This has a strange, David Lynch quality, don't you think?

I saw The Exorcism of Emily Rose Saturday night. It was pretty good. The woman who played Emily had a distinct skinny awkwardness that really worked. I wasn't really sold on the idea that the priest would have been charged with negligent homicide though. She was a legal adult, and her parents were involved. Why would a D.A. go after a priest?

Cosmo had to leave the theater early because it was about 90 degrees in there and people were talking all over the place, but I stayed. I enjoyed the woman who clapped every time someone mentioned Jesus Christ. You go Jebus!

On the walk home I encountered Cosmo watching a crime scene. The cops had tasered some old, crazy homeless guy and about ten of them were sitting on him outside Barnes and Noble while he yelled incoherently. He had an odd, high, raspy voice and Cosmo suggested he might be posessed. There were four or five cop cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck, and Maxella was completely blocked off. Bit of an overreaction perhaps?

I don't know what he did, but we found silverware strewn all over Glencoe. We gave a cop a few table knives, which he dutifully entered into evidence.

You want to know what I hate? You do? Ok. I hate those "My Name is Earl" radio commercials where a bunch of hipster doofi sit around talking. One of the doofi says he's seen this great new show, where a guy goes around apologizing for all the bad things he's done in his life, and it's different. Yeah, yeah, say all the other douchebags. They always say that. Every year there's some new show that's supposed to be different, but they're all the same. Oh no, says the network shill doofus. This one's different. It's, like, a "fish out of water" story, completely different than all other TV shows that have ever come before! It's got, like, that guy from Almost Famous in it! He grew, like, a mustache! See? You gotta, like, watch!

Now, I'm all for appealing to cynical gen-x doofi like myself with inventive marketing, but this kind of stuff is begging us to hate it. Oh wait, the commercial says this show's not like every other lame "fish out of water" story TV has come up with for the past fifty years? This one's different? Sign me the fuck up!

Two words: Puh Leeze.

We bought a house! This is the view from our new backyard.

It was sad to hear that April Winchell has thyroid cancer, but good to hear that she's now ok. Tune in to Mr. KABC this Friday to hear her new husky voice.

We watched Step Into Liquid over the weekend. I didn't enjoy it as much as Riding Giants or Dogtown and Z Boys, but it was ok. It went on too long. Every time I thought they were wrapping up there would be another quirky vignette with some old guys talking about "the stoke." At least I got to see the super-hunky Laird Hamilton. Hubba hubba.

Goodbye Laura. I don't know you, but your story moved me. I hope you find some peace.

Her blog
Her sister's blog

I also tried to watch "Love Actually" yesterday. It made me want to stab someone, so I stopped.

I watched HBO's "Rome" yesterday. Here are my thoughts, based on my extensive knowledge of Roman history gained by reading Colleen McCullough books:

- Julius Caesar doesn't look right. This guy looks more like the real Caesar.
- They should have started earlier, with Sulla and Caesar's youth, so that we would understand why people loved him.
- The marketplace scenes of grimy peasants haggling with merchants over leeks looked much like a scene from Stargate SG1. I expected Teal'c to come through the Chappa Eye at any moment.
- Do you think ancient Roman women really shaved their chochas? I have doubts.
- Why do some people say "Pompei" and some say "Pompee"? Is Pompee a British thing?
- It was good to see the little Doogie Houser kid from Mander and Comaster as Octavian. He rocks.

My overall rating? Meh.