oh, ass.

when you read things... on the internet... bad stuff can happen.

like finding out something that occurs in X-Men before you see the movie. which you don't have very high hopes for in the first place due to the whole Brett Ratner thing.

bugger.

worked today, got home, showered, watched an episode of X-Files, turned off the lights and went to sleep around 9:30.

and now it's 4 AM and i'm totally awake. and i have to get up in 5 hours to do it all over again.

wipe that face off your head, bitch!

Ok, so I did a bad, bad thing tonight at work. I walked past the writing aisle and saw books everywhere on the floor, misplaced on the shelf. a mess. So I fixed it, and then realized that they'd left a Sephora bag... (theoretically it was the same person. i hope it was) I brought the bag to the desk and put a note on it saying something like- "Lost & Found, 2nd Floor. They probably didn't see it among all of the books they left on the floor." Fifteen minutes or so later, carrie bradshaw shows up and asks if we've found her bag. I hand it to her & help the next customer. And... the note was still on it. And... not because I'd forgotten to take it off, but because I felt that she should know.

oh yeah, I also took a trip to the Deli for a Hershey's bar & a Dr. Pepper an hour after getting back from the break I was 5 minutes late returning from. Tonight sucked.

life could be lovely/life could be fucking great

oh life... why must you toy with me? late last night (after watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose!) a friend caught me online and asked what I was doing on June 28th- because he has an extra ticket to see Aimee Mann playing with the Boston Pops. Aimee Mann! She's been my favorite since high school, but I have never seen her play. Much less with an orchestra. But of course: *I'm broke *it's in Boston. *It would mean taking two days off from work & I have no wiggle room with vacation days because it all has to go towards the week I move which is the week right after the Aimee show. argh. I haven't seen my friend Shawn since like 1997 or something. I really wanted to visit Boston at some point. The recurring theme in my life right now is that there's never enough time (or money). Whether it's a weekend that flies by or a year. Also, why is everything/everyone cool located so very far away from Florida??

hmmph.

title quote: 'til tuesday, "Believed you were lucky" from EVERYTHING'S DIFFERENT NOW. (best album ever?)
music du jour: Today feels like some Aimee, some Holly and that song by The Devlins that I found.
dvd player: The X-Files: Season One, disc 1
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-16

if i choose now/i'll lose out/one of you has to fall/but i need you/and you...

grr. and argh. i've spent the last 24 hours or so feeling sort of upset and conflicted about going back to Florida. It's so hard being away from my family and it's been the source of a lot of depression... but then thinking about returning to a city i don't like, leaving a job that i enjoy to go back to the place i couldn't stand and abandoning all my friends makes me feel just as bad. i feel like there's no way i can win. i'm stuck in a catch 22 and it sucks. i need a hug, dammit.

and it doesn't help that there's this documentary on about 12 year olds and the popular kids are talking shit about the outsiders- who are already much cooler than they are. it's not cool that the interviewer is creating friction between two of the girls, either. and the narration is awful. i need to turn this off. can't. stop. looking!! "if you don't dress right, then you don't fit in. if you don't fit in, then you can't get popular."

title quote: Joan Armatrading, "The Weakness in Me"
feeling guilty/worried/waking from tormented sleep/this old love has me bound/but the new love cuts deep
if i choose now/i'll lose out/one of you has to fall/but i need you/and you...

did you find romance? of course you did. that's why they call it Rome.

Dear Diary,
Today Hot J- said I was cute. No lie.



Holly Palmer rocked!

