I finished the final Harry Potter book and boy was it great.
JK Rowling is a great story teller.
Don't worry. No spoilers here.
But when you're finished with the book, let me know in the comment section so I can write my Harry Potter post.
July 25, 2007
July 24, 2007
Promises, Promises
It's been a while since I've posted and I owe a few posts to the people who follow my daily travails (cliche alert).
But a good friend of mine just gave me the newest Harry Potter book and I haven't been able to put it down much since I started reading it Sunday night.
Here are some topics to come.
1. Age of Love and Rock of Love
2. Our trip upstate and our visit to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame
3. Our outing to Brooklyn for a Cyclones game
4. Pictures of stuff
But a good friend of mine just gave me the newest Harry Potter book and I haven't been able to put it down much since I started reading it Sunday night.
Here are some topics to come.
1. Age of Love and Rock of Love
2. Our trip upstate and our visit to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame
3. Our outing to Brooklyn for a Cyclones game
4. Pictures of stuff
July 20, 2007
George Takei
What a treat. I saw George Takei at Spring Awakening. Sadly, I couldn't talk to him. I was stationed at my headset booth during intermission and a crowd of about 10 people stood in front of me for the duration. They were drinking and talking, apparently unable to get over the shock of seeing some nudity at the end of act I. Over their heads I saw George Takei. I was thinking that if they hadn't been standing there, I may have been able to get his attention - made some eye contact or spoken with him even. But I couldn't. He was gone before I could finish the above thought.Then after the show, while walking away from the theater, George Takei was four groups of people ahead of me. I tried to catch up with him but I couldn't. The crowd was too dense and moved too slowly. He broke away from the crowd at the hotel where I assume he was staying but by then, he was in a private conversation with a friend. What would have been a cool moment on a sidewalk in a crowd of people, would have been a weird and uncomfortable moment in the lobby of his hotel. You know what I mean?
If I could have spoken with him, I would have told him that I'm a big fan; that I loved him in Star Trek, that I loved his autobiography, To The Stars, which I own on audio cassette (as read by George Takei) and that I am happy his career is on the rise again.
And from what I know about him, he probably would have been receptive.
I just didn't want to chase him into a corner to tell him all that. It would have been weird.
July 18, 2007
July 15, 2007
McDonald Land
I mentioned earlier this month that Jon and I have joined a secret Jeopardy society. We're becoming pretty active participants and we've started submitting game boards for other members to play. That means that we've been researching and writing our own questions.
Jon is much quicker than me when it comes to submitting boards and he's written five to my one. But I started work on a second board. My third category on that board is fictional mayors. As part of my research, Jon suggested I check into a law suit that the Sydney and Marty Craft brought against McDonald's for stealing from the H.R. Puf"n'Stuff program for their McDonald's land ideas, which is what I did.
Anyway, as a result of all that Jon found this video on YouTube which I present to you here. It is definitely trippy and if you're familiar with H.R Puf'n'Stuff, you will recognize the imagery immediately.
Jon is much quicker than me when it comes to submitting boards and he's written five to my one. But I started work on a second board. My third category on that board is fictional mayors. As part of my research, Jon suggested I check into a law suit that the Sydney and Marty Craft brought against McDonald's for stealing from the H.R. Puf"n'Stuff program for their McDonald's land ideas, which is what I did.
Anyway, as a result of all that Jon found this video on YouTube which I present to you here. It is definitely trippy and if you're familiar with H.R Puf'n'Stuff, you will recognize the imagery immediately.
July 13, 2007
Rachel Ray
Is it just me or does Rachel Ray drive anyone else mad with her bastardized version of English?
E.V.O.O. - This is what RR calls Extra Virgin Olive Oil. But honestly. Does it take that much longer to say it than it does to abbreviate it? And could she just say at the top of her show that when she refers to oil, she is referring to Extra Virgin Olive Oil since that's the only type of oil she ever uses?
To make it even more annoying, EVOO is getting added to the dictionary - I couldn't tell you which one though. Maybe it's some dictionary of annoying invented language .
Yum-O - What is she? Six years old? She can't remember how to say Yummy.
Delish - One more syllable and she'd have the word delicious. Not cute. Not really a time saver.
Sammies - Perhaps the most annoying of her euphemisms, it's how Rachel Ray refers to sandwiches. I'm assuming that's the shortened form of the common childhood mispronunciation sammiches. Not cute.
E.V.O.O. - This is what RR calls Extra Virgin Olive Oil. But honestly. Does it take that much longer to say it than it does to abbreviate it? And could she just say at the top of her show that when she refers to oil, she is referring to Extra Virgin Olive Oil since that's the only type of oil she ever uses?
To make it even more annoying, EVOO is getting added to the dictionary - I couldn't tell you which one though. Maybe it's some dictionary of annoying invented language .
Yum-O - What is she? Six years old? She can't remember how to say Yummy.
Delish - One more syllable and she'd have the word delicious. Not cute. Not really a time saver.
Sammies - Perhaps the most annoying of her euphemisms, it's how Rachel Ray refers to sandwiches. I'm assuming that's the shortened form of the common childhood mispronunciation sammiches. Not cute.
Daniel Radcliffe At A Chorus Line
Last night, I saw Harry Potter or rather I saw the actor who plays Harry Potter in the movies. I knew something special was going because I saw a couple of security guards standing in the back of the theater near my booth. Aside from always wearing suits, security guards very often wear devices in their ears with little coils so they can conduct discreet conversations with each other.
Daniel Radcliffe was hard to spot. He was sitting in the orchestra section on the aisle about 15 rows back. He was wearing a clever disguse - a beige painter's cap. Amazingly no one was bothering him. I heard later from an usher that a couple of girls sitting across the aisle starting giggling madly when they noticed him and tried to get an autograph but the usher discouraged them. Thank goodness. That would have started an assault of giggling girls because for whatever reason, last night, there were a lot of teenage girls seeing the show. Sometimes crowds are skewed a certain way with no explanation - people wearing red shirts; people over 50; groups of pregnant women.
With that said, he managed to maintain his anonymity throughout the show, because he didn't remove his cap until the show started. I didn't get a good look at him until the show as over. He was brought up the aisle and escorted back stage by his security guards. On his way back stage, he walked by me.
And I have to say, he looks like a regular nice kid. He's got very big eyes. He's not that tall. And he had a pleasant air about him meaning he didn't seem arrogant or spoiiled or obnoxious. In addition to his security detail (2 beefy, goodlooking English guys), he was with two adults who could have been his parents, but I don't really know who they were.
Most importantly he looked like a kid. I know there are people who think that Daniel Radcliffe is starting to look too old to play Harry Potter but when you see him in person, he looks just the right age. He looks like a teenager and I think might even look a little younger than his age.
If I were a teenager, I probably would have had the same reaction. I've never been a giggler in the face of celebrity - just people with I might really have had a chance of getting romantic.
So what's my take on Daniel Radcliffe? Leave him alone if you see him. He's a nice boy.
Daniel Radcliffe was hard to spot. He was sitting in the orchestra section on the aisle about 15 rows back. He was wearing a clever disguse - a beige painter's cap. Amazingly no one was bothering him. I heard later from an usher that a couple of girls sitting across the aisle starting giggling madly when they noticed him and tried to get an autograph but the usher discouraged them. Thank goodness. That would have started an assault of giggling girls because for whatever reason, last night, there were a lot of teenage girls seeing the show. Sometimes crowds are skewed a certain way with no explanation - people wearing red shirts; people over 50; groups of pregnant women.
With that said, he managed to maintain his anonymity throughout the show, because he didn't remove his cap until the show started. I didn't get a good look at him until the show as over. He was brought up the aisle and escorted back stage by his security guards. On his way back stage, he walked by me.
And I have to say, he looks like a regular nice kid. He's got very big eyes. He's not that tall. And he had a pleasant air about him meaning he didn't seem arrogant or spoiiled or obnoxious. In addition to his security detail (2 beefy, goodlooking English guys), he was with two adults who could have been his parents, but I don't really know who they were.
Most importantly he looked like a kid. I know there are people who think that Daniel Radcliffe is starting to look too old to play Harry Potter but when you see him in person, he looks just the right age. He looks like a teenager and I think might even look a little younger than his age.
If I were a teenager, I probably would have had the same reaction. I've never been a giggler in the face of celebrity - just people with I might really have had a chance of getting romantic.
So what's my take on Daniel Radcliffe? Leave him alone if you see him. He's a nice boy.
July 11, 2007
Grey Gardens Comes To An End
Sadly, one of my favorite new Broadway shows will be closing prematurely on July 29th.
