tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17218104266117022782024-02-19T12:04:37.463-05:00The World According to GilbyDaniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-24799741941373569962008-03-01T00:51:00.004-05:002008-03-05T13:21:25.588-05:00More random thoughtsOkay. Apparently random thoughts worked well last time. And since I've been away from this for a while and out of the loop of the world a bit, having been in New Orleans, I figure this is the best way to catch you up on all of my personal thoughts and musings.<br /><br />Hmm...is it strangely narcissistic of me to think that you're interested enough in my personal thoughts and musings to actually read this? Haven't quite figured that out yet, so here it is regardless!<br /><ul><li>I'm watching Christina Ricci on Conan right now. I've always kind of despised her. Don't quite know why. It's not like she ever really had a Julia Roberts, "I LOVE MY LIFE!" moment that made me hate her. I've just always sort of thought she was annoying. But watching her on Conan...she actually seems rather charming and cute and well-spoken and dare I say intelligent? I'm kind of shocked. Anyway...I think my opinion of her just changed a little. Weird when you realize that your perception of a certain person is completely based in...well, nothing at all.</li><li>Wait...now I'm remembering that a friend of mine used to work with her and said she was the most hideous person ever. So maybe I should scratch that whole thing. I'm just confused now.</li><li>Speaking of actors and actresses, let's talk Oscars for a second. First of all, I seriously enjoyed Jon Stewart's hosting job this time. I actually thought he did a pretty decent job last time, but this time...he definitely knocked it out of the park. Gaydolf Titler?! Come on. Pure Oscar GOLD! And what a classy move to bring back out Marketa Irglova (okay, I didn't know that...had to go look it up on IMDb) so she could actually make an acceptance speech. Given this and the constant genius of The Daily Show, I'm dubbing Jon Stewart my favorite figure in the entertainment industry. I don't think anyone even comes close at this point.</li><li>Did anyone else think it was weird that Amy Adams sang that song all by herself when clearly there were supposed to be all kinds of birds and woodland creatures flying and dancing around her? What the hell was that?</li><li>Now don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled in principal that the Coen Brothers won Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. They've made 3 films that are in my Top 10 of all time, and they certainly had it coming. My problem is, I honestly don't think that <span style="font-style: italic;">No Country</span> is even one of their 5 best films, and <span style="font-style: italic;">There Will Be Blood</span> is just a better film in all respects. And yes, if Paul Thomas Anderson continues to make films of this magnitude, he should absolutely win an Oscar for Best Director sooner rather than later. But herein lies my inherent problem with the Oscars - they just LOVE to give people awards <span style="font-style: italic;">after</span> they deserve them. Case in point, Judi Dench receiving an Oscar for her 8-minute performance in <span style="font-style: italic;">Shakespeare in Love</span>. Here's a novel idea: GIVE PEOPLE OSCARS WHEN THEY DESERVE THEM. Seems simple enough, right?! Anyway, my rant is done. At least it's not the Grammys.<br /></li><li>I know it's been out for a long time now, but you know what makes me want to pull my hair out and kill myself?! That <span style="font-style: italic;">Hey There, Delilah </span>song. UGH. Just awful. And what a terrible name for a band too - the Plain White T's? I hate everything about this.</li><li>On a more positive music note, I am currently listening to LCD Soundsystem. This shit seriously rocks. If you guys haven't seem them live, I recommend catching them as soon as possible. Of course, their next gig scheduled is in Singapore, so it might be a bit difficult. But just keep it in mind. It'll make you wanna dance your ass off.</li><li>I guess I'm gonna make this one short, but before I go, can I just say...I'm now very scared of this presidential election. I'd prefer Obama to be the nominee, but at this point, I really just wish that <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">a</span></span> nominee would emerge soon. I thought it was really good for politics and for the health of the country in general to have two democratic candidates who people were amped up about. Now I think they might tear each other apart, and given that McCain is now officially the nominee...I dunno, it all freaks me out. Plus Nader's getting into the race. Hillary keeps reminding people that her husband didn't have his first democratic nomination wrapped up until June and he did just fine. Problem with that is, Ross Perot was there to take a <span style="font-style: italic;">significant</span> amount of votes away from the republicans. This time we've got no Perot <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> we have Ralph Nader. Ugh...it all just reeks of another goddamn republican administration. Holy hell, I hope I'm wrong.<br /></li></ul>Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-56228601383050322202008-02-11T00:08:00.005-05:002008-04-02T10:40:27.647-04:00The Big Easy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxzUVbIaE6ZvXWIeiY13XWyzXO6i2UANEC-foJsftk9uTEiYmvoO1zqFDoMZa2QFvHQD6DsUzqmJShbN-Mnx8koYh2G9454ZURkjgQwI5qpV1d1DkHV7oYJLG6zxgrHQy7zxnrfC4GL8T/s1600-h/P1010611.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxzUVbIaE6ZvXWIeiY13XWyzXO6i2UANEC-foJsftk9uTEiYmvoO1zqFDoMZa2QFvHQD6DsUzqmJShbN-Mnx8koYh2G9454ZURkjgQwI5qpV1d1DkHV7oYJLG6zxgrHQy7zxnrfC4GL8T/s320/P1010611.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184657098309425682" border="0" /></a><br />Once again, I've gone off the radar here. But I'm back and I'm writing something, so let's focus on the positive, shall we? Excellent. Moving on.<br /><br />On Friday, after many hours of sitting at the airport and on an airplane that wasn't exactly in the air, I returned to New York - very happy to be home, but very much missing a city that I can't say enough about.<br /><br />For those of you who don't know, I recently spent two weeks in New Orleans, field producing for a documentary series that I'm currently working on.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1v1WyBaOMYU9aw2DJzQLUHqra1amL1cob1WKPI35dzhqpVLNfMKMgxA4egr50pVI0SEyDqWU56DiVXhzWHyFt7oGtAOFsWfMMdxZxIAAfN7FUVGd_j-TDTs0Pwr_UOU_selUvO8faIyMn/s1600-h/P1010571.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1v1WyBaOMYU9aw2DJzQLUHqra1amL1cob1WKPI35dzhqpVLNfMKMgxA4egr50pVI0SEyDqWU56DiVXhzWHyFt7oGtAOFsWfMMdxZxIAAfN7FUVGd_j-TDTs0Pwr_UOU_selUvO8faIyMn/s320/P1010571.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184652897831410114" border="0" /></a>Have you guys been there? If you haven't, I seriously recommend that you go as soon as you humanly can. And if you <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> been, go again. I know I want to.<br /><br />Never have I been to a place with more personality. I was stunned. It was two weeks of an incredible cultural experience, and maybe this sounds completely awful, but I wasn't sure if that still existed in many places in our country at this moment in time. Probably a completely unfair statement, considering I live in what could easily be considered the center of the world, but hey, I've been here for 10 years and sometimes I forget how amazing it is.<br /><br />Seriously though, the energy and the life there is totally undeniable, and I miss it! It's infectious and delicious and completely unique. It's hard even to describe, but I guess I'm gonna try.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDBxWFc7fxlN5_lBrvhNdLzJeeSrXND_DUuhZm3Yu01FT1wufIEDt4T0TLCIxOocQF41ai1kwaaAx2xREw28fo4I0skq630GqbjtJdp4SZAIgXba9YlBzRoW16JkaEL3ulOQpICOk1fHA/s1600-h/P1010594.