Ah New York

So I was coming home in a cab one rainy night through Columbus Circle when I saw cameras seemingly capturing one of the double-decker tour buses making its way around the circle. That seemed odd but no more strange than anything else I see on the cab ride home so I didn't think too much of it. So imagine my surprise when I tuned in last night to find I had seen them shooting Project Runway!

I didn't think the designs last night were too New York inspired except for Liane - let's face it, nothing is more New York at night than a very pretty black dress. I thought Liane's dress was impeccable but I understand it may not be as exciting as some of the more creative designs. That's OK because Terry I thought very cleverly developed an outfit that really fit New York and really matched her photo. Sandra Bernhard certainly seemed to agree. However, much to Tim's and seemingly Sandra's chagrin, the other judges chose to go with Kenley. Now I know I am no judge of fashion but seriously? It's well made and creative but I don't see it from her photo and I'm not digging the bright 80s colors, peaked shoulders and projecting pouf. I'm with Tim that it's too costumey - even Michael Kors said that it reminded him of Joan Collins. Does anyone else agree?

It's Called Whisper Rock - Pass It On

Joshua Radin implored everyone at his Fillmore at Irving Plaza show last night to spread the word that his genre of music is whisper rock - just make those devil horns with your hand and hold your finger up to your lips (shh!) He also claims that he is heavily influenced by Bob Dylan singing one song based on a quote from Dylan and closing the show by running into the middle of the audience to sing Don't Think Twice. I think his music is very beautiful and gentle (whisper rock is certainly an apt description) but truthfully if his music sounds heavily influenced by anyone it would have to be James Taylor. There was one song in particular from his new album where not only did the song have a James Taylor-like melody and flow, his voice even became extra nasal so it sounded very close to Taylor's. This is not a bad thing - I think it suits him very well and it is a very nice, modern update on that style. I just can't picture Dylan listening to it though. I will certainly be listening however when his new album "drops" on August 26th (as he mentioned oh once or twice).

I also enjoyed Vanessa Carlton who played a set before Radin. I'm not a fan of all of her songs (what was that about a unicorn and a vampire again?) but many of them are quite catchy including her well-known songs like A Thousand Miles. She opened with my particular favorite White Houses and I also really enjoyed Nolita Fantasy (although for the record my sister disliked that particular number). Her piano music backed by violin and acoustic guitar, hardly any drums, was certainly something different for the venue and I found it enjoyably low-key.

I note for the official record that I have discovered I am probably 8-10 years too old to go to the Fillmore at Irving Plaza (when was it last just Irving Plaza? I think that's the last time I've been there). There was something slightly disturbing about all the young faces grooving to Don't Think Twice as if they had never heard it before. I certainly had a good time at the concert but I may think twice before I head to that venue again.

For Merri

A little Sesame Street fun for my sister because she loves NPH. Do you think he has anything in a nice heel? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaszN9ByxM

Damn those Emmys!

I know I've said it before but Seth Gilliam says it very nicely as well (enjoy the grainy picture of him and Jamie Hector signing my Wire season 4 DVD). From imdb.com:

Gilliam Blasts Emmy Boardmembers
29 July 2008 12:12 AM, PDT


The Wire star Seth Gilliam has slammed Emmy Awards bosses for handing out prizes to TV shows which feature too much sex and violence.

Gilliam, who plays Sergeant Ellis Carver in the critically acclaimed U.S. show, is angry the series has not received more recognition from Emmy boardmembers.

The show has received one nomination for September's award show - for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series.

And Gilliam believes the lack of nominations is because the police drama doesn't centre on glamour or sensationalism, like previous year's favourites Desperate Housewives and Heroes.

He says, "The show deals with inner city civil servants and the Emmys would rather fantasise about lawyers and romance.

"It's a show about a blue collar town. It's not very flashy and glamorous. There aren't a lot of shootings in every episode and there isn't a lot of flesh and nipples."

But Gilliam is adamant the show's cast aren't feeling downhearted by the move - insisting they don't need the Emmy's validation.

He adds, "The Emmys will in no way validate the quality of the material we put out there. We take a little pride in not being nominated."

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay

Now I have not been watching this show religiously but I happened to catch Secret Diary of a Call Girl last night on Showtime. As I understand it, her engaged best friend Ben has been worrying and nitpicking over her choice of career but suddenly last night decided that he instead wanted to join her profession for one evening by accompanying her on a couples job. Um, that makes sense, sure.

The State of the American Teen

I went to see the documentary American Teen last night. It was a cute, entertaining portrayal of a few particular teenagers from Warsaw, Indiana as they make their way through senior year. They try to pigeonhole each of the students into an archetype (the princess, the brain, the jock, the basketcase... sound familiar?) which it turns out is not that hard to do. The movie is a lot of fun and many of the students draw you into their stories - particularly Hannah Bailey (let's call her the Ally Sheedy of the bunch). Hannah's story has a lot of roller coasters and emotion but watching her cry in her friend's arms both moved me and made me feel guilty for seeking entertainment in her pain. These are real kids after all and while they agreed to submit to this process, it does feel a little wrong to be following their personal lives in such close detail. I guess MTV does it all the time though so I'll just lighten up and roll with it. If you're sentimental for John Hughes and are curious to see the real deal, this is certainly for you.

