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August 07, 2003
Three for Thursday
It’s trite and cliché to say that, in times of your life when you can’t control things, to focus then on the things you CAN control. Be that as it may, I’m all about a cliché, and as such, last night I went and did two things: went for my first run in almost 10 days, and went on a little media shopping spree. Those guys who think girls are weird for using shopping to alleviate angst haven’t been to their local record shop lately.
The run was a serious test of endurance. Against every physiological rule, I decided to make this my longest run ever: 60 full minutes. Had never topped 45 before. As such, I ran 40% longer than I ever had at one time. It’s hard to feel too bad for yourself when you’re hoping your legs don’t give out form under you, I find. There’s my little money-saving tip for the day: skip the psychologist and run until your lungs want to burst. Much cheaper in the long run.
Post run, I felt good in that “not quite sure if all my organs are still intact” sorta way. So, what to do? Movie? Dinner out? Nah. Newbury Comics, my favorite pop culture mecca. So, rather than inundate you with more psychobabble which has been ever so prominent here lately, I’m just gonna tell you what I bought, and why.
Yea, I didn’t like this movie when it came out. Be that as it may, for $20, the positives outweigh the negatives. Those positives are: Jennifer Garner, a killer sound mix that sounds absolutely mind-blowing on my home theatre, and Jennifer Garner. Throw Colin Farrell and Jennifer Garner in there, and that’s 5 reasons alone. As fun as it is to make fun of Mrs. J. Lo, I don’t blame Ben Affleck for this movie being ultimately disappointing. I blame the moron who wrote those overdubs and thought that Daredevil and the Kingpin needed only one fight. Oh, and who thought Daredevil could leap 400 feet at a time. Oh, and the…OK, must center myself. Gonna think about Jenny from the non-Block again. Mmmm…Elektra.
“Elephant” by the White Stripes
Thanks to my Launch station, I’ve heard quite a bit of music by the White Stripes, and I’ve liked everything I’ve heard. In turn, I went out and bought this, the only one on sale. I really want “De Stijl” as well, but not for $17, thank you muchly. This is the way internet music is supposed to work: it’s supposed to expose you to tunes you wouldn’t normally here and drive you to go out and buy the music out of respect for the artist. You don’t need billboards, appearances on TRL, or tine-ins with Pepsi. You need good freakin’ music, damnit.
A triple CD set, per the bootlegs series they have established. Phish is my musical link, in many ways, to why I loved and still love theatre. Phish’s music exists in the moment, everytime they get on stage. I have seven version of some of these songs, by this point, and every one is unique. You don’t hear about anyone collecting “Pink Floyd 1994” bootlegs, because as much as I love Pink Floyd, that damn show was the same, every night. It was a theatre piece in the worst sense: the sort of rote, always static type of performance that is antithetical to Phish’s nature. By risking improvisation every night, Phish creates a lot of really, really bad musical moments. However, the highs they can achieve are higher than just about anything I’ve ever heard, and as such, they’ll keep getting my hard-earned income.
Ok, kids, your turn….any recent pop culture purchases that you’d like to share with the group? We won’t bite. And I’ll bring cookies.
Posted by Ryan McGee at August 7, 2003 09:48 AM
Comments
Elephant is really good. Virgin was selling DeStijl for $10 the other day, but I didn't buy it. That was probably dumb.
2 most recent CD purchases - Radiohead "Hail to the Thief" and The Clash's "London Calling". I didn't like either one that much on first listening, but I've grown to love the Radiohead, and to really like the Clash CD. Extra bonus - there's a song on "London Calling" where Joe Strummer sings like Homestar. It's funny.
Posted by: John at August 7, 2003 10:28 AM
I'm incredibly psyched to see Radiohead next week---opening night of the tour, baby. As for "Hail", "There There" and "Wolf at the Door" are easily among their 10 best songs. Other songs have grown on me, but I couldn't tell you their names. Some are, like Strong Bad's emails, DELETED upon the first note.
Posted by: ryan at August 7, 2003 10:32 AM
I haven't bought a CD since I picked up the Smallville Talon Mix (oh, shut up) back in May. My biggest pop culture splurge was picking up "Watchmen," but that was one of those "Yeah, why the hell isn't this on my book shelf already?" purchases. Hardly risky.
Posted by: Commander Foley at August 7, 2003 10:35 AM
I haven't had the chance much recently - with the baby coming and all, I've been limited to what and when I can spend anymore - but the most recent would have to be the Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD. Just classic. Two discs, with a ton of extras. Good times for all.
Next up is either the first two seasons of Family Guy and/or Season Two of South Park . . . unless my wife finds out, in which case that will change to a Diaper Genie and a case of Pampers.
Posted by: Rob at August 7, 2003 10:50 AM
Went an snagged Deep Cover on DVD over the weekend. Laurence was still billed as Larry Fishburne at the time.
I haven't picked up The Daredevil disc yet, I'm curious if there are Jennifer Garner bonus features?
Posted by: A.J. at August 7, 2003 11:16 AM
Most recent pop culture purchase that I asked my husband to buy me (since he enjoys doing it so much): the new special edition DVD of Casablanca. Among the multitude of reasons:
1. It's just an amazing film.
2. I get a little sentimental because I always realize that my mom looked like Ingrid Bergman at that age.
3. In this DVD, Lauren Bacall handles some of the extras and I'm in awe of her.
Most recent CD: the new Super Furry Animals. Not 100% sure what I think of it yet.
Posted by: Diana at August 7, 2003 12:05 PM
Pop culture purchases, eh? Well, I did indulge recently. Three movies (good ole VHS)...
- Legally Blonde - Yes, I avoided this movie at first because I thought it looked so stupid. But frankly, after watching it with a friend, I'm in love with it. I saw it first right after a very painful breakup, and some of the parallels were uncanny. And it provided me a bit of perspective and comfort. And Lu
Posted by: Megan at August 7, 2003 12:17 PM