I've got Sunshine on a cloudy day

It has been forever since I've gone out--April 20th to be exact. That was for the always adorable Matthew Dear show at Chop Sweaty which Matt (roomie) and I thoroughly enjoyed (we closed the mofo out). There might have been shows that I let slip through the cracks, but there hasn't been anything that has compelled me to call in late/sick to work.
My schedule (as is well-chronicled) precludes me from spending mediocre nights on the dancefloor. I'm cool with that--perhaps I'm a little fatter because I don't dance as much, but my wallet is also little fatter.
This weekend marks my triumphant return to the discotheque. I get to bust out all the moves I've been practicing in front of the bathroom mirror, and who better than Tommie Sunshine for my reinauguration?
I've never had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Sunshine play out, but I am very, very familiar with his body of work. He's remixed everyone, and he's played the world over. Best of all? Its free.
If y'all didn't know, free is like my all time favorite word. I once skipped a midterm for a free breakfast. Oh, and I love free basing.
Rich, over at fourfour, has a mix that has his latest release with Marc Romboy, 'Body Jack.' If the beats are like that track, I expect to dance the whole night through.
Sunday, I'll also be going to church, aka the Re-bar. True, the sound being sported at Re-bar isn't really my thing anymore, but the crowd is great, the vibe is good, and sometimes we need nostalgia.

Future shows include:

9/15 - Decibel Festival (Telefon Tel Aviv, Apparat, Alex Smoke) @ Neumo's
9/16 - Decibel Festival (Jerry Abstrakt, Green Velvet) @ Neumo's
9/17 - Decibel Festival (The Dead Texan) @ Broadway Performance Hall
9/29 - Junior Boys @ Neumo's (and in-studio @ KEXP, thnx Janice!!!!)
10/20 - MSTRKRFT @ Chop Suey
11/12 - Brookville / Tahiti 80 @ The Croc

So, few and far between, but that works just fine for me. Hope to see you out at one or two of these shows!

Sunny Sunday soul singers

UPDATE: The Peter Bjorn & John link has been fixed. Its such a good track, please download it and then decide that you need to buy their album. It, for me, is a perfect end of summer track.

As always, all tracks posted are for limited time, please support musicians and all that other shit.

Nice, mellow weekend which is just what was needed before a more regemented schedule takes hold this week.
Sunday morning I went to El Greco for brunch with Kelley and Steve 2. Our waiter was the type of dreamy that wakes you up slightly moist. He had a Space Needle tattoo on the back of his right arm and when questioned about it, he blamed it on the indiscretions of youth. (Insert swoon here.) The food, as usual, was quite good. I was particularly taken with Steve 2's sweet potato fries replete with large crystals of sea salt. It is touches like this--a side dish that acts as a link between breakfast and lunch--that make El Greco a step above the rest for ladies who brunch.

Then we walked through the Capitol Hill Farmer's Market. Kelley bought some blackberries and then we wandered over to Cal Anderson Park. We dipped our feet in the wading pool and watched children play. It was sunny and warm and the perfect way to kill time after a delicious meal. The water feature in the park is really beautiful and its hard to believe that urine-soaked Broadway is a stone's throw away.

After that we headed over to First Hill to the always-interesting Frye Art Museum. Folk artist Henry Darger is the current exhibition. I was pretty underwhelmed with the art itself,--it mimicked (sometimes blatantly) ad campaigns from the time--but Darger's ignorance toward gender was prety fascinating and his output was phenomenal. Darger has a tendency to draw little girls with little penes. He, apparently, was not aware that male and females differed in the genital region. Darger wrote The Vivian Girls which, as the curator is quick to point out, is the precursor for such strong female heroes as Xena, Wonder Woman, and the Sailor Scouts. If you live in Seattle, you should make the trip to the Frye. The Frye is free and if the Darger stuff creeps you out, you can always check out the inocuous Trimpin exhibit.
If you're not in Seattle, but would like to know more about this elusive, reclusive artist, put In the Realms of the Unreal in your Netflix queue.

