I am going to the sold-out PJ Harvey show at the Roseland Theater in Portland tonight. This is especially exciting for me because Polly Jean Harvey is one of my three favorite musical acts that started in the nineties, along with Liz Phair and Luna, and she doesn't tour all that often. I have seen her twice before and she ruled both times. (For those sticklers out there, yes, I know that Polly Jean Harvey is the performer and PJ Harvey is her band's name.)

I will also be working on the lyrics to a new song I am writing, "You Coldcocked Me, Baby, in the Bar Fight of My Heart."

Hey all! I just have a few moments right now, but want to quickly say:

"Shaun of the Dead" is fantastic fun! I highly recommend it.

I have lost 26 pounds since first beginning the Rotation Diet in the last week of July. I will continue losing, but for now, I am happy because this is the least I have weighed in somewhere in the neighborhood of three years. I have worked my way back down to the cruiserweight division (well, except for the not being able to do moves like a springboard moonsault and such)!

I keep meaning to post Double M's initial assesment of lucha libre: "It's like TNA on crack!"

And last but certainly not least, happy birthday, Durden Kent!

Team America Stinks

I have been meaning to tell you that for a week. I posted the following to lostactor's Live Journal yesterday, and thought that I would include it here, as well (my son's opinions follow):

Coaster and I WASTED $5 each to see "Team America." If one person reads this posting and decides not to go because of it, I am a true American hero. It was easily the worst film I have seen in ages, and I have honestly challenged myself to try and see a worse film in the theater this year.

Nothing is redeeming about the plot or script at all, though the puppets and sets were really good (I loved "Thunderbirds Are Go" back in the day). Note that I wasn't offended by the political content, so I'm not a touchy left- or right-winger who felt skewered. The racist "humor" relied on beating-a-dead-horse stereotypes that we have all seen countless times before. The film's "humor" content was hackneyed, unoriginal, and sophomoric, truly playing to the lowest common denominator. The only thing missing is a fart joke.

Suffice it to say that if you find a puppet throwing up for a minute or more hilarious, this just might hold your interest for a while. The puppet sex scene was orignally four minutes long?! Wow. Good thing they cut it down to about a minute or so. But that is one thing this film relies on too heavily --- taking a single gag and trying to expand it for far too long.

Admittedly, I have not been a Trey Parker fan since his first effort, "Cannibal: The Musical." Actually, if you have seen that, you have pretty much seen "Team America," as well. He hasn't grown as a filmmaker at all. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, YOUR TIME! --- Rubber Dali

Coaster adds: I think the goal of this movie was to attract the immature humor of teens. Even at this they failed miserably. As a 15-year-old freshman, I have to say going to this movie made even me feel stupider, I feel as though I have dropped about 17 IQ points sitting there watching some dolls drop the f-bomb. Like I have not heard that enough at school. Even my friends found this movie to be despicable and they live for "South Park." Please do not see this movie for you will regret it, even if you want to go to the 50-cent matinée at the $1.50 theatre with a gift certificate.

Though it has been a few days since last Saturday's ComedySportz show, I want to say that it was a blast, and it was the best I have felt about a show in recent memory. Come to see us whenever possible, because improvised moments like Shakesperean Smurf scenes are once in a great while (technically, they should be once in a lifetime, correct?).

I won't be in this Saturday's CSz show, because I will be attending the muy grande lucha libre show in Woodburn.

More later. Have great days!

Children's Books I Should Write

Everybody Falls off the Swing

Why Are Coconuts Hairy? And Other Science Mysteries

Real Sponge, Cellulose Sponge

What If a Spider Wrecked Your Home?!

How Blood Becomes a Scab

Annie the Agitator and Freddy the Free Thinker

Be Thankful, Kids: Childhood During the Industrial Revolution

Math is Fun! And Other Lies Grown-ups Tell You

My First Inappropriate Word Book

Ants, Dry Grass, and Other Fun Experiments with a Magnifying Glass

Homeschooled Henry Has No Friends

I'm Allergic to Peanuts But I Crave Them So!

World's Scariest Nightmares for Bedtime Reading

Touch the Black Widow! And 100 More Science Dares

The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything and How She Died a Foolish, Avoidable Death

Sea Monkeys Are Really Only Brine Shrimp and Other Miracles of Nature Debunked

Hug a Tree, Invite an Insult

Why Teacher Really Needs a Prep Period

Games You Can Play with Your Chickenpox

Today I have felt less avuncular than pragmatic, like I put fat-free half and half in my Weetabix instead of vanilla soy milk.

Sheesh! I almost forgot to exfoliate this morning! I must remember to stock up on ginko biloba . . .