Houses other than Hugh Laurie

Amy is now the proud owner of a house. I am the proud participant in paying a mortgage on a house that Amy owns with my name on one or two pieces of paper.

Amy's out of town this weekend, so raging kegger at the new digs. I mean, we'll be cleaning anyway.

Flea and Tech check

The VT shoot was really fun. It's a haul down to Blacksburg, but the coaches were great. Beamer walked in and literally said "Okay, what're we doing?" You could feel his schedule, I mean it had mass.

We were in the off-campus bookstore which was filled with freshmen and their parents, as well as returning upper classmen (Tech dudes, by the by: inconsiderate douche bags. The moms are bad too, but the gals and the dads seemed pretty considerate). Anybody with a phone or camera phone took pictures of Beamer and the other coaches and some lame skinny guy who hadn't slept in days looking extra goofy holding a clipboard, stopwatch, and wearing headphones with a 16 foot cord.

The spot should be compelete mid-week, and I'll post a link. Ryan did most of the shooting, I did most of the directing, and I think he'll do the final edit, so we'll see. It's commercials like these I wish we could have multiple versions of the same spot. Ah, collaboration.

I should point out that Al Bloch, the sales exec from ComCast, used to play in a number of bands, including Concrete Blonde. He knows The Posies, who played in Big Star with Alex Chilton. That's like three degrees from Alex Chilton. And one degree from Concrete Blonde.

Lots of fun.

50 in 50 in 50

Wow. This Matt, is why we run: "What drives someone to run so far? He says it is about getting back the attention that came after the storm last August 29.
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"The reality is there is just a huge need still down there," said Thompson. "It looks today as it did a year ago. A lot has been cleaned up, but at the same time if someone went down there for the first time they would think the storm hit yesterday.'"

Well, this is probably the real reason: "There wasn't much left of the Nissan Altima that night, when Sam Thompson almost lost his ability to run, the night he could have died.

He was 17 when he hydroplaned on a rain-soaked road in Mississippi and another car slammed into his, leaving him with a shattered leg and pelvis, and a broken jaw and collarbone.

Doctors told the cross-country runner his left leg might heal shorter than his right and he would never run again. They placed a titanium rod in his left leg, stretching from his left knee to his ankle, to help him walk."

Check out Sam's site here and the CNN story here.

This is my single, this is my jingle

Ladies and gentlemen, we're close to new Paul Westerberg songs:

"On the heels of their surprise reunion to record two new songs for the recent Replacements best-of, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson are together again on two songs from the "Open Season" soundtrack, due Sept. 26 via Lost Highway. The animated film, which features the voices of Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence, opens three days later.

The album includes 10 Westerberg originals, of which "Love You in the Fall" and
"Right to Arm Bears" boast Stinson on bass. One Westerberg track each is performed by Pete Yorn ("I Belong [Reprise]") and Deathray ("Wild As I Wanna Be").

"Open Season" is rounded out by Deathray's "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" and the Talking Heads' "Wild Wild Life." The score was penned by Westerberg and Ramin Djawad.

Westerberg first broke the news he was making a foray into film scoring in a 2004 Billboard.com interview. "I wouldn't like to do that as a regular job and do five movies a year and all that, but it's a viable ... alternative to touring," he said."

I've gotta admit, Lawrence and Kutcher are not names that get me in the theater, but I'll be there in September.

... are you keeping count? That's like twelve new Westerberg/Replacements songs in a year! I mean come on!

Put me in coach

My new favorite ACC Women's Basketball Head Coach: Beth Dunkenberger. Coming from a guy who is as bad as basketball to disappoint his mother enough to bring it up at least once a year, that's saying a lot.

During our short commercial shoot with the Virginia Tech coaching staff, Dukenberger made reference to her dad giving her coaching tips that she ignores and did interview schtick from Talladega Nights. Plus, you know, her name is really funny.

Go Hokies

Tomorrow we're shooting a spot with Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer arranged by Concrete Blonde's bassist.