Grey Gardens is the musical that some really smart people based on the Maysles brother's documentary about Jackie O's aunt and cousin, big and little Edie Beale. Sadly, they just haven't been able to fill seats, in spite of the two big Tony wins.
This really saddens me, but maybe it's a good thing. Christine Ebersole who won a Tony for playing both big and little Edie through the course of the show, has got to be exhausted by now. She's been playing the part for two years or so, since before it was on Broadway.
Additionally, a short run of a fantastic show makes you feel like you were part of something really special if you got to see it, of course.
Whether or not the show could succeed on the road with two other actresses playing their parts is an entirely different issue. And probably the reason why the show didn't win a Tony. From all the people I've talked to over the last year, I heard that a big consideration for awarding a Tony to a show is whether or not the show can travel. By traveling, I mean whether or not the show will succeed when community theater groups or bigger venues in cities like in Missouri or Chicago try to stage the show. It was the general concensus of quite a few people that I've spoken with the show simply will not travel as well as something like Curtains or Spring Awakening (2007 winner for best show).
I loved Grey Gardens all 20 or so times I saw the show. And just thinking about it now for this brief moment, I've got three songs from the show bouncing around my brain, particularly the opening number of ACT II. And the beautiful duet at the end of ACT II.
The final duet with Ebersole and Wilson, for me, is alone worth the ticket price.
Please. I implore you. If you haven't seen Christine Ebersole and Mary Wilson's Tony award winning performances yet, GO SEE THEM. Nobody on Broadway can touch them in terms of performance, personal chemistry and emotional connection to the audience.
It's a beautiful show and it's a shame it has to come to an end.
Grey Gardens is the musical that some really smart people based on the Maysles brother's documentary about Jackie O's aunt and cousin, big and little Edie Beale. Sadly, they just haven't been able to fill seats, in spite of the two big Tony wins.
This really saddens me, but maybe it's a good thing. Christine Ebersole who won a Tony for playing both big and little Edie through the course of the show, has got to be exhausted by now. She's been playing the part for two years or so, since before it was on Broadway.
Additionally, a short run of a fantastic show makes you feel like you were part of something really special if you got to see it, of course.
Whether or not the show could succeed on the road with two other actresses playing their parts is an entirely different issue. And probably the reason why the show didn't win a Tony. From all the people I've talked to over the last year, I heard that a big consideration for awarding a Tony to a show is whether or not the show can travel. By traveling, I mean whether or not the show will succeed when community theater groups or bigger venues in cities like in Missouri or Chicago try to stage the show. It was the general concensus of quite a few people that I've spoken with the show simply will not travel as well as something like Curtains or Spring Awakening (2007 winner for best show).
I loved Grey Gardens all 20 or so times I saw the show. And just thinking about it now for this brief moment, I've got three songs from the show bouncing around my brain, particularly the opening number of ACT II. And the beautiful duet at the end of ACT II.
The final duet with Ebersole and Wilson, for me, is alone worth the ticket price.
Please. I implore you. If you haven't seen Christine Ebersole and Mary Wilson's Tony award winning performances yet, GO SEE THEM. Nobody on Broadway can touch them in terms of performance, personal chemistry and emotional connection to the audience.
It's a beautiful show and it's a shame it has to come to an end.
Xanadu - The Reviews Are In
The reviews for Xanadu the Musical are in.
NY Times reviewer Charles Isherwood liked it but didn't love it. Overall, the review is favorable. He describes the lead Keri Butler as "heaven on wheels, and in leg warmers".
Daily News reviewer Joe Dziemianowicz liked it for the most part. I thought he gave the most honest review. He liked the parts of the show that were strong and pointed out the parts that were weak. Isherwood did that too, but Dziemianowicz did it in a more constructive way.
NY Post reviewer Clive Barnes, in his review which is not so cleverly entitled "XANADON'T", really panned the play. While I agree that this isn't the BEST thing Broadway has to offer, it certainly doesn't deserve the harsh critique Barnes wrote up for it. Sometimes I think he is mean spirited just because he can be. He reminds of Anton Ego, the food critic from Ratatouille, whose mission in life is to make it impossible for any restaurant to succeed culinarily.
And while I agree that there are some dead spots in the show, something that all three critics commented on, overall the show is very entertaining. The nights I was there, not a single person walked out with their heads hanging low. They all felt good - the way they should.
NY Times reviewer Charles Isherwood liked it but didn't love it. Overall, the review is favorable. He describes the lead Keri Butler as "heaven on wheels, and in leg warmers".
Daily News reviewer Joe Dziemianowicz liked it for the most part. I thought he gave the most honest review. He liked the parts of the show that were strong and pointed out the parts that were weak. Isherwood did that too, but Dziemianowicz did it in a more constructive way.
NY Post reviewer Clive Barnes, in his review which is not so cleverly entitled "XANADON'T", really panned the play. While I agree that this isn't the BEST thing Broadway has to offer, it certainly doesn't deserve the harsh critique Barnes wrote up for it. Sometimes I think he is mean spirited just because he can be. He reminds of Anton Ego, the food critic from Ratatouille, whose mission in life is to make it impossible for any restaurant to succeed culinarily.
And while I agree that there are some dead spots in the show, something that all three critics commented on, overall the show is very entertaining. The nights I was there, not a single person walked out with their heads hanging low. They all felt good - the way they should.
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School
I bet you've all been wondering if after my inexplicable obsession with VH1's hit Flavor of Love if I would watch Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School. Of course I did. I've just been too embarrassed to admit it up until now. What changed? Why am I now admitting that I watched it? Because in the reunion show, the show's host Mo'Nique said that Charm School was VH1's number one show. So with that many people watching the show, how could I deny ever having watched it? I can't.
The reason I enjoy this show much is it requires absolutely no thought at all. And it's designed that way. Somehow, Cris Abrego - the show's producer - has figured out a way to make a show that is all surface and no substance, more than any other reality show out there. And it's addictive. Once you watch a couple of episodes you become invested in the outcome. And you get caught up in all the little dramas. Never for one second did I believe that the producers really had any interest in teaching the Charm School students how to be more charming, although Mo'Nique did a pretty good job trying to convince us that she really did care.
If they really wanted to help these women improve their images, they would never have shown half the footage they did. When you think about it though, if they really, really wanted to help they would never have even filmed them. Of course, some of the women did thrive and those were the ones who really wanted to change their lives. But much like Flavor of Love, most of the women really just wanted to be on television. It was interesting to watch the women who couldn't reconcile that with themselves - like poor Larissa. Larissa - formerly known as Bootz - came in as a certain type of person and left as that person. She behaved just terribly on the show and really embarrassed herself. Not that the other women didn't, but her more than all the others.
Like I said, I found myself caught up in the life stories of these ladies and all their little conflicts. Will Leilene discover her inner strength? Will Buckwild shed her wigger pretense? Will Saaphyri be able to keep her temper under control? Will Shay and Larissa's friendship survive in the aftermath of having framed Shatar by stealing the photos of Leilene's dead mother? You get the idea.
And I was actually happy when Saaphyri Windsor won the $50,000. At the reunion show, I learned that with the money, Saaphyri put down a deposit on a condo, is starting a charity for women who have lost their hair through either cancer treatments or alopecia and is also starting her own line of "lip chap". I would like to know where she's living that she can make a dollar stretch that far. But I also hope that she's able to hold herself together after letting her image fall so far south in her first appearance on the Flavor of Love.
So. Yes. I did watch the show. I saw every episode - some I watched twice. And yes. I did enjoy the show.
The reason I enjoy this show much is it requires absolutely no thought at all. And it's designed that way. Somehow, Cris Abrego - the show's producer - has figured out a way to make a show that is all surface and no substance, more than any other reality show out there. And it's addictive. Once you watch a couple of episodes you become invested in the outcome. And you get caught up in all the little dramas. Never for one second did I believe that the producers really had any interest in teaching the Charm School students how to be more charming, although Mo'Nique did a pretty good job trying to convince us that she really did care.
If they really wanted to help these women improve their images, they would never have shown half the footage they did. When you think about it though, if they really, really wanted to help they would never have even filmed them. Of course, some of the women did thrive and those were the ones who really wanted to change their lives. But much like Flavor of Love, most of the women really just wanted to be on television. It was interesting to watch the women who couldn't reconcile that with themselves - like poor Larissa. Larissa - formerly known as Bootz - came in as a certain type of person and left as that person. She behaved just terribly on the show and really embarrassed herself. Not that the other women didn't, but her more than all the others.
Like I said, I found myself caught up in the life stories of these ladies and all their little conflicts. Will Leilene discover her inner strength? Will Buckwild shed her wigger pretense? Will Saaphyri be able to keep her temper under control? Will Shay and Larissa's friendship survive in the aftermath of having framed Shatar by stealing the photos of Leilene's dead mother? You get the idea.
