Frank Madler
Februar 2001

Last night James and I enjoyed 3AM sandwiches at Lakeview -- one tuna melt and one club, both with fries -- and shared musings/shed tears regarding various developments, past and present, within our shared group of friends. (Note to James: I've decided that believing that while happiness might equal boring, criticizing that definitely equals despicable.)

Anyway, back to the original point of this. Our waiter, who regularly serves James and his coworkers after they finish working at Libretto, was a very nice and capable gentleman. James addressed him for three quarters of the meal as "sir," until he kindly requested to be called "dude", "bro" or "Victor" (presumably his name). I asked if I could call him "brah" and he responded with a sharp "No". The three of us all then laughed, and I think James was pleased at this next step he had taken with someone (Victor?) he now sees approximately 2-3 times a week.

We happily enjoyed the rest of our meal and promptly hopped into a cab. Once we arrived home, I thanked the 40-year-old(ish) cab driver, saying something like "Thank you, sir, and have a good night." He turned around and responded with "Don't call me sir, call me dude or bro!"

When did "sir" become obsolete or, even, offensive? Sure, if someone called me "ma'am" I would be a little put-off, but I didn't think "sir" shared the same connotations.

GOSH MA, THE WORLD SURE IS CHANGING!

See Patrick, Gchat is a totally legitimate way to communicate on the internet. Some of us (not me) have jobs that do not allow Facebook chat and

they need to get through the work day somehow too.

me: sbux fucked up my order

so i had an extra latte

but the girl i have a crush on at the bakery wasn't there

but i still traded it with some other girl for a free croissant

Shona: oh nice, yum

me: damn, i was hoping you would say something funnier in response to justify blogging this conversation

A Serious Man -- seriously good.
A level of quietness and a degree of honesty the Coens haven't reached (focusing on other things) in a while.
Catching up on the best films of 2009 has been surprisingly satisfying.

DON'T LET R.KELLY IN YOUR KITCHEN
(courtesy of adrienne, a loyal reader)

At long last, some good news about poor, berated John Edwards: He reportedly (obviously) made a sex tape!

One clever commenter aptly pointed out that the term "sex tape" is a slight misnomer, as Edwards supposedly made a DVD; however, "SVD" is just not that appealing.

The Zipper -- What position do you sleep in?

Thanks to James for introducing me to Japanuary
(and the man I'm meant to marry).

This is a picture of me listening to our new record player, followed by a picture of how I feel about it.

Waldemar Hansson and Max Moden, Fault Magazine 2010

My Daily Routine

David Zilber 

Really impressive.
And best final scene I can remember.

(Ladies, don't see this on a day you're feeling insecure about ____________.)

I'm reasonably certain that this is the first video that turned me on.

Jay-Z ft. Chrisette Michele, Lost One
Lauryn Hill, Lost Ones

The Best Music Video Ever Made

(love from DSB in Berlin)

Charting the Beatles

(via Gawker)

Dan Graham
Body Press
1970-72

Are you familiar with The Society for Librarians Who Say Motherfucker?

Some of these posts are kind of hilarious.

If I were going to write a dissertation on "The Big Lebowski," I would write about this.

Better off as a nightclub.

(frosted tips)

My return to film has completely renewed my interest in photography. And apparently I'm not alone.

Down on digital? Look to analog to revive you.

Kiss Kiss -- Chris Brown feat. T-Pain

I do not think they are still good friends.

RIP The Great Joe Rollino, 1905-2010

Another opinion on Dr. Drew

That's my wife!

Alfred Molina gives a fine performance near the end of Boogie Nights.
Night Ranger -- Sister Christian
(I know the irony of playing this song at the end of this movie isn't lost on PTA)

(post orgasmic chill)

America offers many opportunities for its citizens to go abroad.
I should take advantage.
"Have YOU considered applying for a Fulbright?"

They're still good friends.

Iain Baxter
Reflected San Francisco Beauty Spots (Golden Gate Bridge)
1979

Michael Snow
Paris de jugement Le and/or State of the Arts
2004

See also The Power of Two (looks better in this large format)

Fuck you like we're in Houston - so slow, so slow, so slow.

So I haven't really played Drake's So Far Gone since last summer, but recently have been listening to it on the regular.  As you may assume, I don't think writing about that rap or hippity-hop is my forte, so I was hesitant to make this post; however, setting the bar low for myself, I'll take a shot and just tell you how I feel. I recently found out that he was recently billed as a singer, which makes sense, and then edged into the rap, giving him an amazing blended approach.  With tracks like "November 18th" and "Ignant Shit," I'm really looking forward to what he comes out with in 2010.  Granted, probably too much hype, but whatever.  Kid's got it.   And yes, I know ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN SAID BEFORE, but that's fine.

RIP

Yesterday I attended an information session about MCBT, or Mindfullness Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I will be embarking on a 10-week journey to enlightenment (see, I already have the obnoxious lingo down!). I was referred to the program by U of T's psychological services, of which I can't speak highly enough. To all of you soon-to-be graduates, take advantage of this invaluable resource if you need to address anything.

Anyway, back to MCBT. Upon glancing over a questionaire I had just completed, my counselor asked "So how do you think 3-4 cups of coffee per day affects your anxiety?" Talk about a leading question! If she says anything more about my caffeine intake, I'll refer her to the preceding chart.

Thanks to Lazy Pilgrim for pointing out the AWESOME tumblr I Love Charts. Some of my other favourites include Champagne Supernova: A Statistical Analysis of the Unquantifiable Daydreams of Liam Gallagher and Ninja Turtles.

Oh Dr. Drew

I first became interested in Dr. Drew via unconventional means: his appearance on Dawson's Creek, a dominant influence on teenage Alice. He was on the show in one of the last and weaker seasons, when the gang is living in Boston. Jen is working for a sex and relationships hotline and invites Dr. Drew and his annoying sidekick to headline a fundraising event. Following the episode, I did not follow Dr. Drew, but his profile has recently blown up and forced me to pay attention to him again.

This article in the NYT Magazine chronicles what's wonderful -- and horrifying -- about sexy Dr. Drew Pinsky, celebrity rehabilitator.

And despite this not exactly being a shining endorsement of my recent (somewhat) forced interest in reality television, I enjoyed Real World last night too much not to indulge.

...Capitalizing on what many saw as his genius for explaining America’s psyche to itself, Pinsky began to focus on what he considered a bigger opponent, the disease that lay beneath them all: a toxic new form of narcissism, stoked by the media. In his latest book, “The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America,” he diagnoses today’s obsession with fame as a potential public health issue.

New Year, Same Blog

I was seriously considering commencing this new decade by making the switch from blogger to tumblr.

No such change will occur.

My fellow bloggers had strongly advised me to do so, arguing that tumblr is more user-friendly, and more aesthetically pleasing for image-based blogs. I have decided to not listen to their advice for the following two reasons: first, I find blogger very easy to navigate; second, I have decided to make this blog more text-based. Yes, this will probably mean that I post less frequently, and yes it will inevitably result in more pointless rants and long-winded arguments about such polarizing topics like "Red: the new black?" and "Blogger or Tumblr, which to use?" (like this one). I've always been adverse to change even when it's necessary, so why bring it upon myself and you, loyal follower?

Happy 2010.