Independence Day

I already linked to it today in a post on Gawker, but I think it bears repeating:

Please watch Country Boys, Frontline's sad, horrifying, and sublimely moving portrait of two boys growing up in rural Kentucky. One can too easily forget how many varying shades of life there are in this precarious, listless nation of ours. Country Boys is a stark reminder that "we" are not--we in New York and other big cities, we the educated--all that exists here. We are not, by any measure, the only people who fall prey to this forgetful government (by all reasoning we suffer its injustices the least), or who fumble for some vague dream under these spacious skies.

Chris is smart as a whip, he's well-spoken, he's ambitious. But he's also from poverty more extreme than I think most of us imagine white Americans (this is not racist, I don't think) could possibly live in. He drinks and does drugs. He talks slick and he talks big and he fails. Because, really, he's been lying the whole time. He's riveting. Cody is religious but horny, badly damaged by an early childhood of utter violence and horror. He adopts, as so many rural adolescents do, a Goth persona. Though his has an extreme born-again bent. These boys, in the film, fumble along and try to make their small way in this worrisome world. The stories are both soaringly hopeful and exhaustingly, mind-fucking-bogglingly depressing. And they are so, so, so worth the watch.

You know, I'm complaining, in my head, right now about having to take a nice train ride in the middle of the night to my parents' summer house, for a weekend of food and family. I'm sitting here on my fancy Mac computer in my nice-enough, furnished, cabled and interneted Brooklyn apartment. And I complain. Yes all human shit is relative, but how lucky am I? How lucky are you?

Sorry to get all... I dunno, preachy. But I find American lives fascinating. And I find it ridiculously spoiled how fortunate mine has been.

I mean, I'm not about to go do charity work, because I'm a lazy drunk, but I hope that you'll feel (for transference's sake) as bad as I do, on our country's birthday, about what a broken place this tract of land can truly be.

What a Difference Six Months Make

That was then.

This is now.

What's changed? Anything? It feels better, though.

Ah well. No one is reading this anyway.

In Which I Stop Being Gross

My roommate and I joined a gym today and I have my first meeting with a trainer on Wednesday. I'm scared as hell because I'm in terrible shape (I ran a mile and a half last year and almost died). This is sad, because I used to have pretty good stamina. Sigh. But hopefully I'll stick with it (it'd be awfully expensive not to) and will go from this:

To this:OK, that's probably not going to happen.

But, wish me luck.

Things We Found In The Fire

I set my apartment on fire tonight. Too many dry cigarettes in the ashtray. Ominous, celestial sign that I need to quit? Yes. I think so.

How To Cure The Sunday Blues

Though, I guess it's technically Monday, I'm still awake and I still have to work in the morning and, you know, that's never fun. So in hopes of staving off my (and your) malaise, here's one thing that makes me happy. A lovely, poignant song called "Eduardo", written by a good friend, performed by a blond girl in Michigan. Enjoy.

Please Help Me

Sweet mother of Joseph, I cannot stop watching Home Improvement. Nick At Nite just started airing back to back to back to back to back episodes of the damn show... And I'm dying. I need a life.

The American Idol Eliminations Were Basically Fair

Mostly because I don't remember the names of anyone who went home. Except for that Jason Y. fellow. He was awful.

The E! Channel: Political Prognosticators

Man, the Hillary Clinton camp wasn't kidding about that vast media conspiracy against her. Even E!, that network that shouts at you and throws pictures in your face all day, has an anti-Hillary opinion. Some brilliant wit named Michael Yo, who hosts an E! satellite radio show or some such shit, made a joke that she should be Paris Hilton's roommate. Hahaha, that's so funny. Because Paris is a trashy celebrity who's so now and is doing a reality show about finding a new roommate and Hillary is that silly be-vagina-ed person who wants to be a man. What a lame-o. She's definitely losing to Barack, so she'll have so much time on her hands!

Miles Davis Update

Hugh Dancy just showed up and he and Anne Hathaway (who is really grating) are going to fall in love. Ella Enchanted will probably end up being my favorite movie ever.

Miles Davis

So I had cause to celebrate this weekend because of some good news at work. I'm really cool, and you are all infinitely fascinated with my life, so here is how I whooped it up:

Friday: Walked around in the pouring rain, trying to make plans with people. No one wanted to see me. Went home, soaking wet, drank wine and watched the first episodes of Battlestar Galactica (so good!) Finally got a call from my friend Cathy, who was coming to Brooklyn. Went out for two drinks. Brought Cathy back to my house. We watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I fell asleep and called her Nel when she was trying to put me to bed. Nel is my sister.

Saturday: Went to 7A with Cathy. She got food poisoning (don't get the goat cheese sammich, btw!) I got her ginger ale and tended to her for a little while, then came home. I am now blogging, alone in my apartment, at 2:30 in the morning watching Ella Enchanted (not so good!) I just finished watching The Perfect Man with Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear (I have a serious problem!)

Isn't there supposed to be champagne involved in a celebration? Guess Bud Light'll have to do. Oh, and other people. There should probably be other people and music and dancing and not loneliness.

Live Blogging the SotU Continued

Well, that's about all I can take. Hope you enjoyed this and learned a lot.

Live Blogging the State of the Union

I'm going to be live blogging Bush's speech tonight, so stay tuned and I'll offer my insights on this important night.