How funny is my life right now?

In a New York minute

Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris, writer and artist of Ex Machina (first issue available free here), were asked to contribute to New York magazine. The subject for the issue is "What if 9-11 never happened?"




The caption reads "September 11, 2006: Sitting at his usual table at Windows on the World, former mayor Rudolph Giuliani dines alone, unnoticed."

It's hip to be Hipp!

My love affair with The Amazing Joy Buzzards continues with Dan Hipp's blog! You get an free 8-page story from the Image Christmas Special! Hipp's art looks good in color or black and white.

Great Sid Caesar's Ghost I love me some ABJ!

Next year you'll be number one, America!

... in not understanding science.

You are Number Twelve (Monkeys)

From Variety "Christopher Nolan is in talks to do THE PRISONER with a script by David and Janet Webb Peoples."

I really like Nolan, and the Peoples have written/adapted two my favorites movies in Unforgiven and 12 Monkeys.

Of course, this is all thumbing your nose at god at this point. It's the prisoner. This needs to make people riot.

I've never seen a cat that acts like a dog

On Tuesday my mom put our cat of fifteen years to sleep.

Technically, she was my cat.

Some how, legally, the cat's name was "Sweet Baby," which is patently ridiculous. Some how I changed "Sweet Baby," to "Butt Butt," which is slightly less ridiculous to me.

I get how people really love pets. My earliest memory questioning my Judeo-Christian upbringing dealt with some Sunday School teacher explaing to a group of us that pets wouldn't be with us with heaven because they didn't have a soul. What the hell kind of "heaven" doesn't have your dog or cat or horse or hamster or lobster?

My house was rarely without at least a cat and a dog. Our typical configuartion was two dogs and two cats growing up. And four horses (which are often included in the stream of names when my mom yells at/for me: "Prince... Robyn... Blaz... Joey!")

You can see she had a little smudge of black on her nose that reminded you of Chaplin or Hitler, depending on her ear position. She was about twelve lean pounds, spending a lot of summer nights outside.

Out of all our animals, there was something unique about Butt Butt. She was so un-cat like. She was chatty but not lippy, affectionate but didn't need to sleep in your lap, and she behaved like a dog. She would team up with the golden retriver to chase away other dogs. She followed you to the mailbox, stood back from the road, watched you get the mail, then walked the fence back with you while you seperated the junk mail from the bills.

Technically, she was my cat.

I went to college and took Finn, a cat from an ex, with me, a refugee of my mom's dislike because her fat, fluffy cat "Pretty Eyes" ("Fatty" to you and me, and it should be obvious by now that despite other abilities I may have, animal naming is not always spot-on *coughBigDogcough*) hated Finn and would attack her on sight. And in the house the world revolved around that fat, lippy cat. So Finn got to live with me in a small closet on Patterson Street.

When Bill started dating my mom, he was pretty straight-forward with his feelings on cats: didn't like 'em. "Hate" is too strong a word, but "dislike" is pretty good there. He and mom used to split their time between houses and cities, and when Bill sold his house and moved to Raphine, he got all the animals too. Including Butt Butt.

The transformation from smoking, Harley-riding, workaholic to the Bill we knew must have been just as jarring as his afinity for Butt Butt. She pretty much adopted him and became his cat, though he was more or less her Bill.

And he wasn't shy about telling you either. "That cat is more like a dog! I've never seen a cat like her." Didn't mean he liked cats, mind you, just meant he liked her. Mom would always point out how much Butt Butt favored Bill over her. "Follows him in the mornings, stays with him while he" and then filled in the blank with whatever project Bill was working on at the time.

Bill, ironically taking care of the animals, died that snowy morning in February while feeding the horses. The morning was such a rush of activity and emotion I didn't ask mom if Butt Butt had been with him, but I'd guess she was.

Mom struggled with the decision to put her down. For the past few months, Butt Butt ate less. She was still just as active, but losing weight. It had been three weeks of not eating.

