-Day Ten-
Today was probably the last of the glorious "We have nothing to do" days for the remainder of the trip. Wednesday would be London, Thursday would be out to see Natalie in the Isle of Wight, and by the weekend, I need to get ready to get out of here. However, as I write this, I realize just how much I cherish the lack of things to do. While the weekend and snow tampered that in an extremist sort of fashion, I do enjoy the idea of being stranded. I don't get that in California more than once every few years. Don't get me wrong, going places is essential, but there is something awe inspiring about nothingness sometimes.
Continuing my trend, I woke up before Alex and was up in my room finishing off the WTF with Marc Maron episode with Dave Grohl. Ever since I was little, I have found myself oddly fascinated by Grohl. Maybe at first for Foo Fighters, but he just seemed to be so passionate about music. However, I still argue my favorite Grohl moment remains the Queens of the Stone Age song "Song for the Dead" in which he has that ridiculous drum opening. I don't know why, but that is my token rock star song where I grab twigs and bang pillows until I hit in time. Mind you, I only play bass. I also wrote a report on Grohl in seventh grade. He hasn't aged well with me, but I still respect him as a passionate musician.
Downstairs, we regrouped and discovered that someone named John was going to come over to visit. Who is John? For starters, he is a friend of Alex's that has spent a year in Australia. We got down to discussing what we would do when we saw him. It was assumed that we would have access to an X-Box, in which we would be playing games up in Alex's room for a very, very long afternoon. Now that sounded great. I personally didn't want to leave the house.
Up in Alex's room, I sat on his bed while he tidied up. Cracking a window, he played me this odd band called Violent Delight that makes no sense lyrically. However, one thing that I am going to miss about this trip is being forced to watch Alex rock out to music. He is just so endearing when he does it. He is selling out to some One Direction music (that he swears is for a cover, but if that cover will ever appear is still up for discussion).
I sat reading Alan Sepinwall's book "the Revolution was Televised." To refresh everyone, I have been trying to get into film criticism notably to test my skills. Sepinwall is a big reason for that. Listen to Firewall &Iceberg and you'll understand. TV is a fascinating landscape if you know where to look. He is chronicling the most significant dramas that shaped TV of the last 25 years. I have only read 40 pages, and man, I might as well quit. He is so poetic in how he turns chapters on shows into a historical lecture mixed with significant tidbits. I learn so much.
The fact is, he knows how to write criticism about TV. I don't know the first thing, even if I do it five times a week. Of course, I try to pat myself on the back and say that one year out from film criticism for me was not exactly any more glorious than my first year of critiquing TV. Still Sepinwall clearly evokes passion and is very confident in every single syllable. I could only aspire to be him, though he also knows a ton about TV that I have no idea exists. In closing, he is so convincing as a writer that he makes Oz sound like the greatest show ever. He doesn't use hyperbole at all. It is just how he presents Oz as this risky, ground breaking show that makes you want to watch it. I'm on a chapter about the Sopranos and I cannot wait to get to Breaking Bad. This guy makes the history of TV fascinating. All I do is give the facts. I lose.
John shows up and we're back in the living room. Alex pretends that he is Tom Delonge while playing songs on an acoustic guitar. I cannot help but scream "spaceship" during the breaks to feel like a fitting tribute to where Delonge ended up. Chris disliked it, but Alex being a buffoon is still rather entertaining and man, I am beginning to realize that this is probably the thing that's going to symbolize my trip more than any film, building, or event. Alex playing guitar and singing poorly (semantics time: I only applied that to the LAST one).
John shows up and somehow my first instinct is to play Happy Birthday on guitar because that is one of 10 songs that I know how to play. Nothing phases the moment, and I am forced to get dressed. No problem. Alex and I talked about doing a snack run when John got there. I figured that discussion on hooking up games was planned out while I was gone. I was ready to just go to that store and buy some drinks and have some fun. Really, as many lazy days as we have had, we just haven't had one of those pointless lazy binge days.
We got into John's car. Already odd. We have walked to the market to buy goods many times before now. However, I just roll with it. I notice he misses the turn to the market. In fact, we are soon surrounded by trees and fields covered in snow. We are now over 20 minutes away from the market. We are possibly in another city. It is hard to tell, but the signs give me an impression that the snacks were going to have to wait.
John is a nice guy. Alex and him caught up and I just sat in the back trying to find that moment to chime in. It seemed close to impossible. I knew nothing about Australia or their relationship as chums. I was just a friend who knew John for 30 minutes before realizing we were not going to buy snacks. Also, I have this weird streak of being more of a polite funny man. I can get crass, but the amount of perverted jokes coming from the front seat of the car was intimidating, speaking it almost felt like a code that me saying "Good one, Alex" would somehow make me look like an idiot. I try to be a decent person and sound smart, but I also spend so much time being quiet that I occasionally ponder if I am just not an interesting person in comparison to someone who can talk for an entire car ride and miss the market for snacks.
