Monday Morning Commute: Livin’ for Sprayin’

Hello.

My name is Rendar Frankenstein and I’m the host of the soiree that is the MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE! At the beginning of every workweek, I take off my conformity-jacket so that you can peek at the heart on my sleeve. But the Hypernerd Realm is far too vast for one man to map on his own, so I’m going to need a little help. After you check out my methods of leveling-up, hit up the comments section and share yours.

This is about sharing ideas, the most human activity of all.

So let’s dance, you grubby fucks.

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Fiendin’ For/Skittles

It’s been a long time since anything Skittles-related made me laugh. About 16 years, actually. But goddamn if that video isn’t one of the funniest things I’ve seen in awhile. We can apparently attribute this video to Cousins, who describe themselves as such:

We are two of 237 cousins, a number that seems to grow by scores at every family reunion. We love our cousins but don’t necessarily get along with all of them. We do however get along with each other and that’s why we became a directing team specializing in commercials, music videos, and any other content that deserves some of our cousinly love.

Cousins welcome you!

Sold.

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Readin’/Zombie Spaceship Wasteland (Patton Oswalt)

Considering how much I love Patton Oswalt, it’s slightly worrisome that I’ve waited this long to read Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. But alas! today’s trip to Barnes & Noble saw me filching this hardcover with an alacrity that’d make Indiana Jones proud. Okay, I didn’t steal the book but I did buy it and drive home as quickly as possible (don’t worry, I buckle) to start digging in.

After blasting through “Preface Forward Intro” and “Ticket Booth,” I can say without hesitation that this book kicks ass. Patton Oswalt douses his criticism of cookie-cutter suburban upbringings with flammable nerd-lore, creating a punk that is as alluring as it is incendiary. He’s the nerd-ideal, a dude who was able to become successful by discussing the very shit that he was once ostracized for enjoying.

Thirty-four pages in, Oswalt’s already detailed the ways in which The Man in the High Castle changed his life.

This shit is super en fuego.

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Lovin’/Hard Eight (PT Anderson)


This weekend, I finally did the right thing: I watched Hard Eight.

For years now, I’ve unflinchingly referred to PT Anderson as one of my all-time favorite directors. And he is, without a doubt. I absolutely love Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love, and I respect the shit out of There Will Be Blood. But for some reason, I never made a point to watch Anderson’s feature debut. Maybe I worried that it wouldn’t live up to its brethren and I’d be forced to reevaluate my admiration.

Not the case.

Hard Eight is fucking badass – the trailer above doesn’t nearly do it justice. The movie is about gambling and being on the lamb, sure. But it’s also about paternal relationships, sordid pasts, living through regrets, and trying to find some peace in the midst of chaos.

While the entire cast is stellar, Philip Baker Hall steals the show. Hall plays neo-noir stud, a proverbial gunslinger of yesteryear trying to survive in a Wild West that has moved on without him. As we all know, this endeavor is never easy – just as the director reminds us with his last movie, there will be blood.

This might be the first time I’ve seen and enjoyed every movie in a director’s entire filmography.

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So there it is – the itemized list of shit occupying my mindspace.

What’s going on in your world?