This title was inspired by the movie ‘Dan in Real Life’ starring the always funny Steve Carrel. I’ve yet to the see movie, actually, but I was watching ‘Ebert & Roeper’ (sans Ebert) and it was recommended on the basis that it would make you feel good. Kind of a like a comfort-food type of movie that still deals with real life. Also of note, the guy that directed it, Peter Hedges, directed and wrote one of my favoritetest movies of all-time: ‘About a Boy.’ Anywho, this post is dedicated to the prosaic and mundane little things that happen to us daily—the sum of which make up our lives.
At work we’ve got new phones that look very similar to the ones used by CTU employees on ‘24.’ Here’s the coolest part though: I changed my ring so that it matches the CTU phones. It’s something like doo doo…dooo do. Does that make sense? Anyway, any time that the phone rings and I pick it up I half expect Jack Bauer to say: “Jed! I need your help, you’re just gonna have to trust me.” And I do, because as we all know Jack Bauer even got Helen Keller to talk.
I was at Wal-mart the other day, buying a DVD with a PG-13 rating. As the DVD went through the scanner, instead of a happy ding, there was a grumpy ‘err’ sound. The clerk then looked at me and asked me if I was over seventeen years-old. Really? Do I look like I’m still in high school? I’ve got to stop wearing my ‘I Heart Hanna Montana’ t-shirt.
Here’s the picture of Pres. Hinkley knighting Elder Eyring. I know this was innocent and all, but Mormons are funny about tradition and ceremony. I remember on my mission when a branch president in a really small rural area of Argentina set apart a member of the ward for a calling and he made them kneel on the ground. When I questioned him about the practice—which wasn’t necessarily bad or anything—he told me that that’s how the twelve apostles did it in a movie he’d seen. So, I guess I just worry that this picture we’ll be shown around the world and soon branch presidents in really small rural towns might sheer off some ears in an attempt to knight/set apart someone.
Here’s a picture of what my boss wore at a Halloween costume party yesterday. If you can’t tell he’s wearing a white trash can outfit, with sunglasses, and a sign around his neck that says ‘recycling.’ Get it? I didn’t. Either did my fellow judges when we voted him ‘worst costume.’ Apparently, he was a little offended that we bestowed this dubious honor upon him. Later, I had kind of a Michael Scott moment with him when he tried to explain to me that it was meant to be ‘cool trash’ and he looked at me for validation, and I just shook my head and said ‘hmmm, no.’ I don’t think that’ll help my impending performance review.
I always have gum and chap stick with me for some reason. Today, I picked up my gum and chap stick at the same time. I unwrapped a piece of gum and placed it in my mouth, then, while still holding the wrapper, I took off the cap to my chap stick and lubricated my lips. I then walked over to the trash can and threw the lid into the trash, while still holding the wrapper firmly in my hand. I just starred at the trash can for awhile before I got up the nerve to fish around in the trash to find my lid. This just confirms my sneaking suspicion that senility will be a smooth transition for me.
Finally, my sister sent me this picture of my cute nephew dressed as a lion for Halloween. When I was in kindergarten I was Lion-o from the Thundercats for Halloween. (Yes, I already know I was supercool.) So, I decided to call this picture Owen-o, because my nephew’s name is Owen. The end.
This post has nothing to do with the BBC, but rather British-inspired news. I have never set foot on the ‘Spamalot’-inspired country, (btw…I just saw the play in Vegas, uh, awesome) but I have a profound respect and odd curiosity for anything that comes from across the pond:
I know this is a stretch, but the American version of ‘The Office’ comes to us directly from the British version. Anyway, ‘The Office’ definitely, in my mind at least, hasn’t jumped the shark, but, again, listening to reactions from people this season as well as reading on-line articles and blogs, I’m convinced that something is amiss. Read this article form Slate magazine that seems to think it knows how to remedy ‘The Office’ funk. Also, here’s the top 25 moments from ‘The Office’ with clips - it invokes fond memories.