Okay so this morning I watched the episode of Conan O'Brien that we TiVoed last night because Holly, who is on tour with Gnarls Barkley was on. Kinda upsetting actually. Watching her sing backups for them when I really feel like she should be the one promoting her album on Conan just sort of pissed me off. Hmmph.



title quote: Holly Palmer, "that's why they call it Rome" from Songs for Tuesday
music du jour: guess.
dvd player: CONSTANTINE (?)
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. woo-hoo!
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-16

that's not a knife. THIS is a knife

did i forget to mention how much i totally hated Wolf Creek?

can anybody suggest a scary movie that's actually *SCARY*?? Like, Exorcist/The Ring/Nightmare on Elm Street scary, not just "this is really painful to watch/uncomfortable/gory, but not scary" like. X has decided to try The Exorcism of Emily Rose, so maybe that'll do it...

title quote: Crocodile Dundee/Wolf Creek
music du jour: Brand new music playlist includes:
*Beth Thornley
*Holly Palmer/Songs for Tuesday
*The Raconteurs/Broken Boy Soldiers (I *heart* Brendan Benson)
*Ben Folds/Over the Hedge
dvd player: oh my god i wish i had time to watch a dvd. tonight i will hopefully watch the last hour of 24 & Alias. Not to mention Veronica Mars & Lost are waiting to be seen, but I think that'll be tomorrow night's Korner Pizza viewing. I literally have a stack of dvds that I haven't been able to watch- a couple that have been there since CHRISTMAS. i need a million dollars so i can just quit working and watch dvds all day long...
bookbag: Harry Potter and... (TBD, I'm going to try to finish Order of the Phoenix right now)
celebrity sightings: 0 (i'm still in bed, though... maybe Lee Pace is hanging out in the kitchen...)
YTD Sightings-16

the city's a great big toy/just made for a girl and boy/we'll turn manhattan/into an isle of joy

Downtown from the ferry to the Statue of Liberty on a very grey day.


Downtown as seen from the Empire State Building. Very, very, very, very, very high up...


The Chrysler Building, but more importantly, the very creepy seeming Roosevelt Island. I have to visit there before I head back to Florida.



The Holly Palmer pics will be up as soon as X helps me clear up a crazy red eye situation...

Baby, Bon Appetit

Well, where did I leave off? Yeah. Sunday. Well, Monday we got up and met Sharon's friend Elena for lunch at Burger Heaven (GREAT burgers, but it's still impossible to beat Cozy's) and then went to MoMA. I had been there once before for a photography exhibit with X+J, but we didn't really venture into the other galleries, so it was wonderful to really wander around for a few hours. Keep in mind that I know like NOTHING about art, but my favorites were:
*Kandinsky
*Kahlo (one piece, but still so amazing)
*Umberto Boccioni (Farewells; Those Who Leave; Those Who Stay)
*Francis Bacon
*René Magritte (Empire of Light II)
*Chagall (I and the Village)
*Klimt
*I also loved the painting, "Christine's World" but can't remember the artist.

Right, so then we headed to the Carnegie Deli, but couldn't order as the minimum per person is like 12 bucks. Tried to find tickets to a show, but they were really pricey, even at half off. Went for dessert at the Euro Diner, then did a little Bacon-seeking. Oh, and yes- Central Park as well. Cab ride to the Guggenheim, but it was covered in scaffolding dammit. Dinner at Cozy's (another burger for me) then home, where we watched an episode of Queer as Folk because Sharon is as obsessed with it as Lily. Tuesday morning (was it only yesterday??) I had to get up and say goodbye before work... Then worked till 7:30, got on the train to go home and change clothes before going back out to Arlene's Grocery to see Holly Palmer play. I LOVE Holly and I think last night's show cemented the fact that she is one of my absolute favorite musicians, right up there with Bic, Travis, Indigo Girls & Aimee Mann. This girl's voice is fucking awesome. Plus, she started off by playing 3 songs on her acoustic guitar, no other accompaniment... two of those songs are from I CONFESS and are both ultra-produced on the album, so I had no concept of what they would sound like live... much less stripped down to the basics of voice/guitar. It was so fucking cool- a real insight into her songwriting process, like this must be the way they sound when they're first 'born' or something. She did my current favorite, "That's why they call it Rome" which was awesome, told a story about Sarah Vaughan, which was cool because she had recommended a Sarah album to me earlier this year that I fell in love with, so... yeah it was great. PLUS her band was sort of winging it, so it was amazing to watch the silent communication between Holly and the guys during songs- particularly Shawn Pelton, who played drums... AAUGGH!! It was just awesome and I am so so so glad that I decided to go even though it meant going alone. Anyway, after the show I talked to her for like, a minute and got the set list. I bought two copies of the album, since it was about half the price I expected it to be. Gotta support her. Which is why I'm going to tell you all to check her out on myspace right now: myspace.com/hollypalmer



