Okay, so here I am, blogging again. What's up with that?

Well, oftentimes there is something on my mind and I just wished there was some sort of format for me to express my outrage or whatever. I tried posting on some community blogs (which I will not name here) but got flamed by the flamers, and by flamers I don't mean gays, because I have gay friends and they wouldn't much appreciate me talking/blogging like a homophobe. No, I am referring to those people who feel safely ensconced in their apartments/workplaces/basements/whatever and therefore feel they can, indeed should, be as rude as humanly possible when talking about any random opinion or other.

In short, bad. Me no likey.

So even though nobody is going to read this blog, I'm gonna go ahead and keep going anyway, yammering about who the hell cares what.

So, let's get started.

Dude, I need a job.

Like, seriously. Someone please employ me? I have whined incessantly to my friends, family, complete strangers (especially the local Koreans here in Koreatown, even though I am quite sure they don't understand me) and so, to stop this, please please someone hire me.

Please?

Well, it's been some time since I've blogged here, and I assume nobody from back home is paying attention anymore. It's really my own fault; life is just strange right now.

So, let's fast forward about a year and do a quick roundup of the events since January.

I am finishing my Masters in just one little month. Yes, it seems like only yesterday that I arrived here in LA. And yet in that time I have found myself hooked on Facebook and all kinds of youthful events about campus.

I am currently interning at the Sunset Strip Business Association where I am helping the local businesses make more money. Seriously. I work out of Frank Sinatra's old office, which is kinda neat and unexpected, but the building will be torn down in a couple of years. It's old and crappy looking, provenance notwithstanding.

Also I have a girlfriend, Michelle. As they say in the Valley, she's like totally awesome. Like, totally.

So that's me. Stay tuned for serious rants coming. I am so sick of Democrats right now...

Well, I'm back from my little vacation thingy. I had a great time, except I found out my new car may need a new engine. It drinks oil more than a frat boy at a keg party with three funnels attached to his hat. That should set me back a couple of thousand dollars that I don't have. Good times.

I attached one photo for your viewing pleasure. If you want more, email me or post a comment and I'll send them to you. This is also my way of seeing who is actually reading this thing.

My second semester starts next week. I'm taking three classes again, one of which is legendary for its sheer brutality. I'll let you know as time goes on.

Take care, and I hope all is well.

Happy Generic Holiday Season!!!

For the three of you still reading my blog, here's an update on what's been happening in my world...

My first semester at USC is done. I got two A's and one A-. I'm not too thrilled about the A- to be honest, but it really is out of my hands, so I'll have to settle with the 3.9 GPA.

Tomorrow, Christmas Day, I will be leaving lovely, self-centered Los Angeles to check out some lovely, no-longer-inhabited Native American ruins in Arizona and New Mexico. I'll also be stopping off and seeing some old friends in Santa Fe, and possibly other friends in Arizona if they ever tell me where they live. I chose to leave on Christmas Day because (1) I have nothing better to do on that day anyway since I am Jewish and everything is closed, and (2) er, well, there is no number (2). That's pretty much it. I'll arrive in Flagstaff tomorrow evening and check out "Montezuma's Castle" which is evidently one of the best places to see for this kind of thing. After Santa Fe, I'll swing back around and check out something called Canyon de Chelly (pronounced shay) which is supposed to be remarkable.

Anyway, if you are one of the two people still reading this (I think I lost a reader from the time I composed this message) please stay in touch either via email or posting on this site.

Merry ChristmaKwaanzikah!!!

Hi all!

It's been a few weeks since I last posted anything substantial. Got back from Thanxgiving the other day... I had a great time, thanks for asking Carrie. :-)

Anyhoo, I'm back in sunny LA where it's been, well, freezing freaking cold. I mean, I actually had to wear sweaters and stuff to go outside. Holy crap! It is nice again today, but this past week was ridiculous. And I am finally wrapping up my first semester at USC, where I should get all A's without much trouble.

Until coming to USC, I had NO idea how seriously people took college football. I only got a full understanding of how crazy people are about college football when I bought a USC sweater and started wearing it. For those of you who know me, you know I could care less about sports, much less football, much less college football. So I find it odd that all kinds of random people come up to me and start talking about USC's football team, as if my wearing a USC sweater automatically makes me a USC football fan. However, I have learned how to deal with such people: when they come up to me and start yapping about this or that, I respond by saying, "Reggie Bush" (a former USC football player who won the Heismann Trophy last year) which promptly sets them off on an obscure rant I can barely comprehend. After they run out of steam, I say, "Oregon State" who USC lost to a few weeks back, and that sets them off on another tear about plays, players and all kinds of shit I could care less about. And yet, they shake my hand afterwards saying. "Nice to meet you! Great conversation!!!" when I literally said four words in a fifteen-minute conversation. Odd.

Well, it turns out USC lost yesterday to its cross-town rival, UCLA, which is hugely embarrassing, because evidently UCLA's football team sucks. Fortunately I could care less about such nonsense. But there is a real rivalry between these two schools, rivalled only by the Shia and Sunnis in Iraq in terms of the intensity of the hatred they feel towards each other.

Oh well, I've rambled on long enough. Hope you are well, wherever you are. Take care.

In case you are curious, I will be in Philly from Wednesday, Nov. 22 and leaving Sunday the 26th. You can contact me via email, phone or this blogger account if you want... Meanwhile, enjoy stuffing yourself!

Fine. I am a liar. You got me. Feed me to the lions.

Last week I said that "the other day, Annenberg offered the ultimate bizarre juxtaposition to end all bizarre juxtapositions."

That, as it turns out, was a complete lie, although I didn't realize it until today.

A quick recap: Two weeks ago, the writer for Xena spoke at Annenberg. Last week, a bunch of grizzled old men spoke about shooting at Russian tanks in Budapest.

I thought the juxtapositions could not get any weirder.

I was wrong.

As with the previous two lectures, I sat in almost the exact same place. Except today, I can honestly say that I had my first celebrity sighting, for today's lecture was given by Dr. Drew Pinksy from the radio/MTV call-in show "Love Line." He is conducting research about celebrity narcissism.

Now Dr. Drew wasn't referring to the pop-culture definition of "self love." Rather he defined narcissism as a giant hole in the middle of someone's personality brought about by outside trauma. He said that about 2% of the population suffer from this and fill this giant void with celebrity. (He even made a passing reference to one-time cohost Adam Corrolla needing constant attention and thus implying his personality was also narcissistic.) He referred to celebrities that he has met as "poor souls who desperately need help" and 90% of whom need therapy.

So he and his co-researcher began administering tests to celebrities and found that most of them score double the national average for narcissistic behavior. Again, this refers less about "self-love" and more about people covering up the empty feelings in their souls by putting these fantastic shields around themselves, and how they require constant stimulation through the gaggle of people who follow them around.

Further, he noted that the greatest frustration for celebrities is not constantly having cameras around... in fact, that is exactly what they crave to fill their emptiness. Rather, he said that their greatest stress and fear is that, one day, they will not have the gaggle of people around them, leaving them cold and alone. And he should know: He not only has countless celebrities on his show, he also is an addiction treatment specialist who treats celebrities on a regular basis!

So, to wrap things up, in a span of three weeks, I have met Xenaholics, Freedom Fighters and Celebrity Addict Researchers (the latter of which can be read in two ways... Dr. Drew is a celebrity who researches addicts, and he researches celebrities who are addicts.)

Besides that, it's still warm here, to the point that I didn't wear shorts yesterday and was hot as hell. I hear it's really freaking cold back East.

Perhaps my reminding you of this is a sign of my own narcissism?