KANYE

I've been listening to Late Registration for about two weeks straight now: at home on the computer, in my car on disc repeat. (thanks bro!) The sophomore album is almost always a piece of shit and everyone including myself had doubts about Kanye's. College Dropout had some hot songs---Through the Wire being my personal fav'rite (gotta say that last word Houston, TX style)---but Late Registration is fucking nast-ay! Sure he might be an arrogant "international asshole," but check it, as the shit-est hiphop producer in the biz, he could've just made the record all on his own and still go plat a bunch of times, but Brother West didn't do that, no he didn't, Brother West brought on a white dude best known for his work w/ an uberfaggy singer/songwriter/subscriber-to-Opera-News and a petulant shadowboxing babe and gave this guy, Jon Brion, co-producer credits on I think all them joints, which not only turns out to a brilliant move but also in efect sort of puts all those I-hate-Kanye-cause-he's-so-full-of-himself haters to bed. Who cares if an artist is a cock as long as he can back it up? And is he really such a cock if he, the reigning champ of hiphop production, thought his music would benefit from having another producer brought on to complete the show? That's what bothered me about the NYTimes blurb: JPareles get over it. Go join your fuck buddy Neil Strauss and spitroast Courtney Love. You know you want to. In any case, after about the 50th listen or two, I think there are about 5 near-perfect to perfect numbers and not a boner among the rest. The guest spots do their job: I'm excited for Paul Wall's debut in the fall and I was reminded how brilliant and weird Cam'ron can be when he doesn't have to make no sense whatsoever. On the other hand, I do want to tell Kanye that Brandy is OVER. She was over 10 years ago Kanye. But nice one w/ that guy from Maroon 5. Just get the record and let me know what you think. Oh in addition to Late Registration, pick up my boy's band OK GO's new disc, OH NO. The shit's gonna rot your teeth but let's get real, we all need new ones anyway.

In other news, school's in session and last week I just wasn't into it. Not happy to be back on campus. Couldn't share the enthusiasm of some of my classmates. Sort of blah. Yesterday was a bit better as my doc class got to watch a roughcut of this documentary about a gay Christian camp in Minnesota and make some comments after the screening during a Q&A session w/ the editor and director. That was new and fun. What else was new and fun was yesterday while squatting on top of Vondy, I stuck my finger down my throat and tried to vomit on her. Why? Because she asked me to. Sick-o!!

LOVE
ALEX

Who wants to see a show?

Dungen is playing the El Rey in a few weeks.
http://www.dungen-music.com/ is their website.
Wed. Sept. 28th... it's gonna be fantastic.
- Eric

P.S. I leave for New York late tomorrow night. Excited!
P.P.S. Anyone else ever lose a rental car in a giant parking structure? My Temporary Camry might as well be camoflauged.
P.P.P.S. Yes. "My Doorbell" by The White Stripes has been in my head for days if not weeks. Anyone else infected by Jack & Meg's newest single? I like the song, but some part of my brain must really like it, 'cause I can't go a day without listening to it. I bought the song on iTunes. Haven't yet heard the album.

A first for everything...

Had my first California car accident yesterday. Me, I'm fine. (My shoulder's a little sore, but hell, I'm happy I'm okay). The car isn't driveable, so I've got a rental for the time being. Pimping in a Camry. A gold Camry. It reminds me very much of the Previa I drove sometimes in high-school. Life is good. Every person involved in the accident is okay, so I'm thankful for that. There's a witness who says it wasn't my fault so that's good.
My boss and everyone at the office was super nice about it. Made me feel special like it was my birthday. Speaking of birthdays, mine is on Sunday. So Saturday night, when I'm surrounded by my New York friends, and the clock hits midnight, it's gonna go bonkers.
I haven't figured out what to do for my West Coast Birthday Celebration yet. Shakey's Pizza is an option (maybe I can get a magician too?) or of course, the always reliable Chuck-e-Cheese's (sp?). 'Though I'm feeling nautical this year, so it might be HMS Bounty followed by Karaoke 'til dawn.
Getting to celebrate your birthday twice is the complete opposite of having your birthday fall on Christmas. 17 shades of awesome.
Gotta drive to work (safely). - Eric

L-O-L-A.... LOLA!