So high after the show that I couldn't sleep till 2:30 this morning- and had my alarm set for 7:30. Clearly the work day was long and I got home exhausted. Picked up some dinner, read a little Harry Potter and now I'm going to shower and catch up on Alias/24.
title quote: Holly Palmer, "Did Your Mama?" from I CONFESS
music du jour: Holly Palmer, SONGS FOR TUESDAY
dvd player: MUNICH
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (so close... soooo close!!!!)
celebrity sightings: (duh)
YTD Sightings-16

her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

i'm much higher than i thought i'd be (don't look down, don't look down)

The day started in a really nice way. Nothing major or gigantic, but a nice warm feeling all over kinda way.

So my cousin Chuck is in town with her friend Sharon and we have been out doing all the touristy stuff I haven't really done. We rode the ferry around the Statue of Liberty (after the dumbass 1 train messed with my whole "it's going to be so easy to get there and back to Christopher Street!" plan). I was a little concerned with it being cold/windy/rainy since I've been fighting a cold this week, but honestly i was so psyched just to be out on the water that it didn't matter. It's interesting- yesterday when I saw The New World, there's a scene that takes place next to the ocean, with these pounding waves... It kinda reminded me of the cliffs where the lighthouse was in Avonlea (hi, obscure Canadian tv reference) and I just thought, "Why can't I live there?" I love being out on the water, there's something amazingly calming about it, even when the sea's a bit rough like it was today. Anyway... from there we headed back uptown, grabbed some lunch at the Hollywood Diner while the rain wore off. Headed to Christopher Street- the park, check. the Stonewall, check. Oscar Wilde bookstore, check. The train stop that brings back bad memories of weekend from hell, check. Repress. REPRESS! Success.
Next stop was the Empire State Building. So the thing is that I pretty much thought I would never ever EVER go there. I hate elevators. I hate heights. I fear acts of terror. These three things presumably assured that I wouldn't make that particular trip. I think I even mentioned in an e-mail before they got here that I'd probably drop them off and then go like, read a book or something. But I figured, if not now, when? So I did it. And the elevator? Really fucking crowded. The observatory? Really fucking high up. I think I got some really cool shots too, despite the serious palm sweat situation.
After conquering my fears, I treated myself to a hot chocolate at Starbucks and we headed on to Times Square. I picked up an I *Heart* New York t-shirt, because I didn't have one yet and I do in fact, *Heart* NY. I will not miss Times Square, or much of midtown, even though I'll miss the opportunities to see kickass shows. We ended the day with drinks at the Pig & Whistle (cute bartender with an accent who sang along to Robbie Williams' "Rock DJ" is a bonus) and arrived back home to find that J made cookies. A very good day indeed.

title quote: Tanya Donelly, "clipped" from Lovesongs for Underdogs
music du jour: Beth Thornley in my head all day- oh... and Barry White
dvd player: KINSEY, but I haven't watched it yet.
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
celebrity sightings: 0 (but apparently if there's the chance that Stockard Channing is nearby, I go crazy with excitement)
YTD Sightings-15

oh, you stupid thing...

Dear Mischa Barton,
Please remember that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I'd like to suggest that you google the following name immediately: David Caruso. Beware. Be-fucking-ware. Because unlike you, my sad little meatless child, Caruso was not an unattractive talentless stick figure. That guy had at least some potential. And look what happened to him when he decided to leave his hit television show.
Anyway. Good luck with that. I'll see you on next year's THE SURREAL LIFE with Tanya Harding and Nicole Ritchie.
xxoo
Rick

title quote: Aimee Mann, "Stupid Thing" from WHATEVER
music du jour: Beth Thornley, MY GLASS EYE. which reminds me of the old joke about my unfocused eye being the audience for my blog. good times...
dvd player: THE UGLIEST DVD EVER. thanks to X.
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (look i'm already a slow reader and the book is like five zillion pages long!)
celebrity sightings: 0- like anyone worth seeing was hanging out at the Snow White Laundromat or Regina Pizza? no.
YTD Sightings-15

sleeping and waking are the hardest things to do

So yesterday I totally had mojo. Today? not so much...

