Ok, I thought I was getting all like mature and stuff. I didn’t really want a PSP. At all. I have a PS2, and I don’t see the need to play even more games in even more locations.

Until Karl came in today with the PSP he bought yesterday.

It’s so pretty! And shiny! In short, it is Teh Roxx0r. I’m spellbound and seriously doubting whether I’m ever going to grow up.

You know what I could really use right about now? Two weeks on a small Caribbean island, a professional chef, a comfortable supply of Corona chilled to 30 degrees F, no technology developed after WWII, some books, my sparkling wife, a hammock. A dog, perhaps.

David Duchovny has a blog!!! (and so does Rob Zombie)

When I’m in this pre-project state of mind, I try to get things moving by trying my hand at self-designed creativity exercises. Sometimes these exercises evolve into closer and closer approximations of what the next project will be, evolving in a way, into a full-fledged creative undertaking. Sometimes they just help me clarify what I don’t want to do. Mostly they’re just kind of, eh, ego boosters, little accomplishments to help encourage my own sense of what is possible to grow, deepen, strengthen. I believe that the best art is the art that comes from a …

Overheard two boys talking today on the train, on the ride home from work:

“If you shot me with a bb gun, it would really, really, really sting.”

“The eye….”

“If you shot me in the eye, I would personally hand-feed you to a crocodile!”

“Crocodile?”

“Sure, I’d be all like, ‘Hey thanks for shooting me in the eye with your bb gun! Here you go into the mouth of a crocodile!’”

Both youths were were about fourteen years of age.

Eh. So there’s not been much going on here because I’m in a very in-between place right now, waiting for inspiration to strike. I need a new project, or pick up an idea for an old project. I feel something creative coming on, but I don’t know what shape it’ll take yet. This makes everything a little gray and out-of-focus. I try things, I wait, try to keep my eyes open, and my heart. Lots of ideas, many promising, but none yet with any kind of siren-song about them. Being between art projects is …

Last night Emily and I went to see a Harvard performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. One of my work colleagues, soprano Krista Wilhelmsen, played the conflicted Donna Elvira, and I wanted to show my support for her, for anyone keeping the old arts alive. Now, in college, I took an opera class, and I know a few of the ‘bigger’ arias, but I wouldn’t really say I’m an opera fan. I like the bits I’ve been exposed to, but I’ve always been a bit more interested in it in an academic sense. So…I was a little …

The question I get asked the most is, “Matthias, what’s the difference between metonymy and synecdoche?” Due to popular demand, I’m now going to lay out the difference here once and for all in a way that you will find so memorable, you will likely witness it drifting through your mind even on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones.

Synechdoche, pronounced sin-NECK-duh-kee, is easily remembered because PART of the word is NECK, and NECK is a body PART and syNECKdoche is using a PART to represent a whole. These are all syNECKdoches:

“Check my new threads.”
“All hands on deck!”
“Looks like …

It’s simply indecent the way some people can age and remain utterly ravishing. Witness friend Kate Blodgett (no, I have no (noncamphone) photos), whose 30th birthday party Gwen and I had the privilege of attending this past Saturday at Diva in Davis Square. I can’t believe she’s 30: she looks even BETTER now than she did when I first met her, some, er, ah, quite a few years ago. Eight, maybe? It was great to see her and her well-spoken (and this time sober) ASIAN boyfriend John, and of course her kind and friendly parents who …

Helped Gwen celebrate her 25th birthday this past Friday: got her an iPod Mini, a gift certificate for the iTunes Music Store, and an ice cream cake for Toscanini’s. Left these special treats for her to find when she came in to begin her shift at the pizzeria. Later that same night, we went out to eat at the Rustic Kitchen in Porter Square, a very snazzy/trendy faux-candle-lit Italian restaurant we’ve wanted to visit for a while. Dinner was great, service was great, and the company was smashing.

Been listening a lot to CCC’s “Revolved” album of mashups …