The best mob movie of all time: Shark Tale!

But seriously folks, tonights big season premeire extravaganza was well worth waiting for. And in fact, I didn't have to wait very long because I had no idea that the new Simpsons season was going to be starting 2 months earlier than usual. So I had a few people over, and a good time was had by some. ;-]

The Simpsons featured Michael Imperioli and Joe Pantoliano as...well, mob guys out to get Fat Tony. It was delightful and funny and spoofed both Sopranos and Godfather. So you know, Squeeeee! People sometimes talk nonsense about The Simpsons not being funny or not being as funny as it used to be. Those people should probably add a sense of humor to their Amazon wish list. The holiday season is fast approaching.

American Dad was also serving up the parody love with a hilarious send-up of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe featuring Roger and Francine as the fake-baby-making-up couple. And that's only the secondary plot! Good stuff.
Family Guy was awesome as always, and still more parody ensued. This time, Peter accuses his doc of a The Accused style assault when in fact, he was giving him a prostate exam. Again, hilarious. Come to think of it though, I don't recall seeing Chris or Meg in the whole episode. I'm hoping this season will uncover the mystery of what ever became of Cleaveland Jr. Did he go the way of "Chuck" on Happy Days (or Donna's little sister on That 70's Show--for you youngsters)?
Who knows? Not me.

And Venture Bros was pretty funny too. No surprises there.


I posted a new short story over at wednes_writes which is much closer to the horror stuff I love so well. I kept telling myself to take a break from horror, but it's not really working out. Mostly it's giving me nightmares and putting me off my game.
In that vein, I'm hoping that by Monday I'll be able to turn on Animal Planet without feeling so goddamn sad. Steve Irwin's funeral was Saturday. His family turned down the offer of a State funeral, saying that he would have hated all that fuss. He is to be interred at Australia Zoo. Now I hope I can just watch my animal shows again without sad "commemorative" spots 4-6 times an hour.


Just to get it out of the way, I'll say a little something about the 5 year anniversary of 9/11:
I'll say that even though we've been supposedly beating the terrorists (whatever the hell THAT means) since this thing happened (and of course there are still scads and oodles of questions about how it happened and why that aren't being asked, let alone answered) confidence in our government has gotten steadily worse. Rights have been curtailed and citizens villianized unlike anything we've seen in this country since McCarthyism was rampant. People hate the US like never before, election results are being faked, and domestic issues are being badly bungled again and again and again. Gas prices are ridiculous, minumum wage is laughable, jobs are nowhere to be found, and more than half of our citizens can't even afford to see a doctor let alone pay for medication. Comedians are addressing government issues better and more honestly than journalists, and no one is doing anything to stop our own government from bold-face lying to us. Every effort is being made to legislate Christian morals and curtail rights of many minorities. And I still don't have a damn job.
And you know what? None of that is the fault of terrorists.

And when I woke up, it was 1961.

Children suspended from school for wearing shirts with first amendment printed on them.

Since I don't have any kids, I had no idea of the bullshit contemporary kids are dealing with at school. Parents are being advised to read their kids Emails, text messages, and online journals. Why don't they just bust the locks off their diaries and open all their goddamn mail? Would it be too much to ask for these people to simply TALK to their children? Apparently it would. Someone should tell them that spying and violating privacy is not the way to form trust or bond with a kid. In 20 years, they will still remember that you had no respect for them and their things/space.

But I digress. It seems that PUBLIC school districts are banning T-shirts with logos, wearing hats or headbands, size limits on brand names on clothing (despite many school selling ads to be hung in hallways) all kinds of crazy shit. Some schools are banning jeans and T-shirts altogether. Am I missing something? What the hell kinds of students don't wear jeans to school? I realize that there are some very expensive jeans out there; but overall, denim jeans are cheap, durable, comfortable pants. They are also made of natural fibers, which are good for us. Is making kids uncomfortable supposed to make them learn better? Such idiocy!!
I can remember my mom's husband telling me that he wasn't allowed to wear jeans to school. He said they told him the rivets would scratch up the desks. I laughed and laughed, glad I didn't live in such a "Leave it to Beaver" time. I spoke too soon, apparently. Why are the school dress code rules suddenly the same as they were when my parents went to school?!?

I'm pretty sure our dress code rules in school (public school, my years in Catholic school are a horrible, bullied blur) consisted of the following:

No shorts or sweatpants.
No open toed shoes.
No crop or halter tops.
and I'm pretty sure we were required to wear socks.
I honestly can't think of anything else, except once in high school a gay guy got sent home for wearing a long T-shirt that school officials called "a dress."
Did I leave anything out?

Seriously, why are schools implementing these absurd rules? Do they realize that not all kids get a whole new wardrobe every school year? We certainly didn't get one, although I seem to think I was in the minority in my town. Couldn't schools maybe concentrate on education and not what a kid has printed on his T-shirt (or F shirt if both of his arms are on the same side)? Couldn't they work toward keeping kids in school rather than sending them home for arbitrary reasons that are probably about appeasing easily offended parents.

I could understand if they didn't allow profanity or pro-drug shirts. But what they've said in Lincoln Park is that the only logos or writing kids can wear on a shirt is "pro school spirit," sports teams and shit apparently. So it's okay to wear garish clothing if it's a school fundraiser, but not if you simply want to express yourself. Clothing is one of the primary ways that kids rebel, and it's really, really important to let them do it so they won't seek out other, more extreme forms of rebellion. I can tell you that when everyone is forced into a uniform, hairstyles can get damn ridiculous. I guess the 80's had something to do with that...but still.

Anyway, the ACLU is looking into it. They seem to think it's unconstitutional. I can't tell if it's that or if it's just gross and absurd. Myself, I'm going to blame The Conservatives for this crap--just because I don't like them. ;-]

What's new?

It took over 90 minutes all told, to get my prescription filled.
That's pretty stupid.

The White Castle by me is closed and all torn apart.
If I'd known they were doing that, I'd have gone there one last time. *sniffle*

Ken Jennings will be on Colbert Thrusday.
Awesome.

Pluto's new name is 134340
Please update your address books accordingly.
Why isn't a "dwarf planet" still a planet?

My phone has had zero bars on it since 6pm.
Not sure why, I'm at home.

Cheif Tyrol fans now have a place to congregate on LJ.
aarondouglas Wooooo.

I have a Venus Flytrap now.
Sweet.

World abruptly comes to end as two grown men fight for the right to be called "Diddy".
LO fucking L

I'm having a Halloween party on October 21st. (the week before)
Everyone not doing Haunted Trail should come to it.

JoJo's favorite foods include toast, avocadoes, jello, and cheese.
WTF?

Today my finger was so swollen I couldn't even wear my class ring.
WTF, again?

And a very happy 26th birthday to porn star Candi Cotton.
Know in your heart, Candi, that I've made more money doing phonesex than you.

LOST fans, anyone?

So, uterdic says to me Hey, you have to see this! He takes me over to the old building located in the new building section of campus. And what do I spy but this:

I'm looking for the DeGroots... This is me standing in front of a soon-to-be removed door on University of Michigan campus.

If it looks washed out, it was taken with a camera phone.

Here's a better shot:



The border doesn't match any of the known stations we know about on the island. But it's an uncanny resemblence nonetheless. Neat, huh?