Busy week!

There's a lot going on this week, all over the country. Here are 3 events I've considered, yet I can only make it to one...can you guess which one????

11th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos (August 12-15, Cave-in-Rock, Illinois)

The Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting (August 11-15, Washington, D.C.)

U.S. Masters Swimming's 2010 Summer Nationals (August 9-12, San Juan, Puerto Rico)

JoP Investigates: Cagefest

One of JoP's most loyal readers (she changed my life with the cinnamon sugar Leonardo da Veggie suggestion) has taken on an epic summer project. Hilary is on a quest to watch every Nicolas Cage movie known to man. Join us as we sit down and chat about her joys and sorrows along this journey.

Why Nicolas Cage?
This is such a loaded question, it is causing me to reexamine my choices in life that have led me to this point. When I was a little girl, my dad always told me that one day – maybe not as a kid, maybe not as a tween, but one day – I would have a religious experience and "find" God. I was skeptical until the year 1997, when Con Air and FACE/OFF were both released. Since then, I knew my destiny would be to fulfill this goal of watching every Nicolas Cage film.


Are you watching them in any particular order?
No. I pick them based on how alluring Nicolas Cage's face is on the DVD art.


Did you do anything special to prepare for this? Training, stamina exercises, endurance drills, etc?
I have always been ready for this.


What's your favorite Cage movie so far?
It's a tie between Ghost Rider and Wickerman. And don't call these movies, they are films.


What's the most disappointing movie so far?
Guarding Tess, only because I wanted Shirley Maclaine and Nicolas Cage to have a love affair, and it never happened. (Ed note: Maybe we can hope for this in the eventual Guarding Tess 2).


Which film are/were you most looking forward to?
The Sorcerer's Apprentice


Who does he have the most chemistry with?
Alison Lohman from Matchstick Men


What's your favorite Nic Cage look?
I like him in his Ghost Rider leather ensemble, and I like his look in Bangkok Dangerous. But I might have a new favorite once Sorcerer's Apprentice comes out.
I am very fickle with my favorite Cage look though; so much so that I have a Nicolas Cage Adventure Set on my refrigerator.



What would you say to Nicolas if you could meet him?
There would be no talking, only body language.


Would you call this an "obsession"?
Yes


If so, how does your boyfriend feel about it?
I haven't taken that into consideration.


Are your friends/family supportive of this goal? Or are they obstacles in reaching your goals?
My family is very supportive. Nicolas Cage is really a family obsession – my sister and I watched Con Air, FACE/OFF, and The Rock basically on repeat during high school, and we all went to see Bangkok Dangerous in the theater.


Is this a project for anyone? Who should steer clear?
Some people have expressed disdain for Nicolas Cage's acting ability. I choose to not speak to these people and they can go watch the Twilight saga for all I care.


How will it feel to have seen every Cage film?
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I think it will be painful for me. When I finish an artistic compendium that I have really thrown myself into, I become depressed at the thought that it will never be new to me again. So no matter how many times I watch these films, it will never be as exciting as the first time.


How has Cage inspired you from this experience?
I sort of want to be buried in a pyramid now.


Are you tumblring/bloggin this event? I smell book deal!
No, I think JOP is the only media outlet that might appreciate Nicolas Cage as much as I do. (ed note: very true.)


Which movie icon's filmography are you going to tackle next?
I can't make that decision, it's like buying a new puppy a week after your old dog dies... I just don't have the heart.


May we suggest John Travolta?
You may.

Thanks Hilary for taking time away from "the Cage" to speak with us!

Raleigh wins

Raleigh is the best place to live in America!!!! Who knew????

The article states that Raleigh's housing market is growing faster than all other major markets except Las Vegas. Our proportion of young adults ranks third to Austin and D.C. So why don't we have things like SXSW and the Smithsonian? There's always this.

What is it about "Lost"? Obviously, there's something beyond the smoke monster, the polar bears and time travel--its the characters! Duh, we all know this. Their back stories are what kept us wanting more. But I'm going to take it a step further.

Their REAL lives! Don't they all seem so down to earth and natural, considering we are so used to actors at least presenting themselves to be pretty superficial? Here, for your and my entertainment, some of my favorite "Lost" characters, and their spouses and children! I just love it!

Okay--this one's pretty questionable, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt since they are "at the beach" probs.

Hey guys, remember this?

