Tina's 18 year old roommate from college. Being thrust into a team situation with someone you don't know contributed to our loss I'm afraid. That and our inability, or rather my inability, to spell backwards in tandem. The object of one task is to spell a common word backwards as a team, i.e. trading off letter for letter. Sausage was our first word, E-G-A-G and thanks for playing. That unnecessary G was all me I'm afraid. Next word, Quarterback, was a word that we were able to take a little further but yours truly miffed on that R betwix the A and T. Way to show these girls who's boss numbnuts. After all was said and done, Bridget and Tina took home the gold, with Candace and Alyssa coming in last. Second place wasn't acceptable for Danielle or me, but alas it was time to move onto drinking games and goofing around.

Night 2 was a different story. After a nice dinner out at Carrabbas, where the ladies got all dolled up to show Southern Boys what Yankee Girls have to offer, we decided to re-match in Cranium. Actually the competitive spirit that both Danielle and I possessed drove us to insist that the rest of the crew re-match us now that we got a "practice" match under our belt as a new team. We were still reeling from our loss the night before and made it a point to crush the other teams in this new match. I'm happy to report that we focused, knuckled down and destroyed the other teams winning in record time. It wasn't even close. VICTORY! This very well could have been the highlight of the weekend for me. I love to win.

The night continued on with another round of drinking games, giggles and sing alongs. In describing the events of the weekend to one Ms. Beele, all she could muster was "I miss my roommates" which leads me to believe that this is what girls in college do routinely on the weekends. I should have set up a video camera and made a documentary on the life of a 20 year old female. I was just happy that my head didn't explode from estrogen overload.

Sunday was another loaf around day for me, as I was a touch ill from Carrabbas on top of my never ending cold. The girls, with the exception of my sister Candace, killed several hours eating at IHOP and cruising for bargains and boys at the mall. Watching girls show you all of their purchases upon returning from a shopping trip can be down right scary. After everyone settled down we went and grabbed Sonic, a local fast food joint that drew the girls' eyes and watched Roll Bounce. Eventually we wound up (again) playing drinking games and getting loose one more time, all of us wishing the weekend wouldn't come to an end. Okay, that last part is only half true. As much as I love contact with my family and friends, it was nice to get my apartment back to myself today. Squeezing 6 people in this place is tight and girls are flat out messy. But yeah, it was sad to see them go this morning all of them adorned in Poison Scooter wear.

Okay, there's my weekend. Click the title to check out the exciting pictures.

You Will Be Missed.

You'll never find, as long as you live
Someone who loves you tender like I do
You'll never find, no matter where you search
Someone who cares about you the way I do

Rest in Peace Lou Rawls

Creeping Death

I am still fucking sick. How is this possible? I can't stop coughing and I've taken just about any over the counter medicine money can buy. I am thinking I might actually have to go find a doctor and then go see said doctor for some antibotics. Motherfucker. And this is on the verge of having a house full of visitors this weekend. Oh that's right, my sisters Candace and Christina are coming to visit for a few days and bringing along some of their friends. I sure hope I am not a wet rag while they are here. It's bad enough Augusta doesn't really offer much to do, but factor in that they are all under 21 and I forsee a lot of drinking games in my apartment. Joolie and Eric might be around Saturday night to offset the boredom, but otherwise it's me and the girls doing what girls do I suspect.

Oh, here's a funny story. I am so stupid that I went to transfer all my fantasy football money from my savings account with ING into my checking account with Bank of America and instead did the exact fucking opposite. I wiped out my checking account, overdrafted the hell out of it and now I'm trying to undo the mess and it's going to take me a week minimum. One careless mistake is all it takes.

My Throat Hurts, and other Bullshit

So yeah, I keep getting into coughing fits and it's annoying. I was so sick of coughing at work today that I blew out of there a couple hours early so I could come home and cough in the privacy of my own home. I hate noisy, coughing people so much that when I am one of them I want to kill myself.

I have been having concentration issues of late too. I thought it was because I was sick, but now I'm not so sure. I find myself in the middle of doing something at work or driving my car or sitting on my couch and my mind drifts off. Usually I'm thinking about Beele, sometimes I'm thinking about that annoying cough of mine, but mostly it's Beele. I don't know, I guess I'm into this chick something fierce. I already planned out a return trip back to Philly so I can see her again. I'm fucking smitten and I love every minute of it. Hopefully, hopefully I don't freak her out and scare her off. I have a tendancy to go full throttle from time to time. As Audrey would say, "no shit."

Yeah, so I bought Sirius Satellite radio for my car. That Best Buy gift card covered it, so I guess technically my Dad bought me Satelitte Radio which is ironic considering that is what my sister and I gave him for XMAS. I'm stoked. No more Alice and Chains!!! Left Of Center is all I need. And some Howard Stern on ocassion. I'm curious to see what his new found freedom will sound like.

In other news, Woody Allen movies suck ass. I used to love this man, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Bananas, but over the last 10 years he's had like 2 good movies. I tried to watch Melinda and Melinda last night and it bored me to tears. I was so bored I put on My Bodyguard (1974) with Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon and a very young Joan Cusack. On Demand is a wonderful thing I tell you. Still haven't made it out to the theater like I said I would for the last couple weeks. I'm kind of getting used to watching movies on DVD anymore. I thought about going today when I ditched work, but then I thought about how I would have been the guy coughing through 3 hours of King Kong. Not cool.

I do!

Apparently my friends Kevin and Noele got engaged last night. I'm pissed that I wasn't able to be there to share in the moment, because honestly speaking Kevin is like a brother to me at this point and I think that Noele is the best chick he is ever going to find.



It's great to see two excellent people decide to give that wacky marriage thing a shot. I fully support this union whole heartedly and wish them the best of luck.

So This Is The New Year

Last night could have been my somberest New Year's ever. I drank a 6 pack of Red Stripe while watching The Girl in The Cafe and then went down stairs to John's for a midnight toast. At 11:59 PM I got a text message from a local number that I didn't recognize that merely said Cocksucker!, shortly thereafter I spoke with a very drunk Katie Beele back in Philly and wished her a good New Year and then I drank a whole bottle of champange and eventually passed out in my bed naked.

Rockin' New Years Eve! Minus Dick Clark.

I think part of me wishes I went to Atlanta with Joolie and Eric, another part of me wishes I extended my trip home by a few more days so that I could have rung in the year with friends. There's something about being alone on New Year's that polarizes my situation. It's like this huge microscope looking down on me, nah rather it's like a spotlight. Whatever it is, it sucks. I would have liked to be in a more comfortable setting, around familiar people and what not. But perhaps this is what I needed to help me realize what I don't want in my future. Maybe watching The Girl in The Cafe wasn't a smart idea either? It's about this shy, older fellow who awkwardly attempts to romance a young college student. The movie strays a little too much towards being about politics than I cared for, but the dynamic of the relationship was relatable for me. I guess the bottom line is that I realized last night that I don't want to be alone on New Year's ever again. It flat out stinks. And I'm gonna spend the time in 2006 to assure that it won't happen again. Mark my fucking words people.

Oh, and Happy New Year.

