2002-06-14 | 4:21 p.m.

corduroy licorice wasn't just whistling dixie. he was whistling all kinds of classic rock standards and a bit of motown to boot.

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a cool mood quote from one of achren's entries:

"i deny it all the time but like most cynics i am all too romantic. and i think maybe i wish there'd been one more...one more something before i left new york. i think maybe i wanted another summer colored with the impossible-to-locate division where the pale skin under my watch meets the slight tan. i wanted sitting in alice in wonderland's lap with company and sparking smiles. i wanted adventures to the best rock in the world, secret nights out without any other friends filled with pinball and bars no one else would think to go to, and i wanted someone to lean into on the walk home just before sunrise. i wanted to dim some of the associations i have, to make new ones, to sprawl on the rooftop talking in whispers and grins."

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last night i got to witness the debut of the smokin' hot all-girl band master bedroom at a french restaurant-cum-indie music hotbed on sunset boulevard. one of the musicians is the very talented actress jane adams of happiness and the anniversary party, but more importantly, my friend 'til the end, former college roommate k-girl plays bass in the new venture. i've seen her play keyboards in another band, but i think she was meant to be bent over the strings of an electric guitar. her groovin' sway was so damn cool, i couldn't take my eyes off of her. lead singer jennifer did a nice job warming up the crowd and ended the two-song set with a mooning. not an ounce of fat on the act or the ass! master bedroom is definitely one to watch!

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you know how all sorts of stars wars fans are bemoaning the poor quality of phantom menace and attack of the clones? i have an idea that might bring them some comfort.

why not pretend that the movies were actually made in chronological order? that would make the original star wars the fourth film george had produced. here's how it would work: after directing his first three films, which were special effects-driven behemoths without a heart, george decided to strip his epic down to bare bones storytelling. in a bold move, for the fourth outing to be called a new hope, he insisted that his film and post-production crew downgrade their technology to mid-1970s levels.

"i just want us out there in the desert with sand, linen, plastic and duct tape," lucas might have been heard to say during preproduction.

in his final two films, he would add the special effects technology (although still to a lesser degree than his first three films) back in without losing too much of the myth and magic that made the series work in the first (or rather middle) place.

ahh, a much nicer way to see it, i'd say.

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today i tasted summer for the first time this year. i beat the calendar's seasonal demarcation by a whole week!

i decided that i deserved a leisurely lunch, so i spent it walking down a sunbaked sidewalk in an oceany breeze, window shopping in an artsy neighborhood. as i wandered, i caught a whiff of varnish steeping out of a retro furniture place's door, took a scent hit off some pungent candles in a new age store, sipped a sparkling italian soda, and savored a pesto-sauce-smoothed sandwich. not a bad summer kick-off for a girl whose tan consists of a strip of freckled gold down her driver's side arm.

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