Also, with all the Radiohead hysteria lately, I just needed to say that it looks like their little experiment has worked, financially speaking. While there have been many freeloaders who haven’t shelled out a penny for the new album, it looks as though the downloading averaged about $8 per CD. This article indicates that most A-list artists make about $1 for every CD sold, while, in contrast, Radiohead is reaping all the download profit from their own strategy. Not bad considering that estimates are around 1.2 million downloaded albums thus far. That would equate to like a billion pounds or something (I’m hazy on my pound to dollar conversion).
One more thing…Oasis is following suit and offering their latest single as a download only. The only difference is that you actually have to pay for it. P.S. I love Oasis.
Casting for the new Star Trek movie seems to be rounding out as new reports are trickling in of the latest to join the pre-television series U.S.S. Enterprise. It appears that J.J. Abrams, the director, is taking the franchise into a bold new direction. Instead of using past Star Trek television stars, Abrams is casting young and relatively unknown actors to man the 60s sci-fi ship. While trying to appeal to a broader audience is the obvious reason that Abrams has broken from Star Trek tradition, some Trekkers are worried that he may fly the franchise off course, however, most have taken a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude.
A Mexican politician was stripped of his first-place title after it was uncovered that he took a shortcut. Officials opened an investigation after a race photographer noted that he finished the marathon wearing a jacket and long running tights; he also wasn’t sweating and he looked like he had just come from a fiesta. He shot back that he never intended to complete the race, but was simply crossing the finish line to get to all of his things. Since when do you cross a finish line pumping your arms in the air just to collect your belongings? Here’s the video. Compare his triumphant finish to that of his running counterparts who are on the verge of death.
So, what did you guys think of ‘The Office’ last night. I was reading some blogs on-line and some people were complaining that the hour-long episodes are just too much. Even my brother said that it seemed like they were just trying to fill space in some areas. I’m not sure how I feel. I think that I laughed quite a bit: Meredith’s hip cast, Andy’s song to Angela, Michael and Dwight making fun of Ryan. But, I would agree that the whole kidnapping incident seemed a little too ‘out there.’ Kind of like when Michael drove his car into the river on the last episode. I don’t know. What do you guys and gals think?
One last thing: I couldn’t watch ‘The Office’ on DVR because it wasn’t working for some reason, so I sat and watched all the commercials for fear that I might miss even one second. There’s all these lame Jerry Seinfeld promos for his new movie on. Uh, L.A.M.E. I didn’t think they were very funny at all, and it caused me not to want to watch his new movie.
The Office has kind of hit it big recently with Emmy noms and wins, making it onto the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and a slew of the series’ actors taking movie roles. But are you worried that this kind of perfect sitcom can’t last for much longer? Ken Levine offers a cautionary letter to ‘The Office’ actors, writers, et al. All I can say is ‘amen.’
Since the LotR franchise has made like a gajillion dollars and won a cache of Oscars, it seems like making a couple of prequels would be the closest a potential movie could get to a ‘sure thing’ in the film industry. However, the director, Peter Jackson, has been embroiled in a legal battle with New Line (the movie studio that bankrolled the films) over mishandled revenues. New reports have indicated that some sort of détente has taken place between the director and the studio that fast-tracked him to ‘it’ director status. Peter Jackson directing a new Hobbit movie would be awesome, well, it would be ‘precious.’ (Sorry.) Better than these other directors anyway.
So, how ‘bout a ‘Goonies’ sequel? Seems like Corey Feldman is on a role of late, with this and a ‘Lost Boys’ sequel in the works, he can finally leave Corey Haim behind. Watch him break it to his other half that he won’t be in ‘Lost Boys 2.’ Don’t get too sentimental, most of the stuff they do on ‘The Two Coreys’ is scripted.
Have you seen the new Old Navy sweater commercial? I worked at Bold Gravy (heh, heh) for like two years and most of the music that was played continuously over the PA system was so horribly awful that I would get headaches from having to listen to it on a loop all day. But I really like the song from the commercial by a one, Ingrid Michaelson. Take a listen. Also read what she has to say about selling out to GAP, Inc.
