Moving on...out

In 2002, I annouced that was going to be year that I get an apartment.

Ooops.

Well, better late than never.

I am finally moving into New York City, where I have worked for the last 7 years (shit, I'm old)

A couple of mental notes for my attempts to pack:

• I have so much crap. I've packed four moving boxes: two of them were for books...mostly graphic novels, one was CD books and video game systems and the last were shoes. I haven't even made a dent in my closet.
• Buying a bed is depressing. I understand that it is the most important purchase you need to make for your own well-being but good God, those things are expensive. I watched a good portion of my apartment budget go up in smoke when I was hearing the price of mattresses I liked.
• On another note, I hardly flinched when purchasing a TV that cost only a little less than the bed I ended up buying. And I wonder why I'm single (another post)
• I spent last night staring in my closet. Staring at all of the pants I own that don't fit comfortably anymore by about one size. I usually keep them as motivation to get back down so I can comfortably wear them again. But frankly, I'm about to scrap them all. I don't feel like dragging that crap with me. But, if I threw them away, I would own like 4 pairs of pants (Having those pants did more to motivate me NOT to buy more)
• I still need to learn how to cook. I think I am going to live off whey protein, meal replacement shakes and Honey Nut Cheerios until I figure this whole cooking thing. Again, I wonder why I'm single.
  

How's the weather up there?

I'm not that short.

I'm about 5'9".

I hate tall women.

And not because I am unattracted to them because there are some beautiful tall women up there.

I hate them because the second you see them and make eye contact...you are immediately deducted a point.

Actually a point for every inch that they are taller than you.

"I need someone who is my height in heels"

Screw you.

After singing a little Skee-Lo*, I find myself wishing ill on them...

Hoping they bump their pretty little heads on low doorway entrances.

Sorry. I know that came across as mean.

*"I Wish"

Soundtracking

I've been tagged by Kevin at Kev's Musings. Ok, you rogue, I'll play your little game.

The total volume of music files on my computer:

My lawyer has advised me not to answer that question. Let's just say enough.


The last CD I bought was:

That's easy (because I do it so rarely). Jill Scott's "Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds Vol. 2" That was the last time I felt the need to support an artist. Now I'm too broke to support an artist. I have to support myself. But artists, thanks for the soundtrack.


Song playing right now:

"Better And Better" by Lalah Hathaway. She's the oldest daughter of Donny Hathaway. A very upbeat, positive song. A huge contrast to the moody shit that dominates my iPod.


Five songs I listen to a lot or mean a lot to me, in no particular order:

That's tough. Most songs mean a lot to me (except hip-hop songs--they really don't mean shit to anyone. They're either good or they are not):

John Legend - "Ordinary People": One of the best songs about relationships written in the last five years.

Lewis Taylor - "Waves": The greatest song ever written (that I've heard) about the agony of getting over someone.

Aimee Mann - "Wise Up"/"You Do": I have to list them together because they both reminders that nothing is going to change unless you change it.

Queens of the Stone Age - "Go With The Flow": I dare you to drive to this song and not speed. Go ahead. I hope you're got a radar in your car.

Tiombe Lockhart - "G.P. (Growing Pains)": i don't know what it is. Could be her voice. Could be the words. But since 11:00 PM last night this song has really stuck with me.


Who I am tagging and why?

Tara & Tia because I'm interested to see their five songs.

Now only if they read my blog...

Sith Happens (spoilers)

Comments on Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith:

• Episode III was far and away the best of the prequels. But after watching it, you left feeling that Episodes I and II could have been left off. It's as if Lucas trapped himself by saying that A New Hope was Episode IV. Episode I & II's important parts could have been reduced to a best of highlights clip.
• I found the story of Obi-Wan more compelling than the story of Anakin. To see him start out as a padawan and become a kick-ass Jedi, whipping General Grievious and "the chosen one" was great.
• The dialogue was awful but not as bad as the first two. The bigger problem was the lack of chemistry between Anakin and Padme. We're to believe that this was the great love that destroyed the Republic.
• And how dumb were the Republic? I guess about as dumb as our Senate and House of Representatives..MESSAGE!*
• Ewan McGregor was the only one who looked like he was having fun.
• The dialogue/script sounded as if the characters were reading from the novelization of the movie.
  
• The best part about seeing the movie was...the second time around I saw it, this with my brother, and down the row from us was a father with his two children, one of them being around 7-8. I whispered to my brother, "I can't wait to see that kid's face when we get to the end." Surer than shit, that little kid spent the last 20-30 minutes of the movie sitting on his father's lap, his face frozen with his mouth agape. The father sitting with his head resting on this palm like "I am not looking forward to this car ride home."

