Lyrical Robot

'90s nostalgia

2009-08-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

i never thought i'd get nostalgic for the '90s, but then i stumbled across this video of pulp's 'common people' and it brought a flood of memories back, many of them a bit too sordid (or squalid, at least) to mention.

the new neko single

2009-01-23T16:57:00.002-08:00

http://www.anti.com/media/download/708

turkey link

2008-12-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis by Between Two Ferns

it's never too early for sandra

2008-11-21T14:55:00.001-08:00

let's hear it for l.a.

2008-11-12T14:35:00.001-08:00

from sf chronicle:

LA County joins Prop. 8 fight
Los Angeles County has hopped on board the Proposition 8 litigation train, making that four California governments -- led by San Francisco, naturally -- to challenge the same-sex marriage ban.

The LA County Board of Supervisors this morning asked the county counsel to join a petition filed with the California Supreme Court arguing that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional. The petition, filed the day after the election last Wednesday, also includes the city of Los Angeles and Santa Clara County.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera was in Los Angeles this morning to encourage the five LA supervisors to support the legal challenge.

"This measure sought to do something that no constitutional amendment has ever done in our history: to strip a fundamental right from a protected class of citizens," Herrera said.

"Let us be clear. Equal protection of the laws is what separates constitutional democracy from mob-rule tyranny," he said. "It is a principle reaching back eight centuries to the Magna Carta. And it is what guided the founding of our state and our nation."

Three of the five supervisors voted in favor of joining the legal battle; two of the supervisors weren't there for the vote.

uh huh

2008-11-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

taste of tonight

2008-10-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

heading to the orpheum for the jenny lewis concert tonight. here's a clip from her album release show at the echo in september:

maybe it's the santa ana winds

2008-10-14T00:05:00.001-07:00

...but this brought tears to my eyes:

little honey

2008-10-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

lucinda is back with new album on oct. 14th and all indications are that it's a return to top form. judging from this letterman appearance, she's in good shape and not the least bit drunk, unlike the last 8 times i've seen her live and wondered if the first few rows were about to be vomited upon.

sister act

2008-10-05T16:05:00.001-07:00

friends, romans and countrymen

2008-08-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

lend me your ears. it has been over a week since my last confession, er, blog post, and i must admit it is getting harder and harder to update this ol' thing. life has been kind to me in many departments, but free time ain't one of 'em. but, because i love thee so, here's a random list of stuff:

* found out today there is a chance we're going to get to meet michele obama. i am so excited and am going to wear my chunky necklace and azzedine alaia belt, just like her!

* just got back from celebrating the 10 year anniversary with the mister in santa fe. that is one beeyooteefull place, my friends (as john mccain would say). we went to SITE santa fe, the modern art biennale and it was out of sight, including one installation that involved signing your life away and jumping off a platform into mid-air 7 feet above a series of stunt mats and trying to land on your ass and not your neck. now THAT's art! we did it twice. of course, my back hurt afterwards because i'm an old fart. it was amazing and we're going back in november 'cause i got a backload of free southwest tickets and the need for alpine getaways.

* "mamma mia" shaved at least 40 points off of my IQ and i felt like i was high on nitrous through the whole thing. this is not a recommendation, in case you're wondering. there are things in that movie that fully qualify as crimes against nature. that movie bears the mark of satan, i tell you.

* we are knee deep in restoring the house in palm springs and are camped out in one little room while the rest of the house is fluffed and prettied. looks like we will get to move in in a few weeks, but there's still about 65% of the total work on the place left to do, mainly outside (both structure and yard).

* still loving 'mad men' -- now into season 2. delicious.

* have you seen 'the strangers,' that horror movie with liv tyler and scott speedman? it was kind of creepy. it was filmed in florence, south carolina, where my grandmother's family hails from, and the "summer house" in the movie is actually a late '60s, early '70s ranch not unlike the one i grew up in about an hour away from florence, and let me tell you from experience -- those puppies are no one's idea of a summer house. so it probably would've been a lot scarier if i hadn't been wondering throughout "what kind of freaks would buy a tract home in the piney woods as their getaway?" the funniest part is when liv tyler puts on a record (the stereo plays an integral role in the film) and out comes some 2007 trip-hoppy track. i'm sure they have all the latest LPs up there at the tract house, even though nothing else in there has been changed around since the 1970s purchase of said tract home!

* my work is apparently going to take me to the east coast for the first time and i think i'm going to get to catch up with lots o' peeps in ny, boston and philly. word.

* the iphone is great as everything but a phone. i am ready to hold it over an open fire for hours on end and then sink it to the bottom of an ocean, cursing it as it sinks and spitting in its general direction. if my iphone had its own house, i'd leave a flaming bag of my own excrement on its doorstep, ring its doorbell and hide in the bushes so i could see the look of surprise on its face when it opened the door.

and with that, i head back to the asylum.

sister puhleeze

2008-08-11T10:27:00.001-07:00

pea green with envy

2008-08-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

from today's maureen dowd column:

Now John McCain is pea-green with envy. That’s the only explanation for why a man who prides himself on honor, a man who vowed not to take the low road in the campaign, having been mugged by W. and Rove in South Carolina in 2000, is engaging in a festival of juvenilia.

The Arizona senator who built his reputation on being a brave proponent of big solutions is running a schoolyard campaign about tire gauges and Paris Hilton, childishly accusing his opponent of being too serious, too popular and not patriotic enough.

Even his own mother, the magical 96-year-old Roberta McCain, let slip that she thought the Paris Hilton-Britney Spears ad was “kinda stupid.”

McCain’s 2000 strategist, John Weaver, was equally blunt with Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter: “It’s hard to imagine America responding to ‘small ball’ when we have all these problems.”

Some of McCain’s old pals in the Senate are cringing at what they see as his soulless transformation into what he once scorned.

“John’s eaten up with envy,” said one. “His image of himself was always the handsome, celebrity flyboy.

