Hormonal Issues?

Comingsoon.net has some new photos up from The Incredible Hulk. This is actually a still from the seriously cool new trailer that you can see here-- www.incrediblehulk.com .

Today I got to help someone who I believe is a mother to a local white supremacist. He's actually doing major time for planning to get the judge on his last trial killed. Nice guy. Anyway, we got back the book she'd sent him because the facility doesn't allow books where a current inmate is named or discussed. Don't know if he was checking out his cell mate or not. I call her and tell her the book is here and if she brings in her receipt we can do a store credit for her since it's been more than 14 days since the book was sold.

She then gets all whiny and says she doesn't think she has the receipt because we don't always send it to her. This essentially means she doesn't come in to the store, instead she calls, makes us run around and does everything over the phone. I say, that's okay, I can do the credit, but since I can't see what she paid for it, she will be given credit for its current price. I had to explain this concept a couple of times. She wanted to know why we didn't have this info since she'd used her credit card. Errr...do you really want us to have all your credit card into just laying around for us to peruse madam? Think for two seconds, okay. I put her on hold so I could go to a register and I have to admit, I took my time getting there.

Wouldn't you know it? Chick hung up on me!! Eeeevilllll!!!! I ring up the transaction and call her back and she promptly tells me she's in the middle of a long distance call and I'll have to call her back later in the afternoon. Fine. About 4 hours later, after the mail has been picked up for the day, I call and get her address so I can mail her the store credit and her receipt. Part of me hopes it goes missing in the mail. She originally wanted us to keep the card at the store for her and she'd just use it the next time she decided to get a book and mail it out. Seriously--stupid, stupid, stupid. We lose employee property here because someone decides we need a big clean up and just tosses things out. How the hell are we gonna keep track of this little item? Arrrghhh.

I feel as if Ed Norton and I could do some bonding on my emotional state after this interaction. I am a bit less green though.

They're finally back!

After what seems like forever, Portishead have returned with their third album of original material called, well, Third. I am actually listening to it as I type (the song "Small" is playing). So far I can tell you that this is not your typical Portishead album. There is little of the trip hop that filled the first album and most of the second. This album is more experimental and in some places, really sparse. And right now, I'm feeling a bit blown away by it. I think it's going to take a few more listens, but I can see getting really into this record. I think Beth Gibbons has such a stunning voice that it's a pleasure to hear in any form, but it always sounds best when she's with the rest of Portishead.

Quick work story:

Today, after dealing with the light guys breaking 3 different fluorescent bulbs in back (thankfully I was no where near them when they fell several feet to their demise), I was heading back to the breakroom when I saw the Brinks money guy was standing outside the door. I asked him if anyone had paged a manager. He said he thought so, but couldn't be sure.

I let him in and then paged the manager on duty. It was Skippy who basically said, "It's going to be a while." Okay then. I told Mr. Brinks that I could get into the cashroom and at least he could set down the big ass bag of change he was carrying. I start looking around the cashroom to get him the money to "buy" our change order when I remember I don't have the code to the safe. Duh. Thankfully, one of our head cashiers happens to be heading out for the day so she comes into the room and opens the safe. We discover that no one has pulled out the money to exchange for our coin rolls so I snag the $590 and have the head cashier count it to confirm the amount. We bag it up and sign off on it, then realize that no one has logged out the cash deposit yet for the day so we do that too. We sign off on various things and get the man what he needs.

Just as we are finishing up, Skippy comes back and sticks his head in the cashroom. He asks if it's been taken care of. I tell him that I think so, but it's been about 7 yrs. since I've done this so there could be mistakes. Does he bother to check? Does he bother to ask me what I did to confirm that I did things correctly? Hells no. Seriously, I could have snagged cash and claimed I'd given it to the bank guy and would've had my ass fairly well covered. Sigh. Not saying what he was doing wasn't important, even though I don't know what it was he was doing...probably dealing with a customer, but it would have taken about a minute for me to tell him what I did and him to tell me if everything was kosher. Arrrghhh.