Only one more left I swear

OK Susannah, Craig is clearly the Mole (and I will pay you the cupcake as promised) but I still could be right that Mark wins the whole thing. Right now it is down to a battle between the meticulous history teacher and doctor - both trained to memorize facts. I do still think that Mark could win (at least I hope he does - Nicole is so ludicrously smug) but I guess we'll find out next week! And then I will find something more entertaining to report on - I promise.

Question of the Day

Based on this preview, is this movie designed to make you laugh or cry?

http://www.moviefone.com/movie-trailer-hub?movieId=32645&movieTitle=w

I'd prefer a new movie

but since I am a die-hard Wallace & Gromit fan consider me breathless with anticipation.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1137819692/bclid1155151521/bctid1695289960

Mad Men Returns!

So I was half-asleep and half-deaf from the Springsteen concert last night but I still stayed up until 1am to watch the Season 2 premiere of Mad Men (I do sure love that DVR). Even with my deafness and drooping eyelids, I still really enjoyed the episode. Even though it's been awhile since we last left our cast of characters, they still managed to nicely work in all the outstanding plot points and keep the story moving smoothly. I particularly enjoyed our hedonistic main character Don Draper being lectured about his blood pressure (how many cocktails do you really have a day?) and former secretary now junior copywriter Peggy Olsen ripping into Don's new secretary (so bad she made her cry). The show is also, as always, very stylish (I looooved the dress Don's wife wears to their Valentine's dinner) and wittily written and I am very happy to have it back!

I just want to feel some rhythm

Bruce Springsteen rocks. His concerts are just so high energy and they really just give their all and rock out each and every song. I went last night to the first Giants Stadium date and although it took them until 8:40 to come on, they just went for the throat right away, ripping through one great song after another. Less than an hour in, right after they knocked through Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day and No Surrender, I was sold. The crowd was having a blast, the seats were great (as you can see from the impressionistic cellphone photo), the rain held off and the music just soared. Even though we had to leave a little early, I got to hear all my favorites ("Baby this town rips the bones from your back, it's a death trap, it's a suicide rap, we gotta get out while we're young, `cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run") If you ever have a change to see the Boss live, jump at it - you will not be sorry.

I went to the concert with my dad who also got really into it. My dad also took me to my very first concert - the U2 Joshua Tree tour at Nassau Coliseum when I was 11. I won the tickets on the radio (95.5 WPLJ) and although we were really high up, the music was just so intoxicating that we had a blast. Sitting last night surrounded by the crowd at Giants Stadium, I thought back to that concert and was really glad we were able to have a night like that again.

You know you have too many interests when

you fleetingly worry about buying tickets to see the American Ballet Theater, Morphoses Wheeldon ballet company and San Francisco Ballet on separate days in October since the Yankees are only three games behind the Devil Rays and could conceivably catch up and make the playoffs. Right before we hit "purchase" on the City Center web site, my brain sent off a quick alert but it passed and I bought the dance tickets. I'm dying to see all three ballet companies and I'm sure there'll be time for everything in the end!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

From last Tuesday's Yankees game: A picture of what our view should have looked like, what our view actually looked like and how much fun we had anyway.

Thanks to my Uncle Stevie and dad for the pictures. We did really have a great time!

Spam of the Day

For all of you with better spam filters than me, I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the latest spam headlines:

1. Subject: Rapper 50 Cent To Be John Mccains Choice For Vp
Body: John Mccain "I Promise To Invade Your Vaginas."

2. Subject: John Mccain Proposes Gay Marriage
Body: Bush Says He Still Believes Iraq War Was The Fun Thing To Do

3. Subject: Aliens Abducted By Michael Jackson

Now I don't know where the spammers are getting their libeeral McCain information but man, what I wouldn't give to have seen the looks on those aliens' faces.

Bring Christian back!

Because the new Project Runway contenders are just not doing it for me. Although I still think that Kelli and Daniel have the most potential, their dresses last night were pretty but not that interesting. I didn't think any of the dresses were that great but I certainly prefer Kenley's simple dress/big collar look to Suede's winning dress (pictured above, picture from bravotv.com). Although Suede certainly put a lot of work into it, I thought the combination of the strips led to a weird, quilted effect and I thought the top was too boxy and did not really flatter the model that much. The skirt is cute but I think the overall effect looks messy - I can't believe the judges were that gung-ho! Can someone tell me what I'm missing? Is anyone eager (or knows anyone eager) to buy this dress on Bluefly?

