jMoney

Technical Difficulties - Oscars

2009-02-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

We had a "technical difficulties" song at camp to distract the kids while we tried to figure out what was going wrong with the computers. I would sing that song to you now if I could.

For some reason I don't understand, I am suddenly having trouble getting the pictures from my camera to my computer. I have been taking pictures and when I have time to sit down and figure out what's going with my software. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow. I have the pictures... promise!

Also, the Oscars are tonight. Not that things really matter, but they're interesting. I entered my office Oscar pool and really could use that money. Fingers crossed, guys.

Pic of the Day

2009-02-19T15:41:00.001-08:00

I finally made it to the film forum - only 6 short months after moving here. I got to see my first Godard film in a theatre. It was "Made in USA" - a movie somewhat based on the Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) novel The Jugger. It's not available in the US on DVD because the producers nor Godard ever actually paid for the rights to the story by Westlake.

Film Forum, Houston Street, West Village, Manhattan

Pic of the day - Yesterday's

2009-02-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is the pic for 2-18-09. I didn't get home until very late, but I did take this picture last night on my way home. I was too tired to make this picture upload.

You may have to click on this pic and make it big to realize... there is a suit of armor guarding this store!

7th Ave, Park Slope Brooklyn.

(I didn't get the cross street because I was on the phone with Ian and not paying attention.)

Pic of the day

2009-02-17T19:02:00.001-08:00

Roots Cafe

18th & 5th, Park Slope, Brooklyn

This is a painting by Jake Nelson. He painted it on stage during his friend's show, and it now hangs in Roots Cafe.

I promise to leave the neighborhood tomorrow so the picture will not be from 18th & 5th.

Mural

2009-02-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

I live in New York City, the most photogenic and interesting of all American cities (yeah, that's right. Suck it, St. Paul!) I've decided to take a picture every day and post it on this blog here. It may be a sign, a cool building, etc. Who knows?

This is a mural on the side of the Eagle Provision grocery store. I wish that stupid pole wasn't in the way.

(18th & 5th, Park Slope, Brooklyn)

Young Frankenstein & Fire & Delays. What a Great Night.

2008-09-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning I receive a text from a friend in town interviewing for jobs. Suzanne asks I want to attend a Broadway show that night, and I tell her it has to be cheap. Then I get one back saying it’s her treat since she already bought the tickets.

Young Frankenstein. 8 o’clock.

One’s first Broadway show is a bit overwhelming. I’m not sure where the theatre is or what to wear. My roommate Allison (who works in fashion) suggests shirt and tie, but no coat. I arrive at the theatre to find I’m a bit overdressed compared to the rest of the crowd. However, I’m fine with this. It’s theatre. One should dress up. I wore a suit to the Shakespeare Festival back in Alabama, so Broadway should warrant at least a tie, no matter where you call home. At least I’m looking like a slack jawed yokel like the guy next to me. Shorts? Sneakers? Jersey? And the rest of the country looks down on Southerners. At least I can tie a tie.

Once settled into our seats, we begin the wait for the show. Someone comes out on stage and informs us they are having computer problems and asks for 10 minutes. Suzanne and continue chatting, sometimes with a thick New York accent sporting woman next to us. The same man comes out and asks for 10 or 15 more minutes. A transformer on the street is causing problems.

During this wait, Suzanne and I are asked a question you never want to hear in a theatre: “Does it smell like something is burning?” our neighbor asks us. Unfortunately, it does. The fire alarms do go off temporarily. (Cue “yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre” joke.) Suzanne then notices the theatre is smoky. No one is leaving, so we don’t either. I guess we’re those people who stay behind during natural disasters assuming the best. (At least we’d get interviews on CNN… if we survived.)

As it turns out, the kabob stand in front of the theatre has caught fire and filled the building with smoke. At least it’s not us. This may be why the monster is so afraid of fire. It really makes things happen later than intended. Suzanne and the temporary neighbor assure me this is not normal. This has never happened, and they’ve both been to dozen of shows. I guess they don’t realize I think this is fantastic. This is a great first Broadway experience, because I have a story for parties. I’m an English major. I live for that.

Finally, they ask for a few more minutes and the show starts around 8:45.

The show is great, though I, as a Broadway virgin, have nothing to which I can compare it. The sets are huge and beautiful and fast changing, and the cast is funny and can sing. Igor certainly steals the show. (The song "He Was My Boyfriend" is still stuck in my head.)

In the end, Broadway may be overpriced and Times Square an unholy tourist ridden hell hole, but it’s worth it. Just make sure the kabob cart out front is fire proof.

To Have Bogey and Bacall on the Big Screen

2008-09-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Imagine - if you can, I know this is difficult for some - being a fervent Woody Allen fan. Now imagine, and this may be even harder, being that same Allen fan in Alabama. Recently I drove from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham (1 hour) just to watch “Vicki Christina Barcelona.” (It was well worth it, and not just for the over-hyped, transatlantic lesbian kiss between Johanson and Cruz.)

Part of the reason I love Woody Allen is that I love the movies. The classics: “Casablanca,” “Citizen Kane,” “The Godfather,” “8 1/2” and “To Have and Have Not.”

Unlike Allen I didn’t grow up in an area where I could see these films in their original big screen glory. (Of course, given Allen’s neuroticism and sexual frustrations, perhaps not growing up in Brooklyn was ultimately a good thing.)

Finally, I have made the northward move from ‘Bama to Brooklyn, and I had the chance tonight to see Howard Hawks’ “To Have and Have Not” in a real theatre, with a real audience and real (really) salty popcorn. It's a movie I own and have seen, but never like this. The BAM Rose Theatre is in the middle of Hawks film festival, which means I may soon be broke.

No offense to Bose and the new fabulous home theatre systems from major tech companies (I’d still like to own one if anyone is feeling generous), but these movies are meant to be seen in uncomfortable seats in cold theatres surrounded by happy strangers. The names involved in this production are too big to be contained in a television: Howard Hawks. Humphrey Bogart. Lauren Bacall. William Faulkner. Ernest Hemingway.

Bacall has never looked sultrier than she did on a giant screen. Bogey never more badass. Hawks' direction never seemed more sure. The audience certainly took notice.

Seeing this film with a live audience changed my perception of it. The movie was much funnier than I remembered, and I have the laughing, paying public to thank for reminding me. Bogart's reaction to Bacall's famous "whistle" line generated several belly laughs, causing a big smile to find its way to my face. Bacall's impersonation of a character flirting with Bogart's Captain Morgan (yes, Captain Morgan) also drew laughs, reminding me this familiar scene is genuinely funny.

I love my DVDs. I love that I can pull out Jean Luc Godard’s “Breathless” or Allen’s “Manhattan” and watch them on a cinematic whim. However, if I have chance to either on the big screen, I’ll be sacrificing a few meals to pay to see them the way they were meant to be seen - large, loud, bright and beautiful. The experience is priceless, and we should take advantage of every chance we get.

Let's Do This!

2008-09-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to start blogging again. It's true. It's been a while since I've done this (over a year if you look at the previous post.)

But I'm back, baby! And in New York!

I'll be posting about movies, music, life in NYC and my constant job search.

Enjoy!

Listening

2007-08-05T14:53:00.001-07:00

Avett Brothers

Emotionalism

My favorite CD of the year so far. Fantastic.

Straw Man Politics: or Why I Vote Nader Every Election

2007-08-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

This presidential race is making progressively more uncomfortable with modern American politics.

Have you ever heard of the straw man argument? Basically, if we are debating two different sides of an issue (and by the way, since when are there only two sides to every issue? Some issues have multiple views.), I would repeat your argument in a way that is misinterpreting what you say, making it easier to defeat.

This race is full of straw man debates. The first and most noticeable was Guiliani's ridiculous attack on Ron Paul in the South Carolina Fox "News" Debate. This is on YouTube if anyone cares to view it. Paul discusses problems with American foreign policy over the last few years (extending back to the Clinton years), and how this contributed to a society that wanted to attack us. And did attack us. Guiliani (and Fox News "moderator" to loosely use the term), changes what he said. Paul was discussing foreign policy mistakes, and Guiliani restates his statement as blaming America for the attack. This was a cheap tactic to score political points and works against the best interest of debate.

Guiliani is satisfied to over simplify the situation to a soundbite just to score cheap points with hawkish neocons.

Is this the kind of leader we want? A man willing to ignore important information just to please a part of his base?

In the most recent debates, Romney changes Obama's remarks regarding meeting with foreign dictators. (Though to be fair to Romney, Clinton changed them first. He was just following her lead.) He said Obama would agree to sit down and have tea with our enemies, when this is not what he said at all in the CNN debates. This is exactly what Clinton said when she conveniently re-worded Obama's point in order to make him sound naive. In case you didn't catch that though, she was more than willing to call him naive directly.

I'm deeply troubled we have reached a stage where these arguments fly, and the American people are content to watch politicians attack and lie about each other, rather than find out who is most qualified to lead this country.

