You Say It's Your Birthday, It's My Birthday Too

So yes, today is my birthday but it is also the birthday of Ed Harris, Judd Nelson, Alfonso Cuaron, that sexy Ryan Kwanten from True Blood and, my personal favorite, Jon Stewart. So happy birthday to all of us and whatever cosmic fate we all share:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Intro - Shared Birthday

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

And just remember, no matter what your plans are, there is only ever one problem: my grandmother lives in a condominium.

New York City Ballet: Stop Changing the Channel!

I attended last night's opening night gala for the New York City Ballet's fall season and while the evening certainly had some highlights, I felt as if I was watching TV with someone who likes to watch a channel for a couple minutes but then always moves on to the next channel. The flickering snippets of disconnected ballets did not leave much of an impression, not even the opening snippet of Chichester Psalms featuring a full chorus, an army of dancers including thirteen men in off the shoulder gowns (as pictured) and a cherubic child with an angel voice. Just at the moment where it started to get interesting (although I had seen the full ballet before and wasn't that impressed then), the channel changed and on we moved to a very lackluster snippet from the Barber Violin Concerto featuring Martins' choreography and Martins' wife, Darci Kistler, now brunette and looking awfully close to retirement. The first half of the performance also featured Robbins and Balanchine choreography (Ives, Songs and The Unanswered Question respectively) although again the very short, slow, selected segments were not very accurate representations of two interesting works. The segment from The Unanswered Question at least featured some of the beautiful movements of the piece but overall, the immense talent of the featured principal dancers was wasted in scant minutes of material (you dragged the fabulous Wendy Whelan out for that?). The first half concluded with Martins' first ballet, Calcium Light Night but although it was a brief segment, Sean Suozzi and Sterling Hyltin actually managed to squeeze in a little showstopper before the intermission (a photo of an earlier iteration of that ballet is pictured).

The second half flowed much better than the first, helped along by a consistent, stellar accompaniment by the Julliard Jazz Orchestra. In the excerpt from Martins' A Fool For You, Andrew Veyette had a standout part which got the biggest reaction of the night. And although the piece is slight, Susan Stroman's Blossom Got Kissed (which my mom's neighbor worked on) was an adorable break in the evening featuring an awkward classical dancer who needs the cute triangle player to break into the world of swing (you know, it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing). So long as the jazz music was jumping, the channel changing feeling faded away and I was able to just appreciate whatever dance snippets I was given.

One thing was clear from the evening - the New York City Ballet's young men is the most exciting part of the company right now. Daniel Ulbricht, Andrew Veyette, Amar Ramasar and Sean Suozzi were definitely the standouts of the evening and here's hoping that they are given a lot more meaty material in the future.

Finally, I must note that the guest of the evening was David H. Koch, who is according to the New York Times, New York's richest resident (thank you oil and gas). He has given $100 million to completely renovate the New York State Theater which is being named in his honor (a temporary tarp sign to that effect was already attached to the theater's front wall). Now that is a very generous donation which will be greatly appreciated for many years to come and it was certainly worth the effusive attention it received in speeches from Peter Martins, Earl Mack (former U.S. ambassador to Finland) and New York's senior senator Chuck Schumer. However, the more the trio of speakers went on and on and on about Mr. Koch and his kind heart, generous spirit and boatloads of money, the only thing I could think about was this (the first couple minutes makes my point and then just sit back and enjoying the part about dry cleaning):

True Blood Finale - What the?

So yes I'm a bit behind this week (it's been quite hectic) but I did want to put down some comments about the True Blood finale. The bit with Rene was interesting but he was revealed as the killer last week and was dispatched pretty quickly this week. I'm not sure I understand Bill's romantic flesh-burning gesture since he couldn't help Sookie while he was incapacitated and it seems a bit ungrateful for Sookie to then choose Bill over her actual savior Sam. Nevertheless, it seems that the serial killer is dead although now there is the mystery of Lafayette. I sure hope he's a vampire because I will be quite put out if one of the most entertaining characters is just plain old dead.

