Oh snap...

I am outta here! Onwards and upwards to Seattle for Bumbershoot (to watch the Shins, the Apples in Stereo, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Wu Tang Clan, Head Automatica, Smoosh, Panic! at the Disco, Tokyo Police Club, comedians, film, etc.) and then down to Portland for hanging with good friends and Musicfest NW (Starring Spoon, Rilo Kiley, Girl Talk, and Cat Power...meow). Plus, a trip to Astoria, OR to visit my Mecca, aka the location where the Goonies was filmed. All in 10 days! How will I fit all the goodness in? Energy drinks. Many of them. I can hardly wait! No less, still a bad blog owner, but hey, when I get back I will supply the most ridiculous post ever. Maybe even multiple posts! Full of pictures and large adjectives and analogies galore. Do not miss that. I dare you to, and this is a dare that you dare not win on. I shall return the 11th of September!

Additionally, my boy BKV (Brian K. Vaughan for the uninitiated) had a nice special on MTV News. Feel free to check it out here. BKV is pretty much the man, and it's great to see him getting such huge press. New Y next week, 3 more issues. What a tragedy. Both Y and Preacher ending on sixty issues. And they were so young...

Through Being Cool

This past summer has been a ton of fun. I've had probably about as much straight up fun as any summer of my life. I've partied very hard. Did a ton outside. Played a ridiculous amount of Frisbee Golf. Met a lot of great people. Had a good time at work even, while even making a nice sum of money. However, I've kind of felt like a phony the whole time. Not to mention it just has started to not feel right. Doesn't make sense? Let me explain.

• I rarely spend time by myself anymore. I absolutely treasure time by myself and I'm starting to miss it.
• I've become some smooth guy at talking to girls out at bars. Could there be something further from the truth? I just finished eating a PB&J Sandwich on a Harry Potter plate and then contemplated between watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the 200th time or reading comics. I took the plate as an omen. Smooth I am not usually.
• Lately, I've been tossing money out as if I was the guys from Stella (Tried to find the image to back it up, but essentially it is a picture of the three guys from Stella riding in a convertible just tossing cash...it's great because it is an ani-gif, but it is lame in this case because it is a no-gif)
• I worked long and very hard to lose weight, yet here I am gaining weight. Sure everyone says I look exactly the same, but I know better! There is weight for me to lose as my torso and certain other areas have become...well I will call them pudgy.
• I love my place, yet it is in a constant state of disarray because of constant visitors and "tenants," and by that I mean people who stay overnight and leave stuff everywhere.

The point is, I'm frustrated with the lifestyle, I'm frustrated with the people involved to a degree (especially when it involves eating my food with no permission or response and breaking very clearly set rules of my house), and I'm frustrated with myself for going so far in this direction. I've had a lot of fun through a lot of bad decisions more than likely.

When I started thinking of these feelings, I thought of an album by the band Saves the Day called Through Being Cool. It's weird to think of making a conscientious choice, making an absolute choice to no longer be "cool" and go back to my comic book reading, home on Saturday night, Harry Potter loving self. Don't get me wrong, I will still go out from time to time, I just will embrace things that I prefer to do. Today, I had a great day, having breakfast with my family, then going to Barnes and Noble and treating them like a library for a few hours, going to the gym and playing basketball/lifting for a few more, and then taking a well deserved nap. I know that doesn't seem like a great day to many, but that seems like the best to me.

I was told this summer that I am an all or nothing guy. When I do something, it's essentially all in or not at all. I'm going to learn a new mode this fall/winter. Moderation. I have no idea how well it will work. I'm going to refocus on work and health, focus on some new goals that I really want to work on, and back burner my wild and crazy side for a little while. I think this is the perfect time to do it, as I have a ton of concerts to go to over the next month, and an awesome vacation to look forward to as well coming up here at the end of the week. It's all happening. Now I just have to embrace the David and not worry about what others may think.

That's My Boy!

Reggie Miller: The Man

Reggie Miller will not be returning to the NBA on another team.

This year. Next year. Any year.

He will remain what he always has been.

An Indiana Pacer, and the greatest of those of all time.

Long live the king.

Dr. SARSlove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

These are my blood cells

These are my blood cells on SARS

So I have SARS again. I haven't posted in a while, but the last couple days I have been massively infected with my death disease, something I am convinced is only infectious to me and may or may not have the same effects as SARS. Colver thinks I should submit myself to the CDC so they can study me and save many folks over in Asia from death, as I have had it eight times and yet to die from it. I choose to lay around and read comics and complain often. I may even call in sick tomorrow if I feel sick again. I have abused my blog and will henceforth promise to post at least every other day for the rest of the month. Then take a likely 10 day break because I will be in Seattle/Portland having an awesome time. More to come from your friendly neighborhood infectious disease patient. If I survive that is. Cross your fingers!

