Requiem for the platypus man

R.I.P. Richard Jeni, 1957-2007.



God is love. Love is blind. Ray Charles is God.

I wonder if they use tiny brass knuckles

Travel advisory: if you are planning on visiting Malaysia, be on the lookout for midget gangs.

Go green.

Have a fun St. Patrick's Day...just celebrate responsibly.

Beware the hot new accessory: babies

As I do with most problems plaguing young women today, I blame Britney. At least all of the discarded teacup chihuahuas will have company in a couple of years.

YOU DON'T KNOW ME! Check the backstage video around 3:30 in. I half expected her to say, "Oh yeah? I roam with 12 gangs! And we only commit hate crimes! Whatever! I'll do what I want!"

Beware my new favorite music video

I like. (Their album's great, btw.)

Beware the Micah World Top 25

Here they are, the top 25 songs burning up my iPod (as of 3.15.06):

1. "You Know I'm No Good" - Amy Winehouse
2. "A View To A Kill" - Duran Duran
3. "Monster" - Meg & Dia
4. "P Control" - Prince
5. "White Lines (Don't Do It)" - Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel
6. "Love Is A Losing Game" - Amy Winehouse
7. "Addicted" - Amy Winehouse
8. "Fuck Me Pumps" - Amy Winehouse
9. "(There Is No) Greater Love" - Amy Winehouse
10. "These Animal Menswe@r" - Art Brut
11. "I Am The Cosmos" - Chris Bell
12. "Ladies And Gentlemen...'The Let's-Go-Out-Tonites!'" - Butch Walker
13. "You're Gonna Make Me Lonsesome When You Go" - Elvis Costello
14. "Hey Julie" - Fountains Of Wayne
15. "You Are What You Love" - Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins
16. "Defying Gravity" - Jimmy Buffett
17. "Destroy Everything You Touch" - Ladytron
18. "LDN" - Lily Allen
19. "The Night You Can't Remember" - The Magnetic Fields
20. "I'd Be Lonesome" - Old 97's
21. "Young Folks" - Peter Bjorn & John
22. "Too Much Pride" - The Push Stars
23. "Down In Her Arms" - Robbie Fulks
24. "Don't Dream It's Over" - Sixpence None The Richer
25. "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" - The Smiths.

Lots of changes since the last chart, since I had to reset the playcounts on my iPod. And, yep, I'm lovin' the Amy Winehouse disc.

Buy this album

My fifth favorite album of 2006 - Back To Black by Amy Winehouse - finally got a US release yesterday. As I said back in January, it's the retro R&B album Christina Aguilera wishes she made. While the domestic version includes a bonus track (the version of "You Know I'm No Good" with Ghostface Killah), it drops the stellar "Addicted" from the tracklist.

It' really cheap ($8!) at the major retailers this week. I'd advise picking it up and then downloading "Addicted", legally or otherwise.

Mo-ji-toooooo

Hey, folks. I'm back from my seasonal breather from the ol' blog. Miss me?

Florida was a lot of fun. I could go on at length about Hemingway's house*, excellent Cuban food, or how everyone down there is seemingly attached to cell phones at all times. But I won't, since there's only one thing that begs notice: the elusive Caveman Valkyrie has finally been photographed.



On our last day in Key West, we spotted this dude wearing only a caveman outfit and a viking helmet...riding a fuzzy, rainbow colored bicycle...while chomping down on a cigar. He continously rode up and down Duval Street, probably for the benefit of us touristas. And I had an epiphany as to how to get out of my career slump: I will become his understudy. Why not? Key West's a cool place. His "job" can't be too stressful. And I'll easily avoid my law school student loans by assuming an alias (my first choice: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck).

After brainstorming over a fine lunch (roasted pork sandwich, fries, Red Stripe, key lime pie), my friends and I came up with my own disparate wardrobe combination: kilt, tri-cornered hat, and pipe. And I will cruise in either a motorized Razor scooter or a three wheeled taxi bike.

I am so out of here.

Alright, a few more choice pictures from my trip...


Me enjoying a Papa Dobles at Sloppy Joe's.


This needs no caption.


Criticizing Castro's Communist regime (not the fine people of Cuba) with KPMD.

To those in the know, I'll post all of my pics at the usual place later on this week.

*I now have yet another qualification to look for in a future mate: a desire - or at least a willingness - to get married by a Hemingway look-alike at Papa's home.