Last week we got the diagnosis: renal failure. Up until Monday, mom was going to try medication and treatment, which would have meant shots, IV, and special food. Thing is, mom had been trying EVERY kind of food for the past three weeks, and all Butt Butt would do was drink a little milk. She was literally wasting away and was eating less.

I saw her the weekend before last and she acted the same. She meowed at me, raised on her hind legs to meet my hand. When I saw her I asked her if she was eating. She rubbed my leg and lied to me, because she was that kind of cat.

Mom struggled with the decision to put her down. I would've to. It's hard to kill one of your best friends. It's even more difficult to lose another piece of the big puzzle that is your life, to have that section of the board go grey. We're moving into winter again, and that might mean another horse will die. Winter means another February is close.

I've always dealt with animal deaths much more publicly than I have human deaths. It's funny, I hit a point in college, that I began to celebrate where and how I grew up. If friends came with me to my mom's house I was stoked to show off the mountains, the horses, how big our garden used to be, and my cat that acted like a dog.

I'm taking a second of right now to say I had a great little cat.

Technically, she was my cat. You would've liked her.

Drop your weapons, you are surrounded by armed bastards

I've got a new Brit show I'm digging, hep cats: the BBC drama Life on Mars

It's on BBC America, and I'm only one and one-half episodes in of the three episodes broadcast here in the Colonies and I'm hooked. Here's the premise: Detective Sam Tyler's partner and girlfriend is abducted by a serial killer. Minutes later, Sam gets hit by a car... and wakes up in 1973. Confused. And hating his clothes.

Sam is pretty sure he's A. dead B. crazy C. dying D. in a coma. His colleagues are cigarette smoking, face punching cops who aren't sure why the hell he's acting so strange. The case the '73 detectives are working on seems like it might tie into the 2006 case he was working on...

It's a nice balancing act of bits that make you think he's desperately trying to get out of a coma and get back in 2006, and it really is all in his head. Probably.

Sam has to figure out how to be a cop thirty-three years before cell phones and forensics are common place. He can barely get a crime scene closed much less life a print after a robbery. All his tech, standards, and procedures are gone, and all he has left to rely on is himself and a bunch of drunk cops who'd rather beat the shit out of him than let a perp off when there's no evidence.

The direction is really really good, the editing is top-flight, the color palette is all over, the acting, especially by John Simm (playing Sam) is really interesting. I wonder if Simm has a comedic background like the kick-ass Hugh Laurie rocking out the confused/scared/bright/driven/angry/funny/sad "man against the world."

I think the DVD set of the first season will be available in the States by the end of the year, and if you're looking for something to try in the ol' NetFlix que I really think Life on Mars is worth a look. I didn't even mention the soundtrack of the show... man it's good.

Tuff Enuff

Yesterday, as I was transferring some files and listening to an
audio interview with the creators of the Berenstein Bears (Harper
Collins has a ton of interviews and I'd already made it through Neil
Gaiman and Elmore Leonard), our work neighbor RaShaun "Snuggs"
Stovall walked in with former WWE wrestler and TV host Maven, who is a gigantic
man.

Jeremy (web/graphics guy) knows Maven from ten or so years ago, church and softball and they had a nice ten minute catch-up session. After Maven and Snuggs
left Jeremy filled me in with Maven's TV and wrestling career. And now
Maven hosts a show on BET.

My day was odd out of the gate, and it's still getting more strange. I
was one degree from Florence Henderson. And apparently someone named
"The Undertaker.

Birthday city

Today is chock full of birthdays:

Emily Williams (emily_gpsy160@yahoo.com) is at least 21 today, and I'm sure Team Williams will not let her sleep any more than usual. Happy birthday Emily.

And my shorter half is also at least 21. I've kicked things off by buying the wrong size yoga ball. The dogs and cat bought a much better card than mine... happy birthday Amy, Maven has your date all planned...