So, yeah, like I said, it was a pretty mellow weekend. I got lots of sleep. If I were to make a playlist for the weekend, it would probably look something like this:

Song for the Songs - The Concretes
Let My Shoes Lead Me Forward - Jenny Wilson
I Think of You - Ivy
Objects of Affection - Peter Bjorn & John
Different Day - L'Altra

No, its not all over your face

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Aretha Franklin to start my week

My first image today was that of a young Aretha Franklin in a slinky grey dress bathed in a pink spotlight. I'll let that set the tone for the week.

What did I do this weekend?
Well, I leveled all three of my characters on WoW, and I auditioned for the Seattle Men's Chorus.
Oh, so now I have to justify myself to you? Fine.

Reasons why I auditioned for the Men's Chorus -

I like singing
What do I have to lose?
Performing on stage at Benaroya Hall and McCaw Hall would be mass rad
Reason to get out of the house once a week
Free refreshments
Meet dudes
Forcing all of my friends to attend at least one show (yes, I mean you!)

So I think my audition went pretty well. I wasn't properly warmed up and I had a lot of phlegm all lodged up in there, but I sang ok. Turns out the cigarettes have been murder on my range (I used to have a 4 octave range, now I'm barely making 2). He had me sight read which was totally gross and something I haven't done in forever--I haven't even looked at sheet music in quite some time. And it wasn't exactly an easy piece to sight read, dotted quarter notes, naturals, and a 4 note jump which was like groping for a book on the top shelf of a very tall bookcase. I'm almost 99% that I'm in--find out on Tuesday by way of phone call.
Keep your fingers crossed, y'all!

I'm never gonna dance again

I hate only being able to watch half of ProjRun before heading in to work. Once at work, I'll peruse the usual blogs and, inevitably, I will find out who got auf'd. No big whoop. I'm not one of those spoiler queens who insists that knowing how a story ends ruins the actual telling of the story. I don't, however, believe that I can watch poor Allison's dreams become shattered in the final half hour of last night's episode. Add to that the ridiculosity of Benji winning So You Think You Can Dance, and you might just get a whiff of my pungent ire.

Oh, that wasn't my ire that smelled so bad--it was my feet (which have, at times, smelled of broccoli).

Speaking of my feet, my left foot looks like a ham hock. I thought I had Fred Flintstone feet before my mysterious injury, but now I could easy power a prehistoric vehicle to the drive-in (if only there were someone with whom I could park--hell, I'd even settle for an order of ribs that tips the car over). How did I get said injury? I'm guessing a pair of dress socks that were worn all day Saturday that are quite constrictive--but I literally (and I mean literally, not figuratively) have no idea how it happened.

Even though the results of SYTYCD are disappointing (Travis should have totes won), I think that Risa, her sisters, and I are going to attend the September 12th SYTYCD performance at the Paramount. Tickets are priced $37-$50. I say, spend the extra $13 bucks, but we'll see.

So that's on September 12th. Two days later, the third annual Decibel Festival will be underway. The line up is pretty impressive this year. Green Velvet, Telafon Tel Aviv, The Dead Texan, Apparat, Andreas Tilliander, and Alex Smoke, to name a few.
If you're a househead and you're coming to town for this festival, you're more than welcome to crash on our couch. We accept beer, pot, sex, or cleaning as forms of payment.

And since I'm talkin' 'bout music again (funny how that happens), here's the latest:

OKDJ vol. 7

I know I said I wouldn't release another one until I figure out Acid, but I just don't get Acid. I mean, do I have to just work two songs together and save it as a new track then add another song? And why can't I change the tempo?
Plus, I had all this awesome music to share. Oh, and I've been really bored down here in the vault.
So, you get more music! Yippie!

Here's the tracklisting:

Ladyflash (Simian Mobile Disco Mix) - The Go! Team
Toop Toop (Oliver Koletski Mix) - Cassius
SadomasochistUS - Creme de Menthe
Weird Fantasy - B-Series
Cuz of You (Mark Grant Mix) - Green Velvet
The Minimum of Life - Joakim
Wake Up (Justus Kohncke Remix) - Lo-Fi Fnk
Bells feat. Linda Lamb - Vitalic
You Take My Breath Away (Mylo Mix) - The Knife
Shemale (Black Strobe Mix) - Sir Drew
In White Rooms (Elecktrochemie Remix) - Booka Shade
Les Djinns (Trentemoller Remix) - Djuma Soundsystem
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John

If you'll notice, I reviewed the first track over here. You have been keeping up, right?
And, not to toot my own horn, I think this mix is easily one of my best. Hard to go wrong with Vitalic, Green Velvet, The Knife, Trentemoller, Mylo, Joakim, and Booka Shade, though.