If Castro dies while I'm down there, it's going to be one HUGE party...

Okay, folks, I'm off to sunny Miami in the great state of Florida (America's Wang!). I'll be on a plane for the duration of tonight's Oscars, so I won't be able to comment on the ceremony. But feel free to bitch and make catty remarks here.

I'm bringing my laptop, but I'm not sure if there'll be a wifi signal that I can piggyback off of. If not, I'll see y'all when I get back from Vice City on Thursday.

Might I Suggest...

Just some things (old and new) that have been honkin' my bobo lately...



Silly Putty - Cheap AND fun. At this stage in my life, I should be pressing it up against the Wall Street Journal, but I'm not. When have I ever followed the rules?

"The Knights of Prosperity" - This mid-season replacement started off slowly, but it has found its stride. The show was created by the guys behind "Ed", so you know it is full of quirk. Sadly, I think it is not long for this world (damn you, AI!), so catch all of the episodes online while you can.

Future Retro - A bunch of alternative 80's tunes given the contemporary remix treatment. Fun stuff.

DailyMotion.com - Like YouTube, only with nudity.

Playboy: The Mansion - Like The Sims, only with nudity.

Today in Music History podcast - Did you know that on Feb. 19, 2004, the estate of Johnny Cash rejected a pharmaceutical company's request to use "Ring of Fire" in a hemroid relief medicine ad?

White Cheddar Cheez-Its - A delightful snack...or dinner, if you eat enough.

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse - A marvelous retro-soul album. Hopefully, when it hits stateside (in March), they'll be some bonus tracks tacked onto it.

Yet another big squid update

In an effort to keep my readers informed about all things concerning big squids, New Zealand fisherman have caught a colossal squid weighing a record 990 pounds. Please note: colossal squids are a different species than giant squids.

Office chatter

Michael gettin' some.

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "Cocktails"

Jan and Michael go public with their relationship during a party at their CFO's home.

Discuss.

Crush of the Week: Marisol Nichols

This week's Crush is actress Marisol Nichols.


Definitely the prettiest "Audrey".

You may know her from the current season of "24". Or you may know her from a really crappy movie that tarnished an otherwise great series of films.

"You complete me...along with the other chicks that I'm bangin'."

I heard an interesting interview with American Spectator film critic James Bowman on NPR the other day, the topic being his latest column. In it he examines why Hollywood produces romantic comedies that really aren't, well, romantic. It's a good read and he's got some valid points.

Time to put Britney on suicide watch.

Oooooooooooooookay.

In related news: I've begun planning a trip to Bangkok

Bob Kelso-approved.

Because she wore a revealing black dress to a movie awards ceremony, Thai actress Chotiros "Amy" Suriyawong was forced by her university to do 15 days of community service.

Okay, this isn't really "news" - I just wanted an excuse to post the above picture.

The Oscar pool is up and running

Let me know if you want in.

Office chatter

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "Business School"

Ryan invites Michael to be the guest speaker at his business school.

Discuss.

Valentine's checklist

- watch The Departed
- prepare copious amounts of Absolut Peppar and tonics
- send out Oscar pool invites
- do a little blogging
- weep softly while I take care of business

Need music for today? Check out this MW Classic.

Hot, sexy Micahs are waiting to chat with you...

So I have a nifty lil' webcam on my new laptop. Anyone want to chat?

On a somewhat related note, I think my beard's days are numbered. I'm getting sick of it.

Nobody bothers me!

This commercial - which ran constantly on DC20 back in the day - is a real blast from the past. God bless YouTube.

Speaking of nostalgia trips, check out Retro Junk (thanks, spydrz).

Requiem for a well-endowed* trainwreck

R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith, 1967-2007.


About the closest she ever came to being "classy".

And there goes a huge part of my adolescence. At least her daughter now has a shot at a normal upbringing.

*Literally and figuratively.

Office chatter

Office chix. And Michael.

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "Phyllis's Wedding"

It's the event everybody has been waiting for: the wedding of Bob and Phyllis!

Discuss.

Crush of the Year 2006: Shandi Finnessey

Loves me some Shandi.

I know that I'm a bit - okay, two months - late in determining my Crush of the Year for 2006, but I've finally made my decision*: Shandi Finnessey. She's got that killer combination of looks and personality. Insanely hot, perky, able to talk non-stop for long stretches of time, conservative: what more could you want? And with the recent beauty pageant scandals of late, I thought that she could serve as a reminder to a more innocent time for the industry (read: 2004). Congratulations, Shandi. You can go ahead and join Scarlett at the foot of my bed.