One last thing. So, Lindsay Lohan wants to move to Utah, eh? Great, Utah is turning into the backwater for the decrepit, the D-listed, and now the dysfunctional actors. (Yes, that’s alliteration.)
Monday I guess last week was premier week on many of the networks. I decided to check out a couple of shows that had appeal to me. The first was ‘Chuck.’ This show is billed as an action/comedy. It’s getting great reviews, but I was kind of left with a ho-hum feeling. That’s not to say it was bad—the action sequences were amazing—it’s just that the comedy fell a little flat to me. I will say that the main character is very likable, and I think the show has a lot of potential.
That same night I watched another sitcom called ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ I wasn’t expecting much since the critics kind of panned it. I was also a little wary since it plays like a traditional sitcom: laugh track, situational humor, set up, joke, set up, joke, etc. But I must say I came away pleasantly surprised. It’s an extremely well-written sitcom and I found myself laughing out-loud many times. Also, Jim Parsons (Sheldon) plays out the nuances of his character with nerdlike perfection and wit. Check it out.
Tuesday It was “old movie night” at my house…I was the only one invited. (Sidenote: sad). I watched this movie called The Apartment, which happened to be on my very long list of movies I need to watch. The premise of the movie was actually somewhat seedy for a movie that came out in 1960. It’s hailed as a comedy classic, but I would label it under the somewhat new moniker of ‘dramedy.’ It actually deals with some very serious issues that I thought were very ‘hush hush’ during this time period, of course, this was the beginning of the 60s…Anyway, I just wanted to say that the comic genius of Jack Lemmon was evident as he embodied the everyday man caught in extraordinary situations with bumbling ease. (See Some Like it Hot). Also, I kind of fell in love with Shirley MacLaine a little.
Wednesday My sister and I decided to go to the circus on opening night—neither one of us had ever been and we thought it would be fun. And, well, we actually did have a good time, but I was kind of thrust into sensory overload with all the music, noise, clowns, lights, animals, etc. Have you ever seen the sequence in Dumbo when he (gasp!) gets drunk and starts dreaming of pink elephants on parade? To be honest, I couldn’t get that out of my head the entire night. The highlight, for me, was the Asian performers that would contort their bodies together into extravagant corporal pyramids that any cheerleading squad would drool over.
Thursday Yes! The return of the ‘The Office’ was a sublime, life-affirming, feast of comedy. Ok, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good to see the characters I love back on the small screen. I’ve been watching this sitcom since it debuted. I remember telling people about it after the first season’s six episodes came out and no one had heard of it. So, I downloaded the episodes onto my laptop and carted them around, showing them to anyone that would watch. (I think I’ve seen the first season’s episode like twenty times or something—they’re still my favorite.)
Michael was, of course, beautifully annoying as usual and the PB & J scenes were played out to perfection; not too much and just enough that everyone I was with ‘aaahhhed’ when the TV crew caught the slight kiss in the car. It was a seamless resolution to last season’s cliffhanger.
P.S. Hayley - thanks for facilitating on ‘Office’ party at your apartment. I was especially fond of the green jell-o garnished with miniature staplers. Christian - again, I still don’t understand why you left with ‘six-pack chick’?
Oh, and btw...Creed's turning into on of my favorite characters:
Creed: I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.
Friday I went to see David O. McKay presents ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’ at the DavidO.McKayEventsCenter at UVSC. I kept my streak alive of seeing concerts without paying. This was probably my fifth or sixth one this year where no dollars were exchanged for musical enchantment. I’m a big fan of this band, but oddly enough I only started listening to them after my mission, which was unfortunate because they had broken up by then. So I didn’t think that I’d ever see them live. However, they got back together earlier this year and started touring again, so I just had to go. Of course, I don’t know if you could consider them really together again, since it’s only Billy Corgan and the drummer that are back from the original line-up. The lead-singer alluded to this when he introduced his drummer, with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, as his ‘life-partner.’