A descent proposal

Matt, Steve 2, and I went to catch "The Descent" yesterday afternoon. I think the general concensus was that it was decent. I mean, it didn't stink, so we didn't have to de-scent it. (Ok, I'm out of puns.)

It had some pretty good ideas and it could have been about fifty times creepier than it was, but still, far, far better than say, Saw, Saw II, The Hills Have Eyes, The Amityville Horror, and most other horror films released in the past 10-or-so years.
I really liked all the vagina related crap--an all-female cast (the only dude gets offed in the first 10 minutes), climbing into a big hole in the ground, all the blood, and other crap. The monsters were pretty ineffective and, overall, the whole thing could have been psychologicaller, y'know?
Things left to the imagination, especially in confined spaces is just cuh-reepy. The sequences of the spelunkers shimmying through tight spaces were way creepier than the battles with "the crawlers."

So I think I got Matt (Steve 2 is only at the "tolerate" phase) hooked on Veronica Mars (yay!), now I've just gotta convice the rest of you.

I think Deputy Leo made it to season two episodes, but even if he didn't, dude is foyne.
Check it:













And, he's in love with me.












And don't you want to be supportive of my (imaginary) relationship? Well, then start watching the show!
Oh, and check out the fashion:

Season 1 is available on DVD now.

Season 2 is released on August 22nd.

Season 3 begins Tuesday, October 3rd at 9PM on the CW (omg, right after Gilmore Girls)!!!

I expect annotated reports detailing your love for the show on my desk in the morning.

Class dismissed.

Work around

I know my shift from daywalker to night monkey has been chronicled fairly well on this here blog, but I feel like further expounding upon the subject.

Technically, I only have one day off a week--Saturday.

I go into work at 11PM on Sunday and I am finished at 7:45AM on Friday (don't think I work straight through, cuz that's just crazy talk).

I spend my entire time at work in a digital dark room. I look at pixels. I listen to music, and, for all intents and purposes, my body and brain still think that they are in some form of sleep.

Most of my dreams are related to cell phones or fame.

Asian girl on cell phone.

Mariah Carey on the red carpet.

Last week began with a sweaty Freddy Mercury and quickly degenerated to civil war in the Sierra Leone. Nightmarish images.

I saw emaciated children burying children who starved to death.

I saw a man dead on the street and I thought it was nice that someone had placed a flower on his head.

When I zoomed in, the flower turned into brain matter. I turned his brain into the flower I saw initially because someone should be nice--even if it is someone who didn't know the man. Even if the man has been dead for years. Even if I had to turn it back into brain after I finished with the picture.

I spend my time away from work trying to sleep. I no longer sleep for long periods of time. Part of this is a blessing--it battles my predisposition for depression induced sleep. Most of it is a curse.

I sleep for four hours. I am awake for two. I try to get a few more naps in before starting the cycle all over again. I do not feel connected to myself in my waking hours. I often feel as though I am watching myself. Bunuel has nothing on the surreal images that are formed when one naps, looks at tons of pictures, and naps some more.

I'm not writing this because I expect some sort of sympathy from you. I'm writing this so you understand why I don't return your phone calls. I'm writing this so you understand why I am frequently not available. Its not you, its me--but you already knew that.

Back to the filthy images from the Polish Solidarity Strike that began almost 26 years ago.

Take a stance on me

"The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of
tolerance comes when we are in the majority." Ralph W. Sockman (1889 -
1970), pastor Christ Methodist Church

As with most things, its taken me a little while to form an opinion about the
recent state Supreme Court's decision regarding Washington State's Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA). My stance on government and marriage is actually quite
libertarian--I do not believe that the government should be in the marriage
business in the first place. However, the government does provide certain
protections and rights to man/woman couples who wish to express their commitment
to one another in the form of marriage. Not allowing couples of the same sex to
enter into the same contract is clearly discrimination.

So, for a little history, Washington state's DOMA was voted into law quite easily in 1998. Then governor Gary Locke vetoed the bill which was then overridden by the people. Clearly, Washingtonians reacted strongly to this issue. Still, two previous appellate courts found DOMA to be unconstitutional. I feel that the Supreme court did not weight these decisions heavily enough, and even went so far as to create their own justification (namely, that marriage is about procreation which is in Washington's interest).

