Love n' Stuff

That was how our youth group leader at St. Ray's used to sign all her letters. I still don't know what "stuff" is, and I don't think I want to. So I was watching the Bachelor last night, and I want to know what kind of substance those girls are smoking. Bob, aka, Sir Grabass, is creepy. It's a combination of the greasy "Just for Men" curls, the fact that he looks like a seal giving birth during the extreme close ups of him laughing (note: I don't know what a seal giving birth looks like, but I assume), and the fact that he has his hands all over these chicks when they've barely had a minute to speak to him that grosses me out. It's mostly the seal giving birth thing though. I will note, however, that Sir Grabass made the single most astute observation I've ever seen on reality television last night: "Anyone who says they don't like Journey is a damn liar." Damn straight. However, Bob followed that moment of brilliance with a duet of "Open Arms" that sounded like Danny Tanner and Becky singing on the telethon episode of Full House, and I had to start gagging again. In other news. . .

Joliet couple believe someone 'copied' their identity
JOLIET — A West Side couple told police Tuesday they had a problem with People's Gas. (Note from Emily: Would that problem be that "people's gas" smells? Maybe they should avoid Mexican food.)
The male of this couple, who reside on Peyla Lane, told police he received a telephone call from People's Gas Co. and was informed of an outstanding bill for about $3,000.
The bill was in his wife's name, the man told police. The date of service ran from November 2001 through July and was for an address in Chicago at which he claims neither he nor his wife have ever lived.
The man and woman believe someone has "copied" their identity, police said, but are unsure how this may have happened.

I wonder, perhaps, if these people were named John and Jane Smith. In other Herald News, there was a column in the "Your Life" section on Wednesday about a girl who bonded with her sister by going to the John Mayer and Counting Crows concert. Sounds fun to me, although even though John Mayer is hot, I prefer listening to him on CD to viewing him because he looks like a deranged Muppet when he sings. Which Muppet? Check out my friend Patrick's website (look at the 9/17 entry entitled, "What Other Folks Think of the Mayer") for his observations. Also, I used to be a big Counting Crows fan, up to their latest album of which I'm not a fan, and their March 1997 concert at the Aragon was my "first" (not counting New Kids on the Block in fifth grade, during which my dad dropped me off his shoulders) concert. However, the girl who wrote the column stated something to the effect that she didn't enjoy the Counting Crows because they only played their old songs "which no one knew" and it was only good when they played "Big Yellow Taxi." Two words: up and chuck. Get a clue girlfriend. I really hope she realizes "Big Yellow Taxi" is a cover (and in my opinion, a crappy one). It's just pathetic.

Last weekend was pretty fun. Courtney and I saw "School of Rock" on Friday. I would have to say that it tied with "Old School" for best comedy of the year. I love Jack Black, the kids are cute, and the music is awesome. It was such a happy little movie, and it made me want to learn to play an instrument (note: I played the xylophone for 3 weeks in 4th grade, I quit because I didn't want to learn drums, I thought they were too much of a boy's instrument). Rating: 3 1/2 stars. We also caught the last ten minutes of "Under the Tuscan Sun" when we snuck in to meet up with Courtney's parents. It looked just as " Lifetime Television for Women" as I had expected. Saturday I did a little shopping during the day (Fashion sighting: a woman wearing these. Not J. Lo, J. NO!) Saturday night I went to Chicago with Shannon, Joe, and some friends of Shannon. We met up with my old roommate Julie and went to a couple Irish bars, Celtic Crossings and Fado, and ended our evening at the Red Head Piano Bar. It was a lot of fun, I had some really good Irish coffee and along the way we "adopted" some guys from Arkansas who were architecture students in town to look at the buildings of Chicago. Shannon, let me know if I'm forgetting anything.

Last night Courtney, Nancy and I started our Halloween costume search. We stopped first at Josie O'Kain's, which is next to Karen's Grooming. Outside Karen's Grooming, a marquee read "Free Oatmeal and Teeth." Was this for senior citizens? I thought it was a pet grooming place. On the door of Josie O'Kain's was a sign warning patrons that the only people allowed to sell items inside Josie O's are the store's employees. I wasn't aware that there was any sort of bootleg trafficking (wigs or otherwise), but this was good to know in case I ever had the inclination to stop over there and try to peddle my fake mullet hat at a reduced rate. We were able to find a few items at Josie O'Kain's, but the highlight was their book of the makeup they've done for various people's costumes over the years. Included was a picture of area DJ Eddie C, or Z (?) in some sort of feline or wolf makeup. Nance bid us adieu and we stopped over at the Halloween store next to Samy's, aka the most ghetto temporary seasonal shop ever. I felt as though gypsies were going to steal away in the night with the contents of this store at any moment. Highlights included some sort of proctology patient costume that featured simulated diarrhea, and a man talking to a friend on his cell phone about an upcoming gathering he was having. The man, who looked like Hooters might have been his preferred dining establishment, kept encouraging his phone friend to "bring a side dish!" We were unsure if he was referring to cheesy potatoes or a mistress. Maybe the mistress could bring the cheesy potatoes, I don't know. Now I want cheesy potatoes. By the way, my new favorite fast food restaurant in Joliet (it's not new, but it's my new favorite) is Chicken-N-Spice on Chicago Street. The chicken chunks are awesome, and I like the potato wedges, though why they're called JoJos is a mystery. . .

That's all the news for now, I should be going out tonight so I'll have a Thursday story again, it's been a while since I've had a good one. We out.