When I got home from Vegas, I was greeted with a large UPS package. Before leaving, I purchased, on sale at amazon.com, a DVD recorder with built-in hard drive (for over $100 less than they currently offer it). I ordered it right before my trip, figuring that I would either win in Vegas and not care about the cost, or lose in Vegas and figure, what's a few hundred more? The enabling logic of the compulsive gambler is a beautiful thing. So I've been playing around with this for a few days now. I haven't tried burning a DVD yet, but I have been getting a lot of use out of the hard drive, like Tivo, but without the program guide. I enjoy being able to pause live TV, and I really enjoy the ability to skip ads. I just start watching the show ten minutes or so after it starts, and then I can fast forward the ads. And the quality is great, and I can edit out ads if I plan to keep a program. I've practiced editing programs I don't plan to keep, cutting ads from King of the Hill, and singling out Busy Philips' interview from Conan O'Brien, and found it easy to do. Burning DVDs looks a tad more complicated, but as soon as I get around to buying blank DVDs, I don't think it will take long to figure it out. But just for the hard drive, it's well worth it.

Just got back from seeing Fahrenheit 9/11. Enjoyed it, though ultimately I think the impact it has will be minimal, at least as far as changing people's votes. Judging from the reactions of the nearly-sold-out crowd, it was clearly preaching to the converted, but it was a nice morale boost. And some funny moments, some tragic and disturbing moments. As we freak out over beheadings in Iraq, it is illuminating to see the Saudi government beheading criminals. And the film seems above reproach as far as accuracy; reading some of the criticisms, the only criticism I could see stand up is that he slightly overplays the speed with which the Bin Ladens were ushered from the country. But Michael Moore seemed to actually tone down his schtick a bit, letting the facts speak for themselves. If you've watched the Daily Show religiously (and I hope you saw Jon Stewart on Larry King last night), there isn't much new here, but it's worth seeing, if only to keep it at the #1 slot as long as possible, see how long Bush can call Moore an extremist.

Green Party refuses to endorse Ralph Nader.

The Children's Pool issue will be coming up for a vote again.

So, I'm back from Vegas. Got back Tuesday, actually, but hadn't had a chance to tell you good people about my exploits until now. I won a substantial amount of cash, but despite that only had a pretty good time. But I'm glad I went, mainly because I was well-rewarded financially.

I left early Friday morning, hoping to make a screening at the CineVegas film festival. But that didn't happen, I'm afraid. Traffic was not too horrendous, but just bad enough that I couldn't make it on time. I had planned to stop in Victorville for lunch, but continued on to Barstow, since somehow I figure that if I stop for lunch later, I get there faster. Which I guess makes since if a later stop means I don't need a bathroom break later. But I hit Barstow right about noon, and the place was packed. So it took me forever to get my food, and set me back even more. So I was a bit later in arriving than I had hoped. Los Straitjackets, Lyle Lovett, and the Bottle Rockets provided some of the soundtrack for the drive, and I also listened to a David Cross album. Stopped at the outlet mall at Primm. I forgot a coupon for $10 off Penn & Teller, and was hoping to replace it at the visitor's center there (no luck). Also, and more importantly, I forgot to pack underwear. So I looked around for some there, but all I could find were boxers at the Old Navy outlet, and they all had little wacky novelty designs. I almost bought the one with popcorn boxes on it, but I didn't relish the idea of wearing slightly irregular underwear. Though it did occur to me that, if they're going to have novelty designs, maybe underwear brandishing the slogan "slightly irregular" might sell well. I did buy a new pair of running shoes at the Reebok outlet (motion control shoes, see if that helps with my foot pains), and some shorts. I eventually managed to find a Wal-Mart to buy some undies with a side of shame (when I got home, I had a solicitation in the mail from United Farm Workers, so I sent them a donation to regain a shread of my Union Yes! integrity).

My itinerary began with a two-night stay at Green Valley Ranch. I've always been a fan of the place, and still love the hotel. The casino is nothing spectacular, but I do enjoy playing at a "local's joint," since the clientele seems to be more interesting and less obnoxious. After winning a little bit of cash Friday night, I went up to my room and saw that room service had delivered a complimentary fruit basket, which kept me well-nourished for most of the trip. I was invited to a $20,000 invitational blackjack tournament, which I busted out of in the first round. I had to stick around for awhile Sunday for the wildcard drawings, for a chance to get back in, but even after they had to redraw a lot of times because people had left, I still never made it back in. I lost quite a bit of cash Saturday night, took a sushi break, and then returned to clean up at the tables (still down, but within striking distance). Sunday I lost a little bit more, then asked to talk to my host. After giving them a not insubstantial amount of action over the weekend, I figured my request that she comp a $17 check from the sushi bar would be handled rather perfunctorily. But I was told, in a rather condesending manner, that that was simply impossible, since they casino had already been so generous as to give me a room for the weekend. Considering the action I gave them, and considering the amount of money I lost just while we were having this conversation, I found the host's refusal a tad surprising. I could understand not wanting to give me a comp ahead of time, since it would have been easy to run up a $75 bill or more there, but to turn me down at the end of the weekend, when my only request of the host was one reasonable room charge, was annoying. And her attitude made the matter far worse. It only served to magnify little problems I'd noticed along the way: about half the buttons on the remote control didn't work, and the TV itself seemed to be having problems; housekeeping was remiss in replacing used toiletries, cocktail service was slow. And, of course, Green Valley Ranch's biggest problem: Location. If they were going to stiff me on food comps on the strip, I could just play a few hours at another casino to get food. But when I stay at Green Valley Ranch, I tend to gamble there exclusively. So by refusing me a few dollars, while affecting a smarmy attitude, my host forced me to recognize Green Valley Ranch's limitations, and wonder if I really want to stay there again.

After my weekend there, I spent two nights at the Imperial Palace. I can't remember exactly why I chose to stay there, but I think my logic was something along the lines of, at least I'll get on another mailing list, another source of free rooms. But the place was a dump; if my displeasure at my host wasn't growing in my fertile mind, it would have made the Green Valley Ranch look like Shangri-la. The room itself is simply underwhelming, like a decent Motel 6 room. The table and chairs in the room were one step above lawn furniture. But I didn't expect much from the room, and so the room was satisfactory. The hotel as a whole was the problem. The hotel apparently expanded in fits and starts, so there are several attached towers, and my room was in the back. The hike to the casino was bad enough, but it was getting to my car that really got me hating the Imperial Palace by the end of the trip. Construction on a monorail station was on-going, and so one had to maneuver through confusing hallways and detours, so that sometimes it took me close to a half-hour to get to my room. It was especially bad on Monday, when the construction workers got back to work. And driving into and out of the garage was confusing, as well. I can say with some confidence I will never stay there again.

