Last Saturday, I went to Nate's white trash theme party. It was pretty fun, but for some reason, none of the liquor stores were open, so I had to settle for beer. The costumes were great. I kept it simple with a white, see-through t-shirt, jeans shorts, and tennis shoes, but the highlight was the faux-preggers woman with rollers in her hair, a drink in one hand, and a cigarette in the other.
Last night, I saw The Proposition, a gory Australian Western that knocked my socks off. Seek this one out, if the preceding description interested you at all. You won't be sorry.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Tubing
OK, it was the Comal River we went tubing on, but next time it may be the Guadalupe. I hear that's more of a real river, and less of a theme park ride. Not that there was anything wrong with tubing the Comal, it was a lot of fun. I got some very weird sunburn shapes on my shoulders where I apparently didn't do a very good job applying the lotion, but nothing too terrible. It wore me out more than I expected, though. I was almost asleep by 10:00pm. That's what beer and sun will do to you on a hot afternoon.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
All the latest
Gearing up for the weekend again tonight, since I have tomorrow off. I'll likely be going tubing on the Guadalupe River for the first time since I moved to Austin. I've wanted to go since I found out about it, but never had the opportunity until now. I hope the weather's good.
Last weekend was great, hanging out with friends, watching bands, walking around downtown, and driving through the northern neighborhoods at night. I'm coming out of a funk that's persisted on a low level since my computer blew up, and got worse when I started having some digestive problems a few weeks ago.
It's all better now, and I'm ready to get back to work on some music videos for spec. That and I'm buying new stuff for the business to actually make use of some of this capital that's been sitting in a checking account earning no interest for months.
On top of that, I think I've hit on a way to lose some weight that's not onerous and should work for me. I plan to start working out again Monday, after about a month's hiatus. That's the news.
Last weekend was great, hanging out with friends, watching bands, walking around downtown, and driving through the northern neighborhoods at night. I'm coming out of a funk that's persisted on a low level since my computer blew up, and got worse when I started having some digestive problems a few weeks ago.
It's all better now, and I'm ready to get back to work on some music videos for spec. That and I'm buying new stuff for the business to actually make use of some of this capital that's been sitting in a checking account earning no interest for months.
On top of that, I think I've hit on a way to lose some weight that's not onerous and should work for me. I plan to start working out again Monday, after about a month's hiatus. That's the news.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Snakes on a Plane
OK, the upcoming movie Snakes on a Plane has officially become a pop culture event, months before its release. And I understand the appeal. The title says it all - Samuel L. Jackson said it was the reason he signed on, and when there was talk of changing it, the internet rose up in protest. It's become such a word of mouth phenomenon, Entertainment Weekly and others recently reported the production got more money out of the studio to make it that much more exciting and gross, in order to meet the raised expectations and get an R rating.
Why is this title so great? Snakes by their very nature stay as close to the ground as possible. There's something incongruous about such a creature flying thousands of feet above the Earth. They just don't belong.
Seeing as how I would love to make a movie that gets one-tenth the attention that this movie has already gotten in the press, I've been trying to come up with my own take on this concept. Here's what I've got so far:
Gophers on a Bus
An Octopus on my Head
Paris Hilton in a Movie
and my favorite...
U.S. Troops in Iraq
Do you have a better one? E-mail me.
Why is this title so great? Snakes by their very nature stay as close to the ground as possible. There's something incongruous about such a creature flying thousands of feet above the Earth. They just don't belong.
Seeing as how I would love to make a movie that gets one-tenth the attention that this movie has already gotten in the press, I've been trying to come up with my own take on this concept. Here's what I've got so far:
Gophers on a Bus
An Octopus on my Head
Paris Hilton in a Movie
and my favorite...
U.S. Troops in Iraq
Do you have a better one? E-mail me.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Winding down
Wow. That was one hell of a week we just had.
So a friend of Phil's from Purdue, who I'd met once before, and her boyfriend, who I totally recognized but never figured out from where, drove down for SXSW. They crashed at our place from Tuesday to Sunday and it was a blast. A friend of Phil's friend happens to have moved to Austin a couple months ago, and she stayed with us a few nights too. On Saturday night, another friend of Phil's came up from San Antonio to hang out, and he stayed too. How we fit all these people in our living room I have no idea.
But now they're all gone, and I'm sitting here by myself and feeling lonely.
Come back soon, y'all.
