* As I've said I would, today I played hooky from Movie Night, and went with Naomi to see Sufjan (SOOF-yan) Stevens & His Illinoise-makers perform at the TLA instead (featuring special guest Superman, as himself). And I regret nothing.

Now, as it happens my socks are currently off. Did Sufjan rock them off? A gentleman would never tell.

* Speaking of which, I'm concerned that not everybody reading this is yet a fan of Mr. Sufjan Stevens. I'm concerned, because I feel that people would change their mind if they only knew that he had a song entitled "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!" Also, that this song is awesome, especially when done live.

* Also, a superficial similarity between the intro to one of (opening act) Denison Whitmer's songs and "If You Could Read My Mind" brought to mind one of my weirdest college memories: the night I spent hanging out with hallmate Tim, back when he was obsessed with [aborted love interest] Anne. As I recall, he had just learned that Anne's favorite musical artist was Gordon Lightfoot, and he spent the night listening to Lightfoot songs over and over again in order to deduce how to woo her. Long periods were spent in silence, and then he'd come out with, "Well... she wants to feel safe and comfortable, clearly..."

Needless to say, it didn't work; and in any case, he missed the most obvious conclusion: "This woman has no personality."

* I'm intrigued to find this list of all the nicknames granted by President Bush; I think the one that creeps me out the most is "The Big O", for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Or maybe "Sweet Susan", for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). They both sound like nicknames you might come up with if you're drunk and horny; now, rumor has it that Bush has started drinking again, so who knows?

* And as long as we're on political news, I feel the need to point out that the only real difference between Tom DeLay (now indicted) and Roy Blunt (now House Majority Leader) is that it's not just a figure of speech when they say that Blunt is in bed with the tobacco lobby:

In 2003, Rep. Blunt divorced his wife of 31 years to marry Philip Morris (now Altria) lobbyist Abigail Perlman. Before it was known publicly that Rep. Blunt and Ms. Perlman were dating – and only hours after Rep. Blunt assumed the role of Majority Whip – he tried to secretly insert a provision into Homeland Security legislation that would have benefitted Philip Morris, at the expense of competitors.

Initially, Dennis Hastert had moved to name Rep. David Dreier, chairman of the Rules Committee, to be Majority Leader. However, somebody apparently thought that rumors of Dreier's homosexuality would lead voters to conclude that the Republicans had no interest in ethical leadership.

* And finally, this post by Mr. Daniel Coleman is pretty funny, and also educational if you are seeking to be a mobster with a scientific bent. (Naomi, I am looking in your direction.)

I ended up leaving tonight's concert early because I had to get work done before tomorrow morning. I suspect that I'm just plain too old for this lifestyle anymore; I mean, the grim spectre of twenty-three is staring me in the face, and after that what is there?

Also, the band Oranger is a total theremin tease. I bet they snooker a lot of people into listening to their music with the promise of theremin, only to yank it back at the last minute.

* Standing in the subway station last night with a couple of people from my section last year. One of the 2Ls was checking out a blonde Temple freshman (freshwoman?). The guy next to him leans over and whispers, "Nineteen eighty-six."

The first guy grimaces, says "Dude, shut up," and the reverie is over.

* This missing-attack-dolphin issue is just the sort of bizarre problem that we should have superheros around to solve. I just hope that the Department of Defense has Namor the Sub-Mariner somewhere in their Rolodex.

* By tomorrow night, I will have doubled the amount of musical artists that I've seen live in my life, which is kind of sad but also the result of getting a free ticket to a show toniight and not having anything better to do. (Besides the summer job search, I assume? -ed. You forget that I've scheduled the rest of the month for freaking out. If I don't stick to the schedule, all is lost.) Also, I'll be seeing Sufjan Stevens tomorrow night with Naomi. That means missing Movie Night (again) on the one hand, but on the other... Sufjan Stevens.

* Prof. Tax ended class today by making a series of jokes about child pornography. And not just jokes in poor taste, but really nerdy jokes that involved child pornographers claiming deductions under the Internal Revenue Code §162(a), concerning necessary and ordinary business expenses. God bless him, even if he is a Republican.

Since I mentioned it at Neil's tonight, thought I'd provide the link to the I-House's October horror series. For those (Peccable) who expressed concern, only one film by Dario Argento will be playing during the series.

Title I expect Feanor to enjoy the most: Night of the Bloody Apes. If it gets him to start saying "fight like *bloody* apes," I shall be amused.

*****

(I'm going to try not to spoil anything specific from "Pegasus," but be warned that I may. Short, absolutely spoil-free version: whatever doubts I've had about this season post-"The Farm" have effectively been retracted with sincere apologies to all parties involved.)

Tonight's episode of Battlestar Galactica was possibly the most viscerally intense episode of television I've ever seen. I can't remember the last time that I've wanted so fervently to see fictional characters die in horrible, horrible ways. By the end, I was raring for Adama to kick some serious goddamn ass, and TV (and even most movies) simply don't affect me that way. (1) I'm fairly sure that Ron Moore isn't just pushing my buttons either, because (as Sarcasmo pointed out) Adm. Caine is hardly a cardboard villian. Her criticisms of the Galactica are basically all well-founded, and on some level Adama doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.

The finest example of this is the scenes between Dr. Baltar and Geena (2); the reality of Baltar's past sins rest uneasily with the brute fact of the moral injustice before him. His outrage at what lies before him has to be tempered with the fact that he's been complicit in similar (if less outrageous) actions. I found him sympathetic at that moment, but obviously that doesn't make him a good person. The same is basically true of Adama himself, who can't help but be aware that his (and Roslynn's, to be fair) behavior in the past is hardly the picture of civil democracy. The arrival of the Pegasus calls the basic assumptions of the Galactica into question. (3)

And also I have *no* idea what's going to happen in January. Although I stick by my earlier suggestion that Adm. Caine deserves a clandestine visit from Tom Zarek to go around unionizing the NCOs.

(1) Just as a sidenote, the version of the scene between Lt. Thorn and Sharon is the least disturbing of the three versions filmed. If you've seen the episode, chew on that one for a second.
(2) The name, while never given in the show, is apparently a big middle finger to people who refer to the new series as GINO, "Galactica in Name Only." The fact that it's appended to this *particular* character is almost too twisted to be funny. Almost.
(3) In retrospect, it makes a lot of the triumphalism of the last couple of episodes--the "Not one of these people has put in their resignation" bit, for ex., and the heroic use of the original theme--make sense. If three uplifting episodes ever air in a row, I'm waiting for the ship to just spontaneously explode.

* Nothing rounds out a relaxing twelve-hour day of school quite like Tropical Malady, a gay-themed Thai film about shape-shifting spirits of shamans and the odd talking monkey. Wouldn't have gone tonight had it not been leaving the Ritz tomorrow--I just managed to make the last showing--and had I not heard fairly ecstatic reviews from the movie nerd circle. I definitely admired it, but probably would have actually enjoyed myself if I had my wits. As an aside, I suspect that less (American) people would be talking about director Apichatpong Weerasethakul if he didn't go by the moniker "Joe."

Also, tomorrow I'm going straight from Taxation to The Holy Mountain, which is being shown for free on campus. Sante Sangre left me cold--I found it predictable--but I've still got high hopes.

* I've lived in the city for over a year now, so I figure I should know this by now, but... how much do you tip a cab driver? Because I feel like I'm stiffing people without realizing it.