Joining the rest of you...finally

I'm going to attempt to upgrade to broadband over the next week or so. Because of this potentially messed up plan, I won't be able to access the internet for awhile. Therefore, no blogging. Granted, I've been a bit lax of late so it probably won't seem all that different from the norm. I'll save my "best of" lists for my return.

Happy New Year!!!

Go see Juno--very, very good and very, very funny.

Bliss

COOLEST

THING

EVER!!!

Please also enjoy my 70's era living room carpet.

Guess who got a digital camera for Christmas....

ouch

Just for reference, I stand on the other side of the wall of boxes. My computer is just under the clock that you can see on the left hand side near the top of the photo. Also, towards the bottom right hand side, just over the gray table add about 40 more boxes and directly opposite that on the other side of the door that you can't see add 40 more boxes and that's what we got in on Tues. If you look up at the top of the picture, over the boxes, you can just make out our inflatable green alien named Dave. He has spinal issues.

grrr...f*ck work...grrr...crowds suck...grrr...

Hey gang. Just a quick entry tonight. After being bogged down with boxes for about 3 weeks now, management have decided to suddenly give a shit. One manager came back to say they had called a few people to see if they want to pick up extra hours by working in back. I have no idea if any of these people know what they are doing...my vote is maybe one or two. One of those called currently can't lift anything over 5 lbs. which makes them better for shelving than receiving, which I pointed out.

The uber came back around 3:35 and asked when I was done for the day. I told him 4pm. I would've stayed later, but I had a chiropractor's appointment that I'd already rescheduled once before so I needed to get home ASAP. He says something about taking the last 25 minutes of my shift to explain to someone how to sort because, "Everything's been scanned right? All that's left is to sort..."

Now, to most of you the horror of this statement will be lost. To anyone who works at the store, you know just how idiotic and freakishly wrong his sentences are. After I regained consciousness, I reminded him that the only boxes we scan and don't open are bargain promo and gift. The other boxes get received as we pull them down and plop them on the work table to then sort the books. If you receive a box and just let it sit there, the computer (correctly) states we have the book in our inventory, but no one will be able to find it.

Trust me when I say I was floored, disappointed and immediately angered by his stupidity. I asked for help from an employee I know has been trained. I asked the uber, in fact, about 2 weeks ago. His response was to pretty much mumble and do nothing. If I had gotten some help then we would have probably been closer to being caught up. As it is, the computer currently has us listed as getting a double tomorrow of 346 boxes at over 6700 lbs.

I realize that there are much bigger issues in this world than where I'm going to cram these boxes and when they will get done. I know that people are suffering much worse fates in this world than myself. Doesn't mean I don't get pissed off and need to vent though. Thank you for your time.

Quick last bit: Went and saw I Am Legend. I really enjoyed it, but it is depressing as hell so be mindful of what sort of mood you are in before checking it out. Really enjoyed the Dark Knight trailer before it and probably would have liked the Cloverfield trailer except only the sound was working at that point...sounded good though.

I will try and post during the next couple of weeks, but between probably pulling extra hours at work, STILL needing to finish up Christmas shopping, going to a memorial service on Friday and trying to get together to celebrate X-mas with visiting friends, I'm not going to promise anything. Try and feel the love for me and say a couple of prayers for my sanity.

I Want A Daemon!!!...and an Ice Bear

Went and saw The Golden Compass last night. I just started reading the book, but I am only 9 pages in so I pretty much had nothing to go on when I went in. Upon arrival, Jackie and I were approached by a goth-y dude who gave us props for not caving in to the Catholic Church's protests over the film. I almost told him that I didn't really listen to the Pope since I'm not Catholic...and he's way creepy looking to boot.

I enjoyed the film, even though I thought it started out rather slow. I know they needed to set up a lot and explain a lot for those of us that haven't read the book, but I'm not 12 so I think they could have picked up the pace a bit. The film looks really good and the young girl who plays the lead does a solid job. I thought Daniel Craig was sadly underused. I'm not sure why he is in so much of the promo material as he is barely in the movie. Hopefully he'll have a bigger part in the film of the second book (assuming it gets made).

I loved the idea of having a daemon--it's your soul that has it's own form that walks with you outside your body. Lyra's daemon was voiced by that cute kid from Finding Neverland. Freddy High something. I want to say Highmore, but it could be Hightower and I'm too lazy to check. I was somewhat surprised that I was more concerned about him and the Ice Bear than any of the human characters. There were several tense moments for me in regards to the Bear that helps Lyra.

This movie lays the ground work for the other two books/films and does a good job of being entertaining in its own right. It might be a bit intense for kids under the age of 12 though. The fighting with the Ice Bears is pretty harsh and the way that you can harm a daemon and the person it belongs to will suffer the same pain is rather oogy as well. It could be unsettling to small kids.

As a bonus, we got to see the trailer for the next Chronicle of Narnia flick and it looks freakin' amazing. I'm hoping to get to I Am Legend this weekend...in addition to finishing up my Christmas shopping. I have never been this far behind before. Eeek!!

As an FYI, the quote at the top of the page is from the Bob and Tom show. I heard it a couple of weeks ago and it just stuck with me.

Snow Day Please...

As much as I sort of hate to say it, I really, really, really want a snow/ice day tomorrow. I just want to stay curled up under a blanket catching up on episodes of Stargate Atlantis. That, or watch my Shakespeare Retold dvd that I recently picked up. It's been a long few weeks and I don't relish the idea of possibly driving to my demise just to make sure someone can get their copy of Eat, Pray, Love that they ordered last week.


One downside to not working tomorrow will be I will have to wait an extra day to pick up the following:

The Bourne Ultimatum
Harry Potter 5
Lost Season 3

If you want to check out a new blogger, go visit Laura's land o' fun at www.6000whistles.blogspot.com. Be sure and comment to keep her at it.

We had a "We Listen" session last week at work. I sort of knew it was coming. How did you know you may very well ask? Go ahead, ask. I'll wait.

I knew about the repeated attempts to get an email/letter to the We Listen people. Our regional Human Resources person came down for a day of chatting. Sadly, due to having just way too much stuff to go through in back, I couldn't spare the 30 min. to go talk to her. I figured chatting while I ate my lunch probably wouldn't work. It's going to be awhile before anything, if anything, happens. I hope it isn't one of those "be careful what you wish for" situations. But, if it's like any of our other We Listen moments, it will be just that.

I need to pick a new ISP. I'd like to go faster than my current dial up speed, but I like not having to pay crap loads of cash for the service. I already pay an insane amount for my digital cable and I can't justify paying insane amounts just so I can quickly download music. Any suggestions? I'm looking at AT&T 'cuz they have a cheap package and Earthlink. If you'd had experience with either let me know as I can use some advice and I need to make up my mind soon since my service ends at the end of the month. I'd really like to move on from these people. I haven't been able to access my ISP email account in about 3 years even with repeated service emails being sent by myself. Help.

Be careful out there.

I WANT MY MASTERPIECE THEATER!

Quick note tonight, my local PBS station is on the verge of being no more. Check out this link for the story. http://pjstar.com/stories/120607/REG_BF4IOQQ9.009.php

PBS is the one non-cable source people have for good children's programming, in depth news programming (Frontline, BBC World News), and really good dramas and comedies (Masterpiece Theater, Mystery, etc.). Now I know sometimes the programming can be sleep inducing and very retro, but I think this is a forum that needs to survive. If you live in my area and you think you can donate something, please help out. I'm a member and have been for several years. Thanks.

