"I like films and crap telly." -Martin Freeman aka Tim from The Office

Hey, me too.

Quote of the day:
"Even if I'm on my deathbed, I'll fit in a few movies." -Joe Pudas

My brother sees more movies than me, he's a real movie buff. And he knows his stuff, let me tell you. He's not like those Cinemania people though. Joe's latest review on A Lot Like Love is great. See the daily cardinal link. He calls the movie "a lot like crap." Funny. And there's even a snarky reference to The Other Sister, which never fails to disappoint.

A.O. Scott's review of The Interpreter is dead on. Find that at the New York Times. I was laughing out loud at work while reading it.

Soon I'll learn how to make links.

CleanFlicks sucks.

I just watched what may be my favorite episode of Queer Eye yet. The subject was a nice guy, followed instructions and was genuinely appreciative. And he didn't pull any of that pathetic homophobic business that boils my blood. Too much! Even his proposal at that Jets game seemed sweet. Too much!

Happy Birthday Rieschelle: Hope lots of Nutella-laden waffles and an iPod come your way.

Weezer's Rolling Stone Cover
Such a thrill. The cover: "The Weird World of Weezer: Rivers Cuomo Hasn't Had Sex in Two Years, and Boy, Is He Ready to Rock." Jeez Louise. I've long thought of Brian Bell as being my friend Katie's soul mate. They'd be perfect together and would make an absolutely striking ReadyMade cover couple. The article goes into Cuomo's search for a lady friend; he tells a story about filling out the damn eHarmony questionaire only to be told he was not a match for anyone. eHarmony is a joke. There is a photo inside where Cuomo sports a neat Penguin tie and appears to be wearing eyeliner. A little Billie Joe Armstrong-esque.

Amie and I went to the movies. We saw The Interpreter and Fever Pitch. The Interpreter was ok, a bit lackluster. Catherine Keener was the best part. Fever Pitch was really cute. Jimmy Fallon is funny and charming and wears long sleeve shirts under short sleeve shirts, which I happen to like.

The most generic thing I've heard all week, maybe all year:
"If I could be in any band, I think it would be the Beatles. That would be a lot of fun."

Tina Fey is a peach.

I've seen a lot of my favorite people on tv lately:
-Stew the Meatman from Strangers with Candy on Curb
-Bob Balaban on Seinfeld
-Taylor Nichols from Metropolitan, Barcelona and that one Whirlpool commercial on Grey's Anatomy (No Bible dancing unfortunately)
-And I think I heard Will Arnett's voice on a T. Rowe Price commercial
-Those Michael Ian Black/Jim Gaffigan pop commericals are a hoot

Link-o-Rama
I've already mentioned Joe's articles and Amie's lovely sites. Everyone should also check out the websites of Bill "Sonsabitches" Eseltine and Justin Cooley, as well as their friend Michael Degnan. They're some smart, funny fellas. (HINT HINT: As soon as Brooke, Katie and Matthew begin blogs, they too will receive mentions)

"Private caller? That's code for some asshole trying to sell you something."
-Stacie Pudas

This pretty much epitomizes my outlook today. I've been a bit frantic. Right after I made this remark I laughed and decided to lighten up.

I watched that new show Stacked. Not too good. The best part was the guest spot by Tony "Hey Brother" Hale from Arrested Development. (I've heard rumors that Arrested Development might get the ax. And yet shows like Yes, Dear get renewed year in, year out. What gives?)

Love Actually is on. Such a great movie. I like all the actors. I find it incredibly funny, sad and romantic. It captures the way people act like fools sometimes, in both good and bad ways.

Movies to see:
The OH in Ohio
Lords of Dogtown (The movie poster reminds me of Sean Penn and his pals from Fast Times at Ridgemont High)
House of Wax (Sue me)

Put Me In Coach
On my walk home from work I pass a park where tee ball leagues have been having games and practices. It's really sweet. The little pint-sized players look adorable in their jerseys. They are still trying to figure out the game and it looks like they might wander off at any moment to follow any sort of distraction. It makes me think back to my own baseball experiences as a kid. I hated baseball. I never knew when to run and was always afraid of the ball. (Still don't and still am) I was always picked last for teams, once after a legally blind, retarded kid. This tee ball thing is softening me towards the game a tiny bit. Still won't be joining any work teams though. (The Exonerated Bail Bond All-Stars - elaborate lie)

Simply Scrappin' Yo!
The ladies at my new job take cubicle decor seriously. Themes abound: Elvis, elephants, pin-up ladies, pop punk, Asian floral, the list goes on. Simply Scrapping has been visited. I have finally decided to take part. My theme: Bob Balaban. Nooooo. I might put up a Pollock print. Or maybe some Cornell postcards. Time to swank it up.