Under the Weather

Woke up this morning and it hit me. The nasty plane trips, shaking hands with all kinds of people, kissing relatives (and friends) must have exposed me to some evil illness that has rendered me useless. Sore throat, mucus, it's a cold I suspect. I'm pretty bright like that. Anyway, that made work extra FUN after a 5 day vacation. Looks like everything got taken care of in my absence and the place was a ghost town today. So I can't complain too much. I'm back in there tomorrow morning at 7 AM which is thrilling. And then it's a night in with some champagne, port wine cheese and Red Stripe.

Anyway, here are my photos from the visit home.

Today I spent my Barnes and Noble gift card online. I grabbed the book Superstud, a wall calendar of classic Movie Posters and Leolo on DVD. Maximized the shit out of a $25 gift card. And then I thought about my Best Buy purchase, I'm thinking Sirius Radio (I'm dying listening to Nickelback and Alice in Chains EVERYDAY) or a scanner for those old family photos I just scored. Tomorrow, if I'm able and healthy enough, I will most likely give those Regal Bucks a shot at the theater. King Kong? Brokeback Mountain? Decisions, decisions.

Holiday Trek Home.

Just got back into town from a jaunt to Philly for the XMAS holidays and I am happy to report that I feel refreshed and renewed.

Gifts acquired:

1. The Truth by Al Franken, $30 in ITunes and Oedipus Wrecked by Kevin Keck from Brother Mike (my secret Santa).
2. $100 to Best Buy, $50 to Regal and an authentic Brian Westbrook Eagles' jersey from my Dad.
3 Some Old Navy wear and $50 from the Stepfather.
4. $50 from Grandparents.
5. Family Bonds DVD from Katie Beele
6. Cookies
7. Curve (cologne maybe?)
8. $25 to Barnes and Noble

A recap of the trip would most likely be a boring read, so I'll just go with highlights.

I arrived on XMAS afternoon around 12:30 and had my sister and her family pick me up at the airport. The plan was to surprise my family with an appearance on XMAS since all along I told them I was arriving on 12/26. Mission accomplished. My brothers and sisters were shocked I was there on XMAS and then over at Grandmom's a similar reaction. It was my gift to the family I suppose.

After some family time, I headed to my sister's house in Jersey where my father was waiting for my second round of XMAS delight. Monday night we met up with Dad's side of the family where a pretty heated political discussion unfolded and we spent a good amount of time sorting through family photos left by my Grandmother who passed away a couple years back. Since I have very little in terms of mementos from my youth, it was a thrill to gather up some old snapshots of my youth and my Dad when he was a kid. After Monday night I was through with family obligations and I spent the night downtown at my friend Kate's house. Kate is an amazing friend who used to work for me back in my Philly days and I was dying to see her for about the last month before I made the trip home. Without her friendship over the internet this last six months, I'd be a bigger mess than I am. We spent a nice quiet evening in chatting and watching TV. Tuesday I was forced to sleep at Brother Mike's abode while no one was home since Kate had to work as did everyone else I knew. Tuesday night was the visit with my boys at a watering hole in Upper Darby, followed by another go round at Kate's house Tuesday night. Wednesday was spent watching 8 episodes of the West Wing Season 2 on Kate's couch all fucking day followed by a visit with Myers, Brother Dan and Cousin Todd who moved into a house across the street from my Stepfather. I spent my final night at Todd's new house watching a movie with him and got up this morning and spent the majority of today getting back in town.

Here's the thing about visits home. You never have enough time to please everyone. I felt like I disappointed some people based on the choices I made. With a small window of time to work with I had to use my time wisely. Now I know spending time with Kate isn't something my family thinks is important, but it was vital to me to do. Where I have been for the last 6 months, feeling isolated at times, having many floundering moments with women, I needed to see what time with Kate would do for me. I wanted to know if being around her was the answer. This probably seems all over the place tonight, and I blame jet lag, but Kate and I have flirted for a long time and I've always had a strong bond with her. We have formulated a connection over the past year and a half and me coming back on the heels of Jamie disaster I had to just go for it and see if I could make something happen with Kate. As luck would have it, our connection seems legitimate. Kate is the kind of girl I could fall madly in love with, I know this for a fact. Our time together this past week was amazing and I cannot wait to see her again (which I will no doubt do shortly...). Having been down this road recently and getting hurt hasn't deterred me one bit from putting 100% into something and that was the biggest relief for me. One door closes and another opens I suppose.

Oh well, I'll be sure to post up a photo log of my adventures shortly. I'm not doing much for New Year's Eve, most likely staying in my apartment building and attending a function downstairs. I have work the next 2 days which sucks. And I am scared to be back here in Augusta since I just had a great trip and shit was really bad last time I was in town here. I guess we'll see how it goes...

Holidays

Well, it's Christmas Eve and I'm sitting home alone. But it's okay. I am dealing just fine with my recent let down romantically. I've grown up a lot in this department in the past couple of years, so I don't get my hopes up too high anymore. Last night Jamie and I awkwardly exchanged presents and more than likely said our last goodbye. Putting things in perspective, she doesn't want a boyfriend and I really, really want a girlfriend. A good old fashion recipe for disaster.

I am very hopeful for the future. 2006 just feels like it's gonna be a good one. Maybe I'll get what I want out of life, someone who gets me and accepts me. Someone worth my time and effort. Someone who appreciates what I bring to the table, a giant head, a bigger heart, a nasty sense of humor and questionable ethics. My cyincal nature is just looking to be extinguished by the right person.

Why spend the holidays depressed? I'm gonna pop on Elf, plop in front of the TV and just revel in the idea that I'll be home shortly. My family and friends will no doubt make me feel better about things. Oh wait, no they won't. I haven't been away that long. Ha. But it will be nice to have my balls busted by people who love me. Bring it on fuckers, bring it on.

Happy Holidays.

Merry Fucking XMAS

Get Me Out Of Here!

I cannot wait to be back in Philly for a short stay.

Work sucks.

My personal life sucks.

I need to regroup so that I can begin anew when I come back to Georgia late next week.

Jamie has become what every one told me she would become, and therefore as much as it pains me to say this, I'm deciding that I am not wasting my time on someone who thinks they are entitled to shit on me. Yeah, we had great times together, but in the end if you can explain away all the messed up shit about yourself by saying "I told you I wasn't going to be a walk in the park" then you need time to grow up and decide who it is you want to be. I care for her immensely, but even me being the most supportive fucking doting fucking pussy whipped idiot in the world wasn't enough to stop her from being a liar and destructive individual.

The good news for you all is that mopey, can't find love Skip is back in full effect. So keep reading! This shit could become inspirational again instead of flat out boring. And by inspirational, I mean I'll give you that much needed reason to be alive each day. Just knowing things aren't as bad for you as they are for me should put a smile on everyone's face.

But first, I will try to put on a smiley face for the holidays (something I haven't been capable of doing this entire week due to stress.) and look forward to seeing my family and my friends back in the city of brotherly love. I've got a lot to do in my short amount of time back in Philly, but above all the things I want to do and I'm obligated to do....the thing I am looking most forward to doing is seeing Beele. The timing is impeccible. My life is a train wreck and I know that seeing Beele with make most of it fall away until I have to come back here and deal with it.