Based on their behavior in the campaign, I would never vote Guilian, Romney or Clinton if this is how they choose to conduct themselves.

It's looking like I will be voting for Nader again...

Listening

2007-08-02T21:39:00.001-07:00

Blondie

Eat to the Beat

Feeding the new wave addiction any way I can... "Union City Blue" and "Die Young Stay Pretty" are two of my new favorites. Plus a great live cover of "Ring of Fire"

Finally... The Godfather

2007-08-02T21:29:00.001-07:00

Finally, I have seen The Godfather.

My friend Alex and I headed up to the church, opened a bottle of a good red and popped in the movie.

It's amazing I haven't seen this before, as it's considered one of the greatest films of all time. Plus Diane Keaton and Marlon Brando are in it. Two of my favorites.

So seeing The Godfather has completely re-energized my love of film. It was definitely one of the best 3 hours periods of my life. This film shows exactly how great and important movies can be. Of all the art forms, movies usually get the shaft when it comes to respect. Sure, people throw out Igmar Bergman (rest in peace) or Truffaut to sound smart, but movies get the shaft. The Godfather perfectly straddles that line of great film and great movie. It's entertaining and engaging like a movie, but beautiful and meaningful like a film.

I'm not here to review. I would need to see this film at least 3 times before I could even begin to write a competent review. I just had to gush and let the love out.

This makes my short list of perfect films: Annie Hall, Casablanca and Citizen Kane are the others.

Listening

2007-07-31T12:22:00.001-07:00

Willie Nelson

Teatro

Art and Moral Responsibility

2007-07-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Ok. I would like to start off by mentioning I have not thought this post through in the least. This is an immediate reaction to an article I just read. (You can read for yourself at http://www.addicted.com/articles/?ID=239)

Basically, Disney is no longer going to allow smoking to appear in their films, and they are discouraging their subsidiaries like Touchstone and Miramax to do the same. I honestly can't believe a company in the world of art (or "art" I suppose) could honestly enforce a blanket policy like this. The MPAA is already under great amounts of pressure to figure smoking into their rating system, and this will probably intensify the pressure. (Casablanca and Breakfast at Tiffany's and Citizen Kane now all rated X!)

I agree that artists have a moral responsibility to the public they serve, but they also have a responsibility to their vision. Take violence, for instance. Some films obviously will have great amounts of violence to get their point across. (Can you imagine a G-rated Saving Private Ryan?) Other films may just senselessly encourage violence. Take your pic of whichever movie you want.

The reality is that smoking exists and certain types of people (and therefore certain types of characters) are going to smoke. Not to mention, this isn't even the biggest threat in the United States these days. If you're going to ban cigarettes, should you be banning McDonald's? Burger King? After all, obesity and heart disease are the real leading killers in this country.

I suppose I shouldn't be shocked at Disney's decision. They cater to a safe, family crowd who doesn't always try to understand art and the medium of film.

To sum it up, Disney is censoring any film maker who works with them to score some politically correct points with families. It's rather sad, but that's life.

Listening

2007-07-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

Josh Rouse

Country Mouse City House

Listening

2007-07-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

New Order

Substance

A great collection of singles from this new wave band comprised of members of Joy Division.

Stand out tracks are "Ceremony" and "Temptation"

"YouTube" Debates.

2007-07-24T10:07:00.001-07:00

Some thoughts on last night's Democratic debates:

1) This debate made me an elitist. I honestly thought "the people" could come up with more substantive questions than "will you let us (two lesbians) get married?" or asking Clinton and Obama how they answered charges they were not feminine or black enough. Really? These are the questions? Why didn't anyone ask for an energy plan to be laid out. The questions about Iraq were decent, but I found the rest of the questions generally insulting to my intelligence. I honestly don't care who Joe Biden's favorite teacher was or why. He is running for freaking President of the United States, not Ms. America.

Let's get back to seasoned professionals asking questions if I have to deal with more crap like last night. "How do you define the word liberal and would it apply to you?" - Really?! Talk about a softball question that has no information in it at all. How about asking her what she intends to do about our oil dependence or constantly rising gas prices or a military stretched too thin! Those are questions!

2) Too many questions directed solely towards Obama and Clinton. I like Obama. I would vote for him, but I would like to hear more from Biden and Richardson and the others. Also, I hate how CNN put Edwards, Clinton, and Obama in the middle so all the press photos were of those three. They made them the front runners with tactics like these.

3) Ok. John Edwards has a wife. We get it. How many times did he mention her? He never fully answered a question. He looked, in a word, ridiculous up there next to people like Biden, Clinton (for whom I do not care at all), and Obama. He never would give a full commitment.

4) CNN hearts Clinton. Fox News hearts Guiliani. Despite polls stating that other candidates were the winners of the last two debates, CNN declared Clinton the winner and fawned over her all night. Sure, she didn't make any mistakes. But she never really did anything good either. Just like a few months back, Fox sent Rudy all the love, despite the fact that he used cheap political stunts to get applause.

5) There are rarely real winners in these debates. Coming into the debate, I liked Obama and Richardson. Now I like those two and Biden. Coming in, I dislike Clinton and especially Edwards. I still dislike those two. My pre-existing opinions influenced how I saw the debate, just as every one else's did. So it is difficult to watch these debates with an open mind.

There are some rambling thoughts for you....

3 Women who ruined my (love) life

2006-09-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

There are 3 women who principally have ruined any chances I have at ever truly being in love. They have set standards so impossibly high, I cannot imagine anyone living up to them. Here they are.

#1) Audrey Hepburn. I know, it's totally an obvious choice, but there is a reason why she is one of the most famous women who ever lived.

No one I know dresses like her, looks like her, talks like her (I, as most Americans, have a thing for foreign accents. I wonder what that says about us... hmm, another time.) I mean, if you've ever seen "Funny Face" "Breakfast at Tiffany's" or "Sabrina" you know what I'm talking about it. (Or even "Wait Until Dark" where she's blind and these drug runners are trying to kill her. Dude. Wow. She even dresses hot when she's blind!) She, for me, simply sets the standard of film beauty. No one else will ever come close.

What makes it worse (if women didn't have enough to live up to with those eyes...) is that she was really an amazing person, by all accounts. As a child she ran messages for and danced to raise money for the underground resistance against the Nazi's. What were you doing as a kid? Selling cookies to raise money for some crap charity? Yeah. Not impressive. Fight a power hungry dictator and get back to me.

#2) Joni Mitchell The girl with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair. Joni Mitchell.

According to my friend Tim, she's a bit manish, but I don't care. Have you heard her sing? Have you heard her play? (And in some pictures, she doesn't look manish at all!)

Besides writing the best confessional singer/songwriter album of all time (Blue - if you don't own it, you're life hasn't really started.)

I could just imagine a life married to Joni, little dulcimer playing babies running around singing songs about California and the "Ladies of the Canyon" and apples and cheeses. It might just be too amazing to be true. Any woman who can write the songs that Joni wrote has to be close to being perfect. Check out this lyric from "A Case Of You":

I'm a lonely painter/ I live in a box of paints/ I'm frightened by the devil/ and I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid/ Do you remember that time you told me love is touching souls?/ Surely you touched mine because part of you pours out of me in these lines from time to time.

Wow. I mean, damn! I can't imagine a woman writing a song like that to me. (I'll leave whether or not I deserve such a song for a later discussion. And no, I probably don't, but I'd still like one.)

Also, she's a hippie, and nothing's sexier than opposing your government!

#) Sarah Vowell Ok. I know what you're thinking. Her?

Yes. Her. Ok, so she's not exactly attractive in the same was as Ms. Hepburn, and can't exactly pull of the nerdy hot chick, a la Tina Fey.

Ok. Let's face facts. She's not hot, but she's sarcastic, funny, thoughtful and, um, oh yes brilliant. She's the writer of such amazingly great books as Assassination Vacation and The Partly Cloudy Patriot and Take the Cannoli. She also appears on NPR's This American Life.

She gets lost in the shadow of David Sedaris sometimes, but she's there making observations about life, politics and America.

I could see myself going to art galleries and making snide comments with her. Or maybe being involved in some political campaign to wipe out hunger or AIDS or Republicans. I know very few people involved in wiping out any of these things at the moment. I mean, how many girls want to go to place like Abraham Lincoln's assassin's grave? Or how many girls do you know that own pieces of John Wilkes Boothe's hair? Or can tell you about the crazy sex cult Charles Giuteau was in before offing President Garfield?

I mean, what's not hot about that?

I know this essay leaves me open for a verbal or written onslaught of well deserved criticism. Who is this guy to think that he deserves some like Audrey Hepburn? Or with the talent of Joni Mitchell? Or someone as intelligent as Sarah Vowell?

Well, I probably don't. After all, I can't live up to standards set by Gregory Peck, Bob Dylan and William Faulker.

I don't have to live up to them. This is my essay, and that's the beauty of writing.

Dead Flowers

2006-09-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

I can't stop listening to the Rolling Stone's song "Dead Flowers" from Sticky Fingers. I just felt the need to share that.