“Now somebody else is the celebrity,” the colleague continued, while John looks in the mirror and sees his face marred by skin cancer and looks at the TV and sees his dashing self-image replaced by visions of William Frawley, with Letterman jokes about his membership in the ham radio club and adventures with wagon trains.

somehow this never gets old

2008-08-03T14:33:00.001-07:00

15 minutes

2008-08-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

my quasi-hometown made it into the ny times! (again, thanks miz d):

capital city!

if i weren't tina chen, i would be...

2008-08-01T11:40:00.001-07:00

...this little fella (thanks miz d):

wal-mart is bad, mad and dangerous to know

2008-08-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25967103/

sore presumptive loser

2008-07-31T23:27:00.000-07:00

mccain's people are sorely mistaken if they think that the majority of americans are going to turn against obama because of his so-called celebrity status. hellooooooo! we love celebrities! this is the country that turned paris hilton into an icon of sorts. all that aside, though, this comparison to britney and paris is cheap, disrespectful and exceedingly desperate. also, have you heard that they've launched a parody of facebook called barackbook that makes fun of his more than 1 million supporters on facebook?

senator mccain, would you like to look completely out of touch? if so, act like the fuddy duddy you are and poo-poo this newfangled internets thingy that you claim not to use. please, poo poo to your heart's content! make fun of facebook, the Internet, etc., and all the other hopeful, naive people who are supporting obama, because making fun of people hoping for a better deal after this mess you and your compatriots have created is a great idea. mocking people for their optimism and desire for a country that hasn't been run into the ground by the likes of you and your party via a misguided war, unneeded tax cuts, the exploitation of peoples basest instincts via wedge issues, literally felonious lies, no child left behind, "clean skies," "healthy forests," denial of global warming, refusal to fund alternative energy sources -- you name it -- is a great campaign strategy if you're aiming to lose an election.

thank you, and good night. i need to go polish this dingy ol' soapbox now.

the low road express

terry monday

2008-07-28T17:16:00.001-07:00

my vote for video of the year

2008-07-28T12:45:00.001-07:00

stranger than fiction

2008-07-28T10:58:00.001-07:00

there but for the grace of god go i

2008-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

if the internets had been invented when i was 13 years old, i have no doubt that i would've been making videos like this and posting them, and i'm not kidding.

I'd get a refund on that MBA if I were you

2008-07-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

President Bush inherited a budget surplus of $128 billion when he took office in 2001 but has since posted a budget deficit every year.

exile in myville

2008-07-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

so, this has been quite a challenging week getting prepped for my family invasion. i think i've kid-proofed the house sufficiently, and rezzies are booked everywhere from disneyland to catalina to someone else's house in palm springs given ours is still at the camping-indoors stage. happy to have the, but looking forward to the actual time together cause i'm done with this prep shit. now, a list:

*have you seen 'madmen'? holy lord, that is some good tv.

*i remember when the summers were slow in my business, but no more. sign of the apocalypse? sign of a recovering economy? sign of panicked workers trying to be as productive as possible to save their jobs and companies? what i wouldn't give to be able to sneak off to an afternoon movie as in the days of yore (actually, now that i think about it, those days of yore were specifically the days after the dot-com implosion and i would prefer not to relive that, so forget what i said).

*i love going to youtube or just google generally and unearthing relics from my childhood (see image above). i can't imagine that boo berry is any less toxic than cigarettes, yet it is still available with no warning. go figure. funny thing is that i still have a sense memory of the taste and a very vivid memory of how it would turn milk blue. delish!

*i haven't been to the movies all summer -- a first, though i think a trip to see 'wall-e' is likely in my future, and definitely going to see 'dark knight.'

*started reading 'the audacity of hope' the other day. it would be amazing to have a president who can not only write, but write extremely well and who is obviously a political mind for the ages. we are such idiots if we don't elect this guy.

if you ask me...

2008-07-15T17:46:00.001-07:00

...this looks pretty good.

sweet mystery of life

2008-07-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

why she made it in show business and i never did is indeed puzzling:

he will come out

2008-07-11T07:08:00.001-07:00

my treat for the day

2008-07-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

...will be downloading a 'juliette and the licks' album. i saw them open for courtney love four years ago and they were amazing, but i always forget about them. then, i came across this, and now i am just obsessed with getting me some more juliette in my life. word!

warning: rant ahead

2008-07-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

when is someone going to throw this boob in jail?

if you want it

2008-07-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

basically

2008-07-01T13:50:00.001-07:00

ok, so i overuse the term "basically" all the time, basically. that said, this song by 'high school musical' star vanessa hudgens -- "sneakernight" (isn't that the best title EVER?!) -- makes me want to stab my ears to death. and somehow, even though you would think i wouldn't come within 500 ft. of this video or song given my daily routine, my perpetual quest to get healthier placed me twice in a hotel gym where this was playing, and then i was bludgeoned by its not-so-dulcet tones in an airport somewhere recently.

these kids are crazy!

rave

2008-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

years ago, i remember scraping up all the sam phillips cds i could at amoeba records in berkeley (before the hollywood and haight stores were even there, so yeah -- i'm old), then i kinda lost interest. friends the nagwells raved about her last one, 'a boot and a shoe,' but still is didn't really get back on the sam phillips bandwagon.

so, i'm not sure what compelled me to buy her new album on itunes when i spied it in the new releases section (perusing the new releases section on tuesdays is becoming a bit of a habit, and a dangerous one at that), but i did, and i can't stop listening to it.

after i realized how much i liked it, i started digging around and finding out that the reviews are glorious and also that she recently divorced t-bone burnett, who produced all of her albums (except the ones that she did as a christian singer back in the early '80s; i know this because i lived in south carolina in the early '80s and you really couldn't avoid christian music). anyway, this album is supposedly the chronicle of that divorce.

here's a sample for your listening pleasure. i recommend it highly:

my career in chemistry

ps -- the photo has no relevance to this post; i just needed to share this photo of madonna and courtney love a collective 109 plastic surgeries ago.

what i did on my summer vacation

2008-07-01T07:01:00.001-07:00

kayaked 10 miles down the river, drank ten gallons of rose', read not a word of my books, lost cell and email access, played who knows how many rounds of rummikub, built three amazing fires and ate like a king.

memory from a summer of yore

2008-06-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

whiskers on kittens

2008-06-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

did you know that -- in addition to her wildly popular "oprah's favorite things" episode -- she now has an "oprah's favorite summer things" episode? oh yes, the madness continues (see parody here.

and i thought, why don't i have the same thing? so here it is -- the robot's favorite things -- SUMMER!