Up To My Ears In Shit

Today began with a nice vomit session on the way to work. The stress of the past couple of weeks has gotten to me and I'm at a bit of a breaking point. What's keeping me together right now is that I am on the verge of having some much needed time off for the holidays. Although I feel secure with my job, as hectic and overwhelming as it can be sometimes, I am experiencing an immense amount of turmoil in my life outside of the job. My confusion over what Jamie and I are up to has been lingering there in the distance as I try to focus on a) slaving away at work during the busiest time of year and b) trying not to fuck up perhaps the beginnings of a great relationship with her.

I've shifted a lot of my attention towards Jamie of late and as happy as it makes me, sometimes it feels like I'm the only one actually interested in anything beyond the moment. We have great times together, but eventually situations occur that make me very confused about her ability to contribute to a relationship with me. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, considering that she is coming off a tumultuous relationship, rather a few in a row, and I don't want to push her too hard. To be honest, I am the kind of person who desires so much to be loved that I'm trying not to rock the boat too much on the glimmer of hope that this shit works out for us. And this could be a mistake that I regret for a long time or it could be a very wise decision. The not knowing which it is right now is killing me.

Right now I am experiencing chest pains. Wow. This is awesome.

So much uncertainity is a bitch. And most likely the cause of said chest pains. Is this the work of my overactive brain that doesn't allow me to spend a moment enjoying anything in life? Here I am again detailing the misery of my mundane life instead of just putting on some music and going the fuck to bed. Alternating between episodes of Scrubs on DVD and drunken phone calls from my "friend who is a girl but not my girlfriend" after perhaps the shittiest day of work this year has wound me up and is no doubt the cause of my chest pains. Sprinkle in some late breaking news from back in Philly that should make me happy but only makes me sad, and I've got the makings of a shitty week. And it's merely Tuesday.

Where am I going? What am I doing? Why can't this shit just be easy? I'm a good fucking person, I do everything right. I am always here when I'm needed, fully supportive, 24-7. Why can't I just be rewarded with some fucking normalcy? Why can't I just win on ocassion? At this point I feel like my trip home will be a real test for me, a crossroads if you will. As much as I would love to come home and spout off that I've fallen in love with a super, amazing girl, I don't want to do it unless I feel like this is real. I've been a sucker too many times in my life, and I don't want to go there again.

I've had a crappy day. And maybe I'm not in the best mind set to be dealing with any of this right now. Perhaps I should go to bed, close my eyes and imagine that everything is okay. Maybe I'm just scared about a lot of things and it's making me think too much. Whatever the case is, I don't see me sorting anything out this evening...

Beer is Evil

A week like the one I just had at work forced me to go a touch overboard last night. In honor of Joolie's birthday the gang all met up at Firehouse and the beer was flowing like a river. I have no clue how much money I spent, but I think I had a good time. When I woke up this morning Jamie was in my bed, so I'm guessing that I didn't fuck up too much. Speaking of Jamie, the girl forced me to watch Green Acres Season 1 on Friday night in lieu of going out. She loves that show. Go figure. I bought her Season 2 and 3 on DVD for XMAS which made her oh so delighted. I guess I'll be watching a lot of that show in the future.

Tonight my team at work is getting together for a holiday dinner at some steakhouse. I feel like a bag of shit right now, so I'm hoping I recover over the next 2 hours. Otherwise, this could be a long evening. I guess I'll go back on the couch and watch the Colts win another game. And continue to zone out into a coma like state. Or maybe I should shower? Eh, I'll figure it out.

Horrible Week

This is hell week for me. The push for holiday gift cards for the entire Urban Outfitters website and catalogue divisions across all brands falls on my shoulders. I'm so tired and stressed out that I'm pretty much an asshole to be around 99% of the time. I've never been more anxious to get a holiday over with than I am with XMAS this year. I've managed to get most of my shopping done via the internet, but I've got a couple more things to grab before I can officially say I'm done.

To make matters worse I'm trying to figure out the situation with Punk Rock Baby. What I've learned in the past couple of weeks is that yeah, I like her and yeah, she likes me. And this is all well and good, but I'm concerned that she is super instense about things one day and the next day she is very standoffish and distant. Granted, I'm pretty intense myself, I am more than willing to take things to the next level rather quickly just to see if this can work, so I can't really blame her for being hot and cold. It's just that when I'm with her, man, it's just so good. I want to just stay in those moments for days and enjoy the hell out of it.

I guess I'm just expecting too much too soon. Afterall, she is living with her ex-boyfriend at the moment. The same guy that she was cheating on with me. I know that most folks would say that this is a recipe for disaster, once a cheater always a cheater, and I'd be lying if I said I don't think about that. And when she is cold instead of hot, my mind goes right there. The girl is very friendly with many, many guys, so it's hard for me to imagine that I'm only person who is interested in her. I always tell her that I'm not concerned about her talking or hanging out with other guys, which is partially true. I'm kind of confused about where my boundary is with that anyway? I'm not her boyfriend, so why should I get upset? But at the same time, I really want to be with her and when she says she wants to take it slow, I immediately think that it means "I'm not done weighing my options" and that she is getting ready to just tell me that she's done.

The last week or so we've been discussing the concept of her moving in with me. Mind you, this was her idea. And I've really got zero problems with that situation mainly because I feel great when she's around and if she's around all the time, then maybe I'll be feeling great all the time. Her living situation is not exactly the best in my opinion, the ex-boyfriend, the insecure best friend, dirty living space, and she is about to go to school in the Spring, so I'm thinking living here would be a help to her. Financially she is having some struggles as well, and I know first hand how financial troubles can fuck up your life and make you lose focus. So after some back and forth, I've come to this realization. When she's drunk living with me is the best solution. When she's sober, no way Jose. Now I don't care one way or the other, but when you go down the road of discussing living together before you have even defined what you relationship is....well, it just seems like there is work to be done. I'm fully committed right now to building a future with this girl, and that's a bold statement for me, but I want to know that I'm not wasting my time. I want to feel like I'm working towards something. Maybe I want to take things faster than she does and that is why I'm feeling all weird about shit? Like I said, I have a tendancy to move into the "relationship" stage very quickly. I know the right thing to do is to give her time to deal with her break up, focus on herself, allow us to develop organically as best friends first, but when I come home from a shitty day at work, I selfishly want her to be here for me. Maybe this just proves that I am insecure and in dire need of affection?

I sincerely hope that things with her and I move into the right direction. I feel as though we compliment each other and that we are good together. And I really think "we" can work. You can't rush greatness, now can you? I guess I need to relax and just remember to breathe when the shit gets to thick. Tomorrow is a new day...

Oh- la-la-la-la-la

So Diddy made his band. The girl band that is. Not Da Band, who are most likely going by the moniker DisBanded. Anyway, I'm thrilled to say that my girl Aubrey made the cut. In fact, all the sexy bitches are in the new band. I have an idea for a new Diddy reality show that I'm emailing over to Bad Boy today. It's called Fucking the Band and it stars this latest incarnation and me. I'll never buy a record by this group, but I'll give a video or two a watch and a tug for sure. Good work P. Diddy.

The Catch Up

Guy #1: Ah man, last night was a tough one!
Guy #2: Another one of your famous drunken nights?
Guy #1: No. Another one of my not-so-famous sober nights.