Drowning, Not Waving

I've signed up for a trip to Scotland this coming June. Yeah! That's a definite plus. The potential down side you may ask? As I discovered at the info meeting, most of the other folks taking this trip are old enough to be my parents...or older. The only folks near my age were the local weather chick and her hubby. I should mention the trip is sponsored by a local tv station.

Let me put it this way, one of the ladies asked the following question in all seriousness.

"Do they speak English?"

Holy crap. Granted, there are local tongues about, but really, most of the freakin' world speaks English at this point. We're the only industrialized dicks on this planet who can't be bothered to put an emphasis on learning other languages. Other important issues covered included the availability of bathrooms, the availability of food (we get to roam around town and fend for ourselves for lunches which to me sounds heavenly), and how late will we be out. I can't wait to see how these people react when it's still light out at 10pm in the northern part of the country.

Still, I am desperate to take a trip since my original plan had to be pushed back a few years. Plus, this trip only covers Scotland and we will get to see many places that I didn't get near the last time I was there. I consider myself very lucky to even have the chance to go so I'm going. I'm afraid I won't be able to bring back whiskey for all of you as we are only allowed to bring one bottle per person on the plane (in checked luggage I believe)...this was also a major talking point at the meeting.

In other news, I'm still behind at work...hence the title of today's entry. I went in early to try and make some headway. I had gotten to where I'd accessed the two piles of boxes from last Mon. (I am not kidding people) when UPS arrived and promptly dumped 50 more boxes on my sorry butt. GRRRRRR!!! We are "only" getting 125 from the big boys tomorrow and maybe I'll get lucky and not get my ass kicked by UPS. I'd really like to see the back wall of my receiving area before Easter. The uber came back Mon. just after the truck had been delivered and seemed surprised to see all the boxes. I wanted to shake him really hard. It's not like the boxes went away for the weekend to go skiing and came back in the wee hours of Monday morning. They'd been there this whole time so I don't know how you'd miss piles and piles of cardboard looming over you. I asked if we could have another person come back for a few days. Not surprisingly trying to "replace" someone who works 40 hours and is freakishly efficient with a newbie who works anywhere from 8-12 or so just doesn't quite get the job done.

Alright, don't bitching...for now. If you have the time I recommend the following:

Superbad--out on DVD today.

Imperial Life In The Emerald City--I am about halfway through this great book that talks about how and why Iraq got so messed up after we invaded. It's amazing just how boneheaded the Bush administration can be. Why bother, for example, to hire someone who has expertise in rebuilding after a military action just because they are a Democrat when you can hire a 24 yr. old who you found out about from their attempt to get a job at a Conservative think tank? Logic was sorely missing throughout most of this process.

things to do when the power goes out

This evening my electricity was out for about 2 1/4 hours due to an ice storm. I'm guessing that was the issue as my cable is still out so I can't check the news to see what was up. Here's what I did tonight.


Finished wrapping most of my Christmas gifts.


Made soup by candlelight because it was the one thing I could cook for dinner that didn't require opening up the fridge.


Wondered if the pain and soreness just below my left shoulder blade is a muscle strain or the result of sleeping funny last night.


Listened to music to start organizing the track list for my annual Faves mix cd.


Thought about my place and function in the universe.


Okay, didn't actually do that last one, but I did wonder about whether or not the power would be back on in time for me to see the season finale of Torchwood. Sadly, this did not happen.

No Country For Old Men

As the tag line says, "there are no clean getaways." Not when you're a criminal. Not when you make a mistake that puts you in the path of the criminal. Not even in life. Ultimately, everything comes to an end and the best you can hope for is that you survived most of it unscathed.

Damn cheery, eh? Don't let that stop you from seeing this movie though. The Cohen brothers have come through to amazing effect in their latest offering. Their love of vistas is evident in the way they shoot Texas (or at least I'm assuming they actually shot a movie set in TX in TX...course it could be British Columbia for all I know). NCFOM feels much like Blood Simple and Fargo in that there is a continual tension running through the film. You never feel quite at ease, even in the funnier moments. It's as though you know someone is on your tail and they are insane and fully plan on killing you.

The set up to the film is this--Josh Brolin plays an average guy who stumbles upon a drug deal gone very, very bad. He ends up snagging the cash. It doesn't take long for various baddies to start coming after him. Among them, the seriously creepy in an overly calm and methodical sort of way Javier Bardem. The scene where he challenges a poor local gas station owner is full of menace but no guns are drawn and the man isn't even directly threatened. Instead, he is asked what was the most he ever lost on a coin toss. He directs the gas guy to call it. The guy wants to know what he gets if he wins. He is told "everything." It's chillingly obvious what he will lose if he doesn't guess correctly.

Tommy Lee Jones plays the sheriff who is also calm and methodical in his pursuit of Bardem. His character is not unlike Frances McDormand's (sp) in Fargo. He is smart but not showy. He is kind and warm, but he is world weary and feels as though he no longer understands the world around him. He and his deputy provide most of the laughs and the few bright spots in a dark plot.

The writing is lyrical and really stands out as there isn't a lot of dialogue in the film. Jones' description of a dream he had is virtual poetry and he delivers it as a man realizing that mortality is an ever encroaching burden. It's a powerful way to end the film.

If you are a fan of the Cohen's, I can't recommend this film enough. Everyone else, be prepared to not have a pat ending...or at least not a traditional one, but also be prepared to see a beautiful film unfolding in front of you.

Couple more quick things:

Saw a trailer for Funny Games and I've decided Michael Pitt is the go-to guy for creepy, young bastard roles.

Lifted 6000 pounds today. We got in 300 boxes, a double delivery. Nothing scheduled tomorrow which begs the question...why the f**k did we get a double today? Surely no one needs 75 boxes of bargain titles by tomorrow! Oh yeah, I also woke up with a headache that lasted from about 6:45am till around 3:30pm. At least I was better for the movie.

Hopefully this week I'll get out to see Lust, Caution, the latest from Ang Lee. I've heard mixed reviews for it, but I'd still like to see Tony Leung when I get the chance.

Cool exchange from today's movie: follows a moment where Tommy Lee Jones has described what he thinks happened during the commission of the crime.

Deputy: (paraphrasing) "That's pretty linear."

Sheriff: "Age flattens a man..."

Freudian Slip?

Today while making a list of book categories and where they could be found I made a mistake while typing up "Self Improvement." I typed the following...

Self Important.

Hmmmm....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Waiting For Bones To Be Over

Decided to do a quick entry while I'm waiting for Bones to finish up. I've discovered I can't eat while it's on, or at least I need to wait till the first 5 or so minutes have passed. Of course, once you miss the first 5 you have to wait till the whole thing is done and watch it from the top. It's a very complicated process my television viewing.

Speaking of TV's and other electrical items I am addicted to, I have two remotes that are on the verge of giving out on me. My tv remote only sporadically responds when I press either the channel up/down buttons or the volume controls. Sadly beating the crap out of it doesn't seem to help. My dvd remote is also acting the poo head. It won't let me switch from TV to DVD meaning I can't watch the DVD. Thank goodness for my PS2...of course I still haven't quite figured out how to run the dvd option using my controller. I've tried pushing the button that shoots stuff in most games, but that isn't the right one. Looks like I need to get another universal remote. That or read.