* air conditioning - i don't have it, but it would be my favorite thing if i did.

* "weeds" season 3 - with the mister out of town and me recovering from losing a chunk of my big toe this weekend, what better way to spend an evening than lying on the floor and catching up with about 14 episodes of weeds, back-to-back. the 2nd season lost me, but the third season is pretty darn good. i especially like their concept for a drug front business -- "aquatecture"...fountains in the shapes of mini-mansions. yes, please.

* rose'. don't be a hater. it's delicious and it's not white zinfandel. for realz!

* the promise of a four day vacation in a locale with a high of 68 degrees.

* "the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford" -- i suggest watching it over a couple of sittings as it's nearly 3 hours long, but casey affleck is amazing, as is everyone else in it, and the cinematography is incredible. i suggest watching with the subtitles as that is a mumblin' bunch of fothermuckers up in that movie.

* midnight swims

* "we tell ourselves stories in order to live: the collected nonfiction of joan didion" -- i'm not kidding when i say that reading joan didion is what prompted me to move to california, so i was predisposed to begin with towards loving this, but having all of her nonfiction in one $30 volume is just too good to be true. i like to just open it and read a paragraph each day. strangely enough, here is what showed up yesterday (a sunday when it was 105 degrees, or felt like it anyway) when i did just that:

It is three o'clock on a Sunday afternoon and 105 degrees and the air so thick with smog that the dusty palm trees loom up with a sudden and rather attractive mystery.

* oatmeal/peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies -- i found this recipe in sunset magazine last month and they are incredible. when i have more time, i'll post the recipe here.

vacation, all i ever wanted

2008-06-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

i had myself a serious revery today thinking about how amazing it was to be thirteen-ish and having the whole summer to lie in the sun and go to the arcade and sneak cigarettes and get a savage tan courtesy of hawaiian tropic #2. now i'm thirteen x three (well, almost) and i am pining for some time off. the good news is that i'm headed up to sea ranch for four days of r&r; the bad news that is it's only four days and i need something more like forty. however, i did just receive a $50 companion airfare certificate that will get me and the mister to hawaii for a quite-reduced rate, so i feel a drunken air reservation coming on.

speaking of islands, spent friday with the mister's parental units in catalina, which was pretty great as always. the distinguishing event of this outing was that we rented a john boat and took it out around the island, which was cool. i've never skippered on the pacific before, and the looks of fright on my passengers' faces eventually abated.

ps -- emmylou harris has a new album out, and aside from the adult contemporary touches in too many places to count, it's ok. her voice, though, is still totally chill-inducing.

a lot more where that came from

2008-06-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

i wonder how often this will happen between now and november:

roller boogie

2008-06-09T16:42:00.001-07:00

Flight of the Conchords - Ladies of the World - Click here for more home videos

crackerjack

2008-06-06T15:52:00.001-07:00

this reminds me of the story of mine and the mister's own little crackerjack(son)

friday funny

2008-06-06T14:37:00.001-07:00

when i was young i appeared in a video

2008-06-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

can you spot me?

mann about town

2008-06-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

the new aimee mann is out, and i haven't listened to it beyond the initial single, 'freeway,' which is yet another i'm-ambivalent-about-living-in-the-golden-state song.

as with all of her stuff, i expect to half-like it at first and then proceed to wear it out the rest of '08, but i'll keep you posted.

i would share 'freeway' with you, but it's come to my attention that since it was purchased on itunes, it's unsharable. my apologies, but it's only 99 cents at itunes, and why not spend those pennies on a nice single vs. some cheap plastic thingy from china that's caught your eye?

(in other news: we watched 'recount' on hbo on demand the other night, and laura dern is as good as people say as katherine harris)

brows high & low

2008-06-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

we hadn't planned on watching the primary coverage last night, but we did, and it was amazing. you really did get the sense that history was being made (maybe the syrah helped that perception along? i don't know). obama/hillary ticket sounds good to me.

now for the lowbrow:

say what you will about angelina and brad or madonna -- they are at least using their fame for something good, questionable motivations aside (i happen to think it's genuine, but then i'm a starf**ker so don't listen to me).

on the other hand, you have sarah jessica parker, who has got to be the most vapid celebrity ever put on this planet. she icks me out. my eyes literally bugged out in incredulity while reading this:

sjp responds to 'fashion disaster'

random notes

2008-06-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

i'm having a renewed love affair with the camera on my iphone, and i'd hoped to share with you some photos i've taken recently that are coolish, but my new macbook is not cooperating. in fact, moving from my old ibook to this new macbook was an arduous, time-wasting process and i'm pretty over apple at the moment. but not as over it as i am over microsoft office for mac. i don't know how you could make the 08 version of entourage more buggy than the 04 version, but, by gates, they've done it!

now for a list of random snippets:

* of course i saw 'sex and the city,' despite not really giving a hoot about it. turns out, i enjoyed it thoroughly, probably due to my incredibly low expectations, but still. it was by far the largest crowd i've seen at any movie theater in palm springs. since you couldn't experience it for yourself, let me set the stage: imagine 350 international mr. leather contestants and 25 trans-am-drivin' young ladies, all of them high on 48 oz. coca-colas and bitchy quips. now multiply that by 4000.

* i really want to see that horror movie 'the strangers' with liv tyler. does that make me weird?

