Tom and Katie

One Word: Sickening

The universe really doesn't need another person commenting and analyzing this business partnership, but yet I feel compelled.

I was in the check out line in Jewel last night looking at People Magazine and the five or six page spread of photos and story on their Paris engagement. Who does that? Who really wants their personal life open for everyone in the check-out lane to read? Most photos you see of celebrities who have found a new love include fuzzy photos of the pair walking together, looking like they are either holding hands or passing a baton. There is rarely a great close-up of the pair moments after they've agreed to spend their lives together, except with Tom and Katie. I have to wonder if his publicist sent out media alerts announcing that he was going to propose on top of the Eiffel Tower that night. Is it really possible that People knew about the marriage before Katie? Who knows, but every article I've read contains quotes that all read very well and are all very similar.

I think what bothers me most about this "relationship" is that it feels sort of like an insult to anyone who's ever been truly in love. I'm lucky enough to know how incredibly invincible the first stages of Love can make you feel. When you're completely consumed with every little bit of a person and he is just as much consumed with you, there is nothing better in the world. There's something very fun about having a wonderful secret that's shared with only one other person in the whole universe. That is what bothers me about Tom Cruise-- I can't get past the feeling that he's acting out the role of a man in love, instead of actually being in love. I feel like he's reading from a bad script--

"TOM CRUISE - During interview with Oprah, suddenly burst from seat. Jump up and down while declaring your love for Katie Holmes. Run backstage (wait for cameras to follow).
Enter KATIE HOLMES.
KATIE HOLMES - Act shocked that TOM has run backstage. Walk onstage with him. Make doe eyes as seen during 'Dawson's Creek' when Joey and Dawson were in love. Giggle frequently."

Maybe it is real, who knows for sure. Maybe Katie Holmes saw how Nicole Kidman's career took off after divorcing Tom and wants to follow the same path.

Only one thing is known for certain: Tom Cruise is still a bad actor.

Trio X 4

This past week I saw the Alkaline Trio four times. Twice in rehearsal and twice in concert. It was very strange for me to watch a band I like rehearse. Like most rock bands, I have an almost magical assumption that they write their songs, record them, rehearse to make sure they know the words and the changes and take over the world on tour.

Instead, I watched them spend several minutes making sure that a pedal effect was oscillating in time with the drum beat and continuously work on a refrain until they achieved a perfect three-part harmony. I guess this is more of how I expected an orchestra to rehearse than a punk band. Isn't punk just supposed to be three chords and the truth?

It was refreshing though. I'm sure they know that much of the little sounds they meticulously worked on will get lost in cavernous clubs amid fans singing along, but that doesn't seem to matter. Maybe that's what sets some bands apart from others-- the work and care they put into crafting their sound.