The casino was okay. It tries to be a low-roller's oasis on the center strip, but falls short of Casino Royale on that point. And I'm not really looking for a low-roller joint, anyway. They have a "Dealertainer" pit, with celebrity impersonators dealing the games. During peak hours, they have dealers who look like the celebrity they're supposed to, except, inexplicably, the Elvis impersonator (they couldn't find a good Elvis in Las Vegas?). On other shifts, they don't try as hard. "Lookie here! She's wearing a cowboy hat...It must be Patsy Kline!" I gambled here a little bit, in their Champagne Pit, where the dealers are dressed as old-time New York gangsters, apparently, and where you win free beads with every blackjack. I lost a little bit and left.

The most serious gambling I did on the strip I did at the Stardust. I like the ambiance, the loose comp policy, the onion rings and root bear float at the coffee shop, the pit boss that reminds me of Lunchlady Doris and exudes Vegas from her leathery, smoke-tanned skin (she did her Vincent Price impression for me, probably the high point of the trip). And their games aren't bad either. I lost a nice chunk of change, however. Still, I'm always glad to spend a little time at the Stardust. Word on the street is Boyd is going to fix the place up after Wynn's new casino opens across the street; I hope they don't ruin it like Harrah's (and Becky Binion-Behnen) did the Horseshoe (I walked through it briefly this trip...very sad).

So mostly I've talked about losing, so let me turn it around now. The Las Vegas Hilton recently added a new attraction to the Star Trek Experience. In addition to the old motion ride, they now have a movie based on the Borg. They call it 4-D, which means not only is it in 3-D, but your seat vibrates and prods you, and mist blows in your face and stuff. It was very much an homage to William Castle, in a way. The 3-D effects worked pretty good, once I got the 3-D glasses aligned with my eyeglasses. I prefer the original ride (with a paid admission you can go on each attraction once), and I think non-Star-Trek fans would be disappointed with the Borg feature, but overall I had fun. But what is worth noting is what happened beforehand. The Las Vegas Hilton was sold by Caesar's, and the sale was being finalized the day I was there. I wasn't quite clear on what this meant for the player's card, but as I read it, it seemed I was going to be given a comp balance with the new Las Vegas Hilton player's club equal to my balance on the old card (and keep my old balance at the other Caesar's properties). So I waited in line to get a new card, and once I get up there, they can't find me in their system. No big deal, I was hoping I'd have enough to comp the Star Trek ride, but seeing as I'd never gambled at the Hilton in my life, I'm not going to make a fuss over it. But they sign me up for a new card, and I decide I'll gamble a little bit, see if I can get on their mailing list. I generally refrian for mentioning dollar values in my discussions here, more because it sounds gauche than because of any privacy concerns (and maybe a bit of a desire not to sound too much like a degenerate frittering away obscene sums). But for this discussion, I think it's necessary. I found a double-deck table with one player. It was a $100 minimum, however. That's a wee bit pricy for me, but I figure, what the hell. I buy in for $500, and hope to double it and run. Twenty minutes later, the casino brings in a new dealer, and I have over $6000 in front of me. I have had some nice wins in the past, but I have never won that much, that fast. Had a little crowd of gamblers standing behind me, watching. Also had a nice crowd in the pit watching me. I decided to cash out, and the pit congratulated me, told me to be sure to come back soon, because it's just that easy....if I ever need a house payment, just stop by. I ask if I can move into the penthouse suite like Howard Hughes. I cashed in my chips, did the Star Trek thing, and went back to my room to reassess my position. I was down a fair amount, so this wasn't all profit, but I was still up a staggering sum. I decided to switch to tourist mode, and set aside a few hundred dollars to play around with, just in case lightning might strike twice. It didn't--I didn't have a winning session after that, but I still made it home with a nice cash infusion.

So allow this trip report to slip into tourist mode now. I intended to see the new sexed-up Pirate Show at TI and the dancing fountains at Bellagio, but only made it to Bellagio. From a distance, I heard the climactic track of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, "Ecstasy of Gold," playing, and kicked myself for missing it. By the time I got there, "All that Jazz" was playing, rather underwhelmingly. But then, about two minutes later, "Ecstasy of Gold" starts up again, with the fountains shrouding the lake in fog as it slowly builds to a stunning finale. Really amazing, reminding me why I love to watch the Bellagio fountain. The next show was the Star-Spangled Banner, which didn't really work with the fountains that well. Tha was at midnight, and I thought it was the final show, so I left, and as I was crossing over to Barbary Coast, I hear "Ecstasy of Gold" again. So I guess it must have been a new addition to the rotation they were really eager to show off. Or maybe some high-roller just kept demanding to hear the western one again. In any event, I enjoyed seeing it, and I enjoyed hearing it again as I left.

Monday I went downtown and looked around, gambled a little at the Plaza, was saddened at the Horseshoe, had a deep-friend twinkie, and used the Las Vegas Club's internet kiosk. Nearby, the LVC had a small arcade, and I saw Simpsons Pinball Party standing alone in a corner. I got a buck in quarters and began to play. They had it on a much easier setting, and so I was easily able to win quite a few free games. More exciting to me, I was able to complete all the missions, and play the climactic Alien Invasion mode, which I've never made it to at the Boardwalk. After playing for an hour or so, I had to walk away, leaving a free credit for the next person who came around.

Monday night, I went to the Rio to see Penn & Teller. That had been my tourist-goal this trip--it's usually a real effort to get me away from the tables to see a show, especially when I have to pay for it. But I made it this time, and had a great time. Sometimes I wished Penn would talk a bit less, so they could get to the next trip. His juggling routine went on way too long, for instance. But he's such a funny guy, it's easily forgivable. I'd seen most of the routines before, but they're still fun. For their opening act, Teller escapes from a locked trunk, and rather then put a screen up, they go by the honor system; if you want to believe it's a miracle, just close your eyes. While other acts (for instance, "burning" an American flag) seemed a bit preachy, I thought this a nice gently subversive way to make their point about the degree of willful ignorance in this country. I was excited to see Teller do his act where he cuts a flower's shadow, and parts of the real flower fall off. He also put on a nice shadow puppet show based on a Shel Silverstein poem, which was really awesome. And the closer of the show is the magic bullet routine, which is always impressive. I'm really glad I finally saw them live.

Tuesday I got up early, checked out, and had the Plaza's horrendous breakfast buffet, and left down. Took bathroom breaks and bought a drink, but skipped lunch, making it to San Diego around 3:45. Some construction in the desert slowed me down a bit, but overall it was a pretty smooth drive. Deposited my cash in the bank, got my mail, and went home to see a very excited dog. Again, I was left cold by a few things this trip, mostly related to my accomodations, and the fact that I paid for a lot more things than I'm used to in Vegas, but I did enjoy getting away, I did enjoy winning a lot of money, and I did enjoy seeing the sights. Can't wait to go back. (August? Sooner? Only time will tell.)

Deep Discount DVD is having a 20% off sale. Since they have the cheapest prices on most DVDs already, that's a really good deal. You need a coupon code (DVDTALK or PRICESEARCH both work). They expire tomorrow, the 25th, so act fast!

