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Didn't realize this was the place to be. It's like the Club 54 of AQ for the time being. Neat.

Anyway, I forget who mentioned it (Pequod perhaps?) but I hadn't seen anything of Natalie's really prior to joining the board either. I had seen Everybody Says I Love You at 4 in the morning on April 4, 1999 (I have a great memory, but I recall that day very particularly because it was the birthday of my then-girlfriend and I stayed up all night for some reason). I liked it, but was watching it because of Edward Norton, who to this day is still my favorite actor of all time (I just watched American History X on DVD; the movie doesn't live up to what I initially thought of it, but his performance is still one of the best lead performances of all time). I didn't even notice Natalie in it.
When The Phantom Menace came out, I didn't think too much of Natalie. She was pretty, sure, but I didn't feel she was as mind-numbingly gorgeous as I think others feel she is. The first pic I remember seeing of her was on Entertainment Weekly, and the look on her face made her seem snobbish, and with her tiny breasts, I wasn't ga-ga. (It didn't help that I was in the hospital at the time.) When I was finally released, I saw Episode I and still wasn't blown away by her.
It wasn't until a few months later, when I was working at the library at the University of Arizona, when I was talking with a co-worker about movies, that Natalie became permanently lodged in my brain. That co-worker (who had a boyfriend, of course!) was talking about how silly Natalie was because of the attention Star Wars would bring to her. She said something along the lines of, "Take the money and shut up."
For whatever reason, that got me to thinking about Natalie a lot. I thought (and still do) that Leelee Sobieski is more beautiful (Leelee had just appeared in TV's "Joan of Arc" and Stanley Kubrick's masterful "Eyes Wide Shut" that summer), and so both were duking it out in my head. Finally, on a road trip to Phoenix with my friend Mike that August, while eating onion rings at Burger King (I said I have a good memory), I told him, "You know who I think is really beautiful? Natalie Portman." His response was understated--"That's nice to know." He just wanted to get on with eating his burger, he could give a shit.
Blahblahblah, when I got on the internet at the end of November '99, I started looking for fan sites of Natalie. Right after the topless sunbathing scandal hit, I registered as a user of this board. I remember my very first post, which has long since been lost to cyber-hell. Khan Benjamin (who I recall was another conservative member of the board and a well-respected veteran at the time who nonetheless hasn't posted here in a rather long period of time) had just berated Natalie for having the audacity of sunbathing without her top on (how dare she!), so I decided to tear into him. Come to think of it, I was quite a dick. Just entering the board and tackling on one of its elders. But oh well. I'm here, he's not, and some folks seem to like me, so I can't be all bad.
That was a short-lived period. I grew tired of Natalie herself shortly thereafter. The only reason why I'm still here is because of the people. If you read my first post in this thread, I didn't mention Natalie at all. That kinda' goes to show in how high esteem I hold her.

Anyway, onto more important matters (enough with reminscing!): Andy, you said that you scalped tickets to Radiohead in Houston? Now, buddy pal, friend of mine, recipient of one of the 3 copies of my debut directing reel, would you happen to have any other tickets? Might you be able to work me out a friend price? That would be soooo cool. Then I could get my cousin to find me a free (or cheap) flight to Houston, attend the concert with you, and we can have a blast. An AQ/RH 2-person convention. It would rock!