New Old Music

I love rediscovering music I have. I was cleaning out my computer and came across Aimee Mann's "Video" song. I've written about how much I love it before, and listening to it yesterday made feel like I was back to Summer 2005. I love that about music, the little time machine, the way it can transport you to a moment or a feeling.



Update: Aimee Mann is playing in New York tonight & tomorrow.

Batman Review by Ace

I like ace's take on the film, I found myself thinking the same things....the good thing he can actually put it in writing and make it coherent.

My slightly longer than one word review: Overblown, overhyped, overplotted, overstuffed, and overlong....

Everyone praises the cast. I don't see it. I grant that just about everyone in this movie is a strong actor. (Except for the giggly Maggie Gyllenhallenhyllenhallenhal, who actually made me nostalgic for the authenticity and gravitas of Katie Holmes.) But no one, except Heath Ledger, actually has to do much difficult acting. It does not exactly tax an actor of Gary Oldman's talents to say "The Joker is robbing mob-controlled banks." And that's largely the sort of line everyone in the movie delivers at all times; again, the need to cut 4 hours worth of plot into a 2 hour forty minute running time excludes most other dialogue. (And on Gary Oldman -- I'm very disappointed that the movie gives him such short shrift. Jim Gordon is a hell of a character, just as heroic (but not as flashy) as Batman, but here plays third fiddle hero after Harvey Dent and Batman -- and yes, in that order.)

People really could care less how happy you are.

Rachel Lucas, in her wonderful kick ass wisdom captures why people, for the most part, like writing about stuff that pisses them off as opposes to sunshine and bunny rabbits.

So now, about how if one writes too often about shit that pisses her off, which makes people tell you to “be happy,” and how that in itself is shit that pisses me off: if you either do not have a blog, or you do have a blog but it is boring, then you need to shut your cakehole about how often a blogger like me blogs about shit that pisses her off. Do you really think that I would get any traffic if all I wrote about were great things I love? Do those who say, “oh, be happy,” actually want to read about things that make me happy? This is what a post like that would be like:

Tuna salad! God how I love it. Rupert has a flair for crafting the most perfect tuna salad in the world, and I like to eat it as often as possible. It tastes good and I like the texture, especially because he includes chopped boiled eggs, which have that awesome spongy, soft-yet-weirdly-crunchy-but-not-crunchy-AT-ALL quality. And you can’t forget the pickle relish, which gives the tuna salad a certain kick that just really knocks my socks off.

One of my biggest pet peeves

I'll open it myself, really.

New Lows

I was amazed when I heard that Obama's prayer at the Western Wall was intercepted by a newspaper and published. The act seemed on many levels wrong, never mind that the prayer seemed grammatically incorrect, presumptuous for my taste, and that Obama wasn't even sure at a press conference if it was his, this was a spiritual matter that the public had no right to have access to it. However, now come the reports that it was the Obama campaign that negotiated/orchestrated the whole thing. Basically pulling off looking like a humble victim.

Obama: not a typical politician, more wily than most.

Update: "Obama's note was published in Maariv and other international publications following his authorization to make the content of the note public. Obama submitted a copy of the note to media outlets when he left his hotel in Jerusalem."

By the way why hasn't anyone commented on how poorly the note is worded and Obama allowing himself to be the "instrument of G-d," isn't that even more evil than G.W. invoking the Crusades?

Via Alarming News, Allah claims it's a smear campaign and has some solid reasoning/evidence behind him.

The PC Culture

So I've been slightly obsessed with the Mitchell & Webb clips on Youtube. They are pretty much hilarious and at some point after watching a bunch of them I even started speaking in a British accent for a minute or two (thanks mirror neurons!). I really wish BBC America would show it here. Peter showed me probably my favorite clip so far, it involves Jesus and some very sensitive disciples. Pure comedy gold.


The sad thing is, this is how some people really think.

(sort of update) I have to post the following clip cause I love it a lot.

On "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Gib is funny Part 3,572:

In college, there was a guy on our dorm's hockey team who talked like that - "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger." His other favorite was "Pain is weakness leaving the body." We tried to point out that sometimes that which doesn't kill you leaves you crippled, and sometimes pain isn't just weakness leaving the body, but important things like blood. These were the kind of conversations that occurred when a military veteran met a group of people whose combat experience was limited to D & D.
He was a heck of a hockey player, though.

I personally feel people say that to make themselves feel better about the crap they go through. Crap happens and that's the way of life, but I don't see the need "to learn" from the experience or take something away from the crappiness. Life is a lot about luck, shit happens to everyone it's the amount of it and the frequency that really seals the deal.