Family Anecdote Moment
I had forgotten about my brother's first day of kindergarten. It somehow came up in conversation last night. My mom got a call from the school after his first day. The teacher said Joe was having trouble interacting with the other kids. She even requested a conference. My mom freaked: Joe must be biting, fighting, pushing, etc. Once they met the teacher delved into Joe's interaction issues. Joe was not actually being violent at all. He was, however, not respecting the personal space of the other children. He kept hugging all of his classmates. Awww, shucks. [I wanted to post a picture of him here, but I'm not tech savvy enough yet. Me's a loser.]

Wilson Brothers Showdown
My preferred Wilson brother of choice varies from day to day, sometimes even hour to hour. Of course I am excited about The Wedding Crashers with Owen Wilson. And then today I found out about the new untitled Mike Judge movie which stars Luke Wilson. So, it's a draw at the moment.

Clipped Soundbytes
"Shapeless sack that's got some flava." - Stacy London, What Not to Wear, describing one hideous garment

"Gold draped lamé all down the sides." - Dee, Sheer Dallas
(Sheer Dallas is complusively watchable. It captures the excess in Texas.)

I read an interview in which David Duchovny claimed they will be making another X-Files movie. I'll believe it when I see it.

Kind of a random assortment on this one.

Happy Birthday Matthew. Sorry you have to work. I hope Rufus Wainwright checks into the inn and gives you a private concert.

Thank you so much to Amie and to Evan for the lovely new blog design. It is just perfect. I so appreciate the thought and work that went into this. The pink and the green reminds me of Adrian Tomine and the cursive font is quite elegant. The inspiration from my Japanese print really comes through. And the birds and the cherry blossom vine! How pretty. The "sassy modernity" Amie was trying to capture has been achieved. I can't thank you enough. And you even chose cool links too.

Check out Amie and Evan's sites. Also my brother Joe's movie reviews can be found at the Cardinal link. He wrote such a funny, scathing one of Sahara on April 11th.

Have to dash to work. Thanks again so very much!

Today was one of those days where you keep checking your shoes because you are fairly certain you stepped in something gross and/or smelly. My new job has been super stressful. I am a person who worries a lot, and if something gets missed at this new job, it can be pretty bad. So there's that. Plus the workload piles up toward the end of the day with priority tasks. So the newness of the job, the nature of the job and my own neurosis are doing me in.

On my lunch break at the local pizza joint I was confronted by another regular from the bookstore - scab guy. He is not the picket line-crossing kind of "scab" as far as I know. He rocks the Joey Buttafuco look. He has cornered me more than once with his "engaging" stories. He likes to point out the various scabs he has acquired. And he drops names- he apparently used to be friends with Bruce Willis. I was out of there before I had to hear anything more. Whew.

The real low point came at the end of the day when I mentioned to a coworker that it was "crunch time." I was pretty disgusted with myself and wanted to wring my own neck for betraying me. The term "crunch time" falls into a category of phrases and expressions which I loathe. What's next? Will I soon find myself making other icky statements? "That Nick Lachey is all that and a bag of chips." "No worries." "It's all good." "Let's think outside the box." I could go on and on. To be continued with this.

It all adds up to me being a real shrill bitch lately. I was even likened to Susie Essman's character from Curb Your Enthusiasm the other day, and that was coming from my dad. Yikes.

Coachella 2005: Won't be there. Have fun in my absence, Wilco and Weezer.

It does not get any more whimsical or beautiful than the shadow boxes of artist Joseph Cornell. His work reminds me of Salinger novels, Wes Anderson movies, natural history museums and all good things. Someday I hope to see some of his work in person.

Observations from the bookstore:

Check out the new Rolling Stone. The spawn of famous rock stars grace the cover. Pretty much the most ho-hum cover spread ever—with one exception: Art Garfunkel's kid, so cute and awkward, as opposed to Keith Richards' sullen, vampy looking offspring. Unmistakably Garfunkel.

Speaking of awkward youth, a tween was buying an American Girls book on what middle school is like. I shudder to think back on the junior high years. Talk about a bad case of the squirms.

There's a new regular at the store who I affectionately call the superhero alter ego guy. He's got that Clark Kent/Peter Parker freshly scrubbed dork look. He wears glasses, but not in a geeky chic, Gideon Yago kind of way. They are ill-fitting and of the Coke bottle variety. And I think I noticed a Members Only jacket being sported without a trace of irony. Any minute I expect him to dash out of the elevator in a cape. I'd like to sic Kyan Douglas on him.

