Who needs TiVo when you have 2 VCR's

BEST OF TV LIST 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

"Reality"

Dirty Jobs-(Discovery) Mike Rowe (see pic) likes to get dirty. More importantly, I like to watch him get dirty. It's nice to see a show that celebrates the everyman as opposed to evil rich kids from the OC.

First 48-(A&E) Real cops, real cases and a definite pleasure for a crime tv junkie. I usually have a hard time watching when the families of the victims are notified and some shows end with cases being open, but it is interesting television.

Ghosthunters-(Sci-Fi Channel) As someone who read every book on the paranormal I could find in our small town library, I can't get enough of this show. I like the yin/yang relationship of the two founders/best friends Jason and Grant. Jason has a nice bit of snark to him and Grant is genuinely kind which makes the two of them together an ideal man. Some ep's there are no ghosts to be found, but the little conflicts between the crew members keep things interesting.

Amazing Race-(CBS) In my effort to dislike all things "reality competition" (ie. Survivor, American Idol, etc.), I didn't latch on to this show till last year. I missed some good stuff. The big draw for me is seeing all the cool places the show goes to during the course of the game. The competitors are usually interesting, plenty to both hate and love.

COMEDY:

The Office--Everyone is brilliant in this show. While not as dark as its British original, it still has plenty of moments of uncomfortable humor. The Pam and Jim saga is so well played by Jenna Fisher and John Krazinski (sp) that every glance or seemingly casual conversation is laced with meaning. Plus it's really frickin' funny. Steve Carrell rocks.

Ugly Betty and Studio 60--The two new shows that have kept me interested this season. Studio 60 may end up being too "insider" for its own good, but the mid-season ender that had Danny telling Jordan how he felt will probably lead to a stronger focus on the characters as opposed to slamming the inner workings of television. Hats off to the writers though. Not only do they have to write their own show, but they have to write the show within a show. I thought the parody of To Catch a Predator with that dude harassing Santa was fabulous. Betty has taken what could be stereotypical characters and given them some depth. I also love the relationship between Betty and Daniel (Eric Mabius who was great in Welcome To The Dollhouse and in my guilty fave, Resident Evil--woooo!!!).

Reno 911-Killer parody of all things law enforcement. I saw a trailer for the movie a couple of months ago and about laughed my ass off.

Psych-This was a summer show on USA network and it is hands down one of the smartest and funniest shows out there. Every freakin' episode was full of the funny (and you can't really say that about The Simpsons this year sadly...too busy on the movie I guess). The leads have perfect chemistry as life long best friends. It's about a guy who has always moved through life without purpose, but is still a good guy none the less. His father, a cop, taught him how to quickly assess people and places. This sort of hyper-awareness, through some smoke and mirrors on his part, has our hero opening his own PI business, the catch being he is claiming to be psychic. Really, he's just very, very, observant. Trust me, it's a great show. It's back on in Jan.

The Venture Brothers-(Cartoon Network) Sharp and witty with tons of pop culture references. This pseudo parody of Johnny Quest has done everything from sending up the Fantastic Four to The Manchurian Candidate. Each season the writing gets stronger and the characters get fuller and in some ways, more weird. Love this. Can't wait till it comes back with new ep's.

SCI-FI

Dr. Who-David Tennant has done a great job filling the shoes of last year's doctor, Christopher Eccelston (sp). Tennant's doctor is a bit more joyful and he's been fun to watch.

4400-(USA) Another summer show that stemmed from a mini-series, The 4400 has continued to evolve nicely. The "what's really going on here" arc has moved along with some good twists and turns. The two main characters, Tom and Diana, have a nice Mulder/Scully vibe going only its doubtful they will get together, which is probably a good thing.

Battlestar Galactica--THE BEST FREAKIN' SHOW OUT THERE

Yes, I said it. Best freakin' show. Yes, it beats out 24 (just barely though). It has everything--writing, acting, directing, special effects, set design. You name it and Galactica has probably kicked its ass twice already. Not so much a science fiction show as it is a war drama that takes place in space. The show has explored topics other programs won't even touch--suicide bombers, genocide, the war machine, religion, whether or not the ends justify the means...it's all in there. Plus, there's nudity and sex. WOO HOO! Watch this show. It moves to Sun. nites starting in late Jan.

Damn, I am long winded. If you made it all the way through, good job. If you skimmed, don't worry, there isn't going to be a quiz. But, I may mock you at some point.

Happy New Year!

A CRAP LOAD OF NIN FAN'S CAN'T BE WRONG

Question not the combined power of a Trent Reznor fan, a computer, and a poll that let's you vote as often as you like. VH1 Classic took a poll from a provided list of the best videos ever for an end of the year special. On that list was "Closer." (Not to mention other great vid's like "Sabotage", "It's Oh So Quiet" and that Fatboy Slim one with a dancing Christopher Walken, oh yeah, "Weapon Of Choice" knew I'd remember it eventually. Atleast one NIN fan site mentioned the poll and tah-dah!!!!, "Closer" came in at number one. It is a seriously cool video, even in it's edited version. The best part was it kicked the asses of many a lame band/artist. Frickin' "Cradle of Love" from Billy Idol was #2...da hell?

I have a request of my friends who have high speed internet and are way smarter than me when it comes to this computer thing. As a Christmas gift, the aforementioned Mr. Reznor has provided a download of his impossible to find Closure release. Originally on VHS, disagreements between Trent and "the man" have kept it from being released on DVD. But now, over at thepiratebay.org you can get a download of it. Or rather, you can get disc one right now. Disc two should be available soon.

One of the few times I actually need a faster ISP (oh the irony, eh Jinn?) and I'm sorta screwed here. If someone could download it and burn it (which is do-able according to the site) and send it to me I would be most appreciative. I would even send you some sort of thank you, at the very least I'd pay you for the DVD's you copied onto. If one of you thinks it is possible, let me know. MERCI BEAUCOUP!

Quick note, the picture is from the concert I saw in Feb. in Champaign-Urbana. Not sure which song this is though.

Also, here's something interesting to check out, especially if you are getting a passport after the new year. More anarchy from Wired. www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/start.html?pg=9.

Best of TV list 2 probably tomorrow.

Best Of/Faves List #2

When I started listing my fave shows, I was a bit shocked to see just how much I watch. Although, in my defense, some of these shows have short runs (around 6 for the Brit stuff and 13 for the summer shows) so it ends up being about 1 or 2 a night I watch. That's my story anyway.


BEST OF TELEVISION PART ONE:
aka: I have no life....

DRAMA/CRIME DRAMA:

Life On Mars (see picture)--British import about a cop who gets hit by a car in the year 2006 and wakes up and he's back in the 70's. Not really a sci-fi show in that so far we've been lead to believe Sam Tyler is actually in a coma and this is all in his head...or is it? John Simm is pitch perfect as Sam as he struggles to figure out what is really going on. The second season is supposed to start in the UK around April so hopefully it will get to us before the end of next year. Try and catch this on BBC America if it's available.

Waking The Dead--once again it's BBC America to the rescue...long before there was Cold Case on CBS, WTD has been solving the icy cases for a few years now. They are not afraid to kill off major characters and they aren't afraid of making the head of the unit, the amazing Trevor Eve, be a bit of an ass (but more often than not it's in a good way).

Without A Trace--one of the more solid shows out there, it's center is definitely Anthony LaPagilla's (sp?) performance. He brings it every week. The writers do an amazing job of working the agents' personal lives into the cases without it being too overwrought (hint, hint CSI). The show also sports a great supporting cast.

The Closer--Kyra Sedgewick (sp) continues to spark this always well written and acted show. There is plenty of humor thanks to her character's relationship with her fellow squad members and her personality quirks. She kicks ass in interrogation (think Pembleton in Homicide as a Southern chick).

Bones--I love this show. It's full of great characters and the chemistry between the leads is fun to watch. It's not trying to be hard core drama, but there is still plenty of tension and crime ickiness to be found.

SERIAL :

Prison Break--woo hoo William Fitchner (sp...I must look this stuff up before I start to write) and Robert K. The full characters keep this show from going completely over the top plot wise. Very much a rollercoaster ride type of program

24--Ahhh...Kiefer. Kiefer with a hack saw. Kiefer gets shocked, alot. Kiefer runs, alot. Kiefer mentions they are running out of time, alot. The plot runs amuck and sometimes makes no sense. Stuff blows up. You can get across L.A. in 15 minutes! Go Chloe!!!

Kidnapped--unfairly canned after just 4 episodes, this series boasted a great cast, an interesting plot and solid writing. People are too damned impaitent these days. You can catch the remaining ep's online.

JUMPING THE SHARK--OR ATLEAST REVING UP THE BIKE:

CSI--this started to go downhill last year. I pretty much watched it to check out the status of Nick's hair (I preferred it longer than it is now). This year has not faired much better. I can usually fast forward through an episode in about 15 minutes. Also, could there be less chemistry between Grissom and Sara?

