Oh, the entertainment industry and patriotic allegiance to countries other than my own.

Upon my return from a lengthy visit to the Great Lakes State, I was inundated by my own bloated pre-vacation media and flag spree. During the week, I received one giant flag of Berlin, a large Canadian flag, two-thirds of my allottment of Blockbuster Online dvds, a greatest hits album of The Grass Roots, and a few illicitly burned compact discs, not to mention a "save-the-date" wedding pre-invitation, a thank-you card, and a job offer confirmation and acceptance letter, and a Discover Card statement, but we'll ignore that last bit for now.

In enjoying said two-thirds of Blockbuster Online dvds, I have to say that Mean Girls is just as funny on the ground as it is on a trans-Atlantic flight. Naturally, I have the urge to call someone a skank now, but I don't really have the opportunity. Dah. Maybe I'll test the waters on that one at my new job.

Before Sunrise, the 1994 prequel to the wonderful 2004 film, Before Sunset, is also wonderful. It's not as great as the latter, but it made me appreciate the second film so much more. A viewing of Sunrise isn't necessary to enjoy Sunset, of course, but it made the romantic, whom I bludgeoned with a candlestick and buried deep within me years ago, smile. Also, I've totally been to Vienna and I want to go back. Much like I want to go back to Paris. Oktoberfest. Prague. Krakow. Berlin... Damn entertainment industry.


Speaking of which, the music industry is full of whores. I know this makes me a bad person, but if Ray Charles weren't dead, his "Genius Loves Company" album wouldn't be up for ANYTHING, let alone have a song winning record of the year. For the love of god, people.