Everybody's Somebody's Tad Hamilton (Yes, This Is THAT Post)

leap (v.):
1. To spring or bound upward from or as if from the ground; jump: leaped over the wall; salmon leaping upriver.

2a. To move quickly or abruptly from one condition or subject to another: always leaping to conclusions.
2b. To act impulsively: leaped at the opportunity to travel.

The Leap (adj.): Bill Simmons vernacular for having a breakout moment, performance, or season

Lookitcha.

All hyper and sitting there with popcorn in your hand TELL US WHAT HAPPENED YOU BASTARD!

*sigh*

Well...all right.

I shower like an ex-con on his first day out of the pen. I put on the new shirt I got Friday with Amanda's ever-keen seeing eye and jeans--not quite casual but not quite wearing an Armani suit.

I wait for her. I get there really early which in retrospect was stupid because she's notoriously late and I don't know if you noticed but I've got a small streak of paranoia. But she's on time or close enough and she dressed like I did. Not exactly the same because well that would be creepy and veering into Chaz territory, but a fuzzy gray sweater, jeans, and black boots.

Movie tickets bought seperately. DID pay for the popcorn and the water she offhandedly mentioned she wanted.

So Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. It is what it is, a slightly above average romantic comedy. Kate Bosworth's eye turns different colors which is pretty cool. Topher Grace plays an excellent straight man. Perhaps the fact we were leaning into each other, arms and heads against each other as we were whispering intermittedly played a part in my review, but I was (mostly) paying attention to the flick. Most enjoyed by us--esp. considering this all started over THE joke in Office Space was Gary Cole (LUMBERGH~) as Bosworth's dad.

I think of asking her out then, but there's still more of the evening to go.

Pictures in a photo booth that are currently burning a hole in the back pocket.

We also played pool (she beat me 5 out of 8--one time "Cry Me A River" was playing, one time the 8 ball bounced off BOTH the corners, and another she brought up work and then sufficiently rattled she sank 4 in a row right after. ALL THOSE under protests.)

Bought her a rose.

And we had shakes at Ghiradelli's.

She talked a lot about her jobs and family. I know her better than most of my family now. She talked about being a substitute teacher and we get into a couple discussions of materialism vs. spirtuality, in part thanks to the movie. I lost track of how many of her thoughts I finished after 10. We talked about religion and family and immigration laws. Time flew and flew and flew at Ghiradelli's. I had more fun getting rooked at pool, but Ghiardelli's reinforces the fact while the physical is all well and good, her mental is real and it is spec-tac-u-lar.

There's also this thing where guys fall in love with her the second they see her, but since it was at the earliest the third time I'm going to gloss over it 'cause it don't apply to me no sir.

I'm not going to lie to you and say the possibility of chickening out despite our fun at pool and deep talk didn't occur to me. Cowards die alone. New Butch lives on.

There's only so much I can take, y'know? With that perfect imperfect smile and the bangs and the sort of looking like a Latina Sarah Silverman and the last 8 hours and whatnot.

So, the question.

As Hemingway would put it, hm, the question. The question. Yes, the question.

She doesn't even really look at me. Not in disgust. Bashfulness. Brown eyes coming at me. Any will I had is dead. All that is left know is to obey my heart and these things I feel to be right.

She says "Why?". Not in a "how dare you *mace*" sort of way but a "you think I'm girlfriend material?" sort of way. I put my hand in hers--small and warm and I stare her right in the eyes.

I've only been waiting for this question how long? You think maybe I just might be able to pull this answer out of the recesses of my mind?

[This is DVD commentary, because about .2 seconds after the y got out I sold like a Lexus dealer on the pipe.]

"You're a great person. I know a couple people I'd consider cooler; you're the best person I know. You're nice, but you still have a spine. You're smart, but you're not an intellectual snob. You're cute, but you're not a slut. You make me unbelievably happy. I love when you laugh. I love it when you giggle. And when I'm not making you laugh or giggle, there's this voice in my head that's saying 'I wish Cristal was here so I could make her laugh and/or giggle. I don't need an answer now, this isn't Final Jeopardy. But you are the type of girl that I've always wanted.'"

This just in: AFFLECK AIN'T SHIT, BITCHES.

(This is going down as #1 in the Panthenon of Great Rosser Ad-Lib Speeches. Sorry, wedding.)

What was I going to do, not say anything? I've lived my whole life not saying anything and Kevin, damn his French-loving ass, was right and I said as much to her: if she rejected me, oh, well, I'd still have an awesome friend. But having her for a girlfriend would make me such a better person it couldn't help but change my world.

And by the way, now's her stop. I kiss her and tell her to really think it over. She looks at me with that fucking smile and the rose and thanks me--promises a call--and she's gone.

I look for her.

She looks at me.

It pulls away, with that red rose illuminating the 11:00 darkness as I speed off into the night. I've got a smile on my face to beat the band, Da Band, and Who The Band On Stage. I finally semi pull out of this stupor (because about two hours've gone by and I'm not out of it, and I damn sure don't plan on it going) and the guy across from us/me is looking at me with a mixture of shock and awe on his face.

"She's yours." he says. I can only laugh. "I really should've been writing down that whole part in the middle."

I shrug. "I can sit on the sidelines and watch someone else realize how awesome she is or I can do it myself." We do that aggressively male TRUE nod.

And now I'm here.

There's nothing more I can do or say. She believes or she doesn't. I will say I provided about as flawless a date as can go despite every paranoid fantasy that danced through my head last night. My adrenaline's flying and for the first time all day my heart is producing a Neptunes track (somehow making these posts has become the Vegas pay window of my life for one)...I don't know how I'm gonna sleep. Don't really care. I'm seeing that smile on her face as she smells the rose and remembering with Wonder Yearsian fondness That Look at the end.

The foreperson hasn't spoken, but I do believe the jury is in.

And poor Old Butch. Poor sad lonely Old Butch I do believe is about to get the death penalty.

Couldn't be happier. Almost.

And since others've said it better, I'll let them.

Get busy living, or get busy dying. That's goddamn right... I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I imagine it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey, whose conclusion is uncertain...I hope.

The last lines of Coldplay's "Amsterdam":

Stood on the edge
Tied to the noose
But you came along and you cut me loose
You came along and you cut me loose
You came along and you cut me loose...

From the Home Office At the Precipice Of Forever

DROPPED: Stand Up, 10

[10] A Perfect Circle --> Weak And Powerless (N)*
[09] No Doubt --> It's My Life (8)
[08] Andre 3000 --> Hey Ya (2)
[07] Kelis --> Milkshake (4)
[06] Red Hot Chili Peppers --> Fortune Faded (5)

[05] Big Boi f/Sleepy Brown --> The Way You Move (3)
[04] Coldplay --> Moses (live) (9)

[03] Alicia Keys --> You Don't Know My Name (7)*

[02] the Darkness --> I Believe In A Thing Called Love (6)*

[01] Jet --> Are You Gonna Be My Girl? (1) [4w]

Currently playing: last year's #13, Radiohead's "There There"

We Continue Nobody Remembers That 80's Band But Your Stinking Ass Week On KWBR With Some Timbuk3...

Wellllllll...

Sure, I could regale you about the burgeoning dictatorship with my name, or dabble in some Super Bowl hype, or the new Spanish class I'm just getting into, amigo.

But y'all don't want to hear me, you just wanna dance.

More accurately, you want the latest Cristal updates and the sooner the better. Since the advent of the Comment age, the last posting was the most popular even if that idjit Mike skewered it.

So today, then? Yeah.

So I accidentally went down to pick up my check around the same time she got off work. All right, it was an elaborate plot to see her specifically. AND pick up my check. Worst comes to worst I miss her somehow and pick up a sandwich to munch on during PTI. Like Candide, nothing could go wrong in this the best of all possible worlds.

That's when things started getting wonky.

No check, and I'm about to leave the building when my friend on the east dock says they're throwing a party at the end of the building--the 15th Anniversary party rescheduled because of the wildfires--and there's free food.

MMM...free.

So I amble over there and guess who that's who. I agree to meet her after her shift ends in a half an hour, thus giving me time to gorge myself on sushi, rolled chicken tacos, and Sprite. Thank Self I decided to do this because otherwise I would've missed this entirely. Anyway, she says today she scored her ride so she'll swing by to pick me up. What a pleasant surprise. I should preface this by saying she's notoriously late and I hear the checks been dropped off. So I walk to the back...

...right as she steps into the door I open.

Every so often, y'know. Every so often.

So we stand around waiting for the checks to show up and talk. About 10 people see us talking together which is really going to stem the rumor tide but FUCK THEM stronger message to follow. We get the checks and we're heading towards my place and we discuss Sunday. I proffer a few friendly games of pool after the movie lets out, and she says very fetchingly "You remembered I like pool!" I'm thinking internally I could probably memorize the Klan initiation speech if YOU told me to do it but I stifled the little voice.

We arrive.

But we sit in the car half an hour.

She's going through all my CDs from R.E.M. to More Music From 8 Mile with the chewy Johnny Cash center and putting in some N.E.R.D. and Outkast and we're sitting there talking and talking.

Upstairs.

My little brother and dad say hi and we head into my room.

Sadly, no, that did not happen, inasmuch fun as it would've been.

But I get her orange juice a couple of times, we sit and talk some more, the bed collapses as it's prone to do. I put on some Coldplay. Sadly, no, that didn't happen because of "Warning Sign", "Amsterdam", and "The Scientist", inasmuch fun as it would've been. The "hey, since you're right against her looking at the computer screen why not kiss her?" voice has been sacked. Three hours went by with her in a nod of the head. Yearbook pictures, book collection, past journalism awards all were brought up and shown. Plus, she didn't see my room and immediately vomit. You're entirely right, I should've just asked her to elope right there. I lend her 8 Mile and it's goodbye and I'm not going to see her for two days!

Blast this calendar.

This has to be a date. Who hangs out with someone they work with for 3 hours when they don't have to? My friend on Tuesday was right, we're both single, we're making plans days ahead of time...I told Rob it just walked and talked like a duck.

After today?

It's a fucking duck.

Two days.

Stay healthy.

Get ready.

(Ooh, I could have two of the three resolutions down in the first month. Go go go go go go go meeeeee it's my birfday...)

Currently playing: Blur's "Song 2"

Finally, Some Dap For The Criminally Underrated Timex Social Club (or Wait Until You Hear This One)

Look at all these rumors
Surrounding me every day
I just need some time
Some time to get away
From all these rumors
Can't take it no more
My best friend say did you hear the one about me and the girl next door?

I'm so ambivalent.

Also, girls need to die. I swear, we're going to get the hang of this cloning and the human woman as known will get obsoletified within that generation.

So, anyways, today.

This happens before my shift, right as I'm heading into the men's locker room.

"So how's the girlfriend?"