Quick update on the work front. I've mentioned having been very tired when getting home, etc. and there is a reason for that. Jinn, my fabbo co-worker, found out she has carpal tunnel. She is going to be out anywhere from 2-3+ months. She is out on the floor (and not really too happy about it by all accounts) which means I'm all by my lonesome most of the day. It's very weird to be back there without her. I run into her now and again, but it isn't really the same. The increased work load coupled with Jinn's floor status has me concerned with my sanity. Happy Holidays! Hopefully she will get good news with her next doctor's visit and will be better soon.

Went and saw Lars And The Real Girl (above photo) and it was fabulous. One of the best films I've seen this year. Ryan Gosling plays an introverted man who purchases a life size silicone doll. It's not for sex, it's for companionship. He is a bit delusional and is working through that delusion in his own way. In order for it to work, his doctor says, everyone else has to treat the doll like a person as well. Luckily for him, he is such a sweetheart his friends and family are willing to do this to help him get better.

The film has many funny moments, but is also quite sweet and gentle...much like Gosling's character. Ryan really plays him with just the right amount of kindness coupled with quite literal pain when people get too close to him (especially when they touch him). The supporting cast does extremely well as they try and make sense of a very weird situation. I strongly recommend seeing this one.

Hopefully I'll be able to catch what should be one of the best films this year--the Cohen Brothers' No Country For Old Men. It starts tomorrow, but I don't know if I'll be up for seeing it on opening night alone. I may have to wait till a Sun. afternoon or Mon. evening.

Okay, it's time to go check the Duke vs. Illinois score and watch the rest of the game. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble.

Death By Meeting...and Life On Mars

Hey all. Glad to say I survived this year's Holiday Meeting. As seems to happen every year, it was full of lame attempts at humor, plenty of mind numbing info that no one will remember due to the early hour (7AM-9AM), some snarky heckling from the back row (wanna guess where I sat?), and someone eventually breaking down in tears.

I'm serious. Because one employee was interrupted, in a polite way by a manager to add to the discussion we were in the midst of, said employee immediately turns to another manager to complain and reportedly after the meeting was whining and crying in the office. This same employee reacted the same way last year when they felt the crowd hadn't applauded enough when they were given their lame 5 yr. pin.

My best line of the day had to be when the kids manager was pushing the American Girls "Your Changing Body" book and I loudly asked if this was the part when the boys had to leave the room. Got a good laugh thankfully. I always try for the funny obnoxious when possible. I was disappointed we didn't have a discussion of my favorite growing up book, "What's Going On Down There." Seriously, I love this book. The cartoons and commentary are funny and as a chick it's especially entertaining because it's all about the boys and their naughty bits.

On a different topic, I was extremely pleased to see that the new season of Life On Mars is starting on Dec. 11 via BBC America. The lovely John Simm (above) plays Sam, a police detective who has been transported back to the 70's. Or has he? He might just be in a coma and is imagining all of this. Either way, it's a really well written and acted show that I strongly recommend.

Didn't make it to Lars and The Real Girl yet as I tried to get some Christmas shopping done today. It gets harder and harder to go out amongst the herd the more I work in retail. Luckily, I'm not too far from being done. I should be going to see the movie tomorrow before dinner. Also on the list to check out that's new this week, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Love In The Time Of Cholera.

WATCH IT:

Torchwood and Dr. Who--I just finished up the 3rd season of Dr. Who. I fell behind and waited till it was out on DVD before playing catch up. David Tennant gets better with every episode. Torchwood is a more adult companion/spin off from Dr. Who featuring the Scottish born, IL raised John Barrowman, whose charm and glee make up for any pitfalls in the script. I think the show is still trying to find it's footing, but the episode about the cannibal country folk was seriously creepy. I'm looking forward to the last few episodes of the season.

LISTEN TO IT:

The Hives--The Black and White Album.

I've always liked these guys. They are just a fun, fun band that are pretty much here to make you dance and sing songs referencing themselves. Normally, I'd find that annoying, but they have such a great sense of humor they can get away with it. Current faves on the cd are Try It Again, Tick, Tick, Boom, and T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.

As I type though, I am listening to a mix cd I made called "Where's The Crackers?" Filled with some of my fave cheesy tunes--stuff from the 80's and some contemporary pop songs that I wouldn't normally listen to--I am currently grooving to We Got The Beat...actually it has just morphed into Hellagood...must go dance now....

EDITORS NOTE:

I HAVE NOW TRIED THREE TIMES TO GET EMPTY LINES BETWEEN MY PARAGRAPHS, BUT HAVE FAILED MISERABLY...UNLESS IT WORKS THIS TIME...SORRY.

Ohio Who?

I can't believe I forgot to mention the seriously kick ass game that Illinois played against (at that time) #1 Ohio State. Buckeye, schmuck-eye. 28-21. Lick the stick baby! I had a great time watching the game with my Mom. Gave me the opportunity to utter the phrase "poo on a stick," much to her bemusement. I tried to get her to do the I-L-L...I-N-I call back and forth cheer thing with me from one side of the living room to the other, but she isn't quite as goofy as me so I did it solo.

Quick add on to yesterday's review of Darjeeling Limited. There is a short film that runs before the main feature that is pretty much a prologue to DL. In it we get to see Natalie Portman getting a bit naked. Two things to say about that--1) there is a God because Natalie's does not have perfect legs and 2) Nat...EAT A SANDWICH!!! I really didn't need to see that much of your ribcage.

***EIGHT LETTER WORD FOR CRAZY MAGNET...hint: it's a proper name***

Today I answered the phone and had a woman tell me she had been told her book would be in on Thurs. She didn't know if it was last Thurs. or today. I ask for her phone number to check for an order. Nothing comes up. I check under her name. Nothing comes up. I ask her if she's sure she has ordered from us. (You'd be surprised how many calls we get for the "other" bookstore.) She says the following:

Oh, I didn't place an order.

She is apparently under the impression that we will just know to hold a book for her without noting down her name and phone number. I then got to search for 3 different books, none of which she had a correct title for and only had the author correct on one of them. I also had to go search down a magazine for her that features a local garden in one article. I ask if she's looking for the Nov. issue. She says she doesn't know. I ask if a picture of a pie is on the cover. She doesn't know. She tells me that the guy who owns the garden is named Sullivan. She seems to think his name will be plastered all over the cover. Nope. Then she suggests looking in the "place where they list what's in the magazine..."

Ermm...table of contents maybe? I check and no names are given. I then have to flip through the mag till I find an article and photo spread on a garden. I say, "well, there's no Sullivan, but there is a Callahan..." She interrupts. That's it!

I believe I was about ready to beat the receiver on the counter at this point. I tell her we can save the mag through close on Friday. She then whines about how she can't see to drive at night so her husband is going to have to bring her over and he can't till Sat. and on and on and on. I tell her Sat. 5pm no later.

ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! And it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

Two Unique Views

Wes Anderson and David Lynch. Two very different directors with two very different visions. Last night I went out and saw Darjeeling Limited, the latest from Anderson. And, tonight I watched Inland Empire from Lynch on DVD.

