why tv is awesome, pt 2

I don't think this episode was on recently but I used this in conversation with Katie the other day:

why tv is awesome, pt 1.

I have been diseased since Monday night which affords me the opportunity to watch even more TV than I already watch. Now I catch Frasier in the morning and the block of TBS with King of Queens and Seinfeld, Scrubs at seven then it's prime time ... you get the idea. Some may wonder how I can watch so much and still feel like an intelligent person, how I sleep with myself at night. It's all for moments like this:

Also in Italian.

nick campbell is going green.

Well, sort of.

As far as emissions go, I can't really get much more "green." My vehicle produces a bit of methane but I feel it's negligible. I could probably produce less trash and start recycling but that habit would never form with the daunting task of having to carry my recycling a mile and a half to the Whole Foods on Ponce. Many would be the times I'd say, "screw it" and toss the milk jug back into the trash can.

By going green I'm going to affect the fuel of my sole vehicle. Nick Campbell, gorger of Swiss Cake Rolls and plunderer of fast food, is going to start eating healthier. I hear you snicker a little bit and, believe me, even I'm snickering. But something has to change.

I waste a lot of my days. I go to school and work because of my innate sense of obligation but my free time, time for stuff I want to do, is wasted on Final Fantasy XII and watching TV. My motivation to get out of the house is only to ward off "cabin fever" and, even then, I'm good after a couple hours. My panic attacks have been more numerous (nothing severe or dibilitating ... just commanding more of my attention) and I feel sick a lot more often. Something's got to give and there are a few suggestions that a change in diet can at least help.

I'm not saying that eating some leafy greens with Cadbury is going to unburden me of self-imposed pressure but it can't hurt. If the healthy diet does nothing else I will be physically healthier. And that's good, right? I'm not expecting a full turnaround. Baby steps. Hopefully just acting on my diet will be a nice jolt. Maybe it'll even help with those methane emissions.

earn your way out of a friend's list.

I rarely update my MySpace page anymore. Just yesterday I updated my television preferences which listed Arrested Development as one of my favorite still-running TV shows. The only reason I still go is to check messages essentially (I'm not even subscribed to anyone's blog -- and never have been).

Bulletins will sometimes attract my attention and I almost always pay the price, being witness to a lot of personal surveys of people I know too well from past surveys, posts for events I'll never go to (not that I'm uninterested ... just not motivated), and, the worst, the evolution of chain letters. For these I'm pleased to see the two options at the bottom of each bulletin:

You can send a private message to the one posting the bulletin, celebrating/thanking them for the information/joy they brought into your life or ...

... you can erase them forever so they can never ruin your MySpace experience again.

A little extreme but I like it. Well done, Tom.

the swiss invade lichtenstein!

BBC News: Swiss in Liechtenstein 'invasion'

Troop: We've been walking for hours. Where the heck are we?
Officer: Fall in line, soldier.
T: Fall in line? The exercise was supposed to end like two hours ago. It's cold ...
O: What are you? A wuss? You're the defender of mother Switzerland's freedom! Cowboy up!
T: I don't recognize any of this.
O: Never been outside the country?
T: Of course I have. I've been to Austria, Italy, Germany ...
O: Apparently never Lichtenstein.
T: Lichten ... we're in freaking Lichtenstein?
O: About a kilometer and a half inside.
T: We're going to get in so much trouble.
O: Don't worry. I have a plan.
T: What's that?
O: We're going to take it.
T: Take what?
O: We're going to take Lichtenstein!
T: Take Lichtenstein? We're barely qualified to take a bath. Look at our party here.
O: What about it?
T: Dietzinger left to take a whiz half an hour ago, Stussi stopped somewhere to make a sandwich and three other guys hurt themselves picking their nose.
O: Really? Picking their noses?
T: They had to lie down.
O: They just need a leader!
T: No!
O: Someone they can believe in!
T: That's false!
O: Some motivation!
T: We're not taking Lichtenstein!
O: I don't appreciate your negativity.

if my life were a (more interesting) script.

EXT. SYMPHONY HALL - NIGHT

The elegant facade of the symphony hall, complete with rotating spotlights and a red carpet in front, do not quite match the patrons flooding from its doors after a show. Instead of upper-class, middle-aged couples dressed in tuxedos and gowns, we see throngs of twenty-somethings barely wearing an undershirt between their frail frames and the world. One of those twenty-somethings is NICK, a young man cutting a dashing figure in a sea of aesthetic ignorance. He passes a large banner for the Campus MovieFest just as people start to take it down. Nick pulls out his iPod and starts clicking through the menus. Running after him is JAMIE, another young man whose film was just shown at the event.

Jamie (O.S.)

Nick! Wait up for a second!

With one earbud in, Nick turns around as Jamie approaches.

Nick

What's up, buddy?

Jamie

What are you doing?

Nick

Trying to figure out why my iPod insists on always playing Paul van Dyk.

Jamie

Well, we're all going out to drink away the pain. You want to come?

Nick

Nah, I think I'll pass. I'm going to see Katie up at ...

Jamie

Nick, do you want to make movies?

Nick

Well, yeah. It's why I went back to school.

Jamie

So do we. You passed on working on this thing with us and that's fine I guess but it couldn't hurt to hang out with some people that want to make stuff. And we don't bite. It's like easy networking.

