Mon, August 30, 2004

Just a quick update upon my return from Vegas. Hopefully I'll have much more for you tomorrow, when I have a few hours to really devote to my personal projects on company time.

I know I rave about TiVo pretty much nonstop, and how great it is and how everything should be more like TiVo. ("The sun should be more like TiVo. Raisinets should be more like TiVo. Wouldn't you be happier if Sam Kinison had been more like TiVo?") But this weekend I was struck by this particular way in which life would be better if it were more like TiVo: the pause button. Every so often, I'm presented with a moment in which I must make a decision. I know what all the variables are; I know the reasons why to decide one way and why to decide the other – I just don't have enough time to weigh them. I wish I could press Pause, walk away for a minute, pull out a scrap of paper and work some numbers, then press Pause again and render my decision.

Moving on.

In my Garden State review I mentioned that Sam (Natalie Portman) has the ability to "very simply change your outlook on life."

I know people like this, and I'm eternally in awe of them. She doesn't go around making grand statements and gushing some sort of dogma; you just look at her and the way she thinks about things and the way she views herself, and you're changed.

My friend Jody is one of these people. (She doesn't read this site, so if you see her tell her I said something nice about her.) She has plenty of opinions she'll tell you about, but sometimes you learn the most by just watching her. I learn a lot about her, and a lot about myself. I couldn't have picked anyone better to spend the weekend with in Sin City.

Also, as a result of my enthusiasm for Jurassic Park and my stated lack of enthusiasm for lists (like Top Ten Dinosaur Movies, or whatnot), I've been sucked into a war of lists lately among some of the more prolific readers of this site. (Am I allowed to talk about this in public? I hope so.) Over the weekend, my list of Top Ten Funniest People Ever was due, and I thought my submission might be worth sharing, since it took so much time to do.

(Don't worry, it's already been decided that we all have to start all over and this time do Top 25, so all the people who you're appalled that I left off will get another chance.)

Finally, I've been sitting on this line for a week or so, figuring to work it into tomorrow's reality column. It's not super-original, but it tickles me. It's this: Who else besides me wants to see Paul Hamm marry Mia Hamm, so that her last name won't change but the pronunciation will? However, I knew I shouldn't wait around so long: in the time it took me to get to press, Arksie has already taken us down the Hamm/Hamm route: Paul Hamm Keeps Gold Medal; Mia Hamm Gives Hers To That Korean Guy. Ah, well.