So a friend of Phil's from Purdue, who I'd met once before, and her boyfriend, who I totally recognized but never figured out from where, drove down for SXSW. They crashed at our place from Tuesday to Sunday and it was a blast. A friend of Phil's friend happens to have moved to Austin a couple months ago, and she stayed with us a few nights too. On Saturday night, another friend of Phil's came up from San Antonio to hang out, and he stayed too. How we fit all these people in our living room I have no idea.
But now they're all gone, and I'm sitting here by myself and feeling lonely.
Come back soon, y'all.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Changing tastes
I just watched Sideways for the first time, while drinking a bottle of Solaz. I figured, if I was going to watch it, I might as well participate. This movie was very much in danger of drowning in critical praise last year, making it harder to enjoy on its own merits, but I did enjoy it, and the Solaz, a Spanish wine.
There's a scene in Sideways where the main character, played by Paul Giamatti, drinks wine out of a styrofoam cup. While never having done this myself, I did witness a similar scene my senior year of college, and it's still amusing. I never really drank wine much myself until the past year, since I get it free at work occasionally, and I've enjoyed it more than I expected.
One of my favorite wine-drinking memories goes back to 1997, when I spent a semester in Melbourne, Australia, on study abroad. For some reason still unknown to me, one of the women staying in my dorm, which catered to international students, meaning there were few Australians living there, invited me up to her room to drink a box of wine with her and a few other women staying there. Boxes of wine didn't carry quite the stigma there that they do, oh, pretty much everywhere else, and I was happy to join them. I don't remember what we talked about, but it was a fun time. It never happened again.
I have very occasionally picked up a bottle of wine since then, but that may change. I was having a conversation recently about taste, and we disagreed on one point. I've come around to the belief that taste changes dramatically as we get older. For instance, I rarely eat chocolate, specifically candy bars, anymore, but I loved them as a child. We always had candy in the cupboard when I was growing up, and I know I ate some every day. Not anymore. Maybe once a week on average, do I have anything chocolate other than milk. The way I see it, I've grown out of the taste for that kind of thing. In the same way, I believe we sometimes grow into a taste for something. For instance, alcohol.
When I was a kid, my father would sometimes give me a sip of beer, and I'm sure it amused him when I made a face and said it was gross. Needless to say, I no longer think beer is gross. I've grown into the taste for beer, wine, etc., some more than others. When I was young, my father never drank any other alcohol than beer, at least in my memory, but in the last ten years, he too has grown an appreciation for wine.
I don't think anybody's fooling themselves when they find a taste for alcohol as an adult. Tastes change. Just as kids who won't eat broccoli grow into adults who become vegan, I've found a taste for red wine, when time was I couldn't stand the stuff.
Drink up.
There's a scene in Sideways where the main character, played by Paul Giamatti, drinks wine out of a styrofoam cup. While never having done this myself, I did witness a similar scene my senior year of college, and it's still amusing. I never really drank wine much myself until the past year, since I get it free at work occasionally, and I've enjoyed it more than I expected.
One of my favorite wine-drinking memories goes back to 1997, when I spent a semester in Melbourne, Australia, on study abroad. For some reason still unknown to me, one of the women staying in my dorm, which catered to international students, meaning there were few Australians living there, invited me up to her room to drink a box of wine with her and a few other women staying there. Boxes of wine didn't carry quite the stigma there that they do, oh, pretty much everywhere else, and I was happy to join them. I don't remember what we talked about, but it was a fun time. It never happened again.
I have very occasionally picked up a bottle of wine since then, but that may change. I was having a conversation recently about taste, and we disagreed on one point. I've come around to the belief that taste changes dramatically as we get older. For instance, I rarely eat chocolate, specifically candy bars, anymore, but I loved them as a child. We always had candy in the cupboard when I was growing up, and I know I ate some every day. Not anymore. Maybe once a week on average, do I have anything chocolate other than milk. The way I see it, I've grown out of the taste for that kind of thing. In the same way, I believe we sometimes grow into a taste for something. For instance, alcohol.
When I was a kid, my father would sometimes give me a sip of beer, and I'm sure it amused him when I made a face and said it was gross. Needless to say, I no longer think beer is gross. I've grown into the taste for beer, wine, etc., some more than others. When I was young, my father never drank any other alcohol than beer, at least in my memory, but in the last ten years, he too has grown an appreciation for wine.
I don't think anybody's fooling themselves when they find a taste for alcohol as an adult. Tastes change. Just as kids who won't eat broccoli grow into adults who become vegan, I've found a taste for red wine, when time was I couldn't stand the stuff.
