...stupid life...

The last month or two have been odd.
I went to Spokane for a job interview, was offered the job, accepted the job, then subsuquently turned the job down (after the job description changed four times in a matter of weeks, and it had turned into a demotion instead of a promotion) and did not, in fact, move to Spokane after I was half packed. *sigh*
The Hertz manager, Eddie, in Jackson Hole had a heart attack the same day that Jackson lost most of its seasonal workers. Thus they were very short of help and I spent many days commuting to Jackson to work. Worked 18 out of 20 days at one point. Not fun.
The result of these things transpiring is that I have had no desire to blog whatsoever. I have had watched a few movies (listed/graded below) and discovered a few TV shows that I kinda dig.
I like Fringe on Fox. Obviously it owes a lot to the X Files and Kolchak, but it's pretty well done. All two episodes I've seen. Third episode tonight. Whee!
I've been trying to watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel. He's smooth, full of common sense and cooking/travel knowledge, and is probably the coolest guy in the room. He's a joy to watch because of his joy. Conversely, my friend Sean Sean hates him for the exact reasons I dig him. Buzzkill.
I've been listening to Les Savy Fav, Jon Spencer, Tool, Deltron 3030 and Nine Inch Nails.
Here's what I've been watching, movie-wise...

29. Firefly season 1 A
30. Serenity B+
31. Succubus: Hellbent F
32. 5ive Girls F
33. Being There A
34. Burn After Reading B
35. Hellboy: Blood and Iron B
36. Holes: C+

Peace out

P.S. I'm sure you'll all be ecstatic to know that I have begun growing the winter beard. I pledge to get it larger, more voluminous, and gnarlier than last year.

I pretty much despise politics...

so this is prolly 'bout as political as I'll get in this blog. This is a picture of old man McCain, his wife, and his not-too-bright looking busty daughter. I found it under the caption "Two reasons I'd vote for McCain".
That amused me (which politics rarely do) so I thought I'd share.

I Hate People part 1128

So I'm working at the airport and it appears to be Missionary Homecoming Day. Every time a flight lands there are scads of shiny Mormon families with their matching haricuts and homemade dresses waiting for the aforementioned missionary.

Side note number one. A few years ago the Mormon church came out with a suggestion that families wait at home for the missionary to arrive (picked up by maybe just Mom and Dad at the airport proper) so that it wouldn't become a distraction in a public place. This suggestion has apparently gone the way of the dodo.

Side note number two. When I returned from my mission (at this very same airport) I got off the plane and found...nobody. I went to the bag carousel and while I waited there my mom tapped me on the shoulder, gave me a brief hug, and said "I'll be in the car." I collected my bags and headed for said auto where my father popped the trunk (he didn't exit the car until we got home) and said "How you doin?" You know what? It was perfect. No spectacle, no showboating, no fuss.

Unlike this airport today.

My favorite parts today in no particular order.

1. The flight landed at 8:26, the bags were on the carousel by 8:41 and now at 9:21 one of the families is still here there are (hang on a sec...) 17 people not including the missionary. Please, people, for the love of all this is holy, take your inbred lookin' children who can't sit still or be quiet and go home.

2. The family who, I assume, is welcoming a missionary who had gone to Japan. I assume this because this family of indistinguible members are all wearing these...

on their pointy heads. Yep, nothing quite like seeing a gaggle of white, Mormon Idahoans wearing (perhaps) mocking headwear to salute another white, Mormon Idahoan who appears to be quite proud of his status as dojo master.

3. The mom who brings four kids (the oldest, I'm guessing is five) who all have balloons. Firstly, they arrived waaaay too early, and secondly, when (inevitably) one of the urchins loses control of their balloon and it sailed to the very high ceiling never to be retreived, the child freaked. This was followed by his siblings mocking him with their still-possessed balloons and he mother reading (I wish I was making this up) Better Homes and Gardens while ignoring her four shreiking whelps completely.

So, again, I hate people.

Sigh.

This seems cheesy and dumb, no?

Oh, yeah, this is awesome.

My midlife crisis can't come soon enough.

So I mentioned in this blog a few months back that I was looking into buying a new car. Since my credit stinks, I knew it wouldn't be a new-new car, but a new-to-me car. I had, I'm sure you'll recall, only one stipulation: No Ford Tauruses. I've had my 1996 Taurus for 12 years and, while it's served me (mostly) faithfully, I wanted something a bit flashier. Something fun, you know, for the ladies.

So (long story short) My Mom bought a new car from my sister's husbands company. I flew to Phoenix to pick it up and drive it back to Idaho. My Mom gets a new grandma car, and I bought her 1996 Mercury Sable, the nearly identical twin (although slightly fancier) to the Taurus. Guh. So I kept my ideal alive: I didn't get a Taurus. I got it's cousin that has leather trimmed interior.

Someday soon when I reach the magical milestone of 40 and I start my midlife crisis, I'll maybe move up to a Buick LeSabre or a Crown Victoia. Kill me.

A few random things from my 2 day, 2000 mile journey:

America is illiterate. I saw a car that was "4 sell", and another, apparently desperate owner who was "moving must sale".

I reignited my one-sided, unreqited crush on Neko Case. I listened to her album "Blacklisted" about 1000 times, confident that one day, she will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine.

Living in Idaho sometimes makes me definitely want to kill myself. I passed a billboard outside of Preston hawking Spudfest 2008. You know Spudfest... Dawn Wells' family oriented movie festival held in Driggs each summer? This year they're celebrating Elvis and they have a horrible potato-as-fat Elvis singing "Love me tater...". Seriously, Napoleon Dynamite, racist militia dicks, Larry Craig, these aren't enough to shame us so we need recently pot-busted Mary Ann to have a friggin' Elivs potato butchering one of the best all time songs to shamelessly plug her crappy-ass festival? I will move away soon. I promise.


Sigh. This makes me wonder if Tina Louise or Danny Bonaduce are going to try to sell me crack this weekend.

vive la difference!

I watched two movies on Thursday and they could not have been more different.



First up, The Orphanage. A well thought out, deliberate, and very scary movie that gave me the chills, the willies (or as my friend Jon Rex used to say) the Williams, and an ending that toyed with my emotions and won. I started and stopped this movie three times so I could get my adrenaline down. I was literally watching through my fingers while curled up in a ball.
It's the story of a lady who grew up in an orphangage (duh) and now, as an adult, her and her husband and adopted son purchase the orphanage so she can continue to help children. From there it turns into a sublime, skin-crawling haunting. I seriously got goosebumps many, many times.
Well done all around. A-.



Second, we have a Japanese gore-fest called The Machine Girl. It was awful and I loved every second of it. A girl gets her arm cut off (and her brother killed) by Ninja mafia dicks, so she has a mechanic craft a machine gun for her arm (a la Planet Terror and Rose McGowan's leg) so she can exact her revenge. One of the most disgusting movies I've seen in awhile. There's even a mafia lady with a drill bra. Yes, you read that right. Not for the squeamish. Utter crap. But enjoyable crap. C+