HBO

Entourage is the only reason I have HBO anymore. I spend an insane amount on cable because Millenium Digital Cable sucks (a different topic) but HBO only has a few shows worth watching and the movies they are playing aren't all that great. That being said Entourage is one of the better shows on TV right now.

This weekend was the opening of the movie Superbad. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen but it was a lot better than I expected. I might not have been as funny as I expected but the plot was so much better than I anticipated it more than made up for it. The movie was a cross between American Graffiti, Dazed and Confused, and American Pie. It takes place over a 24 hour period and revolves around getting alcohol for a party and some of the random things that can only happen in a movie. The language is pretty realistic, which is to say it is vulgar and revolves around sex and various things related to it.

The "high" point of the weekend however is not related to either Superbad or Entourage. A few blocks from my apartment the 16th annual Hempfest was held over the weekend. The sheer size of this thing blew me away. It is a free event that draws nearly 150,000 people over two days. There were about 100 pipe or water pipe (don't say Bong!) vendors at the event and pretty much every stoner stereotype you can think of. Bob Marley shirts, tie dye everything, airbrushed stuff, hemp clothes/apparel everywhere and of course random people selling stickers. There were 5 stages going at different parts of the park. They weren't huge stages but they were big enough draw crowds of people. One appeared to be playing rock/metal, one was hip hop, one was jam band, one was techno/electronic, and lastly one was a policy stage where speakers were debating the various problems and inconsistencies with the current drug policy in America. I used to think that Summerfest was the best people watching I had ever seen but having been to an event about the size of Summerfest but filled with stoners was highly entertaining. Very funny stuff. I'm linking to the Seattle Post Intelligencer since they take better pictures than me.

Hempfest

The trip to Reno happens on Wednesday of this week. I've never been to Reno so that should be fun even if it is for work. There should be plenty of spare time and we're staying in the best casino in Reno I guess. I think it'll we be entertaining enough.

I just saw an ad for something called Mirapex. It's a drug that combats restless leg syndrome, whatever that is, but one of the potential side effects (beyond the normal) is a increased desire to gamble. What the heck is this drug doing?