First off, full disclosure: Through a combination of ex girlfriends and late night syndication, i have seen almost every single episode of Sex and the City. I know the characters, i am familiar with the general plot and once upon a time took a summer school class that took a critical look at the show through the lens of feminism (i needed elective credits and this was the one that involved watching the most television.). Question my sexuality at your own peril.
That being said, today, the Sex and the City movie opens up in theaters everywhere and millions — ok –hundreds of thousands of women will cram theaters to see a 2 hour view into the exploits of 3 cougars and a skeleton with skin draped over it.
Of all the discussions i could have here (ie. the show’s role in post-feminist society, it’s social impact on a generation of women, it’s embracing of materialism, etc.), here’s the one that i felt was the most worth mentioning…
When a movie like Star Wars, Star Trek or Lord of the Rings comes out, a good portion of the opening weekend viewers will dress up like characters of those movies. It’s geeky and inevitable. What is also inevitable is that some romantic comedy starring a combination of Hugh Grant, Zach Braff, Sandra Bullock, Mathew McCona-whatever or Drew Barrymore will open that same weekend and droves of young women will rush by the lines of the aforementioned movies and giggle and point and make fun (trust me, this happens…i saw all 3 LOTRs and the 3 most recent Star Wars on opening day…although i didn’t dress up.).
These same bitches who were making fun of the “nerds” while rushing off to see “Maid in 27 Dresses of a Notebook while Losing a Guy in a Garden State” are the same bitches that will all wear their nicest pair of high heels (preferably Manolos) and quietly judge each other’s Carrie-inspired recycled bridesmaid dresses…
Who’s laughing now, eh?
Rachel Ray is a lot of things — annoying, to name just one — but she is definitely NOT a terrorist.
As Trevor said earlier this week…how is there no one to hold these people accountable???
There is a quote — usually found in posters on the wall of lame corporations — that says “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” That quote blows — despite it’s truthfulness. A better quote, one that i just made up, says, “A revolution starts with cleaning up your house.”
I woke up yesterday — after 4 liver-pounding days in Mexico — and cleaned the bejeezus out of my house. I went into my closet and pulled every journal, every notebook, every photo album, every note from any ex girlfriend and put it in a box near the computer. I’m going to use some of that dialogue and emotion in my book. I vacuumed, ironed, mopped, swept and Windexed every surface possible. I packed up my well-stocked bar into a box and put it in the storage closet of my unattached garage. I took all the soda out of my house and brought it to work for the people in the office to drink. I made a stack of clothing to donate at Goodwill (is there a better place?), i made a stack of stuff that i don’t need but has some value that i’m going to sell on e-bay, i cleaned out the fridge and am planning on filling it with fruit, veggies and water. I am not going to have any more Red Bull. I’m going to read more and watch less TV (the lame summer season should help…America’s Next Top Dog? Eh, no thanks.). I’m going to write a ton and start making goals and start achieving them. Time to stop complaining, stop feeling sorry for myself, and start being accountable for my actions and behavior. I’m tried of being a martyr, a cynic and a pessimist. Time to move in a positive direction. Alcohol is a depressant and it’s definitely been affecting me. I’m not going to stop being somewhat of a jerk on this blog, but that’s a character i play for the most part anyway.
The revolution will be a good thing.
A year ago, on May 22nd, i stopped drinking. For the next 55 days i went without a drink, i lost 40 lbs and started a clothing line, amongst other things. Last year, it was called “On The Wagon.” This year, i’ll be calling it The Revolution. I’ll be working out, eating healthy, working hard at whatever job i happen to have that day and most importantly, i’ll be working on my book. Peripherally, i’ll be saving money, treating the environment better (not going out, not going through hundreds of bottles and cans, etc.) and i’ll actually be remembering the details of the previous nights. I’ll also be a better friend by DD-ing for my friends and i’ll have more time to spend with important people in my life because i’ll be looking to do fun things rather than sit on my couch with a drink in my hand.
