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So it's the fourth game of the World Series, about quarter 'til 9. I've been switching between the game and "Selena," which is on VH1. I think the latter has a happier ending, sadly enough.
But it's not over 'til it's over, right? And I'm nothing if not an irrational optimist.
10-27-2004 8:43 PM - comments (0)
lying all alone and restless
unable to lose this image
sleepless, unable to focus on anything but your surrender
tugging a rhythm to the vision that's in my head
tugging a beat to the sight of you lying
so delighted with your new understanding
there's something about a little evil
that makes that unmistakable noise i
was hearing
that unmistakable sound i know so well
spent and sighing with that look in your eye
spent and sweating with a look on your face like...
10-27-2004 4:59 PM - comments (0)
Michael and I saw "I <3 Huckabees" on Friday. I had only read one review of it (in the RFT) before seeing it, and it said the movie tried to be philosophical but wasn't. Or something like that. Looking at the reviews now, I get the feeling a lot of critics missed the point. It was a satire, a whimsical, silly movie, and that's exactly my type of movie (it reminded me a lot of "Rushmore" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," two of my favorite movies).
Without a doubt, it's one of my new favorite movies. I laughed so hard that I think Michael was embarrassed at times, even though he loved it as much as me. But I didn't care. Every actor, every line, every plot point was perfect. The standout was really Mark Wahlberg as Tommy. His obsession with petroleum! His bike-riding! His lecture to his daughter! His cute facial expressions! The scene with the Spanish spiritual lady! He and Albert being others! Agh!
Thinking back on some of the lines, I'm still cracking up. Here's a sampling. Go see it as soon as possible.
Young girl: Jesus is never mad at us if we live with Him in our hearts!
Tommy: I hate to break it to you, but He is. He most definitely is.
Vivian: Have you ever transcended space and time?
Albert: Um, time, not space ... No, I don't know what you're talking about.
Albert: She's a powerful person. I haven't been with that many women.
Tommy: OBVIOUSLY!
Mr Hooten: What happened to the cat, Albert?
Albert: How'd you know about the cat?
Mr Hooten: Curiosity killed it.
Albert: Oh, that cat.
Dawn: Do you love me?
Brad: Uh, I...think so.
Dawn: Even with this bonnet?
Brad: (squints eyes and reluctantly shakes head no)
10-24-2004 7:32 PM - comments (1)
My job can be so cool sometimes. Five pieces of evidence:
1. I am going to a dinner at the Ritz-Carlton tonight with my boss for some charity thing that I am actually no part of (yet). Yum.
2. I will probably get to interview Albert Pujols for a story related to Old Newsboys Day (he and his wife are the honorary chairs of the event).
3. I will probably get to go to the black-tie dinner for OND at Kemoll's, one of my favorite restaurants ever, and I think I get to bring a date (Michael, do you have a black tie?).
4. The Pujols will be at said dinner! And no, I am not above asking to have my photo taken with my favorite first baseman (well, besides Don Mattingly).
5. I will be going on another on-location assignment for a destination wedding in Cancun in November (and I think my mom will get to come with me!). I checked out the resort (El Dorado Royale), and it looks pretty nice. I might even come back with a tan.
10-21-2004 3:45 PM - comments (3)
Is anyone else impressed/surprised at
Is anyone else impressed/surprised at the tremendous amount of quality television on this season? I think I need a TiVo-like device now just to catch everything. Here's what I watch now:
Lost, Veronica Mars, Desperate Housewives
America's Next Top Model, Arrested Development, Scrubs, The Apprentice, The O.C.
YAY FOR THE CARDINALS. I cried like a baby after the game last night. I mean, mascara running down my cheeks crying and everything. Jimmy did it! And everyone played so well. Let's hope Clemens only gets through five innings and they wait to put Lidge in until the 8th (we need that window to do some damage). Or that we hit well against Clemens as we did somewhat during his last outing. Or that we go into extra innings like last night and they have to pull Lidge out. And that Isringhausen doesn't $*&# things up for us as he usually does. Tavarez might have a temper, but boy, can he pitch.
