Y Tu Rick James Tambien

The very morning I posted about three straight days of leg-killing exercise, I was asked to do more. The office received 100 boxes of the company's history books at 36 pounds a box. That's a ton and a half. The driver announced he was not paid to move them, just deliver them to our door. We carted them up the handicap ramp to the opposite end of the building in about half an hour. My legs are yelling at me in a vulgar leg language. I got home late as we put the final touches on convention stuff and soaked in the tub for about 20 minutes. Didn't help. Friday, I awoke with stiff legs and knees. I have this sensation in my thigh; it feels like my cell phone is vibrating inside my pocket. Yet that gadget sits over there, in my lunchbox on the floor. Weird.

Thursday and Friday were 12-hour workdays as we packed up the office. Only the stunning hotness of my iPod playlist kept me awake enough to drive home. And I’m sure the deer appreciated hearing me warble Air Supply at top volume.

On Saturday, we hit Asheville. Your Sis got some new shoes at Topps. We strolled a bit, taking in some art galleries and eating at the Woolworth Diner where a grilled cheese and BLT set you back $12. As we moved from the Grove Arcade to Malaprops, Asheville was hit by a monsoon, a true-blue gullywasher that stopped the city cold for 15 minutes. An hour later, you couldn’t even tell it rained. It was brutal hot. I looked at making my own painting canvas instead of buying a giant one pre-made. It’ll be cheaper to craft it, and I won’t have to strap the readymade on to my car roof to drive it home. We got back in time for supper and Kathy and Travis stopped by to shoot the shit. Somehow this turned into us watching my Dave Chappelle DVDs, and Your Sis actually laughed.

On Sunday, she was struck by the notion of taking apart her bathtub doors and putting up the shower curtain. This became an Official project. We had to scour the old caulk off the tub, shave the wall anchors down, pull up the floor stripping, and fill in holes in the fiberglass. We need to adhere the linoleum to the floor before adding new stripping and patch a gouge. Then she can use it again. That probably won’t happen before I leave for Orlando on Thursday. We ended the night watching Y Tu Mama Tambien, the first film we taped on TiFaux back in January. It’s a very well-directed movie, with prolonged shots and nice character movement. I like the storytelling, although the narration style reminds me a lot of City of God. It’s also possibly the most realistic depiction of teen boys I’ve seen onscreen.

Picture of the Day
The largest North American comic convention just wrapped up. Some costumes are great. Others ...


In the News
Condi Rice went to Beirut today to talk to the leader of Lebanon, presumably to assure him the U.S. will extend evacuations of his people if he can find some oil. We're also speeding up arms shipments to Israel for use in the Hezbollah attacks. The administration wants to pressure Syria to cut off Hezbollah but sent Rice to Lebanon. I don't see how that pressure Syria to do anything.

Tender is the Night and My Legs

Monday, I ran. Tuesday, I mowed. Wednesday, I bowled. Today, I got the ouchies. Your Sis hosted a Ladies Night with a Mediterranean theme. The shindig was on before I got home from work. She had balloons on the maibox and back deck and a spread of food guests had brought. I helped her make picture coasters relating to countries on the ocean. She hosted about ten fellow teachers while I vanished for the bowling alley. Travis and I went four games, including a break for fries and beer. We talked marriage and arguments and my divorce. It was good. Very good. This is a good guy all around, and we think the world of his wife too. We lucked up finding these folks. When I got home, I helped clean up as Heidi said goodbye to Kathy. We're supposed to start boxing up the office for the Orlando convention today, but we're doing an awful lot of last-minute printing. I don't know when I'll get home tonight; some were here into the wee hours yesterday.

Picture of the Day
Stephen Hawking wins at Snaps.





In the News
"Snowflake babies" is the new cuddly-wuddly name for children born fromdiscarded embryo collections. The hardline GOP used the term in teh recent stem-cell debate which culminated in Bush's only veto of his administration.

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Virtually all the significant critics hate Lady in the Water. Look for small-market and fringe critics to laud it so their quotes can appear in national ads. This is their form of cheap publicity.

One Million Degrees

Of course, summer is hot. It's always hot. But we've had some intense dry-heat hot for days now. The sun, she is a'blazing. I mowed the yard yesterday at 7 p.m., and it was still strapping on a heat lamp. Just as I finished, my pal Esther called to give me details of her recent delivery. I don't think I've talked to her since Christmas when she announced she was pregnant. We watched "House" over a late dinner and toyed about with our new exercise tool, a giant inflatable ball. Yes, it does help you work the torso while using weights, but it's much more fun to recreate the Raiders of the Lost Ark boulder by rolling it at the cats.

Picture of the Day
You know that horrible Wayans film about a tiny jewel thief who disguises himself as a baby to recover a diamond from someone's house? Doesn't that sound really familiar? It's from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon.


I hope the cartoon folks get some royalties for that.

In the News
The new plan seems to involve Israel bombing Lebanon for another week followed by Condi Rice strolling in to play peacemaker. Israel is taking it's onw lumps for "disproportionate" force and killing as many civilans as Hezbollah militants. White House press secretary showed his ass to senior press corps member Helen Thomas by denying the U.S. vetoed a Qatar-backed U.N. resolutiuon against Isreal. He then thanked her for "the Hezbollah view" when she asked when the violence might end. I respected his credentials when he took the job, and I thought he could add a polish unseen since Ari Fleischer quit. But that's an asshole move, and he ought to apologize. The administration has tripped over itself since Israel began the attacks. Yesterday, Bush tried a casual back rub on new German chancellor Angela Merckel, and she immediately shrugged him off. This is what high-school boys do; it's a cheap grope. Christ, this guy's a loser.