Don't Cross The Streams: 2008

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Life In Technicolor

I need to find a way to combine my loud drunkenness with my quiet shy soberness (without the hangovers and crippling narcolepsy)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Finish Your Collapse and Stay For Breakfast

Do you ever meet someone and you get along great?

And then you start to imagine how it might end up, all the things that could go wrong, how in the end you won't even be able to have nice conversations like you have now because of an attempt at romance.

And after that thought, you decide to keep things as they are?

No.

So it is just me.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

So far my favorite album of the year...

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Law Of Diminishing Returns

So I sprained my left ankle playing football.

Last year,I sprained my right ankle playing kickball.

Guess which story sounds better?

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Beginning After the End

So I was walking through Harlem on the way to the subway and I don't know what sparked the thought (most likely whatever song was playing on my iPhone at the time) but it crossed my mind that more than four years ago, I was looking at engagement rings.

I can't imagine this current version of myself being married, getting engaged or even getting to the point of thinking, "Do I want to spend the rest of my life with this person?" (I can barely tolerate people for more than 2 hours).

But four years ago, I was that guy.

In retrospect, I wish I blogged more about being that guy. I did in the old version of this site (that was more in the early going/lovey-dovey shit) but I usually avoided it because she would read this blog and so I censored myself.

Now I would love to remember what it was like.

Oh well.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Liar, Liar, Campaign on Fire

Thursday, September 11, 2008

My Summer In Photos

Sunday, September 07, 2008

100 (or so) Graphic Novels I Recommend

Okay, this was supposed to be a straight list but then I overthought it and now you have what you see below. I tried to avoid listing any titles that are still ongoing (this list would never end). Anything with an asterisk is still going.

This list actually made me realize how many great graphic novels I haven't read (Maus, From Hell, V For Vendetta).

Otherwise, enjoy and I hope you at least read one of these books.

All-Star Superman series*

Vol. 1

The Amazing Joy Buzzards

American Virgin series

Astonishing X-Men

The Authority, Vol. 1

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller

DC: The New Frontier

Vol. 1: Feral City

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel
Little Star
Local
Lost At Sea
Lost Girls
Love & Rockets series (The Locas Stories)*

Love Fights

Lucifer series

Vol. 1: Fall 1152

Nat Turner
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E

The Other Side
Planetary*

Preacher

The Punisher: Born
The Punisher

Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank

The Sandman series

Shortcomings
Sin City

Sleeper series

Sleepwalk and Other Stories
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane*

Y: The Last Man series

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Zack and Miri Make a Porno Red-Band Trailer

Only bad language. You can handle it.

Movie of the Week: Death Race

Mindless, testosterone-y fun.

Emphasis on "mindless."

Sadly, 80% of the best scenes were in the trailer, just less graphic.

On another note, I expect to see Jason Stratham and Tyreese in movies like this, but JOAN ALLEN?!? C'mon, Joan. I understand the need to have some fun but Joan...Joan, no.

Acid Tongue

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Don't Call Me During...: Fall 2008 Edition

I know it's a a little early especially considering a lot of shows aren't returning until October (WTF?) but I've been lacking blogging inspiration.

Here is last year's list for comparison purposes (if you are interested).

New shows are in yellow.

Sunday:
8:00 - 8:30 PM: The Simpsons (FOX) - I should probably take this off because I only watch it when I'm in the mood and it's only good half the time.
9:00 - 9:30 PM: Desperate Housewives (ABC) - Every year, I say I'll drop it. Sometimes I actually do. But I always get sucked back into it
9:00 - 9:30 PM: True Blood (HBO) - Alan Ball (creator of Six Feet Under) and vampires. 'Nuff said.
10:00 - 11:00 PM: Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
10:00 - 10:30 PM: Entourage (HBO) - This show needs to redeem itself more than USA Basketball needed to in the Olympics
10:30 PM - 11:00 PM: Little Britain USA (HBO) - I loved the BBC version but I have no idea how this is going to work
11:00 - 11:30 PM: The Life & Times of Tim (HBO) - I really don't know much about this but it's animated and it's on HBO so I'll give it a shot

Monday:
8:00 - 9:00 PM: Gossip Girl (CW) - It was between this, Chuck and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles but the latter two I can watch on Hulu the next day
8:00 - 8:30 PM: The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - This show grew on me with it's geekiness
8:30 - 9:00 PM: How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW SO IT WON'T GET CANCELLED! PLEASE! PLEASE!!!!
9:00 - 10:00 PM: Heroes (NBC): Another show in need of redemption. I used to recommend that people get the season one DVD but I'm afraid they'll want to watch season two and be mad at me.