I've been a bit remiss lately in writing about my oh so exciting life since school got out. I leave for Vegas in the morning, so I won't be writing much now. Besides, not much exciting has happened. I saw Mary Chapin Carpenter last night, pretty good show. I bought the tickets before the new album came out, and I was rather underwhelmed by it. So my expectations weren't that high, but I had a good time.

Season Four of The Simpsons is now out on DVD. "A Streetcar Named Marge" is probably my favorite episode of the series, so I was excited for this to come out. I haven't had much time to watch it, but I watched "Streetcar," and some of the supplemental stuff on that episode, including a featurette about how that episode offended the good people of New Orleans.

Well, I really should go get ready for my drive. Plan on getting a fairly early start. So hopefully the next time I post here, I will have a nice winning story to tell.

The Cabrillo Bridge is on fire. They are apparently having a lot of trouble fighting the fire. It would be a real shame if the bridge is irreversibly damaged. But apparently they believe the bridge is still structurally sound.

Free CDs from the music price-fixing settlement are overwhelming libraries. I don't know about you, but I'd be excited to receive 74 copies of Three Mo' Tenors.

Nellie McKay interviewed in The Onion's A.V. Club.

So, there seems to be some dissention on wheter that was in fact Walton who came to the aquarium today. I would stick to my guns, but after my "I swear I saw Macauley Culkin at a concert in L.A., and he was sporting black dreadlocks" claim seemed to have fizzled out, I'll admit I could be mistaken.

Speaking of mistakes, turns out both the earthquakes I mentioned in previous posts were responsible for Tuesday's rumblings, both struck within a minute of each other, explaining why if felt like such a long quake.

Today at work, I sold tickets to fellow Helix High alum Bill Walton. Which was particularly exciting because my mom despises the man (I'm not sure why--she's a huge Larry Bird fan, so I think maybe there was a rivalry between the two, but maybe there's other reasons). I'm telling you, the fun never stops around here.

It only took a week, but Netbank finally got my account straightened out. So I'm not out any money from the fiasco. I'm more annoyed that it took a week to correct the problem then the original snafu. In any event, I'm still pretty soured on Netbank, despite their good interest rates. Since they worked it out, I'll probably not close the account after all, but I think I'll be keeping more of my money at the credit union instead. And I still might be wooed over to State Farm, they have pretty good rates. I'll worry about it more when I get home from my vacation (less than 48 hours to go).

Bill Griffith of 10 News has male breast cancer. Interesting to see he's going to the same oncologist as my Dad.

I will amend my last post: I think the earthquake I felt was a 5.1 off the shore of Baja. It's a shame our seismographic equipment is off display for a few days while they install carpeting.

Apparently the earthquake was a 4.7, centered on Lancaster, near Mojave. I'm surprised we could feel it so strongly here in La Jolla (apparently it was really strong in La Mesa).

Just had one of the strongest earthquakes I've felt in some time here in San Diego. Not bridges-falling strong or anything, but strong enough that you couldn't not notice it, and it lasted a good 40 seconds at least. I'll be curious to see where it was centered.

Suicide note full of Simpsons allusions.

Friar's Club celebrates 100th anniversary.

Netbank sucks ass! I had an automatic balance transfer set up, a day before two credit card bills were to be paid from the account. The balance transfer never happened, and I'm now stuck with two $28 returned check charges. Fortunately, I logged in last night and saw what happened, and was able to contact the credit card companies and make last-minute payments. So I'm only out the fee Netbank charged. But I sent them a message last night, and they have yet to contact me (they're in Georgia, so I assume they've probably closed for the day by now). So hopefully I can talk them out of the fees, if they ever bother to contact me, but this isn't the first problem like this I've had. Last time a balance transfer I set up disappeared, I noticed it early enough to set up another one, and no harm was done. But it's messed up that this happened twice, and could have been very costly if I hadn't arranged to pay the two bills in question (my health insurance was deducted just two days prior, if that had bounced, I'd have a real problem). So I'll be leaving Netbank very soon. Looking online, I've decided State Farm's banking looks to be a really good deal, actually. I wouldn't have expected it, but their interest-bearing checking is paying close to 1.5 %, which is hard to beat at the moment. So I think I'll give them a try, and tell Netbank where to stuff it.

Ray Charles, dead at 73.

Pros and Cons of some vice-presidential choices.

Houdini used a trunk with a trap door in his Metamorphosis illusion. Some magicians, like David Copperfield, are outraged that this piece of information is publically available. As though we were all idiots and couldn't figure this one out. I see their point to an extent, but David Copperfield is a braying jackass, so whenever he makes a point, I'm less inclined to agree. Apparently saying you're not using camera tricks and then using camera tricks isn't against the code of ethics, David? "My God, the Statue of Liberty, it's gone! That's right, here in this helicopter, I do not see the Statue of Liberty anywhere!" What a putz.

Madstone Theaters out of business.

I never knew Ronald Reagan's final film was The Killers, in which he plays a heavy. I have it on DVD, the Criterion Collection, which I bought for the 1946 version, and have yet to watch the 1964 made-for-tv Reagan version. Guess I know how I'll be spending Friday's day of mourning (did you know we don't get mail?).

My summer has finally begun! I think finals went okay, neither great nor spectacularly bad. We'll see soon enough, I suppose. I'm just glad to be done, now I can get cracking on all those little things I need to get done that I've been putting off. Not to mention my upcoming Vegas adventure. Speaking of Vegas, got a mail offer from Paris yesterday, free room and free tickets to see We Will Rock You, the new musical based on the music of Queen. It's no Mamma Mia, I'm sure, but exciting nonetheless.

I believe I mentioned this here before, but now that it's official, I'll mention it again: Pee-Wee's Playhouse is coming to DVD. Two volumes will contain all 45 episodes, with a Christmas Special DVD sold seperately, apparently. Fun times.

Working on my paper, including this quote, which seemed to reflect my feelings pretty much at the moment: "The masses, as before, for the greater part take away from the schools nothing but a contempt for them." Not to complain too much (I did enjoy the class), but always during tenth week/finals, I feel quite an urge to tell the entire school system to go to hell. A similar quote later from the same piece: "In Germany nine-tenths of the school population take away from school a mechanical knowledge of reading and writing, and such a strong loathing for the paths of science traversed by them that they never again take a book into their hands."

It is 9:07, and I have finally forced myself in front of the computer, and turned off the T.V., but have yet to write a word of my paper, due tomorrow at 11:30. This post is evidence I am still avoiding it, but I think this is about the end of the line of procrastination. How bout that Regan, huh? And Smarty Jones. I didn't bet, but I know people who took a bit of a hit. Ah, bet, to be in Vegas now...but I've got a few days to wait. Right now, I have to write a paper on Tolstoy's views of education. I don't really have a point, but hey, I've gotten B+s without a point lots of times (I got an A last quarter, in a class where I wrote a seven-page paper basically explaining the difference between a hill and a mountain). Now to get to work. Really.

A pair of articles on "Manos" The Hands of Fate.

David Reimer committed suicide last May. If you ever saw the sad, disturbing, and enraging episode of (if memory serves) Dateline, which seemed to be rerun constantly a year or two ago, I'm sure you'll join me in hoping he has found peace.

