Category: blahblah

We watched Shaun of the Dead again last night. It’s a brilliant movie, and part of the its greatness I think is related to the “Oh man, could you imagine that…” aspect. I’m always envisioning what-if type situations and sometimes even testing to see if I’m prepared for them. People that were on the bus trip to the Seattle Repertory Theater know that, and hopefully know that CJ clearly isn’t ready (chicken…).

Still, zombies never occurred to me as something I’d need to be ready for. But thanks to the movie, I will be. “Ash is out today.”

Congrats to Chandra, who just passed the Oregon State Bar. Cheers, counselor, though technically she passed it back in February. She found out today anyway, which I suppose is the important part. Regardless, great job!

Michelle once again demonstrated that she’s got the cojones by running a 10k in the rain this morning. Yup, she ran the Bridge2Bridge 10k (including a stint over the Fremont) and finished in just a over an hour. I’m in awe, but I have to believe that maybe my contribution (an iPod shuffle full of awesome, awesome tunes) helped quite a bit. Its a … nice day … for a … white wedding.

I’ve listened to emcees and pundits talk about the Caucasianization of rap and hip-hop culture, and for the most part I took it in stride and just acknowledged that once again a great art form was finding acceptance. But there have been a few bizarre moments. Like seeing a pre-teen girl’s tee with a hip-hop bunny picture on it at Fred Meyer. But none were quite as bizarre as today’s trip to Washington Square.

We walked through Nordstroms looking for some work clothes for Michelle and were surprised by the army of beauticians. Then, thinking we’d made it through the fray of weird chemist/dentist costumes, we came upon some techno/dance/hip-hop music and a roped off square of floor where three local boys in Trailblazer apparel were… well.. they were break dancing. Inside Nordstroms. And they were good. Really good. And I was about to make a comment to Michelle about BBoys in the place my Grandma shopped by couldn’t because a woman the same size, shape and age as my grandma was standing right in front of me with the same sense of confusion that I had.

A woman who worked the fragrance counter was standing behind us and was marveling about the scent that they created. She thought it was delightful and masculine. I thought it smelled like formaldehyde and gym. But the three guys that were doing the break dancing were amazing. They clearly were not just normal b-boys, but gymnasts. The combination of stamina, build, and agility suggested they were beyond your typical contortionist or cardboard spinner. They were amazing.

But once again, possibly from the smell of the aqua-net coming from the woman in front of me, I was reminded that these were break dancers. In Nordstroms. What the hell?

This morning I stopped by a bike shop to pick up a new tube. Mine was busted. The owner was on his way to coffee as I stopped in. He asked what I wanted. I replied “a tube – mountain.”

He asked “Presta or Schrader?”

“preferably schrader” though I was wrong. My tubes are drilled for presta…

“ok, that’ll be $4.50”

“ugh – I only have a debit”

“sign…. I’m not running a card for this – just take it and bring the $4.50 when you have it”

“uh – ok.”

“at this bike shop we believe in karma. The thieves will get hit by a car eventually..’

“well, its more likely that they’ll hit a biker while fleaing, but….. never…(fades out in misunderstanding while getting in the car to go to the nearest ATM to leave $5 in his mail slot)…..”

Weird.

I hate Fox Broadcasting. Not because of their editorialized news, which is actually en vogue to hate, but because they treat the few gems of sitcom like trash. Since the first season of the Simpsons, Fox is the only channel I’ve spent any measurable time watching. Much of my childhood, I wasn’t allowed to watch television. Something about a mother who owned a book store…

Anyway, I routinely watched the Simpsons for years, and since it was the only show I was allowed watch, I was frequently disappointed when it was displaced from its normal time slot by some crappy movie, some crappy reality show or some crappy sporting event. I even hated MLB when Fox started showing the world series because it coincided with the beginning of the (tv) season. I have a feeling that Fox did all the intentionally and maliciously, because they seemed to target only the shows I like.

Futurama got the axe, The Critic was cancelled, The Family Guy was also cancelled, then resigned (to be aired someday…) and when it became time for the Simpsons to die, they wouldn’t let it. Now, they’re dragging Arrested Development down too. It’s probably the best writing ever, and they’re denying the actors and writers the ability to grow and flourish. Ironically, it appears that its being crowded out by Family Guy, which Fox didn’t respect in the first place.

I realize this is something that is quite trivial. And since we can now buy the episodes of these great shows on DVD and not have to watch commercials, I’m starting to think that if Fox does kill Arrested Development, I may just have to give up on them. Finally. Like I should have done long ago.

Michelle just accepted a job with a local law firm. She’ll be starting work tomorrow morning. Woohoo!

Congratulations: You’ve been selected to serve on a special session of the Circuit Court that is expected to last up to 6 weeks!

Let’s just hope I don’t sit next to the radical that made Libertarians blush. He didn’t get selected last time.

So I’m driving out to my Aunt & Uncle’s in Hillsboro to see my grandma who is in town from Nebraska. There were four car wash/fundraisers on the drive out, each seeming to share some sense of urgency. Maybe they know we’re going to have a water shortage and wanted us to get our cars cleaned before rationing….

Anyway, the last of the washes had two ungainly teenage girls and a dirty mustache boy waving signs. They obviously had less pull than the other car washes, and boy-stache tried to make up for it by attacking my masculinity.

“Dude, a pimp needs a clean ride.”

I wanted to laugh and point out how absurd it was that he suggest that I would even try to “pimp” in my mother-in-law’s car. Sure, the Camry is nice, and it rides so smooth and quiet that you can float the streets listening to jazz. But pimping? Kid needs to shave and stop watching MTV.

During lunch I sat outside with the dogs and watched birds flit around the back yard. I think I saw some wrens, which I hope have decided to take up residence nearby. Then, because I sometimes have base thoughts, I wondered about uttering a long string of dirty bird names, and whether or not would get you in trouble (as a child) since they were proper names.

Titmouse, woodcock, red shafted flicker, barn swallow, grackle.

The last one isn’t really dirty or suggestive, but it sounds like it could be dirty. And they’re lame birds. Still, what would happen to a child who stood up in class and said those out loud and possibly out of context? Are they dirty? Or is it just if you mean for it to be dirty that makes them count as bad words?

And what about damn? Why is it a bad word? Its so useful and other words that mean roughly the same thing (darn, blasted, cursed) aren’t considered bad. Is it because its mostly used in conjunction with god? Is it guilty by association simply because you’re not to take the lord’s name in vain (like we know what its name really is…)

Maybe I’ll start introducing damn into casual conversation to see what the reaction is. It seems like a damn useful whatever grammarians call it.