The Informers

This is a new movie coming out based on Bret Easton Ellis' book "The Informers". Ellis also wrote the books "American Psycho" and "Less Than Zero", which were both adapted into films as well. Ellis is one of my favorite authors and all of his books have made entertaining films. American Psycho especially is one of my hands down favorite movies of all time. This new one has a killer cast including Mickey Rourke, Billy Bob Thorton, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, and Jon Foster. Like many of Ellis' books it’s based on drugged out young socialites with too much money, that play all day and party all night. I love the movies tag line: Greed is good, Sex is easy, Youth is forever. I'm sure it will be an instant classic and I can't wait to see it.

Tragic Lead Singers

Ian Curtis, the lead singer of "Joy Division" committed suicide by hanging himself alone in his kitchen after listening to an Iggy Pop album.



Stuart Adamson, alcoholic lead singer of Scottish folk rock band "Big Country" disappeared from home in 1999. He was found dead in 2001 inside a best western hotel room in Honolulu Hawaii. He had strangled himself with a television chord and had a BAC of .279 at the time of his death.



After checking out of rehab Kurt Cobain, lead singer of grunge band Nirvana, shot himself in the head with a shotgun at his house in Lake Washington. In a suicide note the singer left, he wrote "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". He was found dead 3 days later with high amounts of heroin and valium in his system.

Comments: Why are some of the most creative and talented people the world has ever been blessed with so troubled? Is there something in the creative psyche that off balances those with such extreme talent that it forces them to destroy themselves? Creative brilliance and musical genius too often ends in fleeting tragedy.

Top Ten Fomous People Who Look Like They Smell Bad

1. Pink-looks like she needs to take a shower.
2. Collin Farrell-Gross
3. Orlando Bloom-European
4. Indie Arie-Im am almost certain this women doesn't bath
5. Serena & Venus Williams-Must sweat a lot
6. Bobby Brown-c'mon you know that guy smells like shit
7. Ron Jeremy-I can't even imagine how bad this dude smells
8. Philip Seymour Hoffman-great actor, looks like a schlep who doesn't take care of himself
9. Madonna-Where Do I start? I think she probly doesn't have much time to wipe the sweat off between all those tours with Justin Timberlake and the Kabbalah sessions with A-Rod
10. Courtney Love-no comment

Bizarre II

This is an old video of Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. interviewing each other about a movie they co-starred in called "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". This is hands down one of the strangest and awkwardly funny interviews I’ve ever seen. While I am a huge fan of both these tremendously talented actors, I can't help but notice that the two of them are on their own planet during this interview. The entire thing is made up of Kilmer and Downey cracking inside jokes and responding to e-mail questions with a bizarre flirt like humor between the two. I wonder what drugs they're on.

My Imaginary Dog

This is the type of dog I wanna get. It's a pure bred English bulldog puppy and It is the coolest dog ever. I had long debated what my first dog would be, should I ever get one. It was a tough pick between a Husky (too hairy), a Boxer (not cool enough), a Bulldog (badass) or a Pit Bull (too violent), but I've settled on Bulldogs (again badass). Anyway, although I don’t have the dog yet I want to get it sometime next year when I have my own apartment. Although, My mom freaked out when I told her my plans and thinks it's a terrible idea (probly because she thinks I don't take care of myself, and therefore could never be responsible for another living creature), I am still undaunted and more determined than ever to get a bulldog of my own. So I started thinking, should the day ever come when I have enough money saved up to get an incredibly expensive dog like this, what will I name him?

1. Costanza (great name, an ode to the great show Seinfeld, perfect name for a bulldog)

2. Walter (very classy)

3. Louis (Fits a fat little Bulldog pup with style)

4. Maxwell (good, not great)

5. Baxter (solid name, ode to Lonny Baxter the great center for Maryland basketball, however the name was ruined by Baxter the dog in the movie Anchorman)

6. Marley (NOT BECAUSE OF THAT RETARDED MOVIE WITH OWEN WILSON AND JENNIFER ANISTON, but instead named after the late great Bob Marley)

7. Trooper (probly my favorite name of them all, but it just doesn't seem to fit a bulldog)

So what does this all mean...? Nothing, because at the end of the day I'm just sitting here thinking up names for an imaginary dog that I haven't even gotten yet. Pathetic.

W.

So the other day I was going about my usual routine at the gym, and as I finished up and walked out the front doors of dedman, I stopped off for my usual chocolate Muscle Milk protein shake from the eclectically tattooed, gothic smoothie chick in the Dedman Lobby (I had recently made friends with her after seeing her almost every day, and her consistently mentioning how tired Im looking). Well in the usual fashion she rang up my drink on my pony express card and we began chatting:

Smoothie Girl: "Geeze, you look tired."

Cool Eric: "Ya I am, it's been a long day."

Smoothie Girl: "Ya, tell me about it, tonight I'm closing and tomorrow I have to open at like 5 a.m."

Cool Eric: "Wow, that sucks, that’s too Bad."

Smoothie Girl: "Ya I’m not looking forward to it. But the one cool thing about opening is that George Bush comes and works out here real early every morning, so if I’m lucky I'll get to see him come in."

