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

That's weird

Okay, I just changed the template of my page and for some reason my last entry went all crazy ass on me. Sorry it has become a bit hard to read. Looks like my newly discovered love for color text may have to be altered next time.

ASH SINGS!!!!

I almost didn't think it possible, but then I checked on-line to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Currently playing in NY we have EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL!!!! Can you believe it? According to the website (evildeadthe musical.net), one of the numbers is called "What The F*ck Was That." Pure genius. The guy playing Ash is Canadian and has been doing the part since '03 I think. You can check out some pic's in the Extras section of the website. Hopefully it will do well enough to merit a road show. I hate musicals, but I'd see this in a second.
Also found out today that Branwell Bronte, brother to Charlotte and the rest, was a Freemason. Nothing particularly amusing about that fact, it was just something I learned from that thar box that glows all purty like in the corner of my living room.
The book I mentioned yesterday, Only Revolutions, has just been named as one of the finalists for the National Book Award. Sweet.
A quick observation, how accurate and personal is a performance review nowadays when one can buy books that tell your boss exactly what to write? All he or she has to do is insert your name in the correct spots. Shouldn't the exsistence of these books signal to the ubers that reviews have become meaningless? Perhaps their exsistence merely signals the coming apocalypse? Er, no, wait, that sign came via the exsistence of Rachael Ray's talk show. One horseman down, three more to go.

WATCH ME:
Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel--funny everyman mucks about in crap and still comes out smiling (added bonus ladies: he's fabbo)
Infernal Affairs--Asian crime drama that is the basis for The Departed (which I should be going to see tomorrow). Tony Leung (Hero, Hard Boiled, In The Mood For Love, 2046) is amazing as one of the two men walking a very fine line between right and wrong.

LISTEN TO ME:
Nine Inch Nails--"Eraser" off Downward Spiral...very good tune if you're feeling really, really, really angry...which I was when I got home from work tonight, no shocker there.

Seriously, I need to title this stuff?

Just a few quick bits:
First, thanks to the folks who have told me they've checked out the blog. If you want, you can click the comment thingie at the bottom to let me know what you think rather than send an email.
I heard that John Mayer has been smoking pot somewhat recently. 'Da hell? Is he trying to improve his "street cred?" Does the National Association of Soccer Moms know about this?
The new Jet cd sounds like the work of an Oasis covers band. There are about 3 good songs and "Come On Come On" comes the closest to achieving Oasis-ness, but I'd like the fun Jet back please.
I made up a new word about a month ago that you are all free to use if you want: fuckedness. Used in a sentence: "Bargain has reached a point of utter fuckedness." Or was it fuckedupedness...I'm not really sure. What the hell, use both!!!
New basketball hero: (whose name I will most certainly mis-spell) Stephon Maurbury. He has a new line of shoes designed, obviously for basketball. The most expensive shoe is only $14.98!!!! Suck on that Air Jordan!
Speaking of feet, sort of, during the opening weekend of the animated movie Happy Feet (Nov. 17) the teaser trailer for Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix will be shown. I am excited because the director has done two British mini-series that left me impressed: The Way We Live Now and State Of Play.
Only 3 more weeks till Duke Basketball starts. Happy happy joy joy.
Bush quote of the last 48 hours: during yesterday's press conference, in reference to multinational support of sanctions, etc. against North Korea..."You have a stronger hand when more people are playing the same cards." Obviously he has not been watching the World Series of Poker on ESPN...maybe it's on during nap time.
I was going to write something about how you know you're an adult, but I have so far only come up with one funny bit so I'm going to work on it some more. Ooooo, teaser.
Finally, something to add to last time's "idiots rule" entry. For the 3rd time this year, my vacation time was not entered into the computer so I did not receive a paycheck this week. Apparently, my not being in the building for 5 straight days was not enough to make people wonder where I was and check the schedule to see the note next to my name that said "vacation." I've considered just not showing up and letting people take a guess as to my true location and then telling management that I forgot to punch in and out just to see if my time would get entered, but I don't want to screw over my fellow co-workers. We've discussed tape recording ourselves making "sorting" sounds then hiding while the tape is playing just to see if anyone would notice we weren't actually there doing our jobs. (Although I do know of atleast one manager who would figure it out pretty quickly) We already have plenty of employees who don't do their jobs in plain sight so I'm thinking this may not be that difficult.

