Sign this petition and while you're at it, tell the Canadian government how much they suck!

Photos from the Duran Duran show at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul -- 3/22/05. The only other time I'd seen D2 live was in 1987 (July 7th at Market Square Arena). So officially I'd been waiting eighteen years to see them again. Babies have been born, grown up, hit puberty and graduated high school during that time, (not that I've been keeping track or anything). 

Me before the concert (the only time my butt touched the chair). 

Early on in the show--Simon looking dapper in a suit (great lighting effects--didn't translate well to my cheap film). 

Simon belts out The Reflex (always a crowd pleaser). I ran up to the front of the stage to take this. 

Another Reflex photo. 

Simon singing Girls On Film (the second time I ran up to the front of the stage)--check out the security guard giving me the stink-eye. Later, I kicked his geriatric ass! YEAH! Who else wants a piece? 

During "Careless Memories" (that song SMOKES!) they had this cool Japanese anime sequence of the band where they portrayed action hero versions of themselves, defending the audience from Godzilla and some evil ninja dudes. Awesome! 

Simon and John singing (Onscreen: said ninja dudes)  

End of anime sequence. 

This Is So Gay

My random thoughts on Season 2 of The L Word so far....

Shane: I HATE her new hair. She used to be cute. I hope it grows out soon.

Bette: She rocks. I like how she's kind of guy-ish in her actions (for some sick reason I don't understand).

Alice: I like her hair more this season. The thing between her and Dana is not believable at all, though. Those two have no chemistry together (besides the friendship). However, I'm all in favor of anything that gets Dana away from her bitch girlfriend (it's so perfect that her name is Tonya. I don't think anyone who lived through the '90s can disassociate that name from that white trash knee-whackin' psychotic figure skater). Anyway, I hope they get rid of that troll soon. She's evil! She let Dana's cat die! (Kill her!!!! Please!!!!)

Jenny: looks better than she did last season, but she still needs to eat a damn sandwich already.

Tina: looks better now that she's pregnant, and she's becoming less boring.

Kit: severely bores me.

Carmen: cute but dull.

Helena: haven't fully formed an opinion on her. So far, she kind of bugs because her British accent sounds fake, (even though that actress is actually British).

Marina: glad she and Francesca are gone. They both suck. Good riddance.

Also....I'm pissed that they brought in that stupid creepy guy with the video camera (can't be bothered to look up his name). If they needed a penis on the show so badly, they should have kept Tim around. If Jenny does the nasty with Camera Boy, the small smidgen of respect I have for her will go right out the window. And Camera Boy's friend is a dweeb and a half. Seriously, I know they're trying to portray Camera Boy as edgy and mysterious, but how cool can he be if he hangs out with that dorkwad?

And the new theme song. Who decided it needed a theme song? It's not a damn sitcom, for Christ sake. It makes the show seem cheesy and generic, which it's not. I loved the old opening with the cool techno music. What happened?

All that aside, I'm still The L Word's bitch. It's still an awesome show and I'm so glad that for once something I like has become a hit (usually that never happens).

Recently I went shopping at Best Buy for my nephew's birthday present (he just turned 3). I was looking for The Muppet Movie on DVD, but they didn't have it. I got him The Muppets Take Manhattan instead--it's inferior to the original, if I remember my muppet movies correctly--but still a good one. It may be a few years before he's able develop a full appreciation for the muppets, but I figure this will give him a good start.

While I was browsing the DVD offerings at Best Buy, I was shocked to see how many bad TV shows are being lovingly recycled into multi-disc DVD sets. I mean, Punky fucking Brewster? Who's the Boss? Saved By the Bell? Married With Children? Holy shit. I can't believe that there was a demand big enough for any of these to warrant a DVD boxed set. What's next, Small Wonder: The Lost Episodes (with Director's Commentary)?

And still, MTV has yet to release The State.
There is no justice in this world.

First day of spring! Okay, not technically (especially in Minnesota, where you don't begin to see any green until about the end of April), but dammit, it's March and that's close enough for me. And anyway, along about St. Patrick's Day I get that thing where I refuse to wear my winter coat anymore. I'll half-ass it with just a scarf, mittens, cap and a light jacket if I have to, but no heavy-ass wool coat. In a way, I suppose I'm a little like that one lame guy that you inevitably see decked out in shorts and a T-shirt the moment the temperature rises above 40, and everyone's like, "look at that dumbass in the shorts." I feel sort of a kinship with that guy. Well, once a year, anyway.

I had my friend Linda over on Sunday night to watch the Oscars. Was anyone else majorly disappointed in Chris Rock? I mean, I thought his material was good overall, but except for the very beginning of the show and that bit where he interviewed people at the movie theatre, dude was MIA for most of it. Scarlett Johanson's hair got more airtime than he did. I'm thinking that the Powers That Be were afraid to give him too much rein, so they made sure to limit his time. I think most of the people who tuned in wanted to see Rock snark on celebrities and all the Hollywood bullshit. I mean, I'm a movie geek and would have watched the Oscars no matter who was hosting, but I still have a sense of humor about it and would have loved to see someone skewer sacred Oscar cows like Nicole Kidman and Jack Nicholson and Warren-always in the front row-Beatty and his boring, overacting wife. But I don't think the show (as well as the institution) has much of a sense of humor, so there you go. My favorite moment was actually the shot of Tim Robbins in the audience cracking up over the the joke Chris Rock made about him and his politics (see? He has a sense of humor!). Least favorite moment: the lame routine he did with Adam Sandler. I think it was supposed to seem spontaneous and ad-libbed but was so stiff and just painfully unfunny, much like Sandler himself. (I'm sorry, he's not funny. I liked Punch Drunk Love and I have a soft spot for The Wedding Singer, but I'm never forgiving him for Mr. Deeds OR The Waterboy. Those are four hours of my life that I will never get back and I am still unreasonably bitter about). Also, WTF was up with having Beyonce (fuck her--I'm not doing the stupid pretentious accent mark over the e) sing every damn song? Her agent must be fucking the Academy president. Or blackmailing him, or maybe both. As for the awards, I knew it didn't have a chance, but I really wanted Sideways to win Best Picture. I love love LOVE that movie. I was glad to see they at least gave it the mercy-fuck Best Adapted Screenplay award. But they couldn't even nominate Paul Giamatti for Best Actor, which was a travesty. He was robbed!

More Academy Award reflections tomorrow--I'm not even halfway done yet!