A girl says this to me. Hey, you know how many of my male coworkers have asked if we're dating or the more blue-collar have you hit that yet? NONE OF THEM. You know why? 'Cause we're men. We drink, we fight, and we don't do cute little do-si-do bullshit on the fringes. But not only did that happen to me then, it happened to me on my break when I was trying to watch football with two other girls. It's so junior high school I feel the inner Lewis Black coming on.

Anyway, we talked about it. But that came later.

I waited for her while watching the Eagles choke yet AGAIN (pause to make sure I'm a safe distance from Philadelphia fans before laughing broadly) and we left together again.

And after some initial hesitation, I finally ask her if she wants to see a movie Sunday.

Yes.

CUT TO: a shocked and crestfallen 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, passing on the sparkling cider to Michael Dukakis.

CUE UP: stock fireworks footage

CUE UP: "Five O' Clock World' by the Vogues

CUT TO: the 3,472 voices in my head boisterantly celebrating. Champagne is spraying everywhere and a voice is screaming "LESS THAN THREE WEEKS! LESS THAN THREE MOTHER! FUCKING! WEEKS! WHO DA MAN?! WHO THE MOTHERFUCKING MAN?!" One of them rushes behind the turntables and puts on "Got To Give It Up Part 2" while a red gentleman with two cranial accessories is seen shivering and going "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

She's eating the giant peanut butter cup I bought her and laughing at my mini-rant about there being no freaks when I went to the midnight showing of LotRotK and finally as we exchange screen names and e-mail addresses (how ghetto nerd are we?) I feel content. A shitstorm that would've made Moses cringe, but this is why I suffered as I did, because now is all worth it.

I swear one of these days when I start feeling joy I'm going to learn to immediately duck afterwards.

Because the subject of how coupley we are comes up, and it turns out while I've been ducking the stray bullet here and there today the females on staff have turned execution squad with gossip bullets what is W R O N G with you bitches?! She repositions the Buffy & Simpsons & Philosophy books I'm lending her. Just because she thinks I'm cool (*shrug*), we get along and we like have a good mental connection, she says, and now I realize that thing on my left is a rock and the thing on my right is a hard place and those lights aren't the end of the tunnel but a freight train coming my way.

I've gotten a date that may or may not techincally constitute a date.

I ask for so little and somehow get even less. Anyways I'm going to have to talk to my braintrust because the next step is crucial. I need to keep her as a friend because she's such a cool person but the dangling carrot of the possibility of having such a quality woman as my girlfriend...*sigh*

I have nothing more to say that is either relevant or true. Except either I need to propel this gossipy force to my advantage or get these bitches to cease the yappity-flap.

WAS Playing: "Today Was A Good Day"
NOW Playing: "Trying To Find A Balance"

Y'know, I was rolling like a stone. My favorite convention in town, working my favorite position in the Human Swiss Army knife, producing an excellent day of development and freebies.

But they won't let me have too much fun.

Three sentences is roughly how long it took my mom to completely shit all over everything. I should mention now if I'm living here New Year's Eve and someone's not on death's door I fully advocate you coming out to the 619 and shooting me in the goddamn face. You apply pressure to me to go to school, and I'm going, even though it's costing me triple figures, hours off of my day, and fun things like next week's wake up at crack of dawn go to school get to work come home sleep wake up at crack of dawn go to school get to work. You're obviously mine-stripping my room like this is Room Raiders because the only Maxims I have are under my television. "I could go to jail" I'M HERE NOW. Jesus Tap Dancing Fucking Christ Screaming OW THAT HURTS on the cross. And hey, since you've been off all day how about getting off the computer and out of my room so I can at least set my stuff down and change? THREE DAYS, the Voices are screaming. THREE FUCKING DAYS.

Well, let me get to what was good now that it got chop blocked to shit. Action--they of the aforementioned Best Convention Ever reigning champions of the world--brought the goodness. Staring at hot girls for 6 hours. One of them's getting me one of those Kutcher hats that says You Funken [heart] Me tomorrow. Liked what she saw, dug my action. (No pun intended.) Literally bumped into a guy coming back from break at the pretzel stand with a retro Franco Harris, asked him where he got it. Turns out he's a throwback owner, and FH was going for $160 instead of the $250 retail. And and and I ran into two Japanese girls in Catholic schoolgirl outfits who'd dubbed themselves O-Ren Iishi and Go-Go Yubari.

The fact these reminisences aren't making me happier is, you guessed it, pissing me off even more. "King Of Wishful Thinking"? More like Emperor Of Irony.

So I better bring out the biggest light and cast out the non-hair-rock darkness.

Anyway, I guess in the interests of Keepin It Real the girl's name at work is Cristal, and I'm falling further in every time. She tutors kids bilingually, and she's really nice and has a great giggle but she's not spineless. She has many of the qualities I've been looking for, less the Alba resemblance.

Anyway after rolling through the shift and seeing another one in the offing tomorrow (ha ha you're off the one Sunday there are no playoff games all right fine it wasn't flawless) I'm out the door. And I'm debating whether or not I want to come home or go see if these wild and crazy youngsters are turning the mother out, as they say. Sure I was just there yesterday smoking hookah, going to Hustler and playing pool but they won't be back until September. But Nate's coming to town tomorrow--maybe Monday or Sunday night--so I decide on holding off.

Cristal shows up as I get to the door and asks me if I take the trolley. After I answer affirmatively she says to wait for her and she'll come along with.

Hooooooooooooooooly fuck.

Now I'm borderline giddy. So I help her fill out her timesheet and my friend Logan--he who hath cockblocked me last week this time from Cristal--gives me a quick raised eyebrow. I know what he means exactly. We're right next to each other, both poring over the same little spreadsheet. And yet it looked at least in my mind's overseeing eye like it was a coupley thing. We start going in on the Office Space jokes and leave together, which really looked coupley. I start talking about how to navigate the trolley for maximum effectivity. We get off together (NOT LIKE THAT you dirty, dirty bastards) and pop in a mom and pop since we just miss one. I get into my peanut butter cup addiction, and she buys a couple of cookies.

Now I know we look like a couple, because as I leave I get hassled for not paying for her cookies.

She's 27, which surprised the hell out of me. I look younger than I am too so that's another commonality. I mention Buffy & The Simps & Philosophy and am loaning them to her tomorrow. She mentions "The Stranger" by Albert Camus which by the time I recognize I have read it back in HS and just forgotten about it is telling this story of how a perky woman injected herself into a grumpy man's life and became his girl.

Art, life. Life, art. Oh, you guys know each other already? Huh.

I sat there staring at where she left and before I knew it I was singing "Moses".

Congratulations, Laura. Welcome to the top 5. You're #1. With a bullet.

And then three sentences later...

This is some real could-only-happen-to-me shit happening, here, boy. Did I mention?

Currently playing: Flickerstick's "Fade Into You" cover, live

"Lumbergh's gonna have me work on Saturday. I can tell already. And I'm gonna end up doing it, because, uh...because I'm a big pussy...which is why I work at Initech to begin with."

As I've evolved (kinda), I've come up with phrases. First chief amongst them: life, like comedy, is 90% timing.

My personal favorite that I came up with during the Great Depression of 2002 was that which does not kill us may merely paralyze us for life.

Something I came up with last year and sadly seem to lean on when I'm doing things that don't involve staring straight ahead at a screen providing me with entertainment?

"This is some real could-only-happen-to-me shit right here."

To wit, I win an auction for a McNabb jersey and figure leaving a couple hours before work will allow me time to get downtown, send the cash off for it, mayhaps jack a bite and go.

In retrospect? BAH HA.

Both the rides are late by 10 minutes, so in my frustration I go up the block and finally buy American Wedding and fifty billionty finally get Get Rich Or Die Trying.

It is only when I put on "Many Men" that I realize about half the words are missing because they've sold me a censored version. This is like trying to watch Scarface on USA.

I arrive at work, and New Butch has taken over. We're going to ask her out, the days of cowardice are over, and it's a very stirring little speech. New Butch is marching up the escalator, ready to mark the first significant change of the new year.

New Butch is set.

Problem with New Butch: Old Butch's brain is still in him. One look at her and it's like Fresh Prince set off the Neuralizer. So I stammer my way through conversation and she says she'll see me later to return Office Space, which she loved. [Like any decent human being wouldn't, but anyway.]

Prevalent voice in my head for the next hour, strangely enough with a Japanese accent: STUPID! You're so STUPID! And I realize I said earlier the crux of the job is to not go crazy dealing with people at their stupidest but it's so extra stupid today I thought the Republican National Convention from '96 was still in session ha ha ha SNAP. That, plus the Jerry Lewis homage and the shitty trip in and I'm about ready to firebomb the place back into the Stone Age.

Football calms me. It always does.

I see her again before she's to leave and I'm going back to my spot. I tell her where it is so I can get Office Space back from her. Since I didn't celebrate Christmas old school in '03 I then proceed to play "Is It Her?" for the better part of twenty minutes.

But wait, there's more!

'Cause it turns out in the dying hours of the show, incoming attendance has tapered off. Once I was busy up to my eyelids, now is a trickle. Thus the boss decides I can either go home early or stay and possibly get moved.

What the hell am I going to do, leave? She'll be there. She's coming. Plus it's a short shift and I've just come off of my lunch. So I, being the company litmus test I am, opt for staying. She doesn't come. I get moved.

Why is it when I want to get moved I get grief for sneezing but when I actually want to stay where I am...oh, right, my last name's really Murphy, I forgot. So I leave my hour-long forwarding address to a couple other workers in the vicinity and I go. Nothing happens, just exhibitors going outside to smoke and people leaving for the rear parking lot. And it's halftime at New England so I can't watch the game, and I'm getting downright bummed.

She appears. Royal blue with some gold stripes. siiiiiiiigh

Of course she got to where I was as I wasn't there, and after some "can you believe that?" she really liked Office Space. So I start doing Milton and every line sends her into a fit of giggles. New Butch, who had been beaten into the ground by the day's events, suddenly re-emerges. She looks around the lot. I ask what she's looking for, and she's wondering where her ride is. So she decides to call this guy up.

Well, here we go. Time for my heart to be ripped out at high velocity.

"Boyfriend?" I ask, as non-commital as I can make my voice. Hooray B+ in Drama.

"Nope." She has no boyfriend, and sort of lets some apologetic tone in her voice explaining all her friends are hooked up already. I'm trying to figure that out at the same time the voice in my head that sees the Scarlet Letter upside down every waking second is screaming ASK NOW! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL OF US UP HERE, DO IT! DO IT NOW! COWARDS DIE ALONE! But she says he's just a friend.

"Hm." I say, while the highlight reel of my mind plays Billy Madison's reaction to meeting Veronica Vaughn.

