I am not writing in this journal this week, because I don't know why because. But Monday all will be better. The waters of new beginnings wash away all sin.
I now know how to make the € sign. So pay me in them.
Today we are going to make a list of song bests and worsts because I am seriously running out of ideas for the journal right now and I am considering taking a week break next week because hey who is going to read this during Thanksgiving week anyway I mean really in my opinion.
Best song on an otherwise ho-hum album: "Blind" off of Jars of Clay's self-titled.
Worst song on an otherwise lovely album: "Flesh" off of the Danielson Famile's Tri-Danielson: Alpha.
Best film use of singing along to a song:Magnolia's sing-a-long of Aimee Mann's Wise Up.
Best "Simpsons" song: Troubl...uh, I mean "The Monorail Song."
Speaking of which, best song from a musical: "Rock Island" from The Music Man.
Worst Christmas song: "The First Noel." I hate "The First Noel."
Best Christmas song: "Silent Night" in the original "Stille Nacht" German.
Best obscure Christmas song:"Carol of the Birds." Best really obscure Christmas song:Britten's "This Little Babe." Best hymn:"Be Still, My Soul." Worst hymn:"On Eagles' Wings." No, wait, isn't that a bit unfair? It's not the worst, is it? Really? No, I suppose not. Sorry.
Okay then, how about this: Most overrated hymn: Yes, now "On Eagles' Wings."
Song from a film actor I like I'd most like to hear: Rebecca Pidgeon's "Jock O'Hazeldean."
Song from a film actor I like I'd least like to hear: Billy Bob Thornton's "Angelina."
Favorite song from a musician I'm seeing in the D.C. suburbs tonight: Julie Miller's "All My Tears."
Yes, of course, but which of the three versions of the song? Um, okay, I guess the version off of the Songcatcher soundtrack.
And interestingly enough, favorite song by the musician you saw I concert by most recently: Why, it's Gillian Welch's "Wind And Rain," also from the Songcatcher soundtrack, which I should really see the movie of sometime.
Using four fours in any fun fashion (4+44/4 = 68 or 44-4-4 = 36, for example), come up with the following numbers:
1) 1/54/(4x4+4) 2) 1/34/(4+4+4) 3) 44+(4-4)x4 4) 144+4+4+V¯4 5) 274!+V¯4+ 4/4 6) 39
7) 4244-(4-V¯4) 8) 48(4+4+4)x4 9) 51
10) 56(4+4)!/(4+V¯4)! 11) 624x4x4-V¯4 12) 64(4+4)x(4+4) 13) 704x4!-4! -V¯4 14) 79
15) 81(4-4/4)4 16) 89
17) 1004x4!+V¯4+V¯4 18) 1,300((4+V¯4)4)+4 19) 2,520((4!+4)/4)!/V¯4 20) 79,228,162,514,264,337,593,543,950,336(4xV¯4xV¯4)4!
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
these are comments, 21.
Randominity.
Did Albert Gore consume a magic human-being-turning pill? His performance on Letterman Friday was funny, self-effacing, and entertaining while still being substantial. He and Bob Dole are apparently both far better ex-candidates than they were presidential candidates. Good for them.
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Elizabeth Dole, however, is still stiff as a tree that has not magically become unstiff. If only she would have lost.
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I now have this, more or less, in my dining room. (I believe mine is the exact same bike -- it's made by the same company -- but with different branding and a lower price tag.) For Christmas, then, someone should buy me this.
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Also in the area of unconspicuous consumption, Kimberly and I will be following the lead of the Wisconsin Prinses and purchasing a Virgin Mobile cellular phone. I mention this so that my use of the word "Virgin" will bring in a new breed of Google and Ask.com searchers. In fact, let me say it a couple more times: The Virgin Mary had a baby boy. The Virgin Mary had a baby boy. The Virgin Mary had a baby boy. And they said that his name was Jesus, oh and yeah He was also a virgin.
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I have no idea what today's contest will be. None. But it will probably still be at 5:00P.
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Kim has this idea that she and I should watch all the Disney animated films in order over the course of a few months. I have this idea that she and I should watch all the Mike Leigh films in order over the course of a few months. You are the jury.
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Panic Room, B Fine, but securely strapped into its genre restraints. Surprisingly unfrightening, and unsurprisingly showoffy. Film goes downhill after one main character leaves the film and another one enters. Ending nice. Forrest, Dwight, and Jodie all give predictably lovely performances. Not much to say, really.