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDBxWFc7fxlN5_lBrvhNdLzJeeSrXND_DUuhZm3Yu01FT1wufIEDt4T0TLCIxOocQF41ai1kwaaAx2xREw28fo4I0skq630GqbjtJdp4SZAIgXba9YlBzRoW16JkaEL3ulOQpICOk1fHA/s320/P1010594.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184653636565785042" border="0" /></a><br />First of all, holy crap, the food. Again, I live in New York, and it's not like the restaurants are anything but incredible - unless you go to the Taco Bell on 6th Avenue...watch out for the 2 million rats inside - but New Orleans food is just as fantastic. I completely ate my self silly while I was there, and okay, my body is seriously calling for some vegetables, but still. If you ever go, eat at every restaurant that you can while you're there. Go eat a burger cooked under a hubcap at the Clover Grill. Go have the most delicious fondue you've ever had at Le Crepe Nanou. Eat a po' boy at Guy's or Domilise's or Parkway. Have the frog legs and pork bellies at Herbsaint. And drink Abita beer all the time. Brooklyn Brewery's got nothing on them. Have anything at all at Jacque-Imo's.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufc7TrFQTp0zBvbr0tBCUToInIka4FPVxrbhnhdqhgSNcKqEdDGsr2TE13zDEsAArwglXJsGxhzdhCIAWwElUSoV6U-I0_Epf3-TK4vXcbwwVuL5oGaVs5bmRO5312tz4FLDUHam0mF8B/s1600-h/P1010683.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufc7TrFQTp0zBvbr0tBCUToInIka4FPVxrbhnhdqhgSNcKqEdDGsr2TE13zDEsAArwglXJsGxhzdhCIAWwElUSoV6U-I0_Epf3-TK4vXcbwwVuL5oGaVs5bmRO5312tz4FLDUHam0mF8B/s320/P1010683.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184655195638913522" border="0" /></a><br />But honestly, what really got me about this town is the life that flows so unabashedly from it. The people alone are worth a trip. And they need us. They really do. I was down there for the All-Star Game and I heard over and over how good it was for the city because it made people realize that the city is not dead - in fact it is the most full-of-life city I've ever experienced. People need to know that they can go there and have the time of their lives. And I don't just mean going to the French Quarter and getting wasted. They need to know that they can go see the Rebirth Brass Band on Tuesday night at the Maple Leaf and hang out with the band afterward. That they can see<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kwLZoDfWDdc-IuxEPVnsY_bWMK485esZ0_EbDP8KQ1AJlFWyYWiZEIkZpEAzJBcaZfcO8QgIV_TJorO1FYQKjOL2hZlmTlgP7w0HocqSgsf_dgNJ9iNFT0kJ2jq449t21DgB5ZmHRP-f/s1600-h/P1010710.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kwLZoDfWDdc-IuxEPVnsY_bWMK485esZ0_EbDP8KQ1AJlFWyYWiZEIkZpEAzJBcaZfcO8QgIV_TJorO1FYQKjOL2hZlmTlgP7w0HocqSgsf_dgNJ9iNFT0kJ2jq449t21DgB5ZmHRP-f/s320/P1010710.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184656475539167746" border="0" /></a> Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers - who, I'm not lying to you, barbecue in between sets for the audience - on Thursday night at Vaughn's in an area that people thought was completely destroyed by the hurricane. That they can ride a streetcar up St. Charles Avenue and find that it's 10 times better than any streetcar they've ever ridden in San Francisco. That they can go to Frenchmen Street on a Friday night and hear incredible music pouring out of every bar they pass by.<br /><br />I could go on and on, but I'll just wrap this up with this. Go to New Orleans. I promise you won't regret it. I've never experienced anything quite like it, I won't ever forget it, and I desperately want to go back soon. It's amazing how much the spirit of this city has triumphed, and it absolutely should be celebrated. They deserve it.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-90684478089782556442008-01-12T19:09:00.000-05:002008-01-13T17:42:02.865-05:00Random thoughts, early on Sunday eveningSince I generally tend to write rather long-winded, rambling entries on this here blog, I'm trying something new today - short, succinct thoughts on lots of random things I've encountered lately. So here goes.<br /><ul><li>I'm watching the end of the Seahawks-Packers game right now. They were just showing the stats for the Packers today, and they were playing the "1-2-3-4-5" song from Sesame Street! You know...this one? <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=_WjxMzSW7pA&feature=related">http://youtube.com/watch?v=_WjxMzSW7pA&feature=related</a> I don't know if other people get as excited as I do about this stuff, but hey, I used to work for the show, remember?</li><li>I finally broke down and watched 2 Girls, 1 Cup. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Why is this a thing?! Who made this?! AHHH! Okay, I'm about the least squeamish guy in the world. But this is pretty much over the line in every way. If you haven't seen it, for the love of everything, please don't bother. You'll regret it. I keep getting little flashes of it here and there, and I just wish it would all go away. I'm telling you. Stay away. And if you've seen it...well, I'm just sorry. The internet is so good for so many things!! This...is not one of them.</li><li>Here's a little something in an effort to redeem the internet a bit. I've been trying to find this Timbaland song for months now. I hear it in the most random places, and I always tell myself I'm going to find out what freakin' song it is, and then, every damn time, I forget. Well, I finally looked it up on iTunes, found it, and downloaded it. Man, I love the internet. Okay, I feel better.</li><li>(Oh yeah, in case you actually want to know what the song is, so you don't have to go through the same pain I did, it's called "The Way I Are." And it's goddamn amazing. Definitely going on my next party mix.)</li><li>I had to hire interns at work this week. Which made me aware of the fact that one skill I most definitely do not have is conducting an interview. Wow. Luckily my boss, Jamie, was there to do most of it. But man. Not my strong suit, lemme tell ya. And then <span style="font-style: italic;">rejecting</span> the interns we didn't hire?!? Trying to sound nice and thankful while saying, "No thanks, we didn't think you were good enough to hire," without sounding phony?! Yeah. Not the easiest thing in the world. I'm gonna have to work on all of this if I actually end up running my own production company some day.</li><li>On the upside: <span style="font-style: italic;">LOST</span> IS COMING BACK! Maybe I shouldn't be <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> excited about a television show, but I honestly don't care. It's gonna be off the HOOK!</li><li>On the downside: <span style="font-style: italic;">Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles</span>. Need I say more?!</li><li>There was a PC Richards commercial on a minute ago. I wish I could find it on Youtube, but alas, it's not exactly Youtube worthy. Anyway, it's just really bad. I understand it's probably a pretty low-budget commercial, but can someone give me <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> writing job? Or that directing job?! The performances AND the writing are just terrible! Let <span style="font-style: italic;">me</span> do that stuff from now on! Please?</li><li>I'm thrilled that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Daily Show</span> is back. We <span style="font-style: italic;">need</span> Jon Stewart on television again, especially in this crazy time of primaries and politics. And don't get me wrong...the guy is completely hilarious. But it's just not the same without the writers. Damn, I hope the strike gets worked out soon. But somehow I think it's gonna go on for a very long time.</li><li>Speaking of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Daily Show</span>, have you seen these Rob Riggle Budweiser commercials? Again, wish I could find them online, but no luck. Regardless, the commercials are, for all intents and purposes, saying "Budweiser is America's beer, and America is great!" And Rob Riggle, sarcastic correspondent for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Daily Show</span>, is the spokesman. Just strange all around.