If the voting public would recognize the fact that marriage, as defined by law, is a civil act and is doing anything but encroaching on their sacred religion, we might have a foothold. However, these are the same people who pray for George W. Bush nightly (not that a few prayers couldn't hurt), but my point is, these are the people for whom God and country are nearly the same entity. They use their horribly skewed moral system to justify their bigotry. We gays are modern martyrs--if the judicial system were to ask who should be spared crucifixion, homosexuals or murderers, the Christians (especially the ones who slant toward evangelical) would most definitely be yelling for the murderers.
Last Wednesday's ruling came as no surprise to me. In fact, the type of political posturing that can be read in the plurality's decision not only kowtows to the fear-tactics of conservatives who quickly yell, "ACTIVIST JUDGE," but also contains the type of smarmy wording which only appears in election years. Even with their bigoted views, they still manage to play to center in the form of calling for legislative change. Its pretty gross.
Thank God for the dissent's argurments and the fact that this decision was a 5-4 split. When this decision is revisited a generation or so from now, the error of the plurality's ways should be abundantly clear. Until then, I guess we have the legislative fight before us.

Of the three judges up for re-election, only one, Gerry Alexander, voted with the majority (to uphold DOMA). Gerry's opponent for Supreme Court position 8 is John Groen. I have no idea how Mr. Groen feels about DOMA, but I have written to him and will let you know what type of response I receive.
If you would like further information regarding the court's decision, please check out The Stranger's coverage.

So, this whole political spiel has gotten me a tiny bit motivated. I had written to 15-or-so bloggers, none of whom have responded, about an idea I had.
Basically, I wanted to hit up bars in the ghaytto with voter's registration packets and get the word out. I'm certain that a lot of younger gay guys in Seattle don't vote which is a shame. I thought it would be fun if a group of bloggers hit the town on a Friday or Saturday and just tried to register a hundred or so voters. For Washington state, make sure they know about absentee voting.
And possibly, as a follow up, go out on Election Day (November 7th) and physically drive people to the polls.
It would give us bloggers a chance to meet one another in real life (and share pics and stories with bloggers who did similar things around the country) and, most importantly, it might kill some of this apathy surrounding voting in our community. (Or demystify the process of voting.) (Or inform people about the issues.)
I'm not sure when I'm going to attempt this--possibly the final weekend in August.
Let me know what you think. If you think I'm an idiot, let me know that, too. (By the chirping of virtual crickets on my side, you all already think I'm idiot, or I somehow became a pariah.)

Oh, and P.S.--I got ordained last Thursday. I figured, if I don't have the right to marry, I should at least have the right to marry--you follow? So you can start referring to me as Reverend Jeremy, if you wish.

Nerdiest. Day. Ever.

Monday after work, I came home and popped on the TV to catch up with my old friend Buffy Summers. Matt awakened shortly thereafter, and I told him about the new Buffy comic book being scribed by none other than Joss himself.
So we decided we'd hit the comic book store that is a mere two blocks from our home. Said store was quite a disappointment. The severely overweight, unfriendly proprietrix acted as though I were crazy when I asked about the trade paperback Astonishing X-Men title. "I haven't carried new titles in over ten years," she said with incredulity.
Matt and I perused and tripped down memory lane. I checked to see how many Power Pack issues they had. If they had the Wolverine appearance. We talked about gatefold covers and foil covers. We talked about the big Image split and my love for Whilce Portacio's much-needed X-Factor stylizations.
The building nostalgia urged us to hop the next bus and head down a few stops to Arcane Comics. An excited 30-something patron exiting the store was already flipping through his purchase. He looked up as he maneuvered getting onto his bike and, noticing Matt's Excitebike shirt, exclaimed, "Awesome shirt man!"
Much like the previous store's owner, Arcane's proprietor was overweight, but his amiable demeanor was much more suited to our laid-back, kickin'-in-the-sunshine day. Without looking up from his computer monitor, he asked if he could help us find anything.
"Yeah," I asked, "Do you guys have the hard cover Astonishing X-Men."
"Naw, sorry, man," he replied, "but I could special order it for you. We've got the two trade paper backs, though. Give me just a second."
I looked to see what was on his monitor and a familiar sight assailed me.
"You play horde or alliance," I asked.
"Mainly horde. Little Alliance."
So we talked WoW for a bit before he pulled out the books I was looking for. Then we talked about when Dark Horse would be releasing the new Buffy book. Like any good fanboy who is also a salesman, he convinced me to check out Marvel's Civil War. Matt picked up some old MacFarlane era Spider-Mans. When we got home, Matt sat in front of the TV; I fired up WoW. We put on a couple episodes of Angel and read our books.
Its ok if you call me a nerd. I know I am.