Coinciding with an absolutely critical push at work to make holiday deadlines was a disaster of maximum proportions. Under my watch, I had an employee rob the company blind. Now I would argue that I'm not completely responsible for this event taking place, proper controls were not in place and people who steal are going to find a way, but since I was in charge I have this horrible, nagging feeling that I could do an amazing job the next 5 years and always be labeled as the guy who let this shit happen. To make matters worse, the employee in question was someone I considered an actual friend. It's like getting a nice, hard punch in the stomach. However, I have rebounded from this nightmare, appear to be making it through the holiday season without any further problems and I've assembled a crack team of people to run my gift card operation. Of course, last week and this week are the 2 weeks out of the year that I have to work 10-12 hours a day, so I'm really run down and looking forward to my jaunt home for the holidays. I was so exhausted from the week I just had that I took a nap last night from 9 PM to 10:30 PM, attempted to drink a beer or two and make the scene at some local bars, but I was just too out of it. I did swear off 80's night based on prior experiences, so I guess things have a way of working out.

The reality of my not having any fun last night is more or less tied to something else entirely than feeling exhausted. It seems as though I have made the push into working on a full fledge relationship with a young lady. And this lady friend of mine is out of town this weekend, leaving me lonely and longing. I'm certain I more or less went through the motions to take my mind off of not seeing her. I'm hooked. What can I say? Now I'm not sure that many will approve of my choice in this area of my life, considering what I've written about her in the past, but I'm tyring to make something happen with Punk Rock Baby. I've always wanted to be the type of person who looks past people's flaws and tries to give them the benefit of the doubt, and with Jamie I have the opportunity to do just that. I'm not at the point where I feel the need to explain away every nuance of what I'm feeling and shit, but I know that when I'm with her, when I talk to her, I feel love and it feels fucking good. So I'm going with it. Fuck the naysayers. I've spent so much time wasting away, hoping for something to happen that's not going to happen that it's refreshing to put effort into something that is give and take. I've begun to focus on her and let my desire towards other women fall to the wayside, which I'm sure is a clear indication that I'm falling for this chick.

Jack Johnson : It's always better when we're together.

Yeah, Jamie even has me becoming a fan of Jack Johnson which has caused Brother Dan to say that he was "lighting himself on fire" when I informed him of this very fact. It's been a long time since I felt this way. I love the idea of falling in love and being connected with another person. And although the skeptic in me is always waiting to be hurt, I've decided that I'm going to enjoy the fucking ride this time. If I crash and burn it won't be the first time, so I have coping skills. But what if it's not going to unravel? What if it works out? What if it's the greatest relationship of my life? Guess I'll find out.

Exhaustion

I am there.

Thanklessly long, tiring days worrying about gift cards for the holidays is making me slowly lose it. I woke up yesterday at 5:30 AM freaking out about getting to work early to get started on the day's tasks. The weekend seems so far off yet, but I can assure you when it comes I will be swimming in libations.

For now, I get up, work, come home, sleep. And in between I'm trying to fall in love. This is a story I must save for a day when work hasn't destroyed my very being. What day is it anyway? I'm sure I have some type of bill that I forgot to pay...

Murderball

This documentary about wheel chair rugby is an interesting look at life after tragedy and the complexity of the rivalry between an old USA team player who now coaches the Canadian team and his ex-teammates. The portraits of these athletes is very engrossing and the MTV style of editing/direction makes the sport look more exciting that it actually is. Call me shallow, but mid-way through this movie I was convinced that wheel chair rugby would be the worst thing to ever watch from the tip off to the final buzzer. It's not as brutal as I was expecting, so I was a little let down.

However, seeing these guys regain some normalcy in their lives after horrific car accidents and life threatening childhood illnesses hooked my interest and for that reason I would recommend watching it.

Craziest Week Ever

I made it to Saturday. Thank goodness. This week was incredibly surreal and intense for many reasons, none of which I will go into on this here post. Considering that I don't know who reads this stuff anymore, I would hate to speak about things I shouldn't be. I'll just say that I had some serious challenges crop up at work that have made my life miserable and I've been working like a dog. But it's not all bad, there have been some work developments that are good too. Christmas time is always intense, but my company always tries their best to make you feel like you matter. So getting rewarded when the shit is hitting the fan just added to the surreal nature of the week.

Personally, I've been all over the map too. Constantly examining why I think the way I do about people. Grappling with the issue of love, connection and all that other shit. I guess for me I've just come to a conclusion that anything that is work in that department just isn't fun. So I'm just going to begin enjoying myself and not worry about things to much. I'll say that I have realized what it is like to have someone reciprocate feelings and it feels pretty fucking good. It beats longing for some chick that doesn't make a fucking effort. Ever. Maybe I'm moving into another stage of my life, one where I decide to commit to something, someone and stop trying to make things happen that just aren't possible.

Christmas Craft Time

Who knew that making ornaments was so much fun? I'm guessing three bottles of wine might have had something to do with the element of fun associated with the process, but you cannot deny the power of painting like a pre-schooler either. The act of making ornaments was remarkably simple, yet messy as all hell. Mix some flour, salt and water together, knead, shape and bake. There you have it.

Of course, once they are done baking, that's when the real fun begins! Punk Rock Baby and I used stencils, stamps, brushes, all kinds of shit to paint the most ridiculous ornaments you have ever seen. Now PRB actually has some artistic talent, so hers came out looking marvelous and were very detailed. Me on the other hand, well I made a boob ornament, a piece of poo ornament and various other juvenile themed ones. I did crack and do a couple of traditional ones like a XMAS tree and a wreath, but I would say the overwhelming result was pretty wacky. I took some pictures of them hanging on the tree so you can see what I mean.

A word of caution about drinking and doing arts and crafts. Be careful. It wasn't until Rudolph was hanging on the tree that I noticed that I never gave him antlers. And PRB's Santa has no hands. Minor oversights thanks to Yellow Tail.

Dragging Ass

This weekend I was required to open at work, and as a result I've been ready to fall asleep at 6 PM everyday. Getting up at 6 AM sucks a donkey's cock and I fail to understand how people do it. Maybe it's because my body knows it the weekend and is pissed at me for getting up so friggin' early? All I know is that I can't wait to get this over with and go back to sleeping until at least 6:45 AM. Since I've going to bed around the 10 PM mark, I don't have much to write about.

I'm sad Mr. Miyagi croaked.

I could care less that Nick and Jessica are done.

I haven't seen Rent, but I'm gonna.

I did manage to set up my XMAS tree over the weekend. It's fake, so it really doesn't matter when that fucker goes up. I have some nice Elvis ornaments and silver balls on it right now, but it's looking sparse. Thankfully, I have a friend who is coming over to make ornaments with me out of salt and flower. I know, I know, this crafty shit sounds kind of fem. Let me first say that my mother would be proud of me for braving Michaels Craft Store today by myself like a real man and buying paint and ribbon (amongst other XMAS related crafty things). My Mom was a big fan of making things from scratch when she was alive and I think she would get a kick out of me sitting around making my own ornaments. Or maybe she would just question my sexuality like she did when she was alive? Anyway, I didn't feel that odd in Michaels until the cute register girl asked if I was picking up stuff for my wife and I had to say that I was there on my own, for myself. Awkward.