Be Kind Rewind

Oh wow. Three posts in one day, two of which will be mostly useless to you the reader. Yay me!

I just wanted to post this, because I've been excited about this since it's announcement because I thought conceptually it was genius, and then when they signed the cast I figured it would be even better. Now that I've seen the trailer, I have to say, Michel Gondry's (of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fame) Be Kind Rewind looks to be brilliant. It stars Jack Black and Mos Def as two video store employees who inadvertently destroy all of their tapes, and instead of buying new ones to replace them, they refilm all of the movies themselves and inspire a phenomenon in their city over what they did.

Part of what makes the movie so exciting is the wide variety of movies that they reshoot, which I guarantee will be entertaining. In the trailer alone, it shows their versions of Ghostbusters, Robocop, Boyz in the Hood, Rush Hour 2, Driving Miss Daisy, and even 2001: A Space Oddysey, and all look hilarious. Not to mention that it looks heartwarming, which I will go ahead and admit, is a huge, huge plus for me. I'm a sucker for cheese, and this looks like it could bring it gouda. See what I did there? No less, enough rambling by me, watch the trailer here, and let me know what you think. Some will not like it I'm sure, but I love movies like this. It speaks to me as a mega dork, and I in turn share it with you.

Say it ain't so

Reggie Miler: The Man, the Myth, the Legend

There are very few people I find to be absolutely infallible. Sadly enough, they are no one I actually know, but people I just trust entirely with what they do and what they say. It's nice to have those people, because it gives you someone to believe in and something to always look forward to. For example, I always know I will love whatever Bill Simmons writes. As my friend Ryan said, I have a man crush on Bill Simmons. Another one I never believe will mess up or let me down is Tom Brady, the New England Patriots QB. He always comes through for me in the end, and generally never makes the wrong play at the very least. Even when he ends up losing, I never really blame him.

With those two said, neither really compare to my favorite athlete ever. Reggie Miller. A lot of people do not like Reggie, as he does "dirty" things such as kicking his leg out on a three pointer to draw a foul, he flops to a degree, and he always gets into it with other players. But I love him, I love everything about his game. Regardless of anything he does, he always does the best thing for his team and will never let a Pacers fan down. There is the key, Pacers fan. Reggie Miller was an Indiana Pacer for 18 years before retiring 2 years ago, and now he is contemplating a comeback. Amazing right? I should be extremely excited.

But I'm not.

Because he's thinking of coming back as a Boston Celtic.

Part of what makes Reggie so special is that he stayed on one team for his entire career while everyone else was switching team to team, essentially being hired guns for their entire career. He was Mr. Consistent. He was Mr. Pacer. He was the face, heart, and big ol' Ferengi ears of the Indiana Pacers for 18 years, and he should keep his legacy intact in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong. I would LOVE to see Reggie play again. I would watch every single Boston Celtics game next season if he played. I would root for the Celtics. I would be a Celtics fan (Another thing to bond with Bill Simmons over at least), because while Reggie has been away, the Pacers have turned into a mediocre non-contender with thugs leading their squad into the fray. More than any team that I like, the Pacers are my favorite team because of one player.

From the early days of me liking them with Dale Davis and Rik Smits, to the middle years where they were mediocre and that other team was being dismantled, to the return to glory with young bucks like Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest joining the squad, to the devestation of the Malice at the Palace where the Pacers fought with fans at a Pacers/Pistons game, there was only one constant. Reggie Miller (well and Donnie Walsh, but who likes a team for a President of Operations anyways?).

The point is, I'm terribly conflicted. I want to see Reggie play again badly. But do I want to see him in Celtics green? I don't even know. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but all I can say right now is what I said in the beginning.

Say it ain't so Reggie. Say it ain't so.

Shazam!

Every week at trivia I say the same thing (at least in my head). If only we could have a comic book question, because I will be the only person there that can get it. It's like when I watch Jeopardy! and they're announcing the categories, I always say "comics" right before another one is announced because I hope they will finally do that. Neither wish ever comes true.

Until last night.

Ryan and I went to trivia last night and tore it up, keeping in contention for the first two rounds until our new friend Damien (greatest random meeting ever...story later) joined our team. Damien is some guy who had given us answers before, and when he gave us an answer this week we finally said "Why don't you join us?" So he did, and he was very cool, even going so far as to buy our drinks and food at the very end. Thank you Damien! No less, with him on our side in the third round, we were unstoppable, winning the final round 210 to 80 over the closest team. Amazing right? So we were into the final question, and here was my golden opportunity.

A comic question.

When 14 year old Billy Batson changes into Captain Marvel, he has to say the word "Shazam!" What do the letters of Shazam stand for?