First, Darjeeling Limited. I have to start by saying I love Wes Anderson. Rushmore is definitely one of my 10 absolute favorite movies ever. I completely get Anderson's humor and his odd perception of reality. There's a lot to like about Darjeeling. The scenery is beautiful. India is used to great effect and the second the movie starts you know from the way the scenery is framed that this is a Wes Anderson movie. I enjoyed the three leads and the way their relationships flowed through the movie. Adrien Brody was a nice addition to the usual stable of actors. There are plenty of funny bits, always with a darker, sadder bit underneath.

But. I ended up feeling about this movie the same way I felt about The Royal Tennenbaums (sp). I liked it, but I didn't love it. For TRT, it probably had a lot to do with my general dislike of all things Gwyneth Paltrow (sp). For this movie, it has to do with a rather uneven pace. The first part drags and when the "big moment" happens it almost feels like a slap in the face. I would say if you're a fan of Wes' you should definitely check it out, but if you are unsure you may want to wait and rent it.

Now, on to Lynch. I'm still feeling confused. To me, Lynch uses the equivalent of chaos theory when he directs a film. He sees and understands the patterns, but the rest of us may not make all the connections. His films are surreal, but I don't think they are surreal because he doesn't know what he wants. They are surreal because he knows precisely what he wants. The rest of us just have to try and keep up. Laura Dern is freakin' amazing in this. Her character(s) anchor the film. No matter how out there it seems to get, she keeps her performance honest which gives us something to hang onto. I thought with 5 minutes left I'd figured out what Inland Empire was about. With two minutes left, I thought I have no idea what it's about. Then during the credit sequence I got even more confused. Still, I made it through all 3 hours (you heard me) and enjoyed the experience, regardless of how numb my butt and mind were.

Couple of quick things to mention:

Saw the trailer for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly and it looked amazing. Laura strongly recommends the book it is based on and I strongly recommend the cinematographer and director.

Also, the movie I adored from this past summer, Once, is coming out on DVD--Dec. 18 I believe. Scroll back several pages to read my review then go rent or buy this sucker. It was beautiful.

Hopefully after the holiday meeting I will be going to see Lars and The Real Girl. I'll keep you posted.

Don't Hate Me Because I Never Blog

Since Pushing Daisies wasn't on yesterday, here's a picture of the lovely Ned (Lee Pace). I think Jackie and I will be the only ones jonesing for his presence, but there you go.

I again have become the Queen of All That Sucks. Sadly, this is a title that doesn't really offer many perks. No parades, no need to queenly wave at folks, no opening of supermarkets, no drug scandals. Rather lame all the way around.

Work has been a drag for multiple reasons. I feel like a rat trapped in a maze. I have about 2 feet of room around me and my table thanks to the insane amount of boxed up crap we have in back. The theory is that it is all getting put out tonight. The reality will probably be that about 1/3 of it will go out tonight and I will come in tomorrow AM to find a bunch of boxes that have been dumped by my desk waiting to be broken down and tossed out into the dumpster, etc.

I have now heard a couple of various stories regarding different work situations and it all just makes me tired. It's exhausting trying to do the right thing only to find yourself failing. And to top it all off, you don't even realize you suck at that moment. Okay, that's vague I know, but that's all I got right now.

A week from this Sat. is the always lame Holiday Meeting. If I have time, I should come up with a special Holiday Edition of manager meeting bingo! What am I saying...I can't keep up or get creative with this thing, how the hell am I going to do bingo?! I have yet to hear what the exact plan is for the meeting this year. The last I heard mention of it regarded the booksellers doing some of the stuff we usually do during the meeting. I wonder if any of them know this yet.

I actually had a couple of funny things happen at work to relate here, but by the time I've gotten home I've forgotten them...or atleast forgotten enough of the story to make it worth writing about. I need to take better notes.

Again, I apologize for the absolute suck-assed-ness of the last few entries. Perhaps something nice and fun will happen soon so I will have something to relate to you all. Thanks for your patience.

Hi. I Suck.

And, to make up for that fact...and to make a sort of pun, please enjoy this picture of a penis on the side of a building. This was apparently how Pompeii alerted its visiting sailors to the direction of the nearest house of ill repute. I think it's just funny to see a penis in stone. I don't think I've posted this picture before. Oops to me if I have. EDITORS NOTE: I CHECKED AND I USED THIS PICTURE BACK IN APRIL. OH WELL....

It's been a long couple of weeks. Here's a quick-ish recap.

This past Monday we had a job fair at work. Because all the managers present were doing interviews, I had to cover the floor. I spent a lot of time walking around, helping at the customer service desk, help ring people up, finding people to cover breaks, etc. I didn't have a problem doing this except for the fact that I thought our CRM was going to be splitting the duties with me as it had been scheduled. But, it seems someone wasn't communicating well, or at least wasn't remembering what they had been told, and our CRM was out of state. I spent my entire shift doing floor stuff. I think I scanned all of 8 boxes that day. Another bonus, I don't have a code to open the safe, but as the floor manager I needed to get in there to get drawers for the people up front. Ended up having to get another manager to grab stuff for me, which sort of went against the point of having me cover for them in the first place. Oh, and I went to make change for the music drawer and no one had bothered to put the change fund up front...not sure what the opening manager was doing...so I had to get someone else to get in the safe to get the drawer for me. We are so good at planning where I work.

Went and saw Dan In Real Life and Into The Wild this past week. Dan was pretty good. I have a serious crush on Steve Carrell so it was enjoyable to see him in a sort of angsty, romantic movie. I was in the right mood to be all weepy about the unrequited love thing so this movie was pretty perfect for my state of mind.

Into The Wild was very good. It is great to look at and I was lucky enough to see it in digital projection, which I recommend if possible. The movie moves at a pretty languid pace and sometimes the voice overs seem a little too perfect, but it was moving at times (Hal Holbrook made me cry dammitt!!!). It was a bit rough going towards the end because I'd read the book several years ago and knew what was coming up. Let's just say there isn't really a happy ending. It has been long enough since I read the book that I had forgotten what exactly had happened between him and his parents. I believe the family was involved with the making of the movie so I think it's safe to guess that what was portrayed was accurate...which is actually pretty depressing. My major hurdle with the book and the movie is the idea that someone would be able to get the same sort of fulfillment from living "in the wild" as they would from engaging with people, whether they be family or friends. To me, Chris's wanderlust was sort of selfish. I understood enough of his quest to still enjoy the film and the book and would definitely recommend both.

I'm hoping to see Darjeeling Limited this week and I just bought a new book called The Brotherhood of The Disappearing Pants: A User's Guide To Conservative Sex Scandals done by the same guys who brought you the screamingly funny Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly. And Radiohead is still playing almost non-stop in the car and at home. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is currently my absolute favorite.

Sorry again for being a bad blogger. Thanks for your patronage.

Favorite Group: Scissor Sisters

Dumbledore is gay? SWEET!!!! http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/10/20/j-k-rowling-at-carnegie-hall-reveals-dumbledore-is-gay-neville-marries-hannah-abbott-and-scores-more

Another (Graphic) Novel Adaptation

Steve Nile's 30 Days Of Night is one of my favorite graphic novels. I believe it was Todd who introduced me to it. I can't believe no one had thought up the idea of vampires attacking a town in northern Alaska during the time of the year when the sun essentially disappears for a month. How brilliant is that?! When I heard that Sam Rami (Evil Dead flicks, Spider Man) was going to produce the movie version, I got very excited. When I heard that Steve himself would be writing the screenplay, I was happier still.