Heartbreaking country ballad paralyzes trucking industry. "Fearing for the financial and emotional safety of their workers, industry leaders have asked President Bush and the FCC to remove the song from the airwaves, as President Carter did during the 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' crisis of 1980."

The secret code to unlock the U.S. nuclear arsenel? 00000000.

Democrats pick up a seat in South Dakota.

The atrocious writing in the judge's profile notwithstanding, The New York Times is printing an interesting series on the allure of Las Vegas.

Follow this link on June 1st, and look at the "Mystery Person of the Day" trivia challenge. Tell me, are we really that stupid at a nation that this is considered trivia? I thought the "celebrity mix-it-up" at the movies, who is this: "OMT RUISEC," was just an isolated phenomenon, but maybe not.

Anna Karinina is this summer's selection in Oprah's book club. I wonder if Oprah is aware of Tolstoy's problems with women? Though I suppose the book's message, that if a woman doesn't have lots and lots of babies, she will go down a road to ruin, might appeal to some of Oprah's core audience. And if I decide to give Oprah my e-mail address, I can access some reading aids which might be useful for my final exam next week.

And in fairness, it's easy to make fun of Oprah, but if the woman can get millions of housewives to read Anna Karinina this summer, I think she deserves props for that. And looking at her web site, it appears that One Hundred Years of Solitude was the previous selection; that's pretty cool (though I would have thought Love in the Time of Cholera would have been more suited to her audience).

Pee-Wee's Playhouse coming to DVD?

Zatoichi opens June 4th in limited release. As that means it should open in San Diego not long afterwards, maybe it's not worth extending my vacation over.

The CineVegas Film Festival schedule is announced. As my faithful readers no doubt recall with great fascination, I will be arriving in Vegas, coincidentally, on the final day of the festival, and had hoped that the Portrait of Billy Joe would coincide with my visit. And it does. But its at 3:30, which means I'll have to get an early start to make it. The dilemma, however, is that the day before, Zatoichi is playing at 3:00 PM. Do I take another day off, find more accomodations in Vegas, and try to leave early enough to make a 3:00 movie in Vegas? Might as well, since I usually start at a reasonable time and arrive pretty close to 3, and I should be able to get a free room downtown no problem, so that I touch on downtown, the strip, and henderson on my trip. I'll have to see if it works with work, but still, I'd only be taking three days off. And Zatoichi should be opening here in San Diego around the same time, so I'm not sure I'd even get much of a jump on things. Something to mull over.

I saw the most disturbingly amusing Vaudeville show last weekend. Never got around to writing about it, because I feel bad saying how awful the performers were, since they seemed to be trying hard. And also, I'm lazy. But when I get a chance, I'll report the truth about that evening, as I am sworn to do.

Listen to samples of Dr. John's new album. Willie Nelson and Randy Newman both make appearances on the album.

Interview with Stephin Merritt. Talks about his new album, and briefly mentions Randy Newman (and Stephen Sondheim, who I didn't realize was associated with Nonesuch) in a positive light.

Journalist with Vanunu connections arrested in Israel. Reuters reports he will soon be released, but still.

The Trio Network will be airing Cop Rock from June 1 to June 5. I don't get the network, but it's pretty exciting for those of you who do. Randy Newman wrote songs for the pilot, including "Sandman's Coming," which resurfaced in Randy Newman's Faust. I know people with digital cable, I'll have to see if they get Trio.

So I got a speeding ticket on my way to school today. On my way home, I discovered I also got a parking ticket. My fault, I parked in a two-hour spot, and forgot I had an afternoon appointment. But still, made today an expensive day of school.

Got a speeding ticket on the way to school today. Annoying for a lot of reasons, particularly because I usually turn onto a side street a few blocks before where the cops were waiting. But for whatever reason, I didn't today. Probably because I was distracted, still fuming about a truck that tried to run me off the road. But what's done is done. I can take traffic school, so it won't affect my insurance. Just $200 or so down the drain, and now I can't drive like a maniac on the way to Vegas, since I don't have the traffic school option for another 18 months.

I have made my reservations for my next Vegas vacation. A weekend at my old favorite, Green Valley Ranch, where I have been invited to participate in a blackjack tournament. Then, lest I drive home in the Sunday traffic, I am staying two nights at Imperial Palace. Never stayed there before, but I was having trouble finding a room available Sunday at a casino I would be willing to gamble in. And this is an opportunity to get on another casino's mailing list, albeit a non-union casino whose now-deceased owner once was fined by the gaming commission for throwing a birthday party for Hitler (it was all a big misunderstanding, he asserted at the time...he doesn't assert much these days). And Cheapo Vegas describes the place as creepy. I love Cheapo Vegas. If you need something to do, poke around there. Maybe read their take on the good ol' Western. Only been their once, and it was the only time I recall fearing for my life in Las Vegas. Nice to have experienced it, though.

So I'm looking forward to that. Already tentatively agreed to go in the end of July as well, if I don't get my ass handed to me this trip. I have a really good offer from Bally's, where I stayed last trip, and enjoyed. Fills the void left by MGM ruining Treasure Island...excuse me, TI. A nice, clean, well-managed hotel, not too ostentatious, decent gambling, and generous comps. And a better location that TI. And I got another offer from GVR, standing offer for free rooms all Summer. The hotel is the nicest I've stayed in anywhere, pretty good food, and okay gambling. Every time I've stayed there, I've met some interesting people. A few real annoying people, like the old woman who claimed she never signaled for a hit, when we all saw her, and got the pit boss to let her discard the card she drew, and then tried the same trick again after the dealer changed. But mostly good, interesting people. One of the plusses of playing at a local's joint. Last trip, I played for a little bit with a blind woman, whose husband would read the cards to her. A month or so later, I would watch her win the first round of the World Series of Blackjack on T.V.

But hell, I could be staying at the Western, and I'd just be happy to be there.

I have made my reservations for my next Vegas vacation. A weekend at my old favorite, Green Valley Ranch, where I have been invited to participate in a blackjack tournament. Then, lest I drive home in the Sunday traffic, I am staying two nights at Imperial Palace. Never stayed there before, but I was having trouble finding a room available Sunday at a casino I would be willing to gamble in. And this is an opportunity to get on another casino's mailing list, albeit a non-union casino whose now-deceased owner once was fined by the gaming commission for throwing a birthday party for Hitler (it was all a big misunderstanding, he asserted at the time...he doesn't assert much these days). And Cheapo Vegas describes the place as creepy. I love Cheapo Vegas. If you need something to do, poke around there. Maybe read their take on the good ol' Western. Only been their once, and it was the only time I recall fearing for my life in Las Vegas. Nice to have experienced it, though.