And I was actually happy when Saaphyri Windsor won the $50,000. At the reunion show, I learned that with the money, Saaphyri put down a deposit on a condo, is starting a charity for women who have lost their hair through either cancer treatments or alopecia and is also starting her own line of "lip chap". I would like to know where she's living that she can make a dollar stretch that far. But I also hope that she's able to hold herself together after letting her image fall so far south in her first appearance on the Flavor of Love.
So. Yes. I did watch the show. I saw every episode - some I watched twice. And yes. I did enjoy the show.
July 10, 2007
Shady Lady
Because of the extremely hot and humid weather I have not left my cool, air-condtioned house (which we keep at a constant 73 degrees) since 11 Sunday morning. Don't be jealous. I do work, just not on Sundays or Mondays. And you should be especially NOT jealous of me because I am about to do our laundry which must be done by this afternoon or I won't have anything wear to work tonight.
Where am I working this week you ask? This week, I am working at A Chorus Line which is running at the Schoenfeld (formerly the Plymouth) theater. I imagine it will be sold out which means I'll have to stand in order watch the show (poor me). But that's okay because I'm reading a Jodi Piccoult book and that should keep me busy for a couple of hours.
Where am I working this week you ask? This week, I am working at A Chorus Line which is running at the Schoenfeld (formerly the Plymouth) theater. I imagine it will be sold out which means I'll have to stand in order watch the show (poor me). But that's okay because I'm reading a Jodi Piccoult book and that should keep me busy for a couple of hours.
July 07, 2007
Ratatouille
What a nice surprise. I actually enjoyed this movie. It was surprisingly well developed and not so surprisingly it was beautifully animated.
Who knew that I could enjoy a movie about rats in a kitchen especially after reading Rats by Robert Sullivan. I was afraid that after reading his book that it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for me to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the movie but somehow PIXAR worked it out. The rat was cute and voiced by the personification of cuteness, comedian Patton Oswalt.
I wonder if Disney ever really listened to his stand up. I'm sure if that were the only thing on which they based choosing him, he wouldn't have gotten it because he is a dirty, dirty boy. But, like all comedians who make it as actors, he is immensely talented. In his stand up routines he portrays himself as an obsessive compulsive who loves food eating or as an eloquent person might put it, eating food. In the movie he plays a rat gourmand, obsessed with cleanliness. I like Oswalt so I'm not going to say he's a rat. He's not. But the other part doesn't seem like to much of a stretch. He was well suited for the role.
The movie is fun. Go see it. Now.
The Misanthrope has spoken.
Who knew that I could enjoy a movie about rats in a kitchen especially after reading Rats by Robert Sullivan. I was afraid that after reading his book that it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for me to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the movie but somehow PIXAR worked it out. The rat was cute and voiced by the personification of cuteness, comedian Patton Oswalt.
I wonder if Disney ever really listened to his stand up. I'm sure if that were the only thing on which they based choosing him, he wouldn't have gotten it because he is a dirty, dirty boy. But, like all comedians who make it as actors, he is immensely talented. In his stand up routines he portrays himself as an obsessive compulsive who loves food eating or as an eloquent person might put it, eating food. In the movie he plays a rat gourmand, obsessed with cleanliness. I like Oswalt so I'm not going to say he's a rat. He's not. But the other part doesn't seem like to much of a stretch. He was well suited for the role.
The movie is fun. Go see it. Now.
The Misanthrope has spoken.
June 30, 2007
Spring Awakening
I'm working at Spring Awakening again this week and I couldn't be more thrilled. Even though I know the show is good, it's been a while since I've seen it. From the first song, I was reminded what a truly great show this is and why it absolutely deserved to win the Tony for best new musical.
The backdrop of the show is a small German town before the turn of the 20th century but the music for the show is written for today. And even though the musical takes place over 100 years ago the theme is remarkably contemporary. Before you say that it's natural that the show would be contemporary because it was mostly put together in the 21st century, take note that the book is based on a play written German playwright Frank Wedekind in 1891.
From what I've learned Wedekind wrote this play after a series of teen suicides in Germany in the late 19th century. He explores the effects of a sexually repressed society on teenagers who are becoming aware of their sexuality.
For me, what makes the show contemporary is the fact that in the play, most of the adults that the teenagers rely upon for support, comfort and nurturing basically fail them, leaving them to deal with the consequences of behavior that they don't understand? What do I mean? Well. The musical opens with 14 year-old Vendla asking her mother where babies come from. Because her mother is so embarrassed she lies to Vendla and gives her a blatantly inaccurate accounting of sex and reproduction.
Naturally, Vendla gets pregnant and has no idea at all why. Then her mother blames her for not knowing better. Another character in the play commits suicide and after his father shames him for failing, claiming that his parents will no longer be able to face their friends in church because their son had gotten kicked out of school for failing. There's a lot of that in this show; children raped by a parent; children being purposely failed in school for being less than popular; children who are thrown out of their homes to live with Bohemians.
And through it all, the wonderful music expresses the children's rage and frustration through lyrics that sound like teen poetry and music that sounds as classical as it is rock.
By the end of the show, you're left thinking about how kids are left to fend for themselves today. How many stories do we hear about teenage pregnancy, suicide and incest?
This a great show. And hopefully it will run long enough that you'll get to see it.
The backdrop of the show is a small German town before the turn of the 20th century but the music for the show is written for today. And even though the musical takes place over 100 years ago the theme is remarkably contemporary. Before you say that it's natural that the show would be contemporary because it was mostly put together in the 21st century, take note that the book is based on a play written German playwright Frank Wedekind in 1891.
From what I've learned Wedekind wrote this play after a series of teen suicides in Germany in the late 19th century. He explores the effects of a sexually repressed society on teenagers who are becoming aware of their sexuality.
For me, what makes the show contemporary is the fact that in the play, most of the adults that the teenagers rely upon for support, comfort and nurturing basically fail them, leaving them to deal with the consequences of behavior that they don't understand? What do I mean? Well. The musical opens with 14 year-old Vendla asking her mother where babies come from. Because her mother is so embarrassed she lies to Vendla and gives her a blatantly inaccurate accounting of sex and reproduction.
Naturally, Vendla gets pregnant and has no idea at all why. Then her mother blames her for not knowing better. Another character in the play commits suicide and after his father shames him for failing, claiming that his parents will no longer be able to face their friends in church because their son had gotten kicked out of school for failing. There's a lot of that in this show; children raped by a parent; children being purposely failed in school for being less than popular; children who are thrown out of their homes to live with Bohemians.
And through it all, the wonderful music expresses the children's rage and frustration through lyrics that sound like teen poetry and music that sounds as classical as it is rock.
By the end of the show, you're left thinking about how kids are left to fend for themselves today. How many stories do we hear about teenage pregnancy, suicide and incest?
This a great show. And hopefully it will run long enough that you'll get to see it.
iDolatry
People are losing their minds over this new iPhone. The NY Post, as well as other news reporting agencies, have been presenting articles for days examining the iPhone craze. I do have a couple of favorite stories.
First - there's the Greg Packer story. Jon came home one night with an early edition of the next day's paper. And in it was a story about Greg Packer who was interviewed because he had already been waiting on line for one of the first iPhones available for sale later in the week. Upon review, the editors realized that Greg Packer is famous for getting quoted in newspapers and magazines and spends a significant amount of time doing it. He even has his own entry in Wikipedia. Upon realizing this, the NY Post team decided not to run any pictures or quotes from Greg Packer as they pertained to the iPhone and he did not appear in the late edition.
Second - Another Post article talked about how when the Mayor of Philadelphia was standing in line for his iPhone, passerby and Philadelphia citizen, shouted out a question about why the Mayor hadn't brought down the city's murder rate. Doesn't that make you wonder why the Mayor of Philadelphia was standing on line in the first place? Isn't he important enough that he would have people to stand on line for him? Apparently he really wanted to be one of the first people to get a new iPhone because he likes having new things. Even with a rate of 200 murders so far this year
Third - today I read something from Breitbarts about the first flood of I-Phone sales. The story covers several people who are thrilled to death to have FINALLY gotten there iPhones after the incredibly long wait. They even found people who managed to hook their laptops up to the ether (wireless internet) and activated their iPhones within minutes of getting them. But what made this one of my favorite iPhone stories was the fact that Steve Wozniak rolled up to an Apple store on his segway where waiting customers stepped aside to give him his honarary first place in line. He then bought two iPhones even though he will most likely get one for free next month. It's just an embarassment of riches, I tell ya'.