Gilmore Girls--I loved this show for its witty banter, pop culture references, and the characters. Now that the series creators have gone the spark seems to have left as well. The remaining folk are trying, but it just isn't as funny or touching as it used to be. I'll still watch just to find out how it all ends.

Lost--about 1/2 of the season so far left me really annoyed, but the mid-season cliffhanger ep reminded me what it was I loved about this show. I was excited to find out one of my favorite writers, Brian K. Vaughan (Y the Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad) has joined the writing staff. I think he's brilliant so I can't wait to see what his ep's are like.

Next time it'll be Sci-Fi, Comedy, Animated and Reality shows.

Woo hoo.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just a couple of quick things to cover...

First, my friend's dad is doing better! Easily the best gift of the holiday is knowing he is off the ventilator (and has been for two days) and is responding to questions, etc. He is talking slowly, but he seems to be understanding what is being said and done. He is going in for an MRI tomorrow. Pray or think happy thoughts for him if you can.

Second, I went to church last night. This may not sound like a big deal, but other than attending for a wedding, a funeral, or via a weekend visit to a friend's house, I have not really been to church in 10 years. There are many reasons for my absence, which I won't go into here.

I knew my Mom really wanted me to go as she is very active in our church. Normally, I've had the "out" of having to work on Christmas Eve. With it winding up on a Sunday this year, work couldn't be used as an excuse. So I figured, what the hey, I can haul my butt the block and a half, make Mom happy, and bond a bit with the Lord.

Not to overuse a metaphor, but it was like riding a bike. I remembered the different bits of singing and speaking usually done during a service. I left my issues at the door and just tried to enjoy the experience. And, I can happily report, I did enjoy my evening. I don't know that I'll be rushing back next Sun., but things went better than I expected. Plus, it pleased my Mom which was a good thing.

Although, I didn't realize that honoring the Lord included playing video games during the service. Apparently, this is something new. Nothing says Christ like a round of violence and bloodshed on the Nintendo DS...with headphones so as to not disturb the worshippers (or hear the sermon). I seriously wanted to reach forward and slap this kid...and then slap his parents. Especially the dad who was leaning over and offering his son tips throughout the game. Also a highlight were the annoying teenagers in front of me taking pictures of themselves with their phones. Atleast they did this before the service started. Damn kids...

I hope everyone had a great holiday and that you were able to spend time with family and friends.

Peace.

The First of the Best Of's...

So, I didn't plan ahead in order to have a picture that is relevant to my topic. But, I like the pictures so I snagged this one which I took from my trip last year. This was taken while I was on a boat sailing from Italy to Greece. As you can see, the water and sky were a perfect, almost identical shade of blue so it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. It was easily one of the most beautiful sights I have been privilaged enough to see.

I was going to comment about work, but I am still so mad and frustrated I think I will leave that for another time. I will also warn you that my postings may be not so fab this coming week. The father of one of my best friends is in the hospital not doing very well. Since my own father died at this time of the year 11 years ago, seeing her dad (who I consider to be my own bonus father) in a weakened state is bringing up plenty of icky memories and leaving me a little raw so I'll probably keep the entries to a minimum and I won't promise that they will be funny. To that end, I figured I'd start the "lists" which are pretty easy to do and not too emotionally straining.

FAVORITE MUSIC OF 2006:

I say fave rather than best since I didn't hear everything this year so I'm sure there are plenty of great artists I missed.

1) Muse--Black Holes And Revelations I've been in love with this band for awhile. They are epic in a good way. Matt Bellamy has an amazing voice and is one of the best guitar players out there. Brits Rule!

2) Thom Yorke--The Eraser His first solo effort to help tide us over till the next Radiohead album. In my mind one of the best singers and songwriters ever. His voice on Atoms For Peace gives me chills.

The rest are in no particular order:

Arctic Monkeys--Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not I instantly fell in love with this group of snotty young Brits. I love their energy and youthful recklessness. Plus, their songwriting is spot on.

The Dears--Gang Of Losers Hailing from Canada, this band is rather eclectic. Their songs are full and beautiful, well written and a bit melancholy.

Snow Patrol--Another album about the break up the last album was about. None the less great singing and songwriting (obviously this is a recurring preference).

The Thermals--The Body The Blood The Machine Punk from the Northwest giving an honest look at religion.

We Are Scientists--With Love And Squalor These guys are fun and write great little power pop rock tunes.

My Chemical Romance--The Black Parade Third album shows their evolving sound and songwriting abilities. Dark topic, great tunes...they need to loose the Goth Sgt. Peppers jackets though.

The Editors--The Black Room A bit like Interpol, but not as pretentious.

Tapes 'N Tapes--The Loon Did you love Pavement? Did you love Violent Femmes? Then you'll love these guys.

There you go. Feel free to discuss or recommend your own faves.

Have a great Christmas!

YOU can't be serious...

Good job. You and I and that loser who cut you off in traffic today are Time's person of the year. Really. I am not kidding. Does this mean we each get a free copy of the magazine? I'm guessing as long as the Person of The Year isn't some crazed nuke happy leader of a foreign land the "winner" gets a complimentary copy of the magazine. Doesn't that mean we should each get one? There's even a crappy pseudo mirror on the front so we can see our reflections in the magazine cover. Like staring into a fun-house version of myself is going to make me want to purchase this thing.

While Time argues on its website (where I got the pic by the way...don't sue) that each of us controls the information age via YouTube, MySpace and blogging, in its blurb to start the page it seems to brush past just how narcissistic this behavior is. Sure there is a venue for discussion and the expansion of ideas out there. But there is also a whole hell of a lot of crap that no one needs to see, yet someone feels compelled to toss it out there.

I know I'm bordering on being hypocritical here, but I doubt anyone but my friends reads my blog. I didn't create it for much of anyone else to read. I don't push it via other sites. I have left maybe one comment on a web site in my life. The only reason I have a MySpace page is to be able to comment on a friend's page if I ever get around to actually visiting the site.

It seems to me (and it's entirely possible I am completely off the mark here) that besides the narcissism vibe there is also a desperate need to bolster one's self esteem. Why the hell else would someone get to see how many "friends" you have? It makes me feel sad.

So, congrats person who shot a video of their dog sleeping, congrats to the hand farting the Star Spangled Banner filmmaker, and let's hear it for the Spit Art person. What a wonderful world.

Speaking of wonderfulness, work completely sucked today. 300+ boxes and the uber handed down the mandate that our priority was not really putting out books this week. After covering a couple of catagories, we were supposed to just leave the rest of it for later and move on to pulling clearance books from the freakishly large amount of shit, er, bargain we have in back. This masterful plan overlooks the fact that we have no where to store boxes of books for any length of time and we will in fact be getting more boxes in every day this week. Oh yeah, and we are here to sell books NOW in addition to the day after Christmas (when the clearance sale starts). Once again, I felt like my input was in no way desired.

On an up note Little Miss Sunshine comes out on DVD tomorrow!

Sick Days

I HATE BEING SICK!!!! I came down with a cold on Thursday. Actually, I was smacked on my butt by a cold on Thursday. It was bad enough that I did something I very rarely do. I USED SOME OF MY SICK DAYS! The world is coming to an end. I worked half a day on Friday, took Mon. off and worked half a day on Tues. Finally though, the snot seems to have vacated my head and most of my lungs so I felt like myself today and went into work. At the very least I had to get in sometime this week just to get the extra 10% off of my purchases. When I checked my emails today, I had 83 of them. Only about 5 were of any true interest. The rest all wanted me to buy something or enlarge a penis (not having one, it would be difficult to enlarge my own obviously). I don't know how the "penis people" got my email address. I wouldn't think Amazon would sell to those sorts of folks, but I suppose you never know.

Because I've been down and out, I don't have much to write about. Of course, this entry will still end up running on and on as usual. Here's a couple of quick things.

Please enjoy the pic of Josh McRoberts I've added today. Duke FINALLY played well this past Sat. They apparently had a team meeting on Thurs. and things have obviously turned around. McRoberts had a beautiful behind the back pass during the game. I wish he'd be more aggressive offensively, but one step at a time I suppose.

Found out the NIN dvd "Beside You In Time" is coming out Feb. 27, just missing my birthday but still close enough for me to feel that special bond with Trent. The website has a track list and while I'm disappointed "Getting Smaller" isn't going to be featured, I thought the list looked great. Somehow I doubt the Champaign performance ended up being used, but I'll just have to wait and see. Lots of cool extras are listed as well.

Tonight's quote from the leader of the free world from my Mis-Speak calendar:

From May 5, 2004

"Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country."

And from The Simpsons, via Milhouse (he's talking to Bart who walked in on his parents having sex)

"Trust me Bart, it's better to walk in on both your parents than just one of them."