</li><li>There was such a frenzy over the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, and now we don't have anything until the 19th! Honestly, I miss it. It's all really exciting. I guess I'm a dork for politics, but I just can't help it. I have to say, it's all a little more exciting this year, just because it's guaranteed that no matter what, George Bush will be out of office. Unless Dick Cheney somehow passes legislation that does away with the two-term limit. I mean, at this point, would you put it past him?</li></ul>Okay, I'm done I guess. I enjoy these little random thoughts. I feel like lists are just easier to read in this era of short attention spans. But before I go...GO OBAMA! Now I've said my peace.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-38228779076668504182008-01-11T14:51:00.000-05:002008-01-11T16:58:39.564-05:00And they're off!So. The primaries have begun.<br /><br />Okay, I know I'm a little late on this blog entry, but now that Iowa and New Hampshire are out of the way, I actually have something to write about!<br /><br />Here are my thoughts thus far.<br /><br />I'm extremely excited that Obama won Iowa. Okay...so I know I said back a few blog entries ago that I didn't necessarily buy what he's selling.<br /><br />I've changed my tune on that one a bit. If it came down to it, I would prefer that he had the outright honesty of Joe Biden or Chris Dodd (ironically, the two guys who have officially dropped out of the race). Apparently Roseanne Barr <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> doesn't care for "Barak Obama" - please, just go here and check this out (she later apologized and said that she likes both Oprah and Obama, and that he'll absolutely get her vote in the general election if he wins the primary) - <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/10/roseanne-barrs-wild-tira_n_81015.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/10/roseanne-barrs-wild-tira_n_81015.html</a><br /><br />Anyway, Roseanne's wackiness aside, I think that all of this is extremely exciting, and like I said, I've changed my tune a bit on Obama. I actually believe that he wants to change things, and I don't buy that he is too inexperienced to be the President of the United States. He's young, he's fresh...I just think that he's pretty much exactly what we need at this point in our history, when our standing in the world is so damaged and so many of our policies are so skewed toward bullshit republican interests.<br /><br />What gets me about the election this year is that people actually <span style="font-style: italic;">care</span>. I have to say, I wasn't thrilled when I heard that Hillary had won New Hampshire. As I said before, I will absolutely vote for her in the general election if she wins the primary. But I stand by my claim that she is too middle of the road and too much of the status quo (and no, I'm sorry, her being a woman doesn't automatically put her outside of the status quo) for what we really need. Since 1988, we've had a president with the last name of either Clinton or Bush (and before that George Sr. was VP for 8 years). As my friend Erika said, "That's a monarchy." Yes, yes it is. And I'd prefer that to stop.<br /><br />Regardless of that, I think despite Obama's loss in New Hampshire, it's all terribly exciting. Reports indicate that people got pissed about the media's treatment of Hillary when she got choked up in New Hampshire, and that's one of the reasons she won. I LOVE that. People are paying attention. And it's about fucking time. We need something different. We need to recover and get out from under this hideous administration we've been living under for <span style="font-style: italic;">way</span> too long now. They've embarrassed us as a country and a people for long enough, and hopefully, the time has come to start a process of reversing all of that. And I'm excited that people are riled up for that reversal process to begin. I'm thrilled that people finally seem to care.<br /><br />Oh and one more thing. I was reading a blog that said something to the effect of, "George Bush and Dick Cheney should have been impeached long ago, but there is still time for that." Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake?!? Do I think it's gonna happen? No. But one can hope, right?Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-62629960519257095062008-01-07T11:57:00.000-05:002008-01-09T12:46:23.105-05:00I swear we're not the GriswoldsI'm seriously going to put this story in a movie one day.<br /><br />So my family and I started a tradition during Christmas of '06 in which my parents, my brother John & sister-in-law Kristin, my niece Karis and my nephew Toby go cut down a Christmas tree. The first time, I felt like I was 10 years old again, my mom got some great photos...all in all it was a great day that went off without a hitch.<br /><br />This time...well, let's just say this time was a little more interesting.<br /><br />This year, we arrive at the Christmas tree lot and start wandering around, looking for a nice hearty tree. We find a lower lot in which the selection of trees is far superior, so we proceed to walk down the hill to said lower lot...all except for my dad. HE decides he's going to drive his little pickup down the hill and meet us there. Fine. Great! Don't have to carry the tree up the hill.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYjhnWatRljlImeIDMlumXxNisSQNjNQNfi-OhxS_aRanuHDzOcpOSIdnj84fXQkkaYm_RENgoylfthvVbaw_c7blfQpmoe-HGHG-SxFv4Fqr7oEfMyfBygJXw2FJgpuGX6wER_Hxm0qU/s1600-h/PC228662.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYjhnWatRljlImeIDMlumXxNisSQNjNQNfi-OhxS_aRanuHDzOcpOSIdnj84fXQkkaYm_RENgoylfthvVbaw_c7blfQpmoe-HGHG-SxFv4Fqr7oEfMyfBygJXw2FJgpuGX6wER_Hxm0qU/s200/PC228662.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152782920103818642" border="0" /></a><br />So having found the perfect tree, we all start wondering where my father might have gotten off to. It's been about 15 minutes and no sign of mi padre.<br /><br />At which point, my brother, with just the slightest tint of annoyance in his voice, points out, "I don't know if this is gonna alarm anyone else, but that sure sounds like a truck spinning it's wheels in mud."<br /><br />Excellent. I listen. And he is unmistakably correct. I walk over to the source of the noise, and lo and behold, there's my father, attempting to reverse up a muddy hill and having absolutely no luck in doing so.<br /><br />Next thing I know, I'm jumping up and down on the back of the pickup, attempting - with very, very little success - to give the wheels some traction.<br /><br />Ten minutes later, after apparently complaining to everyone else, "I <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> don't wanna go over there," along comes my brother to help out, followed by Kristin - both of them looking slightly non-plussed over the whole situation. They're carrying tree branches. These supposedly will provide the traction we need to get the car out! At this point, things are just getting ridiculous.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsz_pCLGJBC1G_kFmZcOFBuH6-y5SiinEwhVCf6IUt8Ww7QTf7dPVi1rJvA9hSGTRB-j8tZDP_YCciakH-6Yci23Bqs0fSrtMxL45Nb3T98fCXpmK-a3ziHH-npYkXcj1EBb2w0FVPZ82/s1600-h/PC228691.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsz_pCLGJBC1G_kFmZcOFBuH6-y5SiinEwhVCf6IUt8Ww7QTf7dPVi1rJvA9hSGTRB-j8tZDP_YCciakH-6Yci23Bqs0fSrtMxL45Nb3T98fCXpmK-a3ziHH-npYkXcj1EBb2w0FVPZ82/s200/PC228691.