I went to bed around 2:30 am, took some Sudafed because I've been feeling like a cold is coming on. I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, but thinking that I slept late, maybe to 11:30 or so.

It was 2:11 pm. I was supposed to be at work at 2:00. bleh...

then it was just an alright day, nothing too bad. plus, i got to work with some of my favorite co-workers today and that always makes it all better. it wasn't till i got home though that i got really happy- turns out that Holly Palmer is going to be playing here on Tuesday night at this place called Arlene's Grocery. I work till 7:30 that night and open the next day, but it's HOLLY PALMER!! I saw her once, in like 1997 when she opened for Paula Cole & I had no idea who she was. She impressed me, though- I bought her album and a tee and became a big fan. I endured the LONG ASS WAIT between "Holly Palmer" and "I Confess" and have been stalking her Myspace page for info on the upcoming "Songs for Tuesday."

my point is that if I go to one show this year, it's going to be this one. ...and I'll probably be going alone, but fuck it. It's Holly.

So I'm off for the next four days- My cousin Chuck is going to be in town for the 2nd half of my long weekend. Tomorrow I'll be doing laundry (a great excuse to read Harry Potter for two hours without much interruption) and having Korner Pizza Friday with the flatmates. I don't know what we're planning on watching, movie-wise... Sometime tomorrow I would like to finally see "Shopgirl" and "The New World" but you know how that goes. Saturday I will try my Tarantino double feature again... and that night X+J and I are going to watch "Wolf Creek" together.

um. that's it for me.

title quote: 'til tuesday, "Sleeping & Waking" from WELCOME HOME
music du jour: again, it was an all Tanya Donelly/belly day.
dvd player: Cracker: Lucky White Ghost
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What I'm expecting- Death (Sirius? Ginny? A Weasley?)
celebrity sightings: 1: Danny DeVito was in the store today! He kinda reminds me of my boss. He's actually shorter than I imagined him to be- but this could have been because I saw him walking with Dylan, who's even taller than me (and also the most adorable guy on the planet). I was standing at my cart when he walked up to us and I literally stopped for a moment while it registered that Danny DeVito was talking to us. Very cool.
YTD Sightings-15

it's just so different/from what you pictured/it's just so fucking quiet

so my day was interesting. last night i stayed up till like 2 watching CRACKER. woke up to go to the bathroom this morning and, seeing that it was already light out figured i wouldn't be getting any more sleep. luckily, it was only 6, so i had another hour and a half to sleep. i woke up at 7:20, figured that's that and turned off my alarm. then i went back to sleep... woke up at 5 after eight... 5 minutes after the time i'd normally leave for an opening shift. i hurried through my shower and hauled ass to the train- which rolled in soon after. it was express. it was empty, so i got a seat. i got to work 15 minutes early- the same time i would normally get in. woo-hoo!!

today i gave the store manager my transfer request information. it was really kind of sad. i like this store a lot more than the one i used to work at. it's going to be like going from college back to kindergarten and i suspect that i'll be looking for something else before too long.

at home, i hung out with x+j and later, lily. i feel like veruca salt- i want everything. i want to be around these people and the ones that i've met over the last year, and feel the way i do when i'm with them; i want to have my family with me; i want to work in this store where i'm not condescended to & treated like shit, where there are people i like who like me, where i feel like i can actually do my job the way it ought to be done. i mean, even if it's an inconsequential retail job... it makes a huge difference. why can't there be a way to keep it all? why can't my mom just like, win the lottery and move up to vermont or somewhere close by so that i won't feel like the biggest part of my soul is so fucking far away from me? i lost a whole year with my mom, i'm miserable without her or Dave around me and i won't do that to myself for another year... i keep wondering: is there going to be a point in my life where i've got everything i need to be happy?

