Notes from a Sunday

I went to see Ray last night, and you know a movie has hit the right chord when the audience applauds after the movie. Jamie Foxx was absolutely remarkable...he has, at least, an oscar nomination locked up, if he's not already the frontrunner. It wasn't like it was watching jamie foxx impersonating Ray, it was as if Ray Charles was on the screen. It didn't glance over the ugly parts, either, dealing with his womanizing and heroin addiction honestly.

Twick ow Tweat

Tonight, I went with the sis-in-law to a trunk-or-treat thing with the kiddos. The bro is in brazil, my mom is in Switz., my dad is in the poconos, and her parents are in Florida, leaving me as the only adult in town to help out. So, after wok, I trucked on over to Clinton...
This truck-or-treat thing is pretty cool...we didn't have anything like this when I was growing up. People decorate the trunks of their cars and the kids go from car to car to get candy. I think there were about 80 cars at the elementary school, and a whole bunch of kids. The kids made off with a load of candy that I never got close to getting when I was a kid.
Man, I'm happy I'm not a kid anymore. People say it's easy and everything, but it's all relative. All the peer pressure, trying to fit in...it's when we build up all our defenses and our walls that eventually have to get torn down before we can live our lives. However, the excitement of discovering things for the first time. That's something I'd like to relive. It's gonna be great watching the little dudes discover it all.

About the weather

It's absolutely perfect weather today, which is why I'll do the only thing I can do at 1pm on a weekday: look at it through the window while I sit in my cube.
I guess one has to pay the bills somehow, but if there were ever a day that can cast doubt over that whole "bill-paying" thing, this day would rank up there.

Seeing the sky for the stars

Notes from a Wednesday:
* There is a lunar eclipse tonight, just about full now. Kind of reminds me of that song "somewhere out there" from the "An American Tail" animated movie in the 80s. Everyone out there is looking at the same sky, which kind of connects us all. So, somewhere, who knows where, my future wife is looking at the same lunar eclipse, waiting for the fates to work their magic. Jesus, mike, where does that bit of tripe come from?
*The trip to Europe is finalized, for the most part. I'm leaving on a jet place next friday for 10 days in Switzerland and Austria. Should be a nice trip, but I don't know how much of a vacation it'll be. It will be nice to see A. and his fiance in Salzburg, and I intend on walking aimlessly in Geneva to explore. I think I'll take my parent's digital camera to take some memories.
*The drink I'm having is really strong. Sheesh.
*I think I'm going to knoxville for the thanksgiving weekend. I thought I'd be going during Xmas, but alas, plans change. S. is in Chatanooga right now...I'll be interested to see how her trip went.
That's it for now. I've totally lost the ability to keep a train of thought on the track.

Zook is gone

So, the Gators finally got rid of Ron Zook.
Zook is 20-13 in three seasons
A familiar scenario for Zook
Pells on football: Overmatched Zook bows out from no-win situation
Zook thoughts
All the time when I went to school at UF, at the beginning of each College football season, we were among the favored for the National Championship. Not quite the same ship these days. After watching two last-minute defeats this season, I realized I couldn't watch them anymore for my sanity. After a humiliating loss to a team that was among the worst in the nation, the Gators are basically done for the year, and they have fired the coach.
Bring back Spurrier!! Please!

Sunday

Bar made entirely of ice opens in Milan
Opinion made entirely of not caring written below.
I guess I would be interested if they had this place in New York. But they don't, so... I suppose they couldn't have a bar like that here because you just know some smart ass will ruin it for everyone by pretending to fall and then suing the bar. That presents a question, of course: how do they ensure that people don't slip as they walk to the bar? I'm assuming the floor is made of ice too. Actually, I might just go to Milan so that I can be entertained by drunk people trying to get drinks. The sheer entertainment of drunks on ice.