In short: I have been working on the Fall 2002 Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity newsletter during my lunches recently and thus have not had time to write journal entries. Bad, bad Matthew. And as I am essentially done with the issue other than a few contrast issues, I should return to writing shortly. Contest is tomorrow rather than today.
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
these are comments, absent.
I bow to the power of the e-mail list.
Interesting fact: While I receive a fair amount of personal e-mail, and while I receive a goodly amount of work-related e-mail, and while I receive 350 pounds of junk e-mail per week, I do not often receive those hi-my-name-is-Suzanne-I-barely-know-you-but-I was-told-to-pass-this-e-mail-on-to-780-of-my-closest-friends-or-else-bad-things-would-happen-to-me-and-you-were-number-783-but-I-thought-heck-why-not-be-safe e-mails, or e-mail greeting cards, or virus warnings from friends, or basically any forwarded message.
So. This afternoon, Kalista (whose website I would list on the right-hand side of my page if she would ever, ever visit and post a comment -- in fact, two points for Kalista if she posts a comment to this message) sent me a forwarded message that claims to be about personal preferences but in fact is an evil plot hatched by Lamar! to gather e-mail addresses to promote his 2012 run for the presidency. Kaly did not know that when she forwarded the message, no doubt, so I forgive her.
I say this all because I do not have an idea what I should write about today, and I think these types of quizzes are pretty spurious regarding getting to know someone, but whatever. I need to write something, so this shall be what is written.
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1. What time do you wake up in the morning? On weekdays, 7:30A if I'm taking a shower, and 7:55A if I'm not. Weekends, um, the same. Yeah. Uh huh. Of course.
2. If you could have lunch with one famous person, who [sic] would it be? My word. I'm tempted to say Charles Nelson Reilly. So I will. Although actually probably Mike Leigh.
3. Gold or silver? Silver-plated gold.
4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Dardenne Brothers' unreleased The Son.
5. Favorite TV shows? "The West Wing," "King of the Hill," Errol Morris' "First Person" (even if I've only seen three episodes), Gene Cox on the NBC 12 news (now that Juan Conde on Channel 8 is semi-respectable).
6. What do you have for breakfast? Nothing on weekdays, a cinnamon crunch bagel with honey walnut cream cheese from Panera Bread on Saturdays, a bacon, egg, and cheese croissantwich from Burger King on Sundays.
7. What would you hate to be left alone in a room with? A room-sized balloon.
8. Can you touch your nose with your tongue? People can?
9. What inspires you? Boredom, actually; perhaps "inspire" is the wrong word, but it does get me to do things.
10. What's your middle name? Dawn. No, Dale.
11. Beach, city or country? City, generally. Certainly not beach.
13. Favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Truffle.
14. Buttered, plain, or salted popcorn? If I may choose only one, salted.
17. Favorite sandwich filling? A half-pound hamburger with Muenster cheese.
18. True love? I guess. No, NO, Kim, put that frying pan DOWN!
19. What characteristics do you despise? People who do not realize how uninteresting their conversation is to me, and those who do realize how uninteresting their conversation is to me but continue to verbalize their uninterestingness.
21. If you had a big win in the lottery, how long would you wait to tell people? I would rather no one know other than Kim and close family, actually.
22. Fizzy or still water as a drink? Plain carbonated water is grosser than coffee.
23. What color is your bathroom? Off-white except for the bathtub which is a different shade of off-white.
24. How many keys on your key ring? Six: Key to the Honda, two keys to the Camero, key to the church, key to the front door of the house, key to the back door of the house.
25. Where would you retire? A condo in London. No, wait, that's Kim.
26. Can you juggle? If so how many? [At some point, I will insert a Rebecca Pidgeon quote from The Spanish Prisoner that says it all.]
27. Favorite day of the week? Saturday for obvious reasons.
28. Red or white wine? Neither: I prefer high residual sugar dessert wines.
29. What did you do for your last birthday? I went here.
30. Do you carry a donor card? On my driver's license, yes.
31. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Charles Nelson Reilly, although...
32. Who is the person you expect to send this back first? ...I'm not really sending it now, though, am I?
33. What do you want for Christmas? Asked and answered.
Each item listed in the scavenger hunt need be found. Your answer, posted in the comments, may be in any one of the following forms: (a) the answer, (b) a URL pointing to the answer, or (c) a note saying you have sent me an e-mail with the answer attached (which shall be verified by me, of course). If you cannot find the answer online, you may take a picture of the answer with a digital camera and send it to me via option (c). If you do not have a digital camera, you may (d) take a picture of it with an analog camera and write a note saying that you have taken a picture of this object and that once your film is developed, you will send me the picture, and I will stupidly believe you.
