The Invisible Maniac

Not even I can endorse this

2007-12-04T19:52:24Z

http://kittywigs.com/

I GUESS it's funny, but only if you look at the pictures - I got scared after reading the "about" section.

kbot79 @ 2007-11-30T14:09:00

2007-11-29T19:24:15Z

My letter got printed in last week's E.W.! Or, for the lesser nerds among you, Entertainment Weekly. They edited the shit out of it (literally; I think I cursed a couple of times out of geek rage) but still, pretty rad.

Also: I am currently addicted to 30 Rock. Everything Tina Fey touches turns to gold. Ryan wants to divorce me for her, so if I discover that he suddenly has a shiny golden dick, his ass is out on the street.

Also also: Working in a school is weird, but I have finally come around on teaching as a career. My contract with Urban Assembly lasts two years, so I'm going to take some English credits at night to become a certified double-threat, K-12, Theatre/English teacher. HOOO-A!

Best sketch I've seen on SNL in ages

2007-10-22T22:38:31Z

For some reason I keep crawling back to SNL, despite its overwhelming crapulence over the past...oh, 15 years... hoping it will one day improve.

But! I solemnly swear that this year's cast is gold - even when the writing blows, there's someone doing something amazing. Now that they've booted Finesse Mitchell there are no throwaways on the show anymore (I'd count Seth Myers, but his Weekend Update is decent and he did a good John Kerry) . Amy Poehler's presence has been enough for me to watch since she started, and Lorne seems to have FINALLY realized that Fred Armisen is worth some screen time. Keenan can do better, but Kristen Wiig kicks ass, Bill Hader is like Dan Ackroyd on (more) coke, Maya Rudolph is a real pro and Jason Sudekis is the best straight man since Phil Hartman.

What a shame, then, that the Seth Rogen/Spoon episode was just...meh. This was the only funny sketch, but it was pure brilliance. Will Forte is a true weirdo and I'm so glad he's on television.

For serious?

2007-09-19T22:56:56Z

http://youcantmakeitup.blogspot.com/2006/02/50-animals-in-casts.html

He's baaaaaaack

2007-09-16T21:37:51Z

I was in a crowded Dr.'s waiting room late Friday afternoon where they unfortunately had Fox News blasting to keep us entertained. I was having trouble concentrating on my book when the words "...flasher loose in Northern New Jersey..." and "...next to Drew University on Madison Avenue..." caught my attention. Yes, a mid-to-late 20's man has been seen wandering around near Drew, pulling his dick out to female passersby. It really must be traumatizing, but I can't help laughing--I mean, what is it about that campus??! First the Mad Whacker, then the Shower Peeper, now after a few years of peace a 21st-century perv has arrived to fill the void.

Also, the Drew students they interviewed for the segment looked about twelve years old. This getting old thing really sneaks up on me sometimes!

On the morn of Duckian's wedding...

2007-09-09T15:41:08Z

I'm sitting alone at a wonderful coffee shop in Lenox, MA drinking a delicious soy latte. It's rainy and they're playing Sufjan Stevens and everyone around me is having animated, smart conversations. Friday night we stayed at Z-Dub and D-Nice's amazingly decorated house and I slept better than I have in months in the black hole of sound that is Western Mass.

So guess what? We want to buy a house here. Eventually. We've been toying with the "condo in JP" idea for a while, but we can get twice the space plus a yard for kids and dogs (who am I??!). And it's equidistant between Boston and NYC. Hell, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon are raising their daughter out here, so it's gotta have some cred. I'm still afraid of the wilderness, though, so I've decided that wherever we live must be within 15 minutes of: 1) an Indian restaurant 2) a movie theater 3) a theatre-theater 4) a good live music venue 5) a gym and 6) a bookstore. Northampton and its surrounding towns seem to fit the bill.

The major drawback of most of New England is its lack of (to put it in PC terms) "diversity." I'm a minority in Brooklyn. I live in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood, work in an entirely Hasidic Jewish neighborhood and spend weekends with Imani in an all black neighborhood. I enjoy being pushed out of my comfort zone to interact with all kinds of people and I want my children to do the same. But in Massachusetts, as David Cross says, "it stays white out later." I guess the solution is to make as many weekend trips as possible and just choose not to live in a bubble.

Working at a middle school has left little time to update here or do much of anything online, so my apologies for being MIA lately. But for once in my adult life I can honestly say that I love my job and I'm doing something important. It's impossible to be cynical greeting 80 smiling sixth-grade girls at the door each morning..I'm even starting an afterschool Drama club with them!

My 10-year-old self is so jealous--hell, so's my 28-year-old self.

2007-08-01T13:52:34Z

Some brilliant dude bought Showbiz Pizza robots and re-programmed them to sing this. Prepare to laugh, scream or both.

28??!

2007-07-26T04:21:49Z

I love birthdays. My wonderful parents got me the candy-pink retro sewing machine I've been longing for!!! Time to make curtains for the new apartment. We also saw HP5, which was preeeetty good. I want Cuaron to come back for another installment. Still haven't read 6 or 7, though-- gotta get a move on--I was slow to board the Hogwarts Express.

