The fifth entry on the NP1 Films page is "The Back Nine," an account of my very first golf outing.  I had this one up on the old, super secret movies page that I had somewhere else at one point, but now that I've got full control, I've got it right up here!  So click on Greg and check it out.

Not much else worth reporting tonight, so enjoy the movie.  Gotta go pick Fran up.  GO PATS!

"I'm gonna tell you right now who wins the World Series this year.  The Mariners.  You know why?  Two words: Bo Jackson.  I'm serious.  Bo knows time travel, and he's coming back with a Future Bat.  Now, I'm not going to tell you what this bat looks like, but you'll know it when you see it.  Okay, I will.  It's like any regular bat only it's covered in tin foil."

Tears welled up in my eyes.

WHAT THE
HELL JUST
HAPPENED?

Speaking of video, I really want to do something fun for NP1 Films soon with a lot of people in it.  I don't know what, but if anyone's got ideas, let me know.  

So this ALCS is dragging on, in the number of games and the amount of time it takes to play them.  Here are things I don't like about this season's playoffs:

- The games start WAY too late.  8:30 pm is not a time to start a baseball game.  Kids wanna watch these games too!  It's not like Steve Caputo and insomniacs are the only baseball fans in the world, you know!
- Every game seems to go into extra innings, making it even worse.
- Fox needs to get rid of Tim McCarver... he's losing it.
- They instant replay EVERY SINGLE PITCH three times in a row.

There's other stuff, but I think that these are all things that everyone can agree on with me.  So I guess I'll be back at 8:30 for the game tonight...  Go Yankees!

Everyone's going out to dinner again tomorrow night, and I had originally declined going because Fran and I are going to New York City on Sunday.  I have to get to a bus in Oxford at 6 am, so I figured that dinner after work wouldn't go too well.  But then I realized that I can just sleep on the bus... I mean, it's only Connecticut, what's there to see?  And we won't be taking Route 8, which is the most scenic part of CT I've ever seen...  and then I remembered that there's still going to be a baseball game tomorrow night anyway!  I'm not going ANYWHERE!  

So being in NYC is sure to mean lots of pictures and video, so keep an eye out on that next week.

And speaking of Dean, he's got another great video update up, so check it out.

I just saw and ad on TV for some car, and it made my head spin.  I had just popped Franz Ferdinand into the CD tray, and at almost the same exact time as my headphones, the ad played the opening bass line to "Jacqueline."  I thought it was pretty cool.  Speaking of FF, these guys are indeed Glasgow's finest... the rock is fast, loud, and simple, but the songs still sound different from one another.  As I said before, "Take Me Out" is one of the best songs I've heard in a while, even though there's been a bunch of good ones this year, i.e.:
"Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"The Golden Path" by Chemical Brothers and Flaming Lips
"Leaving New York" by R.E.M.
"Float On," "The Ocean Breathes Salty," and "The View" by Modest Mouse
... But that's just me.  I don't know many people that share that much of my musical interest, so I just keep it to myself.

And they're still talking about this stupid Curt Schilling "injury" on the news.  For like fifteen minutes, I think.  Every time one of these songs ends I keep hearing the words "Schilling" "ankle" and "injury" on the TV.  

Ok, time to upload this computer page to the Internet.

Greg's home for the weekend, and we have made the best of it so far.  There was an Uno Night on Saturday, so we went and drank beer in front of the kids.  He introduced me to Bass, which is some good stuff.  Then last night, we went to see Shaun of the Dead, which was hilarious.  It was a perfect blend of British comedy and zombie horror, and pretty much the comedy answer to last year's incredible 28 Days Later.  The first hour of Shaun is a bizarre romantic comedy with hints of zombie-ism, but the final half hour is indeed a horror flick... with plenty of laughs in it.  Quite the original picture, and the fellows involved should be lauded greatly.  Lots of nods to past classics (i.e., "Ash is feeling a bit under the weather..." to Evil Dead and "We're coming to get you Barbara," from Night of the Living Dead as Darryl pointed out to me) keep you on your toes, too.  