* Keenan Ivory Wayans from Don't Be a Menace...

The signs were there...

Remember "Steampipe Alley" with Mario Cantone in the 80s?

It always bugs me out that the flamboyant Mario Cantone was the host and it never occured to me that he was gay.

So today I was thinking about it then like a lighting bolt it hit me..

Steampipe. Alley.

Yo, he was trying to tell us. Even then.

Summer Movie season is upon us...

With my shows, 24 and Lost, marching towards their season finales, the thing that carries me through until the Fall TV season begins is the Summer Movie Season. Now, last Summer movis season sucked (mostly because I didn't see as many movies as I would have liked because I was in my post-breakup funk).

Here's what I am interested in seeing this year*:

Already out:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Crash

May 17th:
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

June 10th:
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Howl's Moving Castle

June 17th:
Batman Begins

June 24th:
George Romero's Land of the Dead

June 29th:
War of the Worlds

July 8th:
Fantastic Four
Dark Water

July 15th:
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
The Wedding Crashers

August 5th
2046
3001

So who wants to come with me?

*These are all subject to good reviews and word of mouth.

International Mel: Final Europe Update

I've been back for three days now and figure I really need to knock these thoughts/memories out before I completely forget them:

• So Monday night in London, I went out with my longtime friend for some drinks and she was buying and asked what I wanted and I replied "A pint of Stella (Artois)" and she gave me a very perplexed look like "Really?". Now, I've been drinking Stella as my preferred beer of choice since 2003 when Nou introduced it to me last time I went to England. A friend informs me that it is considered "Futbol Hooligan Beer" or Wifebeater Beer". I scoffed at this and proceeded to have about 5 pints and one bottle. I must say, Stella is MUCH STRONGER over there. Needless to say, I was wrecked. I feel asleep and missed my stop on the train...mind you, this was only a 15 minute train ride and I was awake for the first 5 minutes because I was on the phone. It was one of those blackout sleeps that you don't remember falling asleep. You just look around and notice that 20 minutes of your life is gone. When I relayed this story to a British girl who I had just met about how many Stellas I drank that night, without skipping a beat, she said, " Did you go home and beat your wife afterwards?"
• Amsterdam was...interesting. I had fun..thanks to my two tour guides, Deluge and Amal. We saw Platinum Pied Pipers the first day we arrived (Tiombe Lockhart is quickly climbing up the 'i heart u' chart) and De La Soul the day before we left so I can't complain.
• I would have liked to done more but my two traveling companions couldn't get their asses out of bed before Noon each day except the day we checked out and that's because we HAD to be out by Noon. In their defense, it is a six hour time difference and I did have a week in London to get used to the time change. Plus, I was too tired to actually fight to wake them up. I wish we had gotten to the Van Gogh Museum or Anne Frank's house but those lines are no joke. Next time, I am bringing my own loud ass annoying alarm clock.
  
• We went to the Heiniken Brewery. The Heniken in Amsterdam over there tastes so smooth you would swear it was watered down (and like the Stella in UK, is stronger). During the tour of the facility, you get three free glasses of beer. By the time it was over, my friends and I went back to the hotel and feel asleep.
• The women in Amsterdam are very beautiful but I have to say, Dutch is not a sexy language. One late night we were watching TV and there were loads of late night sex phone line ads and one of them, the girl was speaking in a sexy voice but when she said the phone number it sounded so harsh (the eights sound like a cat hacking up a furball). Too many hard consonants.
• Yes, we did walk through the Red Light District or the Prostitute Zoo. That was also interesting. I am not going to front some of those women were FINE AS HELL. But there was something that bothered me about it. Most of them looked totally uninterested to be there. Some of them were in there window talking on their cell phones and shit. If they had a watch, they would be looking at it like "Is my shift over?". You know what they looked like? Like they were Peter Gibbons in Office Space. It's good to know that no matter where you work, people who hate their job all have the same look on their face.
• Now, I know that people from my place of employment are aware this site exists so let me not say anything to incriminate myself. As one of my co-workers put it, I "partook in the culture".
• Actually, let me get more into that culture. No man was meant to partake in THAT much culture. I mean the first three days we binged on culture. I had two culture shakes and a culture brownie (they really didn't affect me too much but I had the weirdest dreams). And then the last day, we had too much culture leftover and spent three hours in a coffeeshop partaking til it was all done. The fact that I got on the right plane and got my luggage was a small miracle. I will NEVER do that again. Thank God, Culture can't kill you.
• I now hate Amerie's "1 Thing" and Snoop Dogg's "Signs" because we heard those two songs at least 4 times a day each everyday we were there.