We continue talking and just before I can get to if she's doing anything Wednesday for the second time in six months I get a massive cockblock away from a pretty brunette on the east side of the loading dock. At least this was unintentional, but still. Anyway, my friend working east patrol is wondering about the in/out policy in the time remaining, and she goes on his cart back down to base and I am standing there, alone, with the wind chopping me in the chest.

There are no words.

Unless you count expletives.

We talk about football and proceed to do half of Office Space when he comes back because he has no idea what he's done and that's what guys do.

I'm going to give it another shot tomorrow.

Because the law of averages says I can't have another today.

Right?

RIGHT?

Currently playing: Seether's "Fine Again"

From the Home Office In the Torn Remnants Of The Spears/Alexander Wedding Invitation

DROPPED: Holidae In, 10

[10] Ludacris, "Stand Up" (9)
[09] Coldplay, "Moses (live)" (R)*
[08] No Doubt, "It's My Life" (6)
[07] Alicia Keys, "You Don't Know My Name" (5)
[06] the Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" (8)**

[05] Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Fortune Faded" (7)
[04] Kelis, "Milkshake" (3)

[03] Big Boi & Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move" (4)*

[02] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya" (1)

[01] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (2) [2w]

Currently playing: Don Henley & the Eagles' "New York Minute" live

I Knew Things Were Looking Too Far Up

And Mark Wahlberg, you can go to hell. Straight to hell. *throws down headset*

For all Butchtopia residents, our queen is dead. All hail your new queen.

Currently playing: Mr. Hendrix's "Hey Joe"

Baby, You Can Ride Passenger Side In My Car

This here what the auto show done taught me:

I now look like Donald Faison, apparently. I myself would be doing Sarah Chalke, but he's there, I'm here.

1,650, 2,100, and 2,531 are not the last three standing records of the world's biggest gangbang, but how many people I took in in the last 72 hours. AND BOY ARE MY ARMS TIRED.

Sitting in the driver's seat of a Benz red convertible, if only for a few brief seconds, makes you feel like a GOD.

If you loan a cute coworker your copy of your cherished Office Space and she gives you her number, then you hear the voice of Daniel Stern and/or the Monkees' "I'm A Believer", you have either knocked off 66% of your goals in four days or it should be accompanied by giant warning bells, decrepit robots yelling DANGER! BUTCH ROSSER! DANGER! and montages of the past.

Having three days off is gooooooooood. (OK, that one I knew already.)

Currently playing: Ryan Adams' "When The Stars Go Blue"

2003
Patience, Monty. Climb the ladder.

I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way
I'm taking my time but I don't know where

Well, this marks the second straight year that wasn't the worst of my life. I'm going to be cheeky and constitute that as being on a roll.

Of course it could've gone better, I could've gotten that apartment and a girl could've the building block I would've built my life around, but we all know the latter's never ever going to happen and I'll have to shoot Bush to get Alba's attention, so...

I really thought I'd hit the wall this year. My friends were quite horrified when I celebrated my 24th birthday alone, presentless, and with a message that merely contained the lyrics to "You Know You're Right".

I had no motivation to do much of anything, and it showed. I finally got a job in June, and that seemed to reinforce my lack of motivation. I'm just kidding. In reality, as much as I despise it sometimes, it was pretty much the kick in the ass I desperately needed to not grow roots to the floor in my room. I got to do a bunch of stuff that'd always sounded cool but never done for one reason or another. Got to see the Black-Attell-Hedberg comedy show, which not only hurt the hell out of my face but also made sure I never looked at egg nog the same way again. I got to see my first wrestling show and even though Brock went over Rey he should've and the match was good. Plus I advanced to Thuganomics 151. *double horns* I got to see R.E.M. live which I only assumed would happen when I got famous and they were playing out the string. And I got to get down on the dance floor.

It is for all those reasons and cosmic justice that I would like to, in advance, declare 2004 my bitch and defy it to prove me wrong. Apartment. Woman. Frightening amount of joy. Book it.

And have a Happy New Year.

RoSserPW II: The Fellowship of the Smarks

Best Move
2) S.A.T.'s Spanish Fly
1) Victoria's Widow's Peak
--> Double backflip off the top into a double Rock Bottom/uranage. The degree of difficulty alone demands respect, not to mention it looks awesome. Speaking of which, while Jazz has more of them, Victoria's finisher is the shit. Not just the most awesome period, but awesome period and has to be mentioned in the same sentence as the F5, Stunner, Pedigree et al.

Best Match
2) Jericho/Michaels, WrestleMania XIX
1) Benoit/Angle, WWE Title @ Royal Rumble
--> Why is Y2J/HBK, with the better story leading in and going longer, #2? 'Cause Michaels went over. Sure, it set up the first Jerichoholic return tease after, but since I'm biased if Chris wins this I'd put it at #1. Benoit/Angle went right after the worst match of the year and defined the term "from the ridiculous to the sublime". Benoit's DDT on the apron, Angle's face-first turnbuckle powerbomb setting up the second Angle Slam to the heel hook he had to debut to hang on--THIS is why I remain a fan in the face of wave after wave of bullshit. To quote Mike Lupica, both of these are GTHs: got to haves.

Best Feud
2) C.M. Punk/Raven
1) HBK/Y2J
--> Punk/Raven I find awesome because of the contrasting styles. You book this 20--maybe even 10 years earlier, Raven is Public Enemy #1. Now, he's the babyface. Their styles go well together, and the fact they've had to team in some places just adds to the goodness. HBK/Y2J was awesome, as we both knew they were going to cut great promos but they really put on great match after great match when there was large doubt as to if Michaels could keep it up with his back problem and Jericho had been largely downcast at the outset.

Worst Wrestler
2) Mark Henry
1) Nathan Jones
--> *cues up Angle's music* YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU'RE AUSTRALIAN AND SUCK! YOU MAKE THE KLAN LOOK LIKE A VIABLE IDEA AGAIN! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!

Worst Tag Team
2) Mark Henry & Rodney Mack
1) 3 Minute Warning
--> When somebody really really really really re he he he he he eaaaaaaly sucks putting them with someone fresh off the farm league is A Bad Idea. If 3MW had remained Bischoff's hired goons they would've been in consideration for Best Gimmick. Just like there was no Ronnie Lott playing for the Raiders, or the Lakers winning it all last year if Horry makes the Game 5 shot against the Spurs, I will not listen to arguments to the contrary.

Worst Heel
2) Eddy Guerrero
1) Gail Kim
--> Because I love both of them, but in very different ways.

Worst Babyface
2) Billy Gunn
1) Stephanie McMahon.
--> Ah, Billy Gunn, or as I liked to call him, "Scrubs is on, isn't it? I can watch that for 5 minutes now." And Steph Bear? Apu 3:16 says I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW YOU DON'T SHUT UP!

Worst Worker
2) Mark Henry
1) Kevin Nash
--> This is my "they COULD'VE pushed Stevie Night Heat or Lance Storm or Christian or Hurricane by himself but NOOOOOOOOOO it's you two tubby fucks who'd only get in an entertaining fight over who'd get the last drumstick at Thanksgiving dinner" smark mandatory vote.

Least Favorite
TRIPLE H.
--> I assume when he dies they're still going to book him to go over Jericho.

Most Deteriorated
2) Jeff Hardy
1) Scott Steiner.
--> What happens when a highspot machine can no longer hit the highspots? You take it out back and shoot it. I'm perfectly willing to forgive Steiner if they change his music to D12's "Purple Pills" or he engineers a time machine and brings 1991 Scott Steiner in his place.

Most Underrated
2) Sean O'Haire
1) Matt Hardy VERSION FUCKING ONE
--> SOH was the one Natural Born Thriller I liked, with Inferior Hardy gone he was safe to use the senton bomb, he's big, crazy hops, and the devil's advocate was a cheap excuse to print money. But since we were all salivating for Sable/Cat and Vince/Steph part four billion and six you can catch him on Velocity every weekend. PUH. THETIC. If you don't get the Matt Hardy kick, you probably never will and should probably go back to not studying as your spot as Bovine University valedictorian may be in danger by that sandwich over there.

Worst Gimmick
2) "Big Ass" Molly Holly
1) La Resistance
--> What really killed me about #2 (well, besides they thought that constituted a push of the division--JUST WRITE IT LIKE NORMAL YOU MONKEYS) is that Trish has a bigger ass than Molly. And big asses are IN. I'm supposed to hate a cute white girl with a big ass? You must have me confused with Parallel Universe Butch, a white female lesbian who's favorite band is 'NSync. And La Resistance took everything already moronic about a war and got propped out for cheap heat. Good for it working on the marks, it don't mean I got to like it. And you did the same boo USA angle with FOUR guys the year before that.

Worst Move
2) Cena's FU
1) the People's Elbow
--> Now that Cena's a hard rock with the ground & pound and the head-dropping exemptions have been up a couple years, they need to let him hit the full-on DVD and not that bastardized Falcon Arrow. And the People's Elbow is the greatext example of move gayness especially as a viable finisher to crowd overness. HATE loving these.

Worst Match
2) HeAT vs. RAW announcers
1) Steiner/Triple H, RAW Title @ the Rumble
--> Hey! You know who should wrestle? WRESTLERS! You know what announcers shouldn't be doing? WRESTLING! And while watching crippled guys on South Park is funny...

Worst Feud
2) Vince/Steph
1) Shane/Kane
--> Go fig, huh? Shane either needs to become a full-time highspot machine in the CW division or go back to banging his ludicrously hot wife.

Most Disappointing
2) World Champion Triple H
1) Death of Curt Hennig
--> I still can't believe he actually put Goldberg over that time. Hennig is pretty much the reason I'm a smark as he was the first heel I loved like a face, and he was kicking out the jams back when. My childhood is now property of the ground.

Most Obnoxious
2) the Cat
1) Stephanie McMahon
--> Can someone tell New Jack they're late on their mortgages and let the rest write itself?

Best Announer
2) Mike Tenay
1) Michael Cole
--> I think Tenay's actually the best but Cole gets better product. Cole actually being the best announcer isn't quite on the level of the Bucs winning the Super Bowl but it's damn close.

Best Color
2) Al Snow
1) Tazz
--> Al Snow will be at Tazz's level in a couple of years. He carried Coach like Kirsten Dunst carried "crazy/beautiful". He'll make that level assuming he doesn't try to reinforce I'm A Bad Guy too much; his knowledge of moves, psychology and occassional Babaganooch brother joke don't make me feel like such a dork for watching Stevie Night. Tazz had that problem, now he knows everything but isn't afraid to rip stuff he doesn't like. Keys To Victory & Tale of the Tape--FINALLY. His sell job of the 60 minute Angle/Lesnar would've won it alone, but doing so all year makes him far and away THE #2.

