The Theme of My Life. . .

Is countdowns. Yes, I know you already guessed it. Also spending money comes in a close second.

Countdown until Bones re-premieres after the World Series is over (Congrats Cardinals): 31 hours. To tide ourselves over, there are always Bones pumpkin carving patterns! Courtesy of the_odd_one.

And for those of you who have alerts on for when I publish my blog, my apologies. I've been republishing my previous post on Timberlake neurotically for the past 2 hours (no, I don't have time to be doing that, but I don't seem to care right now). But take a look at the EDIT I made, marked by **EDIT**, you will get a chance to watch 2 grrrreat vids featuring Jizzy himself.

Bones Promo that should be watched with a smile on your face, courtesy of Boreanaz.net--probably the best place to find D. Bor. vids:

Jizzy to tha Tizzy

Ever since Sean William Scott (Stiffler from American Pie) and Justin Timberlake hosted the MTV Movie Awards in like 2003 or 2004, I think, I've only referred to the former *N'SYNCer (That's right. Don't be forgettin' that Asterisk.) as Jizzy Tizzy (at least when I can help it). No, I did not come out of the gate a Jizzy fan. It was a long and arduous journey. I'm serious. "Rock Your Body" pissed me off for a long time. But then, the straw (or SNL sketch, as it were) broke the camel's back.

"Cry Me a River" is a great song, even if it takes you looking up the lyrics on the internet before you really "understand" the chorus. (Psst: "You don't have to say / what you did / I already know / I found out from / HIM!") Screw the Britney look-a-like in the video. It's a down-ass video. So is every other video he puts out. (Yes, I am completely aware of all those double-entendres.)

He wasn't so impressive until I saw him on SNL. The show was just funny. It was completely brilliant. Everyone I knew around that time was forced to watch it on VHS from when I taped it during its re-run in September of '04. The kid "popped out performing"--not my words, his on his recent interview with Jay Leno. Yes, on SNL he did double-duty, performing in sketches and his own music, with a live-version of "Cry Me a River" to die for. You can always tell it's a brilliant live show when it takes you a good 30 seconds to recognize one of the most overplayed songs in America. (I do not lie, not until he started in with "You were my sun. . ." did I figure it out.) So someday, I'll have to see that boy live.

For those of you who missed that SNL, you missed Justin as Ashton Kutcher (getting him back for the Punk'd where he cried and called his mom), Jessica Simpson ("For reals y'all"), the Omelleteville Omellete, Sully's little brother (the pyro), Michael Bolton, singing with Kermit the Frog, and as Robin Gibb (which he reprised when Cameron Diaz hosted a year later). Here's a lucky SNL find, Jizzy as the Omellete:




ANYWAY, all this just because I bought his new CD and I'm listening to it right now. And you know what, it is what it's called: Future Sex/Love sounds. Meaning, I think he's making music before it's time. He has taken what he's doing to the next level, grown as an artist. (That's right, artist.) He's taking something from everyone on this record. And his videos are still out of control. I mean, look, there's the next step in the way of American popular music and he's taking it. Yes Timbaland. Yes Three-6-Mafia. These are great collaborations for him. He really is making brilliant business and musical choices with this album. I don't think everyone will get it, which is fine. I'm not even claiming that I completely "get it," but he's just gull-durn great in my book.

And here's the off-the-hook "My Love" video. I would draw the comparison to MJ, but why? It's been done so many times before.



What this all boils down to: Jizzy Tizzy is an artist. And I love me some real, honest-to-god artists.


**EDIT** Yes, yes yes! I found the live version of "Cry Me a River" on SNL (or a friend did, actually). And so, okay, it's only about 7 seconds before he starts singing, but you will see what I mean about it being "unrecognizable". The boy understands music. He gets arrangement. You can't fake the way he performs. On his most recent appearance on Jay Leno, he mentioned that he was a work-aholic, and maybe that's how you get to be this confident. I'm not sure.

Posted By:Brett

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

And, I will relent and admit that Jizzy is responsible for the current McDonald's themesong "I'm Lovin' it". But no matter what, he knows how to entertain. Here's another vid, him tearing it up on Jay Leno dancing to "Like I Love You". It starts a bit slow but just be patient. :) You can tell it's gonna be a great set when they clear off the band stage for him. Until I find something different, Marty Kudelka was his choreographer on this. . . (You'd think it would be easier to find info like that on the internet, but alas, no luck.) I think what really gets me about the whole performing live thing is that it's LIVE, which means (like theater) it changes every time. It's just refreshing when an artist purposefully makes sure that he tries new things (via dance moves, music arrangements, etc.). Sure, not all of them will hit, but they'll all be interesting.



THE END. Until I find some other great video featuring Jizzy.

Follow the Colons to Freedom

The state of things one week before this Fall ’06 semester began: I was excited, jubilant even. I had spent the whole summer working (Where did those planned trips to the pool go? Those impromptu bar-b-cues? My avid reading list?) and applying to every grad assistantship that made my heart pitter-pat even a smidge faster than usual. Rejection after rejection, then came the e-mail—my bastion of hope. This is what I’d been waiting for: the chance to teach 2 sections of Writing 101.

