A different kind of Callahan...

Thanks, Mark.

Everybody dance now...

It's the early afternoon on Sunday and the weekend has already been pretty hectic. Friday I had lunch with Thomas Crone at Mangia Italia and he let me borrow David Lynch's Zen inspired book - sort of like a phrase of the day motivational, creativity spurning Daily Affirmation. Karu and I went to the Rx Bandits show at 2¢ Plain. It's been a while since I've seen the Bandits live and I was very excited for this show - if only the show had lived up to the hype. The crowd was filled with Bros, Dudes, and Hoochies - how disappointing. The room was thick with smoke and high-fives, Kara was disappointed and angry, & I found myself more infatuated with the Cards-Cubs replay than the actual show. 2¢ Plain gets two thumbs down. The reason the bands you want to see no longer come (or never came) to St. Louis is because is there is no decent place for them to play. Deal with it - St. Louis is the arm pit of the already downtrodden Midwest.

On Saturday, Dan, Rich, and I went to see "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." I didn't mind the movie, it wasn't the greatest or worst Star Wars film, but that's not saying much. Afterwards the three of us ventured over to Johnny Mac's and picked up our new roller hockey jerseys - they are sweet. I'll hopefully have a few photos to post here soon. Today will be our first game fully decked out in our sweet, new attire.

Here's a little video I came across on YouTube - I don't buy it: the girl looks like a model or fledgling actress and the announcer even states that it's the day before April 1st. Add it up!

*My sister has pointed out that the announcer stated that it was the day before Valentine's, not April Fool's. This is, of course, because it was April Fool's Day and he was playing a trick on us all.

Let's All Go to the Lobby!

On Tuesday, Kara, the Callahan's, and I went to see "Pineapple Express."  While not a great movie, nor the best of the Apatow produced films, Express was goofy and fun - a great escape film.  There were a few problems (underage girlfriend, poor use of Ed Begley, Jr., useless appearances by both Rosie Perez and Gary Cole), but the movie is such an exaggeration and departure for typical stoner movies that I let it slide.  I just realized that Gary Cole is one man way from being short and black.  Think about it.

Yesterday, Kara and I went to see "American Teen."  There has been a ton of hype building for this documentary since it screened at Sundance.  I really didn't like the it - it's manipulative, redundant, and predictable.  The film is staged and cut together in a way to make the viewer identify with the kids (the point, I know), but the savvy filmgoer will notice several sequences and errors which take away from any validity the film tries to stand on.  If you're interested in seeing high school through the eyes of an awkward student trying to fit in, check out Billy the Kid (reviewed on March 10).

After the movie, Jeff Elden came over and we quickly cobbled together a short opening to a summer ending scavenger hunt he put together.  It was fun, hot work but the end product was pretty funny (which is a biased opinion since I was in it).  I'm going to post the video to YouTube in a little while and then I'll post the video here.

Today I had Grand Jury Duty.  I got out of work around 11am, headed home to get a book, and then headed to the Carnahan Building to report for duty.  I spent most of the day sitting in a pain-inducing pew.  I was called around 3pm and spoke with the judge for 3 minutes and then took my seat back in the courtroom.  Around 4pm (even though not everyone was interviewed) 12 jurors and six alternate jurors were selected and everyone else was free to leave.  Luckily, I was among the many who were allowed to leave.  Though the pew part wasn't too exciting, the day spent in a courtroom did give me an opportunity to finally start reading "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," by Michael Chabon - a must read for any comic book geek.  The novel won Chabon a Pulitzer Prize and is one of the many reasons comic books/graphic novels are being taken a little more seriously nowadays.  I know I still dive into the four colored worlds of capes and jaw dropping feats, but a story like Chabon's lends that world some legitimacy and shows the depth of character and humanity behind all of those stories.

What Shapes A Young Brian Spath?

Way to go, Billion!

Pangs of Youth

I'm not in the mood for blogging, yet I still find myself here. Sometimes the world just does not seem right. Or maybe I am just not in sync with the universe if you buy into all that Hindu, Zen principle mumbo jumbo. Now I'm just being mean. For whatever reason I have an ingrown hair right above my upper lip, just below my nose. I don't get it. I tried digging it out yesterday to no avail and today it bled for half an hour. What's wrong with me?

Do you ever think about moments? Or catch yourself drifting to moments and that reflection makes you feel like warm honey inside? I started a blog earlier (which I just deleted) which centered on three topics: frogs, bikes, and loneliness. Maybe not so much loneliness, but you get the picture.

I think I've over extended myself and now exhaustion is catching up to me. There's so much I want to try to get in done over the course of the next month that it's starting to become overwhelming. Everything is always so serious all the time. That's not who I am. Maybe now it's not who I was, but something I have to become comfortable with.

I feel dirty and cheap. Moments or memories have a way of kicking you in the gut and knocking the wind out of you. Man, I think I am just babbling. What I am getting at is I am just really whiny right now and lashing out. For whatever reason my mind will act out and flash memories of long forgotten childhood moments and that's just weird. Farm scenes, riding bikes, parks - for whatever reason I feel deep feelings of longing for those memories and how vivid they used to be or seem.

Maybe I'm just a robot shell with Brian's brain and he's trying to cope with having been blown to bits and transformed into a humanoid. Time will tell I suppose.

October. Soon. Please.

I'm ready for hockey season.