I'm going to wait until the ornaments are made and hung before I grace you all with a picture of my tree. (The one I'm certain you are dying to see....NOT.) I just hope that my ornament helper doesn't dis me and leave me hanging. I have directions, but I'm not sure I can go it alone. Anytime I try to do something myself I fuck it up. I could tell you about hanging towel racks in my bathrooms this weekend, but I'll spare you the details and myself the embarassing story. Let's just say they are up and sort of functional.

Well, I am on disc one of Scrubs Season 2 and it's funny. So I'm gonna finish that instead of being concerned with how my Eagles or my fantasy football team do today. I'm guessing they either both win or both lose....either way, it's not like it matters.

Turkeylicious!

My first attempt at cooking a turkey was a complete and utter success. This is despite Joolie's doubts that I could pull it off. In all honesty I don't see what the big deal is, you just defrost that bitch, oil her up and plop her in the oven and then go drink for a couple hours.

So yeah, yesterday was the big Thanksgiving holiday dinner at Eric's house. The theme of dressing like an indian or pilgrim never caught on much past Eric, Joolie and myself, but the turnout was impressive. The group assembled was a hodge podge of locals and transplants like myself. This is the first Turkey day I wasn't around my family and it felt kind of odd to tell you the truth. I'm thankful that Eric's house was so welcoming and laid back. The food was excellent and everyone really made an effort to have a good time.

Photos featuring turkeys.

Blackness

Mr. Johnny Cash is one of my few idols. I've always admired those people who are flawed but manage to still break through to the mainstream. And although I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, it's the side of Johnny that continually strives for redemption that I feel the most connected with. I've read books about his life, and more importantly spent many lonely nights listening to his music while coming down from a night of drinking. And in those quiet, dark hours we've formulated a wonderful friendship over the years. I've only cried three times when I've heard about the passing of a famous person, and Mr. Cash was one of those. What's ironic to me is that the two other times were when I heard about Roy Orbison dying, a man who had a similar persona to Cash but with a lot less brushes with the evils in life like drugs, and when I heard about River Phoenix overdosing outside the Viper Room when I was in college. Seeing River's baby brother Leaf, now known by Joaquin, portray the man in black and prove that he is a very capable actor only made me think about the lost potential of River even more. But that's a topic for another day, as today is Mr. Cash's day.

Walk The Line is a very cookie cutter musician bio-pic not unlike Ray or The Buddy Holly Story, how on earth do you cram a lifetime of successes and failures into 2 hours anyway? You have to resort to cliches and corny montages set to the featured artist's hits. What makes Walk The Line good in my opinion has to do with it's fine performances by Joaquin and dare I say Reese Witherspoon, an actress that is not my favorite, and of course the songs of Johnny Cash that are sprinkled in throughout the film. Both Phoenix and Witherspoon give singing their best shot, with Phoenix completely becoming Cash about mid-way through the film either through dead-on impersonation or pure embodiment of the character. Whatever it is, it's fantastic to watch. I wish the story was more limited and focused, less expansive, but I did like the interplay of Cash with Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis and Waylon Jennings. These scenes had fun with our memories of these artists, but never took the camera away from our man Mr. Cash for too long and added something more than just a standard look at Cash's troubled marriage, pursuit of June Carter and rampant drug use set to music.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, it's the time of year that we give thanks and today I am thankful that Johnny Cash picked up a guitar in Germany and decided to put his thoughts out there in the form of songs. Because when the silence fills the room and I feel like I'm the only one feeling like crap, I can always turn him on and turn him up and let a friend talk me down.

Rubber Johnny

Gnarly!

Stick with this all the way through, it's crazy...

Older, Not Exactly Wiser

Fully digesting my new age of 34, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I feel just as lost as I was when I was 20. I have all these feelings for what seems like the wrong person. I'm in a constant state of not being good enough, and I feel like I should be more or less beyond this nonsense at my age. Over the last few months I've talked about the "get what you give concept" and how I don't quite understand why it doesn't work for me. I perhaps convinced myself, stupidly enough, that somehow I would have this revelation as to why it's not working, but I can safely say now that getting another year older didn't help me come any closer to grasping just why my life usually sucks.

Now I do realize that there is more to life than just finding the right person and falling love. There's TV afterall. The place that feeds the beast and falsely gives me such a sense of hope. And music to sum up all the evil thoughts about love in songs that I was always too lazy to write. And books, art, film...many distractions that have a way of always giving me that faint glimmer of hope. All help me stay the course and keep at it.

Maybe I thought I would wake up this morning and have some idea, some eureka! moment...but I didn't. I got up and drug myself to work and busted my hump devoid of any thought about my situation. Until I get home to the empty apartment and wish that she was here. But she's far from here, she's off somewhere not even concerned with who I am or what I can offer or how I can love her.

I'm tired. I'm old. I'm confused.

Well, this shit is kind of depressing. I had a really amazing weekend and it was one of my better birthdays ever, so how come I'm feeling like crap all of a sudden? God, I wish I fucking knew. The human mind is fascinating...and women, well, just look at the power they yield over a man. It's crazy I tell you. Just plumb crazy.

Eh, tomorrow is another day.

Birthday Booty

$50 for ITunes
$300 for a Delta flight home sometime in 2006
A cool book of art
A very special card
Devil's Rejects on DVD
Bottle of vodka
Tasty Kakes
$50 Shutterfly Gift Certificate

I'm a lucky guy.

Birthday Celebration - Stage 2

No strippers. It's funny how shit works out sometimes. The plan was going to be just a small collective of folks and a visit to one of the local nudie bars. Instead I went out around dinner time and gathered supplies to make jello shots with my newly acquired bottle of vodka (a present from my boss). A couple of friends came over around 8 to help me make the many varieties of shots and begin drinking. Joolie shows up around 11 PM due to issues at work and is solo, meaning no Eric, which is very odd. Not to mention the fact that she is wearing a wig, adding to the oddness. Apparently Eric was at the Firehouse and we need to go there first before we head over to see boobies.

Well, Eric had assembled a hodge podge of people that I've been hanging with to converge at the Firehouse to wish me some birthday greetings. In fact they even made me a cake, decorated it and provided the bar with some Yuengling Lager for this very special affair. Having a bar full of people sing Happy Birthday to me was quite a sight. Needless to say, we never left the Firehouse until we were forced out at closing time. This was the point when I decided that those Jello Shots needed to be eaten and invited a shit load of folks back to my crib for late night hijinx. I think at one point I had about 15 people on my balcony that holds 3 comfortably.

Bottom line is that I had a good old time. There were some low lights that I prefer not the mention, but overall I was happy that the people I've met here were incredibly cool. It's one of my fonder birthdays, something I never anticipated. And that's great. Happy Birthday to me.

Birthday Celebration - Stage 1

Well, all attempts to take it easy last night fell to the way side around the lemon drop shot. But the way I look at it, I'm going to be in complete lock down with work the next 5 weeks, so I'm going out with a bang this weekend. Last night was complete fun. Drink, drink, drink, all at the expense of my lovely co-workers and boss. Sing a little karaoke (Next Year by Foo Fighters was my selection last night.), marvel at my old boss' ability to sing a pretty dead on version of Song Of A Preacher Man, meet up with a fellow birthday celebrator, roll to Soul Bar with 4 babes and own the dance floor. It was all a blur, but I can remember having a blast. So the hangover is worth it today.

