I’m up, like, stupid early.

Because I’m sick like white on rice. Barely able to breathe kind of sick; it’s been getting steadily worse since Sunday. My back and abs ache like hell because I’ve been coughing so much.

I got an hour here and a couple hours there overnight, waking up coughing. Worse, it was stupid hot last night, so I had the windows open (which made it stupid loud).

It’s probably this lethal staph infection that’s killing people all over. This would complete my year.

Anyways. Around 6:00 am I just gave up. Came downstairs; made coffee and oatmeal. Flipped on the idiot box, and TiVo is recording Brian’s Song, and I’m totally sucked into it.

This is a weird movie. It’s like a chick flick but for guys.

I had actually managed to avoid watching the film for about, oh, 30 years of my life. I had been aware of its reputation but had assumed that I, as a cynical long-haired iconoclast, would be immune to its particular Emo-Rays.

But a couple years back I saw it and cried my eyes out.

It’s filled with wonderful 1970s touches. Like James Caan’s character eating pizza and drinking beer in his hospital bed while recovering from having a large chunk of his lung removed. Or, really, the thought of professional athletes drinking a lot of beer and eating a lot of pizza during the season.

James Caan was possibly 30 years old when this film was made and he looks like he’s 45. But then, I think he was born looking that old. Billy Dee Williams looks so weirdly young to me, even though he’s older than Caan. But I knew “Lando Calrissian”, not Gale Sayers – so even seeing him with an afro was a bit of a shock.

I know a lot of people think that Field of Dreams is a better “guy film”, but those people are dumbasses and I’m willing to shoot them.