Amazingly enough, I knew the S was Solomon, the H was Hercules, the Z was Zeus, and the M was Mercury. Believe it or not, the only two I didn't remember were the only two that differed in options C and D, which were the only possibly correct ones. I looked at the options, and I picked my favorite one.

And I was wrong.

I was absolutely distraught. I had my comic book question, and I missed it. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. I was devestated. My team was cool with me, and as they said "No one else in the entire place would have even gotten close" but their efforts were for naught. I was distraught. I had my shot for glory. I had my comic book question...and I had gotten it wrong. Absolutely shocking. Sure it was just $100, but at the same time, I feel as if I should have to hand in my member card to the inner circle of comic nerds. I totally blew it.

No less, it was an amazing time. Damien was a cool guy, Ryan and I had a blast, it was fun hanging out with Alex and our other favorite Hooters girls...it was a most excellent Wednesday night. However, that question will haunt me for a while. As soon as I got back to my place, I showed Ryan my Shazam! Monster Society of Evil comic to prove to him why I should have known. I fail at life.

C'est la vie!

Previously on...

Good evening! Long time no talk my faithful (or attempting to be faithful) blog readers. It is I, your horribly unpunctual writer friend who has either been too busy or too lazy to write on his once dear blog. My apologies, I swear it is the former excuse, although there should always be time for this because I love it so. No less, what am I going to do to make up for this absence? A graphically intensive runthrough of everything I've been doing...well most everything. Let me take you through a couple things that will not be discussed.

I maintain my job at GCI (shockingly regardless of what I do at work or outside of work with coworkers...I kid...mostly) and continue to be well liked and productive. I purchased my ticket to go to Bumbershoot, bought my ticket to Musicfest NW (which the Ticketswest rep swore to me would be a "killer" time...god only knows I love my times to be killer), and am trying to purchase floor "seats" to Muse at the Key Arena so they can better decimate my ear drums for 2 hours before I fly back to Alaska. I continue to exercise (mostly) and continue to be thoroughly David regardless of actions that may take place on days that end in Y.

With all that said, onwards and upwards to what I've been up to and in to! I will be doing it in a method showing either one (or a few) things I like, and then pairing it with something that I don't like so much. This will be indicated by following punctuation, positive being followed by a ! and negative being followed by a ...

Weeds!

Now my very bodacious (a term used here to describe a person unrestrained by convention) friend Alex loaned me this DVD set, swearing by its' sheer fantastic nature. She was most definitely not kidding. I just finished power watching the first season of the Showtime hit starring Mary Louise-Parker as a Pot dealing suburban mother dealing with an insane family, a recently deceased husband, and an absolutely ridiculous neighborhood of suburbanites. It is a treasure, and I love it so. It is also fantastic seeing Romany Malco (Jay from the 40 Year Old Virgin) getting another role worth his talents. The guy rocks, and I love to see anyone from Judd Apatow productions in anything. Definitely check this comedy-drama out, because it is wonderful. Also, look forward to this years theme songs for the show, as many bands are doing covers of the theme song "Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds for the shows credits, including none other than those Indie gods the Shins. Yay Weeds!

Planet Earth!

The most beautiful and peaceful piece of film ever made. Plus, it looks amazing on my TV. I spent an hour or five on Saturday laying about watching this, and I think it may be the first thing I purchase to play on my PS3 as a Blu Ray. So gorgeous. Thanks to Alex for this one as well. It's about time I finally watched all of these.

Flight of the Conchords!

I hated this show when I first watched it. I have to be perfectly honest. It was too weird for even me at first. But then I sat through another one and started to grin a bit. And another one and started to laugh. Now I find this show about the fourth greatest folk parody duo from New Zealand to possibly be the best show on HBO. I'm sorry Entourage, but I really, really like the Conchords. Recommended viewing is either the Mugging or the most recent episode (not sure on the title) where both Bret and Jermaine get girlfriends, except they may just be using Bret for sex. It's a high quality half hour if I do say so myself.

Frisbee Golf...

What's this?! The first negative is to my beloved Frisbee Golf?! How can this be?! The old adage of having too much of a good thing is standing true for my precious Frisbee Golf. My skills have crescendoed, with them now hitting a downward spiral of mediocre putting and sore shoulders. I still love it, it's just we need a break. I'm sorry Frisbee Golf...can you ever forgive me?

Ryan "the Asset" Atkins!

Ryan is up visiting from Idaho/Vegas/California/Continental United States for a week (or 2) and it has been fantastic having him up here. Sure he's put us all to shame with his massive Guitar Hero 2 prowess, sure he does headbutt like a cross between Wesley Snipes and Mel Gibson, but it has been rather entertaining to have him around. Stick around buddy. But not for too long...you're too pretty. Look at Amy in that picture. I'm nowhere to even be found. Yes I am crying while writing this.

...