The Good Ones Never Seem To Stay

Yet again, we are losing a really good employee to a life less mucked up. The lovely Jackie, I just found out today, will be spending her last day at the store tomorrow. ARRGHHH!!!! Bad enough someone who actually did stuff while at work is going, but she was a source of much humor and entertaining chat. I'm not sure who I will discuss Lost with now. Who will I discuss Middle East events with while using one of the globes we are currently selling effectively wasting about 15-20 min. of work time? (Okay, I discuss this stuff elsewhere, but dammit, we had a globe to spin! It was fun.) Who will I desperately try to convince to see some movie by referencing how good the director is only to have that person shoot me a look that says "you are the only person in this building who knows who that director is" yet let's me ramble on? Well, Jinn let's me ramble, but since she's often facing her desk or putting a book on a cart I don't often see "the look."

How she can leave before employee appreciation days (ie. who needs a christmas bonus when we can entice you to spend even MORE of your paycheck here under the guise of savings) I do not know. Perhaps she has discovered zen and will be ridding herself of material things? Not likely. She's just doing the smart thing and getting the heck out of this place. Farewell dearest Jackie. You will be missed by many...especially by those of us in receiving land.

Now to switch gears:
I picked up the season 5 boxset of 24 tonight and watched the 10 min-ish "episode" that takes us from season 5 to 6. Here's a quick run down. It's 7 months later and Jack is in full Soundgarden/Jesus Christ Pose look. He's strung up in some sort of warehouse getting shocked with home made devices. According to the baddies, he hasn't spoken the entire time he's been with them. The baddies want him to ID a US agent for them from a choice of two possible people. He tells them jack pooh and after the requisite "we're going to kill him if we don't stop" line from one of the henchmen, Jack is taken back to his cell.

Suddenly, two masked men appear outside the cell and take out a couple of the baddies. They take off their masks to reveal they are Americans. One of them has Jack's picture in some sort of arm band thingie in order to correctly ID him. They tell him they are there to break him out. Out they go into, well, it sort of looks like a lot in Santa Monica actually. Anyway, off they go amongst the shrubbery to unveil the waiting Toyota SUV! Tah-dah!!! Who needs a government issued vehicle when the new Toyota's are out!

The Soccer Mom vehicle heads out with Jack ducked down in the back. A chase ensues and they get away. Before Molly needs to get to piano practice and Dave has to head out on his black ops mission, they pull over to tell Jack he's okay and they have transport waiting for him. Everyone gets out of the vehicle and a dude steps out from behind this big ass rock thing. Surprise (not so much) it's one of the possible agents the baddies wanted him to ID.

One of the Americans says something like "Gosh, here's our contact in China, Mr. Hong. You remember him from the agency right Jack?" Turn to look at Jack who does a quick nod and before you can say "I'm gonna need a hack saw," lights go on everywhere and Jack realises it's all been a ruse. Main baddie comes out, says thanks very much for confirming what we thought, pulls out a gun, shoots Mr. Hong then tells the Americans the money has been wired into their Swiss accounts. Maniacal laughter was perhaps considered, but instead they just loaded up a very upset Jack and sent him back to the warehouse.

Not quite as much fun as last year's transitional "episode" which involved a guy getting his head lopped off as part of a car chase, but it's always sorta fun to see a half naked Kiefer getting shocked. I'm not sure, but I think we are close to about 3 times now he's been zapped. Let's all hope Audrey buys it this year and buys it ASAP.

Let's also hope my Duke team starts playing in the first half of the game instead of saving it all for the second. Holy Cross had them by the nads at the beginning of the game. Now, I will admit I have all the competitive sport expertise of a tortoise, but when you have more turnovers than assists in a half you know your offense is not running smoothly. Hopefully Greg and Josh and the gang will get into sync before long. Kudos to Lance Thomas though for hauling ass to get back on defense...he ran past almost all the players on both teams!

COMING SOON:
You have to expect it and you probably dread it...
BEST OF 2006 LISTS
run...run away...

Lifting 6000 lbs.

Ow. Thanks to UPS not running on Friday (and the store being closed) we got in a crap load of boxes from both UPS and our usual delivery folk. I'm estimating about 6,000 lbs worth of books. Jinn and I lifted these boxes, some of them multiple times. And, I don't know about her, but frak I am feeling it tonight. I'm becoming concerned that I will be needing one of those Hover-round things by the time I'm 50. Granted, it would be pretty sweet to go zooming around the back room. Jinn and I could both get them and then it would be like bumper cars!!!

I found it amusing that I had several packages to send out to customers in town. Like UPS or the Post Office will have better luck working their way thru the craptastic streets of town than the customer would.

I am sensing the wrath of our delivery folk. Our landlord didn't bother to get the delivery "road" that runs behind our building cleared off. He also didn't bother to get the area near our delivery door cleared out either. We certainly don't have the equipment to do it ourselves. Though it has been fun to watch the customers get pissy when they pull back to the new rear exit only to find it is completely blocked with snow thanks to the guys who shoved it there while clearing the parking lot. Some innovative folk have already decided to just drive over a somewhat small pile and create their own exit. I'm waiting for the car crash daily.

While reading about a bill that is trying to work its way through Congress (the Senate specifically I think) regarding using pretexting to get phone records, I found an interesting article on How To Foil A Wiretap. It's pretty cool. Check it out at www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/start.html?pg+4. It's these little moments of anarchy that I love the most.

Okay, this has been a bit dull, but damn people. All I've done for the last few days is shovel snow, lift boxes, and watch basketball. GO DUKE!!! PLEASE PLAY BETTER OFFENSE. SOON!!! Oh, and I've also watched Clerks 2 about 5 times now. You must do the same.

Love the Randal.

"Not the Rings Randal. Say what you will about Jesus, but leave the Rings out of this..."

--Elias, Clerks 2

SNOW DAY!!!!

I got a call at 6:23 AM today. Normally, a call at that time of the day usually means something bad has happened. But today was a good day. Today was a SNOW DAY! I think the store has closed maybe 4 times in my 10+ years that I've been there. I went outside to enjoy the crisp air and eventually sunny skies. I brushed off my car. Actually, I grabbed as much snow as I could in my arms and forced it off the car. Hard to scrape the car when the scraper is in the car. I walked around my vehicle and discovered that there was about 2 feet of snow at the back and 1 1/2 feet at the front. Whee!!!


Feeling moderately festive, I embarked on the lengthy task of addressing Christmas cards. (Oooo, I said Christmas, perhaps this will put me on O'Reilly's mailing list) While working on this project, I discovered about 5 cards that I never got sent out last year that were already addressed. Worse, one of them had a photo in it I had been planning to send. The strange thing is I swear I sent the photo out last year. Having not incurred any blows to the head recently, I am unsure as to what I did. So, Jay, you may be getting a double of a picture you already have.


If you are a Star Wars fan, check out www.splu.net/chadvader.htm. There you can find out about Chad Vader, Day Shift Manager. Chad, the younger brother of Darth, works at a grocery store. There are 4 episodes to watch. I've only seen 2 thanks to dial up speed, but I have enjoyed them.


Well, the Bulls are playing right now and I want to watch the bonus stuff on The Office website so I'm gonna run.

Crap, I just previewed this and the picture got screwed up. Nothing too exciting. Just some guy pushing on his Jeep covered with snow.

Bad blogging, Christmas in retail and Tom Waits

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON STEWART!!!!

According to the man himself, his 44th birthday was today and he got to celebrate by having Tom Waits as a guest on the show. Tom is now, I believe, only the second musical act to perform on The Daily Show. Jon called it "my moment of zen." Mr. Waits was a part of a recent discussion in our weekly manager meeting. Our music manager was talking about best selling cd's and mentioned that the newly released Tom Waits boxset had sold 6 copies. This number may not sound large to you but consider that we are talking Peoria here, plus our pricing sucks so these things aren't cheap. Woo hoo Tom!!! The music snob part of my personality enjoyed the fact that our store manager had no idea who Tom Waits was. He failed to recognize Snow Patrol as well. Though, this is the person who referred to Nine Inch Nails as "nin" when the last album came out.

Bill O'Reilly has apparently decided that people in retail have been told they can't say "Merry Christmas" to customers again this year. He's been on this kick for a couple of years now. It's good to know there is nothing of more import to discuss. I recently read a transcript of his Nov. 9 show where he brought up the topic, and while he claims some retail stores have specifically told their employees what to say, he doesn't mention said stores. Could it be perhaps because he's making this shit up? He seems to be claiming that the religious significance of the holiday is being forced out of the retail arena. Seriously, Bill, if you're looking for religious significance in the same place you can buy a corn dog and motor oil you need to go to church more often.

