Matt Reviews the New Hit Movies

I just saw Sleeper, the 1973 Woody Allen comedy. It was really funny. I did sleep through part, so it wasn't false advertising (why Akira Kurosawa didn't call his film Seven Sleepy Samurai I'll never understand). I thought it was great how Woody Allen seemed to channel all three of the Marx Brothers (well, maybe not Chico, but Groucho and Harpo were well represented). Also, Diane Keaton was hot 31 years ago! Anyway, it was nothing like the 'cerebral' Woody Allen movies of today; very funny and surreal.

Love Those Democrats

Today in the mail I got the exact same flyer addressed to:
Matthew M Bargar
Matthew M Bargar
Bargar Family
Bargar Family
Mr. Matthew Michael Bargar

The heading on the flyer is "Another Case of Poor Planning".

If you're counting, that's five wasted piece of mail. Why do they need to keep convincing me to vote Kerry? They should know that I will no matter what.

Dear Upstairs Neighbor,

It is currently 11:22 at night. Why are you vacuuming your floors?

Oof.

New York = jerks.

Gator!

IMG_0647, originally uploaded by theBarge.

Gator Pals!

IMG_0650, originally uploaded by theBarge.

Gators!

IMG_0646, originally uploaded by theBarge.

Gator!

IMG_0651, originally uploaded by theBarge.

Congrats Sox!!!!!

Some great pictures here!

I'm still not sure they beat the Yankees. It might take me another 86 years to fully understand what they just did.

Very Clever, Fox

Can't put cameras in the bars in Boston? Hello, New York!

Like Avocadola, but real words

One of the things I like about the fake name 'avocadola' is that the word is consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel etc. The longest real word I can think of like this right now is "manipulative" (if you worked with me you'd know why I thought of that word). What other words are there like that?

Funny Stuff

Someone funny went to the Arizona State Fair and took pictures. Very funny. Also features pictures of rabbits. Link

Jane Jane Jane

Jane will return to the lovely Portland on November 2nd. here is our tentative schedule:
11 AM: Vote!
11:30 Henry VIII (delicious, confusingly-named Roast Beef)
1:00 Harmon's (delicious hamburgers just the way contractors like 'em)
5:00 Saeng Thai (totally delicious Thai)
8:00: Delicious pizza and a John Kerry victory (hopefully)

Great Use Of Time

(Click to see the entire piece of paper I seem to have covered with new and different versions of my signature. This with a huge deadline tomorrow.)

Wheel Of Fortune Tips

1. Don't buy a vowel unless you know it exists.
2. If you know what the vowels are, do not buy them.

Thank you.

Best Thing Ever?

Having someone run a stop sign right in front of you and getting to honk your horn for a long time, legitimately. And also getting to throw up your arm in an exasperated, "What is this!? Are you too stupid to drive?!" motion as you speed past them.

(Not as good: getting home and thinking, "What if, somehow, they actually _did_ have the right-of-way?")

Best Show Ever?

I would often watch "I Love The 80s" casually, and I was never really that into "I Love The 70s". But I love "I Love The 90's"!!! I've only been watching the first installment for about 20 minutes and I am totally hooked. (Maybe it's not new; I very rarely watch VH1... but as I get older, I think it's the law that I have to watch it.) They've already made fun of Dee-Lite, "Dances With Wolves", and Guess Jeans, and there are still nine years to go in the nineties.

I think I know who he was talking about

As Terry Francona says, "1918? Sometimes these guys don't even know how many outs there are in this inning."
(Link)

"Unsurprisingly" Indeed

"Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox quickly sold out the remainder of their World Series tickets on Thursday for the four games that are scheduled for Fenway Park."

And "hopefully" the dozens of phone calls I made to get tickets won't each count as a peak minute.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!

Go Red Sox!

It will take me a long time for this to actually sink in. We beat the Yankees... and we're in the World Series! Seems so foreign!!!!

HURRAY!!!!!

Oh Curt

Schill, dropping the God Bomb.

What An Influence

Somebody just told me they read a set of books that I recommended to them. Despite the fact that I don't really remember talking about them with her, it was nice to hear. (Of course, it was the Dark Is Rising books by Susan Cooper.)