This week will be hard. Last year, i didn’t think i would have withdrawals and i kinda did — even though i blamed them more on anxiety than the booze. This year, i’m going to just go ahead and admit it…this week is going to hurt like hell. I’ll get through it.
The revolution started yesterday. Stay tuned.
I’m off to Rocky Point tonight for Memorial Day weekend and i’m making a mix for the drive down.
Here are my top 5 songs about Mexico:
5. Between Texas and Mexico – Pat Green
4. Rodeo or Mexico – Garth Brooks
3. A Border Tragedy – Robert Earl Keen Jr.
2. Mexican Radio – Wall of VooDoo
1. Mexico – James Taylor
Kind of obvious…anyone have one that i missed?
Filed under: China, Gas Prices, Phoenix Copper Bikes, Spurs, alcohol, bad parents, baseball, basketball, drinking, green, personality issues
I finished another tank of gas last night…this time i traveled 373 miles on 14 gallons for 26.6 mpg. It was a little less than last time but still 3-4 mpg better than i was getting. I’m finding myself glancing down at the odometer more and trying to stretch my miles, almost like a personal challenge to do better and better each tank. My goal is a 400 mile tank…i’m pretty far from it right now, but i think if i coast to a few more lights, i can do it. At first i was worried that driving slow would piss people off (having been a fast driver, slow drivers pissing me off is still very fresh in my memory) but then i realized, “Hey, since when do i give a shit?” So we’ll see how it goes.
You know what else saves gas? Bicycles…keep up the good work Sam.
I think this is the child of the guy who posted the comment on my Gun Control post…
How the F–K do you move 12 million people?!? I guess when your population is over a billion, it’s all relative.
I hate the Spurs with all of my heart. The RiverWalk is a sewage canal…that’s right, i said it.
Great story last night out of baseball where 24-year old Red Sox pitcher and cancer survivor Jon Lester threw a no-hitter.
I’m going to Rocky Point this weekend for some R&R and when i get back from having a Corona permanently attached to my right hand, i’ll be attempting to have my 2nd annual spring detox. For a few months anyway, i’m going to get back after it and see if i can’t shed some weight for the summer, work a little harder at a few goals and improve on some behaviors and relationships that need some work. It did wonders for me last year and i learned a lot…time for a refresher course on those lessons. Of course, i’ll be chronicling the entire thing here right up until i fall off the wagon at this (video of last year here). Wish me luck.
I have no idea where i stand on gun control…really, i don’t. It’s not that i don’t have an opinion. It’s just one of those topics that i don’t feel there is a good answer to so i don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about it. In my mind, i wish that we could get rid of them all and live in a peaceful and Utopian society with no violence but no, it won’t happen even if we could. If we got rid of all of the guns, there would still be some nut job to inevitably go apeshit and kill us all with a home-made crossbow while we danced around the trees singing koombya. That being the case, I’d rather be able to defend myself with a gold-plated Israeli Desert Eagle 5 point 0:
When you absolutely positively gots to kill every motha f-cka in the entire room, accept no subsitutes! (Sorry, got my Samuel L Jackson going there for a second…).
All commentary on guns and 2nd amendments (that’s the one, isn’t it?) and whatnot aside, here’s my point…I’ve been watching Lost on DVD lately, i’m almost done with the 2nd season and without spoiling too much for anyone who hasn’t seen it, they found some guns on the island and in typical human fashion, they’re f-ing up and accidentally killing each other all over the place. Now i’ve read Lord of the Flies and i realize how us normally civilized people can get all loco when we’re trapped on tropical islands waiting to get rescued, but out of the 5 or 6 people who have died so far, 4 of them have been accidentally shot by paranoid and untrained people carrying weapons. And you’d expect it from a few of the more hot-headed people on the island, but Jack, the supposed purveyor of all things good and moral on the island has missed countless opportunities to say “hey, listen, i know we have guns, but the likelihood of us just killing each other by accident leads me to believe that maybe we should lock them up or get rid of them.” I mean, i guess he’s tried to keep it under control a bit but for the most part, he’s as much of a gun-toting kamikaze as the rest of them.