Anyway, they really rocked the casbah with their 90s-defining alt-progressive rock. My favorite part, however, was when Billy did a couple of acoustic takes of some of his biggest hits. It was especially touching to hear him talk about a mother backstage telling him, before the beginning of the concert, about her daughter who recently passed away—she was a huge fan of their music. He dedicated the acoustic version of ‘1979’ to her. It’s my favorite Pumpkins song; in fact, it’s now my video wallpaper on my phone.
I thought for sure that by now you would have a commentary on why ‘Lost’, for the second year in a row, was not nominated for any emmy awards. The critics are obviously somewhat annoyed with the show's convolution; else how could a show like "Heroes," with its inferior storytelling, acting, and overall production value (it's basically a Lost knock-off), receive any nods? Makes me wonder....
So, my friend wrote me (we’ll call him C. Ewell, no, Casey E.). He wanted to know why I haven’t written anything about the Emmys yet and Lost getting snubbed. First off, Lost should be nominated for best drama, not only because it’s the most amazing piece of television on everyone’s HDTV, laptop, and iPhone right now, but because it was nominated for best acting (Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn), best writing, and best directing. Doesn’t best drama mean best acting, writing, and directing? Of course, I personally could care less about the Emmys, Oscars, Grammys, or even Tonys for that matter; it’s just a bunch of hullabaloo decided by stuffed shirts on limited exposure of what they think the “best” of something is. As has recently been discussed, String Theory should be used to decide these types of things (see Applying String Theory to Album Reviews).
More thoughts:
I’m glad to see that 24 got left off the ballot this year. I’m sorry, but season 6 was a joke. If you haven’t seen it yet “you’re just gonna have to trust me. I’m Jack Bauer! I’ve never been wrong!”
Two and a Half Men got nominated again. Boo! Is this show even funny? I’ve never really watched it, but my grandma says it is.
Jason Lee didn’t get nominated. That’s unfortunate; the Emmy deciders are obviously anti-mustache-ites.
John Krasinski failed to receive a nom either; his facial expressions alone should’ve been enough.
The Shat was nominated for best supporting actor in a drama series. I….have….no….opinion….on….that.
I thoroughly enjoyed the season finale of The Office. Of course, it doesn’t top last year’s Season Two cliffhanger that ended in a dramatic kiss, but it was still good. This episode really left everything up in the air: Who really got the corporate job? What did Jim mean by saying ‘it’s a date’? Was Karen left high and dry in NYC? One thing I am certain of though was that I love watching hour-long episodes of The Office. There are so many great characters on this show, that’s it’s impossible to give them adequate screen time in the current half-hour format. Ah, c'est la vie!
Let me start with the end. How classic was it to see Ryan probably getting the job in NYC in the last little segment that I always seem to skip on my TiVo? Ryan becoming Michael’s boss would create a lot of uncomfortably funny plots next year. It’s interesting that B.J. Novack, (aka Ryan) a writer on the show, would essentially give himself less screen time. Maybe the producers felt that the already packed-with-characters sitcom would benefit from better actors taking a more prominent role, like Ed Helms (Andy) for instance. Ryan the Temp character isn’t that good to begin with anyway, it’s sort of a one-note, smarmy kid. He’s had some good lines, and I love his interactions with Kelly, but overall I’d rather watch the Andy/Dwight power trip conversations over the Ryan/Kelly relationship quarrels.
But the conversation at the end of the episode isn’t a guarantee that Ryan actually got the job. In fact, one of my friends at work has hypothesized that Karen could have gotten the job at corporate and Ryan might have gotten a different job, such as Jan’s assistant. Remember the line Jan told her assistant before she left about following your dreams and not to give up on the rock band? It’s just a thought. But also, just because Ryan has an MBA doesn’t really make him qualified for such a high position, especially since he has never even made a sale—maybe those MBAs are a little more valuable than I had thought. However, if Karen were to get the job that would produce an interesting dynamic to the show, as she would become not only Michael’s boss, but Jim’s superior. This of course all assumes that Karen’s character would be coming back next year.
