The 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee is starting today. This has been one of the few days so far where I have missed having a television in my place of residence. For some reason, I have always been really interested in watching ESPN’s coverage of the cute little kids spelling words I’ve never even heard spoken aloud before. I think I’ve seen at least five in a row until this year. It used to be a treat when I would come home plastered in the wee hours of the morning and catch a rerun of a past spelling be on ESPN2. It really made those precious moments before passing out more enjoyable for me. My favorite speller was the little Indian kid who showed up on the scene as the youngest contestant and finished 3rd overall. That kid could really spell, and he had attitude. He was like the Pedro Martinez of spelling. My second favorite was a girl two years ago who had the thickest Jamaican accent I’ve ever head in my entire life. She made asking, “Can you use the word in a sentence?” sound like a beautiful Caribbean song.

I forgot to mention yesterday that May 29th marked the ten-year anniversary of Jeff Buckley’s death. I don’t think I need to take time to eulogize and describe his great influence on me musically (because that would be boring and very long), but I will say I am incredibly happy that each time I listen to Grace it sounds just as incredible as the first time I heard it. Whereas so many other records have fascinated me for short stretches in my life, few have the same lasting effect on me as Grace. Listening to it makes one’s surroundings seem that much more beatific.

I finally caught onto the Last.fm craze this week. From what I gather to this point, it’s just a simple tool to tell me what music I’m listening to most frequently, and how many other people like what I like. It’s a nice idea in principle. Oh, and I think it was purchased by CBS today. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted…these past three days. Anyway, if you use Last.fm, please feel free to add me as your friend or invite me to join your group, so that we can nerd-out together.

Finally, I just found out that Cinespia is holding a special screening of “Holy Mountain” at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Sunday June 17th. You cannot fathom how excited I am for this event. If you live in the LA area, join me for will surely be a good time.

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