I should be working on my thesis but Showbiz Moms & Dads is on.

And last night it was Blow Out - the reality show set in a Beverly Hills beauty salon.

Somebody save me.

Last night we went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 and damn if it wasn't almost like attending a rock concert (the air was charged with a very palpable excitement) except for the part where there wasn't really anything to be celebrated except for the fact that so many people turned out to see Michael Moore's film and the hope that this film might get some people off their asses to vote. In any case, I made damn sure that we saw the film over the weekend because I wanted to be part of the effort to make it the number one film over the weekend. Props to Oakland's Grand Lake theatre for deliberately defying the MPAA's "R" rating for the film.

In the end, not only was Fahrenheit 911 the biggest movie of the weekend, but, according to the New York Times it became the highest-grossing documentary of all time. (Requires free registration).

OK, as for the film itself....it's very engaging, engrossing and informative. And yes I know it's leftist propaganda. I know it's an unbalanced view of the events leading up to and beyond September 11th.

But that's the point really. For the last nearly three years the Bush administration has given us one side of the picture and with this film it's as if Moore is jumping up and down on the political see-saw to tip it back the other way. It's unbalanced - there's little in the way of defense/explanation from Bush and Co. - but I'd say that after all these months of White House spin, it's only fair. In fact, I think that should be the film's tagline: Fair and Unbalanced.

OK, so perhaps I'm not cut out for marketing....

Last week, Newsweek writer Michael Isikoff squared off against some off Moore's Fahrenheit allegations; now Michael Moore's site has a mostly blow-by-blow response to Isikoff's accusations - most notably the allegation that Moore was wrong about whether, in the days immediately following September 11th, prominent Saudis --including members of the Bin Laden family -- were allowed to leave the U.S. without extensive questioning. Read both reports for yourself and decide. Better yet, read both reports and see the film and then decide.

I'll be happy to pony up $9 for the cost of a ticket to the first conservative who asks me.

Any takers?

God, I love Thurston Moore's voice.
Even more, I love the fact that Sonic Youth has been making music since I was 11 years old.
Even better, The Cure has been making music since I was nine and Robert Smith still kicks ass.
Instead of all of this making me feel old, it makes me feel really damn good.

You know what people, just leave Mary-Kate Olsen alone. I know you'd think I'd love to snark in delight over her reported problems with anorexia, but honestly, hearing on CNN this morning how both twins suffer from poor self-esteem and body image really made me fucking sad.

If two gorgeous 18-year-old girls - each without an ounce of body fat between them, smooth faces like a baby's ass and gazillions of dollars - can't feel good about themselves then doesn't it really show us how screwed up this culture is when it comes to how we objectify women? How we objective everyone?

OK, I'll admit that when I first heard about it I cracked a joke. Or two. Or three. But now I feel just plain mean - and stupid and petty - for doing so. There's a big difference between being snarky and being mean. Alright, so maybe there's just a slight distinction, but there's a distinction nonetheless and frankly I'd rather just retract the claws for now and give the girl a break.

And please don't give me that well-she's-so-rich-and-privileged-and-probably-dumber-than-a-doorknob-and-mean-to-boot crap. Because maybe she is all of that, but she's also only 18 for crying out loud and no it's not cancer or whatever, but it's still no walk in the park and eating disorders are, honestly, no laughing matter.

So basically, if you could blow up the picture and sharpen the resolution -
you'd probably be able to see my house in the opening shots of American Beauty...cool.

At some point yesterday I realized it was the summer solstice and decided that my previous plan for the evening - sitting on my ass and doing nothing in the air-conditioned house - would not quite suffice as a way to celebrate the longest, most brightest day of the year.

So instead, I talked Cory into the vague idea of "doing something" which eventually translated into driving out to the lovely town of Williams to dine on veggie sandwiches at Granzellas.