Tonight, I'm doing it all again...

Freeze

It's fucking frigid here tonight. WTF? I thought Georgia was warm all year round? That's what the brochure said.

Anyway, today they kind of celebrated my birthday at work. Well, at least my team and some other folks bought me some gifts and made me feel all special and shit. I got $30 in ITunes from my squad. Big ups! My old boss got me some Pop Tarts since I eat them EVERYDAY at work. So much so that people think that is all I do eat. And my co-worker and current boss got me a Braves shirt that everyone signed with some Deep South saying to "welcome me" here. It was really quite a display unveiling that puppy, so much so that I was actually a tad embarassed at the attention. It was nice to feel like I belong a little, or that people like me enough to contribute...because honestly I think that people think I'm a prick. Maybe they do, but just not today?

Tonight the work celebration presses on across the street at my local karaoke bar Greene Streets. I picked the locale since it's so fucking close to my crib, and I'm sure no one complained because secretly they want to see me sing. (The word is out that I'm a ringer...) So I'm frantically downing a Red Bull Light to get pumped up and will be heading over as soon as I post this. I have no idea who is planning on coming out to join in the fun, but I'm ready to socialize a little with the 'adults' for once.

However, I'm still anxious about doing the debauchery thing tomorrow night. So as such, I plan on watching my drinking tonight. No shots. No going over board. No beer mixing. I'm determined to see some boobs tomorrow night in the proximity of Joolie. Going to strip bars with chicks is fun. Especially when they ain't your girlfriend.

And by the way, I got a haircut last night in anticipation of Thanksgiving which was a big hit at work today. I'm going as a modern day Indian to the Pilgrim and Indian Ball at Eric's house next week and decided to get-r-done as they say here. Check out Joolie's (and Eric's) crafty work...

Pep Rally

So, there is this girl that I've liked for so long that lives pretty far away from me and she just became single. Ouch. This is that scenario I dreamt about for many nights when I was back in Philly. The fact that she had a boyfriend always kept her in the unattainable, but completely desirable zone. And now, now that I'm getting settled into my new life in the G to the A, this chick finally becomes available. Just my luck.

I swear. Things never work out the way they should. But then again, if I wear her down enough maybe she'll move here?

My Name Is Earl

I keep waiting for this show to hit the wall, get tired or played out but it ain't happening. I can't remember the last time I lauged out loud a sitcom. Well, that's not entirely true since I recently watched Arrested Development Season 2 on DVD and laughed a bunch. But you get the gist.

The end scene of just wedding dancing had me in tears.

Tuesday Off, Mindless Entertainment

Not sure how long this has been bouncing around outside my radar, but Lost fans will appreciate it. Lost Rhapsody

Jesus Is Magic is the Sarah Silverman film that I can bet I'll have to wait for DVD to see. This write up about it makes me wanna move immediately to a town with interesting cinematic options.

Arrested Development is dead (again). Sniff, sniff. While Jason Bateman was out taking care of his throat junk, Fox pulled the plug on going past 13 episodes for this season. I can only dream of how great this show would have been on HBO.

Postal Service Gold Record up on EBAY. The item description tells a very funny story.

If you ever get bored, and like the visual arts, I suggest spending an hour going through the last 7 days worth of cool photos up on Flckr.com.

Well, I'm going to spend some more time with Nano Pod. We went shopping today, both grocery and Xmas related. But now we need coffee. Well, I do...Nano is fine. We are an amazing team. Just in case you were wondering.

It's A Motherfucker

My beloved Eagles lost in horrible fashion to America's team, the Cowboys on national TV tonight. I'd say their chances of making the playoffs are slim to none. Fuck T.O. Fuck that McNabb hernia. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Here It Comes

It's almost time for my birthday. Yuck. I really despise getting old. I'm hoping that the strippers make it all go down easier this year. That's right, I said strippers. Seems like some punk show in Columbia, SC is going to empty the streets of Augusta this weekend and leave Joolie, Eric, Punk Rock Baby and I to our own evil devices. The idea was tossed around of going to a strip club, and I'm not going to argue with that. Who would?

Norm!

I just spent the past two nights drinking my face off in the Firehouse, a local tavern with mad personality and I'm starting to consider myself a potential regular there. I'm not sure if I'm happy about that or not. It's nice to go somewhere that is welcoming, and the people there for the most part have been very cool and very social. The owner, Josh, was wearing his newly acquired Poison Scooter shirt last night making me feel all proud papa inside. I essentially boycotted 80's night based on prior experiences, and the Firehouse was a nice alternative. But, I don't want to be the guy who goes to the same bar every night and make it get old really quick.

However, last night I had some more time to spend getting to know Eric, this fellow transplant from PA who is currently smitten with the gal pal Joolie. With Joolie pulling the 2 AM shift this weekend, and me off, it was a perfect opportunity for Eric and I to get more familiar with each other. Hard as I try, I'm realizing that I cannot find anything wrong with this guy. And that's really amazing considering just how tough a critic I am. What came out of last night's discussion was an invite to a Thanksgiving event that will blow away all prior Thanksgivings at his house. You are required to dress as either a pilgrim or Indian, which is fucking awesome. I'm leaning toward Indian heavily, and plan on perhaps busting out the faux hawk again in honor of my Indian ancestors. Maybe it will rally the fucking Eagles in the process, because they sure need it. Anyway, being asked to join in on the holiday event, to the point that I'm making the turkey, is really a feeling that I cannot describe. I have been trying so hard to make things work here in Georgia, it's nice to see that there is some payoff. So I'm upbeat today, even though I have butt mud (again) from drinking Pabsts and stink like smoke.

Time to strap on the Nano Pod, grab the camera and head out to find an art exhibit that I was barely invited to. There's nothing like crashing an art exhibit with liquid diarrhea on a beautiful Saturday afternoon...

What I like.

Here's some things that make my life better.

1. James Spader. I've always had a hard on for this guy going back to my teenage years. I'm not a Pretty in Pink fan, I'm more of a Some Kind of Wonderful guy, but Spader's performance oozed the right amount of skankiness that I was like "who is that guy and why do I want to be him?" Seeing him on Boston Legal each week makes me fucking giddy. He is so over the top and all puffy now, but I still just think he is the man.

2. Fountains of Wayne songs. Why aren't these guys more famous? They write the catchiest songs EVER.

3. Getting a new Razor phone. As mentioned on a recent post, Brother Dan dumped the old Razor into some Chablis and fried it on me. I quickly purchased insurance on the thing and waited a week to file a claim. The new Razor came today in the mail and man it feels good to have her back in my life. I'm such a techno junkie whore....it's sad really.

4. Heineken. Last night Joolie came over with a 12 pack of the little green devil and my taste buds were rewarded after a long, rough week at the office. Nothing beats good conversation over a couple Heinies.

5.Survivor moments. Last night the tribe was all ready cast off Gary Hogeboom (ex-NFL QB), who is becoming my favorite player this season, and he stood up and whiped out the immunity idol that was hidden in the jungle. Hot! Everyone was shell shocked and had to scramble to vote someone else off in a matter of moments without discussing it.

