Where I been.

July started with a visit from our friend, Brad, who's been living in L.A. for the last three years. There's not much a couple of homebodies like Kim and I can do to out on the town to entertain a kid from the City of Angels. Luckily, he had spent the evening with some other friends in Austin the night before and had overexerted himself. So he was in the mood for the kind of things we normally do on the weekend when we're not mowing the lawn and doing laundry-- dining out, shopping for records, and just chillin' [i.e. watching TV on the couch].

We had a late lunch at Home Slice Pizza, which has become one of my new favorite restaurants in town. This latest experience sealed the deal. Apparently the staff felt they hadn't turned out our pizza order quickly enough or brought us our pitcher of beer in a timely fashion. We hadn't complained or really noticed. But they told us they would comp our pitcher [one of the faster ways to this man's heart is free beer]. I've been to Home Slice about four times, and I've always noticed that the service is well above average for Austin [which means it's at a level we should all demand]. Keep up the good work, Homes.

For Saturday evening, we put together an impromptu BBQ and invited a few folks over for fajitas, beer & booze, and relaxation on the patio on an unseasonably cool July evening. I think everyone had a good time: it's hard to go wrong when you provide plenty of food and adult beverages. It does, however, make for a rough Sunday morning. And there begins the laziest several days I've experienced in quite a spell.

Eschewing our household chores for the remainder of the long holiday weekend, we opted to spend Sunday through July 4 watching some rented DVDs and a movie on the WB.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party was a surprise. The movie is shot like a documentary and follows Dave around on the days leading up to the block party--a massive hip hop show with Mos Def, Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Big Daddy Kane, The Fugees, and more. I would actually describe a handful of scenes as "compelling." That was unexpected. And Dead Prez was cool. I hadn't heard them before.

Me and You and Everyone We Know. meh.

Failure to Launch. Mostly, it's everything you would expect from today's romantic comedy [not much]. For some reason they also threw in a bunch of cartoonish animal humor in which the male lead [greasy Matthew McConaughey] gets harassed and/or attacked by a dolphin, a chipmunk, and a lizard [I may have left out one other animal]. And then there's the inexcusable five minutes of Terry Bradshaw's bare ass. Why?

True Colors. Lies. Deceit. Betrayal. Law school. DC politics. John Cusack and James Spader. How could I have missed this flick? Oh yeah, it's crappy. That's why. But I couldn't stop watching it.

I think there was another movie in there. Can't remember.

And, somehow I made it back to work for a few days. Then we had a rare Friday out on the town, which was pretty much an evening at Crown and Anchor for burgers and beers [and beers and beers] with some old friends. I think I got an overdose of nostalgia there, complete with some indie rock, circa 1999. It reminded me of the first time I went to C&A shortly after I moved to Austin. I don't really miss those days. But I still like that place.