If you've never been to Granzella's - then what are you waiting for? It is heaven. Not only it is a deli with a free olive tasting bar but they also have a little grocery area that's filled with all sorts of yummy foods (sweets, pastas, condiments, etc), an extensive beer and wine selection, an ice-cream counter and a cocktail lounge. There's even a small sit-down restaurant that we've yet to try out but we've sworn that next time we trek up there we'll check it out and order a pizza. There's even a Granzella's motel next door - you could just set up camp and live off of the bounty that is Granzella's. Well, I could anyway. At one point as we wandered around the store checking out all the cookies and candies I had to laugh for the way we were lovingly pawing all the merchandise.

Get me outta here, Cory finally said. I want everything.

Mmmm...everything.


After stuffing ourselves with the veggie sandwiches and, then, ice-cream, we headed back down the highway and enjoyed the late summer evening. Despite the wild invasion of insects hitting my windshield, the sky looked soft and pretty in that June summer way. At one point as we drove past a silo Cory remarked that, with all the surrounding farm land, it felt as if we could be anywhere in the U.S. Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska. (That is, if they had mountains in Kansas).

That was the beauty of the drive and of the night and of the company and of the feeling that we could be anyplace, headed anywhere, ready for anything on that, the longest day of the year.

If only....

Ehhh....too much to write about. Thus, in short, NYC was:

• the Puerto Rican Day Parade


• walks through Central Park and Riverside Park


• NBA finals (Pistons!)


• pizza and beer


• walking, walking and more walking


• blisters


• Magnolia Bakery cupcakes


• dinner with Mark and Glenn Coolfer


• Chinatown, Little Italy, Chelsea and the East & West Villages


• knockoff designer bags


• cheap shopping


• Metropolitan Museum of Art


• the catwalk guy from American's Next Top Model in the Times Square subway station


• The Sopranos' Lorraine Bracco and Annabella Sciorra (both in Chelsea)


• Brooklyn and the water taxi


• beer (third round=always free) and darts at the Irish Rover in Queens -hands down my favorite night of the trip


• Empire State Building


• humid weather


• thunderstorms as soon as we boarded our return plane


• passed out woman on the plane - somewhere over Utah - possible heart attack?


• three doctors on the plane - on the cheap flight no less


• home

Now, after flaking out on several weekend plans (although we did manage to squeeze in a showing of Saved! and a visit with Kepi & Roach before they head out on the Warped Tour), catching up on laundry, cleaning and sleeping, it's back to normal, back to the 9-to-5, back to basics....

Actually, I like this camera photo of the NYC skyline even better....(more later)....

NYC skyline, via a water taxi ride along the Hudson River (from the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge to E. 36th St.) at sunset on Wednesday evening --post-Grimaldi's pizza and ice-cream (photo taken w/ camera phone):

My Friday Five

1. !!! (the band)


2. Pistons!


3. New David Sedaris book!


4. Eats, Shoots and Leaves Lynn Truss punctuation book that, I'm sure. examines the "!"


5. NYC !!!!!!

Leaving tomorrow, see ya next week.

Fametracker has a new Hey It's That Guy! section, the purpose of which is to "attach names to actors previously known only as 'That Guy!' and to track both former 'That Guy's who've graduated to identifiable-name status, and those former 'name' actors who've declined to the well of 'Hey! It's That Guy!'" (Via Idle Type).
I checked, and yep, John C. Reilly made the list.
A few years back I had my own "hey it's that guy" experience with Reilly outside of Largo in LA. He was there to see the show with his pals Paul Thomas Anderson and Fiona Apple. The HITG! moment came during a Jon Brion set and I'd gone outside during the intermission to get some air. Reilly was standing on the sidewalk smoking and chatting with friends when a group of people walked by and a guy yelled "Hey, it's that guy! Are you that guy? That guy from Boogie Nights?"
Reilly just smiled, nodded at the passer-by and said "Yeah, I'm that guy."
Pretty classy really. Reilly's one of those guys who knows how to handle his semi-fame.
.
.
.
So the Detroit Pistons bit it last night...eh...it was sooo close there and then Kobe had to go and act all Kobe-like, but really what did the Pistons expect after sort of meandering through the start of the third quarter? That and all the missed free throws on Ben "Shaq" Wallace's part...That and going completely cold during overtime. Still, I'm going to stick my neck out here and say the Pistons will take it to Game 7. I'm not brave enough to declare them the victor, but I don't mind looking like a naive idiot if they end up losing in the home stretch. I believe they've got it in 'em to give the Lakers a bit more of a scare.
.
.
.
Hmmmm, the New York Times reports that Tivo is set to "build bridges from the Internet to TV" (requires free registration). Basically this means that, via a new Internet-based technology that will come standard on your TiVo recorder, you;ll be able to "download movies and music from the Internet to the hard drive on (your) video recorder".
Sign me up!
.
.
.
Final thoughts...last night I almost finished The Virgin Suicdes, but I couldn't. I just physically couldn't. The closing of the second-to-last chapter was just too heartbreaking and the writing was too beautiful and frankly, I simply couldn't take anymore of that sort of thing. At least not right away. Some things need to be taken in slowly ... so I'll save the final 35 pages for later.