The glass separates us

Went to see I Heart Huckabees tonight. Really dug it! This movie will certainly deserve a second viewing. I want to delve into the philosophy behind it all, as they may have just skimmed from the top. Plus, the movie had so many ideas to think about.
I guess it boils down to this: we are all connected, and positive and negative swirl around the center in an infinite spiral...or something like that.
Listening to Keane at the moment, and they have crafted what is nearly a perfect pop song in "somewhere only we know." The lyrics are something I can relate to, especially:
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin

Poll me

I don't know about you, but I am sick of these daily polls and am really eager to get this election over with. I have a feeling it's going to be a handful of people in a few states determining who will lead us for the next few years. You handful better not mess it up!
At least Electoral Vote has Kerry ahead in the electoral count. So, we have that going for us, which is nice.
Tonight, I plan on seeing I Heart Huckabees. There'll be a few movies that come rolling down from Hollywood this fall, so hopefully this is one of them.

Red clay

We were playing Ray Charles's "Georgia on my Mind" at the store the other night, and for the first time that I can remember, I felt nostalgic for the south. Not just the friends I have there still, but more for actually being in the south. I miss being able to drive over the border between Florida and Georgia and thinking "this is my home." I went on so many road trips in georgia or driving through georgia on the way to knoxville, and the memories I have of those are some of the most vivid and detailed memories I have.
The one that jumps out at me is a road trip I took to Savannah with my roommate Greg. We thought, because we were told by our other roommate, that there was going to be a huge St. Patrick's Day parade there. Seemed like a fair enough reason to go on a 4 hr road trip. PIus, I had a thing for this Irish girl at the time. (I like Irish women, I guess.)
Anyway, we left really early, like at five or something. Greg took the first driving shift, and our way through Waldo, Fl., which is one of the worst speed traps in the country, and promplty got himself a ticket. Kind of a buzz kill, that. We drove on, and once we got to Savannah, we found out that we missed the parade by one day. Turns out our roommate had gotten the date wrong. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around what is one of the most beautiful towns in the South.
On a side note, Greg had a picture of a girl he was kinda seeing at the time that was taken in Savannah. It had a street sign in it, so we were able to track down the street and were able to take an almost exact copy of the picture.
I had driving duty back home, and on the next day, while I was driving through Gainesville, I was nabbed for my one and only speeding ticket. Greg got a pretty good kick out of that when I came home with that news.
I also took several trips from Gainesville to visit my sister in Knoxville. I have such a clear memory of those trips, even down to the Wendy's I would eat at off the bypass by Macon. Also, when I stay in Knoxville, I would invariably visit Gatlinburg. Now, my memory of that place is too detailed. There's a small mall there, and I would make a point of going to the used music shop at the bottom floor. I also remember buying a pack of Gitanes at the tobacco shop on the thrid floor. I remember everything as if I just experienced it yesterday. It's really strange ,and I can't quite explain.
I had a chance to live in Knoxville once I finished school, but I decided to come up here, And before I knew it, I had a job and was settled in. The last five years have certainly seen there up and downs, and although it's never really useful to think of what could have been had I stayed in Tennessee. I think it would have been a bit easier to meet people. I'd have loved being in such close proximity to a huge national park. Who knows...I could be married with a kid by now.
However, it's balanced by the fact that I can take a train into NYC whenever I want, have a slice of the best pizza anywhere, and experience a bit of the best city in the world.
I guess it's better to grab joy in what you can have than think of what might be, as that's an illusion.

Jon Stewart on "Crossfire"

Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show fame, went on the CNN show "Crossfire" show last week. There's a transcript of the show here, and you can see how Stewart totally goes off on shows like Crossfire and then kinda gets into with the hosts, especially Tucker Carlson, whom he called a "Dick." Check out the video, which is about 13 minutes long...
Here's a nice sample:
STEWART: It's not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery. And I will tell you why I know it.

CARLSON: You had John Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you're accusing us of partisan hackery?

STEWART: Absolutely.

CARLSON: You've got to be kidding me. He comes on and you...

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: What is wrong with you?

(APPLAUSE) CARLSON: Well, I'm just saying, there's no reason for you -- when you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy's butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It's embarrassing.

STEWART: I was absolutely his butt boy. I was so far -- you would not believe what he ate two weeks ago.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.

STEWART: You need to go to one.

The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...

CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.

New Tunes

Thanks to a nifty discount at the store, I picked up three CDs this weekend, which I've not yet been able to listen to all the way through:
Brian Wilson -- Smile
REM -- Around the Sun
The Shins -- Oh, Inverted World

It's a beautiful day outside, albeit somewhat cold. Makes it a drag being sutck inside this building.
I've been thinking about starting a Web site (not just a blogger-type site) that deals exclusively with music. Kinda along the same lines as Gawker, at least in format, but without the snarkiness. Or snarkiness as an editorial requirement. More to come, if there is.