So I'm looking forward to that. Already tentatively agreed to go in the end of July as well, if I don't get my ass handed to me this trip. I have a really good offer from Bally's, where I stayed last trip, and enjoyed. Fills the void left by MGM ruining Treasure Island...excuse me, TI. A nice, clean, well-managed hotel, not too ostentatious, decent gambling, and generous comps. And a better location that TI. And I got another offer from GVR, standing offer for free rooms all Summer. The hotel is the nicest I've stayed in anywhere, pretty good food, and okay gambling. Every time I've stayed there, I've met some interesting people. A few real annoying people, like the old woman who claimed she never signaled for a hit, when we all saw her, and got the pit boss to let her discard the card she drew, and then tried the same trick again after the dealer changed. But mostly good, interesting people. One of the plusses of playing at a local's joint. Last trip, I played for a little bit with a blind woman, whose husband would read the cards to her. A month or so later, I would watch her win the first round of the World Series of Blackjack on T.V.

But hell, I could be staying at the Western, and I'd just be happy to be there.

Lost in Translation: How DDR almost didn't make it to America.

Dance Dance Revolution and weight loss. RedOctane also has a website on the phenomenon. My DDR pad has been gathering dust for some time. Mainly because it's just not the same with the plastic pads. Not as responsive. I was at Fry's Electronics yesterday, and admiring their metal DDR platforms, but for $200, I think I'll pass.

I went to Fry's because they had the new special edition of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly on sale, but they were out of stock. I did get The Great Escape on sale, though. And then, in the clearance rack, I found a series of DVDs of Once Upon a Hamster, which I used to watch on Animal Planet at 3 AM, while Cecily's cat would go crazy watching her woodland friends frolick on the T.V. I used to wonder what sort of person watched this show at 3 in the morning, but I guess the answer is people like me. At $5 a pop, I was tempted to buy them all, but eventually just bought two. I regret not getting them all, but I am not going back to buy the rest, because that would be pathetic.

A Takeshi Kitano interview.

Apparently, Takeshi Kitano remade Zatoichi at the request of a septuagenarian stripper named Mama.

I finally saw Shaolin Soccer, now that it finally got a theatrical release. Edited extensively, from what I understand, but subtitled (I believe it is being released dubbed in most markets). Not as much fun as God of Cookery, but worth seeing. I'll have to get ahold of the DVD (my sister has the import), though I understand the good people at Disney/Miramax are being a bunch of doushebags about keeping the DVDs unavailable. I had a nice article on the struggles Shaolin Soccer faced in getting released, but now I can't find it (didn't save the e-mail, this is the sort of situation when gmail would come in handy).

More exciting then the film itself, though, was one of the trailers beforehand (I guess when you show 15 minutes of trailers, you're bound to hit the mark at least once). Coming soon, Takeshi Kitano's Zaitochi, the Blind Swordsman. A change of pace for him, a bit, at least as a director (it doesn't look from the trailer that he's become particularly verbose, though, since it is a subtitled movie, they don't depict any dialogue in the trailer). A shame Dolls isn't being released as well (at least as far as I know). Though hopefully I'll be able to pick up a regionless DVD at Comic-Con this year.

Got Loretta Lynn's new CD. Not bad, but a bit of a disappointment. Tries a little too hard, has Jack White's fingerprints on it a bit thick at times. But some great songs. "Miss Being Mrs." is probably my favorite.

So it wasn't my imagination, this guy is in a ton of commercials.

Good commentary on the fallout of the Iraqi prisoner scandal.

Gabriel Yared recounts his firing by Wolfgang Petersen on his web site (click on "news", then "the score for Troy"). Of course, this puts him in the same category as Randy Newman (fired by Petersen from Air Force One.

Salon has an interview with Billy Joe Shaver, and discussion of a new documentary on his life. A perusal of the film's web site shows it will be part of the CineVegas Film Festival, and I see I will be arriving in Las Vegas on the last day of the festival. They don't have the schedule up yet, but if it plays the final night, I will definately see it, or perhaps if it plays a day or two earlier, I can arrange to arrive earlier than I had planned.

The New Yorker details how Rumsfeld authorized the torture of Iraqi prisioners.

The mindset of the class of 1918.

Did you catch San Diego's own Randy "Duke" Cunningham grilling Donald Rumsfeld during his testimony before the House? Duke used the opportunity to lament the good men brought down by the disgraceful scapegoating of the Tailhook Scandal, and tell rambling stories about his days of command in the Navy. It gave me real pride to know that Duke has such high standing, he got to make his comments as soon as the representative from Guam finished (I didn't even know Guamians could vote).

Celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday, since I had to work Sunday. Went to Barona, where I had a coupon for two free buffets, thanks to my subscription to Las Vegas Advisor. It's an okay magazine, but you'd be crazy to pay $50 for a subscription, if it weren't for the great coupons you get. Easily pays for itself on one trip to Vegas (if you don't leave it at home, like I did last time). But two buffets, no strings attached, goes a long way towards paying for the subscription. The buffet was as good as ever, the desserts being the best part. Bananas Foster and cannoli abound. I managed to smuggle a few cannoli out in my mom's purse (just mini-cannoli, not full-size ones). Fun tid-bit, I just looked up cannoli in the OED, to see what the plural is, and cannoli is plural. A singular cannoli is actually a cannolo. Ain't that something.

So anyway, we were at Barona, and so Mom wanted to gamble, and it was her day, after all. Since I'm not really welcome at the blackjack tables, and poker was full up, I played a video poker machine. Won $50, lost it all and quite a bit more, and was bitter about losing money here, when I'm planning to hit Vegas next month, when I get dealt three deuces, draw and hit the fourth deuce, and win $1000. Left with $850, a nice boost to my bankroll for Vegas. Just got an invite yesterday to a free blackjack tourney at my favorite casino, along with a free room for the weekend, so figure I'll take advantage of that. I have a standing offer at one casino, which I stayed at and found pretty nice, for up to three free nights, $100 in gambling chips, and $100 in food vouchers, so that is what I'd planned on taking advantage of, but I figure I'll save that, and get in at least two vegas trips this summer. I had been thinking of a big non-gambling vacation this summer as well, but I'm beginning to think I'd rather just take short trips around Southern California, or maybe up to my sisters, and just keep it simple.

On the way home, we drove by the neighborhood Yum Yum Donuts, which was wrapped in police tape, as was the parking lot. I assumed it was just another robbery, but the paper reports that a worker, apparently, committed suicide. Very odd and disturbing.

Alan King, dead at 76.

Micah Ian Wright, author of You Back the Attack, We'll Bomb Who We Want, lied about his military experience. He has an apology on his web page. It seems that those on the right who would argue that those who complain about Bush and Co.'s lies, should denounce Wright as well, have a point. I must admit, I didn't care for the book as much as I thought it would, the posters are very hit and miss, shrill and repetitive. I thought Bill Maher's use of the posters in his book (at least the two I've seen) were more effective and in keeping with the original posters. Good God, have I resorted to praising Bill Maher? I feel dirty. Thanks a lot, Micah Wright.

Howard Stern/Jimmy Kimmell fans swamp FCC with Oprah complaints. I share this because it's marginally interesting, but mainly because it turns out "have your salad tossed" does not mean what I always thought it meant (oral sex performed on a woman). How naive I am.