[Note: Because of the server problems, anyone who submitted an answer Tuesday gets half a point if they were the only person with the correct answer and a quarter-point if someone else also submitted one.]
Speed questions: 1) A frowning McDonald's employee in uniform.(Beth-Annie.) 2) A license plate from any state containing the number 53.(Alexander and Ed) 3) Riverbend Middle School in Iowa Falls, Iowa.(Kimberly and Ed.) 4) A white car from the game Life with a mother, a father, two daughters, and one son.
5) My signature.(Beth-Annie and Ed) 6) A 1977 half-dollar.(Kimberly and Ed.) 7) A poster for Mike Leigh's first movie, Bleak Moments.(Kimberly; Beth-Annie was wrong.) 8) The outside of Towers South at Southeast Missouri State University.(Kimberly and Ed) 9) A major government building in Liechtenstein.(Alexander and Beth-Annie.) 10) Another couple named Matthew and Kimberly.(Kimberly and Ed.)
Style questions: 11) Something very, very, very lame. And green.
12) The best bathroom ever. (Submission by Beth-Annie.) 13) A sexy kneecap. (Submission by Beth-Annie.) 14) A painfully grammatically correct sign, such as "x items or fewer."
15) Two items which do not belong in the same picture but yet are.
16) Item relating to yesterday's point opportunity.
17) Funniest individual cartoon strip in the history of cartooning. (Submissions by Ed and Ed again.) 18) Lame work-related clip-art.
19) Creative law-breaking.
20) Visual onomatopoeia. (No, please do not ask me what I mean by the phrase, because I have no idea. That is for you to figure out.)
This is stolen from someone who stole it from someone else. For one point (and only one guess per person), there are 10 romantically-inclined (as I am missing Kimberly) statements about me below, only one of which is false. Pick the false one:
1) Every girl I have dated more than twice either was then Catholic or had previously been Catholic.
2) Kimberly and I did not use 1st Corinthians 13 at our wedding on general principle.
3) The first girl who ever asked me out on a date had the unfortunate last name of "Butt."
4) I have never asked a girl out on a first date.
5) In 10th grade, I was waiting for a ride home and this group of girls came out and one of them said "Jen thinks you're neat," and then the girls laughed and then Jen playfully punched the girl who made the statement and I was confused on what it all meant.
6) Also in 10th grade, I got a call at home one day from a girl who said she was at a party playing a Truth-or-Dare-esque game and she wanted to know who I had a crush on and I didn't want to tell her so I gave her the name of this girl I had met at CY-TAG that I kinda had a thing 16 or so months earlier.
7) One girl who told me senior year in high school that she had a crush on me junior year also told me senior year that she though she might be a lesbian.
8) On a trip senior year in high school, the current boyfriend of one of my exes was writing a postcard to her and asked me how to spell her last name.
9) Kimberly and I almost kissed three days before our first date.
10) Kimberly and I were not legally married in the eyes of the Government of Mexico at the Capilla de la Sol del Amor (in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle) during the summer of 1998, and she did not give birth to a child, Pablo Prins, nine months later.
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
these are comments, 9.
"Well, if you promise to go to sleep right after this, you can each have another Mothra-Pop and watch videos."
If it were to be released this year rather than next, the Dardennes' The Son would be my number film 2002 and would ensure that this is the seventh straight year with an A movie. Stupid distributors.
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Review of Aimee Mann's Lost in Space in the November 2002 9 Times: There was early scuttlebutt that LOST IN SPACE would be a more aggressive album from Richmond native Aimee Mann. With that and with the absence of quirky-pop uber-producer Jon Brion, the most surprising aspect of LOST IN SPACE isn’t that it’s different, but that it’s the more of the same as Mann’s 2000 release, BACHELOR NO. 2. In fact, call it BACHELOR NO. 2, PART 2: More clever lyrics that transcend the clichés they’re based on; more adventurous pop tunes (spanning the vast gamut from medium-slow to medium-fast) that are unabashedly melodious; more of Mann’s agreeable, mellow alto.