And now for something completely different

I went to see the Pilobolus dance company last night at the Joyce. I always find their work interesting and last night was no exception - I enjoyed B'zrk, Symbiotic and Day Two which are all very different from each other but a lot of fun. Their pieces are all really physical and body conscious and some of the moves are just amazing - how anyone can spin around with someone draped over their head without holding on I will never know. Nocturne I found to be too depressing - a female dancer, topless in a tutu with a veil mask, mimes the movements of an old woman until she strangles herself. Um, OK.

The star of the evening for me had to be Darkness and Light, a piece the company put together with the puppeteer Basil Twist. You are shown that there are a number of dancers on stage, in leotards, with a variety of lights and equipment. Then a screen is lowered in front of the dancers and the entire performance is a series of cast shadows on the screen. A few of the sequences were very abstract - there was an underwater scene with amoeba-like forms floating across the screen followed by a starlit backdrop with abstract feather-creatures flying around. I am not sure how either of those was actually performed behind the screen but the effect was absolutely beautiful. There was also a wonderful sequence where the light was pulled in and out while the dancers danced to make their forms shift from large and abstract to small and clear. The way the shadows moved across the screen and folded into one another was amazing. There were also quite a lot of giant, scary heads with flickering tongues - those I could have done without but all in all the piece was very different and very interesting and beautiful.

I believe the piece is being performed again this weekend but if you miss it, hopefully they will revive it again soon!

To answer a popular question...

no I have not seen the Dark Knight yet. Which I recognize seems crazy considering I see even poorly-reviewed movies the first weekend they come out. In my defense, my sister (and regular movie partner) had to work all weekend and I took the opportunity to spend time with my favorite three year olds (my friends' daughters). I had passes to see Tell No One on Sunday night so when we did finally have time we saw that. And while everyone is talking about it and wants to debate it, I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything that great. I will probably end up seeing it in the theatres but the longer I wait, I feel the more apathetic I get. At this point, having allowed myself to feel so blah about the film, I suppose I can only be pleasantly surprised once I actually go.

BTW, I probably won't be able to squeeze it in this weekend either but if I wait until the following weekends I can skip the crowds and see it for free (I love my AMC Moviewatcher passes!) Once I do see it, you all will be the first to know.

But can you spell...

I know I keep saying it, but I really do love the Rescue Me minisodes. Last night's was an absolute classic. I highly recommend watching it here: http://www.crackle.com/c/Rescue_Me_Minisodes/Rescue_Me_Minisode_5/2343041#ml=fis%3d%26fp%3d1%26fx%3d

Oops

I found him to be quite funny and chill at last week's Times Talk but I guess you never can tell:

[From imdb.com] Batman's Christian Bale was arrested in London Tuesday, following assault allegations reportedly made by his own mother and sister. Bale, 34, allegedly lashed out at his mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, on Sunday at London's Dorchester hotel, where the actor was staying before Monday's U.K. premiere of The Dark Knight. According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, Bale's mother and sister went to a police station in Hampshire Monday, which turned the case over to London officers. “A 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning, by appointment, and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault," a police spokesman told People.

Bezu Fache

Clay was executed so my Mole guess was wrong - I guess I owe my friend Susannah a cupcake (if it indeed is Craig instead). Now that I found a friend that's also been watching and I've come this far I just can't stop now.

Happy Birthday!

July 22nd is the birthday of both my friend Beth and my friend Jo - both of whom I met in the Columbia University orchestra (Beth and I as cellists, Jo as a violinist). In honor of their birthday, I bring you classical music humor - oy Pachelbel's Canon, it's funny because it's true:

Public Service Announcement

Never attend a screening of Fame with my mother unless you're ready to be poked. She has a lot of musical enthusiasm which is infectious but if you don't let her let the enthusiasm out, she can turn on you. For instance, she is capable of hitting you with your own hand when you try to physically restrain her from singing out loud in the theater. Please be advised that this rule also applies to any of her favorite musicals - sit through Brigadoon with her at your own risk. Thank you for your attention.

I'm telling everyone

to check out "Tell No One," a French film based on an American mystery/thriller novel. A man and his wife decide to go for a swim in a lake, she walks off ahead and screams out, the man tries to reach her and is knocked unconscious. Eight years later, he starts to receive cryptic messages hinting that the wife he thought was dead might still be alive and the mystery slowly starts to unfold. The movie has great performances, a lot of twists and turns and a nice mix of humorous, dramatic and exciting moments. While the mystery starts to wear out its welcome a bit at the end, it was still an entertaining thrill ride of a film.

P.S. I immediately recognized the actress who plays the wife but I couldn't remember from where. It was driving me crazy throughout the movie but it wasn't until I got home that I was able to solve that mystery - she was in The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (a GREAT film from last fall). Thank god for imdb - I never would have gotten to sleep until I came up with the answer!

