New Year, Old Tricks

2005 has been a real pain in the back, which is fitting because I've spent the last few hours of the year with a pulled back, hardly able to move. I had to break plans twice. But that's alright because I hate New Year's Eve and would rather spend it like any other night than to make something special of it.

And while everyone else is getting teary-eyed and looking back at this crummy year, I'd rather look forward and tell you what's coming in the year ahead. No surprises, that's my motto after all. So here it is, a look forward at 2006: the year that's becoming.

In the entertainment arena, box office sales continue to plummet while movies keep getting better. That is, until movie executives hire Joan Collins, Jonathan Winters, and WP Kinsella to write the ultimate romantic baseball comedy "A Fly Ball to my Heart." Heavy contenders for the leading role are Alan Thicke and Robert Wagner (not to be confused with Richard Wagner). As a response, film executives from competing studios greenlight a remake of "Bull Durham."

Regarding music in 2006, the internet trend that saw bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah producing and distributing their own music does not stop. More bands get in on the act and independent lables see sales comparably higher than in the recent past. Other music trends that don't stop: more and better Sufjan Stevens albums; fresh as hell jives from Ashlee Simpson; and a Disney tunes cover album from the Pop Project.

The political arena heats up as Congress continues to row over the Patriot Act, the NSA spying scandal, declining support for the president and the war, and mid-term elections. Things really go crazy, though, after it is disclosed that a prominent Democratic senator (who is rumored to be considering a presidential bid) has been selling arms to FARC. Of primary interest, however, will be the president's ranching accident. While entertaining British PM Tony Blair and Yassir Arafat (so not dead), President Bush falls off a horse into a thicket of brambles. He comes out of it with a sprained shoulder and several scratches from the brambles. Otherwise, he is fine.

As for my personal life - I adopt a small band of Cossack children, train them in martial arts, and take them back to the Russian steppes to exact revenge on the Siberian grizzly that ate their parents. There's no explanation as to why I do this. I guess I'm just bored.

Boxing Day update

We all made this concerted effort this year not to go crazy with Christmas gifts. No one wanted the stress or the gifts, and my father, at age 51, realized he was Jewish and didn't want any part of Christmas.

And yet somehow we all got dragged into it. And as much I keep thinking I want nothing to do with the holiday, I'm grateful for the time spent with family and friends, as well as the thoughtful gifts.

Cousin Molly got me a vegetarian cookbook, something I'd always wanted but would never buy. I made something from it tonight - spicy chickpeas - and holy crap was it delicious. There were gift certificates and x-mas checks from various other family members; a Benjamin Franklin action figure from Brother; socks (a gift I actually like getting); and a digital camera from the Miami family. So, assuming I can get my act together, expect more pictures from this rambling missive in the future.

Tonight, in addition to the spicy chickpeas, I made latkes. It is Chanukah after all. And even though I ended up going the Manishewitz route to cut back on labor, they were insanely delicious (though few things actually taste bad when fried and smothered in sour cream). My clothes reek of fried potatoes, tamarind, and coriander.

I know you can't really turn on a television or radio without being socked over the head with this, but just take a moment to think about last year's tsunami. Over 200,000 people died and that's an amount I'm not certain I can fathom.

It's been a weird year, guys.

I lied about the wheels!

This week has been a great one, with friends home from far away places and lots of food and drinking. In order to have time to see all our friends, we had a party at our fantastic little apartment. Tim and Christine McCarty, home from Boston; Patrick, Barnes home from Oregon; Zach Biehler, home from Wisconsin; Andy Nicholson, home from San Francisco; and those who haven't gon quite so freaking far away - Dan, Gold, Kris Party Phillips, Zach Curd, Mike, Babs, Jack, Brad, Sam, Marianne, Jason, Maureen, Jimmy, John Sapp, and some weird people no one but Andrew knew. If I'm forgetting anyone, may lightning strike me down. Sadly, not in attendace were Pete and Walker, neither of whom left the relative warmth and beauty of northern California, and Josh, who apparently likes New York more than any person. Who can blame him?

We requested that everyone bring food to the party, a brilliant idea as there are some real decent cooks among us. Brie fondue, more than one kind of lasagna, spinach dip, vegetables, peanut butter pie, hummus and pita, and a delicious, delicious queso dip provided by the tostitos company (or something similar). More importantly, there was booze a-plenty. Case after case of, generally, cheap beer, a forty ounce (mine, in tribute to Walker), wine, and lord knows what else. For the record, Tim drank almost a complete fifth of Johnny Walker red label by himself. There was maybe one glass left. Either way, we were all feeling it the next morning when we woke up and walked around the corner for breakfast at Nello's. After breakfast, most everyone departed. I left soon thereafter for recovery and xmas at Nana and Poppy's. When I left, though, Patrick, Zach B, and Andrew were playing risk and drinking again.

I've missed everyone a lot and hope that, despite the great distances between us, we can still make time to visit each other. There is great pressure for a Boston trip sometime soon, and, time and money allowed, I'll be more than happy to be anyone's house guest.

Don't get your panties in a knot

My devoted readers have grown restless. I have not updated the blog for a long time. The reason? What the hell do I do that's worth posting on a blog? On any given day, my schedule is: wake up, eat breakfast, maybe take a shower, go to the library for many hours where I sit and fill out grad applications and look for jobs I will never get, go home, eat food, watch the news, watch some Family Guy, eat some ramen noodles, watch a movie or television, read, go to bed. Every single day. Unless, after the library I go to the coffee shop.

So, devoted fans, it's for your sanity that I did not update this blog with my pointless blathering.

But for your sake: I've finished reading "Ravelstein" and now nearly through with "Pnin" (which I highly, highly recommend) and about to start "Henderson the Rain King." I watched "The Passion of Joan of Arc" this past week, and while I had my doubts, it turned out to be an phenomenal movie. So put aside your fear of silent films and your hatred of the French and rent the criterion edition of this movie.

Gold, Dan, and I went to the Magic Stick for Brew and View. $2 for the ticket (we saw the Wedding Crashers), $4 for a beer, and $3.50 for a large popcorn. My point? It ended up being far cheaper than going to an actual theater. D-towners, I recommend this.

I told my roomate that I'm moving out. I need to live someplace rent-free for a while so I can recoup my losses of the last few months and maybe make a little money before I (hopefully) put myself many thousands in debt for grad school.

And, finally, last night was the long-awaited wedding for Joe and Erica, which also heralded the first Tim and Christine McCarty sighting of the season. Everyone is well, the newly-weds are off to Las Vegas, Patrick Barnes has no hair on the top of his head, and the Leopold Bros. make a tasty pilsner. The coming week is going to be hectic and chock full of friends. It may be days before I see the inside of that library again.