My mom called me "the queen" today. She said, "You are the queen...of packing...of cooking...and those shoes sound really cool!" What can I say, my new shoes ARE really cool. Insert chuckle. Anywho! The packing has been coming along quite well. It's actually been quite cathartic. I've been inspired by the new home improvement tv show trend - purging. I went through all my stuff and just started throwing shit away, reducing my crap from 15 boxes to 6. This was all the stuff I hadn't unpacked from when I moved back home. This past weekend was spent actually packing stuff. My room looks like a cardboard Stonehenge. It's exciting and terrifying all in the same breath! Moving is one of the most exhausting and hated experiences in the world. It's never fun, and always laborious. So my solution to that is to be extremely organized. I have lists. Shit, I have lists of lists within lists!

I booked the movers last week - May 27th is the date. THE date! Like I said, exciting and terrifying. That date can't come fast enough, but there's also a sense of hurtling toward an epic change. I had my impending breakdown a couple of weekends ago. The depression of yore swept over me for a couple of days. I needed it though. I needed to feel SOMETHING, because up until then I had been swimming in an ocean of denial. That's a safe place to be, not a smart place, but a safe place. As of now, in this moment, I am just wanting it all to be done - the packing, the moving. I'm looking forward to unpacking and settling in though, that's always the fun bit.

FRIENDS: Yes, I was one of the 52.5 million that tuned in to the Friends series finale. Excuse me, I need a moment. Ok I'm done. It all ended just as it should have - with mediocre actors getting paid a ridiculous sum of money for three days a week of work. Which, might I remind you, wasn't even a full goddamn season. A million dollars an episode is a sad and realistic representation of American priorities. Let's pay teachers $25,000 a year and bad actors $1,000,000 for a half-hour of entertainment. Call me a hypocrite, call me disillusioned, call me a cynic - just saying what I see.

SURVIVOR: Let me speak plainly - I HATE ROB AND AMBER. My Sunday night was spent screaming at the tv for each unearned reward those two got (you can ask my sister). And then, and THEN, to use the Survivor stage to propose! Gag me with a rusty chainsaw!! I tasted some sweet revenge though with the jury speeches and questions. Those were fantastic! My fists were pumping with each slam, it was great. At that point I didn't care who won. There was no lesser of two evils because they both sucked. I gotta say something about Jerri. I feel bad for the girl. She's been vilified beyond reason, and that audience wasn't making her life any easier. Good for her for leaving!

I can't even believe I'm admitting that I saw this. Ok, I will just say it. I went to see New York Minute this weekend, with those damn Olsen Twins. I want to say that my sister dragged me to it, but that's not true. I went willingly, WILLINGLY! What is wrong with me?! I need a movie intervention. The only good thing about this movie was the Olsen twins are fun to look at. I don't even see how this movie made it to theaters. The story was horrible and not at all believable. The acting was fair, the writing was less than fair, but those twins sure are pretty.

THE PUNISHER: Another "comic book adaptation" for the money-spewing public, myself included. This movie wasn't bad, wasn't great, and wasn't good, it was decent. I stayed entertained, although barely, throughout the movie. Thomas Jane, the lead actor, was pretty convincing. My only real complaint is that there wasn't enough action. They spent a lot of time setting stuff up only for a three minute fight scene. This one isn't for the DVD collection, maybe a rental if you haven't already seen it.

I haven't given you good people any new music lately so allow me to make up for my lack of attention to your music needs. Actually, I haven't been buying much music lately. Nothing has really sparked my soul, but there have been a few bright spots.

Van Hunt - Self-Titled / www.vanhunt.com
He's been compared to 70's R&B legends like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, with a little Sly Stone and Prince thrown into the mix. His voice is very smooth, like melting butter. There are some real soul influenced tracks, but then there are some traditional standards like "What Can I Say" where he sounds more like a hip Josh Groban. My favorite songs are "Dust" (link) and "Her December" (link).

Jet - Get Born / www.jettheband.com
For reference, this is the band with the song in the I-Pod commercial, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" (you know, "1, 2, 3, take my hand and come with me") I really thought this band was all hype, but then I heard "Cold Hard Bitch" and was thrown into the 70's. Most of the songs on the album are guitar heavy, which I'm enjoying. And the songs are melodic, something else I enjoy. This cd isn't life-changing, but it's good to rock out to, with a few ballads thrown in for good measure. My two favorite songs are "Cold Hard Bitch" (link) and "Move On" (link), a ballad.

*for those of you who don't already know, any artist you ever want to check out you can go to www.cdnow.com and listen to sample tracks and read reviews. I spent many hours on that site just listening to new music.

This may be the last update before moving. My system will have to be shutdown and dismantled for the move - yes, it's a huge process because my system is cool man. So, see you after THE MOVE!