blog.big-woop.com

Todd: Hey, you, ask me what I did on Wednesday.
You: Hey, Todd, what did you do on Wednesday?
Todd: NOTHING!

On Thanksgiving however, I did quite the opposite. I slept 'til one, ate around 4:30, sat around for a solid two hours watching The Phantom Menace, then went bowling, winning two of the four games Travis, Nate and I played, with measly scores of 166 and 136. I got a four-bagger in the second game, though, and that was sweet.

On Friday I bought a couple Bruce Springsteen albums at Eclipse, where I played The Phantom Menace pinball game, which I'd had a hankering to play since the day before, watching it on television while digesting more than my share of delicious food. I also went to Joe's and watched Junkyard Wars for a good four hours before proceeding to the cheap theater to view One Hour Photo with Charlie, Anne and Alison. We then went to Erin's, where we ate pizza and played Apples to Apples. I won. Of course. So there.

Peace.
-Todd

My application to Lake Forest College is due in on Sunday (says, "yenga" and tugs at collar). I need to finish two short answers, choose a graded paper from sometime during the past two years, and find a faculty member who'll be willing to get a recommendation done in the next few days. I'm such an idiot.

I really should finish up a few of my other applications, too. Fuck.

Peace.
-Todd

I didn't win the lottery. I didn't even match one stinking number. I didn't need those fifty-two million dollars, anyway.

An interesting revelation I've had: Nighttime, once my favorite part of the day, has since been replaced with daytime. Nighttime is wholly depressing to me now. Which sucks, because until 20 December, the days are only getting shorter.

I guess that's not so much a revelation as it is an observation.

Peace.
-Todd

Yesterday I got my groove on at the concert in The Black Box. It was pretty sweet. Afterwards, we went to Mickey's. I proceeded home, feeling extremely ill. I don't know if it was the Mickey's or what, but now I feel really bad because it led me to be really short with everyone who showed up at my house around midnight, throwing stones at my window. They were pretty cool about it, even when I told them to "get the hell out of my house," because Ralph was ringing again. It was a pretty important call. I went to bed and now I feel well again.

I also bought the Super Troopers DVD yesterday, along with Blonde on Blonde and The Immaculate Collection... oh, and my first Powerball ticket:

08 / 12 / 27 / 34 / 44 / 20

Shut up. Madonna's awesome.

Peace.
-Todd

Check THIS out.

We were bored a few weeks ago, so we decided to make a pointless swear-word movie. We filmed it at Willie's American Guitars, which is actually somewhat of a landmark to Rock n' Rollers around the world, and only a few blocks from my house. So there.

Peace.
-Todd

I woke up about fifteen minutes ago and put on Rad Zapping and now I'm just rocking out. I'll be going to school, but not until third hour, though.

I wasn't necessarily so keen on all the things I finally got to do when I turned 18. Sure, now I can smoke at casinos and smoke at strip clubs or whatever it is us 18 year-olds do, but what I was really looking forward to was the free razor from Gillette. They hooked me up with a Mach 3 Turbo, for nothing. For free! It just showed up yesterday in the mail. So I was like, oh wow, this is really neat. So I figure, hey, I gotta use this thing, y'know. So I went to go shave or whatever and I find out that, hell, I don't know how to use such a fancy goddamned razor. I've been handling things pretty well with the one blade on the good old-fashioned yellow Bic, but here I am, with three blades, probably sharper'n shit. That's pretty fucking intimidating. But I figure, y'know, with these newfangled razors it's almost impossible to cut yourself, right? Well, as Bill Cosby might say, "Zip zop, my face is ripped to shreds... All I wanted was a clean shave, not a self sacrifice."

So, go get a hold of "Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow, Right!" and listen to my plight.

I was also ~really~ looking forward to registering for the Selective Service. I mean, Jesus Christ, look at their website... It's hideous!

Peace.
-Todd

I think that I'm as hooked on Jacob's site <cough>PLUG</cough> as he is on mine. That's pretty cool. Andy (B.) has a site, too, but it's still got banners all over it. It'll be pretty cool when it no longer has banners all over it. I forgot the URL for said site with banners all over it. Otherwise, I'd plug it, too, but it still has banners all over it.

Yesterday I didn't go to school. John and I went to Perkins instead and split up our meals according to our busy morning schedule of digesting and reading The New York Times, so we ordered the pancakes first, then waited a while, then asked the waitress to bring us our country-fried steaks, eggs and hash browns. I had a water. John had a coffee at first, then later added a coke. We spent a solid hour and a half there. Pretty sick, huh?

Last night I watched Gilmore Girls, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite shows. It's funny because up until a couple weeks ago, I thought no one watched it but me. Everyone watches it though, so now I can talk about how much I hated Dean and how cool Jess is without feeling like (too much of) a dork.