First - there's the Greg Packer story. Jon came home one night with an early edition of the next day's paper. And in it was a story about Greg Packer who was interviewed because he had already been waiting on line for one of the first iPhones available for sale later in the week. Upon review, the editors realized that Greg Packer is famous for getting quoted in newspapers and magazines and spends a significant amount of time doing it. He even has his own entry in Wikipedia. Upon realizing this, the NY Post team decided not to run any pictures or quotes from Greg Packer as they pertained to the iPhone and he did not appear in the late edition.
Second - Another Post article talked about how when the Mayor of Philadelphia was standing in line for his iPhone, passerby and Philadelphia citizen, shouted out a question about why the Mayor hadn't brought down the city's murder rate. Doesn't that make you wonder why the Mayor of Philadelphia was standing on line in the first place? Isn't he important enough that he would have people to stand on line for him? Apparently he really wanted to be one of the first people to get a new iPhone because he likes having new things. Even with a rate of 200 murders so far this year
Third - today I read something from Breitbarts about the first flood of I-Phone sales. The story covers several people who are thrilled to death to have FINALLY gotten there iPhones after the incredibly long wait. They even found people who managed to hook their laptops up to the ether (wireless internet) and activated their iPhones within minutes of getting them. But what made this one of my favorite iPhone stories was the fact that Steve Wozniak rolled up to an Apple store on his segway where waiting customers stepped aside to give him his honarary first place in line. He then bought two iPhones even though he will most likely get one for free next month. It's just an embarassment of riches, I tell ya'.
"Even Steve Wozniak, the ex-partner of Jobs, showed up at a Silicon Valley mall at 4 a.m. aboard his Segway scooter.He helped keep order in the line outside the Apple store. The other customers awarded the honorary first spot in line to Wozniak, who planned to buy two iPhones on Friday even though he remains an Apple employee and will get a free one from the company next month. He said the device would redefine cell phone design and use."
Our Love's In Jeopardy - Literally
Jon and I have discovered a wonderful website where you can play Jeopardy against some really smart people. And we just really love it.
The community that set up and maintains the game site has done a good job of recreating the Jeopardy experience including the frustration of competitive buzzing for a turn to answer correctly. But Jon and I are working that out.
In fact, the first game I played, I won, with some luck. I've watched some of the other games and if I had played those I would certainly have lost but I got lucky with some familiar categories (which I don't even remember right now) and managed to pull ahead.
I consider it a great stroke of luck that the final Jeopardy question had to do with planets. This questions I remember as it mentioned three moons and asked to which planet they belonged. I had a vague memory of the names of Uranus's moons and sure enough that was the correct answer or question rather.
The community that set up and maintains the game site has done a good job of recreating the Jeopardy experience including the frustration of competitive buzzing for a turn to answer correctly. But Jon and I are working that out.
In fact, the first game I played, I won, with some luck. I've watched some of the other games and if I had played those I would certainly have lost but I got lucky with some familiar categories (which I don't even remember right now) and managed to pull ahead.
I consider it a great stroke of luck that the final Jeopardy question had to do with planets. This questions I remember as it mentioned three moons and asked to which planet they belonged. I had a vague memory of the names of Uranus's moons and sure enough that was the correct answer or question rather.
June 29, 2007
June 27, 2007
Xanadu Revisited
Here is a link to Xanadu which gives you a taste of what to expect at the Helen Hayes Theater.
Xanadu On Broadway
Xanadu On Broadway
Who Has the Magnetron?
Jon and I saw a matinee showing of Ocean's 13. Jon had to negotiate with me to get me to go because I was reluctant to see it - specifically because Ocean's 12 was such an annoying movie. And then there was the Pacino factor. You never know what you're gonna' get with him lately, because sometimes his performances are a little bit over the top.
But he Al Pacino dialed it back a little bit for this one and gave a subtle performance without losing too much of that pinache that makes him Pacino.
Of course, you can't forget about Brad Pitt. He's hot as ever. And Casey Affleck outshined his brother yet again in as small a role as any of Ocean's original 11 could have. How can this person be related to Ben Affleck? How is it that Casey is the lesser star of the two when he has three times the talent? I don't understand. The rest of the cast are up to the task. I'm still annoyed that Don Cheadle chose to give his character a British accent because I believe it isn't necessary for the character but whatever - he's such a good actor.
If you liked the first Ocean movie but hated the second one then you'll love the third one. However, if you thought the second movie was better than the first, I can't help you. You probably won't like the third.
I recommend Ocean's 13.
But he Al Pacino dialed it back a little bit for this one and gave a subtle performance without losing too much of that pinache that makes him Pacino.
Of course, you can't forget about Brad Pitt. He's hot as ever. And Casey Affleck outshined his brother yet again in as small a role as any of Ocean's original 11 could have. How can this person be related to Ben Affleck? How is it that Casey is the lesser star of the two when he has three times the talent? I don't understand. The rest of the cast are up to the task. I'm still annoyed that Don Cheadle chose to give his character a British accent because I believe it isn't necessary for the character but whatever - he's such a good actor.
If you liked the first Ocean movie but hated the second one then you'll love the third one. However, if you thought the second movie was better than the first, I can't help you. You probably won't like the third.
I recommend Ocean's 13.
June 26, 2007
June 11, 2007
The Sopranos - Made In America - Episode 86 - A Few More Thoughts
There are definitely spoilers to follow in this post and the one I wrote last night which appears right after this one, so if you haven't yet seen the finale - Stop Reading Right Now.
Here are some random thoughts with regard to the final episode of the Sopranos
AJ
After AJ's SUV blew up and his parents bawled him out for not being more responsible with his very unsafe catalytic converter (still don't understand this one), AJ discussed the incident with his therapist. It was the second time or third in the final episodes that AJ seemed positively delighted watching something violent happen in front his eyes. You may recall how excited he was when AJ participated in the maiming of that poor college kid who owed the two Jasons money for a football bet. And I seem to remember AJ laughing at the same kid coming to school a few days later on crutches. I may be reading into that behavior but it reminds me how often Tony turns to violence to relieve his own feelings of frustration.
Janice
After Bobby's funeral, Janice goes to see Junior in the institute where he's wasting away into nothing. She told him that Bobby had died. I thought it was because Bobby was like a son to Junior but it turns out she was just trying to get at Junior's money. Now that Bobby's dead, she needs a new ATM. This thought was confirmed when Janice tells Tony that now she has to find a a new husband. She laughs it off as a joke that only Tony would understand, but Tony knows it's not a joke. When Tony asked Janice about Bobby's kids, she was willing to let Bobby's son go live with an aunt, but wanted to keep Bobby's daughter around because her own daughter was so fond of her "big sister". She's a witch. When Tony realizes that Janice is going to ruin those kids and after Uncle Pat tells him that Janice is trying to get to Junior's money, he went to talk with Uncle Junior to make sure that he left his money to Bobby's kids but it's for naught because Junior has completely lost his mind. He became the crazy man he pretended to be to get out of being prosecuted.
Ghosts?
I've read a few recaps and comments that suggest that characters who had died in episodes past were seen throughout all the scenes but I didn't see that. I could be wrong but I feel like a pretty dedicated and knowlegeable fan of The Sopranos.
The Blank Screen
I've also read a lot of theories about the blank screen at the end of the episode.
I agree with anyone who said that Chase left the ending up to the audience but I still believe it to be a big F--- You to his fans.
Even if nothing happened, he should have just ended his story.
Here are some random thoughts with regard to the final episode of the Sopranos
AJ
After AJ's SUV blew up and his parents bawled him out for not being more responsible with his very unsafe catalytic converter (still don't understand this one), AJ discussed the incident with his therapist. It was the second time or third in the final episodes that AJ seemed positively delighted watching something violent happen in front his eyes. You may recall how excited he was when AJ participated in the maiming of that poor college kid who owed the two Jasons money for a football bet. And I seem to remember AJ laughing at the same kid coming to school a few days later on crutches. I may be reading into that behavior but it reminds me how often Tony turns to violence to relieve his own feelings of frustration.
Janice
After Bobby's funeral, Janice goes to see Junior in the institute where he's wasting away into nothing. She told him that Bobby had died. I thought it was because Bobby was like a son to Junior but it turns out she was just trying to get at Junior's money. Now that Bobby's dead, she needs a new ATM. This thought was confirmed when Janice tells Tony that now she has to find a a new husband. She laughs it off as a joke that only Tony would understand, but Tony knows it's not a joke. When Tony asked Janice about Bobby's kids, she was willing to let Bobby's son go live with an aunt, but wanted to keep Bobby's daughter around because her own daughter was so fond of her "big sister". She's a witch. When Tony realizes that Janice is going to ruin those kids and after Uncle Pat tells him that Janice is trying to get to Junior's money, he went to talk with Uncle Junior to make sure that he left his money to Bobby's kids but it's for naught because Junior has completely lost his mind. He became the crazy man he pretended to be to get out of being prosecuted.