Beyond that, the rest of the episode just turned me off. The whole bad girl preacher's daughter plot is horribly annoying (does anyone else want to reach through the TV and slap her?) and if she is going to be some sort of active plot device next season, I may find myself frequently hitting the fast forward button. The other irksome twist is the rich lady mystery woman - she clearly knows about Sam and his shape-shifting tendencies but what is she really doing to Tara? And is she doing the same thing to the hot guy with the guitar in the living room? Is it possible that she can turn people into shape shifters? I'm afraid I find these questions more irritating than interesting so let's hope someone handily disposes of her (and the bad girl preacher's daughter) when the show starts up again next summer.

Bolt: The problem with a 3D cartoon

So I admit it - I went to see Bolt based on fairly positive reviews and its availability in 3D. There's just one problem - Bolt is an old-fashioned type animated film with flat drawings. Transferring those drawings into 3D only works so well - the grass, animal fur and other little details are amazing but everything else is still pretty darn flat. So after an hour and a half, I had a headache from the 3D glasses, was overdosed on cute puppies and truly enjoyed exactly two sequences involving east coast-west coast pigeons with very realistic head movements. I should have gone with my instincts and gone to see Madagascar 2 instead - I hear they have very entertaining penguins and monkeys.

Dr. Pepper Tries to Make Good

So Chinese Democracy has arrived and Dr. Pepper is trying to make good on its promise to give everyone a free soda upon the album's release. Technically, you have until 6pm today to go to the company's site and request your free soda but the site isn't working that well so no guarantees on getting through. I think I may have gotten through but I'm not entirely clear since many of the screens loaded blank. We'll see if I actually get that coupon on the mail - I mean, I have no intention of purchasing Chinese Democracy (I'll leave GnR in my high school past) but a free soda is a free soda!

Speed the Plow (or better yet Speed the Dialogue)

"Life in the movie business is like the, is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked."

That pretty much sums up the plot of Speed the Plow in which a newly minted head of production must decide whether to make the offensive buddy comedy with popular star or the radiation will lead to the end of the world statement film. But the joy of the play is not the sum of its plot but rather the rhythm of its words and the abilities of its stars.

I am happy to say that Jeremy Piven, Elisabeth Moss and especially Raul Esparza all do an amazing job of making Mamet's flow like rapid-fire rhythmic poetry. They perfectly play off each other and have the timing of the lines down to a science so the words easily bounce from one to another. Speed the Plow has many funny lines (some particularly timely ones about how no one is really a maverick and how you have to have hope drew the most laughs) but the most enjoyable part for me was just getting sucked into the tremendous energy coming from the stage. It of course helped that I sat just six rows back and had a perfect view of the performers - it's the most I've ever appreciated being that close to the stage.

I do have to point out that it was a little difficult to separate Jeremy Piven and Elisabeth Moss from their well-known television characters. The scene where the seemingly idealistic but possibly ruthless secretary tries to talk the production head with a tough exterior but vulnerable heart into the artsy film absolutely felt like Peggy traveled from the 60's to have a conversation with Ari Gold. That was certainly interesting but more than a little distracting. However, Raul Esparza absolutely stole the show with his coked-up, slickster studio suit looking for a way into wealth and power. He stormed around the stage with such unbelievable force and spit out his lines with such speed and mastery that I can't imagine anyone else being able to tackle the part in quite the same way (I admit I did not see the original 1998 production but I can't imagine Ron Silver working at that level of intensity).

If you have a chance to see this play before it closes (they're selling tickets through February) I highly recommend it. It's certainly the most fun I've had at a Broadway show this year.

Shame on you ABC!

In the fall of 2006, ABC's seductive marketing campaign led me to watch The Nine, 6 Degrees and Knights of Prosperity. The first two were gone after just a few episodes and Knights of Prosperity only lasted a few months. I enjoyed all three and was very angry that ABC would invest so much in trying to draw viewers in only to cast the shows aside the second the numbers dipped.