Tuesday:
8:00 - 9:00 PM: 90210 (CW): C'mon! Who's not curious?
8:00 - 9:00 PM: House (FOX)
9:00 - 10:00 PM: Fringe (FOX): Yay, Jasika!
9:00 - 10:00 PM: The Mentalist (CBS): Sounds like Psych but serious. I'll give it a shot.
10:00 - 11:00 PM: The Sheild (FX): Ok, who DOESN'T think Vic Mackey goes down this season?
10:00 - 11:00 PM: Eli Stone (ABC): It started corny but definitely closed out their short season strong.

Wednesday:
8:00 - 9:00 PM: Bones (FOX)
8:00 - 9:00 PM: Pushing Daisies (ABC) - PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW SO IT WON'T GET CANCELLED! PLEASE! PLEASE!!!!
9:00 - 10:00 PM: Private Practice (ABC) - I'm a glutton for punishment
10:00 - 11:00 PM: Sons of Anarchy (FX) - Every show on FX gets a shot
10:00 - 11:00 PM: Dirty Sexy Money (ABC) - As does every show starring Peter Krause (Six Feet Under almuni)

Thursday:
8:00 - 9:00 PM: Ugly Betty (ABC) - I wonder how this show will look now that it's set in New York
8:00 - 8:30 PM: My Name Is Earl (NBC) - It hasn't been very good lately
8:30 - 9:00 PM: Kath & Kim (NBC) - Ehhhhh, we'll see
9:00 - 10:00 PM: Grey's Anatomy (ABC) - In my opinion, they shouldn't give Izzie a brain tumor. Give her oral herpes.
9:00 - 9:30 PM: The Office (NBC) - I hope Amy Ryan never leaves
9:30 - 10:00 PM: 30 Rock (NBC) - Have they done away with the constant Rachel Dratch cameos?
10:00 - 11:00 PM: Life on Mars (ABC) - I tried to watch the BBC version and really couldn't get into it. We'll see if it works better for me here.
10:00 - 10:30 PM: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX): This is probably the funniest show you aren't watching
10:30 - 11:00 PM: Testees (FX) - See Sons of Anarchy

Friday:
10:00 - 11:00 PM: Life (NBC): I started watching season one on Hulu and it's growing on me. Plus it stars Sarah Shahi (featured in my short list of famous women I'm attracted to)

Saturday:
11:30 PM - 1:00 AM: Saturday Night Live (NBC) - Who's the new head writer? You mean they didn't get a new one? Uh oh

Shows I'll Be Watching Via Other Means: Dexter (SHO), Chuck (NBC), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX)

I'm not counting how many hours of TV this is total. I already know I have a problem.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Late Reviews: Pineapple Express & Tropic Thunder

I've been slacking. This isn't a reflection on how I felt about the movies but I just didn't have it in me to write comments about a movie. Anywho...

Pineapple Express

I was kinda disappointed. I enjoyed it and laughed alot but it was clearly a movie written through a series of puff-puff-pass sections as there were parts where the plot just disappeared. Plus, any movie that can't find anything funny for Gary Cole to do has committed a crime against comedy gods.

That said, Danny McBride is quickly becoming the guy who steals every scene he's in.

The best thing for me was seeing James Franco get a comedic role. just because he's a pretty boy who looks like James Dean doesn't mean he should be doing dramas. Anyone who watched Freaks & Geeks knows how funny he could be in a laidback way.

Tropic Thunder

Now this movie was hilarious. There were definitely parts where it dragged but when it was funny, it was asthmatically hysterical.

If Heath Ledger doesn't get Best Supporting Actor for The Joker, I hope Robert Downey Jr. does (although I'd like to think Hollywood would flinch at nominating a guy in blackface no matter how inoffensive I found it). Better yet, Tom Cruise should get the nomination

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Welcome to Jamrock!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Face Your Manga

Make your own

Monday, August 11, 2008

Better Than Being RickRolled

Sunday, August 10, 2008

R.I.P. Isaac Hayes

What the fuck is going on?