Soviet Food

Don't watch this if you don't like images of meat grinder grinding meat, a personal gross out factor for me, but if you are curious what an Estonian meat commercial looks like from the 1980's click below.


The images in the commercial remind me of a Soviet cookbook my mother has circa 1950's, it's priceless for many reasons, one of which is a forward by Stalin himself. The images that fill the pages of the cookbook have a strange yellow-green look to them, they show a huge variety of food an average Russian would not see in his lifetime. I'm might need to scan a few pages to show of this gem.

via kottke

New "W" Trailer

If Oliver Stone trailer for "W"


I could see myself taking the film somewhat seriously if a) Oliver Stone had criticized Fidel Castro in any way (seriously there is not one criticism of him or his government) in Comandante
b) he wasn't a complete partisan hack

On Love

I've been thinking about this quote for months - and haven't been able to place it - where it comes from and who says it. And then I turn on the tv and their it is: Adam Sandler in all his anger and love in Punch Drunk Love and it comes to me, the most wonderful quote on love, so simple and true:

Barry (Adam Sandler): I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.

I know most people never liked this film very much, but there is something about Barry's love and how he changes from it that mesmerizes me every time I see it. It's not a perfect movie, but I love it anyway.

Hmmmmmm

Dead Serious covers the tabloid story close to my heart. It does sound a bit fishy that Christian Bale would be arrested for assault and the released so soon & there are other parts of the story that don't make sense which Dead Serious looks at. Check it out.

Mother & Daughter

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This one of my favorite photos of my sister and niece. I think she looks like a little a gnome, especially when she has her hat on. It's appropriate since her name starts with a "G"!

The World Must Be Peopled!

Some happy news, my beautiful, amazing, and strong sister gave birth today to my most perfect niece. The baby, mother, and father are doing well. My niece has the most perfect soft cheeks - incredibly hard not to kiss. Also she is showing signs of being an early overachiever - she already smiles, holds her head up, and has a head full of hair. I stand ready to spoil her rotten.

Fucking Hell

Tony Snow died this morning from complications of cancer. I hate this fucking disease.I really admired the guy, he knew how to handle the press corps and was an articulate, smart, principled, and likeable person - qualities you don't see too often now days.

Perspective (corrected)

You know when you become the person you've been ridiculing for the last few months? Not such a fun realization. I think I tend to see a lot of my bad traits in other and that is why the people I don't like or complain about the most really bother me. It is because I'm bothered by their behavior in how I act that they get to me. That girl who I mock for being too talkative - is really my insecurity for being a chatter box, the hypocritical free spirit, who actually prefers Chanel #5 (corrected - thanks Casca) to her patchouli oil - my own insecurities about my finances, etc. On the other it's fun to mock people.

Just touch my head and send me spinning

So I get a little obsessive about music. I tend to like a song/album and then it plays over and over again, non stop.
I went to see The Cure a few weeks and the concert was phenomenal, even though I didn't know most of the songs.
Not only was Peter kind enough to provide me with a ticket to the show but he went out of his way and created three fantastic mixes of The Cure songs he liked and thought I would like in return. Not only did the CDs have the list of the songs, but it had the albums they came from, and the band members who comprised the band. It was a very thoughtful gift, especially since some songs came from cassettes. Of course being the procrastinator that I am, I didn't listen to CDs as often as I should. I misplaced the first CD after a few times listening to it and the other two I played over and over again two days before the concert. The concert was fantastic, minus the drunk guys in front of us. Impressed I went back and listened to the CDs, especially the first one that I misplaced. And now I can't get enough the song "Halo" - it's far more prettier than a song has a right to be, it's been pretty much on a heavy rotation with me.

Conversation of the Week Generation

Me: I didn't know you did all those things before! What happened to all your free time?
Him: Yotube.

This Is My Sense of Humor

In other news I get a lot of looks and remarks when I wear this shirt.

I can't say I mind the attention. It's cute and has a good point. It is tasty.

Non-Profound Thoughts Early In The Morning

The thoughts I have at six o'clock in the morning:I wonder if the Jennifer Leather Store is a way a play on "Genuine Leather" - it does kind of sound alike. Although I always thought it was a strange name for a store.

Happy Birthday America!

You never looked better.

I found this very funny

“Harold! This is worse than the time you pooped everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE.”


I think I'm officially into poop jokes now. How my standards have fallen....

Hmmmmm

Why does it feel very, very, dirty to stalk someone over the internet even if you have no real interest in their lives and will probably never see them ever again. Bleh, feels really, really wrong, like reading tabloids. I need help.