Michael Emerson is the coolest man on the planet.

It's not often that an actor can take a character that would usually be played as a straight baddie and turn that character into a complex and sympathetic entity. But, that is exactly what Michael Emerson does with Ben on Lost. If he doesn't freakin' win an Emmy for this season's work, it will be a crime.

This past Thursday's episode was filled with all sorts of great moments. We got "action" Ben, we got "devastated" Ben, we got "artistic" Ben, we even got "I control the frickin' smoke monster" Ben!!! Back a few weeks in Juliet's back story episode, I mentioned I was disappointed in the way Ben was made out to be too puppy dog pathetic. Or I think I mentioned it...perhaps I was talking to myself. Anyway, I was disappointed in that episode all the way around. I didn't fully buy Ben being that emotionally connected to Juliet. If he was going to be jealous, it seemed more fitting that it stemmed from control issues rather than a major crush. I always figured the bigger emotional draw would be with his pseudo daughter and Thurs.'s episode proved me right.

Ben is an evil man, sure. But.

Thanks to Emerson's performance and some pretty kick ass writing, Ben is very human and there are parts of him we can all understand. Actually, that probably is what makes him so scary. Well, that and the whole I'm willing to gas everyone to death thing.

In other bits and pieces, someone did a very funny video for the new NIN single that Trent has actually posted up on the NIN site. I particularly enjoy how Trent can apparently move his upper torso independent of the rest of his body. You can check it out on YouTube here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ZMKfFHU3U

Not much else to report other than I had to change the way our carts are organized in receiving land. We are trying a new system of sorting the books and part of it involves squishing things more tightly together. And unless we are talking about squeezing tightly between James McAvoy and David Tennant, seemingly no good can come of it. The funny-ish bit comes when I get handed the list for the new cart set up on last Friday, asked to review it with the idea that it will be discussed later, go to the manager's meeting on Mon., have to miss 20 min. of said meeting to do something with support services regarding some hardware, during those 20 min. completely miss the discussion that regards my own department, then find out I have till the end of the week to switch everything to match the list. Errrr....okay? Even better, I complete the switch and Skippy didn't say word one to me about it. The one highlight has been watching every one's least favorite employee look around at the carts completely baffled. Hee, hee.

I'll Dump Your Ass In Yemen

Reason #525 to love The Daily Show.





Here's a couple of other quick bits:
Nine Inch Nails have released a new single "Discipline" that you can get for free as an MP3 on their web site. It is fabbo--very danceable and sounds like it would mesh nicely with "Only" off of With Teeth. Don't know if this means there is another album in the works or if this means any time Trent works up a new song, he's gonna offer it up on the website first. Either way, it's cool as hell.

Went and saw The Forbidden Kingdom over the weekend. As a Jackie Chan fan, I couldn't pass up the chance to see him and Jet Li together for the first time in a movie. Their action sequences were great. You could tell that they were trying to best each other with every move. The movie itself was okay. The script falls a bit flat in spots--I got really tired of hearing the token girl constantly referring to herself in the third person until the very end when she has an epiphany of sorts (aka--she dies). Had her character been better drawn the moment might have had some sort of emotion tied to it, but I was just glad she wasn't going to be saying "she..." to start all her sentences anymore. I've become a fan of Michael Angarano and he did a solid job with what he was given script-wise. I would've liked to see more of his transformation from awkward teenager to competent martial arts bad ass, but I was probably asking for too much. (I'm hoping Snow Angels is going to come to town, but it probably won't so I'll have to wait for the dvd.) The movie is all about Chan and Li irregardless of what the script is aiming for. It was a fun way to kill an afternoon, esp. if you are a martial arts film fan.