It’s a holding pattern, no doubt, but given BACHELOR NO. 2’s pervasive critical acclaim, not many are complaining. Nor should they. While LOST IN SPACE may not reach the apexes that NO. 2 sometimes did -- no melody as engaging as the “Karma Police”-esque coda to “How Am I Different,” no lyrics as haunting as the thoughts of an acquaintance’s suicide in “Just Like Anyone” -- but neither is any song on SPACE as expendable as NO. 2’s “Susan.”
The first half of LOST IN SPACE is top-heavy with the album’s best songs. “Humpty Dumpty,” as infectious as any song Mann’s written, is one of many songs on SPACE that deals with romantic relationships. The similarly contagious “Guys Like Me,” four songs later, is embeddedly about Mann’s other major lyrical obsession: the record business. “High on Sunday 51” has one line in each verse that remains wedged on a single, repeated note, which is used as a musical counterpoint to the explicit drug metaphor that underscores the song. And smack-dab in the middle of the album, “Pavlov’s Bell” finally meets those ersatz “more aggressive” expectations: it’s the most brazenly rock that Mann’s been in her solo career. Alas, the final five songs are neither as lyrically or as musically successful as those initial ones -- “The Moth,” in particular, has an odd expansion of the formulaic moth-to-flame metaphor -- but it’s only in comparison to the album’s earlier greatness that they somewhat disappoint.
Over the past couple years, Mann’s been more known for her dislike of major record labels than for her music. Most articles about Mann circa BACHELOR NO. 2 focused on Mann's (initial) self-distribution of the album and her disdain for her greatest-hits record, rather than focusing on the merits of BACHELOR. Two years later, newspapers and magazines seem to be emphasizing Mann’s music again. Thanks to the superiority of much of LOST IN SPACE, they certainly have an excellent rationale.
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I was depressed yesterday, and then I put on Lust Control's We Are Not Ashamed and I became happy. Bad things please me.
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Reviewlet of Roger Dodger (high B+): What this movie is is a version of My Dinner With André where André spends the entire running time of the film trying to get Wally laid because that will prove to André that his view of the world is the most legitimate one. Also in this movie Wally is André's nephew. Ten scenes, I believe, in the entire 100-minute film, three of which are fantastically fantastic (my favorite scene of the year: Roger's "sex is everywhere" conversation with Nick amid traffic), and the rest of which range from good to quite good. LaBute's and Mamet's wordy subversions of masculinity are obvious comparisons, but Roger Dodger ending is somewhat, um, kinder, I guess, than either In the Company of Men or Oleanna. Only major problems: All the best scenes are in the first two-thirds of the film, and why is it that the final encounter is what calls Roger to action rather than the even-more-morally-repugnant situation with Nick at Roger's boss's party? Campbell Scott better win some awards for this.
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Do you like me reposting my reviews here, or do you prefer the former view of segregation?
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If I get my act together, tomorrow's contest will be a picture contest. If you have pictures that would be appropriate for a picture contest, please send me those pictures.
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
these are comments, 4.
Punch-Drunk Love reviewlet.
The first viewing of Punch-Drunk Love confused me so that I had little idea what reaction to have to it (eventually and arbitrarily settling on an emphatic “pretty good, maybe, I guess”). There were three-and-a-half liters of captivating elements, no doubt -- the harmonium, the pudding, the denouement of the phone-sex subplot, Emily Watson, a satisfying iconic use of Adam Sandler, the silhouette kiss, “He Needs Me,” any many others, but I wasn’t sure the film cohered thematically (in fact, I suspected that Punch-Drunk didn’t have a theme, besides perhaps hearkening back to Stanley’s frog-watching response of “This is something that happens”). Just as significantly, the Barry/Lena relationship -- the focus of the film -- seemed haphazard, silly, not destined to last.
The second viewing, however, made it clear that Punch-Drunk Love has implicit quotation marks before the “L” and after the “e.” Anderson has made a film about the vertiginous, giddy period that marks the beginning of a romance: that information-gathering stage of a relationship where exhilaration is halved with awkwardness, where slight and tentative physical advances are met in kind, where adult responsibilities are ignored, where all you can possibly think about is her her her her her. And given that foundation to the film, every event that follows makes a perverse kind of sense because they are all symbolic of the non-linear, non-logical mindset that comes from this newfound “love.” (That’s why Adam Sandler is the perfect choice of actor for Anderson’s film: His persona -- only barely changed here -- comes prepackaged with the non-linear, non-logical mindset.) I don’t believe Barry and Lena will remain as a couple for more than a few more months, but that’s not the point; the point is that in this moment, they can see themselves spooning each other in a king-size bed at a Los Angeles nursing home in fifty years. Anything can happen, they believe. As a result, the deception and self-deception that frequent many romances’ initial stages are explicit in Barry and Lena’s, and most of the main plot points of the film echo that deception: Barry’s lies to his sisters, the entire phone-sex storyline, and the self-deception of Barry believing he could cash in his pudding on a moment’s notice. Punch-Drunk Love is an inelegant, electrifying, adoring first kiss stretched out to a stylized 90 minutes. How can that not be loved?
