Hutch's TX Adventures 

VA travels, NYE hype, and Carbon Monoxide

Son of a gun. Seems like forever since I put down a real update here. Mercy. Most of the time since the last update was spent either in VA or on the road traveling. And since this is mostly usually about my TX adventures, I guess it’s alright that I haven’t written much lately. LOTS is going on, and lots has gone on. Here’s a bit of what went down in the last 3 weeks.

We had planned to head back to VA for the holidays on December 14. The day before we got a phone call from the antique store asking if we could work on the 14. We can always use money, so we said yeah, but we’d have to leave an hour early. That worked, so we packed up the Wonder Truck the night before and went in and worked our shift. We didn’t sell much. Some crzy lady came in and was totally manic and insane. She was ranting and raving about how she needed a bed frame b/c she’d just bought one but while driving home it flew off the back of her truck, and she went back and looked but couldn’t find it, and she thought about calling the store where she bought it and telling them it was their fault, but that the guy that had loaded it up had been “mentally handicapped” and she didn’t want to get him in trouble, so she was just going to buy a new bed, and she couldn’t believe someone would just take her bed that had fallen out of the truck, but that she hoped it went to a good home. Then she paused for air. So then she went on to talk more about the bed. And she showed me her fingernails which were painted strange colors and had numbers on them. She exclaimed proudly that her son was on the Wimberley football team. (The Wimberley high school team had just won States. Football is a HUGE deal in TX. Winning States is about as big as it gets. The whole town was in a tizzy for weeks). She told me that the Wimberley team had won the states. I knew this. Apparently her son was the running back, and she was very very very proud. And she felt the need to share this info with me. And then she talked more about football. And then she said that she could get a discount on a bed because her son had scored lots of touchdowns. Umm…ok. Then suddenly she had to leave. Just like that. She said she’d be back later, and that she wanted that discount because of her son’s mad football skills. Fortunately I wouldn’t be there when she returned. I’d be on my way to VA.

Truthfully, I wasn’t at all looking forward to going back to Charlottesville. We were going to get there early—around the 16th or 17th, and I wouldn’t be able to come back until the 27th. I was sure I’d be bored out of my mind. Sure, there were plenty of good reasons to go home---I was really looking forward to seeing all my friends and family. But I figured that could only last so long. TX has spoiled me. I had told The Bills and some other friends that we would have to catch a show while I was there. And I just took it for granted that there would be a show. Know what? There wasn’t one single show scheduled while I was home. Not one. In TX there are dozens of shows every single week. How quickly I forget that it’s not like that everywhere. I was determined to make the best of it though.

The first night we only drove to Dallas, and we stayed with some friends of the family. Then we got up at 6 and hit the road. For the trip home, I had prepared a deluxe bedroom suite in the back of the truck. Some time ago we had gotten a futon mattress to put in it. This would be our first opportunity to use it. I loaded up with all our stuff, but only put things on the sides. I used lots of pillows to cushion the truck. And I left most the mattress still accessible. Before we actually headed out, I crawled in the back and stretched out—to get a feel for it. The GUS got back there. It was a like a bedroom on wheels. It was nice. I was looking forward to using it. SO, when we left at 6 in the AM, the Gus and I crawled into the back of the truck to sleep for the first shift. And it was pretty fun, but it was really really cold. It was in the 30 that morning in Dallas. The back of the truck does not have heat. It was really cold. I covered every part of my body with the blanket, and even put some pillows on top of me. The Gus was shivering, and I couldn’t tell whether he was scared of the bedroom on wheels or just cold. It was probably both. I put him under the covers too. And it was great. All stretched out, sleeping some, resting lots. It was great. We stayed there for 3 hours until we had to stop for gas.

And we drove and drove. All the way to Kingsport TN to stay w/ Mary’s cousin. Along the way my sister called to say that my dad had told her that it was not safe to sleep in the back of a truck that has a camper. Apparently, according to him, the carbon monoxide would kill you. That sounded silly (although I had actually thought about it myself, and that I had slept perhaps a bit TOO good). But my dad makes up lots of stuff. Granted, he knows quite a bit about a lot of things, but he also makes up a lot. It was a sad day when I realized that my dad didn’t really know everything that he was talking about. As a child you just think that your parents do actually know everything. At some point, much later in life, I realized that at least 40% of the things that my dad stated as facts were actually not true. And it made me sad. But now I know. My sister—she’s younger than me by 3 years. And she still thinks that he knows everything that he says. So she’s worried. Not me. But when I get home I google it, and find a Carbon Monoxide consumer precaution type site. And it says that you should NEVER ride in the back of a truck that’s covered by a camper—that you can die by carbon monoxide poisoning. Huh. How bout that? Who knew? (Apparently my dad did). I’m still not convinced though. I’ll probably do it again at some point. It made the trip shorter. If I do it again, I’ll just open the windows.

