#44 Half Days - When bosses deign to make long weekends longer.

Yesterday a memo circulated anouncing that our office would be closing at three on Friday. Usually, the folks upstairs let us sweat it out. We grumble that they'd better let us leave early, then when the memo finally comes around just before lunch on Friday, we're all, "Damn straight!" This week marks a strange precedent. The powers that be planned ahead. Not only that, but most of them didn't even come to work today. Maybe they're planning to fumigate the place today.

With the 'rents gone, the whole day could be a freebie but for the fact that I have so much damn work to do. If I was ahead of the game, I'd have downed a couple of beers of the month at Wahoo's, then come back to my office and taken a nap or fooled around with MacMame. I barely had time to rock this post out, but I'm not gonna complain. Very soon I will be free.

#43 This Ain't No Picnic - My favorite music festival returns

The show, usually held on July 4th weekend at the Oak Canyon Ranch, has been M.I.A. since 1999. Rumor has it that promoters weren't able to find an appropriate headliner the past couple of years. Previous years hosted acts as Beck, Sonic Youth and Built to Spill with tons of smaller acts earlier in the day. These lesser known bands offer a great opportunity to be turned on to a bunch of new, interesting music. The thing I dig most about this fest is its modest size and mellow turn out. I'm over the huge moshing masses of Lollapalooza, but that doesn't mean I'm not down for engaging, inventive independent music in an outdoor setting.

This year the show will be held October 4; with the following tentative line-up; Jimmy Eat World, Guided By Voices, The Blonde Redhead, The Mars Volta, Les Savvy Fav, The Donnas, Z-Trip, The Von Bondies, El-p, Har Mar Superstar, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Moving Units, Recover, Your Enemies Friends, No Knife, The Kinison, Ruben's Accomplice, Mr. Lif and Wagner.

#42 Super Mario Sunshine - Nintendo's star plumber makes his Gamecube debut

Gamers haven't experienced a proper Mario game since 1996. Sure, our favorite Italian stereotype has made appearances in Paper Mario, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 64 and Mario Party, but it's been a while since we've been given new koopas to stomp, bricks to bonk and bosses to battle.

The last offering, Super Mario 64, miraculously freed the player from squashed-flat, 2-dimensional limitations (the 2D platform to gamers) and gave them a deep (literally), 3-dimensional world to explore. Super Mario Sunshine makes no such jump. This time the developers have chosen to forgo formal innovation and simply take advantage of the breathing room afforded by the powerful Gamecube console. At first glance it's apparent that their focus on creating a more vibrant world for Mario's adventures. The levels are vast. The environments are alive with activity—butterflies flit about and water ripples. These touches are superfluous (and not all that revolutionary), but make Mario's previous realms feel downright austere.

No huge leaps were made in game-play either. Several elements, in fact, feel cribbed from recent Rare titles. Mario's new tool, a back-mounted water cannon called FLUDD (Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device), is reminiscent of Rare's Banjo Kazooie, whose main character was a bear with a bird on it's back. The birds wings afforded the grizzly the capability of flight in the same way that Mario's new gadget gives him the capability to hover on spouts of water. Additionally, an alternate FLUDD mode, which sprays jets of water, which Mario uses to hose enemies and clean up graffiti, is suspiciously similarly to the less kid friendly squirting mechanism utilized by the hung-over rodent protagonist of Conker's Bad Fur Day.

Don't get me wrong. I spent four straight hours playing last night after picking the game up from Toys 'R Us. Even in that short time, the magical moments, awe, wonder, and challenge I've come to expect from the Mario games were all present. The act of kicking a spiky fruit around a resort village was so fun, and (at first) seemingly pointless, that I just had to laugh. I'm already completely engrossed.

Don't bother calling. I'm on vacation in Isle Delfina until further notice.

