Ed Norton Reading the Phone Book

I need to own the film, Keeping the Faith. I caught a few minutes of it this morning and it made me super happy. It's just so, so sweet. Love it.

Love this song, too.



"Heart of Mine"
Peter Salett

The Writing Gig

EDWIN
Yeah, pretty intense shit. So, a few years ago I started telling people that he had a pig heart.

BECKY
(loud laughing)
Why?

EDWIN
I don’t know. I mean I read some article about how pig organs are theoretically the most interchangeable with human organs. I just ran with it, I guess.

BECKY keeps laughing.

EDWIN (CONT’D)
The best part is that most people don’t know their shit and give me this blank stare for a while before I have to tell them that I’m kidding.

BECKY turns to MITCH.

BECKY
(loud)
I never knew about your pig heart!



I am doing some serious rewrites. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was actually incredible. Yeah, I know, right?

Alright, you know what actually bothers me about the whole writing gig? You ready for a little arrogance? Good. I actually think I'm a pretty good writer. I do. It may not be reflected in the passage above, but I am confident that I can make an extremely comfortable living as a writer.

It's the drive. I can watch a movie or TV show that inspires me for a day or week, but never for a longer stretch of time. My most productive period was when I was writing for a grad school deadline. That's really frustrating. I have all of these free-flowing ideas that I should be capitalizing on, but I usually don't unless I have this sense of urgency like, "Hey John, there are some really funny, really talented people out there writing up a storm and there's nothing in the goddamned universe you can do to stop them."

That, friends, is the long and short of my lingering fear about my chosen career path. Is there a pill I can take? Is there a libation I can consume?

THANKSEVERYBODYBYEEEEEE.



"Daisies of the Galaxy"
Eels

Los Rollings

Contemporary music is just fine. I'm rather enjoying the current musical climate, but I'm still not totally convinced that The Rolling Stones between 1962 and 1982 don't represent the absolute pinnacle of what we know as modern rock music. Most people know their hits, which sound a lot like you'd expected rock music that old to sound, but a lot of their stuff that didn't receive a ton of (or any) airplay is extremely varied in structure, lyric, and melody.

Some people say "The Beatles," but The Stones can bring the rock a lot harder. Some say "Led Zeppelin," but The Stones write a better ballad. Some say "Dylan," but The Stones embrace a wider variety of influences. Some say "Nirvana," but The Stones know how to have more fun with their music.

The Stones do everything and they do everything exceedingly well. I won't be so brazen to declare that they're the best band ever, but I will say they're the most complete. It just so happens I also believe they're the best.

Not that you asked.



"Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)"
The Rolling Stones

The Office: Frasier Edition

The relatively recent announcement that a spin off of The Office is coming (and consequently debuting on Super Bowl Sunday 2009) may have confirmed my fears that the staff is totally overexerting itself. Color me concerned. I am happy that the original is coming back on the air next Thursday.

That's all.



"Change Your Mind"
The Killers