It's cooler today then the last few days, thank God. I went to the Adams Avenue Roots Festival on Sunday, but only stayed about an hour, because it was just too hot. My car thermometer said it was 110 degrees, but I think it's not particularly reliable. But over 100, I'm sure.

On Saturday night, I went up to Orange County to see Urinetown. Orange County always gives me the heebie-jeebies, so I was relieved to take my seat in the dark theater and forget where I was. I was not too familiar with Urinetown, knew the general premise, and had heard "Don't Be the Bunny," but that was about it. It was refreshing to come into a musical as a blank slate, and I enjoyed the experience very much. At first, I was a bit concerned that it was too clever for its own good, with the self-referential narration and self-mockery. But it was really great, adroit enough musically that it earned the right to add the post-modern bells and whistles. Best musical I've seen since Sweeny Todd, and Sondheim-esque in its own right, I would say. And on the way out, the actors were hawking Urinetown toilet paper, to raise money for charity, so I bought myself a roll. I hope it comes to San Diego sometime, so I can see it again.

School is in full swing now. Fallen a bit behind in Anna Karinina, and it's going to be hard to get caught up, because I have to present an outline of my presentation for the same class this week. But my midterm went okay, and my papers aren't due until tenth week, and then I have a whole summer to relax. So I can't complain.

In addition to friendster, I am now on orkut, so any of you on that social networking service who wish to pad their accounts, feel free to invite me. It's fun!

Article on the plight of Bonobos in the Congo. Nice to see a bit of discussion of the bush meat crisis in the paper of record.

I should mention, vis-a-vis the mention of song-poems, that I saw the term in a review of NRBQ's new album, where they cover the song-poem "Little Rug Bug."

American Song-Poem Music Archives. For those, like myself, who are unfamiliar, the term "song-poem" refers to the DIY records that are churned out in response to ads in cheap magazines, which request "song-poems" because they assume the mark is too stupid to understand the word "lyrics."

Listen to clips from Loretta Lynn's new album.

Midterms went well, I think, though only time will tell. Actually, I only had one midterm, on Tolstoy. Now I can direct my efforts at Anna Karenina. It's actually not that long, 850 pages or so, and with 2 1/2 weeks left to read it, I don't anticipate it being an issue. And it's a good book, so that's a plus.

Saw Blind Shaft yesterday at the Ken. Overall I found it interesting, but felt the film tried to distance itself a bit from the bleak view that opened the film. What's so different about the kid they set out to kill from the man they killed the first time around (and presumably the other people they have killed in the past) that they suddenly have flashes of compassion? Not to mention a billion-to-one coincidence thrown in for good measure. But I enjoyed the grittiness of the plot, if I wouldn't go as far as the New York Times, comparing it to the work of Cornell Woolrich.

There were six trailers before the film, not including promos for a film festival and a contest. Thanks, Landmark Theatres. I thought the five they showed when I worked there was one too many. At least their pre-show advertisements are more civilized than those shown by their competition. I get particularly annoyed by the anti-piracy spots at AMC and others. Thanks for showing your appreciation that I paid to see your movie with a lecture about how it's wrong not to pay for movies. What annoyed me the last time I saw the stuntman trailer, it had multiple emulsion scratches, and an awkward splice half-way through it. Why watch a high-quality digital product at home, when you can come to AMC Theaters, where they don't give a damn about the product we put on our screens. Grrr...

The Adams Avenue Roots Festival is this weekend, May 1st and 2nd. I'll be out of town Saturday night, but hopefully will see some of it, Saturday morning or Sunday.

Mary Chapin Carpenter will be on Letterman tonight. Haven't heard much about the new album, read a review in No Depression that sounded like damning with faint praise. Looking forward to hearing her perform something from the new album.

Jane Goodall will be here at the Birch Aquarium Friday night, 7:15, accepting the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. I'm off Friday, but might come in to hear her speak.

CHP hit with $4.5 million judgement for malicious ticketing.

My, how time does fly. The academic quarter is already reaching the half-way point, mid-term week and all that fun stuff. School is going okay. I'm finding that Tolstoy is an amazing writer. And with our occupation of Iraq, quite timely to read about the analogous situation in Chechnya in the 1860s. That Chechyn situation was wrapped up pretty quickly, wasn't it?

I've spent the last week or so mired in self-pity, which is probably no news. Feeling like I've lost control of my destiny. And deciding that maybe I had my one chance at happiness about 5 years ago, and that was it, and now it's all over. Which is ridiculous, but at least I've found a new moment from my past to dwell on, most of the others were becoming worn out, like Rosaries I'd worried away. But hey, why look to the future, that's more depressing.

Though I suppose I have been looking a bit to the future, trying to figure out some summer trips. Vegas, of course, but I'd like to take a non-gambling vacation as well. I've never been to the south, was thinking Tennessee, or Kentucky, hear the Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful. But having given it some thought, I'm thinking the South might be more of a spring break thing, might be a bit too hot and humid to hike around in the summer. So the two choices I'm giving the most serious consideration to is Colorado, the Rockies, which I haven't seen in at least a decade, or the Pacific Northwest. Once I get Anna Karenina read for class, I plan to research the matter a bit and try to make a decision.

Got The Complete Peanuts in the mail on Wednesday. It is, of course, awesome. All the reviews emphasize how different the strip was in its infancy, but I was surprised more by what was there from the beginning, especially with Charlie Brown. He doesn't take life's slings and arrows with quite the awkward grace (if that isn't a oxymoron) in later strips, getting angry more often then usual, but the pathos of the character is there from early on. In one strip, Patty is fighting with Shermy, and calls him a Charlie Brown, to which he replies that she has gone too far, while Charlie Brown just watches the conversation despondently. But the strips are quite a bit different, especially in visual style, with a lot of pac-manesque profiles. And a lot of the humor early on depends on the children's playing with adult roles and failing to recognize their youthfulness. In an early strip, some of the kids stand below a sign, "Look Out For Children." In the last panel, they decide the children aren't coming, and leave. (Later on, they realize a similar sign refers to them, and are delighted that they are famous). The books will get even better once Shultz hits his stride, but even this first volume had me laughing, a lot, and feeling touched as well. The book itself is well-designed, incidentally, with decent supplemental material, including a great interview with Shultz from the 1980s, and a helpful (and sometimes amusing) index.

Keep watching the Freaks and Geeks DVD, and loving every moment of it. Only two episodes remain, after which I will be very sad. Saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, after several false starts (turns out the stomach upset that prevented me from seeing it two weeks ago was a lingering illness, which was probably partly to blame for my recent depression). I really didn't care for it, felt the whole film was hollow, but can't really put my finger on it. I can say I did not share the critic's rapture with Kate Winslet's performance.

