What would we do without the Internet?

Seriously.

No. Really.

Take a moment to ponder this. I'll wait.

Are you grasping the sheer enormity of its usefulness yet? No? Well, let me give you some examples then. Because today, I used the internet (thank you, Al Gore) to its max.

First, I purchased some black waxed cotton cord (a somewhat curious item, I know) to attach my homemade silver-wire figurines to (my gifts for this year's Burning Man). I had previously refrained from buying the item at the local crafts monopoly Michael's because the price seemed so outrageous (I think it was around $10 for 20 or 30 feet). Thanks to the miracle of eBay.com though, I ended up with a 330- foot roll of the stuff for $7.99 ($10.50 with shipping). Take that - you overpriced brick-and-mortar stores!

Moving right along: I finally reserved a rental minivan for my trip in August with Budget. I first ran through the whole rental process as anybody would - dates, pick-up location, kind of car etc. Then, on the last page, there was a field simply labeled "Coupons". I remembered that yes, of course, the internet is filled with discounts and coupons and such. You really only have to remember to look.

So sure enough - a quickie Google search later, I found MouseSavers.com, where "Walmart Customers" (i.e. anybody) can get a 20% discount with Budget by simply inputting the code W810011 at the time of reservation. I did, and - pow! - it knocked $70 off my rental fee. Yay! How cool is that?

And last, but not least - I saw that a musician called Eric Lindell was playing at the annual Bite of Bend event this Saturday. I couldn't quite place the name, although it sounded terribly familiar, so I googled his name. It jolted my memory that, indeed, I used to go listen to his music in a small brew pub in the Bay Area, and moments later, I was listening to his tunes online ...

So despite the viruses, worms, pop-ups, and spam - I love the internet.

No - I'm not converting to Mac.

Rather - that's what my old buddy Robert Scoble just said to his long-time employer.
I had no idea he's become so damn famous that changing his job is now a wire news item.

Way to go, Robert. We'll just have to switch our meeting places from a Starbucks in Seattle back to a Starbucks in San Francisco ...

Move over, Snarky.

There's a new kid in town.

And it's bigger, meaner - and in print.



It is Bend Weekly, this town's newest freebiee newspaper. I picked up its very first copy last Friday - Volume 1, Number 1. And I instantly fell in love with it.

Because unlike the dominating paper, The Bulletin, who would rather pretend that the town we live in is perfect and refuses to run a negative story against a local business that is or could potentially become an advertiser - no matter how appropriate the story - this little paper that could is not afraid of flinging dirt. And right on the front page too.

I quote:
Roger Pollock looks like a pillar of the community. He is on the board of Oregon Partnership, a statewide non-profit promoting healthy kids and communities through drug and alcohol awareness and prevention programs.

Pollock has been the subject of many profiles over the years in The Oregonian and the Portland Business Journal and he is the man behind Buena Vista Custom Homes, who recently announced entering the Central Oregon housing market for the first time after securing 455 homebuilding lots in the Bend area.

While Buena Vista Custom Homes touts being named the fastest growing homebuilder in the nation by Builder Magazine in 2005, what the company is not touting is their owner’s troubled history including drug arrests, assault charges and lawsuits.

[...]

Do Bend citizens deserve to know the full truth about his legal infractions? Should central Oregonians be privy to the not-so-dreamy past of the man building their future dream homes?

Most people are looking at the boost to the Bend homebuilding industry. After all, the current average cost of a Buena Vista home is $440,006; which means the total value of the Bend area developments could eclipse $200 million.

While many see the value in the changes Pollock will bring to Bend, many in the community are hoping his own values have changed as well.

Bravo, I say.

Bend Weekly sure lost themselves a potentially lucrative advertiser by printing this, but I congratulate them on their titanium balls.

Truthiness rules.

I can't help it.

I'm a child of the 80s.

I watched in awe as Madonna, clad in net stockings and dripping with cruzifixes, cavorted to "Like A Virgin". I was there when Billy Idol pumped his fist in the air, arches his upper lip, and raspily cried "Rebel Yell". When George Michael whispered "I Want your Sex", the world cringed and feared for the pure minds of their children. When Prince set dance floors across the world on fire with "Let's go crazy". And yes, I was even there when Michael Jackson "moonwalked", turned the music world upside down with "Thriller", and later made grabbing your crotch a dance move.

I went to their concerts (Billy Idol was raw and awesome; Michael Jackson is an incredibly performer; and Prince is, and will always be, the one and only Rhythm Master), bought their CDs, and spent endless Saturday night burning up the dance floors to their tunes.

Never mind the sad outcome of some of those performer's careers. What stays on forever is simple, pure, great music. Their songs are the soundtrack to my teenage years - and as such, an intricate part of the fabric of my memories of those years.

So when I want to take a mental stroll into my past, all's I have to do is put on some of their music and - POW! - I'm transported right back to the tender age of 15 or so, to school dances and rock star infatuations. How great is that?

So when I was ripping some new music to CD last weekend, I surprised myself that one of them ended up including Duran Duran, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Depeche Mode, Banarama, and even Frank'n Furter's "Sweet Transvestite" - all wrapped into one neat, happy package.

I just love how the past can bring the present alive.

Tivo rules. I can finally record some obscure movie at 2am and watch it during prime time, when the airwaves are filled with crap, and then some more crap.

So here are some of them:

Zorro, the Gay Blade (1981): Hilarious. I love that George Hamilton never takes himself seriously.

Oxygen (1999): Would have been kinda cheesy, had it not been for Adrien Brody's stunning performance in this small movie. His psychopath killer is frightening and alluring at the same time. Exquisite. And a preview of his talent and the good things to come.

A Home at the End of the World (2004): Similar to Oxygen in that one performance (this time by Colin Farrell) pulls the movie together and makes it special and entertaining. Farrell has been fearless in his choice of roles, and this one proves the point.

Magnolia (1999): A 3-hour masterpiece of cinema. Gets better every time I watch it. The only movie I'll ever respect Tom Cruise for. Philip Seymour Hoffman can make you *care* like no one else can. William H. Macy is splendid. So is Julianne Moore. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it now.

Match Point (2005): A very un-Woody Allen movie. Very watchable though. And with a most surprising ending. Scarlett Johannesen was memorable, so was Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Requiem for a Dream (2000): As haunting as it is depressing. But no other movie has shown drug addiction quite like this one, and that's what makes it great.

Note to self: Watch more COMEDIES.