The greater New Orleans area gets sublime shopping events periodically. None of which is greater than the Friends of Jefferson Parrish Public Library semi-annual book sale.

I was quite fortunate to be able to purchase the greatest selling album of all time on vinyl for a mere two American dollars. Michael Jackson - "Thriller"

It's a great record, no doubt. But the more I hear it, there is no way any other pop record beats what Rolling Stone Magazine called the "Greatest Album of All-Time": The Beatles - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.


Sorry Michael.

As much as I'd like to write a biting piece about the brilliance with which David Bazan writes and performs his songs, I do not have the time to do so. I do, however, recommend anyone wanting to know more about the song-stylist to read this article about his new album (Curse Your Branches) and why he is no longer into Theism:

Bazan (cont'd): I left church with the question in my mind — "Does God pursue us?" This was in like 2002. I thought, "OK, I understand the Gospel, but I want to find out if God pursues us." It's a very Calvinistic, God-sovereign idea. And I thought, "If this is real, if Christianity is real, I need to feel some kind of intrinsic motivation." There's this bullshit parable about a pastor who goes to a guy's house who's stopped attending church. The guy has a fire going, and so the pastor picks up with the little tongs a lump of coal, and puts it on the end of the hearth. And so they're talking and the pastor asks "Why aren't you going to church?" The guy says, "Oh, I'm just reading the Bible on my own." And so the pastor refers back to the coal that has since burned out, because it wasn’t close to the fire. And I just thought, "If there's a real mystical energy that’s coming from this being, from this belief, then the coal just has to keep burning regardless. The surrounding coals can't be the driving force keeping it alive." And when I realized that, I thought "My gosh, I've been making profound assumptions my entire life that need to be examined before I move forward." And that was basically it.

I mean, for me, I just want to get some distance. I mean, is it OK for a guy just to get some real distance? It takes years to do this. And in Christianity, the answer is, "No, because if you die tonight …" Even in C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce, he talks about how timeline-obsessed Christians are. Christianity builds in all these motivators — you've got to figure it out now, you don't have the time. And that was one of the first things that I rejected.
[*Link to the full article by clicking the quote.]

A: The University of Florida Gators beat you again this year!

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2008/04/01/6-Ways-to-Sell-Your-Baby.aspx

I hate to write about this, but apparently the entire world is stunned at Kanye West's comments to Taylor Swift after she won the ever-so relevant MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video this past Sunday evening. Why? He constantly talks out of his ass. He is an ass! West proceeded to get on stage, grab the microphone from Swift and interrupted her acceptance speech with, "I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."



Really, did Kanye even watch that crap? She's shaking her ass in leotard for that stupid "if you liked it you should've put a ring on it" song. I suppose if it was a better or perhaps more innovative video, his insertion might have been valid. Yet, that video seems like it would cost no more money to make than any other video being played today. There is not anything original about it. Trust me, I've seen it. Don't get me wrong, I get why he likes it. Beyoncé is hot; the video is hot. Perhaps she even has some musical ability, but for Kanye West to say that video is one of the best of all time is just asinine. And what's worse is he had to say it during Taylor Swift's speech! That is why Kanye West is a d-bag.

Even on his blog, although he apologized which garners him a little redemption, he still spewed his crap to his musically clueless fans (yeah, that's right, if you buy his records, you have been duped):

"Beyoncé's video was the best of this decade!!!! I'm sorry to my fans if I let you guys down!!!! I'm sorry to my friends at MTV. I will apologize to Taylor 2mrw," West continued on his blog. "Welcome to the real world!!!! Everybody wanna booooo me but I'm a fan of real pop culture!!! No disrespect but we watchin' the show at the crib right now cause...well you know!!!! I'm still happy for Taylor!!!! Boooyaaawwww!!!! You are very very talented!!! I gave my awards to Outkast when they deserved it over me...That's what it is!!!!!!! I'm not crazy y'all, i'm just real. Sorry for that!!! I really feel bad for Taylor and I'm sincerely sorry!!! Much respect!!!!!"

That video is so basic, there isn't any basis for his comments. He is obviously biased toward his friend. And he claims to be real? What the hell does that have to do with anything? What's good is good. I don't recall if Kanye won any awards last night, but I'm glad he did not. Perhaps he might deserve one for a video he did this year. But because he is suck a dick, I wish him very little success.

I sound bitter, I know. I'm just annoyed that people revere a guy who seems like such a prick.

The story and picture can be found at Billboard.com

I am currently at the library where I have come to escape the pouring rain outside. Actually, it just let up a little, but prior to glancing out the window beside me, it was storming. Louisiana is a lot like Florida in the summer. Scattered showers happen frequently throughout the day. The only problem for residents here is if the rain comes down hard for an extended amount of time. That is when the streets begin to fill up and we have standing water everywhere. Not a good situation when the city's pumps can only pump out a foot an hour or something ridiculous like that.

Well, it is official: I am living in New Orleans for another year. I actually anticipate it to be a longer stay than that, but I am obligated for at least one year. I finally found a place to live. With the help of the potentially creepy Craig's List, I met two other heterosexual males who share my love of responsibility and drinking. One is a Christian, one is not. One looks homeless, the other attends Tulane grad school. It'll be interesting. I call one "Homeless Jim" and the other "The Kid". Our house is on Bienville Avenue. It's a three-bedroom, 1,500 square feet double and our landlady lives above us. I signed my lease a week ago and have not slept there one night. I need a bed. Hopefully, that will get taken care of later today or tomorrow.

As I mentioned, I'm at the library and a woman just walked out a side door near me to, presumably, stare at the rain. The thing is, it's a glass door with several windows beside it that literally allow a viewer to see the same images from inside. A novel notion, I am aware, but apparently this woman wasn't convinced that the green was the same inside as outside. She opened the door, verbalized a "Hmm" sound, and then proceeded to leave. Marvelous.

My current vocational situation just erupted this week. I cannot go into details but it is something crazy. I am finding out all kinds of things about my boss that I did not know. For starters, she was fired, not let go, as she indicated to me. This is going to greatly effect how I do my job. But, my other supervisor assures me that things will change for the better. I hope so.

Weather update, it's back to raining men. There was a lightning strike and I just lost my droors. I'm going out to my car, lay in the backseat, and try to take a nap if the rain lets up.

It never stops raining.

I could recite lyrics that convey the words I feel but that is partly futile. That's the old way. I just miss you. If you think this may apply to you, rest assured, you should know that I do miss you and I am sorry.