Back in the 17th century when the Puritans had control of England, Christmas was banned for being either pagan or Roman Catholic (how's that for covering your bases!). Christmas as it relates to Christ has nothing to do really with gift giving. Sure, the 3 wisemen kicked in a little somethin' somethin' for the new baby, but I doubt they would have connected celebrating the birth of the son of God with a Victoria's Secret gift certificate.

The original Father Christmas didn't bring gifts to kids. His roots are in Paganism via the Anglo Saxons in the mid-5th century AD. Santa Claus is a mispronounciation of the Dutch, Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas is a form of Saint Nicholas who was a bishop from Myra ( a decent part of modern day Turkey) who used up his inheritance to help the needy. St. Nicholas feast day is Dec. 6 and is set up to honor secret charity. St. Nick inspired the myth of Sinterklaas which inspired the myth of Santa Claus. In the original myth, Santa lives in freakin' Spain!!!

There's nothing wrong with giving at this time of the year, especially if you are able to give to those less fortunate (whether it be your time or your money). Giving of yourself is really what the season should be about, not whether or not the poorly paid 18 year old clerk at the Gap wishes you a Merry Christmas.

Couple quick things:

I saw a transcript of the 2nd meeting between David Letterman and Bill O'Reilly during which Letterman said he'd seen Bill's new book "Culture Warrior" and thought it was about sailing. This comment is funny if you've seen the cover. Go over to Amazon and check it out as I refuse to put a picture of it here. Atleast this is a better look than the "gay Garth Brooks" shirt he had on a couple of covers ago.

Last week this quote was featured in the "Presidental (Mis)Speak" calendar we have in receiving.

"We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their--their love with women all across this country."

Remember ladies, be sure and "practice your love" on a regular basis. Bush almost makes pap smears sound romantic.

WATCH ME:

The Fountain (in theaters now) This blog is getting too long so I'll just say Hugh Jackman rocks and this is a beautiful movie to watch.

LISTEN TO ME:

PJ Harvey--The Peel Sessions Covers roughly '91-'04-ish. The versions of "Victory" and "Sheela Na Gig" are fabulous on here.

Sorry I've been lax with writing. I've been watching a bunch of movies (damn you Netflix addiction!!) and trying to catch up with things I taped months ago. Thanks a bunch if you've been checking in on me.

Thanks and such

Here's what I'm thankful for (not in order after #1):
1) Family and friends
2) Mom's cooking
3) Radiohead
4) Jon Stewart
5) Jane Austen
6) Basketball
7) Being fairly healthy...nothing's shut down yet...knock on wood
8) Hugs from my nephew
9) BBC America
10) the patience of my family and friends--I know I can be a challenge sometimes.

One quick dumb quote: On last Sunday's Amazing Race, one of the blondes said roughly the following. "Chernobyl...that's where the atomic bomb went off..."


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

See Bond. See Bond Run. Run Bond Run.

Daniel Craig runs alot in the new Bond movie. Luckily, he does not move like a duck when he does so. Even better, I can happily report that I really enjoyed Casino Royale. The story moves along nicely minus a bit of drag towards the 2/3's mark. Craig's Bond is funny, self depricating sometimes, and full of spot on English charm with just the right touch of ego. The more realistic action set pieces hold up nicely in this age of CGI. Granted, there are a couple of times where you could spot the stunt double, but overall Craig's stuntwork stands up to scrutiny. His is a grittier and dirtier Bond. The first of two kills he must do to achieve "double O" status is messy and devoid of the slickness one usually expects. He's got it down by the 2nd one though.

The first major action piece is very impressive. If you've ever seen any of the ads on tv that feature what I believe is called "free running," then you'll know what to expect. It was amazing to watch the baddie jumping, climbing and moving like a younger Jackie Chan on speed. The script stumbles a couple of times. There was a moment between Bond and his love interest, Vesper ( all I can think of when I hear that name is a Vespa scooter), in which I almost laughed out loud at the less than stellar phrase that came out of her mouth. Still, she is not quite your traditional Bond chick and most of the verbal sparring is done well.

As I mentioned before, a lot of the now almost artifical slickness has been stripped away and there is some genuine emotion on screen. There are still plenty of guns and explosions and fighting so don't worry. I really enjoyed the scene after a fight in a stairwell, in addition to the scene where Bond has been poisioned and he must excuse himself from the poker game in order to stop his death. The gadgets are kept to a minimum, but the few that do get used are pretty cool and make sense in the grand scheme of things.

Straight women and gay men may rejoice!!! Most of the nudity involves Daniel Craig, a nice change of pace from the norm. Don't worry straight boys, you'll get plenty of cleavage. But seriously, I lost count of the number of times Craig has no shirt on or is (deliciously) wet, which is almost as good as being naked. OH, and the torture scene involves a completely naked Bond, but sadly we do not get the "full monty."

The only complaints I would have would involve the less than exciting title sequence, the rather bland theme song, and a dud line here or there. Overall, I would definitely recommend seeing Casino Royale...let's just hope you don't have a woman in your theater that exclaimed rather loud "oh's" at every major plot point/twist. Errrggghhh. I need my own theater dammitt.

On another note, today we had our Holiday Meeting at work. Everyone had to be there at 6:45 A-Freakin'-M. I have now been to 10 of these things and they have always sucked. Sadly, this year we did not have the usual video to watch. Over the years, the videos have been everything from full out dull to ones with "plots" featuring the best of Jersey dinner theater...or worst, actual employees. Instead, we played a "game." We broke off into smaller groups and the managers were given a set of questions to ask our groups. Get an answer right you got a point.

I got my sheet this morning so I can happily report I had no idea what I was doing. One of my "questions" was the directive to have someone in the group gift wrap a book. I was supposed to judge the results and give points on how good it looked and how quickly it was wrapped. I skipped that one. The best bit was corporate flat out told us we wouldn't get through the whole set of questions. This begs the question: Why not make the damn thing shorter? Also, we in no way tallyed the points and no one got anything for their efforts. I'm hard pressed to think of something more pointless.

Wait, I got it. THE REST OF THE MEETING!!! Moving like cattle to the abattoir, we went from one section to another to get 2-3 minutes of important info that would be promptly forgotten. Then we had 20 or so minutes of more important facts (employee appreciation dates, where to park, etc.), but by then the heckling had begun. I know this because I sat amongst "the people" (in the back, just like a senior in high school) and not up front with the managers. My heckle? Not so much a heckle as an attempt at humor. I asked if one of the groups having a bookfair was like the Freemasons and were in control of the world.

Finally, we got to the service awards portion of the morning. Now, I saw an memo/agenda type thingie stating that everyone who was getting a pin was to be interviewed and asked for comments about why they enjoyed their job, etc. Not surprisingly, no one talked to me. Because we were pressed for time, it was a bit of a rush job. One manager took care of the 5 year awards, tossing out mostly just comments on what sections of the store each person had worked in. Then we get to the 10 year award and I had to haul ass up to the front of the group.

I had told Jinn (fellow receiver for those keeping track at home) I guessed the store manager would mention the number of boxes I'd received or the number of books I'd touched over the years. He's a numbers guy, not a people person. I was right. After listing the various and numerous places I'd worked in the store, he rattles off some numbers (apparently I've lifted, along with my comrades, 6 million lbs of books or something) then gives me my crappy pin.

The thing was, if he would have asked me for stories, I could have given him a couple. I could have talked about going to a fancy dinner in Chicago the first year we hit a major sales goal and because I was sick I barely ate anything, slept the whole way up and back and couldn't tell you much about the restaurant, but plenty about the bathroom.

I could have talked about the time, back when the employees had to clean the whole store, I was the only chick manager here and had to take care of a stuck piece of poo in the women's restroom the size of my foot. I'm talkin' size 9's here people.

I could have talked about the time myself, an ASM named Jim and the bargain manager Terry, closed the store without counting the drawers so we could go to a midnight showing of a new Jackie Chan movie. We came back around 2am and finished our closing responsiblities and listened to music while counting drawers.

I could have talked about being Winnie The Pooh the first summer we were open. I could've talked about the games we play in receiving when we get bored. I could have talked about paging for a doctor when someone in the parking lot was having a seizure.

Nope. Instead, we get numbers. Sad, I think.

WATCH IT:

Casino Royale--see above

HEAR IT:

R.E.M.--Driver 8 Paul sent me a link to a Slate article comparing R.E.M. and U2 and I had to pull out Fables Of The Reconstruction, my absolute fave R.E.M. cd. Comments coming soon Paul!

Speaking of Paul, only 51 years, 3 months and 2 days till the wedding. Start planning now!

YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE

So, I made this picture a bit small. It's Will Ferrell playing guitar in Stranger Than Fiction...just to clarify.

I think I may have just seen the movie of the year in my opinion. Granted, I am waiting for The Fountain which may the big winner. Still, I absolutely loved this film. I don't want to tell you all too much because part of the greatness of the movie is going through it with Will's character, Harold Crick.