Then I heard Josh Hartnett was going to play the lead.

Thankfully, I moved past that and went to check out the film this weekend. Directed by Hard Candy's David Slade, the film has just the right look. Not as hard core dedicated to the graphic novel as say Sin City or 300, but the grays and blacks and whites in contrast to the shock of the blood red made me think of the work of Ben Templesmith, the illustrator. Some of the vampires looked as though they walked directly from the page to the screen.

Unlike a lot of today's horror flicks, Slade spends time with the characters. This sort of investment actually goes a bit against the graphic novel itself, which was quick and sharp, only giving you time to get to know Eben, his wife Stella and a bit of back story on the vamps. Still, this is a movie version, so you knew some things were going to have to be fleshed out from the original story.

The characters have changed and multiplied. Again, this is probably due to needing to expand the story and the fact that there ended up being 3 screenwriters. While I expected the movie to have some slow spots (we are covering 30 days after all), I was a bit disappointed that it seemed to slow down almost too much now and again. Still, some of the fleshing out bits (no pun intended, but enjoy it if you want!) made the film darker on an emotional level. This is not a happy movie, but neither was the source material.

I ended up enjoying the film, and being pleasantly surprised by Josh Hartnett. I've only seen him in Virgin Suicides, Sin City and Black Hawk Down. All great movies to be sure. I don't really have anything against him, but most of his projects hold no interest for me. I thought he did a good job in this, especially with the angsty stuff. And, he is nice to look at which doesn't hurt things.

Speaking of nice looking, one complaint would be that our survivors didn't look like they'd been trapped in various places for 30 days. Sure, some of the minor characters looked like shit towards the end of the flick, but Melissa George held up pretty damn well, as did Hartnett. Sorta picky I know, but the only way you knew time had passed would be when a graphic popped up letting you know what day it was. I also thought a bit of foreshadowing at the very beginning was a bit cheesy. I mean, the sherriff has been around the town for awhile and you're telling me he had to have a large bit of equipment in the towns water processing plant explained to him. As soon as I saw those big, metal "teeth," I knew what was going to happen.

I really liked the overhead shot of the town being attacked by the vampires. Several vamps were nicely creepy too. You can never go wrong with a kid vampire in my book. The vampire attacks were definitely bloody, as were some of the human retaliations. I particularly enjoyed a moment involving a head and an ax. I also appreciated the fact that they kept the ending the same as the comic. I would have been really horked if they had changed it into a happy, Hollywood moment.

It may not be for everyone, but if you'd like to try a different sort of vampire flick and don't mind a slight snooze part way through, it's worth checking out 30 Days Of Night.

The Hits Just Keep Coming

Dorky things I did the other day:

Ran into someone that worked at the store a while back. I chatted with her for several minutes, asking a couple of questions about another employee who was a friend of hers and about the job I thought she had left us for. When I ran into her, I was talking to a friend/fellow employee. I thought I was being impolite not introducing them so I proceeded to say, "I'm sorry...I'm being rude. Abby, this is Bill. Bill, this is Abby."

To which she replies, "Actually it's Cassie."

Yeah.

Okay, in my defense, I haven't seen Abby or Cassie for a couple of years and they do look a lot alike. They could probably pass for cousins at the very least. Thankfully, Cassie was very cool about it and I apologized about a million times because I felt terrible. But seriously, I haven't seen her in forever and I have trouble remembering current employee names sometimes.

Second dorky thing happened in the breakroom. Thankfully, only two people were in there at the time. I was reaching into the fridge to pull out my bag of veggies (long story) and I tipped over an open can of soda. First off, leaving a soda open in the fridge is just wrong. Secondly, well, there is no secondly, but you can't really write "first off" without there being a second.

I grabbed some paper towels to wipe up what I had spilled. I'm crouched down in front of the fridge on my toes. I need more paper towels and I start to stand up to go get them. Bad thing is I'm leaning pretty far forward since I was reaching sort of deep into the fridge and when I start to stand I hit my head on the freezer door.

I didn't hit it too hard, but I wasn't expecting to make contact with anything so the surprise and that whole equal and opposite reaction thing has me losing my balance and falling backward onto my ass. I rolled and ended up laying on the floor. I had to laugh because it was just so damn funny and stupid. Jillian asked if I was okay and I told her I was fine, more embarrassed than anything else.

Thanks. I'm here all week. Tip your waitresses.

Here's another goof that I had nothing to do with. One of the managers took a phone call one night and told a customer that we would have the gift certificates she wanted waiting for her by noon the following day. (Side note: I'm surprised customers haven't demanded a drive thru window. It's amazing how demanding they can get. I've had people virtually ask me to bring the bag out to them in the parking lot as they pull up outside.) One problem though, you can't ring up the gift certificates without paying for them. The chick needed to leave her credit card number in order for us to process them and have them ready for her to pick up. This did not happen which means they got rung up when she walked in the door. Here's the best part. She wanted 125 cards for $20 a piece. Guess that sorta backfired. Oops.

Duh

I'm a dork. The correct title of the Radiohead song I referred to a couple of posts ago is Reckoner, not Reckoning. This is why I should not do entries after 10pm.

On a side note, I finally got around to renting Crash. This would be the Oscar winner from a couple of years ago, not the David Cronenberg (sp) flick. Though, I have seen that one too. Anyway, here's what I got from Crash. We all suck and we are all racists...until we fall down the stairs after realizing we wake up angry all the time and the only person who will help us is our foreign housekeeper who we bitched at the day before. Oh, and there are a couple of crashes in there too.

Art, climbing and other stuff

Thanks to Teresa, I have some pictures from my rock wall climbing adventure in AR over the summer. If you look up and to the right you'll see a metal bar sticking out, that's the top of where I was going towards. You can also see where the "rock" begins to curve, that's about where I lost my footing/grip and went on the downward part of my journey. I think you can get a decent idea of how far up we were by looking at the trees around us. You can also notice Teresa's daughter doesn't have enough weight on her to actually have to touch the wall. She could have hung there all day. I did not suffer this same problem.

I keep forgetting to mention that I purchased an actual piece of art during the Fine Art Fair that was held about 3 weeks ago. I've only gone to it one other time. The piece I bought is called "Reder." It was done by Chris Vance, an artist from Iowa. Yes, they have artists there...who knew? Anyway, it is technically a painting I suppose, but it wasn't done on canvas, it's on some sort of wood instead. It's abstract, which normally isn't my thing, but I was instantly drawn to his work as we walked by his section of the show. His style reminds me of Radiohead album art and the work of Ben Templesmith, who is an illustrator for the 30 Days Of Night comic...among other things. You can take a peak at the sort of thing I got by going to www.moberggallery.com/vance_portfolio.shtml.

Couple of quick weird-ish things:

At work: Because one of the managers left out a sheet of paper that has all of the employee log in numbers listed on it, we all have to come up with new numbers for ourselves. These are the numbers we use not only for the computer system, but also for the cash registers.

The most annoying person at work, who doesn't really ever seem to work, is being shifted to a position I didn't even know existed. I still think we made it up to tell the truth. This person is going to be the main person responsible for helping customers and training other employees in this area. This is the same person who still calls back to my department with questions on how to do orders. I'm very afraid.