Since I didn't make my decision in a timely fashion, I offer you this: Shandi's swimsuit competition photo:


Surf's up, among other things.

Click on the above pictures for larger versions of each. Enjoy!

*Runners up: Kristin Chenoweth, Katie Melua, and Katherine Heigl. If Shandi should die or otherwise fail to perform her CotY duties, one of you will have to step up to the plate.

In the meantime just listen to Casey Kasem or Shadoe Stevens

Astute MW readers may notice that there hasn't been a Micah World Top 25 for a while. Well, my iPod's new "home" is my new laptop and, by designating such, I had to reset the thing. Which deleted all of my playcounts. A Top 25 list consisting of only songs with one play each would be kind of silly, so a new chart won't appear for a few weeks. Sorry for the inconvience.

Buy this album

Lily Allen's excellent Alright, Still has finally been released Stateside and it's only $8 at Amazon. You really have no excuse.

BTW, she'll be on "SNL" tonight*.

*Which will make it the first episode that I've watched in ages.

Screw you, Punxsutawney Phil

Okay, campers, rise and shine...

We barely have a winter and now you say that spring is just around the corner? You're dead to me.

Hey, wha' happened?

I'm back. Why was posting so sporadic? Because I went shoe shopping. Dig my new Jack Purcells:


I'm going to own that badminton court.

Also, I've been having computer problems. My old laptop is pretty much dead, so I ordered a new one*. So there was a a few weeks of waiting while my new laptop was on a slow boat from China. But it' here and kicks butt. Now I just have to play around with this New Blogger.

*Which arrived with a non-functioning DVD/CD drive, which HP is replacing.

Office chatter

Angela and Pam clean up well.

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "Ben Franklin"

Michael enlists the help of Todd Packer when planning Phyllis' wedding shower.

Discuss.

Best of 2006: albums

All of the '06 albums that I purchased or otherwise "acquired"*

1. Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins Rilo Kiley frontwoman is joined by a couple of gospel singers and cuts a country-tinged album. Amazing stuff.
2. Jarvis - Jarvis Cocker Like Pulp? Then you'll love this album. Jarvis grows older, but with his detached coolness intact.
3. Alright, Still - Lily Allen Believe the hype. Every song's a winner on this one. Maybe a bit too "British" for American dominance, though.
4. The Life Pursuit - Belle & Sebastian B&S's sound gets even fuller (although they're still pretty twee).
5. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse The retro R&B album Christina Aguilera wishes she made.
6. ...And the Summertime Pool Party - Pigeon John PJ signs to a secular label and rebounds from the pretty "meh" last album. He's found what's missing in most of today's hip-hop: fun.
7. Begin to Hope - Regina Spektor Her vocal quirks aren't for everybody, but this is quality music.
8. American V: A Hundred Highways - Johnny Cash An eerie transmission from the grave that ranks among the best of his latter-day material.
9. Piece by Piece - Katie Melua With this album Katie sheds her "Norah clone" image. Plus, it's got the guy who played the flute on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on it.
10. The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance Emo boys play dress up and enlist the producer of American Idiot to help them make their own rock opera. And it's surprisingly good.

Best reissues 'n' stuff:
1. ...Is a Real Boy/...Was a Real Boy - Say Anything
2. Love - The Beatles
3. Personal File - Johnny Cash
4. 12 Songs (Limited Deluxe Edition) - Neil Diamond
5. My Flame Burns Blue - Elvis Costello
6. Whiskey on a Sunday - Flogging Molly

Biggest personal trend: imports
Three of my Top 10 albums weren't available domestically in 2006, as was another one in my Top 30. And I'm still dying to get those Pulp reissues.

Best concert: G. Love & Special Sauce

*Oversight: I left off the Say Anything disc.

Best of 2006: singles (addendum)

For some reason, I left my country picks off of the list:


Eric Church - "Two Pink Lines" Never has a pregnancy scare been so catchy.

Jace Everett - "Bad Things" "I don't know who you think you are, but before the night is through/I wanna do bad things with you." If you've got to copy someone, it might as well be Chris Isaak. (Sony had the video taken down from YouTube, but you can watch it on his site)

Office chatter

Lots o' paper.