All Points West Music Festival '08

Who I Saw: (click name to see photos)

Highlight: Seeing Sia live for the first time and right in front no less

I also got a video of her singing "Breathe Me."

Lowlight: Before the Radiohead set, this group of people were SNORTING OXYCONTIN PILLS. One of them annoyed the living shit of me during most of the set by jumping into me, elbowing me in the eye and singing loudly and offbeat. I tried to elbow him in the ribs but of course, it meant nothing to him.

Another Lowlight: They had this stupid policy where you got a bracelet with five tabs. That was as many beers as you were allowed to have the entire day. Wait...it gets worse. You were only allowed to drink in these three "beer gardens" (they looked more like concentration camps for drunks) and couldn't walk around with your beer.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

R.I.P.Bernie Mac

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Lollapalooza '08

Who I Saw: (click name for pictures)

Highlight: While Radiohead was performing "The Bends" and "Fake Plastic Trees," fireworks went off in the background. It was kind of surreal especially considering it was my first time seeing them.

Lowlight: An hour before the Rage Against The Machine, a group of drunken fools tried to force their way to the front, crushing a bunch of us. My arms were essentially trapped at my sides and I couldn't breathe. Once Rage started performing, it only got worse. I spent the first 20 minutes or so with my feet off the ground. I was either being leaned forward onto someone's back or leaned back with my weight being held up whoever was behind me. At least three people were carried over my head from heat exhaustion and I know tons of others that we carried out on the other side. Zach had to stop the show several times to plead with the crowd to move back so the people in the very front wouldn't be crushed to death.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Movie of the (Last) Week: Step Brothers

Not as good as Anchorman or Talladega Nights but better than the other Will Ferrel/non-Adam McKay comedies that strived for the same aesthetic (Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, etc.)

It slows down towards the end but the last 15 minutes is insane.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Movie of the Week: The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience

(that's 4/5th)

I guess I'll finally get to this. I'll try not to spend too much time on this because there's already been a shitload of things written about it.

Is it the best comic book movie ever? Yes, sorta. I'd say it's the best one for adults. There is something aesthetically pleasing to the kid in me about movies like Superman II, Spider-Man 2 and X2: X-Men United in that they exist in complete fantasy worlds and appeal to kid and teens. The Dark Knight was made with the conceit that "Let's pretend that Bruce Wayne actually existed and that there was a terrorist that wore makeup." This was like Heat with a cape. The Dark Knight is a comic book movie in the way that Road to Perdition and A History of Violence were comic book movies.

Spoilers below

What I Loved:

Heath Ledger as The Joker. Believe the hype. As a guy who can say he's seen 80% of the movies Heath Ledger has been in, even I didn't think he had this in him. To get a full range of what we lost with Ledger's death, compare Ennis De Mar from Brokeback Mountain to The Joker.
Gary Oldman as James Gordon. Talk about range. It's already been established what a great actor Gary Oldman is but it's rare to see him do such restrained work. It's a shame that his performance is getting lost behind all the (well-deserved) praise Ledger's Joker is getting
Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. Eckhart is one of my favorite actors and he sold the transition of the "White Knight" to Two-Face. Especially the scenes in the hospital with Gordon and Joker
The characterization of the Joker and Two-Face. The Joker is a pull from Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke where The Joker is convinced that all it would take is one bad day to make someone lose it like him (and Batman) Harvey Dent is pulled from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween where the only killings Two-Face does are to the people he feels are responsible for his situation. Also that's where the idea of Harvey Dent, Gordon and Batman working together on cases came from. Since these are two of my all-time favorite Batman stories, I was quite pleased.
Maggie Gyllenthal did what she could with what little she was given but she made me care about her fate. I doubt Katie Holmes could have pulled off her last scene over the phone with Harvey.
Batman as a detective. I'm glad they didn't just have Batman figuring stuff out by looking at like he's Monk.
The IMAX shots. Holy shit. When you see the picture fill up the entire IMAX screen for the first time, you will be taken aback.
I'm glad Two-Face wasn't the main villain. The way this universe that Nolan has created works, it's not like Harvey Dent was going to start gathering henchmen and start to rob banks.