And my sincere apologies to all the Yankee fans out there (i.e. my dad, mom, brothers and Dave). It's nice to see a team come from behind, but really. As my mom says, "Everyone on Boston looks like a bunch of convicts. What's with that guy Johnny Damon's hair? " Or as Julie says, "Everyone on that team looks like they work in a factory!" I'm sorry, Boston fans (i.e. Chris, Sara and my grandfather), but that dude Kevin Millar is probably the ugliest player to ever exist. David Ortiz is cute. But balance that against Curt Schilling's bloody foot and...well, you get the picture.
My dad warned yesterday (when he called to tease me about Houston being ahead in the first inning...he should have waited to call): "If New York loses, you'll be reading about a triple homicide/suicide in Spring, Texas, because your brother is going to go ballistic." Let's hope that doesn't happen.
In conclusion, go Cards! I will be a crying ball of Rachel if you lose. And I will be a homicidal Rachel if it's because of Izzy.
10-21-2004 1:55 PM - comments (2)
Jamie brought in some CDs they play at Torrid (she works there on the weekends for extra cash; I'm starting to wonder if a weekend job isn't for me, too). I immediately grabbed the soundtrack to "24 Hour Party People" and Marilyn Manson's new best of. Wow. On both counts. I dedicated the second half of today to writing cutlines and other non-human-contact-type stuff, and it was nice to have something more to listen to than the paltry selection we had on ITunes here:
Frou Frou "Let Go"
Elbow "Powder Blue"
Brand New "I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't"
Nickelback "Figured You Out" (not mine)
OutKast "Roses" (not mine)
Los Angeles "X" (not mine)
Don't get me wrong. I could listen to that Frou Frou song all day. And Elbow is good sleepytime music. But now I'm totally drowing in Joy Division, the Happy Mondays and the Buzzcocks, not to mention Marilyn Manson (who does a fantastic cover of "Personal Jesus" and a not-so-fantastic cover of "Tainted Love").
AND...Ryan finally burned the new Interpol for me!
Listening to: Marilyn Manson "The Fight Song"
10-18-2004 4:19 PM - comments (4)
I am a happy girl this morning. The Cardinals beat the Astros, and, more importantly (well, it is!), Kerry whipped up on Bush.
I have a thing against polls, but you know what? Each poll done after the debates has reflected my own opinions. I thought Kerry handily won the first and last debates, while he kind of floundered in the second (though I'd still call it a slight win). And that's pretty much what the Gallup/CNN/USA Today polls have all indicated.
Fifty-two to 39 percent overall. Sixty-one percent think he expressed himself more clearly than Bush. Was more believable. Shares your values more than W. Etc. You paying attention, Ohio?
10-14-2004 9:05 AM - comments (0)
What happened to Flight 77?
http://www.freedomunderground.org/memoryhole/pentagon.php#Main
Interesting. People at work are surmising we attacked ourselves. But why would we do that? I think the current administration is fairly corrupt, but this would take more than simple corruption. I suppose I don't think people are capable of that sort of evil. But I've been wrong before.
10-13-2004 2:03 PM - comments (3)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry appears to be holding the ground he gained against President Bush after the first presidential debate, according to a recent poll.
But the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll suggests the second face-off did little to affect the race for the White House.
The poll, conducted Saturday and Sunday, shows 49 percent of likely voters indicating a preference for Kerry versus 48 percent for Bush. Independent candidate Ralph Nader garnered 1 percent.
With a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, the survey indicates the two major-party candidates are running too close to call. The numbers are based on answers from 793 likely voters.
Kerry had been lagging behind Bush in Gallup polls until he met the president September 30 at the University of Miami to debate foreign affairs.
A poll taken September 24-26 had the Massachusetts senator trailing Bush by a 44-to-52-percent margin. After the first debate, those numbers moved to a 49 percent tie.