Totally Tubular!

This could be interesting...

Mix Tape, Sort of...

A couple of weeks ago I got a mix CD constructed by my friend Rob that I have yet to remove from my car's CD player. Rob took the bold step of relocating to San Fran about 10 years ago, and knows full well how this type of move can make you very nostalgic for all the things you inevitably miss. Rob and I have kept in touch many years beyond what anyone probably would have expected, and have always managed to keep a nice dialogue going about music, TV and movies. In our heyday, we were the Siskel and Ebert of the bike courier, pot smoking and Milwakuee's Best swilling crowd we conspired with. What's kind of nifty about this mix CD is that Rob and I have rarely ever seen eye to eye on music. We both have eclectic tastes, but Rob usually takes its one step further. Sure, we both admire Rufus Wainwright and God Speed You Black Emporer, but for the most part we are miles apart musically. So the fact that I cannot stop listening to this CD fascinates me.

The feeling of getting a mix CD is always kind of nice. Knowing that someone took the time to construct something with you in mind is validating, at least for me. I find myself sometimes so deep in thought about our common experiences in college, or just about what I'm experiencing now while I'm listening that sometimes I forget to make the right turn I meant to make to get where I'm going. Behold the power of music! Anyhow...

Rob took the time expose me to some music I wouldn't have otherwise heard or sought out, especially since my life is void of XPN or any sort of interesting radio station here in Augusta. So I figure the least I could do is try to describe what these bands or songs sound like and share what I can with you all.

Track 1 - City Of Brother Love by Cass McCombs
This song obviously plays on the commonality of our former lives in Philadelphia. This guy has a very Robyn Hitchcock-esque quality that reminds me of 120 Minutes on MTV in the late 80's.

Track 2 - The Bones of an Idol by The New Pornographers
I was vaguely familiar with this band's work on Mass Romantic, but I wouldn't say I was all that impressed. I guess Neko Case vocalizing makes all the difference. Again, a very heavy 80's vibe permeates throughout this track and that makes me giggle.

Track 3 - UFO Sighting by Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan is the man. Very simple, very pretty.

Track 4 - Boundary Radar by The Go-Betweens
Ah, the real 80's nugget. Although this is a song from a very recent record, the Go-Betweens are Australian Indie at it's finest. A nerdy Love and Rockets as I call them.

Track 5 - You Say You Lie by The Ravonettes
Another band I heard tons about, but never really was interested. This song is perfect for driving.

Track 6 - Dead In Love by Desert Sessions
Holy fuck! How did I never hear about this shit. Josh Homme (Queen of the Stone Age frontman) put together this side project that features multiple volumes and a revolving cast of rockers like Eleven's singer who features on this track with Homme. I kept thinking to myself this sounds like QOTSA, so much so I had to look this shit up on the internet.

Track 7 - Gates of Steel by Devo
Ha. Devo is great.

Track 8 - The Bronze by Queens of the Stone Age
Ah, these guys always put a smile on my face.

Track 9 - Crowned in Chrome by Crooked Fingers
Another surprise...I was never a fan of Archers of Loaf and this solo work by their lead singer is not as bad as I would have imagined.

Track 10 - Held by (Smog)
They can't all be gems. This track kind of blows.

Track 11 - For One Moment by Lee Hazlewood
This song is from yesteryear and I like to consider it the best hangover song ever.

Track 12 - Find Me, Rueben Olivares by Mark Kozelek
The Red House Painters reminds me of a girl I once knew. And this song by the lead singer from one of his solo albums now reminds me of her.

Track 13 -I Summon You by Spoon
Everyone talks about Spoon being the next big thing...I once told a Spoon fan that if I haven't heard of them by now (they've been around forever) then they ain't worth knowing. I was way wrong.

Track 14 - California by Low
Slow, harmonic, rhythmic....this is Low.

Track 15 - When The Day Is Short by Martha Wainwright
She ain't no Rufus, but then again she ain't no Loudon.

Track 16 - Lightbulb by Call and Response
This track is bouncy and so fun. America's answer to Stereolab!

Track 17 - all you need is hate by the Delgados
This Scottish band is equal parts Flaming Lips, Wilco and to a lesser extent Ween. And it works. I love songs with Timpani prominently featured.

Track 18 - On The Table by AC Newman
The dude from the New Pornographers is annoying looking, and as such I've avoided his solo work like the plague. But it's good. At least this track is anyway.

Track 19 - Huddle Formation by The Go! Team
Hipster stuff from England. A mash up of cheerleading chants, hip hop beats and a little dance music sprinkled in makes me want to dance. Or cheer. Whatever. Me likey.

Track 20 - Hit The City by Mark Lanegan Band
Love this man. Heroin habit and all.

Track 21 - A Touch Sensitive by Super Furry Animals
Never imagined that this is how this band would sound. It's kind of DJ Shadow-ish. Hypnotic instrumental.

Track 22 - Winners by Desert Sessions
The joke track by Josh Homme's side project. Some announcer reads off "winners" names from your high school yearbook. Rob knows I love sarcasm.

Track 23 - Southern Girls by Cheap Trick
Not the strongest Cheap Trick track, but the Southern sentiment is not lost on me.

There you have it. A musical journey. Thanks Rob.

You and Me and Everyone We Know

This is a little IFC gem that I heard about when it was in limited release back 6 or so months ago. It plays like a Todd Solondz movie but with the feminine touch of it's lead actress, writer and director Miranda July. Critically lauded, but not seen by many this is a piece of art about the human desire to connect with some very discomforting scenes interspliced to add a very dramatic sense of realness. The creepy shoe salesman who thinks he wants to coax some neighborhood teenage girls into a threesome, a 7 year old engaging in ass play themed instant messaging with a woman in her late 30's and the freakishly mature 10 year old girl who is collecting items (like a hand mixer or new shower curtain) for her dowdry and saving them in a hope chest are the roadside attractions on this journey about Richard and Christine's road to love.


I wouldn't call this a romantic comedy, although the overall theme is romantic and there are some laughs, albeit somewhat uncomfortable ones, along the way. It's more of an exploration of how desperate we get when we hit a point in our life when we feel incomplete because we cannot find out soul mate. Christine is fiercely brave in her approach towards making Richard notice her, and relentlessly pursues him because he is the one. I admired her vunerability while alone and her reckless behavior while around Richard, and completely sympathized with the emotional roller coaster it is to just have this crazy, overwhelming "feeling" about someone despite the fact that as Richard says in one memorable scene, they could be a "killer of small children."

Above and beyond the enjoyment I had watching the movie continually take it up to another level from scene to scene, I became completely mesmerized by Miranda July. Very unconventionally cute, like 1 part Rachel Griffiths and 1 part this girl I knew in college that none of you fucking know. Ha.

That's How I Feel!

It's odd where I find symbolism these days. I'll be watching a TV show or listening to a song I've heard a million times and at that very moment something connects. It's fucked to find comfort in a Papa Roach song, but so be it.