In the fall of 2007, sucker that I am, I fell for Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money. Thanks to the strike, ABC didn't have any other shows in the bag and thus were forced to lend continued to support to those three shows. However, this is 2008 and here comes the inevitable news (as per Entertainment Weekly) - ABC is cancelling all three and although the season orders are being completed, who knows if they will air. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/11/breaking-abc-pa.html

Now my interest in Dirty Sexy Money has been waning but Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone have been just as enjoyable and adorable as when they started. Both have amazing casts, fun stories and have imaginative quirks which provide welcome relief from most of the formulaic shows the networks spew out. ABC may make more money by showing three hours of Dancing With the Stars every night of the week but I will never, ever understand who could give a flying fig whether a washed-up boy-bander can ballroom dance better than a retired athlete or an actress no one ever heard of. Is that really what we want to accept from television these days? Thank god some networks are willing to stand by their shows - can you imagine if HBO and NBC had given up on The Wire and 30 Rock that easily? Surely ABC can make enough money from Dancing With the Stars, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, even the excruciatingly awful Desperate Housewives to be able to stand behind a couple creative, interesting shows.

So in the Fall of 2008, ABC has sucessfully hooked me into watching Life on Mars which in many ways improves on the British version that I loved. For now, they have ordered a few additional episodes of this show but I am keeping my eye on you ABC. While I'll stick with Lost through its end in 2009, there's only so many times you can pull the rug out from under me before I won't fall for that trick any more.

Gavin & Stacey

So there's been a little more tension and fighting on the show the last couple episodes but how could you not want to watch a show that has scenes like this?



Please don't make me explain - just watch the show. Season 2 is on BBC On Demand and the whole show is available on iTunes.

Milk: Then and the Legacy Now

I attend a Times Talk last night featuring individuals involved in the making of the upcoming Gus Van Sant/Sean Penn film Milk, specifically screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, actors James Franco and Emile Hirsch and activist/AIDS quilt creator Cleve Jones (portrayed by Emile Hirsh in the film). The evening was a combination of discussion about the film itself, about the real story of Harvey Milk and a general discussion of the current state of the gay rights movement. The panel also included a screening of several clips from the film (opening November 26th) and although the trailer has had me eagerly awaiting the film for quite some time, I'm now even more excited (meet me at Lincoln Plaza next weekend!).

James Franco (who struggled a little to pull his thoughts together) and Emile Hirsch (who kept the zingers rolling), both talked about working with Sean Penn who, judging from the trailer and clips, really loses himself in the role (which of course is what you would expect from Penn). Lance Black discussed how he came to write the screenplay and the resources he relied on to make it accurate. The 1984 Oscar winning documentary The Life & Times of Harvey Milk was frequently mentioned by the panel as a source of inspiration and information. I saw the film at an Academy screening in June and I very much recommend seeing it.

Another interesting part of the program was hearing Cleve Jones' thoughts on the state of the gay rights movement, Prop 8 and what Obama may bring. He and Black have written about the importance of taking the gay marriage fight to the national level to avoid all the divisive state battles and what actions can be taken through the end of the year to bring the issue forward before Obama's inauguration - check out http://www.sevenweekstoequality.com/. He also talked about how heartened he was to see the younger generation take to the streets last week after the disappointing vote and not just fight through their computers (as he said, signing an on-line petition gets you nowhere - you need to get out there and be seen and heard). Jones also spoke about what he considers to be a battle of vocabulary (marriage, civil union, domestic partnership). As he put it, he doesn't care if you call it "teacups and mayonnaise" as long as he gets the same rights.

As may regular readers know, although I am not gay, I feel very strongly about equal rights for the LGBT community and I too found it inspiring to see all the people across the country rally loudly in favor of gay rights. I went to the rally at City Hall on Saturday to do my part to be seen and heard and it was an amazing thing to see all the people fighting for the right to love. For the sake of our country, so that it can really call itself a place where all men are free, let us hope that the spirit and example of Harvey Milk lives. Let his message reach from San Francisco to Salt Lake City to Little Rock to Atlanta to Albany to Washington DC that "hope will never be silent."