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153532044004619682" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is getting a bit long-winded, so I'll try to cut it short. Basically, the scene ended up looking something like this: Kristin and myself on the back of the truck, attempting to hold down the back wheels, my dad in the driver's seat, and John literally lifting up the front of the truck, just <span style="font-style: italic;">asking</span> to be run over. Meanwhile, my niece and nephew are somewhere at the top of the hill, and my mom, in between taking candid photos of the whole debacle, is basically just shaking her head, hoping that her husband doesn't kill one of his sons. Finally, my mom <span style="font-style: italic;">totally</span> comes through in the clutch and finds some roof tiles in an abandoned shed along the side of the road. I'm not kidding. You can't make this shit up! The roof tiles provide the traction we need to get the truck up most of the hill. And just when we're stuck <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6t1lKWTlDLp2SMnFUmied65Cj3nyN9MHax3VPxy8hY8UL3iZCUVZKWW9GHdh6oqkphrkTcIiymlKSxP1I_oBqdKi3c3G_Mo1Puf6EAO6Za3d-iC4cv-lJ8ROQTA8rXsa6lpR_b70abZM/s1600-h/PC228857.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6t1lKWTlDLp2SMnFUmied65Cj3nyN9MHax3VPxy8hY8UL3iZCUVZKWW9GHdh6oqkphrkTcIiymlKSxP1I_oBqdKi3c3G_Mo1Puf6EAO6Za3d-iC4cv-lJ8ROQTA8rXsa6lpR_b70abZM/s200/PC228857.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153533396919317938" border="0" /></a>on the last little hump we need to get over, my niece (5 years old, mind you) finds the guy who runs the tree farm and tells him, "Yep, they're stuck down there. In the mud." She's freakin' awesome.<br /><br />So the guy comes down in his truck and extricates us from the situation. Crisis averted. No sons dead.<br /><br />And you know, what, not to get all preachy again, but that's the biggest memory I'm going to take away from my holidays this year. Sure, I appreciate all of the gifts that people gave me, but what I'm really going to remember about the whole thing is how our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard after this whole debacle. Sure it was ridiculous and my dad was quite the dumbass for driving down a muddy hill in his two-wheel drive pickup. But it made for one of the better memories I have of any holiday. And that's honestly what matters to me.<br /><br />Now I'm gonna go take some photos with my sweet new camera.<br /><br />Kidding, kidding!Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-4737165508742893402008-01-06T19:27:00.000-05:002008-01-07T11:54:21.662-05:00Okay, so it's been a whileSo I'm back.<br /><br />Since I've been away, we've had Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years. I've had three weeks off. This has given me a whole lot of time to do, well, mostly a whole lot of nothing.<br /><br />I did accomplish a few things. I caught up on some television shows! Here are my thoughts:<br />A) The Wire, Season 4 - seriously, it's the best show I've ever seen (okay, well maybe tied with Arrested Development). It's so incredibly intelligent, funny, and most of all, important. I'm not saying it's going to change the world, but I sure think that having more shows like The Wire can only serve to make more people out there think about issues outside their own lives. And Season 4 is on another level too. The producers basically sidelined their main character for an entire SEASON, and they made the best season of arguably the best show ever. And Season 5 is supposed to be even better. Can I work on a show like that? Anyone?<br /><br />B) Californication - it's pretty damn funny. Not necessarily the funniest show I've ever seen, but David Duchovny rocks, and it's all in all pretty clever and well done. Anyway, definitely worth checking out.<br /><br />C) Weeds, Season 3 - I don't know what happened to this show after the first season. It was some of the most original comedy I've seen lately, and then it just got too tongue in cheek. The first season was actually based in reality, as ridiculous as it may have been. Now it's just too far-fetched. That said, Season 3 was much better than Season 2. Significantly funnier. There's one moment when one of the drug dealers buys a Prius because, "It's quiet. Good for sneakin' up on mothafuckas." Pretty great.<br /><br />So those are my thoughts. And I can't wait for Lost to come back on. Although I only get 8 episodes. Seriously.<br /><br />Okay. I'm going to stop there. I was going to include quite the adventure story from my holiday season, but I think I'll save that for the next entry. Gonna make this one short.<br /><br />It's good to be back. I plan on keeping up on this whole blog thing more in this new year. '08! The possibilities are endless, right?!Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-29117279398425845162007-12-08T17:05:00.000-05:002007-12-09T21:36:28.111-05:00Let me count the ways...Since I feel like I'm always going off about really serious stuff here on this blog, this is going to be a bit of a less serious entry for a change.<br /><br />So...have you guys had these?!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofyfKiFDSnQRWPZVTFAr3Vn0K8fIfpG_-HecEUWn-5b_a_MqPGI6h0RboQKh_K7WJynbO7kROGQHgGSy7CNOzGg9UQluLpZdH4FkHi4IeRUXvhAovZufdlhefD2Av0eMpZuoqBd1Ci553/s1600-h/CandyJoe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofyfKiFDSnQRWPZVTFAr3Vn0K8fIfpG_-HecEUWn-5b_a_MqPGI6h0RboQKh_K7WJynbO7kROGQHgGSy7CNOzGg9UQluLpZdH4FkHi4IeRUXvhAovZufdlhefD2Av0eMpZuoqBd1Ci553/s320/CandyJoe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141730158323925330" border="0" /></a>Oh.<br /><br />My.<br /><br />Holy.<br /><br />Crap.<br /><br />These things are freakin' amazing. If you haven't had the intense pleasure of experiencing these absolutely scrumptious cookies, let me explain them to you. Basically they're Joe-Joe's - Trader Joe's version of the Oreo but significantly better - but hold on! The filling isn't just regular old cookie creme filling. Oh no. The creme has little, heavenly pieces of candy cane all mixed up inside of it. Again, I will say it - holy crap! I'm not even that fond of Oreos, but these things are freakin' insane. Seriously, I brought some to work, and between 5 of us, we ate an entire box in a day. They're just exceedingly delicious.<br /><br />This all goes toward the larger purpose of this particular entry.<br /><br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">love</span> Trader Joe's.<br /><br />Seriously. I remember the moment when I first heard that Trader Joe's was coming to New York City. I was in a deli, about to get money from an ATM, and my friend Krista broke the news.<br /><br />"You know they're putting a Trader Joe's around Union Square."<br /><br />I turned to her and screamed, "What?!?!" And then I literally proceeded to jump around in a circle with excitement. Now, that may seem mildly gay to you, but I don't really care. That's how much I truly love TJ's.<br /><br />Now, I know that it's a bit of a pain in the ass to shop there on the weekends. But is this really Trader Joe's fault? Isn't that just a testament to how absolutely fantastic the store is?<br /><br />So I have no idea if you're going to be interested in this or not, but I'm just going to list off a few of my favorite things that I tend to purchase from TJ's on a regular basis that make me happy. What can I say? Food makes me happy. It's delicious.<br /><br />Anyway. Here goes.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.garagespin.com/archives/hemp_plus_cereal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.garagespin.com/archives/hemp_plus_cereal.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This granola over here is absolutely phenomenal. This is seriously what I eat for breakfast every single day:<br /><br />Nature's Path Organic Hemp Plus Pumpkin Granola w/ Trader Joe's lowfat yogurt and some sort of fruit. At TJ's, they have plain, vanilla, strawberry and vanana (a mix of vanilla and banana) yogurt option, and all are delicious.