Friday's town hall meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, between the two candidates did little to change the poll numbers even though Kerry was the perceived winner.
Although an instant poll of debate watchers taken Friday night showed the meeting to be without a clear winner, Gallup's two-day poll showed 45 percent of respondents picked Kerry as the winner. Just 30 percent chose Bush as the debate winner.
Bush's support as president remains below the 50 percent threshold, with just 47 percent of those polled noting approval of the way he is handling his job. Forty-nine percent said they disapproved.
Both candidate appear to be liked by a slim majority of voters.
Asked their opinion of the candidates, 51 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Bush, versus 46 percent unfavorable.
Kerry's rating was comparable -- with 52 percent of likely voters saying their opinion of the Democrat was favorable, versus 44 percent who said it was unfavorable.
Asked which candidate "cares about the needs of people like you," 49 percent of likely voters chose Kerry, versus 42 percent who chose Bush.
But only 38 percent of likely voters considered Kerry to be "a strong and decisive leader," versus 56 percent who said Bush fit that bill.
The candidates have one more chance to appear on the same stage together and speak to a national audience in an effort to win support.
The final debate is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Tempe, Arizona.
Economic split
The topic of the debate will be domestic issues, including the nation's economy. (Special Report: America Votes 2004, the issues)
The Gallup poll shows that Kerry may hold an edge on the economy, though Bush may have stronger support on taxes.
The public has turned pessimistic, with fewer people believing the economy is getting better today than did in September.
Only 43 percent of respondents said they believe the economy is improving. Most, 55 percent, said it would be better in Kerry's hands.
Despite Kerry's pledge not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $200,000, nearly half of those polled, 48 percent, said they believe their taxes would go up if Kerry were elected president.
So let me get this straight:
People believe Kerry won the first debate.
They think he won the second debate.
People think Kerry cares more about them than Bush.
They think he would handle the economy better than Bush has.
More people disapprove of the way Bush is doing his job than approve.
Yet people still hold on to the tired notion that Bush is more "decisive" than Kerry. Good lord, why? As our next president himself said, "It's one thing to be certain but you can be certain and wrong." I am still confused as to how Bush can be in such denial about the dismal state of the war and the economy. During his compassionate conservative training before the 2000 election (because he certainly didn't get it while governor of my home state), someone should have told him it's not only OK, but the right thing to do to admit when you've made a mistake especially when your mistakes are costing lives.
Also, why hasn't Kerry called Bush on his 2000 promises to unite and not divide?
And lastly, dammit, Bush DOES have an interest in a timber company* why did the media completely drop this story? Would it have taken too much effort to report on it? Isn't the fact that he isn't even aware of his wide-ranging financial interests a pretty huge deal? (OK, maybe it's difficult when you're super wealthy. I wouldn't know.) And thanks, Saturday Night Live, for harping on it endlessly in your opening sketch and NEVER ACTUALLY EXPLAINING THAT HE DID, IN FACT, HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE TIMBER COMPANY. That would have been a much better joke, and as far as I can tell, SNL needs all the comedic help it can get this season.
*From FactCheck.org: Bush got a laugh when he scoffed at Kerry's contention that he had received $84 from "a timber company." Said Bush, "I own a timber company? That's news to me." In fact, according to his 2003 financial disclosure form, Bush does own part interest in "LSTF, LLC", a limited-liability company organized "for the purpose of the production of trees for commercial sales."
So Bush was wrong to suggest that he doesn't have ownership of a timber company. And Kerry was correct in saying that Bush's definition of "small business" is so broad that Bush himself would have qualified as a "small business" in 2001 by virtue of the $84 in business income.
10-12-2004 9:23 AM - comments (4)
All the lights on and you are alive
But you can't point the way to your heart
So sublime, when the stars are aligned
But you don't know
You don't know the greatness you are
-Cary Brothers, "Blue Eyes"
(The "Garden State" soundtrack has given me so many new favorite songs.)
