LISTEN, THIS IS IMPORTANT

Item #1: Lucky Charms has got to be the world's most perfect food (fuck you, chiqita bananas!). I even like the non-marshmallow parts. It is the Champagne of Cereals (fuck you, Miller High Life!).

Item #2: The Office season 4 (I just finally got around to watching it) was fantastic overall. The first four 'hour' long episodes all felt a bit forced, but after that rocky start, I think the season was at the very least better than season 3, and almost as good as season 2. They really blended the goofy humor and the nail-biting awkwardness extremely well, especially in episodes like "The Dinner Party."

Item #3: I'm having fun playing music with Logan and Ryan. We need to get Chad and TJ up in there to rock out sometime. I want no less than seventeen people in this band! It will be a pop punk orchestra, damn it!

Item #4: It has come to my attention that none of the items on this list are important, nor should they be listened to. I will ask you to ignore the title of this post.

Item #5: I need a new desktop background. Robocop riding a unicorn got old...fast.

I'm so there....

Sleeping In

This morning (quote-unquote) I slept until 12:15 PM or so. I'll miss that.

Whatta Week

Whew. I hadn't planned on driving back and forth to Dahlgren every day this week...but I did.

I guess it was worth it. I will need all the money I can get for Chicago (I still may end up going to a payday loan place before I depart. I've worked hard and waited all summer for this trip--I'm gonna drink like a fish and tear Chicago UP!!!)

That reminds me...I'm supposed to make a list of shit to do while I'm there. I should do that. I would do the "Devil in the White City" tour, where they take you to murder sites of HH Holmes, The US's first serial killer, who operated during the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, but it's 30 bucks a person...and 30 bucks can buy a lot of drinks...

Anyway, I think it might be more fun to do an unofficial Ferris Bueller Tour. Sears tower. Art Museum. Find "Shermer" high school. Wrigley Field. Who knows.

JAY OH BEE

So yesterday I officially started a new job. Well...it's not really new. I did this for about five weeks at the beginning of this summer, and they called recently and asked me to do it again. $18.85/hr doing half the work I've been doing? Yes, thank you.

What I do, officially, is assist (along with a few other temps) in the testing of sattelite phones for the Marine Corps. I could tell you more, but I'd have to kill you.

No, only kidding, I couldn't kill you...but someone might kill me!

While the job is an extremely low energy affair, there's a lot of downtime (ie: while the full timers and government engineers figure out how the fuck the phones are supposed to work) which can make the hours drag on and on. I really should get a cel phone with internet capabilities. Also, I should bring a chair tomorrow...it gets pretty hot outside these days. When's that fall weather supposed to come in?

One more problem: the job's an hour away, and with me doing a play back in Richmond (and rehearsing monday-friday) and working at the store on weekends...it's a heckuva lot of driving.

So, in the end, it's not the greatest job in the world, but I could be doing worse. That's about as close to positive thinking as I can muster. Have a nice day. I need a nap.

Merrill Howard Kalin RIP

http://www.legacy.com/ChicagoTribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=112237897

I just heard early this morning from my friend and former roommate that Merrill Howard Kalin has, in fact, passed away. In June, at the age of 45. For those of you who don't know, Merrill was the star of his own public access cooking show that garnered a large following (let's admit it--for the wrong reasons) from the clips of it on YouTube.

I have to admit I watched the videos, puzzled at first...surely this was an early 80s SNL sketch...surely something would go horribly wrong. But no, Merrill cracks on and proceeds to cook what looks like a delicious chicken dinner. Along the way Merrill laughs, laments his fallen Jell-O mold (it was in there a long time, Merrill) and does impressions of his favorite clebrities. It was truly a magical thing to behold.

I'm going to Chicago in a couple of weeks (as I won't shut up about), and I had the faintest glimmer of hope that I might run into the man himself there. He was living in or around Palatine, Illinois, and while I have no idea how close that is to Chicago, there was still a warm fuzzy feeling that Mr. Kalin and I would be in the same state, at the very least.

If you can, try to find the entire video. YouTube has taken it down again and again, and I'm not a fan of all the cut-up versions (though I am intrigued by the "Lost Tapes" teaser...where is the rest of that footage?!) . The show is a delight from start to finish, and if you watch it, remember to laugh with Merrill, not at him. Hey, he looks like he's having a wonderful time. You will too.

So farewell, Merrill, and remember: never use a knife without an angel present...