Archives for August 2004

August 30, 2004

Really

I'll get back on a regular writing schedule soon. I swear. I just really really really need this summer to be over. And I'm not just talking about the humidity. Fret not, little ones, I shall return.

August 20, 2004

PETA Hates Me

I can understand the rationale for vegetarianism. I really can. Animals have feelings...corporate industrialized slaughter...pigs are smarter than humans...blah blah blah. I can buy any anti-meat argument you give me.

But not today, boy.

First was lunch with my housemate Rachel in Chinatown. I don't remember where it was; I don't completely remember how to get there. I just know it was on the second floor of some nondescript building, and they made a fantastic roast-duck-on-rice for like 5 bucks. Mmmm...duck.

Dinner was at the Midwest Grill near Inman Square. It starts out as a buffet -- salads and some meat options -- then takes off. Once you sit back down with your plate, waiters keep coming at you with giant skewers of just about any cooked flesh you can imagine. Mmmm...pork and beef and chicken and kielbasa. Even my friend Liz Steffey, who has voluntarily eaten both cow-tongue and haggis, was impressed.

Remember when the Simpsons went to the Renaissance Fair and Lisa saw the vision of her future husband? And Homer came bounding out of the tent, telling Lisa, "I've eaten eight different meats! I'm a real Renaissance Man!"? Yeah. Mmmmm.

August 13, 2004

Honestly...Don't Even Read This

Really. Don't click below.

You were warned...

Sometimes when people say, "I don't want to talk about it", they really do want to talk about it...they just want to set the stage to be dramatic and stuff. Heaven knows I've been guilty of this myself, a time or two or sixty-three.

But if you believe nothing else I ever say, believe this: I really really really don't want to talk about the last 24 hours of my life. Nothing horrible; no damage to person or property; no unspeakable trauma, I swear. I'm alive and well and made it home just fine. I just really don't want to say anymore.

Now having typed all that, I realize that this may come across as an even larger-scaled version of what I said in the first paragraph. Emphatically not true. So don't bother. If your curiosity's been piqued...un-pique it. If scandalous thoughts are going through your mind (And they really shouldn't be. Let's remember who we're talking about here.)...push them aside. As far as anyone needs be concerned, I spent another day recovering from my head cold.

And if you think a liberal application of booze is all it will take to spill my secrets (I'm looking at you here, Mystery Person J."B".G.), you are certainly welcome to try. But it will be fruitless.

Maybe in 6 months I'll be ready to say more. I can at least dangle that carrot. Remember. Head cold.

August 12, 2004

The Village

How do you write a review of The Village without giving everything away? I don't think you can. I had almost given up on M. Night Shyalaman after Signs, but was persuaded to give him another chance - and I'm glad I did.

There is, of course, a major plot twist 80% of the way into the movie - standard M. Night stuff. But then there's a second and third twist coming almost simultaneously. I had a glimmer of what the third twist was early, but I talked myself out of it - but it turned out to be true. If this makes any sense to you if you haven't seen the film yet (or even, frankly, if you have), you're ahead of me.

But, in any case, it's good and spooky and creepy without being too over-the-top. I'd recommend it. I think I just did.

August 11, 2004

Separated At Birth

UPDATE: I thought of a joke to go along with it. What's the difference between George W. Bush and the Hamburglar? One is a corporate mascot who's singleminded and underhanded, and speaks unintelligbly; the other steals hamburgers.

6

Oh...and BunkoSquad turns 6 years old tomorrow.

Getting whacked by summer allergies and planning a little 2-day road trip (I say "planning", but I literally won't decide where I'm going until I get in the car tomorrow) has kept the festivities to a minimum.

But I won't say no to a little pat on the back...

Something to Cheer You Up

I stumbled on a site called Exit Mundi, a breezy, interesting look at a couple of dozen ways the world might end. Right now the two leading candidates are a volcano in the Canary Islands which will engulf the entire North Atlantic in 300-foot tidal waves, or a supervolcano under Yellowstone which will choke the Earth in dust.

Good readin'. If anyone needs me, I'll be living in an underground bunker for the rest of my life.

August 04, 2004

Not-So-Good News From the South

James L. Hart of Tennessee is running for Congress in the 8th District of Tennessee. From the article:

He is an unapologetic supporter of eugenics, the phony science that resulted in thousands of sterilizations in an attempt to purify the white race. He believes the country will look "like one big Detroit" if it doesn't eliminate welfare and immigration. He believes that if blacks were integrated centuries ago, the automobile never would have been invented.

He is running unopposed in this week's Democratic primary.

(pause for audience reaction)

Just kidding. He's a Republican. To their credit, the Tennessee GOP has found a write-in candidate who's familiar with the 20th Century.

Good News From the North and West

First from the West: a judge in Seattle ruled today that the Washington state Defense of Marriage Act (no, I still can't type that with a straight face) is unconstitutional. So equal rights may soon be headed to the other end of I-90 as well.

And up north, the first Wal-Mart in North America is about to unionize in Quebec. You probably know I disdain Walmart (I believe they sell, as they say in La Belle Province, "le crap"), and their rabid antiunion practices have been well-documented. Quebec certainly has much more progressive and worker-friendly laws than are the norm; it will be interesting to see how this plays out nations-wide.

August 02, 2004

And Then There Were 40...

There's a new AFI Top 100 movie review up. The Movie Elves are looking to score some overtime pay.