2004: Seemed like 365 days, didn't it? 1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? Flew coast-to-coast and back in just over 24 hours. 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I never make new year's resolutions. Since I am Mr. Instant Gratification, I always think, why wait until the new year? 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No. 4. Did anyone close to you die? No. 5. What countries did you visit? I wish I'd left the country... alas, I didn't even make it to Mexico. 6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? A relationship with a mentally balanced woman. 7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 19. That was the night I partied with Duran Duran in a penthouse suite at the Chateau Marmont, and I remember standing up there on the balcony, overlooking the Sunset Strip and the entire city of Los Angeles, thinking about how people all over the country -- all over the world, even -- would've killed to be where I was that night, and I just kind of fell into it by accident. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Ending a relationship when I knew I should, rather than dragging it out simply because I was scared of being alone again. 9. What was your biggest failure? Not losing all the weight that I wanted to lose -- I've really slacked off in the last month or so. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No injury, but I've been way sick the past couple of months. 11. What was the best thing you bought? Mmmm... TiVo. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? An old friend who removed herself from my social circle a couple of years ago because her boyfriend was jealous of her being around other men. I was really pissed at her for allowing herself to be directed like that, but this year, I called her, and it was great to be able to see her and hang out with her again. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? 51% of the popular vote. 14. Where did most of your money go? DVDs, I suppose. Rent. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My friends, my toys. 16. What song will always remind you of 2004? "I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light" by Brand New. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Happier, I suppose. ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner. iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Though not by much. 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Traveling. Dating. Exercising. Keeping myself in check. 19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Eating junk food. Battling The Plague™. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Movies and Chinese food. I've been doing that for like 20 years. 22. Did you fall in love in 2004? Umm... maybe? It's kind of a long, drawn-out explanation -- one I'd prefer not to get into here. (And for those of you who are thinking about Psychochick I dated earlier this year -- no, it wasn't her.) 23. How many one-night stands? None. 24. What was your favorite TV program? Scrubs, The Daily Show, Aqua Teen Hungerforce, Family Guy, Futurama. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Oh yeah. 26. What was the best book you read? Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? This year? Head Automatica, The Dresden Dolls, Breaking Benjamin. 28. What did you want and get? Love and affection from friends. My own apartment. 29. What did you want and not get? A new car. A much deserved pay raise. A woman. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? Napoleon Dynamite, Garden State and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? On my birthday? I was 28 and worked all day, then went out to dinner and to see Sideways with an old friend. 32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Probably a woman. Or that well-deserved raise. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? While I can't remember the last time I didn't wear jeans (oh wait... it was when I went to temple for Yom Kippur in September), I discovered that -- despite the L.A. stereotype -- I do look good in black and have started wearing it often. 34. What kept you sane? Music. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Okay... well, I still have a crush on Liz Vassey. She was Captain Liberty on Fox's live action version of The Tick. Look, she lives here in Los Angeles, does anyone know how I can get in touch with her? 36. What political issue stirred you the most? The goddamn election and our president. 37. Who did you miss? My friends in Boston. 38. Who was the best new person you met? Umm... I met a lot of cool new people. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: My parents mean well, even if they do stuff that drives me up a freakin' wall. 40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: These days are great, there's work to do Would you like to work with me? I'd love to work you These days are great, and so are you I think it's something positive and negative too... -- Alien Ant Farm, "These Days"

The rain appears to have broken and there's sunlight peeking into my bedroom from around the shades. Life can slowly start returning to normal for the greater Los Angeles area. Meanwhile, I'm still not all that awake -- out late last night at the very fun Reel Big Fish show and then out to drinks with a friend. It still hasn't really sunk in that the year will be over tomorrow. I suppose part of it has to do with the fact that I no longer have an internal calendar due to the fact that there's no other seasons besides spring and fall here. But the year was just lost in a blur of... well, life. A ton of stuff happened this year, really too much for me to try to recap here, although I may attempt a year-end wrap-up later when I have some time. But I hope that 2005 is good for all of us, and I wish health, happiness & prosperity for everyone out there. Even you, Tin Man. Happy new year, folks. By the way, the title of this post comes from this song. Despite the fact I'm told it's around 5 degrees in Boston right now, I can't even begin to describe the envy I experienced when a friend called earlier this week to tell me the Northeast had just gotten hit with a foot of snow. Right-click and save as. Low - "Last Snowstorm of the Year"

