Friday, December 30, 2005

Saw Brokeback Mountain last night. I don't really know what to write ... yet. I have a lot to process, and a lot to coalesce. It wasn't as fantastic and wonderful as I had hoped it would be. Heath Ledger is phenomenal ... a true revelation. But there's something amiss ... I can't put my finger on it, but I'm confident I will, with some time. So more on that later.

I've been in a pretty nasty funk for the last couple days, but I feel it lifting today. I'm going to make damn sure that 2006 is an infinitely better year. I'm going to do my absolute best to avoid making the same mistakes ... I'm going to really try to "re-focus" and find what makes my soul sing. Hyacinths for the soul, as the wonderful Dr. Maude Jennings from Ball State said to me once.

I'll do it, too.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Dashing through the snow, to a padded-room wonderland...

Ah Christmas! As much as I love the holiday, I'm glad it's over and done with this year. A short play-by-play:

Christmas Eve, T and I went to Ms. Gayle's, like we always do. This year, we asked Angela to accompany us, and her presence made the entire evening more tolerable. It's not that I didn't have a good time -- I did -- but it was a bit odd this year. The tradition has morphed into something very different the last few years, primarily because there are three grandchildren present. What used to be a refuge and gathering of camaraderie for those who really weren't up to spending the time with their birth families has changed into that group of us hanging out with Gayle and her family. It's still great food, lots of laughs, and nice festivities ... just not the same as it used to be. So maybe next year, we'll do something on our own? We shall see.

T and I spent most of Christmas Day in Chesterfield, with my family. My Dad was somewhat under the weather, felled by some flu bug. It's a rare thing -- the man is almost never sick. Mom was the most mobile she's been in quite some time, although she was a bit worried that we'd all notice she hadn't felt like going to the beauty shop earlier in the week. She's had a standing appointment for Friday at 1PM for as long as I can remember. It's always a big deal to her when she's unable to keep her appointment. She looked fine and shouldn't have worried. She also has an issue with allowing others to see her using her walker in the house. I finally got through to her and told her no one thinks "less" of her for using it! In fact, we all feel a little more secure with her mobility when she has the walker (or her cane) to help her. It was good to see my sister Terri (although, the on-again, off-again, and on-yet-again girlfriend was there, and I just don't get that entire mess), and I always enjoy spending some time with my niece, Heather. And Tony and I were both taken with how cute Heather's boyfriend is. They've been together for years, but there was just something about him this year that I'd not noticed in the past ... quite yummy. My other sister Kathy was fine, but a bit on edge, what with all the insanity surrounding her oldest son. Suffice to say -- he's on house arrest for writing bad prescriptions, just had a nasty car accident, and will most likely be paying some heavy consequences for his actions. A very Jerry Springer Christmas, folks.

At least my nephew David, Kathy's youngest, was still sane and, in fact, quite grown up this year. He's 14, but acts older ... probably because he's been around older people his whole life. Sometimes, he's so much like me it's scary. He's had a really nice growth spurt of late and he's really "filling out." He's a cute kid ... and I find it very easy to believe his claim that he's popular in school. He's funny, smart, and adorable. I just feel really, really old. I was there the minute he was born. That's just all kinds of wrong.

Last night, Tony, Matty, and I had some friends over for games and frivolity. It was a lovely time. Angela and I spoke our patented shorthand while playing CatchPhrase ... and I love it when people think we have our own special language. I guess it comes from knowing each other for so long ... but, yeah, we really are on the same wavelength most of the time. I mean, please -- who else but Ang would have been able to guess "psychiatrist" from my clue of "It's where you go when you're down?" :-)

OH!!! Tony got me the most fantastic present this year: a digital camera! I am so not worthy. But, I'm geeked because I'll be able to flex that creative muscle again ... and I can start posting fun stuff to flickr. Woo Hoo!! He was really too good to me this Christmas.

Now I'm ready to just coast into New Year's. Here's hoping it's a low-key, low-stress, relaxing week. We can have the blow-out behavior on New Year's Eve, sure ... but this week, I'm all about the chilling out.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Jrc's picks

Taking the cue from Tony, here's my list of 2005 faves.

