To spare you the details (the long, boring details), I won't talk about how sick I was a couple of weeks ago. Though I will say that I now have a cough that won't go away. Well, it does go away; I'm not coughing that much, but I'm doing it at the most annoying times. Funny: a cough was the only thing I DIDN'T have when I was sick. But it's not a cold type of cough, it's a cough that makes itself known when I exercise, or lay down, or talk a lot, or breathe in dust or newspaper ink. Maybe some asthma/allergy irritation. You know what makes me cough the most? Vanity Fair magazine. (There's a sentence I never thought I'd utter.) Dozens upon dozens of cologne and perfume ads, lots of ink, all swirling in the air, getting sucked into my chest, making me hack.

Saw the trailer for the next Star Wars flick, Boredom of the Drones, or whatever it's called. Egads. Just ghastly. There's so much going on, so many characters, so many plots, so much computer-generated special effects (hmmm...sounds like the last flick), that even the trailer exhausts and confuses you. Until you realize that there's so much going on that...there's really NOTHING going on. Maybe I'm wrong and this middle film of the second trilogy will be as good as the middle film of the first trilogy. But I'll go on record right now as saying that even if it is OK, George Lucas STILL doesn't know what he's doing as a director.

Signs you're closer to 40 than 30: you have no idea who the bands are in Spin. I haven't read the mag in almost 10 years. The issue currently on the newsstand has an article about "The Top Forty: The Only Bands That Matter" (another sign you're closer to 40: you realize that articles with titles like that are going to be ridiculous). While my 22 year old self, heck, even my 28 year old self, would have been able to not only know the bands on such a list, but would be able to tell you the name of their first drummer, when they are going to be playing in my area, when they are going to be on Letterman, when their next album will be released, and maybe some dollop of trivia about a recent drug arrest or fight, my 36 year old self doesn't even recognize any of the band names. Sure, U2 (#4) is easy, and I've heard of System of a Down (#5), but Basement Jaxx (#11)? Jay-Z (#1)? Gorillaz (#27)? Sigur Ros (#36)? Definitive Jux (#39)? I'm lost. But, for some reason, I'm really content with being lost. I really like that Linkin Park (#7) song I've heard on the radio, but this article makes me realize how painfully inept and trivial rock music journalism (and I spent 5 years in the album and concert reviewing/interviewing trenches, and another 5 as a sales rep for Billboard and other magazines) is. Or is it just that I feel left out?

Nah. I'm OK after all: #19 is Creed. Jeez, even I know how wrong that is.

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