Various Funnies

      I finally got to watch most of Chris Rock's most recent HBO comedy special thingy that was filmed in D.C. I especially enjoyed his comparison of Michael Jackson's continued naughtiness to Groundhog Day. That's one of my all time favorite movies. He did use an abortion joke that was in Dogma. It's still funny, but was funnier the first time I heard it; in Dogma.
      Along with enjoying the whole show, I was amazed that he could keep up that growly voice for so long. It's part of his act, so I've heard it before. I've always figured that he doesn't talk like that much when he's not performing, though, as it sounds a bit painful. The fact that he spent most of those 90 minutes growling and didn't lose his voice right there on stage is a bit surprising. Highly recommended.

      Here's a web comic that you might enjoy.

      This old Joy of Tech made me laugh.

Overhead more

      A woman's daughter has a pretty fulfilling job, but it doesn't pay much. The woman tells her daughter that it's important to enjoy your job. She goes on to say that you don't need to make a lot of money at work if you find a guy who makes a lot of money to marry. Work a crap job and marry for money. That sounds like the formula for happiness to me!

      Today's word of the day is courtesy of Neil Gaiman: conurbation. It is defined by Merriam-Webster as: an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities. Good word.

Long, pseudo-academic post

And penguins won't stop following you
They march in a long black line
It's menacing and sinister
And soon it will be night time

      Shanna got me a cute pair of pink kitty-cat earrings for my birthday, as well as a funny Far Side card. Mom was unhappy that I opened it before my birthday. Had I not opened the gift last night, I wouldn't be able to wear it proudly today.
      I really need to stop being so picky and just buy something for Shanna. Maybe I'll find something at the harbor tonight. It's difficult for me because the gift has to be perfect, and perfection isn't easy to find. I did get some perfectly boring cardigans yesterday after work. I bought three: red, yellow and blue; because primary colors are fun!

      Parts of last night's Angel were really good. I know there are people who will disagree with me, but I've always liked Connor. And not just because the actor playing him has a nice smile, either, because that character hardly ever smiles. Plus, they got it on the air in time for 'bring your son to work day'!
      As predictable or painful as some of Connor's storylines have been, I think he's a good character. I hope they bring him back when they start making their movies-of-the-week. The resolution to last night's episode felt like a bit of a cop-out (although Wesley assuming that everything is about Fred was funny), but I feel better knowing that not only is Connor super strong and super fast and all that, but that he also has super coping skills. He always has, really, it was just hard to tell with all of the craziness going on last season. In comparison, Buffy always went comatose whenever anything bad happened to her. Connor takes the shit life hands him and does something to make it better. The fact that he's no longer all broody like Angel makes him a great hero.
      Maybe they could do a Connor spin-off. It couldn't possibly be any worse than Birds of Prey or Tru Calling, right? It would still be satisfying if Connor just goes on living a perfectly bland happy life, but then there's that wasted potential, and I enjoy watching Angel freak out over him and all. Oh well. Not for me to decide what to do with the character. I'm not really into writing fan fics.
      Adam Baldwin just gets better and better, too!
      Also, the WB promos that describe their new episodes as 'fresh' just kill all of the drama. The word 'fresh' sounds so pleasant. It's jarring to hear 'fresh' over the visuals of Clark being tortured or something. I was all worried about Clark, and then I heard the word 'fresh,' with all of its fun connotations, and my mood was bumped up to a more positive level. Calling a new episode of a comedy 'fresh' is probably a good idea, but it just doesn't work with drama. Stupid WB.

      Predictably, I love the music of Matthew Dear. Just so you know.

      So, today is still "Bring Your Crazed Munchkins to Work Day". Coupled with the standard "Bring Your Crazed Self to Work" routine, things are definitely more interesting at the office today. I overheard a woman showing-off her child and lying, "These are Mommy's friends" right to his face. What she really meant was, "These are Mommy's subordinates whom she frustrates, belittles and alienates with her general ineptitude and egotism."
      It is fun to see a bunch of excited faces at the office, though. Kids dress more fun than adults, too. Kids' clothes are far more colorful, even if the girls tend towards excessive pinkness. They can be forgiven because they're too young to know better, and their parents probably dressed 'em anyway.