One of our employees tried to sign on to a PDT (we use them to scan bar codes...you've seen similar things at the grocery store, Wally World, etc.) but was having trouble. I asked her if I could help and told her she needed to log in just like she did up at the cash registers or the computers at info. I told her to enter her ID and then her password. I noticed she was hitting the letters buttons for her ID. Now, our ID and password are numerical. I said, "you know, the numbers you use to log in with...?" She said, "OH, I thought 'user name' meant I needed to put in my name." Errr...not so much. And I thought I knew nothing about computers.

Beauty In My Ears

It took me awhile to download, but it was worth it. I'm thinking I will be listening to In Rainbows atleast once a day.

Current faves:

Bodysnatchers

Nude

Reckoning

Jigsaw Falling Into Place

Videotape

Actually, I'm in love with the whole cd. I'll gush when I'm not so sleepy. Thom sings sweetly in my ears...all is well in the world.

As far as I know, Ween has nothing to do with this...

The new tv season is upon us and I have to admit that there weren't too many shows that grabbed my attention. Luckily, the few I have checked out have been either great or worth giving a shot.

Of all that I've seen, Pushing Daisies right now has to be my favorite. Created by one of the guys behind the short lived Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies has a similar sense of whimsy about it. Lee Pace plays Ned, who discovers as a child that he has the ability to bring the recently deceased back from the dead. Like all "gifts" this one comes with the usual karmic balances. He can only keep the person/animal alive for one minute or else someone else has to die. If he touches the person/animal again, they die...again.

It's this last bit that is causing a bit of a problem for Ned. In the first episode, his childhood love was killed and he brought her back to find out what happened and to admit something to her that he'd been keeping secret his whole life. One look at her and he realizes he can't let her die again. Well, there goes the funeral home director then...

The series is just this side of real. It's like watching a combo between Tim Burton, The Wizard of Oz and Twin Peaks. The writing is smart, with a good sense of dark humor. There is just the right balance between the weirder and more whimsical aspects of the story and the realism needed for the relationship between Ned and Chuck (his childhood crush, the girl next door) to be endearing rather than cloying. Lee Pace and Anna Friel, a great British actress, work extremely well together, keeping cutesy-ness at bay while maintaining a real sense of sweetness.

I just recently rented Soldier's Girl that starred Pace and he was freakin' amazing in it. He definitely has no fear as an actor, which should make watching him in this show a real treat. You can catch Pushing Daisies on ABC, Wed. at 7pm.

Second fave new show would have to be Chuck. Since it's on Mon. at 7pm on NBC, I have to tape it (hello...Prison Break also on at 7). The two episodes I've seen have been really funny and even though the action can get a bit over the top, the show is still a riot. Maybe it's because I've worked for Best Buy, but I enjoy all the bits inside of the Buy More where Chuck works for the Nerd Herd (Geek Squad). Chuck inadvertently became the receiver of all of the secret intel gathered by both the NSA and the CIA. He's essentially a living computer and will have weird moments when the info will coalesce and he has to let his secret agent handlers know something is up. Zachary Levi plays Chuck and currently shares Crush Land with Lee Pace in my head. Levi plays confused nice guy very well. Chuck is very much the guy you'd like to date and take home to mom. He is surrounded by a funny sister with an "awesome" boyfriend and the slightly strange best friend, Morgan. This is another well written show full of great actors.

Also worth checking out, Bionic Woman and Reaper. Bionic Woman is being done by one of the guys responsible for bringing back Battlestar Galactica and thus far I'm enjoying it. Reaper is similar to Chuck, in that it's a sort of geeky guy with a slightly strange best friend finding out he has some sort of new power. In Reaper's case, our hero finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil and he has to work for Satan wrangling up escaped naughty souls and returning them to Hell. Actually, a rather clever and twisted idea. The production value on the first episode was a little lax, but I enjoyed the dark humor so I'm going to watch this one to see how it progresses.

Finally, I completely missed Banned Books week. How sad is that considering I work at a bookstore. We used to make a big deal about the week. When we were first open, we had a major table set up with a fake bonfire featuring the titles on the ALA list. Now, I think we might have had a display up on the end of one of the shelving rows. Anyway, I thought I would recommend The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky that was one of the 10 most challenged books in '06.

Freedom Rock

Radiohead.

Greatest. Band. Ever.

Who needs a record label? Certainly not these guys. Don't feel like mucking about with contracts, etc.? Release it your own damn self.

Go to www.inrainbows.com and you can choose to get a download of the new album or you can get the discbox version which is the download along with a cd, an album, a bonus cd with extra tracks and some other pretty things.

Guess which I picked?

Let's just say I had to check a currancy exchange website.

Oh, did I mention if you choose the download only option you can pay whatever you like?

Bite me record industry.

***************

Sorry I've been a bad blogger this week. I'll try to get to a review of some of the shows that have debuted over the last couple of weeks. Probably tomorrow. Thanks for your patience and patronage. Now, go to www.inrainbows.com.

Fallen Kingdom

The Kingdom tries really hard to be a political thriller and I'll give it points for that. Rather than creating something along the lines of The Manchurian Candidate (the original that is), we get something closer to Jerry Bruckheimer (sp) meets an attempt at deep thinking.

The opening credits gave me hope. They are really well done. I was impressed with the visual style. The context of the credits made me think this movie was going to take a serious look at a political tale. The film looks great. Peter Berg deserves a lot of credit for this fact. His style gave a realistic flow to a script that sadly falters.

The plot concerns an explosive attack on a compound populated by the employees of a U.S. oil company. What exactly happens during the entire attack actually surprised me a little, so again, I thought we were off to a good start. In this story, the FBI is the lead agency whenever U.S. citizens have crimes committed against them abroad. Beats me if this is true. But, the U.S. government won't let the FBI go into Saudi Arabia (The Kingdom) because they fear an increased U.S. presence will only increase anger towards Americans and strain relations between the royal family and oil companies...er, the government, I mean.

Jamie Foxx pressures the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia into letting him take a small crew into the country to investigate. They head over and have 5 days to figure out what happened. Foxx goes out along with Chris Cooper: the bomb expert, Jennifer Garner: forensics specialist, and Jason Bateman: systems analyst. Bomb expert...sure, makes sense. Forensics, again makes sense, except Garner's character was very close to an agent who is killed over there (mmm...I'm sensing "revenge"). Bateman's character isn't given much to do other than make a snarky comment here and there, discover a website, sort of flirt with Jennifer, and get caught in a pretty bad situation.

They get help from two members of the Saudi police, one of which was assigned to be their babysitter by the local prince. It's a given that he and Foxx eventually bond over their respective love of family and a desire to protect them.

For every attempt to show us moments of "they are just like us," we get moments of U.S. bravado...often in the form of dialogue. I'm not saying that such bravado doesn't exist; it's just annoying to see it still presented without it being questioned. The movie seems to want to have its cake and eat it too. For example, a point is made that Bateman's character has been to Israel three times to visit his grandmother who lives there. You'd think, then, that his character, Adam, would have at least a little insight into the experience had by someone who lives in the Middle East. Instead, Adam is often called on doing things that are less than respectful to the Muslim officers they are working with. I'm not saying Adam can't be a dick; I'm saying, if he's going to be a dick, just let him be a dick, who cares where he's been. Adam's actually not a complete dick, he just gets some dickish lines.

