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weblog :: the.rumpus :: archives Tuesday, April 30, 2002 Ah... the birthday weekend. Thanks to Miss X, it was a fine one indeed. Friday Went to Kell's in Post Alley for some good ol' Irish-style drinkin'. The crew came out to support me in this, particularly Miss X, Jon, Alice, Jen, Matt, Chris, Kirstin, Christine, and Karen. A good time was had, especially by me. We drank until the wee hours, then repaired to Ho Ho Seafood in the International District for a feast of tiger prawns, curry, and spicy beef around 2:00 AM. Saturday April 27th, the day I was born, lo those many years ago (29 and counting). Miss X and I got up at the ungodly crack of dawn (9:00!) to go to Aikido class. This lifted our spirits and banished most of the hangover. Then we broke our fast at a new favorite: My Friend's Cafe, on the Greenlake shore. Mmmmm... pesto omelette. The afternoon was spent curled with Miss X on the sofa, watching the Detroit Red Wings (go wings) pummel the Vancouver Canucks and thereby make it into round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Lunch was provided by a most excellent taqueria (Pancho Villa) that just opened around the corner from my house. Horchata and hand-made tortillas, people. Muy bien. Then, a quick shower and change and we were off to the Paramount Theatre to enjoy and Evening With David Sedaris. He was great, of course. Just listen to this to hear what I mean. Matt and Jen were at the show, too, so we tromped down to Chez Shea for a drink with them and some of their friends. But we had to dash out early to make dinner reservations at Lush Life. Dinner was amazing. I had a very rare cut of venison with grilled polenta in a sauce that I simply cannot describe. Later, Miss X and I came home and crashed in the bed, pleasantly buzzed on new love, a good show, and wonderful meals. We listened to This American Life on the internet until we drifted off to sleep. It's hard to imagine a better birthday than that. Sunday Ah, but the weekend wasn't over yet. Miss X has season-tickets to the Seattle Mariners and her regular baseball-buddy, Drew, wasn't using his ticket. So, I got to tag along to the game. Baseball is certainly not my favorite sport, but going to a ballgame is a good time, no matter who you are. We had big, fat hot dogs and salty peanuts and the game was exciting to boot. It was great. On the walk back from the stadium we hit Elliot Bay books and bought stuff. I got John Crowley's notoriously difficult Little, Big and Andrea picked up Don DeLillo's new book, The Body Artist. On the way home, we were drawn back to Pancho Villa's like... um, taco-craving moths to a hand-made tortilla flame. Yeah, like that. Anyway, we ate more tacos and they were good. Finally, we watched the Simpsons (three episodes... thank you TiVo) read our books, and hit the hay. That, my friends, is a great weekend. Thank you, Andrea, for helping my last year in the twenties get off to such a great start. :: 2:55 AM :: :: link to this post :: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 Well, I'm finally making some progress with the SIFF job. They got me a partial film list last night, and the film-images I need for the layout are starting to come in. Tomorrow is the deadline for the advertisements to be turned in, so hopefully I'll get those, too.Chris and I are watching the hockey playoffs (go Red Wings!) and I'm spending as much time with Miss X as possible. I'm having a birthday event with friends this Friday, and then Miss X and I are going to see David Sedaris (the humorist from NPR) on Saturday. Oh, and Miss X has started going to Aikido with me, which is a blast. Film Club is this Thursday. The films for this month were German silent movies: Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Caligari. Both of the films are wonderful classics, though I saw the Nosferatu version with the bizarro goth/metal/whatever soundtrack and that was extremely odd. Aikido is also on Thursday night, though, so I might skip film club. We'll see. My friends Jen and Mark are in L.A. right now working on Ang Lee's new movie: The Hulk. Mark called and left me a message, saying that he had some good "hulk stories" but I haven't gotten back to him on that yet. In other superhero news, Spiderman starts real soon, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm not saying it will be good, mind you (superhero movies never, ever are) but I'm saying it might be good, which is really going out on a limb. :: 3:40 PM :: :: link to this post :: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 Today I give you Sarah Hepola:Aaron: He is the perfect man. He is cuter than Jude Law. He is a rock star/dramatist/auteur who likes children. He gives criticism that never feels critical. He wrote a book so good that ‘The New York Times’ called it the best book ever written in the English language and said that probably the English language should be scrapped altogether so that other writers could have a try. I mean, this man shits sunshine. Except-- Sarah: Except ... Aaron: Except that whenever he tastes food -- no matter what kind of food it is -- he shouts, “Mmm, mmm! That’s a spicy meatball!” Will you take him? Sarah: I’ll take him. http://www.sarahhepola.com/ :: 3:03 PM :: :: link to this post :: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 Playing: Jedi Knight II and Freedom ForceOatmeal. You heard me. Oatmeal. Apparently, it has become necessary for me to cover myself in oatmeal in order to be healthy, bright, and well-groomed. Everything for the body has oatmeal in it. My shaving cream has oatmeal in it. Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal. There are oatmeal body scrubs, oatmeal facial cleansers... I have seen bars of soap with oatmeal mashed into them. When did this happen? How did this happen? Was Wilford Brimley soaking in the tub, surrounded (as I imagine he always is) by carton upon carton of Quaker Instant Oats when he suddenly just said "Fuck it," and started pouring the stuff all over? Maybe the health and beauty people are just totally out of ideas. "We tried coconut milk, we tried kiwi, we tried apricot seeds... what's left? What product that formerly went in our mouths can now be rubbed on our bodies?" "I know! Oatmeal!" "Johnson, you get a raise." Personally, I'm ready for the next level. The food-as-beauty-product people still have a long way to go. Barbeque Spare-Ribs Exfoliating Scrub. Country-style Gravy Bath Infusion. Philly Cheese Steak Age-Defying Concealer Treatment. Sure, it sounds crazy now, but grab someone from 1943 and tell them to rub oatmeal on themselves and see what kind of reaction you get. Hmmm. What was my point again? Oh yeah: Wilford Brimley is a friggin' genius. :: 9:25 PM :: :: link to this post :: Reading: Steve Martin, Shopgirl Listening to: Chemical Brothers, Come With Us I give you the Edward Gorey tarot. I am: The Yellow Bird. Also, the Evil Plan Generator is pretty nifty. Coming soon... a little something about oatmeal. :: 1:46 AM :: :: link to this post ::
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