So after a bit of a tumultuous time in TN and SWVA, I headed on to Cville. Perhaps one day I will write about the time in SWVA on the way down. Not now though. Mary doesn’t like it when I talk about it. It wasn’t the best time I ever had. We’ll leave it at that for now. In Cville I saw many many friends and had many many happy hours. It was great. I had a happy hour at Chilis, which was my main stomping ground in 1999 and 2000. We were there several times a week. One day maybe I’ll tell stories of there. We had some crzy times. And there was one waiter who was always there, and he was always great—hooking us up with deals and stuff. Dan. Dan the man. And when we walked into Chilis Dan was there again. It was totally bizarre. He said he had left for a while but come back. So had I. Charlottesville was really fun. One thing I didn’t expect, was that I saw many people who were devoted blog readers, which was very strange. I’d want to tell a story, but they already knew the story because I had written about it. So I’d have to preface every story with “do you know the story about..”, which was very bizarre, but cool. So this here is a little shout out to the handful of devoted blog readers that I have. You know who you are. Thanks for reading.

And the time in VA went by so quickly, and so painlessly that we actually stayed longer than I thought we would, or that I possibly could. By the end, I was definitely ready to come back, but I had a good time there, which is nice. We had to get back though. The Gus was actually pretty depressed in Cville, which was sad, but I was glad to see that he missed TX. He loves TX, which is cool, and actually makes sense. I’ve always said that me and Gus are like ET and Elliott. Back in the day, sometimes I’d feel sick and Gus would be lethargic. Or vice versa. Remember in ET when ET was dying, and Elliott got all sick too? Yup. That was cool. My old roommate ASS told me that I should never ever tell anyone about the ET/Elliott connection between me and Gus. But it’s true. So it makes sense that he loves TX too. He really missed the weather and the freedom and MK. MK missed the Gus too. On Christmas Eve he called to check on “The Gus Man”. One of our last days there, Gus was so bummed that I told him we’d be going to see MK soon. When he heard MK’s name he jumped up and ran to the door. Poor Augustus. So on December 30 mary packed up the car—the Baumer—and headed to SWVA. We were going to drive 2 cars back to TX. We figured having 2 cars out here would make a world of difference. It would also make for one really long drive back, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Some would say just sell the car and buy one down here, but we’d never get what the Baumer is worth. The Baumer has over 190,000 miles, and a good many dents, and the trunk leaks sometimes, and the lining to the windshield has fallen off. But it’s a Honda Accord, and I know the original owner. And it still gets over 35 mpg on the highway. And it has a cd player. Yes, I was looking fwd to having the Baumer with us in TX. But not looking fwd to the drive.

On New Years Eve, I loaded up the truck and the Gus and I started the journey home by driving back to SWVA to spend NYE with Mary’s family. I had no idea what to expect after the first debacle on the way down, but I went in with an open mind, and you know what—it was actually fun. Everyone was in a good mood, and there were lots of drinks, and we had a good time. Mary made us play this game called “Hot Seat”, which wasn’t a game at all. There were cards with questions on them, and the point was to basically just made you answer embarrassing and thought provoking questions. There were no winners and losers in the game. I like to play games to win. This was a sort of “get to know you” type game where everyone wins. Sort of like the WNBA. But not really. I was scared of the Hot Seat. When I was a kid, I remember when my mom one day came home with a new game that she wanted us to play. It was called the Ungame. We liked games, so we were up for it. It wasn’t a game either though. It was all about feelings and personal things. Apparently my mom had heard somewhere that it’d be a good way to connect with your kids. It wasn’t. It was awful. No one in my family likes to “open up” and share feelings with each other. The game was a disaster of monumental proportions. We never played it ever again, and would occasionally make fun of my mom for buying it. She still thinks it’d be a good game. Hot Seat was nothing like the Ungame though. Hot Seat was a game for adults, and had a lot more “Adult” questions. And by “adult” I mean sex question. But everyone was up for it, and we all drank up and played along. And we had lots of laughs, and it was actually pretty fun. But then people started getting drunk, and people got a little mad, but it was all funny. I seemed to anger people the most. Oops. One question someone asked me was who playing the game was most likely to embarrass you at a fancy restaurant. I picked mary’s redneck brother in law. He was out drinking and watching CMT at the moment. Everyone laughed. When he heard his name he wanted to know what was said. Nothing we said. “What” he said. What. What. So we told him. “I can’t hear you” he said. “I can’t hear you” he said again. And he said it again. And we laughed. And he flipped me off. For a brief moment I was scared he might shoot me, but the moment passed. Then I got a question that asked who—out of anyone in the world—I would like to be stranded on a desert island with. I of course asked if I could pick someone playing the game (aka Mary), and they said no, but at least I tried. So my drunken, hazy brain started spinning. This was an important question. A good answer was needed. People were staring, people were waiting. This was a crucial question, and I needed to make a decision. And I didn’t really have long to think of it. And did I mention I was drunk? I was worried I’d make a bad pick, and then the words just came out of my mouth.
My response to who I would like to be stuck on a desert island with: one of the Olson twins—the one with the eating disorder. Because she wouldn’t eat all my food, but would still be hot.

