New Commenting System

I'm going to try out the Haloscan commenting system. It isn't quite as clunky as the blogger default. The one drawback is that all the current comments are lost, but I think that somehow we'll survive. Let me know if you encounter any issues.

Boy Least Likely To - Be Gentle With Me

(mp3) or(video)

If this song doesn't make you smile, you probably don't deserve to be happy.

Paris

Alexa and I spent 4 nights in Paris. The weather was pretty much horrible the entire time there, but we both still had a great time. We walked around A LOT and managed to do a lot of the tourist stuff in the process. Let's see, highlights, we visited the catacombs which was a fairly surreal experience. We bumped into the rioters a few times. I'd have to say the best part of this leg of the trip was the incredible meal we had with Katie Melville, Erin Fornoff and her dad, and a bunch of Katie's French friends at this restaurant that served cheese... lots and lots of cheese. Alexa and I shared a raclette. My biggest photographic regret of the trip is not taking a picture of the huge pile of cheese we somehow consumed. Oh well.

As promised, pictures:

This one is actually from the first night in London. We ate with
Erin at a restaurant called Navajo Joe's. We're happy to see each other.

This is what Alexa looked like before entering the Catacombs

These are what the Catacombs looks like.
(Yes, that is a huge pile of FUCKING DEAD PEOPLE)

This is what we looked like while in the Catacombs

At least we weren't this guy.

Dinner with Katie and Erin. We had 11 people in this tiny cave-like space.

This is the raclette cheese-cooking machine hard at work

Bread. Wine. Cheese.
Ted, recognize this place?

Katie and Alexa with their umbrellas at the Sacre Coeur

Looking down from the Eiffel Tower

Looking up at the Arch de Triomphe

And finally, my mandatory protestor photo:
Smoke from a burning car on the Paris Skyline

Pictures from Barcelona coming soon.

More Slander

CNN just keeps dragging my good name throught the mud. At least they've picked a good target for me this time. I'd be kind of like the French kids, messing with traffic patterns for justice.



No, this isn't a vacation picture. I'm still kind of sick today, so I'm going to take a nap, and then maybe mess with the camera. Thus, there may or may not be some hair plucking coming my way.

Back

Hi kids, I'm back in the states, and I am about to go to bed, but pictures of my trip will be posted tomorrow night or else all 8 my readers --- oh wait, it's 7 readers now since Jon doesn't count anymore --- or else all 7 of my readers can pluck a hair from my head. Any hair you want. Even an eyelash or one of those little nose hairs on the front of my nose that sting like a motherfucker and make my eyes water. Or you could be nice and pluck a grey hair and wave it at me and call me old. The possibilities are endless, or if not endless at least bountiful, I am a hairy man.

So, pictures tomorrow. Now, sleep.

It's that Time

Look Look Look

Posted drunkenly from Barcelona --- which is awesome by the way. No further comment is needed.

Who's the Big Baby?

Riots

I'm not going to write much now since I've only got 10 minutes or so left at this internet cafe and this French keyboard is a pain in my ass. Just wanted to say that the trip has been great so far, one of my favorite vacations ever. I'll write more about the details when I have a free internet connection in Barcelona.

For now, I'll just add that these French kids rioting are pretty smart. We've bumped into them several times now and, so far as I can tell their method for inducing political change centers on traffic distruption. They seem to meet in a different part of the city during rush hour every day. The police then procered to set up a shitload of barricades and cause gridlock. We can barely walk from place to place, so I can't even imagine trying to drive around an already crowded city. I'm not sure how things will work out here, but I'm willing to bet that if someone caused random traffic delays in the New York or LA for a few weeks people would be lining up to give them what they want.

Aloha

Life is not so much about beginnings and endings as it is about going on and on and on. It is about muddling through the middle.

- Anna Quindlen

I was surprised to see the Blogger invite in my inbox but I'm happy to be here. I've got stuff to say but not so much that I can fill a blog. That's just too much pressure. Sharing a blog with a good friend is a better arrangement, except that I probably constituted half of Jeremy's regular readership. Hmmm.

It's with a certain bit of irony that Wildfiring readers get such a big win on a day our beloved Tar Heels' lost to George Mason. I think I speak for both Jeremy and me when I say it's been a pleasure watching these guys improve so dramatically in a year when so little was expected. Our boys have much to be proud of - 23 wins, NCAA berth, 2nd in ACC, top 10 ranking, spoiling JJ and Sheldon's Senior Day. I know it's still tough right now but remember that tomorrow will be better (and next season even better still).

That's the great thing about the Heels. While we tend to think of the seasons that begin and end or the players that come and go, these really aren't beginnings and endings at all but rather team after team with heart, integrity, and tradition - a fabulous going on and on and on, though it's far from a muddling through the middle.