We ended up in Hastings. Parked next to the beach, it was cold as hell and neither Alex nor I was really dressed for the weather. I had a jacket on, but I was still not layered enough for winds or being right next to a beach or rain. Alex was worse off, wearing close to nothing but shorts and no jacket. He also claims that he wasn't wearing underwear, but that was not seen by me, so I won't justify that with a response.
We decided to have lunch at a Wetherstones, where we had round two of a burger. Alex claims that they are good, but I still could not find reason to agree with him. To his advantage, all it took was a different combination for the actual taste to reach my mouth. I liked the results. John and Alex controlled the conversation, so I just enjoyed my burger and waited for the rest of the day to happen. We hit an arcade for one game of air hockey and then we were back out to the car.
Next we ended up at John's house. We played X-Box there. It was some basketball game that I had no idea how to play on top of never playing X-Box before. I played as the WNBA for the first time, and it may be my best round of the few that we played. Still, the highlights was that Alex, the button masher expert somehow beat everyone, and then the computer, but not without taking on grotesquely exaggerated voices and shouting "SHAQUILLE!" and "WHITE MAN!" which made sense in the context, and kept me from really focusing on the game for most of my time. I don't know what happened during that game, but it was probably the funnest thing besides actually getting snacks.
John drove us back to Rye shortly after we finished playing games. He was blasting terrible dance music and talking to Alex. The windows were fogged up pretty bad, so I was forced to have to listen to them or risk one of my sixth senses going insane. When we finally landed back at the house, we took a few moments to get our plan in orders before finally getting snacks, which persisted of Kit Kats, Doritos, and Fanta sodas.
From there, we popped on my introductory English stand up comedian: Russell Howard. I don't know if Alex has some ulterior motive with his selection, but it seemed like he found one that I connected with quickly. While the references were oh so British, it was a lot of observational humor mixed with some crass, delusional selections that all felt authentic to the author. I worry that the show, which exceeded 80 minutes, may have suffered from my unfamiliar relationship with UK specials. Only legendary comedians who have been around in the George Carlin pantheon can dare go on for more than 80 minutes, which even then seems gratuitous. No lie, Howard can hold a crowd, even though there was a bit of filler.
I enjoyed it quite a bit and since it is rare, I will mention that I laughed out loud quite a bit. I can only hope that Alex's next few selections can compare. Howard is really funny and I am glad that I discovered him. I'd like to say more, but I cannot think of too much at the moment. I will probably mention him often provided the other material (which I am sure will be great) resonates with me enough. Also, this bodes well with how I may perceive Alex and his stand-up, which I will be seeing soon. You'll probably hear about that shortly after, I am sure.
After an episode of Friday Night Dinner, we called it quits and I enjoyed my ongoing Auteurcast series on David Fincher with the episode on the Game. It may be subliminal, but I really want to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button when I get home. I own it, so it won't be too hard to manage, but the amount of times that I hear "Fincher is a genius" just makes me want to watch his work over and over. Also, it reminds me that I still need to see Panic Room.
No Sundance news, as I fell asleep before I could get to it. However, random story collection from the past day. ABC has cancelled Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, so I am simultaneously glad that I won't be too far behind in recaps and sad that I won't get to enjoy the one show that I felt had loads of potential. Also, Louis C.K. has written me (and his e-mail listers) that Louie is coming to the UK soon. Bravo! I will no longer feel like a cheat, even though I wonder if it will translate. However, with the amount of times that Alex says "cynicism," I think that it should.
Other than that, no real news stories. It wasn't much of a day besides being dragged around in John's car. In truth, it was a nice trip because I still do not understand how England's roads work. I have understood the lights for some time, but the road marks are still odd. Speaking that I have spent 95% of my transportation on a train, I haven't had to deal with drivers too often. I have gotten over the issue with different sides, but some of the road marks are still odd, and I felt like screaming "No, you're going to crash!" when he made turns. However, who has the license? The guy who was in Australia for a year. I rest my case.
Then again, will I remember how to drive when I get back to America? That is a serious question. I haven't had to touch a wheel for some time now, and while I am sure two weeks will not necessarily cause impairment, you do wonder if you are somewhat slower. At very least, I feel like if I go back to America and simple quick paced walks gets me out of breath, I need to get in shape. I am not a wreck, but damn does the cold mess with me in times of a rush.
I will try to get my experience in London to you before I leave for the Isle of Wight. Alex has no idea what is happening with that, and I have failed to compensate with plans. Hopefully expect it very soon, but otherwise, I will try to get it to you ASAP. I will admit that the lack of internet connection in public here has forced me to be observant. That is one pro for printed media. You don't need wifi. You just need someone to pay attention.
QUESTION: Who is B.B. King?
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