Annoying DVR mishaps

So when I got home last night, my DVR was in the process of taping both the season 3 premiere of Shameless and the second installment of Generation Kill. I decided to start with Shameless and then proceed to Generation Kill afterwards so I clicked on the button to start Shameless from the beginning. When I got about 45 minutes in, the recording shut off all of a sudden and I realized that when I started from the beginning, the DVR glitched and stopped taping. It will be on again this week so I can see the last 15 minutes on Thursday - not that I can't guess how it will turn out. Now that both James McAvoy and his wife have left the show, I'm a little afraid that it has nowhere to go. Last night was yet another variation on the let's come up with a comic scheme to avoid being found out by social services plot and it had a ho-hum quality to it. Nevertheless, it was very frustrating to get so close to the end and yet be cut off so abruptly! Had I realized it had stopped taping I wouldn't even have started it and would have just waited to see the whole thing on Thursday. Argh. Has this happened to anyone else?

OK, that was unexpected

What a horribly depressing ending! Someone please tell me there's more of this coming in the future:

http://www.drhorrible.com/act_III.html

Catch it now - it will disappear for free fast and then will be on iTunes.

Spaced is Coming!

Further to my campaign to get people to check out the British show Spaced, in conjunction with the DVD release on Tuesday, Simon Pegg, the show's other star/co-creator Jessica Hynes (who pops up in Shaun of the Dead) and the show's director Edgar Wright (who also directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) will appear at a free screening of three Spaced episodes on Monday night at Village Cinema East in New York. I unfortunately have a scheduling conflict and probably could not get in line early enough to be one of the first come first served but if anyone has some free time on Monday you should check it out.

Barring that, just rent the DVD which features the complete show (two short seasons - love the British idea of short TV).

Psych Returns!

Forgive me for saying so but I am indeed psyched about the return of Psych tonight. Although I would be the first to admit that the show is silly and cutesy, I laugh at every single episode. The rapport between the two stars, James Roday and Dule Hill, is just right and each episode zings along with really fast, smart one-liners. Please check out tonight's Season 3 premiere on USA and if you ever see that USA is airing the season 2 episode entitled Lights, Camera...Homicidio, don't miss it - it's my favorite of all the episodes.

Random Thought

I was having a lot of trouble focusing on The Daily Show this week - anyone else having that problem? I don't know if I'm having trouble getting back into it after a two week break, if I'm just bored with all the same politics stories or if I'm starting to get sleepy at 11 but I find I have to work really hard to pay attention. Thankfully there are three Daily Show-free nights and maybe by Monday my interest will be back.

#2 in Your Programs but #1 in Your Hearts

My co-worker Gina sent me this photo of Derek Jeter passing by in the parade on Tuesday. Yay captain!

Dr. Horrible Part II

Was put on-line today http://www.drhorrible.com/act_II.html

Part II has improving music - the duets were quite nice. Part III will be up on Saturday and after Sunday it will be pay only so catch it for free now.

It's RICKY!

Or so the brightly lighted, large backdrop letters on stage proclaimed. I caught Ricky Gervais' tour at the WaMu at MSG last night and although I was not too familiar with his stand-up, I certainly enjoyed the show. Since he has been going around with this material awhile, I had heard a couple of the bits but most of it was new to me. He can be a bit over the top harsh sometimes (making fun of fat people is not too funny) but most of it is hysterical. My favorite routine involved reading aloud a 1989 AIDS-awareness pamphlet which offered alternatives to risky behaviors - suffice it to say that most of the alternatives seemed entertainingly ridiculous. I also enjoyed the fun animal facts he learned from the internet - watching him act out how polar bears cover their black noses to better conceal themselves in the snow was a riot. I don't want to give too much away because he said that the DVD of the routine will be forthcoming and I would encourage you all the check it out for yourselves.

Project Runway returns

and most of the contestants seem pretty weak. And it hurts my eyes to look at the overly tan and shiny Blake. Kelli and Daniel seem to have the most talent and since I called Rami and Christian last season I have no problem doing so again - Kelli and Daniel will be in the final three. Anyone else think so too?

P.S. Considering how much his antics drove me crazy I never thought I would say this but no one is ever going to top Christian as a contestant. He had more talent than any other contestant I have ever seen and it doesn't look like this lot can top him.

Fuck the Emmys

One lousy writing credit for The Wire and Boston Legal gets nominated for Best Drama?!?!?!?!? The Wire makes Boston Legal look like Hurl for pete's sake. The Wire by far has the best actors, best dialogue and flat out best show ever put on that box we call television and the academy is too dumb, blind and rascist to see it. I know you have trouble understanding the street slang, you white, old Hollywood-types but come on, there were plenty of white people speaking your language in season 5 - what's the problem? I like many of the shows that were nominated (Mad Men, 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies) because they are amusing and pretty sharp but nothing could ever hope to touch the American masterpiece that is The Wire.

The saddest part is that by snubbing The Wire, the academy is telling Hollywood that it would rather see more celebrity-drive, trite shit than insightful, brilliantly innovative and executed shows like The Wire. If we ever want to break out of the garbage chute in which our TVs have found themselves, Hollywood will need to realize that a little brains and a little diversity makes life more interesting.