Best Interview
2) John Cena
1) Chris Jericho
--> I've already ridden Cena enough, so here's something interesting: Chris Jericho did one piece of commentary for six minutes a few months ago on a RAW. He placed SIXTH in the Best Color voting. While this says a lot about color commentary in the year 03 it says about five times as much about Jericho. I now realize he is the wrestling equivalent of LaDanian Tomlinson. If he was on a playoff team with a first-round bye, there would be a statue in his honor and it would eat pigeons. As it is, he's just the motherfucking man forever doomed by the no-talent assclowns around him.


Best Angle
2) the Rock Goes Hollywood
1b) Jericho grows up idolizing Shawn Michaels then sets out to destroy him
1a) KURT.
--> That Kurt joke is NEVER going to get old. Ya hear me? Never ever ever. the Rock took something that everyone was thinking, then did it. Not only did it, but proved why he's going to Hollywood in the process. I bet Hurricane misses him a lot. And Jericho/Michaels was built on some basic old-school booking, including a whomp-ass highlight package to show the similarities in style, and then kicked out the motherfucking jams in the ring to back all that chewy goodness up. It would've been nice for Jericho to have beaten HBK at SummerSlam and not on a RAW but that's what happens when you live under the shadow of The Nose.

Best Wrestling Organization
2) Ring Of Honor
1) EMLL
--> I beg Ring of Honor. Get on TV. Have a one-cent pay-per-view. Do SOMETHING so I don't have to borrow off the Net and people can actually see the wonderous awesomicity that is Chris Daniels, that is American Dragon, that is Low Ki. DO IT! EMLL's #1 because lucha is awesome and because they have Dr. Wagner Jr.

Best Show
2) EMLL whenever the hell they have it on
1) SmackDown
--> This is it, in a nutshell: you have not lived until you see a 90-year-old woman stand up to the most badass heel you can find and attempt to beat him to death with her purse. NEVER seen it happen in North America, on EMLL I remember seeing it at least TWICE. Did I mention due to their wacky scheduling I haven't seen a drop of lucha since August? And gee, the One Big Promotion's show where they put the best technical wrestlers and the gimmicks of the year (and the well I don't have to consider the workrate while I check for testicular cancer hotties) is number one in my eyes. I Am In Shock.

Best Major Show
2) Royal Rumble
1) Vengeance
--> Solid Rumble, Match of the Year. I'm easy like that. And on the heels of the absolute Flair Flop that was the RAW only PPV the SmackDown only PPV, to the surprise of some idiot, started off kicking ass, continued to kick ass, built a shrine to its own bad ass, and then went back to kicking some motherfucking ass. Rey & Kidman vs. ex-Team Angle for the tag straps, Benoit/Guerrero for the back up in your ass with the resurrection US Title, and Angle/Lesnar/Show for the World Title. I mean, short of Torrie Wilson reaching through your screen and giving you a handjob, that's about as good as it gets.

Best Promotional Move
2) The women's division stops leaning on the T&A
1) Eddy push
--> The women went from "can I get off on this modified softcore porn in the minute and a half they're going to give it" to the #2 reason I watched RAW. Gimme Trish/Victoria, Ivory/Jazz and Victoria/Stacy over...well, let's just say everybody on RAW except seven guys. And finally they got behind Eddy and realized this guy's pretty good. It's like scratching a lottery ticket, putting it down and not looking at it for 3 weeks until you realize, hey, this thing's worth $62 million!

Worst Announcer
2) the Cat
1) Jerry Lawler
--> Lawler needs to have his throat box removed so I can watch Molly be the new age bizarro world Malenko without wanting to beat the shit out of my TV.

Worst Interview
2) Stephanie
1) Linda
--> Apu 3:16 & Mrs. Roboto. I shudder to think what's going to happen to the doctors' heads when Steph gives birth to the Antismark.

Worst Angle
2) Mr. America
1) La Resistance
--> THIS is what people always bring up after the disdainful "You like that crap?" and there is no answer for this. I mean, there is, but they don't want to sit through Angle/Benoit so you sit there quietly stewing at them waiting for an opportunity to procure the crossface chickenwing on their ass.

Worst Show
2) RAW
1) AAA
--> The competition has Angle/Show/Lesnar, exAngles v. Rey & Kidman, and Benoit/Guerrero. You counter with Triple H/Kevin Nash. DIE. If EMLL is the chick allowing my buddy to live the dream, AAA is the investment banker who won't talk about anything but herself.

Worst Show
2) Bad Blood
1) Judgment Day
--> Hey, I picked two RAW-only PPVs! I Am In Absolute And Complete Shock!

Worst Promotional Move
2) Burying Matt Hardy
1) Heyman demoted
--> Heyman turned SmackDown into must watch, for which it made him look better than Triple H's Show and thus had to be cut like wheat before the scythe. If I talk anymore about how Matt carried the undercard and his job was to lose to the one-legged freak show in his first PPV match I am going to cry, then get the chainsaw.

BONUS! Best Entrances!
3) OLD SCHOOL Christian with the golden shower of pyro
2) Christopher Daniels
1) Matt Motherfucking Hardy Version By God Motherfucking One

THERE YOU HAVE IT.

Currently playing: Grinspoon's "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck"

RoSserPW part one
Warning: Post known to contain wresting and is inspired by the Annual RSPW Awards. Should you not care for this...well, I'll talk my head off about something else very soon.

I miss WOW. And CMLL. I miss there being alternatives.

Mostly I just miss RNN. And that push Matt Hardy had that week.

Best Wrestler
2) Christopher Daniels
1) Eddy Guerrero
--> I've only gotten to see a handful of his matches, but Chris Daniels is your only god. If he was on SmackDown the mark bandwagon would build faster than a Starbucks. Eddy merely does it all: effective scumbag. Effective underdog. Great talker. Awesome wrestler. Good, original gimmick. Five-tool wrestler, and there's about 8 of them left.

Best Tag Team
2) Los Guerreros
1) America's Team--well, that's what I calls them: Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas
--> Take two good wrestlers, and give them a gimmick that not only gets them over but is incorporated into their matches--it's real easy sometimes. B&H--assuming they stay together in our hyperspeed time could be the next Midnight Express. They seem to be a TEAM instead of "here's two guys together, go" and the Broken Arrow is the best name for a move outside of Cena's old Killswitch.

Best Heel
2) Rock
1) Chris Jericho
--> Rock was a heel for about two months. That is how good he was--so good, I didn't want to boo him because he was so awesome being a heel. He totally could've half-assed and kept his good Hollywood name. Instead, he was THE reason I started watching RAW again, made me laugh so hard with his second concert I fell off my bed twice AND put over the Hurricane. Triple H, I know Dwayne Johnson. I booed Dwayne Johnson, and I cheered Dwayne Johnson, and you sir (and I use that term loosely) are no Dwayne Johnson. This is the last year, if my Spidey-senses are right, that Jericho's going to be eligible for this. And when Rock left and I was back on the RAW Jihad, the Highlight Reel made me watch if only for 10 minutes. The match he wrestled face with Trish vs. Rico & Jackie he actually changed his wrestling style to be "face" Jericho (inside-outside springboard dropkick anyone?) before switching back to evil at the drop of a hat. And the fans have been trying to get him back since the end of his XIX match. For him to be entertaining and yet get others over at the same time while looking like he could beat anyone not fucking Steph--this one's for you. C'mon baybay!

Best Face
2) Trish Stratus
1) Rey Misterio
--> I'm picking people who've stayed face all year and wrestled all year, and these were the only two. :) In all seriousness, Rey is consistently over no matter where he is and could be seen as a US Title level guy. Plus, the tiny size and high-flying screams "LOVE ME PEOPLE!" Trish, #2 on my ballot and #1 in my pants. A couple divas wrestle better, but none of them look as good or emote quite as well. There were about five reasons to watch RAW during the summer and Trish held up the entire babyface side (you could look it up) of one of the main two. Plus, she keeps on innovating with the Matrish Skipper lean-back counter and the Stratusphere. Maybe it's just because I keep thinking of T & A, then looking at Trish look hot WHILE whomping ass AND YET looking vulnerable but I'm reminded of Kevin Arnold's reaction when Winnie Cooper came back from summer vacation in the first Wonder Years.

Best Worker
2) Kurt Angle
1) Chris Benoit
--> My mildly-interested Dad, actually watching Benoit kick out the jams against A-Train of all people, after a chop sounded off throughout our apartment: Someone forgot to tell the missing tooth guy this is FAKE, didn't they? Nuff said.

Best Flyer
2) Rey Misterio
1) Rob Van Dam
--> Maybe Amazing Red would've gotten in if I'd seen more stuff. But watching the Cinco Estrellas Frog Splash, whether it be standard issue, covering ¾ of the ring and pivoting in mid-air, or off a ladder, is always going to be the bees knees for me.

Best Technical
2) Chris Benoit
1) Kurt Angle
--> Could easily be reversed but Kurt always makes a point of using the amateur stuff in his matches.

Best Brawler
2) Kane
1) Brock Lesnar
--> While I'd rather see Angle/Benoit than Lesnar/Kane, there's a time to chain wrestle and there's a time to punch a guy in his fucking face and knock him on his ass. It's a shame they took the triple powerbomb away from Lesnar since that made him look even more bad-ass cyborgy. Lesnar can do the tech stuff but he's at his best whomping somebody like they eyed his woman, culminating in the F5. Kane? Yes. Maybe it's just the heel turn letting him get in more offense, but when I see Kane punching away the overriding thought in my head is "Boy, would that suck to be me."

Most Favorite
2) John Cena
1) Matt Hardy
--> "Your sister calls me Leprechaun/always after my Lucky Charms". "Me name Brock/here come the pain/God build me STROOOOOONG/forget to give brain". "I'll leave you on the wrong end of a Kobe Bryant violation." A: Name 3 reasons Cena should've won. It's true he flows like a glacier, but conversely one of those took down the Titanic didn't it? Matt Hardy's career reinvention was nothing short of incredible--the awesome gimmick is in place, now somebody give the fucker a push for crying out flayven!

Most Improved
2) Randy Orton
1) Victoria
--> Once upon a time, Randy Orton had his dad's taunt, a goofy-looking backbreaker, a frog splash crossbody, and the Play of the Day. Then he got a personality, and then BAM! He's not The Man or anything, but steps are being made for all the potential we all heard so much about. Victoria went from afterthought to--GASP--being better than Molly Holly in the ring. And she did it on one good leg to boot.

Most Overrated
2) Triple H.
1) TRIPLE H.
--> *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

Best Gimmick
2) Matt Hardy...VERSION 1.
1) WORD LIFE! THIS IS BASIC THUGANOMICS!
--> Dean Rasmussen: If you ain't MFer, you ain't shit. Matt's psychotic cult leader, bringing up Shannon Moore with one hand and Twist of Fating him with the other, always made for quality matches and even better promos. PUSH. Hey, remember P.N. News? Remember the Road Dogg? Cena took a one-off spot on the throwaway Halloween show and turned it into SmackDown's Must See TV. Which verse is going to be the quotable line of the night? Which one is going to make the audience "OH!"? What dirty word do we all get to sing along at the end? "I'm untouchable, but I'm forcing you to feel me." True.

