They're rubber, I'm glue

So today I spoke with my two friends on opposite sides of the polar spectrum. We somewhat kiddingly call my friend T a Stalinist, because he does think the revolution should be imposed from above, and R is in the Navy and votes GOP. T and I generally agree on all things non-revolution from above related (ie we're both lefty on most to all issues), but today I put my foot down on his perpetual hope that things will get better politically with the next scandal. No dude. No one cares. They don't care about wire-tapping, they don't care about Abramoff, they don't care no one will give up the White House Katrina papers, they don't care about our apparent coup in Haiti, they don't care about Alito. They don't care. I don't know if this is actually true or not, but at this point I have to tell myself it's true because there have been too many other scandals that have just sort of floated by (WMD, Valerie Plame or Wilson, federal intervention about Shiavo, torture, Harriet Miers, Katrina itself, a really wretched economy). As he said, it's Reagan-esque. Nothing sticks to him.

That said, I make it my mission to change R's mind on what I find the most egregious stuff. I recently sent him the NYT editorial about wire-tapping. He called me to say he agreed with me on wire-tapping, which always makes me feel a little better. I don't think R's a real GOP man, but he's still a source of hope in this world. So is any negative article in the Indy Star. Maybe the tide will turn this time. But probably not. It's really better not to get my hopes up.

Clothing choices and diss blues

So in the highlight of my week, I watched How I Met Your Mother(I'm willing to follow the cast of Freaks and Geeks just about anywhere and will stay if it's decent) only to discover that Lilly and I have the same shirt. AGAIN. This happened before when she wore a brown and pink striped t-shirt, but this time it was more striking because it was a pink owl waffle shirt that I know didn't just 'look' the same. These are both among my favorite pieces of clothing. The weird part is that I bought them at two very different places so it's not like we just both shop at Urban or something. One I bought at a card store/boutique (Paper Doll), the other at the Levi's outlet in Michigan City. I really love this.

http://www.paperdollchicago.com/

In less happy news, I feel entirely bogged down and depressed by my dissertation. I'm just writing the proposal, but I have no confidence in what I've done in the past or in my ability to improve it. I feel like most of my peers are bounding past me too, which doesn't help. Grad school has really got me down. I feel stuck.

Excessive popular culture

I've been bursting to ooo and aaah over some pop culture things the last few days. Here goes:

*Ricky Gervais podcast. It's always awesome. But this week was a return to form. Karl's diary was hysterical. Ricky and Steve actually put in their own bits. And Monkey News, while not great, did have the bit about the monkey in the brace at the zoo.

*Cinecast. I really love these guys. Probably mostly because they're willing to indulge me in my love of Hitchcock and lists, but there you go.

*Romancing the Tome, which is an awesome blog. It helped me find . . .

*Bleak House. I love this minseries. I forgot Dickens had all the ridiculous mysteries and the awesome old timey London love tangles. I MUST know what's going on with Nemo. And Esther and her doctor have to get together. I'm so glad I haven't read this book.

*And Wednesday is the best night of television with Lost, Project Runway, and sometimes America's Next Top Model. Thank God for Tivo.

No wonder I get nothing done.

The Squid and the Whale and Canada

So I saw the Squid and the Whale on Sunday with my friend Tracey. I'm a bit torn about how I feel about it, but it does contain a really awesome movie moment. I love awesome movie moments. Although in this case it might be called an awesome movie thread. Basically, one of the sons performs 'Hey You' at a talent show, claiming that he wrote it. And they pan through the audience, and you can just see who knows it's Pink Floyd (his parents' significant others) and who doesn't (his beaming proud parents and the judges of the talent show who give him the win). Anyway, later on he gets caught and after that he confesses to his mom's boyfriend "I didn't write it. Pink Floyd did." And the whole thing is awesome. So maybe that will be a theme in this silly blog. Awesome movie moments.

And before I go, I can't believe Canada. WTF? Why are you guys crushing me like this? It's so much harder to aspire to you politically now. Bah. So there's another theme. Politics. I can't help it.

Trying the blog

Isn't everyone's first post about how they're trying the blog thing? Well, I'll one-up them. I'm trying it secretly. Therefore I suspect no one will ever read it. Which I'm pretty sure is okay with me.