I was listening to Nick Drake the other night. It was a cool night for some reason (espcially for Alabama in September). I was tired and my head was resting against the window of my car. I just turned up his music up as loud as I could and just sat and listened.

There's something strange about listening to a dead man's song sung by the dead man's voice. It makes you feel strangely connected to the past in a way no other artistic medium can. He sat in his room and wrote these lyrics.

Decades later, I'm sitting in my car listening to them. Those same words, chords, melodies.

It was pretty powerful.

My Life As Train II

2006-07-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, if you haven't read my first blog about my life as a train, you might want to do that now.

I got to thinking more about as yet another train rumbles by house, drowning out the TV and shaking the windows.

Last time I mentioned how trains can't go back (like a car) and that this terrified me. While this is true, I have discovered the future scares me just as much. The Past and Future are equal villains in this story.

But on to the Future. Trains can only go where the tracks go, as I previously mentioned. We're all headed to that great Station in the Sky, and our trains don't stop moving. There is no pausing, no waiting, no taking detours. Minute after minute. Mile after mile. We're all speeding for the same place.

While that whole death thing is scary, what is even scarier, is that we're all going somewhere. To be 24 years old and feel completely directionless and aimless is one thing. To be 24 and realize I'm going somewhere even if I don't feel like it is another matter all together. I don't feel as though I'm in control. I'm a freaking undergrad! Yet, my life path is taking shape, and there's nothing I can do about it. We're all committed to one life, one train, one trip.

We can't try different roads or routes, we only get to try one.

I will never be a detective. I don't particularly want to be, however, that option is not available. Isn't that sad?

So my new goal in life is to try and commit to my life. I've only got one shot, and while I can't relay the tracks I've already traveled or slow the train down from heading to... you know where... I can do my best to make my trip enjoyable and successful.

Even if this does scare the crap out of me.

iPod Top Ten

2006-07-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

1) "Chief" Patty Griffin

2) "The Man" Pete Yorn (with Natalie Maines)

3) "Sister Jack" Spoon

4) "Buckets of Rain" Bob Dylan

5) "Return of the Greivous Angel" Gram Parsons

6) "The Man Who..." Josh Rouse

7) "It's The Nighttime" Josh Rouse

8) "From the Morning" Nick Drake

9) "Snails" The Format

10) "Useless Desires" Patty Griffin

One More Pic (Because I'm An Idiot)

2006-07-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is Eliott Morris with me at the Ray LaMontagne show. I didn't realize who is for a good 10 minutes. Then I felt like a total moron!

I'm sorry. I just can't recognize people if I'm not expecting to meet them.

Anyway, he's super-cool and will have a CD release party August 12th at the Workplay Theatre in Birmingham. Everyone should go.

Ray LaMontagne

2006-07-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

I officially realized I have the coolest job in Tuscaloosa/Birmingham. I got to go to the Ray LaMontagne concert for freaking free! The show was of course great, and Ray did a fantastic job. The Fruit Bats opened before him, and I didn't really stick around for Guster.

What made the whole night cooler was the fact that I ran into an old friend from high school and her new husband. It was the most random thing ever. We haven't seen each other in years, and then there she is. They loved Ray too, so we got to bond over that. I also saw a cool guy who comes into Oz (the music store where I work) a lot.

One more pic for you to enjoy:

Alabama Theatre

My life as a train

2006-07-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Johnny Cash loved to sing about trains. "Folsom Prison Blues" is a great one. His last composition is a beautiful number called "Like the 309" on his new CD "American V: A Hundred Highways."

Todd Snider has a great song efficiently called "Train Song."

Life as train is a popular metaphor for songs and poetry. However, you almost never hear about life as a car or airplane or zeppelin or submarine. (Though, of course, we all do live on a yellow submarine).

A train is a romantic idea, nostalgic and powerful. Thousands of dangerous or romantic scenes from films took place on trains. Hitchcock seemed to use them quite often. "North by Northwest" "Strangers on a Train" "The Lady Vanishes" Not too mention other films such as "It Happened One Night" and "High Noon" (My personal favorite shot of a train - they lost a camera filming it!)

The imagery in these films is usually quite beautiful, but to be honest the idea of life as train is terrifying to me. After all, as a passenger the major difference between the train and everything else (boat, rocket ship, golf cart, hot air balloon, etc) is the lack of control. Not only are you not driving the train (unless you're a train conductor, in which case I apologize. You may stop reading. You control your destiny), but the train can only go where the tracks go.

We're all so willing to accept this comparison without ever thinking about what all it means. Total lack of control. You don't know where you're going and you can't go back to where you've been.

It's a one way shot. No stopping. No detours. So often, I want to go back to change mistakes, but the train keeps rolling. If life were a car, we could simply turn around or throw the thing in reverse.

But life isn't a car. It's a train.

I'm trying to learn to live with that, but it's pretty hard.

Pete Yorn III

2006-07-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

On his "Westerns" EP, there is a song called "The Man" (with Natalie Maines singing backing vocals). I love this song so much I have listened to it almost exclusively for the last few days.

I have decided the song is, wait for it..... yornerful!

I'm so funny!

Reason #1 To Love Joni:

2006-07-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

"I am lonely painter
I live in a box of paints
I'm frightened by the devil
And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid.

Do you remember that time you told me, you said
'love is touching souls'
Well, surely you touched mine
Because part of your pours out me
In these lines from time to time.

Oh, you're in my blood
You're my holy wine
So bitter, and so sweet
Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling
And I would still be on my feet"

- from "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell

Free Lunch

2006-07-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

I would one day like to be the kind of person who is able (and willing) to buy lunch for all his friends.

Pete Yorn II

2006-07-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hey It's Pete Yorn and me! Aren't you all jealous?? (Especially you, Brooke!! HAHAHA!)

Anyway, I'm trying to look like I'm not excited, but the goofiness still came out.

What are ya gonna do?

It was really fun. I promise I'm going to get back to regular blogging soon. My life has been crazy lately! But I think it's settling down.

Anyway. Me and Pete. Good times.

(By the way, his show was AWESOME and the new CD drops August 29! Buy your copy at Oz Music... unless you don't live here. Don't you love how I'm advertising on my own blog? I should pay me!)

Pete Yorn

2006-07-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

So in just a few hours, I'll be headed to Birmingham. Why you might ask. Well, I'll tell ya.

I get to go to the Pete Yorn in-store appearance and concert tonight! How freaking cool is that?

Of course, I'll be working, but still... I'm totally stoked. It's Pete freaking Yorn!

Anyway, I've never worked a concert before, so I'm a little unsure of exactly what it is I'm doing. One of my managers will be there, so at least I'll have some amount of guidance on the thing. I'm also thinking that this is a really good act to start out with, because I'm already a fan. I know at some point, if I keep this up, I'll have to work a show or suck up to some artist I don't really like. I am fully prepared for that. (I pretend to like people I hate at the store all the time!) But with Pete, I can honestly say I love his music. How cool is that?

Ok. I'll stop freaking out now. Or at least I'll try to stop freaking out.

Listening

2006-07-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Soundtrack

A Prairie Home Companion

Title? I don't need no stinking title...

2006-07-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking - dangerous always I know - lately. I was thinking about a class my old roommate Michael talked me into taking. It was interpersonal communication or some crap like that.

Anyway, one day our professor told us about the five (I think it was five) stages of relationships. Basically, there's the meeting, the relationship escalates, plateaus, then eventually ends. At first I thought this was not true at all, but lately I've begun to think of all the friends who have fallen out of my life. Needless to say there's been quite a lot.

Sometimes it's necessary, sometimes not.

What is bothersome is when a friendship has died, but the person keeps reappearing. They keep reappearing because of mutual friends. This results in pressure to keep the friendship going. After all, aren't all those previous years worth it?

Not always. People change. Someone you were so closed to isn't the same person. Can't you keep your good memories and just let the friendship take its course to the grave?

Like a TV show. You can either go out on top (Seinfield, Cheers, Mash, Mary Tyler Moore) and be remembered as a classic or drag it out to painful ends (hello, Friends!)

It's late and I have no idea why I'm posting this. Just needed to think things through, I suppose.

Listening

2006-07-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

Johnny Cash

American V: A Hundred Highways

Moon Frisbee

2006-07-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

I would like to go the moon for one simple scientific reason:

Can a man launch a frisbee into space from the surface of the moon?

It seems possible, and I'd like to be the one to do it. Think about it: very little gravitation, thin atmosphere, no wind. I'm pretty certain that, if standing on the moon, I could throw a frisbee so hard it would leave the surface of the satellite and enter space.

NASA, get up some funds and send me!

Why don't I have a TV show?

2006-06-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I was bored and poking around myspace.com. I was looking at my cousin Austin's profile, and he had posted results from some dating profile quiz. My curiosity was picked, plus, like I said, I was bored.

I clicked on the link and took the test. Here are my (oh so scientific) results:

Your dating personality profile:

Intellectual - You consider your mind amongst your assets. Learning is not a chore but a constant search after wisdom and knowledge. You value education and rationality.
Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate.
Adventurous - Just sitting around the house is not something that appeals to you. You love to be out trying new things and really experiencing life.