<br /><br />I guess this brings me to what I love most about Trader Joe's - although the Candy Cane Joe-Joe's are a bit excepted from this. It's got such incredibly healthy stuff. And I think that in this country of overconsumption and obesity, it's nice to see that a place like Trader Joe's has a line an hour long on Sundays in New York. It's not much, and it's not as though everything sold at TJ's is completely healthy. But at least it's something.<br /><br />So to conclude, here are a few more of my favorite things...at Trader Joe's and in general:<br /><br />Mango Salsa<br />Pineapple Salsa<br />Shumai<br />Any frozen pizzas<br />Triple Ginger Snaps<br /><br />Oh the list goes on and on.<br /><br />So I'm sure most of you have experienced the joy of Trader Joe's, but if you haven't, do yourself a favor and check it out. I promise you won't be disappointed.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-71396684789836676302007-12-04T20:52:00.000-05:002007-12-04T22:39:13.188-05:00Christmas is for Buying!!Shit.<br /><br />We're sellin' some shit! You want some shit?! Well we got all the shit you need right here!<br /><br />Have you seen this commercial?<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tnu3o9I5EZ4&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tnu3o9I5EZ4&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />I'm seriously thinking of boycotting Best Buy after this whole debacle. Okay...so I understand that does nothing, really. I buy products from Best Buy about once a year. If I decide not to buy shit from them anymore because of this ad, it will have absolutely zero affect on their business.<br /><br />But that doesn't stop me from going off on this a little bit in my little corner of the Interweb. (Okay, let me just vehemently stress that I do <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> actually think it's called the Interweb. It's just my way of making fun of our retarded president. 'Cause I'm sure he's made that mistake at least a few times in his life.)<br /><br />Anyway. Enough with my digressions. Man, I do love a tangent.<br /><br />Now, I realize that this isn't an original idea by any means. But what the hell has this season has become all about?! I just think the whole notion of mass consumerism has gotten completely out of control, and I really just think it's getting worse.<br /><br />You know what I'm excited about? I'm excited about going home to California to see my family who I haven't seen since the summer. And I understand that makes me extremely lucky to have a family that I'm excited to go home to. But the point is, I could honestly care less about the gifts that I get. I really don't need more shit in my life. I get along just fine with the things I have. Now this is not to say that I don't appreciate the gifts that I receive during Christmas. My mom recently asked me if I wanted some guitar or mandolin lessons this year while I'm home. I think that's a fantastic gift. It's thoughtful and actually means something to me.<br /><br />Now, I'm not saying that I don't get caught up in this bullshit. I have absolutely gotten gifts for people that didn't actually mean anything to them just because I felt that I had to. I'm just saying that I wish that it wasn't this way. I don't know how to change it and I can't imagine that it's ever going to change. I just feel like we've lost our souls a little bit when it comes to all of this. And I wish these things weren't so expected of all of us.<br /><br />I wish that the people that we love - whether it be family or friends or girlfriends or boyfriends or whomever - would just be thankful to have us around for the holidays.<br /><br />I'm not even saying I'm against giving gifts, really. I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">always</span> appreciative when someone gives me a gift that I actually feel that he or she put thought into. Basically I'm just pissed that all of these companies have taken these holidays, which should be mostly about spending time with the people we love and not having to stress about work for once, and co-opted it into this time of expressing how much you care by buying shit that people don't need.<br /><br />Anyway, this is really negative, so I'm gonna stop. I'm now going to think about how in two weeks, I'm going to be sitting in front of a fire at my parents' house, staring at the redwood trees and just being thrilled about the fact that I get to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world. Maybe it sounds completely cheesy, but that's absolutely what's most important to me in all of this. And I think it's important to step back and realize that sometimes.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-24965118801752730312007-11-26T22:15:00.000-05:002007-11-27T11:47:13.851-05:00Gladiators...mount upI was just sitting here watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span>, trying to forget that all television as we know it will cease to exist - I am <span style="font-style: italic;">seriously</span> going to miss <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Office</span>. With reports that <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> isn't coming back until 2009, AND <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> going into its last season, I might just cancel my cable altogether. So here I was, enjoying what I think is a fun but rather fluffy show, I happened to catch the tail end of an ad for a new show on NBC. Or rather a !NEW AND IMPROVED! version of an old show.<br /><br />You know what that show is, oh blog readers of mine? Think of the five most ridiculous, inane, cheesy shows you've ever seen. Got 'em? Well, I can only imagine that if you took a poll of those who grew up in the 80s, this show would probably appear on at least a few of those "worst shows of all time" lists.<br /><br />Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen.<br /><br />It's <span style="font-style: italic;">American Gladiators</span>. And it's back.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWDcdoO0YY5PwuYOG-FSd6wN-8wt4jzSda76colqakDCw1hBGGH_PSzhW53nCBeGK4SVQXr-5ewIKPiXnO6VQYjcQF488ZGNRWf5325gm9myauYgn617JIGBuhaLhvpCetY0SP8kyd_1D/s1600-h/gladiators.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWDcdoO0YY5PwuYOG-FSd6wN-8wt4jzSda76colqakDCw1hBGGH_PSzhW53nCBeGK4SVQXr-5ewIKPiXnO6VQYjcQF488ZGNRWf5325gm9myauYgn617JIGBuhaLhvpCetY0SP8kyd_1D/s320/gladiators.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137364216118329586" border="0" /></a>First of all, just looking at this ridiculous photo over to the left here, did you forget how freakin' juiced up these chicks and dudes were?! Isn't it amazing? I mean, come ON! They make Barry Bonds look like he tries to beef up on McDonalds and Bloomin' Onions every day!<br /><br />And do you remember how ridiculous their names were? Here's some samples - man, I love Wikipedia:<br />Nitro, Lace, Malibu, Zap, Gold, Laser, Storm, Ice, Viper...man, the list goes on and on.<br /><br />And in a truly odd little tidbit of useless pop culture knowledge, Wikipedia also tells me that Joe Theismann hosted the first season of the show?! Damn. Weird. What a career he's had after leaving professional football.<br /><br />Okay, so enough about the past here. We're talking about the bright future of television here! This particular incarnation of the show here is hosted by none other than Hulk<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKUzrM4hD5VZ73TgqdnZ_w3bq613_lCndBAVlB6fFnLIrckYkewrv09wIfdZ0EB1Dm8U3L9x23tcp4ZqBmGwMK2O6_I7Rgmhkb3ZcSySjRVlxm8TdhVW-krOQOqyhq8IqGLjtUCnSiiTz/s1600-h/american_gladiators.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKUzrM4hD5VZ73TgqdnZ_w3bq613_lCndBAVlB6fFnLIrckYkewrv09wIfdZ0EB1Dm8U3L9x23tcp4ZqBmGwMK2O6_I7Rgmhkb3ZcSySjRVlxm8TdhVW-krOQOqyhq8IqGLjtUCnSiiTz/s200/american_gladiators.