So, it's the wonder of the Internet that allows realtime sharing of what's going on in the world. Like these pictures, which were taken by a tourist staying at a beachside resort at Phuket, Thailand. I can only imagine what he was thinking as he watched the tsunami rise up over the first floor balconies of the building he was in. (Possibly something about the wonderful vacation options available to him in scenic Omaha. Sorry, I know I'm going to hell for that. Add it to the list.) And it's the wonder of the Internet -- but also my stupidity -- that allowed me to be sitting at my desk tonight here in Los Angeles while listening to a radio station in Salt Lake City, and the guy on the air was mangling the name of a band during their nightly new-song vote-off so badly over and over that I had to call him long-distance and correct him on how to pronounce it. (Yes, he even aired the call! I'm now well-known in Salt Lake City! In fact, I may just have to change this blog's tagline to "Reality Remixed: Famous Among Mormons"!) Say it with me, friends: It's pronounced kah-SAY-bee-an, and "Kasabian" translates to "rock-electronica band that kicks ass." Pronouncing it "kah-sah-blan" just makes me think of Casablanca, and I'm sorry, but while Humphrey Bogart was cool for the time period, he just doesn't rock hard in the 21st century. And it's the wonder of the Internet by which I found a New York Times article that declared online dating is on the decline and that meeting people in realtime is the new online dating, except I can't find the damn article again since I read it while I was at work today. Not only that, I can't even find the site that linked to it. Edited to add: Okay, I found the damn article. It's here. Registration is free.

If you've ever uttered the words "best albums of 2004" and "Britney Spears' greatest hits" in the same sentence (unless the sentence was "It will be a cold day in Hell and the dead will be rising from their graves when I include Britney Spears' greatest hits among the best albums of 2004"), leave now and never return, or I will smite you. Gah. That sort of thing makes me want to jump in my car and drive around the country, liberally applying taste to every single American.

Happy birthday, LT! Hopefully, the year will bring you lots of good stuff. I'm continually amazed by people who still listen only to song choruses (or worse yet, look at titles) when discerning the meaning of a song. When trying to put together a mix to tell a boy she likes him more than just as a friend, this chick included Jimmy Eat World's "Pain" (which I'm pretty sure is about drugs and includes the lyrics "it's a lie/a kiss with open eyes/and she's not breathing back" -- not words you want in a song you're trying to use to tell someone you love them) and U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (which is about civil rights and features a nice verse talking about the death of Martin Luther King). And before you ask, no, the mix was not given to me. I just served as music consultant. Always the bridesm... er, best man, remember? However, if U2 is a necessary, then might I suggest this selection? Right-click and save as, lovemongers. U2 - "All I Want Is You"

I'm sick of the sight of the place, to be honest. Some days I'm afraid I'll go berserk, rip the Elvis Costello mobile down from the ceiling, throw the "Country Artists (Male) A-K" rack out into the street, go off to work in a Virgin Megastore, and never come back. -- Nick Hornby, High Fidelity I've reserved today for cleaning the apartment, which is something I used to do quasi-compulsively but now falls distinctly as a chore. The grey sky and mild chill outside probably fits the day. My elderly upstairs neighbor has already dispatched her 40-something son down to my apartment to complain about the noise considering I was running the vacuum cleaner and she hates it whenever I play music (even though I only have the system on 2 or 3). I politely responded that if she doesn't like how loud I turn up my music, she shouldn't make her TV so loud upstairs that I can hear it through my ceiling and have to drown it out with my stereo, especially considering her TV is what woke me up this morning. He had no response, kind of stammered out something for a second and then just left. I had lunch with a friend/former co-worker on Wednesday, only a day after my birthday, and she told me that based on my age, I am now experiencing "the return of Saturn." Being the music & radio people we both are, I responded, "What, the No Doubt album?" After we both laughed and laughed, she said that due to Saturn's 29-year orbit, it's not uncommon for people between the ages of 28-30 to question where they are and what they're doing with their lives. Apparently, shifts on a life-altering scale can occur during this time period, and she's not surprised that I'm questioning a lot of what I'm doing and not particularly enjoying the drudgery of life because my mind is elsewhere and looking to break routines. Not that I put 100% faith in astrology, it does explain a few things... but either way, that bathroom is still not gonna clean itself.

So. Christmas Day. Meet the Fockers, which amused me. A mysterious text message from a phone number I don't recognize, wishing me a happy nondenominational holiday in language that I routinely use with others, which both intrigues and kind of weirds me out since I don't know who it's from. Chinese food at my local place, which was so not ready for the influx of Jews that we had to wait 15 minutes for a table and another 45 minutes for food (which has never happened before). A run to LAX to drop off a friend of mine who's headed to a warm, sunny beach for a week while I stay behind and work in Los Angeles, where it's supposed to be 60 and rainy all week. A trip to a family friend's house to feed their dog while they're away on a cruise. Finally, home. So, home alone without a nice Jewish girl to celebrate Christmas with, my dilemma is this: Do I break the vodka out of my freezer and drink alone, or do I go down the street to the bar that is barely populated? Since my living room is cheaper than the bar, I think I vote for the living room. Plus, I've never been one to try to navigate the bar scene unless I'm with friends, and I can choose my own entertainment if I'm on my couch... even if it is 250 channels of either It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. To the kitchen! To the vodka! Yar!

