Sunday, February 08, 2009

Yeah.... it's been two weeks since my last post (i.e. missed one).

However, I've got a good excuse! I was gone last weekend on a snowboarding trip to Mt. Okemo in Vermont. I've included a pic here with my good friends Fredie and Mel. (A few minutes later when we reached the top of the mountain and actually had to get back down it, things got interesting... but we all made it back to the cabin safe and sound.)

So on to the Matters for the last couple weeks.

Now, I'm sure each of us would be happy if Stevie Wonder could see. But this evening, as I watched him perform with the Jonas Brothers at the Grammies, I had to think to myself, 'If there was ever a good time to be blind...'

When I watch movies, I tend to simultaneously pay attention and get lost in the details of the background. Case in point: tonight I watched a film called '21 Grams' and couldn't help but notice that the hotel in the scene looked really similar to the motel in the TV show 'My Name is Earl.' I looked it up and they're not one and the same. Lesson learned: Motels generally look the same. Now pay attention to the movie.

Speaking of movies, there was a preview for 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' before '21 Grams.' It's one of my favorite films, but I don't think I've ever seen the preview before. It's presented as an ad for the fictional memory erasure office in the movie, and as I watched it I realized why I like that movie so much. I tend to subscribe to the idea that if I could ever go back and change something about my past, I wouldn't because even mistakes are something to learn from. Even still, it's tempting to think that it might be easier just to erase the painful memories rather than take the time to see the lesson in them.

Did you know that philophobia is a persistent, abnormal and irrational fear of love and intimacy? I didn't either until earlier this week when I looked it up. I don't know if I'm afraid of love and intimacy, but I know I'm afraid of homeless people and there's little difference in the feelings I get when I'm approached by a homeless person or a beautiful girl. So maybe I've got a small case. I do believe that when love hits you, there's no hiding from it. No matter how hard you try.

I'm not a fan of having to go outside in the rain. But there is one thing about it that I enjoy: letting my umbrella form a puddle on the floor of the subway and trying to see a picture or image in it. It's like a mix of cloud watching and the ink blot test psychologists use. Recently I saw an elk standing on the end of a cliff.

While I was in Vermont I saw a commercial for the National Automobile Dealers' Association. I had to smile at the irony of their acronym. Just ask yourself: How much money are they making these days selling cars they try to applaud for getting 20 miles per gallon in the city? (Hint: NADA). How much money should they get from the government for failing to adapt to a changing world these last 30 years? (Hint: NADA).

And now some really fast random thoughts:

• Every time I watch Letterman and see his bandleader, I'm perplexed by how weird that guy looks.
• Something about melted cheese always makes me want to drink some milk.
• After all this ado I can't believe they're delaying the switch to digital TV. I mean, seriously.