Moebius Trip

Fillmore Jive

2006-12-18T07:02:00.000-05:00

It may be time to move on.

Yep, that's right.

I think I'm hanging it up.

No more blogging... for now, anyway.

***

I mean, how many times can I talk about the Eagles, about Ricky Gervais, about bands you've never heard of?

How many times can I talk about myself?

***

Don't answer that.

***

Anyway, I started doing this because, as I've told more than a few of you, it was mildly therapeutic.

I was working from home, I was going through a difficult stage, I was looking for some sort of release.

And now, things have pretty much changed completely.

***

And so, please-- feel free to stop by every once in awhile.

Because I still might post from time to time if the mood hits me.

And I might start this whole thing up again if things take a turn for the worse (though let's hope that that doesn't happen).

But for now, here's a list of my favorite albums of the year, followed by the sound of the door shutting behind me.

Thanks for reading.

***

20. Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
19. Morrissey – Ringleader of the Tormentors
18. Mountain Goats – Get Lonely
17. Division Day – Beartrap Island
16. Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics
15. Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
14. Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies
13. Lily Allen – Alright, Still
12. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
11. Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
10. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
9. My Morning Jacket – Okonokos
8. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
7. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
6. +/- - Let’s Build a Fire
5. Joanna Newsom – Ys
4. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
3. Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
2. The Long Winters – Putting the Days to Bed
1. Girl Talk – Night Ripper

LegalSource Knows How to Throw a PARTY.

2006-12-13T21:45:00.000-05:00

The LegalSource party (for our temps) just wrapped up, and while everyone seemed to have a good time, two of my favorite temps won BIG-- and when I say big, I mean, respectively, a trip for two to Las Vegas, and a 23" flatscreen television.

People really do win at LegalSource!!!

Better still was that people not only enjoyed the evening, but they also (horrors!) seemed to behave themselves.

***

The day itself was uneventful, otherwise. I had five or six unusually solid interviews, and one guy who was... um... not.

All in all, a decent percentage.

***

Here's the very latest on Herr Colbert versus the Decemberists.

I'd be careful, Mr. Funk... there appears to be nothing that our fearless leader can't do.

Nothing.

***

Just a phenomenal Pearl Jam-related post.

And just when I think Heather can't top herself... she gives us more here.

***

More videos... hooray!

***

All I want for Christmas is a pair of tickets to Brighton.

***

Anybody remember this show?

***

Computerized foosball? Are you kidding me?

***

Even by Billy King's standards... this can't be happening.

***

Last but not least, maybe the Warholizer would make you feel better.

Postponement

2006-12-13T07:15:00.000-05:00

I had a big post planned for this morning... but Chanukah / Hanukah / Hannukkah / Qaddaffi shopping got in the way.

Ah, well.

Hope you have a nice day, and that this extraordinarily well-done video tides you over 'til tomorrow.

Need to Feel Better?

2006-12-12T08:07:00.000-05:00

The Weekend in Sports

2006-12-11T06:32:00.000-05:00

Another great weekend.

Monica and I went up to Baltimore on Friday night to see Ilise and Paul, and to join in the celebration of Ilise's 25th birthday. Unfortunately, we didn't get there early enough for the 7-9pm ice skating extravaganza (or fortunately, perhaps, as apparently it was colder inside of the indoor skating rink than it was outdoors), but we did meet everyone up at the bar afterwards.

And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Even my financial planner was there. See, Ilise and Paul have hundreds of friends, all of whom I've met once before (save for Eileen, whom I'm pretty sure I've met twice)... either way, the place was packed.

And loud enough that I couldn't hear myself think. But it was still pretty great that Ilise and Monica were able to meet one another... which I think went well. The two of them lapsed into medical jargon so quickly that really, they could have been talking about anything and I would have done the dumb guy nod, as I believe I did a bit too much. We only stayed for a short while, given the longish drive home, but the night was a blast.

Until I came back to the car and found a parking ticket, for (wait for it...) parking in front of a bus stop.

Neither of us saw a f'g bus stop... nor any signs suggesting that we'd parked illegally. But hey, it was only $50... which somehow seemed reasonable, given that we were only two blocks from the bar on a very cold night. So, all in all, a worthwhile fine.

Thank you, Baltimore!

***

Saturday was a nice, lazy weekend day. Monica and I hung around, did a bit of shopping, grabbed a few meals here and there, went to a wine store for a mini-tasting of sorts... and then got together with her cousin Stacy for dinner in Bethesda.