Nothing's on TV except for Love Actually for the 508th time on HBO... and after 507 times, it gets a little old. I'll be heading out later for the annual Jewish tradition of Chinese food and movies, but I figured maybe I'd do some introspection with the year about to close out. So I'm doing this meme after spending some time perusing people's mixes over at Art of the Mix. Everyone seems to be posting themed mixes about the people they love or the way they felt at a particular time, and someone was writing about High Fidelity and how the guy who wrote it, Nick Hornby, also put out Songbook, a book that basically talks about songs that reflect his life. So feel free to participate in this. You needn't explain your choices for each song, though I may throw in reasons here and there. Theme Song: Grand Theft Audio - "As Good As It Gets" (kind of a song with a double meaning... when things are really great, it's easy to ask the question while sitting on top of the world and facing the new day with a renewed sense of vigor, but when things are bad, it's easy to ask the question in a plaintive kind of way to see how bad things really can get) Best Friend: South Park - "Uncle Fucka" (I know this probably sounds insulting, but it's not -- I always have such a good time with my best friend and we can be a little off-the-wall at times, so despite all the real-life stuff we discuss and experience, this seemed the most apt) Romantic Life: Ivan Neville - "Why Can't I Fall in Love" All-Time Favorite Song: Grand Theft Audio - "As Good As It Gets" From the First Band You Ever Liked: Huey Lewis & The News - "Walkin' on a Thin Line" A Reminder of School Days: Pearl Jam - "Animal" From Your First Concert: Van Halen - "Poundcake" The Prozac Alternative: Interpol - "NYC" Feel-Good Song: Eve 6 - "Open Road Song" (I've always felt wonderful behind the wheel on an open road) All About Sex: Poe featuring Mark Danielewski - "Hey Pretty (Drive-By 2001 Mix)" Reminder of Youth: Prince - "Raspberry Beret" Your Favorite Season: Eve's Plum - "Cherry Alive" (I know this song has absolutely nothing to do with springtime, but it always reminds me of things blooming) When I Think of You: Hooverphonic - "Mad About You" Breakup Song: Ben Folds Five - "Song for the Dumped" Makes You Sad: Rubyhorse - "Fell on Bad Days" Hope for the Future: Jimmy Eat World - "Futures" General View of the World: Rustic Overtones - "C'mon" Song You Want Played At Your Funeral: Ozzy Osbourne - "See You on the Other Side"

I've seen this on a number of sites, and it's music-oriented, so of course I have to participate. It's the Friday Random Ten, which basically consists of turning on your iTunes, loading up 10 random tracks and posting them. Let it never be said that I don't have an eclectic music collection. 1. Ted Nugent - "Wango Tango" 2. Starship - "We Built This City" 3. Fishbone - "It's a Wonderful Life" 4. K's Choice - "Not An Addict" 5. Dave Matthews Band - "Dancing Nancies" (long story behind that song, but even though I have it in my collection, I can't listen to it) 6. Ministry - "New World Order" 7. Underworld - "Cowgirl 2000 (Bedrock Mix)" 8. Vangelis - "Chariots of Fire" 9. Chuck Berry - "Roll Over Beethoven" 10. The Von Bondies - "C'mon C'mon"

The Jewish Movie Migration 2004 began with a bang: I saw National Treasure and Ocean's Twelve today. Personally, I really liked National Treasure -- I wasn't expecting cinematic brilliance, but it was a really entertaining, fun movie and I'm a sucker for movies in which Nic Cage plays the nice guy who saves the world... which might explain why I love The Rock so much too. Ocean's Twelve... well, I thought it was decent, and there were a lot of things in the movie that made me laugh, but it wasn't as good as the first one. Quick notes: - The Jewish Movie Migration didn't begin just for me. At Ocean's Twelve, I noticed that when the guy sitting next to me turned off his cell phone, his phone's wallpaper was an Israeli flag. What, you thought I was kidding about the whole Jews-go-to-movies-over-Christmas thing? - Even in this day and age of online shopping and people not procrastinating as much because they know how crazy things will be this close to the holiday, a local mall was still packed on Christmas Eve Eve. It still amazes me that people know when Christmas is going to be, yet they still wait until the last minute to do their shopping. - There's a short scene in Ocean's Twelve where two people throw down because one of them is wearing a Yankees hat and one is wearing a Red Sox hat. I happened to be wearing my Sox hat to the movies just by coincidence, so I was doubly amused, but it scared me a little that I was the only person in the entire theatre who laughed.