What I Didn't Like:

Bale's Batman voice. It works when he's only saying one or two lines but when he's having full conversations with The Joker, Gordon or Harvey, he starts to sound ridiculous. I know everyone can't be Kevin Conroy but if there is one thing Michael Keaton had over fellow Batmen is his voice didn't sound silly.
Speeches. There were too many speeches driving home the themes of the movie

What Made Me Think:

Batman sure causes a lot of property damage when he hits the street. I'm not the only one who thinks so. I hope Bruce Wayne is somehow paying for all of this.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Who's Gonna Save My Soul Now?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Watchmen Trailer

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Bad Form!*

I get what they are trying to say with the cover.

And if you actually read the articles in that issue of The New Yorker it makes sense.

But most people are just going to see the cover and that's why it doesn't work..

Because The New Yorker doesn't put copy on its covers (a simple line like "Scare Tactics: How the GOP is painting Obama" would have quelled this entire controversy), the image has to explain itself and it doesn't. It just looks like an offensive, out of context caricature of Barack and Michelle Obama.

* Captain Hook from Hook

Monday, July 14, 2008

Movie of the Week: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

And the summer of good comic book movies continues.

This must have been a cross between director Guillermo Del Toro clearing his mental sketch pad from Pan's Labyrinth and warming up for The Hobbit. The imagination in Hellboy II makes the first movie look like a straight to video affair. The collection of creatures throughout the whole movie - especially the scene in the Troll Market - was probably the greatest collection of random creatures since the Cantina in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope.

Ron Perlman is more comfortable as Hellboy this time and Selma Blair as Liz Sherman didn't bother me so much this time (I still think she can't act). The evolution of their relationship with each other and the outside world really carries this movie. Seth McFarlane as the voice of Johann Kraus almost stole the movie though.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Movie Characters I Want To Date: Laura

Since I’m not dating real people, I came up with this idea a couple of days ago. I think I’ll make this an ongoing thing that I’ll fall back on when I have nothing to blog about. This has nothing to do with the attractiveness of the actress playing the role (although it’s a movie so, odds are, they’re attractive). Certain elements of the character appeals to me romantically and sets unrealistic standards for real people who don’t have the benefit of rewrites.

Character: Laura

Film: High Fidelity

Actress: Iben Hjejle

Attractive Qualities: Rob describes her best: "Top five things I miss about Laura. One; sense of humor. Very dry, but it can also be warm and forgiving. And she's got one of the best all time laughs in the history of all time laughs, she laughs with her entire body. Two; she's got character...She's loyal and honest, and she doesn't even take it out on people when she's having a bad day. That's character...Three; I miss her smell, and the way she tastes. It's a mystery of human chemistry and I don't understand it, some people, as far as their senses are concerned, just feel like home. [Four;] I really dig how she walks around. It's like she doesn't care how she looks or what she projects and it's not that she doesn't care it's just, she's not affected I guess, and that gives her grace. And five; she does this thing in bed when she can't get to sleep, she kinda half moans and then rubs her feet together an equal number of times... it just kills me. Believe me, I mean, I could do a top five things about her that drive me crazy but it's just your garden variety women you know, schizo stuff and that's the kind of thing that got me here."

Lists: Favorite Movie From Every Year You've Been Alive

You know I had to do it after the music one.

This one was harder as it took me a day to pick out various movies from every year and a few days afterwords to narrow it down to one. 1985 was particularly difficult.

1977: Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope
1978: Superman: The Movie
1979: The Muppet Movie
1980: The Empire Strikes Back
1981: Superman II*
1982: Rocky III
1983: A Christmas Story
1984: The Karate Kid
1985: Back to the Future
1986: Aliens
1987: The Princess Bride
1988: Die Hard
1989: Say Anything...
1990: Quick Change
1991: Terminator 2 : Judgment Day
1992: Unforgiven
1993: Groundhog Day
1994: The Lion King
1995: Before Sunrise
1996: Trainspotting
1997: Chasing Amy
1998: Elizabeth
1999: Fight Club
2000: High Fidelity
2001: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
2002: Raising Victor Vargas
2003: Finding Nemo
2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005: Brokeback Mountain
2006: Children of Men
2007: Lars and the Real Girl
2008 (so far): WALL·E

* I cheated a little because it came out in Australia in 1980 but in the US in 1981 so I didn't have to chose between my favorite Star Wars movie and my favorite Superman movie.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

100 Facts About Sean, Vol. 3, Fact #65

I told Sheila she could pick one of the recent 100 Facts About Sean and I would expound upon it and she chose this one:

65. One day, two friends and I went on a shoplifting spree throughout Broadway Mall leaving with at least $200 worth of bounty

Here's what happened:

When I was 15-16 years old, I was a frequent purchaser of cassette tapes. I would take my allowance and by a new album at Record Town at Broadway Mall in Hicksville.