Apparently this is national turn off your tv week. Sadly, this is also the week Lost comes back on the air. Hmmmm....wonder what's gonna win. Do you get points for not watching tv this week, taping everything you're missing and then watching twice as much tv next week? Probably not.

I love Jon Stewart...reason #425

long live vinyl

Probably should have posted about this before today, but I cheesed. I miss the days of the local record store. Granted, most of my memories stem from the record stores I went to in college, but I will always remember the excitement of buying a new 45 or LP and hearing that weird pop when you put the needle on the record.

I recall riding my bike out to Ben Franklin as a kid because there wasn't anywhere else close by where you could get music. I bought everything from Shaun Cassidy to The Go-Go's to REO Speedwagon out there. My favorite record store in college was a place called Record Swap. The first few times I went in I felt as if I was the dorkiest person there. Everyone else seemed soooo much cooler and knew so much more about music than I did. It was full of all the music I was just getting exposed to and it was intimidating. But, they had several cats that would sit on top of the albums and would lounge while you flipped through discs with one hand and petted them with the other.

I recall, and deeply miss, slip cue-ing records while I worked at WPGU. I vividly remember my hands shaking as I cued up my first record the first time I was on the "real" radio station as opposed to the one that was only available through the dorms. I remember having to perfectly time turning the volume up on one turntable while simultaneously turning down the other while also letting go of the rotating record I'd cued up that was going to play next. There is something intoxicating to me about the feel of a record.

If you have the chance, go support your local record store. If not, dig out some old LP's and put them on and remember. Or, if you're lucky, you can go put on something new...like say, In Rainbows, and remembering won't be that hard.

For more info: http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home

DId the Earth move for you too?

This morning I was awakened at 4:37am to the sensation of being jostled a bit. Or rather, my entire bed was shimmying like a bad 60's go-go dancer. My first thought was, oh, it's an earthquake. Seems I was right.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080418/ap_on_re_us/midwest_earthquake

The last time I recall going through one of these was back in college. My friend Teresa and I were sharing an apartment and going to summer classes. I think I was stretched out on the couch after what I am sure was a tough day of learning. I can't remember where Teresa was exactly. In the kitchen maybe? Bedroom? Anyway, suddenly the couch started to move, the windows shook and I believe a picture or two popped off the wall. It lasted a couple of minutes and it was a bit exciting and strangely fun. Being Midwesterners, we got a good laugh out of it.

making fun of Satan's minion

Okay, I realize I just posted, but I went to Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly which linked me to one story, which lead me to this...warning: adult illustration to follow
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/14/wall-street-journal-parod_n_96494.html


hee,hee

Mark Your Calendars

Today I heard what the official title of the new X-Files movie is going to be. X-Files: I Want To Believe. Okay, not the most original, but it does fit. Looks like I'm going to have to dig out my "I Want To Believe" poster.

In the interest of allowing you to plan your summer around movies (which is something I sadly often do), here's a run down of some of the biggies and when to expect them.

May 2- Iron Man

May 15-Prince Caspian

May 22- Indy 4

June 13- The Happening For a look at the cool and creepy trailer go here. http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=19636

June 13- Incredible Hulk

June 20- Get Smart

June 27- WALL*E

June 27- Wanted

July 18- The Dark Knight

July 25- X-Files: I Want To Believe

and just for kicks Nov. 21- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I'm also looking forward to Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?, the new doc from Morgan Spurlock, but I couldn't find a national release date for it.

See you at the movies!

Road Trip

This is about the best "action" shot I have from Sunday's Bulls game. As many of you know, I was/am a JJ Redick fan. Sadly, he only played for the last 3 min. of the game, but he did make 2 really cool passes in Orlando's 104-84 trouncing of Chicago. I'm not sure why he felt the need to untuck his jersey since I somehow doubt it got uncomfortably sweaty during his playing time. Perhaps it was riding up?