Musical (The Rex is) Monday

In honor of The Sean Show's newest column (which, if you'll notice, I make a tiny contribution to), I'm uploading my (most likely) final mix using my crappy ol' mixing program. Acid is now on ye olde computer and the learning process has begun. Everything I've ever dreamed of doing for a mix is now available to me. Of course, such precision also means a much steeper learning curve. That's ok, though. I've got my trusty sidekick Matthew to learn with me.

Well, without further ado, I give you:

OKDJ vol. 6

The Present Lover - L'Uomo
Ah, Git Up - Wink
World Hold On - Bob Sinclair feat. Steve Edwards
In Space (C&M's Roll-In-Space Remix) - Fatty Acid
Inside - Fairmont
B1 Down (Drama Society Remix) - Ellen Allien
I Wish You Were Gone (Vocal Edit) - Joakim
Tied to the 80's - MRI
Silent Shout - The Knife
Alaska - Monolake
Changes (Swayzak Darkfarmer Remix) - Tahiti 80

Only 11 tracks, just over an hour, but I think I do a fairly good job of running the gamut. A little bit for everyone. (And if you didn't notice, I crammed in a tonne of tracks I lurve!) I hope you like it!

And in case you don't believe me about the JB's new album, check this track-
In the Morning - Junior Boys

Ok, that's it for Musical Monday. I figure its a good way to start off the week.

. . . And now the unimportant news

I haven't really posted one of my pop-culture-y catchalls in quite some time, so I thought I'd tell you what's shakin' my bananas and dingin' on my radar.

First of all, Veronica Mars has only been picked up for 13 episodes by the CW network, and there's a change in format. While I understand the desire to grow your audience base, I hope this season's "three mystery" format doesn't detract from the drama that an entire season of one mystery builds. Oh, and if you're not watching this show, start. I'm getting Season 1 disc 1 in the mail tomorrow and I'm convinced I'll have the roomies--or at least Matt--hooked. <via Seattle P-I>

Since I'm talkin' TV, thought I'd point you to an article in Out magazine which features the oh-so-deamy Jamie Bamber. It's kind of about 'mos in space, but, like much in the queer media, it ends up talking about nothing. Queers should have written for Seinfeld. <via Jimbo>

Oh, and you can officially throw out all of your hemp clothing--or smoke it or whatever--cuz the future is here. A soft fabric that is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-static. It raises your core temperature in the cold months and cools you in the summer. It is biodegradable and sustainable. What is it, you ask? It's bamboo--and Bam Clothing is among the first to offer this great new product. <via CoolHunting>

And you want to know what music I've been listening to? Various Production's first long-player, The World is Gone might just be the second best album I've heard this side of Booka Shade's Movements. It is a gorgeous album that hops genres convincingly.
Monolake's new 12" Alaska/Melting is my. type. of. music. Propulsive, skittery, moody, and highly dancable (and those bass lines--yum!). Expect to see both A and B sides get WORKED (as is often the case with Monolake tracks).
And, of course, Junior Boys new album is all-up-in-it, yo! So This Is Goodbye just might be perfect. I had hoped (lord, how I hoped) that they wouldn't let me down--and they didn't. You can check out the first single on their MySpace page. I guess the remixes for this single are by Morgan Geist and Alex Smoke. Can't wait to hear Geist's take--especially after his work with Greenspan for "Most of All." At this point in time, this is my album of the year--you'll have to wait until August 17th to buy it.

And, in even less important news, I got a promotion. After a grueling 3-week long interview process, a co-worker and I Thunderdomed it, and I somehow ended up on top (puh-leeze, gurl, why you snickerin' 'bout me bein' on top?). So, yay me! And now my hours are even crappier--midnight til 8:30A. Boo!