I thought it was genius. Most people agreed. Mary---not so much.

The game wound down after that, and we sang some karaoke. Unfortunately we sang so much karaoke that we lost track of time and Mary and his sister were still singing “waiting for tonight” as the ball dropped. When we turned off the karaoke, confetti was already flying, and it was over. We missed it. And it was stupid.

Which made me think about how much I typically hate New Years Eve. It’s expected that you will just pay way more than you usually do to get a hotel or eat out or go see a concert. A $10 concert will cost you $25 on NYE. A $40 hotel will cost you $90. And people buy into it. And it’s silly. And personally, I always feel a great deal of pressure to have a GREAT New years Eve. And almost always it doesn’t live up to the hype. And then I’m depressed. A couple years ago I realized that I don’t think I’d ever kissed someone when the ball dropped. That made me sad. Once, I specifically being with a girl that I was dating on NYE, but we were in Nevada, and in Nevada the ball drops at 9pm. And that doesn’t seem right. And we were with her parents. And I was asleep by midnight, so that didn’t count.

So mary and I have now been together for 2 new years eve’s now. And the first one the ball dropped and she was distracted and somewhere else and someone had to go find me and kiss me. That was sort of anticlimactic. And then this year, we missed the ball drop. It doesn’t get much more anticlimactic than that.

Whatever. The point is: I think I hate New Years Eve. It’s pretty stupid. It’s just another day. I didn’t make any resolutions. Resolutions are stupid—unless they’re god ones. Last year my sister’s resolution was to have more happy hours. That was the best resolution I ever heard. She wins. No resolutions for me, but this New Years Eve was actually really fun, even though we missed the ball drop.

We hit the road the next day—Mary driving the Baumer, and me driving the Wonder Truck with the Gus. I had tricked out the inside of the truck to make it a giant sized Gus bed. Blankets and cushions and pillows everywhere. He dug it. Sometimes he slept on the passenger seat, sometimes in the space in between the seats, and sometimes on the back seat. He liked the freedom of being able to just wander around. People said we would have to stop a lot for Gus to do his business. Shoot. The Gus holds his business longer than me. The Gus rocks.

Pictures of our cabin

Here is the structure we are currently living in.
This is the what the cabin looks like from the outside.



When you enter the cabin, this is the main room. There are several pics, but all from the main room. When you enter, the red couch is on the left.











Here's the kitchen:





Then you go up the stairs. I don't know if you can see the stairs in the kitchen pics, but the stairs are scary. Upstairs is pretty scary. Here's pics of the 2 bedrooms. Mary didn't take a pic of the bathroom. It's sort of like an airplane bathroom. except there's a shower.





And here's the view lookin out the front door. We should have take a shot of the upstairs balcony, and the view from there. Maybe later.

