Thank god for model trains.

I'm on my second cup of raspberry herbal tea and I'm planning on riding this the entire day. Which means if I do end up staying until 7 pm with volunteers, I might go through a dozen teabags. Except I only have three left in the drawer.

But no fear, today I'm wearing my superhero outfit. Black boots and gay jeans and my omnipotent grey t-shirt. I started feeling all-powerful in my grey t-shirt back in high school. Alas and alack, the shirt I'm wearing today is not the same shirt I started with ten years ago since my body has grown and shrunk and changed much like the shirt itself except luckily my seams haven't yet split. In a moment of cleaning out the unnecessary, I gave that shirt away which is one of my few regrets in life, except even that seems like a stretch since I so rarely think about the loss. No, today I'm just wearing a replacement but luckily the power comes not on in the material itself but in the color and more importantly how I wear it. It's my superhero uniform.

What feats of grandeur I will accomplish today remain to be seen, but I have big plans involving sheets of a butcher paper and a sharpie where I make a master plan for myself.

This morning I found myself thinking "I need a hobby" which was strange seeing as I have plenty of activities and interests that are currently being neglected, which include, but are not limited to: a massive reading list of literature and nonfiction; an informal film group with Madness Librarian involving trashy/cult movies; my own personal film curriculum courtesy of Netflix that includes a catalog of French New Wave, Italian Neorealism, and American films of the 70s; painting; cooking; beat juggling and scratching and production (DJing); writing. Plus, there are "entertainment hobbies", which basically means going to shows and performances and galleries and supporting other artists, particularly those that are my friends. And then there are my sexual interests which occasionally fall into the category of "hobby" when it comes to learning new things, doing them with new people and finding new accessories.

I think my morning thought came from the urge to have something small and new. Something to channel when I need a tiny signifier that I'm engaging on a new path. I'm trying to do this some with writing -- doing more writing exercises, finding new places to write and new things to write about. But I still want to take on something absolutely new to me

Perhaps it's also from my recent smoking cutbacks. I need a hobby to occupy this bit of nervous energy, something to help me step back from the day and regroup.

I'm considering thimble collecting.

Things fall apart

Believe it or not, in the midst of posting a thousand times, I've actually gotten some work done this morning. Arriving at 8:30 am helps. So does reading Pema Chodron's book excerpts online. I'm typing some of them here to aid in committing the lessons to memory.

( applicable passages )

Pop culture rodeo roundup. Yeehaw!

1. Like a good music nerd, I went out and bought Radiohead's new album today. Like a bad music nerd, I have no eloquent overindulgent review for you. Right now it's mostly excellent background music to my work day, at least until it runs out and I switch over to either the new Les Nubians album or some sampler CD I got for free that has both a track off Annie Lennox's upcoming album and the single from Kelly Clarkson's album. But whatever, just go read Spin magazine or click "random" on the Find User function of livejournal, because I'm sure plenty of mofos have something to say. You can come to me when you want a review of the new Big Tymers single.

2. Hillary Clinton's book came out today. I noticed yesterday that The Hours is coming out on DVD in two weeks. And Strangers with Candy -- Season One. And I believe Buffy Season 4 came out today. Have I mentioned my birthday is coming up? Will someone buy me a computer while you're at it? Is it bad to send my dad a father's day card with the hopes of getting a birthday gift in return?

3. I finally saw X-Men 2 on Sunday. I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed it more than the first -- which I didn't think was bad, only a little forgettable. Madness Librarian told me last night that Halle Berry won't be doing a third movie because she feels she's gone as far as she can with Storm as an actor. But has her back account gone as far as it can for her to play Storm? C'mon Halle. I don't understand actors being all snooty about the opportunity to make lots of money in fun mainstream movies that will pay the bills for years to come and make you cool to your kids. Besides, if she was going to leave the franchise, I wish she had gotten killed at the end instead of my favorite character. Even if she does have questionable taste in men, she's still hot and telepathic.

4. Speaking of telekinesis, after dinner on Saturday with Educating Esme, we stopped by her apartment and watched a bit of the new movie of Carrie, and although it starred my favorite Patricia Clarkson, how can one compete with Piper Laurie as the original mom? Also, we talked a lot about how all the girls in the remake didn't look too scary with their nice hair and clothes and bodies. It felt more like a Jennifer Love Hewitt/Freddie Prinze Jr. movie than a horror flick. But, the upside is that I realized I need to rent the original because I haven't seen it in a very very long time. I'm thinking about doing a double-feature rental night entitled "Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen" and I'll rent Carrie along with Femme Fatale, then a discussion will follow about how whether DePalma is a hack or a two(three? four?)-hit wonder or misunderstood genius. Or maybe instead we can just re-enact the trashy sex scenes from the latter film. Let me know if you want an invite.

5. I was going to use this space to rant/discuss/elaborate on my problems with people 'rapping' as a musical expression without properly understanding the art of the craft and how it's not just talking over music or even just reciting poetry to beats. But I've run out of steam. Maybe next time.