      An article like this is the kind of thing that makes me love The Weekly World News. I suggest you read it before I begin commenting on it.
      You're back? Good.

What I Love About this Article, by Rachel Crane

      What I love about the article "Europe to Become Giant Theme Park" from The Weekly World News is its commentary on both European and American culture coupled with the ludicrous idea of transforming an entire continent into a culturally fascist theme park. Very Disney! Only, y'know, with social commentary.
      This piece plays into the idea that Americans pay no attention to what's going on in Europe. Europe is old news, it's finished, there's nothing new happening there. Therefore, the whole continent (including the UK, apparently) can become an historical landmark for industrious, forward-thinking Americans to visit during their down time.
      Europe is described as an "intellectual wasteland", continuing the idea that only America is moving forward in any useful way. The blame for Europe's lack of intellect lies in the fact that all of the smart and useful Europeans moved to the States. We sucked their brain trust dry, now let's party with the buffoons and madmen. Woo hoo! Spring break!
      What the article really critiques is the atavistic impulses of all of 'western' popular culture. In the early 21st century the height of fashion is to copy the 1980s. Much of the '80s sucked the first time around. I don't care how much minor celebrities wax nostalgic about their ugly corduroy OP shorts on VH1. I don't love the '80s. I don't love the '90s, either. In a few years, when VH1 begins producing "I Love the 90s!" I will continue to not watch that channel (unless they're showing a 'Movie that Rocks', of course).
      Placing too much focus on the past slows culture down. We must question the stereotypes that we cling to. Wooden shoes don't seem too useful for everyone to be wearing anymore. Are automobiles still as useful as many tend to think? While stubbornly looking only to the past, one can miss the present and the future ahead. Turning one's back on cultural progress is a joke.
      The idea of EuroWorld also flips the colonial ideas of the past. Europe used to fetishize their colonies and less powerful nations through orientalism. Now that the US has Coca-colonized the entire McWorld, Ye Olde Worlde Europe can become fetishized by Americans. Why else would anyone want to buy a BMW?
      I do like this idea:

The citizens of each European country will now be considered "Euro hosts." The Euro hosts will be required to dress in traditional ethnic outfits from their respective homelands to better entertain visitors.
Thus, Germans must wear lederhosen at all times, Scots must wear kilts, and so forth.

Kilts are so sexy! Sign me up for EuroWorld's "ScotlandLand"!

      Okay, that didn't make much sense, did it? I think that's the critique I used to get from teachers and professors and such folk. All the same, I did enjoy writing it.

Elementary, my dear dippy

      Don't you just hate it when someone butts in on a project they know very little about and thinks they're being quite helpful but actually just slow down the whole process; and you can't really say anything because they're management and you're not, and they shouldn't even be involved in the first place? Yeah, I hate that too.

Very glad no one reads this boring blog

      Shana called last night to invite me to her July wedding. I'm so excited! She says Shanna's going to be singing there, too! (I have to remember to buy Shanna a birthday present!) I look forward to receiving the actual invitation.

      The following link is from The Weekly World News website of the day feature, but I thought it was worth passing along: Annenberg Political Fact Check.

      Today Neil Gaiman proved that he is painfully good at suspense and/or gets off on being withholding. I've never even heard of Victoria Walker before, but now I really want to know about her. Stupid good storytellers frustrating me! Grr!

      This other Shana, whom I've never met, has an odd website. Seems she's a scrap-booker, but instead of keeping her scraps in books, scans the hand made pages to post online. I guess she isn't big on web design. Her site is well organized, though. All the same, it's an interesting mix of analog and digital.

      There are KUCI management and staff meetings tonight. I remembered to bring my Flashy camera with me today, so I should have some more images to post within the next decade or so (based on my average file uploading time). Plus, I'm going to try to use the venue to get rid of those Newport Beach Film Fest comp tickets that I got at the Macy's fashion show last year. I just don't have the time to attend any of the screenings.

Eventually I can get photos posted

      Below please find the photos from last Tuesday at KUCI.

