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6.5.2003


I got nothing done today, but at least I also got to accept blame for two things I did wrong yesterday. I try to have things even out like that -- if I'm particularly lazy I also like to be untalented. Why waste skill on sloth? I'm not making any sense whatsoever, am I? No.

So, I was talking to my friend V. via Instant Messenger and we were commiserating (as we are wont to do) about being unproductive. Because I am a moron, I've decided that interesting people are too exhausting to be bothered with. I said to V., "being interesting is overrated, I bet. Interesting people are also uniformly annoying. They're just interesting from a distance."

Now this is really pretty much the dumbest thing I've ever said. I mean, my premise is basically that interesting people are boring. You're in difficult logical territory after that. Black is white. Up is down. Everyone loves Raymond.

[Can I kill a story by trying to be funny? YES! YES, I CAN!]

V. humored me as I launched into a diatribe about one particular excessively energetic and interesting person. I used the word amped to describe her, because when I get excited* I have the vocabulary of a none too hip math teacher by day classic rock karaoke machine by night. It's a curse, but I get to say righteous and mean it more than you. OK, amped, yes, we're back on track. V. says, "now i want to draw a comic called AMPED GIRL." I go "back" to work.

*No, it is not lost on me how stupid it is that I got really excited when describing how excitement was bad. Please remember that up is down.

Now look at what my friend has made. It is the best thing ever.

There is a lesson here. It's not a story without a moral. See how Amped Girl juggles in the third frame and dies in the fifth? Juggling is morally reprehensible and God will punish you for it.
..:.:3:47 PM:.:..


6.2.2003


These are all tied together because they're about media kinds of things. In fact, I was going to title it Notes on Media, but then I decided it sounded like I was pronouncing judgment or doing reviews or something, which I'm not at all. You will soon see that it's going to be about B-list celebrity sightings and stuff like that, so without further ado,

B-list celebrity sightings and stuff like that

  • I saw Jimmy Tingle in Davis Square on Saturday. He looked rumpled. (Do people know who Jimmy Tingle is, or is this a Boston thing?) Recently, I saw Loudon Wainwright III in Brooklyn Heights. I'm kind of obsessed with Loudon Wainwright III, to the point where I'm mentioning him here just because I'm stilled a little excited about it.

    Top 7 Loudon Wainwright III songs of all time in no order, plus the best album because I can't pick any songs off of it individually:
    1. I'd Rather Be Lonely
    2. OGM (Out-Going Message)
    3. I Know I'm Unhappy
    4. Me and All the Other Mothers
    5. Career Moves
    6. Dreaming
    7. Homeless
    Album: History

    And now a CONTEST, because I like doing these even though no one ever really enjoys winning as much as I like them winning -- I LIVE TO GIVE (it's a bumper sticker). OK, the first person to email me gets a mix CD of all my favorite Loudon Wainwright III songs. The second person to email me gets a mix CD of all of my least favorite Loudon Wainwright III songs (guaranteed to include "This Song Don't Have a Video"). Someone will experience the opposite of winning. See, my contests are like life: interminably long and difficult to understand. [Please include a mailing address].

  • I had other things that were media related and now I can't remember them. Oh yeah,

  • Did you know that Andy Rooney is still doing his thing on Sixty Minutes? I couldn't believe it. Someone should do us all a favor and recreate his office from 1954 (The Last Year Things Were Uncomplicated) and set him down in it to see what would happen. Is there anything amusing about being a cranky luddite? Actually, Skot is really funny, so I guess there is. ZING!

  • I saw Frank Black sing Wave of Mutilation last Thursday, so I can die happy now. It was a little acoustic show in a tiny venue and we were sitting at a table about six feet from him. I say this not to try to impress you with my hipsterness (I didn't even know about the concert -- a friend got me the ticket), but to say this: All shows should be like this. I'm going to nothing but folk music shows from now on. It's my own little protest. I'm only hurting me.

  • There are some new books to be borrowed over at Booklend, almost all of which were donated by Alaina. Go thank her!
..:.:12:44 PM:.:..


mark@markand.com
aim: mdanderson45