When I fell asleep last night, I left iTunes on and was awoken abruptly by the scariest noise of my life. There is a hidden track on Oasis' cover of Helter Skelter which consists only of noise designed for this purpose and this purpose alone. I couldn't fall back to sleep until one. After I did, I woke up at half-past godawful in the morning and noticed, after a few seconds, that I'd been asleep while standing up. Like, vertical up. It was fucked up.

Oh, and not only was I upright, I had also apparently gotten dressed and ready for school. I'd even remembered to wear my NHS sweatshirt for the day on which I was supposed to wear said sweatshirt. Yeah. Weird.

Peace.
-Todd

The thing that I really like about the new Wallflowers album, Red Letter Days, is that everything about it seems so half-assed. The cover, the title, hell, even most of the songs the first time you listen to them. Something about the short and repetitive nature of "When You're On Top," a song where Dylan and co. yearn (or don't) for the days when they had number ones, really bothered me at first, but now I can't get the song out of my head, which I usually say is not necessarily a good thing. In fact, I usually think that's a bad thing, but not now. It's a lot like "Thin Line" on the new J5 album, where there's no obvious hook, but I like it. Maybe it's the David Gray-esque drum machines and electronicized sound, or that it doesn't sound like what they've done before, but it's definitely got something. So, if you're nostalgic for their self-titled album or Bringing Down The Horse, don't buy this album. If you want to hear a good band play good music, do, but listen to it more than once.

Peace.
-Todd

I've finished everything for my Grinell application. I should be able to relax now, right? No. I'm frightened. Scared to death of what the future holds. Fuck. I'm going to sleep.

Peace.
-Todd

Tonight I got to my house after the morning paper. That means I had a good time.

Sadies was awesome. Probably because I went with someone cool. I hope Anne had a good time, too.

Harry Potter kicked ass. [Edit: Line removed because I'm a doofus]. It was effing great.

Peace.
-Todd

I just finished my Grinnell essay. It's about mistakes. It's probably awful. I'm going to fucking sleep.

Hey, I'm eighteen.

Peace.
-Todd

I'm bored. I'm just hanging around, not doing shit because I finished my Theory of Knowledge paper. I might watch this flick (The Salton Sea) again, but I'd hafta watch it on my computer, because that's half the novelty of watching a movie a second time. Maybe I should just write my Grinnell essay. My application is due in nine days. That's only one digit. That's like half as many digits as are in ten. Which gives me (does quick calculation) no time to do it.

I'm such a fucking slacker. I've set my own goal of having it in by this thursday. Wait, Thursday. Are days of the week capitalized? I am freaking out. I've forgotten every rule of the English language (english language) in time it took to transform from ten to nine days. I should have finished it ages ago. Keegan sent her application away today. Fuck (with a capital eff)!

And as soon as I finish that one I need to start on the Lake Forest application, which is due on 1 December. I read through it several times and cannot find any essay section on it. They ask me to include a paper from junior or senior year (J? S? Fuck!). Which one? The one about women during World War I or the one I wrote for TOK which I still haven't received any grade for? Maybe another one? How about my... Fuck! Alright... I'm writing the rest of my Grinnell shit by midnight (Midnight? Fuck!) on Wednesday, and I'm bringing reference shit for Lake Forest tomorrow.

Save me.
-Todd

I think this weekend was fun. Even though my drawing a blank as to what I did would mean otherwise, it was fun.

I chilled with Alison and Anne on a few occasions, and I know Joe was around at least once. Charlie was probably in there somewhere, too. Cale and John, the prerequisites, were around for most of it.

I had an interview with Lake Forest College and the night before I smashed the hell out of my finger at John's house. We watched The Salton Sea on Saturday night. It was good. Damn good.

That's about it. I think.

Peace.
-Todd

I went to this thing today. Now, this thing didn't bother me as much as I'd have hoped. Pawlenty didn't anger me as much as I wanted him to, and he left before I could make a fool of myself and ask him a biting question to which I would receive a "Well, that's a very good question. You see..."

It's actually probably better that I didn't get to talk to him because early on during the meeting my group was introduced as the special guest, which meant we had to stand up and wave and stuff, and that took me entirely by surprise. I don't like surprises. I got to plug my website to some random guy walking by, though. I just said the URL to him as he walked by. I don't know if he heard me. I didn't want him republicaning it up anyway.

Jacob wrote my bio for the musical. It's one of the better things that has happened this week.