More to come...

Currently playing: Adam Sandler's talking goat sketch

From the Home Office Three Crows Short Of A Murder By The North Pole

DROPPED: "Breathe", 10; "Faint", 8

[10] Chingy, Ludarcis, & Snoop Dogg, "Holidae In" (NR)*
[09] Ludacris, "Stand Up" (5)
[08] the Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" (NR)*
[07] Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Fortune Faded" (6)
[06] No Doubt, "It's My Life" (9)**

[05] Alicia Keys, "You Don't Know My Name" (7)*
[04] Big Boi & Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move" (4)*

[03] Kelis, "Milkshake" (3)*

[02] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (2)*

[01] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya" (1)

Currently playing: Metallica's "St. Anger"

Grande En Dos Mil y Tres

Favorite CD: R.E.M.'s second best of compilation, In Time 88-03

Favorite movie: (tie) Kill Bill volume 1 and LotRotK

Trend I'm most sick of: Reality TV

My favorite new toy: Whatever jersey I'm wearing. Word life.

I'm totally obsessed with: Jessica Alba's an acceptable answer, yes?

Best sex I've had this year: You really don't want THAT answered.

My 2003 regret: Missing out on an apartment by 3 days

Word or phrase of the year:
3) "I don't (care) about no trade rumors. As long as somebody CTC at the end of the day, I'm with them. For all you that don't know what CTC means, that's 'Cut The Check'. I just go out there and play. So long as somebody CTC, it's gravy with me."--Rasheed Wallace
2) "Welcome to the O.C., bitch! That's how we do things in Orange County!"
1) "23 is old! 23 is almost 25, which is almost mid-twenties!" Ironically enough I was watching the Malibu Stacy Simpsons and when I turned to MTV on the off chance they were showing a video Jessica Simpson was on. I already knew the Winamp was sentient, now the TV's plotting against me...

Who most needs a Queer Eye makeover?: Probably me.

Is Kobe guilty?: Adultery, si, rape, no

Ambition for 2004: Finish Jesus Smirked, independence, love, regional domination...pretty standard really.

Best song I downloaded this year: (tie) Coldplay, "Warning Sign" & Fountains Of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom"

Favorite book of 2003: Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Philosophy: Fear & Trembling In Sunnydale

The drunkest I was this year: I can't exactly remember the entirety of it but I know Heinken was my anti-drug. Maybe the wedding?

Where I'll be on New Year's Eve: After work, hopefully at some party about to get busy consistently and throughly

Currently playing: the Who, "I Can't Explain"

Giving's Better Than Receiving? Oh, MAN, Am I Getting Old...

I got my mother the jersey of her favorite WNBA player, Dawn Staley. Got my dad the Best Sports Illustrated Writing the First 50 Years. Got my brother the f'n Gamecube and Spider-Man to boot with the free Zelda stuff they gave me.

And I get...
--2 packs of chocolates
--flip-flops
--Gillette travel pack
--pajama pants
--basketball hoop--to go over the garbage can
--The Stone Cold Truth (thx Rob)
--$35 (thx Grandma and Aunt)

What do you call capitalism? Getting FUCKED!--Tony Montana

Next year is all about Festivus.

Anyway, like last year it looks like I'm gonna make my own Christmas, by buying Madden '04 and sending away for Def Jam Vendetta for the Cube (latter won on Ebay for $5.50. Moral of the story--auctions that end on Christmas = cheap), and possibly the neo-retro royal blue Kobe jersey, or Shaq since I don't have him yet and last Day After Christmas I got the standard issue road Kobe jersey.

More stuff to come later since there's a giant piss being taken on San Diego by Mother Nature today and writing porn on Christmas seems wrong even by my lowly standards.

Currently playing: Public Enemy's "FIGHT THE POWER~~~~~~~~!"

My Favorite 25 Songs Of 2003

Barry White died this year.

Ja Rule came out with another CD.

Celia Cruz and Robert Palmer died also.

Justin Timberlake came out with a CD, and had sex with Alyssa Milano and Cameron Diaz, quite possibly at the same time.

Moral of the story? Life's unfair, get a fucking helmet!--Pastor Denis Leary

As it gets harder and harder to stomach what the One Big Label pushes, finding stuff you like gets more and more difficult like mining for gold. You have to figure a thousand songs came out this year if you underestimate, and yet looking over the entire list, I don't believe I even made 70 songs. And most of them are repeats by the same artists. I think I'm not alone in saying: what I don't like dominates the press, so what I do like I hang onto like the cold hand of death. With that preamble out of the way, let me offer condolences.

"React", "Wanksta", "Gossip Folks", the remixed "P.I.M.P.", "Fortune Faded", and "Come Away With Me." Something was missing--let's call it heart (no hustle either, Skip!). In reality, I loved all you guys but just not quite enough to make the big list. If any of the other 25 should fail to fulfill their duties...well, they won't. Sorry.

Let's go!

<25> Audioslave, "Show Me How To Live"
<24> Obie Trice, "Got Some Teeth (My Favorite Song)"
<23> Kelis, "Milkshake"
<22> Pharrell & Jay-Z, "Frontin'"
<21> Big Boi f. Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move"

<20> Foo Fighters, "All My Life"
<19> Queens of the Stone Age, "Go With The Flow"
<18> Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
<17> R.E.M., "Bad Day"
<16> Killer Mike f. Big Boi, "A.D.I.D.A.S."


15) the White Stripes, "The Hardest Button To Button/Seven Nation Army" (tie)
--> Everything they sang this year was money; so much so that this isn't even their best showing. Meg White's quite underrated.

14) Ludacris, "Stand Up"
--> Gigantic chicken drumstick: $13.50. Iverson throwback: $75. Midgets getting down: PRICELESS.

13) Radiohead, "There There"
--> The second verse alone with the "don't reach out" background cadence gets it here.

12) Coldplay, "Clocks"
--> When I described Parachutes' singles as getting consecutively better and better I never dreamed they'd have enough in the tank to keep THESE singles better than those. Matter of fact, where's the song they released after this?

11) Electric Six f. Jack White, "Danger (High Voltage)"
--> "Fire in the disco/fire in the disco/fire in the Taco Bell!" I still don't know what in the blue hell that means but it's still somehow such a sexy song you have to have Beyonce singing a hook to up this.

10) the Roots f. Cody Chestnutt, "The Seed 2.0"
--> In which ?uestlove and the best hip-hop band alive pilfer the last great forgotten Rolling Stones hook and make cheating sound...well, cool.

09) Foo Fighters, "Times Like These"
--> It's "Everlong 2003" but you can do worse than rehashing the best part of your history.

08) Snoop & Pharrell, "Beautiful"
--> This video taught me a valuable lesson: MOVE TO BRAZIL.

07) Andre 3000, "Hey Ya"
--> You can tell somebody's a fucking bad-ass when they take a video concept of Paul McCartney's, dress up like a jockey, and you're not hearing him 'cause you just wanna dance.

06) Johnny Cash, "Hurt"
--> This is how awesome this song is: it made Trent Reznor cry. We should all be so lucky to go out like this and be 1/10th the motherfucking shit Johnny was. Oh, and it's Video of the Year for the cracked Live In San Quentin platinum record alone but you know that already.

05) 50 Cent, "In Da Club"
--> At first you had The Nine Shot Story came out. Then he dropped this, and things changed just a little bit. Old white women know this song by heart, for crying out flayven.

04) Beyonce f. Jay-Z, "Crazy In Love"
--> Aside from giving Warren Sapp dancing ideas this song is flawless.

03) Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Can't Stop"
--> It's crazy to think a band can be around two decades and seeming just hitting their stride at the end of it, but the Peppers've always defied convention anyways.

02) Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom"
--> Note to all other bands who write great songs but want the attention they rightfully deserve: you can do a hell of a lot worse than sing catchy choruses about universal subjects with a supermodel in your video.

01) Coldplay, "The Scientist"
--> Is A Rush Of Blood To The Head mandatory owning? Well, as good as "I was just guessing/at numbers and figures/pulling your puzzles apart" and the last celestial minute are, this isn't even the best song on the CD. DAY-amn.

SIGH.

Well, the Democrats can officially fold now (voice in crowd: I thought they did already!). Bin Laden better watch out in 2014, that's all I've got to say.

Top 20 through the first half of the year:
1. Coldplay, The Scientist
2. 50 Cent, In Da Club
3. Johnny Cash, Hurt
4. Snoop & Pharrell, Beautiful
5. Foo Fighters, Times Like These
6. the Roots & Cody Chestnutt, The Seed 2.0
7. Radiohead, There There
8. the White Stripes, Seven Nation Army
9. Killer Mike & Big Boi, A.D.I.D.A.S.
10. Queens of the Stone Age, Go With the Flow
11. Audioslave, Set It Off
12. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me
13. Missy Elliot & Ludacris, Gossip Folks
14. Deftones, Minerva
15. Joe Budden, Pump It Up
16. Killer Mike, Akshon (Yeah!)
17. Goo Goo Dolls, Sympathy
18. Socialburn, Down
19.. Zwan, Honestly
20. Baby & the Clipse, What Happened To That Boy

Currently playing: Janet's "Miss You Much"

From the Home Office On Channel Sixty(MTV) Two

DROPPED: Bad Day, 10; Moses (live), 9

[10] Michelle Branch--"Breathe" (5)
[09] No Doubt--"It's My Life" (N)*
[08] Linkin Park--"Faint" (8)*
[07] Alicia Keys--"You Don't Know My Name" (N)*
[06] Red Hot Chili Peppers--"Fortune Faded" (3)

[05] Ludacris--"Stand Up" (2)
[04] Big Boi & Sleepy Brown--"The Way You Move" (5)*

[03] Kelis--"Milkshake" (4)

[02] Jet--"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (6)**

[01] Andre 3000--"Hey Ya" (1) [4w]

Currently playing: Forest for the Trees' "Dream"

Does That Make Me The Black John Cena?
SmackDown Spoilers

After I went through my work shift (***) and broke to get pizza for lunch(****¾: opening bite burned the roof of my mouth), I headed off to the Sports Arena. I don't know what's keeping the E from using Cox Arena unless they're afraid they can't wall off enough of the upper levels. I waited in line for about 90 minutes, and I was one of the first 30 in line. Just my luck, I'm right in front of the Jeff Hardy Fan Club AND OF COURSE they have better seats than I do. Being around a bunch of marks was slightly unnerving, probably because I'm plowing through Sex, Lies, & Headlocks at Guinessian rates. I still can't believe the heart punch actually killed a guy.

My seats were in the front of the second level area, 10 rows southeast of the announce table. Upper middle class. The Sports Arena was nearly a sellout--I think. I don't know if part of the upper level was blocked off for television purposes or not.