* i've been on a crazy reading jaunt recently -- seems to be the only thing that stops my brain from pondering work-related stuff. i can recommend 'the tenth muse' by judith jones (julia child's cookbook editor writing about her life in food), 'sharp teeth by toby barlow (a novel about werewolves in l.a. that masquerade as stray dogs, written in verse, of all things), and 'the nine' by jeffrey toobin (inside history of the most recent iteration of the supreme court).

just desserts

2008-05-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

the white house is shocked....SHOCKED, i tell you....that little scotty mcclellan done kiss and told, y'all!

have you noticed that there's an increasing number of bushies who have decided the time is right to distance themselves from dubya and his minions like a farter putting distance between himself and the silent-but-deadly he just left in the elevator?

it warms my heart until i think of what a disastrous mess we find ourselves in.

spring chicken

2008-05-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

despite the fact that i feel all of 21 most of the time, every once in a while reality gives me a smack up side the head to remind me that i am approaching (ahem) middle age.

seeing this photo of winona ryder and keanu reeves is one of those times:

then again, maybe they are just aging faster than me. right?

goodbye, toby

2008-05-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

don't ask me how i was able to sneak in a viewing of 'the office' season finale via hulu in the midst of some crazy ass nuttiness (see last post), but i did get to see it, and it was hilarious and bittersweet and all the things i really like about the show when it's at its best.

(the best line: "Holly is sweet and simple, like a lady baker.")

best of all, amy ryan, my favorite actress of the moment, has joined the cast.

i think it's almost hump day beer thirty. word up.

the tale of our move, a switch to new cable/internet provier, and a new computer purchase, in numbers

2008-05-20T15:25:00.001-07:00

time spent on the phone with verizon: 3.5 hours

time spent on the phone with time warner: 11 hours

time spent on the phone with microsoft: one hour and counting

time spent on the phone with apple: 5 hours

time spent on the phone with at&t: 2 hours

number of voicemail messages left for an at&t supervisor whose number i was given by a technician: 4

number of 'i'm-going-to-lose-my-shit-on-you-if-you-don't-call-me-back" voicemail messages left for an at&t supervisor whose number i was given by a technician: 1

number of hours the at&t technician spent at our home before leaving without completing installation: 10

number of days since technician was last here: six

number of custom stainless steel outlet plates technician took with him for some inexplicable reason: two

number of hours before at&t returns to complete assignment: unknown

number of days we have been without landline service in palm springs: 53

number of days no one has changed the spelling of my last name on my verizon account from "bush" to its correct spelling: 22

breaking news

2008-05-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

now that the blogmeister at the 2am buzz is no longer blogging, i guess it falls to me to share with you whenever cnn.com further debases themselves with a sensationalistic headline. with that in mind, i give you:

Grizzly victim: 'He's eating my brain!'

just in time for summer

2008-05-13T12:14:00.001-07:00

if i could turn back time

2008-05-13T12:11:00.001-07:00

Historic 2018Blockbuster2019 Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

boo

2008-05-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

song of the count

2008-05-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

ok, i promise i don't sit around all day looking for dracula puppet videos, but check out this nsfw treat i came across in my youtube soujourns:

back in the new york groove

2008-05-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

i have no idea why the title of a long-forgotten kiss song (see post title) has wedged itself into my brain, but there you go.

i'm back from my self-imposed blog hiatus to share a few things:

* 'gone baby gone' is really great. it's a little treacly in places, blah blah, but overall a well-acted, well-told, emotionally-affecting movie that could've been an absolute disaster. thank god for subtitles 'cause those boston accents (and casey affleck's tendency to mumble) had both me and the mister a mite confused in places. also, amy ryan from 'the wire' was every bit as amazing as people said.

* apparently bette midler plays helen hunt's mother (?) in some new indie that helen hunt directed (will save that one for netflix), and this quote from miss m in 'entertainment weekly' made me laugh:

"She didn't want me to be over-the-top, even though I was dying to chew some scenery," Midler says. "It is my favorite dish."

* also from 'ew', here's a fan video of 'dracula's lament' from 'forgetting sarah marshall's', which makes me want to see it again, 'cause i'm a dracula and puppet freak and i don't care who knows it.

beaten, bothered & bewildered

2008-05-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

ok, consider this me crying uncle. the hits keep on coming, and i don't mean of the mariah carey variety. i love you people, i really do, but i believe i have to go on a bit of a blog holiday over the next week while i look into electroshock or become a scientoligist or get a hot stone massage, at the very least. to every thing, there is a season, and it appears that this one is the spring of my discontent. (smell the melodrama!)

i leave you with a few quick thoughts:

* 'baby mama' was cute -- good for a big studio flick, but a big studio flick nevertheless. i was expecting some subversion. and steve martin SUCKED!

* 'hard candy' -- as rolling stone said, what other 50 year old do you know who can rock the album cover crotch shot like ciccone?

* 'rolling stone' -- there is an article in there by matt taibbi (late of the bill maher show) about going undercover at a christian retreat that is, shall we say, interesting.

* cleveland -- no matter how unglamourous its reputation may be, i always have a good time.

* 'forgetting sarah marshall' -- surprisingly good, so give it a chance if someone's told you it sucked. the puppet show is worth the $10 alone.

i promise to send you guys a postcard from whichever asylum agrees to admit me. kisses and misses!

socal weekend

2008-04-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

my aching everything

2008-04-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

ah, my liver. this past weekend taught me that my body can't do the things it used to do and go unpunished. i think i slept 12 hours last night and still i'm barely moving. there'll be pics soon.

in the meantime, here's a piece that echoes my sentiments about john mccain exactly.

tgitnp

2008-04-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

don't bring me down, bruce

clogging of a not-fun sort

2008-04-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Worst Food in America
Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing
2,900 calories
182 g fat
240 g carbs

It's the caloric equivalent of eating 14 Krispy Kreme doughnuts, before your dinner arrives. Even if you split this "starter" with 3 friends, you'll have downed a meal's worth of calories.

ok, i admit it. the country's worst food is my favorite food.

though i haven't had one in over two years, i will -- in the immortal words of kimora lee simmons -- beat a bitch's ass if they get in the way of me and some aussie cheese fries.

luckily, my changed attitudes about eating have for the most part kept me away from chain restaurants and foods-of-the-goods like this particular starch-n-dairy-n-pork orgasm on a plate, but aussie cheese fries can be might persuasive when you're visiting family in the sticks and you pass a strip mall with an outback steakhouse giving you the 'come hither' look. next thing you know, that american made gas hog will pull in of its own volition and you're knee deep in glorious cheesy fatulosity! (true story)

if the biscuits and gravy don't kill you

2008-04-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

...then the air will!