I’ve also read some internet rumors that have said that Rashida Jones (Karen) would come back to the show contingent on whether or not her new sitcom was picked up on Fox. The sitcom has actually been picked up by the network, so her character might be axed all together. But still we’re gonna need some resolution to the Jim/Karen relationship, so I’m thinking she’ll at least be back for some guest appearances at the very least.
Speaking of relationships, who would have thought that the most dysfunctional and somewhat funny, but mostly creepy couple to watch this season has been Michael and Jan. From the first season Jan has always seemed like a very strong-minded corporate individual, and her lust for Michael was something of a fluke. The CFO might have given us an insight into her neurotic character, by painting her as an undependable basket case, furthered by her recent, er, “enhancement”. In pure double entendre genius I love how they entitled this episode “The Job”. I completely lost it when Michael explained why he was getting back together with Jan by telling Pam, “Your advice was good, but Jan’s was bigger.” Of course, Michael might be getting a little more than he bargained for by tenuously inviting Jan to move in with him—which completely depends on whether he can reneg on his eBay sale of his condo (that’ll probably hurt his rating).
Then there was Dwight who had seemingly consolidated power without using the ancient Roman methods and made Andy his number two. I, too, have often thought that I would like to have Jack Bauer as a second in command of my life, if only he weren’t unavailable, fictional and overqualified. The introduction of the Shrute bucks was vintage Michael incompetence, but only meaner. The banter that followed was some of the best wordplay of the season as Dwight and Stanley haggled over the ratio of Stanley nickels and Schrute bucks, which happens to be the same as unicorns to leprechauns.
But the dramatic lifeblood of the show rested on a golden yogurt lid (symbolizing past flirtations) and a small note, which brought the always cool Jim to stammer in his interview and then—as we’re led to believe—race back to ask Pam on “a date”. Of course, we’re not exactly sure what is meant by the ambiguous invitation, but watching Pam’s face look at the camera after and give a smile of joy and nervousness is pure Emmy material that brought a lump to my throat. It seemed like Pam had found herself with her new independence and confidence, and right before Jim came in she said that it hadn’t worked out because of timing. I’ve heard this explanation before from someone trying to get out of a relationship with me, but it’s also been a real issue that I’ve confronted with potential relationships. In Pam’s case she wasn’t skirting the issue or beating about the bush, she was, and maybe for the first time, being completely honest with herself. Even if two people have a connection, one of them might be engaged, or even dating someone else in the office, which could result in a possible relationship that never materializes. With Jim and Pam the feelings between them were obvious and even manifest to the viewer through Lostesque flashbacks, when Jim noted that even though he was back, he felt like he wasn’t really back. I think this means that he’s never really got back to the place in his heart where he fell in love with Pam. To protect himself he had buried those painful feelings deep down through a relationship with Karen. Only when Pam was able to meet him at the same place of vulnerability and humility, by publicly announcing that she had broken up her wedding for Jim, could he begin to really come back to a place of yogurt lid medals, secret alliances for office pranks, and flirtatious glances of validation.
Thus, timing had been the culprit to the inception of their relationship previously, but in TV land anything can happen. So, we’re left to ponder over the summer whether Jim and Pam are finally getting together after three seasons. But what kind of Office would a Jam relationship result in? I hope the writers aren’t foolish enough to take us down a road of on-and-off-again-soap-opera relationships a lá Ross and Rachel. I should hope not. The Office has too much realism gushing from its creative center to pursue something so uninspired, but maybe I’m giving the writers too much credit. In fact, a relationship at the office would be interesting and could be fun between Jim and Pam, coming up with different ways to annoy Dwight and Andy and giving each other playful looks of acknowledgement every time Michael opens his mouth. But, whatever kind of Office season four turns out to be, one thing for sure is that they’ll be a lot of them, as NBC has asked for an unprecedented 30 episodes to be made. So, sit back, relax, and have a good summer. I’ll see you all next year to enjoy this amazing sitcom with me, in fact, “it’s a date.”