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137376632868782338" border="0" /></a> Hogan and Laila Ali. I mean, I know they're paragons of fitness or whatever, but really?! I mean, doesn't that just seem like a disaster to you? Who's the color commentator on that team? Isn't it bound to just turn into Hulk and Laila challenging each other to bigger and bigger duels until one of them kills each other? Maybe I need to pitch THIS show! Can't be worse than the crap that this show is about to rain down on the American public.<br /><br />Okay, so I'm rambling. The point is, this is the crap that we're just gonna see more and more as the WGA strike goes on. And it makes me angry. Okay, so I've worked on some really crappy reality shows, so maybe I just need to shut the hell up.<br /><br />But really, my feeling on the whole thing is this - is this all really worth it for the television studios?! I don't claim to know a whole lot about the ins and outs of this strike, but I do know that what the writers are asking for is completely within reason. More and more we're going to see content obtained through the Internet. Hell, we might not even <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> TV as we know it soon. And it's crazy and incredibly insulting for the studios to expect that the writers are just going to lay down and accept that they just aren't gonna get paid for all the work that they put their lifeblood into.<br /><br />All that aside though, I just can't imagine that it's even remotely a smart move for the studios not to give the writers what they want on this. Is American Gladiators <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> going to cut it? Is it a replacement for shows like <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span> that have a loyal audience? I don't claim to know much about television ratings either, but I think it's insane to think that a physical challenge show featuring a bunch of jacked up nobodies is going to be a valid replacement for the well-written shows that the studios are tossing aside.<br /><br />But my biggest problem with the whole thing is this - all of this just shows me that these studios have absolutely no respect for the American viewing audience. They seem to think that if we are presented with the lowest common denominator, we'll watch it just 'cause it's there.<br /><br />And maybe that's true. And that scares me more than anything.<br /><br />And honestly - I wish that these studios felt more of a responsibility to present people with intelligent, fulfilling entertainment. But I just can't see that happening.<br /><br />Someone tell me why I work in television again? Sigh...Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-36115247926260084092007-11-19T21:35:00.000-05:002007-11-19T23:35:42.378-05:00It's Just THAT GoodSo last night, I watched 2 things - This American Life (the Showtime version of the brilliant radio show) and The Animation Show, a collection of animation put together by Mike Judge and Don Herzfeldt. It showcases some of the more incredible and hysterical animation I've ever had the pleasure to see.<br /><br />These particular pieces of entertainment are very pure examples of people at the utmost top of their games. This American Life is such an unbelievably produced show. The producers find these stories that might seem completely inane and find the heart and humor in them. They take this heart and this humor and bring it to the surface in this often touch, often hilarious and always beautifully sensitive way. I just marvel at everyone involved in the show and everything involved in making it so outstanding.<br /><br />And some of the animations in The Animation Show are absolutely too ridiculous to describe. And what range too. Some of my favorite pieces in the entire collection are the extremely simple but absolutely hilarious Don Herzfeldt pieces. They're literally stick figure animations, but the scripts are so damn funny, and the amount of expression and life he is able to put into these frankly stupid drawings is crazy!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFnG8VAZxixZOExJmlDOIfxrnIIBupp3nCXQh4JtGoND6oUxovBCFGx8jojOz4XoH0C4reGMlbuokgaXPlAfFpgfptzc1hiAMg6T0ZhrxAgHLLmJ8uYbZBEfyc4z-aYAT_DB3eWsAz2ay/s1600-h/fallenart_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFnG8VAZxixZOExJmlDOIfxrnIIBupp3nCXQh4JtGoND6oUxovBCFGx8jojOz4XoH0C4reGMlbuokgaXPlAfFpgfptzc1hiAMg6T0ZhrxAgHLLmJ8uYbZBEfyc4z-aYAT_DB3eWsAz2ay/s320/fallenart_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134776025876087010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And then there's Fallen Art. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this completely beautiful, disturbing, deliciously inventive piece of animation, go to YouTube <span style="font-style: italic;">right now</span> and watch it. I promise you won't be disappointed. It never gets old and I'm just in awe every time of how someone came up with this idea and made into something this amazing.<br /><br />Anyway. I was watching this with my lovely girlfriend Shannon, and we had a little discussion about how truly phenomenal some of the pieces in the animation collection are, and how we wished that we had ever done something that phenomenal with OUR lives. It wasn't much of discussion - just one of those, "Man, I need to create things!" kind of thing. It's a conversation that comes up often enough, considering she's a graphic designer and I'm a (very much aspiring) producer/filmmaker...etc.<br /><br />But I just started listening to an radio episode of This American Life a minute ago, and the conversation sort came back to me.<br /><br />And I realized how much I <span style="font-style: italic;">haven't</span> done nearly enough "creating" in my life and that I'd better get on it or I'm gonna miss out. Don't get me wrong - there are people who start new professions and new hobbies and new talent that they never knew they had at the age of 75. And that's fantastic in and of itself, but I certainly don't want to wait until I'm 75 to discover that I'm capable of writing a brilliant detective novel or take prize-winning photographs of objects that might look completely uninteresting otherwise.<br /><br />So that's it. This post is basically for me, I suppose. I just wanted to tell myself that I shouldn't just keep having these conversations about how I want to create my own work. I should actually freakin' do it. So if you know me and you see me, please feel free to ask me if I've done any creating lately. 'Cause I obviously need a kick in the ass, and maybe if I actually have to tell people that, "No, I've been meaning to do this and this and that, but I haven't yet..." I'll get embarrassed enough to actually do it one day.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-25954526927856134202007-11-15T20:27:00.000-05:002007-11-15T21:25:19.640-05:00It's Debate-tastic!I'm sitting here right now, watching the Democratic debate and I noticed something quite odd and frankly really disturbing.<br /><br />So we have these three "front runners," right? Hillary, Barack and John. Let me say this before going any further: I can't tell you how much I want to have a woman or a minority running our country. I think it's absolutely embarrassing that the only people who have held the position of President in this country have been white males. Truly it is.<br /><br />That being said, I also believe steadfastly that the fact that Hillary Clinton is a woman is <span style="font-style: italic;">no</span> reason to vote for her. The same goes for Barack Obama being African-American. If I end up not voting for either of these candidates in the primary, I will honestly feel a little guilty for not having voted for the woman or the black man. But I can't let that sway my vote away from someone who I believe will best represent my beliefs and who will best serve to reverse the atrocious policies that this current abomination of an administration has set upon the suffering people of this country.<br /><br />But I digress - see, I do this whole digression thing a lot.