is anybody out there who reads this blog an accountant? or a sorta-accountant?

because i could use your help.

it has to do with the D.C. government telling me i owe them $1500. and me drinking a lot of vodka in response. i don't need help with the vodka part, though.

i turned to my mother, but this was her thought: "the D.C. government is a BUNCH OF IDIOTS. you CANNOT FATHOM THEM. you NEVER SHOULD HAVE MOVED TO THAT CITY! your credity history WILL BE RUUUUUINNNNNED OH MY SWEET CHILD."

so, yeah. i could use a bit of advice.

I haven't really kept up with this since hearing the news ages ago that a GC mod chip was in the works... but it looks like it arrived. And now somebody's got a good tutorial up (link via hackaday). Looks like a pretty easy mod -- although the chip's pricey ($60) and you'll need to get your hands on some miniature DVD-Rs to make it worth your while.

To be honest, the projects involving LAN bootloaders (imperfect though they may be) and internet multiplayer seem a lot more glamorous. The GC's lack of a hard disk more or less limits the modding applications to piracy and a few assorted applications like MP3 players (oh yeah -- and running Linux, for some reason). That was exciting circa the PS1, but at this point I'd actually rather just buy the damn games.

I've totally sold out.

impressions from the bloc party show last night at the 9:30 club:

-holy shit, their drummer is amazing
-kele okereke is freakin' adorable
-DC crowds can, in fact, show energy

overall, a pretty good way to spend a thursday night, i thought.

DCist, jake, dcaffeinated, and kyle all have reviews and/or pictures.

Let's say you and your party have just been thoroughly embarassed by the results of a high profile autopsy. It's now apparent that that your medical theorizing was uninformed bullshit. The "questions that must be answered" -- aka slanders -- about broken bones, strangulation and missed MRI opportunities now have been, and the answers are substantially less scandalous than you expected. An issue that was always a loser has now turned into an embarassment. What do you do?

Why, reopen old wounds, of course! To that end, Jeb's calling for an investigation into whether Michael Schiavo called 911 quickly enough. Did Schiavo rush to the phone like a dutiful husband? Or did he just stand there, laughing and smoking marijuana cigarettes with his activist judge buddies? I don't know. But the question must be answered.

Wal-mart and other digital photo printers are starting to refuse service to folks whose photos are deemed to look too professional; they're worried about infringing professionals' copyrights when folks download photos from the net and head to walmart for a cheap reprint. Better watch out, Matt.

FYI, everybody: i'm ashamed that tommy beat me to the punch on the announcement of tom cruise and katie's engagement. well, good on him. my embarrassing obsession with repugnant pop culture must be rubbing off, which is great, because now that i'm reading comic books and watching "the justice league" on a regular basis, and, like, quoting lord of the rings or tony kornheiser or whatever, i feel it is only fair.

i just think it's funny that cruise proposed at what is possibly THE MOST PHALLIC BUILDING ON EARTH, bar the washington monument, but that wouldn't have been in gay paree, n'est-ce pas? do you think he chose the eiffel tower on purpose? like, "hey everybody, here is something that looks like a giant penis, and i also have a giant penis, don't you forget, and it is UBERheterosexual, and i will be using it constantly in the future, and PENIS! STRAIGHT! GO SEE WAR OF THE WORLDS!"

has anybody ever seen anything faker than this relationship? i have seen silicone breasts the size of watermelons that emote more reality than cruise and holmes. sigh. and of course, i cannot tear my eyes away. i'm seriously worried, like susan, that this entire parade will not end itself before i go away to chicago - not because i will miss anything, but because if it is still going on, i will have to run away to LA and become an entertainment journalist instead of a new media guru.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are engaged. But then, you already knew that.

Nobody believes this is a real relationship, but the the exact contours of their sickness remain vague. Is Cruise gay? I don't know. I kind of doubt it. Doesn't that seem a little too conventional?

I suspect it's something much weirder than that. A horrifying sublimation of his sexuality beneath Scientological principles? Maybe. But right now I'm leaning more toward something like this.

UPDATE: I guess it could be something like this, too.