Recycle

8 pizza boxes in the recycling bin. I am fatter than I have ever been.

2 Fassbinder 2 Furious

Awww, yeah! Just to note, the images at the bottom of this post will not be suitable viewing for work unless, much like my work, you spend a lot of your day looking at genitalia.

Ok, now onto the post.

In my desire to continue the Canon of Queer Cinema, I have been scouring Netflix for films worthy of canonization. Along the way, I rediscovered the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. His beautiful take on Genet's Querelle de Brest was a critical disaster, but as is the case with many great works of art, it has taken a few years' distance for its genius to crystallize. Querelle will be the canonical entry, but while we wait for me to formulate a few ideas about the piece, let's take a look at his 1975 film Fox and His Friends.

Fox and His Friends tells the story of Fox who is an out of work carnie that wins a lot of money. Of course, the money creates rather than solves problems, and Fox eventually takes an overdose of valium to escape his pitiful life.

Simple enough story, right? Well, it is a simple story, and that allows Fassbinder the luxury of touching on many topics--classism, capitalism, industrialization, homosexuality.
Fox and His Friends is a rare film in that the lead (played by Fassbinder himself) and many of the supporting characters are gay. Some of them are effete, some masculine. Some of them are rich, some poor. Some are kind, some predatory. This film was made over 30 years ago and filmmakers still have problems depicting our community so humanly.
Should this film be canonized? Probably. Rather than depicting how gay men fit into the straight world, it deals more with how gay men treat one another (not very well). Fox's lover, Eugen (Peter Chatel), is an upper-middle class asshole who uses Fox solely for his money. His two-year (and then some) scheme to drain Fox of his money is a bit implausible, but by this point in the film, the relationship is more allegory of the rich exploiting the working class.

Perhaps Fassbinder's greatest accomplishment with this film is the plethora of wiener shots (including a couple of his own).

For your viewing pleasure:

Additional Resources:

Roger Ebert's take on the film

Senses of Cinema bio.

Tollroad

Remember when I told you about the game I played with my nieces on my recent visit to Texas?

Well, my mom just found the pictures.

Here ya go!




They have two uncle Jeremys. I get the moniker "Fun Uncle Jeremy" for obvious reasons. They are very familiar with that maniacal look in my eye. I think they have so much fun with me because I am one of the few (only?) adults in their life who is not an authority figure. Plus, I talk Spongebob and Super Mario with them.

Summer movie round-up

In case you didn't know, I see crappy movies with Risa. Why she allows me to accompany her is beyond me, but whatever the reason, she and I have seen many a catastrophe. The only movies that come to mind are The Family Stone, Little Black Book, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Of those three, only the final was stomachable. Most recently we went to see The Lake House. We even got Maria to join us, which was a real joy. The three Montana schooled kids at the movie theater--that alone made the experience enjoyable.
As for the film, I was predisposed to hating it. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock--gross. The film, however, surprised me. Sure, the gimmicky mailbox from the future felt contrived. Sure, the questions raised by time-travel are never dealt with, but I didn't hate this movie at all--which is saying quite a bit. You could definitely do worse.

Next up, Pirates of the Carribean. Uh, yeah. Two and half hours. Are you freaking kidding me? For that? In two and a half hours you can't further develop characters? You can't resolve anything? And where's the swashbuckling? Matt, Steve 2 and I went to see it in a packed theater and, of the three of us, only Steve 2 was entertained. I'm fine with jokey stuff like the wooden eyeball and the dog with the keys. I'm not fine with stringing together a series of jokes and calling it a story. Save your money. More importantly, save your time.

And finally, A Scanner Darkly--
In continuation of the birthday weekend, a whole group of us went to see Linklater's latest animated film. I have been looking forward to this film for quite some time. First of all, the film is absolutely gorgeous, especially if you can let go of the fact that those Charles Schwab commercials ganked the style. Secondly, the film utilizes Keanu Reeves' robotic/monotonous delivery to its advantage. I thought Winona Ryder gave a really great performance, and I also thought that she looked better than she has for a long time--I don't mean that cattily, either. Sure, she was animated, but there was something luminescent about her. So I searched for production stills, and its true--she looks absolutely great (pictured right). I haven't read the story since--damn, its been a long time--maybe freshman year of college. The film really didn't bring the essence of the book back to me but instead created an entirely new milieu. Risa was somehow hornswoggled into attending the film with us. I think she would probably describe the film as, "Dumb as shit." So, not for everybody, but I enjoyed it.