Your date match profile:

Intellectual - You seek out intelligence. Idle chit-chat is not what you are after. You prefer your date who can stimulate your mind.
Religious - You seek someone who is grounded in faith and who possesses religious values. You believe that a religious person can enhance your life.
Adventurous - You are looking for someone who is willing to try new things and experience life to its fullest. You need a companion who encourages you to take risks and do exciting things.

Your Top Ten Traits

1. Intellectual
2. Liberal
3. Adventurous
4. Religious
5. Stylish
6. Athletic
7. Wealthy/Ambitious
8. Outgoing
9. Funny
10. Big-Hearted

Your Top Ten Match Traits

1. Intellectual
2. Religious
3. Adventurous
4. Athletic
5. Practical
6. Funny
7. Stylish
8. Wealthy/Ambitious
9. Outgoing
10. Sensual

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This got me thinking. Why did I (or why do people in general) like to take these quizzes? It's actually nothing more than a waste of my time.

It plays into our self obsession. I live in what might be the world's most self consumed generation. The Young American. We all want to be on reality TV and we post blogs like these (who really wants to read what we think or do?) and take these "psychological" tests just to read about ourselves.

For instance, I would like to think I'm intellectual, and surprise, that came up in the results. Does this mean I am intellectual or that I subtly skewered the results. I'm going with a little of both. (Just kidding, #2 of course.)

We like to read what we see as unbiased opinions about ourselves that reinforce our current self-image. That, dear friends, is the purpose of these tests. To tell us what we want to hear -something our generation truly values.

Ambitious People

2006-06-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to say to all of you who have both ambition and focus: I hate you. It's not fair at all. I, at 24 freaking years old, have plenty of ambition, but no focus at all.

I feel if even one person is getting screwed by this lack of focus, everyone should. Therefore, I issue a challenge to pharmaceutical giants everywhere: invent a pill which completely removes any focus from one's life and make everyone besides me and my fellow wanderers take it.

God speed!

Remember Me?

2006-06-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello.

First off. I'm sorry. I'm so freaking sorry! I know I haven't updated in a month and probably everyone who used to read this is now in the habit of skipping it.

Anyway, I am back. I'm having to update from the library. I'm parked in a faculty spot. Gotta love that no ticketing after 5 pm rule. (Even though it isn't 5 pm, and therefore, I'm risking it.)

So far, this summer has... well... what's that word... sucked. Sucky sucky sucked. All my friends have left me (I'm looking at YOU Stefanie, Elliott, Nathan, Abbie, Ruth, etc). However, there has been some good times scattered throughout the soul crushing loneliness. They are:

1) A prairie Home Companion - Tess went to see this with me as Ben was at work and, like I said, all you people left me. It's a great movie, and I've been singing the soundtrack ever since I saw it.

2) jKing and Kathleen's wedding - Normally, I hate weddings, but this was fun. Plus I got to see everyone I normally don't. Also, I tried Champaign for the first time... not a fan. Sorry if that makes me unsophisticated.

Yup. That's it. Two highlights. However, some fun stuff should be coming up... including a trip to Branson (to see Thiz and Russell) and possibly going white water rafting or camping in Wyoming.

Anyway, there's my complaining about how much this summer sucks. I'll try to keep future postings (of which there shall be many) more positive or at least funnier and more sarcastic.

Listening

2006-06-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

The Format

Dog Problems

(Thanks, Kyle!)

Grammatical Pet Peeve

2006-05-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

I, like all the rest of you, have a lot of pet peeves (disco, Hummers for civilians, leading the country into a poorly managed war based on [at best] faulty intelligence), but I have one major one. People do it all the time, and I'm going to have to cut the next person I hear.

"You and I"

Sometimes this is correct, as in "You and I went to the store."

However, if you say "Let's keep this between you and I" you're just being pompous. It's "you and me." Stop trying to sound smart by replacing your me's with I's. It's bad enough when you (generic you, not you who are reading this) are wrong, but don't compound your "wrongness" by trying to sound like a smarty.

Rant over.

(Please don't point out my hypocracy. I know my that grammar isn't perfect and that my spelling is worse. This is my blog, and I'll rant when I want to rant!)

iPod Top Ten

2006-05-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

So the top ten isn't changing much these days from month to month, they've built up quite a lead on everything else. Oh well. It's a habit, so I'm posting it anyway. Deal with that, yo!

1) "Return of the Greivous Angel" Gram Parsons

2) "It's the Nighttime" Josh Rouse

3) "Chief" Patty Griffin

4) "Useless Desires" Patty Griffin

5) "From the Morning" Nick Drake

6) "Long Ride Home" Patty Griffin

7) "Me and Willie" Emmylou Harris

8) "Pink Moon" Nick Drake

9) "Lay Lady Lay" Bob Dylan

10) "Conversation" Joni Mitchell

Exam Week

2006-05-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal. The semester is almost over, but this last stretch has been killing me. I'm completely out of creative energy. However, I promise to return to my blogging ways shortly.

For now, here are a list of things that will help me make it through the week:

1) New episode of Lost on Wednesday. (Please, don't be dead, Libby!)

2) Morgan visiting this weekend.

3) Getting to go home and sleep.

4) All the new CD's I've gotten lately (the lastest from Bruce Springsteen and Josh Rouse, the Beatles' Abbey Road, Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Of Montreal's Sunlandic Twins...)

5) Did I mention that new episode of Lost?

Listening

2006-05-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Josh Rouse

Subtitulo

(I highly recommend this album. It's freakin' great!)

The only thind dead about dead week...

2006-05-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

is me! (ba dump chi).

No me gusta estudiar espanol. Necesito desconsar.

Tell me!

2006-05-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

What we want is rarely what we should want. Why?

Listening

2006-05-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Format

Interventions & Lullabies

Cool people make weekends fun

2006-04-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

So here's a shoutout to everyone who improved the quality of my weekend:

Stephen - visiting for the weekend... cushion sliding, pledge skating.

Abbie - I'm gonna miss ya

Suzanne - for tagging along with me at Abbie's house/Crimson White party/Mellow Mushroom

Ben & Tess - just for bein' cool and goin' to the Mellow

Erica - for rescuing me (trying anyway) from Chatty McWon'tshutup at the Mellow...

Matt - for kicking the crap out of my leg - it was pretty funny.

Bobby - for helping me with this super cool job i might be getting. More on that later.

You're all great.

Abbiefest '06

2006-04-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Abbie is leaving soon to go to Italy (which reminds me... other countries need to stop taking all the girls... Here's my life: Abbie and Ruth to Italy, Leah to Peru then Europe, jMitch to England, Christin to England and Jessica to Peru. This is ridiculous!).

So this Friday we hung out at Abbie's and injured ourselves.

First we threw cushions on her hardwood floor to see who slide the farthest, (that's me and Stephen, thank you very much).

Then I wondered what would happen if we buttered up the floor. Made it nice and slick, you know? Kathleen reminded us of an entire bottle of Pledge (orange scented... mmmmm)

Unfortunately this made the cushions not slide at all (none of us were exactly physicists).

Michael discovers that on your bare feet it's crazy slick. So everyone gets a running start (not at the same time) and "skates" on the Pledge-covered floor.

I busted.

Badly.

Horribly.

I'm talking bruises and pain two days later.

Lesson learned, man. Lesson learned.

Listening

2006-04-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

David Ford
i sincerely apologize for all the trouble i've caused

Good good times

2006-04-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

Grilling on the quad.....

(said in homer's voice)

hmmmmmm.... quuuuaaaadddd.....

Full Circle

2006-04-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

So how funny is it that President Bush hired a Fox News anchorman to be his official press secretary? I mean, for years the Fox network has been the unofficial soapbox for the Bush administration (pretending to criticize every once in a while doesn't count as professional journalism... Especially when you're saying Bush isn't being conservative enough!), and now the administration has picked one of Fox's employees to actually be the official spokesman.

It just reminds me of how a few weeks back reports came out about Cheney's requirements in his hotel rooms, including that the television should be on and already tuned to Fox. Clearly, these people don't like any sort of criticism, and now they've got a real live journalist/pundit to defend them.

Gas prices, new house, good times

2006-04-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

First off, I have great news. I am not going to be homeless this summer. (So that was never really in doubt because Jeb and Jennifer even volunteered to house me if it came to that. But pretending that I narrowly escaped homelessness sounds way more dramatic.)

I'll be staying with my relatively new friend Ryan in a house halfway between Oz and the campus, which means I can save some major dough on gas prices. (Especially if I can find a bike for the summer. Anyone know of one?)

If I'm ever going to be able to go home again or visit Lauren or anything, I'm gonna have to use less gas.

