Neva is in Singapore right now. Alexis is in Indonesia for 2 weeks. And I think Quark and Lia are in Bangkok right now. Weird that suddenly they're all out of the country at the same time. With Chris likely busy at AIM (being their poster boy and all), am I doomed to stay at home watching DVDs of The OC?

And yes, I am actually watching The OC. A show I would ordinarily never even go near. I remember it being on my radar only as "that show produced by McG and Doug Liman," but everything about it screamed Dawson's Creek. Or, as someone else mentioned, "this generation's Beverly Hills, 90210." I'm glad to say that it's neither of those things (I mean, there are common elements, but quality and execution-wise they are far different. I hope it stays that way, too). I only gave it a chance because Steven Grant loved the second season. And he's a guy who hates most things. Our tastes might not always link up, but he's a damn good writer so I tried and, thankfully, chanced upon the first two episodes of the first season, getting to start off at the ground floor. It helped that the first 2 episodes are helmed by Doug Liman himself. So anyway, yes, it's a soap, but what began as a guilty pleasure is now something I just can't stop watching. It's interesting to watch such a dialogue-driven show emerge as a hit in the landscape of American TV, which mostly sucks. The OC deserves props if only for one thing: reviving the career of Peter Gallagher. He was born to play Sandy Cohen. Who knew he'd be so good in this kind of role? Without him and Adam Brody's Seth I wouldn't be watching the show. Well, maybe for Samaire Armstrong I'd stick around for a while, but after she's gone I'd split. I damn near fell out of bed laughing when Peter Gallagher went "Mad props, son," pumping his chest and pointing to his kid. Oh yes, and "Yogalates," which I rewound and rewound, much to Neva's annoyance.

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UPFI sent in their next month's schedule and I've updated the box to the left. It looks like I'm a shill for them, don't it? But what are you gonna do when they show a lot of stuff I like? In the Mood for Love! Happy Times! 2046, for those who missed it! The Last Wave, which I've never seen! From out of nowhere, A Hard Day's Night! I'm really tempted to watch Eternal Sunshine, Before Night Falls, and Amelie on the big screen again. By the way, I don't just throw stuff up there; only stuff I recommend. There are other screenings I don't give a toss about; check out their website yourself in case there's something you like that I don't.

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In recent months I came across two terms that somewhat apply to me: Brinksman (which I'm trying to slowly move away from, I swear) and Sniper (though I haven't even looked at an online auction site in over a year).

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I am now good friends with Neva's dog Mittens (who has moved in with her), when before we just kind of tolerated one another. It sometimes feels like I'm cheating on my own dog, Marla.

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Watch this. You can read about it here.

There is the Fantastic Four trailer, which looks like a cheap cash-in to The Incredibles. Looks like a bad year for Marvel, as Elektra is a flop and a critical corpse. And there is the full trailer of Hideo Nakata's The Ring 2. Section Eight production The Jacket looks pretty interesting, and the trailer for the Lars Von Trier-written Thomas Vinterberg film Dear Wendy is up at its website. As expected, it looks to have controversy written all over it.

And check out the video for Charlotte Hatherley's "Bastardo," directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) with cameos by Simon Pegg & Lucy Davis (The Office).

You know what isn't such a great album? The Mars Volta's Frances the Mute. I mean, what the hell, guys? A little over 70 minutes long, track 2 is the most "conventional" at 5 minutes. Tracks 1, 3 & 4 are 12 minutes long, and track 5 is 30 minutes. Who do they expect to listen to this?

Over on the other end of the spectrum, Bloc Party's Silent Alarm is the first GREAT album of 2005 (also one of my favorite album titles in a long while). It hasn't left the car's player since it got there. And "So Here We Are" is such a wonderful, wonderful, anthemic song. A great way to start the year. It's a little strange that that's the song I've attached myself to because it doesn't sound like the songs that made me like the band in the first plce. I've actually been listening to it on repeat while cobbling this post together. The video's here (one of 'em's wearing a Pretty Girls Make Graves shirt!), listen to it and hear how great it is. It's so nice. I love it. It's so good. It's so good it makes you want to do something with your life. Or embrace sad-faced strangers in the street. Or eat sandwiches with a friend you haven't seen since grade school. And this is a song without even a chorus, mind.

They're offering some mp3's on their website. All good, but try "The Answer" & "Staying Fat" particularly. Especially since they're not on the album.

I also enjoy the fact that the singer is black but doesn't sound like it, and the drummer's a freaking tall Asian. Most. Multi-Cultural. Band. Ever.

Mad props, guys. Mad props.