<br /><br />Anyway, so what I find so disturbing about this debate I'm currently watching is that the aforementioned front runners are the ones that don't sound real to me. I'm sitting here listening to Obama - a man I saw be <span style="font-style: italic;">so</span> down to earth on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Daily Show</span> - sound so incredibly like a "politician" that I'm starting not to believe anything he says. I'm listening to Hillary Clinton give extremely robotic, very rehearsed-sounding answers that just don't ring true at all. I'm watching John Edwards push his compassionate Southern persona so hard that I'm really starting to wonder if that persona is actually him.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Joe Biden is standing on the other side of the stage from Edwards, Obama & Clinton (with Chris Dodd thrown in between Obama and Edwards in an ever-so-thinly-veiled attempt to say, "Hey, we care about these other guys!") sounding LIKE A REAL FUCKING PERSON. Bill Richardson is talking about how we treat teachers like crap and underpay them and he actually sounds passionate about something that he is making me believe that he FUCKING BELIEVES IN. Right now, Chris Dodd is speaking about Musharraf, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and he's almost getting angry, he's raising his voice, and that makes me thrilled because he actually seems like he FUCKING CARES ABOUT SOMETHING.<br /><br />Now, I know that this isn't all that matters when choosing our President. Dennis Kucinich, as much as I believe in so much of what he believes in, has done very little in his political career to make me confident in his ability to actually get enough done as President.<br /><br />The point is this - I can't believe that the state of politics in this country is such that the leading Democratic candidates - I'm not even going to broach the subject of republicans, 'cause I could go off about that for hours - are the only ones on this stage right now that I don't think are being straight with me. (I have to say, John Edwards actually showed some life a minute ago, and I have always thought that, of the three front runners, Edwards is definitely the most real.) It just makes very little sense to me, and even more so, it makes me really sad. I <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> my President to be passionate about issues. I <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> these candidates to get fired up and pissed about how badly Bush and his cronies have fucked up this country. I <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> them to make jokes and act like a REAL FUCKING PERSON. Don't we want a real goddamn human being running our country?!?<br /><br />Ugh. Okay, I'm gonna stop right now, because I'm obviously getting worked up. And I'm not even saying that I'm not going to vote for Obama or Edwards - I'm sorry, I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> voting for Clinton. I just don't think she's going to do even marginally enough to change this country, and I think she's by far the most vulnerable against republicans. I'm just saying that I wish that the world wasn't this way.<br /><br />But then again, there are a lot of things in this world that I would change if I could. And maybe this is a minor one. But I just got fired up about it and had to write.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-66993663247275980202007-10-24T23:14:00.000-04:002007-10-24T23:34:26.441-04:00I just hate Dane Cook<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrk0bhpm_yskm_k_wnd0A7z5n1_BRaRAhuNivz8F9gwb7ARkApVfi67CAY3d5CheKUYl5pSGYR8ml3Nro0iacPsPZDao9BIP7xR_W_9J0eN9ofDZ6R9v-54KJWuE_39DO_08KicZfLvGT5/s1600-h/RetardedCook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrk0bhpm_yskm_k_wnd0A7z5n1_BRaRAhuNivz8F9gwb7ARkApVfi67CAY3d5CheKUYl5pSGYR8ml3Nro0iacPsPZDao9BIP7xR_W_9J0eN9ofDZ6R9v-54KJWuE_39DO_08KicZfLvGT5/s320/RetardedCook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125108051355388434" border="0" /></a>Okay, this guy is just awful. Seriously. Have you guys SEEN the god awful World Series commercials that he does?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! WHY IS THIS GUY FAMOUS?! I guess complete and utter mediocrity sells extremely well in this day and age. Ugh.<br /><br />Have you seen this?!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ifilm.com/video/2894391">http://www.ifilm.com/video/2894391</a><br /><br />Okay, so the video is parodying him, but apparently, as inconceivable as it is, this song is COMPLETELY FOR REAL. Yes, Dane Cook has come out with a song, and it's serious and absolutely craptastic.<br /><br />I feel like this isn't really going anywhere, so I'm going to stop now. But I'm sitting here watching the first game of the World Series, and Dane Cook is being forced upon me, so I decided to write about how much he pisses me off. I was listening to an episode of This American Life earlier today, and there was a segment in which a bunch of 10 year-olds said that Dane Cook is their favorite comedian.<br /><br />I don't really think I need to say anymore. Except that some people, and I'm not talking about the 10-year olds, really like him. And I don't even know what to say about that.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-81041267433456153102007-10-22T11:50:00.000-04:002007-10-22T22:43:46.419-04:00Monday Morning JesusAs I stepped onto the train this morning, I was immediately bombarded with a girl loudly proclaiming that people needed to find Jesus as their savior. First off, having started this whole blogging nonsense, it made me realize that I need to carry my camera around wherever I go. 'Cause I'd love to have a photo of her up right now. Alas, I was sans camera, so you'll just have to make up what she looks like.<br /><br />But back to the point. I didn't honestly listen to everything she was saying, as I was trying intently to listen to a thrilling episode of Radiolab. I must digress again for a second here. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to this incredible radio program yet, you're really missing out. You can download the podcast for free from iTunes - just search for Radiolab or NPR in the podcast directory. I promise you won't regret it.<br /><br />ANYWHO. So this woman on the train...she was speaking rather loudly, so despite my attempts to block her out and be an NPR dork, I couldn't help but overhearing some of what she was saying. Here's the one that really stuck out in my mind:<br /><br />"If you see a pregnant woman on the train, don't let her stand. She might say it's okay, she can stand. But don't let her stand. Hold Jesus in your heart and get up for her."<br /><br />I'm probably paraphrasing that a little, but that was basically the gist of it. Now, I'm all about standing up for pregnant women, elderly people, even just women in general when I'm on the train. I usually feel so bad about sitting down when there's a woman standing up that I'll pretend like I'm getting out at the next station and get up so that whatever woman is standing next to me can sit down. Because while I feel bad about sitting down, I also don't know whether a particular woman is going to find it offensive that I'm offering her my seat. Geez...you think I overthink things sometimes?! And sometimes it backfires on me when whatever douchebag guy standing there decides HE wants to sit down instead.<br /><br />Okay, I'm rambling. My real point here is...do I really need Jesus to tell me that I should give my seat to a pregnant woman?! I'm sorry to anyone reading this who is Christian and is offended by this...I'm really not trying to offend. But I just think there is a set of rules that we're all supposed to live by, and while it's true that those values are somewhat based in Christianity, they have completely become their own entity. Basically, I've met Christian assholes and non-Christian assholes, and I don't think their faith or lack thereof has anything to do with whether or not they offer their seat to a pregnant woman.