Last night I grabbed dinner with Hil. (Hide Sushi came across as like Yama in NYC, lotta fish on rice for little coin, but varying in quality. Albacore was good.) Then Hil and I met up with Alex and some of the 507'ers. Are they 508'ers now? The number changes right? Shlebs was there too. I wanted to hear more about her transition into being a post-sunset superhero. I'm looking forward to chatting her up about it when she returns from her 5 days in the wilderness (camp!). Anyway, we all saw "Red Eye". Not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed how crappy some of the performances were in secondary roles... I'm a Wes Craven fan, but I more prefer Elm Street over anything else. I was a horror movie fan as a kid (really, like from age eight on). I like Brian Cox and all, but really didn't care what happened to his character...
Dropped D off and then Hil off. I then cut across Santa Monica, and went to the 7-11 on Virgil. The parking lot was packed. Inside was crowded, and all these guys, standing around, staring at a "woman" in a mini-skirt, who's at the counter. I mean, clearly a tranny. But the thing is, I don't know if the guys hanging out in 7-11 know. One of them's hitting on her while she tries to speed through buying her cigarettes. Another guy opens the door for her as she walks out. All the guys are staring out the window as she gets into her car and drives away. Me, I'm waiting in line to pay for my Gatorade, but everyone's sort of caught up with Little Miss Hedwig. The guy behind the counter is shaking his head (in disbelief, I think) over all the guys talking about Tootsie. I nod as if to say, I know that Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, was a guy in heels, but counter guy doesn't respond to my nod. But then it hits me, they all must know, right? And it doesn't matter. Pretty is pretty. That's the message, the meaning, the subtext, of the whole moment. Nah, I think as I start my car, that was a bunch of clueless dudes going ga-ga over a dude in a dress, whistling at senor mamacita....
Now it's Saturday and I woke up at 7am, for no reason. I went on a drive and grabbed a bagel for breakfast. I'm now going back to sleep. See you at noon! - Eric

NOSTALGIA

For some reason, junior year, I got all lazy and didn't shave for a little while. That led to a really funny look. Some thought it just barely acceptable, some thought it made me look like a pederast. (I was cool w/ either.) I've grown lazy once again and haven't shaved in some time which has made me get all nostalgic up in here for those collegiate days where I didn't give two shits about walking around campus w/ a thin albeit gnarly smear of black hair streaked across my upper lip. It's gotten to the point where it looks like I'm going for a "look," but trust me, it's not: I just don't like to shave. But I will this weekend after I get all the work I need to get done out of the way (the last few weeks have been very productive yet very busy). You see a lot of dudes w/ funny facial hair these days. Facial hair for the most part is stupid unless you're a bear and like cock. Bears are hilarious. Especially at the gym.

In more serious news, what's with all the planes falling out of the sky of late? I mean, what's up with that? Isn't it a fact that the best time to fly is right after a plane's crashed? The past month has put that sophistry to rest.

LOVE
ALEX

GRIZZLY MAN

What are YOU doing reading this! GO SEE GRIZZLY MAN NOW!!!

LOVE
ALEX

PORK

My buddy Patrick who stayed with us last week left us a book: Pig Perfect: Encounters With some Remarkable Swine And Some Great Ways To Cook Them. I started reading it over the weekend and haven't been able to put it down. It's basically charts the author's search for great ham, a pilgrimage that takes him through the boonies of Greenville, NC and Princeton, KY across the Atlantic to Burgundy and into western Andalucia, home of the greatest of all hams, jamon iberico. Made from the pata negra pig, it's unavailable here in the States (USDA has issues w/ its production) so you've got to go to Spain to try it which might just have to happen given how transcendent an experience it seems like, that is, sinking your teeth into flesh that's been rotting, oops I mean curing for 2 years. The greatest foods---Korean, wine, cheese, and pork---all share that essential rottenness. Go figure. Anyway, in between chapters, the author provides some awesome sounding pork recipes that I hope to execute at some point this week. He also points out some interesting nutritional facts about pata negra, which are Iberian black pigs finished on a diet of acorns: the pork is high in monounsaturated fat which is the good kind that promotes good cholesterol, LDL, and lowers bad cholesterol, HDL. But it's only artisanal pork that has this odd quality about it. I read that Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening, Eric, Hil, Lebo, and I went out to Santa Monica to a great Italian very Batali joint, Rocca. They've got a great salumi selection and of course having just read Pig Perfect, I had to order the lardo, which is straight up cured pork backfat. It's thinly sliced sheets of offwhite fat. Very salty. Very lovely. Throw a slice of fat onto a piece of bread and there you have it: heaven at your fingertips. SO GOOD.