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "The Return"

Oscar returns from his long vacation with mixed emotions on whether or not he still wants to be a part of the office.

Discuss.

Best of 2006: singles

Here are my favorite singles* released in 2006. They are unranked, except for the first one, which easily gets the top spot.


Christina Aguilera - "Ain't No Other Man" Still drrrty, but at least she looks a bit cleaner. The excellent production makes me forget about her oversinging.


The Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes" Sure, they should kick some cash Joe Jackson's way, but this is the best rock track of the year, hands down.


Regina Spektor - "Fidelity" Move over, Tori. There's a new quirky piano girl in town.


Katie Melua - "Nine Million Bicycles" Should I get married, this song'll be played at the reception. And if I'm lucky, I'll marry Katie.


Lily Allen - "LDN" English socialite removes her blinders and takes a stroll through London.


Amy Winehouse - "Rehab" The anthem for our generation? Maybe.


Belle & Sebastian - "Funny Little Frog" "I had a conversation with you at night/it's a little one-sided, but that's alright." I love this band.


The Pipettes - "Pull Shapes" Prepare for the second coming of the wall of sound girl groups.


Art Brut - "Good Weekend" "I've seen her naked TWICE!" Okay, I'm not sure if this was officially released as a single in the US (it was put out in the UK in '05), but it's a damn fun song.


My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade" Ever wonder what it would sound like if you put emo, Queen, U2, and Pink Floyd in a blender?


Tilly and the Wall - "Rainbows in the Dark" All bands should use a tap dancer as percussion. Okay, maybe not, but it works for them.


Mates of State - "Fraud in the 80's" They say husbands and wives shouldn't work together. Introducing the exception to the rule. Definitely one of the best videos of the year.

And "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley wasn't bad, either (by law, that song must be included on all Best of 2006 lists).

*Officially released, not just random favorite songs.

Today's question

A hypothetical scenario came up at work today: who would win in a fight between Forrest Gump and Sling Blade?

Sure, Gump is fast, but Sling Blade probably has greater Retard Strength.

Any thoughts?

From the makers of that other evil little game...

First came the original 20Q, which WOULD NOT GET OUT OF MY HEAD. Now comes along 20Q Music and it's pretty nifty, too. But not as evil.

Sure, it got the following correct:
Elvis Costello
Seattle
Trent Reznor
Paul McCartney
Christina Aguilera
Jarvis Cocker
Bagpipes
Jimmy Buffett

It did not guess these, though:
Ben Folds
Lou Reed
The Kinks
Better Than Ezra
Neil Diamond
Weezer

Heh heh. You're not so smart after all, are you?

Best of 2006: movies

1. Thank You For Smoking: I've pretty much covered my love of this film ad nauseum here on the blog, so just go see it.
2. United 93: A movie that everyone should see, whether they think it's the "right time" or not. It's a chilling reminder that yes, Virginia, there is a real enemy out there.
3. The Departed: Scorsese returns to form after the disappointment (to me, at least) that was The Aviator. Jack owns this movie. But next time ditch Leo, okay Marty?
4. Clerks II: I was prepared to be let down, but this ended up being the funniest movie of the year. Now I'm really curious about Kevin Smith's planned horror movie.
5. Rocky Balboa: The plot could have been - okay, actually is - ridiculous, but Stallone handles his duties (star, writer, director) well, making you once again root for the now-60 year old underdog.
6. Borat: The rare case where the hype actually delivers. Really funny. When analyzing this film, I tend to fall in the "Americans are just polite and accomodating" camp rather than the "Americans are all racists, sexist, homophobes" group.
7. Mission: Impossible III: The year's best action flick, Xenu be damned.
8. X-Men: The Last Stand: The year's best comic book flick, Superman be damned.
9. Idiocracy: The movie Fox didn't want you to see. A great commentary on dysgenics, dumbed down culture, and over-corporatization. Plus, it's funny, too. And it has electrolytes (it's what plants crave).
10. The Prestige and The Pursuit of Happyness: I couldn't decide on the tenth spot, so I'll let overwhelmingly grim duke it out with emotionally manipulative.

Biggest disappointments:
1. For Your Consideration: This was made by the same team that gave us Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind? Really?
2. Superman Returns: I love the character, but this was way too long with not enough action. Plus, Supes was kind of creepy in it. Must ALL heroes exhibit a "dark side" nowadays? Let the dude be a Boy Scout like he's supposed to be and keep the brooding with Batman.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: I love the first movie, but this was way too long with too much action. I know that this is merely a second act, but I hope this year's installment can redeem it (and with Chow Yun-Fat AND Keith Richards, I'm thinking it just may).

