By Bye First Ammendment Pie

U.S. students say press freedoms go too far
This article scares the bejebus out of me. Government approval for newspaper stories?!?! If we're raising 30% of students to think that this is a good idea, we're in worse shape than I ever actually thought we were. Are we raising a bunch of deluded, blind sheep who have no capacity for critical, intellectual thought?

$12,000 a horse

I was flipping through the channels and I happened upon the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction. I'd love to go there one day, as they parade an alomost endless array of the most beautiful, shiniest, and chromiest cars in front of drooling car nuts. It's like car porn.
Anyway, I just saw a dude spend over $3 million on a car! Granted, it's a one of a kind designed by Harvey Earl, but still, $3 million!! 1954 OLDSMOBILE F-88 GM CONCEPT CAR. That kind of price is usually reserved for the likes of Duesenbergs and Auburns, but this year, the market seemed to be really hungry for good ole detroit steel, especially the muscle cars of the 60s and 70s. I saw several Corvettes sell in the hundred thousands. Wow.

I'm on the phone, disconnected

Those little cell phone head set things completely throw me off. Every now and again, I get these folks at the store; they say a quick "hi" to me and then continue talking to air about having to buy toothpaste or something. For a very brief moment, i think they're talking to me, ("Dude, I don't really care if you have to buy toothpaste.") but they're really talking to someone else over that head set. I think it's already rude enough if people come through the line talking on their phone, but it's doubly annoying with those headsets. It's like they're completely disconnected from reality.

Margaritaville

I heard Jimmy Buffet on the way to work. What a nice image, hanging out at the beach and sipping a cool drink. Then, I realize there's still snow on the ground and its 10 degrees outside. There's absoultely no reason for it to be that cold.
Here's something interesting. Former Beatle to Voice Animated Superhero.

Starr's alter ego is described as an "evil-battling, Earth-saving — though reluctant — superhero with a great sense of rhythm."

Doesn't that leave you scratching your head?

We wuz robbed!

I cannot believe that Paul Giammati was not even nominated for Sideways. What does the dude need to do, die on screen or something?! This just blows my mind. At least Thomas Haden Church was nominated.
Here's a brief list. The rest are here.

Best Picture
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS

Achievement in Directing
THE AVIATOR
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS
VERA DRAKE

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA
Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Jamie Foxx - RAY

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR
Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS
Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL
Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clive Owen - CLOSER

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening - BEING JULIA
Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE
Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney - KINSEY
Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS
Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA
Natalie Portman - CLOSER

The Aviator

Went to see The Aviator last night. Wow. I never thought I'd say this, but Leo DiCaprio was brilliant and I think Martin Scorcese will be the odds-on favorite to wind for best director. It always amazes me what they can do with technology and film. The sheer scale of the scenes (the spruce goose flying), yet the fine attention to detail...man, I can't say enough. It's what I go to movies for.
The Oscar nominations will be announced soon. I'll put them up forthwith.

Snow Man

When you get snow, you have to play in the snow. Have a happy snow man.

That's my car there

I can imagine that it's going to take me a while to dig my car out.

Blizzard, part one

This is what it looks like from my apartment. I don't think they've gone through with a plow since yesterday evening, so it's going to make it adventurous if I actually do have to leave today. As if anyone is going to a bookstore today.

Huh

Well, that was weird. I just watched American Splendor, and I'm not quite sure what I think of it. It wasn't bad or anything, but so disjointed. Surreal.
It stopped snowing for a bit, but I've heard that it'll start up again some time this evening, with a further accumulation of 2-4 inches. Well, we'll see.

There's nothing on

Apparently, 75 channels are not nearly enough. Every local channel is on news about the storm. Here's an update: more snow, more wind, more cold.
I'm flipping the channels:

• The Lawrence Welk Show freaks me out. I don't know why, but I think it might have something to do with the clothes and the natty music. It's like watching white bread.
  
• Have you ever seen Rick Steves's travel show? It's a great show, bad pronunciation of foreign languages notwithstanding. However, I just saw him eating pigs ears in Spain. To quote him, "Crunchy."
  
• Rachael Ray is a babe. Now, let's say you were going out with her? How much pressure would you feel cooking her something for dinner?
  