So someone call me when they call the winner for best writing for a drama series and when The Wire loses in its one category I will throw something across the room, scream and take myself to a movie.

P.S. I do also have to point out that they pretty much snubbed my other favorite entertainment show, Rescue Me. However, Charles Durning was nominated for best guest actor for playing Denis Leary's character's father. Since he had an amazing, heartbreaking scene to close out the last season, I am hopeful that the academy will at least do the right thing in that category.

NPH Rules

If you're looking for something entertaining, cute and silly, look no further than a Joss Wheedon/Neil Patrick Harris musical. Check out Dr. Horrible's blog at http://drhorrible.com/act_I.html

Episode I is up right now and I think Episode II will be coming next week.

Why so serious indeed

I am certainly glad that I went last night to the Times Talk "Reinventing Batman" which was a live interview with Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan. However, unlike many comic book geeks I'm sure, I found that talking about Batman is like dancing about architecture - while I'm sure the film is going to be a hoot, talking about it as if it were a deep work of high art kind of takes the piss out of the whole thing. Nolan obviously takes his work seriously, as well he should, but it makes for surprisingly dull conversation in the end. His philosophical approach to the Batman genre probably thrilled the comic book lovers in the audience but the film-lover in me found it a little too serious for a popcorn film.

So thank god Christian Bale was there. I had heard of course that he takes his work very seriously but thankfully not too seriously. When asked whether he was afraid he wouldn't be taken seriously after doing a franchise film, he pointed out that he already has the least serious job on the planet. When asked whether it was hard to act against Heath Ledger's over the top portrayal of the joker, he stated that as his character was wearing a rubber bat suit in all their scenes, the "larger than life" portrayal fit right in. He took a call from his three year old daughter while a clip from the film screened. He refused to comment on how much of his own stunts he had done because he didn't want to ruin the magic. Someone in the audience asked Christopher Nolan about the on-line viral marketing campaign and Christian Bale confessed he had never even heard about it but, intrigued, asked Nolan how he could Google it (another audience member gave him the answer to that one). In discussing how he likes to explore different genres of film, he said that all genres "other than romantic comedies" intrigued him and he would be willing to take on any of those. Why no romantic comedies? The genre is an "oxymoron" according to Bale.

P.S. Nolan and Bale were interviewed by Times critic Caryn James who bears an eerie resemblance to Amy Fisher.

DVR Alert!

Further to my previous rants on this blog about the unavailability of British TV, any Shawn of the Dead/Hot Fuzz fans should be sure to catch a BBC America marathon of Spaced this Sunday from 3-6pm. While the show is a lot more offbeat than Simon Pegg's films, it is a lot of fun. I particularly enjoy the character of Brian the struggling artist. Tune in and let me know what you think.

If you miss it or want to see more, I believe that Spaced should also be available on DVD soon!

Lovely Day for a Baseball Parade

So I was skeptical but it turned out it was nice having the All-Star Game Parade go right by my office building. I was worried it would be crowded but in fact the crowd was only a few people deep so I got to stand right out in front of the building and watch the stars go by. The old time hall of famers went first, followed by the American League starting team for tonight (which was presumably followed by the NL team but I had to go back to work!) Everyone got to ride on the backs of trucks, waving to the crowd and most had their families with them (A-Rod was quite notably all alone). I cheered as loud as I could for Jeter, A-Rod, Rivera, Girardi and the hall of fame Yankees - Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson (who specifically waved at us), Dave Winfield, Goose Gossage. I also got to boo the Red Sox - Francona, Ortiz, Varitek, Youklis, Drew - which I always enjoy! It was also fun to see guys like Hank Aaron who are legends in the game.

Even though the parade was among the skyscrapers of 6th avenue, having all the players waving from the trucks combined with the mood and size of the crowd made it feel like a hometown parade. Certainly the best way to spend a lunch hour!

Free Celia Hodes!

Seriously, Weeds? It's bad enough that she's gone to jail, suffered cellmate abuse, cop intimidation but now she has to endure having a tooth knocked out by a gun, sleeping at the foot of Nancy's bed and working minimum wage at the maternity store? Having her smiling and seemingly happy at her new job didn't help at all - the Celia I know would have found a way to kick some ass. I just hope that the old Celia manages to find her voice before the end of the season - there's just been way too much Celia-abuse.

Breakfast with the Birds

And horses, elephants and baseball-headed creatures. I attended the All-Star Game breakfast at the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Hotel yesterday. While there were no players in attendance, a few of the mascots came out to take pictures with the kids and entertain the crowd while they ate their eggs. The mascots were all cute and friendly but Screech the Nationals eagle seemed to have had a little too much coffee - he was bouncing around the room, literally shaking a tailfeather at every opportunity. He took some time to flirt with my co-worker, much to her shagrin and even attempted to kiss her hand although he ended up chomping on it with his beak. It was certainly a different way to kick off the week!