I should mention that Mary Chapin Carpenter and Nellie McKay will both be on tv this week, Carpenter on Letterman Tuesday, McKay on The View on Thursday. I've been listening to a lot of good stuff lately, which I always mean to mention here but only do sometimes. I see where some people preface their posts with what they're currently reading and listening to, maybe I should do that. Today I was listening to Magnetic Stripes' 69 Love Songs, disc 2, which seems to be the only one I ever listen to. That replaced The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Salute the Majesty of Bob Wills, a truly amazing piece of Western Swing. God, have I started listening to a lot of country lately. But good stuff. But Nellie McKay has spent the most time in my CD player since I got my copy, though I'm making a point of giving it a bit of a rest. Shakira and Lyle Lovett round out what I've been listening to the most. Because I'm sure you cared to know.

Museum of Bad Art.

McDonald's Healthier Image: What the man on the street thinks.

Vanunu to be released today. You can also read about the honeytrap that brought him down.

Debate over the Children's Pool continues.

The tears of a laid-off clown.

I just took a nice walk down memory lane with this review of issue #1 of Nintendo Power. I had forgotten about the old Nintendo Fun Club. Nintendo folk really are good folk.

Hero monkey gets royal funeral.

What kind of quiz taker are you?

You are an quiz-taker Find out what kind of quiz-taker you are

Another accurate illustration of beagle ownership thanks to the late Charles Shultz. My copy of Vol. 1 of The Complete Peanuts should have shipped Thursday, so that is very exciting.

I have been enjoying the new Freaks and Geeks DVD very much since that glorious day it came in the mail. Trying to pace myself, since once I watch these episodes, there will be no more to watch. But after watching Mr. Grosso tell Lindsay he has herpes, I did a search for Dave 'Gruber' Allen, and found The Naked Trucker Show. Awesome. Vaguely recall seeing him on Conan some time back, but thought it was a one-off thing, didn't realize it was a Los Angeles tradition.

Had dinner at Mandarin Dynasty. My mom was visibly shaken by her fortune cookie, which confused me, when I read it: "You will witness a miracle." Apparently, she didn't bother to finish the last word (busy busy), and concluded her fortune was, "You will witness a murder." That's a fortune cookie I'd like to see. It reminded me of this fortune I received the other day, at the China King Buffet in Lemon Grove:

Which wouldn't have been an awful fortune; bland as it is, at least it's a fortune. But when I opened the cookie, this is the side I saw first:

Pretty weak. Of course, it's not the worst "fortune" I've got. That would have to be this one, received some time back from a chinese restaurant in La Jolla, the name of which escapes me:

Now that's a new low.

Pictures from and the trailer for Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. Can't say it looks all that promising, but the news that Billy Connelly will be Uncle Monty is exciting.

I've been so tired lately. Slept in to 10 on Monday, but still lagging from Sunday, I guess. And yesterday I wasn't feeling good. Was going to go see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind yesterday, but thought better of it after throwing up in the mall's parking lot. But instead of going home, I just drove around for an hour or so. Not sure why, and it was sort of stupid considering gas is close to $2.20/gallon. I was listening to the Nellie McKay CD that everyone is talking about, which came in the mail yesterday. I must say I just love it, at least judging from the first disc, haven't listened to the second yet. But really amazing stuff. It first caught my attention because I have a Google News alert set up to search for Randy Newman, and it kept e-mailing me about reviews of the album, because Randy Newman was mentioned in a lot of them. Seems a little bit of a stretch, but I guess there is a similar mix of cynicism and hope, biting lyrics with melodies that hearken back to an earlier time. And I suppose it's just as enlightening a comparison as the one on the sticker on the CD, that proclaimed her a combination of Doris Day and Eminem. Perhaps I'll say more after I've listened to the whole thing, but since the critics seem to be falling over themselves praising her, what could I add, really?

I was reading an article about William Hung's recording success. It followed a predictable enough path, talking about the bafflement of music insiders as to his unlikely success, until late in the article, the author apparently felt the need to put the phenomenon into its proper historical context. A music insider is quoted as observing "that Hung isn't the first bad singer to sell albums." Hard to argue with that. "A housewife who went by the name Mrs. Miller scored a #15 hit in the mid-1960s with a collection of off-key covers that included the smash 'Downtown.'" This is a matter of opinion, but I don't really think it is fair to describe Mrs. Miller as an off-key warbler. She may not have the kind of voice I like to listen to, but she was mechanically rather proficient. The humor in Mrs. Miller was more the juxtaposition of this matronly housewife singing pop songs in a classical style (and later recording a pathetic attempt at a drug-themed album). But what really got my goat is this: "And Tiny Tim was a smash a few years later, despite having a horrible voice." Tiny Tim, a horrible singer?! You might not care to listen to a falsetto crooner rehashing the hits of yesteryear, but how can you justify this claim? It's bad enough when he's dismissed as a novelty act, a tenuous position to hold, but we're all entitled to our opinions. But to equate Tiny Tim with William Hung? Unforgivable.

I was watching a bit of a Phil Hartman documentary on A&E, and got to wondering why the DVD of NewsRadio hasn't come out yet (it was originally set for February). Decided to do a quick search on the web, and found this: NewsRadio - Delay Explained. Glad to know...I was concerned that maybe the studio had cold feet and it wasn't going to come out at all.

But I must keep this short. Freaks and Geeks arrived in the mail, and I want to watch a few more episodes before bed.

Got up at 5:45 to go to sunrise service with my mom at El Camino Memorial Park. Put on by a Baptist church; you would think a Baptist service would have good music, but its that same old praise music Creed-without-soul crap. Swung by the various family members that reside there afterwards, then went to D.Z. Akin's for breakfast.

Got home around 9, and then was on the computer off and on until noon, trying to remove a trojan horse that somehow got on my computer. Reset the home page (and kept resetting it back when I would change it), and kept redirecting me from any web site to some lame search-engine-cum-viagra-ad. Renewed Norton Anti-Virus, which didn't help at all, and ad-aware failed me (which is unusual, as it's usually a fine program). Fortunately, even though I couldn't get to google, the google toolbar (god bless it) worked, so I found a website that said it would remove the offending spyware. Did some more google searches to make sure this page was legit, and after finding some media mention of the site, downloaded CWshredder, which found the offending code and removed it from my computer. So huzzah and kudos to Merijn.org for saving my ass this Easter morning. Not sure how I got infected, Mom said the computer was working fine when she got on it, but it was all funky when I got on it, so at least it appears to be her fault.

Texas Tornados will be performing at 4th and B on May 4th. $20 general admission if purchased in advance. Nothing on the web site that I could find about the line-up (I was unaware they still performed after Doug Sahm's death), but regardless, it should be a good show.

Weird Al's parents killed in fire.

Just watched Arnold Palmer play his last hole of golf at the Masters. I'm sure my father would have liked to have seen that.

Sweeney Todd is coming to DVD. I taped this off TV years ago, but my copy has seen better days, so this is really exciting. I also see there is a concert version of Sweeney Todd from 2001, also with George Hearn in the title role (but no Angela Landsbury). Can't vouch for that version, though.