The crime solving aspect seems to happen almost completely by chance. Granted, the four FBI agents are initially hampered by the fact that they can't touch anything at the crime scene, and they are constantly being watched and escorted. Still, nothing in what happens in the plot seems to point to these people being the best of the best. Chris Cooper finds a piece of the detonation device and he's the expert, yet he ends up handing it off to Foxx who takes it with him when, eventually, he and Faris (the main Saudi cop) go talk to a former terrorist. They go to the blast site with a general idea of who might be responsible, presumably because they have some sort of intel about prior bombings done by this person. As I've learned from crime dramas, bomb makers have a signature (hell, learned that one from Speed too) so you'd think there would have been a data base they could have checked and compared this part of the device to, but nope...guess not.

We never get answers to some of what happened, and it's not because they searched and just couldn't find the answers. It seems to be because that plot point was only needed to get us from this dramatic moment to the next one. We're not there to find the answers. We're there to get to the point when we can blow stuff up and get revenge.

The ads mention the final 30 minutes being super intense. Actually, it's probably the final 20-25, because the very end is rather quiet. They are intense. They are well shot, though the realistic camera movements sometimes meant you weren't sure exactly what you were seeing. We get our promised "every one will pay" moment at the end of the sequence. I couldn't really argue with one aspect of it though since I didn't want one character to die and that character survives.

In the end, a weird sort of parallel is made between what drove the FBI agents and what drove the terrorists. It was the same thing. Had the movie not tried to walk the thoughtful road along with the look-I-can-shoot-the-hell-out-of-this-car road, the finale might have had more impact. Instead, seeing the team staying the same after their experience, as well as the terrorists, just made everything seem futile. Sadly, that may have been the point after all.

You might want to wait till this comes out on DVD to watch it. There are moments worth seeing, just not enough of them to make it a really good film. Bateman's still cute though.

Two guys walk into a bath house...

I'm telling you right now...this man can work a suit.


I caught Eastern Promises this weekend. David Cronenberg (forgot to note down how to spell his name and I'm too lazy to go look for it...sorry) and Viggo Mortensen team up once again for this tale about the Russian Mob and the complications created by the birth of one child and the attempts of another to impress his father.


The movie is owned by Mortensen and Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays the head of the family of mobsters. Mortensen conveys a cool, but always aware attitude. He continues to find subtlety within his performance and uses it to great effect in this movie. He makes you feel off balance, never quite sure of whether or not to trust him. Mueller-Stahl gives off a heady mix of menace wrapped in the guise of a kindly grandfather. As soon as he begins to calmly and gently pump Naomi Watts' character for information in regards to a recently orphaned baby, you know this man could have you killed in a second and you should really not be anywhere near him. He doesn't use a gun to threaten, he just makes it clear that he is in complete control...always.

Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel (sp...again) are both just fine in their parts, but neither one seems to jump off the screen. I blame the script, which sometimes lags. There are several moments of graphic violence, which if you are a fan of David C's movies won't surprise you. In fact, the scene where Viggo fights with two guys in the bath house was really impressive. And not just because Viggo is naked through out. The movie looks great and I was impressed by how good the Russian accents sounded. Not that I'm that familiar with the true accent, but they didn't sound like Boris and Natasha from Bullwinkle, a definite plus.

I don't know that this is David C.'s best film, but it is still pretty solid and worth checking out just to see Viggo continue to stretch as an actor...that and to see the guy get stabbed in the eye.

On a side note, I just read that fabbo Jason Bateman has joined the cast of State Of Play. I'm not sure if I've mentioned State Of Play before, but it is one of the best British mini-series I have ever seen. Sadly it is still not available on DVD (damn you BBC!!!!), so I have to be careful with my taped copy. Ed Norton and Brad Pitt have already signed on. I'm not sure I'm ready to accept Brad in the role that John Simm did so well in, but I guess I'll just have to suck it up.

Also--new Foo Fighters cd out tomorrow!!! PJ Harvey in the week following!!!! Yeah!

Which is the real D.C.?

Found out that the new season of 24 debuts on Jan. 13 and 14th. They are doing their usual 2 nights of 2 hour long episodes. The season is going to be set in Washington D.C. where Jack is going to be on trial for being a bad, bad boy all in the name of saving the country, the president, or his family...depends on what season you're watching. Anyway, I think the trial is really going to be about what has happened over the last 2 seasons.

In a bizarre twist of television plot convience, the beloved Tony A. will be back!!!! Who cares that we sort of left him for dead, he's recovered. Of course, that gunshot to the head he got a few seasons ago only kept him down for a couple of hours so what did I expect. I actually have no problem with this idea as Tony was always one of my favorite characters. I'm hoping he says "Dammitt Jack!!" in the first few moments of his appearance.

I'm going to try something new here. I'm going to attempt to put a YouTube video on the blog. Ladies and gentlemen...your president...

weirdness at work

Here's a couple of funny stories for you from my corner of dysfunction.

Tales Of Interest #1: On Mon. night, one of our managers was asked to check the men's bathroom. A customer had tried to go inside to use it, but the entrance door was locked. The manager unlocked the door and went inside, thinking some kids were just jerking us around by locking it. Oops. Did I say jerking?

When she got inside, she saw two sets of shoes in the handicap stall. I'm not clear if their pants were completely down around their ankles, but at the very least trousers had been lowered. Someone in the stall calls out, "We're busy..."

She called out, "I'm calling the cops...go get a room!" She goes out to make the call and within seconds the guys are flying out the door.

No word if either one said "I have a wide stance."

Tales of Interest #2: A young boy comes up to his mom and hands her the book Guitar For Dummies. He asks her what "dummies" means. She explains that dummy is a word used for someone who isn't very smart. She then tells him he wouldn't want the book because who wants to learn guitar from a dummy.

Who wants to learn from a dummy indeed...

We should have social services on speed dial.

Watching TV So You Don't Have To

Maybe I should call this one "watching tv because I don't have kids."

Work is the same old same old so I figured I'd write about the Emmys that were given out on Sun.

If you missed it, you didn't miss much. Ryan Seacrest hosted the show. Aren't we tired of him yet? I never watch Idol and yet I am still somewhat annoyed by him.

For the most part, the comedy was left to the comedians. Lewis Black did a great bit of snark on ways to improve television. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart were perfect together--like a living Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. They ripped on the fact that this was the "green" Emmy awards. Stephen had a great line where he said, "if actors stop having award shows where they congratulate themselves, the Earth wins." Or something along those lines. I'm sure you can find the clip on YouTube. Steve Carrell was also quite funny. No surprise.

Everything else was rather dull. The theater in the round seemed cool for the first few minutes and it did provide for some jokes later in the evening. The musical tribute to The Sopranos was just weird to me. I kept waiting for an interpretive dance tribute to My Name Is Earl. I did however appreciate the fact that the new voting rules allowed a lot of fresh nominees into the mix.

I was disappointed that Jenna Fischer didn't win. I really thought she did an amazing job last year on The Office. She makes Pam so real you end up feeling very deeply for the character. Sometimes in shows, character arcs seem to fade in and out of episodes. A huge amount of credit goes to Jenna and the show's writers for their success at having Pam's transition go through the entire season. The few big epiphanies came at just the right moments, otherwise it was a subtle and realistic progression from one point to the other. Speaking of the writers, I was also glad to see the episode "Gay Witch Hunt" won best comedy writing. It is seriously one of the funniest damn episodes I've ever seen in all of tv.