Please support the Milk film and help spread the word. I've posted it before but to get the excitement rolling, here's the trailer again:

Random Acts of Kindness

I love this story I saw linked on the New York Times site about greeting strangers at JFK airport. The photos are great:

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/11/17/welcome-back/

Slumdog Millionaire: The Best Film of 2008

Ok, I know 2008 isn't over and there are a lot of films coming out in the next 6 weeks but since last week I had to really struggle to name my favorite film of the year so far (I ended up digging all the way back to January's In Bruges), I am pleased to announce that Slumdog Millionaire has shot straight to the top of the list.

Since Slumdog Millionaire is a tale about a boy from the slums of Bombay, it goes without saying that there are many gut wrenching scenes in the film, mainly involved horrors committed against children. Those scenes were hard to watch but were also so well acted and interesting that I couldn't look away. However, the film overall is a beautiful, uplifting love story that has still left me with a smile on my face a day later. I don't want to give the plot away (I had read too much before I saw it) so please trust me and discover it for yourself. I will point out though that the sequence over the closing credits sealed the deal and should not be missed.

I also want to acknowledge the amazing performance of all the young actors, particularly Dev Patel as the main character as his present day self. Although this is Patel's first film, I've been watching him as Anwar on the BBC America show Skins where he mainly serves as comic relief. Just from watching Skins I never would have guessed that he was capable of this level of emotional performance and I do hope that we get to see a lot more of him in the future (his career should be amply fueled by the buzz from the film alone).

Manohla Dargis in the Times seemed to imply that the incongruity between the harshness of the film's setting and the cheeriness of its goals involves a blatant, commercial manipulation and that although she gave into the film, she felt somehow used. http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/movies/12slum.html It certainly is the case that the film does not try to comment realistically on the poverty in Bombay and chooses instead to remain in the world of fantasy. This may be a manipulation of sorts but when a movie leaves you so happy who the heck really cares? A serious, well-made film about the horrors of life in the slums of India could very well be interesting, thought-provoking, moving and would likely make me depressed for days. Those types of films are important but it is also important to make interesting, thought-provoking, moving and joyful films. I find a beautiful, joyful film is better than anti-depressants - if I'm feeling down and need a pick me up, I can trust certain films will always make me feel better and that's a wonderful thing. Slumdog Millionaire did that in spades and even if it has a Hollywood/Bollywood ending, I happily swallowed it down and would strongly recommend you do the same.

If you need a taste now, here's the trailer. It may not be playing everywhere yet but it should be coming real soon:



P.S. If you enjoy Slumdog Millionaire, please rent Millions, another uplifting Danny Boyle film involving adorable children with much less dire problems. It will keep the smile going.

Amjad by La La La Human Steps at BAM

I was not quite sure what to expect from Amjad (particularly after reading the thrashing it got in the New York Times) and I left not quite sure what to make of it. The dancers were certainly all very talented, particularly Dominic Santia (who my sister has met). Santia had two of the best sequences in the piece - a duet with another male dancer that was very romantic and a graceful solo on point shoes (not easy to do!) to Nutcracker-esque music. The music was also a beautiful mix of themes inspired from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker and, as the Times reviewer pointed out, if I had closed my eyes and just listened to the music that would have been enjoyable enough.

The production as a whole is the part that puzzled me. A lot of the choreography seemed repetitive and since the piece was an hour and a half, it started to get a little tired and tiring (I had had a long day). It was also a little slow to start - the piece began with three round video screens which projected images of round white beads and what looked like bloody muscle tissue. Those images kept coming back during the piece and I found them distracting and I did not understand what purpose they served. The video screens also showed images of dancers in brambles and while I at least got the Sleeping Beauty reference there, I'm not quite sure why it was necessary. The audience didn't seem to mind however - the company was met with enthusiastic applause.

I would like to see the dancers again, possibly in a more coherent piece. I hope they come around again soon. In the meantime, check out BAM's promotional video for Amjad and see what you think.