#41 Queens of the Stone Age - Radio rawk that doesn't suxor

The band's current configuration includes ex-members of Kyuss, Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees and Dave Grohl of you-know-what returning to his position behind the drum kit. Queens of the the Stone Age's third album, Songs for the Deaf, is a slap to the faces of preemptive classic rock recorders (Bush, Temple Pilots, et al) and soft-on-the-inside nu-metalers (Limp Bizkit, Korn, etc) that have been plaguing us lately. Between the songs the album takes digs at generic, corporate radio with dead-on parodies of radio dial crap, but it's the records thirteen tracks that deliver the powerful killing blow. First The Hives, The Strokes and The White Stripes came along to show crap rockers how not to be stupid and boring. Now, Queens of the Stone Age remind us exactly what should be blaring out of our nation's Camaros. Rock isn't dead, it's being resuscitated before our very eyes.

#40 Sunset Junction - A super-diverse Los Angeles street fair.

For a second, I felt like I was looking at the Sims. I saw a guy wearing a pirate-style tricorn, a fellow with a mohawk, an old lady with blue hair, a country guy in a cowboy hat, a bare chested leather daddy and a cholo enjoying the music of Skeeter Truck. It's like somebody downloaded a package of wild, new skins and slapped them over the homogenous population of the American city.

Every year the residents of Silverlake close the stretch of road where Sunset and Santa Monica converge for a weekend long party. Music, food and booze are plentiful. This year Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, Pansy Division and Sleater Kinney drew larger crowds than the even had seen in previous years. Food was the major draw for me, so I showed up early and had a Mexican-style hot dog, barbecue ribs with baked beans, an ear of corn and a smoothie, before the place became too overrun. Friends who tried to check out Sonic Youth reported an impassable, hour-long pedestrian bottleneck toward the end of the evening.

#39 Hyperion - Hugo winning science fiction by Dan Simmons

A band of pilgrims, each with their own agenda, journeys to Hyperion, a strange alien planet. Each hopes to confront the Shrike, a time travelling angel of death who haunts the world by popping in and out of existence and slaughtering most everyone it encounters. The legend is that one of each group of pilgrims is granted a wish and the rest are killed. Our group is the last pilgrimage to take the trek before war and a possible apocalypse changes the galaxy forever.

Simmons takes a nod from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, constructing the book from each character's self-told tale. Each segment dwells in its own genre; the soldier and private detective deliver action packed accounts while the poet ruminates on the craft of writing and the nature of the muse. The different stories, at first seem divergent from the plot, but each slowly paints a picture of Simmons's picture of a universe ruled by the Hegemony of Man. The end result is a sprawling tale which tackles faith, politics, family, science, art and love with equal fervor. Of course, this novel is only the beginning.

#38 SSX Tricky - Snowboarding for the PS2

My first contact with SSX was two years ago, just after the Playstation 2 launch. It was Christmas time, and the entire family was staying with my sister and her boyfriend, Ross, in Tucson. Shamefully, I had forgotten to reserve one of the consoles, and because of a parts shortage and high demand, they were impossible to come by. Ross, being a hard-core geek, had camped out early and snagged one of the precious gaming machines. I was mighty jealous. I did my best to enjoy the season with my family, but my eyes were constantly drawn to the sleek, black piece of Japanese tech attached to my sister's TV. Like a good boy, I refrained from playing until most everyone was in bed. Once the lights were dimmed and all was quiet, I fired up SSX and it was all over. I stayed up all night slaloming down impossible ice and snow courses with the techno thump of the soundtrack bumping in my head.

The new game is just as addictive. The courses are vast and give racers lots of options. Shortcuts are plentyful. The opponants are wily, and give racers a run for their money. The neatest addition is the Tricky mode, not because it allows bigger tricks, but because it triggers a snippet of Run DMC's song It's Tricky. I have to be very careful with this game. During Christmas break I could afford to stay up untill dawn. During the work week it could kill me.