"podcast"/zach standup
Originally uploaded by winnietitchener

My flickr page lets me see what people have been viewing (but not who they are--don't worry!--even though i want to know that too) and somebody watched this yesterday. Which made me want to watch it! And it is really sweet. Watch in full-screen for maximum effect.

"There are red ships and blue ships but the best ships are friendships."

Philadelphia is closing its public libraries!

This is the most fucked up thing ever!

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/

I don't know about you or the people of Philadelphia or the people of America in general, but I certainly wouldn't mind paying a little more in taxes!!!! This is what happens when you insist on tax cuts in tough years, fools. We all lose. Congratulations.

UPDATE:

This is from an interesting comment on Consumerist about it. A different side of the story and still fucked up! Let's get it together, people!

What's happening is that city leaders are making a highly-visible yet token "cut" that's designed to annoy people and convince them that higher taxes are acceptable. Once people accede to this manipulation — which is really no better than an extortion scheme — these conniving officials are relieved of the obligation to do what they ought to have done in the first place: make the serious and genuine kinds of budget cuts that would actually make a difference ... such as cutting waste and graft, and paring the size of government down to something which is both manageable and affordable. They squander money in ways you would not believe — and they do it all the time, under the illusion that it's the best way to operate.

Example 1: The Connecticut DOT could not be bothered actually managing a construction project, so they contracted out that task to a well-connected company. Only that company, which was paid millions to supervise it, did absolutely nothing. The work done was poor and had to be redone. In order to avoid paying to redo it, the construction company liquidated itself, its owners reconstituted as another firm, and proceeded to lobby for more state business. CT DOT officials — who obviously had no problem with this situation — were ready to award them more work, when the story was reported and the state A.G. had to step in. The re-work took another 2 years and a great deal more money, only some of which has been recovered.

Example 2: New York City public schools are famously home to what are called "rubber rooms." These are places in which tenured but incompetent teachers are allowed to sit and do nothing all day, yet earn their salaries for having done nothing. You see, they cannot be fired, no matter how bad they are; since they are by contract "entitled" to work, this is the only way to keep them from hurting kids' education or harming them.

Both of these examples, and more, are basically ways in which money is sucked out of the public coffers, for no good purpose ... and which are actually, actively defended by some officials, who consider these to be good ideas.

It's not just Philadelphia that uses this scheme of token, annoying, noticeable cuts to entice taxpayers into paying more ... governments at ALL levels (municipalities, counties, regional authorities, and states) across the country do it. It's an old trick, but curiously, it seems to work more often than not, and most people are blissfully unaware they're being "played." The cold hard fact is that government officials profit too much from bloated government and artificially-high budgets, for them to slice them down to size.

Coffee shop review!

I'm new in town and I don't know very much, and so on my walk home from class today I stopped in at Jessee's. This place never looks crowded, but I walk/ride by it often and I was curious. I also didn't want to go to Open Eye (I am increasingly not really into Open Eye).

This place is really nice and clean and well lit with a breezy feel, and most notably of all it has a 99 sanitation grade. Which is crazy for Chapel Hill/Carrboro! (side note: can anyone tell me what the deal is with all the ~90 grades around here?? it's UNCANNY and sort of weirds me out how pretty much every restaurant has an identical grade) The point is that they "get it," and they're eager to please. The staff was really friendly, as part of that; they were also competent. My mushroom-and-garlic quiche was delivered with a little green salad, which was nice, and the coffee is real good too.

I like this place and I want it to succeed, so I'll give it a 9.0!

Can't sleep

and have been posting like a banshee on the ol' personal Tumblr (I have principles and can't link it, but I did add comments so...!); how do most people fall asleep by the end of the day?? I've been getting exhausted by 6ish, then I drink a bunch of coffee or, if I'm real desperate, red bull, and then I'm up for-e-ver. The past two nights this tired-ness has involved driving, so I didn't want to risk "toughing it out" and falling asleep on I-40 between Chapel Hill and Raleigh.

Anyway! We're having a pool party at my and Kneeker's house this Sunday, August 30, and if you're our friend, we want you to come. Bring whatever you want!! I'm not sure what time it'll be, but I'm open to the morning/afternoon/evening, especially if we're trying to get some last-minute tans. Make sure you vote in the poll AND rsvp to us somehow otherwise, like give us a call.