• OK, I get it. More snow.
  
• VH1 loves the whole nostalgia thing, don't it? At least it's kinda funny, and it's keeping Michael Ian Black in front of the camera. His brand of sarcasm is illegal in at least 14 states.
  
• They are still talking about the inauguration?! How is this possible? Are you guys that lacking for material?
  

I have American Splendor waiting on DVD for me, and I really need some food.

And I live here why?

Think of the pizza. Think about how nice it is away from the strip malls and the asphalt. Think of how nice spring and fall are, and how much fun summer is!
It's been snowing for five hours now, and it's gonna keep coming down something fierce for the rest of the evening into to tomorrow morning.
At least I don't have to go anywhere for the rest of day. I went to Hopewell earlier to bring my dad some food--otherwise he'd have been bored beyond belief watching the gallery, not to mention hungry--and the roads were already to get pretty messy. It doesn't help that my car isn't very good in the snow. That's one benefit the old toyota had. The higher-profile tires gave the car a better grip on the snow.
I was kind of annoyed today that there hadn't been much plowing and that the roads were as bad as they were. Where the hell were the plows!
Right now, the cat is staring out the window, looking at the snow. I'm listening to Peter Gabriel's "Here Comes the Flood."
I like watching the snow fall. It mutes everything, from colors to sound. It's so peaceful.

Before Mid-Afternoon Snack

I watched Before Sunset last night. I wanted to see it in the theater, but i think it just happened to pass me by.
I remember seeing Before Sunrise in the theater in Gainesville when it came out in 1995. I loved it, because I guess I can somehow relate to it, and I always wanted to know what happened to the characters after that. I want to thank Richard Linklater for digging up the characters again and making a sequel, which was kinda risky, considering the first was great, but only a cult hit at best and featured a lot of talk. (not that I think there's anything wrong with that!)
I loved it. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters again, and the fact that so much of it was improvised attest to how strong the characters are and how talented Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are (they each got a screenwriting credit for it, because so much of it came from them.)
I guess we'd all love to get a second chance with someone who got away. I know I certainly would (My god, there's several!) Bring back the romanticism and naivete of youth.
I think I have used far too many parantheses in this post. (But, oh well.)

Old school

To all the other dudes and dudettes who grew up in the 80s, you may remember a kick ass video game called Galaga. I loved that video game, and I spend countless quarters down at the arcade at the Reitz Union.
I just bought this...I can play Galaga right on my TV screen! Well, I could have played it on TV years ago, but the cool thing about this is that there's no console and you can take it anywhere.
My nephew got this for christmas, but my brother and I have been hogging it. We were even able to use it on the drive up to maine. How cool is that?
If you want a retro kick, you may likey likey.

4 more years

The kind folks over at Jibjab have reminded me that GWB has another four years to play with. I've been living in delusional oblivion for the last two and a half months, thinking that his re-election was just a nightmare. I was wrong; it wasn't.
Anyway, you may enjoy their latest entree, "Second Term." Enjoy it with a side of fries.

Climbing a ladder

So, I actually got a promotion today at my 9-5 gig. I don't think I've actually ever been promoted, so it's a nice feeling. I wonder why it's worked out here than at the other places I worked? Did I need to go through the other places to be able to succeed in this one? What would have happened if i started here right after school rather than done that whole dot-com refugee bullshit?
I'll stop with the questions. At least I think I'm moving in the right direction.
Another plus is that working at the bookstore is completely voluntary now. I'm going to wait for the perfect opportunity to quit, too. Once I get a complete a-hole for a customer, I'm going to quit mid-transaction. Ah, passive aggressiveness!
S. did leave the bookstore, and with no word. I guess I can't allow myself to get too busted up about someone I'll most likely never see again.

Hoodies are the next trucker hat

After a great deal of not hard work, I think we may have finally killed the trucker-hat-as hipster symbol, only to be replaced by the hoodie. Everyone seems to have one. I happened to catch joan of arcadia last week, and the "artistic" character wore a different one every scene.
Just check out the Neighborhoodies site. Take a look. They are so pretentiously hipster, it's painful. I get the same type of feeling from them as when I listen to the Archies sing "Sugar, Sugar."I can feel my teeth decay just thinking about it.
Granted, at the least, I can see the use of this trend. It's warm, it's got pockets, and it has a built in hat. Plus, if you get one, you get to be cool for five minutes.

