Beyond Understanding

It will have to be Domino's — at least if I want to order online and have it delivered.  I'm sure we have some rather good local chains, as Spokane is a college town (Gonzaga U, dudes), but I have yet to figure out which ones are worth my time, money, and will deliver.

I used to be a Papa John's fan. Better ingredients. Better pizza. (Ha ha ha!). Unfortunately, all twelve Papa John's restaurants in the inland Northwest abruptly closed recently.

Why? According to KXLY.com (channel 4; ABC affiliate), the franchise owner owes around $270,000 in franchise fees to the parent corporation in Louisville, has not communicated with the parent office in quite some time, and was also months behind on rent. Employees showed up on a Tuesday morning to find all restaurant doors locked. No notice was given, and the franchise owner is nowhere to be found.

Sounds a little like somebody (or more than one somebody) may have been skimming the profits, which I don't get. If I owned twelve Papa John's restaurants all over the area — many in a college town — I'm pretty sure I'd have plenty of money without having to steal more from the company and my hundreds of employees.

But, hey. Apparently the rich just want to be richer. Or live beyond their means and accumulate tons of debt. Unfortunate that many have to be hurt in the process. Especially those of us that want pizza.

Matthew Life/Living, Rants/Politics college, Dominos, food, Gonzaga, KXLY, Papa John's, pizza, Spokane

I went to Border's (Books, Music, Cafe) today. Mainly to browse, but also to get a coffee. I used to be a huge Border's fan and, in fact, preferred it over its competition. Lately, though, I've been finding it difficult to easily locate anything. Their layout, at least in the one near where I live, sucks and makes little sense.

A former student of mine kept trying to get me to make the switch, and I adamantly refused. Turns out she was right all along.

Even though the Barnes & Noble is in the mall — and I'm not a fan of malls — I think I'm going to start hitting their store instead. I have a membership card for both, and while the B&N one cost money, it has better benefits. And at least I can find what I want easily and quickly. (They have coffee, too. Even if it is Starbucks.)

I did purchase two books at Border's. Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene (horror paperback) and Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris — the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series upon which Tru Blood (cable television series I've never watched) is based. I have a friend that is going to let me borrow the series on DVD, but I'd much rather read the books first.

The only negative about books that have been turned into television series or movies? The insane print runs, book formats, sizes, marketing,  and movie tie-in editions. Dead Until Dark now has three different covers. One is an rather ugly white one with a vampire licking her lips. The second is the original illustrated cover by Lisa Desimini (my purchase). The third is the HBO tie-in cover with a picture of one of the show's actors. They have also reprinted the books in a larger sized format. Same content, double the price. Crazy, eh?

Matthew Literature Barnes & Noble, books, Border's, Brian Keene, Dead Until Dark, HBO, reading, Sookie Stackhouse, Tru Blood

It's funny how, when I don't feel well, I sit around and ruminate on how cluttered and dirty things are getting when I should be resting, relaxing, and enjoying a book or a watching movie on television. While eating chicken soup and drinking juice.

What do I do instead? Rent Surrogates (which was, in all honesty, not worth the money I paid to rent it — what a piece of crap) and pause it multiple times to do minor cleaning. Like sitting on the kitchen floor with the junk drawer emptied out and throwing away stuff I've not used in a while. Who the heck needs three tubes of Mighty Putty? And does the stuff even work?

I moved all of my candles, which were stores in various spots throughout the apartment, to one centralized location. I ran a load through the dishwasher. I filed receipts in my new 12-pocket file-folder (thanks, Kristen, for that lovely idea). I watered plants.

All in all, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to watch a 90 minute movie. But my mind is more at ease. Even though I don't feel that much better.

No, I'm not a fifties housewife. Though I can relate… completely.

Matthew Life/Living, Movies & TV apartment, cleaning, fifties, housework, Kristen, movies, organization, sick

I made a comment to the post below that The Never Ending Story song reminds me of the original Reading Rainbow theme song. You know… the PBS show starring LeVar Burton (he was on Star Trek: The Next Generation). The theme song was jazzed up and redone a few years ago — it sounds like the lady singing it is drunk/stoned — but the original is scarily similar (at least to me) to The Never Ending Story.