Also, is anyone else thinking it's time for a fresh blingee??? The recent commemorative blingee (for Jake and Grey's departure, which is really sad) on Hi Fever has inspired me...as has my recent acquisition of a scanner and some old pictures from way back. I'm definitely thinking of some blingees in the near future at JOP!!

Liveblogging my day!

8:13: Leave my house. This is new for me, because usually I leave at nine, but I'm trying some productivity tricks and that includes shifting my workday from 9:30-6:30 back to 8:30-5:30.

8:25: Get the best space ever in the parking deck.

8:41: Arrive at Wake County Courthouse. Go to cashier's office to put money on our copy key, then pick up files I hid yesterday in Clerk's office with DO NOT TOUCH sign. Finish making copies of a file for Wayne's* new appeal client. A few people think I'm a clerk, which is sort of fun.

9:15: Back in my office, hitting the blogs.

9:23: Photocopying some stuff!

9:32: Bagel time! Jimmy* brings us bagels every Friday, which is really nice. Ran into Tim*, Cindy*, and Donna* upstairs in the kitchen. Cindy was pretending to be some sort of foreigner; Donna was loving it. Hope this joke doesn't last all day!

10:06: Billing stuff. Have to fix a draft I wrote last night, mail it to client. Yawn.

10:39: More billing stuff, gchat as usual. Listening to State of Shock by Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury, which is not a very good song.

11:25: Timeslips acting up, just spent the last 30 minutes looking at shower curtains and area rugs online. Can't stop thinking about my new house!! Also, my dad called, thinks I have swine flu (it's just a cold. I don't). Heading to reception to cover Donna's hour-and-a-half lunch break.

12:40: Wondering if maybe I do have swine flu after all. I just looked up the symptoms, and I have them all except for the stomach stuff and chills. Not even sure if I had a fever. I'm sure it'll be fine.

12:48: Weirdly, still not freaking out about possibility of h1n1! Maybe I have outgrown my hypochondriac ways.

1:02: Might go across the street to Morning Times and get a salad. Bagel for breakfast, mexican for dinner later = vegetables for lunch.

2:31: Had a nice lunch in the conference room with Wayne, Tim, Juanita* and Craig*, talked about some murders happening in Rocky Mount lately and about Craig's recent night out with NC's former "first kid." Tim brought down some cookies from the 5th floor. Read the paper. Talked about Bruno. Jimmy came in toward the end and discussed recent problems with his teenaged daughter.

2:49: Listening to this on repeat.

Family Man - Fleetwood Mac

3:25: Opening some files. Here's how I open files. 1) assign the client a number from our system (these two right here are 09169 and 09170). 2) punch up a card for the file, print it out. 3) affix labels as needed on the file folder, file the card. 4) physically place the papers in the file according to these categories: Contacts & Billing Info., Memos & E-mails, Correspondence, Attorney Notes, Orders, Brief, Record, Research. If it's a sensitive case or high-profile, it gets really exciting and you can add Media and/or Materials from Client. If it involves drugs, there's a Substance Treatment folder (because they almost always go into treatment to look good for the judge).

3:43: Juanita totally gets my file-folder pet peeve! Does anybody else out there hate it when all the folders in a file have tabs on one side?? You gotta mix it up!

4:16: Second-to-last task of the day: proofreading a brief for Wayne. State v. Bivens? check! NC Gen. Stat. 15A-1340.16? check!

4:36: OF COURSE one of Craig's clients would show up unannounced on a Friday afternoon. He owes us money, which of course he pays in cash. And of course he's $20 short of what he owes. I tell him not to try to handle his seatbelt ticket (which is new, which he lost the citation for) himself and he goes across the street to an ATM to get the $20. Shockingly, this is one of Craig's personal friends. Also shockingly, I suspect Donna was flirting with him and that's how she miscounted the money.

4:50: Make it to the bank just in time to make deposits for the day. I get the older Asian lady teller instead of either of the overly chatty ones. Success.

5:27: Turn in the brief for Wayne. Made one edit on an otherwise immaculate brief.

5:29: Turning off the computer, going home!

*All names have been changed!

A Massage Story: Part Two: The Aftermath

Overall, I rate my massage 8.1. It went well, and it was definitely worth the money, and I'm going back soon (sometime before I hop on a plane to go to my friend's wedding Pennsylvania and visit Robert in New York) because the stress-relieving aspect of it is obvious. But guess what wasn't obvious to me? How the minutes in the hour are spent. So please, allow me to demystify it for you.