I have yet to see a lot of movies on my Movie List (Apocolypto, Casino Royale, etc.), so that explains their absence from consideration.

Best of 2006: video games

1. Katamari Damacy
2. We Love Katamari
3. From Russia With Love
4. Rugby 06
5. Destroy All Humans!

There've been no changes or additions from my mid-year rankings because, well, I haven't bought any games since then (as with books, I usually wait until games come down in price). But I have enjoyed watching my nephews getting all tired playing some games - Call of Duty 3, Zelda, Rayman Raving Rabbits - on their Wii.

Office chatter

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "Traveling Salesmen"

Michael has the staffers pair up and venture out into the field for sales calls.

Discuss.

Requiem for a culinary genius

R.I.P. Momofuku Ando, 1910-2007.



By inventing instant ramen, you've saved me thousands of dollars over the years, friend.

Best of 2006: news

Photoshopped pic swiped from somewhere on the web.

Forget Iraq and the Democrats reclaiming Congress. The News Story of the Year is Pat Robertson claiming to be able to do a 2000 pound leg press.

"ROBERTSON SMASH!"

Best of 2006: books

1. Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley
2. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
3. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
4. Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman
5. The Shroud of the Thwacker by Chris Elliott
6. Term Limits by Vince Flynn
7. Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News by Tucker Carlson
8. Vertical Run by Joseph Garber

As I mentioned in my mid-year rankings post, this list contains no books published in 2006 because: a) I rarely buy books right when they are published; b) I have a HUGE reading pile; and c) I'm a pretty slow reader. But the above is what I read - and dug - this past year.

Office chatter

Hello to you, Pam.

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "Back From Vacation"

Michael returns from his Jamaican vacation with an interesting photograph which circulates the office.

Discuss.

Commemorating 10 years without a New Year's Eve kiss

Happy New Year's, if you celebrate that sort of thing...which I tend not to. Sorry for my absence. I took a little siesta from blogging. And I just finished watching United 93 (again) and am not really in the mood to do much else tonight.

Editor: "I just had a thought. We're looking for a new food critic. Someone who doesn't immediately poo-poo everything he eats."
Homer: "No, it usually takes a few hours."

But fear not. This week I plan on unveiling my picks for the Best of 2006 in music, movies, books, and whatever else I can think of. Plus, I'll select my Crush of the Year. But, really, who could fill 2005 CotY Scarlett Johansson's very big...shoes?

So, be on the lookout this week for your regular MW fix, folks. I'm hitting the sack.

Merry Christmas!

Who knew Ralphie was so disturbed?

I got a lot of problems with you people

Happy Festivus!

Quick movie reviews

Yo.

I've been pretty derelict in putting up movie reviews lately, so here we go.

The Departed: So I wasn't totally convinced that a 14 year old girl could portray a cop that infiltrates the mob, but other than that it was a great movie. Jack seemed to have a lot of fun with his role. I used to think Matt Damon was kind of a Streisand, but he kicked ass. Hey, Scorsese, the Stones made more songs than just "Gimme Shelter."

The Prestige: I was expecting Batman and Alfred vs. Wolverine, but got an extremely grim rival magician movie...with David Bowie. There's sort of a sci-fi twist at the end, which was a bit unexpected. Dark, but good.

Flushed Away: Very enjoyable. The CGI convincingly looked like claymation. Slugs rock. I think Bill Nighy is my new favorite Old British Actor.

Borat: Quite overhyped, but hilarious nonetheless. I think most of those that are lavishing praise on the film never caught him on HBO, so the character was fresh to them. Nice.

For Your Consideration: A complete let down. I lurve all of Christopher Guest's movies, but this one just did not deliver. Fred Willard was funny, as usual, but most every scene he wasn't in was kind of off.

Rocky Balboa: AWESOME! I didn't realize I was that much of a Rocky fan until I watched all five previous movies last week. Yeah, he's old now, but that makes this film a perfect bookend to the beginning of the series where Stallone's boxer was such a sad sack. The only way you could not enjoy this movie is if you're a Communist.

DVD Picks:
Love Actually: A bit long and some of the couples' storylines could've been excised completely, but perfect for Christmas.

