Gone Fishin. Be Back Next Year.

Happy New Year!


P.S. 2005 almost completely sucked. I'm warning 2006 not to suck so much or else...
I'm off to the land of milk and honey, hope everyone enjoys their days off.

"Jumping The Shark" and Woody Allen

I never knew the term "jumping the shark" came from Happy Days' Fonzie stunt and thanks to Studio 360 now i do. This Sunday the show devoted a segment to different artist who have "jumped the shark." I thought of Woody Allen right away and it seems others had too (he was the most popular choice among the listeners). One listener remarked on Allen's talent arc - "There's a man who knows what it is like to be human. And I feel like he forgot. "

2005 Round - Up by Lileks

Hil-ar-ous.

One Example:

Bombs explode in London, as perfectly ordinary apolitical young men driven to extremes by America’s imposition of elections in Iraq react the only possible way: by driving metal through the flesh of British commuters.

I've Become A Terrible Listener

From Fight Club

Narrator: When people think you're dying, they really, really listen to you, instead of just...

Marla Singer: - instead of just waiting for their turn to speak?

Follow Up: Sexually Transmitted Books

My Sexually Transmitted Book of choice (in high school) was Einstein's Dreams.
My favorite Sexually Transmitted Book to me: Revolutionary Road .

Yours?

Endorsements

The Weblog Awards are upon us and i would like to endorse some blogs....
Best Liberal Blog: Clareified (Seriously i voted for this girl 15 times, i really would like to see her break a hundred...)
Best Conservative Blog: Ace of Spades (you don't even need to vote for him, he seems to be doing fine on his own)
Best Middle East or Africa Blog: Israellycool (I love Dave)
Best Canadian: The North American Patriot (Just started reading her...)
Best of the Top 250: Anyone (like Vodkapundit) except Making Light (stupidest blog EVER, also they insulted my friends and me....no love for them!)
Best Blog Design: Between Antipixel (i like the simplicity) and Demure Thoughts (I don't like the pink skin, but the other ones are neat)

On "Sexually-Transmitted Book"

The author of this excellent essay trashes Kundera's overrated Unbearable Lightness of Being (which i must admit i love, but never have given as a present to a lover) and suggests alternative Eastern European writings to impress your date or new gal/pal. I must say that my eternal complaint about all of Kudera's work is how cold and distant his characters are. I swear no one in his book has a heart temperature above ten degrees Celsius.
Although i like Ceglowski choice of Master and Margarita and Anna Akhmatova (whose poetry i know very little of but love nevertheless), i would object to The Russian Debutante's Handbook, which at first i found delightful but towards the middle found it too tedious to continue with.

via Antipixel

P.S. I'm adopting the term "Sexually Transmitted Books" - love it.

Confessions

A very slick site (via Matt) a la Post Secret.

Le Papillon (The Butterfly)

A beautiful little film, worth checking out.

Sometimes It's Better To Take Chris Klein's Advice

Reading Ace of Spades i came across this disturbing hilarious interview with with Chris Klein. At first i thought it was a joke, a parody of cocky celebrities, but it turned out to be very real. I just wish i read the article earlier and taken this pearl of wisdom to heart before having a disastrous conversation this afternoon:

CK: Are we friends? Absolutely. Do we talk? No.

(Check out the priceless back forth between Allah and Ace.)

It's Very Strange

I'm not the only strange person who has issues spelling "weird," Seldom Sober has the same problems (you're not alone)! Every time i always want to write it as "wierd." It's a strange compulsion. I did know that weird has something to do with fate from Macbeth and three weird sisters though...still interesting meanings.