Quantum of Solace: Bond Seeks Revenge

Now I wasn't expecting anything more from a James Bond picture (even a Daniel Craig James Bond picture) than a fun two hours of convoluted plot, car chases, guns and gadgets. Quantum of Solace doesn't have any gadgets but it does have plenty of the rest and I guess that was enough. The opening car sequence was a little hard to follow with all the jump edits (and even though the police say there is a gray car and a black car, except for one brief flash of gray, I only saw two black cars). The chase over the roofs and into the cathedral of Siena left me on the edge of my seat praying they wouldn't completely destroy such a beautiful town (Not the striped marble! Not during the Palio!). I'm not quite sure why they had to go to Haiti or what the point of Strawberry Fields was (other than to be another disposable Bond girl). I'm also not sure how I feel about making environmentalists the new enemy - yes, of course he was an evil fake environmentalist but why give the cause a bad name? It also felt like the body count Bond left in his wake was overly gratuitous and high but it was probably no different from the last film.

So all of this is by way of saying that, for what it's worth, Quantum of Solace is a Bond film - not as good as Casino Royale but not as bad as The World is Not Enough ("I thought Christmas came only once a year" is hands down the worst line in a movie ever). The best part of Quantum of Solace is a prolonged sequence at a performance of Tosca in Austria which ends in a little Tosca joke - that happens about halfway through so if you have a headache at that point, you may just want to skip the rest.

P.S. Prior to seeing the film, I read a lot of critiques of the title song by Jack White and Alicia Keys. While the underlying music was perfectly fine for Bond credits, I would never in a million years call that screeching - it sounded like bad karaoke. Cover your ears for that part.

It's Not Tv. It's Ricky.

The Ricky Gervais stand-up routine I saw live in July is coming to HBO tomorrow night. Here were my thoughts http://heatherspopcultureworld.blogspot.com/2008/07/its-ricky.html. I didn't elaborate then because I didn't want to ruin it but I will try and check it out again myself this weekend so we can discuss in more detail next week.

A Christmas Tale - What a Difference a Lack of Reviews Make

The movie The Christmas Tale, which I saw at the New York Film Festival, opens in limited release today. All the reviews I have read have been very favorable which surprised me since I did not care for the movie when I saw it pre-reviews. It is hard to say whether I would have felt differently if I had read the reviews first but here's what I had to say http://heatherspopcultureworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-york-film-festival-christmas-tale.html. If you go to see it, let me know where you come out.

Celebrities on the MTA

OK, so I don't usually see big name celebrities riding the buses and subways of New York but it does make me happy to see someone who could easily afford other transportation using the MTA anyway. I thought about this this morning as I shared the bus with Kyra Sedgwick who, judging from her attire and the stop she used, was likely on her way to the Reebok gym (it was too rainy to walk). I've also frequently seen on-air personalities for ABC News riding my bus in the morning (Martin Bashir was a regular for awhile) and I've also encountered all kinds of people on the subway, including Lauren Ambrose, Josh Hamilton (who gave me an autograph), Jessica Walter (I miss Arrested Development) and the director Joel Schumacher who on a rush hour train, stood blocking the doors and loudly pontificated to a kiss-ass admirer about the Oscars and how the average person is too dumb to know what's really good. Around the time Schumacher loudly proclaimed that none of these people even knew who he was (and I was about to offer that he was someone never nominated for an Oscar), someone else volunteered that he was the idiot blocking the doors.

My favorite transit story isn't mine but belongs to a friend. He went to see a Tim Burton film with a friend who was not a Burton fan. On the subway ride home, he faced his friend and engaged in a vigorous defense of Burton and his work. After he had gone on about the genius of Burton for a few minutes, the train pulled into a station and he got a tap on the shoulder. He turned around to find himself face to face with Burton who said thanks and walked off the train.

Anyone else have a good celebrity transit encounter?

What Happened to Cher?!?

Dangers of turning on a TV in the middle of a sentence: Last night when I hit the on button I immediately heard a newscaster say "Cher was shot and killed by the police." I had to wait for the segment to come around to figure out that someone wielding a "chair was shot and killed by the police." Oops.

