tonight’s monday movie was a pirate viewing of snakes on a plane, but due to the inclement weather we had to watch inside. me and jim actually went to see this opening day so i was seeing it for the second time. a lot of people echoed the sentiment that what’s amazing isn’t the special effects, acting, or cult quality, it’s that the movie really delivers- consistantly setting up scenarios and executing them. really great. sorry, i can’t remember if i said this already.

past few days have been entertaining a series of visitors- number one was in town, as was kara, mbp, and timbro. good kickin’. i helped tim lock the keys in his car with the car running, it’s all good.

last night me, GT, ML, and MBP drove to noho to see the paperrad homecoming show, at the terminus of their month-long tour. extreme animals, and dr doo, plus the GWM’s new bar band the steamrollers, and a mother-daughter band that was sweet if a little awkward (i kept picturing a thought bubble above the 12 year old daughter’s head: “here’s another song about dad…”). steamrollers were in perfect townie character (1: “hey, thanks to the other bands, they were really different” 2: “yeah, that’s why i wore black- to be different too”) so much so that GT wasn’t sure if it was a joke. my explanation is that it was more like an alternate universe band than a joke- band members seemed to be drawing from people they grew up with, and ways they could’ve gone. anyway it was really perfect and totally great. and for what it’s worth we have their cd at the store. new paperrad movies were pretty good, executing the style you know. oh, gotta go- it’s raining out, i got shit to do.

oops, wrote this two days ago and it sat in the browser while i was carousing-

long story short, i didn’t win the karaoke finals. no one of us (me, holmes, trish, amanda) won. there were two rounds, whereby two people were picked from the first to compete head to head in the second, and these people were good singers, but ultimately, also, the boringest singers. who didn’t get picked: holmes prepared his own disc, a mashup based around sean paul’s “like glue” that incorporated “red red wine”, “she drives me crazy”, “two princes” (?), and like 4 other songs. trish sang “the greatest love”, which gets an a+ for selection. i sang “monster mash” again, because i can consistantly get that and i know (or rather, i assume) that my opinions on inspiration vs accuracy differ from that of the judges. the first level winners sang “zombie”, and “she’s like the wind”, and then ray won with “purple rain”. and for what it’s worth, i like ray, and he can really sing. it was a tough call to make and i harbor no hard feelings. nonetheless, some do, and it’s worth noting.

basically the theories are that someone at the bar doesn’t like the cut of my jib (but it isn’t the bartender or the dj, who love me), OR that we’re being chastised as a group of heterosexuals that dominate the gay bar (and this is an enormous discussion in and of itself), OR my personal favorite, that, as stated before, whoever this third judge is has vastly different opinions on what is and is not good. anyway it doesn’t matter. people talk about “summer of worcester” like it’s portland or some other feel-good town, without acknowledging the worcester screw, and the importance of character building. tonight we learned again (or didn’t) that you will never be recognized for your efforts, but they are still worth doing for the reason you started doing them- you like it. it would be nice (lord don’t i know it) to get an occasional back rub, free beer, or even head nod, but ultimately, i’m singing because i enjoy it, and having money to not win in so doing can only emphasize this. like tupac said- “dedicated to the punks”. accuse me of being overly rational, safe, whatever. as i see it, losers who persevere win more.

hey womag technorati trollz- this post is not reprintable bra!

monday night movies in billy blue’s big backyard is on its second week. tonight we watched “the faculty”, the highschool bodysnatchers movie where the nerd, jock, goth, drug dealer, popularity queen, and new girl team up to force people (at gunpoint) to take crystal meth, which is the only way to kill the aliens. SPOILER: in the end the outcasts and the incrowd pair off in humourous couplings- even the drug dealer winds up dating the english lit teacher. in conclusion, no complaints about the movie, and watching it.

marge mad has moved back and our house is full of (more) life. soon amanda will move back to chicago and it’ll be like a sun setting i’m so sure. amanda, you’re still here, but come back.

played a show last night with some bloomington kids who were nice and fit the bloomington poptart stereotype. multiple songs referenced being 22. also, talking about not wanting to be 27 and back in your hometown (nb: i’m 27 and live in my hometown). i played the same songs i always play but it was ok because i was just playing for amanda who hadn’t ever heard them and was leaving soon. tonight jwallz came back to town and we sat around my apartment playing weird bootleg 8bit DDR, and listening to the snowghost cd (impending release on fujichia tape syndicate ltd.!). aaron s was in town on account of biking out from his new home in northampton ma- he’s a grad student in the translation department, a field that has always fascinated me. we walked around the latino fest, got coconut icees, listened to people talk in spanish dj voice while a dj accented their delivery with way-bassy bomb sounds, and generally ogled. the food was an especial delight even though we both of us just ate. -as anyone could attest i’m neither a gourmet, gourmand, or glutton, but i’ve always liked decadent displays and to this end i do enjoy looking at a good spread, like the zz top “tres amigos” gatefold. needless to say, the latino fest offered marvelous vistas of large quantities of battered, fried, roasted, spicy (colorful), indelicately seasoned items, prepared by beautiful sweating citizens and consumed with serious gusto.

a buncha shows, a mess of stuff, hey, summer. me and jim had our first show out with our new band- me on Guitar, jim on Drums, super fun big rock messy. the show was with my new favorite band bone zone, and my recent favorite band, the terribles, at an apartment in allston. not a lot of people were there, but it was a small room so it worked out. jim’s trying to get a job, i’m trying to play music with him as much as i can before he does (and then during that time). i’m booking a show that we can play in september, and we would love to play western mass, providence, boston (again). recording soon. webpage soon. name soon.

bsist got some pictures that upon seeing reinforce my predeliction towards “no flash” rules. who needs a moment frozen in time? not me.

so this isn’t any kind of news but it is stupid hot here. eating cold rice and getting a dumb haircut hot. sticking to the chair, putting ice in your pockets, fuckin’ hot dude.

last night there was a surprise party for BDK and it worked out even though i think that surprise parties are best not on your actual birthday, because otherwise you spend all day thinking everyone forgot. but it was good, there was ice cream (amanda made sure there was tofutti so me and jim and cindy could get down), and then everyone went off to play a game in the cemetary. i don’t like hide and go seek and i generally don’t play any game in which i am hunted, so i didn’t go, but that’s fine, and enyway the night wasn’t about me, it was about everyone’s new favorite person BDK.

i tried to stay up super late last night so i could sleep through the hottest part of the day, but what i should’ve done was stay up late, get up early, then nap from 11 to 2. oh well. one thing i’ve learned about days is that they keep coming.