My dad was especially scary.

My dad never said anything to the other kids, and maybe that's why he terrified them so. But my mother was the hands-on (often literally) hardass. We had an university-age cousin with severe discipline problems go stay with her, and she actually behaved for two weeks, which was unheard of. Then cousin lapsed back into stealing and drinking and lying and got booted out of the house, because unlike cousin's parents, my mother is large with the immediate consequences.

no Burrell, you see, I am "working". also he would see how satisfied I am and stop. I have to not care about things in the moment and then thank him or chide him well after the fact. it is bizarro parenting.

Sean! Empire of the Sun soundtrack just came up on iTunes and I immediately thought of you. I think that may have been one of the first conversations we actually had, about the merits of that soundtrack.

Another really fantastic non-Williams-esque Williams score? Catch Me If You Can. It's a jazzy-fanciful score with lots of wonderful touches.

Oh! Other funny thing about 2002 -- the emphasis on tapes. Tapes, people! We are old.

I was just talking about this with a friend last night. It's startling how quickly we went from vinyl owning the world, to a generation that wonders what those big black CDs are, and now we're on the verge of a generation that will ask "You used to have to go to a store, and buy a thing to get music? And that thing only came with the twelve songs on it? That's crazy."

They will be saying pretty much the same thing about video.

When I was cleaning out the office this week, I found a box of blank VHS stock. I tried to give it away to one of the other production departments and they all laughed.

Sadly, it looks like T-Rex is also a tea bagger

Aw, well, I'm not a tea-bagger and I share the pain of being out a couple grand in taxes come April 15. Just because ya hate taxes doesn't make ya a wingnut.

Aw, well, I'm not a tea-bagger and I share the pain of being out a couple grand in taxes come April 15. Just because ya hate taxes doesn't make ya a wingnut.

True dat. But since the comic seemed to be mocking T-Rex for his complaints, I thought it might be commentary.

I like taxes in principle. I just don't like paying mine.

I'll take your blank VHS tapes, Jessica. My VCR is hooked up in the office and I have no plans to change that arrangement. (God, I'm old, aren't I?)

Last year, I finally accepted that I will never again possess a VHS player. Ever. So I threw out all the tapes I owned. Except I just checked, and it turns out I did keep exactly five tapes - A friend's demo reel, the only copy I have of a short film I worked on, and the original Star Wars Trilogy, in their unpolluted forms.

I know why I decided to keep those tapes, I just don't understand how that reason exempts them from the whole I'll never again possess a playback device for them thing.

I like taxes in principle. I just don't like paying mine.

This is similar to how I feel about bills. I hate paying them, but I do love it when they have been paid.