Cheelitism

I'm hoping to have some photos of the new place up (either here or on Facebook) sometime tomorrow. I ate dinner at 11:30pm tonight. Why? Don't know.

But yeah, fuck living somewhere that doesn't have a Whole Foods or Central Market less than an hour away. I don't know how I lived in Sherman for five years. Call me an elitist, but there's something about paying $9 for a pound of cheese that makes me feel better about the world.

Maybe I'm just a cheese elitist. A cheelitist?

Yep, a cheelitist.

I need to call Charles and Kelsey this week to do something. This past weekend was hell of hectic. Glad Gillian's alright, for sure. Glad about our wedding gifts. What? I mean everyone should get married once for the gifts. Seriously. Even if you're totally against the institution or something like that. Just try it. I had no idea what I was getting into, but it's undeniably nice. I hope I'm half as generous with love and support (both tangible and otherwise) as everyone's been so far.



"Cold Girl Fever"
The National

Best Laid Floorplans

It's been asked of me for a while, so I'm updating. I tried sleeping, but I couldn't. Doesn't happen to me often but sometimes I don't feel like laying around until I feel like falling asleep. So, here I am, up and about.

I've been playing with the layout editor on Triangle's website. I think I've come up with two decent ideas. OOH, I think I just figured out how to attach the files. Here goes nothing...

I'm pretty sure that'll look like utter shite, but what do I care? I'm up way too late, anyway.

The big difference between the two is the living room. Which do you envision more? Answer me, dammit!

Jeremy's place is pretty wicked. I would bet a large sum of money that Triangle and Trinity Bluff are owned by the same people. I should investigate. Had a nice little workout from Jeremy's place to Mi Cocina. German engineering is fucking dumb as far as I can tell looking at the rolling disaster that is my wheelchair. Christ.

Ratatouille actually made me extremely happy after seeing it for the second time. It made me want to open a bistro in Paris, for sure. That reminds me, somewhat tangentially, that I need to make reservations for the honeymoon. Harlem's famous chicken and waffles won't reserve themselves, right? Right!?

Also, watch The Wicker Man at least four times before you die. It's so fucking worth it. Funniest movie I've ever seen -- I'm not even exaggerating. Not one bit.

Am I crazy or is Forgetting Sarah Marshall one of the better movies you've seen in a long, long time? It drills into your brain in the nicest way.

And! Eagle vs. Shark is about as bad as you thought it would be. That girl isn't as hideous as the trailer made her look (this is years ago, mind you, in case you have no fucking idea what I'm talking about), but it is about as unfunny and painfully "indie" as it looked in the trailer. It's like someone saw Me, You, and Everyone We Know and thought, "Gee, let's just make the characters totally unsympathetic and give them hilarious Kiwi accents." AND, nothing about trading poop back and forth (it's worth it for that scene alone, seriously -- Me, You, and Everyone We Know, that is).

That reminds me, in Flight of the Conchords they make reference to Bret saying his name like "Brit," but as far as I remember no joke has been make about how Jemaine's name is "Jemaine" and not "Jermaine."

Right? That seems like something to call attention to. Does that make me sound totally uncultured and daft? Is "Jemaine" a super common name in Kiwitown?

By the way, Jermaine Jackson's son is named Jermajesty. If you didn't know that, you're welcome.

Looking forward to the wedding and seeing everyone. Love to all.



"Just Another"
Pete Yorn

Stars in 4OT

What a hockey game. Glad I stayed up to see it.

Apartment hunting tomorrow in Austin. Expect an update on that.



"I Will Possess Your Heart"
Death Cab for Cutie

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