Anyway, so I think Ryan and I will get along pretty well. It definitely beats being homeless, which I've kinda been there. Some of you may remember when former roomie Matt and I had no where to live. We had what we lovingly called the "Matt Giesman and Josh Mallory Traveling Road Shows." We both drove around from town to town visiting different friends (sometimes even landing in the same town at the same time.) With gas prices so high, I can't afford to live in my car traveling the Southeast landing on people's couches.

3 hour lunches

2006-04-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

So today I just took a day off. I overslept my first class (it's as though my body no longer cares that there is a loud alarming sound in my room at 7 in the morning. It has stopped responding.)

After sleeping in, I wrote my response due today and laid around for about an hour doing nothing.

Then I went to lunch with Ben and Suzanne... for over 3 hours.

It was pretty freaking awesome to just hang out for a while. During the daylight hours at that... I forgot what the sun was like.

So I decided, we should all just hang out all the time... I mean, sure the economy would die and we'd probably get taken over by the commies or terrorists or whomever we're fearing these days (Republicans? oooh, burn). And the lunches would probably run out if no one is ever work and growing food.

But we'd all be so much happier... for at least 3 hours anyway.

Listening

2006-04-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

Josh Rouse

1972

Lost and Shakespeare

2006-04-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

So I was reading up on the Tempest for class (obviously my Shakespeare class), and I began to notice some similarities to my favorite TV show in the post-Arrested Development world. (I must say any life without Arrested Development is not worth living.)

People on a ship are drawn to a strange island by a freak storm. There they encounter many strange things, and someone gets abducted (Ferdinan).

Sounds a lot like Lost where some people in a plane crash on a strange island, and someone (Claire, then Walt) gets abducted.

Could the whole thing be a big allusion?

New Laws for Life

2006-04-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Due to the events of the past couple weeks, I, Josh Mallory, have decided the following rules should be international law. (Does anyone know who I need to see about this? Who's in charge of adding things to the Geneva Convention?)

1) Drunk sorority girls can and should be shot on sight.

2) Don't ask someone to justify their actions, then chastise them for being defensive.

3) If you can't speed, don't drive.

4) If you can't not hit me, don't drive.

5) Everyone should sit with strangers at a Patty Griffin concert. (Though this may work out better for some.)

6) Everyone must befriend Jessica Roberts. The reasons will make themselves clear.

7) People who don't like Woody Allen should never be allowed to watch movies again.

8) Don't bring frostees to other people's girlfriends at work. You look like a tool.

9) Never take more than two English classes at a time.

10) Nebraska should no longer be a state... you know what you did, you Cornhuskers...

11) ________________________________ (Write your own, but if I hate it, I'll veto it. I am running this thing after all.)

Stupid Tuscaloosa

2006-04-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Let me just say, if you're looking for Woody Allen's Manhattan in Tuscaloosa, give up! It's not possible.

I went to 3 different rental places and two stores looking for this movie and came up empty.

I went to Oz first to see if we had it used (we didn't), then target to see if they had it at all (nope), then Blockbuster (didn't have room for Manhattan because they needed that space for that Lindsay Lohan Herbie movie) then two, count 'em two, Movie Galleries. (One of which is almost nothing but porn now.)

Finally, gave up and asked my friend Ben. He let me borrow it because he's cool, unlike Blockbuster (oh, i'm bitter).

Anyway, definitely give this movie a shot. I still think Annie Hall is my favorite movie, but this one is amazing. Allen's got his usual keen wit and humor here. Plus the black and white photography of New York is stunning. The cast is pretty amazing: Allen, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Mariel Hemingway. Anyway, I loved this movie and so did my friend Gina. I think this may have been her first Allen flick, but she really enjoyed it. So two thumbs up.

Listening

2006-04-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

Elvis Costello

Almost Blue

Best. Thursday. Ever.

2006-04-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

So this past Thursday, I finally got to see Patty Griffin live for a full concert (not like the half hour I got at the Grand Ole Opry!). After years of trying in vain to see my favorite artist in the world, I succeeded, and only one week after I saw Todd Snider. What a freaking 8 days! It was a long journey though...

Originally I had no one to go with me. However, facebook solved that problem as my new friend Suzanne messaged me asking me if I was going. (This was before she was my new friend Suzanne and just random girl on facebook named Suzanne... girl named Suzanne, not facebook named Suzanne. Wow. That was unnecessary.)

So I drove down to Starkeville (not Starkesville as Patty learned) Thursday night on that most celebrated of all holidays, 4/20. (I got quite a bit of raggin' for requesting it off.) Starkeville, as I learned, doesn't have too much going on. Anyway, we find our way over to Rick's Cafe for the show. That's when we hit a snag: Suzanne had the good 15 dollar floor seat, and I had a crappy find yourself a table around the outskirts of the bar seat. So I looked over at all the groups sitting around at the tables and picked my mark.

A table had three guys (two looked my age. one younger) and a girl. They were talking, but not too much. So I explained the situation and asked to sit with them. They agreed.

Now for the crazy part: The one guy who looked younger, Trey, was only 15 and knew someone I knew from Dothan. So here's a fun sentence that is now true: I went to a bar in Starkeville and met a 15 year old guy who knows people I know from Dothan, though he's never been.

Meanwhile, Suzanne may be second row center, but she's sitting with a guy she accurately describes as "creepy."

Anyway, so Micah, Dave, Casey and Trey ended up being super cool people, and Patty put on an amazing show. She did a lot of new stuff that will be on her next record, and I don't know how long that will be. I may not make it.

Article

2006-04-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

So at this point, my article cannot live up to the hype I've given it, as I've been talking about this for about a month now.

Nonetheless, here is the Todd Snider article. It got cut a little short and my favorite quote got taken out (I suppose because of language), but I hope it turned out ok. I hate everything I write, so I cannot judge it.

I'm still hoping to land that interview with Patty Griffin, but her management isn't quite as on the ball as Todd's was. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

Only one day!

2006-04-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Todd Snider's concert, and I'm completely stoked. I absolutely cannot wait! This is the best thing that's happened all week.

Listening

2006-04-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Elliott Smith

Figure 8

I'm not being a snob, I just don't understand

2006-04-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

"How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?"

Amazing question. Bob Dylan may not have sung perfectly but he wrote with such passion and purpose. His music actually meant something, and it really seem to come from somewhere deep in his heart and mind. Not just the "serious" songs, even the songs about love ("Lay Lady Lay" and "Girl from the North Country") are beautifully written, and songs like "With God On Our Side" and "Masters of War" asked incredibly important questions in unique and poetic ways.

"How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man" was Dylan's question. What's ours? "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?"

How did we fall that far???

Are these people dead inside? (It's parenthesis day!)

2006-04-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

So I waste my share of money (whoever thought of putting TV shows on DVD and charging 50 bucks was a genius... an evil genius), but I find this story ridiculous.

At the Kentucky Derby, they will be serving $1,000 mint juleps. One. Thousand. Bucks. For a drink. One. drink.

Exactly how wasteful and indulgent can we be as a society when a frivolous (and super effeminate) drink is one thousand dollars?

If I had one thousand dollars to (almost literally) throw away on a (crappy) drink, I don't think I could drink without seeing the sad faces of starving children in Africa. I mean, that's a thousand dollars that could be used to feed people or help fund research or pay part of someone's (say... mine) college tuition. How are these people going to drink this without tasting the guilt and selfishness?

I have a theory, thanks for asking:

Clearly, if they are into horse racing and have a thousand dollars to piss away, they are pretty removed from the problems of the world. Therefore, they have no idea that if 5 people buy these, that's 5,000 that could feed a lot of people. They must be very insulated and sheltered from the real world.

(Are you ready for the twist: here it comes...)

That could just as easily describe me. I'm thinking about all the concerts I've been to lately and all the times I could have drank water instead of getting a drink. Also, do I need 50 dollar jeans? Probably not.

So the question is this: where is that line between acceptable wastefulness (the occasional CD or movie/concert? maybe?) and extreme cold-hearted indulgence. The other question is who gets to decide? Me? You? Or people dying of diseases that could be preventable?

Your thoughts are welcome.

Your Wildest Dreams Come True

2006-04-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Click this link: here to see Josh Mallory naked (don't worry. It's censored.) And be sure to play the song by Of Montreal. They kick butt.

* * *

Is this bad? I went through myspace and facebook searching for Josh Mallory. I asked the guys who looked kinda cool to be my friends, but the ones who looked creepy or weird, I just ignored. (Yes, the naked me is my friend.)

In a weird way, myspace has robbed me of my identity. I am Josh Mallory. Until myspace came along I'd never heard of another. Now there's some other dude with my name (and my hair cut) out there.

I'm actually ok with it totally stealing my identity because it may come in handy later. Unpaid taxes? "Oh, you have the wrong Josh Mallory. Happens all the time. I'll let you know where he is." commit a felony and drop something with your name on it? Doesn't matter. There's another one... Someone stalking you? Pass 'em off to that other you. The possibilities are endless.

Listening

2006-04-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

Spoon

Gimme Fiction

Old Times

2006-04-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today about years and years ago when I lived on the strip. I was roommates with Matt, and Brooke and Collette lived upstairs in apt. 8. It seems like so long ago, it's hard to believe it was just 5 years ago. I really miss those times.

