So I’m thinking about going the HP Compaq Presario route - specifically either the R3000Z or the V2000. Both offer widescreen displays. The former comes with an AMD Athlon processor, while the latter has the more conventional Celeron. My question (JOEL & BEN I’M LOOKING YOUR WAY), then, is: is AMD Athlon OK? Cuz if it is, then it appears to be the slightly cheaper deal, for supposedly greater performance. Second question: if I go with AMD Athlon, do I need the newer 64bit processor, or just the cheaper AMD Athlon XP-M? Again, this lappie is for Lauren, and will be used nearly solely for word processing, internet research, movie watching on trips, and porn backup.

I don’t know if you want to air our dirty laundry on this blog, but when can I move in at your place, and I am coming to DC at the end of March/start of April.

If you’d prefer to keep this from our miscreant friends: zlindsey@umich.edu

All others: note the category under which this post was filed :)

P.S. can someone educate me on posting pictures? I know this has been covered, but I keep getting question marks.

… 6′ phythons, squirels, and iguanas from climbing up your sewer pipes and into your toilet? Nothing. My one-time greatest fear is back.

Speaking of dignified, check this out. [Story here.] It’s the latest internet video sensation (celebrity sex tapes excluded).

Gary Brolsma innocently posted a video clip of himself dancing and singing along to an obscure Romanian pop song. Unfortunately for him, a popular website linked to it, and ever since the 19 year-old has been a victim of inadvertant celebrity.

Last night, my classical society chums and I gathered to hold a quiet, dignified evening at the Town Center. We participated in a symposium, which, to the ancient Greeks, literally meant a “drinking together.” It really was one of the more charming, low-key yet intellectually reinvigorating times of my life, as I think this picture readily attests…

I’ve never known anybody to be on national television before.
This Friday, I learned that two of my friends were.
Unbelievable that it would happen on the same day.
Frickin’ Unbelievable.
The first was my friend, Sara Sullivan, whom I know from Latin, who did it and did it right on Wheel of Fortune, to the sweet tune of $2600. The show was filmed in Vegas, and on the show I could see the town’s white-hot glamour melting off Pat Sajak’s face along with the rest of his copious makeup.

My other friend, Andrew Rudd, did it and did it at night on the Conan O’Brien Show. He’s in a band, Aqueduct, that is to funky what the name Wilbur is to stodgy. I can’t believe that dude met Conan himself. I’ve heard Conan is eight feet tall and that his eyes burn with the brightness of a thousand suns. I’m glad that someone will finally be able to tell me if these things are true or not.

This site has, I think, all of George Orwell’s writings.

I know it’s been out for a while, but I finally got around to seeing what will by all accounts be the Best Picture of 2004 come next Monday: Million Dollar Baby. This movie seems to be the most critically polarizing movie in years, so I’m wondering what you guys thought about it if you’ve seen it. I honestly don’t know. Now I can stop avoiding all those reviews that spoil the ending.

The Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open match between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi will be conducted on a special tennis green that’s been laid out on the 7-star Burj Al Arab hotel’s helipad.

Phra Kru, a monk who lives north of Bangkok, said he had a severe itch in his eyes. “I squeezed several drops on the floor and saw a clear liquid, so I put four drops into each eye. In about a minute, my eyes felt cold and then sealed closed,” the monk reported. The clear liquid was not Visine, but rather superglue. A friend recommended using thinners to remove the glue, but Phra Kru said it only caused a searing pain. As of today (a week later), doctors have opened one eye with the help of an acetone solvent, but the other eye will have to wait until Thursday’s operation.

Dudes,

I just saw Postmen in the Mountains.

This is a movie every young man should see. It’s shot in rural China and is the story of the relationship between a son, his father, and the job. If you look on Rotten Tomatoes you will see reviews saying that the movie was well-shot and not overacted etc, etc. That’s true. The acting is simple and the story is told through relationships, social position, and the beautiful scenery. Also, if you have an Asian fetish (let’s be honest, who doesn’t?) then you’ll also find some eye candy worth the task of reading the dialogue since it’s sub-titled.

Basic story: father is gone all the time delivering mail and is approaching retirement, son is taking his job, but resents father for never being home. They go on the route in the mountains together so the father can show his son the way and they discover more about each other as the route progresses. Plus, there is an AWESOME German Shepherd that accompanies them.

This is not a new theme: father putting job over family, but this is a movie that just tells a GREAT story without unnecessary humor to make us more comfortable with the reality of workaholism or unnecessary drama to drive the point home that kids need their parents. It is completely believeable and wonderful.

To bring it to a level we can all understand: remember what it was like when maybe you kissed a girl the first time and at the time you were like, this is nice, but didn’t think about it at the time. Then afterwards you couldn’t get that moment out of your head and realized it really made an impression on you? This movie is like that. You don’t realize what it’s doing to you when you watch it, but after it’s over you feel like you’ve just read a fantastic story.

I don’t know much about no country, but I do know that they breed ‘em really good-lookin’ down thar in Texas. Case in point This country singer, Melissa Lambert, is to us white boys what Beyonce is to countless black boys. I dare say she may be the hottest entertainer in the Universe.

One of the many joys of living in Washington is that this city is flooded with free daily newspapers, the Express and the upstart Washington Examiner being the two most popular. On any given morning you will find the streets, sidewalks, buses, trains, and even bathroom stalls of DC buried ankle-deep in discarded copies of these dailys. I’m not sure why there’s a demand for these things in the first place, because they are comprised largely of AP wires available free on the Internet (although the Examiner does have some local content written by some local writers).

Recently (and most unfortunately), however, the Examiner upped the ante. As Slate (a free daily that’s actually worth its price) put it: the Examiner is the first to “carpet-bomb” high-income addresses in the DC-metro area with free home delivery. In addition to the tens of thousands of copies handed out at the metro station and in street boxes, the Examiner also delivers approximately 210,000 copies to the doors of undesiring and disgruntled residents like me.

This evening, I’ve decided to take matters into my own letter-writing hands. I’ve sent the Examiner the following email:

Dear DC Examiner,

Neither did I request nor want the DC Examiner newspaper delivered to my home every morning. You are creating an extra chore for me daily, having to pick it up and dump it into my recycle bin. Moreover, it is an unconscionable waste of paper.

Please stop delivery of your paper to my home. In addition, please respond to this email to confirm.

Sincerely,

Mohsen XXXXXX
XXXX XXXXXX Street, NW
Washington DC, 2000X

I will post updates as they develop.

ZMurd touched upon these guys when he mentioned The Elected as one of his fav bands of 2004, but you guys should check RILO KILEY for yourself — especially their awesome, trippy video. Also, their lead singer reminds me of Kirsten Dunst, which can’t be a bad thang, eh?

Adriana Lima - Joel’s Victoria’s Secret Girl

Is this picture appropriate for JttM?

When I saw the faculty photograph of FOX News whipping boy Ward Churchill, I knew he looked familiar– the long unkempt hair, the black turtleneck, the (presumably) empty gaze. But from where?

My current working theory is that Churchill is in fact a golden retriever. See for yourself. The resemblence– she’s uncanny. And why else would he hide behind those absurd sunglasses?

Developing….

The “parasitic” twin (see second head above), which was capable of smiling and blinking, was removed (and trashed) after a 13 hour surgery this week. The doctor said, “[don't worry, it wasn't capable of] independent life.” Apparently, two-headness is a rare “defect,” but it has occured at least three times in the last twelve months.

Patty, Marge’s sister, married a woman on last night’s Simpsons. NYTimes has the story.