The Truth about Modern War

It comes as no surprise but I was very impressed with the first episode of Generation Kill on HBO on Sunday night. It is a little difficult getting a handle on all the various characters but I trust that will just come easier with each episode. The way the show captured the absurdities of military life was perfect - the marines are routinely lectured about tucking in their shirts and trimming their mustaches but they are purchasing additional armor for their humvees with their own money. The rapport and dialogue between the marines also seems quite natural which would make sense since it is based on a non-fiction book from the embedded reporter featured as a character on the show. They were just beginning to get into Iraq by the end of the episode and I am interested to see how the characters will stand up once the battle begins.

If you haven't yet seen the episode, I'm sure it's playing multiple times on HBO this week and episode 2 is Sunday night at 9. I highly recommend checking it out.

Seriously, I need to stop

Now that the cute guy has been ousted on the Mole, I really have no excuse to keep watching. Believe me, I want to stop but somehow every Monday I get sucked in again. I guess I'll see how it goes next week and take it from there.

P.S. Clay is The Mole and I think Mark is going to win - pass it on.

Honesty Should be the Best Policy

So at tonight's Miss Universe competition (live on NBC from Vietnam), Miss Russia was asked whether women still faced discrimination and, if so, what could be done about it. I thought that the right answer was "since I'm up here half-naked and Donald Trump Jr. in his tuxedo gets to stare at my ass I would say discrimination is still alive and we can solve the problem by having him wear a Speedo next year." She thought the answer was some rambling statement about today's woman being stronger and smarter. But she came in third runner-up so I think she couldn't have done worse with going with the honest answer.

In case you're wondering, Miss Venezuela won even though she has obviously had tons of plastic surgery including one badly hidden nose job. One giant step for the stronger, smarter modern woman I guess.

That's Why I Love This Town

I am pleased to report that I was one of the select few (OK 50-something thousand few) who were able to attend the Bon Jovi concert in Central Park last night (that's me in the New York Times photo towards the left between JBJ and the tall structure). Now I know that Bon Jovi isn't the most musically deep band around - they err on the side of cheesy and Jon never met a shirt he wanted to button up. However, the music is still catchy (and even you serious music-types know the lyrics to Livin' on a Prayer) and the mood at their concerts is always infectious. My sister and I were lucky enough to end up fairly close in towards the stage but with enough room around us for jumping and dancing. I cheered until I lost my voice. And they played all my favorite songs so who could ask for more!

The best thing about going to a concert like that in Central Park is it reminds me of my sense of patriotism. My patriotism towards New York that is - my home and the true love of my life. I know it may sound crazy but standing in the dark on the Great Lawn screaming my head off with 50,000 other Yankee/Bon Jovi fans inspires a great sense of loyalty and community within me - it reminds me why I live here and why I love everything about it. I even got a little misty when Jon talked about how much it meant to him to play in the park and how much he loved New York. They even iced the cake by playing my national anthem (Frank's New York, New York that is) on our way out. People can say New York is too fast, too expensive, too rude, too crazy but those people simply don't get it - to paraphrase the movie Keeping the Faith, a true New Yorker knows that anyone who lives anywhere else is in a sense kidding and the concert last night it proved it for me.

P.S. I promised my friend Alex that I would turn in her review of the concert as well - she thinks JBJ is hot.

Damn those Legos

So I should note for the official record that I am not a big video game person. For the most part I find them frustrating and I am not very good at shoot 'em up, action-packed games. However, since my sister got a Wii for Christmas, I have been learning just how addicting video games can be. That is to say, I find that I can lose hours watching little Lego characters run around and break other Legos apart.

First there was Lego Star Wars which could be incredibly frustrating at times but who can possibly resist little Lego C3PO hopping around on one leg or little bounding Lego Ewoks? Little Lego Princess Leia's ability to repeatedly slap Lego Han Solo is highly entertaining. Now there is Lego Indiana Jones which is a little more frustrating than Lego Star Wars (it's a lot easier to blow up enemies with a light saber than crack them with a whip) but Indiana Jones has a feature sorely missing from Star Wars. The home base for Indiana Jones is his college which boasts a delightful courtyard. In that courtyard you can smash benches and plants for money or you can pick up a bush, place it over your head and creep around on your tippy-toes from room to room. The sight of the little Lego feet sticking out of the bush and making their delicate way around the college could keep me amused for hours. Three hours on Friday night to be exact. Those Legos are scarily addicting.

It's a boring world at home

So I have been taking somewhat of a week off from my usual hectic schedule and staying in most nights this week. Although it's nice to take it easy once in awhile and I've had time to get some things done around the apartment, generally I feel that doing not much is wearing me out!

The time in has also made me realize how god-awful TV is these days. Since I am out most evenings, I generally just watch whatever I have DVR'd when I get in. After a few nights though, having watched everything I recorded and having nothing new to tape, I ended up flipping channels and out of desperation watching movies I have already seen a thousand times. Now I know some of those movies are classic but did I really need to watch The Breakfast Club again last night? I had the same sensation binging on old movies that I do when I eat too many cookies - it's just too much junk to take in!

