Went to see Lord of the Rings tonight with the parental units. What a quality film that was... I was blown away. As some movie reviewer whose name I can't remember said, I'm not planning on waiting around for the next two films to come out in order to find out what happened -- I'll read the trilogy myself beforehand. I'll probably end up seeing Ocean's 11 (again) tomorrow with my mom and then it's Chinese food for Keith! Gotta love the Christmas traditions.

Despite my own religious leanings and despite the fact that I am kind of "lonely Jew on Christmas," I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope that Santa brings you all everything you wanted. Except for Georgie and Johnny -- Bush & Ashcroft can get... no, strike that, if I wish them lumps of coal, they'll figure out some way to convert them into fossil fuels. So I'll just wish them a nice boot to the head.

Larry Johnston, 68, is a trailblazer among his peers. When shopping for a new car, he decided to go against the advice of his friends and bought himself a green 2002 Toyota Corolla. "Well, the price was right, and I figured I really didn't need a huge car," said Johnston.

"I'm a rebel, y'know?" Johnston continued. "I hated being part of that stereotype where if you see a huge Cadillac, there's usually an old person behind the wheel." Friends of Johnston's tried to persuade him that now is the time to support General Motors and other American companies in light of the September 11th terrorist attacks, but Larry insisted on "quality over quantity."

"You show me a Caddy that's got a better repair record than a Toyota, and I'll eat this magazine," he replied, waving his April 2001 "Car Guide" issue of Consumer Reports. Johnston also added that he hoped to pass the car onto his grandson someday, so he wanted his grandson to be "cool" and not to have to deal with the torment of driving a "grandfather car."

"I know what's 'hip,' I know how to 'get jiggy' with the young folk of today," said Johnston. "And when I'm cruising down Main Street with my mind on my money and my money on my mind, I don't want to project the image that I'm just some old kook in a big car."

Statler Toyota General Sales Manager Tony Roberts was very happy to have Johnston's business. "Well, we're always ready to make someone a good deal if they're interested in a quality automobile, especially in this time of economic downturn. So when Larry came in here looking for a Corolla, we were happy to set him up. We even gave him free mud guards." Roberts cited a no-money-down, no interest until 2003 offer as what clinched the agreement.

"I'm happy as a pig in... uh, well, mud," said Johnston. "So when I'm driving down the road now and see someone I know in a big DeVille, I just laugh at 'em because I know I'm getting at least 7 or 10 miles per gallon more than they are."

Larry Johnston, 68, is a trailblazer among his peers. When shopping for a new car, he decided to go against the advice of his friends and bought himself a green 2002 Toyota Corolla. "Well, the price was right, and I figured I really didn't need a huge car," said Johnston.

"I'm a rebel, y'know?" Johnston continued. "I hated being part of that stereotype where if you see a huge Cadillac, there's usually an old person behind the wheel." Friends of Johnston's tried to persuade him that now is the time to support General Motors and other American companies in light of the September 11th terrorist attacks, but Larry insisted on "quality over quantity."

"You show me a Caddy that's got a better repair record than a Toyota, and I'll eat this magazine," he replied, waving his April 2001 "Car Guide" issue of Consumer Reports. Johnston also added that he hoped to pass the car onto his grandson someday, so he wanted his grandson to be "cool" and not to have to deal with the torment of driving a "grandfather car."

"I know what's 'hip,' I know how to 'get jiggy' with the young folk of today," said Johnston. "And when I'm cruising down Main Street with my mind on my money and my money on my mind, I don't want to project the image that I'm just some old kook in a big car."

Statler Toyota General Sales Manager Tony Roberts was very happy to have Johnston's business. "Well, we're always ready to make someone a good deal if they're interested in a quality automobile, especially in this time of economic downturn. So when Larry came in here looking for a Corolla, we were happy to set him up. We even gave him free mud guards." Roberts cited a no-money-down, no interest until 2003 offer as what clinched the agreement.

"I'm happy as a pig in... uh, well, mud," said Johnston. "So when I'm driving down the road now and see someone I know in a big DeVille, I just laugh at 'em because I know I'm getting at least 7 or 10 miles per gallon more than they are."

From the grey and dreary view outside, it looks more like there's a possibility of a lot of rain than any snow. So Southern New England will not be seeing a white Christmas this year. I think it's been over a decade since that's happened.

For practical reasons, I actually prefer it that way. Enough people are driving on Christmas Day that I'd like the roads to be the least hazardous as possible, plus I hope there wouldn't be any conditions that would cause traffic to slow down to a crawl.