Nielsen is My Own Worst Enemy

Although I'm not sure I've really been enjoying My Own Worst Enemy, I have been faithfully watching which I guess is more than most people can say. Yes, the rumor is the show will be cancelled - is anyone really torn up by this news? I hope they at least air the episodes already filmed - I was really looking forward to finding out next week whether his wife is a spy.

While Wall-E was saving humankind...

Burn-E was just trying to get through the day. I generally like the concept of a what was happening behind the main action piece and although those sometimes fall flat (did anyone else try to watch Bruce and Lloyd of Get Smart?) this one is just perfect:

Burn-E
by DrMalandra

All You Need Is Love

I'm not a fan of Keith Olberman's but this is too well put not to share:



Thanks to Khue for pointing this out.

Bond, James Bond

Bus to the movie theater: $2

Two tickets to see Quantum of Solace on Saturday: $12 (love those matinees!)

Actually seeing James Bond at the theater: Priceless

So I went to buy some advance tickets to Quantum of Solace and accidentally stumbled onto the New York premiere. I saw Jamie Hector go in (oh Marlo) as well as Julia Stiles and Debra Messing (yawn) and Jeffrey Wright who I am looking forward to seeing in the movie. There was a crowd forming by the door so I decided to give it a few minutes and lo and behold Daniel Craig and his girlfriend made their quick exit into a large SUV (hybrid of course). He completely ignored a group of fans who had been waiting awhile for autographs which prompted a chorus of boos. The SUV got stuck at the light at the end of the block so some intrepid fans ran up to the window but Craig held his ground. I let the SUV turn in front of me as I crossed the street so I could get one last peek of him through the window. Autographs or no, Craig still makes one great Bond - I'm so excited to see the film!

The Big Bang Theory Blows Up in My Face

So I had seen The Big Bang Theory once or twice on an airplane and then happened to catch an episode or two this season and found its portrayal of hopelessly nerdy science geniuses fairly entertaining. In particular, I was enjoying Jim Parsons' portrayal of the socially hopeless Sheldon who always insists on intelligence, correctness and order, correcting people's sentences, making fun of their gaps in knowledge - he has a certain way of putting things that makes me laugh. So this week I decided that I should be taping this show and make it a part of my regular Monday TV night (having dumped Heroes I have the extra time).

However, last night's episode sucked all the humor right out of me. The premise, in essence, was that Sheldon requires everyone to not interfere with his compulsive tendencies and gives them demerits including banishing them from the apartment when they get in the way. His friends understand that it's not worth fighting him since, one can assume, it is easier to be nice to their friend than try and mess with his uncontrollable compulsions. However, his neighbor decides to interfere with his needs and make him as uncomfortable and miserable as possible.

Now I know I'm taking this way too seriously and reading too much into it but as someone with a few OCD issues myself, I did not find it remotely amusing for the neighbor to taunt poor Sheldon who has no control over his needs to have things a certain way. Of course when someone messes with my irrational sense of order, I don't ban them from my apartment but to have the neighbor go out of her way to do things that mean nothing to her but make him upset was just plain mean. His insistence on order is supposed to be an endearing quality and part of the joke is that everyone caters to it. I'm going to keep watching but I do hope the writers can refrain from torturing Sheldon in the future.

Rant over. Thank you for listening.

Body of Lies (yes, that's a real title)

Despite the fake-sounding genericism of its title, Body of Lies is actually a fairly entertaining film. I generally tend to shy away from Russell Crowe films (does anyone else find him too serious?) but even he didn't weigh the picture down and indeed turned in a somewhat light portrayal of a bureaucrat playing war games at a distance. Leonardo DiCaprio (happy birthday!) also did a fine job as the Middle East-living on the edge agent. The film on the whole, despite its attempt to be politically minded, is much more of a thriller/action film than a Syriana-type commentary which I think works in its favor. No new news on Middle East affairs (which gives me a headache) but fun cat and mouse games (yay)!