Tomorrow evening I head to my beloved Boston to relax for a few days. I'm staying in Brighton and JP, but I have all of Friday to bum around if anyone has the day off. Holla if you want to see a matinee, hit a museum, go to my favorite H&M in Downtown Crossing, go to a yoga class, visit Brookline Booksmith, eat JP Licks......

one day this will be an actual blog again

2007-06-26T17:24:01Z

But in the meantime, I give you THE MULLET.

Ryan's friend Matt, who played guitar in our wedding band, did this just for fun. He's the best non-actor actor I know.

Paris and Nicole

2007-06-14T14:39:07Z

This is fucking genius.

poll

2007-05-29T15:08:59Z

Which looks like a bigger piece of shit? I'm truly at a loss.

http://lionsgate.com/goodluckchuck/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yQfQmn-o4ks

"Scooby, did you have babies?"

2007-05-29T14:52:16Z

Knocked Up! This weekend, baby! I'm also jazzed about Superbad: written by Seth Rogen, starring George Michael and that hilarious weird new guy from SNL, and directed by Greg Mottola--his first film since 1996's genius Daytrippers. Looks like a mash-up of Super Troopers and Freaks and Geeks, which is just fine by me.

Has anyone bought the new Bjork?? Reviews?

Oh, and http://youtube.com/watch?v=DE2Nnv9tlT8

zoobilee zoo

2007-05-18T12:45:31Z

Heading to Boston today for the first time since Christmas! Yay 2 parties in JP!

I hope everyone has a fun weekend. Here's a picture of a mommy dog nursing three baby tigers who were rejected by their mother. Jesus--first the hippo and the turtle, then the tiger and orangutan babies, then friggin Knut, now this--I can't take much more!!

"the future of rock and roll"

2007-05-16T19:01:25Z

I'm a bit in the dark ages when it comes to music and the computer. I've figured out iPods, but downloading/sharing/buying online tunes still mystifies me. Honestly, I don't want to get my music that way--I love buying albums--but without Newbury Comics CDs are just too expensive. But I'm getting woefully out of touch with the new bands that all the crazy kids are listening to. So I've been looking at radio...listening to WOXY in Ohio on the laptop all day and like about 90% of their rotation. Heck, this "Radars to the Sky" group is pretty dang great!

The Landlord

2007-05-16T16:19:44Z

Watch it!

Reminds me of when my friend Amy and I used to prank call people in high school and make her 2-year-old sister call them dirty names.

mo movies

2007-05-08T13:31:22Z

Year of the Dog was pretty good. A tad slight, but what a great cast. And the dogs were painfully cute, especially the main beagle, Pencil.

Also, Spidey 3 was enjoyable. Silly, too long, and Kiki Dunst is still awful, but c'mon. And I can't even begin to describe how funny Bruce Campbell's cameo is.

Next on my radar is this one. Three weeks!!!

kbot79 @ 2007-05-02T10:18:00

2007-05-02T14:54:56Z

See entry below...Grindhouse was great! I don't understand why it didn't make more money. Maybe it was too "weird" for the general public?

My brother got me the new Tori Amos album (for free, since he works at Epic) which I'm about to listen to--with much trepidation. We'll see.

I'm working from home until our school opens in July. It's tougher than I thought...so much temptation to NOT work! I mean, here I am on livejournal...

I spent last weekend in Philly--doing costumes for Flashpoint's latest, U.S. Drag. I'm really proud of all of the elements of the production and I hope the show does well critically and financially. It really is good!

One thing I'm looking forward to this evening is hitting our local Baskin-Robbins for 31-cent scoop night. I don't really like their ice cream, but when you can get three scoops for a buck, who cares? It's ice cream, people. And only thirty-one shiny pennies per mound of creamy goodness.

moovahs

2007-04-11T15:36:51Z

Grindhouse tonight!

Anyone else seen this preview? I can't believe it opens this weekend...I heart Mike White so much.

Remember when MTV's orginal programming wasn't "Date My Mom"?

2007-04-03T19:53:13Z

I love TV on DVD...It allows me to binge on the few shows that I like without letting TV take my brain hostage. If I had cable, this would happen for sure. I grew up without it (I only regret no MTV in the 80's) and I'm usually too poor for it, but this works out in my favor as I'm plenty lazy already.

A couple of weeks ago, my brother's ladyfriend lent me My So-Called Life, which, somehow, I had never seen. Even though it is a WHOLE hell of a lot like my life in 1994 and all my friends watched it. I knew it was a "great" show, but thought it would be dated and over-hyped. How wrong I was! I'm more than halfway through the series and go back and forth between watching 3 episodes in a row and spacing them out to delay the inevitable. At least once during each 46-minute gem, Angela or Ricky or a plaid flannel shirt gets me all misty-eyed. I also realized I am exactly in-between the ages of the kids and the parents in the show, and more than half the time, I'm identifying with the old folks.

fashion minutia

2007-03-29T17:38:27Z

Regarding one-piece outfits, I will say this.
- bathing suits: good!
- jumpers: not bad!
- overalls: less good, but comfy! And definitely okay in the '90s!