being glued to ye olde computer as i am, i couldn't help but read this story raging across all of the big news sites today regarding how smog can actually kill you. can you believe it? brown air is harmful!

however, courtesy of one of those nifty, newfangled interactive map whatchmajigs that the kids like so much these days, i found out that sepia-skied los angeles is actually far, far healthier than the piney woods from whence i came (and where my beloved family still lives). to wit:

los angeles county has 3x the pollution of the national median, with a national rank of 944th worst air in the country.

the south carolina county in which my parents live has nearly 11x the pollution of the national median, with a national rank of 350.

the south carolina county in which my sister's family lives ranks #744, with 4x the pollution.

i guess the upside is that i'll be getting my inheritance sooner (i kid, i kid).

there's a political rant in me somewhere about why the worst air is found in the poorest states, but i'll leave it at this: i bet if you did an overlay of red indicating "red states" on this map, you'd find the worst pollution levels in the same places where people overwhelmingly vote republican, which would give you a shining example of what voting against your own economic interests (not to mention environmental interests) gets you in 2008 america.

word!

because it can't always be lollipops and rainbows around here

2008-04-21T12:31:00.001-07:00

so exciting

2008-04-18T13:52:00.001-07:00

america's next top model

2008-04-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

it's in the 80's in l.a. today, and the dogs couldn't be happier. they're like sun bunnies. all they wanna do is lie in the sun and bake and pant and try to eat flies as they pass. and loretta, of course, does her best tyra:

back in 5

2008-04-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

between the sunbathing, snorkeling and volcano watching, i've barely had a moment to blog, but i promise to return soon (or at least once i've been able to un-attach the phone from my ear). in the meantime, how about learning a new trick?

skunkalicious

2008-04-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

it was with much surprise and resignation that i realized this weekend that i've been "sontagged." right smack front-n-center of my hairline is a tuft of white hairs, all shiny-like and announcing to the world "we need a price check on aisle 5 on polident, epson salts, corn remover and metamucil!"

i think i better call ahead and request pre-boarding for my flight to paradise tomorrow -- i can't get around like i used to, now that i'm entering barbara bush territory (including the disappearing waist and very ostentatious pearls).

bring home the Sizzlean!

2008-04-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

random thursday thoughts:

* i couldn't help but chuckle when i came across this headline

* i have vacationitis, and it feels so good. my liver is rested and ready.

* welcomed first overnight houseguest to the new pad, and fun was had by all, most espcially two very tired dawgs, one of which is passed out on the floor next to me right now

* it is april, which means the number of senile and/or drunk canadians misdialing my cell number (which is one digit off from the main number of an age 55+ country club) is about to drop off precipitously. to give you an idea of the frequency, 7 so far today. it goes up exponentially on the weekends, when they start calling security at all hours and booking brunch rezzies. my favorite is when they argue with me about whether they have the right number. also, that image you may have of all canadians being more benevolent and tasteful and less intrusive than us americans is not based in reality, as it turns out. they are just as mean and apparently love to drive fast in really big chevy tahoes, etc., just like they do here in the good ol' u s of a.

* after reading the umpteenth profile of the new r.e.m. 'comeback' record, i don't feel i even need to listen to it to have heard it. a case of too much PR, if you ask me.

memory lane

2008-04-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

whenever i need a break from the ho-hum, i go fishin' on youtube to see what relics of my younger years i can unearth. today, i share with you my findings, and a thought: did all kids show creators drop acid daily in the '70s?

in the line of duty

2008-03-26T07:49:00.001-07:00

one of my many job duties is to troll the interweb in search of fresh material. i was hesitant to share this particular nugget with you for fear that you'd assume i am out looking for salacious videos, but it's too good not to share, even if it means risking my reputation as a paragon of moral virtue.

(warning: hard for me to say what's "nsfw" given i work from home and forget what constitutes "nsfw" these days, but i'd at least put some headphones on if you are in an office environment)

tears for beards

2008-03-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

ok, i was going to write a post about how i went to trim my beard that i've let grow waaaaaay too long and how the beard trimmer's battery died so now i have a half trimmed beard and look like i escaped from the loony bin (or from the parking lot of the home depot on hollywood blvd) and am worried that if i go outside to our laundry room i am going to run into a neighbor out front, but then i came across this image using 'crazy beard' as my google image search term, and now i just want to share the image with you and then leave you to luxuriate in its awesomeness all by your lonesomes:

the fire and the fury

2008-03-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

oh, my heart is so heavy (and my longtime companion is so relieved) because my three month long digestion of all 60 hours of 'the wire' has finally come to a close. there are tons of articles i considered linking to because the commentary on the show is so varied and so compelling (usually), but there are far too many spoilers sprinkled in for me to risk tainting the experience for any of you loyal readers who haven't seen it. erik lundegaard over at huffington post said it best, i think:

"I'm beginning to wonder if the five seasons of The Wire aren't the most relevant thing going in any media -- TV, news, books, movies, documentaries -- because it explains our world and it explains why our world is effed up."

i actually do think it's the best thing that ever hit tv (yes, even better than 'the sopranos' and 'buffy'), and to think that i almost bailed out after watching the first few episodes of season 1! if you haven't watched it and are inclined, make sure you stick with it past those first few episodes (which in hindsight brilliantly lay out not only characters and plotlines, but also thematic concerns that resonate all the way up to the final episode). again, thanks to all those who kept telling me to watch it. strangely enough, it's one of the few pieces of 'art' i've been exposed to that actually changed my thinking about the world. and with that, the blather ends.

now, for a list of goings-on and musings:

* someone is working a buzzsaw nearby and it is working my last nerve

* we are moving officially next week into our new project, er, house. it is a diamond in the rough (emphasis on rough), so we are hopefully going to have a little get together before the deconstruction begins so that others can experience the supreme vulgarity of it all before it's stripped down to its former self. i may even throw up a pic or two on this here blog.

* new music i'm liking: the kills and she and him (though this one is not as good as i'd hoped). i'm a mite disappointed in the newish magnetic fields.

* when they tell you to make sure you transition your dogs over to a new food gradually, they mean what they say. i'm living on the planet klingon, and i don't mean star trek, if you get my drift.