Watch This:
Bad Education: Pedro Almodovar does film noir and Gael Garcia Bernal makes a pretty attractive crossdresser (this made me a bit jealous, sort of like when Arnold sent me a Christmas card with him dressed as a naughty Mrs. Claus and he had on a mini skirt and I thought, "shit, his legs look better in heels than mine.")
The Office: both UK and US versions are virtual perfection. Example: quote from Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) "It's easier to learn by watching, that's why porn is a trillion dollar industry." I put this on the dry erase board over my work table.
Listen To This:
Scissor Sisters "Paul McCartney" from their new cd TahDah
Read This:
Only Revolutions by Mark Danielewski, it's a modern epic poem with made up words and sex and who needs more than that I ask you...
More in a few days.

to quote Jane's Addiction..."idiots rule"

I had two different ideas for what to write about today and depending on how much I ramble on, I may end up tossing them both out. I'm slightly concerned that this blog will end up being a giant bitch fest about what I'm fed up with at work. I will try to keep this angst to a minimum, unless of course it's funny! I will however toss these little bits out. I just got back after a vacation of just over a week and on the way to work I started to cry in my car. I should note that for some reason my friend Cherrill and I always seem to discuss serious topics while we are together in the car so tears have been shed in my vehicle on several occasions. That's why I keep kleenex in the car. Anyway, I was listening to Muse and thinking about what I could expect to see when I got back. I thought about the piles of crap that would, as always, be dumped on my desk. I thought about the stacks of boxes taking up valuable space in the receiving area. I was thinking about how, with the exception of one week and a day or two here and there, my department usually has to suck it up when one of our people is on vacation irregardless of how many boxes get delivered and how many books are pulled for returns that need to be processed. All of these things were spinning around in my head and I just started to cry because I really did not want to come back to all of that. Then I realized I was crying and I got mad so I skipped ahead to an angrier song on the disc and sang really loud...this usually helps. And, when I arrived at work things were pretty much the way I thought they would be. As an added bonus, I read over a note in my in-box that was an agenda for our Mon. managers' meeting. I took Monday off you see. I wasn't there. It was on the schedule that I wouldn't be there. It was on our calander in back that I wouldn't be there. Still, our fearless leader had me listed as discussing my department during the meeting. And people wonder why I question how much my hard work is valued there. Don't sweat the small stuff? Frak that. Sometimes it's the little things that reveal the most about the truth of the situation. Thankfully, several people I consider to be friends were working and they said they were glad to see me so that made the day better. Whoosh.
Okay, this second bit will be shorter...maybe. So, I'm watching Without A Trace a couple weeks back and the story has to do with this kid who was kidnapped when he was 5 and he remembers this specific house, only he doesn't know where this house is and he doesn't know why he remembers it. He just keeps drawing the damn thing. With about 3 seconds of prodding, he's describing it to the agent who's trying to figure out where it is. I'm sitting there thinking if I were that kid I'd be screwed. I doubt I could accurately describe much of what I saw as a 5 yr. old. Is anyone else like this? I remember just little moments. I remember sneaking out of my bedroom and sitting in this one spot in the hallway where I could see the t.v. without my parents knowing I was there in order to watch Monty Python. When I saw the Spanish Inquisition as an adult, I had deja vu. I remember making shrinky dinks with my sister and her friend when we were little and there was a car accident out in front of our house and it was the first time I'd ever heard glass shattering along with the crushing of metal. But, could I tell you what the car looked like? No. Could I tell you what sort of dinks we were making? Nope. I could however describe the cover of the Shaun Cassidy album Under Wraps!!
Well, I'm missing The Daily Show so I'm gonna finish this up.
Today's recommendations:
Movie: The Beat That My Heart Skipped--French guy has to choose between piano and working for his mob boss-ish dad.
Tune: Muse- Map of The Problematique off Black Holes and Revelations
T.V. Show: Battlestar Galactica--topical social/political commentary/drama disguised as sci-fi

stepping into the unknown

Okay, so I'm going to try and do this. It suddenly popped into my head a couple of weeks ago that I don't have many creative outlets. Of course, the big bad of writing a blog is the fear that your writing is going to suck. I have been taught how to write by a major university. Okay, so it was for broadcasting, but you still have to be able to use words creatively damn it. I've been told by friends now and again that I should be writing. Well, be careful what you ask for. I'm really not sure what this blog is going to turn in to. It could end up just being me talking about what movies I like right now, or it could turn into a political debate, or it could just be me bitching about how much I hate having a job in retail. As I mentioned, we'll just have to see what happens. Of course, I decide to do this and I have nothing in particular to write about and I'm hungry...never a good combo. WAIT! Here's something. Go to nin.com and check out a trailer for the upcoming live DVD release. It's in the current section of the site. The last tour was amazing and I can not wait to see this DVD. The bit at the end of the trailer when you see the glass shattering as the "curtain" goes up gives me shivers every time I see it. Beside You In Time is the name of the DVD if you're wondering. I need a sandwich. I'll try and be brilliant next time. But, I will quickly mention I was going to name the blog "conspiracy a go-go" after the name of the book on the Kennedy assassination the guy in Slacker was going to write, but when I did a search the name was already being used elsewhere. So, just in case, I was noting down other possible names and while watching Animal House last night I took this from the initiation scene...it was that or "that foot is me" also from the movie. Later! Watch Studio 60 if you get the chance. My only complaint is every character is freakishly brilliant and witty so far, which would make a bit of sense since they are functioning in a creative medium, but come on, give me a lame grip or something...

I can't believe I'm going to do this...

Hi. This is a test posting to make sure my technologically addled brain is doing this correctly. More in a bit.