Ghosts?
I've read a few recaps and comments that suggest that characters who had died in episodes past were seen throughout all the scenes but I didn't see that. I could be wrong but I feel like a pretty dedicated and knowlegeable fan of The Sopranos.
The Blank Screen
I've also read a lot of theories about the blank screen at the end of the episode.
I agree with anyone who said that Chase left the ending up to the audience but I still believe it to be a big F--- You to his fans.
Even if nothing happened, he should have just ended his story.
June 10, 2007
The Sopranos - Made in America - Episode 86
Tonight, along with millions of TV viewers across this great nation, Jon and I watched the eagerly anticipated series finale of The Sopranos.
It was a regular episode that lacked the feeling of finality you would have expected. It opened with the usual scenes from the previous episode. Then went into the extremely familiar opening titles sequence where we like to watch the names of the actors appearing in the episode to give us an idea of what may be going on in the episode. And then the show started.
It opened with a tight camera shot of Tony Soprano's face on the pillow of the bed where he went to sleep with Bobby's gun in the previous episode. We saw that location last week. It was a house that looked eerily like Junior's house but wasn't. It was a safe house which happened to have a big cardboard cutout of Silvio in the living room. We as the audience were left to wonder what that big cutout of Silvio was for, but it didn't matter really. The cutout was there because Silvio, who had just been shot a bazillion times in the chest, was in a coma.
Then the episode went on. Tony's family was hiding out in a house by the Jersey shore. His wife was bored. His kids went on with their social lives. Aside from the Soprano's appearance at Bobby Bacala's funeral, Tony pretty much kept a low profile for half of the episode.
Then he decided to take some action. He had enough of laying low, so he decided to meet with his FBI friend. He gave his Agent Harris some information about Christopher's Muslim friends in the hopes of getting some information about Phil's location. But that doesn't really pay off until later in the episode.
Let's see. What happens with the kids? Well. In the heat of a passionate moment with his girlfriend, AJ somehow blows up his SUV. I'm not exactly sure how that happened and Tony's explanation of catalytic converters and dried leaves didn't exactly help explain things. But that apparently freed AJ up to make decisions about America's dependency on foreign oil and later leads him to a career in the army. Tony and Carmella talk him out of it by dangling a career in filmmaking in his face. So. AJ lives. And he doesn't get involved in crime. Whew!!
Meadow. Well, she was just as annoying as ever. She did have a good scene. Well, she was in it, anyway. It's when her old friend Hunter is visiting. Carmella is happy to see the young woman until she hears that Hunter is in her second year of medical school, which you can tell really sticks in Carmella's craw because as we all know, Meadow changed her major from medicine to law because her new boyfriend/fiance is a lawyer. So. Meadow lives. And will presumably get a husband and a job at his law firm with a starting salary of $170,000 a year.
Carmella. She's still with Tony by the end of the episode and apparently is very serious about becoming a real estate developer or house builder or real estate agent. . .I'm not exactly sure but whatever she's doing has to do with building plans for a kitchen they showed us at some point during the episode.
Agent Harris does eventually get to giving Tony some information about Phil's whereabouts. But before he does that, Tony has a sit down with the key players of the New York family about cooling things off for a bit. Then, Agent Harris gave Tony the information that Phil's been making phone calls from a pay phone at a gas station in Oyster Bay, Long Island (go Billy Joel). Tony's guys spend some time looking for that gas station. So we know that by the time we saw Phil at a gas station saying goodbye to his wife and twin grandchildren that he was saying goodbye for real. Just after his final goodbye, one of Tony's guys (I'm not sure which one. You need a flow chart to keep up sometimes) shoots Phil in the head which lays him out flat next to the SUV with his family inside.
Phil's wife jumps out of the car, leaves it in drive and starts screaming about Phil. Then the car started rolling forward with the babies inside which caused another panic and brought everybody's focus away from Phil's dead body lying in front of the wheels, wheels which were moving forward. . .and eventually over Phil's head. Some random onlookers on the scene threw up it was so gross and I actually felt a little sick myself. Because while they didn't show his head getting crushed, they did show the beginnings of his head getting crushed, and that was enough for me.
With Phil gone, you'd think that Tony would have nothing to worry about, but no. At a meeting with his lawyer, Tony learned that Carlos (one of the guys that was hiding in the house with him) was most likely going to turn state's witness because his son Jason (one of the Jason's that tried to corrupt AJ) was picked up for something or the other.
One of the most moving scenes in the episode was Tony's visit with Junior at the state institution where he had to move for lack of finances. Tony visited him because Uncle Pat (on whose farm where Tony used to spend his summers as a kid and where his cousin Tony played by Steve Buscemi met his end) told him that Janet was trying to chisel money out of Uncle Junior. But Uncle Junior didn't even know who Janet was. He didn't know who Tony was and he had completely forgotten about Tony's father. He didn't even know that he used to be a mob boss. That Dominic Chianese is a really good actor. I really believed he was an undernourished, senile old man. But for the time in about 7 episodes, I felt bad for Tony. His ties to the past are cut. There isn't anybody left from the good old days to remember him really except for Paulie "remember when" Walnuts and who the hell wants that guy around?
The episode ended in a diner. Tony was sitting in a booth waiting for Carmella and he put Don't Stop Believing by Journey on the juke box. Then Carmella came in. And then AJ. While all this was going on, we saw some boy scouts having dinner with a kid's dad. We saw a couple having a giggly romantic time and we saw possible assassins walking in and out and around Tony and his family. The editors cut in footage of Meadow parallel parking her car badly with the diner pastiches. The cuts back and forth were tense. It was what you expect from The Sopranos - a slow build of seemingly harmless or normal moments leading up to something explosive -- but we'll never know what they were leading up to, because in what is perhaps the biggest F- You Chase could have given the dedicated and patient fans of his show, he jumped to a blank screen just as Meadow walked into the diner.
The last thing we saw was Tony lifting his eyes to meet something, we're not sure what. The last sounds we heard were the bell ringing when the door opened and Steve Perry singing Do--. We didn't even get to hear the end of the word DON'T from Don't Stop Believing.
What's up with that? I was very disappointed with the ending of this episode. Otherwise the other things were tied up nicely.
Aside from the inexplicable ending, it seems David Chase went with the life goes on approach. The family is always the family. And Chase did something really nice when he had AJ quote something Tony said in the final episode of the first season - something about finding the joyful moments. Because David Chase is such a good writer, he can give us that kind of continuity from the first season to the last episode of the finale season 9 years later.
But that blank screen. Agggggggg!!!!
It was a regular episode that lacked the feeling of finality you would have expected. It opened with the usual scenes from the previous episode. Then went into the extremely familiar opening titles sequence where we like to watch the names of the actors appearing in the episode to give us an idea of what may be going on in the episode. And then the show started.
It opened with a tight camera shot of Tony Soprano's face on the pillow of the bed where he went to sleep with Bobby's gun in the previous episode. We saw that location last week. It was a house that looked eerily like Junior's house but wasn't. It was a safe house which happened to have a big cardboard cutout of Silvio in the living room. We as the audience were left to wonder what that big cutout of Silvio was for, but it didn't matter really. The cutout was there because Silvio, who had just been shot a bazillion times in the chest, was in a coma.
Then the episode went on. Tony's family was hiding out in a house by the Jersey shore. His wife was bored. His kids went on with their social lives. Aside from the Soprano's appearance at Bobby Bacala's funeral, Tony pretty much kept a low profile for half of the episode.
Then he decided to take some action. He had enough of laying low, so he decided to meet with his FBI friend. He gave his Agent Harris some information about Christopher's Muslim friends in the hopes of getting some information about Phil's location. But that doesn't really pay off until later in the episode.
Let's see. What happens with the kids? Well. In the heat of a passionate moment with his girlfriend, AJ somehow blows up his SUV. I'm not exactly sure how that happened and Tony's explanation of catalytic converters and dried leaves didn't exactly help explain things. But that apparently freed AJ up to make decisions about America's dependency on foreign oil and later leads him to a career in the army. Tony and Carmella talk him out of it by dangling a career in filmmaking in his face. So. AJ lives. And he doesn't get involved in crime. Whew!!
Meadow. Well, she was just as annoying as ever. She did have a good scene. Well, she was in it, anyway. It's when her old friend Hunter is visiting. Carmella is happy to see the young woman until she hears that Hunter is in her second year of medical school, which you can tell really sticks in Carmella's craw because as we all know, Meadow changed her major from medicine to law because her new boyfriend/fiance is a lawyer. So. Meadow lives. And will presumably get a husband and a job at his law firm with a starting salary of $170,000 a year.
