Happy 4th?

Okay, technically it's the 5th now. And all you're getting in the following post are mundane details about my life.

So this was by far the strangest Fourth of July I've experienced. It is the first major holiday that I've experienced alone - no family, and no friends who have known me for longer than two weeks. Needless to say, it wasn't a fantastic day. However, I did talk to several family members for a while, and I watched Punch-Drunk Love. It's a bizarre but interesting movie. I borrowed it from a friend from church who recommended it as his "second favorite Adam Sandler movie, the first being Spanglish." Of course, this means I need to track down Spanglish. My favorite part of the movie:

RECEPTION WOMAN: Are you Barry?
BARRY: Yes.
RECEPTION WOMAN: It's for you.
[Barry walks towards the phone]
BARRY: This is Barry.
LENA: This is Lena.
BARRY: Hi.
LENA: I just wanted you to know, wherever you're going or whatever you're doing right now I want you to know that I wanted to kiss you just then.
BARRY: Really?
LENA: Yeah.

So yeah, good movie. Reminded me of Eternal Sunshine. It was kind of a poor choice to watch alone, though. Oh well.

Emily left me a great message. She was sang part of the national anthem, and then read my mind: "No, I have not been drinking." Fantastic. Hurray for Emily.

I bought tickets to the Pitchfork Music Festival. I'm pretty stoked. I'm not sure how I'm getting there or who I'm going with, but it doesn't matter. I will see Destroyer, Spoon, and Yo La Tengo (among others). Fantastic.

In other news, I made two new music purchases today:

•The New Underoath CD
•The New Camera Obscura CD

I also watched X2 with JB (my roommate) and Pat (my roommate's friend). It was way better than the first one.

Final bit of information: I picked up The Short Stories of Heinrich Böll from the library per the recommendation of my good friend Stevie. The stories are amazing. They are like literary fireflies: short, but vivid and compelling. Böll won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972. You can read more about him here.

Speaking of which, I saw more fireflies in Chicago. Sarah (Katie's roommate) picked one up and we looked at it for a while. Fascinating, magical creatures. Why did God create them? Just so we could enjoy them on a summer stroll through Hyde Park?

So, technically I should have written something profound and lengthy about the troubles with America in response to the patriotic frenzy of Independence Day. However, I'm tired, so I think I will instead provide you with the following assignment:

1. Go to JT's MySpace.
2. Listen to "The United Stench of America."
3. Marvel at the beauty of JT's voice.
4. Enjoy the lyrics, especially the end. It pretty much sums up how I feel.
5. Tell JT how much you love him.

Good night. Hopefully you'll hear something more profound from me later.

Peace,
Sam
P.S. The Chicago pictures are getting edited, slowly but surely. They'll be up soon.