Now I wasn't a thief per se but I was a very curious person. One day in the summer, while I was looking at the cassette tape section, for the first time, I noticed the little metal security strip on the cassette. I wondered if I pulled it off, would I be able to walk out the store? So I bought one cheap cassette and pulled the security strip off another --all prepared to be like "Oh, I forgot I had this" if I got caught. I walked through the security spot in the doorway, held my breath and...nothing.

Now, I many not have been a thief or a delinquent (a matter of fact I was very nerdy) but I hung out with a lot of people who imagined they were. I grew up in Westbury Hills, a quiet little suburb with a bunch of kids who tried to act hard despite the fact that their parents were middle-class, they lived in nice houses and they went to Catholic/Lutheran School for the most part (although most of them got kicked out of those schools for indulging in hood fantasies).

Anyway, I excitedly rode my bike back home to share my new found discovery with my friends. The only ones I could find was my friends Nick (Fun Fact: At 12 years old, he backed his uncle's car over his little sister. She ended up with cuts and scratches over her face) and Kenny (Fun Fact: If you made him laugh too much, he'd piss himself). Nick was all too excited to try this out and Kenny was always along for the ride. So, we got a duffel bag and went back to the mall.

We hit every store we could find that a) had their items protected with the easily removable sticker and b) had idiot employees. By the time it was 5 PM, we had filled up the entire duffel bag. We rode back to my friend Jeff's house where all my friends were hanging out and showed them our bounty. I can't remember everything we took exactly but here's what I can remember:

Wayne's World on VHS
A pair of Oakland Raiders boxers that were too big for all three of us
25-40 cassette tape albums and singles

I'm sure shoplifting increased substantially that summer because word of our actions and how we did it made it throughout our little suburb. People would periodically show me stuff they stole like "It worked, Sean!"

When I got home, I had to tell my brother to pretend that all my stuff. he was quite proud (Fun Fact: My brother got caught stealing at Tower Records, driven home by the police and was given the biggest beating either of us had ever received in the smallest room in the house...the downstairs bathroom).

I would periodically steal cassette tapes but my reign of terror was brought to an end when I got caught stealing an 8 pack of AA batteries for my friend Jen from this bootleg version of CVS in Broadway Mall. I had actually made it out the store and was 5 feet from exiting the mall when the store manager caught up to me and dragged me back. He threatened to call my parents but they weren't home (I had made it a rule not to steal things when my parents were home just in case of such an emergency). Instead, he took my picture with a Polaroid and banned me from the store. My friend Andrew never let me forget this anytime we went to the mall: "Hey, let's go in here and get some candy. Oh wait, nevermind. Sean's BANNED! HAHAHAH!" He made that jokes for years.

Movie of the Week: WALL*E

Fucking awesome.

Upon first viewing, it is up with my top two Pixar flicks, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. Who knows what happens when I own this gem.

WALL*E has replaced Dory from Finding Nemo as my favorite animated character ever created. The fact that WALL*E and EVE displayed more personality through expressions and limited vocabulary than most characters in live-action movies is amazing and kinda depressing.

I could probably go on all day about how great this movie is. I just want to know who are the souless human beings who gave this movie a bad review to only give it 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Lists: Favorite Album From Every Year You've Been Alive

(I wish I originally thought of this but I didn't)

List your favorite record from every year you’ve been alive.

You can do it based purely on hindsight, or you can do it by listing the answer you would’ve given in that year (assuming you were aware of pop music at the time).

1977: Exodus - Bob Marley and the Wailers
1978: Here My Dear - Marvin Gaye
1979: Off the Wall - Michael Jackson
1980: Hotter than July - Stevie Wonder
1981: Controversy - Prince
1982: Thriller – Michael Jackson
1983: Madonna – Madonna
1984: Purple Rain - Prince and the Revolution
1985: Diamond Life - Sade
1986: Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi
1987: Sign O' The Times - Prince
1988: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick
1989: Disintegration - The Cure
1990: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm - A Tribe Called Quest
1991: The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
1992: Love Deluxe - Sade
1993: Midnight Marauders - A Tribe Called Quest
1994: Illmatic - Nas
1995: Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette
1996: Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z
1997: OK Computer - Radiohead
1998: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill
1999: Bitter - Me'shell Ndegeocello
2000: Voodoo - D'Angelo
2001: The Blueprint - Jay-Z
2002: About a Boy soundtrack - Badly Drawn Boy
2003: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - Outkast
2004: More Adventurous - Rilo Kiley
2005: Late Registration - Kanye West
2006: Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
2007: In Rainbows - Radiohead
2008 (so far): Third - Portishead

Ok, this was really fucking hard. Especially 1991-1997. I had to settle on picking on what was my favorite album ignoring albums that were clearly superior.