Not Fair

I always had a bad impression of what a county or state fair was like. I imagined gross people, odd smells, sad looking animals, tractors and carnival rides. Having now attended my first fair, I'm pleased to report I was exactly fucking right. The fair is in town and I figured I should at least make an effort to broaden my horizons. So I got up today and decided to head to the fair. Now, admittedly the fair is probably an experience you need to have with someone or someones, so going alone was not my smartest move. I wasn't too excited for it, so I didn't want to drag anyone else into the fold and have to spend more time than I wanted to. But yeah, sad seal lions sleeping, smelly cows, funnel cake, it was as crappy as you think it's going to be. I snapped a few pictures, but nothing I'm very happy with. I was hoping it would have been more country I guess. It all seemed rather pathetic and therefore didn't stimulate my eye.

Jarhead

It's been a long time, relatively speaking, since I went to the movies. So long in fact that I can't recall what movie it was I saw? Today, my one day off in a run of working 10 of 11 days, I decided to unwind and go see something. Since my desire to see movies has subsided lately, mostly due to the fact that everything that comes out looks like shit, I didn't really care what movie I saw. I liked American Beauty a lot, but didn't care for Road to Perdition, so it's not like I'm a Sam Mendes fan. Considering that he is married to Kate Winslet, who I adore, that's almost reason enough for me to boycott his latest directorial offering Jarhead.

However, I liked the idea of a movie that focuses on the first Gulf War now that we have some perspective on it and one that doesn't play out like Three Kings (a great movie, but a little on the Oceans 11 tip) hopefully. Jake Gyllenhaal is an actor that I like but can't seem to figure out why. It's not like his resume is uber impressive, and he is on again/off again banging one of my potential wives in Kirsten Dunst which makes me hate him a little bit, but he has such a great way of playing these understated thinkers. The Good Girl, Donnie Darko, even his role in The Day After Tomorrow were all slightly off center, deep guys and he emotes a lot of things through his facial expressions. Jarhead offers him an opportunity to once again strut out the pouty faces and the quiet, tortured guy routine to it's desired effect. And it works.

What really separates this movie from other war movies is the lack of any real war taking place. The movie is about the boredom of waiting for an actual ground war that never happens. If you recall from our first foray into Iraq, we basically blew them up from the air for a couple days and it was all over. The guys who were trained to kill never got a shot and basically jerked off and waited for a Dear John letter to show up from their girlfriend or wife back home while roasting in the desert, or at least that is what Anthony Swofford, author and veteran, wants you to think took place. It's a tad difficult to have a movie come out about the Gulf War while 2000 kids have died in Iraq during the most recent war and not have it make you think about the situation we are in. But the movie isn't set up to make you sympathize with any one except the Jarheads, the Marines who are there to fight for our country whether they want to or not. This is an exploration of men, not a dissection of the war and for that reason I liked it. The soundtrack and score add some drama and intensity that the war never gets a chance to, and the visuals of the vastness of the desert are stunning.

Full Metal Jacket is the closest comparison I could make for this flick. The basic training sequence plays out quicker in this film, and there is less blood shed (obviously), but the tone is very similar. Examining the psyche of a 20 year old who willingly joins the Corps is risky, especially when the back drop is a war that wasn't really a war and is an afterthought at this point, but Mendes and company do a nice job.

Ah, thankfully nothing too damaging...

The snapshots tell a story.

Wall of Sound

Let me preface this by saying that drinking on an empty stomach is not a wise decision. Last night was Jucifer at the Soulbar. If you don't know who Jucifer is, don't feel bad. I had no clue either. They are apparently a husband and wife duo that plays REALLY loud "music" and look extremely wacky while doing it. It not metal-exactly, more like art rock I suppose. But it's insanely fucking loud, to the point that I can't recall any real melody just a constant hum of the wall of amps that they use for one guitar, that SHE plays by the way. It's like White Stripes in reverse, but with the volume turned way up and the vocals turned way down. I saw her mouth moving, but I can honestly say I didn't hear a voice. Again, that hum was overwhelming. I guess standing 6 inches from the stage wasn't the best location, but what can I say....

Anyway, I did some hearty pre-gaming at the Firehouse before the midnight show and that Jager shot was probably the straw the broke the camel's back. Once the band played, the rest of the night became an incredible blur. I vaguely recall walking to bars at the other end of town, taking pictures like a Japanese tourist and getting a ride home at some point. I even watched Survivor at 3 AM and can't recall one frame of the episode. Getting up for work at 9 AM was awesome.

Back to the pictures thing, I took out the camera last night and I have 102 snap shots in the process of uploading to my computer as I type this. Huh? 102? I can't wait to piece the night together. Ha.

Square One

MP3 collection firmly restored has allowed me to reconnect with Coldplay's latest album X&Y. These guys write extremely melodic, catchy tunes that I find myself never tiring from hearing. Aside from that, the lyrics on this disc are quite comforting to me these days. In particular the tune Square One that is the opening track is one that I turn to as a way of summing up a lot of my feelings throughout a day like today.

You're in control, is there anywhere you wanna go?
You're in control, is there anything you wanna know?
The future's for discovering
The space in which we're travelling
From the top of the first page
To the end of the last day
From the start in your own way
You just want somebody listening to what you say
It doesn't matter who you are
It doesn't matter who you are

Under the surface trying to break through
Deciphering the codes in you
I need a compass, draw me a map
I'm on the top, I can't get back

Whoa whoa

The first line on the first page
To the end of the last page
From the start in your own way
You just want somebody listening to what you say
It doesn't matter who you are
It doesn't matter who you are

You just want
Somebody listening to what you say
Oh, you just want somebody listening to what you say
It doesn't matter who you are
It doesn't matter who you are

Is there anybody out there who
Is lost and hurt and lonely too
Are they bleeding all your colours into one?
and if you come undone
As if you've been run through
Some catapult it fired you
You wonder if your chance will ever come
Or if you're stuck in square one

I don't want to go on and on about this, but I'll just say that songs that can verbalize, er vocalize the thoughts that bounce around my head make me feel less like a freak from outer space and more like everyone else.

Kinda Bummerish, And Other Junk

After a rather tiring day at work I am currently sitting here sipping Kiwi Strawberry Crystal Light from a wine glass and contemplating why on earth I cannot seem to win a fantasy football match up. I just read the news about Jason Bateman having throat surgery and it reminded me that I need to get Joolie to mail back discs 2 and 3 from season 2 of Arrested Development so I can get a Netflix rental up in here. I'm in a stretch of working 7 out of 8 days and will hopefully use the time wisely to get myself prepared for the impending holidays. Speaking of which I'm not "off" again until after XMAS and that prospect seems kind of frightening, if for no other reason than I fear I may burn out or have heart failure.

In other disappointing news, I am now realizing that my upcoming birthday is on par to be the lamest ever. Let me explain. There are only a handful of people that I would call my inner circle here in the GA and 2 of them are heading up North on my birthday I guess to get an early start on Thanksgiving. Lame. Thankfully Joolie is only working until 9 PM that day, so at the very least I will have her to help me drown my sorrows as I get another year closer to death. Not that I am unhappy about having Joolie there, I just wish there was going to be more fanfare surrounding the blessed event.

In lighter news, I failed to mention that after much despair I now have recovered my beloved MP3 collection thanks to Brother Mike who sent down an external hard drive loaded with songs this past weekend. I'm back up to 5000 in ITunes and it's such a comfort to have more than the same 10 choices. Sufjan Stevens, I missed you.