I thought it would be snowier

I was up in Maine for the weekend to bother my nieces and nephews. My sister's kids got baptized this weekend, so that was a good enough reason as any to get a whole bunch of us up there. It was a funtime, with plenty of great food. Plus, no blood was spilled and no one got an eye poked out or anything. No trips to the emergency room this time!
We went sledding the morning before we drove home, and that was a blast. I really enjoyed it, and it was great to see everyone laugh and have a great time. I'll have pictures up shortly.
For the first time in weeks, we have a blue sky, but it's sooo bloody cold, it's not even funny.

Ray

Faster than you can say, "My God, I just saw that movie two months ago in the theater! How the hell can they release a DVD that fast?! Oh, it must be because of the Oscar buzz," Ray is being released on DVD. It should hit your store shelves Feb. 1.
So, if you weren't able to catch in the theaters this week, you can have it in your home in two weeks, now with 25 minutes of unseen footage!
Sheesh, they can come out with a movie on DVD three months after it was first released, but they can't seem to get around to putting The Wonder Years or Ed on DVD.

Wha?

Bush Admits Misgivings About Famed Phrases
Let's see, where do I begin? Should I say something about arrogance? How about a joke about people misunderestimating him? Should I bring up the Iraq war?
My head is spinning.

Float on

Yet another one to disappear into the mist. She could have at least said goodbye.
Nothing! Not a word. I thought I was her on good side enough to at least get some kind of "see ya." Instead, the only indication i get is that her name is no longer on the wall.
Another in a long line. Maybe by chance I'll see her again down the road. I would have wished her well and good luck and all sorts of warm-fuzzy stuff like that.
Oh well. I guess if i look at it honestly, I'm happy that's she's going on to better things. I'm just pissed I didn't leave first. I resent the fact I still have to be there, after such a long time with nothing to show.
Tonght, I'm going to find a corner, and grab a drink. See you in the morning.
I wish you sunshine and fields of green away from this grey land of asphalt, S.

Run Away!

Editors Race to Cover Aniston-Pitt Split. Sarcastic cynics run away to avoid barrage of coverage.
I got this quote about some Tool from US Weekly at Gawker:
Wenner Media's General Manager (and sensitivity trainer) Kent Brownridge spoke for all the mags when he gave this self-effacing though still highly offensive quote:

"For a celebrity weekly, this is our tsunami... I can't think of anything bigger than the king and queen of Hollywood breaking up."

John Cusack said it best in "Better Off Dead": "Yeah, that makes sense." I can't even begin to fathom the vacuousness of the dude that could even remotely equate the two stories.

MiniMac

Apple unveiled a baby computer called the Mini-Mac, which is basically just a small cube. It's relatively inexpensive for an Apple product, but you still have to buy a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. However, you get a computer that blows away any PC in terms of reliability and sheer coolness. It's small enough to be toted around anywhere, and if you have a wireless mouse and keyboard, you hardly have to mess with wires at all. I'm eager to see what this thing looks like...
They also came out with something called the iPod Shuffle, which is an mp3 player that uses flash media rather than an actual hard drive, as in the regular iPod. It doesn't hold nearly as many songs, but it is relatively inexpensive according to Mac standards.
I'll be interested to see what affect these products have on the market. Go Apple!

RealiTV

Thank God I'm out of the loop on this one...I was watching VH1 today, and they showed a preview of a new REality show they have that follows Flav-o-flav and Brigitte Nielsen around ... apparently, they are in some sort of relationship and this makes interesting TV.
I also caught part of the BAchorlette tonight and what seems like the 20th Battle of the Sexes: Road Rules/Real World. I'm not even going to bother linking to them, because I can't really be bothered. Where do they find these people to populate these shows?
Holy Crap, this is what my generation is going to be known for.

Conduit

Conduit
Originally uploaded by mgmystic.