Carmella. She's still with Tony by the end of the episode and apparently is very serious about becoming a real estate developer or house builder or real estate agent. . .I'm not exactly sure but whatever she's doing has to do with building plans for a kitchen they showed us at some point during the episode.
Agent Harris does eventually get to giving Tony some information about Phil's whereabouts. But before he does that, Tony has a sit down with the key players of the New York family about cooling things off for a bit. Then, Agent Harris gave Tony the information that Phil's been making phone calls from a pay phone at a gas station in Oyster Bay, Long Island (go Billy Joel). Tony's guys spend some time looking for that gas station. So we know that by the time we saw Phil at a gas station saying goodbye to his wife and twin grandchildren that he was saying goodbye for real. Just after his final goodbye, one of Tony's guys (I'm not sure which one. You need a flow chart to keep up sometimes) shoots Phil in the head which lays him out flat next to the SUV with his family inside.
Phil's wife jumps out of the car, leaves it in drive and starts screaming about Phil. Then the car started rolling forward with the babies inside which caused another panic and brought everybody's focus away from Phil's dead body lying in front of the wheels, wheels which were moving forward. . .and eventually over Phil's head. Some random onlookers on the scene threw up it was so gross and I actually felt a little sick myself. Because while they didn't show his head getting crushed, they did show the beginnings of his head getting crushed, and that was enough for me.
With Phil gone, you'd think that Tony would have nothing to worry about, but no. At a meeting with his lawyer, Tony learned that Carlos (one of the guys that was hiding in the house with him) was most likely going to turn state's witness because his son Jason (one of the Jason's that tried to corrupt AJ) was picked up for something or the other.
One of the most moving scenes in the episode was Tony's visit with Junior at the state institution where he had to move for lack of finances. Tony visited him because Uncle Pat (on whose farm where Tony used to spend his summers as a kid and where his cousin Tony played by Steve Buscemi met his end) told him that Janet was trying to chisel money out of Uncle Junior. But Uncle Junior didn't even know who Janet was. He didn't know who Tony was and he had completely forgotten about Tony's father. He didn't even know that he used to be a mob boss. That Dominic Chianese is a really good actor. I really believed he was an undernourished, senile old man. But for the time in about 7 episodes, I felt bad for Tony. His ties to the past are cut. There isn't anybody left from the good old days to remember him really except for Paulie "remember when" Walnuts and who the hell wants that guy around?
The episode ended in a diner. Tony was sitting in a booth waiting for Carmella and he put Don't Stop Believing by Journey on the juke box. Then Carmella came in. And then AJ. While all this was going on, we saw some boy scouts having dinner with a kid's dad. We saw a couple having a giggly romantic time and we saw possible assassins walking in and out and around Tony and his family. The editors cut in footage of Meadow parallel parking her car badly with the diner pastiches. The cuts back and forth were tense. It was what you expect from The Sopranos - a slow build of seemingly harmless or normal moments leading up to something explosive -- but we'll never know what they were leading up to, because in what is perhaps the biggest F- You Chase could have given the dedicated and patient fans of his show, he jumped to a blank screen just as Meadow walked into the diner.
The last thing we saw was Tony lifting his eyes to meet something, we're not sure what. The last sounds we heard were the bell ringing when the door opened and Steve Perry singing Do--. We didn't even get to hear the end of the word DON'T from Don't Stop Believing.
What's up with that? I was very disappointed with the ending of this episode. Otherwise the other things were tied up nicely.
Aside from the inexplicable ending, it seems David Chase went with the life goes on approach. The family is always the family. And Chase did something really nice when he had AJ quote something Tony said in the final episode of the first season - something about finding the joyful moments. Because David Chase is such a good writer, he can give us that kind of continuity from the first season to the last episode of the finale season 9 years later.
But that blank screen. Agggggggg!!!!
Xanadu
Last week, I worked at the Helen Hayes theater where they are running Xanadu in previews.
When I first heard that Xanadu was coming to Broadway, I was skeptical. I wondered why on earth would producers make yet another mediocre movie into yet another mediocre musical. But guess what!! It's fantastic. It works. Dare I say it? It's better than the movie.
I recommend it with all my heart. The show is entertaining, funny and full of tremendously talented people. Kerry Butler is fantastic as Clio/Kira/Tangerine. She makes singing beautifully while dancing on roller skates look effortless. And she's funny to boot.
But it's the kind of show that critics could make or break. I really hope they make it.
Go see it. Keep it alive.
June 04, 2007
Weekend Fun
Saturday
We had a fun packed weekend which started with our attendance of the Mets game on Saturday.We went with a group of friends. The outing was arranged by one person and he did a good job coordinating everybody's schedules and finding seats that everyone would like. My favorite part about our seating was the view and the fact that we were completely in the shade. Even though Saturday was a warm day, the breeze from Flushing Bay and our shady seats combined their efforts to keep us cool and comfy while the Mets kicked the Diamond Back's butts.
We certainly ate our share of ball park food. Before going, I resolved that I was going to stay as close to the healthy eating we've been following. But instead I ate one hot dog with both mustard and ketchup, popcorn, crackerjacks and I even drank a beer - all in addition to the water and one pretzel I was certain would be the only concessions I consumed.
And we had fun. But the most fun moment for me had little to do with baseball and more to do with numbers. At 2:21 pm, the score of the game was 2 to 1. I thought that was soooo cool I took this picture. Do you get it? I know. It's geeky but hey. That's who I am.
After the game, we came home and hung out together. That's a very rare occurence for us because we're usually working on Saturday nights. We both took the day for the game.
Sunday
I was up very early Sunday morning for an appointment. Afterwards, I treated myself to a scrumptious (yet costly) breakfast of Roumanian Steak and Eggs at the Brooklyn Diner on 57th Street. I didn't photograph the food but I did photograph my coffee cup and milk dispenser. At the Brooklyn Diner they serve your milk in a little caraffe. Isn't that cute?
Then I started my trek downtown to meet Jon and Tony for our afternoon activity. But first I needed to find a restroom. It was muggy out. My hair was messy and I just needed a bathroom. As I was heading down 7th Avenue, I was looking for a place where I could stop. And then I remembered the time last year that my in-laws stayed at the Sheraton on 52nd Street. It's a very busy hotel, so it's easy to just walk through the melee and use the very clean bathrooms by the conference room. So. Add that to you list of clean and publicly accessible bathrooms in New York City but don't tell anyone I told you.
I met Jon and our friend Tony later in the morning at the Baggot Inn where Tony was hosting an abbreviated version of The Drunken Smartass Olympics, a pub quiz he hosts on Wednesday at Dempsey's Pub with our friend Janet. His game was part of a bigger trivia game gathering called the Game Show Boot Camp. Tony was working in tandem with two other trivia game organizers. Participants included the winners of several game shows including Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Jeopardy among others. And guess who the big winner of the day was? That's right. It was Jon. He won every game that he played in.
As a team we won The Drunken Smartass Olympics. As individuals, Jon won Buzzer Battle, Smarty Pants and had the highest score playing fake Jeopardy. But it's not just that he won. He beat people who were 5 time Jeopardy champions and big, big winners at Millionaire.
In the spirit of tooting my own horn, I won when I played fake Jeopardy against two other contestants.
Jon captured this shot of my early lead. I answered this question correctly.
Afterwards, we joined up with a group from the day for dinner at Caliente Cab Co. Following dinner, Tony, Jon and I ran between the rain drops to get to the subway and then finally home where we arrived just in time to watch the second to last ever episode of the Sopranos, which I'll write about tomorrow.
As far as free time goes, I think that was the most amount of time I've ever spent playing trivia games. I had an amazing time and learned something very valuable.
We have to get Jon on a game show.
We had a fun packed weekend which started with our attendance of the Mets game on Saturday.We went with a group of friends. The outing was arranged by one person and he did a good job coordinating everybody's schedules and finding seats that everyone would like. My favorite part about our seating was the view and the fact that we were completely in the shade. Even though Saturday was a warm day, the breeze from Flushing Bay and our shady seats combined their efforts to keep us cool and comfy while the Mets kicked the Diamond Back's butts.We certainly ate our share of ball park food. Before going, I resolved that I was going to stay as close to the healthy eating we've been following. But instead I ate one hot dog with both mustard and ketchup, popcorn, crackerjacks and I even drank a beer - all in addition to the water and one pretzel I was certain would be the only concessions I consumed.
And we had fun. But the most fun moment for me had little to do with baseball and more to do with numbers. At 2:21 pm, the score of the game was 2 to 1. I thought that was soooo cool I took this picture. Do you get it? I know. It's geeky but hey. That's who I am.
After the game, we came home and hung out together. That's a very rare occurence for us because we're usually working on Saturday nights. We both took the day for the game.