Anyway, me & my new Word Life throwback settle in...

Dark Matches
Jamie Noble d. Psychosis, pinfall: Huge pop for both, Noble for being the first wrestler out and Psychosis due to the lucha proximity. In a spot I'm surprised just got thrown out there, Noble dumped Psychosis over the ring post to the floor on a moonsault attempt. Noble got some small chants, though I was rooting for Psychosis. Either that and/or I carry severe delusions about how much tang I could score in that mask. Noble's back suplex is a thing of beauty live in addition to Memorex. Noble won by reversing a top rope hurricanrana into a sunset flip.

A tag match featuring jobbers--hey! Those fuckers stole the International Workrate Connections tandem dropkicks to the temple! BOOO!--before they brought out Josh Matthews to "Click Click Boom" and Bill DeMott to his own theme. Josh was booed and Bill cheered which if nothing else is a reminder to MOVE.

Velocity
Nunzio & Palumbo v. Spanky & London: A good match, as is becoming the standard in this low-level rivalry. L&S hit a Russian legsweep/bulldog lariat combo. In a funny spot Spanky got his foot and arm on the ropes and Nunzio stomped the crap out of him for it. London hit the Dropsault and the ROHers hit some CRAZAY move I'm going to have to see on TV to describe accurately. In the end Palumbo superkicked London into a Nunzio powerbomb for the win.

Ultimo Dragon v. Tony T.: So much fire in the entrance I couldn't even SEE Dragon. He hit a PLANCHA~! but not the Asai moonsault. A squash won by the Asai DDT, check please. Dragon was crazy over; insert smarky PUSH MORE DAMMIT comment. The kid next to me loved him.

Orlando Jordan v. Kanyon: Sign: "Bring Back Mortis". If you hear someone chanting "Kanyon!" at various points without any support, that's me, though a section of smarks--and the kid, Alba bless him--joined in at various intervals. An all right match that Jordan won, sadly, with the Bulldog running powerslam.

CRUISER TITLE--Kidman v. Tajiri: The best match of Velocity and possibly of the night. Tajiri busted out a grounded version of the Million Dollar Dream, so maybe that's clounding my opinion some. Anyway, they hit their big moves and spots, but the Yakuza fended off Kidman's attempt at the Shooting Star Press and Tajiri bridged out of a rana to deliver the Buzzsaw kick.

SMACKDOWN!
Heyman is out to start us off and immediately becomes a bastard by saying Benoit will never get another shot at the title as long as he's GM. "YOU SUCK!" chant abounds. As Vince once built around Hogan & Austin, so he will build on the back of Brrrrrrrrrrrrrock LESNAR! "You Tapped Out" went on for about a minute before Brock cut the Kurt Angle anti-Mexican promo with some more Best Champion Ever spiel before making an open challenge. Whoever shall answer?

And who's that jumping out the sky?

Brock immediately asks Rey if he can help him, and Rey works in some Foley pops. Brock calls Rey a jumping bean. I call Brock a puta (sadly I didn't get to el hijo de mil putas). Eventually he allows that if Rey can beat him non-title tonight he'll get the whole enchilada next week. Mysterio says not only will we be chanting "You Tapped Out" after tonight's over, but "6! 1! 9!" as well. Brock looked in my general direction, probably wondering what a puta was and/or who called him it. I shot him the finger. Of course if he'd come after me I would've thrown the kid at him and ran like Clinton WHOO BAH GAWD Portis.

Rhyno v. Bradshaw: I really should've taken my piss break here. Crowd was dead, and Rhyno won by cradling Bradshaw off of a superplex. About what you'd expect, if you expected slow, plodding, and boring. 2nd rope Last Call.

Heyman's with A-Train & Matt Morgan, and wants to know why Train bet Benoit last week. Anyway, as punishment A-Train will be fed to...Shannon Moore. Morgan says don't screw this up. Train shrugs him off.

They played a Rey video package to P.O.D.'s "Boom". The WrestleMania XX that started off the night used the acoustic "Times Like These" & "Boom" as well.

Next week the Bashams are going to defend vs. II Cool II. 10-1 odds against Moore is the line the FBI lays on Morgan, who proceeds to bet heavily on Train. I Wonder Where This Is Going.

A-Train v. Shannon Moore: Sure enough, Moore bumps like a freak (YAAAAvalanche victim, swung into the barrier, backdropped to the floor) only to get a flash pinfall off of a sunset flip. Morgan & Show come out and...I just can't believe this...lay out A-Train. ChokeSLAM. Can ANY good come from this?

The Cat got booed in the tease, and he got booed again. Lamont was more over but he couldn't even draw cheap heat. Sable came out and teased, but eventually Miller kissed her anyway and danced in his boxers. You have been warned. It would've been nice if someone warned me. Also, insert comment later about Benoit not wrestling but getting five minutes of this.

Eddie & Chavo seem to be more simpatico this week, and Chavo says his knee's all right.

Los Guerreros v. World's Greatest Tag Team: In a cool side note Chavo seemed to bristle at the EDDY chant but encouraged the GUERRERO chant that went on during the match. It should also be noted he got his own chants, and this was match of the night in all likelihood. The ex-Team Angle worked over Eddy's arm (after Eddy sold a Benjamin single-arm DDT that looked botched like the icy touch of death) and took care of Chavo off his hot tag. Haas stopped Eddie's frog splash with a superplex and they hit their Broken Arrow (alley-oop shot to the back) for 2. Eddie cleaned house to one of the top 3 spots of the night, but Chavo blind tagged himself in and hit the frog splash. This lead to a 2 count and More Dissension, as Haas dropkicked Chavo into Eddie before taking out the nephew with their inverted atomic drop/superkick combo. Knocking Eddie to the floor allowed him to grab a hubcap and clobber Shelton with it for the win.

Rey warming up.

Show came out in more urban gear than usual, and it turns out he was there not to eat the entirety of the Krispy Kreme just off of Sports Arena property but to challenge John Cena to a battle rap. I believe he intoned the phrase "get your iz-ass to the rizing", which is all wrong. "Iz-ass"? Anyway, Show didn't get going until his last rhyme where he said in his world John was a white girl and he was Kobe Bryant. For about a minute, Big Show was beloved. Then Cena came out and destroyed him by using about 18 different ways to call him a fat tub of goo, secondarily saying that Show was doing heavy breathing because he was choking on his neck fat and ending with "the white Fat Albert". OUCH. Cena threw the mic up, and when Show went for it he kicked him in the crotch. Then he walked off smiling. If they don't pull the trigger on Cena over Show at the Rumble...yikes. The Austin comparisons continue I bet.

Noble came in before Torrie could tell Nidia what Jamie had done last week. Jamie was looking at her the entire time. I guess Billy Gunn cockblocked him to eternity, but I'm not supposed to remember that, am I?

Josh with Benoit. He made no excuses and cut his usual intense promo, saying that he still has the desire to win the belt, Heyman edict or not.

TALE OF THE TAPE~! Where were Tazz's Keys to Victory?

Rey Mysterio v. Brock Lesnar: Very good stuff here. Rey made Lesnar chase him around before taking him down with the LUCHA LIBRE~!, culminating into a rana takeover that ended up posting the champion. Lesnar slowed it down with backbreakers & the rear naked choke but Rey eventually hit the 619 followed by Dropping the Dime. Lesnar kicked out, then powerbombed Rey back into the Dark Ages off a hurricanrana attempt. He went for the Stretch Muffler after, and though Rey hung in for a bit he eventually tapped out.

A fan rushed the ring, only to reveal Bob Holly. He got in a couple shots, Lesnar bailed, and the crowd went batshiit. That reminds me, I have to move. Holly helped Rey up, he posed, they played the music.

After the fact, Rey & Tito Ortiz were in the ring and posed, then Rey slapped every fan's hand he could. Jason said they'd be back soon but didn't announce a date.

A good show that by the same token is entirely missable.

But it was my first time, and I had fun and got the shirt I wanted. REALLY wished I'd remembered my signs. :(

I blame Triple H.

But Don't Expect Me To Break Out In Song About It, & Some Of The Noise That Keeps Me Awake

Hot damn, I loves the eBay. I've been able to build a jersey collection at discount rates, and now it's really helped me plow through Christmas shopping. I'm about half-done and if I catch some breaks and win some auctions I could be all done by next week.

Next week! As in two weeks before Christmas next week!

What non-gay non-metrosexual male would be done so early? The cool thing about eBay is that my parents will like the stuff I got them, but it's East Coast. It's hard to find anything out of state in local areas especially when you're such devoted fans like them with specific tastes. But eBay's like radar lock, man. I'll be done for Christmas early, and I can actually feel all right about spending some money selfishly at a fraction of the normal prices.

What's not to love?

In unrelated news, I got my SmackDown tickets for next week's taping. I don't think I'll make it on camera, as I was able to only finagle upper middle class tickets (front of the upper deck) as opposed to the upper class (ringside) seats. I actually got lucky by waiting until today to hit the Sports Arena as the E had just cleared that area after doing the production run through. Barely even $30, and I'll probably end up with an Eddie or Cena shirt.

Hey, speaking of shirts, check out THE shirt to have this winter. And all I ever wanted was the funny shirt, a simple kind of life...

I had to buy a replacement Mavs Kidd jersey. Funny story--true story--I'm about to do the Gaslamp Crawl a couple weeks ago and the sports shop is open at like 10:30 pm. I've had a couple Heinies at Hooters so Ivan & I go in. I have the Kidd jersey on me because generally after a night of dancing I'm sweating like Jimmy Smith in rehab (the fuck) and I want something cool with air holes on me to cool off in case after we go have more drinks or hookah or whatever. I hand the jersey to the guy behind the counter so he sees I haven't magically shoplifted it, and he unfolds it and checks it out. A Mavs Kidd is rare, so he begins to offer me money for it. I think he's kidding, but he eventually gets to $20. It's not a lot, but I paid $12 for it and beer's in me and I'm thinking $8 profit.

So I sold it, only to win an auction for a replacement at $13.63. *shrug* Odd, odd, odd.

Note to self: must try "Are you married/are you single/do you make more than $100,000 a year before taxes?" on some poor unsuspecting girl before '03 ends.

Currently playing: P.O.D.'s "Alive"

From The Home Office In Martha Stewart's Lovely Cell Block

Also Receiving Votes: "Stacy's Mom" (4), "Feelin' This", "Holidae In", "Weak & Powerless", "It's My Life"

[10] R.E.M., "Bad Day" (1)
[09] Coldplay, "Moses (live)" (NR)*
[08] Linkin Park, "Faint" (9)*
[07] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" (7)
[06] Big Boi f. Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move" (6)*

[05] Michelle Branch, "Breathe" (5)*
[04] Kelis, "Milkshake" (8)**

[03] Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Fortune Faded" (NR)*

[02] Ludacris, "Stand Up" (2)

[01] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya" (3) [2w]

Also Dropped: "La La La (Excuse Me Again)", 10

Currently playing: Coldplay's "Warning Sign"

"It's Christmas time in Hollis, Queens/Mama's cookin' chicken and collard greens..."

