2010

It's limited edition and oh so enjoyable.

I guess I would be amiss if I failed to observe a certain cultural tradition. Actually, I've missed a few, so Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and (early on this one) Happy New Year.

Hopefully, you've enjoyed some good holiday programming (the Twilight Zone marathon on SciFi [I refuse to use the new spelling] or the Hitchcock marathon on TCM or the Masterpiece Mystery marathon on WTTW) or are preparing for a joyful night out.

Random fact: There's a full moon tonight. Supposedly, we won't have another on New Year's Eve for at least another 18 years.

Random thought: I finally watched the '05 Bleak House production. It was fantastic.

That's all I got. Make sure there are some black-eyed peas in the house.

Okay.

The Five Greatest Cartoons Ever

1. Daria -- God! I loved this show. It was funny, poked very appropriate fun at the ridiculousness of high schoolers, and kinda perfectly captured that early-90s, "alternative" period that was a big chunk of my adolescence.

Favorite characters: Daria (of course), Trent, Mr. Morgendorffer


2. Home Movies -- One of the most consistently hilarious shows to have ever seen the light of day. Brendon Small and company remain some of the most endearing, ridiculous and memorable characters of all time. To this day, when I hear a character voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, I yell, "Hey, that's Coach McGuirk!" The music was pretty awesome. Also, Shannon is the greatest bully ever.

Favorite characters: Coach McGuirk, Brendon, Shannon, the gentle talk therapist, Walter & Perry. (I pretty much love every character here.)
3. The Venture Bros. -- I'm lamenting the lack of Brock Samson and mourning the loss of 24 on the latest season, but I still carry quite a torch for Rusty Venture and company. Love the whole parody of the superheroes milieu. Just plain funny.

Favorite characters: Brock Samson, Dr. Orpheus, the Monarch


4. Garfield and Friends -- Best theme song ever! (The first one.) Damn good Saturday morning cartooning here. Looking back, I'm surprised at the level of humor. This was a show for kids, but I still crack up thinking about the general wackyness.

Favorite characters: Garfield, Pooky, Binky the Clown


5. Laff-A-Lympics -- Everyone watched Hanna Barbera cartoons. Everyone. And when HB decided to put all their stars together, it got that much more exciting.

Atrack's Movies of the Year (So Far)

Don't go thinking this is some scholarly statement on the cinema. I like popcorn movies for the most part, things that are quickly-paced or fun to watch or just not depressing. I don't see sad movies or Oscar fodder. The last time I accidentally saw one of those meditations on the human experience, I was depressed for a week and had horrible nightmares. No, no way to those. Plus, I don't think it's fair that best of lists are usually dominated by the serious films. Poo poo to that.

In no particular order

1.Drag Me To Hell - Sam Raimi took a break from the super blockbuster and returned to his splatter, horror-comedy roots. Totally worked for me.

2. Coraline - The type of children's story I love--dark, intelligent, and rich. Reminds me of my Roald Dahl-reading days as a youth. The 3-D experience made this one even better. Gorgeous movie. Please see it.

3. The Hangover - Not perfect, but pretty consistently funny if you like dumb-ass humor and slightly offensive shtick. That Galifianakis is a hilarious dude.

4. Taken - Just straight ass kicking. Liam Neeson karate chopped the shit out of people's throats and made good on all sorts of threats. That little daughter could've been a little more grateful.

5. Zombieland - I like zombies and Woody Harrelson. *shrug*


Honorable Mention: I really liked GI Joe, Star Trek, and District 9 too.

Also, I've kinda dropped the ball. I haven't seen Ninja Assassin, 9, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Where the Wild Things Are, or Moon yet. I'm pretty sure my list will completely change once I catch up.

Decoupage, My Dear: Ikea's Malm Gets an Update

I'm still in the process of decorating my room.

Bought a Malm cuz it had the most decoupage potential.

so this (Ikea's Malm)


plus this (Mod Podge in matte)



plus this (Snow & Graham's wrapping paper)


equals this (my very own decoupaged dresser). Ignore the wires!




There are clearly some issues with the pattern and a few bubbles here and there, but in all I love it. Just one more step toward making my room the overstuffed, way-too-colorful, cozy place I want it to be.

Zenni Optical, Three out of Three

First I got these.




Then these.



Now, I have these (in purple). I love them.

On the Site

In Real Life

I'm really loving this cheap frames from China racket. I can get a frame in every color and style and not feel too bad about it.

Zenni's been getting a bad rep lately for slower shipping. I think that period might be over, as I got these in two weeks. Sounds like a long time, but remember they had to grind my lenses, assemble my glasses, and ship from China. Not bad at all.

Now that I'm all brave and shit, I'm scoping out this new place, Eyewear Magic. Peep.

I've always wanted a red frame.

I'm a sucker for rhinestoned frames.

Every Week It's Mystery Meat

I got a Wii and a Wii Fit system for my birthday, and I'm trying.

I don't know, that long period of relaxation I experienced last year, the one with the Hot Doug's orgies and television marathons, padded my areas. And now when I dress for work I look obscene, like I purposefully bought my pants two sizes too small. (I just bit into a Krispee Kreme. It's really good. Focus!)

So I'm trying to lose weight a different way. The gym isn't for me. Too much work--getting there, changing clothes, using machines--as I said, too much work. Instead, I'm going it the Wii route, and I'm fixing my lunch for work, and I'm limiting my midnight snacking.

We'll see.

Thoughts From a Maxwell Concert

1. Men should NOT encourage their girlfriends to see this man in concert. He's like a shimmying, hormone-inducing cult leader, even when hoarse.

2. The non-work black man uniform: V-neck (in a daring but safe color), button up, trendy jeans, brown square-toed shoes, and Donny Hathaway hat. If said black man is under thirty it's probably just trendy jeans and t-shirt with all kinds of color.

3. There are some seriously unfortunate outfits out there. Ladies, I'm looking at you.

4. Despite my non allegiance to religion, I'm pretty puritanical.

5. GET A ROOM!!!!! The couple next to me kept tonguing each other down and making noises and standing up just so the dude could violently grope the girl's behind. Jesus Christ! I'm trying to watch a concert here!

6. Once upon a time, I really, really loved hip hop. (Thanks, Common, for the reminder, and I understand that you're too mature to do your old stuff.)

7. The amount of chatter between a couple is inversely proportional to how long they've been together.