I mean, clearly, I wouldn't have wanted to stay there forever. I've done a lot since then that's been really fun and met some of my best friends since then. (Plus, I can't imagine life before Lost and Arrested Development)

I just want some way to go back and visit every once in a while. Just step back into the past and be 19 again. Having Brooke and Collette fiercely protecting me, while Matt annoys the crap out of me on purpose.

So I propose someone invent this. Either something where you can hook it up to your brain a la Matrix and it's just like you're there, or someone needs to finally figure out this time travel thing. Or maybe if we could just track down those ghosts from A Christmas Carol. That way we could go back and visit without interfering with anything. (Plus, past.me might be freaked out if present.me showed up. I know the last time future.me dropped in, I couldn't sleep for days.)

Isn't it odd how so many things reference the desire to go and forward in time. I guess humanity is frustrated that time is a line and there's nothing we can do about it. No matter how much I want to relive things and bring back the people who were closest to me at the time, I can't.

This is turning about to be much more depressing than I meant. I'm glad I got to live there for a couple years, even if it wasn't quite long enough. After all, it's better to have loved and lost and all that jazz...

A Boy Named Sue

2006-04-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

(I couldn't resist this. Sorry, but I think it's kinda funny... It's a lazy Sunday)

Put your music player on shuffle.Press forward for each question.Use the song title as the answer to the question.No Cheating.

How am I feeling today?: Throw it all away

Will I get far in life?: Lip Service

Where will I get Married?: Out in the Cold

What is the story of my life?: Good Year for the Roses

How can I get ahead in life?: Wish

What is in store for this weekend?: Lazy Gun

What song describes my parents?: Dig Your Grave (that's horrible!)

To describe my grandparents?: Art Decade

What do my friends really think of me?: Mystery Dance

Do people secretly lust after me?: Drive Away (that's bad too!)

Will I ever have children?: Pancho and Lefty

What is some good advice for me?: We Never Change

What is my signature dancing song?: Poor Man's House

What type of men/women do you like?: Happy Endings

Now next song will be the topic name you post for the post.

Hello, My name is hypocrit Josh

2006-04-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

I know some of you didn't have enough reading material this past week at work, but it was a pretty busy one for me. First, I had to work nearly 30 hours, and of course, I had class. I also had a Spanish test on Thursday. Now for the embarrasing part:

I, hater of reality shows, applied for... wait for it... yes... a reality show. The chances are slim to none that I'll make it, but it sounds super-cool. Rolling Stone and MTV are looking for five college journalists to work for Rolling Stone this summer, and from those five, one will get a job with Rolling Stone. Now, I don't necessarily want to be a reality show guy, but I guess I'm not opposed to it either.

I'm afraid of what I might see if I really have to watch footage of myself. Either I'll be someone I don't realize I am, or I, worse, what happens if I'm boring?

Anyway, that application took some time away from the blogging. This week I only work two days (!) so those of you at work (who are still sober enough to read... you know who i'm talking about) I'll hopefully provide you dozens of minutes of distraction.... DOZENS!

iPod fun

2006-04-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

New month, update top 10:

1) "Chief" Patty Griffin

2) "Return of the Grievous Angel" Gram Parsons

3) "From the Morning" Nick Drake

4) "Long Ride Home" Patty Griffin

5) "It's the Nighttime" Josh Rouse

6) "Useless Desires" Patty Griffin

7) "Pink Moon" Nick Drake

8) "Me and Willie" Emmylou Harris

9) "Conversation" Joni Mitchell

10) "You Don't Make it Easy Babe" Josh Ritter

Listening

2006-04-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

Arcade Fire

Funeral

Finished the Interview with Todd...

2006-04-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

So I just finished the interview with Todd Snider. It's kinda crazy, because after all that worrying about what to ask and what not to ask, I just followed Ben's advice and had a conversation with him.

He told me about his new album, Devil You Know, due out this August. We talked about Dylan, hamburgers, Patty Griffin, Tuscaloosa, radio, Hootie and the Blow Fish, Gram Parsons, whether or not he's old and Will Kimbrough (as Todd refers to him, "the brain behind all my bullshit"). He was really easy to talk to, very relaxed. The more he got comfortable, the more he started swearing. I'm going to have to do quite a bit of editing for the paper. I'm not quite sure which words we're allowed to use.

He also told me to look for his stage hand, so I can say hello to him at the show. This is the coolest feeling in the world. Not only am I on the list, but I get to meet Todd. Very few understand how exciting this is.

I mean, if I were telling people I get to meet Bono, everyone would be excited. But I'd rather meet Todd than Bono, so for me, this is a much bigger deal. He also gave me an artist to check out: Willis Alan Ramsey. I'll let you know how that goes.

Fun facts:

Todd likes to listen to rap, though he promises he will be dropping no beats.

His first job was working in construction.

We have both been listening to Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" a lot lately.

Quickie

2006-04-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

So I don't have too much time (the story of my life these days). Two quick notes:

Tommorrow, I interview Todd Snider, and I'm still nervous. I met the Ben (the ent. editor at the CW) and he went over some basics with me. I'm feeling a little better, but not quite all the way there.

Also, today I got Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks as well as the dvd's Snatch and Good Night, and Good Luck. All in perfect condition, all used. The movies were each 10 bucks and the Dylan was 5. Not bad, huh?

I love Good Night, and can't wait to watch it. I've never actually seen Snatch, so don't ruin it for me!

And Life Isn't Sucking Today

2006-03-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, so if you're Lauren, Michael, Allison or Carla, you already know this, but today I got an email. An important email. (Notice how I'm building suspense!)

It was from Todd Snider's PR, and she said she'd be happy to set up an interview with me for the Crimson White.

Which made me estatic (I even temporarly forgot that Arrested Development is over... now I don't know how to feel!) The day when along and I was looking for people to tell: I called Carla, then Michael, told Tim and Jason at work (funnily enough, Tim can't stand Todd Snider... but I'm hoping he's happy for me anyway.) Then reality began to set in. I had to interview him, as in come up with legit questions and not just ramble about how great he is for half an hour.

So now I'm nervous. Very very nervous.

But I'm on the list!

I'm on the LIST!

THE LIST! I'm on it.

So now I just have to figure out a way to write this thing well, and more importantly interview him well.

Sad, Dark, Evil Day

2006-03-28T21:31:00.000-08:00

Last post of the day, I promise.

It is a sad and dark day. Nothing beautiful exists in the world right now. It's over. Officially. Mitch Hurwitz, creator of Arrested Development, has decided not return to the show, should Shotime pick it up. Basically, this means it's over, because they only wanted to show if Mitch came on board, too.

I have to say, I honestly believe this was the funniest TV show I'd ever freakin' seen. No more SLUT T-shirt, no more pop-pop, no more big yellow joint or "i can't even fake the death of a stripper." No more Inner-beauty Pagents at the Church and State Fair. No more Lucille 2 or Maggie Lizer or Steve Holt.

Goodbye, greatest show ever. I'll miss you, and the following quotes:

"I just blue myself."

"You can't touch my cousin. Your cousin."

"Hey, brother."

"Her?"

"STEVE HOLT!"

"Annyong"

"No touching!"

"No no, you killed him when you left the air conditioner on with the door open."

"I thought you had class." "I thought YOU had class!"

"Even if it means me taking a chubby, I will suck it up."

"Oh please, they didn't sneak into this country to be your friends."

and in the words of Kitty Sanchez, secretary/mistress/flasher:

"Say goodbye, Michael. It's the last time you'll see these."

Last time, indeed.

How Far Is It?

2006-03-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

So there's a website called "How Far Is It?" that will tell you how far apart any two cities are. It gives both miles and kilometers - fancy. I decided to see how far away my friends are from me.

Lauren - Atlanta, GA - 184 miles
Family - Dothan, AL - 186 miles
Timmy - Bonifay, FL - 201 miles
Brooke - Panama City - 238 miles
Michael &
Jesse - Denton, TX - 555 miles
Allison - NY, NY - 909 miles
Rocio, etc - Santiago, Chile - 4715 miles
Shelley - Melbourn, Aus. - 9497 miles

I will try to visit you all - probably starting with Lauren.

I might look like the All American Rejects guy...

2006-03-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

Our culture is almost dangersouly celebrity obsessed. (Please, do not point out my hypocracy by reminding me of how many of my posts have mentioned celebrities.) Our national obsession takes many forms: tabloids, news television shows, celebrity endorsments, etc.

One of the most interesting to me, is how often we tell people what celebrity they look like. I have a friend who cut his hair very short and people started telling him he looked like Brad Pitt, so he kept it short. Another friend gets Jude Law. One kid I know looks like Topher Grace.

My whole life, I've never gotten any comparison. Until a few years ago, when the All American Rejects came out, and people told me I looked like the lead singer. That's his pic above. Truth is, I could see how people would think that: black shaggy hair, skinny, angular face, kinda pale... but couldn't that describe a whole host of people?

