i don’t know how people become super passionate about politics.  i don’t know how you do it without becoming totally jaded.

but then again, i could say the exact same thing about the music industry… so, touché, political friends.

last night a group of friends and i went to the movies to see the new michael jackson documentary “this is it”.  i’m not sure any of us really knew what to expect.. i just knew i wanted to see it.

i can safely say that it was an excellent decision.  i’m really glad i went.

first off, i’ll start by saying two things that it’s not:

1) exploitative or cheap

2) overly sad

the film is 95% rehearsal footage - complete songs mixed with intermittent footage of michael working with the band and crew to fine tune specific elements.  that, to me, was one of the most fascinating elements of the film.  you hear so much about how michael was out of touch and crazy, but when he is working and on-stage in this film, he is one-hundred percent engaged and focused.  he is particular and detailed and knows exactly what he wants to see from his band and dancers.  it’s really amazing watching him work and communicating the things he wants to hear/see.  you see this whole other side of him that hasn’t been seen before.

on top of that, the dancing/singing is incredible.  michael still totally had it.  you hear about all this pain he was in and being prescribed these crazy drugs, but you never see it on screen.  as he performs some amazingly complex dance moves, he shows no sign of pain or fatigue.  at 50, he was still completely at the top of his game.

the only sadness throughout the film is the underlying fact that you know how it all ends.  the crew’s shared excitement over this yet-to-happen concert run is visible throughout the film.  everyone involved with the project can’t believe that they’re actually working with michael jackson and that they’re about to unveil this over-the-top cutting edge stage show.  knowing that all this work and effort will end in tragedy adds a sad undercurrent to the entire film.  but they never go for the jugular at any point.  i’m sure there were so many opportunities to make this a cryfest and the director just never goes there.. which is why the whole thing never felt exploitative to me.

if you thought michael jackson was an amazing performer, go see it.  you won’t be disappointed.

so, somehow a few days ago i ripped my fitted sheet on my bed.  i know what you’re thinking and no, it wasn’t anything crazy, it just sort happened.

my first thought was “oh man, i gotta get new sheets.” and my second thought was “i have no idea what kind to get.”

my sheets are several years old (probably a contributing factor to the ripping) and i definitely don’t have a second set of sheets.  and while i’m not positive, i’m about 90% sure that my mom bought these sheets.  so, in an effort to find out more about sheets, i asked a few friends while we were hanging out.  i realize that’s kind of a weird topic to bring up amongst friends, but i learned two things: as a general rule, all girls own extra sets of sheets and all guys do not.  that made me feel better instantly.  i tried to gauge people’s preferences for thread counts, etc. but came to the conclusion that most people know about as much about sheets as i do.

so after a few days of sleeping on a bed with a giant hole in the sheets (look, i was busy this week) i headed off to target in search of sheets.  the obvious downside of shopping for sheets is that there’s no real way to crawl into a bed and get a real feel for how awesome a set of sheets are.  they’re in that tiny box and you just kinda have to trust what the box says.  i sprung for 450 thread count, as it was exactly halfway between the cheapest and most expensive thread count sheets.

while i was there, i decided to go for broke and pick up a new comforter.  i can definitely confirm that i’ve had my comforter since junior year of college.  that’s definitely a solid NINE years ago.  yikes.

one of the added benefits of picking out a comforter at target is the influx of really cute girls who are also looking at bedding.  i started to think to myself that the bedding section of target is probably one of THE best places to pick up girls.  you’re a dude looking at bedding by himself, which means you have to be single.  but the fact that you’re picking out bedding makes it look like you’ve got your shit together and you don’t sleep on a sleeping bag on top of a mattress on the floor somewhere or live with your mom.  it gives you an automatic air of legitimacy right out the gate.  they don’t need to KNOW that your current bedding is nine years old.  they just need to know that you’re upgrading and hey, maybe they want to try out those 450 thread count sheets!

that said, i did not talk to any girls, instead i came home and blogged about theoretically talking to girls.

which is why i’m single.

but i have GREAT new sheets!