Art School Confidential: It started out really funny, but once it started to develop a murder mystery plot, it just fizzled.

Inside Man: Clive Owen should've been Bond*.

*Well, I haven't actually seen Casino Royale yet, but I still maintain that Daniel Craig looks like a Bond villan.

Your inspirational thought for the day

Crush of the Week: Martine McCutcheon

This week's Crush is actress (and singer?) Martine McCutcheon. The only thing I've seen her in is the most excellent Love Actually (which I saw for the first time this weekend).



What a tasty bird.

Happy Chanukah!

Hey hey!

Office chatter

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "A Benihana Christmas"

Strife on the party-planning committee results in two competing Christmas parties; Michael gets dumped for the holidays.

Discuss.

(Considering the brilliance of last year's Christmas episode, it has a lot to live up to.)

Every time a list is compiled, an angel gets its wings

Given the time of year (and taking a cue from an NPR story), I thought I'd compile my list of top Christmas movies:

1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
3. A Christmas Story
4. Elf
5. Millions
6. Scrooged
7. Die Hard
8. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K version)

So, what are yours?

EDIT: Well, I made a glaring omission - Trapped in Paradise. I'd give it an honorable mention. Not a cinematic masterpiece, by any means, but it does have that warm holiday vibe (and the smokin' Madchen Amick). Plus, it is easily found in Wal-Mart's $5.50 bin.

And based on your strong recommendations (and the fact that it's been one of those movies that I've been wanting to see - loves me a good rom-com), I picked up Love Actually. I'll give it a view this weekend.

Requiem for a curmudgeon

R.I.P. Peter Boyle, 1935-2006.



You're part of a different dream team now.

Walking in a winter wonder-nanny state

What will NYC bust Santa for next?

Beverage of the day

Finlandia Wild Berries Fusion vodka with a splash of diet tonic water.

Possibly outdated 1950's notion of an after-work drink? I'm bringing it back.

I think I'm going to have a baby...

...just so I can buy the lil' pooper these clothes. Oh, wait. I have a brand new baby nephew. Scratch that whole "bein' a dad" thing.

Blessed are the Italian-American pugilists

Rocky as a Christian theological study? Now I really have to see this movie.

In other news, make way for the U2Charist.

Guess who's two

December 2nd is an important historical date: Napoleon was crowned emporer of France (1804), the first controlled nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated at the University of Chicago (1942), a Protestant and Catholic cabinet convened for the first time in Northern Ireland (1999), Enron filed for bankruptcy (2001), and Micah World was established (2004).

Yes, this past weekend my lil' blog turned two years old. And it's in good birthday company: William Randolph Hearst, Charles Ringling, Cathy Lee Crosby, Lucy Liu, and Britney Spears.

Thanks for reading. Here's hoping I'll survive another year to blog about movie reviews, attractive women, music geekery, and other non-essential information.

Vote for this podcast (please)

A message from my brother:

hello friends/family/coworkers/former coworkers/etc,

in my science classes this year my good pal monty and i have started up this podcasting project with some of my students in which they create podcasts covering the topics we have investigated in class and then post them on the web. they do all the work - they write it, record it, and produce it all on their own.

in the beginning of the year, as a kick-off to this project, some of my students entered this NASA podcast competition in which the question was posed "how will space travel affect your future?"

well, turns out, one of my girls is among the top 10 finalists in the nation for this competition. her name is quinyawna and she rocks. she takes her academics very seriously, works very hard, has an awesome personality, and is going places in life. voting for the top 3 ends this week. i would LOVE to see her take this thing...and monty and i think she has a very good shot after listening to all the other finalists.

so if youre feeling generous, hit the link below and scroll down to "quinyawna's podcast" and hook her up with a vote. and if youre feeling REALLY generous, forward this along to some others.

vote here

voting ends DECEMBER 8th!!!

thanks guys.

hope all is well with everyone
much love,
chris

You're beautiful. And dead.

According to a recent UK poll, James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover" tops the list of songs requested to be played at people's funerals. If any of the songs from Dirty Dancing or Beaches (both on this story's list) are played at my funeral, bring me back to life and then kill me again.

I'll take this opportunity to reiterate my funeral wishes: "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes, someone to play "Keep Me In Your Heart", and for my funeral to be a party.

Make it happen.

