Stuff I've read or seen or heard in the past couple of days:

1. The Freaks & Geeks script books. "Freaks & Geeks" was a TV show from a few years ago that got cancelled after one season. I'd seen an episode or two, and thought it was okay. But I discovered it has a cult following now, and thought maybe I'd read the scripts to see what I thought. So I got them from the library. And I read all 18 episodes over the course of the past three days. This is what happens when I don't have Internet. And they're solid. It's really quite good. It's a well-crafted show. I trust the writing. The characters are three-dimensional. The scripts are solid. I may rent the DVDs, but mostly to listen to the commentary tracks. Commentary tracks are neat.

2. "Monster-in-Law." I promised I wouldn't say who I saw this with, since it's embarassing to have seen it. I don't think it was as bad as it should have been. I mean, it's not high art, and it's not even good or anything close to that. But it's not horrible, there are some laughs, and it's not entirely unpleasant. I don't go so far as to recommend it, but, really, there's nothing good playing (go see Crash if you haven't and want to see a movie) so it's not like it's worse than seeing nothing. Maybe.

3. "Happiness" by Richard Layard. Read Gregg Easterbrook's "The Progress Paradox" instead. Same ground, done better and with more depth and thought. Layard's writing to a fourth-grade audience, unfortunately, and barely skimming the surface. I didn't learn anything new about why lots of people aren't happy. Oh well.

4. My cell phone bill. Too high. I need a new plan.

5. The nutritional information on the side of a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Wow.

6. The tag on my new mattress. Apparently I shouldn't remove it.