10.31.2007 I'll post every day for a month if someone gives me a Waffles invite within a week. Deal?
6:36 PM
7.15.2007 Four Square! Today at 3pm!
That's right, boys and girls, it's gorgeous outside, and that means it's four square season. I'll bring the chalk, you bring anyone you like, as well as your game face.
We're playing at 3pm at the north end of Prospect Park, near the arch at Grand Army Plaza.
DIRECTIONS! Take the 2 or 3 to Grand Army Plaza. Across the street from the arch is the northern-most entrance of the park. Enter the park there, walk straight ahead, and when the road forks, go straight down the grass hill. If you look to the right, you should be able to see our sweet new court.
Olde English has a monthly show at the UCB Theatre in New York where we invite guests to share new material and we present new material of our own. (The show is called Very Fresh and tickets for the next one are on sale now.)
Last week, we premiered a video in which I do an impression of popular director Michel Gondry. I’ve never impersonated a celebrity for one of our videos before (none of us have), and I was particularly nervous about imitating a man whose work I respected so much. While watching his music videos and behind-the-scenes documentaries for inspiration, I kept thinking, wow, this video would be much better if he directed it himself.
The impression is pretty scattershot, but I think the jokes hold up--and besides, I reasoned, it’s not like anyone who actually knows Michel Gondry will see this video.
4.16.2007 I bought a new phone today, and because I forgot to download Tetris onto it before I got on the subway, I had to keep myself busy by reading the manual. At the 6th Avenue stop a woman boarded, sat down next to me, and took out a book of her own. A minute later looked over at me, saw what I was reading, and asked me rather smugly if I was enjoying my book. "It's actually quite good," I responded with a smug tone of my own, "It was written by Kurt Vonnegut." She smiled politely, as if she hadn't heard what I'd said, and turned back to her own book.
Three seconds later she turned back to me quickly, scowled, and said, "Wait, no it wasn't!"
11:37 PM
4.06.2007 I was just listening toan acoustic Joanna Newsom track, and I caught myself thinking, "You know who would love this song? The baby I should have." I get really annoyed when I catch myself having thoughts like that, because it's obvious to me that they're not my thoughts at all, but actually just subliminal commercials for parenting that have been firmly ingrained in my genes. They don't even sound like me! It's annoying not being able to separate myself from my biological inclinations, regardless of how out of character they are.
2:31 AM
3.28.2007 Here's a fun game! First, watch the last ten seconds of our sketch "Writers of Lost."
Then, click below to watch a (really, really ridiculous) scene from last week's episode of Lost.
I don't even know what to say, other than that I love the fact that at some point the writers of Olde English and the actual writers of Lost had an identical writing meeting, in which it was decided that the easiest way to end the episode would be a totally unexplained mystery box.
11:50 AM
3.10.2007 I'm going to be in Africa for the next 12 days!
1:28 PM
2.25.2007 Last year, around this time, I was walking down the sidewalk in Chinatown when I crashed right into actor Ryan Reynolds. I immediately recognized him--and much to my embarrassment, made that recognition known.
"I know you!" I said, waiting for him to recognize me. "Simsbury High School!" He looked at me a little confusedly, then shook his head slowly. "Huh," I responded, peering at him with a tilted brow. "Bard College?" Once again he shook his head, this time with a suppressed smile. I think at this point the decent thing for him to do would have been to humbly acknowledge his screen career, but instead he just kept shaking his head.
Two days later I saw his face on a movie poster, and felt a level of embarrassment I hadn't experienced in quite some time. In my own defense, though, Ryan Reynolds does look more like the assholes I went to high school with than he does a famous movie star.
8:02 PM
2.23.2007 I finally managed to download"Harry and the Hendersons," a victory I was particularly proud of considering how long it took me to find a copy online. Unfortunately, it only took about ten minutes of watching the movie before I completely forgot why I was excited to download it in the first place.
4:39 PM
Wait, did I say "later today"? I meant later next month.
So, of the 42 initial contestants in the Yo La Tengo Late-Summer Weblog Challenge, I'm proud to say that an astounding 13 contestants made it to the end of the contest! Congratulations to everyone who made it! And a shame-inspiring scowl to those of you who didn't!
Additionally, all of the winners (listed below) are entitled to an equal share of the jackpot grand prize--worth over $17.68! Holy fuck!
If you're one of the grand prize winners, send me your mailing address at benpopik@gmail.com, and I'll mail out your prize money in a completely timely fashion! I swear! Hell, get your address to me right now, and I'll even mail your check out later today! I promise!
11:21 AM
2.03.2007 Tomorrow is the day of the Four Square World Championships. This is the only world championship I have a shot at winning. If I don't win this thing tomorrow, it's fair to say I'll never win a world championship. Moreover, I've dreamed about winning this tournament ever since the day I learned of its existence (three or four months ago). And as much as I'd like to detail my excitement about the event--an event that takes place in Maine, no less--I have to wake up really early tomorrow morning and rent a car.
3:30 AM
1.14.2007 Click the graphic below to watch something incredible. Remind me to learn how to do this. (Courtesy of Adam)
Also, the results and prize information for the YLTLSWC will be posted later today. Congrats to everyone who made it!
10:23 AM
1.11.2007 My fucking website is back! I can't believe I forgot to repurchase my domain name. Oh well, at least I managed to buy it back before it became an online gambling site (like my old domain).
11:43 PM
1.07.2007 Today, on the subway, a young child sitting across from me pointed me out to his mother and sister as "the guy from the commercial." It was pretty weird. Weirder, though, was the way I reacted--I just shrugged, shook my head, and pretended the child was crazy.
7:58 PM
1.05.2007 It sounds like the people on the second floor of our building are having some kind of loud, horrible rave. I wish I'd known about it ahead of time so I could've overdosed on ecstasy and shoved a glowstick through my tongue.
10:58 PM
The origin of my favorite nonsensical phrase:
The phrase "the bee's knees", meaning "the height of excellence", became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, along with "the cat's whiskers" (possibly from the use of these in radio crystal sets), "the cat's pajamas" (pyjamas were still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made less sense and didn't endure, including "the snake's hip," "the eel's ankle," and "the elephant's instep."
Amazingly, the first printed reference to the phrase is in an 1922 Ohio newspaper, under the heading "What Does It Mean?"
5:13 PM
1.03.2007 HA! Check out the Metafilter response to the sweet-ass "Photo Every Day" video response series! Per usual, the Metafilter audience hates it even though it's great. Even still, I'm glad the thread is getting the attention it deserves.
1.02.2007 I weighed myself today, and it turns out I weigh the same as I did my senior year of high school (165lbs). On the one hand, this is great news, because I've been assuming that I've gained a lot of weight. On the other hand, it isn't great news, because I've been assuming I've gained a lot of weight because my gut is significantly more bulbous than it used to be.
Regardless, I celebrated this new knowledge by eating an entire box of Oreos in one sitting.
9:09 PM