Anyway, i know the show isn’t political, but it does deal with the human condition and what we’re prone to do in desperate or stressful situations and i think they missed an opportunity not at least having one “we should have guns/we shouldn’t have guns discussion.”
Update: I approved the 1st comment below, not because i thought it was correct or poignant or anything more than a self-serving advertisement for his blog, but because it came from the e-mail address “hillbillypaul@*******.net. I rest my case…
Filed under: Bush, China, Death Cab For Cutie, Hitler, Jamie Lynn Spears, McCain, Nazi, Obama, more fucking stupidity
I LOVE the new Death Cab. Ignore the critics and just enjoy this album. Seriously, for as much as i want to be a music critic, i just couldn’t handle what it would turn me into (This review sums it up nicely). Yes, it is true that this album is not as happy and optimistic as Plans (Plans actually seems sugary by comparison). Yes, it is true that the song “I Will Possess Your Heart” has a long instrumental intro (about 4 minutes). But come on people, if you appreciate Ben Gibbard’s lyrics and songwriting ability at all, you shouldn’t really give a shit if he’s happy or sad. It’s a great album; passionate, clever, dark, moving and when it’s done, you’ll be sad that it’s over and want to start it right over. Just listen and appreciate. Kudos to the following songs: “I Will Possess Your Heart”, “Long Division” and “Pity and Fear.”
Other albums on my playlist these days are The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America, Okkervil River – Stage Names and Spoon – GaGaGaGa…not new, but certainly good.
Bush compared Obama’s idea of sitting down and talking with Iran and other “enemy” countries to the appeasement of Hitler: “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along,” Bush told the Israeli lawmakers. “We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”
And for once, the guy kinda, sorta, almost makes a logical argument. Some of these people can’t be negotiated with, but as always, here’s where i disagree. Obama will be a new president with semi-new ideas…i don’t see anything wrong with him at least entertaining the idea of beginning a dialogue on a clean slate…who knows, it just may work, it certainly hasn’t been tried recently. Update: Obama, as you’d expect, is not pleased with Bush’s comments.
And while we’re using the words Bush and Hitler in the same sentence, let’s read about how Bush’s grandfather had financial ties to Nazi germany. Way to go, prick.
Obama called a reporter “sweety” and it seems the reporter was less than pleased. Obama did call to apologize afterwards, but what do you think? Was that a sexist or chauvinist comment? (Try and listen to the audio if you can…i think it’s an innocuous word in the context of the situation. He was actually being polite and maybe misspoke. It didn’t sound demeaning or derogatory and certainly doesn’t hint at anything larger. But i can see how the reporter — who is in an industry where it is crucial that she be seen as equal to the men who run it — would be upset.) I do this all the time (and maybe i shouldn’t) but i picked it up from some Southern friends of mine who when talking to a female waitress, bartender, etc. always say some variation of “darlin” or “sweety” or “sugar” when asking them for something. They do it in a southern accent so it comes off as cute and the female subject usually smiles and blushes and ends up getting them a better seat or refilling their coffee or something nice just a little more often than not. So, female readers, what do you think? Sexist and demeaning? Or slightly antiquated but acceptable chivalry?
John McCain is an asshole and cannot be the next President, in case any of you were still on the fence.
On a ligher note, a Golf Pro in Colorado hit a hole-in-one on a par 4 with news cameras rolling…pretty awesome. Video here.
And continuing with Colorado’s awesomeness, the Governor’s son really knows how to party (and is my new hero).
Jamie Lynn Spears is a 16-year-old who is 7 months pregnant, so what does she do for fun? If you guessed drive an ATV without a helmet, you’d be right!
It’s kind of hard to believe just how fucked China and Myanmar are right now.
And to end on a better note, a precedent has been set in flatulence-based lawsuits. Sign up for the class-action lawsuit today!