I can tell you the following:

Will F. completely pulls this off! I didn't get around to seeing the movie he did with Woody Allen so I'm not sure what he did with his part there. But, much like I was surprised by Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love, I was rewarded here with Mr. Ferrell's performance. I found myself identifying with Harold to an almost frightening extent. In alot of ways, Harold is the straight man in his life story and Will's performance made me cry a couple of times.

Maggie G. rocks the house as always. Emma is a goddess whom I would gladly pay to read the phone book to me with any comments she'd like to inject. The script was amazing and the music was some of the best I've heard all year. The two guys responsible are one of the dudes from the band Spoon and the man behind the soundtracks for Lost In Translation, Marie Antoinette, and Thumbsucker. And finally, the direction was spot on. I'd just seen the movie Stay, which I believe was directed by the same guy. Visually, Stay was really interesting and it seemed as though the director took some of the lessons learned from that film and fleshed them out here.

Seriously, GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

WATCH IT:

Prime Suspect 7 on PBS--Helen Mirren's swan song for one of the best female characters ever created for TV.

LISTEN TO IT:

Spoon--The Book I Write--written for the Stranger Than Fiction soundtrack...just a great pop/rock song that captured the feel of the movie.

A Little Something For The Ladies...to get us started

I'd like to personally thank the casting director and anyone else resonsible for picking Daniel Craig as the new Bond. The only Bond flick I've ever seen in the theater was A View To A Kill and it was because Duran Duran did the theme song that year. Amazing how I can be easily swayed sometimes. The trailer for the new Bond movie almost had me stroking out over the following image. Enough of the chicks in bikinis...although I'm sure there will be a few of those...I want to see this guy come walking up out of the ocean on a 40ft. screen, preferrably in DLP. Not just eye candy, you should check out Mr. Craig in Layer Cake if you need convincing he can do Bond justice. I need just a moment.

Ok, I'm good now. Listening to Portishead, still waiting for the new cd sadly.

Just a couple of things to chat about tonight/early morning.

First, I was updating my queue on Netflix and saw that the number of movies/tv shows I've rated is currently 1,831. Everything from Meatballs to a French documentary on the Holocaust. And I'm still single...hmmm...perplexes me too.

On a not so light note:

I was mean to someone on Friday. Or rather, I had replied meanly to something he said. The guy who brings us our main book shipment is a pretty decent guy most of the time. I feel fairly safe in saying I think if either Jinn or I needed help he would be there in whatever way was possible. That being said, he has the complete polar opposite political view of myself (and Jinn for the most part as well, but I won't speak for her). He is a fairly hard-core conservative Republican. Me, well I think most of you know I'm liberal and if they aren't acting like a bunch of wankers, a Democrat. Our driver knows this and usually brings up things he hears on Rush's show or sees on Fox to try and spur a comment from us.

Usually the banter is pretty good natured. I certainly don't approve of everything the Dems have ever done so it's not too hard to poke fun at them along with the Republicans. Every once in awhile though, we touch on something that rubs me the wrong way. I'm still not sure what our driver meant by the comment he made, but my reply was mean spirited. I couldn't tell if what I said bothered him. Still, I felt bad about it. But I didn't apologize because I was unclear on what he meant by what he said. If he meant what I thought he meant, then I think I was within my "rights" to call him on it. If I'm wrong, then I guess I'm a confusing witch.

It's really difficult to reconcile liking someone and thinking they are a good person with the fact that you disagree with their political outlook. A person's perspective on politics is part of who they are and it can get tough to seperate the two. It's one thing to ignore a friend's love of let's say, the Dave Matthew's Band (which I can do as long as I can refer to the band as the Dead Lite for sorority girls). It's another to like someone, but hope that they never have the power to make political decisions.

Also, trying to juggle a liberal outlook while not going overboard on the PC stuff while also not letting someone's bigoted opionion go unchecked is no easy task. I firmly believe everyone has a right to their opionion. Liberals, Nazis, Dave Matthews, all of us. The problem then arises when it all turns from discussion to noise. I could never do what Jon Stewart does. I would be so angry with some of the guests I wouldn't be able to speak.

I should just say Jon's name and count to ten the next time I feel the need to respond. Not only to get the facts straight, but to be less mean on my end.

Hmmm...and I'm still single...shocker.

Doing Sexy Time...

WARNING: If you are planning to go see Borat and you DON'T want to know anything about the movie, you should probably not read tonight's blog entry.

Now, for the rest of you...

It's now been a couple of hours since I saw the movie and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. The gist of the picture is as follows. Sacha Baron Cohen (sp?) created a character called "Borat" as a part of his British (seen on HBO in the states) comedy Da Ali G Show. Not too unlike what several SNL alums have done, the character has moved on to his own full length movie. Borat is a journalist from Kazakstan (sp?) who comes to the US to learn our "modern" ways in order to share them with the people of his country. He ends up spending most of the "documentary" making his way toward California and Pam Anderson, whom he has fallen in love with after watching Baywatch in his hotel room...oh, and after his wife dies in a bizarre accident back home.

A decent amount of the humor stems from Borat's cultural differences and complete clueless-ness about the United States. There is the usual "can't speak the language" gags. (An example being the title of tonight's blog which is what Borat says when he refers to sex.) What's interesting to see is how he uses this "language barrier" to create situations which allow some of the people he meets to crucifiy themselves with their own words. His innocent behavior opens a few doors.

Several of these moments are quite funny. He goes to a rodeo and just nods as an old guy tells him he should shave his mustache because it makes him look like a Muslim. The man keeps talking and eventually makes the comment that, in not so many words, gay men should be hung. It's a bizarre conversation. Later at the rodeo, Borat is set to sing the National Anthem. Before he does, he gets the crowd going by rattling off phrases in support of the war in Iraq. The crowd is hooting and hollering, but he takes it that extra step and declares that George Bush should be drinking the blood of those evil people in Iraq. The crowd is slightly less enthusiastic because they are slowing catching on to the obvious. We are a blood thirsty country, yet we often blanket our behavior in patriotic garb. It's a smack in the face which is only compounded when he decides to sing the Kazakstani national anthem to the tune of our anthem.

The lyrics revolve around Kazakstan being the best country in the world...and oddly, the best producer of potassium. The crowd boos, and in a moment that I'm not convinced wasn't set up, the woman who had ridden out on a horse holding the American flag suddenly appears behind him and her horse falls to the ground with her still on it.

I spent a good deal of this movie with my hands over my eyes, peering through my fingers. Remember, I am the person who enjoys the sight of a werewolf snacking on someone's entrails. Some of the bits are uncomfortable to watch, or atleast they were for me. Strangely, I made it through the soon to be infamous naked men fighting moment in the movie without looking away. Part of the gag is just how big the bar being used to cover Borat's bits was. Seriously, that man should be doing porn if it's that big.

There are a couple moments of what seemed like genuine connection in the film. Borat and his producer are driving in Atlanta trying to get directions to California. It's late at night and they are in an area of Atlanta that is set up as being not the nicest place in town. Coming up on a group of young black men shooting dice, Borat goes up to them and starts chatting. He eventually gets them to teach him to dress and talk "street." This encounter has hillarious results when he then tries to get a room at a hotel using his new language. The guys appeared to find Borat amusing and treated him like a lost child. Nice moment.

The second connection comes in the form of a prostitute Borat hires and then invites to an upper crust dinner party he is attending. He and his date get tossed out of the party then decide to go out on the town. They end up in a cowboy bar and procede to have a few drinks, ride the mechanical bull, and dance. At the end of the evening, he drives the woman back to her place and she invites him inside.

Now, Cohen is engaged to be married so obviously nothing is going to happen here. But the moment is really sweet. Borat becomes shy and tells her he is in love with a woman in Malibu (Pam A.) and it wouldn't be right for him to do anything right now. She tells him if he's ever in town to come check in on her. He smiles and says if he's ever back he would be happy to return and pay her for sex. She laughs and for a second you wonder if he'll even kiss her, but instead he gives her another shy smile and slowly makes his way off the porch.

The only downside of this moment comes at the end of the film. I won't give it away, but the ending made me question how much this woman was in on the joke as it were. I'm hoping she wasn't in on it. Or atleast, she wasn't when they went out on the town.

The only problems I had with the film were it's length. It's usually a stretch to take a character from a short skit on a tv show into a movie and I think there were a few moments in the movie that could have been cut because they don't really move the story forward or provide many laughs. It's as if they needed to toss in a few more bits to make a longer film.

The other problem stems from my own little self. I was never good at the crank call sort of thing. Any sort of comedy that revolves around pretending to be something you're not to create laughs at someone else's expense. I always felt too guilty to do a solid crank call. There are people in this movie that trap themselves with their own words and behavior. But, there are a few people who get caught who don't really seem to deserve it.

