The weekend was a snot-filled blur. I'm doped up on cold meds (but not nearly enough) and can't sleep. Rented Straw Dogs last night. It was slow but pretty good. I was ambivalent going into it but Dustin Hoffman was just great. He's an actor who I really can't stand in his more recent work (meaning from, oh say, 1980 onward) but whose older stuff I really dig. One of my favorite movies of all time in Papillion with him and Steve McQueen.

In my time off I've been watching a lot of movies (if you couldn't guess).

Andrew Sullivan's Salon editorial.

I'm sick. Blah. bleh.

Went to the midnight screening of Dario Argento's Deep Red last night at the Alamo Drafthouse. Good/funny stuff. Harry from Ain't It Cool News sat in front of us. I may not make it out tonight. Just stay in a drink some Odwalla "C Monster."

One bit I forgot earlier - there is a review I wrote of the new Flaming Lips record up over at the Naughty Secretary Club. I know, I know, sometimes I, too, am amazed by my own versatility.

Well, Emo's didn't work out saturday as it was sold out around 10pm for a bunch of truly awful bands on the outside stage. Hmmrph.

I went yesterday to see The Ring which is an american remake of the japanese movie of the same name. I quite enjoyed it. Pretty damn scary which is more than I can say for any US movie in forever. I haven't seen the original yet but Joe said it stands up well as a remake/adaption. The Japanese people are making some fucked-up movies these days - truly great and original, though. Miike movies alone are worth making this into an official movement.

2/3rd the way through of the way through with the Kingsley Amis bio. There's a great photo in there taken by his first wife just before she left him. He has fallen asleep on the beach and she writes on his back in lipstick "1 fat englishman, I fuck anything." One Fat Englishman was the name of the novel he was working on at the time - the "anything" was his soon to be second wife.

While I'm at it, here's a Kingsley quote that I like, "I think the best and most trustworthy political motive is self-interest. I share a widespread suspicion of the professional espouser of causes, the do-gooder, the archetypal social worker who knows better than I what is good for me."

Crazy saturday night has rolled around. I think I may head down to emo's this evening despite the fact that it'll be packed to the gills with chumps for the outside show. Inside, however, has Isis and Dalek. I'd like to ride my bike down but I don't think it's cool enough yet for me to survive the ride home (uphill all the way just so you know).

Went to see PT Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love today. I'm not sure yet what I think about it. As I walked out of the theater I commented that I didn't enjoy the movie but that I thought it was good. I think that it just kept me a little too wound up the whole time I was watching it. Emily Watson, the female lead, was angelic, though. I saw her a few weeks ago in Red Dragon she has just been blowing me away. She's up there with Samantha Morton for me now.

Hmmm, what else? I got some books at half-price this afternoon. I have a bunch I'm going to go and sell there on monday when the wait won't be so long. Thursday I made what will probably be my final trip to my parents' house to get my old junk outta there. This final batch was stuff that has been there since I moved out the first time while in college. Its been in boxes in the closet of my old bedroom. I'm such a pack rat. There are books in there that I checked out of the Temple Public Library in 1985. I had some papers, etc that I wrote in high school. Senior prom pictures! A huge stack of letters from my girlfriend of my last year of high school and first year of college (when I made the first big move to Austin to attend UT - it lasted all of 10 months). I need to trash all this shit but I can't seem to part with it - I mean who really needs to be reminded what they were like at 18? Perhaps, I do, though - these days its all I can do to just get out of bed in the morning.

Hello, all! I'm in Temple visiting the folks for the day but don't fret about it, I'll be home safe and sound in Austin by this evening. I went to lunch w/ my moms and we're making dinner tonight tag-team style. I hit the book cellar, a used book store here in town which I've been going to since 1985, but sadly didn't find much. I used to go to that place every chance I got as they were (are) the premier comic shop round here.

The show at Beerland the other night went pretty well for a Tuesday. I guess it just goes to show that if you set your sights really low its pretty hard to be disappointed. We played pretty well as did the other bands. I got drunk on Lone Star and was feeling pretty awful the next day. There wasn't any aspirin/tylenol/advil-type stuff in our house so I just wondered around the house all day wishing that I had some but not actually getting around to getting any.

Well, I'm halfway into my second official no-working day. I got up early and hit the bank and then the library. There was a line/group of at least twenty people waiting for the library to open at 10am. Who'd have thought. I was trying to check out the new-ish Neil Young bio, Shakey, but all three copies were checked out. I ended up with the "official" Kingsley Amis biography and a book about XTC.

I probably won't be blogging nearly as much cause its just not as fun if you aren't getting paid to do it while flaking out at work. I'm going to try to at least keep it twice a week (bi-weekly? no, that would be every two weeks).

I didn't do much of anything this weekend. I've been in a kind of do-nothing mood for awhile. I went to see Skeleton Key at emos on sunday but got too drunk/tired that I left before they played. Tonight we (the soft set) are playing at beerland with we talked about murder plus some other folks. I bet that crazy tuesday night crowd will be out in force tonight!

So its my last day at work. I've been lounging around playing computer games and reading Experience by Martin Amis. Its a sort of memoir of himself and his relations to his father (author Kingsley Amis), his teeth (long story) and his cousin who was the victim of a serial killer in the 1970's. I'm kind of weary of his fiction but if its half as good as this then I'll be reading quite a bit of it.

C.S. Lewis made an observation applicable to do-gooders everywhere: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Only 1 1/2 more day til I'm done with work! whoo-hoo and shit!

I went to Jennifer's B-Day party last night at Opal Devine's. Had beer, fun and a chicken fried steak sandwich. I got Jen a copy of The Playboy Gourmet circa 1972. It has a fondue section.

FYI...

The Soft Set will playing at Beerland on Tuesday Oct 15
also performing that night will be...
Panda, Her Flyaway Mannor, and We talked About Murder

The Soft Set will be playing second.

So today is incredibly slow. This is your tax dollars at work. Not that I am complaining. When thing get slow around here wednesday afternoons and thursday are just dead.

Tonight Kevin B. is playing at the Mercury as the new drummer for the Legendary Crystal Chandilier. Kevin has got be my favorite drummer to play with. He used to in Eskimo Kisses and then I played with him for a while as the rhythm section for Post-Parlo Ben's Kapsize. He was the short notice drummer for The Olive Group's last show which was during SXSW 2002. Finally, Mr. Kevin played drums with me on The Wisdom Teeth ep that we recorded up in Denton. You should all go to the Mercury tonight to see him play with the LCC (which by the way is the regular band for The New Year's 3rd guitar guy). Also playing is Centro-Matic and Jay Bennet (formerly the guitarist for Wilco).

Oh, busy day! I've been chugging along listening to Tom Waits' Alice that I got during lunch. I think I might be one of the few people (that I know of anyhow) who prefer the later period twisted-carnival-gospel Waits to the earlier drunk-beat-bum Waits.

I have more to say but I think I'll let them thoughts gestate a bit more.

Very belated thanks to Michael for turning me onto dictionary.com. I use it all the time in emails and on this blog. I even signed up to be emailed their word of the day. Is that so wrong?