First, I got a "consultation," where I had to describe any medical problems/medication I had/have, and what kind of therapy I was seeking. My response was basically: do whatever you have to do to fix my neck. At this point, in the consultation room, my masseuse came in. He looked possibly younger than me (?!) but his arms were huge. The kind of guy where, if I were a guy, I would be intimidated. And he looked like a member of the Lopez family (Mario Lopez, that is).

The next step was hard. After getting in the room itself, the reality of the situation hit me: I'm paying someone to touch me. A lot. I'm not a very touchy person--not a big hugger, cuddler, or snuggler--with anyone I'm not dating or related to (or sober with). So it was weird.

But not that weird, because hey, what's the worst that could happen? Nothing? I'm not flattering myself when I say the thought of molestation crossed my mind, because I work with people (lawyers) who represent sexual harassment cases and it can happen to literally anyone. Not saying I'm hotter than an elderly man, but if things happen to an elderly man at the dentist, things can happen to a 25-year-old girl at the massage parlor. But so here's the crazy part: the masseuse is a professional. And the chances of his being any of the things that could make massage problematic as a career are so, so, so tiny (For every proctologist that's a sex addict, there are 5 million mentally healthy proctologists...for example) SO I was able to relax.

And it was the bomb! I have no idea how back muscles are structured or layered, but it was obvious I was the only one in the room who didn't. I wish I could say more, but I wasn't able to see anything, and it'd be boring if I tried to think of different ways to say "feels good...relaxing...therapeutic." So just take my word for it: worth it.

Here's a note about something weird, though: I noticed little signs everywhere about tipping guidelines: $10 if it was just "ok," $20 if it was "good," and $25 if it was "excellent." I was already paying $50 for the hour. Are they not compensating their masseuses enough? Why the need for huge tips? Stuff like this makes me doubt the legitimacy of the business. And I want to know why such an enormous tip is necessary.

The relaxing effects didn't last long, unfortunately, because as I pulled out of the parking lot, smoke and a burning-plastic smell began to seep out from the hood of my car. Crazily enough, I was on my way to get an oil change anyway, but it was suddenly turning into a much more stressful and difficult ordeal. Would I still be able to read magazines in the waiting room at Jiffy Lube? No. But did I lose my cool? No. Did I freak out when I had to risk my life driving to my mechanic? And find out what an expensive repair I'd need? No.

So, again, in sum: it was worth it, it didn't really weird me out, and it wasn't that painful the next day. Just about as painful as a tricky yoga class, which is how I got there in the first place.

Psyched to Become a Librarian

Most of the time, my biggest joy about leaving work for grad school is leaving work. But sometimes, things like this make me anxious to get my degree going so I can go out and work again! And I have a hunch: I'm going to be the best librarian ever.

This book, Weetzie Bat, is something I've written about before, and it was one of my very favorites around the time I was in 8th-9th grade. There are a few books written after this one, about the same characters, and one of those is Baby Be-Bop. And right now, a member of the "Christian Civil Liberties Union" (pffffft) is suing a public library in Wisconsin for displaying Baby Be-Bop and "$120,000 in compensatory damages ($30,000 per plaintiff) for being exposed to the book in a library display, and the resignation of West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss for 'allow[ing] this book to be viewed by the public.'"

Baby Be-Bop is just about as innocuous as it sounds. I've read everything Francesca Lia Block wrote about the Weetzie Bat characters, and it's right in line with the rest of the books. It focuses on Dirk, Weetzie's best friend, and his relationship with his grandmother. Dirk knows he's gay and he thinks about what that means and he falls in love, and that's pretty much it. It's a good book and I'd gladly let my kids read it. Or the kids of the community! Or anyone! I would never "seek the right to publicly burn" it, that's for sure!

And honestly, nobody has ever suffered $30,000 worth of emotional damage by looking at (not even reading!) a book in a display. Not to mention all the crappy implications of deciding your civil liberties supersede everyone else's, or of appointing yourself moral judge of a community. And are they serious about this asking-the-mayor-to-resign crap? Not on my watch, they wouldn't be! I can't wait to get out there and start defending our freedom, information-wise, right in line with the legit ACLU.

