An end of an era...

Topic #1: I think I can add this to the list of signs that you have spent way too much time in one bar. Went out on Saturday night and when I got to the bar my very first reaction wasn’t “Wow, look who is all here” or “I wonder what I should have?” It was “Cool, we got new bar stools! Maybe they’ll let me put my name on one!” The only equivalent story I have is the one night at the Backer when they took the mirror from behind the bar out to be cleaned, which resulted in Super and me staring at the wall for an hour saying things like “Something’s changed” and “This is really freaking me out” and “You never appreciate a mirror until it’s gone”. I think the only reason we changed topics was due to Donna threatening to brain us with a bottle of Jager if we didn’t shut up.

Topic #2: Pretty confident that the biggest news story of the weekend was the revelation that Doogie Howser is gay. I have to say, this one did take me by surprise and there aren’t many Hollywood stories that would do that. I mean, if it was revealed that Tom Cruise had brainwashed Katie Holmes and had her carry a baby that isn’t his, culminating in a staged wedding all in an attempt for Tom to show his manliness I’m pretty sure that my response would be a yawn. But this one made me take a second look.

First off, props to Doogie for being so open and cool about it. If you read the statement it is totally a “No big deal, just figured that I’d get it out there so no one would make an issue of it.” Plus, I think I’ve gained a hell of a lot more respect for him as an actor because he is perfect in the role of Barney, the womanizing, purely evil character on How I Met Your Mother. He pulls that off without a hitch and that’s just impressive. Especially after watching Jason Priestly trying to play a doctor in Love Monkey, which was a challenge because he wasn’t able to convince me that his character was able to read. But yeah, Doogie’s relationship with his video camera toting buddy may now take on a whole deeper level of meaning.

Topic #3: Sufjan Stevens was just insane on Austin City Limits last night. They introduced him as “being a new voice in American folk music”, which would make sense except that I don’t see to many folk acts include five violinists, two cellists, a brass section and the entire band wearing vaguely boy scout looking outfits complete with butterfly wings. Yeah, pretty sure Dylan didn’t look that way before he went electric. From my point of view, Sufjan is the first new artist I’ve heard in ages. Meaning that I don’t have anyone to compare him to, he seems to have created his own genre. That’s not something you find everyday.

Topic #4: Thanks for all of the comments and movie suggestions. I’ll start building a list and posting it and see what people think. I have a sense that I’ll fill in my Gen X collection, especially after watching Kicking and Screaming over the weekend (not the Will Ferrell one, the one about a bunch of guys who had just graduated and have no clue what to do with their lives). I’ll talk about the movie sometime this week, there were two quotes that hit me and I need to figure out how to write about them. But thanks for all the suggestions (Virginia Woolf included. Wow, you can tell that my readership has grown).

The five random CDs for the week
1) Old 97’s “Satellite Rides”
2) Various Artists “Emerald Rock”
3) Chris Mills “The Silver Line”
4) Nirvana “MTV Unplugged in New York”
5) Maggie Walters “Maggie Walters”