12.31.2006 I wanted to write something substantial for this, the last day of the Yo La Tengo Late-Summer Weblog Challenge. But alas, my housemates and I are having a party tonight, and I need to come up with a lot of cocktail recipes.
I guess what this contest has shown me (if anything), it's that I enjoy having a blog--I genuinely do--but at the end of the day I think it's more important to enjoy living your life than enjoy writing about it.
5:40 PM
12.27.2006
I wish I'd written or starred in 'Better Off Dead," though the movie would have been significantly worse if I'd done either of those things.
11:20 PM
Recommend an album for me to download!
Once a year, the torrent site I use to download music (Oink) allows its users to download as many albums as they can without it affecting their share ratio. Were it not intentional and redundant, I'd say it's like Christmas.
Seriously though: recommend me an album! You guys know my taste--what should I be listening to? Below are a few more examples of what I've been enjoying lately:
Well, actually, it starts out as an argument about whether or not we're corporate whores, but then it evolves into a more highbrow argument about what exactly defines "art." And then--I kid you not--that already tangential sub-argument devolves into yet another argument concerning the definition of the word "argument." It sounds like I'm joking, but I'm not.
My favorite quote from the thread: "I can't believe this has turned into a debate about the definition of 'argument.' Oh right, yes I can."
10:01 PM
12.25.2006 I tried to kiss a sleeping cat on the lips today. It was so wrong for so many reasons, yet so incredibly right at the same time. But despite how much I wanted it, I couldn't do it. Every time I got within a foot or so of his sleeping, upside-down face, I would break into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, and then I'd have to wait for the cat to fall back asleep before trying again. My brother watched the entire process--he was not amused.
In honor of my newfound feline affection, here are a bunch of Garfield comics with Garfield's thought bubbles removed--revealing John to be an extremely lonely, eccentric individual.
12.24.2006 My little brother is in such good shape, and standing next to him I just feel fat and lazy. It makes me want to kick his ass--but I can't!
10:24 PM
Names that are italicized have skipped one day of posting (which is allowed). Contestants with a line through their name have missed two or more days of posting, meaning that they're out of the contest.
5:26 PM
12.18.2006 We're featured on the frontpage of YouTube again, this time for our "Blind Date" video. Which is...unexpected? It's cool that we're featured again, but I'm surprised they chose to showcase a sketch made up entirely of math jokes. Maybe this video will be made into a calculator commercial.
Here's a comment I think accurately represents the audience of this sketch:
And here's one that represents everyone else:
As a garbage-loving geek, I love this sketch--not only because it insults Greek people, but also because it's one of the best examples of a successful 'Rules' sketch. Watch the video below to see the rules that inspired what will undoubtedly be the weirdest TI-83 commercial of all time.
12.17.2006 I finally got around to adding links to the past year and a half of blog posts. But what does that mean for you, the loyal reader? Well that's easy! It means you can catch up on all your favorite blog posts of the past year and a half!
12.15.2006 1. I use a vanilla-flavored toothpaste, which is great because it tastes vaguely like ice cream, and horrible because I don't think it does a goddamn thing for my teeth. The first time I tried it was in my parents' bathroom, one of the many times that I visited them and forgot to bring toiletries. I remember being baffled that such a toothpaste flavor existed. I immediately classified it in my mind as one of the many luxuries my parents could afford that I couldn't. Like a cappuchino machine. Or a washing machine. Or a table.
2. There was an hour-long episode of 'The Office' last night, and I'm downloading it now. Every few minutes I check to see how long it will be until the download finishes. It's the show I watch by far the most these days (I've probably seen each episode ten times), so I'm fairly absorbed in the plot. Also, since it's an hour-long episode, I feel like something major must happen--and I'm fairly anxious about it. It's strange to have an emotional investment in the lives of characters in a comedy--but I also think it's that emotional connection (paired with the great deadpan comedy) that makes the show so great.
3. I keep my electric toothbrush in the bathroom, and I think if I had a lot of female housemates I'd be worried that one of them would use my toothbrush as a vibrator. I can't decide if that concern is sexist or not. I don't think it is, but it might be.
4. Over the summerwe met with our agent for the first time, and in the process of familiarizing us with his company, he listed off some of his clients--one of which was Ed Helms. We asked him what Ed was up to, and he said that he'd been hired to be part of the cast of 'The Office,' which was an exciting teaser-fact for us, considering we're all 'Office' fanatics. I think he must have noticed our enthusiasm, because he proceeded to dole out other 'Office' facts, including the plot of the entire season--which, at that point, hadn't even begun yet! On the one hand, as a comedy writer, it was like, "Wow! It's so cool to know the story arc ahead of time!" and on the other hand, as an 'Office' fan, it's like, "God dammit! We know the fucking story arc ahead of time!" The season is ten episodes in, and there are infuriatingly still things I know about that haven't happened yet.
1:00 AM
12.14.2006
Good luck keeping your cotton candy away from Raizin! For a fairly sensitive guy, he can get really grabby in the presence of carnival food.
11:57 PM
On the train home tonight, I pretended to listen to music while secretly eavesdropping on the conversation between a man in his late thirties and a college-age british girl. They talked about this and that and the other thing--she's a drama student, he works in a store near Union Square, she wishes she knew more about the history of New York, he thinks she should stop by his store soon and say hello. Though she resisted in the politest manner possible, he flirted with her the entire train ride. And as soon as she got off the train--one stop ahead of me--he reached into his pants pocket, pulled out a gold ring, and slid it back onto the ring finger of his left hand.
11:48 PM
12.03.2006 If you're considering hiring Adam Conover, first ask yourself whether you want a stupid jerk on your staff.
Think about that, industrious employer.
EDIT: To all the people who expressed concern about this post, Adam and I aren't fighting--this was intended to be a joke on the fact that in the future, every prospective employer you will ever have will search for your name before they consider hiring you. If I were actually mad at Adam, I wouldn't be posting about it on my blog.
6:38 PM
12.02.2006 Below is one of theseven video responses we received on "Ben Takes A Picture Every Day." The video responses we received fall into three, majorly overlapping categories: STRANGE: like the one from the guy who pledges us his full support as the unofficial representative of Hollywood BORING: like the one from the lackluster girls who use our video for a homework assignment NO REASON FOR EXISTING: like the one from the kid who pretends to watch our video for the first time on camera, and then admonishes me for cheating on my fictional girlfriend.
The video responses all extremely sweet, mind you, I'm just don't know why they exist. With that in mind, watch this very typical video response, which falls into at least two of the three aforementioned categories. (Watch for the clap at the beginning).
Now that you've watched that video response, watch this video response to that video response. It's fucking hilarious.
We watched that video as a group, and we laughed the whole time. It was awesome. Just...awesome. We gave it five stars. We've watched some of the other responses to "Ben Takes A Picture Every Day," but those were just stupid. This one was awesome.
I know you've already spent ten minutes reading this post, but if you've got another couple minutes to kill, check out the video response to the above video response, then this response to that response, then this response to that response, then this response to that response, and then finally this response to that response.