Stacy was and is hysterical, and so the three of us had a great time. Lots 'o laughs, especially given all of the people inexplicably wearing 80s fashions at the restaurant.

***

Did the Eagles win again yesterday?

Didn't notice.

Maybe it was because they nearly gave it away at the end.

Maybe because it was the Redskins, and I never took the game seriously.

Or maybe it was because the game was so boring that I fell asleep midway through.

Anyway-- I was happy to have turned down the corporate seats for this one. Better to stay warm and doze gently throughout.

All the while winning a bet.

***

Last night, I watched the Da Vinci Code. And while I liked the book for being such an easy read... the movie was somehow less satisfying.

Not that I was looking for art, mind. But Tom Hanks seemed like he was reading his lines off of a page, and the whole thing.. I dunno. I wish I could say I enjoyed it more.

At least Ian McKellen was in it, and he, as always, was fun to watch.

***

Some Harmonium pieces might be coming in soon, but because it's the end of the year and I've been so busy... I'm not yet convinced that they approach my best stuff.

I'll let you know if my confidence in them increases.

***

Weird that Allen Iverson will be traded by tomorrow at the latest, according to reports.

Isn't this like having a body that's ridden with disease, and getting rid of the healthy parts?

Anyway, while you're still on our team, A.I., thank you.

I'm assuming you read my blog, of course.

If you don't... well, someone will pass this along.

Part One of Twelve

2006-12-10T12:08:00.000-05:00

Because you never saw it, that's why.

And because it might be the most hysterically bad achievement of the century.

Yes, the century.

Morning

2006-12-08T06:27:00.000-05:00

Apart from finally, finally catching up on the Sopranos (which came dangerously close to being bittersweet, as the show really was/is every bit as incredible as you'd been telling me-- shocking, I know), nothing new has been happening.

I'm sorry-- it makes for a crap update, right?

But look: work has been busier than usual. Not much more to say about that. Work is what it is.

I haven't been going out that much, either, though that's about to change, with all the holiday parties around the corner.

Oh, and I still can't fully shake this goddamned cough.

But apart from that, what else is new?

Nothing.

So, what's there to do, but unload some of the links I've found this week?

***

***

It's never too early to start decorating the tree (or the house!) with some lovely Christmas pornaments.

If you're a more adult viewer of this site, I could hook you up with some legitimately unsavory links, but... I wouldn't want to get you in trouble, now.

Not at work, anyway.

Thanks, though, to Vicki and Libby. Girl power, and all that. ;)

***

Get psyched for Rocky Balboa (I'm serious-- stop laughing at me) by reading one of the best (and longest) celebrity Q & A's ever.

The readers of AICN ask, Sly answers.

And drops gems like this throughout:

"The reason Rocky IV seems a little disjointed is because I was having a conflict with Bill Conti at the time and decided to go in a different direction, which I’m sorry for. Also, I think the whole premise of the film was based too much on “the fight” and not the personal struggles that preceded the fight. If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve hired Bill Conti, married Ivan Drago and punched out Brigitte Nielsen."

Outstanding, Sly.

***

Best thing about this is the theme song aping Coltrane about fifteen seconds in. I'm sure he'd be thrilled.

***

Thanks to Chris for sending this along, but as I told him, I don't think there's enough bile or racist content there to make it truly funny.

***

What if there was a classic NBA game and nobody noticed?

***

Some special Hold Steady goodness-- b-sides and the like-- can be found hyah. If you like what you hear, lemme know, and I'll hook you up with the real deal.

Cheap, too.

***

Actually, you probably should have checked this windowlicker out before you got into all the Hold Steady shiz.

***

A last musical nugget-- please catch up with me (circa 1994, as always), and learn about the glory that is Pulp.

***

Finally, this... can't be a good idea.

Can it?

One of These Days

2006-12-07T07:03:00.000-05:00

I'll post again. I miss you guys.

But I have another early meeting this morning... and you know, this is what happens when you, um, have another early morning meeting.

In the meantime, thanks to Chris and Jeff, I give you deadly dolphins:

Morning Surprise

2006-12-05T06:54:00.000-05:00

Somewhere between watching the Monday Night Football pregame show, clad in Eagles jersey and Eagles throw as though I were getting paid to look like a green clown of some odd sort and laughing as the Philly fans started to boo ON THE VERY FIRST PLAY OF THE GAME, and waking up a much-needed nine hours later, something strange happened.

The Eagles actually won the football game (though they booed their starting QB at one point when he actually stayed in the game after a hard hit-- though I guess that part wasn't all that surprising).

