Odds and ends

I totally get why Matisyahu is a big deal. I mean, a guy from a vaguely nutty religious sect makes a bunch of reggae songs whose religious messages will be ignored, misunderstood, or trivialized by the white stoners who buy them. That's like never happened before!

Caught the new Pink Panther last weekend. It was an almost perfectly mediocre movie. If it had been any better, it would have been good, and if it had been any worse, it would have been bad. Kevin Kline was wasted, but there were a few good gags. It's kinda hard to believe that Steve Martin was like some edgy comedian when I was a kid.

I read Frank Portman's King Dork. It was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Kind of like a less sociopathic version of C.D. Payne's Youth in Revolt. If you were dateless and rock-obsessed at any point in high school, or if you just want to read an incredibly fun, absorbing book about a dateless rock-obessed teen, go buy it when it comes out next month. It was really a joy to read.