Either way, I'm off to visit the parental units for a couple of days. It looks like we've settled on Lord of the Rings for Christmas Day, and I already crave the lo mein I'll be ordering for dinner tomorrow night. Unfortunately, they only have dialup, so updates here will be fewer.

A Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a safe trip if you're going anywhere or safe unwrapping if you're not (those paper cuts from the wrapping paper can be a real bitch sometimes).

From the grey and dreary view outside, it looks more like there's a possibility of a lot of rain than any snow. So Southern New England will not be seeing a white Christmas this year. I think it's been over a decade since that's happened.

For practical reasons, I actually prefer it that way. Enough people are driving on Christmas Day that I'd like the roads to be the least hazardous as possible, plus I hope there wouldn't be any conditions that would cause traffic to slow down to a crawl.

Either way, I'm off to visit the parental units for a couple of days. It looks like we've settled on Lord of the Rings for Christmas Day, and I already crave the lo mein I'll be ordering for dinner tomorrow night. Unfortunately, they only have dialup, so updates here will be fewer.

A Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a safe trip if you're going anywhere or safe unwrapping if you're not (those paper cuts from the wrapping paper can be a real bitch sometimes).

2001 proved to be a rather interesting year. The first two-thirds were ruled by pop drivel, the latter third was gripped by hysteria and paranoia.

Me, I was lucky enough to have three weeks' distance between the time I took American Airlines Flight 11 and the day that it crashed into the World Trade Center. The second time I took that flight, 3 1/2 months later, the plane (a Boeing 767) was maybe a third full. You could quite clearly demark the shift in behavior and anxiety levels after September 11th. How interesting that the events that unfolded over the course of only two hours on a regular Tuesday morning in September are so closely intertwined with almost every aspect of life post-event.

I should have time this weekend to do some writing. To try to put together my own perspective on what's transpired here... I know that on a personal level, people try to do this sort of thing every year. But for me, this isn't about me per se. I want this to be by an observer -- one much like myself -- interacting tangentially through the whole fractured and upheaveled landscape -- but painting that landscape and not really passing judgment on it.

My mind is swirling too much right now continue, though I've hit on an idea that I should like to continue at a later date. A general look back on The Year That Nearly Wasn't. A treatise, as it were.

Unfortunately, I am not able to begin right now... though I expect some information will begin posting over the next few days as I attempt to put together "2001: Keith's Odyssey." Stay tuned... I promise interesting material will come from this. (Hell, when is my writing not exciting?!)

2001 proved to be a rather interesting year. The first two-thirds were ruled by pop drivel, the latter third was gripped by hysteria and paranoia.

Me, I was lucky enough to have three weeks' distance between the time I took American Airlines Flight 11 and the day that it crashed into the World Trade Center. The second time I took that flight, 3 1/2 months later, the plane (a Boeing 767) was maybe a third full. You could quite clearly demark the shift in behavior and anxiety levels after September 11th. How interesting that the events that unfolded over the course of only two hours on a regular Tuesday morning in September are so closely intertwined with almost every aspect of life post-event.

I should have time this weekend to do some writing. To try to put together my own perspective on what's transpired here... I know that on a personal level, people try to do this sort of thing every year. But for me, this isn't about me per se. I want this to be by an observer -- one much like myself -- interacting tangentially through the whole fractured and upheaveled landscape -- but painting that landscape and not really passing judgment on it.

My mind is swirling too much right now continue, though I've hit on an idea that I should like to continue at a later date. A general look back on The Year That Nearly Wasn't. A treatise, as it were.

Unfortunately, I am not able to begin right now... though I expect some information will begin posting over the next few days as I attempt to put together "2001: Keith's Odyssey." Stay tuned... I promise interesting material will come from this. (Hell, when is my writing not exciting?!)

"Hustle" is another one of those words that I look at and think "where the hell did that come from and how on Earth did it make it into the English language?" I was, of course, reminded of that word by the immortal song "The Hustle" by Van McCoy, which I'm listening to right now. It's another one of those cases where something stupid is stuck in your head and you can't get it out, so you end up singing it to yourself and looking like an ass to the general population.

At least in this instance, I can blame someone else for my looking like an ass, and this time that person would be Matt Groening. I saw that "Simpsons" rerun where Homer is trying to come up with a new answering machine message and sings "leave a message! Doo doo doo doo doo [etc.]" to the tune of "The Hustle."

