Kevin told me that he is more than halfway finished with a guest column, so I feel the need to re-establish my presence on my own website. I can't wait to post Kevin's column, though, assuming that it isn't about the uniqueness and value of our friendship.
One correction I reluctantly must make to Alex's guest column: PorkChop created "Good Friend Night", I just excel at its implementation. For those of you who haven't yet participated, a "Good Friend Night" occurs when one person is designated as "Good Friend" for the nigth. This person must then do anything that is asked of them for the remainder of the night. Activities that include, but are not limited to, buying drinks, taking shots at the will of the group, approaching girls, approaching guys, or any other form of moderate public humiliation. For some reason PorkChop is the only one who has played yet...a few others have tried, but don't have the same followthrough.
I went to the beach last Wednesday with Michelle, MMM, and my two younger siblings (Jimmy and Meaghan). If you think this sound like an unusual grouping, you are not alone. It was almost like I was trying to instigate with myself. Highlights include catching my 12 year old brother checking out the girls, Jeff inquiring about my 15 year old sister's choice of swimwear (one piece or two?), and a pigeon taking a tater tot off of my sun roof (much cooler than it sounds). The most interesting finding of the trip came when Jimmy and I were discussing
3-22-04 - Thoughts of the Fabulous Alex Fay
3-17-04 - Hari's Re-Employed
3-12-04 - Blake's Guest Column
3-11-04 - Rule #10
3-10-04 - The Guy Code
3-8-04 - Austin Marathon Weekend
Archives
1) "Mr. Blue Sky" - Electric Light Orchestra
2) "Never Let You Down" - Kanye West
3) "Immigrant Song" - Led Zeppelin
4) "Danger! High Voltage" - Electric Six
5) "Your Ghost" - Kristin Hersh
6) "Use Me"- Bill Withers
7) "Words So Leisured" - Franz Ferdinand
8) "Strict Machine" - Goldfrapp
9) "Bluelips"- Joseph Arthur
10) "Ride" - The Vines
Donna - Michelle. Athletic, tough girls who don't mince words.
Jackie - MMM. Can you believe that when I mentioned that they were the perfect Jackie and Donna, she had the nerve to ask "Which one am I?"
Eric - Blake. Blake actively acknowledges that he is Eric Forman...the skinny, slightly neurotic All-American white boy.
Kelso - Jeff. Like you didn't see this one coming. Charismatic, narcissistic pretty boys.
Hyde - Me. We both instigate, then sit back and let others humiliate themselves.
Fez - Hari. Both are foreign kids that we let hang out with us. Am I going to get punched for that line?
Donna's parents - Derf and Petie. I'm not going to delve too deeply into this one.
I am afraid to explore the relationships between the show's characters and their real life counterparts. If I do, I'm know that I'll ultimately ahve to mention the part where, even though Hyde initially makes fun of Jackie mercilessly, they ultimately end up dating. All I can say for sure is that MMM ain't completin' nothin'!
At some point this year, Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm stopped being funny, but The Sopranos is better than it has ever been. Adding Robert Loggia and Steve Buscemi...how genius is that?
If Zachariah does not win Dream Job, it will be the worst crime in reality television history.
In more Sunday night television news, Arrested Development may be the most consistently funny show on TV.
I finally saw 21 Grams last week. Wow...I haven't yet added it to my 2003 rankings because I can't decide if I want to put it at number one or number two. The acting in that movie was top notch...any of the three leads was Oscar worthy. I think the director probably has a statue in his future as well.
Oh, and Naomi Watts is yummy, even when she is grunged out. Lucky bastard Heath Ledger.
Rob leaves for Azerbaijan in a week. I am sad.
Independently, each of seems to be writing about that sense of malaise that most of us seem to encounter in our twenties. For some of us it makes us question our friends, our careers, even our drinking habits. For me, my primary problem is the overall sense that I am not doing anything valuable with my life. I mean, for some of you, it is easy to see your own worth. Blake and Jennifer are going to be doctors...is there anything that is more noble (or lucrative) than that? Alex makes people laugh, that is certainly a good thing. Jeff helps huge corporations solve their internal problems...that doesn't sound too bad. Rob helps exploit the resources of third world countries and pollute the environment, and I can see the joy in that. If I understood what Hari did, I'm sure I'd appreciate that too. But as a law student, I am having a hard time determining my own social utility. Even if somehow manage to become a lawyer, I feel like all I will ever do is help people with their paperwork. The only time that I ever feel the least bit valuable is when I write columns. I feel that, at best, I provide a sense of community, or at worst, entertain you for five minutes from your otherwise mundane days. That realization means that I am going to do my best to write columns on a more regular basis. I can't promise quality, but I will work hard on the quantity.