Peeved

Loose for lose.
Anyways is not a word.

I think it's super sexy when someone avoids ending a sentence in a preposition, but when they add the same preposition at the end of the sentence, it drives me bonkers, e.g. "for that which we are thankful for."

Yes, I realize that this is coming from the man who regularly uses "irridiculous" and "dramaticality" and "severious," but I use those words to highlight the ridiculosity and mercuriality of language.

I mean, if you know the rules, you can break 'em, right?

Oh, and "definately" really pisses me off.

On another outing

My cousin and I have never been very close. To this day, the most I hear from her is the Christmas card. The fact that she attempts to keep in contact at all is quite astonishing. She grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland while I grew up Texas. Any closeness we shared dissipated by adolescence, and, like most of my family, she was essentially a stranger by the time I was in college.
This did not, however, preclude us from staying up late and playing catch up when we saw each other. When I was 20, I travelled with my mom and dad to Ohio for Thanksgiving. I had not officially come out to anyone in my family. My sexuality was still the proverbial elephant in the living room. My father, I believe, was still oblivious to my orientation, as well.
So, after our parents had retired, my cousin and I stayed up and talked. I asked her about her boyfriend. We talked about school. We laughed. I think we listened to Pat Benatar. When the lull finally claimed our conversation, she turned to me very seriously and said, "Jeremy, I want you to know that I know that you're gay . . . and I just want you know . . . that I have herpes."

See also: On an outing

Get thee to a gymmery

Ok, so the birthday weekend is officially over--it is especially apparent because I am once again in the vault for another extremely long shift. Yes, I will be napping at work tonight.
Anyway, I wanted to thank all of the commenters for the birthday wishes! They are much appreciated.
Then I want to thank everyone who showed up at Chez Gaudy on Friday to celebrate with me. Roll call: Risa, Keith, Maria, Maggie, Tony, Steve1, Amy, Kelley, Bill, Derek, Geoff, Steve2, Emily, Joanna, Andy, and, of course, Matt.
I felt a little scatter-brained during the affair, and bouncing from table to table made me feel as though I wasn't spending enough time with some of you, but, seriously, I couldn't ask for a better group of friends. Thanks so, so much!
Below are a few of the pictures from the evening. The rest of the pictures revealed to me just how fat I've become, so you don't get to see them.

As for what you can expect to see on the blog in the coming week--reviews of The Lake House, Pirates of the Carribean, and A Scanner Darkly. Plus, a love letter to Chez Gaudy.

Oh! And Maggie, you have a message from Keith in the comments of the last post.

30

So, if you were wondering what was up with the random lists of 30 lately, it should now be pretty apparent. I have officially entered my third decade on this rock we call Earth.
Where was I when the clock struck midnight? You guessed it! Down here in the vault.

I wish I could claim that age ain't nothin' but a number, but from my nostalgia-laden previous posts, I'm sure you can imagine that I feel my years more now than I did at this time last year.

So it is with great hope that I look forward to the next 30 years. I hope that I can somehow learn to shed the husk of cynicism and skepticism that accompany adulthood. I hope that I can become more like the man I wish I was.

And you're invited, by the way, to my small birthday get together--tomorrow, the 7th from 6 - 8 I'll be imbibing with friends at Chez Gaudy on Capitol Hill. The address, I believe is 1802 Bellevue. I think we'll be attempting to see Strangers with Candy after--and you're invited to join us to see that, as well.

30 Movies

The Last Starfighter
A Christmas Story
The Dark Crystal
A View to a Kill
Tron
Time Bandits
Goonies
Brazil
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Alien
Halloween
Eraserhead
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Blue Velvet
Wild at Heart
Mulholland Drive
The Blood of a Poet
My Own Private Idaho
L'Avventura
Wild Reeds
Safe
The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeousie
The Decameron
Princess Mononoke
Chuck & Buck
Exotica
Flirting with Disaster
The Big Lebowski
The Shining
Breathless