#37 Family Albums - Memories from childhood to earlier this year

I was walking home from work, listening to Air, when I found myself in a funk. It happens every two months or so. I'll be minding my own business when my brain reminds me that l'm mortal, and that someday I'll cease to exist. The first time it happened, I was in my early twenties. I was in the shower and the realization hit me so hard that I had to steady myself to keep from keeling over. Fun, eh? Anyway, I trudge home with oblivion on the brain to find a big package from my mom. Inside are all tons of family photos; snapshots of me after my first communion and my many graduations. The pictures contained many people I haven't seen in years and many beloved relatives that are long dead. I'm not sure why, but all those images of places I can't remember and people I'll never see again made me feel better.

#36 Souplantation - Buffet salads, soups and stuff.

The biggest mistake the framers of the Constitution made was omitting the phrase, "all you can eat." The right to gorge ourselves is an inalienable right. When I was a kid, the face-stuffing was done at a Duff's Smorgasbord. We filled ourselves with starches, fried chicken and suicides (a squirt from each soda tap for the uninitiated). Now, I'm a little bit more careful about what I eat, so I pig out on salads drenched in oil and rasberry vinegar, low-fat vegetable soup and pizza focaccia (carbs, whoops!). Regardless of what I'm eating, I still savor the wicked thrill of cleaning my plate and going for seconds.

#35 Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground- The new White Stripes video by Michel Gondry

Jack White returns home on a bus, a briefcase in hand, to find his front yard a shambles. Records and trash are strewn everywhere. He enters and cautiously surveys his empty, near-demolished flat. As he solemlny makes his way through the wreakage the events that transpired in his absence, a raucous party, fights and destruction are projected onto the walls. The images from earlier seamlessly overlap the scene, creating ghost images of a time just past.

Michel Gondry is the same director responsable for the manic Lego-animated Fell in Love With a Girl video for the White Stripes, a dream-logic trip-out clip for the Foo Fighers' Everlong (with Evil Dead II tributes!), the underappreciated Chemical Brothers promo, Star Guitar and many excellent Bjork videos, just to name a few. His debut film, Human Nature, directed from a Charlie Kaufman script, didn't quite live up to the genius of his shorter work, but I have the feeling the director's just warming up to long-form cinema.

View the video here.

#34 To-fu Heads - A bizarre line of Kubricks from Medicom.

By now I should be used to endless flow of wondrously strange products, media and whatnot originating from Japan, but somehow they always manage to come up with something new and fascinating. These little toys with goofy faces, odd names (Poison Tofu, Egg Tofu, and Mecha Tofu) and rectangular-shaped heads are the latest import to catch my eye. The figures are designed by Devil Robots and they seem to be growing in popularity, spawning a live action/animated program for kids and popular cross promotions with restaurants and even a pachinko machine.

#33 Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door-The movie finally makes it to the states.

When my buddy downloaded a big, fat .mpg of the flick last year I made the difficult decision not to watch it. Months later I came really close to buying a pan and scan Chinese bootleg DVD, but also decided to wait. My patience paid off. Just last week the American Cinematheque screened the flick to a rabid (and extremely dorky—myself included) audience. Anybody who's watched the short but sweet 26-episode run of the show will be very satisfied by the feature film. The producers did a fine job of servicing every character and maintaining the tone of the show in this big screen offering. Geek confession: I actually got the chills the first time Spike broke out the Swordfish II.

At the screening a guy from Sony mentioned that every city the flick shows in will have both subtitled and dubbed prints in theaters, which is a move I'd like to see more anime importers make. Rumor has it that due to the increased popularity of Cowboy Bebop, thanks in part to the show's Cartoon Network airings, Sunrise may make another season. As much as I'd love to see more bounty hunting antics, part of me wants them to just leave well enough alone. We already have two perfect seasons and a great movie. Why get greedy?

#32 Wahoo's Fish Taco - My Newest Lunch Discovery

This Southern California taco chain was founded by a trio of surf-obsessed Chinese immigrants who came to our country by way of Brazil. The joint is packed at lunchtime, has counter ordering/table service and is decorated with extreme sport stickers. Video screens play skateboarding and music videos to distract you while you wait for your food. I've been working at the same place for almost three years and just now discovered the Wahoo down the street from my office. For lunch today I had an excellent combo with a fish burrito, a pork enchilada and some black beans and rice. My tummy is very happy.