Former KUCI site

Ann Tran

Interim KUCI site

Lost trainees

Ann Tran

Ani in an uncharacteristic fit of shyness

UC Irvine's nocturnal bunnies

New web find. That's about it.

      I should just avoid Thai chicken pizza from now on. It always sounds like a good idea, but every restaurant at which I've eaten it does some different thing with the dish that makes me unhappy. I don't even know what the various weird little green things were on the tcp that I had last night, but they did not taste very good. Usually I just have to worry about the peanut sauce being too spicy, but that wasn't a problem at all. Oh well. The frozen banana was yummy, even if it was too cold out to fully enjoy.

      Movie Reviews for the Retarded is my favorite web find of the day. Anyone who concludes their Jersey Girl review with the following comment on Ben Affleck's acting is cool by me: "...Affleck is -- well, he's playing Ben Affleck the way nobody else can." I think that about sums up Mr Affleck's full body of work. And, y'know, the same thing could be said for Jack Nicholson, so please don't hate me for agreeing.
      I am looking forward to the new Jersey Girl episode of Dinner for Five that I saw advertised last night. Stephen Root should totally be on a 24 hour webcam. He is always always funny.

      I still can't bring myself to stop listening to Momus. Why would I want to, really? And I'm still plugging away through Philip Pullman's The Shadow in the North. No response yet from FedEx on extra trips to Tennessee. I fixed the problems with last week's photos but forgot to upload them, and will try to remember to go online tonight to do so. Ann really does look pretty darn adorable. But then, she always does.

Entertainment Report

      I sent Brooke her copy of 1602 #8 on Thursday via FedEx three day shipping. The last time I used FedEx to send something to Brooke in Hollywood, it was routed from Irvine to LA to Tennessee to LA to Hollywood. I figured that the extra trip to Tennessee was a mistake and didn't want to cause any trouble about it, particularly due to the fact that there wasn't any huge rush for Brooke to get her copy of 1602 #7 (although she may disagree with me on that). But it happened again this week! I just had to write to FedEx about it. It's just such an inefficient waste of resources! First class mail can get a package around SoCal overnight baring any delays such as the Christmas rush, so this is simply wrong. It is so wrong that it should be illegal. It would be immoral for me to not complain.

      I paid my bills late for the first time. It was only Macy's and Express, and they were only a few days late, but I'm disappointed in my self. I'd like to blame taxes, a jury duty notice, car registration renewal and the new KUCI quarter for my late bill paying. Just so you know.

      Michelle will be in town today, at 3pm. She and Mom and I will most likely go to that Italian place on Balboa that I mentioned here last week. Michelle's so fun.

      Writing of fun, Glark at TWoP confirmed that the first season of Arrested Development will be available on DVD relatively soon. I can't wait to give it to people to force them to become addicted like me. Most of my friends already like it, though, so I shouldn't have to give too much $$ to Fox Home Video.

      Young Adam was good. The older couple sitting to my right kept chattering through all the good parts, saying things such as, "Oh! He's in trouble now!" Then one of them fell asleep towards the end. Older people really aren't any more well-behaved at theatre-going than younger people. Older people usually don't bring small children into R-rated films, though, so that's nice. (I really don't think The Cell or Once Upon a Time in Mexico work as family friendly entertainment.)
      Anyways, Young Adam is compelling and pretty well-plotted (in a non-linear way), and there isn't a war or a serial killer, so I recommend it. I still don't get what the title has to do with anything, though. Maybe the narration of the book explains it better, but it just doesn't work for me based on this film. Also, the director did some interesting things that didn't make me hate him.
      Sometimes, when directors try too hard, it makes me hate 'em. Just a little. Such as that guy who directed Daredevil. Like M. Night Shyamalan, he was trying way too hard to let the audience know that he went to film school and knows how to make art. Okay, I'm not entirely certain that Mr Johnson went to film school, but even if he didn't you can tell he wanted to and at least got as close as he could to attending film school. Vincent Gallo pisses me off the most with that kind of thing. If something looks cool and is cinematically groundbreaking but bogs down the picture and kills the plot and confuses characterization, then don't do it! I don't care how cool and 'the new Orson Welles' you think you are. Welles did new, groundbreaking stuff that actually made his movies better; told the story better. Welles was not the type to randomly throw cinematic devices in just because no one had done it before. He knew how to tell a story.

