10.31.2006

Slow day

On slow days Ben likes to accuse me of having fictional arguments with him. He accused me today of arguing about whether they would ever make a Bruno movie as a follow-up to the Borat movie. Apparently he didn't believe me when I said "I don't know what you're talking about" so he pushed the issue, insisting that we had this discussion, and today's news that a Bruno movie had been greenlit proved him right.

Although I convinced him it was not me, I am surprised that he didn't make a Blog post about it already.

10.30.2006

Miscellaneous

(1) At Angie's wedding, I found out that Hugel had made fun of me beforehand, assuming I would be improperly dressed for the formal affair. I, of course, was wearing a suit and tie. Hugel had jeans.

(2) Hugel called me at 7 AM last week. When I called him back about 15 minutes later. he couldn't remember why he called. This is what I am dealing with here.

(3) Hugel thinks Borat is real.

Hugel Goes Green

Hugel decided to start riding the bus to work, to cut down on some of the harmful emissions from his car. Unfortunately for the environment, he soon after decided not to actually ride the bus,but just make his friends drive him around, pleading with them to "come on man, just give me a ride." So, is this a case of Hugel really "going green", or just a pathetic attempt to milk rides off his friends...you decide.

I've made my decision.

10.26.2006

From The Archives: Laptop Argument

This post comes to us via the handy feature of Chat Archive, courtesy of Trillian Instant Messanger. It shows a classic Ben VS Hugel argument. This follows months of being mocked for taking my laptop on vacation to Washington, Hawaii and California.

[11:03] BEN: you called?
[11:03] HUGEL: where are you?
[11:03] BEN: cape cod
[11:03] HUGEL: oh already? cool
[11:04] BEN: yeah
[11:04] HUGEL: so you arent near a computer?
[11:04] BEN: is that a joke?
[11:04] HUGEL: No
[11:04] BEN: how am i typing to you now
[11:04] HUGEL: Your phone
[11:04] HUGEL: I dunno
[11:04] BEN: im on my laptop
[11:04] BEN: theres wifi at the house
[11:04] HUGEL: so wait...
[11:04] BEN: im sitting outside on the lake, while writing this
[11:04] HUGEL: you brought your LAPTOP on VACATION?
[11:05] BEN: this isnt hawaii
[11:05] BEN: this is relaxation, pure and simple
[11:05] HUGEL: you gave me shit for CA and WA
11:35] BEN: ok, i feel weird talking to you on my vacation
[11:35] BEN: im outta here
[11:35] HUGEL: later

10.25.2006

Typical Morning Voicemail

When I arrived at work this morning, I had a voicemail waiting for me: 30 seconds of the unmistakable sound of someone chewing ice. That was it.

One guess as to who it was.

10.24.2006

Hugels 5-Day "4-Day" Workweek

Lets face it, Hugel has a limited understanding of the way the real world works. For example, Hugel thinks that his vacation time at work (and by work I mean surfing Myspace) is measured in 'Days', and not 'Hours'. Everyone who has ever worked for a company that offers vacation time knows that vacation is measured in 'Hours', but not Hugel. So, when you or I say "I'm gonna leave work 3 hours early, and I'll use Vacation time for those hours," Hugel thinks, "Oh, they are going to take 3/8 of a day of Vacation time."

Theres a point to all this.

Recently Hugel was offered a chance to begin working 4 ten-hour shifts (T-F) instead of his normal 5 eight-hour shifts (M-F), at his illustrious job of YouTube surfing at Media General. Preferring the 4-day schedule, he took the offer. He then assumed that his x amount of vacation days under the old schedule (eight-hour days), transferred to x amount of vacation days under the new schedule (ten-hour days), and that his vacation time had just magically increased by 20%. Long story short, Hugel ended up inadvertently decimating his vacation hours in no time, and is now forced to work on his day off.

The Prestige Debacle WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER CONTENT!!!

