I spend most of my time in two rooms. One is my bedroom, which is dominated by, aptly enough, a bed, with books on every available flat surface. The other is “the Lab,” which is dominated by computers (presently 5 towers and 2 laptops) and has paper on nearly every surface.

I decided a few days ago that at least one of these rooms should be in some semblance of order. So, slowly, I’ve been sorting through the files in the Lab.

Now, I don’t want to give the impression I’m a packrat. I’m not, but I do have a few bins of the “I’ll deal with that later” sort. Sometimes much later. Thus far, I’ve found:

• A notice from the District Court of Iowa that I hadn’t cashed a check sent in 2001, and I could get a new one if I executed an indemnity agreement by 15 Oct 04. (Indemnity agreement still attached.)
• Nearly a year’s worth of unread National Geographic: Adventure magazines. (Thank you, Salon subscription!)
• A map of Athens, with various things checked off. On the back: a ton of notes, and the formal and informal spellings of my name in Greek.
• Random ticket stubs, including from an Ani DiFranco concert (Sept 04, MSP) and “The Producers” (May 04, Melbourne)
• Postcards from the L(afayette) Ron Hubbard birthday celebration in Sydney. (A riot, let me tell you.)
• A “free month of DVDs” discount card, valid only in the UK.

And that’s in the newer bin! Maybe after I get some of this stuff cleaned up and recycled, I’ll take a picture of my newly de-cluttered workspace. Hmm. Might not want to look for that one for a few months…

Had to laugh when I got this e-mail. My friend makes the same points I would about the ten, but with much more of a bang:

So what the fuck is the deal with ten commandment displays at court
houses? I always hear people claiming that the ten commandments are
the basis of our legal system (or at least had a significant influence
on it) and the displays just commemorate this. But that's just fucking
ridiculous. Out of the ten commandments, only 2 mention things that
are even regulated by law: killing and stealing. What kind of dumbfuck
would try to claim that stealing someone's property or killing them
would be legal if not forbidden by the ten commandments?

Happy 25, B-don.

Hope you get like a nice bike or something.

Say what you will about Halle Berry, you have to respect her for this:

Berry, one of several Oscar-winning actors to be dishonored by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, was the first actor to accept a Razzie in person since Tom Green did so for his part in 2001’s Freddy Got Fingered.

Berry, who wore a simple black dress, explained why she showed up at the ceremony.

“When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there’s no way you could be a good winner,” she said.

However, she added, “I hope to God I never see these people again!” — Berry Shows Up to Claim Her Razzie

Classy way to show you have a sense of humor.