Klosterman wonders where is the Lester Bangs of video games; why a gamer hasn't come along as articulate, passionate and insightful as Lester Bangs was about music. It's probably because they're too busy beating Halo 2 on Legendary or finishing up Oblivion. You can write about music while listening to it. Try writing about lighting effects, ( Read more... )

Back from Russia. My Russian still sucks pretty badly. The night before last I was thinking I was going to get into a fight with some really drunk dude. Lots of visits to people and vodka and presents taken and brought back. The prospect of taking my parents to Russia frightens me ( Read more... )

Being in San Diego for four days made me realize that there is perhaps no major city that isn't better than phoenix. anyway. saw a bunch of people who knew me when i was a wee lad. i had no idea who any of them were. awkward! went out on a boat. neat. adams ave. book store -- perfect. stacks and stacks of used books, warning signs on some ( Read more... )

"Brains are for generating expectations about the future. The simplest imaginable thing a brain is for, is for ducking an incoming brick. You see the brick coming. You see it's heading for you. You expend a little energy to duck so it doesn't hit you. There's a lot of things to avoid in life; and there's a lot of things to try and accomplish ( Read more... )

The Dying Gaul -- So, a gay writer writes a screenplay about his lover dying of AIDS. Campbell Scott is a studio exec who wants to buy it on condition that he changes it to be about a hetero couple, because 'America hates gays, and nobody will go to see it if it's two men. You could get Tom Cruise, who wouldn't go near it for 100 million dollars ( Read more... )

SHAQ! Happy to see him doing well. Almost as happy as I am that France is bombing in the World Cup. Just as long as England doesn't win. Or germany (sorry chgriffensister graduated high school. shit i am old ( Read more... )

After getting back from being in LA for the weekend for billythebrick's wedding thing, I was sent back out Wednesday to prepare for a colleagues departure. Korean barbeque = really fucking awesome. We made sure to take a token Korean to talk to them and everything. Also my first time drinking 'Soju' or whatever, which is like Korean vodka (ie, it's half as ( Read more... )

Finally went to Scottsdale MOCA to see the Warhol exhibit. They had a lot of good stuff for a small space -- the Marilyns, the Maos, the Soup Cans, the famous Jews, the Cowboys and Indians, a number of self-portraits. To support them I bought The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. Not as good as Popism in terms of Warhol books ( Read more... )

Oscar has started repeating his lines. Maybe I'm spending too much time with him. In any case, 'it's horrid how people go around these days saying things behind one's back that are perfectly true' or roughly to that effect is in A Woman of No Importance, and Dorian Gray if I remember correctly ( Read more... )

Can my plans change any more? Can they? Old plan was: Russia in July, Costa Rica or Nicaragua in the autumn. But it turns out that our timing was wrong. So now Jenia's poor mom has to go back to the OVIR office for another application for my visa. I need to buy a counterfeit Russian passport, it would make things easier. I would only ever be ( Read more... )