I pretend to resent it, but deep down, I'm glad I finally get a celebrity comparison. We're supposed to be a culture of individuals, but when a cute girl compares me to someone on a magazine cover, I have to admit, I'm glad I'm not that unique.

Listening

2006-03-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

Joni Mitchell

For The Roses

Oh Google, What Is Love?

2006-03-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ian Somerhalder and I have only a 17% chance of making it, but there is a 100% chance that I will eventually steal his hair.... and shirt.

There are some things everyone wants to know. What is the maning of life? Who really shot JFK? How does Tom Cruise keep getting work?

Cheif among these eternal and universal questions is this: What is love? To find the answer, I turned to the wisest of all modern sages, Google. I took the top 5 results as the infallible words of the Google.

The first hit was the Love Calculator. It's a pretty simple website. You put in your full name and the full name of whomever you wish, and it calculates the odds of your romantic reltationship working out. I entered my name and the name of a girl who I think is cute - let's call her Betty. Betty and I only have a 66% chance of making it. So I tried another girl - let's call her Al. (Paul Simon, anyone?) Al and I are even worse off - 25%. I then resorted to celebrities: Natalie Portman (51%) Emilie de Ravin (of Lost - 66%), Sarah Vowell (86%) and Brad Pitt (83% - which is more than he scored with Angelina Jolie - the two of them have a respectable 77%)

Surprisingly, my best chance at romantic fullfilment is with Mariah Carey (96%!) and my worst was with current man-crush Ian Somerhalder (pictured above with a low shot of 17%). Crazy McLoon and I have a decent chance of 81%.

How the Love Calculator arrives at these answers is any one's guess.

Next hit was Love Poems and Quotes. It taught me that love is like junior high poetry. It's sing songy and always, always - above all else - rhymes.

Then I checked out lovetest.com which is a pretty annoying website. You have to give your email address, but it does seem more accurate. Where the Love Calcuator justs asks for your names, this site asks for names, genders, and birthdays. I mean, if names can tell you a percentage, how much more can gender and birthdays tell you? However, I wasn't willing to give my email address away again, so the chances of my working out with Betty and Al will remain unknown.

Feeling desperate, I clicked the fourth link to iLoveLanguages. I had know idea how many langauge loving linguists there are out there. If you love reading about languages and language based journals, this link is for you. It made me think they should re-write that old song to be: "I learned to truth at seventeen, that love was meant for linguists." But, as we've already learned, love must always rhyme.

Finally, I clicked on over to AOL's personal ads. Love apparently, is of great interest to single women in their 30s and 40s who describe themselves as "great listeners" (i don't need a shrink, thanks) and "seasoned and sensual" (like steak?) This site also gave me advice on cheap dates, because apparently love shouldn't cost a thing. (Can't buy me love, indeed.) It said to go the beach or go hiking or ice skating (clearly, this website is not really designed for people in Tuscaloosa, AL where we have no beaches, mountains or ice.)

All in all, I learned five things about love: It's seemingly random, cheesy, demans too much information, nerdy and desperate/cheap. I'm just still bummed that Ian and I just can't make it work, but anyone got Mariah's number?

Listening

2006-03-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Ben Kweller

Sha Sha

("That's How It Should Be" "Commerce, TX" "Wasted & Ready" "Harriet's Got a Song" and "Falling")

Fairwell, Spring Break, We Hardly Knew Ye

2006-03-26T18:33:00.000-08:00

Spring break has come and gone again - so so quickly. Tomorrow, it's back to the grindstone of Spanish, Shakespeare, English lit and Early American Fiction. And of course, the job... slinging CDs.

Highlight from Spring Break this year are pretty dim, as all I did was go home and embrace free food and a good night's sleep.

Besides getting to hang out with my cousins + Timmy, I got to spend some quality time with cable TV.

I saw the episode of South Park with Chef's return. GENIUS. I thought, for a moment, that the show was going to be heartwarming (at the funeral), but then the "fruity little club that scrambled his brains" line killed me.

Also, can I just say, Fox News really is the most biased network I've ever seen? Don't get me wrong, CNN and MSNBC aren't exactly pillars of journalistic integrity, but Fox really takes the cake. I've never seen anchors whose story selection is designed to destroy one party. It's pretty incredible.

Anyway, I'll be back posting a lot this week, so those of you bored at work (you know who you are.. if you're not already drunk!) will have something to read.

Listening

2006-03-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

Nick Drake

Bryter Layter

V for Vendetta

2006-03-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

So I went to see V for Vendetta Sunday night. Just a couple of thoughts about the whole experience:

I stepped up to the counter and said, "1 for V for Vendetta," and the woman looks at me says, "Could I see your license?" I'm 24 years old. 24, and I just got carded for a rated R movie. That hasn't happened in, like, 2 years. I thought I was past that stage. Oh well.

I'm a little in shock that I liked the movie. I mean, by all rational logic, this is a movie I should hate. It's by the Matrix guys, and I hate that movie. It's also based on a comic book, and (Spiderman excluded) I also hate pretty much everything comic book related. It definitely had it's flaws: The mask got annoying. The symbolism was a little on the heavy side. The dialogue didn't always flow. It chased a couple rabbits.

However, I can't remember the last time I saw a big budged (action oriented, no less) movie that provoked so many questions. It's Tuesday, and I'm still thinking about it. It's message was also very unclear. It was messy. I liked this. It brought up a lot of questions and may have answered none of them.

But that's life sometimes. A lot of questions with no answers.

That is why I actually liked this movie. That and I want to have Natalie Portman's babies.

Roll Tide

2006-03-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

Alabama beat Marquette yesterday 90 - 85 in the first round of the NCAA tourny. I really thought we were going to blow that ten point lead like we did against Kentucky in the SEC tourny.

Somehow, we won it though. Mostly thanks to Jean Felix's 31 points. 31!

The SEC actually went 4-0 yesterday, and we might go 5-0 if Arkansas will get on the ball (they are currently losing 40-33 to Bucknell)

Roll Tide, guys.

Google Me!

2006-03-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

So I am now googleable as it turns out. If you Google the news section "josh mallory" you'll come up with my articles for the CW. If you google the regular section, on down the page, you'll get the CW there too.

It's kindof a cool feeling knowing that I can be found on Google. A small part of me feels like that somehow validates me as a member of society. I have now contributed something that can be found via the Google.

I was googleable once before, when an essay I wrote for the Marrs Field Journal won a national competition. You could find the competition's website as well as a couple news articles that mentioned it, but ever since I haven't been on Google's search results.

It's pretty cool.

Spring Break

2006-03-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Thank God it is spring break. I cannot begin to tell you how tired I am. I've got one class tomorrow morning, but I don't have anything due for it. No tests, no quizzes, no papers, nothing for the CW, nothing.

It is such a sweet sweet relief. I'm so gonna catch up on my sleep!

Stress of an Alabama Basketball Fan

2006-03-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

The problem of being an Alabama basketball fan, as opposed to being an Alabama football fan, is glaring and simple and painful.

Alabama football has a long, successful tradition. 21 SEC titles, 12 National titles, more bowl appearances and wins than anyone else, Wallace Wade, Paul "Bear" Bryant (who won more national titles than any other coach). Even when our program has down years (see my college career), we can remember and build upon our success.

Alabama basketball, however, doesn't have that same tradition. Current coach Mark Gottfried is trying to build that, which is pretty difficult to do in a state of football crazed lunatics.

As a program, we definitely seem to have some upward momentum. This marks our 5th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, which I believe is only the second time we've ever done that. We even did it with 3 freshman, 7 total players, and our star player Chuck Davis hurt.

But if there is a complaint, it is this. Alabama basketball is a big tease. Every year, it seems, we are good, but not good enough. We get into the tournament, and get out quickly. (Except one year, we did make it to the Elite Eight.)

This better-than-average-ness makes Alabama BBall hard to ignore, but the lack of greatness makes it hard to love. Especially when we know that sooner or later, UA football will be back winning the SEC and humiliating rivals.

So please, Jermario, Jean, Alonzo and co. do well in the tournament. At least make it to UCLA and play them well. I want to be proud to be an Alabama basketball fan. I want you guys to get as much love as the football team. (Especially since my encounters with you guys has been much more positive than most of my encounters with the footballers.)

Just Maybe...

2006-03-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

Todd Snider, singer songwriter and personal hero, is playing at the Bama Theatre here in Tuscaloosa in April. One week later, Patty Griffin is playing a bar in Starkeville.

I have full permission from the CW to pursue interviews with both of them. I actually already have Todd Snider's manager's number and email address.

I could actually get to interview one or possibly both of my favorite current artists. Here is a list of the feelings going through me:

excitement
fear
nervousness
montana
hungry
creative

I'm not sure how Montana got in there, but whatever.

Listening

2006-03-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

Elvis Costello

This Year's Model

Tastes Like Hypocracy... Needs Salt

2006-03-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

So Issac Hayes has decided to leave South Park, because of their satire of religion. He claims as a civil rights activist for the last 40 years (really? I just thought he did Shaft and then waited for a couple decades before doing anything else successful), he could no longer support a show that pokes fun of people's sacred beliefs.