Breaking up with a close friend

I've always loved TV. Ever since I can remember. It's my mom's fault i think. When i was a kid she tried to restrict how much tv i was allowed to watch. i forget exactly what the rules were, but i wasn't supposed to watch much. she let me watch Dukes of Hazzard, and the A-team, and Knight Rider. those were givens. but after that, not much. i think i maybe got 1 cartoon an afternoon. it was usually GI Joe that i picked. and then no tv. unless it was a "family friendly" show. we watched family ties, and webster and different strokes and silver spoons. and we watched Highway to Heaven. and i briefly remember watching a show called "Call to Glory" which was some family drama with a pre-Coach/post Poltergeist Craig T. Nelson. and later we would watch Cosby Show religiously, and the first season of Different World.

and that was about it. i wasn't really allowed to watch tv aimlessly. it had to have a purpose. and while the shows listed above may look like a bunch of shows, imagine if you were only allowed to 30 minutes of tv a night. how would you feel?

you'd feel sad.

so whenever i went to my friends houses i watched lots of tv. and in the summer, i watched as much tv as i could. (apparently, tv watching rules only applied to when school was in or something). in the summers i watched Price is Right and Sale of the Century every day. and password and super password. and Press Your Luck, and Classic Concentration, and whatever game show of the moment was on during that particular summer. and syndicated reruns. i LOVED syndicated reruns. specifically Alice. and the Ropers. i liked the Ropers better than 3's Company.

ahh...i loved summer.

what's my point?
i almost forgot.

the point is, i always loved TV, even though my mom tried to restrict how much i watched.
and part of me thinks that i loved it even more as i got older because i didn't get to watch as much as i wanted when i was kid. its always easier to blame someone else though. maybe i'd just be a tv-aholic no matter what. who knows.

i love tv. i'm not ashamed of it.

but now i live in a cabin.
on a very fixed budget.
and my tv is only 12 inches and i only get 13 channels.

in recent years i also became a bit addicted to the internet.
mostly because i had an office job, but also because of all the useless crap you could find on the internet.
but now?
now i'm on a fixed budget.
and i don't have an office job.
so i have to go to the library to get on the internet.
the result?
i don't play on the internet nearly as much as i used to.

so what happens when you take a boy who used to be obsessed with pop culture and loved his tv and his internet, and stick him in a cabin in the country and cut him off from all these things?

well... the boy gets out and lives life.
he reads some books. more books in 3 months than he's read in 2 years.
and he plays board games. (and he likes the board games).
and he socializes.
and he sits outside and enjoys nature.
he takes walks with his pug and his ladyfriend.
(and he also sees a TON of concerts)
but the point is though, that the boy enjoys life.
and life is truly grand.
and he doesn't even really miss tv and the internet that much.

so what would happen when the boy returned home for the holidays, and had tv and the internet at his fingertips?
the boy figured he'd overdose on them when he got there.
he figured there'd be nothing better than vegging out in front of the tv all day.

but something happened.

the boy got home and for some reason did not feel compelled to watch tv aimlessly all day long.
he did other stuff.
granted, he did watch more tv than usual, but certainly not as much as he thought he would, and definitely not as much as he used to.
and, he did play on the internet quite a bit.
(that internet is a tempting seductress. it's exciting to have it at your fingertips any hour of the day. it's sort of empowering).

but, again, the point, which has gotten lost again is this: much to my surprise i didn't crave tv as much as i thought i would. although it's been only 3 months, TX is changing me. and i love it.

today was the first day since i've been home that i didn't really have anything to do, so i was forced to watch lots of tv. and i was bored out of my mind. totally bored.

and that's good i think.
it's good to not love the TV like i used to.
well--- i still love it. i always will. i just don't need it.
don't tell tv that.
tv might get mad.

sadly tonight though i experienced the flip side of what else happens if you don't have as much internet and tv access as you once did:
THEY trick you.
and you get angry.

do you know that song "since you been gone"?
it's catchy.
this megawatt mix station in Austin called The Bob plays that song all the time.
enough that it crept into my brain.
but i liked it.
sometimes when it'd come on i might have even turned it up. (i don't remember).
but i liked it.

and then tonight the mtv video awards were on.
and on the awards, kelly clarkson came on.
i sort of have a rule about hating American Idol winners or contestants.
but puff daddy diddy told me it was going to be incredible, and i had to watch.
so i did.
and she sang the song "since you been gone".
i always thought it was that other girl who sang it.
and i was ok with liking the other girl singing it.
my brain is rotting away and i can't think of her name now.
i think she's that one that sang that song about "just a day, just an ordinary day..."
but then maybe it wasn't her.
maybe it was one of those other dark haired young pop stars of the moment.
i want to say her name started with an N.
but i don't know.
it doesn't really matter.
because apparently kelly clarkson sings that song.
and i imagine that i'm the only one in the world who didn't know that.
and now i feel tricked.
and manipulated.
and i feel dirty for liking it.

they made me like the song.
they never told me who sang it.
and it's catchiness got stuck in my brain.
and i liked it.