Trekky Records

Local record company Trekky Records was founded by Will Hackney and Martin Anderson. Will stopped by for a chat about workin', recordin', and cool websites (spoiler - JoP is one!). TrkFest is coming up for Trekky on June 13th. Be sure to check it out!

What or who is the driving force behind Trekky records?

All of the different personalities in the different bands. These weirdos keep Martin and I inspired to keep promoting and releasing their music.

Describe an average Trk business day.
Martin and I listen to the music on my computer with the "Shuffle" feature on. Our office is in the basement of our house and its called "The Pleasure Dome" (by some). Martin and I quietly write emails all, occasionally pausing to make fun of someone or say "This song is awesome" then around one someone yells "LUNCHTIIIIIIIIIIME!" and we go upstairs to eat veggie burgers. Then more emails! Yea girl.

How does a band get signed to Trekky?

You have to know Martin and I or people in the crew for usually about 7 years and then you're in!

Do you actively go out and recruit talent from around the area?

Nope, but we still go to a ton of shows because many of the bands around here are amazing!

What are defining characteristics of Trekky bands?

They all sound very different, but generally a common thread is trying to do something different and un-marketable from a business point of view. We like this.

What bands that you have played in over the years have influenced you the most?

Martin and I started out playing in a loud band called Alvarez Painting that really taught us what its like to be in a band at a very young age. Auxiliary House and Lost in the Trees have taught me the good things and the frustrating things about being in a giant, enormous band.

It's 2024, what does Trekky records look like?

Based on an multi-use compound in Chatham County run on solar power and home to our offices, homes, organic farms, horses, a roller coaster and a recording studio. In other words, an anarchist commune.

What bands outside of Trekky do you take the most inspiration from?

Locally our friends in Megafaun, Bowerbirds, Midtown Dickens and The Rosebuds are all amazing at giving honest performances, making beautiful records and not selling out. Crucial.

In Chapel Hill, what do you find is the best club to play music at?

Nightlight is our longtime favorite venue. We've been doing shows there for nearly a decade and its only getting better in recent months!

What websites do you visit on a daily basis?
Pitchfork, Craigslist, Jar of Paperclips (via Google Reader)

In this era of home recording and distributing local music, other start-ups like Trekky have emerged (ie: Sufficient Records). How do you feel about their competition on the music scene?

We don't compete with anyone, we fully support anyone else trying to make something happen. I've never heard of Sufficient Records...

What are the biggest accomplishments of Trekky to date?

Last year's TRKfest Music Festival, our annual Christmas show and Project Symphony, which was the debut of Ari Picker's (Lost in the Trees) first symphony.

What are some areas that Trekky could work on?

Having money!

What do you consider Trekky's biggest musical release?

The Never's album Antarctica. It was a full album and a 50-page color storybook. Yikes!

What is the biggest time of year for Trekky on the whole?

Usually Autumn I think. We released 5 records last fall. All of our bands are in tune with each other's cycles, I guess.

TrkFest is coming up in June. Tell our readers a lil' something about it!

TRKfest is a one day blissfest in Pittsboro, NC that is now an annual event. All of the Trekky bands and our best friend bands all play out in the hot sun and its wonderful. This year's is Saturday, June 13th and you can check myspace.com/trkfest for info!

What is Trekky's mascot?
An owl. A reclaimed symbol from the free masons. Or Bobby Britt, fiddle player. Beware the fleet fingers of Bobby Britt.


The Owl Room Sessions hearken back to MTV's Unplugged Series. What is your ultimate goal for these sessions?
Just to keep em going and inviting people to have a different sort of show experience. Man, I'll never forget Stone Temple Pilots' MTV Unplugged!

Many Trekky band members cross over to help each other out on other ensemble or solo projects. Not including the ones that have already occurred, what cross-overs would you like to see happen?

We talk about this constantly, trying to come up with the weirdest and most magical combinations. Most recently we've just been talking about putting all of the hottest dudes in one band and having them be an R&B group.

What social causes and projects does Trekky currently participate in? What are some that you foresee becoming involved with?

We have an "Adopt a Highway" road that we clean and our annual Christmas show benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We do as much as we can on our respective budgets. Hopefully when we are famous we can do a giant concert and buy Chapel Hill a monorail or something.

What radio station do you consider the best/listen to the most in the Triangle area (AKA Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill)?