I was going to do a movie list but I don't think I have it in me. This list took up most of my day and I'm really heartbroken about some of the cuts I had to make.

If you want to try it, my best advice is to use Wikipedia which lists every album released by year.

Friday, July 04, 2008

31 Today

31 Today
by Aimee Mann

Thirty-one today
What a thing to say
Drinking Guinness in the afternoon
Taking shelter in the black cocoon

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn

Called some guy I knew
Had a drink or two
And we fumbled as the day grew dark
I pretended that I felt a spark

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn

Easter comes and goes
Maybe Jesus knows
So you roll on with the best you can
Getting loaded, watching CNN

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Don't let the cuteness fool you

So I offered to watch my friends' kitten, Lennon*, while they went away on their honeymoon for two weeks.

Seemed simple enough.

Because she's still sort of a kitten, I was too paranoid to just leave it to its own devices at night so I decided to stay at my friends' apartment while I'm watching her.

The first night was fine aside from her desire to claw her way up my leg...while I'm wearing shorts.

The next morning though...

I fell asleep without closing the bedroom door and I was awoken at 4:30 AM to Lennon crawling all over my face and nibbling my fingers.

Tuesday morning, it was 3:50 AM.

If I close the door, she cries all morning and I'm not used to her enough to drown it out.

I should be careful what favors I promise to people.

* "Lennon" is named after my friend's favorite footballer, Aaron Lennon, of the Tottenham Hotspurs.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Yet Another 100 Facts* About Sean

In honor of yet another birthday, I've decided to take a crack at revealing 100 more random items about yours truly. Hopefully, I won't repeat myself from my first two efforts (Parts 1 & 2). If I do, let me know and I'll come up with a new one (Update: the ones in red are replacement facts):