and i'm mad.
is it worth it to not be entranced by the tv but then to be tricked by radio into liking a kelly clarkson song?
should i give up on radio too?
i don't know.

and then i have a weird thought that makes my head hurt.
maybe--and it's a big maybe-- could it be-- that without the influence of mass media, my brain is now free to choose whatever it likes and dislikes without the former qualifiers and indicators that used to influence my opinions?

is it wrong that before, i could hate a song without even hearing it, based simply on the person who was singing it, and my prejudices towards them. is it wrong that i automatically hated things without even giving them a chance?

it's almost like my mind has been opened.
i don't have any prejudices or biases or preconceived notions about things now.
i just experience them and take them at face value and form my own judgements.
will i one day be free from all media prejudices?

will that be better?

is that what it's like when people have no tv or internet?
do they have an easier time in life because they are not encumbered by what's cool or popular, or in my case, trying to hate whatever is cool or popular?

do these people have it better?

perhaps.
but they miss out on a lot too.
i have no doubt about that.
maybe in some ways though, they do have it better because they can form their own opions.
and that's good.

i'm gonna think about it.
and maybe i'll try to decrease my tv viewing time and internet usage even more.

i'm sorry tv.
its nothing personal.
it's not me, it's you.
i appreciate all the times that you were there for me.
and i'll always have a special place in my heart for you.
and sometimes, who knows, maybe we can still have some quality time together.
for right now though, i'm going to have to continue to distance myself from you for a little while.

but if i start liking a song that i find out is a Backstreet Boys song i'm expanding my cable package and signing up for highspeed internet immediately.

Pedernales Falls: Armadillo Action!

Mary and I had never seen a live armadillo before. Only dead ones. Dead ones are not nearly as fun or cool. We took lots of pictures:






















Armadillos are fascinating.

Pedernales Falls Part 2

Pedernales Falls State Park, Pt 1

More of Gus the pug

Gus pics everywhere.

Holy crap.
We just uploaded all the pics we'd taken since moving to TX.
about 60% were of the Gus.
Gus fans eat your hearts out. Here's Part 1

2005 was full of concerts

Mercy.
I truly had the best intentions to document every single concert i went to on my TX adventure.
And then i got a little behind.
and then i started trying to keep a daily blog of other stuff.
And then i just lost control.
And i'm sorry about it, but whatever. it happens. it was getting too hard for me to write concert reviews anyway. i couldn't find the words. i can always find the words for daily ramblings.
but i'd like to try to keep track of shows that i see. and maybe give blurbs about the performances. and maybe give full reviews. so i might. we'll see.

here's what i saw in 2005

i saw so many shows in 2005 that i can't even remember them all.
before i moved to TX, i saw Eliza Gilkyson, David Childers and The
Gourds, The Pernice Brothers, James McMurtry, Tift Merritt and
Chatham County Line, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Gary Louris and Mark Olson
(from the Jayhawks), John Eddie, Todd Snider and Hayes Carll, Todd
Snider and the Nervous Wrecks, Danny Schmidt a couple times, Fastball, David Lowery
and Johnny Hickman from Cracker, Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller,
Aqualung, Chuck Prophet, Eddie and Martha Adcock, Don Rigsby, Heather Berry, Devon and Paul Curreri, Kevn Kinney, Drive by Truckers, and surely a couple more.

since moving to TX in September here's what i've done:

saw Hayes Carll at Hills' Cafe
saw Billy Joe twice
saw David Garza
saw Hayes Carll, Stoney Larue, Walt Wilkins, and
Kent Finlay in a song swap
saw Jon Langford, Rico Bell, and Sally Timms
i've seen the Sidehill Gougers a ton of times.
i saw them at the Boerne Arts and Crafts Festival with Chris Wall.
that was fun. Chris Wall was great. it was cool to hear "i feel like
hank williams tonight' by the guy that wrote it. in my mind, that's
one of the best country songs ever. ever.
I saw Son Volt at Stubbs.
I saw Ray Wylie Hubbard at Hills Cafe
I saw The Geezinslaws at Hills.
I saw Hayes Carll at Cheatham St
I saw Slaid Cleaves at Cheatham St
I saw Alejandro Escovedo and his orchestra at Casbeers
I saw Dale Watson at Chicken Shit Sundays at Ginnys
I saw Roger Marin at Triple Crown
I saw Roger Marin and Mark Jungers at Gruene hall. they were really
good.
I saw Dale Watson, and a bunch of local bands at Broken Spoke
I saw Brennan Leigh at Threadgills Gospel Brunch.
I saw Hayes Carll and James McMurty at Saengerhalle
I saw Mike McClure with the dedringers and the Sidehill Gougers at
Cheatham
I saw Adrienne Young and Little Sadie at Gruene Hall
I saw Tish Hinojosa at Gruene Hall
I saw Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at Gruene Hall
I saw Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriquez at the Armadillo Holiday Bazaar
I saw a couple songs by the Resentments at the Bazaar too.

