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 For those who watched The Office season 5 premiere: Oh my god!!! :-D 2-1-2, what uppp. [Warning: Spoilers in the comments!]
—Thursday, September 25, 2008 2 comments The Office, Season 5 premiere!
 - Bathroom Art - Palin / Hillary SNL opener - Interfacing (requiescat in pace) - Don LaFontaine: The Voice (requiescat in pace) - Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet - Dominoes within dominoes (Isn't that amazing? More videos) (Previously: Lists, part 15)
—Wednesday, September 24, 2008 1 comment Lists, part 16
Tonight at 8:05PM will be the last game played at Yankee Stadium. For me, it'll be a historic and sad night. I grew up with this place, you know? I've sat everywhere, and managed to go to one of the last games (upper deck, baby). It's the House that Ruth built, where Gehrig gave his famous speech, where DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, Maris, Rizzuto, Mr. October, Mattingly, Jeter and everyone have graced the stadium with their presence. My favorite part of the subway ride is that little glimpse inside the stadium before it slows to a stop. It's quick, but your heart, or at least mine, jumps with excitement. I look over at the new stadium and think, "It won't be the same." It looks so... stately or something out The Fountainhead. Then again, I'm just sad. I'm sure the new one will be nice and new memories and historic moments will happen there but... let's face it, nothing can replace the original. Nothing can replace that history, those moments. I milked every moment of my last game there: the roar for Derek Jeter every time he came to bat, the yells and whoops and high fives when home runs were hit and runs were scored, the booing of bad calls, attempts at starting the wave around the stadium, the food, the YMCA grounds crew, the 7th inning stretch, the teammates high fiving each other at the end, and as always, the sounds of Frank Sinatra closing out the night. I'm sure the roar of the crowd will be the same in the new house, but we'll all look at each other as if something's missing. "It'll be okay," we'll say. Because we're Yankee fans, and we embrace. We love the team, we love the players. They bring us joy, and they bring us heartache. This stadium housed it all. So goodbye, Yankee Stadium. You've been good to me.
—Sunday, September 21, 2008 0 comments So long, Yankee Stadium
 "I miss your hugs." "You give awkward hugs but I miss 'em anyway." (laughs) "I'm just used to people stooping down and me putting my arms around shoulders." "Ah, therein lies the problem. I prefer if the person is shorter than me that they wrap the arms around the waist." "I know you do; I've been getting used to it. But it's a work in progress. We can remedy this!" "I'm strictly partisan on this. I will not change." "Then a lot of hugging will be done..."
—Tuesday, September 16, 2008 0 comments The conversations on hugging, part 1
 The things you saw or read as kid-- don't you love rewatching and rereading them? Man, I watched Clueless again a few weeks ago for the first time since it came out. That movie is (still) so smart: the references, the witty dialogue, the fact at Cher knows about AA, that Josh listens to Radiohead... I never noticed these things as a kid! I'm pretty sure my reaction to the movie back then was, "Oh my god! JOSH AND CHERRRR!!!" Ahem. So I recently reread one my favorite childhood books, Harriet the Spy. I never quite saw how... dysfunctional her family was, being that she lived in the privileged Upper East Side: she was raised by her nurse, Ole Golly, has a family cook, and there's even a part in the book where she asks her own mother if she'd be having dinner with her own parents! Her parents are dedicated to her, but really are clueless to her needs. While she is encouraged by Ole Golly to write, I think she writes and spies so she can lose herself and make sense of the world. The rollercoaster of emotions Harriet goes through-- it's something to behold. But, at any age when you read this book, you find the moral of the story is that lying isn't all bad. It isn't hypocritical but rather, sometimes being kind is better than being truthful. I always liked Harriet's interaction with her good friend, Sport-- she learns to show consideration for someone else's feelings because she realizes that you do not want to hurt the people you care about (even though we all inadvertently do at some point, right? I know I have). Wow, I could write a whole thesis on this! Anyway, this is one of my favorite quotes in the book by Ole Golly: "Little lies that make people feel better are not bad, like thanking someone for a meal they made even if you hated it, or telling a sick person they look better when they don't, or someone with a hideous new hat that it's lovely. Remember that writing is to put love in the world, not to use against your friends. But to yourself you must always tell the truth."Actually, that entire letter by Ole Golly is pretty great. So now that I've rambled on forever, have you rewatched or reread anything from your childhood lately?
