Bored of the Rings

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I hope everyone is having a good time, enjoying the company friends and family as another year comes to a close.

My thoughts are all a-frazzled, and I'm afraid this update's going to reflect that. I really don't have any cool tales to tell. I think I'm suffering from writer's block or something, so you guys benefit by not having to drudge through five pages of drivel I suppose.

By now I hope you've received the e-vite to my annual party coming up in a little over a month. If not, let me know and I'll send another one. Also I'll put a link on my website (which is long overdue for updating). Please feel free to pass it on to anyone I may have forgotten. The physical invitations will be arriving sometime in January.

I'll be arriving in Houston this Friday night, so if anyone is interested in getting together for lunch or dinner or a beer or anything, please let me know.

Oh wait, here's a story. I went out the other night to see a movie, and just by chance it happened to be right next to the famous Mann's Chinese Theater where they were having the world premiere of Star Trek: Nemesis. Of course, I couldn't resist hanging out and watching for all the stars, at least until my show started. It was a strange experience, though not as you might expect. I didn't see anybody dressed up in Star Trek uniforms, which was really a drag. There was a pretty large crowd, but we were all kept far from the red carpet and bright lights by barricades and security personnel. As I watched the arrival of the stars (I saw Michael Dorn (Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), and Brent Spiner (Data) See-- I can be a Star Trek geek too sometimes), I became very aware of all the layers of this particular Hollywood onion. I mean, there were the stars on the red carpet, then the tv interviewers, then outside that all the film and lighting crews, then outside that the escorts, ushers, and valets, outside that the security guards, and outside all of that was me, standing in a crowd with other geeky onlookers. It was really rather depressing, actually. sigh. Oh well, I guess my New Year's resolution should be to get into that red carpet inner circle.

I also had another celebrity sighting (stars at a premier don't really count in my book). At my little hole-in-the-wall chili place, where I was getting my fix of chili-cocaine, there was some actress sitting across the chili bar. I swear that place is like an opium den. Everyone just comes in, speaks in code to the server, and are soon burying their face in a bowl. Some don't even have to speak, they just give a nod and a wink and their fix is ready for them. Anyway, for the life of me I don't know who the celebrity was, but she was one I swear. She's a red-headed, B-level actress that I've seen in half a dozen or so bit parts on tv sitcoms, usually playing some sort of obsessed psycho. I don't even know how to look someone like that up on the Internet, so just let your imagination run wild and pretend it was Brad Pitt or somebody. Rather than accosting her and saying something like, "Hey, aren't you somebody?" I decided to let her be and wallow in her own chili addiction in peace.

Okay, well, that's all I can think of right now. Not a great update for the end of the year, but it's been a rough couple of months. I wish all of you the best for this holiday season, and I look forward to seeing each of you when I can.

Greg

Movie Quote Challenge:

Number One: "No securities, no stocks, no bonds, nothing but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. You're worth more dead than alive."

Number Two: "Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. Though my personal preference was for Lux, I found that Palmolive had a nice, piquant, after-dinner flavor... heavy, but with a touch of mellow smoothness."

Good luck!

Movie Quote Answers:

Dale Prasek was the first to correctly identify both quotes, which puts him in the lead again.

Number One: It's a Wonderful Life, by Phlip Van Doren Stern

Number Two: A Christmas Story, by Leigh Brown, Bob Clark, and Jean Shepherd

Happy holidays, everyone! Better luck next time.

Greg