So I finally went to the dentist yesterday, the first time since I moved to hilljack country Kentucky. I thought I needed to distance myself from the yokels by having my teeth (of which all are present and accounted for) cleaned. Unfortunately, I had the Slowest Technician Ever, one who took over an hour and a half to do a cleaning and who spent entirely too much time scraping my teeth with a sharp hook WHILE LOOKING SOMEWHERE ELSE BESIDES AT MY MOUTH. I’m pretty sure that’s one skill you can’t perform whilst not looking. On a cell phone, maybe. But looking is required. At least my gums say so.

Needless to say, I had much time to consider the five things that I thought were swell this week:

1. Mini-documentary of Rodney Mullen, the Godfather of street skating - I’ve been jaw-dropped by Rodney for years. He does things on a skateboard that are unbelievably beautiful, and his comprehension of three-dimensional space is beyond me. Split into three parts for easy viewing. To boot, the guy seems genuinely nice and still in love with what he does, all those years later.
2. Gilmore Girls - *sigh* My wife has converted me. Now one of the few shows that we actually agree on (Scrubs and Jon Stewart being the other two), I’ve come to really like the characters. True, I think that Logan is a douchebag, but the plot lines have remained rather endearing over the years. I hope it doesn’t jump the proverbial shark before it ends. (Lauren Graham ain’t too hard on the eyes, either)
3. Band Madness - This is so much more fun than doing an NCAA bracket. Same concept, it pits bands from different generations against each other in a playful battle of taste. Biggest surprise in this round for me was seeing The Streets vs. Captain Beefheart be so close.
4. Benedryl - An odd addition to FTILFF, but a solid one. Seeing as how my broken nose prevents me from breathing out of one whole nostril, my allergies and sinus problems are understandably bad. And spring brings pain. Two of these little pills restore my sanity, and my faith in all things good in the world.
5. George Lange, photographer - I know, another photographer. But I swear I could look forever and longingly at work like this, knowing there’s no way in hell I’d ever be that good. His work seems intimate and stripped down, little pretense. I like that.

After Vicky the Butcher finished cleaning my teeth, the doc entered for round two. She was less surprised to find that I had my wisdom teeth than she was to learn that I have a tooth that is entirely backwards. You would have thought that I told her I had a third nipple or webbed feet. I was just happy to get the hell out of there with some gums left.