* tropical vacation only a few weeks away and it cannot come soon enough

* sat a table over from scott wolf of 'party of five' fame last weekend and he is quite small and quite youthful-looking. it's always fun to see folks from 'party of five,' '90210,' 'melrose place,' et al -- makes me feel young again!

adios, muchachos!

how many times has this happened to you?

2008-03-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

DEAR ABBY: I am 27, and my wife, "Marybeth," is 26. We recently went to my folks' house for supper. That evening a heavy snowstorm was starting and, because the trip home is 30 miles, we decided to stay overnight.

My old bedroom is upstairs, as are the rooms of my brothers, ages 25, 24 and 22. The guest room is downstairs. Because the room is quite small, and Marybeth said she felt a cold coming on, we decided I'd sleep in my old room.

The next day, while we were driving home, Marybeth told me she was glad I had come to her room after all and made love to her.

Abby, it wasn't me! She had mistaken one of my brothers for me in the darkness. We are all about the same size and build.

I have talked to each of my brothers (they all know about this), but they won't say who it was for fear of causing a rift between the guilty party and me. I told them that unless I find out who it was, there will be a permanent rift between all of us. (Marybeth still doesn't know it wasn't me.)

How do I handle this? -- ENRAGED IN ROCHESTER, N.Y.

DEAR ENRAGED: While you and your brothers may have a strong family resemblance, I find it hard to believe that you all smell, taste and make love like clones. So please do not accept as gospel that your wife didn't have an inkling that it wasn't you. As to who actually crept into her bed in your absence, if your brothers won't reveal who the guilty party is, then they're all equally guilty, and I wouldn't blame you for severing ties with them.

It's time to have a serious chat with your wife and get chapter and verse on what happened that night. Then she should be tested for STDs and treated if necessary.

It is possible for a couple to get past something like this, if you're both willing to work at it. The shortest route would be with the help of a licensed family therapist.

oh yeaaaaahhhhhh!

2008-03-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

do you ever wonder why we have a childhood obesity epidemic? well, wonder no more. be ready to cringe as i relate this exchange i just overheard:

"my kids are gonna have to learn how to fend for themselves. i said, 'you want some kool-aid? well, then: there's the water, there's the sugar, and there's the kool-aid packet. fix it yourself."

"you have to do that."

"yeah, and they know they aren't gonna get any soda. that stuff is so bad for them."

uh...what? and kool-aid is known for its smoothie-like properties? to wit, here is the list of "so much healthier than soda" ingredients:

Citric Acid, Salt, Modified Cornstarch, Red 40, Calcium Phosphate, Artificial Flavor, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Artificial Color, Natural Flavor, BHA (Preserves Freshness), Blue 1. Orange: Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Artificial Flavor, Yellow 5, Artificial Color, Red 40, Red 40 Lake, BHA (Preserves Freshness).

don't get me wrong -- i have consumed more than my share of kool-aid over the years, especially over this one specific six-month period my sophomore year of college (purplesaurus rex, 'twas). and who can forget snack time in kindergarten, sunday school, etc., where you were given a handful of 'nilla wafers and all the kool-aid you could drink.

kool-aid healthier than soda? apparently, the soda industry needs better PR!

i'm the decider

2008-03-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

so apparently bush gave mccain more than just an endorsement this week. he apparently also gave him some lessons in how to behave with reporters:

behold 'senator hothead' in action

southwest's rapid rewards...of possible death and dismemberment

2008-03-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

i fly southwest at least every other week, and sometimes every week, and even other times every few days.

i think i'll nap a little less soundly next time:

we're gonna put you in the sky and then drop your ass

because i love you people...

2008-03-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

...i want to warn you away from a product. let me set this up for you:

i am making a concerted effort to eat healthier because a) i'm getting old and b) i've put lots of miles on this here body and c) my family health history tells me i may be in for some trouble down the line (hopefully far, far down the line). so, this involves mostly at least an organic fruit each day augmented by whatever else i can stand (yesterday it was soy pudding and fruit leather, plus salad). anyhoo, i likes the yogurt and have been incorporating that as well, mostly the horizon organic brand with the fruit on the bottom as i like that one the best, but often i end up with the stonyfield farm organic because it's easier to find. and regardless of brand, i've noticed it is very hard to find the same flavor from market visit to market visit for whatever reason. maybe oprah has a 'yogurt of the month' feature i'm unaware of that causes massive runs on specific yogurt flavors whenever it airs?

anyhoo, i just sat down to eat my yogurt o' the day, stonyfield farm organic fat free lotsa lemon yogurt (not pictured above, unfortunately). now, my general rule of thumb for health eating is to eat things that have not more than three words in their name. when you get up to 8, ala our friend lotsa lemon, etc., that starts to make me feel my meal is brought to me courtesy of dow chemical. not so with stonyfield farm, but i'm just sayin'.

so, like i said, i sat down to eat this and it is TERRIBLE. imagine chalk, milk and lemon juice and you're gonna be pretty close. grody to the max. now, i have had plenty of great stonyfield farm yogurt in the past, but i was forced into the fat free choice due to oprah-related or other influences on yogurt available in los angeles, and fat free is just nasty no matter how you slice it. so, if you value your tastebuds and $1.39 in food money, avoid stonyfield farm organic fat free lotsa lemon yogurt.

you're welcome.

give a little bit

2008-03-05T06:15:00.000-08:00

it's time again for the canadian seal hunt, and if you disagree with the practice of clubbing baby seals to death, please make a donation.

now let me take a moment to step off of my soapbox and say the only thing i feel like saying about the presidential primaries: lordy, please don't let mccain win. besides the political and social implications, ask yourself this: how many times are you willing to hear the phrase "my friends" over the next four years? (confidential to miz mccain: have you seen a doctor lately? you are starting to turn raisin-colored!)

thank you for your time. mr. lefty has now left the building.

how could i forget this one?