Really? Over the last 9 years the show (which I, even as a Christian, think is brilliant) has poked fun at Christians, Jews, Muslims, Mormons and pretty much everyone else, but now he can take no more? I'm glad he's standing up for his beliefs 9 years too late.

Also, the timing is highly suspect. His announcement comes not long after an episode ridiculing Scientology, which happens to be his religion. So basically, he can cash checks and take money poking fun at others' beliefs, just not his own.

I actually believe that is called a "double standard" which often leads to "bigotry" - Ahhh, gotta love "civil rights activists."

This is only going to be used by conservative idiots like O'Reilly and Hannity to further the stereotype that people who claim to be tolerant are actually very interolerant. It's why the "liberals" in this country have a bad name. For the love, take a joke and let it blow over.

13 Year Old White Supremicist Pop Singers

2006-03-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

In the new GQ (with Lost's Matthew Fox on the cover) there is an article called "Minor Threat" by Aaron Gell. It is about two 13 year old twins who are hitting it big as "pop stars" in the White Nation circuit.

Basically, these girls (who are moving from California because, apparantly, Mexicans live there) are little blonde twins, who have been taught Hitler wasn't bad (he just killed the Jews because he had to), white people should take the Pacific Northwest as their own and other cultures are bad. Very bad.

At first, I was generally pissed off. I mean, really, who the hell is teaching their kids this stuff? And why would people want to listen to music that preaches that white people are morally superior?

Then I was sad for the girls. They're 13, and they have no idea what idiots they are. As they get older, they might realize their mom is a complete moron and has taught them straight out lies. Not only that, but they're so sheltered from other cultures. They won't get to experience (not while their mother has custody anyway) great Chinese food or Spanish Literature. They won't get to befriend exchange students from Nigeria or Australia or Korea. They're missing out on literally a world of culture simply because their mother is a horrible bigot.

Finally, I was actually a little relieved when I stopped to think about what this article means. In a weird way, this article represents that these ideas are so freakish and out of the mainstream, that articles should be written about these people, like circus freaks or something. It shows that America has made some progress. When someone moves out of their neigborhood because a Mexican family moved in, that person is judged outside the national norm. At least, if nothing else, we're making some headway.

Read the article if you get a chance. It is pretty entertaining, and you will have no idea how you should feel after reading it.

Roll Tide

2006-03-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

Alabama is making its 5th straight appearance in the NCAA tourney this year. Hopefully, we'll survive a little longer than we did last year. But hey, it's tough to build up a sport in the shadow of football. Congrats to the team.

Roll Tide

Creepy Stat

2006-03-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

So I currently have two friends with staph infections. Is that weird?

One of them is super hot. I'll let them figure out which one I mean.

Listening

2006-03-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

Bob Dylan

Nashville Skyline

("Lay Lady Lay" - ummm, wow)

Best.Week.Ever

2006-03-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

Screw, VH1. I'll tell you who had the best week ever: me! This past Sunday to Sunday (which is technically 8 days, but whatever. Tuesday was forgettable, so we'll just skip that one and bam! it's back to 7 days.) has been the best 8 day span ever.

Sunday (a week ago): Oscar party. I totally won the pot!

Monday: Saw Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speak here at UA. It was pretty freakin' cool.

Tuesday: eh

Wendesday: Went to the park with my friends, Robyn, Kat, Jimmy, and Daniel. We sat around and threw the frisbee and D played his guitar. Good times.

Thursday: Got some grades back in EN 300. 89 on the paper and a whopping 100 on the midterm (have no idea how that happened.)

Friday: Ate lunch outside and skipped class, because the weather was so nice. Also, got to take a nap. Also, Austin finally came into town again.

Saturday: At work, I placed 8 special orders, so that helps my average. I won't be the loser at Oz this month. I played Ultimate Frisbee, and my team won! Go us (Abby, Austin, Cristobol and random cool guy Scott). Then Carla and I (she was on the losing team) and her roommate Jen floored it up to B-ham to go ice skating. Then, ended the day with some awesome Guerilla Theatre.

Sunday: Played volleyball for a couple hours. Didn't win, but it was still pretty fun. Then got to hang out with Nathan, as it's his birthday. Plus, Bama made it into the NCAA tourny.

So there you go, one good day after another (excluding, remember, average Tuesday). Althought, I'm crazy sore, it's been kick-butt.

Tell me what i should do

2006-03-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

So tonight, I go to Guerilla Theatre and see this guy from class. For the purpose of this essay, let's call him Buster. (Like the idiot son on Arrested Development.)

Buster precedes to tell me he's going to do a song that I would love. He says he knows my taste, and I will love it. First of all, I'm wondering, what do you know creepy classmate?

So, he is actually the first act. He comes out and does a song called Statitician's Blues. It's a Todd Snider song. I love this song, especially the one of his live version. So, I think, that's cool. He's doing a Todd song.

Then, after he finishes, he tells one of Todd's jokes. Then uses an intro for a Todd Song, then plays a Todd song (the wrong one for the intro actually). He uses a couple more Todd jokes and says good night to the crowd.

So, honestly, I'm thinking, if you're going to cover someone, that's cool, but give them credit. Also, don't completely rip them off and pass it off as your own. It kinda pissed me off.

My question is on Tuesday, when I see him in class (Buster is overall a pretty nice guy, aside from the stage plagiarism) should I...

a) Say "Yeah, I loved that act. When I saw Todd do it three times last year."

b) Say "Yeah, I love Todd Snider. I've seen him like three times." (and let the embarrising realization sink in)

c) Be like, dude, if you're gonna rip off one my favorite artists, give him credit

or

d) the most likely option, "yeah, good job, man."

iPod Fun

2006-03-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

It's been about a month since I posted my top ten list, so I thought I'd update.

1) "Return of the Grievous Angel" by Gram Parsons

2) "From the Morning" by Nick Drake

3) "Conversation" by Joni Mitchell

4) "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake

5) "It's the Nighttime" by Josh Rouse

6) "Sad Eyes" by Josh Rouse

7) "Rise" by Josh Rouse

8) "Useless Desires" by Patty Griffin

9) "Me and Willie" by Emmylou Harris

10) "Cody Cody" by the Flying Burrito Brothers

Reading

2006-03-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Truman Capote

Music for Chameleons

Quick Note

2006-03-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

Today I got to hear Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speak, and it only furthered strengthened my belief that everything wrong in the country lies with Bill O'Reilly. Or at least his kind in the media. All these biased political commentators (both left and right. I'm looking at you Al Fraken and Ann Coulter.) villify the "opposing side" and make only give people soundbites as evidence.

I really respect "liberal" justice Breyer after today. I agreed with most of what he said, but not all. But even where I disagreed, I could see his side. Isn't that what the democratic process is supposed to be like?

If the news media would show full speeches (not soundbites without context), do real research and allow and force political leaders to explain themselves, this would be a much more well adjusted country.

2006-03-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

Joni Mitchell

Miles of Aisles

A Poem to Rachel Weisz

2006-03-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

Oh, Rachel Weisz,
Think you're nice,
I will triesz
To love you all my lifsz
Oh, Rachel Weisz.

Random Thoughts on Oscar

2006-03-06T11:05:00.000-08:00

1) I won 18 dollars! My friend Kat set up an Oscar pool, and I won! It's just the start of my gambling addiction. I correctly predicted 13 categories including Actor, Actress, Picture, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Animated Feature, and Score. Not bad.

2) How much sense does this make? As a Southerner, I'm outraged that not only was "Walk the Line" not the best picture, it wasn't even nomitated. Clearly, the Academy is still uncomfortable with people from the South. Granted, the best actress was Southern and played a Southern character, but still. I'm angry. Now, I would just like to say to all the people accusing the academy of playing safe by voting "Crash" best picture. GET OVER YOURSELVES. It didn't lose because it's gay, and it didn't deserve to win just because it is gay. Hoffman got best actor for playing a gay guy, and "Brokeback" won best director. That happens a lot when two movies are both popular. One gets best director and the other gets best actor. Also, "Crash" was an actor's movie, and actors make up the majority of the voters. Finally, Brokeback wasn't nearly so ground breaking as people say it is. Didn't Midnight Cowboy already do that like 30 years ago anyway? It wasn't the best movie of the year, and neither was "Crash"...

3) Where's the outrage that "Good Night, and Good Luck" didn't win? It was actually the best movie of the year without a doubt. Incredibly well acted (sorry Heath and Jake, but no), well written and beautifully filmed. The music was perfect. If there was one flawless movie last year, it was "Good Night, and Good Luck" followed closely by "Capote" - talk about movies that stick with you. Sorry it wasn't about homophobia or racism. Just simply and beautifully made.

4) 3 6 Mafia sucks. That's it.

5) I love girls with accents. Nicole Kidman. Rachel Weisz. Will one of you please for the love of all things holy marry me?