I'm sure you're all giggling like little schoolgirls at the image of me dancing around singing "Do the Hustle! Doo doo doo doo [etc.]" And I'll get my revenge on you for doing so, because as soon as you picture it, you'll begin singing the damn song too and you won't be able to get that image of me hustling out of your minds. Bwahahahahaaaaaaaa...

"Hustle" is another one of those words that I look at and think "where the hell did that come from and how on Earth did it make it into the English language?" I was, of course, reminded of that word by the immortal song "The Hustle" by Van McCoy, which I'm listening to right now. It's another one of those cases where something stupid is stuck in your head and you can't get it out, so you end up singing it to yourself and looking like an ass to the general population.

At least in this instance, I can blame someone else for my looking like an ass, and this time that person would be Matt Groening. I saw that "Simpsons" rerun where Homer is trying to come up with a new answering machine message and sings "leave a message! Doo doo doo doo doo [etc.]" to the tune of "The Hustle."

I'm sure you're all giggling like little schoolgirls at the image of me dancing around singing "Do the Hustle! Doo doo doo doo [etc.]" And I'll get my revenge on you for doing so, because as soon as you picture it, you'll begin singing the damn song too and you won't be able to get that image of me hustling out of your minds. Bwahahahahaaaaaaaa...

It's not that I hate the holidays. I hate the way people act around them. I don't want to deck the halls, I just want to deck someone.

The way I see it, the holidays cause one of two scenarios to play out for a fair amount of people:

1. People become so über-nice to each other that it just seems sickening. The plasticity factor increases by a factor of 100. Everyone remembers to be nice to each other during the month of December, because Santa might be watching and the Salvation Army volunteers ringing their bells remind everyone that they need to give to others and be generous and civil to their fellow man. Come January 3, it's all forgotten. Everyone goes back to their normal demeanors, their normal way of treating people, their normal reactions. It's no longer "let's smile and be happy for the holiday parties," it's "look, pal, I was here first and you butted in front of me to grab that last package of semi-sweet chocolate chips and I want them now."

2. The holidays bring out the worst in people, in terms of the me-first attitude. People fight over parking spots more, people shove each other out of the way to grab that toy for their kids, people's tempers flare up and they forget the reason why they're waiting in this enormous line anyways.

Color me jaded and cynical, but Christmas in America doesn't always turn out okay in the end, like in all the holiday specials and movies like Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life. Real life doesn't suspend itself for the month of December just because Christmas is coming. People are still working hard, people are still starving and dying and wars are still going on, and people are still going to be not-so-nice with each other once the holiday jollies wear off.

It's not that I hate the holidays. I hate the way people act around them. I don't want to deck the halls, I just want to deck someone.

The way I see it, the holidays cause one of two scenarios to play out for a fair amount of people:

1. People become so über-nice to each other that it just seems sickening. The plasticity factor increases by a factor of 100. Everyone remembers to be nice to each other during the month of December, because Santa might be watching and the Salvation Army volunteers ringing their bells remind everyone that they need to give to others and be generous and civil to their fellow man. Come January 3, it's all forgotten. Everyone goes back to their normal demeanors, their normal way of treating people, their normal reactions. It's no longer "let's smile and be happy for the holiday parties," it's "look, pal, I was here first and you butted in front of me to grab that last package of semi-sweet chocolate chips and I want them now."

2. The holidays bring out the worst in people, in terms of the me-first attitude. People fight over parking spots more, people shove each other out of the way to grab that toy for their kids, people's tempers flare up and they forget the reason why they're waiting in this enormous line anyways.

Color me jaded and cynical, but Christmas in America doesn't always turn out okay in the end, like in all the holiday specials and movies like Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life. Real life doesn't suspend itself for the month of December just because Christmas is coming. People are still working hard, people are still starving and dying and wars are still going on, and people are still going to be not-so-nice with each other once the holiday jollies wear off.

The winner of tonight's "I'd Like Those Two Hours of My Life Back" award... oh my goodness, we have a tie! The winners are the Tennessee Titans/Oakland Raiders game and the movie The Skulls! Man, am I glad that both of those were available on cable so I didn't pay anything extra for them. I actually left my friend's place near the end of the game and came back to my own apartment, we were going to go out but we all realized we were all too tired and it was too late so I ended up watching the movie on my own, which was not one of my brighter ideas. All three of us had already passed out/fell asleep around 7PM for an hour or so, it was probably time that we do that for the night. My unusual sleep habits, of course, had other thoughts. So here I am. At least it gives me time to catch up on my Netsurfing, e-mail returning and magazine reading.