Plans for the next few days: - Go see several movies (on the list: National Treasure, Blade: Trinity, Ocean's Twelve and Meet the Fockers). The movie spree will probably start today after work, since there's a movie theatre in the mall across the street from my office. - Chinese food on Saturday. No Christmas is complete without Chinese food. - Sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. - Watch all those Aqua Teen Hungerforce episodes piling up on TiVo. Make the homies say ho and the girlies wanna scream. - Ponder how naughty and nice I've been this year, then realize that it doesn't make a lick of difference. Do something subtly rude and naughty like eat straight garlic and then breathe on people. - Begin reading the three magazines and two books I have waiting for me on my nighttable.

So, on one's birthday, what's the type of person you don't want to see? Yes, I'll take psycho ex-girlfriends for $300, Alex! Of course, with my luck, we both showed up at the same restaurant for lunch yesterday -- me with a co-worker, and her with her entire family. Thankfully, they were on the other side of the restaurant, but I noticed when her dad walked right past our table to go to the bathroom. But overall, it was a good day. I went to dinner with an old friend at one of my favorite restaurants, then we had Coldstone Creamery and went to see Sideways. I'm still digesting this movie, and while there were parts of it that were intriguing and funny, there were other parts of it that just didn't sit well with me. On the whole, it was okay, but I wouldn't say it was the best of the year. On the other hand, my parents said nothing about a birthday present either time I talked to them yesterday (which is extremely odd -- usually I know weeks if not months in advance what they're getting me), and when I got home last night, I found a card in the mail from them with a coupon inside redeemable for a birthday present "TBA." Something strange is afoot. Thank you to everyone to e-mailed, commented, called and attended on Saturday. You all helped make it a really great birthday, and for that, I am thankful.

Uncharacteristically, I'm up at 6am this morning -- on this day, of all days, since you're supposed to spoil yourself on your birthday. And those who know me know that I love sleeping late and I'm not a morning person, not by any stretch of the imagination. But here I am, 2 1/2 hours before my alarm is set to go off, and I'm wide awake. Some people dread birthdays because they hate getting older. Personally, I've always enjoyed getting older because it meant that I was gaining more legal responsibilities and was able to do things that I'd been looking forward to for years. At 16, I got my driver's license. At 18, I could vote. At 21, I could drink (well, legally). At 25, I could rent a car. Once I passed 25, there really wasn't anything to look forward to anymore -- at least, I guess, until I qualify for AARP membership at 55, so I'm not really as apprehensive about turning 30 or 40 like everyone else seems to be. In some ways, getting older for me is almost a blessing because I finally feel like I'm catching up with myself. Despite the evil gleam in my eye and my constant quip that I'm just a big kid and I don't get older but my toys just get more expensive, I've always felt a little old beyond my years. And others have usually pegged me as being a few years older than I actually am -- I guess due to my mature personality. [Ed. note: You'll pardon me while I sneak off to the corner and guffaw for a minute.] But I feel like as I catch up to my "mental" age, people are taking me a little more seriously. I know, I know, it's probably all in my head, and I'm fond of quoting the late Aaliyah, who said, "Age ain't nothin' but a number." Then again, she married R. Kelly at age 15, so that renders that point a little moot. I wonder if there's any decent TV on at 6am...? Edited to add: Y'all are just plain wonderful. Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I love you all. And no, I haven't been drinking. Yet. Look at the time! It's still AM! Isn't there some kind of city ordinance that says I can't drink before noon?

A brochure received from American Airlines contained this: "Fly First Class for 7,500 miles less! With Reduced Mileage Awards, you can now fly First Class to these great destinations -- all for 7,500 fewer miles. Choose from a variety of fun places, like these from the current list: - Bermuda - Cincinnati - Honolulu - London - St. Croix - Vancouver" So... which of these does not belong with the others?

Whatever's going on with these Santa Ana winds blowing in all kinds of allergens and crap, it's not worth the additional 10 or 15 degrees it brings. It may have been 79 degrees outside today, but I wouldn't know -- I've been indoors all day trying to nurse myself back to health and get rid of this thrice-be-damned sore throat and runny nose. I swear, I've been more sick this year than any other year... and I have no idea why. There are those who might say that the worst part of having a birthday this close to Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/nondenominational holiday of choice because people are inclined to give you one general present and expect it to cover both birthday and aforementioned holiday of choice. I will wholeheartedly disagree. The worst part is the fact that there are very few people around to celebrate with you because they've all left for vacation or to go visit with their families. That said, I did manage to gather together some friends last night for a minor celebration, which was appreciated as I feel like I had a bit of a celebration this year. Fun was had by all, apparently -- at least that's what they tell me. Thanks to all who made an appearance. Here's a pleasant little mashup to kick off your week. Right-click and save as, or I may smite you. I'm in a smiting kind of mood. MessyJames - "No More Pressure" (Annie Lennox vs. Queen)