I reference the above photo of The Wire as a general plea to all television and screenplay writers out there. PLEASE retire the contrived chess game metaphor scene once and for all. We get it -- chess, like life, involves strategy, rank, and sacrifice. Yes, very profound.
Aside from the lame chess scene however, I cannot deny that I am a full-out Wire-junkie now (ha!). I knew this day would come, and I can already see my entire month of February being spent to feed my addiction. Damn you HBO, with your brilliant and edgy programming!
While it wasn't explicitly listed as a New Year's resolution for this year, I have been making a conscious effort to do more cooking at home. Although, I usually let myself off the hook during the work week when I generally don't get home until 8 and it's all I can do to even swing by a Wendy's and order the #6 combo (plain, with a Diet Coke and a cup of chili). Sundays are always reserved for a quiet night of cooking and watching Iron Chef America. And while my cooking ability has but modestly improved over the past few years, my appreciation for the time, patience, and effort required for delicious and honest food has grown by leaps and bounds. Anyway, this past Sunday I took another stab at the elusive art of pizza-making. The sauce and dough were made from scratch using organic ingredients. And let me say that kneading dough may be the cheapest therapy you can find. I think I have a few more iterations to go before I get the recipe just right, but all in all it was a pretty damn tasty pizza.
And one more thing while I'm on the food subject, why is it that all canned soups that aren't Chicken Noodle or Vegetable soup taste like chemical snot?
So, I guess the television renaissance even spilled over to SNL, as it is apparently funny again! Here's a sketch of a few handy lessons about sexual harassment in the workplace, brought to you by the irresistable Tom Brady:
And one more thing while I'm on the sex subject, I saw this Zipcar ad while reading DCist today:
Where the hell are they getting that number from? 350 HOURS a year having sex? HOURS. In one year. That is like, an hour a day. I don't even think that my constantly horny married friends are having quite that much sex, and they have ready-access! Here's some advice Zipcar, next time don't depress your target consumers with ridiculously bogus statistics in your advertisements; who wants to think about renting a car when they're too busy thinking about all the ass that they're not getting.
Is it too cliche to still write New Year resolutions on January 1? Notice that 4 of my 2006 resolutions have been carried over to 2007. I think those deserve a 2nd attempt. But overall I'm pretty happy about my progress on my 2006 goals. I'm hopeful that this year I'll bat at least a .75. If anyone has any suggestions for a class to take for my #10 resolution, please throw it out there. Right now I'm considering salsa dancing, cooking, and yoga.
Random thought: You gotta love songs about men working themselves to the grave, all for a thankless cold-hearted bitch:
Led Zeppelin - "Since I've Been Loving You"
Michael Jackson - "Workin Day and Night"
George Michael - "Everything She Wants"
So Christmas in Vegas was not too shabby. I consistently had great coffee every morning (and night), ate amazingly well (too well), dipped deep into my savings (on multiple shopping binges), and spent a lot of quality time with the family (and without the need for sedatives). I have to confess though, that Vegas isn't really my bag. When I travel, I like to look at things and speculate about the trail of events and circumstances that led to its existence, even if it's mostly myth or nonsense that's all created in my mind. Like the burial mounds in Korea's old capital Gyeongju, or the Colosseum in Rome, or paella in Madrid. I think that requires at least the veil of authenticity, which is pretty much the anti-thesis of Vegas. That being said, it's hard to decline a free vacation in a lux hotel even if it is to a place that is entirely about surface value.
Finally, I am trying to put together a list of must-read books for this year, of reasonable length, fiction or non-fiction, and from any year/country/genre (except fantasy). So far I have:
"Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly."
~Edward Albee/n
I feel like this Albee quote pretty much sums up where I am right now in life, and why my blog has become a meandering collection of trivial entries. If you're looking for profundity, look elsewhere.