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
this is comment, one.
*cough cough*.
I am sick. My throat is hurting. My ears are popping. My mouth is coughing. My nose is dripping snot down to my lip and...um, you get the picture. I cannot think; thus, do not expect any more writing today other than this.
On the last section of the quiz, the half-point either goes to the first person to find a price underneath the stated maximum or the person who finds the lowest price, even if it is higher than the cost I've stated.
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
these are comments, 9.
Incongruence.
Corvette questioneering by Kimberly Lisa Prins:
1) Describe what makes the 1973 Corvette different from the '72 and the '74. 2) What color was the 1978 Corvette Pace Car, and why? 3) What model year of the Corvette was never sold to the public, and why? 4) The Corvette was one of the first cars to be made of fiberglass. Why?
5) The 1963 model year marked several substantial design changes. Name two one.
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Corvette questioneering by Matthew Dale Prins:
6) Rearrange the letters the word "Corvette" to write a message that a misspelling Phillies manager might give to a pitching coach who wonders if Wendell should be put in the game.
7) Rearrange the letters the word "Chevy Corvette" to give a Libertarian reaction to a animal doctor who just cast a ballot for the Socialist candidate.
8) 3 N. F. W. (N. I. the S.) on a C. if O. T. I. F.
9-10) Write a one-paragraph essay that, without using lies, touts the energy-efficient nature of the 2003 Z06.
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Internet Christmas shopping by Santa Claus, who will not use eBay or other auction sites:
16) Find a new digital video camera (either MiniDV or Digital8) for less than $300. (Current: $347.77.) 17) Find a new, non-permanent disc golf basket (not necessarily PDGA approved) for less than $75.
18) Find an autographed picture of Charles Nelson Reilly for less than $25.
19) Find a copy of Mario Golf 64, new or used, for less than $15. (Current: $26.99.) 20) Find 12 bottles of lemon-lime All-Sport for less than $12, including shipping to Virginia. (Pending until Ed actually purchases the All-Sport.)
oh so lovingly written by
Matthew |
these are comments, 42.
Electioneering.
First, doesn't "electioneering" read as a word that I would invent to describe the process of working for the election of a candidate rather than an establishment-established version of same? That said, has this ever happened to you: Have you ever gone to the voting booth, stuck your punch-card ballot into the stylus-poking apparatus, turn to page one of the ballot, and realize that due to redistricting, the candidate that you believed was running for Congress unopposed1 in your district was no longer in your district and instead you had to choose between a seemingly obnoxious Republican and a Democrat best known for starring on "Dukes of Hazard"? Oh dear. And I even voted for Cooter, mostly because (a) Eric Cantor's anti-Cooter attack ads were annoying and odd in a race Cantor is easily going to win, and (b) in Virginia, if you're an unsure moderate, vote for the Democrat. (Corollarily, in the Northeast, if you're an unsure moderate, vote for the Republican.)
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Film page is up-to-date. Points are up-to-date. Search-engine searches are up-to-date. Huh.
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Today, 5:00p, le quiz, assuming the comments are still working.
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1 That is, major-party unopposed; I was ready to punch my chad for the Libertarian candidate to see if the combination of that vote and my vote to take out a billion in bonds for public improvements in Virginia would bewilder the voting machine.
I will not use this if I buy it, will I? It will just sit in our extra bedroom, lonely, holding conversations with the plastic carousel house and the stuffed animals (those who are old enough to talk, of course), right? I am hopelessly optimistic to believe that I will even ride it for a single half-hour, am I not?
That is what I thought.
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Some contest questions have correct answers now.
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My disc golf course is for now closed due to construction on what capital-T They claim is a "new middle school for Henrico County." They say the closure is temporary. If it is not, beware of the ghost of Steady Ed, Henrico County. Beware.
I do not wish to alarm the other 11 people who have positive points right now, but if no one else completes my quiz from Wednesday, Alexander stands to gain an unbelievable 10 points and take over Ed's lead. (Ed does have the lead, by the way; I just haven't updated the points recently.)
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