10-08-2004 4:09 PM - comments (0)
Somehow, the Ayn Rand Institute
Somehow, the Ayn Rand Institute got a hold of my work e-mail address, so now I'm the proud recipient of crazy mail once a week. I'm as big a Rand fan as the next guy (well, not as much as my dear friend Ryan. Wonder what he's up to? Anyone know?), but good lord. The subject lines are always bordering on apocalyptic predictions, which pique my interest for at least a paragraph or two before I trash the thing. Here are some of the subject lines of press releases past:
Draft = Slavery
U.S. to Fund Its Enemies?
Abolish the FCC
"The Corporation" Reveals Depravity of the Left
World Opinion Be Damned!
Slaves of The State
The Case for Wal-Mart
The Toxic Campus
Is Russia with Us or with the Terrorists?
Embryos Are Not People
Environmentalism Kills Again
"Playing God" is Good
Antitrust Assault on Microsoft is Immoral
Merry Christma$
Global-Warming Fraud
and my personal favorite
Presidents Day Has Been Perverted by Modern Politicians
To continue in that great tradition, today's was "Free Enterprise in Space." I decided not to even give the first two paragraphs the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure it's a legitimate issue. Really. But the first thing that popped into my head was that episode of "Star Trek" where Harry Mudd is trying to trade those women for dilithium crystals because the Enterprise needs them to fly or something. And then Captain Kirk seduces the women or some such thing. Anyway. Not the kind of idea that the prestigious Ayn Rand Institute probably wants to leave in readers' heads. (Or is it?)
Conclusion: If your organization has the ability to make the ACLU look complacent, then you need to simmer down! (Pipe down now?)
10-06-2004 2:54 PM - comments (0)
What a week.
My boys start playoffs tomorrow. Good thing that a few feet from my cubicle is the newsroom, complete with television.
Yay for Ray Lankford, le perdant of the Cardinals. What a way to end on a good note.
I'm seeing the Pixies tomorrow night with a friend from work, Christie and Nas. I am so excited, almost as much for Shakespeare's pizza as for seeing one of my favorite bands live. Thanks to Justin, I know the show will be good.
Speaking of Justin, I neglected to mention that I got to see him, along with his lovely girlfriend, Kristin, a few weeks ago, plus Kristin's very cool friend, Abby. We gossiped about J-school people over drinks at Blueberry Hill. Just what I expected I'd be doing a year and a half after graduation if you asked me a couple of years ago. Good times.
Other updates of note:
I am almost, almost finished unpacking. I have a pile of jackets, one of summer tank tops and the like and another of dresses I need to find homes for. I am really liking the apartment, except for that whole you-can't-open-the-dishwasher-all-the-way-because-the-fridge-is-in-the-way thing.
Elliott really likes the huge windows I have now. Now if only I can find huge curtains that match my black-white-pink-turquoise-orange decor...
Benefit #1 of living in a studio apartment: I can watch TV from my bed. Did anyone else catch the made-for-TV movie about Clara Harris, the woman from Houston who ran over her husband repeatedly? I don't know. I was kinda rooting for old, pudgy Clara as her Mercedes veered toward the dirty dentist and his mistress.
It should be noted the only reason I was watching such garbage is because "Desperate Housewives" wasn't going to be on until after the Rams game, and I have zero interest in watching football, unless there are Lil Smokies and Cherry Coke on the premises.
SBC promises my DSL will be ready by the end of this week. Phone is up and running, same number as before.
I keep "forgetting" to bring back the cable modem to Charter. Does this make me a bad person?
I talked to my mom last night. Her last day of work was Friday, and she said her students seemed really upset. But I think she'll be happier without that added pressure, both physical and mental. She asked me what I wanted for Christmas and my birthday. "I still get Christmas and my birthday?" I asked. Awesome. I guess asking for money is a little tacky, huh?