1) Jessica Alba
2) 15 gig iTunes
3) Playstation 2 (hey, shut up, I was poor for 2 years)
4) a happening jersey (I assure you, you don't want me to get into The List. Something from Mitchell & Ness or Nike Rewind)
5) Family Guy DVDs (any season)
6) Simpsons, season 3
7) something for the GC I'm getting my brother
8) Jessica Alba. In fact, that's also 9 & 10.

Currently playing: the Wallflowers' "Bleeders"

"There's one thing I hate about San Diego. How can anyone be depressed? You have 70 degrees outside and 10 straight weeks with the sun. You're depressed?! Fuck you! If you're depressed here, it's your own fucking fault!"

OK, everything from my neck up is in pain. But a good--f--great kind of pain. I mean I haven't felt this good about anything in so long thinking back is making my headache.

So here you go, the review of Comedy Central Live.

First off, they decide for maximum effect they must hold this congregation in the fancy-schmaniest place in town. So you have a bunch of twentysomethings all crawling into this joint that like hosts An Evening With Graham Nash type stuff so I can hear some guy go "Of course Kobe didn't know how to rape that girl--he didn't go to college!" I asked the guy next to me "When's the Pope coming out to deliver the Mass?". THAT fancy. I mean, Roman architecture, high ceilings, chandeliers, tortured visages lining the walls!

In retrospect, I should've bought a tape recorder.

Secondly, for the first time in recorded history (hello, sarcasm, my old friend...) every single hot girl is dating some guy. Literally, it was like how I see the world anyways except magnified writ large. If I could've found a hot single girl laughing through Lewis Black's rant against the Bottled Water Conspiracy I'm pretty sure I could've found some late-night place downtown to elope with 'em. I may even be kidding.

So after a quick run to the ATM, I buy the new Lewis Black CD and the shirt (The Good--Hedberg, The Bad--Lewis, & The Fugly--Attell). Ironically enough, Black's new CD is called the End of the Universe, about the spot in Houston where there's a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks. I say that because not fifteen minutes ago I passed the end of the universe in our town, and it's the same thing. One's in a mall, and the one across the street is a drive-through. There's a pic of the Houston one on the CD. The End of the Universe is LESS THAN SIX BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE.

The opening opening act gets out there. I've never seen him before but he does a funny Kobe riff about how Kobe raped that girl, made him kiss his dick, and made sure she spelled his name right: T I M D U N C A N. He's got to settle down the noisy jackasses in the balcony cheap seats because he's not A Name. For the first time I am not one of them. Eighth row. This stunned me. Crazy.

So, anyhow, he blows through 10 minutes (about half Kobe-related), and he's good. Then, he introduces Mitch Hedberg.

Mitch Hedberg comes out to "In Da Club". That's right, because when I think 50, I think Mitch Hedberg. For the unknowing (and shame on your monkey ass times a double)watching Mitch Hedberg's act is like watching the Big Lebowski do standup. He does the old school "Smokey is way more intense in person" and the part about knocking on the wall, and tells a joke twice. He fucks up a couple times and we all roar. He's hilarious, and his 20 blows by and I'm ready to anoint him Funniest Motherfucker Alive.

This is what Dave Attell says to that: YOINK.

The warmup act literally said about six sentences and brought out Dave Attell to Missy's "Work It". See appropriate comments above with Mitch and replace accordingly. Dave, what do you think about women having alternate ways of stimulation?

"Why are guys afraid of vibrators? Can you cuddle with a vibrator? Will a vibrator pay for your abortion? Does a vibrator come in your face and make sure you have a hot cloth to wipe it off with afterwards? No. So don't worry about it."

30 minutes of that. Ladies and gentlemen, the winner by unanimous decision and NEW Funniest Motherfu hup hup hup hup hup hup hup hup!

Wha...

Tha...

THAT'S "BACK IN BLACK"

OH, MY GOD!

LEWIS BLACK IS HERE! AND HE'S GONNA FIGHT!

Watching Lewis Black do an hour--an hour--of standup is in some way like the dreams I have about Jessica Alba come to life. He gets a semi-standing ovation and immediately freaks out.

95% new stuff too, just like Dave & Mitch. I mean, he went on a tirade on bottled water for the second half of the show. I couldn't stop laughing. I'd be laughing from one joke, then a new punchline would hit about the nutrition facts and hey since my mouth's hanging open already...

There's an Arnold rant at the end, and he's calmly going insane and bitchslapping the idiots in the balcony and he's wondering what happened to the deficit and how if you're going to fly to New Zealand for 22 hours they could at least speak a different language...you get the idea.

An hour of Lewis Black. Hey, he's the reigning stand-up comedian of the year, so, Dave, give him his belt.

"'Show your tits?' I expect that in Los Angeles. Not here in San Diego."

Yeah, I'm sorry I'm not doing this the tiniest bit of justice and I really should've snuck in a tape recorder. My fault.

So basically this ruled the free world, those commie fucks, the Taliban, the cute koala bear infestation Mitch had (way better than cockroaches), and everything ever in perpetuity throughout the universe forever and ever amen.

If you didn't know before, steal the mp3 and FIND. THE HELL. OUT! Capishe?

Currently playing: LL Cool J doing "Mama Said Knock You Out" unplugged

Yeah, Back Come The Rooster...

10 out of 11? I shit on your 10 out of 11! You know I ain't gonna dieeeeeeee...

Item the First: So, I finally got my Maxim yesterday. The December one with Shannon Elizabeth on it. That's right, I "mysteriously" got jacked out of the one with Jessica Alba and only my brilliant foresight of my shoddy cosmic punchline existence enables me to have one on the dresser right now. Oh, everyone thought I was crazy and paranoid about the mailpeople. Pfft. Crazy and paranoid LIKE A FOX! So, they're getting put on blast tomorrow. Bastids.

TWO!: Tomorrow's the big day of Attell/Black/Hedberg. Gotta send away for some Christmas presents too. And Friday I'm going to try hitting the club, spasmed back and all. You can tell you're closer to Responsible Adult when your days off are booked.

III: I actually have four consecutive days off next week, and a payday to boot. I'm gonna try and place a moratorium on self-spending starting on the 25th. While I want few things, and they're all ludicrous to the point I doubt what my parents even know what they look like (a 15 gig iPod, PS2, and the aforementioned JA chief amongst them), I don't want to buy something that close to Christmas only to open a present and be "I just bought this!" Too O. Henry for me, thanks. Outside of parties, work-related, and food, ain't no sunshine till it's on.

4) Adrienne is super-wise.

5) Whoever allowed the Shawshank Redemption DVDs to be pressed without a Freeman or Robbins commentary--why can't we have them legally killed? Hm? Anyone? Bueller?

Currently would be playing if I wasn't watching Shawshank: the Offspring's "Million Miles Away"

From The Home Office Under Tony Montana's Pile Of Cocaine

Also Receiving Votes: "Show Me Your Soul", "Moses (live)", "White Flag", "Holidae In", "It's My Life"

[10] Jay-Z, "La La La (Excuse Me Again)" (NR)*
[09] Linkin Park, "Faint" (NR)*
[08] Kelis, "Milkshake" (NR)*
[07] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" (6)
[06] Big Boi f. Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move" (8)*

[05] Michelle Branch, "Breathe" (NR)*
[04] Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" (1)

[03] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya" (2)

[02] Ludacris, "Stand Up" (3)

[01] R.E.M., "Bad Day" (4) [2w]

Dropped From Rankings: "So Into You", 10; "Got Some Teeth", 9; "Bigger Than My Body", 7; "Frontin'", 5

Currently playing: Stone Temple Pilots, "No Way Out"

Further Down The Spiral...

Oh, yeah, this is what's been missing from my life. My obstenible roomate has pulled out, meaning I get more family time.

In addition my dad's flying back to Pittsburgh for a sick relative and he's going to be there a whole week. This means I will be home alone for a week with my brother and mother, who after consecutive seconds in the same zip code start scuffling like someone stepped on their Pumas.

Did I mention even though I'm off Friday and getting paid to boot there will be no clubbing because I'm the only one in my circle who's in town and not beholden to their kids?

Interesting fact: whenever I groan into my hands, the sound always comes out the same.

Currently playing: John Mellencamp's "Authority Song"

Fuck The Perfect Storm, This Is The Sixth Circle Of Hell

Riddle: What goes five days on, one day off, five days on, fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckingfuckityfuckmotherfuckingFUCKfuck!?

I'll give you a minute. This means not only 10 days out of 11, but 14 of the first 19, a 2.8:1 work days to not ratio (and keeping in mind I just burned four of them after the last five days straight stretch). No, I'm not trying to write a 50k novel this month, why do you ask? About the only positives I can figure out are that I'll be off the day of the Hedberg-Attell-Black TripleMania of comedy and the day after, and that my last two checks heading into Christmas will have 54 and 60.5 hours respectively on them.

But Jesus, Felipe, and Matty Alou, the road is going to suck like Christina Aguilera on a Navy battle cruiser.

*sigh* Time for dinner.

Currently playing: Beastie Boys' "Super Disco Breakin'"

Fuckin' A

Fuckin' A

On the one hand, my plans tonight got severely derailed and then rederailed. On the other hand I GOT 10,00 DOWN BIOTCHES!.

Assuming I don't get stupid, go back and reread everything and then purge it, that makes me roughly just the last couple days I slacked off behind. I think I'm gonna work on it as much as I can tomorrow assuming my friends don't talk me into doing something to make up for tonight. The new goal to be on schedule is 16,750 as my head hits the pillow early Tuesday morning. It's still definitely doable and I'm just sort of joyous I got to 10k and didn't puss out.

Go me, it's my birthday, and so forth.

Currently playing: Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Blue On Black"

Ayuda, Por Favor

If you were a reporter at the press conference announcing Jesus' return to Earth, what sort of questions would you have for Him?

Answer below.

Currently playing: Dre & Snoop's "Dre Day"

Going Out With Style

I [heart] the American Association of Blood Banks. A2B2, big ups. What else can I say after a six-hour coat check shift where I made $16 in tips?! Oh, if they weren't so ugly I'd kiss them on the mouth. 16 in TIPS, for chrissakes! Can I get a witness?!

Anyway, going to watch 24, slack off, and back to work on the novel. It's right on time, and the goal is to spend the next four days off working on it when inspiration hits. 17K BY SUNDAY!

More to come as developments warrant, but you knew that already.