Most of you probably don’t care, but Scrubs, the underrated sitcom that comes after The Office, has been renewed for a seventh season! Scrubs is kind of a silly screwball comedy that doesn’t get much respect, but I have a soft place in my heart for this single camera sitcom which helped popularize the trend to abandon laugh tracks. Zach Braff’s character comes off a little too whiny and childish sometimes for someone who’s in his early 30s, but the surreal daydreams can be downright hilarious and the poignant life lessons are always a treat. Braff wasn’t gonna come back for a seventh season due to his popularity stemming from his movie, Garden State, but after stinkers like The Last Kiss and The Ex, I guess he decided not to hang up his scrubs quite yet. (and yes the pun was intended, even if it sucked)
Unshun! The Office was great last night! Favorite moment: replacing Creed’s apple with a potato and he just continued munching. Loved it. The betting between the office workers was inspired, especially the Kelly and Ryan sequence. They’re quickly becoming my favorite couple to watch. I’ve always thought Ryan was a little too smarmy for his own good, but seeing him put up with all of Kelly’s eccentricities made me think for some reason that Ryan might not be a complete jerk. One thing that did bug me though, was watching the warehouse workers utterly berate Michael in front of everyone. I know Michael should get what he deserves sometimes, but he is the boss and there should be some level of respect, right? What did you guys think? Summary Reshun!
Just a reminder the Office is on tonight in case anyone forgot! It marks the return of Andy from Anger Management, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your fondness for quotes like this: "You, me, bar, beers, buzzed. Wings, shots, drunk! Waitresses - hot! Football, Cornell-Hofstra, slaughter! Then quick nap at my place, then we hit the tizzown." Personally, I think he's hilariously annoying. What do you guys think?
Also, apparently since last week's Wikipedia-heavy episode on negotiation, the popular colloraboritve reference cite had to place the entry under "semi-protection." Too many people were getting on to write things like, "Walk out of the room" or "The Office rocks!"
One more thing: Karen or Pam? I'm kind of liking Karen, at least she steps up. Of course, my heart goes out to Pam.
I'm not sure what it is, but ever since Karate Kid I've had a Dwightesque fascination with martial arts. I don't think I'm alone on this. In fact, I'm so into this that I got my nephews to watch the first Karate Kid with me. I got chills when I saw them trying the "crane kick" on one another. Anyway, in the last several years martial art movies have really raised the bar in excellence, with movies starring Jet Li like Hero and Fearless. But there's also been a lot of cross-over appeal with the Jackie Chan martial arts/comedies, which also have their place. For some reason these two martial arts aficionados have never done a movie together, until now that is. So what, if they're both in the twilight of their careers, I'll still pay to see these too duke it out, especially if they used the crane kick!
''Two thousand years from now, all of human life will be traced back to three families: the Madonnas, Octomoms, and Jolie-Pitts.'' —Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live
How to Make Your Home Feel Like a Hobbit Hole
-
You don't need a round door or a house beneath a hill to bring a little of
the Shire into your home! In this episode of Happy Hobbit, I'm sharing some
of...
Easter and a trip to DC
-
Just got back from the best trip to DC. Saw my parents, Brother John and
Sister Amy.
It was the best. Nothing like being with my fam. Thank you all so muc...
Here’s the picture of Pres. Hinkley knighting Elder Eyring. I know this was innocent and all, but Mormons are funny about tradition and ceremony. I remember on my mission when a branch president in a really small rural area of 
Here’s a picture of what my boss wore at a Halloween costume party yesterday. If you can’t tell he’s wearing a white trash can outfit, with sunglasses, and a sign around his neck that says ‘recycling.’ Get it? I didn’t. Either did my fellow judges when we voted him ‘worst costume.’ Apparently, he was a little offended that we bestowed this dubious honor upon him. Later, I had kind of a Michael Scott moment with him when he tried to explain to me that it was meant to be ‘cool trash’ and he looked at me for validation, and I just shook my head and said ‘hmmm, no.’ I don’t think that’ll help my impending performance review. 
This 
