1.25.2007

Import, I say!

Now that The O.C. is officially on its way out, the search is on for the show that will receive the honor of having the best soundtrack on television.

And...search over.

While I swore I would never get into a show about high-school football, of all things, Friday Night Lights just had to put all of its episodes online when everything else went into reruns, leaving me nothing to watch during my lunch hour. Thanks a lot, nbc.com.

It's actually fairly compelling and well-made, and wins the "Best Soundtrack" award by virtue of playing at least 30 seconds of Explosions in the Sky per episode. Even if this was the only bit of music they played each week, they would still win. It's that good.

Sometimes I listen to EITS as I'm walking down the street and suddenly my actions become charged with narrative import.

Try it, it's fun.

1.19.2007

Brick by brick

Check it out, everybody! ComedySportz is building a new theater and they have a fancy-pants new "lookit whut we're buildin', y'all" website to go with it.

Yes, the personification of ComedySportz talks like that.

Anyway, you owe it to yourself (and to me, let's be honest) to go to this site, watch the hilarious video starring my roomie td, and consider seriously how much money you want to send our way.

Theaters don't build themselves, people. Let's all pitch in, like an old-fashioned barn-raising.

Only it probably won't get done in a day.

And the participants may never see each other.

And you're sending money in the form of little 1s and 0s through the ether instead of tangibly hammering something.

It's the same in spirit, is what I'm saying. Same in spirit.

1.10.2007

Flames on a Chrysler

This was the scene outside my bedroom window around midnight last night. Apparently the taxi and the flame-kissed ride both believed that they possessed sole ownership of the lane, forcing the sweet-ass hot rod into two parked cars minding their own business on the side of the road.

What followed was a mix of heavily accented yelling and drunken disagreement. It was my pleasure to overhear it.

Sorry about your totally sweet paint job, dude.

1.09.2007

Arranged for pep band

I rearranged my room recently.

If this does not seem like huge news to you, then:
a) you're right
BUT
b) you don't know me all that well.

Inherently contradictory? False choices? Faulty logic? Perhaps perhaps perhaps. Then again, I have a bit of a cold, so my brain is quite fuzzy.

Let it be known that I am very much a creature of habit. When I find something that works well, or at least okay, I'm not inclined to change that without a good reason. Room arrangements are the height of this particular foible. In college, I would often keep the same arrangement all year, while my notoriously rearrangement-happy roommate would often change his side just because he was bored.

If you have never had the experience of coming back to your room after a 50-minute class to find the entire paradigm of your living arrangement shifted, I highly recommend it. I recall I found it invigorating, if a bit unsettling.

So for me to voluntarily change things for myself takes a great deal of inspiration. Not surprisingly, this inspiration came from my roommate td. After seeing how positively adult her room became just from moving her bed out of the corner (and away from the chilling outside wall), I found myself struck with the intense desire to become an adult as well.

This effort was only partially thwarted by my extra-long twin*.

Not even because of the arrangement options, but because I don't know many adults who still sleep in a twin. I think one of the things that makes an out-of-corner bed "adult" is the newfound accessibility from both sides, as if two people were going to enter it. But I'll tell you right now, if someone else was planning on entering my bed at the same time as me, they better be prepared for a balancing act not seen since the Flying Codonas**.

Anyway, it's fun, I like it, I can play video games from my bed now***.


*What if I wasn't referring to my bed here, but in fact to my twin sibling, who was in fact even more extra-long than I? Can you even imagine?

**Yes, a trapeze act. Perhaps not the best reference for a balancing act, but come on. Fuzzy brain.

*
**Which is helpful in the last level of Katamari Damacy. I mean, you have only 25 minutes in which to roll up the moon, people!

1.07.2007

1.04.2007

Do you know your neighbor?

Coworker: There's a great tapas place up around Clark and School, I think.
Me: That's in my neighborhood. I should probably know where that is, but I don't.

Some quick research revealed that "in my neighborhood" is an understatement.

It's pretty much next door.

Look, in my defense, walking right by it all the time doesn't exactly give me a lot of opportunity to look at the sign. I can look inside though. So while I couldn't tell you the name of the place right off the bat, I can tell you that due to the nature of the restaurant, it cannot seat incomplete parties.

Oh, like you know your neighbors so much better! Don't judge me.

1.03.2007

I think I'll name him Clango

This little guy now resides on my desk, thanks to my awesome girlfriend and her awesome Christmas presents. He is easily now the coolest thing in my cubicle, although to be honest, it only had to topple the White-Out to earn that crown. (White-Out uses foam tips now instead of brushes! Can you believe it? Honestly, I think I preferred the brush.)

Anyway, he not only holds pencils, he sharpens them. Although again, to be honest, I haven't figured out how to make him do that. I can however, wind him up and make him walk around my desk. And that's way cooler than a sharpened pencil.

1.02.2007

Really?

Really, Jewel? Are you really sure that your generic-brand animal crackers are that amazing?


Really? Premium animal crackers? As in the best kind that you can buy, like premium gasoline? If you claim they're premium animal crackers, the griffin cracker (and there had better be a griffin cracker) should come to life and fly around the room.

Sure, they're passable. Decent, even. But premium? Really?

1.01.2007

Substantially more flopping


This year is going to be completely different.

My roommates and I have always enjoyed great banter sessions, but for some reason they would always happen in hallways. We just started talking wherever we ran into each other and stayed that way. This led to a lot of great conversations with one or more participants leaning against a door frame.

Well, no more.

Tonight, Tara waltzed right into my room and flopped onto my beanbag, declaring that 2007 will be different.

Tara: This year will involve substantially more flopping.

Jon entered a few minutes later and followed suit. We proceeded to enjoy each other's company for some time, talking about things ranging from Dreamgirls to the death of Farley, the dog on For Better or Worse. (Tara got choked up at this point and begged me not to call up the series of strips chronicling his demise.) All of this despite the fact that both of their heads were in extremely uncomfortable positions. I offered both of them pillows, but they refused.

I guess 2007 will also involve substantially more neck pain.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope 2007 involves substantially more of whatever you're hoping for.