This was not a football game they had any business being in, either. Because these men... like a certain someone who we all know and love... they are broken in the collective.

How they beat a playoff-caliber team (and how I got nine hours sleep in the process!) is beyond me. But I'll take it. I'm not one of those "lose as much as you can so you can make wholesale changes and/or get a high draft pick" people.

Not now, anyway.

After all, this is a playoff team!

***

By the way, Keyshawn?

Just because we've been preoccupied with a certain other buffoon for a few years now, doesn't mean we don't have enough hate in our heart for you. Especially when you apparently spent the entire night, before the game and during, on the field and off, taunting the fans. From the Philly Inquirer:

"ESPN sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya reported at halftime that Johnson went down the tunnel taunting the Linc crowd about his success in Philadelphia, as a Buc, a Cowboy and a Panther. Johnson ended his evening pleading with officials for a pass-interference call, after he lost a jousting battle with Sheppard."

Hope you enjoyed your flight home, Meshawn.

Jerk.

***

Better news, news in the "I Feel Great!!!" realm, to be precise: Pat Croce was just named the new commissioner of this year's Wing Bowl.

A fantastic selection: kudos to those responsible for the choice.

***

It has started to get cold here in D.C., but I can't really complain, as apparently my sister is guiding little Ryan through his first winter, and... it's seventeen degrees or so in Columbus as she's doing so.

Michelle, if you're taking Ryan outside, are you putting him in fifteen layers of clothing, or sixteen?

'Cause I've heard it's best to layer.

***

Mom and Dad called to report in from Disney.

Apparently, my Dad found his way into the goddamned MLB winter meetings. Bumped into Jayson Stark, saw Peter Gammons, the odd team owner here or there, Mom was able to pick out Dallas Green...

And today is a golf day.

And it's eighty degrees.

I'm not jealous, though. Really, I'm not.

Really.

***

This link should be enough to tide you over 'til tomorrow, to say the least. Thanks to Pop Candy (what else is new), please check out the 50 greatest commercials of the 80s.

***

Oh, Rip.

***

Catnip.

Lately

2006-12-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been

* introducing Monica and Jeff to one another;

* helping a new recruiter get started at LegalSource;

* working to staff several projects at the same time;

* caring not at all for Philadelphia-based sports teams;

* missing my parents, who are at Disneyworld for the week;

* learning more about Gaithersburg than I'd ever known before;

* going to Clyde's and then to the best hockey game ever; and

* witnessing the greatest band in history in a live spectacle.

***

OK, so the D show isn't until tonight, but it's obviously going to be the greatest show in the history of mankind.

That's what they've promised, anyway, and so that's what I choose to believe.

***

Bob Ryan and the Sports Guy have some things to discuss with one another.

***

Speaking of worlds colliding, apparently the Decemberists and Stephen Colbert also have some things to discuss with one another.

***

Proving that ombudsmen can say what they want, but that they are generally powerless to change anything, here's ESPN's George Solomon, talking a lot and saying nothing about that racist asshole, the one, the only, Michael "SAME INTENSITY!" Irvin.

***

None of this will come as news to Jeff.

***

As a great maitre d' once said, I weep for the future.

***

Then again, there's always hope.

Current Mood

2006-11-30T10:26:00.001-05:00

My New Senator, For Better or Worse

2006-11-30T07:16:00.000-05:00

From the Jaker, which took this from the Washington Post:

At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him.

"How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.

"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.

"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"

"That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.

***

Here's a pretty great write-up, per usual, of Tuesday night's My Morning Jacket / The Slip show at the 9:30 Club, courtesy of the always fantastic Kyle Leafblower. There are even some shots of guys in wolf hats, so... you best check it out.

Once again, I need to leave this writing thing to the professionals.

Leaving Early

2006-11-29T07:04:00.000-05:00

So, after a second-straight fourth-place finish at trivia night, I ended up taking Mike home with me.

Meaning, sickos, that he'd had a few pops, and I drove him back to my place so that he could crash out.

Which is exactly what he did, right after playing roughly three straight hours of Grand Theft Auto.

Ah, Mike.

***

Let's all thank Mike, by the way, for pointing us towards Al Pacino checking his bank balance.

***

Whether it was because I was feeling ill well before Monday night had even began, or due to my getting very little sleep before Tuesday's 7:30am meeting, or whatever... yesterday was an absolute trial. I couldn't focus on anything, and what had been percolating as a cold, of sorts, turned into a sledgehammer-type thing by early afternoon. I could barely breathe at points.