Doesn't everyone own a copy of The Da Vinci Code by now? Don't people share/trade books any more? I would have been ticked if I had paid for that book. I still crack up when I think of Daniel Hoffman's suggestion of a drive-through Dan Brown store. Tom Hanks is the worst choice ever for the movie. How about Colin Firth?

Other Stuff:

I found out there is an all girl Wilco cover band called Wilca.

Tonite's Arrested Development was the Zach Braff-iest.

Sorry for this one. I got nothing. I'm bored and have a subpar medical drama to watch.

Eagerly anticipating the new Amie Barnett designed elaboratelies.

Care Packages: Fun to Give and Fun to Get

I have been fortunate enough to be the recipient of lovely care packages galore lately. My brother Joe got me some cool loot from NYC, including a poster and a cute knick-knack. My friends Brooke and Katie sent fun goodies including a Clash cd, a homemade bookmark and more. And finally my mom sent neat stuff from a recent trip to Minneapolis and my favorite place on Earth, Sephora: Cargo and Stila lip glosses in perfect shades, along with an Ann Taintor journal (cheeky fun!). Thanks everyone so much. You know what I like.

Gervais Office vs. Carell Office

The Office is one of my favorites shows ever. It captures, with humor and more than a touch of sadness, the way work can sometimes make a person feel schlumpy and the world seem gray and dismal —like a DMV that never closes up shop. Ricky Gervais is perfect as the tactless prick boss. And the characters of Tim and Dawn make the show for me- two hapless people who wanted more and deserve better, but at least find solace in their inside jokes and mutual unrequited crushes. The new take on The Office wants so much to be as good as the original. Steve Carell plays the Gervais role and Tim and Dawn are now Pam and Jim. I really like Pam and Jim in this new version (especially when Jim mentioned his love of bad tv). So far I prefer the original, but I'll still keep on watching. The Roseart x500 Gel Pen is the best pen ever-slick and stylish. The Roseart x500 Ballpoint pen looks a lot like the x500 Gel and it does write, but I'm always gonna prefer the Gel. Commit me.

Dog vs. Bonds

I like both Dog the Bounty Hunter and Family Bonds, two reality shows about bounty hunter families. Both feature gruff but likeable patriarchs, peroxide blonde wives who sport impractically long acrylics and still wear the same cut-offs from their twenties (which was twenty years ago), plus their all too eager to follow in the footsteps kinfolk. Both families are a long shot from the Cleavers, but still obviously love each other a lot. And they are nice to their perps too. Hightlights of Dog include lots of ink, mullets and Dog's own signature look- a perfect amalgamation of Mad Max and Patrick Swayze's character from Point Break. On Family Bonds I like the acid washed jeans, Jersey accents and liberal use of the phrase "breakin' my balls." Plus the theme song is ACDC's "TNT." How cool is that? That Bonds is set in New York/New Jersey and the fact that they don't bleep out the swearing rank it slightly above Dog in my book.

Office Product of the Week:

Pressurized Air Duster

TV news: It was cool to see Ione Skye on Arrested Development.

So I watched the new medical drama Grey's Anatomy. The cast boasts about a zillion actors I happen to like: Sandra Oh from Sideways (there is the largest promotional display thingy I've ever seen at the video store for Sideways. Paul Giamatti's head is, like, ten feet tall! Sheesh), Ellen Pompeo from Old School and Moonlight Mile, that actress who played alien Isabel on the ultimate guilty pleasure Roswell, plus Patrick Dempsey, who is quite handsome (my mom thinks so too). So far it is semi-decent. I'll give it another try.

Looking forward to:

The Ballad of Jack and Rose (Rebecca Miller's book and film Personal Velocity were incredible)

Weezer's new one, Make Believe (supposedly more akin to Pinkerton and the Blue album. Make it happen Rivers)

Stella (Barry and Lavon are back)

Six Feet Under (Can't wait to get dysfunctional for one last season)

I saw Sin City tonite. Fantastic! I was totally outnumbered- there were maybe three girls in the whole place. It was definitely a leather-duster, Matrix-y kind of crowd inside the theatre. Let's just say a lot of PS2s were left home alone. The movie was slick, visually spellbinding, funny, over the top - everything you'd expect from Rodriguez and Tarantino. Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke as hero and anti-hero, respectively. Elijah Wood and Nick Stahl as the creepy villains. Hot'n'homely Clive Owen and cutie-pie Alexis Bledel in one movie. Three cheers!