I will give Cohen big props for staying in character. There are two key moments when doing so put him in physical danger, but he sticks it out. Again, it's hard to tell how many people were in on the joke from the beginning. The moments with Pam at the end seemed somewhat real, but I read an article tonight where Cohen, as Borat, interrupted a "dog wedding" that Pam was having in Aug. of 2005. I'm not sure which moment happened first and whether or not she was in on either or them.

Ultimately, I'd say the movie is worth checking out. The laughs are there, but so are the uncomfortable moments. I don't think this is the funniest movie I've ever seen. I believe the South Park movie and Team America: World Police provided more laughs with the same sort of edge.

On the upside, I got to see a smack your head funny trailer for the Reno 911 movie that's coming out in Feb. And, I must admit, I am very excited about the new Bond movie as well.

Till next time. GO VOTE TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!

The 3rd and 4th horsemen have arrived...

Steve Nash got his hair cut. No longer looking like that guy who hangs out in front of the local gas station waiting for the high school girls to pass him as they buy a couple of Cokes and a Snickers bar, Steve has used a couple of his million bucks plus salary to take a trip to a Quick Cuts. I think it is an improvement, still I also think it is yet another sign of the "endtimes."

The 4th horseman? Well, let me just say this...they said they put a frickin' pacemaker in Sawyer's chest and then they shook a cage till the bunny inside passed out. FRAK YOU, LOST!!!! This week? It seemed like it was going to be slightly more sane except for the fact that Sayid is back and no one seems to wonder about how things went on the boat...you know the ONLY FRAKKIN' BOAT THEY HAD!!!! Hmmm...we're on an island, perhaps a boat would be useful. Oops. Plus, where the hell are Sun and Jin? Did they take a sidetrip to a spa or something? A little miniature golf? ARRRGHHH!!!! Plus, they went to the trouble of bringing in "reality" by showing Jack that the Red Sox won a World Series and this week we get the crazy ass black smoke monster thing that tosses Eko (sp?) around like he's a Malibu Barbie with a deathwish.

Elections can't come soon enough for me. As if the phone calls and mail weren't bad enough, today at work we got a fixture delivered to the store. The driver, after I sign the paperwork, takes the time to show me an article about how our governor wants to help immigrants get home loans and apparently this would include illegal immigrants. As he put it, "I don't think these people should get anything. They shouldn't be here. We need to get them out of the country. Blah, blah, blah." He wanted to know if I wanted a copy of the article to hand out, etc. Flippin' hell. Seriously, enough is enough. I politely told him thanks, but no and left it at that.

Along those lines, sort of, Jon Stewart is the man. Last night on The Daily Show he uttered the perfect phrase. "John Kerry...losing elections he's not even in." It's sad that everyone is in an uproar over what some dufus with not that much power in the party said in a lame attempt at a joke and the true issues are swept under the rug. Nothing like letting the opposing party hand you a media diversion practically gift wrapped.

Finally, I came up with a few more songs to add to my "timeless tunes" list from the last entry. Still hoping to get some feedback from you people.

Someone To Love--Queen
Welcome To The Jungle--GNR
With Or Without You--U2
Just Like Heaven--The Cure

OH! Two more quick things.

I am an idiot. I left my oven on for about 10 hours today. I made muffins for breakfast then didn't bother to turn off the oven. No wonder it was so warm in the kitchen when I came home tonight. DUH. I bet the heat didn't turn on once in my apartment today.

Nine Inch Nails will have a new album out sometime in April. I am very happy. They are also going on tour. Europe, etc. first starting in Feb. Hopefully they will be stateside come Spring/Summer.

READ IT:
David Sedaris--Holidays On Ice This is my lunchtime reading at work. It's very funny, but depressing because I wish I could be that funny.

WATCH IT:
Ugly Betty on ABC. I love America Ferraro (sp?). She was great in Real Women Have Curves and she really shines in this comedy. Although, it's a bit of a sad statement when someone who is cute like America has some braces added and her hair is a bit frumped up and she suddenly becomes "ugly."

HEAR IT:
Soundgarden--"Jesus Christ Pose" Caught this the other day on the radio and it made me remember grunge in all its flannel glory.

Timeless Music

The nominees for the '07 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies were just announced and (YEAH!) R.E.M. is on the list. The somewhat depressing bit comes when you remember that in order to make the list atleast 25 years has to have passed since they've released someting. Errgh. Hopefully the boys will make the final cut. Here's the rest of the nominees:
Van Halen
Chic
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Patti Smith
Dave Clark 5
Ronettes
Joe Tex
The Stooges

To stay with the music theme of today's entry here's a list I've been working on over the past few days. It all started from the fact that almost everytime I hear a certain Stones song I will tell whomever is in the room that I believe the song sounds as fresh today as it did when it first came out. It is possible that my co-workers have heard me say this a few hundred times and I should be grateful that they haven't gagged me yet.

PACKED FOR FRESHNESS TO LAST FOREVER TUNES (in no particular order)

Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Stones
Back In Black--AC/DC
Cinnamon Girl--Neil Young
Your Song--Elton John
Communication Breakdown--the mighty Zep
Dreamin'--Blondie
Middle Of The Road--The Pretenders
The Real Me--The Who
Can't Get There From Here--R.E.M.
Wonderwall--Oasis

All of this tunes seem as relevant and thrilling today as the first time I heard them. They may not be the best songs from each artist, but I will turn up the radio/cd louder when I hear them. I'm curious as to what you all think. Like I mentioned, I came up with this list pretty much while driving to and from work and I'm sure I've missed tunes. Send me a comment with your additions.

Finally, a late "duh" moment from our President. About a week ago, I happened to catch the tailend of a press conference W was having. He was in the midst of taking questions and someone asked how this war compares to WW2. He said the following (I'm paraphrasing by the way)...WW2 was a "war against....(thinking, thinking...eyes begin to flutter...mommy, mommy, is it nap time?)...facists...(long pause)...a nation state...(pause)...two nation states...(pause)...three nation states!"

Do I hear four? Can someone give me four nation states for this lovely war? Going once, going twice...

Anger Management

On my computer, this picture is listed as "trent grrr."

Here's a couple of thoughts on anger and on management (and on anger with management).

At our last manager's meeting, we did a walk through the entire store. Everyone said a few bits about their sections discussing problems, books that were selling well, etc....the usual suspects basically. When we got back to receiving, I decided to mention a couple of concerns that I had. First I discussed the pile of boxes of bargain books that never seems to go anywhere. I asked if it would be possible for people to reorganize the boxes when they pull things out rather than leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the stacks. A pretty easy task when you get down to it.

Then, I pointed out that virtually every Mon. Jinn has to clean up the limited space we have for deliveries because someone was working in receiving over the weekend, but left their boxes, carts, etc. cluttering up our area. This clean up can take as little as 5 min. to as long as 90 min. I told them those 5-90 min. could be better spent by my staff doing returns, etc. In other words, doing our jobs.

Finally, I expressed concern with where we were going to place the boxes of supplies we would be receiving in a couple of weeks. Home office had told us to order 3 months worth of toliet paper, paper towels, shopping bags (5 different kinds), and garbage bags. The space I would normally use for these items has been taken up by the various company mandated overstock shelving for magazines and bargain books. I found out at that moment we were ordering twice to cover 1 1/2 months each time. Fine, but there is still going to be a problem.

Seeing as how I have been trying to deal with space issues in back for over 5 years I figured I had a decent handle on where we may have some problems. Apparently I was wrong. The uber leader regarded my statement as though I were a daft 7 yr. old. He blew off my comment added some blathering of his own and said he didn't think we would have a problem. I think I will put the 15 or so boxes of toliet paper in his office. It'll be convienent since it's right next to the johns.

IS IT WRONG TO HATE SOMEONE WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF MEETING THEM?
We have a new-ish employee at work that I think I hate. I strongly dislike him, this I know for sure. I believe I have truely hated only one person in my lifetime and I eventually got around to letting that go after about 6 or so years. What can I say? I can hold a grudge. He pushes every "arrghhh" button in my being just by standing in the same room.

Does this make me judgemental and unforgiving? Or, as an adult with a couple of years behind me, do I recognize immediately qualities in a person that I don't like or have respect for? I know I can be judgemental and opinionated, but I because I know this I am usually making an effort to hold back this side of myself when I first meet someone. My karma is really messed up right now I'm sure.

The one saving grace, if that's really the right thing to say, is several people in the store feel the same way. So I guess I won't be alone in hell.

WATCH IT:
Junebug and Half Nelson. Junebug (DVD) was quite funny for the first 2/3 of the movie and then I balled my eyes out during the last 30 or so minutes. Amy Adams deserved her Oscar nom. She was just amazing to watch. Her character was a very charming, genuine and naive young woman who carried the movie. Half Nelson is out in theaters (or it was, it's last day down here was Thurs.). Ryan Gosling plays an inner city school teacher hooked on crack who gets caught smoking the drug by one of his students. Both he and the young actress playing the student gave impressive performances. Definitely worth seeing if you get the chance.