So, I took off, went home, and slept for the next several hours.

***

I would have slept even longer, into the night, but I just had to go to the My Morning Jacket show. And though ordinarily I may have bailed, feeling the way that I did, I had Jay's ticket as well as my own. Plus, I'd been looking forward to the show for a long time.

So, with several Airborne tablets down, a shitload of liquids, several soups, some take-out Chinese ingested as well... I thought I'd done enough to get me through the evening.

Wrong.

***

I met up with Jay in time to watch the suprisingly enjoyable opening band, The Slip, who chose to play with wolf hats on their heads (don't ask, even though it was hysterical) before ending with an impressive cover of "Baba O'Riley"... and then made it roughly 8-10 songs into the MMJ set before (a) I needed to go to the bathroom, (b) I discovered that I couldn't possibly get back to Jay given the crowd afterwards, and that (c) I couldn't see anything from any other vantage point. I went upstairs, downstairs, along the sides-- the place was absolutely packed.

Damned sold out shows.

So, roughly one half-hour into this show I was really looking forward to, I bailed. The smoke and noise were almost certainly doing me no favors. And so, with apologies to Jay and the band, I left.

And felt next to no remorse when, as soon as I got home, my head hit the pillow and I conked out completely.

***

I'm feeling a good bit better this morning, even if Jay probably hates me.

I hope the day goes well.

***

Maybe one of these will be enough to win your trust, man. Thanks for understanding.

Avoidance

2006-11-27T18:44:00.000-05:00

First off, I'm writing this entry now, in the early evening, because I'm not going to really be here tomorrow morning.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

See, I have an early meeting with Steve scheduled, so that we can go over a few LegalSource-related things, and so... I'm probably not going to want / have the time to be blogging at 5am tomorrow, just for the sake of keeping pace.

Hence, the rare night entry.

(beat)

Moving on.

***

Not that you've really been wondering or noticing, but... the reason that things have been a bit sparse around here is that, well, things have been good around here. Work, play, the in-between... I have nothing whatsoever to complain about, these days.

Even the holiday travel was completely uneventful. Maybe it had something to do with my leaving at 4:30am on Thursday, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, I've been avoiding writing, because... no one wants to hear happy. No one wants to hear wistful this-and-that. No one wants to hear nice.

Bitching just plays better on the screen, doesn't it?

And so, in that spirit, I will avoid talking about myself, and cut to the links.

***

The big news, in case you missed it, was this morning's announcement that Wing Bowl 15, with a theme of "Philadelphia Versus the World," is a go.

Yes, kids, it's everyone's favorite time of year. This time, with a twist. Only five sanctioned professional eaters shall be chosen... and the rest of the contestants will hail from Philly.

Who will be chosen?

Will it be Sonya Thomas? Joey Chestnut?? Kobayashi???

ALL THREE???

Who the hell knows.

All I know is that I'm going to be nowhere near Philly that day, because, as so many of you remember... I've already experienced it first-hand. Especially if you've never read it before, I implore you to click here for part one of the four-part saga.

***

Jeff was kind enough to share something related, in a way. Wing Bowl, as you almost certainly know by now, was created by Al Morganti to essentially distract long-suffering Eagles fans from a weekend where... well, the Eagles rarely played.

Super Bowl weekend.

Well, Lord knows, we won't be there this year, either. This short clip might hint at the state of the city, following Donovan McNabb's injury.

Thanks, pal.

Though I might point out that we're still in the (most horrendously ridiculous) playoff picture (in the history of mankind). Check it out.

***

Something else kinda sorta fat guy and football-related? Frank Caliendo doing his Madden impersonation on Letterman.

***

Just when you thought you couldn't hate Bill O'Reilly any more than you already did... now he has a problem with your iPod.

***

Awesome.

***

The world needs superheroes. Bob Smigel provides.

***

If you like Ben Folds, you might like him even more after reading this.

Or, you might hate him more, if you were there on either of these nights. It simply depends on your preferences for "brown noise."

***

Speaking of music, the Washington Post did a fine job of describing the Hold Steady show I went to and failed to adequately detail.

***

Pearl Jam still rules (as does Heather). News at 11.

***

Gotta run... trivia night beckons. My Morning Jacket on Tuesday night.

Busy, busy man.

A Moment with Craig Finn

2006-11-26T19:07:00.000-05:00

I saw the sold out Hold Steady show last night at the Black Cat, and had, all in all, a pretty good time (alongside a roomful of hirsuite mooks and overweight English majors).

