Strangely Reluctant 4 January 1999

9:32 PM: This is a funny thing, too, my first day back at work and I feel sick. What are the odds?

I'm sure it has nothing to do with getting to the bar at, oh, 9:30 last night and staying until closing. See, that's what happens when I go out to the movies with people too early. I went to go see Hurlyburly last night. Fred, a large young friend of mine, also an ex-SFNutter, and his girlfriend Penny showed up; Saul tried to, but the person in front of him in line bought the last ticket. That must have been galling.

It's real clear that Hurlyburly is a play. Nobody writes for the screen like that, it's mouthpiece dialogue: the characters are illustrating Rabe's reflections on things. It's amazingly good mouthpiece dialogue though, and not all of the film is like that. The acting carries it all, anyway. I don't know any Hollywood producers personally, but I have known my share of fucked-up human beings. Hurlyburly is chockablock with them and they ring true - way too true. You sit there and you laugh and at the same time you think "Jesus Christ, I am so glad I'm not actually there." Particular kudos here to Sean Penn, Chazz Palminteri, and surprisingly (to me), Meg Ryan (a paraphrased quote - "I don't think the state of the world justifies throwing me out of cars as a recreational activity.").

Kevin Spacey is the master, though. Of course. That sense of being untouched, unfazed by anything, he does it so well. I envy it. Except I hope that not having a conscience isn't a mandatory part of the package.

In other news, more new CDs were waiting for me here. These are the ones from 800.com, and there are six of them. Heh. More nuts than I thought.

BUT! But. Both of the Saint Etienne CDs are defective. Just won't play at all. This puts the failure rate of online CD store shipments up to 25%, over all the ones I've gotten in the last couple of months. That's pretty sad, especially since they won't take returns unless they're sent UPS or insured US Mail. Why should they care if I buy insurance? Sheesh.

So I think I'll stick to just book purchases online from now on, since they're almost always backwards compatible with my brain. In a way, the most annoying part is that I'm sure the reaction of any executive at Music Boulevard or 800.com to hearing this would be a shrug. They don't need repeat customers, not really. The potential pool is so huge, as long as they get some money from you, who cares if you come back or not? They'll probably be sold or go broke in two years time anyway. I picture Kevin Spacey running their customer service department.

Willfully blind self-indulgent nebbish or amusingly quirky old coot? And how bout that local sports team? Discuss among yourselves.

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