FYI: The season finale of Burn Notice is on Thurs. so don't call Jackie. Ha, ha.

Also, found out that HP5 comes out on DVD on Dec. 11

Okay, it's after midnight and I should be getting to bed. I pretty much become grumpy within minutes of entering the store so it never helps to be tired grumpy before I get there.

a bit bruised

What do you put on a bruised ego?


Yesterday I got a phone call from the manager of the Bloomington receiving department. He wanted to tell me that he was on the committee responsible for bringing up receiving issues with corporate. He told me that he was going to the first meeting in Oct., and if I had any concerns I'd like brought up, I should get them to him before then.


My first thought was: Why wasn't I asked to do this?


I have been a receiving manager at least 3 or so years longer than this guy. I work in a significantly larger store, hence a larger receiving department. My department was one of the few in the district actually finishing our deliveries by the end of the day. I remember this guy calling me with questions when he first started out...and HE gets chosen to be a part of this group?


Now, the fact that I'm not sure I would want to be a part of this group has no bearing on the fact that my ego has been bruised. I didn't even know such a group was being created. I don't know if I was even being considered. The store this guy comes from is the one our District Manager came from so maybe she pulled for him. Maybe they wanted someone from a small store because they had larger stores represented already?


All I do know is that I was annoyed and a little hurt, probably for no reason other than my ego could use some bolstering right now and this seemed like a little poke in the gut. Errrggghhh....

Money is the root of all evil today.

Hey gang. Not a whole lot to report as I spent most of my weekend watching seasons 2 and 3 of Arrested Development. Hence the pic of the yum-tastic Jason Bateman. He's grown up well eh?

Just a quick story for you:

Recently I went on vacation to Arkansas. I took two of my remaining 6 days of time off. When I return, it took a while before I looked at my paystubs. First, because it's like pulling teeth to get someone to open the drawer to get to them. Second, because I have direct deposit I don't need to access them in order to have money.

I noticed I didn't get paid for either of my two days off. I left a note about one of the days figuring I'd just use the other to have one final full week of vacation. One of the ubers decided to add my prior unpaid vac. day to my last week of vacation. Fine, not a problem. Or atleast, there shouldn't have been a problem.

For reasons that probably involve the sacrifice of small animals and the laying of hands upon the shrine of the CEO, the company doesn't just pay you the extra vacation hours on your next check. Instead, it gets logged onto your next check and they do a paid out/cash advance at the store. Why? Fuck if I know.

I got my paycheck for my final week of vacation and notice that somehow, even with 48 hours of time listed, I made less than the check from the week prior when I had just over 40 hours. Hmmmmm. Looks like a screw up to me. I scan over the usual listings of amounts taken out for taxes, etc. when I notice a paid out of $85.

Strange, I never got handed this elusive $85. I asked the supreme uber about it today when I got to work. Seems someone did the paid out while I was on vacation. Obviously the most logical time to do it. Then no one bothered to tell me about it. There was an unsealed envelope in the locked change drawer up front with my name written in small letters on it. The envelope had been shoved to the back of the drawer. I'm wondering if anyone would have ever told me about it had I not discovered the discrepency.

I'm surprised anything functions in this place.

WATCH IT:

Arrested Development--all three seasons--everyone is brilliant, but my faves have to be Jason Bateman, Michael Cera and Jessica Walter. NO TOUCHING!!

LISTEN TO IT:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club--Berlin--I think this is the best song on the new album. Great to have on while driving.

READ IT:

Too tired. Read something later. Sleep now.

OH--the quote "You watched it. You can't unwatch it." is from Futurama. The "contest" doesn't seem to be going well, so from now on I'm just going to tell you who said what.

Drinking...only without liquor

Didn't have a picture relevant to today's blog so I just decided to pop up one I took of The Forum in Rome. The building to the far upper left is called The Wedding Cake. It's a big, white building that, when originally built, did not appeal to those who wanted to preserve the antiquity of this area of town. The Wedding Cake reference is a bit of a slam, but apparently people have eventually gotten used to the place.

Today was sort of a crappy day. I wasn't in the best mood when I came in the door and things did not improve. I don't want to bore you with the details, but suffice it to say a major project was taken on with little to no planning. Sadly, this lack of planning seems to be the norm at work. My little corner of the store is being over run in part because of the lack of planning and the seeming lack of concern over the lack of planning. Once again we go "oooohhh...we can make shit loads of money...let's do it!" without considering the logistics of the actual undertaking.

If I were a drinker, I would have gotten plowed after work. I am amazed I haven't become an alcoholic or drug addict at this point. Instead, I stop by the grocery store after work to get my fix. Frozen pizza. Little to no effort on my part, which in my mind is a treat after slogging at the job. I almost decided to combine the heart-attack-in-the-oven with the what-the-hell-let's-add-yet-another-chin ice cream, but the thin, cute high school girls hovering by that part of the frozen food aisle made me reconsider.

Is it wrong to want to smack most of the people I run into?

FRODO CRIME UPDATE:

Got some much more accurate info regarding the hobbit. Seems he got 12 months probation and only had to pay back what he stole. Once again, you need to get confirmation when the story sounds too good to be true.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHY OUR TRAINING AT THE STORE SUCKS:

Warning: This will make more sense to my fellow co-workers, but I'll try to tell it so all can appreciate it.

When we pull returns at work, we have this handheld scanner we use. You scan the barcode and if the title is due out the scanner makes a deedle-deedle sound. You then look at the screen and see how many copies you leave on the floor and how many copies you pull.

The other day one of our somewhat ditzy employees was scanning returns to place them on the correct shelves in back. I happened to walk near where she was and noticed she was scanning every copy of the 1 title she had. After she scanned about 4 or 5 of the same book (hearing the deedle-deedle each time), she looked up at me and asked if the sound would stop when she'd scanned the number she was supposed to return.

Errrmmm...yeah. See, the TITLE makes the thing beep. It will beep for every damn copy until we in back actually process the return. She thought the scanner would just know when she'd reached the number she was supposed to pull.

Think of it like this...it would be like placing an item into the copier and hitting the copy button every time assuming it would stop copying on its own when it reached a number only you knew (and which you hadn't entered into the copier).

WATCH IT:

Arrested Development: I'm almost done with season 1 on dvd. It's really sad this show didn't make it past three seasons as it is easily one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

LISTEN TO IT:

Nine Inch Nails "Starfuckers Inc.": Currently...seriously, I'm at the chorus right now...listening to the live version...good angry music for my angsty, frustrated soul.

READ IT:

Esquire magazine: The current issue features a great story on the To Catch A Predator show and just how much the line between being a journalist reporting the story and one creating the story is being blurred on this program. I've never seen a whole episode, but this article covers one I'm glad I missed. One of the "suspects" killed himself. The entire process leading up to his death was a fiasco. Read the article and you will question just whether or not this program, or any that follow its style should be allowed on the air. Let me just say this...of the 23 men "arrested" none of them could be prosecuted because certain legal parameters were not met. I'm not talking little tiny writing at the bottom of the page legal issues. I'm talking basic requirements that were not seemingly considered...all for the sake of television and ratings.