Not so good that I would go on and on about it, but good nevertheless. The Boys and Girls in America singalongs worked best, obviously... "First Night," "Chips Ahoy!" and "Party Pit" were particularly strong.

Anyway, before I forget... to see Craig Finn, the lead singer/chanter/speaker, perform-- it strikes you that he looks and acts like a bizarro cross between these two guys. Odd, to say the least.

(David Wain eating a pickle), and

(Milton).

Feel free to throw in a pinch of Benny from L.A. Law, telling everyone how much he loves them, and that this is the bestest night, like, ever, and that he might just explode from joy... and you've just about got it.

What does that mean? Who knows.

It's just that... there was a lot of artifice there. And if you buy into the Meat Loaf-style, so-impassioned-it-hurts style... it may be the best show you'll ever see.

If you don't... meh?

Me? Somewhere in-between.

***

Admit it-- you've missed these incoherent ramblings, right?

***

Everyone say "hi, Monica."

Hi, Monica.

***

The latest Ricky Gervais podcast (free! free! free!) may be the funniest one, ever.

Just saying, get thee to iTunes, post haste.

***

pavement - rattled by the rush
jane's addiction - obvious
kate bush - wuthering heights
doves - black and white town
manic street preachers - suicide is painless

Playing the Nap Card

2006-11-24T08:41:00.001-05:00

Dunderheads.

Ryan Sends His Best

2006-11-23T14:59:00.000-05:00

Classic

2006-11-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

Just as good... the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian, from a few years back. This was much funnier than the movie, in case you were wondering.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T07:45:00.000-05:00

Posts may be a little less frequent over the next few days.

Sorry about that.

But I hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend, anyway. May you be blessed with family, friends, health, little traffic on the way up and back, and most importantly, the NFL Network, so that you can see the life-changing THIRD GAME on Thursday night.

Enjoy Doves, and enjoy the time off.

You deserve it.

***

lmp - beautiful noise (find this song immediately)
girl talk - bounce that
jarvis cocker - i will kill again
the twilight singers - the killer/wolf like me
we are scientists - nobody move, nobody get hurt

Guess What?

2006-11-21T06:19:00.000-05:00

Videos are back!

And since I don't want to talk about what I did last night (not yet, anyway), and as I definitely don't want to talk about Michael Richards, how about a completely random, completely awesome performance by the Who?

***

The new office is fantastic, by the way.

Can't put my finger on why, exactly, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's a Philadelphia Eagles broadcast-free zone.

***

***

Yawn.

***

Rest in peace, Andre.

Finalities

2006-11-20T06:05:00.000-05:00

You'd think I'd be upset this morning.

For one thing, my football team went down the crapper yesterday when this happened:

As expected, WIP is on red alert this morning.

Then (back to last night), my plans for the evening got postponed. Not canceled, mercifully, just postponed. Still, I suddenly had an empty evening.

***

Didn't matter.

I'm feeling good.

Very good.

'Cuz we're going to Vegas. Finally. Chris, Jeff and I booked our plans for the trip yesterday afternoon.

On the opening weekend of March Madness, the three of us are going to be sitting in the sports books, in the casinos, in... other places (I think Jeff mentioned something about a donkey show)...

We might mix in a helicopter tour, see Prince at his new hotel, egg Siegfried & Roy's house... it's hard to know what we'll do.

All I know is that it should be a blast.

Though, for the record, I'm anti-donkey show.

***

What else? Oh... I'm leaving in a little while for the first day at the new place.

I've got my fingers crossed that it's a nice fit for everyone... and that Cafe Asia doesn't run out of sushi over the next few weeks.

***

Hogwarts is open again!

Columbus / Agent Zero

2006-11-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

From this, which made me mist up:

To this, which also made me mist up:

... yesterday was a pretty damned great day to be a fan of The Ohio State University. Though I had to stop watching the game after 3 quarters (more on that in a second), I watched the remainder of it this morning, and realized what pretty much everyone else did... that it was one of the more entertaining college football games of my lifetime.

Maybe that's just the victory talking; maybe if I were a fan of the maize and blue I'd think differently this morning.

For now, though, the Bucks remain atop every poll, and have one game left to play for the National Championship.

Very, very happy for my sister and her extended OSU family.

***

Oh. Penn State won, Cornell beat Penn, and Emory?

Well, Emory doesn't have a football team.

But they did get a big win this weekend, in their own special way.

***

The reason, incidentally, that Jeff and I had to put our beers down and step away from the television early was that I'd gotten tickets through work to go to last night's Wizards-Cavaliers game.