Work has been more insane than usual. I am helping with the Old Newsboys Day charity for my boss (who is in charge of the whole ordeal). It's wreaking havoc where havoc shouldn't be wreaked. But I'm glad to be able to try something new. The bridal magazine should be (mostly) done by Oct. 15. And then we start scheduling shoots for the next issue (Fall & Winter 2005). Never a dull moment, at least. And when there is, I post meaningless updates on my life here.
I have an interview with Enrico Colantoni, the actor who played Elliot on "Just Shoot Me" and who is now on "Veronica Mars." I am so nervous. I had such a crush on him in high school. Eek.
10-04-2004 1:47 PM - comments (3)
This was so unexpected
I never thought I'd get caught
Play boomerang with your demons
Shoot to kill and you'll pop them off
(bang bang)
Like an animal you are moving over me
Like an animal you are moving over me
You should be sleeping my love
Tell me what you're dreaming of
I knew you were mine for the taking
I knew you were mine for the taking
You were mine for the taking
when I walked in the room
I knew you were mine for the taking
I knew you were mine for the taking
Your eyes light up
when I walk in the room
A hammering in my head don't stop
from the bullet train from Tokyo to Los Angeles
I'm leaving you behind
A flash in the pan
A storm in a teacup
A needle in a haystack
A prize for the winning
A dead for the raising
A catch for the chasing
A jewel for the choosing
A man for the making in this blistering heat
Sweat it all out
Sweat it all out
With your bedroom eyes and your baby pouts
Sweat it all out
In our electric storms and our shifting sands
Our candy jars and our sticky hands
Sweat it all out
Sweat it all out
Sweat it all out
Sweat it all out
Sweat it all out
Sweat it all out
Don't forget what I wrote you then
Don't forget what I told you then
Don't forget I that meant to win.
10-01-2004 3:50 PM - comments (0)
All polls point to Kerry. What a debate! I was pretty nervous at first (so was Michael), but our guy is clearly the better speaker, and I like what he had to say about nuclear proliferation. I went to bed happy, and for the first time in a few weeks, I really believe he can win this thing.
I will say that, despite Bush's many flubs, he did far better this time than his debates in 2000. I mean, it's easy to pounce on his mistakes; even Republicans admit he's not a particularly good speaker. (Why did he try his best to "love" that war widow? That reminded me of when he said doctors should be able to be free to "practice their love on women." And there were several times he was obviously flustered, letting seconds go by without saying a word besides "um.") He seemed more focused than I expected, but when you have low expectations, it's easy to be impressed.
There's one thing Bush said, though, that I simply cannot believe more pundits haven't mentioned: when Kerry outlined his plan for keeping America safer, Bush said something along the lines of, "How is he going to pay for all that? Tax gaps?" As if there's a pricetag on an American life, and Bush wouldn't be willing to do whatever it took to protect us. Kerry had a chance to rebut Bush on that why didn't he just say not cutting taxes for the wealthy would cover most of the costs associated with homeland security? but he didn't.
Still, he hit Bush hard on the downward spiral in Iraq, and his point about how Osama Bin Laden attacked us, not Saddam Hussein, was fantastic. Why more people in this country don't understand the difference is scary, but I think that will probably change. And Bush's response "Of course I know Osama Bin Laden attacked us. I know that!" sounded like an indignant grade school kid.
Most importantly, I think swing voters got to see Kerry for the first time last night, and I think it will go in his favor. He seemed calm, focused and decisive, versus Bush, who was flustered, awkward and testy.
P.S. Why weren't Bush and Kerry's podiums lined up during the split-screen shots? (Michael says that's Fox's doing.) We all know Kerry is much taller than Bush. Trying to make him physically "equal" to Kerry was as fair as if he had been given a dictionary to reference during the debate.
P.P.S. The new Gallup poll (www.gallup.com) showing Kerry's win is very interesting. Looks like more Democrats thought Kerry won than Republicans thought about their guy. It also looks like independents were particularly swayed by the debate, moving toward favoring Kerry. Of course, it's just one poll, and I am not big on polls.