Mad puppet love, baby

If there's only one R-rated marionette puppet action movie that you see this year, you have to go see Team America: World Police. That was the funniest movie I've seen this year. I thought I'd never get to see marrionette puppets vomiting, but thankfully, that wish has been fulfilled. It was so over the top and out there...I may have to watch it again to see if I missed any jokes.
You do have to go into it leaving politics at the door. Plus, you can't be overly sensitive, as you will most likely be offended. However, it's a good laugh, and you'll never look at puppets the same way again.

Stuck on a desert island

There's a thread going on over at wxpn's discussion boards for the top ten desert island albums. Here are mine, but in no particular order:
Bob Marley -- Legend
Jimmy Buffet -- Songs You Know By Heart (note: you can take me out of Florida, but you can't take the Florida out of me.)
Van Morrison -- Moondance
The Cure -- Disintegration
The Beatles -- Abbey Road
REM -- Automatic for the People
Simon & Garfunkel -- Greatest Hits
David Gray -- White Ladder
Bob Dylan -- Blood on the Tracks
10,000 -- Our Time in Eden

I just want to be your everything

I have absolutely no idea why I like this song from Andy Gibb, "I just want to be your everytning." I heard it on the way to work, and it exemplifies nearly everything that was wrong with music in the 70s: trite lyrics, music that comes across as if it were made it the studio that day...
However, despite all that, the song rocks.

The last debate

I gotta say that the first half of the debate went by pretty quickly, and I thought that Kerry was on the offensive. I was just listening to Fox New's" recap and they said the opposite.
However, the last part just seemed to drag, and de-evolved into some sort of numbers game...and then they started talking about praying. Bush also ducked a few questions, including about minimum wage.
Overall, the debate was blah...Kerry got a good line about Tony Soprano, and Bush seemed genuine with the closing remarks and the question about family. I don't think this debate will have much effect overall.
I worked at the store last night, and we closed with four people. I hope tomorrow night won't be like that, because it's deadly dull...especially if there aren't transactions for 15 minutes at a time.

Learning to leave well enough alone.

A friend told me she wasn't feeling well the night before, so I sent a picture of a campbell chicken noodle soup can. Fairly clever, right? Yeah, sure, of course!
I should have left it at that; she responded by saying she didn't like soup but liked the can as a symbol of comfort. My instinct told me not to respond, but sure enough...I responded(first mistake) by saying I never get it right with her. I was teasing about her not liking soup, twizzlers, or coffee (as per previous conversations and my attempt to ask her out)... I even left a ;) to show I was teasing. It was an innocuous response, but for some odd reason, I re-read it and thought it was mean, so i sent a note saying so. (second mistake)
She didn't think it was mean, because it really wasn't, but I managed to come across like a tool for covering my bases. So, this is what I've learned:
1) I should trust my instincts more often when it comes to email.
2) I am significantly less clever between 11am and 4pm than I am at any other time. For example, "Imagine dancing chickens." Purely a symptom of lack of food, right?
3) By all means, I shall never reread my email after I've sent it to look for hidden contexts, because they are most likely never there.
4) Once you have a clever idea, exit stage door left and be prepared for the next day. Don't try to push it.
5) Sometimes my imagination works, and sometimes it doesn't. To give myself some credit, it works more often than it doesn't.

In other news, the debate's on tonight. I haven't decided whether I want to watch it. For some reason, they are tied nationally but there is a 70 point electoral count spread favoring Bush. What the f--- is up with that?

concert

I've been listening to the Vote for Change concert through wxpn. I think the satellite hook up went down for a bit, but I think it might be back up now. It's been pretty good so far...

Christopher Reeve 1952-2004

I would have liked to see him walk again.

Superman's Song - Crash Test Dummies
------------------------------------
Tarzan wasn't a ladies' man
He'd just come along and scoop 'em up under his arm
Like that, quick as a cat in the jungle
But Clark Kent, now there was a real gent
He would not be caught sittin' around in no
Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job
Even though he could have smashed through any bank
In the United States, he had the strength, but he would now
Folks said his family were all dead
Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself
To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Tarzan was king of the jungle and Lord over all the apes
But he could hardly string together four words: "I Tarzan, You Jane."

