“Eric’s Weekend in the Bay Area” final tallies:

-Days: 3
-Nights: 3
-Naps: 4
-Meals: 6
-Snack sessions: 10
-Bad Religion tapes listened to in Dad’s old car: 3
-Times checked to see if UCLA has decided my fate yet: 8
-Things purchased at the Pleasant Hill Library’s used book sale: 5…

… including Time Life’s awesome “To The Moon” box set — 6 LPs and one hardcover book recounting the space race, starting with WWII and ending with one small step for a man. Published in 1969. Pretty bad ass. I sat on the couch in the sun on Saturday afternoon and listened to the first 1.5 records. So far, it’s pretty clear from the narrative that America rules way harder than Russia (aka Chumptown).

I also went and saw WATCHMEN, which I thought was pretty good. All the changes made from the book seemed sensible enough, and it wasn’t too overblown with sex and/or violence (it had a fair share of each though). The essence is retained, and it leaves you thinking about the same things the book does. When Dr. Manhattan is giving his tour of Mars and asks, “would it be greatly improved by an oil pipeline or a shopping mall?” regarding Man’s place in the cosmos, I had to smile.