Nick

Where are you guys going?

Jamie

Right by your house actually. Meeting up at a friend's off Corley and maybe to Johnny's.

Nick

Corley? Where the heck is that?

Jamie

I don't know. It's a street right by your house, I think.

Nick

I'm pretty sure you made that up.

Jamie

I'm pretty sure I didn't. I'll take it from your changing the subject that you're not into it.

Nick

I'm going to visit Katie at the Vortex first but after that I'll give you a call.

Jamie

All right. Have a good night.

Nick

Take it easy, brother.

Jamie walks away and Nick slips his earbud into the other ear. He walks away in the other direction.

int. vortex midtown - night

Nick walks in to a bar that used to be a familiar haunt but is now strange. He sees ARTIE the famous bartender with whom he's decently aquainted and gives him a wave.

artie

Get bent.

Nick retracts his hand slowly.

He walks around to the dining area where three poker tables are set up. At the far side he sees an old friend he (and most people) call STABLER sitting next to someone who, from afar, looks like someone Nick knows very well.

Nick

(to himself)

Nathan's here?

Nick mosies on over to the table, gives a wave to Stabler and drops a hand on the shoulder of Stabler's fellow poker player.

Nick

Hey, man, what's uh ...

The man seated turns. This is NOT NATHAN.

Nick

(looking straight ahead instead of at Not Nathan; muttering)

Oh, g ... you are not who I wanted to talk to.

not nathan

Excuse me?

Nick

Stabler, why did you let me tap a stranger?

Stabler

It happened way too fast, man. Besides, how do I know who you know and don't know.

(beat)

Who'd you think it was?

Not Nathan

Do I really not know you?

Nick

I thought it was Nathan.

Stabler

Nathan? Well, I mean, I guess a little bit from far away.

Not Nathan

Who's Nathan?

Nick

I guess that's what I'll tell myself so that I don't feel so incredibly awkward.

Not Nathan

Is Nathan at least good looking? I'd like to be mistaken for someone that's good looking.

Stabler

Besides, isn't that Nathan over there making out with your girlfriend?

Nick

(spinning around quickly)

The what?

Stabler

Psych.

if my life were a script.

I've noticed over the past few months that my posts (especially after reading my MySpace blog) are a lot less personal. Whether that's good or bad is up to you I suppose. The reason why I've written less about myself and more about Italian television schedules is that the mundanity of my "work-and-school, work-and-school" life has not really inspired me to "write home" (so to speak). Don't believe my life can be that uninteresting?

Last night I went to watch a buddy's short film screening at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. After:

EXT. SYMPHONY HALL - NIGHT

The elegant facade of the symphony hall, complete with rotating spotlights and a red carpet in front, do not quite match the patrons flooding from its doors after a show. Instead of upper-class, middle-aged couples dressed in tuxedos and gowns, we see throngs of twenty-somethings barely wearing an undershirt between their frail frames and the world. One of those twenty-somethings is NICK, slightly more dressed up for the occasion but not by much. He passes a large banner for the Campus MovieFest just as people start to take it down. Nick pulls out his iPod and starts clicking through the menus.

Nick (V.O.)

Food.

He puts the ear buds in and we HEAR his MUSIC as he starts down Peachtree Street, a major road along which the symphony hall sits.

Nick (v.o.)

Food, food, food. All right. We'll head up to the Vortex and grab a bite. Sitting by myself and eating. I guess I can watch Katie zip around and unintentionally ignore me.

As he stops at a corner to wait on a light he looks up at the large office building in front of him.

Nick (V.O.)

Hi, Colony Square.

His eyes slide up the building until they reach the top where there is a small protrusion, almost like a shack or a small penthouse. He shakes his head vigorously and crosses the street with the light change.

Nick (V.O.)

Food.

The MUSIC goes OUT ON THE RIGHT SIDE. Nick is deeply troubled by this and plays with the iPod's headphone connection trying to get it right. The SOUND goes IN AND OUT until Nick gets frustrated.

Nick (V.O.)

(sighs)

Great. An awesome pair of headphones already gone. It's been two months!

Nick shuts the iPod off, wraps the headphones and slips the device into his back pocket. We HEAR the sounds of STREET NOISE now as he walks away.

int. vortex midtown - night

Nick walks in to a bar that used to be a familiar haunt but is now strange. He sees the famous bartender with whom he's decently aquainted and gives him a wave only for it not to be returned. Nick retracts his hand slowly.

He walks arond to the dining area where three poker tables are set up. At the far side he sees an old friend he (and most people) call STABLER sitting next to someone who, from afar, looks like someone Nick knows very well.

Nick (V.O.)

Nathan.

Nick mosies on over to the table, gives a wave to Stabler and drops a hand on the shoulder of Stabler's fellow poker player. He turns to Nick.

Nick (V.O.)

Aaa!

This is not the man Nick thought it was.

Nick

(trying to play it cool)

What's up, man?

not nathan

Not much.

Not Nathan holds out his hand for a half-shake/half-low-five. Nick complies with the stranger.

Not Nathan

Just trying to get to the final table, you know?

Nick

Right, right.

Nick looks at the cards being dealt for a moment then, as he doesn't know the person he just slapped hands with, loses interest quickly.

Nick (V.O.)

I can't eat here now.