In order to appease Ben and those like him I will include the following warning:

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER CONTENT - The Prestige!!!
For those who take things literally all the time, and can't think for yourself... Do not read this post.
For those who always tried to guess what their Christmas presents were ahead of time, and then were disappointed when Christmas came and they already knew everything they were getting... Do not read this post.
For those who simply want to argue about something trivial... Do not read this post
Finally, for those who have not seen The Prestige (I do recommend it), and are thinking about seeing it, and think that seeing the trailer, reading a review, or the words contained here may give something away... Do not read this post.

Now, I will review what occurred on Saturday October 19th, which began our latest debate.

My girlfriend and I were out shopping and decided to see Christopher Nolans new movie, The Prestige. I had been anticipating this movie for months. It appeared to be the better of the two recent magician movies, featured a stellar cast (Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine, in addition to Scarlett Johnansson), and having been directed by Christopher Nolan, I imagined there would be some interesting dark elements to the story.

I was very pleased with how Batman Begins turned out, but really went into the movie wondering if it would be on par with Memento or more like Insomnia, which bored me to death. Anyway, we left The Prestige pleased with our decision to spend two and a half hours of our Saturday sitting in a theater packed with strangers. I felt the movie was entertaining and was everything I hoped it would be.

Having discussed some of its finer points with my girlfriend, I decided to call my friend Ben, who I knew had not seen the movie, but was interested in seeing it. All of my friends seem to have a penchant for picking obscure actors to watch for in movies, whether it be Miguel Ferrer, Luis Guzman, John C Reilly, or formerly Phillip Seymour Hoffman. For Ben and Dave, this actor is Ricky Jay. Ricky Jay appears in The Prestige, and I called Ben to tell him to watch out for him, and that he should definitely see the movie. The actual conversation went like this:

Me: Waaazzzuuuppppp?
Ben: Hey, Im going to the Prestige. I called to invite you, but you didn't answer.
Me: I saw that. I was watching it at that moment.
Ben: Oh cool, how was it?
Me: It was pretty good. Hey, can I tell you something about it? Don't worry its not going to ruin the ending?
Ben: What?
Me: That actor you like is in it. The one from Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and heartbreakers.
Ben: Ricky Jay! I know, we looked up the cast when we saw the trailer.
Me: Sweet. Well, have fun.
Ben: Peace.

At 11:30 PM I received a call from Ben informing me that we would never discuss movies or anything ever again. Apparently in the above conversation I had conveyed the plot of the film, which caused it to be ruined upon watching it. To me it looks like I may have confirmed two things:
1) That the movie had a plot
2) That the movie had an ending.
Me? I would have assumed both things going into the movie, but I guess confirming them to Ben was enough for him to search for every clue upon watching the film, and cause it to be ruined.

10.20.2006

Email War #1


Witness me being an asshole to Hugel, and his resulting frustration...
-Ben


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 8:19 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: Wedding


Hey
What time is angies wedding?


From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 8:24 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


1 i think. check the invite.


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 8:25 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


I dont have mine


From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:30 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


why?


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:32 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


I recycled it

From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:33 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


how come? didnt you realize you would need the date/time?

From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:38 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


I thought I put it in my calendar. Its not there.


From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:39 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


get a palm


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:41 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


Does your palm tell you what time its at?

From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:41 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


it sure does


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:44 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


And that is?


From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:45 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


I feel like weve played this game before


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:46 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


You said I think 1. Dan says 4. So is your almight Palm... INCORRECT?



From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:49 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


My palm has whatever the invitation has. Thus I think the palm has 1, just as I think the wedding is at 1..


From: jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx [mailto:jhugelxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:51 AM
To: Kohler, Benjamin D
Subject: RE: Wedding


So you dont have the palm?



From: Kohler, Benjamin D [mailto:Benjaminxxx@xxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:59 AM
To: Hugel, John D.
Subject: RE: Wedding


its at home.