—Sunday, September 14, 2008 3 comments Harriet the Spy
 The other day I heard a large BOOM outside my window at work. I saw people running towards the sound, and I started to feel it-- that same feeling I always get whenever something like this happens. I freeze. My brain yells, "Go! Get out there and help!" But my body refuses to move an inch. My breathing quickens, and I have to look towards the ground to recompose myself. (Turns out, a guy driving a delivery truck had a seizure and slammed into about 5 parallel parked cars head on. Yeah, I know right? I think he's okay; the EMS came pretty fast.) This happened to me about 2 years ago when I heard something even louder, and I saw hordes of people running outside my window. I froze up for a good 15 minutes before I could get to my feet and find out what happened, if everything and everyone was all right, if we had to evacuate, if we were in danger. I never used to be like this. I usually run towards the chaos and help; I do it in a heartbeat. But my delay, my hesitation, my quiet panic-- it grabs hold of me. I've never talked about this before; I guess I call it a quiet panic for a reason. But I know why it happens to me. The image of people running towards or away from something with a look of fright or sheer panic on their faces-- it unsettles me. The sound of a large BOOM-- it rattles me. It took me 5 years before I could bring myself to go downtown and see it; I had went to nearby vigils every year prior. The truth is, the initial shock didn't wear off until almost 2 years later. So 2006 was my first year, and I thought I still couldn't handle it, but I found that it oddly brings a little peace. I've been going down there every morning of the day ever since. I don't go to the ceremony, but I navigate my way to the fenced off area. If I can, I sit, but I usually lean against something as I silently mouth the same quote I've chosen. I know... I know that people have been more affected than most, especially the ones who lost. While I didn't personally lose someone, the events of the day shook me to my core and even though it's kind of a silly little thing, it did affect me in a way I didn't expect. I think that... if you hear anything like that in the city, you fear for the worst. It's a scary sound, a terrifying few moments before you find what it is. It's as if the world stops. Everyone heals a little as time passes, myself included. It's getting better.
—Saturday, September 13, 2008 1 comment The quiet panic
—Thursday, September 11, 2008 7 years
 No, I did not see Bangkok Dangerous this weekend but... but... I know it doesn't make any sense, but every time I see that movie title, I want to yell, "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!" That's all.
—Sunday, September 7, 2008 3 comments The Bangkok is not Dangerous
 Please watch: Pork and Beans by Weezer. Intarwebz stars! It's so much fun watching that video and going, "Oh my god! It's so-and-so from that YouTube video!" Yeah, I'm totally late with Weezer's latest album, The Red Album (to go along with their Blue and Green albums... RGB chronologically backwards!). At least I found it, and it's quite wonderful. I have to admit, The Blue Album is forever my favorite. While on Weezer, here's them covering Radiohead's "Creep" with local musicians and fans.
—Friday, September 5, 2008 1 comment Pork and Beans
 Of all the places in this busy city, running into someone you know on the subway is rare and random. And that's what happened to me this morning. While figuring out what to listen to next on my iPod, I glanced up and saw two people I had worked with on a film set (I have done the most random things in my little life). I haven't talked to them since, though that's how it usually is when you work on films: you meet people and after it's all said and done, that's it. Once in a while you might forge a friendship that lasts beyond those days and months spent together. Anyway, I recognized them and immediately became engrossed in my iPod. I didn't want to look up. One got off 2 stops and later, and I breathed a sigh of relief. One more stop and I was home free. As the train slowed, I glanced up towards the doors. The other one, I could tell out of the corner of my eye, was staring at me, trying to place me in his mind. But before he could do that, the doors slid open and I hopped off. Another day, another awkward situation averted. Whew.
—Tuesday, September 2, 2008 1 comment I sort of know you, but not really
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