Fresh Blood

Jon claimed last night that my blog would be better if I let him run it. I, of course, told him to start his own damn blog, but he said "No, I want yours." Well, I've given him posting priveldges, so now he can have it. Since I recognize that higher volume posting would probably be a good thing and I'm not interested in writing much more thatn I do now, another poster actually seems like a decent idea. Note that I do this with almost 100% certainty that he won't do jack-shit, but at least now he can't bitch.

Eurotrip

Although, I doubt I'll encounter antics comparable to those found in this fine film, I'm heading off to Europe to visit my beautiful girlfriend today. We'll be in Paris and Barcelona, and I plan to bombard you with lots of pictures of things you could see better pictures of elsewhere, either while I'm there or when I get back (depending on internet connection action). Have a good week, and don't miss me too much.

Pitchfork Music Festival

Anyone want to meet up in Chicago for this concert? It's on July 29-30 and should be fun. If we get a few people we could get a hotel for pretty cheap. Flights from Raliegh are at $250 now, but if a few people from around here go it might be worth it to drive. Anyway, let me know if you're interested.

ah, TV

Nothing makes me want to watch TV more than my masters paper. Some notes from my day sitting on my ass:

• I have no idea how Duke beat BC today, I really don't. I'm officially picking GW to beat them in the 2nd round. That is one hell of a draw, by the way.
  
• I watched the USA-Japan game in the World Baseball Classic this afternoon. I remain fairly ambivalent about the whole WBC, but I have to admit, that game was fun to watch. Much more intense than a regular season MLB game, not to mention preseason baseball. Could this be first good thing Selig has managed? Perhaps.
  
• It's been a little while, but The Sopranos is back with a fucking bang. Tonight's episode was better than anything they managed last season. In fact, it's probably one of the 10 best episodes ever, and that is saying something. Is it just me or was the Steve Buscemi story line last season incredibly disappointing? How they managed to fuck up Steve Buscemi in The Sopranos, I will never know, but somehow they did it.
  
• I'm going to finish up this Sebastian Telfair documentary now. The first half was pretty good. It's not Hoop Dreams, but still interesting. Telfair seems like a pretty good guy. Maybe after this I'll see if this new HBO polygamy show is any good. I'll post again if warranted.
• Despite all of this wonderful stimulation, I still managed to write 4 pages on my paper.
  

Ah, Duke

Ex-Dukie Jay Williams, hitting on one of my Co-workers at BW3 on Saturday:

"I should've gone to Carolina. There are no cute girls at Duke."

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Oscar Wrap-up

• 4 of my 8 predictions were correct.
• 5 of my 8 picks won.
• Not a great night for my prognosticating, but a pretty good night for the academy. Every winner was deserving. The three that I didn't pick (Crash for Picture and Screenplay, and Clooney) would've been 2nd in line.
• John Stewart gets a 6 out of 10. His monolouge kind of bombed, but he got much better in his limited screen-time from there on out. His best line of the night: "Number of Oscars:Three 6 Mafia - 1. Martin Scorcese - 0." Hah!
  
• This is the first time in years that I've sat and watched the Oscars all the way through, and I must say, I won't be doing it again any time soon unless a copious amount of alcohol is involved.
  
• Crash winning best picture really is a little surprising. Now, I might be off base here but I think it makes the Oscars look even more masturbatory than they already are. Look, it's a 4 hour show celebrating Hollywood that is made in, by, for and about Hollywood. Then they pick a movie about all of the horrible issues that Hollywood faces as best picture. It's like patting your self on the back for giving someone such a good pat on the back. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think the movie was good, (Brokeback was a bit better, but it was close) but Crash winning just feels a little wrong. Then again I did just write 1000 plus words about this shit. So, go Masturbation! Go Hollywood!! Go Crash!!!

Live Oscar Blogging

I'm hunkering down to watch the Oscars. I'll post as I see fit:

8:20 - All the rather boring red carpet stuff is done. The only memorable thing from the pre-show was Will Smith losing his shit. Calling a befuddled Will Farrel; the most "committed" actor he's ever seen for about 5 minutes. Someone named Will should be committed, and it ain't Mr. Farrell. Stewart's monolouge was ok, but somewhat underwhelming. Par for the Oscar course. Here comes Best Supporting Actor ... Clooney wins. Whew, changed my pick from Jake Gyllenhaal about an hour ago, so I'm 1-1 (just barely). I thought Giamatti was better, but I really like Clooney. He seems like a genuine guy. I'll post again when something interesting happens. Probably in about 2 hours.

8:32 - Fucking boring-ass Wallace and Grommit just beat Howl's Moving Castle for best animated picture. I wonder if people actually watch these movies. Yawn.

8:37 - God, I hate the damn songs, and I'll wager a dollar that Dolly Parton exceeds GDP of Poland in lipstick expenses every year. She looks like one of these things crammed into a corset.