Maxim hasn’t been relevant since i was 17 and AOL was still charging me by the hour to look at porn on a dial-up connection, but they’ve released their Hot 100 list this week and apparently Britney “Trainwreck” Spears is #19 beating out the likes of Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz and Mandy Moore (those ignorant bastards!). WTF?!?
These pictures, courtesy of WWTDD.com, were taken 2 days ago and show Britney looking pregnant, smoking and picking her wedgie…now i know what i think is hot (sorry Kel..haha), and that just isn’t it.
OK, the tank of gas has been used up and i’ve got some results to share.
On May 1st, i filled up after having traveled 318.2 miles using 13.95 gallons of gas…roughly 22.8 mpg.
Since may 1st, i’ve driven more slowly and less aggressively. I can’t say i’ve always gone the speed limit (honestly, driving that slow will get you killed in this town…) but i’ve tried to keep it within 5 miles per hour of the speed limit and i’ve been setting the cruise control at 70 on the freeway, when possible. I also tried to coast up to red lights, stop signs and turns in neutral. Since i drive stick, it’s really easy to put the clutch in and slow down gradually without wasting fuel on acceleration when i’m just going to slam on my brakes a few seconds later. It’s really f-ing obvious when you think about it but when you accelerate, your car creates energy on the fuel it just burned. Once you burn it, it’s gone, you can’t get it back (million dollar idea: build a combustion engine with an after burner, or one that stores kinetic energy from wasted acceleration…). So when you accelerate and create momentum, and then hit your brakes or turn, you’ve just wasted all of that forward momentum that you had created. It’s quite literally a waste of fuel. Seems so obvious now.
So, with all that in mind, did it really make a difference?!? Let’s take a look.
Last night, May 11th, i filled my tank with 14.02 gallons of gas after travelling 384.8 miles…divide miles by gallons….carry the 1…i got 27.4 mpg. Defintitely not bad. Not bad at all…but it’s pretty close to my prior hypothesis.
I travelled 66 more miles on this tank and i filled up 2 days later than i normally would (allowing that i was out of town for 24 hours in the middle of that). If i fill up every 7 days for a year, keeping gas prices at $3.65/gallon and assuming that i buy 14 gallons per trip, that gets me a yearly gas bill of $2,044. If i fill up every 9 days, keeping the cost and quantity constant, my yearly gas bill would be $2,652. That’s not bad…i’m not sure saving $600 a year is enough to usually necessitate a behavior change for me, but in theory it sounds damn good. Seeing as though we’re getting a $600 “stimulus” check from our federal governement this year, maybe another $600 from saving some gas could really help the majority of this country out…i digress.
Environmentally speaking, here are the results…If i only have to fill up every 9 days instead of every 7, that would equate to 12 fewer trips to the pump per year (40, instead of 52). If i fill up 14 gallons at each of these trips, that would save 168 gallons of gas per year. Let’s say there are 200 million drivers in the U.S. If each of these drivers saved 168 gallons of gas per year that would be 33.6 billion gallons of gas saved. The U.S. consumes 146 billion gallons of gas per year…that would cut our consumption almost one-fourth…a pretty amazing number. And for fun, let’s take it another step. Assuming that a 42-gallon barrel of oil makes 19.5 gallons of gas (even though there is no standard for this)…that would reduce the demand for oil by about 72.2 billion gallons of oil per year. World consumption is around 120 million barrels a day or 43.8 billion barrels or 1.8 trillion gallons of oil per year…so if the U.S. managed to save 72 billion gallons of oil, not by driving electric cars or walking to work, but just by driving slower, we would reduce world oil consumption by 60%. (The world’s economy would fucking collapse, but that’s beside the point right?)
Pretty convincing numbers if you ask me. Color me surprised, but i actually am going to make an effort to drive slower and smarter. It’ll be good for my pocket book and good for the environment, while not having a huge impact on how i live my life. This is not a big or difficult change. I’m sure it will be easier on my car and definitely safer for myself and those around me.