Office chatter

Tonight's episode of "The Office": "The Convict"

Michael tries to be supportive after learning that a new employee is an ex-convict, then the staff compares the office to a prison.

Discuss.

NBC execs must read my blog

From a Dec. 12, 2005 post:

"I think it's a smart idea on NBC's part moving this and 'My Name Is Earl' to Thursdays. If only they'd also air 'Scrubs' on that night, then they could definitely regain their Must See TV throne (at least to me)."

Yes, tonight's new Thursday line-up ("My Name Is Earl", "The Office", "Scrubs", and "30 Rock") is indeed awesome. Most call it the return of Must See TV. I call it Micah Night 2.0*.

*Micah Night 1.0 was Wednesdays on ABC during 1999-2000 (only when "Whose Line" would sub in the 8:30/9:30 slots).

Micah World Top 25

Here they are, the top 25 songs burning up my iPod (as of 11.29.06):

1. "Funny Little Frog" - Belle & Sebastian
2. "More Than a Feeling" - Boston
3. "Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera
4. "Just Like Heaven" - Katie Melua
5. "Rainbows in the Dark" - Tilly and the Wall
6. "Someday" - Anya Marina
7. "Bank Job" - Barenaked Ladies
8. "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love" - Belle & Sebastian
9. "Lua" - Bright Eyes
10. "A View To a Kill" - Duran Duran
11. "Oliver's Army" - Elvis Costello
12. "Still" - Elvis Costello
13. "God's Cop" - Happy Mondays
14. "Do You Remember" - Jack Johnson
15. "You Are What You Love" - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
16. "Knock Yourself Out" - Jon Brion
17. "The Closest Thing to Crazy" - Katie Melua
18. "Nine Million Bicycles" - Katie Melua
19. "Piece by Piece" - Katie Melua
20. "Tribulations" - LCD Soundsystem
21. "Absolutely Cuckoo" - The Magnetic Fields
22. "For the Actor" - Mates of State
23. "Great Escape" - Moby
24. "Lump" - The Presidents of the United States of America
25. "P Control" - Prince

Some changes from the last chart. Guess I like Katie Melua. Long live Duran Duran.

It's that time of year again.

Just as charming, but not a socialist.

I've made my decision. As I have nothing really better to do, I'm going to grow out my beard again*.

*It'll come off as soon as I have a job interview or date. So, yeah, I'll have it for quite a while.

Beverage of the day

Harpoon Winter Warmer. Holy shit. This stuff is awesome. If only it wasn't so damned expensive.

There goes my plan to get an HR job using the name "Drew Carey"

Andy Griffith has sued a Wisconsin man who changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith for an unsuccessful sheriff campaign.

Sure, he may seem all grandfatherly, but Matlock is a ruthless man who'll take you, your family, and anyone you know down. In fact, when asked what he thought was best in life, his response was "to crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

Whoa-a-thon

Ah, Thanksgiving...and its accompanying days off. Perfect for some marathon viewing. At first, I thought I'd take in the Lord of the Rings epic, which I had planned on doing last year. But, man, that's one heck of a time commitment. So, I'm going to load up my Ultimate Matrix Collection this afternoon. I've got a case of Coke Zero, warmed up leftovers (homemade mac & cheese, fried oysters, stuffing), and a comfy couch. I vow to only take bathroom breaks in between movies. I'll keep you posted.

1:07 Commencing The Matrix. Whoa.
1:24 Computer programmers wear suits to work?
1:35 Cowboy Curtis!
1:49 I want those red leather chairs with the lion heads on the arm rests.
2:55 The trash had to go out, so I paused the movie. Now that The Rule has been broken, I guess that gives me carte blanche to use the loo whenever I want.
4:11 After a short break, I started The Matrix Reloaded.
4:23 Man, it's been a while since I've seen this movie, but those CGI shots of Neo flying through the air still look fake. But then, why wouldn't they? There is no spoon.
4:38 Can you smell the fromage? It's the Zion rave.
5:16 Mmmmm...Monica Bellucci.
6:23 Finished the second movie. I'm going to take a break. A much longer, multiple hour break.
10:55 Watched Inside Man and had some pizza on my hiatus; just now started The Matrix Revolutions.
11:14 Mmmm...Monica Bellucci.
12:55 My complaint with the third movie still stands: not enough time spent in the Matrix. Green tinting can polish even the stinkiest turd.

Neo...One...Oh, I get it now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mmmmmm...muppet.