Duj-ka!

Somehow I missed this picture on Dujka's site when it was initially posted, and I felt the need to post it to compensate for the depressing picture of Britney (and my participating in the frenzy of her shearing. Keith Olbermann, as much as I love your gray-haired goodness, I'm a little disappointed she made your countdown two days in a row).


So, for a lack of motivation to actually write an entry on the decay of journalism in today's pop-culture centric world, I give you a happy picture of Dujka and me at the Dole Plantation shortly before it closed. Our visit had nothing to do with its closure. Or so we're telling people...

Rub My Head

I mean, let's all be honest here: who hasn't had the urge to shave their head?

Jimmy John's is Stalking Me

Every time I've moved in the past five years, a new Jimmy John's has opened nearby shortly after I have relocated. Case in point:

Iowa City: 320 E. Benton Street. In college, unbeknownst to us when we first moved in, our apartment was over the top of an empty business that was soon to become Jimmy John's. Michelle and I listened to construction around the clock during the summer (3 a.m.? Perfect time for using a sledge hammer to uproot a concrete floor). The construction continued after Michelle moved out, so erin was able to experience the joy of late-night construction activities. After several days of Jimmy John's being open, erin and I were dismayed to realize that three-day-old baked bread smells like vomit. We came to this conclusion after I mistakenly accused erin of being bulimic ("Um, erin, you feeling okay? I've noticed that the bathroom has smelled like puke for a week now, and I'm really concerned about you.")

Living above a Jimmy John's wasn't all bad. Erin developed a crush on one of the workers, and she was able to sweet talk him into hooking us up with free sandwiches. While a crazy party and illegal activities helped erin get over her crush on the Jimmy John's guy, we still used him for the free food. And perhaps the world's largest air freshener helped mask the vomit-odor problem.

Kansas City: 4300 Roanoke Pkwy. A couple months after I moved to the Plaza area, the first Jimmy John's in Kansas City opened three blocks away from where I lived. Occasionally I would stop by after work to buy either the #4 (Turkey Tom with no sprouts) or the #9 (Italian Night Club on wheat bread). (Yes, when it comes to Subway, Jimmy John's, and Quiznos, my sandwich preference is predictably the same; very rarely do I deviate from my sandwich choice.) After a particularly draining day at work, I stopped by Jimmy John's. I must have looked as depressed as I felt because the Jimmy John's man (a creepy sort of dude) gave me my sandwich for free. After that, any time I went into Jimmy John's and he was working, no payment was required for my sandwich. It all felt a little dirty, but I've come to realize that I'm willing to demagnatize my moral compass if it means free food.

Grand Blvd. The second Jimmy John's in KC will be opening approximately six blocks away from where I currently live. They recently removed the brown paper from the windows to reveal the familiar black-and-red checked tile pattern and the fascinating signs (such as So fresh you'll want to slap somebody or What happens in your mouth stays in your mouth). It's only a matter of days before it opens.

Frankly, I'm starting to get a little weirded out by my relationship with Jimmy John's, and I'll be more than a little peeved if I have to go back to paying for my #4.

American Fame Pt. 2: Forgetting Jonathon Brandis

This short film kind of makes me want to punch Cam Archer. And I'm usually the nonviolent type.

Prince Performing at the Half-Time Show

I think the giant basterdized Prince symbol serving as a stage says it all.

Generation Wimp

Last summer, I decided that I wanted to own a complete, matching set of the Time quartet. (When it comes to buying book series, I'm quite particular. If I buy the first one in paperback, they all have to be in paperback. If it's a certain publication, I make sure that I'm buying the same publication.)

I was able to buy three of the books at a used bookstore, and then purchased the fourth one at Barnes and Noble. I was distraught to realize that when they rereleased the series, they turned the previously ominous covers into pastel versions for the new generation.

The cover of A Wrinkle in Time when I first read it in middle school:

And then today's cover of the book:

For a generation that is allegedly desensitized to violence and all things scary, I find this cover a little...lacking. You might as well tell the kids that they're about to read a Babysitters Club book with this cover.

Speaking of The Babysitters Club, you cannot buy this series directly off the Barnes and Noble shelf (only online). Or the Sweet Valley High series, for that matter. Um, you know, not that I routinely browse the juvenile fiction section for the brain candy that filled my 4th through 6th grade reading days. (Although only 20 more shopping days until my birthday.)

Side Note: This paragraph on the Wikipedia page caught my eye (ahem, Gwen):

Sweet Valley Heights
This is an as yet unpublished spin-off of the franchise described by Francine Pascal in the April/May 2005 edition of Bust magazine. According to the interview, Sweet Valley Heights will feature characters from the original series living in a gated community and aged in their 20s or 30s. Some sources claim the title has been changed to Sweet Valley Confidential. The Bust interview claimed the initial publication would appear in late 2005, but as of 2006 it has not appeared.

It's like Melrose Place meets Sweet Valley High with everyone being legal to do all those dirty things that they did in the Sweet Valley High series. Phew -- I'm not sure if I can stand the suspense of waiting for this series to hit the shelves...