Master Bruce, what happened to your mustache?

Ran tonight.

Distance: 2.2 miles

Speed: even without the watch, way below average

Things that didn't work: legs, lungs, knee

My knee discomfort didn't kick in until 1.75 miles, and even then I could keep moving. The biggest problem is my lungs reverted back to their 29-years of counter-intuitive breathing. I spent most of the run trying to get the breathing back on track. My pace was fine and the legs remember, but the lungs have had a few months to revert back.

So many problems, and such a good time.

Running isn't like writing: I enjoy the act of running and having ran. And now that I've written my 50 words, I enjoy... well, having run.

Welcome to Diggnation

Remember when I wouldn't shut up about podcasting a year or so ago? Remeber when I was all "This Week in Tech is awesome and the most awesomest" and I'd give a rundown of the people like Kevin Rose and Digg?

Business Week is mentioning Kevin again, and he don't have $60 million. He doesn't actually have $60,000. The new TWIT has a great seven minutes with Kevin and the TWIT team discussing how the article misrepresents Digg, got Kevin to pose for the ridiculous photo, and Dvorak goes so far as to call the piece a hit piece.

C'mon people, when I'm fixated on something it's either really really cool or comic books, we all know this. What? Oh yeah, maybe Sarah Michelle Gellar. Okay, and Dr. Pepper.

... yeah, a little too much John Cusack. I get it. Shut up.

Vulgarathon: RIP Bob Thaves

Bob Thaves was always hit-or-miss for me, but in a world of Garfield and Family Circus, I'd at least groan at his stuff. Regardless, I always enjoyed his art and his brand of humor.

Vulgarathon Day 2: Give us the money, Lebowski

You Tube doesn't want me to post here right now... so click here for the two minute version of The Big Lebowski.

Thatsa aspicee metaballa!

Slice of New York is my favorite pizza blog, bar none. And one of my favorite food blogs in general. Go and learn about pizza, pizza in NY, and maybe a little something about life.

But mostly pizza.

Vulgarathon: Day One

I'm changing it up: instead of thinking about a bunch of random posts of things I forget to write about, I'll stick with a theme. And that theme is... vulgarity.

Sometimes I have to loop around Court Square to get to and from the office. If you've been downtown, you probably know Hole in the Wall, your friendly neighborhood porn store. I seem to be one of the few people I know who hasn't been in Hole in the Wall, and I'm not looking to pop that cherry any time soon. A couple of the Downtown Players (not Shirtless Guy and Son, Other Shirtless Guy, or Snuggs) are usually outside the store in the afternoon, out, you know, gettin' it done. In front of the porn store.

Yesterday, post 10 a.m. haircut (I tried it after 7:15 but would've had to wait 45 minutes) I saw a group of four kids(including one girl) in front of Hole in the Wall, which was still locked, replete with bars.

One of the dudes who hangs out in front of HitW, Long-White-Haired-Guy-Always-in-A-White-Tee-Shirt-and-Blue-Jeans, was just getting to his section of wall as a HitW staffer was rolling back the bars. LWHGAWTSBJ looked at the kids like they were impeding on his territory. I felt their awkwardness from two lanes over.

It struck me: the kids might be waiting to get into HitW. At 10 in the morning! And again I was struck: who buys porn in the morning? Really?

If you're buying porn, I'm thinking it's, at the earliest, a mid-day kind of thing. Does anybody really want Ass Babes 5 at a time when Regis is on? And why the hell aren't they ordering porn off the net?

Usually, during my 7-noon time, I'm pretty productive. I like some music, some podcasts, and I try to get the time-sensitive stuff done first. I don't think porn would be a good thing at this time, and I certainly wouldn't want to wait on the dude to open the store. You can still get Playboy at the 7-11 (or Barnes and Noble I'd guess) so you could get your naked ladies that way.

I don't really have an out here. It's too late to be cogniscent of anything other than wanting to see some naked chicks...