HEAR IT:
My Chemical Romance "Sleep" off The Black Parade. This is my new fave off the cd. I'm digging this release more and more. The songwriting is maturing and becoming more filled out.

Sorry I didn't post for several days. Gotta do some stuff to have something to write about ya know....

Green Day doing Barry Manilow covers soon

Warning: I'm going to try and add more than one photo to this puppy. I was going to do this yesterday, but I discovered either the website or myself was having issues. My money is on me.


Last week we got in a new bio on Green Day at work. When I scanned it to double check where it went in the store, the catagory came up Standards/Easy Listening. Er...not. There is a new function in our computer system that allows us to report mistakes. I sent in a message pointing out that the book was not in the right place. Here was the reply I got from someone in our company.

"The way things go around here folks, it's an accomplishment that it ended up in music."

I want to buy this person a drink.

Tried to watch the 24 trailer today, but thanks to my snail's pace dial-up all I got was the audio and a couple of flashes of images. Apparently, at the beginning of the season Kiefer will look like he's performing in the Jesus Christ Superstar revival.

I've been listening to the new My Chemical Romance cd while typing the blog this evening. I was concerned that it was going to sound a bunch like Queen. Nothing against Queen, but the first single had me thrown. I'm pleased to report that I am really digging it. It's not as freakishly concept heavy as I thought it was going to be. Right now I'm favoring "This Is How I Disappear," "I Don't Love You," and "House Of Wolves."

Not a big fan of the blonde hair on Gerard though.

This is my fabbo friend Paul, who is attempting to help me make this damn thing look better. I've conquered multiple pictures, now if I can just fix the text. I snagged this pic from the website Paul writes for. He doesn't know it yet (or he will now I suppose), but when I'm 90 and still single, I'm going to lure Paul into marrying me with the promise of a kick ass cd and dvd collection along with control of the remote. Assuming he's not already married of course.

Hope it's not too annoying that I'm featuring you my friend. Figured it was okay since you're online already for all to enjoy!

WATCH ME:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force--Cartoon network rules. "drivin' in my car, livin' like a star, ice on my fingers and my toes and I'm a Tarus..." All new season started this past Sun. and I was amazed to see a character drawn to look like a dick. He was building a dick rocket...seriously. Then Carl got a sex change op, momentarily. This show is messed up, but beyond funny.

LISTEN TO ME:

Radiohead "Everything In It's Right Place"--hypno-therapy for me

Words Fail Me

No particular topic this evening, hence the crappy title. Just a couple of quick-ish bits.

I noticed tonight while watching Prison Break (love this show!) that, yet again, it seems to be the most difficult thing in the world to create an authentic looking picture on TV. Here's what I mean. In tonight's ep, there is a news story on about one character getting out of jail. His father is one of the guys who broke out of prison. There is a mug shot-esque photo of each person in the usual over the shoulder shot of the anchor. But, the "mug shot" of the kid is a still shot from one of the episodes. Come on people. How hard is it to take a guy's picture for real? Send a P.A. out for a $5 disposable camera at Target and take a shot. Need the thingie that the arrested hold up with their number, etc. on it while the photo is taken? I'm sure one of the Law & Order shows can let you borrow one. Perhaps Hill Street Blues props have appeared on ebay. The only thing worse are the hugely fake family photos created for films and tv. You can tell they were taken by some bushes near the lot.

An exception to this would be the photo's I've been able to catch on the work desks on The Office. I think several of them are true family photos or convey some sort of realism (like Pam and Roy's picture).

Also on the tv vibe, found out that a trailer for the next season of 24 is going to be shown in Times Square tomorrow. Sadly, I will not be there. But, you should be able to check it out after 3pm on 24trailer.com. New season starts Jan. 14 and 15. Please, please, please, let Audrey suffer a horrible fate. Sorry, I just never liked her character.

Got a couple of comments/emails about my Trent Reznor pic. If you're curious, YouTube has a few videos of his Bridge School performance. The two that I watched seem to be taken with a phone, but still, it was better than nothing. I enjoyed watching him pogo to a string arrangement! Gotta love a guy who still puts it all out there with nothing more than a quartet and a hoodie.

WATCH IT:
Prison Break--just this side of ludicrous with solid acting and WILLIAM FICHTNER joined the cast this year and he is one of the best actors out there.

HEAR IT:
Depeche Mode "World In My Eyes"--heard someone mention DM the other day and I just had to toss in Violator...granted it took alot to not hit the repeat button and just listen to Personal Jesus during my entire drive to work.

Trying to add a photo

Damn, I think it actually worked!!! I got some great input from my friend Paul about how to visually improve the blog. I decided to see if I could toss in a pic. This is a shot of Trent Reznor from this weekend's Bridge School Benefit concert. He's a bit scruff, but that's okay. I think I'm supposed to credit the photo and I'm sure you all can see the getty images watermark so I guess I've credited it. Now to post and see if it really does work. Hopefully I'll have something to write about tomorrow. Oh, go see The Prestige. It's a slow burn, but it's worth it.

Buffy protects my condiments

Sarah Michelle Geller's head floats on my fridge door. Yes, you heard me. I have a small magnet that I snagged from some Brit teen magazine a few years back that is Buffy's head. Just her head. I believe at one time I also possessed magnets of both an evening gown and a more Buffy-esque outfit on which to place her head, but they got tossed some time ago. Why, you may ask, do I have her head on my fridge? 'Cuz it's funny. And, because I loved the show.
If a cataclysmic event were to occur tomorrow and my fridge were somehow preserved, archeologists would be able to interpret who I was by what is on my door. Here is what they would find:
Photo of my friend Cherrill's kids
Photos of my friend Teresa's kids
Photos of my nephew
The last photo I ever took of my Dad
Photo of myself and others with Jay at his wedding reception
A mini calendar featuring sights in Italy
Mag pic's of Matt Bellamy, Trent Reznor (Jackie, that would be the guy who is Nine Inch Nails), Thom Yorke, and J.J. Redick
A P.J. Harvey postcard
various Monet magnets
appointment cards for the dentist and chiropractor
Until recently I also had up the photo of me with Bruce Campbell at his book signing and a postcard that said I Am God ( I liked this just because it seemed over the top obnoxious, but then I figured I was tempting fate and took it down...still have it though.)
I'm not 100% sure why I need to have these things up. I have always liked providing visual examples of what I like and who I am. I always had pictures up in my locker at school. I always had posters covering my walls all through my teenage years and into college. When I moved out on my own, I still surrounded myself with what I liked. To this day, I have up posters. Granted they are mostly art prints and are framed, but I have 2 different Radiohead posters up along with an Empire Strikes Back movie poster up in the computer room. I'm wondering if I have done this because I need some sort of reminder of who I am. Some sort of assurance that no matter what comes at me from "out there" I can come home and find some sort of security amongst what I see on the walls and on the fridge. I have only a few things up at work and they are mostly pop culture related. The door we open up for deliveries has a Hardy Boys poster I got when I picked up the first season DVD. We also have up a promo "poster" of Jon Stewart that we got when one of his books came in to the store. I put up an informational sheet that features a picture of one's spine with arrows pointing to each bit with explanations of what nerves control which parts of your body. I got it from the chiropractor's office. I was going to create a game that was sort of like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but instead it was Pin the Pain on #####. I won't name which employee it was in reference to. I will say she's made it her goal in life to suck as much as she can out of her "injuries."
Maybe all of this is a reflection of some deep seeded insecurity. Maybe it's some sort of strange nesting instinct. Maybe, it's reflective of the fact that Trent Reznor is one f**king sexy man. Yeah, that must be it.

Couple of quick bits:
Someone I don't know has read my blog! I saw a comment from Rebecca and I was perplexed for a moment. I'm very curious as to how she came across it. Did she hit the random blog button? I did and came across this Clay Aiken blog (which to be honest, is very well done even though I have no interest in Mr. Aiken). Hope you end up liking the movie Rebecca. Feel free to stop by again.
Invented a "concept" today. Speedy Procrastination: the ability to move quickly and create the appearance of actual work while drawing the task out for the entire day. We have more than one employee I'd like to strangle who have this skill. This is not to be confused with Authoritative Walking which is moving quickly and with purpose in order to breeze by customers because you really need to 1) pee and for me that means walking the entire length of the store to get to the bathrooms or 2) punch in or out for lunch, which also involves walking the entire length of the store.