I went to see Mouth of Wilson, Sick Day's band, at their first show at the Conduit in Trenton. Gotta say, they were quite good, and everything went well considering it was there first show. I have more photos of there performance on Flickr. Enjoy!

Mouth Of Wilson

Mouth Of Wilson
Originally uploaded by seinspahr.

I know the drummer! That means I'm cool, by proxy. If you get the chance, go check them out at their future dates. I'm sure they'll have more information at their Web site when it's all up an running. I'll have pictures of their first show soon...

A wad of cash makes any idea sound good

I've refrained from posting anything about politics for a while, because frankly, I'm trying to pace myself. We've got another four years to go...it's going to be a long marathon rather than a short sprint.
Anyway,here's the story:
White House paid commentator to promote law
Apparently, the Education department plopped down $240,000 to have a pundit praise the "No Child Left Behind" law on his show. Yeah, that's ethical. I'll never be able to trust biased propoganda-pushing political pundit hacks ever again.
I'm not very surprised, because "ethics" is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think about what this adminstration personifies. However, I'd be very surprised if I hear anything about this story next week. "Accountability" doesn't seem to be something they have to worry about.

Mixology

There must be a science involved with making the perfect mix CD. Unfortunately, I've never been especially good at science. Nick Hornby said it best when he said something about making mixes. I don't remember what exactly it was, but I'm sure it was prescient and especially witty.
I've made a few good mixes that I'm proud of...one of which I've given to S. Yet there are some where only one song throws the mood completely out of whack. I like all sorts of music, but one has to be careful when mixing genres.
For example, this is a great mix, except for two songs that don't quite work. I don't know why they don't work, but they don't.

Not for All the Love In the World - The Thrills
Telephone - Shelby Lynne
Float On - Modest Mouse
Jersey Girl (Live) - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
She's The One - World Party
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Leaving New York - R.E.M.
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
This Is the Last Time - Keane
Sail Away - David Gray
Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
Superman's Song - Crash Test Dummies
Circle - Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
More Than This - Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music
Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
Across the Universe - Fiona Apple
Plainsong - The Cure

This is a great mix for monday mornings, or when it's gray and dreary in New Jersey. I like the "Telephone" song from Shelby Lynne, but I skip past it everytime I play this CD. Now, I rarely listen to it, cuz whenever I hear it, I remember that it messes up a good mix. Another song that doesn't quite work is the David Gray tune, "Sail Away." It's a great song that comes from "White Ladder," which is in my top five album list. However, here it doesn't work, because it's a real slow song that's stuck between two fast ones. The beauty about making these mixes is that you can always make another one.
So, what are the rules for making good mix CDs? I have no clue, but these are some ideas I go by:
* Let's say I want to make a mix around only one or two songs. I'm gonna put those songs somewhere in the middle or toward the end so that I have a whole bunch of other songs to listen to.
* Watch what genres you mix. I'm no longer going to put an uppity country song in between angst-driven al-rock and brit-pop. It just doesn't work.
* Don't put insanely happy songs next to depressing ones. I don't want my CDs to have wild mood swings.

New Year's York

I put new photos on Flickr. Enjoy them as part of a complete breakfast.

Ripping a new one

Thanks to unseasonably mild weather here in our neck of the woods, we were able to enjoy New Year's Eve without getting our asses frozen off.
I had Friday off, so I drove nice and early to my bro's house so that we could all drive into the city together. We stopped off at Ikea, and what felt like 20 hours later, we drove off into city. I've never actually driven in the city cuz I think doing so is nuts, but it went fairly smoothly. No pedestrians or bicyclists were harmed.
For New Year's Eve, we ate at some super swanky restaurant...I've reaffirmed my dislike for seafood and foie gras. Foie gras is French for "holy crap, I can't believe people eat this," more commonly known as goose liver. Can't they just leave the stupid organs alone? Apart from that dinner was great...
We walked into Central Park to watch the Midnight Run and the fire works. It was really cool! I resolve to run that race next year. I also took a whole bunch of photos that I'll eventually post on Flickr.
We left early Saturday morning and spent the rest of the weekend in the poconos. It would have been great exploring the city on Saturday, as the weather was perfect, but oh well.
Once I finish working on the pictures, I'll have more to say. Now it's off to put a close on the day.