...Saw The Legend Of Ricky Bobby. Pretty damned good. Just stupid as hell--even dumber than Anchorman--and I mean that in a very nice way. It did die down quite a bit towards the end (just as Anchorman did), and picked up pretty well at the end. It was funny, because you a lot of really funny "Will Ferrel" lines were given to his sons (Walker and Texas Ranger, respectfully). The only disappointing thing was that (the name is totally escaping me) the sports guy from Anchorman was basically unused, and a virtually non-existant role as someone in the pit crew. One of my favorite parts was when Ricky decides to race again, he goes to his rivals' house to tell him (Ali G as a gay French Formula One driver who makes the leap to NASCAR), and Elvis Costello and Mos Def are just sitting in his backyard. They have no lines, and contribute nothing to the movie, except Ferrel remarks in passing "was that Elvis Costello and Mos Def?" Hilarious.

...Had a little grill out at our friends' place last night. After dinner, this guy asks if I want a "after-dinner drink." Now, I'm thinking brandy or something (I'm not one who really does "after-dinner drinks"), so I ask what we're having. He responds "uh, a Cannonball?" It was basically a rocks glass half full of Kaluha and vodka. That's it. I got drunk. When quizzed as to why it is an after-dinner drink, he said, "I don't know, I just like them."

...Listened to the Jurassic 5 album, Feedback this weekend. Pretty good. The song "Work It Out" is a standout (featuring Dave Matthews), and there are a few others as well. That said, I feel like J5 might have caught the "Jack Johnson syndrome," where all their stuff is starting to sound the same. Which, as I argue with JJ, is not in of itself bad, but just getting a bit boring (as Pete would say).

...The movie Beerfest, a movie about (from what I can gather) is basically an underground drinking competition (al la Fight Club). It looks beyond stupid. That said, it looks AWESOME. It is the guys who wrote and starred in Super Troopers, so it looks great (let's hope it is better than Club Dread). It comes out August 25th. For those keeping tabs, things happening during my "birthday week:"

1. September 5--Release of the new Chuck Klosterman book: Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas
2. August 28--Release of The Roots "Game Theory," the best album ever.
3. August 22--Release of Outkast's Idlewild, which is supposed to be great.
4. August 22--Release of the post-humous release of J. Dilla's The Shining. Featuring Common, D'Angelo, Busta Rhymes, Black Thought, Dwele, and others. I have heard the Common and D'Angelo joint, and it is fucking fantastic.
5. September 2--NEBRASKA CORNHUSKER FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are others, but that's probably enough for now.

...Have a good week.