LOVE
ALEX

CAR WASH

Washed my car today. Also waxed the fucker! Took like 2 hours dude! I enjoy doing dishes: in fact, NO ONE else is allowed to do the dishes at our place. Not even Eric. It's partially because I'm paranoid and hate HATE soapy water but really, it's b/c it's relaxing as all get-out...and when the dishes are done, it's wholly satisfying like little else. Washing a car on the other hand just sucks and isn't relaxing and I think dangerous like secondhand smoke is dangerous. After you've circled on some wax and let it dry, you've got to then polish it off. Duh. Sure, this leaves your car looking nice and new, but it also releases millions of tiny wax molecules into the air. Inevitably, that shit goes up your nose and into your mouth and seeps in through the pores on your skin. I coughed and gagged like a 13 year old toking up for the first time. It was embarrassing. But more importantly, I've probably got chemicals coursing through my veins, taking seconds off my life RIGHT NOW! What's funny though is that when I hopped in the shower and turned on the faucet, I noticed that my hands were incredibly waterproof, like, like I was wearing dishwashing gloves.

LOVE
ALEX

MOVIES

Last Saturday, K and I went to the Universal City Walk which is this weird fake townsquare at Universal Studios to do some moviehoppin'. City Walk is like the internets given physical dimension which is just another way of saying that it's an outdoor mall. Lots of distractions that suck up time. Anyway, the multiplex is pretty decent and was showing all the blockbusters we wanted to see but didn't want to pay full price for. Our goal was 5; we made it through 3. After 3, the bods started to breakdown and the timing wasn't good to hop into a fourth (there was NO WAY we were gonna sneak into DUKES OF HAZZARD which is just about the best reason why those bitter well educated Saudis hate me and you. Then again, we did see STEALTH: a paean to jingoistic self-aggrandizement; oh well, nobody's perfect.) A nostalgic time machine of sorts, moviehoppin' brought me back to the halcyon yesteryears of middle school (first kiss)...and high school(SAT I & II)...and college(sweet glimpse of Eric's balls sophomore year)...and graduate school(26 years old). At what age does moviehoppin' become shameful? NEVER. So yeah, we started at noon and got out @ 6:30. STEALTH, MUST LOVE DOGS (gag...and...gag), and BAD NEWS BEARS (disappointing given who was behind it). Tried for SKY HIGH---which I bet would've been bonkers---and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS which is supposed to be interesting on some level I think. I've got a few more moviehoppin' Saturdays ahead of me and that should just about carry me into the Fall season where the films will ostensibly be worth the price of admission.
In addion to those near masterworks, there was JUNEBUG and 2046 the past two days. Both worth the price of admission.
JUNEBUG: man oh man GO SEE IT! Just GO!
2046: Wong Kar Wai's latest. A disappointment in my book. A little too fashion magzine-y. Of the great Asian filmmakers today, he's sort of on the bottom rung after this one.

I've got 8 more days of babysitting, I mean tutoring, left!!

LOVE
ALEX

Guilty as charged...

Eric finally writes:

I haven't posted to the blog in forever, so tonight here's hoping this is the beginning of me once again sharing my deepest darkest secrets with you. To get you up to speed with me: Life's been good but busy. I've gone from temp to perm at my job. This is good. I like the job and my boss is great.

Alex and I have been in Los Angeles for over a year now. So far so good.

It's my birthday party two weeks from Saturday in New York City. That's right. I'm jumping on a plane and heading east for a week (8/27-9/2).

I feel like my blogging skills are rusty. So I'm keeping it short.

This past weekend, Friday night lasted into Saturday morning. I got home around 4am, and too energized from a night on the town, proceeded to record a not-so-good M.C. Nuggets song, which nontheless I've listened to many times over. I've totally DennisMillered every time I've listened to it. (DennisMiller is a verb I think I just invented, meaning to laugh too hard at your own jokes).

Vegas was a wonderful, excessive, busy weekend. And yes, I lost some money. And no, not too upset. I had a terrific time. Too tired to tell stories. But I did dance my ass off (in a club that looked like a teen community center (except for fireballs coming out of the ceiling). As we're walking into the club, they're bringing some guy out on a stretcher. (No, I did not yell out "Party Foul!" at the top of my lungs). That's intimidating. It's like, we're walking into a club so intense that you need a couple of EMT's to bring you out afterwards...

My brain won't work. Falling asleep. We'll talk soon, Eric

STILL ALIVE

WE SUCK! Sorry about the lack of posts of late...Eric and I have been incredibly tied up with work and family and play (btw, VEGAS was kind to at least one of us) but we'll be back to full strength next week. Till then, be good and go see HUSTLE & FLOW!

LOVE
ALEX