2008-03-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

it may be hard to remember, but the B-52's used to be really cool, at least to me in south carolina in 1979. in fact, i was obsessed, and this reminds me why:

'80s ladies

2008-03-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

when life gets complicated, i like to travel back to simpler times, like 1981, sitting on the not-yet-replaced orange and yellow shag carpeting in the den, drinking a capri sun and watching the likes of these '80s vixens:

cute overdose

2008-02-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

get ready to smile!

can you spot the fake black-and-white dog?

2008-02-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

transcanada

2008-02-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

i bring you great tidings of -- er, nothing, actually, but here i am, nonetheless.

on my plane down from san francisco to palm springs yesterday (a continuing flight from seattle), i solved the age-old question, "how long can you talk about the weather before those nearby suffer a grand mal seizure as a result?" i had the great misfortune of sitting in front of two canucks and a wealthy seattle-ite (clad in -- what else -- tommy bahama, de rigeur desert nouveau riche attire which offers the wearer not only satorial resplendence but also an entire implied lifestyle projected for all the world to see!), who were not only loud, but blessed with an unending capacity for talking about the weather. not only did they discuss their own northwestern weather and the palm springs weather, but chicago weather, and philadelphia weather, and bahamian weather (this is where richie rich's kid is getting married, and also the locale to which he has purchased tickets for all of the wedding party, which occurred when his son approached him about it on a saturday afternoon on which he was feeling particularly agreeable and mellow).

lest i convey the sense that my trip north was a bust, let me assure you it was not and that i was hosted by the ever-gracious and talented nagwells. in fact, the only thing that saved me from murder at 32,000 feet was my reading material, an article by mrs. nagwell on a women-run butcher shop in bernal heights (one of my favorite sf hoods), with photos by mr. nagwell. i'm calling them 'the talent family' from now on.

some other tidbits:

*if you've ever wondered what the appeal of palm springs is, grab yourself a copy of julius shulman: palm springs. not only does he capture the essential wow-ness of palm springs' unparalled embarrassing architectural riches, but the scenery will blow your ever-loving mind as well.

*i'll never understand why country singers (alt- and otherwise) can't help theyselves from producing the shit out of everything. for instance, dolly parton's return to 'mainstream country' with her new album is a step in the entirely wrong direction, as far as i'm concerned. give me fiddles and banjoes any day. which brings me to tift merritt, who has a new album out called 'another country.' i listened to it this morning and it is just ok. way too slick, and her voice gets lost in the production. pull your hands away from the mixing panel already!

*after a particularly challenging day yesterday, i came home and curled up with my trusty dogs and the lesbians-do-the-craziest-things antics of the 'l-word' ladies. my oh my, that jennifer beals must be tired of feigning orgasm by now.

*aforementioned nagwells introduced me to david sedaris singing the oscar meyer weiner jingle in the style of billie holiday, and believe me, you haven't lived until you've heard this. unfortunately, i can't readily find it on the interweb, but trust me, it's worth your googling time.

things that go bump in the night

2008-02-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

i love a good creepy story, so let me share this one with you, courtesy of mark morford, sf chronicle columnist:

creepsville

in other news, i am traveling and will return soon to blog hard.

there will be confusion

2008-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

it has been a whirlwind of late here in lyrical robot land, so a quick list:

* make sure you run out and catch 'there will be blood' before it's no longer in theaters. it is not to be missed on the big screen and is as good as anything robert altman ever did, if i say so misself.

* 'the wire': can't say it enough -- genius! i can't believe it's ending, and i'm only a few episodes into season 4. i'm already in withdrawal.

* we found a house in palm springs and find out today whether it's going to be ours. for those who visit us in palm springs, i think you will like, though it's current state is quite curious (indoor pool with chandeliers? check.)

* l.a. place is finally done. whew.

* this sure feels like a recession, don't it?

* is this hillary's last hurrah?

* long time readers may remember my semi-obsession with the movie 'zodiac,' and i still don't know why i found it so arresting, but i just got the 2-disc director's cut dvd and can't wait to check out 'this is the zodiac speaking,' a feature-length documentary on the zodiac investigation. so if you were similarly intrigued, check it out.

* my pick for best picture is 'there will be blood,' but i think 'no country for old men' will win and that's fine with me, too. i don't get why josh brolin wasn't nominated.

* my iphone reception totally sucks and it is bumming me out. i had a call drop six times in six minutes yesterday and was on hold with apple customer service to find out what's up (at&t passed me along to them immediately). after 40 minutes with no answer, i had to hang up. not happy.

* madonna's face is frozen and it looks fabulous:

what a catch

2008-02-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

it's not every bloke on the block who's lucky enough to receive this valentine's card from their beloved. happy v day, mister, and to all ye olde blogge readers.

ipod madness, part deux

2008-02-12T11:45:00.001-08:00

saw this meme today and couldn't resist:

how many songs total: 4702 (my desktop itunes library is 1/10th of overall tunes -- not enough GBs, doncha know)
most recently played: "this is it (cardinals version)" - ryan adams
most played: "gold lion" - yeah yeah yeahs
most recently added "election roundup - kcrw's 'left, right & center' podcast
first song sorted by song title: "a-hunting we will go" - hem
last song sorted by song title: "!@*$%#" - fischerspooner
shortest song, by time: smokey the bear psa from the '70s at six seconds
longest song: "antistar" - massive attack
first album: "abba - a tribute"
last album: "1000 kisses" - patty griffin

how many of the following words come up and how often:
doom: zero
death: 27
vomit: zero
fuck: 3
kill: 23
cake: 13

the mysteries of ipod

2008-02-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

isn't it weird how sometime your ipod will shuffle its way right along with your consciousness at a given moment? it's like it has a mind of its own, kind of like this movie (god only knows how this craptastic moldy oldy popped into my head).

anyhoo, i had to drive to palm springs yesterday afternoon for a client event, only to return last night to l.a., arriving back around 12:30 ayem, and i have to say there is nothing like a fairly empty freeway and some loud tunes blaring to clear your head.

i thought i'd share a few of the night-friendly tunes that seemed just right as i zoomed quietly west in the somewhat wee hours:

The Battle - Caitlin Cary and Ryan Adams

That Song About the Midway - Bonnie Raitt

Daydreaming - Aretha Franklin

...and to think they say that gays are a threat to marriage.