The last birthday party my parents threw was when I was 10 years old. My cousins all brought me fireworks for my birthday, which I wasn't allowed to light. Dicks
The first DVD I bought was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
I can't help but cry through Björk's screaming and crying towards the end of Dancer in the Dark
I've only had one non-funeral related trip to Jamaica
I didn't miss a day of school until 8th grade.
In nursery school, the teachers had made each of us little trucks made out of construction paper with our names written on it. Mine had "Shawn" instead of "Sean" written on it. I cried beyond the point of consolation
Whenever I knew I was going to get spanked after parent/teacher conferences, I had two strategies: a) stay in my mother's room watching soap hiding under her protection or b) getting under the covers and using my comforter as cover while pretending to get hit
My brother and I figured out every hiding spot for our Christmas presents. It got so bad that we were playing with our new toys during the day and would put them back before my parents got home from work. It kinda took the fun out of Christmas in hindsight
I was a latchkey kid from 4th grade on
My favorite baseball player growing up was Don Mattingly
Things I used to have posters of in my room: John Starks Dunk over Micheal Jordan (a.k.a. "The Dunk"), The Punisher, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Sade (taken from my brother), 1996 World Series Champion New York Yankees
I was in the National Honor Society in high school...barely
How I knew Girlfriend #1 and I were done. Before she went away for the summer, I went with her and her family while she bought shit and got her hair done. While she was in the chair, I gave her my Casio organizer because she wanted to write me a little note that I wasn't supposed to read until she left. Of course, I read it as soon as I got home and it was innocent enough. I later noticed she deleted all the anniversary reminders from the month she left until the end of the year (I was a weirdo and had all the monthly anniversaries up to a full year). Ruined my whole summer. We "broke up" after she got back
To this day, I've never asked her about it
The name "Melanism" came from a band I saw in NYU called "Melanin 2000"
I'm a Democrat
I still haven't had a check-up or physical
For almost six months, I would meet friends in front of the Wetlands on Tuesday night, drive to Philadelphia for Black Lily, leave around 1-1:30 AM, drop everyone off and then go to work the next day
In high school, I let three kids copy off me for the Chemistry Regents exam. I had a 95% going into the test. I was in the front and everyone behind me passed my answers back. I got a 70%. The kid directly behind me got a 66%. The rest failed and had to go to summer school. Oops
My first official date with Girlfriend #2 was a double date with her younger sister and her boyfriend to go see Kids.
I thought Mister Rogers was creepy
The reason I'm such an early bird: my father kept all his suits for work in my closet and he would come into my room at 5:45 AM to get dressed every morning. He wasn't exactly ninja-like plus the closet door got stuck alot so you had to pull really hard to open and made a loud noise when it did open. A few years of this and waking up at 6 AM was the norm
I have a name I want to name a girl if I ever have a daughter but at this rate, it might end up being the name of one of the future pets-as-a-supplement-for-human-relationships I get (regardless, I'm not telling)
I was kinda disappointed when I met someone with that name (middle name though)
The motivating factor behind any career achievement at my current place of employment is: "How far can I get in this place without having to take the writing test?"
The original point of this blog (actually my blog predates the term "blog") was to share my opinion about movies without having to repeat myself. Not much has changed
I slept with a night light a lot longer than I'm willing to admit on this list
I used to eat Luden's Wild Cherry Throat Drops like they were Skittles. I had a serious addiction to them in high school
I've been wearing glasses since Kindergarten
I'm still paying off my student loans
I think I've said 'I love you' first in all my relationships (GFs 1-3: please feel free to refute)
My middle name is "Andre" (Hey, some people don't know that)
I hate people who get on the subway before most of the people on the car get out
I've only had to go to the hospital twice: 1) Stomach pains from eating too many greasy foods in one day when I was in grade school and 2) Severe sprained ankle from kickball last year
I have a small birthmark on my right tricep. I think it looks like a dog or a rabbit
I prefer being cold over being hot because you can dress for being too cold
Every stage of my life, I have a new person I consider my "best friend" (the feeling isn't always mutual)
My father also ruined cereal for me. As mentioned in #22, my father used to get dressed at 5:45 AM and leave at 6:05 AM. He would fix me a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal before he left and by the time I got downstairs, it was really soggy but my mother made me eat it. I didn't have cereal again until I was in college
Eric is my oldest friend as I've known him since first grade
No one ever thinks I am as old as I actually am
I have never been to a professional or college football game
I can't say that "I can't cook" because I haven't really tried
I kinda suck at Guitar Hero-related games despite the fact that I own a number of them
I don't like having company because then no one knows how messy my apartment really is
The only class I ever got an F in was Religion. My mother laughed when I showed her. Her response (paraphrased): "What's there to fail: God. Jesus. Holy Spirit?"
I can't sing but this does fact does not keep me away from karaoke mics
8 times out of 10, I will arrive early to any party or gathering unless I'm coming from another party (which I probably arrived early to)
I think the reason I eat and drink so fast was that was the only way to escape the dinner table and inquiries about homework (that I wasn't doing) when I was growing up
I can listen to sad music all day long
Despite being an A/B+ student for my entire grade school life, it took me four and a half years to get Student of the Month at St. Brigid's. When I asked why I hadn't gotten it, a teacher told me I questioned my teachers too much during class
My favorite video game of all time is Final Fantasy VII. I once spent 10-12 straight hours in college sitting in front of the TV playing that while my roommate/suitemates went out to class