Drink up.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Getting Lost
In the last week, I watched the entire first season of Lost on dvd. I'd thought I stopped catching it consistently at about the halfway mark, but the fact was I'd seen all or most of every episode but the last four and one or two others. Makes me wish I'd kept up with it so I could've watched this season, but I figure they'll be releasing it on dvd soon after they air the season finale in May.
One thing that surprises me about watching it all at once like I did is how complex the characterization can be so quickly. One example would be Kate, the standout Canadian (both the character and actress). It's clear the writers want Kate to be a hero to the audience, and maybe they even consider her noble on some level, though I've yet to see much reason why. Personally, I find her more interesting as a villain, and I hope the show comes around on this point, because Evangeline Lilly is a fantastic actress, and behind her smiles I always detect a hint of deception.
And how ballsy was it to make Sayid ex-Republican Guard? Or Charlie a functioning heroin addict? This show definitely deserves the kudos directed its way.
One thing that surprises me about watching it all at once like I did is how complex the characterization can be so quickly. One example would be Kate, the standout Canadian (both the character and actress). It's clear the writers want Kate to be a hero to the audience, and maybe they even consider her noble on some level, though I've yet to see much reason why. Personally, I find her more interesting as a villain, and I hope the show comes around on this point, because Evangeline Lilly is a fantastic actress, and behind her smiles I always detect a hint of deception.
And how ballsy was it to make Sayid ex-Republican Guard? Or Charlie a functioning heroin addict? This show definitely deserves the kudos directed its way.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Critters
We've never had a big roach problem here, but every once in a while I'll find a carcass the cat has picked over pinned underneath something - yoga mat, the cat's bed, a trash can. I hadn't seen a live one in months until last week, and then there was the one today.
We seal our open food packages in plastic ziploc bags to keep them fresh and the smell contained, and dirty dishes are either washed when we're done eating or go straight in the washer, and this has been effective. A couple weeks after we moved in, when I was still leaving my cat's food dish on the floor, I watched the biggest roach I had ever seen actually pick up a piece of her dry cat food and begin to carry it off before I killed it. That was disgusting.
The one in my shower when I got home today was about that size. I was pulling a wash cloth out to throw it in the laundry when I saw the thing, and being sporting, I grabbed the cat and gave her a chance at it, but she wasn't very interested and didn't like being in the shower, even with no water running. However, as soon as I put her in, the roach went for the drain, and the damn thing was so big it couldn't fit through the porous metal plate that covers it (see picture above - the quarter is to show you the size of the holes in the plate). And it was trying to squeeze through, believe me. It's little legs were scurrying but it couldn't fit more than its head through one of those holes.
Well, needless to say we won't be worrying about that particular roach anymore, but when I stomped it, there was some foul, utterly black substance that it left on the shower tiles that I don't think I'd ever seen before. And this before I ate supper. Anyway, that's my adventure for today.
We seal our open food packages in plastic ziploc bags to keep them fresh and the smell contained, and dirty dishes are either washed when we're done eating or go straight in the washer, and this has been effective. A couple weeks after we moved in, when I was still leaving my cat's food dish on the floor, I watched the biggest roach I had ever seen actually pick up a piece of her dry cat food and begin to carry it off before I killed it. That was disgusting.
The one in my shower when I got home today was about that size. I was pulling a wash cloth out to throw it in the laundry when I saw the thing, and being sporting, I grabbed the cat and gave her a chance at it, but she wasn't very interested and didn't like being in the shower, even with no water running. However, as soon as I put her in, the roach went for the drain, and the damn thing was so big it couldn't fit through the porous metal plate that covers it (see picture above - the quarter is to show you the size of the holes in the plate). And it was trying to squeeze through, believe me. It's little legs were scurrying but it couldn't fit more than its head through one of those holes.
Well, needless to say we won't be worrying about that particular roach anymore, but when I stomped it, there was some foul, utterly black substance that it left on the shower tiles that I don't think I'd ever seen before. And this before I ate supper. Anyway, that's my adventure for today.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Return to form
I just finished watching The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and I enjoyed it more than I expected to. The thing that made it so appealing was probably Bill Murray in the title role. For some reason, I expected his character from The Royal Tenenbaums (also directed by Wes Anderson) given a feature, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Instead, Steve Zissou is much more like the old Bill Murray persona most people remember so fondly from the 1980's and early 1990's, before he made a few bad choices and pretty much disappeared for a while. He's still living in Anderson's world, but he's recognizable again, and you can't help but laugh along with him. Props also to Willem Dafoe, who steals most of his scenes with a funny German accent and wounded pride.
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