-rick

title quote: Beth Thornley, "Double Wide" from MY GLASS EYE
music du jour: Tanya Donelly/belly/Beth Thornley
dvd player: Cracker: Lucky White Ghost (even though i was TOTALLY going to watch WOLF CREEK, which I got from Netflix, but X wants to watch it, so I told him I'd wait... despite the perfect scary movie environment going on right now what with the 2 in the morning & the dark stormy-ish night)
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-14

There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time

So according to Celebmatch.com I am the most compatible with Jonny Lee Miller and Noah Wyle (as well as Josh Duhamel & Jamie Oliver- whatever)

Jonny Lee Miller? ooooooooohhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

-rick
will pretend that one of the other names on the list wasn't Mark Wahlberg.

title quote: Jonny Lee Miller as Edmund Bertram in MANSFIELD PARK
music du jour: all Beth Thornley, all day
dvd player: Shopgirl
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. ...Tonk is going to die, isn't she? I like her...
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-14

a million lights are dancing & there you are, a shooting star/an everlasting world & you're here with me, eternally/Xanadu your neon lights will shine

So, I'm watching CITIZEN KANE and there's this bit at the beginning, the newsreel about Kane's life- There's a moment that takes place in Union Square. So there's a giant mass of people rallying on 17th street in front of that little building at the top of the park- and then it cuts to a shot of the mob, standing in front of a building- and that building is number 33... which is now the Barnes & Noble where I work. How. Fucking. Cool. Is. THAT??

I'm going to see if X is able to get a screen shot for me, then I'll post it up later.

I hate Hearst. If he hadn't fucked with Orson Welles & CITIZEN KANE imagine what Welles could have done. He was such a pioneer, someone who brought something to film that no one before him had. I don't think most people today can really comprehend what it must have been like to see CITIZEN KANE when it was released.

Anyway- today's plan was to do a double feature double feature. Welles/Tarantino. KANE & A TOUCH OF EVIL and RESERVOIR DOGS & PULP FICTION.

considering the time, I don't think I'm going to be able to do all this, so I'll probably watch the Welles films today and save QT for Friday. Oh work... you really fuck up my dvd watching time.

title quote: Olivia Newton John, "Xanadu" yeah you heard me.
music du jour: Aimee Mann
dvd player: Citizen Kane
bookbag: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-14

beneath the blue sky we're all alone together/the calm hides stormy weather

So my mom sent me an e-mail to tell me that the Go-Go's were going to be playing in the plaza on the Today show next week. Which made me think again about the fact that they were playing next Friday night at the Nokia Theatre. I've been tossing the idea of going around in my head for a while. It's 40 bucks. It's the Go-Go's, they were my first concert and are one of my all-time favorite bands. But then... I haven't really enjoyed concert-going that much lately. It's general admission. When I checked the site the problem was solved for me- It's sold out. Of course there's always the option of dragging my ass out of bed, going down to Rockefeller Center and watching them play on the Today Show.

or i could just listen to them on my ipod all day, peacefully, in my room. Belindariffic!!

-rick
title quote: The Go-Go's, "Beneath the blue sky" from TALK SHOW
music du jour: Take a wild guess.
dvd player: Today I WILL watch DELICATESSEN and follow it up with a little CITY OF LOST CHILDREN. Viva Jeunet!!
bookbag: HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (did you see what happened there?)
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-14

you make quite a flare, my bright bottle rocket

So sorry if you're reading this twice, but I have to represent pics/frames:

That's right kids, it's a new issue of Pictures and Frames @ www.picturesandframesmagazine.com

this month we take on some movies: BRICK (which everyone i know, or even "myspace know" ought to have seen already. seriously don't make me delete our friendship.); The Danielson Family Movie; and oh my god- SLITHER!?!

in our DVD department you can read all about MEAN CREEK and 9 TO 5. (Dolly Parton for President! Who's with me?!?)