Sunday
I was up very early Sunday morning for an appointment. Afterwards, I treated myself to a scrumptious (yet costly) breakfast of Roumanian Steak and Eggs at the Brooklyn Diner on 57th Street. I didn't photograph the food but I did photograph my coffee cup and milk dispenser. At the Brooklyn Diner they serve your milk in a little caraffe. Isn't that cute?
Then I started my trek downtown to meet Jon and Tony for our afternoon activity. But first I needed to find a restroom. It was muggy out. My hair was messy and I just needed a bathroom. As I was heading down 7th Avenue, I was looking for a place where I could stop. And then I remembered the time last year that my in-laws stayed at the Sheraton on 52nd Street. It's a very busy hotel, so it's easy to just walk through the melee and use the very clean bathrooms by the conference room. So. Add that to you list of clean and publicly accessible bathrooms in New York City but don't tell anyone I told you.
I met Jon and our friend Tony later in the morning at the Baggot Inn where Tony was hosting an abbreviated version of The Drunken Smartass Olympics, a pub quiz he hosts on Wednesday at Dempsey's Pub with our friend Janet. His game was part of a bigger trivia game gathering called the Game Show Boot Camp. Tony was working in tandem with two other trivia game organizers. Participants included the winners of several game shows including Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Jeopardy among others. And guess who the big winner of the day was? That's right. It was Jon. He won every game that he played in.
As a team we won The Drunken Smartass Olympics. As individuals, Jon won Buzzer Battle, Smarty Pants and had the highest score playing fake Jeopardy. But it's not just that he won. He beat people who were 5 time Jeopardy champions and big, big winners at Millionaire.
In the spirit of tooting my own horn, I won when I played fake Jeopardy against two other contestants.
Jon captured this shot of my early lead. I answered this question correctly.
Afterwards, we joined up with a group from the day for dinner at Caliente Cab Co. Following dinner, Tony, Jon and I ran between the rain drops to get to the subway and then finally home where we arrived just in time to watch the second to last ever episode of the Sopranos, which I'll write about tomorrow.
As far as free time goes, I think that was the most amount of time I've ever spent playing trivia games. I had an amazing time and learned something very valuable.
We have to get Jon on a game show.
May 31, 2007
Memorial Day Weekend
We did do stuff and things over Memorial Day Weekend, we just didn't do all of our stuff and things together. For example, Jon and I both worked on Saturday. Jon worked his usual shift at the New York Post. And I worked two incredibly busy shifts at Frost/Nixon - an excellent show with less than excellent sound.
Sunday, Jon stayed home to put the final touches on his book before sending it back to his publisher while I spent the day with my parents who were babysitting my nephew. At 3.5 years of age he is just as cute as he should be. We had a great time blowing bubbles, playing hide and go seek, and doing puzzles. What I enjoyed most was showing Ethan how to use our digital camera. He almost hasthe hang of it. It was really fun to see how excited he got as he got better at handling the camera. He just wanted to capture everything and it was hard to get him to move on to the next activity which was basically getting into a car and driving him home.
Here are some of the pictures he took.
Grandma
Aunt Valerie
A Butterfly
Diego
Monday, Jon and I went for an epic bike ride, well, epic for me. We rode from Astoria to Flushing Corona Park. It was an 18 mile ride in total. And it took about three hours including breaks for water, sightseeing and a Froze Fruit. Monday night we went to dinner at my favorite local restaurant, Gowasabi, where we pigged out on Gob Dol Bibimbop. And then we had tempura ice cream.
It was a good weekend.
Sunday, Jon stayed home to put the final touches on his book before sending it back to his publisher while I spent the day with my parents who were babysitting my nephew. At 3.5 years of age he is just as cute as he should be. We had a great time blowing bubbles, playing hide and go seek, and doing puzzles. What I enjoyed most was showing Ethan how to use our digital camera. He almost hasthe hang of it. It was really fun to see how excited he got as he got better at handling the camera. He just wanted to capture everything and it was hard to get him to move on to the next activity which was basically getting into a car and driving him home.
Here are some of the pictures he took.
Grandma
Aunt Valerie
A Butterfly
Diego
Monday, Jon and I went for an epic bike ride, well, epic for me. We rode from Astoria to Flushing Corona Park. It was an 18 mile ride in total. And it took about three hours including breaks for water, sightseeing and a Froze Fruit. Monday night we went to dinner at my favorite local restaurant, Gowasabi, where we pigged out on Gob Dol Bibimbop. And then we had tempura ice cream.
It was a good weekend.
May 30, 2007
A Tail of Two Kitties
File this under the category of RANDOM.Jon and I took our bikes out this morning. After an hour and a half of riding up and down the hills of Queens I decided to call it quits while Jon continued on. In my post-ride, cool down period I was channel surfing and landed on a scene from A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES. In this scene, Garfield had instructed barn yard animals in the fine art of making lasagna. Pigs stomped tomatoes to make sauce. A rat ran in a wheel attached to a cheese grater that grated cheese. And a bunny turned the pasta maker that converted lumps of dough into fine, flat lasagna noodles. The scene concluded with all the animals, including Garfield, sitting at a table consuming their freshly cooked treat.
And here is the question that bubbled to the top of my hazy brain after witnessing this unlikely scenario. How did they get Bill Murray to sign on for a second movie as the voice of Garfield?
May 25, 2007
The Sopranos - The Second Coming - Episode 84
Episode 84 revealed to us how both of Tony's families are starting to fall apart.
Immediate Family
Tony gave Carmella a beautiful, engraved watch to appease his guilt about leaving her for a meeting in Las Vegas. You might remember that meeting as a tryst with Christopher's ex-fling/prostitute. He did peyote, had sex and gambled to help get over the guilt of having killed Christopher, which he didn't really feel guilty about in the first place. Maybe he was trying to get over the guilt of not feeling guilty about killing his surrogate son. I'm always so disappointed at how easiliy Carmella goes along with the lie. She must know by now that Tony gives her expensive gifts when he's been with someone else. I guess in a way, his giving Carmella the watch was another way for him to appease his conscience. Is there anyone out there who still believes that Tony Soprano is a good guy?
AJ tried to kill himself. He tried to kill himself in the pool where in the first episode, Tony had fatalistic dreams about ducks and water. He sat on the diving board with a concrete block tied to his ankle and a plastic bag over his head. Once he got into the water, he realized he didn't want to die after all. His father arrived home just in the nick of time to pull him out of the pool. For a fleeting moment I thought Tony was going to let his son die, rather than deal with his son's pain and any responsibility he bares for causing his son pain, but I guess even Tony Soprano isn't that cold and unfeeling. When Tony returned to BadaBing the day after AJ's suicide attempt, his friends tried to comfort him with stories of their troubled children. This is when we learn about Patsy Parisi's other son. We already met Jason in two previous episodes when AJ joined his band of merry men in violence and book making. Patsy described his other son as having been a hyperactive kid. I only mention this because of Meadow.
Meadow, in a tete-a-tete with her mother finally revealed the identity of the man she's been secretly dating. And of course, it's Patsy Parisi's other kid. In that same conversation she also told Carmella that instead of going through with med school she's decided to go back to studying law, because after all, her new boyfriend is a lawyer. When she was with Finn she switched from wanting to be lawyer to wanting to be a doctor, because Finn was studying dentistry. Now that she's with a lawyer, she wants to become a lawyer.
Extended Family
With the exception of Bacala's marriage to Tony's sister Janice, Christopher's death effectively cut any personal relations between Tony's immediate family and his mob family. But when Tony Soprano's children started dating and palling around with the children of his mob associates, effectively they brought back together the ties that had been severed by Christopher's death. And I think ultimately condemning his children to a dismal future as either criminals or accessories to criminals or victims of criminals.
Phil Leotardo continued to bust Tony's balls over the 25% he wanted for dumping the asbestos. But Tony continued to refuse him. So, some things happened with some guys. Tony pulled a couple of no-show jobs from Phil's crew on some project or the other they're corrupting which combined with Phil's utter lack of respect for the Jersey family mob boss, led to one of those guys who was pissed about the cancellation of his no-show job, to mess around with Meadow. I don't know where this guy COCO came from but I knew he wasn't long for this show when he started making lewd suggestions to Meadow while on a date with Patsy's son. Once Meadow told Tony that Coco wanted to cream on Meadow's face, Tony really lost it. He went to see Coco at his restaurant, beat the crap out of him, then stomped on his head knocking out his teeth.
After Tony knocked out Coco's teeth, the new overlap between the two families was even more obvious. During AJ's family therapy session, while AJ was expressing his disappointment in both life and his parents, Tony was distracted by one of Coco's bloody teeth in his pant cuff.