Cool Eric: "No Way! I mean I know he lives right around here and stuff but I had no idea he comes and works out at Dedman every day."

Smoothie Girl: "Ya totally, he comes in with his body guards every morning at like 6 a.m., If you came to work out early too you'd probly see him."

Cool Eric: "Hmmm, maybe I will..."

This most recent exchange with Smoothie Girl got me thinking, how cool would it be just be running the treadmill or riding the bike and look over the freaking former president on the machine next to you. Or maybe you’re about to do a heavy set of benching when the former leader of the free world himself comes over to offer you a spot. It could happen. I mean seriously, how many secret service dudes do you think would tackle you if you tried to give him a high five or talk to him. And, even if you did talk to him, what would you say? I don't have the first clue what I would say to that man, should the day I actually wake my ass up at 6 a.m. to work out ever come.

Anyway, I like George Bush no matter what the liberals and talking heads say. He is a badass and to prove it I posted a video of one time he got drunk at a wedding for people he didn't even know. That’s my boy W.

Muscle Beach

For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to see muscle beach up close and in person. Since I began lifting in high school, my football weight lifting coaches long dubbed it the ultimate Mecca for body building. The notorious place to be seen for the youngest, flashiest Bodybuilders in the country, training on the outdoor weight room just steps from the sand along Venice beaches famous boardwalk. The very same establishment where legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbo, and Lou Ferrigno once "pumped iron" during the long restless summer days of the 1970's. This was a place I was determined to see, and when I visited my sister this past spring break, in Santa Monica, I knew my pilgrimage had begun.

Well, my dreams were shattered once again. Muscle beach wasn't some grandiose Mecca of incredible body builders and supermodels. Nope, it was a gang infested lump of concrete sprinkled with a few fat Mexicans trying to lift weights. It was the most depressing thing I've ever seen, and a tremendous let down from the legends I've heard about this place. Seriously, I was expecting to see huge dudes lifting ridiculous amounts of weight, all the while signing autographs, posing for pictures and frolicking on the milky white sand with their supermodel girlfriends. It was one of the most disappointing things I have ever seen, and although I will continue to lift weights and train in my spare time, I know a part of my spirit is dead inside.

BUSEY spotting

So I was recently up in Santa Monica, California visiting my sister Katie over the last few days of spring break. It was the weekend so we decided to do the "touristy" thing and walk down the famed Venice Beach walk.

Never have I ever seen such a congregation of creeps, low life’s, drug dealers, struggling artists and musicians, hobos and transients in my life. Among the more interesting things I saw was a 9 ft. man on stilts dressed as a tree snapping pictures with various passerby’s, a man who was dressed from head to toe in a white suit with marijuana leaf polka dots and a sign claiming he was "pot-man", a street performer who (with a running start) jumped over 14 kids picked out of a crowd to kneel down on the boardwalk, and finally, an incredibly old man dressed in a magical costume with cape and pointy hat sitting in a booth with a crystal ball and a card board sign saying "Ask the wizard. 40 years of experience" (but he was asleep). It was interesting to say the least, and I cannot wait to go back soon.

But, hands down the cu de gras of the entire day was spotting famed Actor turned psychotic drug addict and decaying social experiment Gary Busey. The excitement and rush that entered my body when I saw that ridiculous cartoon face of his poke out from the 3rd story of a Santa Monica Hotel Room was palpable. Seriously, this dude’s face looks like it was drawn by a 4th grader. As I stood in awe of this legendary "C-List" celebrity I knew I had to call to him. Despite the protests of my "star jaded" older sister to not be "one of those people who comes to LA and thinks that seeing a celebrity is a huge deal and bothers them", I just couldn’t resist. This was one of the defining moments in my life. I yelled out "BUSEY!!!!" while obnoxiously fist pumping at him, and to my delight he cocked his head toward me and grimaced. It was incredible and the perfect way to end the day.

Anyway seeing that maniac in real life got me thinking back to all of his public debacles on national television. Because I take drug addiction seriously, I won’t show any of his melt downs from Celebrity Rehab. But I was reminded of a hilarious show he used to star in on comedy central called "I’m with Busey", where an unsuspecting intern is forced to perform activities with Gary Busey, all the while having Busey's years of priceless wisdom and enlightenment bestowed upon him. This show was absolutely hilarious and featured an array of ridiculous stunts Busey would put this kid through, from extremely violent bumper car racing to eating road kill.

Here are a few gems...

Nostalgia

nos•tal•gi•a (noun)

1. Sentimental Recollection

Mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event from the past, or the past in general

Okay, so both of these movies give me an intense feeling of nostalgia just watching their trailers and being reminded of how much my sisters and I used to love staying up late, bundling up on the couch, eating popcorn and watching these movie classics when we were young. While both pictures were made far apart, they share similar story lines and plot points based on small, innocent white collar suburbs whose innocence is shook by an invading heart throb or boisterous rebel. Not only do both movies remind me of a whimsical, more innocent time, but they are both musical parodies poking fun at the times and providing biting social commentary on 50's middle white class America. My only fear of renting these movies is actually having to come to terms with how much I’ve grown up and how I will never be able to regain that illusive youthful innocence; Makes this 20 yr. old kid feel ancient.