So. Just about every week I make a trip out to the library downtown. I do this because the library offers an extensive collection of DVDs that I can browse through, along with allowing me to reserve some of the harder-to-find films. Basically, each week I come home with a few cool films that I get to watch and make me feel like I'm more "cultured"or something. Not that I watch every film I get, you know... I think one of the films I have right now I've checked out like three times already.
(More after break.)
Anyway. This week's trip to the library was kinda weak, and I grabbed some stuff that I don't really think I'll watch, but you know... just in case not doing anything gets a little boring. But the highlight of the trip was finding I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, a documentary about Wilco and the making of their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I'd heard about it a while ago, but it piqued my interest after a bunch of publications mentioned the film in regards to the untimely passing of Jay Bennett. Plus it's about one of the better albums of the decade, so it has that going for it...
So all was good. I was watching it late last night, enjoying the film quite a bit (although perplexed why it included about as many songs from Being There as from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) and watching a performance of either "Monday" or "I Got You (At The End Of The Century)" 50 minutes into the thing when all of a sudden the disc stopped working. Which isn't a huge surprise, because these are library discs and people are prone to be moronic and not treat discs properly. But usually the problem is solved simply, usually by skipping ahead a little bit... and all is well. This just STOPPED WORKING.
Oh, my plight was unbearable, and I cried myself to sleep.
Today, I tried monkeying with it again, but to no avail. The disc still wouldn't read a few chapters later, and considering that the unplayable material had some pretty crucial stuff (like the firing of Bennett, and... performances of songs from Being There), I just cried some more. I have a thing where I hate not seeing entire films... as in I most likely won't watch something if it's 5 minutes in. This pretty much sucked.
I tried seeing if the film was online anywhere. The only place I could find it was at iTunes, where you could buy the film for $10 or "rent" it for $3. This is where I mention that I am unemployed, will be completely broke in two months, and am trying to spend as little as possible. This is also where I mention that I make poor life decisions on a regular basis.
OK, so it was only $3 that I spent, but still. I spent $3 to watch the last 30 minutes of a documentary that was entertaining but hardly essential. AND I'M GOING TO BE BROKE SOON. ACK. So this feels like a really stupid purchase from my perspective.
Anyway, the point of this post is this: all my problems are other people's fault. In making me spend precious three dollars and subsequently digging me ever so slightly more into the proverbial hole, the blame lays not at my feet but rather at the feet of various organizations. The band is at fault, for producing decent music and possessing an endearing midwestern charm that keeps me sort of intrigued enough to want to watch the rest of the film. The library is at fault, for existing and allowing me to check out films like this one, even in their damaged state. And iTunes is at fault, for being the only place to offer the film on the internet, and doing so at a price that is small enough that I'd waste money watching the last 30 minutes.
The thing is that I had gone almost a solid week without spending a dime on anything (aside from bills), and I was hoping that streak of thriftiness would continue. Well, now it's dead. And all I can think about is being loose with my wallet, and tomorrow I'm probably going to waste all my money on booze and cocaine. And maybe an HDTV.
Mainly I'm just bitter for not having a six figure job that would enable me to throw my money around carelessly. I was watching some liquidation auction channel yesterday, where people were bidding on crappy jewelry for like $3000. Seriously, who has enough money to be bored enough to be watching the auction channel AND buy stuff from it? It put me in a bit of a funk for the rest of the night.
Anyway, at least the rest of the film was good. There was a scene at Wendy's.
That was cool.
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