This was to be my first full 2-day weekend off of work since, I want to say the middle of June. Honestly I can't remember. I make videogames for a living, and work's a bear. I say "was to be" because not one hour ago my boss called my cell to ask me to come in tomorrow to fix something, even though I told him that my part of the actual fix would take me maybe about 10 minutes, maybe 30 for testing. Of course, it will take several hours to get to the point where I can make my part of the fix. So much for a weekend. Still, I've done 12+ hour days 7 days per week for about a month now (don't tell the California government we don't make overtime, shhh). Woulda been nice to have had that weekend, though.
Maybe next time.
Anyway, I decided to go to Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue this morning because it gets me out of my apartment. I went to Amoeba Records and bought a used Muddy Waters album which I later discovered was, I am not making this up, caked with dirt. While lesser, or more intelligent men might have summoned the internet to research how to clean vinyl, I strode forward boldly, and just used water and a paper towel. Haven't tried playing it yet, as it's still got some dirt residue on it.
I also picked up Outfoxed, the documentary/counter-propaganda on the FOX News Channel. I picked it up mainly for three reasons. One: saw the trailer for it floating around the internet, and it earned the Raised Eyebrow of Interest. Two: it was cheap. As in $10.95 cheap. That was cheap enough. Three: I noticed it was published by The Disinformation Company. Back in the late 90's, I loved disinfo's links pages to the truly wacked out corners of society that were trying to use the internet to spread their message, and their mind-warpingly bizarre webcast show (starring Richard Metzger) for the ill-fated internet "television station," the Pseudo Online Network. Disinfo has published a few good books (and some right terrible ones), but nostalgia was the tipping-point here.
I consume so much media these days. I may even be spending more money on media than on food. That's so strange to me, unnatural even.