The true star of the show though is Mark Strong, a British actor who is also currently starring in RocknRolla (another fine performance). As the Jordanian Intelligence Minister, he hits just the right combination of sinister and stylish which makes his character the most interesting and fun to watch. According to imdb.com, he's got a few more films on the horizon, including Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (Mark Strong, Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. oh my!) and Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass (featuring fabulous casting work from my friend Zoe), so let's hope the Mark Strong fun keeps rolling!

A Conversation with Daily Show Writers

This is a nice recap of the Daily Show writers panel from Friday night (part of the New York Comedy Festival): http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/secrets-of-the-daily-show/?hp It's interesting to hear how the jokes are made!

Hello Steve Guttenberg

I just saw this on Popwatch and I still can't quite believe the bizarreness of it. Um, what exactly is he thinking?

The Struggle Now Continues

I really do not intend this to be a political blog but some things can't go by without comment. I would have thought that given the sheer joy and power of last night's historic election of Barack Obama, certain groups in this country would have the general issue of civil rights on their mind. So shame on you black voters of California (that is 70% of you http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/11/05/california-votes-down-same-sex-marriage/) for tossing the spirit of this amazing moment aside and voting to deny another minority group a basic human right, namely the right to marry the person they love. Your vote for Prop 8 is a horrible setback for the wonderful idea that all groups should be treated as equals. If only you had brushed up on the history of your fight to marry whom you choose: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia

And in closing...

For those of you who, like me, switched to CNN at the stroke of 11 to see Obama declared president-elect, then you also missed the overflow of the Indecision 2008 special. The Daily Show/Colbert Report, as always, knows how to put things just right while letting some of their real emotions show through:

Light Moment of Election Night

The mother-in-law elect, celebrating on stage in Chicago with her family, her son-in-law having just been elected President of the United States, stops and points out into the audience and can be seen saying "there's Oprah."

Yes We Can

Although California's voters are currently scaring me with their seeming outcome on all the state propositions, there is no denying that tonight is an amazing night. Clustered around the television in my friend Chris' apartment in Brooklyn (listening to people partying in the streets below), the left image certainly brought a tear to my eye but the right image is what really got to me. Whatever Jesse Jackson's faults may be, to see a man present at the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. react to our first African American president is beyond words.

We will see what the next four years will bring but in the meantime let's toast to the REAL United States who voted in record numbers and made their voices truly be heard.

Election Day Thoughts

There are those who will say that they will be glad to see this election season go but I think Bill Maher hit the nail on the head on Friday when he said how could you possibly be over the most exciting and important election of our time. I tried to go to bed early last night so I could get up and vote early but I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve, too excited to sleep. That was OK though because I bounded out of bed at 6 this morning with a Christmas Day excitement, bursting at the seams to run out and vote. I managed to wait patiently in line (only 36 minutes but more voters at my polling place than I have seen in the last four years combined) but seeing everyone standing in line, young, old, entire families with their children and just seeing how excited everyone was filled me with such joy. I am sure I will be in tears tonight no matter the outcome (although I am desperately hoping for tears of joy) but my most fervent hope is that the spirit of participation which is so infectious today continues for a long time to come.

However long you have to wait, please trust me when I say the rush at the end is worth it. Vote, vote, vote.

Prison Break: Bye, Bye Bellick

It has been nice to watch Bellick go from snarling guard to beaten down prisoner (thank god he found some pants in that Panama jail) to helpful sidekick but it is only fitting that he took his exit in sacrifice of the great good. I felt as if his end was coming since his character had kind of outlived his story but he was a character that served the show well - rest in peace in the water supply of Los Angeles (please don't let that be drinking water).

I'm Addicted to Extreme Makeover Home Edition

This week's episode was about a family in Geneva, NY - parents are social workers and dad started a boxing gym for the local, underprivileged kids to keep them off the streets - even became legal guardian to one of the kids, "Hammer." There were so many moments in this show that made me bawl (including when dad and Hammer gave each other a tearful, loving hug) but honestly, watching the family and the kids play around in their new gym and receive a special message and gift just got me. How could you not cry at this?

