Not A Promising Debut

Okay, what I like about this is that I know nobody is reading it. That's incredibly comforting, when I really think about it. That's what the title means, by the way, besides being a sweet Dylan reference. There will be an insane number of Dylan references in this blog, assuming I keep working on it and don't lose interest. I guess I should probably tell one or two people it exists, in order that it feels a little less like literary masturbation.

What I'm (re)reading: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, V For Vendetta by Allan Moore, Selected Poems by Charles Tomlinson (all for classes), Dusty in Memphis (33 1/3) by Warren Zanes and I'm thinking about starting American Pastoral by Philip Roth.

I suppose I should mention that I'm almost invariably reading three or four books at the same time. Well, not literally, physically at the same time, but... yeah.

What I'm listening to: I'm completely re-obsessed with Neil Young right now, especially the electric stuff with Crazy Horse.

What I'm watching on the television box: The shows I make a point of watching on the televesion are: 24, The Riches, House, The Simpsons, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Sportscenter, PTI... That's about it, I think. When Sopranos and Boondocks start their new seasons they join the list.

What I'm watching on the moving pictures: I'm writing a paper about Nabokov and the movie Stranger Than Fiction (The Will Ferrell one), so I'll probably be watching that over and over again during the next week. I'm about to start a paper on V For Vendetta (the comic masterpiece and the movie, which I haven't seen yet- Amazon should deliver it Thursday) so I'll be immersed in that movie next. For better or (probably) worse.

I guess this is how blogs work. The only one I read that isn't sports related is my friend Kelly's. I suppose if you know me you might know her too. Either way, http://mzkelly.blogspot.com/ She's a great writer, has good taste in music (she knows all the current underground indy rock acts that I simply can't be bothered to pay attention to while I obsess over music made thirty or forty or fifty years ago. It's a balance that seems to work) so give Kelly some love.

I'll go ahead and tell anyone who, in remarkably unlikely situation, does not know me and stumbles across this page that even my friends consider me, at varying times, "grumpy", "cynical", "incredibly nerdy", "pessimistic" and "potentially capable of endorsing genocide". Luckily I'm also one of the quickest-witted people I know, I'm incredibly good at using my freakish memory to make me appear intelligent and occasionally brilliant, and the possesor of a certain awkard charm that if I was in a Hugh Grant movie might be called "somewhat charming in a weird British sort of way". Too bad I'm American, then. Or maybe no one but me thinks that- it would explain an awful lot.

Shit, this just occured to me- how do you tell people to read your blog without coming off as some sort of an asshole? Is there a good way to casually drop references into casual conversations that aren't directly concerned with blogs? Hmm. I'm begining to think that 5 readers is a touch optimistic. It's probably for the best that I'm more interested in writing to kill time that would otherwise be spent reorganizing my cds and playing NCAA football on my Gamecube than I am in swaying elections or communicating with the great unwashed cybermasses.

Alright. I'm going to stop for now. I might have to work on some way to stop more smoothly than that. Maybe some sort of list, since lists are awesome. I'm thinking I'll blatanly steal Nick Hornby's "Top Five" list format from High Fidelity (since this internet2.0 that Wired magazine won't stop mentioning is as built around theft as your average Shakespeare plot).

Top 5 Albums That You Should All Be Obsessed With But Aren't:
1- Love- Forever Changes
2- David Bowie- Low
3- Roy Orbison- Black & White Night
4- McEnroe and Birdapres- Nothing Is Cool
5- Richard & Linda Thompson- I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight.

Later.