Sometimes when Supe was stopping crimes
I'll bet that he was tempted to just quit and turn his back
On man, join Tarzan in the forest
But he stayed in the city, and kept on changing clothes
In dirty old phonebooths till his work was through
And nothing to do but go on home

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Vacation

S. is planning on going to Italy for a week in March to meet a friend, and she asked me at work if I had ever gone. Before my family and I moved to the states, we may have crossed the border from Switzerland to Italy for a few day trips now and again. However, since I don't quite remember any of those trips, it doesn't really count, does it. In the summer of 1989, my family and I went to Europe for the first time since we left nine years previous.
During that summer, my sister had a job in Florence with some sort of fancy dishmaking company who had its headquarters in Florence, so I, along with my mom and brother, went to Florence to visit her. I remember how much my brother hated driving in the city. We basically parked the car and left it in the spot for the five days we were there. Those drivers were just nuts!
I remember lots of walking, a few musuems, great food, and then some more walking. Also, the bathroom in my sisters apartment was just plain weird. They basically just stuck a shower attachment on the wall and left it at that. There was no stall and no shower curtain, so when you took a shower, the whole bathroom got wet. It always takes me a while to get used to bathrooms and showers I'm not familiar with. Hey, everybody's got their idiosyncracies. Nevertheless, the trip was great, but I may have been too young to really enjoy it.
S.'s future trip has gotten me to thinking of my dream vacations, one of which would be going back to Italy.
Dream Vacation #1: Go back to Italy and visit the Amalfi coast. Better yet, I want to rent a convertible and drive along the coast, starting from Rome and going all the way to Monaco, which kinda puts me into ...
D.V. #2: I want to visit Monaco so that I can watch the Formula 1 race in Monte Carlo. I'm not especially big into car racing, but it's a race I have to see. Plus, once the race is done, I can just myself on a corner somewhere and see the world's most expensive and unique cars go by. That place is just sick money.
D.V. #3: Ireland. This place has been on my mind since the early 90s, but I've never had a chance to go over there. I imagine the countryside is the greenest green one could ever see. I also picture rolling hills as well as seaside cliffs. It must be one of the world's most beautiful places...plus, I'm guessing there's some wicked cool gothic castles.
D.V. #4: At one point, I'll get married, and I want to go to Paris for the honeymoon. Cliche, huh? I suppose so, but it is supposed to be one of the most romantic cities in the world. Well, I guess a beach in the caribbean would be nice, too.
I have some travelling to do.

Thunder Road

The 88.5 WXPN site has been toast for the last two days, so I haven't been able to check the final of songs. I was able to listen to the final 20, and it was a great mix! I think two of the songs I chose for my top ten ended up in the official top ten, and a few songs that wound up in the top ten were close contenders for my list: "Into the Mystic" Van Morrison; "In My Life" The Beatles; "Imagine" John Lennon.
Considering that I derived the name of my site, and my email, from the Van Morrison song, i'm surprised i didn't put it in my list. I guess the Left Banke song coulda gone...oh well.
"Thunder Road" hit the number 1 song, which I think is a fitting conclusion to the countdown. Plus, it's my favorite Bruce song. Whenever those countdowns come around, it's always the same songs that wind up in the number one spot: granted, Bruce Springsteen is a usual suspect, but the song that comes out on top is usually "Born to Run." So, it's nice to have a bit of a switch up.
Great list, PSoTD. What a cool mix...really like the Roxy Music selection.

Just nod if you can hear me.

If you go to Electoral-vote today, they'll have a link to an interesting picture. There is also an article in Salon.com that kind of explains it. It looks suspiciously as though the president may have been wired during the first debate, and the speculation is that he may have been receiving information through an ear piece.
You can also check out Is Bush Wired for more info.
The Milli Vanelli president. Nice.