Currently playing: Eminem, Obie Trice & DMX's "Go To Sleep"

From The Home Office In THE DIRTY SOUTH, BITCH

[10] Fabolous f. Tamia, "So Into You" (10)
[09] Obie Trice, "Got Some Teeth (My Favorite Song)" (5)
[08] Big Boi f. Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move" (N)*
[07] John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body" (9)*
[06] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" (7)*

[05] Pharrell f. Jay-Z, "Frontin'" (8)**
[04] R.E.M., "Bad Day" (4)*

[03] Ludacris, "Stand Up" (1)

[02] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya" (3)*

[01] Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" (2) [12w]

Currently playing: Hayseed Dixie's country-fried cover of "Back In Black"

For Weekend Update, I'm Colin Quinn...

WORK: Good today. Breaker = fun. Got to watch a lot of football, mostly the Niners actually showing up vs. the Rams and the back and forth between Minnesota and Green Bay.

SOCIAL LIFE: Didn't go out last night, sleepy. Later this week.

JERSEYS: Got a white Jerry West West Virginia for half of retail. I love you, eBay.

ZE NOVEL: Almost 5K down. Right on pace after all 48 hours. Cross your fingers.

BACK: Spasming. Bah!

Currently playing: Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise's "Once Upon A Time"

In For A Day, In For A Month

Well, work has been HIGHLY annoying. Five day straight chunks, boring days--days so boring I can't even inspire myself to write all the prOn I'm behind on because I keep trying to ignore the sound of my eyeballs trying to escape my brain it's so boring. (The sound is a low screech.)

So, instead, in my free time this month (getting increasingly rarer), I'm going to write my novel Jesus Smirked.

No, really.

50,000 words. 30 days. Stay healthy. Get ready.

And now for the sales pitch: you watch me suffer here all the time! Why not suffer WITH me? We're not all trying to make a Shakespeare play or the screenplay for Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back; just trying to hit 50k in 30 days and prove that if only for a little while, if only in a little circle of relative anonymity, we're fucking AUTHORS, baybay.

So what say you?

As some wise students of the human condition put it last year: ooh oooooh ooh are you in?

Currently playing: (I couldn't make this up if I tried) Everclear's "You Make Me Feel Like A Whore"

Mental Wounds Not Healing/Life's A Bitter Shame...

Just how fucked up AM I?!

Paranoid: VERY high
Schizoid: Low
Schizotypal: VERY high (Many believe that schizotypal personality disorder represents mild schizophrenia. The disorder is characterized by odd forms of thinking and perceiving, and individuals with this disorder often seek isolation from others. They sometimes believe to have extra sensory ability or that unrelated events relate to them in some important way. They generally engage in eccentric behavior and have difficulty concentrating for long periods of time. Their speech is often over elaborate and difficult to follow.)
Antisocial: High
Borderline: Moderate
Histrionic: Moderate
Narcisstic: VERY high (I know, Butch Rosser is shocked a test would depict Butch Rosser this way when the reality is, Butch Rosser is just a high-quality person who people should be more like.)
Avoidant: High
Dependent: High
Obsessive-compulsive: Moderate

Currently playing: : System of a Down's "Aerials"

Hope I Die Before I Get Old

Because of the stupid fires, my mother got another day off. (And tomorrow too as I wrote this, despite other people at her work going back. GHM.) And apparently once you hit her age, day off means do every single chore possible before your back gives out. So I ended up doing pretty much every piece of laundry in the house that wasn't a sock.

In addition to the fires taking today away from me, I wonder how the local channel is going to handle 24 tonight, as it's been pretty much wall-to-wire Firestorm coverage. It's lessened today, but if they don't show it I'll watch the end of Joe Schmo the first time it's on. Damn parents. Fucking fires. I was going to spend today buying batteries and finally watching Scarface and/or seeing Kill Bill v1 #4, but noooooooooooooo. Of course I'm working six of the next seven days on top of matters. The point of the story is: my life is a relentless steel toed kick in the crotch.

Under the into-every-rain-a-little-life-fall Dept, I bought the new R.E.M. Greatest Hits, which is the first CD I've ever bought that I actually like every song on the record. Bought the Essential Clash, pretty much for the second disk. Lookit this Murderers Row: London Calling, the Guns of Brixton, Clampdown, Rudie Can't Fail, Lost In the Supermarket, Train In Vain, Police On My Back, This Is Radio Clash, Ghetto Defendant, Rock The Casbah, Straight To Hell, and Should I Stay Or Should I Go? By the way, that's a partial listing of one of the two CD set. NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE. Finally, I got the best steel cages DVD from the WWE which is apparently like five hours of violent goodness, including some AWA/WCW footage. Whenver the hell I actually get some time by myself and the DVD player I'll pop it in.

Oh, and my back is spasming again. B-e-a-uuuuuuuuuuuutiful.

Currently playing: the eels covering "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" live

Oh, So You HAVE Recognized? No Need For Me To Tell You You Betta, Then...

(San Diego, CA) -- The San Diego Convention Center has much to be proud of today. It is being recognized by "Trade Show Week" magazine for having the "Best Staff" out of 375 meeting venues nationwide. The magazine noted the staff's friendliness and the white-gloved attendants, who welcome every visitor with a smile and open door. "Trade Show Week" is one of the industry's leading publications. The Convention Center recently received similar honors from two other magazines.

Currently playing: Cake's "Comfort Eagle"

Oh, By The Way: YOU'RE WELCOME!

Well, work blew, otherwise it wouldn't be called work, right? So I am planning on using these next two days off commiting myself to holistic healing vis a vis watching Kill Bill for a 4th time, drinking a beer or 8, and now that I've purchased it, frenetic near-psychotic worshipping of the Holy Bib--er, Maxim with Alba.

Catching up on stuff I've missed during the last little bit, and in Monday's Currents section not only was there a cartoon that had the sticker "Don't blame me, I voted for Gary Coleman" but the resident TVaphile made a list of things she would recall (and yes, Fat Chin Who Couldn't Carry Letterman's Jock With A Forklift was on there).

Sound familiar, dear reader?

All right, back to things that matter. Sweet, sweet Jess. I've missed you so...

Currently playing: Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever"

From The Home Office In Medicine Hat...

[10] Fabolous f. Tamia, "So Into You" (6)
[09] John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body" (7)
[08] Pharrell f. Jay-Z, "Frontin'" (N)
[07] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" (9)
[06] Audioslave, "Show Me How To Live" (3)

[05] Obie Trice, "Got Some Teeth (My Favorite Song)" (4)
[04] R.E.M., "P.S.A. (Bad Day)" (N)

[03] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya" (5)

[02] Fountains Of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" (1)

[01] Ludacris, "Stand Up" (2)

Currently playing: Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

It's The Little Differences

Watching the now ubiquitous on ASCTR KBv1 again, and now again, you pick up a lot of little things. Bride's heart monitor at 69, how the reveal shot in the opening fight is done, how connected O-Ren & her girls are to their femininity (flowers on the sword sheathes, man), the first two times the Bride has her hands out and so on. Just feenomenal.

SEGUE!

I have now seen the Alba Maxim shoot for this upcoming month.

If my arms, wrists, and fingers ever recover, they're suing Maxim for massive paralyzing damage. I mean, I love JA like a fat kid loves cake and all, but these photos are hot. Like two t hott. Like a Mexican plate lunch hot. Like Vegas in July without the shade hot. Like you could fry an egg on my groin hot.

I plan on picking up a few extra copies because my room needs a new ceiling. I can grow my own "stalagtites".

Now, where'd that empty-two liter go? I'm about to become a millionaire.

Currently playing: Metallica's "Frantic"

It's All 'Cause I Wished Tarantino Good Luck On His Way Out Of Comic-Con...

Saw it again today. You know how sometimes you see a movie and you think it's good but then the second time you see it it's lost a lot of the shine?

Oh, not this movie.

The bomb-ass song playing O-Ren and the 88s to Charlie Brown's V.I.P. suite is Hotei Tomayusu's "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity", appropriately enough. I wish this was screaming out of a boombox any time I walked anywhere cool. Or anywhere at all for that matter.

Might go see it again tomorrow--I know I'm allegedly on with Amanda for seeing it Monday night after work.

When I wake up I can go cash my pissant check. Hoorah.

Check The Subtitle Up Top!

I believe I'll be rotating KBv1 quotes for a while. Suggestions welcome but may not work due to spacing.

We'll see how far it goes before you see ASCTRv2: The President Has To Die NOW. :)

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY FUCK.

Well, I do believe Kill Bill was about as awesome as awesome gets, yes I do. I mean godDAMN! Talking 'bout "When you grow up, if you're still raw about it, I'll be waiting" and "AND I WOULD BE THE EMPEROR NOW GET SOME DAMN SAKE!" and bye-bye legs and bye-bye arms and bye-bye head and the Pussy Wagon and "That really was a Hattori Hanzo sword" and MOTHER. FUCKING. GO-GO and and and just go fucking see it. Again, if applicable.

I mean GodDAAAAAAMN talking about...

Another One Of Those...

This will not help the back spasming.

Another 2.5 hours of dancing (well, I had to work off the two hours in Hooters and the near-epilieptic/orgasmic seizure(s) it/they sent me into) and pretty girls bumping and grinding against me. *sigh* How long does a hot chick's ass go against your groin before you can claim it as a dependent on next year's taxes?

Johnny sucks off Hasselbeck while Rich films it in the corner with the hand he's not spanking off with.

Copyrighting This T-Shirt Idea Too

Our Governor Can Go Back Through Time To Change The Future To Make It So That Your Governor Wasn't Even Born AND/OR Kick His/Her Ass

Crossing The Bridge Before You Come To It

Yes, I live in California. Yes, our new governor can go back through history to kick your governor's ass before he was even born. Yes, the majority of voters are probably insane. Either that or a bunch of people heard "Jingle All The Way 2004" was coming or something.

But here's the thing, from where this Oklahoma Sooner sits, hosses: I don't really care. At least not yet. As long as I have a job, and aren't getting hassled too hard for my beliefs or apathy towards most things, I'm probably not going to care. The state, from what little bits I've gleamed from the sugar packets, is fucked regardless for a while. So if we must go down, let us go down in an entertaining manner.

Besides, he's just using the plan I want to use when I make my run in a few years: be charismatic, grope a lotta bitches, and surround yourselves with people who know what they're doing. Governor's essentially figurehead anyways. So huzzah for the Governator.

I wonder if it's too late for me to put a patent down on "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Flynt" t-shirts and stickers?

Hmmm...

From The Home Office In Keokuk...

[10] Beyonce f. Jay-Z, "Crazy In Love"
[09] Jet, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
[08] Busta f. Pharrell, "Light Your Ass On Fire"
[07] John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body"
[06] Fabolous f. Tamia, "So Into You"

[05] Andre 3000, "Hey Ya"
[04] Obie Trice, "Got Some Teeth (My Favorite Song)"

[03] Audioslave, "Show Me How To Live"

[02] Ludacris, "Stand Up"

[01] Fountains Of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom"