We All Dream Alone

2.27.2004


holy crap, have you ever seen the dark crystal?
this looks just like aughra from that movie...

weird.

is it time to go home yet?



oh damn, this is great...


2.26.2004


every so often, while reading or watching something, i'm reminded that schwarzenegger is governor out here.

then i have to catch my breath. the fucking terminator/running man/last action hero. damn.

::whew::



please, no "my heart will go on", please

i'm begging.
i guess 5 out of 6 ain't bad.
latoya and amy adams, the two that sang celine, went on.
i'm still one up on the judges though. all three picked leah, too.


2.25.2004


ooooh!

i'm sure this either wont come out over here or it'll be two years before we see it, but damn, casshern looks fucking awesome.

watch the trailer. full screen if you can.



just a thought

wouldn't the world be a much better place if that butterfingered fuck moses hadn't dropped the slab that said "thou shalt not discriminate" ?



idol, a tree

well, this week was one hundred fucking times better than last week.
which makes it just as tough to pick the two going to the top 12, except this time it's cause they were all good, rather than all tone deaf.
the first one is a gimmie, though.
the last performer of the night, latoya, was better than anyone so far this season. easily.
the second pick, not so easy. the night seemed to get progressively better, and for that reason, i'm gonna go with leah labelle, who was up just before latoya.
but its really a toss-up. i'd say the third spot in the top three will be either charly, the southern american indian (idol?), or eric yoder.
lucky for him he didn't grow up in boston.
yoda. ya ya ya ya yoda.
i dunno though, everyone was pretty good.
the weakest were the big kahuna hawaíian dude (mainly cause of the song he did) and the chick from sturbridge.

we'll see if i can make it 6 for 6 tonight.

on a different note (see how i did that there?), i jûst lea®ned hôw tö dö these¹ things° in HTML


¹you know, all those little blips and blops



this is scary...

the environment over the next few years

but not terribly surprising

i think, however, it might be just a publicity stunt for this, though

***
new and improved and updated with arianas take on it here. (click on the two second commercial, it's worth it!)
she even makes a point about the day after tomorrow movie!
the right ended up with the short end of the stick when they traded her to the left for dennis miller. glad to have her on my team.
sure, miller speaks better english, but she's easier to understand.

***

even more on this crazy story here

damn.


2.24.2004


the attack of the gay agenda!


2.23.2004


on the seriously fucked-up mind behind the

Uniting and
Strengthening
America by

Providing
Appropriate
Tools
Required to
Intercept and
Obstruct
Terrorism

Allowing, of
Course, the ushering in of a new
Theocratic american government

(okay, i made up the ACT part, so sue me)

john ashcroft is a fucking madman



a little political...


2000 election results

bush - 50,456,002
gore - 50,999,897
nader - 2,882,955


now i understand about the electoral votes and the way that works, and why it is that the president that won the popular vote did not win the election.
(well, other than the whole hanging chad, katherine harris, and supreme court thing there...)
but i've trying to look at it this way:
coming into 2000, a lot of people were on the fence. they saw bush v. gore as a "lesser of two evils" race, which has been the case in our two party government for a long time. a lot of people saw this as a good time to give the green party a vote, just to let their dissatisfaction with the two party system be known.

here's a tiny sampling of what has happened since november 2000:

9/11. i thought that bush, as much as i couldn't stand him, handled this as well as anyone could have
...for the first couple of weeks.

record deficits, still declining at a rate of two billion dollars plus per day.

a president that ran on a platform of no nation building and smaller government invades iraq, initiates the USA PATRIOT ACT, and is now seeking a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, among hundreds of other bullshit decisions that i don't have the time or patience to detail here.

we have an america that went from a 6.10% unemployment rate in '94 under bush sr, to 3.98% after 8 years of clinton in 2000, and is now back at 6%, after only a few years of bush jr.

howard dean got a lot of people excited about politics in a way they hadn't been in the past. now that hes out of the race, a lot of these people are still going to vote that didn't vote four years ago, and they are going to vote for an end to bush.

bascially, what i see when i look around, and turn off fox news, is a country of people that are more aware politically (when they aren't distracted by shiny nipple rings or nba ballers balling) than they were four years ago, and they have been shocked out of the complacency that came with years of surplus and new jobs under clinton. a lot of people feel railroaded by the 2000 election, and now want more than ever to have their voices heard.

i think that a huge number of the people that voted for nader will want bush out of the white house as soon as possible, and do whatever it takes, meaning voting for kerry or edwards, to get this done. nader will still get some votes this year, but it will be nothing like it was in 2000.