8:51 - As annoying as long boring speeches are, I think playing the music for an entire speech is even worse. It's fucking rude. Cut out damn songs and the annoying skits if you want to keep the show short, but don't be disrespectful to the people you are supposedly honoring.

9:05 - Here comes supporting Actress ... Not at all confident about this prediction. In fact, I've only seen three of the movies. I should've picked (picked, not predicted) Keener over Weisz, by the way. I think I overlooked her. I'll stick with my prediction of the Junebug girl though. And the winner is ... Rachel Weisz. Oh well. My first miss, I really had no idea on that one. She was good though.

9:18 - Finally, a funny skit. The best actress political adds were pretty good.

9:21 - George Clooney is making this show worth watching. A rather plain-looking girl thanked the academy for seating him next to her at some lunch and they cut to a shot of Clooney with a "who-the-hell-is-this-chick?" expression on his face. Classic. The damn penguin movie just won best documentary. It get's another big ol' yawn to go along with Wallace and Grommit's.

9:45 - Even though I've probably seen about half of the movie tonight, I kind of want to watch Pride and Prejudice. I have no idea why know why, but I do. Maybe that there Brokeback Mountain had more influence on me than I thought. Maybe I'll rent it once Alexa gets home.

9:54 - And the Oscar for worst reality show ever goes to ... American Inventor! What the hell is this crap?

10:00 - Jessica Alba got a Lyle Lovett haircut ... AND SHE'S STILL HOT.



10:23 - Thank God, best song is over with. All 3 songs kind of sucked. The Crash one was least bad I think, but I guess the rappers winning is cool too. All of them trying to talk at once is funny, and Stewarts reaction was good too.

10:42 - Stewart is rolling along with the 3-6 Mafia jokes. The foreign film guy just gave the best speech of the night, and now Crash wins a much deserved editing Oscar. Real awards forthcoming.

10:47 - Best Actor forthcoming. Toss-up between Pheonix and Hoffman I think. Would be shocked if it was someone else ..... Hoffman wins. My picks are beating my predictions 3 to 1. Hoffman definitely deserves it. Kind of a crappy speech though.

11:00 - Best Actress. No idea here again. Only seen one of these movies, although I'd like to see a few others. Guessing Felicity Huffman or Reese ... It's Reese. Damnation. My picks are fucking perfect so far, but I've only gotten one of 4 predictions correct; so much for the 7 of 8 from last year. Reese also wins first tears of the night.

11:11 - The Brokeback lovefest begins 3 hours into the show. It wins a strong adapted screenplay category. Got my 2nd prediction correct (still perfect in picks).

11:15 - Haggis wins Original Screenplay for Crash, which I predicted like 8 months ago. I like Squid and the Whale a little more, but this was a damn fine movie. I think I am just going to start watching the Oscars at 11:00 next year. Still no surprises. Yawn.

11:20 - Ang Lee wins for directing Brokeback. Once again, he deserves it. I can go 4/8 in predictions and 7/8 in picks if (when) Brokeback wins best picture.

11:23 - Jack's up to present best picture. Unless Crash upsets Brokeback this will be a relatively surprise-free evening. I don't think anything else has a shot ... Crash wins! Wow! The cast is clearly shocked, and so am I honestly. Wow, they cut off the best picture winners. The only people the orchestra got this night. Fucked up. I would've put Brokeback at 90% to win. Well, I'm done with this. Maybe, I'll blog the last half hour of next years Oscars. Later kids.

Life Imitates Art

Just as long as my life doesn't imitate this "art." (via Jon)

Oscar Picks

I got 7 of the 8 major categories last year, but I'm not feeling quite as confident this time around. I think Brokeback is a lock for best picture, but other than that most of these are wild-ass guesses. With that said, here are my Oscar picks/predictions.

Picks in Bold
Predictions in Italics

BEST PICTURE
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Crash"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Munich"

DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Bennett Miller, "Capote"
Paul Haggis, "Crash"
George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Steven Spielberg, "Munich"

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"
Charlize Theron, "North Country"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney, "Syriana"
Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"
William Hurt, "A History of Violence"

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLL
Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Catherine Keener, "Capote"
Frances McDormand, "North Country"
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"
Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, "Crash"
George Clooney and Grant Heslov, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Woody Allen, "Match Point"
Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"
Stephen Gaghan, "Syriana"

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"
Dan Futterman, "Capote"
Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"
Josh Olsen, "A History of Violence"
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich"

Thanks to Compton for typing all this crap in, so that I could just embolden and italicize things.

Tapes n' Tapes - Insistor

(Download from the official site)

These guys are the new Pitchfork darlings, and they admitedly sound similar to a lot of the recent Pitchforkians (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, especially.) Still this song is pretty good, and I'd go so far as to say that the last 30 seconds are pretty splendid. Worth checking out.