Which wouldn't be any big deal, except that we had sweet luxury box tickets, an additional two seats only a few rows from courtside, and some guy named Lebron James was in town.

Before Jeff and I left, I showed him a video I'd found; the most recent addition to the "that is the greatest thing I've ever found on the Internet" club, that seems to be growing at a horrifying rate.

No set up.

Don't even read the description when you click on the page.

Just watch the video for two minutes or so.

Then pick your jaw up off the desk.

***

Lebron seemed somehow off last night; the Cavs as a whole seemed pretty sluggish. A few nice passes, a solid dunk or two, but last night just wasn't the Lebron Show we were hoping for.

Instead, it was all about Agent Zero.

Fellow blogger Gilbert Arenas is now, officially, the Man. He was completely in the zone last night-- he had 45 points by the time they took him out with 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was unbelievable to watch.

Almost as entertaining as this.

***

Interestingly, no one dropped any Borat quotes or songs last night.

Nope, not a one.

.
.
.
.
.

Well, maybe just three hundred or so.

***

The game was great, but the luxury box and the company was better. No alcohol (allegedly), but tons of food and drink, as well as the appearance of a dessert cart that was re-goddamned-diculous.

Jeff and I were there, along with about 20 of Pete and Shari's friends, who were collectively (and individually!) a lot of fun. We went out for drinks after the game, and had as good a time as we possibly could, given that we were sitting outside in the cold for a half-hour at a time, watching as a drunken pastor with a cigar accosted our women, talking about his service in 'Nam, and generally bringing the mood down... albeit it in a darkly funny kind of way.

Maybe you had to be there. It played much better than it probably reads.

***

Shorties:

1) Gay penguins!

2) Chris Ott launches the opening salvo in the Great Nerd War of 2006.

3) Larry King: not quite as omniscient as previously thought.

4) Read the headline, but PLEASE don't stare directly at the picture.

5) And not a moment too soon.

Wait-- is that the expression that means, "this old fart should have been put out to pasture in the late 80s"?

The Season of the Nerd

2006-11-17T07:09:00.000-05:00

Well, we're not in the new LegalSource building, yet-- not quite-- but at least this is the last day of packing things up, of living in such tight quarters with such smelly, unfeeling boxes.

Unfeeling?

Huh.

Anyway, maybe that's been what's affecting my mood this week. The boxes. Come to think of it, it's probably just been the weather.

Either way, I was feeling much better yesterday. It was a good day at work-- productive, put a few people on projects, got a lot done-- and then...

I got a PS2.

***

I don't need to get into the how or why, except to say that it was through legit means. Point being, I was effectively given a Playstation yesterday, gratis.

And that, friends, is quite cool.

Granted, I haven't gamed (oh, God) since the heady days of the Colecovision and the first Nintendo unit, but I haven't lost my weird fascination with games, either.

So when the offer came, along with five pretty strong games... I hooked that bitch up to my television immediately.

And it looked... beautiful...

***

It made me think of a co-worker whom I'd spoken to almost a year ago, when I was explaining the whole marriage situation to him.

He got very excited at one point (which was unusual, to say the least), and effectively told me that "this was my chance!" or something to that effect.

Not my chance, mind, to date every woman in the city.

It was the perfect opportunity, he said, to get an Xbox 360, or a PS2, and make my place a real bachelor pad. Play Madden all day. Get a headset and play in leagues with this person in Idaho, or that person in Louisiana.

If memory serves, I laughed politely. Maybe I groaned, who knows. But on the inside, I was intrigued by the whole Madden part.

My only concern was that I definitely didn't want to turn into this guy:

***

After playing a few of the games last night, and getting a bit of a weird pre-teen buzz on... I went to eBay, bought Madden 2006 for spare change, and waited. Why 2006?

Only a few more days until it arrives.

C'mon... c'MON!!!

Just When You Thought You Hated Orenthal the Bus-Driving Murderer As Much As You Possibly Could

2006-11-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one who is really, really bothered by this?

I mean, who greenlights this shit?

Whose idea was it in the first pl-

Nevermind.

Calm.

***

On another note altogether... there's a lot of newly updated linkage over on the right-hand side.

Pulp is represented there by one of the best videos ever.

As in, you should watch it right now.

Anyway, lead singer Jarvis Cocker's solo album dropped earlier today, and it has made me very, very happy.

Anyway, whether you dig Cocker or not, enjoy.

Good Times

2006-11-14T22:32:00.001-05:00