It wasn't the most exciting game I've ever been to in my life. I think I like the vibe of a college game much better. The Bulls just did not play well so there wasn't much about the game to get into. It's sad when the crowd gets more excited watching the graphics on the scoreboard during time outs. There was some serious cheering going on during the "race" between the coffee, donut, and bagel in the Dunkin' Donuts promo ( I think it was rigged). However, it ended up being an entertaining game thanks to the nimrod sitting behind me and Jinn. This guy had to be over 40 and was yammering on without regards to his sorely lacking understanding of whichever topic he was on.

He kept calling Joakim Noah "his guy, two National Championships!!" Then, he incorrectly said JJ had a DUI in college (sadly, it was during his rookie year with Orlando) and that took down his draft stock. No, what took down the draft stock was the question as to whether or not he was able to play defense at this level and whether he could continue to generate offense inside the paint as he started to do during his jr. and sr. years at Duke.

Oh, and he also claimed he could play for the Bulls if he were taller.

Now, I've jokingly said I could say...pitch for the Cubs when they haven't been playing well. But this guy was spit-take-ingly serious! He was also attempting to get the chick back to his place by offering her aspirin and a cool cloth for her forehead (apparently this is the new foreplay). Oh, and he called himself her "white angel." Not to be confused with The White Shadow, although that would be better if he wants to stay in the basketball theme.

In other news, we had a meeting this morning for all receivers and shelvers. I found out about said meeting on Thurs. night, about 2 days after most people were told. Thank goodness I didn't have to do anything other than sit there and get told how much we all suck. As usual, we spent about 1 hr. 40 min. listening, about 5 min. "discussing" and then meaningless "action plans" were written down, but we ran out of time to clarify if we are actually going to try any of them. To quote Talking Heads "...same as it ever was, same as it ever was..."

PBS continued it's Classic offerings with A Room With A View. Now, the movie version with Helena Bonham-Carter and Daniel Day Lewis is one of my all time favorite films so I knew I would have to stay open minded for this adaptation. I was hopeful since Andrew "Jane Austen" Davies was writing the screenplay. It was fairly decent, but doesn't hold a candle to the film version. I did appreciate the nudity and bonus smooching, but overall you didn't really get a sense of what it is about George that Lucy is so drawn to almost against her will. Again, my complaint is the adaptation should have been longer than 90 min. Everything just seemed to happen so quickly it was difficult to get into any of the characters. I did love the scenes in Italy--it was fun to spot places I'd been and think, gosh, there's the same church I went into, etc. This Sun. we get My Boy Jack featuring Daniel Radcliffe with a potentially unnerving 'stach.

WATCH IT:

Been awhile since I've done this bit, so here's a double whammy for you:

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day--a light, fun comedy that requires no thinking just an ability to enjoy the lovely Lee Pace and the hilarious Amy Adams.

This Is England--amazing story about an 11 yr. old boy whose father dies in the Falkland War and how he deals with his pain and loneliness by falling in with a group of skinhead kids who take him under their wing. The movie is really compelling and Thomas Turgoose, who plays the boy Shaun, is truly impressive.

LISTEN TO IT:

Muse-HAARP--a cd/dvd set that lets us experience the two night stand at Wembley (sp) from last year. I love them and I got chills the first time I heard Knights of Cydonia and Supermassive Black Hole makes me tremble in a good way.

READ IT:

Okay, if you're a girl you might be interested in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. The first book, Twilight was a breeze to get through and gives us the perfect teen romance between loner girl and vampire. The sequel, New Moon, didn't do much for me. I kept getting irritated with Bella, the loner girl. I'm ready to go on to book three before the final book in the series comes out later this summer. I am also re-reading Sense & Sensibility. Here's a question for you: if Willoughby had been less of a charming cad, would Marianne have wanted him/fell for him in the first place? He has no choice but to be bad in this story I think.

One last thing, I'd like to make a request of the people behind the John Wooden Award. Could you please not make the guys wear the weird letterman style coats over their formal wear during the award's ceremony? I saw the pictures of this year's winner, Tyler Hansbrough, and he looked like he should be parking my car.