Books-wise, I am KING!! Or possibly the only Pix/Framer who can read. Anyway, I doubled up on Sarah Dunant's historical fiction this month. Prepare for June's dissertation on the Harry Potter series.

Musically there are reviews for The Little Willies, Ani DiFranco and The Magic Numbers. THE MAGIC NUMBERS!!!

And finally, P&F's resident idolator, Dave Sayre, worships at the church of David Morse for the May Spotlight.

So what the hell are you waiting for? go to
www.picturesandframesmagazine.com RIGHT NOW!! (oh yeah, if you wanna ramble on about pop culture you can always drop a line about becoming a contributer.)

*Seriously- ESPECIALLY if you want to review books... it would be awesome if you'd like to write for this humble little webzine.

*I'm so impressed with David's Spotlight pieces. Jealous actually. One more thing he's freaking awesome at. You may be a better writer, buddy but I will always be gayer than you!! Unless you start dating Elton John. or Sean Hayes. or Tom Cruise. or one of the SO FUCKING ANNOYING Gay Jays from America's Next Top Model. I haven't hated on my own people this much since... ok truth be told, I'm not usually very fond of my own people. But I haven't wanted to commit gay on gay violence this much since the couple on SHOWDOG MOMS & DADS. ...Perhaps this is all a message telling me that I should avoid watching Reality Television shows. David would probably agree.

*My middle finger on my right hand is becoming really rough- a combination of using it on my trackpad and it being my scan finger @ work. Inventory is coming up and I scanned half of the books in my section over the last two days. It hurts me to type the letter K. I'll update you on my progress later.

*MYSPACE is totally bringing people together. Today this really cool girl from my work, who I usually never speak to & vice versa (actually she always kind of scared me- she seems to usually be in a rush and i usually feel like i'm in her way) told me that she came across my profile & discovered that I like Travis- and she's apparently a giant fan. Of course the dark side of Myspace would be that creepy pornish "Sir Eric" who sends me a friend request every other day... Yikes.

*Robbie Coltrane is the awesomest.

*Watching WONDER SHOWZEN at 7:30 in the morning, while kind of a fucked up way to start the day, also gives you something funny to think about while you're at work.

*mwah*

title quote: Beth Thornley, "Stand" from MY GLASS EYE
music du jour: Beth Thornley: MY GLASS EYE
dvd player: CRACKER: Season Three
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (which I am so going to finish when i'm done with this)
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-14

hand me a prayer book/i need to be forgiven/i'm not even driving/i'm just plain driven

title quote: The Divinyls, "Bless my soul it's rock & roll" from DIVINYLS
music du jour: Beth Thornley/MY GLASS EYE
dvd player: The Family Stone- maybe today I will finally be able to watch Little Fish and Delicatessen
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
celebrity sightings: 0
YTD Sightings-14

Your Deadly Sins

Sloth: 80%

Gluttony: 40%

Lust: 20%

Wrath: 20%

Envy: 0%

Greed: 0%

Pride: 0%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 23%

You will die while sleeping - and no one will notice.

How Sinful Are You?

6 hours! I don't even like to have sex and eat bacon for six hours!

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is SO my favorite musical. Norbert Leo Butz is freaking awesome. I did miss Sherie Rene Scott, but Rachel York did a good job. I could absolutely see it again and again and again.

keep your hand at the level of your eye!

title quote: Phantom of the Opera, which we saw last night. My surprise to my mom for Mother's Day.
music du jour: Beth Thornley/My Glass Eye
dvd player: Little Fish
bookbag: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
celebrity sightings, MONA LISA SMILE edition: 1.5: Julia Stiles was standing outside the theatre where History Boys is at. And there was a retarded crowd of people waiting outside the theatre for Julia Roberts- totally blocking our way as we tried to get to the train. No, I didn't see her gigantic mouth, but the back of her head.
Me: Dude, Ralph Fiennes is right down the street! Why is everyone waiting to see Julia Roberts?
Random Teen Who Overheard Me: BECAUSE SHE'S A HUGE STAR!!
Me (24 hours later, obviously): Yeah, but he's an actor.
YTD Sightings-14