WXYC is great for a broad range of music. WKNC in Raleigh plays more local music than anyone on earth and they are amazing for that. WXDU is wonderful also. Joe Norkus' show with his Dad on WCOM is a "must-listen".

Of course numbers don't matter, but what do you consider to be a good show for your bands?

One where something happens that could never happen ever again.

What local bands are you digging the most right now, outside of Trekky's?

Hammer No More the Fingers and Kingsbury Manx just released awesome albums.

Is Trekky your sole occupation? What about for other bands? Do members have jobs outside of Trekky?

Most people have day jobs in the Trekky crew. Martin and I work pretty much full time.

The Trekky family just welcomed a new addition to the fam. Are you excited to watch your bands transition into all different phases of their lives, not just musically? What does that mean for the future of Trekky?

This is very exciting for us because indeed Trekky is sort of our whole life and not just our hobby. We all feel like its our baby (in fact we all tried to name it) and we hope that she grows up feeling like she has this giant extended family helping to raise her. Also we hope she starts a band ASAP.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us Will! Our readers look forward to hearing from Martin!

Seed Savers

I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver right now. It's about her year of food on her family farm in Virginia and how the family will only eat locally produced food. These kind of "off the grid" "back to a more simple way" types of experiments constantly interest me and seem to be popular these days. I would like to think I could do it, but the other part of me thinks I like chocolate pop-tarts. Barbara's fictional books bore me, and I've never been able to get through one of them. This book so far has been more entertaining. In the last section I read about the Seed Savers Exchange. The nonprofit exchange is focused on saving the seeds of heirlooms for people to have access to for generations. I'm not quoting Barbara correctly by any means, but basically a large portion of the seeds available for planting are corporately controlled by a few companies. And the seeds aren't that great because companies want farmers to buy new seeds every year instead of saving seeds to preserve a unique food. That's the basic gist, and we're the losers left to suffer with inferior tasting cauliflower, tomatoes, melons, etc. Yikes! I just wanted to post it in the event I do get a garden and find myself "off the grid", I'll have a place to start.

The Power of Suggestion: All the Movies I Want to See

Summer is coming up, I've finished Infinite Jest, and I'm ready to party. Party with movies, that is! Everything I read lately has been tempting me with movies to Netflix. Oh, and I just upgraded my plan...whoops! If anyone wants to come over, or host me, to watch these--with some fine wine, obviously--let me know. I am fairly unscrupulous in my movie taste (I just want to be entertained), but Robert is much more critical and discriminating, so it's a fair bet I'll have to find someone else to go see I Love You, Man with. Here's what else is on my list:

High School Musical 1-3! This article and the above collage make it look really fun! Plus I've heard rave reviews, especially of number three.

Adventureland: Last night, Graham told me it was good, and it looks good and I heard the music was really good. Plus, it's that kid from The Squid and the Whale, and I liked that movie, so this is pretty much a sure thing.

Tyler Perry: all movies. I'm so curious about these! Who is this guy? (Girl?) What's the deal?

Bruno. I really like Sacha Baron Cohen! This one is actually coming to theaters, so I might have to venture out of the house. Will probably be worth it, right?

Houseguest! Just look at the poster. Phil Hartman AND SINBAD, together?! I've seen this one before but that was literally 15 years ago. Time for a review.

Twilight. I hate to say it, but I'm curious about this too. Plus, my sister told me she'd watch it with me.

Fireproof. The biggest one for me, anyway. This looks hilarious and everybody is taking it seriously and Kirk Cameron is just too crazy. He wouldn't kiss the actress playing his wife in this movie! Even though he is an actor himself, and so is his real-life wife! Don't sign up to be an actor if you won't pretend to kiss another actor for a part! Also, all the "funny" scenes are cracking me up, and for all the wrong reasons.

The Informers. I legitimately want to see this one, because it turns out I've seen every Bret Easton Ellis-based movie and I love them all. Less Than Zero, anybody??!

I Love You, Man. Here's a secret: I'm a big fan of all of these kinds of movies. More than I ever want to admit, but too late for that. Jason Segel? Paul Rudd? Even Russell Brand? It is very hard for me to seriously criticize these people.

So who's with me? We can watch these wine or no wine, other drinks or no other drinks. We can even watch these without making fun of them...if you want! Let me know and I'll get a sign-up sheet started.

Let's Have a Dance Party Soon!

