Shameless plug; we are selling our elliptical machine (shut up anyone out there that said we shouldn’t get it…), and I thought I would give it some press by posting the craigslist link here. If you are in ATL, and want a damn fine elliptical for like $800 less than it costs in the store (it sells for $2600), then this is your lucky day. Here’s the link. Tell your friends, we need to get this thing out so we can make room for a new couch!
Month: December 2005
movie musings
Brokeback Mountain: the (long-awaited) review
by duane • • 12 Comments
I saw Brokeback Mountain today, and when I sat down to write the review, I really felt. No seriously, reflecting on this film really does make you feel. The story is touching, the love is palpable, and the acting is moving. Many people in the theater were crying, and I honestly can’t say I didn’t shed at least a tear. With that being said, my review may be a little different than previous reviews I have done; mainly because I felt more from this movie that I have felt from almost any movie I have ever seen. I totally felt immersed in this film, and being who I am, and given what it was about, it is hard not to personalize much of the emotion and what happens. I do want to warn those that haven’t seen it, because I do talk about aspects of the story in my review. With that being said, I don’t give away anything like the ending (even though I really wanted to talk about how that made me feel), and I don’t go into specific detail about the story; but I know there are those out there that would rather be warned about the potential of spoilers, rather than just happen upon them. All in all, Brokeback Mountain is a breathtakingly beautiful and moving film. It is definitely a must see. Now, my review… (I know it is probably the 100239847239847298374928347th review, but if you don’t like it, don’t read it! It was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, so I feel compelled to give my two cents, so there.)
the catch-all-egory
Oh baby it’s Wednesday! All over!
by duane • • 11 Comments
There’s a lot going on today: (take a deep breath with me)
– Brokeback Mountain at 1:15 (I hope). We are going to see it, finally, today. I will let you know what I thought soon… I am sure that it is going to be nothing but great things to say about it; after all, Jake is in it! AND it is a love story about two men!
– James and I are committing ourselves today; in the sense of powers of attorney, wills, domestic partnership agreements, etc. I mentioned a while back that we took the steps to solidify our partnership and provide ourselves with some protection (since the damn government refuses to recognize our commitment), by going to a lawyer and having all of the necessary documents drawn up. Well, today is the culmination of that effort; we are signing the papers, and they will be official as of this afternoon. I am very excited. We are one step closer to legal commitment; and I couldn’t be happier. Now, if we could only do that whole “wedding†and “reception†thing… I want my blue diamond ring! Soon… Soon… (Seriously, you can count on that!)
– Finally, I am working on a set of entries that will highlight the year in review in the following areas: my top albums of 2005, my top movies of 2005, my top singles of 2005, and my top dance tracks of 2005. I always love to see what other people think about movies and music, and I, myself, love to share what I know about artists and films; in order that someone else might find something they enjoy, or at least to foster conversation about it. That is exactly what these lists will do; they will give you all a glimpse into what I was enjoying this year, with regards to movies and music. Hopefully, it will also give you some suggestions as to stuff to check out that you may then enjoy. I am always on the lookout for new media, and word of mouth is always the best way I have found things in the past. So, I will pass that on to you. Expect these entries in the very near future (like, this week). Also, if there is anything that you would like to see in these entries, here is your chance to voice those opinions!
– Happy Hump day everyone! Now, I am leaving work!
funnies
WHAT did you just call me?!
by duane • • 15 Comments
I love how much everyone loves my kitchen and my new IKEA task lighting! Thanks for the props ya’ll! Perhaps I should take my ass back to school for interior design or some shit, and go to work as an interior designer! I could get a show on HGTV. It would be fabulous. Hey wait a second, that actually is an idea! JOB OF THE WEEK!!
Anyway… I took some pictures while I was at IKEA yesterday, because I love how much shit they have there and how they group it, and one of my favorites (not because of the quality, but because of what it is/represents) was the one pictured here. I remember when I was younger, and so many people would call me a “faggot”, I know, sad right? But, I also remember how teachers used to say that I shouldn’t let that bother me, because all a faggot is, is a bundle of twigs, sticks, or branches bound together. Well, let me just say that no matter how much you say what the true meaning of the word is, hearing it as an expletive doesn’t make me think of the woods; if you know what I am saying. But nowadays, being that I am the out and proud homo you see shining before you, I feel like I have gained some sort of ownership of the word; and when I saw this display, I couldn’t resist. So, without further adieu, I pay homage to the true faggots in the world. And get this, IKEA has the gall to charge us for the damn things! Can you truely put a price on a good faggot? (That doesn’t mean that I don’t secretly want to buy a big ass vase and get as many faggots as I can to fill it).
For the record, I could continue on with this all day; yes, I am that juvenile. So just sit back, and enjoy! Faggot, faggot, faggot!
THIS, by far, is the faggotiest post I have ever done!
show the love
one more reason I love IKEA:
by duane • • 23 Comments
Task lighting for $50. My. Kitchen. Must. Love. Me.