i hold out hope that many people that were on the fence and sided with bush in the last election can now see that they voted for the greater of two evils, and will go to the polls this year to try and change that.

just ask yourself, what exactly has gotten better in the past four years? i come up with a very, very short list there. i believe that a lot of people will be asking themselves that come november, and the results will hopefully show they feel shorted as well.

so i'm feeling a little hopeful about the upcoming election.
by the way, hopeful = the door hitting bush on his lying ass on the way out.

dubya had his shot, and he blew it. it's time to get the greater of two evils out of there, and see what a lesser demon can do for us.


2.19.2004


fun stuff

i remember having some of these when i was little

shmuzzle puzzles



top ten movies that i hate

if you know me, you know this is a sacred list. it's tough for me to hate a movie for two reasons;

one, i try to avoid all movies that i know i will hate. i'm amazed at the number of people that don't follow this one simple rule, especially when it can cost over $30 for a night out at the flicks.

two, when i see a movie, i try to take it for what it is (unlike a lot of professional movie reviewers). if it isn't failing miserably, then i don't give it the automatic thumbs down, i just try to lose myself in it and enjoy it for what it is. to this day i get a chill when the lights go down in a movie theatre, and that always puts me in the right mood to enjoy even forgettable pieces of fluff.

and now, the list.

(remember, hate is a strong word)

10) star wars episode 1: the phantom menance

a stupid fucking piece of shit movie for really one main reason, the wooden acting (other than ewan mcgregor channelling sir alec guinness). it also barely told a story, and could have easily been condensed into a half hour sequence in episode 2 ~ which had it's own problems, but didn't really come close to making this list. i forgive jar jar, he is for the kids, and really wasn't that terrible. the announcers at the pod race, however, constitute the worst idea george lucas has ever had, and that includes never letting us have the unaltered original trilogy on dvd.

9) catwoman***

no, i haven't seen it yet, and i won't, but it makes my list anyway, on principle alone.

***okay, i'm changing this to escape from L.A.
don't know how i forgot that, especially since it's on jims list, which is where i got this idea.
worst big-budget sequel. ever. (phantom menace was officially a 'prequel')

8) the lawnmower man

there have been a lot of bad stephen king flicks. at least they didn't just steal the title.
for those of you that have seen the movie and not read the short story, get this; the story is about a guy at home alone that hires this fat dude in overalls to cut his out of control yard down to size. the fat guy strips and eats all the grass, then eats the guy.
for those of you that haven't seen the movie, don't.

7) ruby in paradise

i hate this for one reason: it launched ashley judds movie career. okay, two reasons, it also sucked out loud.

6) the cat in the hat/how the grinch stole christmas

maybe i shouldn't have three movies on my list that i haven't even seen, but fuck you, it's my list, and i'll do what want.

5) pearl harbor

i admit, i kind of broke my rule about avoiding movies i expect to be bad on this one. i really should listen to myself more often. you don't need a love story added on to a major historical event that had real stories (that were a hell of a lot more touching) there for the taking.

4) the 5th element

rule number one:comic relief in scifi is to be administered by either ambiguously gay robots or walking carpets. not shrieking black men.

rule number two: see rule number one.

3) saving silverman

i'm not even really sure why i have such pure, unadulterated hate for this movie, but i do, oh, i do.

2) independence day (ID4) (and what the fuck does that mean? wouldn't that be part 4?)

what the fuck was this? what the fuck? how can i hate a movie about aliens invading and nearly destroying the entire earth?? i really didn't think i could. thanks for showing me the error of my ways, devlin and emmerich.

1) batman and robin

the only movie i have ever walked out of. ever. could not have possibly been worse. i went next door and watched the end of face/off again.

there you have it.
save me the aisle seat.



damn, i'm good...

4 for 4 so far.

none of the judges even guessed it right.


2.18.2004


idol

phew.
stunk last night like bad karaoke. and i wasn't drunk.
bad. bad.
bad.
but if i had to guess, i'd go with matt rogers, the dude that played in the rose bowl, and camile velasco, the hawaiian girl. who looked stoned, or just scared witless.

the redhead and marisa were okay too...

but no one was good, really. i think my picks at least CAN be good. the rest, i dunno. it was sad.


2.16.2004


my precious.




