Hey, Bush gets one.

I'll admit it: I'm in a bit of a blogging funk.

Call it laziness, but for today I have to revert to that most awful form of blogging - updating you on the mundane details of my life.

Consider this the State of my Union... with, uhh... myself.

Movies:

As evidenced by my Netflix queue, I'm trying to wade my way through a few classics. Most recently, I watched "A Face in the Crowd." Totally, totally outstanding. I am really digging Elia Kazan as of late, plus Andy Griffith puts on an unforgettable performance as Lonesome Rhodes. I've had "Metropolis" on top of my DVD player for about 3 weeks now and have started it no less than 4 times, but as much as I hate to admit it, I just can't get into it.

Next three headed this way - "Citizen Kane," "Gentleman's Agreement," and "Angels With Dirty Faces." Score.

Ipod:

What's in the ol' Ipod these days, you ask? I already told you about the Haggard album, Chicago Wind. Other albums in heavy rotation are Old Crow Medicine Show - OCMS, Reckless Kelly - Wicked, Twisted Road, Neil Young - Greatest Hits (holla), and Shooter Jennings - Put the O Back in Country. Giz will probably throw up a little at the sound of all those.

I'm also addicted to the Vatican Radio podcast of 105Live. It reminds me of NPR, which I also enjoy, but it is about ten times better. Maybe fifteen. Also, once a week, they have a segment called "The Latin Lover," during which the hostess chats with the pope's personal Latinist about Roman and modern culture, and everything in between. The guy is an absolute joy to listen to with his gruff old voice, and since I am studying Latin right now, I find value in the things he has to say.

Books:

Currently, it's St. Thomas Aquinas on Politics and Ethics. This is not a light read by any stretch of the imagination, but the payoff is unbelievable. It is basically selected readings from the Summa Contra Gentiles, Summa Theologiae, and De Regimine Principum targetted towards - you guessed it - politics and ethics. Also included are sections with "Backgrounds and Sources," "Interpretations," and "Contemporary Problems In Thomistic Ethics." Each are worth their weight in gold. Aquinas was such a fucking giant - I love him.

These are the other books I'm working my way through right now:

It remains to be seen what sort of God-awful accent this self-taught student has developed up to this point, but hopefully I'll meet someone with whom to converse pretty soon. Besides, I gotta get some guidance on the abstract ablative. What the hell is that all about?!?

Anyway, other than raising a kid, watching sports, and staying in a constant state of drunk, that's my life in a nutshell at this point in time. Tune in next year for the update.