San Diego Opera had a promotion with the Sledgehammer that enabled me to get 1/2 price tickets to last night's production of Don Carlo. I hadn't been to the opera in three or four years (Falstaff being the last one I attended), and enjoyed myself very much. The Union-Tribune mentioned the length of the opera, but the four hours went by remarkably fast. The King's aria in Act III was especially beautiful, if a bit out of place (Act II ends with his son pulling a sword on him, and so in Act III he worries that his wife doesn't love him). Too bad the guy behind me sounded like a foghorn, coughing through the entire performance. But I had a good time.

My calves were killing me yesterday. I went running in the morning, and after about a mile I had to stop and stretch, they were so tight. Stretching seemed to help, but I decided to cut my run short anyway, given that I knew I had a fair amount of walking to do at school. Now my feet are bothering me from the uncomfortable shoes I wore to the opera. But I shouldn't complain.

Where are the 'cuter' Iraqi war photos?

Boondocks on The Passion.

So it turns out I loved The Ladykillers. As you may know, I was very apprehensive going in, being so fond of the original. But it turns out, while it may be a matter of comparing apples and orangutan, the Coen Brothers' version surpasses the original in some ways. The different members of the gang are more developed as individuals (if still caricatures), and most notably, the old woman is a far more interesting woman in the remake. There are deficiencies as well, mainly in the remake's tendency to paint everything in broad strokes. For instance, the notion that the sheriff must suspect the old lady of being a raving loon if the ending is to be believed, so that we get a grating scene of Tom Hanks hiding under the bed while Irma Hall laughs and pratters on. But as I say, you're better off not comparing the two films; the first was full of dry and urbane British humor (I don't know if Alec Guiness could have played off "You brought your bitch to the Waffle Hut?!" as well as Hanks), and the last, well, was directed by the Coen Brothers. I laughed more than I have at any movie in some time. Great soundtrack as well. One of the year's best, no doubt.

Never did get around to posting about anything this week. To start with, it was the first week of school. First day was a tad unpleasant. I have class MWF at 11:00 and 12:00, with a Monday class in the evenings. Since I wouldn't have time to run that evening, and since Sunday indicated it would be a hot day, I got up a bit early to run before school. Unfortunately, by the time I got to Lake Murray around 9, it was already a scorcher (it got to be about 100 that afternoon). I was going to run a half-hour, but after about ten minutes I was feeling like crap. I ended up running about fifteen minutes, walking five, and then running the last five minutes or so back to my car. I took a shower, and found I didn't have time to grab lunch somewhere like I'd planned, so I went straight to school, and bought a smoothie on my way to class. I made it to where I thought my class was right on time, but the room I was looking for, U413, was not, as I assumed, next to U412. I started searching for U413, making concentric circles around U412, but found nothing. Finally, I overheard someone else getting directions to the room, so I headed in the general direction indicated, passing the 400s, the 500s, 600s and 700s. I assumed the directions were bunk and made a detour, then decided to just keep going in the direction indicated come hell or high water. Finally, I find the room, sitting on a corner all alone, with no possible logical explanation why this is numbered 413. I was about 15 minutes late, but so were a lot of people, so I didn't feel too bad. Class on late Victorian literature, Stevenson, Conan Doyle, Kipling and the like. The reading seems light, and the lectures, a bit dull, but straightforward. Then I hiked to my Tolstoy class, where the reading load seems a bit heavier (though not as bad as I feared, we have three weeks to read Anna Karinnina, and we aren't reading War and Peace), but a more enriching experience. I went home, my knees hurting quite a bit, and then came back for my evening class. A film professor who doesn't know how to use a DVD player is a tad pathetic. We stared at the menu screen for Nosferatu while the professor waited for it to start, then the professor hit the fast-forward button, so that we could watch the menu animation in double-time. Finally, someone helped him start the film, but since he apparently is unaware of the chapter feature, we only watched some expository opening scenes, and barely saw the meat of the film. It seems like a frightfully dull class to spend three hours in every Monday.

Thursday I spent the day in Los Angeles, where I saw "Let's Eat: Feasting on the Firesign Theater." I went up early and explored the neighborhood, so I wouldn't have to worry about traffic. Went to Griffith Park, until the rain forced me to my car. Did some shopping, bought a book and a magazine at Book Soup, and some touristy crap at Farmer's Market, where I had dinner. Also bought Tanner some gourmet dog treats from the bakery there.

Then it was on to Royce Hall at UCLA, for the Firesign Theater tribute. I'd been looking forward to this for some time, and about five minutes into it, I had to wonder, why? I mean, should it have really been a surprise that the evening was, for the most part, terrible? The skits of the Firesign Theater, performed by people other than Firesign Theater, hastily assembled, with little if any rehersal time, why is this necessary? It wasn't that their wasn't a lot of talent on-stage, or that the acting was horrendous, it was just a matter of the timing always being a little off, just enough to make it truly painful to watch, probably more painful then if it truly had been spectacularly bad. Howard Hessman was okay, but most of the people on-stage just didn't quite have the Firesign Theater style, which isn't a put-down, just a fact. One exception was Bob Odenkirk, who limited his involvement to a few brief appearances as Ralph Spoilsport, a character very much in spirit with the fake ads on Mr. Show (i.e. Cock Ring Warehouse). But once he'd done his bit, he had the sense to get off the stage. Todd Rundgren and Stan Ridgeway (the latter being a saving grace of Hal Wilner's last such show, the Randy Newman tribute) both proved themselves adept at comedy, outshining the established comedians like John Goodman. I stuck it out through intermission, and the second half was better, probably because it was more plot-driven material, like "High School Madness," where the off timing wasn't as damaging. But I left early, in order to get home at a decent hour (about 1:30). So if they did "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger," probably my favorite routine, I missed it. All in all, it made for a disappointing evening. Though it served as an excuse to sleep in 'til noon and miss both my classes Friday (we were just watching a documentary on Tolstoy in one, so I can make that up on my own).

Rear Window was on TCM yesterday, so I watched that for the two-hundredth time. The Trouble With Harry was on after that, but I figured I should do some reading for school, so I passed on that. Read some Tolstoy, and played some video games; Target had a good sale on video games, so I bought several, and got a Target credit card, so I got an extra 10% off my purchases that day. Bought Super Mario Bros. 3 (using the original nomenclencure), Yoshi's Island, and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (I believe called Paper Mario in the original release). Nintendo has a real racket going re-releasing old games, but at least it's win-win. I remember badly wanting Super Mario Bros. 3 as a kid, but not getting it, for whatever reason. Now I can fill that void that has haunted me my whole life. Thank you, Nintendo, thank you.

Nice to see Randy Newman get a plug in the funny pages.

Memento mori: This Sunday's Pickles cartoon was rather dark. And Family Circus touched on a similar theme; the Sunday strip is apparently not available on-line, so I'll summarize: Who's one day closer to death? "Not me!"

The good news is David Byrne will be in San Diego, August 29th. The bad news is he will be at Humphrey's, so you know the ticket price will be atrocious. But I'll be there (even if the new album sounds an awful lot like the last one).