More Political Shit
 

31. Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home?
gs: Vito Scotti (Japanese soldier)

The Castaways discover that Gilligan has been keeping a secret diary. When they read it, they all seem to disagree with how certain events unfolded and tell their side of the story.


b: 01-May-1965 w: David P. Harmon d: Christian Nyby


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Movies
 

I am the queen of telling people to shut the fuck up, especially drunk whiteboys doing the St. Vitus dance at jazz shows. Being older means I tap these skinny giants with impunity.

For the movie, though, we all just let it ride with a few early throat clearings. Nothing other than an usher call button would have ceased the Beavis & Butthead moments.

More Political Shit
 

Hank, you are like Macbeth's characterization of life itself:

but a walking shadow, that struts and frets its hour upon the stage then is heard no more;
a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing.

That's half the fun of them. If you reach the point where you can no longer eat a corn dog and enjoy it, it's time to quit the law and get a job at the local Citgo.

Movies
 

Apropos of nothing, I now do the Argentine Olympic Victory Bounce at jazz shows.

Movies
 

When I saw Eyes Wide Shut in the theater, every single fucking word was loudly translated into Cantonese by the elderly man sitting in front of me. It was a sweet gesture to his wife, though I'm not sure much of the movie really needed translation. Every now and then, someone would "shhhhh" or ahem or say "shut the fuck up" and the guy would lower his voice a little for maybe two or three lines, and then he was back up to full volume.

More Political Shit
 

ANd I can prove it. I was with him on a swift boat up the Mississippi. We didn't draw any enemy fire, but some boys tried to throw rocks at us from off a bridge. PLF shot at them, but I just drank my martini and yelled about how much richer than them I am.

Oriental Rugs
 

Anyone bought one? Not the $300 cheapos at Home Depot, but the $500 types that they ask $5000 for at the rug stores that are always "going out of business"

Putting aside the difficulty of determing which shops are the least disreputable, is there a general guide as to how much bargaining room there is? I.e., what's the markup, and how low are they likely to go off of list price? 50%? 75% DC area if it matters, but I assume that since it's retail, they all have similar approaches on prices, like they do on going out of business every 8-12 weeks.

I got the beads, good vibes good vibes
 

When you said 5PM eastern time on Friday, which Friday were you talking about?

Garden State
 

Agree in spades. Did it end the way I would have ended it? Perhaps not. But it's kind of a companion piece to Ghost World and Lost in Translation (was Scarlett not available for this one too?), and it's smart, funny and authentic. Well done, Scrubs-boy.

Movies
 

Uncle Rico, grandma says she wants you to go home instead of staying here and eating all our steaks and ruining peoples' lives.

Oriental Rugs
 

Since you're not working through a designer, you are better off going to a store like ABC or Einstein Moomjy. Buy a brand name like Couristan, if you are overly anxious about avoiding some nylon facsimile of a rug.

Oriental Rugs
 

Go as low as you possibly can. 75% is not insulting, but consider the craftmanship, the size, the age and the complexity of the rug when you make the initial offer. Handmade, older, intricate rugs are going to be worth more. The markup is considerable, and it will be a long negotiation process. Know what you're looking for before hand, because they'll try to hustle you into buying something that doesn't move well. Make them flip through a few stacks, for the hidden gems that always seem to be at the bottom. They will always give you a better deal if you buy more than one. If you have a partner with you, that's great. You can walk off in disgust while the partner explains that while she thinks that the merchant is wise, attractive and reasonable and the rug in question is beautiful and she can't imagine not having it in her home, she knows you and you're not going to budge (much). (It can work the other way too: she can walk off and you and the merchant can have a nice little knowing chat about the unreasonableness of women and how she'll kill you/withhold sex if you pay too much.) I've been known to cry during these negotiations, but that may not work as well for you. My favorite negotitation was at the Santa Fe Flea Market, and I think it took about an hour.

If the whole negotiation process puts you off, you may want to consider one of the auctions that those places put on from time to time. You have a lot shorter time to make your decision about whether or not a certain rug will go with your couch or whatever, but the deals can be really good.

Word on the street here in Houston is that Parvizian is actually going out of business. Apparently a relative convinced the family that a stand-alone MRI facility is going to make them more money. I was shocked when I heard.

ETA: Clarification that a bit of internet research reveals that it's Parvizian Oriental Rug that's going out of business. Parvizian & Sons Oriental Rugs is still going strong. I'm sure the name similarity is just a coincidence.

Oriental Rugs
 

Whatever you do, make sure Woo and his nihilist friends don't come over and pee on it.

Gas Bag
 

I ran into Stephen A. Smith while taking a walk at lunch. It will come as a suprise to nobody that he was yelling into his cell phone.

Fashion content: he was wearing a really nice dark blue pin stripped suit.