i know people whose idea of fun is throwing stones in the river in the afternoon sun

why haven't i been watching the office more regularly? huh? the christmas special is hilarious. even better than last year's christmas episode. interesting piece on the office in the dec 11th issue of the new yorker. i'd post a link, but it'll expire soon. if only the new yorker was better about their on-line content.

how is it that i found news gingrich oddly reasonable on meet the press this week? it's like in early 2004 when i as listening to npr, heard a guy who's voice i coulnd't palce, but he was saying some interesting stuff. i just about crashed my car when he was introduced as al sharpton. i still don't trust gingrich to not be a nutjob (his recent take on the possible need to curtail free speech is very worrisome), but he was ok today. and also on meet the press? tom friedman? dude, the sunni-shia thing erupting in iraq isn't just the result of what happened during hussein's rule, it's not baed on a 30-year build up of animosity. how ridiculously shallow an analysis, but then, nothing i shouldn't expect from him. and timmy? would it have killed you to have someone from the dem, liberal or progressive camp this week?

the netflix queue has been revived...jp and i watched a very long engagement friday. yes, a touching love story, yes, very beautifully and inventively shot. but also? reminds me of 12 angry men, in that mathilde was the only one among her inner circle to not take the evidence at face value. also, like 12 angry men and name of the rose, mathilde proved her case by way of some basic deductive reasoning, marshalling the evidence point by point.

i also watched broken flowers, arguably jim jarmusch's most mainstream film. i liked how he made bill murray's road trip geographically anonymous. the device was clearly used to mirror murray's quest -- just like he wasn't sure exactly what it was he was searching for, you were never exactly certain where it was he was during the search. i would like to see bill murray break his recent string of playing guys who look like they overdosed on prozec.

had the occassion to met the lovely and talented leah and simon of a girl and a boy, thanks to going to see simon's band play. they're both cool people and simon's band is a kick-ass honky-tonkin' quartet.

and yes...today was an amazing day to be out and about...