2.14.2004


googly-eyed jesus loves me

this i know




(yeah, i'm bored today.)



this was the one that started it all.



fun on a saturday !



my new obsession is making every picture i take look something like this:



i need a faster computer.



valentines day

in honor of the aforementioned holiday, i thought i'd post a few of angies paintings, which are but one of the many reasons i'm in love with her!

(please forgive any blurriness and/or reflections of the cameraman. i didn't dare try to unframe anything...)

she painted this christmas card for me




this one i love !




and this is my favorite, so far...




a computer monitor doesn't do 'em justice, but you get the idea

have a great weekend, people.


2.12.2004


exciting !

extra extra long weekend for me.
no work tomorrow.
yahoo !
nothing else to say, really.
sorry.



idol

alright, i'm two for two so far!


2.11.2004


idle hands make idol guesses

i'm gonna try this every week. see what a judge of talent and/or the american psyche i am.

moving on tonight will be...
fantasia barrino
and
diana degarmo

i think erskine and jennifer hudson have the best shot so far at the wildcards.

for those of you that don't like idol, i don't care.
...and for those of you that watch any batchelor/ette, fat obnoxious, paradise island, littlest groom bullshit, i'm sorry.
notice i left out survivor. it's not because i watch it. ever.



too funny...

from the one ring today:

'Will & Grace' Goes Geek
Xoanon @ 11:45 am EST


Sheltercats writes: "Will & Grace" was on tonight, instead of Thursday, and there was a funny bit involving ROTK. Will had a new client (the very funny Dave Foley from 'Newsradio' and 'The Kids in the Hall'), and one of the first things he asked Will was whether or not he had watched LOTR. The client said he couldn't work with a lawyer who hadn't seen all 3 films; he didn't want anyone who had "come in at the end."

Will said of course he had seen them, what's not to like about a movie with boys named Merry and Pippin searching for a piece of jewelry?

Then the client said something else about the film, and Will said something like, "When Theoden's daughter Eowyn stabbed the Witch-King, I screamed like an Uruk-hai."

Then the client said, "Hey, I liked the movies, but I'm not one of those freaks."


2.10.2004


howard shore on the radio...



oh jesus, this is funny...

~ you don't need a salon subscription, just click on the day pass thingy and watch
a two second commercial. well worth it.


2.09.2004


i was finally able to take advantage of the fact that I live in LA this past weekend.

(you know, other than finding the person i'm planning on spending the rest of my life with and all...)

the egyptian theatre had a showing of all three lord of the rings films, friday thru sunday. exciting enough on its own for a geek like me, but wait, there's more! ...famous people! now, i'm not like a celebrity hound or anything, but sure, i get a little excited when uncle leo from seinfeld is in front of me in (on?) line at the bank. i kinda look at it this way; when i get a cd i really dig, i like being able to go to the show, check the band out live, and let them know i enjoy their shit by yelling the occasional "wooooo!" and clapping furiously. so considering the hours i've put in over the past few years what with multiple trips to the theatre for each flick, then repeated upon repeated viewing of the dvds, so it was pretty fucking cool to be able to let peter jackson know i enjoyed his shit by clapping furiously and letting loose the occasional "wooooo!"

friday was fellowship, and PJ did a Q & A after. moderated by frigging chris connelly. i can't stand that guy, but he was alright i guess...
before they got to the Q & A though, PJ was presented with his own chair at the egyptian (a tradition and honor) by one of his idols, forrest j ackerman. this is the creator of famous monsters of filmland, a magazine you would have read if you were into horror and sci fi flicks when you were a kid. like me. he was thrilled and thanked 'forry' for letting him see what was going on behind the scenes back before the DVD age.

PJ got a standing O for about 5 minutes, then he let us know that he just came in from NZ, and had just finished cutting the ROTK extended edition DVD. four hours and ten minutes. 4:10.
that got him another 5 minute standing ovation...
50 extra minutes. awesome. awesome. although i'd take an hour and fifty if i could get it.


he was great. he talked about how king kong was the movie that inspired a 9 year old kiwi to want to make movies.
he related the recurring nightmare he has during every movie he's ever shot; he's lying in bed, exhausted to the point of incapacitation, and all the cast and crew are surrounding his bed, demanding he tell them what to do next.
he talked about how the 'dark beauty' of howard shores scores for silence of the lambs, the fly, and crash made him realize he was the musician he wanted to work with on these films.
and more. lots more. it was amazing.

after a final round of clapping furiously and "wooooo"ing occasionally, it was over.

saturday was the two towers, with elijah wood, sean astin, howard shore, and ngila dickson, and then sunday was return of the king, with PJ again, fran walsh, phillipa boyens, mark ordesky, and bob shaye. i'll write more about those tomorrow, as i really haven't done fuck-all at work yet today...


