The average dog is a nicer person than the average person

I love you, Nala girl. You were my stinky little princess and I'm going to miss you like crazy.

And honestly, how heartbreaking is that turtles live for 100 years and dogs only live for 15?

Rest in peace, girl. I'll be seein' ya...

Eulogy For A Desktop....or, Dude, You're Getting (Rid Of) A Dell!

My desktop is dying a most undignified death.

It takes twenty minutes, no exaggeration, to boot up and load one Firefox window. Opening iTunes takes another five minutes and if I open up more than three tabs? The entire system schitzes out and needs to be reset.

Ol' Desky is finally heading to the glue factory (or Staples for their computer recycling program).

I've had some great memories with the lumbering beast, though.

It was the first computer I owned. Not a family machine or something I had to share, but solely mine. That ownership meant I could download Paul Frank icons, emblazon the screen with wallpaper that showed off Ron Livingston's exposed rear (Body Shots -- awful movie, awesome scene) and set up my email so that every time I got a new message, a gruff voice would shout out, "Mail, Motherfucker!"

I remember meeting Dan for the first time and spending the night watching Before Sunrise and True Romance. Movies to fall in love to...and we did.

I also watched One Night In Paris on that computer -- approximately eight of us, smooshed together in my room critiquing Ms. Hilton's technique and deciding that she was a lousy lay.

I discovered and downloaded amazing music -- everything from Stevie Ray's ode to Oreo cookies to Rage Against The Machine's condemnation of corrupt political systems.

I uploaded over a thousand pictures -- artsy shots like the one of buddy Paul dressed in his martial arts gear slicing a blue sky with his sword and drunken snapshots of the night we decided to slide down the hallway on beanbags.

I played lots of free Tetris and spent even more time talking to tech support after Pepe's extensive porn viewing crashed my system (thanks, dude).

And I wrote. I wrote. I wrote.

Articles, emails, blog entries, Livejournal entries, papers about the Geto Boys contribution to hip-hop and about the philosophical definition of art, screenplays, unrequited love letters, requited love letters, rants and bits and pieces that have never seen the light of day since.

I brought the desktop with me when I moved to Pennsylvania and it helped serve as a lifeline to my former life. We've had some good times together but now, it's time to move on.

Vaya con Dios, Ol' Desky. Hopefully you'll be recycled into something that gives someone else as much happiness as you gave me.

Paul Newman: 1925-2008

Actor. Philanthropist. Maker of delicious popcorn. #19 on Nixon's Enemies List.

I loved Paul Newman.

I have a crush on Ron Livingston and am so completely in love with Dan that sometimes, I get tongue-tied and weak at the knees just thinking about it....but Paul Newman? He's pretty much the archetype for the perfect man and I'm convinced that no-one - past, present or future - will come close to ever being as aesthetically appealing as he was.

My thoughts go out to Mr. Newman's family and friends. He was a good man and I'm sad to say goodbye to him.

Life Without You (Live) -- Stevie Ray Vaughan

Heath Ledger dead at the age of 28

MSNBC is reporting it. So are CNN, Fox News and TMZ.



I am shocked and saddened by this. Ledger was one of my favorite actors. I loved his smile and the easy way it seemed to light up his face. His performance as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain was a tour de force and completely devastated me. And I've been excited about his portrayal as The Joker in The Dark Knight ever since I found out he was cast in the role.

My prayers go out to Ledger's family and friends. Especially his daughter, Matilda.

Rest in peace, Heath. You left us far too soon.

RIP Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti died today of pancreatic cancer. He was 71.

The English hold a bit of a special place in their hearts for Pavarotti. After all, his majestic rendition of Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot scored England's World Cup hopes during Italia '90.

I think Mark Oliver of The Guardian put it best: "It may have been mercilessly parodied and ridiculed for its mass, housewife CD-buying popularity but it was the tournament's greatest ever TV theme."

I can't listen to the piece without red and white imagery flashing through my mind -- a victorious goal. An ecstatic footballer sliding on his knees while clutching his shirt, his face alight with joy. A thunderous crowd roaring with approval.

Italia '90 was 17 years ago (and we ended up losing to West Germany in a penalty shoot-out...which reminds me of a Gary Lineker quote: "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win") and since then, the English team has had numerous songs detailing their glory -- Fat Les' Vindaloo, The Lightning Seeds' Three Lions but in my mind, Nessun Dorma will always be the unmitigated anthem of English football.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Pavarotti.