Funny

Earlier today (it seems like much much earlier) I was luckily, "randomly" selected for additional security screening at Dulles. (This makes three times, I think.) So I was gone over with "the wand", patted down, made to remove my shoes, my belt, etc. I got a laugh from the TSA guy doing it when he saw my boxers with kiss marks (thank you Valentines Day 1999). In fact, I feel bad saying this, but it was about as pleasant as possible. The guy was very good-natured, business-like, etc. It doesn't feel right that something as disruptive as that (and I was transferring things from my bag to my pockets for hours afterwards) could in any way seem like anything less than horrible. But there you have it.

Repress And Move On

What was the score? 19-8. Okay, fine. Tomorrow is a new day.

I don't want to see any newspaper headlines: "HORRIBLE", I imagine they might read, or, "RED SUCKS?", or, "WASHOUT!"

I don't even want to hear Johnny Damon saying something on WEEI about how there was no excuse and everyone has a bad night.

Matt's Mashup Musings

Check Out My Milkshake: "Gravel Pit" (Wu-Tang) + "Milkshake" (Kelis)

Baby I Got Your Milkshake: "Got Your Money" (ODB) + "Milkshake" (Kelis)

etc.

However

I am staying in Washington's official Art Deco Hotel!

Recap

It's been an exiting 25 hours for me. Last night I drove down to Charlie (yes, Cedar, that Charlie; he asked about you and I said you were doing great)'s house in Bedford and stayed over at his house, so that he and I could catch the 7:30 AM train to New York City so that we could videotape a presentation. I had some time to kill so I went to the Hello Deli: Rupert was working there, as he has been every time I've been there. (Note: for some reason I thought a person could walk from Wall Street (where the taping was) to Times Square. Then I thought a taxi ride would be cheap.) So I got back to Wall Street and I set up to tape a woman who was giving a presentation about her opinions and pet peeves about gender bias. It was not a very good speech, and I think Mrs. Robinson (metaphorically) was coming on to me. Anyway, by the time she finished it was too late to catch the 5:00 train to Washington DC so we had to scramble and get new tickets for the 6:00 PM train. Then instead of taking a taxi to our hotel, Charles and I had to drag the heavy equipment cases about 6 blocks.

So now I'm in the hotel, I'm super-sore, and one of the cameras has a horrible hum (I didn't do it!). But at least there is free high-speed internet access!

I come back to Maine on Saturday, I think.

How Long

before Tina Fey and Amy Poehler make out during Weekend Update? I'd say within three episodes.

Shopping List

Milk
Butter
Ice Cream
Cheese

Jane!

Attention Bostonians

You can now listen to Air America Radio on the actual radio (like we've been able to do up here in Portland for a long time, suckahs) on AM 1200. Hurray!

Amazingly Cute

Minipops!
Example:

Sacri-Hilarious

Sacri-Hilarious, originally uploaded by theBarge.

Me and a golem, in Prague. I just got the idea to use this as a friendster etc. picture, but I think it is so funny/horrible that I am posting it for all the world to see. A nice couple took this photo, then I returned the favor and took a picture of them doing the same terrible thing.

Um, Thanks?

So, apparently I have a one-year subscription to The Atlantic. It's a fine magazine; I was just reading an article from it online yesterday. But the subscription itself is very mysterious. Did I order it? No, I am sick of magazines. Is it a gift? Wouldn't the gifter have mentioned it to me at some point. Well, if it is a present and it's from YOU, thanks!

I Saw The Light Fading Out

My review of the new REM album, in several words or less: Mr. Stipe has a new method, it seems. Every song is written as either a remembrance or an exhortation. A lot of first-person past-tense narrative, more than ever before. "If I looked, I'm not sure I could face you," or, in the song with Q-Tip guesting, "You took me to the restaurant where we first met." Also, Q-Tip? Didn't you see what being on an REM album did for KRS-One's career?

I haven't even heard the whole album yet, but it does seem quite different from any prior album. It takes me a long time to like these modern REM records... we'll see how this one grows on me. Melodically, there seems to be a lot to like, and it seems less like bad dots & loops.

Hardly Seems Fair Redux

I got a song stuck in my head in my sleep ("Stuck in The Middle With You", if you care.)