Just because I've discussed both, I'll post the YouTube videos of the old theme and the new theme (which I don't like much at all).

Old theme song:

New theme song:

Matthew Historical, Movies & TV, Music LeVar Burton, Limahl, Music, PBS, Reading Rainbow, Songs, Star Trek, television, YouTube

Matthew Historical, Movies & TV, Music, Songs food, gay, iPod, Limahl, movies, Music, The Neverending Story

Archer — on the FX network — has to be one of the most amusing television shows I've seen in quite a while. And it's a cartoon.

I had the first three episodes taped (is taped even the appropriate word for a show saved on DVR?), and I watched all three back-to-back tonight.  It's full of both sophomoric humor and adult humor and contains multiple references that — unless you're of a certain age — won't understand.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next episode of the series, and I hope it sticks around.  It's one of the rare shows I'd purchase on DVD and watch multiple times.

From the show's official website:

Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other. The series features the voices of  H. Jon Benjamin as suave master spy "Sterling Archer," whose less-than-masculine code name is "Duchess"; Jessica Walter as his domineering mother and boss, "Malory"; Aisha Tyler as his ex-girlfriend, "Agent Lana Kane"; George Coe as his aging-but-loyal butler, "Woodhouse"; Chris Parnell as ISIS comptroller and Lana's new love interest, "Cyril Figgis"; and Judy Greer as Malory's lovesick secretary, "Cheryl."

Matthew Keen Things, Movies & TV animation, Archer, cartoon, DVD, FX, television

It's finally getting the ten-thousand-and-one (well, okay, four) different doctors lined up that I require. The happy thing? They all work in the same clinic, so the computer files are linked. No more "Will you fax my paperwork to so-and-so?" requests.

It's when The Boy ^TM calls you on the phone just because you've not heard his voice lately. And he's not heard yours. (Texting only works for so long before you require something more).

It's when you go to the gym and increase your swimming distance from your previous one (1/2 mile). And your arms and legs really hurt, but in a good way. And you can tell when you look in the mirror that it's making a difference.

It's not when your DVD player fucks up and stops working, but it is when you get a rather good coupon from Best Buy and combine it with Reward Zone dollars to get a rather good deal on a new DVD player.

It's cooking really healthy food that tastes good. Like grilled salmon with steamed vegetables. All seasoned perfectly.

It's using your new stand mixer for the first time (even though I misread the recipe and messed it up; I shall try again this weekend) and finding out you're completely in love with a kitchen appliance.

It's reading a really good book and just relaxing. I need to get back into the habit of reading more. It makes me smile. And smiling is a good thing.

It's many other things, too. But I don't want to appear too sappy and stuff. How odd would that be, eh?

Matthew Keen Things, Life/Living Best Buy, books, cooking, doctor, DVD, exercise, food, friends, happiness, Peanuts, reading, shopping, Snoopy, The Boy

Matthew Keen Things, Music, Songs fag, gay, Lily Allen, Music, queer, Songs

Because my hotel in Portland (I was there for work earlier this week) was about four blocks from IKEA, I decided to do some shopping Tuesday night. I knew I didn't have the money to spend on actual furniture, or a vehicle large enough to bring any back, so I spent about an hour in the Marketplace area. Having visited IKEA in the past, the Marketplace is, by far, my favorite area anyway. Great deals. Smaller items. Stuff you never knew you needed or wanted for the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, patio, balcony, or garage. Hell. Any room of the house or any area requiring organization.

I spent a mere fifty dollars. What did I get? Two lamps (in the picture on either side of the bed). Energy-efficient bulbs for said lamps. A box of twenty taper candles (red) to go with four new candlestick holders (also red). A strainer insert (aluminum) for my pasta pot. A salad spinner (for two bucks, dude!). A kitchen timer (which was a gift for a friend that likes to cook). Small things, yes. Did I really need anything other than the pasta strainer? Heck, no. But the lamps look rather keen.

Matthew Keen Things, Life/Living apartment, bedroom, furniture, IKEA, organization, shopping

Matthew Keen Things, Music, Songs David, Fuck You, Lily Allen, Music