I dig the shape on these frames, because they're sort of rhomboid.  However, they're a bit too narrow for my field of vision.  And I look psychotic in this picture.

These frames were real cool looking, but I think they're too long.  We need some sort of medium.  I like the width, though.

These half-frames were much more what I was looking for, I think.  They make me look kind of inquisitive, too.

Are these the same frames from the first picture?  Geez, I'm losing it.  Well, there were plenty to choose from, so I'll have a better shot at it on Saturday.

In other news, I am now on the Channel 11 committee.  Seems like we're going to have some serious fun down there soon.  Maybe, who knows.  But I'm enjoying myself and it's good to know that they like having me.  Also, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand is my new favorite song.

So I picked up R.E.M.'s latest album, Around the Sun,  yesterday.  I will have to hold off on my final verdict for it, though.  I've listened through twice and picked out the songs I like more than others (Leaving New York, Electron Blue, The Outsiders, Wanderlust, The Worst Joke Ever, The Ascent of Man, and the title track all qualify).  Thing is, my first impressions weren't all too great.  I expected it to be uptempo and well-layered, but so far it seems much more laid-back and kind of reliant on electronics than anything else.  Michael Stipe's lyrics are back to a level of complexity that was lacking on Reveal, but they are more sensitive than ever.  Seems Stipey has gone through a breakup or something.

My fears over this album were the advanced word that it was going to the most political album R.E.M. had done in a while, and pretty much everyone knows that my politics and theirs are quite different.  But it's just as political as, say, Automatic for the People was.  That being, Automatic was full of great songs anyone could enjoy about death, Hollywood icons, and skinny dipping, and in the middle there was raging Democratic rant on Reaganomics.  It didn't fit, and seeing as how it was released in 1992, not all too poignant.  But "Final Straw" is an obvious protest song against anything to do with President Bush and Iraq, but instead of getting hot headed and swearing about it like on "Ignoreland," he instead says he'll just use love and forgiveness as his weapons.  I'm not gonna argue with that one bit, but I'll still probably hit the 'skip' button.  So in that vein, I'm not too upset at all.

The best song on the album, though, is certainly "Leaving New York."  The most "R.E.M.-esque" song in the collection, it plays out as a sort of tribute to NYC.  You can call it a 9/11 tribute, and I think it is, too, but not entirely.  It's also about missing someone you love, and missing New York.  As the refrain says, "Leaving New York's never easy," and I agree completely.  

So I guess I'll have to listen to this one a little more, or maybe save it for a rainy day when I'm feeling down.  In some ways, Around the Sun is similar to 1998's masterpeice, Up.  Up kept me company throughout the last couple years of high school and holds a very special place in my collection.  Perhaps Around the Sun will grow on me.

Sorry to all of you who expected something more entertaining.  But I've got a special message for Sarah:  DON'T GO IN AGAINST A SICILIAN WHEN DEATH IS ON THE LINE.

Man, I don't even know what to talk about right now.  It's not like a ton of stuff has happened to me lately, but I fell as if there's information I need to relay about myself.  I guess not, though.  All I've done the last week is work a great deal.  And the rest of the week looks similar.  Hmmmmm.  In a couple of days, though, I'll be helping video another selectmen meeting for Channel 11, so I'm excited about that, and I'm getting my eyes checked on Thursday.  This only means one thing... NEW GLASSES.  Party down!

Okay, news of the Internet!  To start with, I'm very happy to announce that the SOCKBABY saga is finally complete!  Go and check out the thrilling climax of one of the best online movies ever made.  Do it!  All shall flock!  

Speaking of movies, NP1 Films is pretty close to having its own little page on here.  I've got three videos on this server (I just bought some more space for the site), and a few people have tested them for me, mostly to good reviews for service and content.  So I'll keep everyone posted.