#31 Crossword Puzzles - Challenging Time Killers

The puzzle in the LA Weekly is a great diversion from work. I can run through the clue list without feeling too guilty about wasting time because, hey, I'm flexing my vocabulary. If you're in need of an ego boost, there's nothing like the feeling of picking up a crappy daily paper or an inflight magazine and powering through the grid without looking back. Most of the time I go for the puzzles found in Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine and the New York Times (which pretty difficult depending on the day of the week you're puzzling). Most of these I find quite tough—I can come close, but I rarely complete them.

One thing I've noticed; Most crosswords are featuring less and less opera, mythology and geography and more cinema, pop music and new age-y references. Can it be that Gen-Xers are now the crossword target audience? We really are getting old.

#30 Spirited Away - The latest film from Hayao Miyazaki

It's odd that a movie so filled with the fingerprints of Japanese culture could feel so universal. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away to American audiences) follows the adventures of Chihiro, a young girl who seems just as bored and spoiled as most American Millenials. When she's thrown into outrageous circumstances—her parents are turned into pigs as punishment for eating a buffet intended for vacationing spirits—Chihiro is forced to grow up and take responsibility for herself and the people she cares for.

I see an early scene as a microcosm of the story's overwhelming arc. Chihiro finds herself trapped in the spirit world, with only one ally, a young boy named Haku. Haku has helped hide Chihiro from angry spirits and points her in the direction she needs to go—down a precarious stairway that overlooks a long, long drop to the ocean. Chihiro has already been confronted with a menagerie of spooks and monsters, but the physical reality of the descent is daunting. She stretches her leg downward, slowly feeling her way to the next step. The frightened, young girl can barely bring herself to look downward. Joe Hisaishi’s score here is playful, practically taunting Chihiro for cowardice. Another tentative step brings the protagonist another agonizing inch toward her goal, hundred of feet below. That's when Miyazaki pulls the rug out from under his heroine. Chihiro loses her footing and scrambles frantically to regain it, only to find herself in a headlong, uncontrolled dash down flight after flight of rickety stairs. Her trip ends as quickly as it began when Chihiro slams face-first into a wall. Her face melts in a comedic take that screams exasperation. The scene is Miyazaki's way of saying, "This silly character is going to wind up in some perilous situations, but don't worry, nothing's gonna happen that she won't be able to walk off."

Like many Hayao Miyazaki films, Spirited Away is filled with wondrous creatures, beautiful animation and a general appreciation of the irony of the human condition. A friend of mine accused Miyazaki-san of using a shorthand for the cast of Spirited Away, one that demands a knowledge of his other films to understand the motivations of his characters. I disagree. The people (and creatures) in his beautiful films live, breath and act unlike any characters we see in modern cinema, not because they're types, but because they are real.

#29 Comic-Con International: San Diego - And All the Cool Things I Saw There.

What started as a small get-together of comic book nerds has become a Mecca of geek-culture where afficionados of every pop-culture aberration from model building to video games converge. The floor is so vast, and the selection so broad, that fans of every geek sub-group can find something that's up their alley.

Many things there caught my eye.The cute, yet perverted manga of Junko Mizuno drew such a deserved crowd. God Hates Cartoons—a DVD collecting animation from indy cartoonists such as Sam Henderson, Ivan Brunetti, Kaz, Tony Millionaire and Jim Woodring looked quite appealing. I was also drawn to Medicom's Tron and To-fu Head Kubricks, as well as new Cowboy Bebop merch, sculptures by Dave Cooper, original art by Los Bros Hernandez, plush from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and two new trade paperbacks from Fantagraphics' newest find, Jason. The latest edition of the video game zine 1-Up was unveiled as was a new book by Jon Pham. I'm lucky I escaped with any savings left, whatsoever.