I’d been possessed by an indistinct feeling of misanthropy all morning until just now. I bumped into a co-worker in the break area and he asked me if I was looking forward to having tomorrow off. It would be nice if someone would tell me these things ahead of time, but then I wouldn’t be pleasantly surprised at the water cooler. Ahh, I feel so much calmer.

Tonight, the American version of The Office premieres. I’ll watch. I’d never thought it would suck, but I had vaguely negative feelings about basing an American show on the British one. I am slightly encouraged now, having seen Steve Carrell make the rounds on talk shows and be funny on every one. It’s always weird when a member of an ensemble (like the Daily Show) strikes out on his own. You worry that it was the ensemble that made him funny. But Steve holds his own.

I ripped through several more chapters of The Kid Stays in the Picture last night. It moves fast but sometimes too fast. I find myself stopping to check dates in the book since often Evans will relate stories out of order. And not just as “flashbacks,” but just barely out of order. In the chapters I read last night, he related the episode of the Manson murders (he was supposed to visit Sharon Tate that night) and then in the next chapter jumped back a year. Often there’s a thread of sense why he jumps around but just as often, I wish the events were in strict chronological order so that one could get a better sense of his career–especially the Paramount years.

I’m really keen to get through the book since my copy of The Devil’s Candy arrived and I have ordered Hollywood Interrupted and Roger Simon’s Director’s Cut.

The new issue of Vice magazine arrived the other day. On the included DVD was a video from Maximo Park. I like them even more now. I never imagined they had a keyboard player and a singer. I just figured it was two guitarists, one of which sang, and studio keyboards. Funny, how when you imagine a band one way and discover they have a different line-up, it changes your opinion. I mean I liked them before but somehow they’re cooler now. I really need to sit down and review their record.

Todd K and I have a ping-pong date for this afternoon. I need to start flexing.