Austen, Basketball and Trash TV

I'll get to basketball in a second. First, this past Sun. marked the last installment of the Jane Austen lovefest on PBS. I should quickly mention that my PBS station has survived to live another day....yeah!!! Anywho, here's how I would rank the films (new productions only):

1) Sense & Sensibility--Andrew Davies once again rocks as screenwriter. The actors are all solid; I especially enjoyed the performance from Elinor...I think she would have made a great Anne in Persuasion actually. My fave moments were Edward and Elinor's goodbye at the beginning, Edward coming in to see Elinor not knowing Miss Steele was also there, and the big "reveal" with Edward and Elinor at the end. Hmmm...do you know who my favorite character is by now?

2) Northanger Abbey--perfect casting and smart editing make this a breeze of a production that is just a pleasure to watch

3) Persuasion--still not totally satisfied with this one, as the movie version is so perfect

4)Mansfield Park--okay, but probably the most disappointing of the lot

Now on to basketball. My brackets were completely destroyed after the Final Four was played on Sat. I'm not sure what happened to NC for most of the first half. That was not the team I had watched a good portion of the season. Still, they came back which was impressive, but once their shooting went cold again, it was pretty much over. I saw a bit of some locker room interviews and I actually felt sorry for Tyler H. He looked so destroyed and shell shocked. He was out there working hard, but just couldn't make it happen in the end. Side note for Tyler, ditch the mock turtleneck. They barely work on women, and in no way, shape, or form should they appear on men. I'm just saying.

I was going to mention that Memphis's inability to shoot free throws bit them in the ass, but that's not really what happened. They lost all control in the final two minutes of the game, two of their best free throw shooters didn't hit their free throws and for some reason, they didn't foul at the end of the game. Kansas hits the 3 and into overtime we go...except Memphis didn't seem to show up for overtime. It really felt like they let go with that 3 pointer. Strange.

On a final note, for those in my area, Cheaters can be found on the CW on Sat. night at 8 and 9 pm. This week we had a choice quote from "the other woman." She has just been accused of sleeping with Woman A's husband and has denied it saying they hadn't got to that point yet and it was going to happen that evening (they were found at a hotel). Other Woman then goes on to say, "It's my vagina and I think I know what goes in and out of my vagina."

Wisdom for us all I think.

Oops...almost time for First 48

Okay, this is gonna be a quickie. First, I finally got around to picking up the new R.E.M. cd and I'm pleased to report that (at least through song #9) I frickin' love it! It's as if they went back and listened to everything from Reckoning to Document and went, gee, what was the best stuff we did, and moved forward from there. I'll go into more detail after I've listened to it all the way through a few times.

Part of the reason I took so long to pick it up revolved around another fabbo week in hell, a.k.a. work. So far my main night person has called in sick twice and my other night person got hurt at his other job so he's missed one of his two nights of work. I've been staring at the same boxes all week. I got stuck ringing at the registers because I'm nice. There was a line when I walked up there so I stayed to ring...even though the manager on duty took off. I ended up staying up there for 30 flippin' minutes before I could finally scurry off to go pee, which was why I'd gone out of my sanctuary to do in the first place. While gone, not one, but two of my trucks arrived. Sadly, while in the john, you can't hear people paging you. Seems I missed a page from someone at customer service. This person then paged the manager on duty and explained what was going on. Then, even though I hadn't responded to the first page, he pages me. I returned to the registers because there were some books to be mailed out that I offered to take to the back with me. While up there, the manager on duty comes up and asks me if I'm okay. I look at him strangely and say "yeah, I've just been trapped up here forever..." He then tells me I've got a truck at the back door so I go scurrying that direction. Apparently, opening a door and telling a delivery guy to wait a second is not a do-able thing. Arrrghhhh....