I am happy to report though that I am giving up on staying in - it's just too much work!

I love minisodes

I have to say that three weeks in, I am enjoying the little Rescue Me minisodes even more than I thought I would. They have all revolved around firehouse banter and each captures precisely what I enjoy about the show. This week focused on a simple conversation about what makes a good bar (I'm with Lou - I like a clean bathroom) and at only five minutes it really grabbed me. Here's hoping the next seven are as good as the first three and I might be able to last until March for the new extra long full season.

Please do check them out on the web http://www.crackle.com/c/Rescue_Me_Minisodes/Rescue_Me_Minisode_3/2332408#ml=o%3d12%26fpl%3d297691%26fx%3d - you won't be sorry.

Sitting shiva is no joke

until Weeds made it a joke that is. In what is otherwise a hit or miss season (I miss Romany Malco!), I did greatly enjoy the scenes of the family participating in the most pathetic shiva of all time. With only weasely real estate agents and the kid from across the street joining the mourners, the family just sat for seven days staring at the floor, sending Doug the shiva goy out to buy lottery tickets. Even if you don't watch the show, anyone who has ever participated in shiva should check out this season - airing multiple times on showtime all week.

I am still smarting over the treatment of Elizabeth Perkins' Celia though. The forced "Obsession" karaoke creeped me out and having a gun put to her head was just one too many miseries to heap on that character. Hopefully starting next week her luck will change a little.

Lost in Generation

So I actually stayed in last night for a change and decided to watch Warren Beaty's Shampoo which I had recorded off of Turner Classic Movies. I had never seen the film before but had certainly heard lots of great things about it. I'm glad I saw it but I'm not sure that I got it. I felt as if it was a film that was very deliberately trying to capture a time for people who would relate to that time. Something about Beatty's meandering womanizing, late sixties attitude didn't click for me - it certainly didn't offend me but I wasn't really in on the joke either. Maybe I personally just didn't relate to the film - has anyone else seen it and enjoyed it more than me?

Going postal indeed

So I just saw this preview clip for Heroes' summer webisode series "Going Postal." Good lord, as if the show hadn't blown itself up enough, this "series" looks like a joke. The commercials for the returning fall season, entitled "Villains," doesn't look much more promising - isn't the show all about fighting villains? What makes the new show more focused on villains? I don't know if I care to find out. I think Tim Kring may have lost his mind and shot up the franchise. Anyone agree?

Generation Kill Starts Sunday!

So it is no secret that I believe that The Wire is the greatest show ever made for television - if you have never seen it, rent Season 1 now! Although The Wire has ended, thankfully the team that created The Wire has a new miniseries coming to HBO this Sunday, Generation Kill. I can't wait to see what they do with the Iraq War having seen how they handle the strife in America's cities. This article from Sunday's Times just made me even more jazzed - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/television/06wils.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin

Read the article, see what you think and we'll discuss the first episode next Monday.

Also, for those of you looking for something else different on television, check out the third season of Shameless on the Sundance Channel starting July 20th and the second season of Mad Men starting July 27th on AMC (you can rent the first season of both if you want to catch up). I'll be very busy on Sunday nights!

Let's Go Yankees!

So I attended Thursday's Red Sox-Yankees match up which was too painful to even discuss (I left the stadium before the end of the game for the first time this season - I just couldn't take it). Friday's game wasn't much better but thank god they came through over the weekend and evened the series. They still looked pretty bad but somehow they managed to pull it off - although how Mariano managed to save Saturday's game with no outs and the bases loaded remains a mystery.

Last night's game ended with the highlight of the series. Only 21 major league at bats and only 24 years old, Brett Gardner (subbing for the injured Johnny Damon) managed to win the game in the 10th. This picture from yankees.com pretty much sums up how the team felt about that.

I know it's not looking good for the Yankees this year and they may miss the playoffs for the first time in a dozen or so years but I will take the little moments and enjoy them for what they're worth. I may also start cheering for the Devil Rays - anything's better than the Red Sox!

What he said

Please check out the following column from today's Times - Wall-E for President!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/opinion/06rich.html?ei=5070&en=808ec95acc301a37&ex=1216094400&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

Hancock - the superhero/serious drama of the summer

This is a right off the presses review of Hancock especially for my Uncle Stevie who requested that it be posted by 4pm today. Thanks for hosting the big holiday bbq yesterday - Happy 4th!

So Hancock is a bit of a puzzle. Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman are all really good in it - they are certainly what keeps it going. The movie, directed by Peter Berg and produced by Michael Mann, has Mann's kind of gritty style to it - lots of fuzzy, hand-held type work - it had the visual feel of Collateral which was probably enhanced by its downtown, L.A. location. The first half of the film is very enjoyable but at the certain ta-da reveal point (which I will not reveal), the film kind of spins off course. The characters are dealing with some weighty issues throughout the movie so although it is a "superhero" film, it also has a lot of dramatic issues as well. So while I would have preferred it to be rip-roaring fun, there were moments that kept popping up to bring the mood back down. It is definitely a different kind of summer blockbuster film and is much better than a lot of the other fare being blasted onto screens so if you want to see a completely different spin on an old standby, I would recommend checking it out.