Todd "Rummy" Pitman lives in an abandoned refrigerator in a midway alley. He owns seven cats, all named "Trixie." In his spare time, he shouts affirmations at southbound traffic on Hamline Avenue. Todd runs a book publishing company out of his parents' basement. It has seventeen titles out, including "Coping With Despotism," and "Ex-Cons Have Second Amendment Rights, Too!" He is president of Central's "Young Constitutionalist Party Members Club."

Isn't it great?

Oh yeah... What up Al?

Peace.
-Todd

I feel absolutely nauseous. Tim Pawlenty is a dickhead. Maybe I'll say that to him on Thursday.

"Yes, you, in the green."
"Hi. Why are you such a dickhead?"
"Well, I think accountability is--"
"Shut up!"

Republicans suck and I hate Minnesota. I'm going to bed.

Peace.
-Todd

Apparently Bill Staines was in town. Apparently I missed him. That sucks. I really hate not knowing about a concert I'd have liked to have seen (especially a cheap one), then finding out a day or two after the fact. What's worse, though, is knowing about a concert for a really damned long time, then totally dropping the ball and not going, for no particular reason. I wanted to go. What stopped me? Why in the hell wouldn't I go? I think this might happen with the Aimee Mann show, and the GN'R show, and the Ben Folds show (even though it's 21+, I hear). In the words of Rhoda Gilman, "That just bites."

Speaking of unlikely lieutenant governors, the election is today. It sounds like all eyes are on Minnesota. It's pretty sad, though, when I consider what, generally speaking, most of the other 49 states think of us. What else could they do, though? We (and I use the term "we" loosely) elected Jesse Ventura. Candidates from Minnesota have lost almost as many Presidential elections as the Vikings have Super Bowls. Mondale lost to Reagan. REAGAN! Augh! And only because he ran with the idea of increasing taxes, which happened shortly after his loss anyway. ~Oops, a candidate who isn't slimy and irrational. Where did you find this guy? Who let him in?~

To anyone who hasn't paid attention to Norm and what he's been doing these past eight years (in which he hasn't raised taxes) but are still intending on voting for him: Contrary to Republican opinion, Norm hasn't done anything to better the city of Saint Paul. Instead, I attend classes in which I have no desk to sit in, as a result of overcrowding. My lunch room was, at one point, 200 people over fire code, chiefly because there are too many people crammed into this school. Coleman says he played a large role in passing the levy. He didn't. He did, however, do nothing to stop it from being taken away. Saint Paul Public Schools are now in such disarray that for a part of last year my school couldn't afford paper. Last year, 13 teachers were laid-off. This year the enrollment grew, for the eighth straight year. Coleman should be proud. He asks you to look at his results. He brought back the NHL, to downtown Saint Paul. He increased affordable housing in downtown Saint Paul. He created 18,000 (minimum wage) jobs in downtown Saint Paul. He was so focused on the business center of downtown (and its commercial extensions on Grand and University Avenues) that he completely ignored the bulk of the city he was chosen to represent (as a Democrat then a Republican). He did nothing of great importance for the rest of the city. So...

If you want aestheticism, vote Coleman. If you want results, vote Mondale.

Peace.
-Todd

I recently got my hands on a few of the releases I had been craving, and I'd have to say that I am quite pleased with most, if not all, of them.

First of all: Rad Zapping. A CD I bought upon recommendation from Jacob. I really need to listen to that kid more often. The dude knows his shit. It's a fucking great album. I'm not saying that I ever doubted him, but for some reason I put off buying this CD for months, and now I realize what a fool I've been. I also got a hold of a bunch of old Cosby records, and a 45 of Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name, which only cost me a buck. Plus, it's b-side is Raise Your Hands, another great effing song.

Not to mention the new David Gray album A New Day At Midnight; The Flaming Lips' latest studio work, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots; Jurassic 5's latest, Power In Numbers; and Ben Folds Live, which has an excellent cover of Tiny Dancer.

I watched the big debate, twice, and I was actually very impressed with Mondale's performance. I was expecting him to do a good job, but he gave Norm "Tone" Coleman a pretty good run for his money. I'm excited. I might do visibility for him tomorrow. I dunno. Gotta drum up some support. It's still too damn close a race.

I really need some sleep. I woke up at six. That's too early.

Peace.
-Todd

Since deciding to apply early decision to Grinnell, I've realized how excited I am for college. I am absolutely looking forward to it. Mind, the application process became a lot more stressful, and the idea of not getting in keeps burgeoning, but I won't let myself be unhappy with how I appear to them, which means a lot more work on the application from now on. It's due 20 November, and that date just keeps getting closer.

Peace.
-Todd

Jacob and I decided that both Thriller and Big Time kick equal amounts of ass. To my credit, however, I did bring the only judge. And he did vote for Thriller. So, I win, but not really, because it's such a non-issue.

Peace.
-Todd