Good things about this weekend:
Franz Ferdinand show
Eleni Mandell show
Satisfying my consumer lust via the following purchases:

• We Owe You Nothing: Punk Planet, The Collected Interviews


• I Am the World Trade Center: The Cover Up


• Eleni Mandell: Yes, Maybe


• The French Kicks: One Time Bells

Also:
the Sopranos finale
The Detroit Pistons reminding the Lakers (and the rest of the world) that they are also playing this game. In fact, last night they seemed to be the only team actually playing.
Four - count 'em four - slices of incredibly cheesy goodness pizza from North Beach Pizza on Haight

Things that annoyed me this weekend:
Excessive coverage of Reagan's death. I was most annoyed when a CNN correspondant, reporting from Paris where Bush was commemorating D-Day, informed us that CNN would keep us abreast of "this developing story."
Hello. He's dead - how much more dead can he get? And not only is he dead, but he's dead because he was 93 and he had Alzheimers.
No disrespect for the dearly-departed is intended...but sweet jesus people, get a grip.
Also:
The ABC commentators - particularly Al Michaels - during the Pistons/Lakers game. It wasn't until the end of the game that they seemed to notice that there was a second team on the court. A second team that was winning.
Also:
Not getting enough sleep. Couldn't sleep for anything last night. It was warm and the bedroom felt stuffy despite the two fans and open window. Waking up this morning was difficult. The eyes hurt, the head hurt, the mood was sour -- until I heard some cheesy CD commercial during the morning news -for one of those pop song CD comps. They started playing that horrid playing that horrid Barbie Girl song and suddenly, without thinking, I did a little shimmy along to the chorus - and completely horrified Cory.

Me: Oh, sorry
Cory: You should be...don't do that again.

Still...it did help the mood...that and the gallons of black coffee...

.
.
.

Less than a week til we take off for NYC...can't wait to get the hell outta Sacto...

Last night's Franz Ferdinand show was strange encounters central.

Strange encounter number one (inside concert hall):

Nerdy Boy*: Hey I know you! Do I know you?
Me: Ummmm...
Nerdy Boy: You look familiar to me. Do I look familiar to you?
Me: Um, yeah, you do ...
Nerdy Boy: Do you work at the Art Institute?
Me: No, what's your name?
Nerdy Boy : It's Steve Nerdy Boy**.
Me: Oh, no...I don't think I know you.
Nerdy Boy: Oh, well....you look familiar.

*The term "Nerdy Boy" here isn't a judgement call, just a way to describe someone's obvious fashion statement/lifestyle choice....oh, OK, it is a judgement call.

**last name changed to protect the nerdy

Strange encounter number two (inside bar/lounge):

Hipster Girl: Hey - you gave me your ticket!
Cory: No, I didn't ...
Hipster Girl: (Pats Cory's shoulder) You gave me your ticket!
(Hipster Girl's friend shrugs, smiles as they walk away)

Strange encounter number three (at the Ferris Bueller's Day Off parking gararage):

Ultra Friendly Guy:Natural redhead?
(A very blonde) Cory: What?
Ultra Friendly Guy: Are you a natural redhead?
(A very blonde) Cory: Huh?
Ultra Friendly Girl: He is! He is a natural redhead! Look at his eyebrows!
Ultra Friendly Guy: Yep, you're a natural redhead!