Music:
  • "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" by Lee Ann Womack
  • "Breathe (2 AM)" by Anna Nalick
  • "Mushaboom" by Feist
  • "Landed" by Ben Folds
  • "In the Yard, Behind the Church" by Eels
  • "All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands" by Sufjan Stevens
  • "Feel Good, Inc." by Gorillaz

Performances:

Film:
  • Gwyneth Paltrow in Proof. She was sublime. My favorite performance by an actor this year.
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. The film is so-so, but I have a feeling that he (and, from what I'm hearing, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain) will be the one to beat come Oscar time.
  • Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds. She's damn good for a munchkin.
  • Shirley MacLaine in In Her Shoes. Probably the ultimate chick flick, but MacLaine is fantastic in it. Fun, sassy, and honest. Love her.
  • Matt Dillon in Crash. The best thing he's ever done. And it's a great movie, too.
  • Christian Bale in Batman Begins. He's my new hero. I wonder if he'll marry me?
  • Cillian Murphy in Batman Begins. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Wonderfully creepy.

TV:
  • Matthew Fox in "Lost." Sigh. I'd eat him with a spoon. And I love his character.
  • Jason Bateman in "Arrested Development." Who would have thought that Mr. Bateman would have grown into such a brilliantly subtle comic actor? He's flat out fantastic on "AD." God I hope Showtime grabs this show.
  • Mary-Louise Parker in "Weeds." Like buttah. Tony always calls her an "interesting actress" because of her process or whatever ... but she takes my breath away. There's a scene in an early ep of the show when she's watching a video of her late husband. You can read all 9412 emotions on her face. She's perfect.
  • Elizabeth Perkins in "Weeds." I'm convinced she's me, as a woman.
  • Debra Messing in "Will & Grace." Yes, the show is tired and well past its prime. We all know that. But I don't think Messing has ever gotten the respect and accolades she deserves for her work on this show. She's so damn funny.
  • Kathy Griffin in "My Life on the D-List." I have no words. I shall simply bow to her biting wit and scathing truth. And then I'll laugh my ass off.

Live music:
  • Melissa Etheridge was amazing on the Grammys, performing "Piece of My Heart." Brave. Crazy. Spot-on.
  • Trisha Yearwood's "Live By Request" concert on A&E was stunning. And she sang "Midnight Train to Georgia," so I nearly peed in my pants.
  • Kai Mwaafrika's performance of "Trouble in Mind" during the Phoenix Theatre's production of "Further Mo'." I used to think the song belonged to the one and only Dinah Washington. I was mistaken.
Experiences:
  • Seeing Marc Broussard with Tony. What a great show. And Marc is ever-so sexy.
  • Seeing Eels with Timmy. Fun to hang out with Tim, after far too long, and very very fun to see a great band perform in a totally different way.
  • Seeing The Finn Brothers with Ang. I was more familiar with their pre- and post-Crowded House work than Ang, but we had a lovely time. And the boys were great.
  • Opening my digital camera earlier this week. Sigh. "He knows me so well...."
  • The "bonding night" with Matty when the three of us laughed our asses off all night like schoolgirls.
  • I had a really fun weeked at Bearfest. Lots of reasons why ...
  • Seeing Tony onstage again was lovely.
  • Reading Infinite Crisis #1. Total geek, yeah ... but this book is so fun and is shaping up to be the catalyst for big changes in the DC Universe. I love feeling that old anticipation for each new issue. And my buddy Phil is doing a bang-up job on the art.

I'm going to stop now, because if I don't, I'll go on forever. Merry Christmas!!

Thursday, December 22, 2005

I can only imagine ...

... the comments I'm gonna get for this one:

Your Elf Name Is...
Flakey Sugar Butt

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Boring tidbits

Today was the holiday luncheon at my office. It was nice enough. My co-worker's sister made some homemade fried chicken, spaghetti, and garlic bread that was all quite tasty. We had the standard "Secret Santa" event, and I got a nice gift card from Best Buy. Now I just have to decide what to get with it ... I have tons of things I want, but am going to be a good boy and wait until after the holiday. I hate having to return shit.