Some say the concept of love at first sight exists. I may agree with that. However, if I do agree with that, I have to say hate at first sight exists as well. Given recent events and mathematical concepts, I believe both have been confirmed due to the finding of truth in the latter. That may be really confusing...but it is intentionally so.

Russia!

I mean come on. Look at that building. And Tetris wouldn't exist without that country! Plus a great Rocky villain came from there. Also, I've noticed one thing over the past few weekends. They produce some very, very attractive women. Congratulations Russia, you now have something be proud of besides the fact you sell Vodka in vending machines. And according to trivia, that is true. Never question trivia.

My knee...

I'm about a month into "I can walk fine but can barely run without pain" and I have to admit, this is a crappy time to be my knee. I've tried to run over the past while, but it's just not doing it for me. Strangely enough, Ryan and I played basketball the other day and it felt fine. Weird huh?

Amy Winehouse! (left) and Lily Allen! (right)

I've been listening to these two lovely ladies a lot lately. Lily Allen was introduced to me last year/early this year by my Mom, and I took a while to get into her but now I call myself quite the fan. Winehouse on the other hand I refused to listen to because I found her to be ridiculously trashy. I still find her absurd, but now she also has the ridiculous talent thing going on. Once I noticed that, it was perfectly simple to get over the other part.

Bagging comics...

No picture, but pictures are unnecessary. Yesterday I bagged comics for over an hour. How lame of a task can you possibly get? I hate things involving tape or cutting or anything of that sort. This is like some sort of massive combination of those things. I never want to bag comics again.

The Bourne Ultimatum!

The third in the series of Bourne books, as written by Robert Ludlum and adapted for film by (in order) Doug Liman, Paul Greengrass, and then Paul Greengrass for a return engagement. This is the best of the series. It has maybe 3 to 5 minutes of intensity let down, but the majority of it feels like someone is grabbing your heart and lungs and screaming "GOOD LUCK!" It defines atmospheric tension in a spy/action movie. Loved it to pieces. One of the best this year so far for sure.

Hollywood at Comic-Con...

Sure a great episode of Entourage took place at the San Diego Comic-Con. That was the tipping point however, and now it has gotten out of control. I watched consecutive 1.5 hour specials on the SDCC on G4TV, and you know what I managed to not see in those 3 hours? Anything about comic books. I plan on going to the SDCC next year, and I also plan on going and actually meeting the artists and writers who make comics so special. As a comic book fan, what more could I ask for? I suppose I could spend my time listening to a presentation about the work put into Good Luck Chuck by the acting superstar tandem of Dane Cook and Jessica Alba, but I'd rather talk to Brian K. Vaughan about how he has made a man and his monkey the best duo in the history of comics or Bill Willingham about how he chooses the Fables to include in his brilliant comic. That's me though, and I am a wee bit of a dork.

The Anchor!

You have no cover, have reasonably priced drinks, good dancing, and good looking girls. You rock! This has been my new favorite dance club.

Platinum Jaxx...

Big cover, expensive drinks, insanely dark, and overly crowded. You suck...and have lost your ranking as Anchorage's best dance club.

Food as crafted by Hippies!

Want good food made in Alaska? Find Hippies. They will lead you to the promised land. Snow City Cafe and Moose's Tooth are two of the best Anchorage has to offer, and both are super duper loaded with Hippies. Coincidence? I think not.

Food as crafted by me...

Don't get me wrong...I can cook. I can make a mean...well...many things. But lately, I've been either supremely lazy or very busy (probably the former on this one) and it just hasn't been happening. Stay away from my cooking...if you can find it. The most complex I get lately is a very well made bagel. I really need to go shopping for food...

Guitar Hero 2!

So much Guitar Hero lately it's blown my mind. Everyone has gotten obsessed with it, and its always an event to play it. Finally it gets what it deserves. Also, google the Guitar Hero 3 video of the expert version of Dragonforce's Through the Fire and Flames. Talk about a face melter. Hardest game ever. Also, check out Rock Band. It's like Guitar Hero on steroids. Can't wait! Christmas present?

All other videogames...

I miss being a little kid when I could just play games for hours and hours and not feel guilty. But I can't anymore, and that means a game has to be ridiculously good for me to want it. That means this year there will really only be a few games for me. Mass Effect. Guitar Hero 3. Rock Band. Madden '08. Halo 3. Anything else? I don't even know.

No less, that is what I've been up to. Doing my thing, as per usual...whatever exactly that entails. I love my life, and I wouldn't change anything besides there being more hours in the day. Is 36 in one day so much to ask? Then I could blog daily like I want to. Damn you sun! Why can't you be slower. Slow and steady wins the race, haven't you ever heard that? Now I must prepare for bed. Breakfast before work with Senor Atkins. Biscuits and Gravy + Coffee = a happy, happy man. Until we meet again faithful friends.