and i'm sure i've done more.
but maybe i haven't.
i need to.
i'll try to in 2006.

of all those, 2 really stand out. first: Todd Snider and the Nervous
Wrecks. i'd never seen him w/ the band. the energy was
electrifying. it was tremendous.

second: Gary Louris and Mark Olson of the Jayhawks. that one blew
my mind. the jayhawks are one of my all time favorite bands. Mark
left the band in 1995 and the 2 of them haven't performed together
since then. there are no 2 better people to sing harmonies
together. it was pretty magical.

other show highlights:
seeing Todd and Hayes was also a highlight because it was the first
time i ever heard Hayes Carll. he's quickly become my new favorite.

Emmylou and Buddy Miller were tremendous as well. i'd only seen
emmylou perform at the opry, and that was only 3 songs. to see a
whole concert by her, was extraordinary. i love her.

the pernice brothers put on a rockin great show in charlottesville
before i left. they're not at all country, but they're totally
great.

jimmie dale was tremendous. i'd never seen him before.

and even though i've seen Cracker over a dozen times, the Lowery-
Hickman acoustic duo show was pretty incredible.

and lots of the others were really awesome too.
i am Hutch.
and i love music.

In case you missed it (Movie Reviews)

In case you missed it, i decided to put all my movie reviews so far right here. I feel like i'm doing my duty to warn people of the terrible ones so that they're not as frustrated as me. Also since many people wanted i went back and edited and added details to one of my earlier TX adventures--walking home in the dark. it's a better read now. check it out here:

http://hutchintx.blogeasy.com/article.view.run?articleID=104517

And here's the movie reviews:

Lord of War: i'd never heard of it. but it was showing on the big screen for 50 cents and had Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke. figured i'd take a chance. worthless. the entire movie could have been summed up in a 2 minute Public Service Announcement. instead that's 2 hours of my life i'll never get back.

Flight Plan: i don't like scary movies, but figured i was up for a suspenseful one. it was only 50 cents too, and i figured i liked Jodie Foster and that Sarsgagarxsdaddgadd fellow. jodie usually makes quality flicks. holy crap. i don't know what happened here. just awful. not scary. not suspenseful. not good. preposterous. i actually laughed at the end of it.

Just Like Heaven: Holy crap. what a terrible mistake. in my defense, we had gone to see 40 year old Virgin, but the sound was messed up. and even though it was only 50 cents, i couldn't hear a word, so they let us go see another movie. our choices were Into the Blue which i knew would suck, or Just Like Heaven. I like Mark Ruffalo, and i used to have a crush on Reese before she became a mommy, and i was really drunk, so i said we could go see this movie. Once again, i had no idea what it was about. And mercy, it was awful. thank goodness i had drank quite a bit of vodka before the movie, because i passed out for about 50 minutes of the movie. i was really angry when i woke up and the movie was still on. i tried to persuade the lady friend to leave, but she wanted to see the ending. guess what? the ending was terrible. it was all terrible. really really bad.

War of the Worlds: someone i know said it was good. someone i know lied.

Forty Year Old Virgin: i did finally manage to see this movie. i laughed so hard it hurt. seriously. like all of these kinds of movies, there were parts that were slow and stupid, but it also had some of the funniest scenes i've scene in a long time. i loved it.

Wedding Crashers: not nearly as funny as it should have been. once again, people lied to me.

March of the Penguins: really interesting. pretty good. i started to lose focus by the end though.

Pieces of April: it was a free dvd from the library. Ebert and whoever gave it 2 thumbs up. i'm not sure why.
i didn't hate it. but i didn't love it either. it had a very independent feel. but that didn't make it good. i did manage to watch the whole thing, which i guess is an accomplishment. even if i was "working" at the time.

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers: I thought i heard some good stuff about it. It was free. It was sort of interesting. I was into it at first. And then I got bored. But i finished it. It took a long time, but i did finish it. That's an accomplishment these days.