I'm working on my annual "Jason's favorite songs from the year" CD tonight, and it's fun. If I start in on music and what it means to me, we'll be here all night, so I'll spare the gory deets. But I would be lost (LOST, I SAY!) without it. There were some truly lovely songs this year, so it makes me happy that I'll be able to share them with the people that matter most to me. I've already sent Jill about six CDs throughout the year -- she's come to expect them, now. I'm glad. We've always bonded over all kinds of things, but never music ... and now we have. A lot. She's going to be in town Wednesday night to see Tony's show, and I'm so glad. I was afraid I wouldn't get to see her before Christmas.


Tolliver is getting old. He thinks it's time to eat anytime I'm anywhere near his food dish now ... and he didn't used to be that way. He's still pretty spry, though. He bolts up the stairs rather well, and it's nothing for him to hop up on the end of the bed and settle in for the night. He's a good kitty.

I've grown really really fond of the taste of whiskey.

I don't "get" hip-hop A.T. A.L.L.

And I think it's time to stop this post before I "say" something I'll regret ...

Bearfest stuff

So the Midwest Bearfest was pretty fun. Meeting Jason from Columbus was a joy, and I'm glad he's just as cool in person as he is online. I love new friends. And he's cute, to boot. Woof.

Greg's was way too crowded on Friday night. I don't think the regular crowd there realized how many guys were going to be in attendance for the bearish festivities. It got to the point where you could barely move through the crowd, and that just made me crazy. We all decided to spend as little time there as possible on Saturday so we could get to the 501 earlier. I really had a great weekend ... very fun, very silly, and a much-needed respite from (as Tony calls it) the "Holly-Daze."

Be sure to ask Matt how much fun he had this weekend. :-)

Friday, December 16, 2005

Someone must be kidding!

So I’ve been sitting here this morning, waiting for some information packets to copy for a staff meeting this afternoon, and instead of doing busy paperwork while the copy machine whirs and clicks in the background, I’ve been reading an old National Geographic magazine. The cover asks “Was Darwin Wrong?” and that’s enough to pique my interest. My brother Mike used to have a subscription to NG when we were living at Mom’s, and in rare acts of kindness, he’d pass the issues along to me when he was finished reading them. I used to be something of a science geek when I was a little kid. I imagine it was my fascination with the physics behind superheroes. I really wanted to believe that it was possible for people to have superhuman abilities. But I digress …

The Darwin article (by NG writer David Quammen) is a great read. It is, of course, exquisitely written, perfectly documented, and a pleasantly straightforward piece on how the evidence supporting the “theory” of evolution is overwhelming and nearly unquestionable. I consider myself a bit of an evolution buff, but I learned a great deal from the article … and I certainly love learning new things. Acquired knowledge is a huge turn-on for me. Hehe. The article never downplays the importance of evolution as a concept – in fact, it points out rather persuasively that the idea is crucial to human welfare, medical science, and to the basic understanding of the world. My favorite quote from the piece:

“…the supporting evidence is abundant, various, ever increasing, solidly interconnected, and easily available in museums, popular books, textbooks, and a mountainous accumulation of peer-reviewed scientific studies. No one needs to, and no one should, accept evolution as a matter of faith.”

Here’s the thing that almost blew my brain apart:

“According to a Gallup poll drawn from more than a thousand telephone interviews conducted in February 2001, no less than 45 percent of responding U.S. adults agreed that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” Evolution, by their lights, played no role in shaping us.
Frightening, huh? It gets better.

“The most startling thing about these poll numbers is not that so many Americans reject evolution, but that the statistical breakdown hasn’t changed much in the last two decades. Gallup interviewers posed exactly the same choices in 1982, 1993, 1997, and 1999. The creationist conviction – that God alone, and not evolution, produced humans – has never drawn less than 44 percent. In other words, nearly half the American populace prefers to believe that Charles Darwin was wrong where it mattered most.”
I can’t even wrap my brain around that. Of course, I guess given the very scary wave of conservatism sweeping the nation, I shouldn’t be too surprised. What is it about nearly indisputable facts that frightens Americans so much? I just don’t get it. I doubt I ever will.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