WATCH IT:
The Venture Brothers--Cartoon Network. One of the smartest and funniest cartoons ever. Ranks up there with The Simpsons, Futurama and South Park.
HEAR IT:
"Death or Life We Want You" --The Dears from their latest, Gang of Losers

More Frightening Things

I realized this morning that I'd forgotten to mention 3 movies on my list yesterday. Strangely, they are all werewolf flicks.
Dog Soldiers--This has got plenty of gore and dark humor. You can't beat seeing a wolf snacking on someone's entrails. "Here doggie, doggie...give daddy back his spleen!"
Brotherhood Of The Wolf--It's a horror, comedy, period drama, French art house romance all rolled into one. Somehow it all fits together and it's really gorgeous to look at.
Ginger Snaps--I enjoy all 3 of the movies in this series, but I think the first one is my fave. It uses the process of turning into a werewolf as a metaphor for becoming an adult woman. Both female leads were interesting and strong and their relationship as sisters was well done.

One more frightening bit: I heard this morning on the news that Ken Lay's conviction was erased. I wasn't sure how to feel about this action. I know there is plenty of legal precedent when it comes dealing with convicts who have died, but it still seems like a slap in the face of all those people who were hurt by what Lay and the other big whigs at Enron did. There's a good piece written about the ruling yesterday on washingtonpost.com and to get an in depth look at what Lay and the others did I strongly recommend watching the movie Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room. I also found it interesting that this ruling comes just after Congress went into recess without approving a measure that would have altered the law so prosocuters would have been able to go after Lay's money to pay his debt to society as determined by his conviction.

Spooky Stuff

Well, I know I said I would do this later in the month, but I'm a little hard up for topics today so I'm going to go ahead and list my fave horror flicks.
FILMS THAT ACTUALLY SCARED OR DISTURBED ME:
Halloween--The nightmare of every teenage girl who babysits. I try and watch this every year because it still freaks me out.
Nightmare On Elm Street--I remember watching this at a slumber party, right before we went to sleep of course, and I had a horrible dream that evening. Quite groundbreaking for its time.
Night Of The Living Dead--Horror mixed with social commentary, plus I have a thing for zombie flicks.
Poltergeist--To this day, I still don't know how I convinced my friend Teresa to go with me to this movie. My father took me to see this and if I remember correctly, he had no problem with it. (I should mention the super coolness of my Dad. He took me to Star Wars, Radiers Of The Lost Ark, and several others. We were definitely movie buddies even though, for example, I was only 10 when Star Wars came out.) The steak squishing its way across the counter top still grosses me out...in a good way of course.
28 Days Later--One of the few more recent releases that made me seriously nervous while watching it. There was just enough reality to it to make it really creepy, plus more zombies!
COOL CLASSICS:
The Exorcist
The Birds
Psycho
HORROR/COMEDY:
Evil Dead 2--Bruce as comic genius,
Bruce Campbell Vs. The Army Of Darkness--Bruce as super hot comic genius. "Gimme some sugar, baby."
Shaun Of The Dead--brilliant! One of my fave scenes revolves around Shaun and his buddy searching through his record collection debating over which bits of vinyl to use as weapons against the zombies. This is a discussion I know I would have if I were in the same situation.
Slither--This was just out this past spring and comes out on DVD next Tues. I loved this flick. It features Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity) as a small town sheriff who has to suddenly deal with weird, alien creatures taking over his town. It pokes fun at B movies and traditional horror plots and characters. The bits with the zombie-esque deer I found greatly amusing.
MORE RECENT RELEASES:
Dawn Of The Dead--I loved this re-make of the beloved classic. The guy who wrote this version wrote and directed the above mentioned Slither.
The Eye--Can't forget to mention atleast a couple of Asian horror flicks. This one revolves around a blind woman who regains her sight after getting cornea transplants and then weird shit starts to happen. I thought the reveal of the twist was very clever and it is a visually interesting movie. I've heard there is going to be a US remake. Bastards.
The Descent--another one I saw this summer that was cooly creepy. About a group of female friends who go spelunking and bad, bad things happen. I was very surprised by one of the deaths which definitely made this one to adore.
Audition--Asian weirdness number 2. Seriously, this is one messed up flick. Seems to be about a rather creepy guy looking for a wife via his filmmaker friend's casting calls, but turns into something much more twisted. All I'll say is I freaked when the bag moved.
Saw--Finally got around to watching this and was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the twist and thought it was a fresh concept storywise. I wish some of the acting had been a bit stronger, but still not a bad debut.
CREEPY AND JUST THIS SIDE OF HORROR:
Alien and Aliens
Cube
Pitch Black
Series 7--This one isn't as well known so I'll tell you about it. It is set up as a reality tv show of the near future where the point of the game is to kill the other contestants so you can live. But, you are chosen at random to participate. A solid and scathing look at reality t.v. and what people will do to be famous and what they'll consider doing to live. Side note: I first saw this on my flight from Chicago to London then when I came home I bought the DVD.
Okay, that was longer than I planned. Hope you got some good ideas for possible flicks to watch.

A quick hello to Jackie! I want you to know I believe I fixed the issue with entering comments. All you have to do is click on comment (as opposed to the envelope) and you should be able to leave your thoughts.
She told me she took the time to comment and it was a long comment and the damn thing didn't work. Much sorry-ness your way, Jackie.

Incompetence Rising--a new movie from Michael Bay

Jinn and I were talking about rising to the level of one's incompetence the other day. It struck me that I've been at the same place for over 10 years and I've had the same job for around 5 1/2 years. Does that mean I have reached the ceiling of incompetence? Beware the blade of the ceiling fan of incompetence I suppose. In some ways, I think it is true. Even though I have been given the chance to try for another position within the store, I have chosen not to because I know what I am not good at. In other words, I understand my own level of incompetence. No matter how much I believe that you lead by example, I know that the reality is you can work your ass off and someone you hire and possibly supervise may suck. But, I expect people to work hard and when they don't, I don't respect them. Worse, I don't have a lot of time for them. What's the quote? I don't suffer fools gladly? Something like that. I'm sure I'm using it out of context. I know I don't deal well with people in those situations. I know that I'm not good at greasing the wheels as it were. I would suck as a manager for the company I work for. So, instead I'm probably ruining my back, my legs, my hands, etc. because I know I have to hold on to what's left of myself and my soul. Rather dramatic to be sure, but I can't really explain it any other way. (I know. Right now you're thinking "damn, where the hell is the funny?" or you're thinking "this chick needs a date." You're right on both counts.)
Okay, here's another topic. Went and saw The Departed yesterday and it was pretty good. A bit long for me though. The original flick clocks in at around an hour and forty min. if I remember correctly. This puppy is 2 1/2 hrs. While the new one gives you more background on the two main characters which was nice, I found Jack Nicholson's (sp?) performance just a little over the top. I mean, I know he's an Irish mob boss, but damn. He's throwing bags of coke on two chicks and telling one girl to lay on it till she's numb. Er, okay. Most of the main set pieces were the same as the original, although I missed the scene where the plant in the mob communicates with his police contact via tapping out morse code on a window with his cast. Also, the new version has a different ending which I won't give away. I will say this...you know it was changed for an American audience. Still, gotta love Marty. PLUS, got to see the trailer for a new movie based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, 300. I've been reading about it in Empire and the trailer looked great. Didn't hurt that one of the instrumental tracks from NIN "The Fragile" was being used for the tunage.
Here's the dumbest thing I've heard in the last couple of days:
From the documentary "The Education Of Shelby Knox"...
A girl, who is a member of a youth commission in small-ish town in TX, is discussing whether or not their group should show support for the youth gay and straight coalition that is trying to meet at the high school. She actually says "most gay people are dead by the age of 40 because of their dangerous lifestyle." The more frightening bit is this documentary is only about a year old so it's not like she mentioned this during the mis-understood '80's. Of course, the documentary is about a girl trying to get her sex education program at school changed to an actual sex ed program rather than the abstinence only program currently being used. According to the documentary, this area has an abnormally high rate of teen pregnancies. Gee, wonder why?
Warning: closer to Halloween I'll be doing one of my favorite things: making a list. And, just because I like to state the obvious, it'll be fave film scares. Feel free to comment.
WATCH IT:
Dr. Who on Sci-Fi. Never really watched this back in the day, but I loved last season and have been enjoying this one as well. Woo hoo David Tennant.
HEAR IT:
The Joshua Tree-U2. Decided to pop this in while driving the other day. I had forgotten that I go through almost the entire disc without it losing a touch of its brilliance. Red Hill Town made me happy.
OPENLY MOCK:
CSI. Okay I think the appearance of K-Fed on last week's episode qualifies as horseman number 2, not to mention I'm think I hear the motorcycle engine close by and I see a big ass tank full of shark in the area. Too bad Greggy only gets the cool storyline when he's in pain. First he gets blown up and then this week he gets the crap beat out of him. Give this man something to do please.

"I have recurring nightmares, that I was loved for who I am. Missed the opportunity to be a better man." -- Muse