A partial list of things besides Autumn weather that I think are rad

I love NewsRadio. When I was in high school I wrote letters to keep them from canceling it, twice. It only worked the first time. It had the best ensemble cast of any show on television, outstanding writing, a beautiful mix of subtle and slapstick not equaled until Arrested Development, and I developed a crush on Maura Tierney so massive it almost makes me want to watch ER (almost). I still count they day I found out about Phil Hartman's murder as one of the saddest days of my life.

I love burritos. And I love living in Texas, where they are really good at burritos. I even love non-Texan burritos if they're done right; I love Chipotle and its weird, German Minimalist approach to both burritos and decor. I love enchiladas too.

I love Guided by Voices. I got to see them six times, and fully regret only being over 21 (and thus as drunk as they were) the last time I saw them. I would have a hard time narrowing down a list of my top 100 Guided by Voices songs, and would have to make sacrifices left and right; there are maybe only one or two other bands for whom that would be anywhere near the case.

I love animals, and wish that they would invent a kitten that was both cuddly didn't shit so I could have a pet. If you think kittens are not hard for someone to take care of, you have not seen the inside of my apartment.

I love playing the drums. I am horrible at the drums, but they are the most fun instrument to play.

I love England, and keep having dreams about moving there. I love that they speak the same language I do in England, but it is still a foreign nation. I also love Canada, for many of the same reasons.

I love Wes Anderson films, and could not care less that all his films are very similar to one another. If someone starts making better Wes Anderson films than Wes Anderson, it might be a problem, but for now Wes Anderson makes the best Wes Anderson films, and I love Wes Anderson films.

This is only a partial list... There are totally other things in this world that I love, but I'm tired of listing them right now. I think I've covered enough for one Rad Week.

Okay, I got something

I know this has been a really shitty Rad Week, but I thought of something I like a whole bunch and am really happy about: Autumn is here!

I love a lot of things about my hometown; it's got a bunch of traffic and pollution and haunted strip clubs and gigantic evil corporations and Z.Z. Top (I think), but it's also got its good points. For 90% of any given year, the weather is certainly not one of the good points. This summer alone we had over 50 consecutive days with temperatures over 100 degrees,* and as Houston was built on a swamp it has more humidity than is healthy for humans.

But man, Autumn totally just got here this week and I've been so excited.

I have a sweatshirt that is one of my favorite things. It is old and lightweight and dark blue and has pockets and a hood and a zipper and everything. I get to wear it about six weeks' worth out of any given year. This week was the first sweatshirt weather we have had since February. Next week it'll probably be ninety something degrees like it was last week, but our miserable seven month summer is finally starting to die. I went to a park and sat down on a bench and there was a breeze and it was really, really pleasant.

See, this is boring, and also I bitched about things for most of it. I am not good at this. I do like a lot of things, but I don't see much of a point writing about them. Maybe I'll just come up with a list tomorrow and be done with it.

I apologize for how poor this Rad Week has turned out.

*: Source: Guesstimate, based on how much I hate the summer

Alright wait hold on gimme a sec

I'm CERTAIN there has got to be something that I like that's worth writing about... Shit.

I'm working on it...

Starting tomorrow: RAD WEEK BEGINS!

So I've noticed I've been bitching about things a lot lately, from cartoons I really shouldn't care about to internet fads to children's entertainment I really, really, REALLY shouldn't care about to the still-distant presidential elections to the internet to spooky strip clubs in my hometown. Also that comic strip.

You would be forgiven in assuming that I'm a black hole of bitterness and misdirected bile. While it's true that there are a good deal of things in this world that make me sad, frustrated, angry and generally not all that happy, I would like to take the next week to prove that there are, indeed, a lot of things I really like.

So check back tomorrow for the first installment of Rad Week, during which I will describe and/or praise things that I really love, or at least don't hate, rather than dwelling upon bullshit that serves only to angry up the blood.

God I hope I can come up with a half-dozen things I like.