Synecdoche, New York: If you'll allow me to self-indulge

I am a big fan of Charlie Kaufman's. I think that his scripts are amongst the most original out there and I have always enjoyed his prior films (particularly the romantic, funny and overall lovely Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - one of my all time favorite films). I haven't even minded in the past when the films have drifted into self-commentary (Adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as Charlie Kaufman). Yes, Kaufman is clearly a miserable sort but at least he is able to keep some levity and hope alive.

Until now. The cast in Synecdoche, New York reads like a dream and they do their best to add some life but the film is just so bogged down in death and misery that you want to slit your wrists when it's all over. Acting as both writer and director, there is no one to check Kaufman's most morose impulses and thus everyone in the film keeps slowly suffering and making their way towards death until inevitably they get there. Philip Seymor Hoffman's Cadan spends the entire film trying to make a serious theater piece but all his piece does is allow him to indulge and relive his most miserable obsessions and woes over and over again. The nature of the piece and the characters playing characters playing characters is somewhat interesting but it is hard to stay engaged where there is all misery and no hope.

I sincerely hope that Kaufman continues to keep writing scripts but please don't let him direct.

Watch Life on Mars!

The show's ratings keep slipping so I'm going to keep plugging for it. It is such a head trip of a show (if he meets his mother in the past, how would that change his future?) but the American version is proving to be so much fun! Here's some little zingers from abc.com - you can watch full episodes there as well - please do!

Fifty Words (I wish it were just 25)

I went to see the play Fifty Words with Norbert Leo Butz and Elizabeth Marvel over the weekend and I have to say that they are both wonderful, engaging stage actors. If only I could have see them in a more inspiring play. The 90 minute play presents us with a married couple who slowly start to show their true colors as the marriage slowly disintegrates. Not only is it depressing but both characters are so unlikable (not the actors' fault) that I could care less what happened to either one of them. She's cold and mean, he's unfaithful, blah, blah, blah. Will they stay together for the sake of their son? Whatever.

The Daily Show rocks!

So I was lucky enough to snag a friend's friend's extra ticket to the taping of the Daily Show on Thursday and I have to say that as funny as the show is at home, there is such a great vibe being there and watching it live. It is a little hard to hear at the live taping since the crowd tends to drown out Stewart's punch lines (the crowd reaction is very much amped down on the recorded track) but everyone is so excited to be there that it's very easy to get swept up. I myself ended up loudly laughing, cheering and yes booing (come on Bill Kristol!) and watching the show as it aired that night, I swear I could even hear my boos come through.

The whole show was quite good but I have to say I particularly enjoyed this report by John Oliver. Even Jon Stewart, watching it on the monitors from his desk laughed heartily through the report and John Oliver came out for a rousing round of applause during the commercial break. See if you can hear me boo ;)

All My Sons: Why Arthur Miller Plays Give Me a Headache

I recognize that Arthur Miller is a very important American playwright, I do, but that 1950s bash your messages into the audience's skulls form of playwriting is just not my cup of tea. By the time Dianne Wiest ended the play shouting "live! live!" I had such a headache that I just wanted to run away from all the screaming. I feel this way about Death of a Salesman and the Crucible as well (especially the Crucible) - the morals and message are so obvious and so heavy-handed that you can't help but choke on them by the end of the play.

That aside, the current production had some high and low points. I thought the set design worked very well - a stark backyard with images and message projected on the back screen and the cast hovering visibly in the wings throughout the show. I also thought that John Lithgow did a great job of trying to humanize and naturalize the overly moralistic dilemmas and Patrick Wilson matched him whenever they had scenes together. However, Dianne Wiest was doing her best "I am in an important play" voice which only enhanced the overkill of the play itself. And Katie Holmes, although she tries her best, just doesn't have the ability to match the others and also ends up projecting a self-conscious, important play-type vibe.

All in all, I would say that if you find Arthur Miller interesting then you should try and check out this production, even for John Lithgow's portrayal alone. However, if like me you're prone to Miller headaches, then you might want to steer clear.

VOTE!!!

Whatever else you do tomorrow, please, please do not let history pass you by!

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