King Kong

Saw a sneak preview of Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. It was pretty spectacular. Clocking in at a hair over three hours, the movie is big, bombastic, and loaded with grin-inducing special effects. Essentially a love story (seriously), the film captures the spirit of 1933 masterfully. The opening shots establish the US in the throes of the worst year of the Depression, and really grabs the viewer with its exquisite imagery. It's a fun (albeit flawed in parts) script, with some sly and clever nods to the original masterpiece. Kong himself is fantastic -- everything I thought he'd be, and more. It seems trite to say he's very human, but he really is. The anguish he feels, the confusion and uncertainty, are all displayed beautifully. The film's running time does it a bit of disservice, I think, primarily because I could feel the audience get fidgety during the second act. Skull Island is appropriately creepy and mesmerizing ... the natives are frightening, living in fear of the "monster" who shares their forgotten island home. I was a little shocked at the violence portrayed on the island -- but it makes sense, in the big scheme of things. The creatures therein are pretty great, as well. The film definitely earns its PG-13 rating.

The final shots above the beautifully recreated New York City of 1933 are truly awesome. Suspend your disbelief early, however -- there's much in the final act that requires the viewer to take those giant leaps right along with Kong. But the payoff is really fun cinema. The Empire State Building looks lovely ... the cityscape is breathtaking ... the affection between Kong and the lovely Ann Darrow (a spot-on Naomi Watts) is real and honest and vivid. I loved this movie. Haven't had as much fun at a theatre in a good long while.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Technologic

From Matty, via Steph.

Journeying Artificial Sabotage and Observation Neohuman

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter...

I was sitting on the porch this evening, having a cigarette (yes, I know they're bad for me -- New Year's resolution and all, so lighten up), when it hit me: I really kinda dig winter. I know, I know ... it's cold, the snow and ice can be nasty and hazardous, it's cold, and the wind can cut right through you worse than a bitter queen's fashion commentary at the gay bar, but I can't help it. I've always sorta-kinda liked the cold. And when I was done smoking, I took a couple really deep breaths, soaked in the crisp air ... and it just felt clean. Brisk. I hesitate to use the word "peaceful," because it doesn't really seem to apply to the sensation I felt ... but that's the best I can come up with. I was calmed and soothed and comforted by the wintry breeze. Am I a freak? Maybe. But I don't care.

Quick thoughts

Happy Tuesday.
The weekend was nice ... Tony's show opened and was a big hit with audiences. That makes me happy. It's a big, silly, fun piece of holiday cheer ... and he's a freakin' riot, especially as the Grinch and the Crocodile Hunter. It was a true pleasure to see him on stage again, and I hope it's the beginning of a new trend.
And it was just fantastic to see my dear friend Jessie Mae and her handsome husband. We don't see each other nearly enough, and it was comforting to find her the same sweet, funny, and charming lass I met all those years ago. She and Jeff complement each other so well ... and they're obviously still very much in love. Yay!
My friend Tony (yes, another Tony) and his wife Dawn were there as well ... but managed to sneak out after the show, so I didn't get to chat with them much. Curses!
We went out with our friends Adam and Angela afterward, and again, fun was had by all. Ang felt the warmth of a few Stoli and cranberry cocktails and ended up planting wet ones on both me and Tony ... and I couldn't help but giggle. She also got a bit frisky with our cute new friend (yet another Tony) from Muncie. Ang is such a great friend ... and I had a blast playing "three favorite songs by this band" with her. Good times.
Did some shopping and had some dinner on Sunday. Of course, the Chinese restaurant where we ate failed to mention that mushrooms were an ingredient in its beef with broccoli dinner, so when the smiling server brought it out just littered with nasty shrooms, I had to send it back. And in true Jason fashion, I think some "remnants" of fungi were present in the replacement dish, because I ended up getting that tell-tale scratch and swell in the throat ... and felt pretty crappy for about two or three hours after eating. Thank God for allergy meds.

Things that make me happy today:
  • Starbucks chocolate-mint doughnuts
  • Tony (whether the bitch believes me or not - hehe)
  • The thought of Christmas shopping tonight -- and hopefully getting a lot of it finished
  • The Christmas music swirling through my iPod
  • My desk fan (hot flashes? me?)
  • Watching the stack of "to do" stuff slowly (and I mean slowly) dwindle on my desk
  • Tomorrow is new comic book day
  • Did I mention Christmas shopping?
  • Dan Renzi's blog (Dan was the funny guy from one of the Real World seasons on MTV -- his blog is a freakin' riot most days, and I always have fun reading it)

More later. :-)