2.06.2004


you know, it's disheartening enough to come to work at the same old boring ass place every day, and do the same old boring ass job everyday.

i don't need to hear the "harrowing" stories of the corporate suits that are forced to fly business class on british airways because there were no upgrades to first class left.
i don't need to hear how this guy or that girl needs to leave orange county at 2:45 pm, so instead of taking the earlier flight that would cost $1200.00 less, they need to take the more expensive one. and please upgrade them to first class.
i don't need to hear that the meeting has been planned for a month, but because the ticket purchase has been put off until the last minute, it will now cost $8,500.00 to fly there, instead of $2,400.00

i really really don't.

but i do. all day long.

$8,500.00 for a first class ticket. what the fuck. how do you ever expect to turn a profit with that kind of bullshit going on. how do you ever expect to keep your employees happy when they hear about you pulling that kind of shit, when they're struggling to make their car payments?

you don't. you just take and take and take and never give back. their parents must have been real assholes.

fucking rich cunts. you can bet they'll be voting for bush. cocksuckers.

thank god it's friday, no?



oh wow. fucking wow.
i can read a hell of a lot faster like this.
i know what i'm doing at lunchtime.

eastern standard tribe really fast


2.05.2004


sorry, i couldn't resist

it's a good story ! really !

better than the whole 'decline of western civilization' angle everyone else is touting.



new look thanks to diana!

thanks!



oooh, cool.

bob moulds (husker du, sugar) blog!



fun lil' clips

robot love!

yea, verily!

chris walken stick


2.04.2004


suspicious minds

well, it seems the only way i'm inspired to write something is by reading something. this morning, dawnkeyoties entry kinda reminded me of this story, and then later in the afternoon, kirbys just brought it all back.

thanks guys.

first a little local history. just a few blocks from my parents house in quincy, right on the beach, is the beachcomber. when this story took place, it was nostalgia, as it had been as long as i could remember. i can't remember all that far back. the beachcomber was the original name of the place, and they changed it when there was a stabbing death in the parking lot. i have no clue as to when this was, sometime in the 70's probably? i guess the negative press was keeping people away, so they they changed the name, and nostalgia it became.

better known as nastys, if you're ms. jackson or anyone who drinks there on a regular basis, this place is the definition of a local watering hole. if anyone knew your name, it was still early and there was a lot of drinking yet to be done. back when i could drink more than a few beers a night, this was usually where i would do it. my friend jay and i became regulars pretty quickly, and spent at least 3 or 4 nights a week there. yeah, i know. i do miss it now though. nothing like pulling yer own guinness when the place is dead on a monday night, believe me! we got in good with one of the doormen/bartenders, P.D., who was a singer and guitar player as well, and we started jamming with him. (another benefit of dead monday nights... free rehearsal stage complete with drunk regulars who would have enjoyed themselves even if tiny tim had been screeching 'tiptoe thru the tulips')

we got asked, or we asked, to play their closed door christmas party... free food, booze, and again, playing in front of people that were plenty soused and plenty easy to please. we were in. we started rehearsing a couple weeks beforehand, and one of the drunk regulars there wanted to sing some elvis. what the hell. i'm pretty sure his name was joe, weird, eh kirby?
joe was a nice guy, a pretty friendly drunk, probably in his mid 30s. he was an illegal irish immigrant that would work the door or barback there occasionally. anyway, we worked it out with him and it sounded pretty good. the gig came and we rocked, he popped up on stage for his tune and it went over really well. we all had a great night.

now for the kicker. a few months later i'm watching the news, and there's been a murder a few towns over. the guy had beat his girlfriend to death, then put the body under her car in the driveway to make it look like some type of accident. they flashed his picture and said his name, and it was the friendly drunk irish dude that had sung suspicious minds with us. apparently not as friendly a drunk as i had thought previously. i walked down to nastys and hung at the bar with P.D. for a while, while the phone rang off the hook. P.D. must have said, 'yeah, i'm pretty sure it was him' a thousand times that night. i don't really know what happened after, i'd assume he's in a cell somewhere now.

...and that's not the only person i've jammed with that's been put away for murder.

i can't even rap, for chrissakes!


2.02.2004


patriots, patriots, patriots !

incredible.

i don't have the words.





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scott mcnicol