Ugh

I see that it's been a while. My current excuse is that I'm obsessed with playing Oblivion on the Xbox 360. Yes, I'm a little late to that party.

In a nutshell, I find the game to be entertaining but flawed. The flaw is this: the main quest is dull. This means that I really don't care if I finish the game. In fact, I've already started a second character and will probably start a third, all without ever seeing how the main quest turns out. And I really don't care how the main quest turns out, because closing Oblivion gates is DULL.

Anyway, here are a few brief items.

• I saw a Marlon Brando 3-DVD set in the bookstore yesterday. Called "The Marlon Brando Collection," it contained a legitimate classic, "On The Waterfront," an iconic classic, "The Wild One," and, uh, a third movie. I was tickled, because I had in fact been thinking about this third movie a few hours before, but..."The Freshman"? That's kind of like putting out a Great Books collection and having it include "Moby-Dick," "Pride and Prejudice," and, I don't know, "Scruples" or something. Judith Krantz has her fans, but I doubt they think of her as another Melville.


• Some meme or other asked about favorite jokes. Mine is still "How many dull people does it take to change a lightbulb?" But you have to do it right.


• CNN was asking the other day if anyone still cared about the Oscars, and I was able to answer "no" with a clear conscience. As most people probably know, because I can't shut up about it, I have not believed in the Oscars since 1991, when Ghost won for Best Screenplay.


• I'm also on a radio kick. I've been listening to a bunch of old Jack Benny shows, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, The Shadow, Fred Allen. I was born a hundred years too late; I'd love to have written for those shows.


• The Wife and I just watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" a couple of weeks ago. Now, the trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is out, and...pardon me while I whip one off...there, that's better...at around 1:00 or 1:02, LOOK WHERE THEY ARE! I was skeptical about this movie, but I'm sold now. The trailer has done its job.