Kids, let this be a lesson to you: if you cross your parents, they can and will get you back via eBay. (Via Metafilter)

Maybe mom can use some of the proceeds from the auction to purchase a dictionary - and some family counseling.

Last night was a virtual reading frenzy. I couldn't find my copy of Chelsea Whistle so I picked up The Virgin Suicides instead and read the first 100 pages. So far I'm liking it -the writing is beautiful. Still on the fence on how the story will unfold (although I already know what happens) - how Eugenides will craft his arc, details, etc.

Before I dived into that book, however, I also read the newspaper, the latest issue of US Weekly, this week's New York Times Sunday magazine cover story (requires free registration) on the decline of teen romance (interesting and provocative - but ultimately just another piece that portrays teens as some sort of cult of alien beings), a story on mobile homes from The Next American City magazine and the title essay from Sarah Vowell's Take the Cannoli.

So, tonight is Franz Ferdinand (here) and tomorrow night is Eleni Mandell (here) and Sunday? Sunday is hopefully a day of writing as I haven't even thought about my thesis since school got out a month ago. Vacation is now over, time to get down to business.

Hmmm. William Tenet is out. (BBC) No surprise really - so who's next?
On a marginally related note: Per this Wall Street Journal piece, more Americans are identifying themselves as "liberal" versus "conservative:"

On the defensive for more than a generation, the American left is seeing signs of political revival. Recent polls show more Americans are calling themselves "liberal" -- a term that had been considered something of an epithet -- and fewer are identifying themselves as "conservative." Liberal groups, from the National Organization for Women to Moveon.org, are enjoying a big fund-raising surge. The flagship publication of the left, the Nation, claims to have captured the highest circulation of any weekly political magazine.

"The plates have all moved," argues Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. The combination of hostility toward President Bush, anxiety about the war in Iraq and concerns about tax cuts and other economic issues "make it possible for something fundamental to happen in this election," he says.

Republican strategists say liberals are delusional. Since Republicans seized Congress in 1994, Democratic predictions that they would recapture control have repeatedly proved false.

Still, the proportion of Americans calling themselves "liberal" edged up to 21% in Mr. Greenberg's May poll from 16% a month earlier. Self-identified "conservatives" dropped to 37% from 41%. Similarly, last month's Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed 42% of voters identifying themselves as Democrats, compared with 39% who say they are Republicans. Two years earlier, Republicans had a 37%-to-36% edge.

Some reasons attributed to the swing: growing opposition to the war in Iraq and concern for the environment and pro-choice rights.

.
.
.

Things I need to do:

• See The Corporation


• See Saved!


• Develop Lomo film & shoot more pictures


• Make some of this

....Mmmmm....I'm wanting one of these:
(Via Wonkette)



Oh, and now Amazon's got plogs i.e. "personal blogs" - i.e.: another way to sell you stuff. (Via Metafilter).

That's it...I'm done being random for the day.

Summer Reading List:

• Chelsea Whistle - Michelle Tea:

SF artist I've been meaning to check out.

• The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami:

Had this on my list for a while. Someone recommended it as a "must-read" surrealist fiction book.

• The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides:

I was surprised that I liked the film so now I need to check out the book. I've also got Middlesex on the book shelf but I thought I'd start with this one. I like that Powell's targets it as a teen book.

• Three Apples Fell From Heaven - Micheline Marcom:

I'm taking her fiction workshop next semester so I thought it'd be good to give her work a spin.

• Tell Me: Thirty Stories - Mary Robison:

I just loved, loved, loved "Why Did I Ever". If her short stories are even half as good...

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation-Lynne Truss:

Because everyone needs a good punctuation ass-kicking once in awhile....I know I sure do.

• Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi:

This one's for my book group.

• The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri:

Loved her collection and I'm interested to see how well her writing translates into a novel.

• Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk:

Time to finally see if he lives up to the hype.

Hmmm...that's just nine titles...anyone have any other suggestions?