Also, Jason Bateman gets to kick a little ass - as a big fan of his I say yay!

And it keeps going...

I know, I know, too much harping on Obama but here's the latest:
If he comes back from Iraq and decides that his rapid pullout plan needs to be altered what then? How on earth can anyone vote for him after all the sell-out reversals he has made? We'll see...

Well It Is Times Square

So I should expect to see the bizarre when I walk through every morning. However, I have to say I was a little taken aback this morning when I was greeted by the giant head of Eddie Murphy. Apparently, it's been touring the country to promote his latest movie Meet Dave (there are some hilarious pictures of it on the back of a flatbed truck driving down the interstate all over the internet). As pictured, you can climb in the back and lean out the ear in order to mimic the pose from the movie's poster. It's actually quite disturbing but it's in Times Square for the holiday weekend if you want to check it out.

But the real question is what will people actually think of the film? Is the giant travelling head a stunt to cover up for the fact that the movie is no good? I have to say that I found the preview amusing so I hold out hope that a funny film lurks underneath. I certainly think Eddie Murphy is much funnier without all the gag makeup that he loves so well. I guess we'll see what the reviews say but if it gets a number of decent review I may be tempted to check it out. What do you think? Here's the preview:

Is a little organization to much to ask?

As you have all probably heard, Bon Jovi will be playing on July 12th on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Sixty thousand fans are currently being given tickets for free and I am sure they will be pretty strict about not letting anyone else near the concert. The system for getting the tickets is ridiculous - they said the most tickets would be available at Yankee Stadium but now they say that stadium only has 7,500 and Shea Stadium, KeySpan Park and the Staten Island Yankees probably have even less. Tickets will also be given out in Manhattan but at a date and time to be announced. Radio and TV stations already have some tickets to give away but good luck getting those. So imagine my surprise yesterday when I received an e-mail from AEG Live, thanking me for being a fan and offering me a personal password which would entitle the user to two tickets out of their block of 20,000 starting at 9am today.

Make that 9:25am, slow start. In the intervening 25 minutes I searched for more information and discovered that there are lots of people who felt they should have received a password but didn't get one. I have no idea what list I am on that entitled me to one but there it was and today I got my two tickets no problem (along with two free downloads on iTunes - I'm up $1.98 on the deal). They still are unorganized though - there is no detail information available about the show even though it is ten days away. Let's just hope they get it together in time because while I think the show will be fun, I don't particularly relish the idea of elbowing my way through 59,999 lost and annoyed people. We'll see.

Rude Awakening

So I finally made it to Spring Awakening last night and although I missed out on seeing the original cast, I'm glad I saw the show. Although the subject matter is a bit odd (late 19th century German repressionism), the music was a lot of fun and the current cast was very engaging.

The only problem I had all evening in fact was my fellow patrons. Now I understand that once a show's been out awhile the crowd becomes more weighted with the out-of-towners and less with New Yorkers and I accept that there will be plenty of people who do not normally go to Broadway shows or any live theater for that matter. However, there are some things that I just can't accept. Namely, the dozen blond teenage girls sitting in the row behind me. They seemed completely baffled by the plot (which is quite easy to follow), they snickered and giggled at every sexual suggestion (it's just a little nudity - get over it!) and they outright gagged and called out gross when two of the male characters kissed. One girl in the row seemed to enjoy it more than the others and she cried at the show's hearbreaking finale. That caused her companions to openly make fun of her for the last section of the show. I know not all out of town teenagers behave like this (I was with my teenage cousin from L.A. who was also annoyed at their behavior) but I have to say that I feel like I encounter it every time I'm at a show with a high tourist ratio (ex., Cry-Baby). I'm glad you've come to my city dropping your dollars but for god's sake learn how to behave. And please, please, please, please stop buying those counterfeit bags - everyone can tell they're fake and you're only supporting gangs and terrorists.

P.S. Another "Lost" mystery - even though Karl appears to have been shot along with Rousseau, he actually managed to come back to life and star in the show last night. Or perhaps it was just the ghost of Karl. Either way, he has a very nice voice.

Apologies

But one last political statement. You all can decide on your own who to vote for but I just offer this headline and summary sentence from the New York Times to give you food for thought:

Obama Wants to Expand Role of Religious Groups
By JEFF ZELENY and BRIAN KNOWLTON 2:39 PM ET
Barack Obama outlined a plan to expand on President Bush’s program of investing federal money in religious-based initiatives.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/politics/02campaigncnd.html?hp


Someday I hope to live in a world where my vote is as one-tenth as important as the evangelical vote.