Wednesday, May 11, 2005

I was reading the UNC Alumni online rag last week and saw their call for us to pass on the advice to grads that we wish we'd gotten when we graduated. In fact, we probably actually did get a lot of this advice and chose to ignore it just as I'm sure today's grads will, but I bit anyway. Here's what I wrote:

Pay attention to the things you learned in classes outside your major - no matter what career you go into, you'll likely find that you'll draw on them as much as your core classes.

Remember that everyone's job is important - your boss, the admins, the folks that empty the trash in the evening. Respect 'em all and you'll find that respect returned to you.

Other people have said it here and I'll echo it - don't be afraid to take some risks now. It'll be much harder to do so later - not impossible, but you'll likely have a lot more to lose.

The past few years don't have to have been the best years of your life!! Go have some more fun doing something you love!

Not particularly edifying I'm sure, but it made me wonder what kind of life one of the other commenters who graduated a few years before me has had:

Not everyone out there loves you.

Never ask much of people. Learn to expect less.

Your world will grow darker and harder and meaner. Invest as little in it as possible, and turn to the things of the spirit.

Great books alone will never disappoint you.

Kids, don't listen to Mr. Steelman Class of '76 - in fact, my advice to you is to back slowly away...

Obviously I haven't seen it yet, but thanks to the link from Ruby to Kevin Smith's blog, 'cuz he has. I'll admit that having read a number of reviews from early screeners I'm getting a little excited. Not Ep V excited, not Ep IV excited, but pretty damned excited all the same. I'll let Mr. Smith say it - “Revenge of the Sith” is, quite simply, fucking awesome.

I was a little cynical in my comments to Ruby's post and (Sith)lord knows any Star Wars fan has every right to be cynical, wary, or fearful in anticipation of this one. Look, I saw the very first showing of the first movie at the CharlotteTown Cinema with my girlfriend days before heading off to Governor's School to be surrounded by geeks that had already seen it 12 times in the 3 days before GS started. It became part of my life. It became a CHERISHED part of my life. Then came the Christmas special. Then came the Ewoks. Then came the Gungans (it's not just Jar-Jar, it's the whole stinking race). Then came Lucas' do-overs with a way-too-small almost cute Jabba inserted to spout dialogue previously spoken by Greedo and "Greedo shoots first". Then came the mitachlorions. Then came the most God-awful "romance" ever seen on screen between Anakin and Padme (can you imagine how absolutely rocking Ep II would have been if Lucas had brought Joss Whedon in as a dialogue doctor?).

But you know what? I actually think this one is going to rule. Oh, the dialogue will still suck and Natalie Portman will still be stiff (although I will laugh out loud the first time I see her with Leia's sticky-buns-on-the-side-of-the-head heir-do). All of that will be true but when Anakin puts that damned black helmet on for the first time and when we see Bail Organa in the same corridor on the same blockade runner that we first met Darth Vader in 1977 and when we actually SEE Obi-Wan hand over an infant Luke to Owen and Beru - I will be a happy, happy man. Er, fan-boy.

By the way, after JennySlash finished her paper I knew she needed a little treat so I brought her a present home from the grocery store - the Emperor Palpatine Pez dispenser! Am I a good husband or what?

Sunday, May 8, 2005

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom I ever had!

JennySlash was frantically working to finish her big paper for her first grad school class and I was tired of getting killed trying to make through Wesrin Cross in Dungeon Siege, so I decided to head over to the Cradle last night to hear the Neil Diamond All-Stars. Jack Whitebread was one of the guys I met down at the Cave during the NCAA finals and I told him I'd come and see them at their next show so there I was, not really knowing what to expect. I knew that they'd been doing the show once or twice a year for quite awhile and that they had a pretty strong local following, but I wasn't quite prepared for standing in front of the stage as the band came out, turning around and seeing the club absolutely packed, mostly with women aged anywhere from 20 to 70.

First of all, let me say that the band was TIGHT! I'm sorry I missed some of the names in the introduction as I'd like to know what else they do, but I did catch that the beauteous bass player was Jenny "Whiskeytown" Snyder and recognized that Sonar Strange (she fronted the local 80's band Foreign Bodies) was one of the backup singers. And that was a pomaded Dave Quick (Jack Black, Edsel 500, many etceteras) playing a blazing hot lefty lead guitar. The omnipresent John Howie Jr. came out for a few songs in the second set as well (John should be everywhere - I never get tired of hearing him). Then Jack came out and the place went wild. I expected to see motel room keys and panties come flying up out of the audience (probably from the two 60-somethings right in front of the stage). Let me establish this right up front (and I don't think Jack would argue) - Jack doesn't have the world's greatest voice nor does he look like Johnny Depp (or Neil Diamond). Hell, I grew up singing along to Mom's Neil Diamond records and I know I could do a better imitation. But this wasn't about sounding like Neil Diamond - this was about the Neil Diamond experience! And Jack is a showman, an entertainer, a raconteur - he had everybody eating out of the palm of his hand from the moment he started gargling out Crunchy Granola Suite. By the time he testified on Holly Holy, there were nothing but believers in the crowd. And if you're not a star, you don't get people dancing to (of all things) I Am... I Said. By the time they encored with a Soolaimon/Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show medley, the whole crowd had their hands in the air testifying. Unfortunately, Jack announced early in the show that this would be the last one for the NDA-S - I hope he has a change of heart as do about 300 people that were at the show last night.

I fortunately got to the club in time to catch most of the opening act - a solo show by Mary Prankster. I was not familiar with her stuff (although clearly there were a number of fans in the audience). If you've never seen her, take a little bit of Billy Bragg with a touch of Julie "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" Brown and a dash of Bongwater. Then throw in a lit stick of dynamite with a short fuse and wrap it all in a sexy little female package in a bright red halter jumpsuit. Hand her an acoustic guitar almost as big as she is and you've got some approximation of Mary. Oh, did I forget the language? After a number of people hollered out some of her song titles as requests, she accused the crown of playing Tourette's Syndrome Bingo. Girl's got a mouth on her. I lost count at somewhere around 73 "fucks" in Mercyfuck, but somehow from her it comes across as, well, charming. This was apparently a one-off show as she's taking some time off of touring, but I highly recommend catching her when she hits the road again - much, much fun. In fact, I can't remember leaving a show with a bigger grin on my face that last night's in a long time, so thanks, Jack! And thanks, Mary!