My favorite actor, Shia LeBeouf, is in yet another movie:  Eagle Eye.

Shit…maybe I’ll fork out the 30 bucks for Autumn and I to go see this one in theatres…

Back in April, I headed to the Target Optical Center for an eye exam and a few boxes of contacts.  Unfortunately, the clerks there were unable to verify my vision insurance before the appointment.  I didn’t know this, though, because the guy that left this message on my answering machine had a very thick Indian accent that I could barely understand in digitized form.  Long story short:  After receiving the exam and contacts, I was informed that they expected full payment for the rendered services.  I did not have those kinds of funds available, though, and felt quite put out by this sudden news (which is exactly why I had given them my insurance information beforehand).

Today, I found myself again out of contacts.  I went to the nearest Target store, thinking that each store’s records would be connected in some fashion.  They are not, as it turns out, so I asked the clerk if she could call some other stores to see if they had my file.  I thought I remembered getting my exam done at the Gartrell store, but wasn’t completely sure.  Who can remember such things?

She called them to ask, “Can you look and see if you have a patient’s file?”  There was a momentary pause then she added, “Cutaia.  First name, Brian.”  Immediately, “Oh, you do have it.  Can you fax that to me?  Thank you.”

As she hung up the phone, she said to me pleasantly, “They knew you right away!”

Funny…I didn’t remember being too hard on those guys.  Apparently, though, I make an impression when I’m dissatisfied with a service.  Oh well…

Than feels like a leftover from a forgotten tongue.  It’s one of those words that will never look right to me.  Not like ”milk” or “through,” which only seem odd if I stare at them long enough, but forever and intrinsically wrong.  It’s that hideous little “a” which my eye is immediately drawn to.  It seems so out of place there, just tainting the entire word.  I always feel as though some error has somehow snuck into the conversation when it is used.  Everything is moving along smoothly…then comes than.  Better than.  More than.  Worse than.  Stranger than.  No word is stranger than than.

Today is cutaia.net’s most popular day ever, thanks to a link from Lew Rockwell directing his readers to the New Yorker/John McCain post.

I’m ecstatic that the image is as big a hit as I thought it would be (and who doesn’t love a 30,000% increase in traffic?).  Of course, it certainly alerts me to how little my website actually lives up to its potential on a regular basis.  In a few days, when this all blows over, I’ll be back to posting my thoughts sans-readers.

The part that really sucks, though?  In the Rockwell entry (and therefore every secondary and tertiary post that followed) I am referred to as “blogger Brian Cutaia.”  Blogger?  The nerve!  I’ll have you know, internet…this is no “blog.”  As you can see, these are Blorts™!  I wouldn’t be caught dead writing a “blog.”  Although…I suppose all I did was read one person’s idea, ask another person to put the idea on paper, post the results and sit back as the rubes showed up to see it.

Oh, son of a bitch.  Maybe I am a blogger!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

This morning I took Autumn to the hospital for some persistent abdominal pain that has been plaguing her for the past month.  We now know that she has a kidney stone, 7mm in diameter.  We’re not sure what’s gonna happen at this point, but it could range anywhere from the stone breaking up by itself…all the way to a surgical procedure.

She’ll be fine, of course, but I’m still declaring the next 30 days:  National Online Kidney Stone Awareness Month (or “NOKSAM”).  Feel free to send your best wishes to the comment box below.

Also, feel free to donate to the National Kidney Foundation if you’ve got some spare change.

Beck’s new album, Modern Guilt, came out yesterday to relatively low fanfare as compared to past releases by him (it sure did seem like Where It’s At was on the radio 24/7 during Odelay’s release). For the past few years, I’ve noticed that each CD of his has appeared on the shelves ever more quietly. Ever since say…Midnight Vultures?

While still enjoyable for fans like myself, his work has certainly been lacking lately. But since when has shoddy music been a reason for record promotions to lag? After all, each new Coldplay album is met with an absolute media blitz. This one brought us iTunes commercials, Viva la Vida cardboard stands in every Best Buy store, a two song set on the Daily Show. Coldplay, while also still pleasing their fans, have never once come close to attaining the talent and potential they displayed with their first album, Parachutes. I keep secretly hoping that people will stop buying their albums so that they’ll be forced to return to their roots, but to no avail.

So, why does Beck seem to be getting less popular? Maybe it has something to do with the Scientology thing. After all, Tom Cruise doesn’t seem to be winning too many people over these days, either.

By the way…thanks to the useless information database, I now know that the picture on Odelay’s cover is not actually a bush jumping over a hurdle.  Apparently this is a real dog, called a Komondor:

Ranked from most to least frequently, here is where I learn all I need to know about what’s going on in the world:

1) Lew Rockwell
2) The Daily Show/The Colbert Report
3) Word of mouth
4) cnn.com

The last one I only resort to when I really have absolutely nothing better to do.  CNN isn’t even the best of the major media outlets (although it’s by far not the worst…that dishonor goes to FOX News), but it simply has the most user-friendly layout to me.

The appearance of part 13 of The Kris Story proves it.  Sorry about the hiatus, but for once I actually had a good reason.  Fixing up a condo is hard work.

We tried to go to Arches National Park for Autumn’s birthday today, but she randomly fell ill halfway there.  Over four hours into the trip we were forced to turn around towards home.  She got better as we neared home, but stayed a bit sick for the rest of the day…

After this and our last anniversary, it seems that special days aren’t working out so well for the two of us.

Oh well, we’re gonna make the trip some time in the next couple of weeks to make up for today.  Special thanks go out to Steve and Kristen for being so cool about the 9 hour long journey to nowhere.

A week or so ago, I received an automated phone call directed at state and congressional district delegates.  It asked only 2 questions, one of which was, “If you were to vote today, which of the following would you vote for:  1) John McCain; 2) Mitt Romney; 3) Mike Huckabee; 4) Ron Paul.”  The inclusion of the neoconservatives’ arch enemy, Ron Paul, made me wonder about the nature of the call.  I certainly wouldn’t put it past the GOP to try and flush out Paul supporters amongst the delegates.  To be safe, I punched in number one (”Yes, sir.  I love John McCain…let’s kill some goddamned Iraqis!”)

I didn’t realize the connection when I received an e-mail informing me that I had been removed from the Ron Paul Delegates meetup group.

Later on Mike Toles told me that I had actually been called by our group’s auto-dialer.  My answer had immediately red-flagged me as some kind of infiltrator.  He discovered this after mentioning my name to the organizer, who responded, “Don’t trust that guy…he’s a McCain supporter!”  Fortunately, he explained the story to her (which I had previously told him about) and brought me back into the circle of trust.

I wish politics weren’t so complicated…

Anyway…tomorrow’s the big day.  Congressional District 6.  I’ll let you know how it goes.