I'm looking at you, Dr. Wow. It's been so long! Mr. Ahhh or BLCK DMND, feel free to come back in town. Corey, Ango, Grey, you too. Look what you're missing out on!

I like this picture because, despite my trance-y face (not listening to "trance," btw), my hair is so shiny!

Grey Gardens

I've been obsessed with Grey Gardens since discovering it in college. For those unfamiliar with the story - Grey Gardens is a 10 bedroom home in the Hamptons owned and lived in by Edith Bouvier Beale, Big Edie, and her daughter, Little Edie. They are most famous for being the aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy as well as starring in the Mayles brothers' documentary "Grey Gardens". The documentary is a "cult classic" (I hate that term), because it documents their life in the decaying mansion and how the 2 women lived with 52 cats and countless raccoons on the overgrown lot. It kind of reminds me of a precursor to reality shows today because these women have such mother/daughter issues on display for us to watch. I've always been a little bit scared of the film because these women and the state of the house kind of creep me out - but at the same time - fascinate me! But I think I'm at the point where I just have to see it. Last weekend HBO debuted their movie version of Grey Gardens with Jessica Lange (Big Edie) and Drew Barrymore (Little Edie). Apparently it gives more context about events that brought the 2 women to the house again, their dependence on one another, and their lost hopes and dreams. Also, the costumes look excellent.

The way the Edie's lived in the home is only half of my interest. In 1979 Ben Bradlee and his wife, Sally Quinn bought the home from the Edie's and promised not to tear it down. Ben Bradlee used to edit the Washington Post, (most interestingly) during the Watergate years. I think this is why I'm most fascinated in the story still - the fact that Ben Bradlee owns it. My point with all this is that I would love to see photos of the house now. Countless photos exist of the house when it's on the verge of death, but now people that go to the house say how magical and mysterious it is. How could it not be?? I'd be a little freaked out to sleep there, but I hear Sally did an excellent job keeping the original house in tact. So far the only things I've been able to find (other than pictures of the front exterior), are these photos of the gardens today. Seriously - isn't it beautiful??

Weetzie Bat! Michael's birthday!

It should be no secret by now that I get a lot of "ideas" (aka steal stuff) from missbehave. They've topped themselves again and made a style guide that, for the letter W, has "Weetzie Bat." I couldn't be happier if they'd used "Winnie Titchener"!* Weetzie Bat shaped a lot of my lil' 14-year-old worldview and made me feel like I lived in a prettier place. Somehow it caught on at UNCW with Michael and Michael's crew, and I think he's the only boy I've known who has also appreciated what Weetzie Bat means to the world.

SPEAKING OF MICHAEL PEARCE...he's turning 25 today! Happy birthday ol' Michael!



Here he is, fighting me for a piece of pastry back in 2005. Michael is another friend from way back. He's going to be a big-time filmmaker pretty soon, so you heard it here first: Michael Pearce rules.

*what the H. another Winnie Titchener in this world? and her father was Bill Titchener????? is somebody out there pranking me?

LOL, "Smokers' Rights"

Is this another April Fools joke? [Smokers feeling abused as federal tax hike hits]

Seriously? Smokers should feel abused, so abused that they quit smoking or just put up or shut up. You don't want to pay an extra $0.62 per pack so that some kids can have health insurance? Fuck you! Here's what one aggrieved, victimized smoker had to say:

"I think it's ridiculous. ... They're picking on smokers," Egger said at the Denver store, where she bought two cartons Tuesday. "I think they're trying to run the tobacco companies out of business."

"As old as I am, I'm not going to quit smoking, regardless of what they do."

Hmm...sounds like a personal problem to me! And what's wrong with running tobacco companies out of business? Hasn't the industry had plenty of time to shape up and find new crops for all that land? Hasn't anybody seen what's happening in the world and opted for more corn or grain instead of tobacco? Don't give me that guff about NC needing the tobacco industry, either. Soybean crops are doing just fine in Eastern NC, and guess what? Soy is healthy and profitable! Tobacco is unhealthy and decreasingly profitable!

Any time somebody talks about smokers' rights I want to throw a chair across the room. Smokers' rights are not civil rights because no other minority group, besides maybe religious ones, chooses to be the thing that makes them a minority. Sorry suckers--I mean smokers!

Gmail April Fools

I'm LOLing at gmail's April Fools joke this year: Gmail Autopilot. More LOLs than last year's, anyway!