      Alex Ross is such a geek. I love his work. He's very skilled and talented and all, and a great big geek. Just thought you should know.

Here's today's playlist
Listen online at kuci.org!

Quantum Foam 10a-12p Sunday April 18, 2004

Artist . Song . Album . New Release?
1. Harvie S . Curved Corners . Texas Rumba . NR
2. Greyboy . Got to Be a Love . Soul Mosaic . NR
3. Jeremy Ellis . Chameleon (edit) [Herbie Hancock] . Rewind!3 . NR

4. Joel Frahm with Brad Mehldau . Get Happy . Don't Explain . NR
5. Kaufman ~ Gertz ~ Bergonzi . Fool Hardy . Dreaming Out Loud . NR

6. David S. Ware String Ensemble . THREADS . THREADS . NR
7. Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake . Leap Forward . back together again . NR

8. Momus . Nobody . 20 Vodka Jellies
9. Lucky Pierre . Fan-Dance . Tracks for Horses . NR
10. Matthew Dear . Huffing Stuff . Leave Luck to Heaven . NR

-11. Ty . Groovement . Upwards . NR
+12. Dangermouse . Moment of Clarity . The Grey Album . NR

13. Sound Providers . Autumns Evening Breeze . An Evening with the Sound Providers . NR
14. Hangar 18 . Beatslope (El-P Remix) . Definitive Jux Presents III . NR
15. John Reuben . Re-Record . Professional Rapper . NR
16. Murs 3:16 . Trevor an' Them . the 9th edition . NR
17. Switch Stance . Imperfect . Making Cents . NR

18. Beans . Composition in Void . Now, Soon, Someday . NR
-19. Ill Bill . Green Lantern Freestyle . Howie Made Me Do It . NR

20. Slow Train Soul . Illegal Cargo (reprise) . Illegal Cargo . NR
21. Daedelus . Telling Meaning . of snowdonia . NR

22. Phoenix . If I Ever Feel Better . Erlend Oye DJ-Kicks . NR
23. AGF . Contemporary Westernized . Westernization Completed . NR
24. Mochipet . Barry White vs. The White Stripes vs. White Lion . Combat . NR
25. Kick Squad . Slow-Mo . The Peng Fables Vol*1 - Songs of the SoulSoother . NR

Oh, I can't think of a title.

      Wayzgoose got rained out yesterday. I was all ready to DJ, too. Like, quality DJing and everything. No where near beatmatching turntablists or anything, cuz I have no such skills; but some good CD player mixing. Oh well. I guess Wayzgoose can't be on the hottest day of the year all the time.

      The CDs that arrive at the station sometimes have extra information that isn't included on the retail copies of discs. It's useful, with suggested tracks that'd work well on radio, warnings about naughty language, comparisions with other artists and whatnot.
      Now some of them have begun tauting the fact that the album is unavailable on the iTunes music store. I love this backlash. I love that enough people are aware of how the iTunes music store is just an extension of RIAA/big music label theivery to make it a point of pride to not participate.
      These anti-iTunes music store artists know what they're doing. Not only do they set themselves up as being anti-corporate indie to draw in listeners who are in the same camp, by not participating in the iTunes music store they actually are working against that corporate theivery system. Yay for non-iTunes music store artists! (I still love my iTunes software, though. It's so useful for organizing my perfectly legal digital music collection!)

      Mom and I saw Connie and Carla yesterday. It was fun, but seriously, Nia V was the worst part of the film. Rita Wilson should re-think working with her anymore. It can be tough to break-off a relationship, but Nia V just isn't as faboo as she'd like to think. Maybe if she speaks another person's lines it'd work better, but I loved all of the other performances. Toni Colette, David Duchovny, Debbie Reynolds and everybody else were great. They were funny and real and entertaining. Nia V just hams her way through the whole thing. She needs to learn some subtlety from her love interest.
      I plan to see Ewan McGregor get all nakey today in Young Adam. That should make me happy, even with the film's depressing plot and tone and all. If I don't support sexy Scotsmen, who will?