Here's a short clip from Joe Totten's new short

Joe is shooting a short mockumentary of sorts chronicling both KUCR and The Highlander Newspaper. I was lucky enough to be part of it. Here's a short clip of my part in it:

Dear Ocean

“…the Japanese Spider Crab has a body the size of a basketball and its legs can straddle a car. They will eventually measure a massive 15ft… The crab, called Macrocheira kaempferi in Latin, was caught by fishermen in the Pacific Ocean and has now been imported to Britain where it has gone on display at the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham."(source)

Dear Ocean,

Fuck off. Seriously. Are you kidding me with this? Honestly, I've had enough of your bullshit. Let's find a way to get back to being all cute and Finding Nemoish again, because seriously, all of these new gigantic monsters you're creating are really starting to get on my nerves. I do not like being terrified constantly. Because of you, I'm considering a move further inland.

Please die already.

Love and tenderness,
Zuhair.

Boring, dumb, and fine, it's been a long time my friend

Thanks for the recommendation, YouTube! Sometimes I can't help but feel like you're the only website that, you know, really gets me.

Actually, you were pretty spot on with most of the rest of them recommendations. I suppose everyone is allowed to be wrong every once in a while, even the robots at The You Tube.

p.s. this is the only reason I have Photoshop.

Year in Review....In Review

This is me.
Dear Friends & Enemies alike,

Now that the Year in Review series is done I may as well go ahead talk a little bit about it. First off, I'm really glad that I was able to gather up this many of my friends and have them open up and write about what 2009 was like for them. For me, 2009 really was the first year that I can remember where I had major life changes, or at least attitude changes, both at the beginning and at the end of the year. Something that I started at the beginning of the year came to an end at the close of the year. I've never had a calender year really stand out in such a way as much as this one did. It's actually kind of unsettling when you think about it. All a year really is, is a predetermined measure of time. Maybe it's just happenstance then that 2009 read like a poorly written, somewhat uninteresting novel (but a novel nonetheless!).

When I actually sat myself down and wrote out my Year in Review post I was forced to actually think about everything that happened this year. Both the good and the bad (and I was actually lucky enough to have a lot of "good" this past year). And I found that writing it down and sharing it with you (as vaguely as it was written) helped me accept a lot of the things that happened. Or at least it helped me to reevaluate them. Maybe I could have done things differently, maybe I couldn't have. Maybe I wasn't as big of an asshole as I remembered, or maybe I was. It doesn't matter anymore, I can't do anything to change any of it. All I know is that it felt like God finally took his heavy-ass foot off my chest and I could breathe a little easier.

For everyone who also wrote a post in this somewhat depressing yet appropriately optimistic series, I hope you were able to have a similar experience. And even if you didn't write one, I'm glad that you read them (or listened to them), and I hope that even if you didn't know the people writing, you felt what they felt. Or at least what they wanted you to feel.

Now the series is done and we've got to move on to new things. I'd had this blog for quite a while before this Year in Review series and I'm not actually used to having people read it. So where do we go now? I hope I can keep you entertained somehow this year. It's going to be kind of hard for me in another sense because I really allowed this series to define and shape my January (I threw a party as an excuse to get Ben over to my house so I can interview him!). It's also really reminded me of my love for editing.

So with that said, here are some new projects that I'm working on.

• Joe Zavella and I are working on a new writing project. Well, mostly it's just me editing stories written by Joe. We're working on one now but it'll be a long time before you see any of that.
• Kelly Vargas, Joe Zavella, and I are working on a separate writing project. I don't want to get too into detail about it, but each of them will be writing a separate story and I'm going to weave the two of them together. Have you figured out yet that I really prefer editing over writing? Anyhow, I'm sure some of that will make it's way on to the blog.
• What I'm most excited about though is that I'm working on new music again. It's the first time in around 4 years that I've actually picked up an instrument and played something new on it. It feels good. My friend Tara and I are working on some stuff and maybe you'll hear some of it soon. Our one worry is that we're going to get compared to She & Him, as I'm playing the ukulele and she's got herself an acoustic guitar. Also, neither one of really wants to sing. That won't really draw comparisons to She & Him, though, it's just another concern.
• Also, I start a new job on Saturday. Not really a project, more like stocking shelves at a place I will not name. I feel like if I leave the name out of it, I'll be able to write about the ridiculous things that I'm sure will happen there.

Well, that's it for now. I'll keep posting every now and again. And don't worry, I won't mind if you stop reading. As long as you come back for the next series we do, whatever/whenever that will be.

Thanks again,
Zuhair "The" Abdulla

p.s. if you have no idea what I'm talking about or just want to read them again, here's where all them Year in Review posts be at.

Selected Responses from a Year's End Survey I Didn't Really Take.

This picture has nothing to do with this post.

Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did! But it was a pretty easy one. My resolution last year was to not eat cheeseburgers anymore. Haven't had one since December 31st, Aught Eight. This year I've decided to "exercise every now and again," or more specifically, "every once in a while." This includes walking the dog more, and umm... more bike rides to bars? YEAH!

What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I would like to have in school be.

What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Birthday. Probably not going to be able to top 2009's birthday weekend.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
This is actually the first year in a long while in which I didn't actually get food poisoning. So kinda the opposite there. I owe it all to not eating cheeseburgers, woot woot!

I did slide into second base while wearing shorts during a friendly softball game though. The injuries sustained there were enough to prevent me from going to SXSW. I feel like I'm never going to get out to Austin.

What was the best thing you bought?
I didn't really buy anything this year. I guess I would have to say a new guitar tuner, because it got me to start playing (poorly) again.

Where did most of your money go?
Food, drink, records.

What did you get really, really excited about?
The Dodgers. Europe. The Dodgers in Europe. Wilco.

What songs will always remind you of 2009?



How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it at home with Maeby. We drank wine and watched Die Hard.

What was your favorite TV program?
Mad Mans

What was the best book you read?
I think that'd be a tie between The Road and Kafka by the Shore.

What was your favourite film of this year?
Again, a tie. This time it's between A Serious Man and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Kinda on opposite ends of the spectrum there, but hey, watch one and feel devastated, then head in and watch the other one to lift ya back up again.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Color blind old man.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Tina Fey and Alison Brie. Yumms. Does that sound gross? When I add "yumms" at the end of a lady's name?

What political issue stirred you the most?
Prop 8.

Who did you miss?
My goddamned Jimmy Jams, who moved up to stupid San Francisco.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
No.