Home Alone

I ate dinner with Angela and Dan as part of the WNC HIV event. We talked movies and books for about two hours, which is my idea of a hot time. They followed me home afterward to borrow DVDs, including Yellow Submarine, Love Actually, About A Boy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Kingdom of Heaven. Dan also unearthed my old VCR copy of the “Rat Pack Special.” He loves Dean Martin. These are the guys who lend me Harry Potter books, and I let them leave with as much as they wanted. Dan promised to check what books of mine he’d want to read just as soon as his own pile dwindles. When they left I fiddled the art and watched the first 20 minutes of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Eh. I assume the humor creeps in later. I got to bed later than usual (around 1 a.m.) and slept the whole night. I woke up feeling great.

The new gal in the office is trying o make social inroads with me. There’s no reason to be unsociable with her; we just have vastly different energy levels and styles of conversation. She learned of my interest in wrestling and promised to bring in a gift playing on that. She made a big show of handing over what are, in reality, Power Rangers. Look like little Happy Meal toys. I think her kids lead her astray. It’s a nice thought. I hope she doesn’t feel she’s failed to make nice.

When they left, I contacted Travis to remind him of They Might Be Giants tonight. He wants to go, but we don’t have a set meeting time tomorrow. I’m also to hook up with Meredith and Josh. I’m playing this one loose. As long as I see the band around 9:30, I don’t care what we do or where we meet.

Picture of the Day
From the BBC:

In the news
The rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear program continues to become heated. The Iranian president shrugged off concerns of a United Nations’ report on the program. The findings might lead to a standoff on the Security Council over potential sanctions.

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Monday might see a nationwide walkout of immigrants to protest the ugly debate over border policies. May 1st has long been the European May Day to celebrate labor rights.

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Gas prices went down overnight here by seven cents. Thanks, Bush.

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Broadway has become more of a desperate tourist trap as musicals have emerged in two disturbing trends: a) the what-the-hell remakes from other media; and b) jukebox musicals, where a slim story is woven between songs by a particular performer. The latter has seen shows based on Johnny Cash (which just closed after about a three-day run), the Beach Boys, The Four Seasons, John Lennon, and of course, the best and first, Abba. The former of the trends has two new members. First is The Wedding Singer. The NY Times says it too easily glosses over the ‘80s and turns the show into a musical version of Trivial Pursuit about that decade. The second remake is Lestat, the third vampire musical in as many years and seemingly the third to go down in flames. Rumors swirl that Mel Brooks wants to bring Young Frankenstein to the stage to follow up The Producers.