Countdown

88.5, WXPN is now holding its 885 greatest songs countdown. I think they have 300 0r so songs left to go. They've got themselves a list of the songs as they play them, so you can keep track. You can also go to theirdiscussion boards to say what you think of everyone's selections.
I picked my top 10 a while ago. If my songs appear on the countdown, I'll post it's rank in red:
10. THE LEFT BANKE - Walk Away Renee -- 805
9. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND - Thunder Road -- 1
8. MARVIN GAYE - Let's Get It On -- 111
7. PAUL SIMON - American Tune
6. NEIL YOUNG/STEPHEN STILLS - Long May You Run -- 763
5. BOB MARLEY - No Woman No Cry -- 23
4. BOB DYLAN - Positively Fourth Street -- 84
3. THE BEATLES - Let It Be -- 12
2. THE BEACH BOYS - God Only Knows -- 44
1. THE BEATLES - Here Comes the Sun -- 40

I want to see where they all stack up once the countdown is over.

49 ceiling tiles

We're having a bit of a computer system problem here at work, so for the moment, we don't have anything to do. I was going to invent a game called cube golf, but I left the pitching wedge at home, so that idea was a no-go.
I've worked the last two nights at the bookstore, and it's going to take a while to get used to the schedule...i think I've mentioned that already. I'm tired when I get home, and it's really slow after 10pm, but at least I sleep well.
I missed the debate last night...I don't think I missed much, as most people seem to think it came out as a draw. I was talking about it with my brother, and he quoted poll results back to me. They were actually right, too! I thought he was kidding...it's the first time he ever quoted polls back to me. I never thought he was all that interested in the election.

Would you like email with that?

I asked for a few extra shifts at the bookstore during the week to add to my lone sunday. They called me in yesterday cuz someone called out again (she's getting a bit unreliable in bookstore world. If she calls out during the week, I may get some hours. If she calls out on Sunday, the day turns sour, as we're shorthanded already. I don't think that's on her mind though, when she does it. I digress). This is gonna suck, but the payoff will the nice, as the few extra days will pay for a flight to europe in november.
It's been well over a year since I've worked during the week, and it's just as dull, if not duller, than as I remember it. There's absolutely no one in the bookstore after 1030, so the evening drags on. It's going to take some getting used to, this new schedule, so I don't fall asleep at the register. However, I'm thankful for the hours, and it'll be nice being able to pay for this trip in cash.
I'm going to miss the VP debate tonight because I'll be at work. I hope Edwards does well, and has Cheney for dinner.

Monkeys are funny

Hehe. Monkeys. They're funny. Especially in political cartoons:
Kerry 1, Bush 0

Well, that's unfortunate

On my way to my parent's place in the poconos, I drove by a town called Buttzville. Now, that must be a bummer to explain. Not only do they live in New Jersey, they live in a town called Buttzville, in New Jersey. The conversation must go something like this:
Someone from somewhere else: So, where are you from?
Buttzvillian: I'm from a small town in New Jersey.
SFSE: Oh man, New Jersey?! Isn't like one giant, stinking asphalt parking lot? That must suck.
B: No, that's only Newark. Once you get away frrom the highways, it's really nice.
SFSE: (dubiously) Yeah, ok. So, where from in Jersey?
B: Buttzville.
SFSE: Dude, you're joking.
B: Nope. There's a town called Buttzville, and I'm from it.
SFSE: So, you live in a state that everyone considers the armpit of America, in a town called Buttzville. You make it too easy, brother.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to hit Hot Dog Johnny's. My roommie was there last week, and it's supposed to be a New Jersey landmark. I'm becoming more New Jersey-ian everyday!

A compliment

I received a compliment out of the blue today, so I decided to institute something called a "compliment day." It's where you offer people that you know compliments, without expecting anything in return. The hope is that they will send compliments to others that they know (preferably not to the person who sent the compliment originally), and that it keeps on going that way. It would be even better if you send compliments to those that would least expect them from you.
The idea is to make people happy and make them smile, even for a little bit, and to spread that happiness around. It's a hokey idea, I admit, but I don't care. It's good karma. I suppose this morning I woke up just a bit less cynical than usual. I normally would not come up with such New Age-y ideas, but what can it hurt.
I guess the idea is kinda similar to the plot of the movie "Pay It Forward." I apologize for any similarity to that piece of shiite in advance.

Switch

Kerry referred to John Eisenhower in the debate yesterday, and said Eisenhower has written an editorial as to why he will vote for Kerry:
Why I will vote for John Kerry for President