. . . and it was another Merry Christmas

Hope all was merry, spiritual and full of family for you guys out there. It was another South Texas Christmas for me this year with the temperatures in the 70s and barbecue served to the extended family. Not nearly as exciting as last year's white Christmas but at least everyone was able to make it this year. On a lower note, I'm sitting in a hotel in Longview, TX tonight so that I can begin my 2 day physical inventory observation bright and early tomorrow on what are well publicized "bonus" firm holidays (have I mentioned how much I hate my job lately?)

My first Christmas sitting this year was also my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary (to which my mother commented a little bitterly under her breath "that's a long time to spend with one person." anniversary GPs to the right.

As there are a few out there who still ask the question in the name of small talk, I will share my Christmas gifts with you:

Napoleon Dynamite DVD
Set of Temperpedic-type pillows
cologne
Star Wars video game (being retuned, I wanted Pac-Man :-(
Table Lamp
Crown Royal (my bro. got 2 cases of Corona)
Batman Begins DVD (returning for BB: Special Edition)
Aggie Golf Club covers (and no, there isn't any joke to these "Aggie" items)
Vibrating back pillow ( ;-)
and some cash. . .

What if the hokey pokey IS what it's all about?

The Rent World: The Gauntlet

So I don't mean to harp on the subject of Rent: the mediocre musical movie but I turned on MTV for like 10 minutes today and I thought about it again. They were airing The Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet II. Am I the only one that can see similarities between the Real Worlders and the characters of Rent? Neither seem to feel the need to get a real job, instead settle for groveling for money through sad acts of killing dogs, stripping/fighting/sexing on tv, hotwiring ATMs and such. Both seem to feel they are more important to society as a whole and that their lives actually have positive impacts on others outside there little circles. Both just need to go out and get a Real job and step into the Real World. Plus if you throw in Judd Winick (who does not do the challenges) from the San Fran. season and his ongoing devotion/fascination with Perdro, you have the AIDS and gay themes there too as he constantly incorporates these into his pop culture writings.

Maybe it's jus the 12am caffeine thinking here.

Thanksgiving

I didn't post anything around Thanksgiving because my holiday was uneventful. I do have to say one thing I am very thankful for is grandparents (things...are...thing...is?). Check out the Grandparent line up at the family Thanksgiving. Make sure to take note of the good China (oh, the one in the pink is mom and the last old lady is my great aunt Mary Lee)

Rent

As I'm sure you've deduced from the title, tonight I saw the movie musical Rent. I felt the need to comment on the movie because all of the reviews I've received so far from friends have been mediocre to negative. I saw it with Kim who has not seen the musical nor listened to the soundtrack so for most of the movie, I sat thinking that she must be bored out of her mind. While I don't think she was disappointed to see it, I also don't think she loved it. I must say that I very much enjoyed the show. It definitely was, as many people have said, the stage musical on screen. There was only one scene that I can think of that was Chicagoesc and that is okay with me. I have seen the musical twice before, once on Broadway with-I think- the original cast that was in the movie and a second time in Broadway's sister location, Rudder Auditorium on the campus of Texas A&M. I have also often listened to a burned copy of The Best of Rent soundtrack. During the movie, I had the soundtrack playing in my head and the vague visuals of the stage performances running through my head. I don't think that anyone who has not seen the stage performance or isn't at least very familiar with the soundtrack could really enjoy the movie too much. I picked up on a few differences in the songs/scenes during the movie which mostly bothered me but since I only listen to "The Best of Rent" soundtrack, I didn't pick up on any of the missing songs. While I think they would have made a bigger splash at the box office had they replaced the cast with big names like Zellweger, Zeta-Jones and Gere, I am very glad they did not. Whenever I think of Rent, I will always see Anthony Rapp's funny looking pale face with his over worn blue scarf and purple sweater. Ahh, to be young, naive, creative, living in NYC and to not have sold out. . .to not have to pay RENT! We'll forget about that whole AIDS thing and the fallacy of their expectations . . .(side note, I paid my rent today).