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I don't watch TV, but...
Those who, like me, are fans of the work of Aaron Sorkin (like the too-short-lived SportsNight or the first four seasons of West Wing) will be very happy to read this news (warning: off-color language tends to inhabit that website). Another Sorkin series is a go for this fall, and Matthew Perry's signed on. Now if ABC picks up Arrested Development (currently the most brilliant show on television) I'm going to have to seriously consider letting a little television back into my life...
posted by jimmy at 11:30 -
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So what's up with Idaho?
Is there anyone who can actually confirm the existence of that place? I mean, we see it on maps, but has anyone actually been there? Are there really people there, or is it just a void with a bunch of robots sticking labels on other states' potatoes to keep up the illusion that a place called "Idaho" actually exists?
posted by jimmy at 14:23 -
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Advise me.
Piggybacking on the previous post:
I've decided that my free year next year is going to be devoted to travelling - to seeing the world. (I figure that after next year, I'll be so busy with various schooling that I won't have as much time to travel.) To get an early start on figuring things out, I'm asking you, my faithful audience, for some advice on where to go, what to do, and how best to spend what might be up to four months of travelling the world.
Here are a few of my personal traveling guidelines:
- I want experiences, not sightseeing. I've seen pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so it'll take me about five seconds of seeing the real Leaning Tower of Pisa before I get bored with it (I'd much rather spend my time in a cafe chatting it up with an Italian cutie ;). I'm interested in seeing things like great works of art or beautiful/sacred places, or experiencing significant historical locations, but I want to spend some time in them to really get them.
- I will be on something resembling a budget. Right now, the plan is to work my hiney off for 2-3 months on end and save enough up to take the 3rd/4th month off to travel; even still, I won't be living the five-star life or even eating at restaurants every day.
- "Whirlwind tours" are out. If I'm going to go somewhere, I'm going to want to devote a little time to it. That means I'll get to "see" fewer places, but the places I do get to will be more meaningful, and I'll really get the whole experience.
- I don't want to be a "tourist." I guess that piggybacks on the previous point. I want to be a visitor, but not a "tourist" - I want to see how people live, and talk to "real" people (not just those in the tourism industry). This means I kind of want to steer away from hotels, in favor of staying at the living-places of friends (or of friends of friends) or with host families. I can cook, clean, pay rent, and do odd jobs to earn my keep.
- I especially don't want to be an "ugly American." I'm already ugly, but still ;) I'd like to blend, if I can (i.e. in places full of white people, like Europe) and not be too obtrusive, loud, or obnoxious if I can't.
So, with those guidelines in mind, I ask you for advice: Where do I go? What should I do? What are the things which, if I never get to travel again in my life, I'll really regret not having experienced? What are your best travel experiences?
Please comment below.
posted by jimmy at 15:44 -
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Diversion!
Don't let this distract you from the important news down below.
The Garfield Randomizer combines three random panels from Garfield comic strips into one strip. Surprisingly enough, the new strips make sense as often as they don't... take whatever implications you'd like from that.
posted by jimmy at 12:01 -
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Disappointing news.
I got a letter in the mail today from USC... I didn't get in to the Ph.D program.
Now to figure out how to use my first year out of school since the age of four.
Any advice? Places I should travel to? People I should meet? Things I should do?
(It's likely to be my last year out of school - as a student or as a professor - for the rest of my life, so working full-time the whole year is simply not an option.)
posted by jimmy at 01:28 -
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A longer post.
Okay, so it took a few days.
So... Disney World. My brother's blog has the play-by-play. Not as bad as I'd feared, really. Being with the family was fun (even if I was wishing I was with my friends in LA on NYE) and the Disney part was tolerable, if for no other reason than that the whole family are adults now and we could make fun of everything without having to worry about shattering some kid's illusions. Cynicism is a wonderful defense mechanism against unbridled corporately-packaged optimism.
There's no denying that Disney knows how to put on a helluva show. The fireworks at Epcot, the various stage and light and laser shows, the atmosphere and production design on the rides and in the parks... all incredible. If I could ever work for a soulless behemoth evil corporation, I'd want to be a Disney "imagineer," because from the looks of the parks they were basically given a blank check budget-wise to create whatever they could dream up. Some of the stuff they did with image projection technology - a hobby of mine - inspired me considerably.
And then there's Cirque du Soleil... the one Disney-related thing I could honestly say I was looking forward to before the trip. It didn't disappoint. We had incredible seats, and Cirque was an incredible show. I've seen the DVD's, but nothing compares to being there, seeing things I didn't think people could do and knowing it's not a trick.
All in all, though, the thing that was most positive for me was being with the family. Even though we've all got our issues, and we're all very opinionated, very loud people-- we're family, and that's cool. I've got a really great family, and sometimes I don't fully comprehend that. It was nice being around them, and even nicer being around them while not freezing my hiney off.
Now I'm back in LA, back at work, ready to get things started again and move forward in life... including starting a new Master's Thesis from scratch, as the hard drive my film project was on decided to make a nice clicky-clicky sound and forget where the primary partition was, pretty effectively destroying all the work I've done up to this point. So that's fun.
I think I'm going to use my iTunes gift card to get Imogen Heap's latest album...
posted by jimmy at 20:04 -
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For those who know me...
...if I ever mention to you that I'm considering having children, just tell me two words:
Disney World.
More later on the trip... right now I'm at the Dallas airport, exhausted, but excited to get home and see my friends (and cat).
posted by jimmy at 09:50 -
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Happy New Year!
That is all.
posted by jimmy at 00:01 -
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Log
Archives:
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2.9.2003
9.23.2002-2.6.2003
6.1.2002-8.21.2002