"pointless"
still not convinced, sorry!
by duane • • 3 Comments
After the post that I posted a couple of days ago about the waning support for the war, and lack of accountability that has been, or probably will be, attributed to Bush and the rest of the government; I must say that last night’s speech did little to stay my concerns. I still feel like things are going to hell, and have been for the past 3 years, and we need to wrap it up, and come on home. Let’s start focusing on what we are saying that matters (the people of Iraq), rather than our pocket books; let’s try focusing on the people. If we are truly going to rebuild, then let’s rebuild and then get out of there; even though we said we weren’t going to do that. Let’s not let anyone else die for this war. There are other pressing concerns that we must also focus on. Let us not forget that there is a potentially deadly flu pandemic that is sweeping its way closer and closer to our back yard each and every day, and I for one, think that this should be one of our main concerns. That is a situation where it is best to be over prepared, and we are no where near where we need to be with that one.
Thanks to everyone that commented on the aforementioned post, I do enjoy talking about things that are going on the world, sometimes. I honestly wondered just the other day, what I would do after Wednesday, when I finally see Brokeback Mountain; what will I have to blog about? (you bet I am going to review it… even if it is like the millionth review) I guess I have proven to myself that I have more to talk about than BBM and Jake (not that I ever REALLY thought that was all I talked about… but I mean, come on! It’s Jake Freaking Gyllenhaal we are talking about! How is that not something to want to always talk about? Exactly.)
As for my heat, it is going to be fixed today. That is a $700 Christmas gift right from the HVAC guy. Ho. Ho. Ho. At least I have Bobby and Whitney to cheer me up on Wednesday. Man this post is all over the place! But you know you like it!
Sing it with me now…
Kanye West – Bring Me Down
Lindsay Lohan – Confessions of a Broken Heart
Blur – The Universal
"pointless"
the weekend is fading away!
by duane • • 5 Comments
As I sit here on my Sunday night, I wonder, why the fuck can’t the weekend be three days long? Or four? Hell, why can’t I just get paid to think about going in to work, and instead, just continue sitting at home like it is the weekend? Sorry for the lame post, but I think that I am in need of some serious R&R. Luckily, I will be getting that… this week, I will have 2 days off, and I will be off on Monday. Nice. Christmas will come somewhere in there, but I won’t let that break my spirits. I have vodka and beer on standby.
I just need to rest. Would anyone want to pay me to do just that? God, I need to win the lottery… Hope you all are having a great weekend, and I will see you tomorrow!
"pointless"
“It’s nothing, they turned off my heat”
by duane • • 17 Comments
I am still battling this damn sinus infection today, I just wish it would GO AWAY already! Also, my friend Deb and I were talking yesterday about how it was getting colder, and she was telling me all about growing up in England in a house were her room did not have central heating. Well, I experienced a little of that last night. Coincidental to our conversation, our heat has now stopped working, and we woke up to a frigid house this morning. Thank God for down comforters, right!? I think that something happened when they were under the house fixing the floors; here’s hoping that it is easy and inexpensive to fix. Ugh! It is always something with home improvement!!!!
On a different note; Brokeback finally opens in ATL today. It is only going to be at one theater (!!!), the Midtown Arts Theater in Midtown, which is one of the smallest theater’s they could have chosen for such a big movie! (to celebrate, I give you the cute Jake photo above!!) The queens are going to be swarming around that honey this weekend, so I think that James and I are going to hold our horses til Wednesday… Oh how I shiver with antici…… pation. Damn it, Janet! I want to see that movie NOW!
venting
hey Bush; you’re outta there!!
by duane • • 23 Comments
I was toiling over whether to actually say anything about this or not, because sometimes I abhor political debates, but honestly, I am quite pissed, and I feel the need to clear some air. Which totally makes me think of another, unrelated headline that I read this morning about how high fiber diets don’t prevent colon cancer; and being that I sometimes think that way, I thought that the headline should’ve read, “All that extra fiber in your diet is just a load of crap when it comes to preventing colon cancer; so you don’t have to shit yourself trying to get more of itâ€. Anyway… I digress…
A couple of days ago, Bush came out and admitted that we did in fact go to war under false intelligence (“there are definitely weapons of mass destruction over there… I can smell ‘em!â€â€¦ obviously not the only thing, but, what’s a girl gonna do?), and then, in the same sentence, defended the war, and advocated a continuation of the war that was built on these false pretenses. He then stated that he was glad that we went, because after we got there, we realized that Saddam was bad (didn’t we know that?) and he needed to be taken care of. Now, wait a second; I may be crazy, but didn’t he just tell us that we went for the wrong reasons, admitted that it was fucked up that we went into this war; and then in the same sentence, defended the stupid mistake, and scrambled to find other reasons to validate the current situation? How is that right? How, I ask?!? If you didn’t this in almost any other circumstance, shit would hit the fan! You would get fired, if you did this at your job! So I ask, shouldn’t someone be held accountable for all of the lost lives in this situation? I, for one, definitely think so.
funnies
“What do you mash to mash it off??”
by duane • • 9 Comments
First, before I even get to what the post is about, I just want to say thanks to everyone that had kind words to say about my “blogsestential” crisis. We all go through those types of things sometimes, and it is nice to get that proverbial pat on the shoulder. Muwah!
Now, on with the show!
Recently someone told me that they read my blog and what I said about my trip to NC for Thanksmas, and they thought it was pretty funny. I told them that I undoubtedly left a lot of shit out, basically because I was so worn down when I got back, that it was best to just move forward. But, today, I was listening to my voicemails on my mobile, and I totally remembered what that “skipped message†I kept leaving in my inbox was all about. It was a call from my Grandma (who I totally love, but this is just too good not to share), inquiring where James and I were at; because we were supposed to be at her house like 10 minutes before she called. The message went something like this: