| September 29, 2003
11:41 a.m. Barnes & Noble Cafe Intro How cool is it to own a laptop? Or, at least to have one in your possession? Right now I'm sitting in a Barnes & Noble cafe, wishing I had the cash to buy a Cafe Mocha and overlooking an endcap of books with titles like Is Your Pet Psychic? and Tarot D'amour. Not to mention that adjacent to that particular is an endcap for Jerry Jenkins' latest book, Soon, alongside several repackaged editions of several C.S. Lewis books. Ah, the joy of giant conglomerate bookstores. But hey, at least I have the freedom to sit at the counter, tapping away at my keyboard and wishing I hadn't forgotten my headphones in the car. Obits Robert Palmer died Friday. John Ritter died two weeks prior to that. Ironic thing? Palmer's most famous song "Addicted to Love" was featured in the opening sequence of Tricks of the Trade, a made-for-tv movie that had Ritter in an uncredited appearance, as the unfaithful husband to Cindy Williams, of Laverne and Shirley fame. Not a movie to write home about, really, but I remember it so well because for some reason we had it on video growing up, taped off of television. It might have been my crush on Markie Post, who was the other star of the film, but I'm not sure. Johnny Cash. I wish I could write something good about Johnny Cash. I remember him most for "Daddy Sang Bass/Mama Sang Tenor" and his duet with Carey "Kosher" Womack on the One Bad Pig cover of "Man in Black". It's sad that the last big hit he had was the Trent Reznor-penned tune, "Hurt". Here was a guy, known for his Christian faith, covering a song by a man who obviously despises everything that Christianity stands for. I guess I can hold on to the hope that Trent had the opportunity to witness real faith in the form of Cash, and somehow come to the right conclusion. Don't get me wrong - in my crazier days at college I became a fan of Trent Reznor. Reznor, for those of you who might not know - is the front man/creative force behind Industrial Music Juggernaut Nine Inch Nails. At the time, I was really cynical, even disheartened with my faith - having seen a lot of crap in the church that bothered me. Reznors line "Wish there was something real/Wish there was something true..." spoke to me, man. It was my cry at the time, and he echoed it. The problem is - I found something real. Or, to put a finer point on it - something real found me. I was lost at the time - blinded by my own arrogance, pride and, to an extent, my own self pity. Yes, there was a lot of crap in the church. But it was the wrong thing to grow cynical. It was my duty - and the duty of all true believers, for that matter - to try and clean out the crap, instead of complaining about it. My prayer is that Trent does find what is Real, what is True. Just like I did. Now, onto John Ritter. The Friday that they announced the death of Ritter and Cash was sad. But, I hate to admit it, my first reaction was "Man, I'd hate to have the name John and be famous today." I'll remember Ritter for two things: Tricks of the Trade and of course, Three's Company. Who cares about the other crappy sitcoms that he was in? I had forgotten all about Hearts Afire until shows like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood kept mentioning it. And his latest show? 8 Simple Rules? I don't think I've sat through more than five minutes of it. Ritter seemed to be a nice guy. I've never met him, and I'll probably forget about him in a couple of weeks. And then Gordon Jump, from WKRP in Cincinatti dies. Man, what is it with sitcom stars from the 70's? If I were Rerun, Jimmy "JJ" Walker, or Horshack, I'd be getting good insurance and checking my status with the Lord about now. Shut up List Right now the lone member of the shut up list is Ozzy. Our second member, is none other than Al Franken. Al - just shut up. Every time you open your mouth you spew more and more garbage - garbage best left in the trash can that is your head. You try to deceive Americans by calling Bill O'Reilly a liar, among others, yet you have been called several times to explain yourself when you exaggerated the truth. Talk about your typical liberal double standard. A conservative needs to explain himself, but a liberal gasbag like yourself is always telling the truth. Yeah, okay. *insert rolling eyes here* Don't worry Al and Ozzy, you'll have a third member here, so sit tight, and make room. Michael Moore is on the way. Randomizer Ya know that feeling you get, when you do something really bad, but before you get in serious trouble, you correct yourself? Your heart beats real fast, your hands shake, you feel like you want to cry like a little girl? I had that feeling today. You get it when you turn the wrong way on a one way street, and are going head to head with a minivan being driven by an angry guy who looks Arabic (sans the stereotypical head garb). Thank God I was able to back up without getting myself killed. Go out and order a copy of Megazeen #6. The cover was pencilled by a good friend of mine, and the whole shebang was edited by another good friend of mine. It's $1.50 well spent, fo sho. Speaking of Christian Comics, avoid the comic adaptation of Christian "Rock Opera" iHero!. Terrible art, and a story that doesn't even seem well thought out. I know they're trying to put the gospel into a modern day setting, but they could at least try to avoid cliched writing and terrible art. There are several professional comic artists who are Christians - Ed McGuiness, Mike Miller and Scott McDaniel to name a few - why not try and get them on board instead of the hack they used for this garbage? No wonder Christian Comics aren't taken seriously. Soundtrack: The sounds of various chatter here in the cafe. If I had brought my headphones, I would've had the sounds of Wither Wing. Win some you lose some. Must buy CD of the Week: The Franchise - a band featuring Scott Silletta, the only true lead vocalist of Plankeye, in my opinion. Must see DVD of the Week: Scarface - "Say hello to my little frien'!!" Football Complaint of the Week: Bring me the head of Gregg Williams!! Challenging a play you shouldn't have and costing your team a valuable time out in the fourth quarter??? You putz. Until Later ~ Jeremy |
posted by jeremy at 1:30 PM
0 comments