2008-02-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

man hid wife's body in drum for 23 years

celine dion is effing amazing

2008-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

goodbye, courtney jean

2008-02-07T12:50:00.001-08:00

as my nearest and dearest know, i have loved courtney love from the get-go. i remember seeing the video for 'miss world' in '94 and bolting upright on the thrift store couch i was sitting on (and bolting upright was no mean feat given the state i was in) as i took in the fabulous mess of it all.

i remember watching her jump off the stage at lollapalooza in '95 to beat the shit out of some reporter who wrote something bad about her in the wake of kurt cobain's death and i remember seeing her during her post-rehab ballooning weight stage on halloween 2004 or 2005 at the wiltern and her tearing it up.

i loved her versace print ad phase and her oscar-nominated actress phase and her brunette phase, even. i even liked more than one track on 'america's sweetheart.' and i still think 'live through this' is one of the best albums ever, and 'celebrity skin' is also pretty rad.

but, just now, she finally lost me:

when zach met maria

2008-02-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

vote, baby, vote

2008-02-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

i'm a winner, baby

2008-02-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

with the mister now sick, the weekend was spent amongst the comforts of home (or rented condo, anyway). after having read the latest issue of saveur and being reminded of the deliciousness of cincinnati skyline chili, i endeavored to make a batch of mine own, using a receipe i found on the internets (there are a bunch, so i tried to guess which one was closest to what i'd eaten before). as we settled in with houseguest, dogs, glasses of pinot noir and heaping plates of chili (skyline chili is served on a plate because it's served on a bed of spaghetti, then topped with mounds of shredded cheddar cheese), we availed ourselves of the night's entertainment: the 1975 diana ross star vehicle, mahogany.

i don't even know where to begin. there are no words to describe, but let me share with you my favorite bit of dialogue:

"the men love me. the women love me. MAHOGANY!"

not "I'm Mahogany," mind you. just "MAHOGANY!"

also, the title of this post comes from the film. as do the images above, which speak largely for themselves. i don't know how i made it 37 years without exposure to the joys of "MAHOGANY!", but i sense that a dvd purchase is in my immediate future.

ps -- the best part may be the moment immediately after the film ends and the credits begins when the words "COSTUMES DESIGNED BY DIANA ROSS" appear, in type 400 times larger than any other credit that appears subsequently.

and here's the skyline chili recipe:

CINCINNATI SKYLINE CHILI
2 lb. hamburger, browned
2 med. onions, chopped fine
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cinnamon, scant
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. allspice, ground
1 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tbsp. chili powder
4-5 whole bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste, approximately 1 tsp. each
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 qt. water
Bring to a boil, then simmer 3 hours. Mash with potato masher until fine. Serve spaghetti, chopped onions, and grated longhorn cheese on the side if desired.

friday funny

2008-02-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

potato, potaaato

2008-01-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

now that my man edwards is out of the race, having a little trouble figurin' who to vote for, and we have to decide soon cause we are voting absentee. strange to have so many great candidates when we are usually stuck with the likes of kerry. is everyone having this hard of a time choosing between these two? actually, i answered my own question as some friends are having an obama fundraiser party tonight, but i'm still not there.

now, back to something easier to ponder...cute dogs!

why happy meat is important

2008-01-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.ethicurean.com/2008/01/30/downer-cow-video/#more-2610

halloween head

2008-01-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

karen black monday

2008-01-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

news you don't need to know

2008-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

* the '07-'08 creeping crud continues unabated its march to the sea via my worn out body. as of friday, i will have been sick for one month exactly, with about four days of respite in there somewhere during my first course of antibiotics. almost through my second course and still sick as a dog. and at the chinatown hilton in san francisco preparing to go into a meeting with a potential high-drama quotient. 'lord help,' as my grandmother would say.

* the list of unpleasantries could continue on and on, but suffice it to say, '08 ain't so great.

* 'the wire' is awesome! thanks to everyone who kept telling me to stick it out. i'm obsessed! 'lost' on the other hand -- lemme off this island, skipper.

* 'cloverfield' was a lot of fun if you can get past the atrocious acting and the fact that the thing that's laying waste to manhattan ain't that scary. go with no expectations whatsoever and it totally delivers. my apologies to everyone who had to listen to me hacking a lung during the show.

* i've never read any joyce carol oates before and i picked up 'blonde' to take on vacay over the new year. i have a passing interest in marilyn monroe, so i figured it would be a good intro into oates-land. it's slow-going, but it's pretty amazing. how does this woman write two books a year and still have time to create what i think may be one of the best ruminations on the nature of hollywood i've come across?

* checked the weather earlier and the 7 day forecast for l.a. is rain every day. what the eff? there's gonna be some hills a-slidin' and some roofs a-leakin' pretty soon. the bright spot -- leaving for miami a week from tomorrow. first trip to south florida and we're armed with a definitive list of vintage shops, plus maps! life ain't all bad.

* i'm with andre 3000 on the kate-bush-is-the-shit thing --- "waashing macheeeeeeeeennnnnnnn!" i mean, come on! and that's just the new stuff. then there's this, which is just beyond:

where the gays are

2008-01-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

this curbed la post about where l.a.'s real estate-buying gays are heading next is funny and scary at the same time

fluffernutter

2008-01-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

now, back to our regularly scheduled cotton candy coverage --

best star sighting ever last night! jack mcbrayer, who plays kenneth on '30 rock,' at the arclight. he was with scott speedman of 'felicity' and one of those myers brothers (not sure if the 'mad tv' one or 'saturday night live'). also spotted: seth green of 'robot chicken' and 'buffy the vampire slayer'(note to darliament: he was teeny!)

there was also a premiere there for a movie called 'the air i breathe,' starring (amongst a cast of thousands) sarah michelle gellar, but we couldn't be bothered with hanging around long enough to see who should walk down the red carpet (ok, we were hustled out of the way by a security guard, but still....)

the movie we went to see was 'the orphanage' and i thought it was capital-s spooky, one of the best horror movies i've seen in years -- very hitchcockian and also reminiscent of 'the haunting.' there are some way creepy images and lots of jump-out-of-your-seat moments. thumb up!