<br /><br />What's really interesting about this whole incident is that, in this particular instance, and I really don't think I've ever seen this...someone actually talked back to her. This guy got fed up enough with her pronouncements that he began to shoot back.<br /><br />"See, the problem is, no one can get away from what you're saying here. If you were on the street, I'd be fine with this, but people HAVE to listen to what you're saying, and that's not fair."<br /><br />I was...well...impressed in a weird way. She was pissing me off too. In this city of every culture and religion you could ever want, she was forcing people to listen to her tell them to accept Jesus as their lord and savior. And he was calling her on it. Sometimes I wish I had more balls and could speak my mind like that. I suppose it didn't do anything or make any real difference in the world, but the guy felt it was wrong and decided to say something about it. And you know what...I know there were 100 other people in that same subway car that wanted to say the same thing and didn't. Just like me. And I guess I just appreciate that he felt strong enough in his convictions to be the one that spoke up.<br /><br />Oh, and did I mention that I love New York?! Goddamn, I really do.<br /><br />*P.S. As I was on the train heading home from work, about 2 hours after I had finished writing this, a pregnant woman got on the train and I gave her my seat. Seriously...how can you not just chuckle at life sometimes?Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-92113665027960386282007-10-18T12:40:00.000-04:002007-10-18T13:41:26.922-04:0060 crowns for a new walletSometimes I'm just amazed by how the world works.<br /><br />In May and June of this year, I took a trip with a friend of mine - the lovely Karina who will be posting on here once in a while - to Europe. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51R7pDlNqh_ywSOz8IHLbuGRHIkIsf8Weuw7rE65J0WHEXp0ndmN17HyTWuuMcijN9TmH9NlWA05HoLJNH8qr7VKb0YwpxddW-BUZDLVJ6O1XeAQR7Yun6aRsnKdcbQhTbWFXV5jas477/s1600-h/P6010308.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51R7pDlNqh_ywSOz8IHLbuGRHIkIsf8Weuw7rE65J0WHEXp0ndmN17HyTWuuMcijN9TmH9NlWA05HoLJNH8qr7VKb0YwpxddW-BUZDLVJ6O1XeAQR7Yun6aRsnKdcbQhTbWFXV5jas477/s320/P6010308.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122725735376760274" border="0" /></a>She and I flew to London, spent a few days there so she could visit some friends of hers. Then it was off to Amsterdam for a few days that I don't remember so well, and then the Czech Republic. Little side note - if you haven't been to Prague, holy crap, it's beautiful and cheap and you should go immediately! Seriously, I had one of the better meals of my life there for what amounted to about $25 for 2 people combined. Including tip! Ridiculous.<br /><br />But, as is often the case, I digress. So back to the point at hand. After visiting the Czechs in all their glory, Karina was to head home and I was to continue onto Croatia for two weeks of some intimidating but exciting solo traveling.<br /><br />Alas, on our last day in Prague, one of those moments you always hear about but never expect to happen to you...well one of those moments actually did happen to me. I lost my wallet. After throwing Karina's water bottle on the ground and breaking it - a point that she continues to not let me live down - I went and made all the necessary phone calls to cancel and order new cards and all that fun crap.<br /><br />At this point, I was ready to give up. How was I to survive with no access to funds? Karina gave me a bunch of cash, but it definitely wasn't going to get me through another two weeks in a country where I most certainly didn't speak the language. I seriously thought about packing it in, sucking it up, and just heading home.<br /><br />Perhaps I was being completely irrational, but something made me decide against that whole plan. "No!" I thought. "I must see Croatia. It's what I came for!" So on I went, not knowing how I was going to survive.<br /><br />Now maybe this sounds completely cliche, but I honestly don't care - turns out losing that wallet was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Bear with me for a second here.<br /><br />My plan was to fly to Dubrovnik - the Southern-most major city in Croatia - stay there for two days, and then rent a car and drive around Croatia, hitting some national parks and other major cities along the way. Well that plan was out - no driver's license, remember? Plus, I had asked AmEx and Citibank to send my cards to the hostel I was staying at in Dubrovnik, so I had to wait around for those to arrive.<br /><br />Long story short - although I guess I can't avoid making this kind of long at this point - by staying for 6 days instead of 2 at this particular hostel, I met some of the most amazing people I have ever had the privilege to know. Here's a link to the wonderful hostel I stayed at - PLEASE stay there if you ever happen to be in Dubrovnik:<br /><br />http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/croatia/dubrovnik/6007/<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK70Ane_6m9KM0jexXjhVcaiCtPfp0_CtU8OJvAIjVzdaNs8AQW6o0RAsabJgpHlW3j-qSMNHzGEjRO6Pr_Vodn_zm_9AHlaWgVLTScr-SLWlLkVRnvblfKMAozjTZwnVljX-OX1Js564a/s1600-h/P6140129.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK70Ane_6m9KM0jexXjhVcaiCtPfp0_CtU8OJvAIjVzdaNs8AQW6o0RAsabJgpHlW3j-qSMNHzGEjRO6Pr_Vodn_zm_9AHlaWgVLTScr-SLWlLkVRnvblfKMAozjTZwnVljX-OX1Js564a/s320/P6140129.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122729136990858722" border="0" /></a><br /><br />These new friends I had made and I ended up renting an apartment for 3 days on the island of Hvar. Those 3 days were among the best days of my whole life. (Yes, that's me jumping off of a wall 30 feet high into the ocean - and I didn't even break my legs!!)<br /><br />Taking it even further, I recently took a trip up to Montreal to visit one of those friends I had made in Croatia. On the train up there, I happened to sit next to a very cute girl. We ended up chatting for 8 hours, I got her number. Now we're dating and it's rather fantastic, I have to say.<br /><br />The point is, I realized the other day that absolutely none of this would have happened had I not lost my wallet. I would have stayed in Dubrovnik for two days and then gone off, by myself, in a car to whatever national park I felt like exploring that day. I never would've met Monika, my Canadian friend who eventually prompted my trip to Montreal, and thus never would have met a girl on the train who I've become rather fond of.<br /><br />So - and I hope I don't sound preachy or anything here - sometimes when something seemingly terrible and devastating happens...well, just realize that maybe there's a good reason for it after all. I think life is mischievous like that sometimes.Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1721810426611702278.post-16137841760426199892007-10-18T11:42:00.000-04:002007-10-18T11:43:04.430-04:00Hello!<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Okay, let me start off by saying I have no idea what I’m doing with this whole blog thing. In fact, I don’t even think exactly know what I’m going to put up here. But I’ve been meaning to write about well, something…anything…for as long as I can remember. And I’ve never done it. And I think I have some interesting things to say about the world. So I think it’s about damn time I just started.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So here it is, in all its glory. I seriously have NO idea how this is all going to turn out, but I hope that whatever it becomes, you enjoy it, as much as I hope I enjoy writing it.</span>Daniel Gilbert...http://www.blogger.com/profile/16823657591033160578noreply@blogger.com0