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First off, the t-shirts are actually getting pretty close to happening. I took a little while with a new logo since I wanted it to not only be self-absorbed of me, but also fashionable. Right now, the color will probably be black. I originally wanted pink, but most of my people don't wear pink even though I thought it would be really cool. I talked to this guy at a printing place and I'll be getting back to him this week. He even said he and his wife would go over the logo and make suggestions. Here's the deal: if you want a shirt, I'll give you one. I'll make maybe 20 or so. So send me your shirt size a.s.a.p. and I'll make sure to have a shirt done in that size.

March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, was officially the day this year that I turned the A/C in my car on.

I just got out of the theater showing Jersey Girl. I went by myself because I didn't want to get emotional when someone else was around. It was good, I swear. Very different for Kevin Smith. Going into the flick I thought it would be the story of how Ben Affleck conveniently got rid of Jennifer Lopez so he could shack up with Liv Tyler. It was actually entirely about the father-daughter relationship. On the way out I thought about how few movies are love stories between parents and children. Sure there are "family films" which only delve into the relationship at the end of the flick to induce an "aw shucks" from the crowd. Really, though, am I that far off in saying that the relationship a parent has with his kid is more adult than the relationship he has with his lover? Just a thought.

One more thing about Jersey Girl. It played my absolute favorite Cure song in its entirety in a very key moment. Just one more proof that The Cure will soon take over the world completely.

The other last movie I saw was Starsky and Hutch. I think it's sure to be Owen Wilson's last movie where people aren't sick of him playing a version of himself. Hey, I still liked it though. Everytime I think of the shower scene with the hand towels, I giggle uncontrollably. See, it's funny at so many levels. First there's just the visual humor, which is funny enough. Then there's the fact that Starsky didn't know about the full-sized towels because he's too short. Then, with Starsky's shortness in mind, Hutch's ignorance is inexplicable... which is funny. Leave it to me to think that two guys wearing nothing but hand towels is actually sophisticated humor.

I remember the nineties as a dark time. Everyone made fun of eighties music the same way I made fun of seventies music. So yeah, on February 20th as I was listening to the X-96 "Top Ten Songs That Don't Suck," I noticed three very peculiar somethings. "It's My Life" by No Doubt, "Darling Nikki" by Foo Fighters and "Mad World" by Gary Jules all made it to the countdown. On first glance this means nothing until one realizes that these songs were all written 20 years ago by Talk Talk, Prince and Tears For Fears respectively.

Now eighties music is vintage. It's classic. The Police and Prince were just inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. Today's artists openly acknowledge that the decade known for superficiality actually had an impact on the music scene decades later. Some people argue that the electronic sound popularized so much in my favorite decade goes against pure rock 'n roll. Perhaps it does technically, but not spiritually. Rock 'n roll made strides in rebellion in the fifties. The goofy synths from the eighties was rebellion from the standard rock practices of 30 years. Now, years later, the face of the music has eroded and the soul has surfaced. Wow! How dramatic was that statement? Anyway, long live my music and my people!

Oh, and btw, on the day I heard the three songs on the countdown, guess which song was number one? It was actually "I Miss You" by Blink-182. Yeah, it's not one of the three, but the band openly admit that they wrote the song with the beat of "Lovecats" by The Cure in mind (see the symptoms of the cure). A few days later, "Lovesong," a Cure cover by 311 took the number one spot. (See? See? Jersey Girl, Blink, 311! The Cure are going to freaking take over the world!)

So despite the above rant, I wanna just mention that the last two cds I bought were very recent releases. First off, Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The band is a trie consisting of a sort of Asian-looking female lead singer, a hyper drummer who looks like Max Weinberg and a cool guitarist who looks like a cross between Sid Vicious and one of those Easter Island heads. You may have heard "Maps" on the radio which I really do love especially after numerous listenings. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but in the video she cries, so it must be important. The rest of the cd is harder to get used to, but I discovered something very important today: playing it LOUD makes it GOOD.

I also picked up "Get Away From Me" by Nellie McKay. The title is a silly play on the name of Norah Jones's first album. According to the sticker on the front, Nellie is a cross between Doris Day and Eminem. I dunno if that's the best way to describe her, but at least it gives you an idea. She only raps on one song, so I'd say she's more like Doris Day, but she sometimes sings like a swearing sailor. You'll have to hear her. I think she's totally groovy.

Anyway, you can download a couple of songs from these artists on my downloads page. It's okay. I know you. It's not illegal.

Also speaking of music, it is of my opinion that "The Reason" by Hoobastank gets the award for "The Dumbest Song Yet Written."

March Madness has hit and once again, I've failed. For my picks bracket I use a lot of logic, but probably too much faith. Every year I pick BYU and Charlotte to go more than one round. For the past four years BYU and Charlotte have done nothing but disappoint me.

Everyone must read the graphic novel known as Watchmen. Awsomest. Comic book. Ever. Period.

My latest other toy is an MP3 player. The sucker's tiny! I thought of something to describe how small it is, but the example is inappropriate. It fits a couple of hours of music and I take it snowboarding now. Pretty cool.

You know how I said that I feel terribly old? Well sometimes things happen that make me feel young. Sometimes.

(28mar04)