The Cinemat

Another dispatch from The Cinemat's newest employee:

-- You can judge how bad the breakup was by the number of songs in the band's set that are addressed to the ex.

-- Never say you don't like "Donnie Darko" in a room filled with artsy film people types.

-- People tell me that when I hold my breath, grin, and raise my eyebrows, I do a startlingly good impression of a robotic Hillary Clinton (whoops, redundant).

I also had an epiphany as to the extent of my nerdish leanings. Last week, after making the comment to several people that the atmosphere here at The Cinemat was "nerds in their element," a friend of mine and I were discussing cartoons, a favorite medium of mine, and he asked:

"Did you know that Smurfette on the Smurfs used to have black hair?"

"Yes," I said. "Yes, I actually did know that."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. I was experiencing "nerdvana." It was all I could do to keep from launching into a rant about Smurfs and misogyny. Granted, this is coming from someone who dreams of writing a dissertation entitled "The Theme of 'Man Caught in the Machine' in SpongeBob Squarepants," but I digress.

More and more I am coming to understand why during several points in our conversations, Steve, the owner of this fine establishment, keeps smiling and saying, "Welcome to The Cinemat."