An observation from Spring ’06 semester: I saw all of those 101 teachers complaining, nursing their wounded egos over pints of lager. I didn’t listen. Part of me was jealous.

The state of things one week after this Fall ’06 semester began: I began my weekly cycle of anxiety, accomplishment, failure, spiraling uncontrollably into despair, anxiety again, with a healthy dose of crying over the phone to my mother on Thursdays. The last time I remember crying before this was during the first scene of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (which I say the night after going to see Rent), about 9 months before.

The state of things Mid-October of Fall ’06 semester: Yay! Emily is here! We’re watching the end of Buffy and Angel! I can escape into the Whedonverse! Oh wait, the Whedonverse does this pesky thing where it makes you confront your own shortcomings by presented characters in a fictional setting with problems that are almost too real, too like yours. Emily helps me tally grades for group presentations! Callou-Callay! The pending wait of the coming next half of the semester weighs on me in the mornings until I can stuff it back in the box in brain where it came from. I am inattentive and distracted when trying to play well with others.

The state of things as of tomorrow night: How do I teach these things? Wait! WTF is a stasiss grrid? I have 50 papers to grade after Monday. . . noooooo.

What I did to prevent the return of this detrimental cycle in Spring ’07 semester: I made contact with the Creative Writing “people” and let them know: I am willing to teach creative writing or fiction workshop (which I threw in second, because I knew it was a hope-beyond-hope whim) in the spring. I’ve taught 2 sections of 101. I am experienced. (please help)

I made sure that they knew: that I was aware that things might not work out. I was told a little before mid-October that things may just workout to teach creative writing. (The fiction workshop would be taught by full-time faculty.)

The state of things last Tuesday: My friend Ken had his teaching assignment in-hand. (It had already been slated in stone that he would teach the fiction workshop since the beginning of time.) I was told, “You have the 0101 section.” Ken was so proud! I’d gotten the other fiction workshop! I looked at him pensively. “No,” I said, “it’s the Creative Writing one.”

The state of things at the end of this week: I found my classes for the fall, and my name under the fiction workshop list of teachers. But I haven’t signed a contract, so there is still time to continue the cycle.

The state of things now: hoping and hoping and hoping and hoping.

And for those of you still keeping track: The Countdown

No official countdown for these guys. Why are they so happy? Bones comes back this Wednesday! Bom-digi-bom da-dang-da-dang digi-digi!

Countdown until Hugh Laurie hosts SNL: about 8 minutes.

10 Things I love

And they just haven't been mentioned (enough) yet. . .

1. Rob Bell and Narrative Theology (oo, that's a two-fer!) and the Emergent church (a trio!)
2. Bones
3. Youtube, okay another one
4. John Campbell's web-comic
5. Young Adult Fantasy Literature
6. Stylized Prose
7. Stale Oreos (w/ milk)
8. Procrastinating
9. Using parentheses in non-academic writing
10. Writing scholarly papers that aren't required for class
(Paper on the po-mo, self-reflexive nature of contemporary stand-up comedy, some day I will write you!)

You should all try these things on for size. Well, I understand if you aren't interested in some things, like--say--the stale oreos.

Stay strong in the struggle. blah blah woof woof. ~ LAR

Bonus blog alert! Television shows I will be watching this season. In the order of how much I care:

1. Bones
2. Studio 60
3. Ugly Betty

4. Heroes

For those of you who haven't caught on yet, I seem to have reached the point where I feel the need to reach out to as many people as I possibly can (hence the sudden increase in blogging). In other words, grad school has forced me to seek the companionship of html coding & 1's and 0's because I really do want to avoid work that much! THAT much!

Busy-ness and a Bonus Dane-ism

This is how busy I feel:
Dane Cook has this joke he tells at the end of his first platinum (maybe?) comedy CD "Harmful is Swallowed" (which is just such a brilliant title, because of what he is implying that the CD and therefore his jokes are) about being late to work. The whole set up is that whenever you wake up, you look over at the clock (playing it's stupid clock games) and it's always like 8:53 (when you have to be at work by 9). In other words, it's always that time that you have to just get up and leave if you have any hope of not being uber late for work. And so, what do you do? You sit in bed in fume about how you can't do anything--you can't even make an English muffin!

Thus: (and this is where the comparison is at its weakest)

You are very very very trapped in a deadline you have to reach. There is no time to do anything but meet your task before the deadline.

All that to say:
I can't do anything! I can't even make an English muffin!

Gizoogle

Wow. 2 posts in 2 days. It's a record for me for awhile here. But I just discovered something I am so in awe of, I just have to share!

If you haven't heard of Gizoogle until now, I am truly sorry. I keep oscillating back and forth between amaz(e)ment and horror:

http://sites.gizoogle.com/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Flarresha.blogspot.com%2F

The Countdown

I had to make one, because I care.

Thanks to Bleach Eating Freaks for the means. . .

http://www.bleacheatingfreaks.com/makeacountdown/?id=227590