I really envy happy-go-lucky people sometimes. You know, people who just seem to have faith in the fact that things will work out the way they want to -- and they usually do. Me, I worry about everything. No matter how tired I might be, my mind accelerates to warp speed the instant my head hits the pillow and my eyes close. The What-If Gnomes seem to have set up permanent residence in my bedroom. I attribute this to my parents, who've always been anal-retentive about having all bases covered and being "secure" enough and "safe" enough. I think that once they hit the age of 35, they stopped doing anything impulsively and began methodically mapping every possibility out to its most logical conclusion, and usually shying away from the road less traveled. I think the three words my parents hate hearing from me most is "I don't know." But there are just times when I'm willing to forego having everything 100% planned, settle for the 80% that I do have laid out and doing the rest by the seat of my pants and "getting to it when it comes, if it comes." It may be a little scary, it may be a little frightening, but it's a way for me to feel alive and get the adrenaline going sometimes. Throw me into the fray -- I'd rather be doing anything other than just standing around waiting. There are just some times when the Great Outhere needs to be attacked in an unplanned or half-baked way. Safe may be good and comforting, but safe isn't always fun.

The winner of tonight's "I'd Like Those Two Hours of My Life Back" award... oh my goodness, we have a tie! The winners are the Tennessee Titans/Oakland Raiders game and the movie The Skulls! Man, am I glad that both of those were available on cable so I didn't pay anything extra for them. I actually left my friend's place near the end of the game and came back to my own apartment, we were going to go out but we all realized we were all too tired and it was too late so I ended up watching the movie on my own, which was not one of my brighter ideas. All three of us had already passed out/fell asleep around 7PM for an hour or so, it was probably time that we do that for the night. My unusual sleep habits, of course, had other thoughts. So here I am. At least it gives me time to catch up on my Netsurfing, e-mail returning and magazine reading.

I really envy happy-go-lucky people sometimes. You know, people who just seem to have faith in the fact that things will work out the way they want to -- and they usually do. Me, I worry about everything. No matter how tired I might be, my mind accelerates to warp speed the instant my head hits the pillow and my eyes close. The What-If Gnomes seem to have set up permanent residence in my bedroom. I attribute this to my parents, who've always been anal-retentive about having all bases covered and being "secure" enough and "safe" enough. I think that once they hit the age of 35, they stopped doing anything impulsively and began methodically mapping every possibility out to its most logical conclusion, and usually shying away from the road less traveled. I think the three words my parents hate hearing from me most is "I don't know." But there are just times when I'm willing to forego having everything 100% planned, settle for the 80% that I do have laid out and doing the rest by the seat of my pants and "getting to it when it comes, if it comes." It may be a little scary, it may be a little frightening, but it's a way for me to feel alive and get the adrenaline going sometimes. Throw me into the fray -- I'd rather be doing anything other than just standing around waiting. There are just some times when the Great Outhere needs to be attacked in an unplanned or half-baked way. Safe may be good and comforting, but safe isn't always fun.

I don't get hangovers. My head feels fine. But my body is screaming for me to not do much at all today. Thankfully, it's a football tripleheader today, so I'm back over to my friend's place with the same two guys that I was with last night for an all-day extravaganza/continuation of last night. I think I'll be taking it a little more slowly this time though.

Strangely enough, this is the first time in a long time that I've actually felt "different" about turning another year older. This time, the number seems to hold a little significance, but I think it's mostly in the way that I believe people in general tend to have perceptions of that age group. At 24, I was dismissed as "too young" both personally and professionally because people thought I didn't have enough "worldly experience" (even though others have called me "wise beyond my years" and I had to prove several times that I wasn't 27-29 when people didn't believe me when I told them I wasn't that old). I'm hoping that 25 proves to be a little more socially acceptable to people.

I don't get hangovers. My head feels fine. But my body is screaming for me to not do much at all today. Thankfully, it's a football tripleheader today, so I'm back over to my friend's place with the same two guys that I was with last night for an all-day extravaganza/continuation of last night. I think I'll be taking it a little more slowly this time though.

Strangely enough, this is the first time in a long time that I've actually felt "different" about turning another year older. This time, the number seems to hold a little significance, but I think it's mostly in the way that I believe people in general tend to have perceptions of that age group. At 24, I was dismissed as "too young" both personally and professionally because people thought I didn't have enough "worldly experience" (even though others have called me "wise beyond my years" and I had to prove several times that I wasn't 27-29 when people didn't believe me when I told them I wasn't that old). I'm hoping that 25 proves to be a little more socially acceptable to people.