I used to have a huge crush on this girl in high school but she liked one of my best friends. I wanted him to ask her to the prom which he wouldn't because I liked her. He wanted me to ask her which I didn't because I knew she liked him. She ended up going to the prom with this d-bag who shared the limo with us making us both wish we had asked her
I can't function during the work day if I don't have some sort of breakfast
I try to eat dinner before 8 PM. I don't know when that started
I have little-to-no willpower when it comes to rejecting food (or booze)
Open bars are my kryptonite
I want to own or run a bar, lounge or diner. Not because I have any interest in any of these types of establishments. I just want to work at a place that I can listen (and make other people listen to) music I want to hear
I think I spend at least $150 dollars on comic books a month
If I spent as much money on clothes as I did DVDs and comics, I would be quite stylish
I fooled around with Girlfriend #1 more after we broke up than when we were together
As a child, I used to fluctuate between sleeping with the door open or close. The argument I made to myself was "Would I rather see whatever was coming down the hallway to get me or would I rather hear them open door and pretend to be asleep?" I think I settled on the latter
When I went to see Monty Python's Spamalot with some friends, imagine my surprise when i saw the girl who I went to NYU senior formal with and who ditched me for her friends afterwards on stage
I drool in my sleep a little. A lot if I'm sick
I never had an answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
One day, two friends and I went on a shoplifting spree throughout Broadway Mall leaving with at least $200 worth of bounty
I used to try and write hip-hop verses in high school. They were all laughably bad
As much as I love them, no piece of art (TV, comics, movies, paintings, etc.) has ever changed my life
I'm always afraid of missing the last step when I go down a long flight of stairs
I get nervous when too many people pay attention to what I am doing
I learned wrestling was fake a little later than I am willing to admit on this list
90% of my Facebook status messages are from books, movies or songs I just listened to at the time of posting
I'm currently harboring 4-5 crushes. They range from "fleeting" to "mildly debilitating"
The first R-rated movie I snuck into was Alien 3
After I watched my brother's tape of Private School, I started calling his friends "douchebag" whenever they called. I was probably 8 or 9 years old
I've never come into a job drunk. Partially tipsy twice
When I buy TV shows on DVD, it's moreso to lend out to get additional people hooked on said TV show then for my own personal viewing pleasure
Unless you bludgeon me over the head with it, I'm generally oblivious to people showing romantic interest in me
I'm 5'9"
I didn't start drinking coffee until I started working here six years ago
In college, my roommate, Pierre, and I watched The Tick on FOX Saturday morning cartoons religiously. No matter what we were doing or where we were, we were in front of the TV at 11 AM
I've had a cell phone since I was 21
I don't use more than 25-35 talk minutes on my cell phone a month. When Lost or 24 is on, it goes up to an hour
I used to hide the lunches my father made me that I didn't want (he used to make me HAMBURGERS and put that in my lunch bag...WTF?) behind my bookcase. One day, I forgot and my mother found a rotten bag of food while she was cleaning my room
The first time I puked as a toddler was in kindergarten. After eating one of those soggy bowls of cereal (#38), I got on the bus and the driver strapped us all in. I started to feel sick but couldn't get free from seat beat. I puked all over myself. The bus driver was running late so let me ride the entire way covered in soggy Frosted Flakes vomit and cleaned me off when we got to school
The first movies we got when my parents bought a VCR were Raiders of the Lost Ark and Purple Rain
I learned how to dub movies when I was 12. I used to rent 3-4 movies a week from Blockbuster Video and make copies for my brother and his friends
The last movie I saw at the Westbury Drive-In before they shut it down was There's Something About Mary
I've never been on a pre-relationship "date" (and by "date", I mean asking a girl out to dinner or a movie with the intention of wooing her AND she knows it's a date)
My being single has more to do with my shyness than I lead people to believe
My father used to academically compare me unfavorably to my classmates which made me want to try less
I did better in the verbal section of my SAT and my GRE but both times my score was below 1,000. (I can't remember the exact score for either)
I have no problem having the same meal over and over again for lunch or dinner.
I was in the General Studies Program for my freshman and sophomore years of NYU (for those of us who weren't quite up the NYU standards)
For many years of my grade school and high school years, I would never look at myself directly in the mirror for self-conscious-about-my appearance reasons. I would take off my glasses first or always look at myself from some sort of angle
I prefer the right side of the bed
I used to drink Welch's grape soda all the time. Now I only drink Diet Coke or Coke Zero
Anytime I do laundry on the weekend, 9 1/2 times out of 10, I will end up taking a nap for at least an hour. I can't explain it
I hate calling people in my office. I'd rather talk to them face to face. If that's not possible, e-mail. The phone is a last resort
It is understood amongst my family that at any holiday dinner (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.), I have first dibs on chicken and/or turkey legs. It has been tradition since I was a little kid
I'm not that into big breasts

Now everyone knows 300 more things about me than I do about them...

Happy Birthday to me (on July 4th)!

* These aren't really "facts" as much as tidbits or stories you didn't know about me

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Monday, September 22, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Friday, September 12, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Monday, August 11, 2008

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Friday, July 25, 2008

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Monday, July 14, 2008

Friday, July 11, 2008

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Monday, July 07, 2008

Friday, July 04, 2008

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

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