Today I got an email from Urban Outfitters declaring the inclusion of the ROMPER in their Spring collection. Um, babies wear those. They usually have snaps underneath.

Sometime last year, these pics set off my warning bells:

EXHIBIT A

EXHIBIT B (I admit she still looks great...and I guess it's a jumpsuit, not a romper ? but Scarlett is so above this.)

So Urban Outfitters--where I occasionally shop, but where trends go to jump the shark--now tells us that the romper has Officially Arrived. It's only a matter of time before it shows up at Kohl's in an orange butterfly print.

HOTT.

Check out the back shot! I wonder if she's wearing a diaper underneath?

I can't wait to walk around nyc next season and catch some tard wearing footie pajama pants.

I gots me a job!

2007-03-18T01:37:37Z

At:

http://www.urbanassembly.org/

I start next month as the Partnership Coordinator of their new Criminal Justice School for Young Women. It's in Brooklyn, on my train line, and EVERYONE I've met through this organization has been incredible. Finally...steady income, benefits and something I can hopefully be proud of doing 40 hours a week.

oh yeah

2007-03-09T17:57:34Z

and (in order of importance),

I'm married!

I got a new and fun haircut!

I have a yucky cold, so I'm reading all of White Oleander on my couch today!

I'm seeing ZODIAC tomorrow!

Where to begin?

2007-03-07T17:28:32Z

We took a red-eye back from Peru on Sunday and I'm just about caught up on sleep and readjusting to normal--though still unemployed--life.

Still waiting on my photographer friend's official wedding photos, but I'll do a post as soon as they're on Flickr.

For now, I'll make a few observations about the great country of Peru (pics of our trip to be posted soon as well):

-Lima is the craziest-driving city in the world. I'm not that well-traveled, but it's crazier than Rome, which is considered by many to be The Craziest. We almost died in cabs multiple times--thank Christ we didn't ride in a Collectivo: unregulated, 12-passenger vans that stop whereever and take you whereever without waiting for your entire body to be in the vehicle. It was tempting for uno sole (30c), but I'm glad we skipped it.

-Most everything there is anarchic, which is somewhat refreshing as the U.S. is pretty rule-obsessed. People are laid back as hell, and any rules tend to be preventative rather than punishing (e.g. cars honking to let you know they are nearby, instead of as they are hitting you), which is more my style. Nobody is on time, ever.

-Every city in Peru is overrun with wild dogs of every imaginable size, shape and color. Some are scary, some pathetically sad (many lame paws and mangy coats), and some are hideously, comically ugly. All of the female dogs are pregnant.

-Llamas and my new favorite creatures on earth, Alpacas, are everywhere in the mountains--more plentiful than sheep or cows. They are fucking ADORABLE and sweet, their wool is incredibly warm and soft, and apparently their meat is tasty. But they also consider guinea pigs a delicacy.

-Peruvians as a rule don't speak a lot of English, and with Ryan's and my Spanish skillz, we were worried. But they are so accomodating there, we could usually meet in the middle, with some sign language and sound effects.

-I ate amazingly fresh seafood at least once, often twice, daily. You haven't lived until you've sat near the beach in 75 degree weather with an ice-cold cerveza and a big plate of ceviche, corn and sweet potato (this coming from someone who generally hates the beach, beer, and sushi--which is really nothing like ceviche).

-Toilets are the biggest problem in Peru (for a tourist. I imagine for residents, politics might be a touch more important). Only 2-3 times in 14 days did we get to use a bathroom including: a working toilet (WITH a toilet seat), toilet paper, a sink with water, paper towels, and a door on the stall. Usually most of the above were missing. Not a lot of fun when you have dysentery for four days...

If there's a heaven, I'll be mainlining this.

2007-02-01T15:53:59Z

Well, howdy there

2007-01-30T18:13:49Z

Hmmm. Looks like I haven't updated this in quite a little while. And I doubt I will again until March, when all this madness is over (when I hopefully have a good job that allows me occasional internet time). A few randoms from the past month....

*Happy 2007! I dislike New Year's even more than Valentine's Day and July 4th. I think R and I spent it playing video games (which means I must really hate it, cause I do not enjoy video games).

*As I've pulled out of a depression, I've been reading novels again like a fiend. I'm going to try to start a book club for any nyc-area nerds who are interested.

*We have 175 guests attending the wedding!! I'm so thrilled that peole are coming from all over to party in Jerz in February with us.

*Oh, the new David Lynch movie, Inland Empire? DON'T SEE IT. I can watch Eraserhead on repeat and stare at his meat paintings all day, but this film was three hours of mind-killing nonsense. I hate admitting when one of my favorite artists makes a gigantic misstep like this, but I need to warn others.

*On the other end of the spectrum, run (don't walk!) to see Pan's Labryinth.

*I haven't seen too many Oscar films this year, and I'll be in Peru when they're on, so I kind of don't care for once. Kate Winslet won't win anyway. But I REALLY hope Forest Whitaker does--I've been a huge fan of his forever, and I actually loved his Globes "speech." I also hope the dresses are as beautiful as they were at the GG's and the SAG awards...

*And Ryan got a great job at Wiley, thanks in part to Z-Dub. Health insurance, here we come!