Little Carmine tried a little family therapy of his own when he attempted to broker a peace agreement between Phil and Tony to no avail. Phil refused to meet with Tony. We all know what this means - War. There is going to be a war between New York and New Jersey. Granted it will be a short war but it will be a war none the less. Phil just can't get over the death of his brother and is still holding Tony accountable for his cousin Tony's actions (Steve Buscemi) several seasons ago. He still wants revenge for that. Which is why I think AJ is going to end up dead at the hands of Phil.
Dr. Melfi
When Dr. Melfi met with her therapist, Dr. Kupferberg (who continues to be smug, superior and sanctimonious) he told her about a study that was done on the effectiveness of talk therapy on sociopath patients. He told her the study proved that not only did talk therapy NOT help heal sociopath tendencies but it made sociopaths even better criminals providing them with a platform to work out their crimes and hone their lying skills.
What will Dr. Melfi do? Will Meadow just give up on school entirely so she could be the perfect mob wife like her mother? Will AJ grow a pair and find some meaning to his existence and direction in his life? Will we ever see Artie Bucco again? Will Uncle Junior die a lonely and pathetic death? Will Tony finally confess to Carmella that he had Adrianna whacked? Will Janice be the person who brings down Tony in the end? Will Tony kill Phil or will Phil kill Tony?
We won't find out for two weeks. After waiting as long as we have for this series to conclude I think it's unfair that we haven't to wait for another two weeks, but what choice to I have? I'll just have to wait it out, like everyone else?
Immediate Family
Tony gave Carmella a beautiful, engraved watch to appease his guilt about leaving her for a meeting in Las Vegas. You might remember that meeting as a tryst with Christopher's ex-fling/prostitute. He did peyote, had sex and gambled to help get over the guilt of having killed Christopher, which he didn't really feel guilty about in the first place. Maybe he was trying to get over the guilt of not feeling guilty about killing his surrogate son. I'm always so disappointed at how easiliy Carmella goes along with the lie. She must know by now that Tony gives her expensive gifts when he's been with someone else. I guess in a way, his giving Carmella the watch was another way for him to appease his conscience. Is there anyone out there who still believes that Tony Soprano is a good guy?
AJ tried to kill himself. He tried to kill himself in the pool where in the first episode, Tony had fatalistic dreams about ducks and water. He sat on the diving board with a concrete block tied to his ankle and a plastic bag over his head. Once he got into the water, he realized he didn't want to die after all. His father arrived home just in the nick of time to pull him out of the pool. For a fleeting moment I thought Tony was going to let his son die, rather than deal with his son's pain and any responsibility he bares for causing his son pain, but I guess even Tony Soprano isn't that cold and unfeeling. When Tony returned to BadaBing the day after AJ's suicide attempt, his friends tried to comfort him with stories of their troubled children. This is when we learn about Patsy Parisi's other son. We already met Jason in two previous episodes when AJ joined his band of merry men in violence and book making. Patsy described his other son as having been a hyperactive kid. I only mention this because of Meadow.
Meadow, in a tete-a-tete with her mother finally revealed the identity of the man she's been secretly dating. And of course, it's Patsy Parisi's other kid. In that same conversation she also told Carmella that instead of going through with med school she's decided to go back to studying law, because after all, her new boyfriend is a lawyer. When she was with Finn she switched from wanting to be lawyer to wanting to be a doctor, because Finn was studying dentistry. Now that she's with a lawyer, she wants to become a lawyer.
Extended Family
With the exception of Bacala's marriage to Tony's sister Janice, Christopher's death effectively cut any personal relations between Tony's immediate family and his mob family. But when Tony Soprano's children started dating and palling around with the children of his mob associates, effectively they brought back together the ties that had been severed by Christopher's death. And I think ultimately condemning his children to a dismal future as either criminals or accessories to criminals or victims of criminals.
Phil Leotardo continued to bust Tony's balls over the 25% he wanted for dumping the asbestos. But Tony continued to refuse him. So, some things happened with some guys. Tony pulled a couple of no-show jobs from Phil's crew on some project or the other they're corrupting which combined with Phil's utter lack of respect for the Jersey family mob boss, led to one of those guys who was pissed about the cancellation of his no-show job, to mess around with Meadow. I don't know where this guy COCO came from but I knew he wasn't long for this show when he started making lewd suggestions to Meadow while on a date with Patsy's son. Once Meadow told Tony that Coco wanted to cream on Meadow's face, Tony really lost it. He went to see Coco at his restaurant, beat the crap out of him, then stomped on his head knocking out his teeth.
After Tony knocked out Coco's teeth, the new overlap between the two families was even more obvious. During AJ's family therapy session, while AJ was expressing his disappointment in both life and his parents, Tony was distracted by one of Coco's bloody teeth in his pant cuff.
Little Carmine tried a little family therapy of his own when he attempted to broker a peace agreement between Phil and Tony to no avail. Phil refused to meet with Tony. We all know what this means - War. There is going to be a war between New York and New Jersey. Granted it will be a short war but it will be a war none the less. Phil just can't get over the death of his brother and is still holding Tony accountable for his cousin Tony's actions (Steve Buscemi) several seasons ago. He still wants revenge for that. Which is why I think AJ is going to end up dead at the hands of Phil.
Dr. Melfi
When Dr. Melfi met with her therapist, Dr. Kupferberg (who continues to be smug, superior and sanctimonious) he told her about a study that was done on the effectiveness of talk therapy on sociopath patients. He told her the study proved that not only did talk therapy NOT help heal sociopath tendencies but it made sociopaths even better criminals providing them with a platform to work out their crimes and hone their lying skills.
What will Dr. Melfi do? Will Meadow just give up on school entirely so she could be the perfect mob wife like her mother? Will AJ grow a pair and find some meaning to his existence and direction in his life? Will we ever see Artie Bucco again? Will Uncle Junior die a lonely and pathetic death? Will Tony finally confess to Carmella that he had Adrianna whacked? Will Janice be the person who brings down Tony in the end? Will Tony kill Phil or will Phil kill Tony?
We won't find out for two weeks. After waiting as long as we have for this series to conclude I think it's unfair that we haven't to wait for another two weeks, but what choice to I have? I'll just have to wait it out, like everyone else?
May 24, 2007
Lost Season 3 Finale (spoilers)
When I first started watching LOST a few years ago, I stopped mid-way through the first season because the suspense was driving me insane. When Season 2 came around, I didn't give it a second thought until Jon wanted to start watching LOST on DVD. He got me back into the show. I finished watching season 1. Then we watched season 2 together. Once we were all caught up, we watched this recent season as it was happening. So far, Season 3 has been the best. Answers from Seasons 1 and 2 have been answered for the most part but enough new questions were introduced to make sure viewers continue to watch.
Last night's episode was no exception.
JACK
The show started with a Jack flashback. This flashback was different. We could tell Jack was falling apart, because he had an ugly beard and seemed drunk and stoned. First he's drunk on a plane, then drunk in a car. Some obituary he saw in a newspaper made him stop on a bridge so he can jump to the pavement in a bloody suicide attempt. But someone crashed into his parked car and he was compelled to rescue them. Through the rest of the flashback, he travels down his spiral of despair and hits rock bottom when he breaks into the hospital's medicine chest for some Oxycodone. The flashback ended with a desperate meeting between him and a mysterious person he'd been trying to reach throughout the story. Who was his meeting with? His meeting was with Kate. Where did they meet? By an airport runway. What does he tell her? That they shouldn't have left the island.
And that, my friends, is how the producers keep you hooked on this show. Instead of a flashback, they gave us a flash-forward. The flash-forward answers the question that we've been asking for three seasons. Will these people get off of this weird island? But it leaves you wondering what the hell happened to Jack.
Meanwhile back at the island, lots of things happened.
LOCKE
Locke was rescued by what I can only assume was the smoke monster manifesting himself in the form of Walt. In spite of having been fatally shot and re-paralyzed, the Walt manifestation told Locke that he need to keep going because he had work to do. Yes. Locke is alive. That answered that question, but what work does he have to do?
CHARLIE
Charlie survived his deep sea dive into the Looking Glass station but was taken prisoner by the two psycho hose beasts, who because of their blind belief in Ben's uber knowledge of the legendary Jacob, have been guarding the station. The sequence ends with a Charlie's daring rescue by Desmond, the resurrection of that crafty Russian guy and the death of Charlie as prophesied by Desmond. Yes. He turned off the jamming equipment. Yes. Penny was sending messages to the island trying to find Desmond. No. Penny DID NOT send a ship with a rescuer named Naomi. Yes. Charlie died telling Desmond that Penny DID NOT send the ship. That answered the question of Charlie's fate and Desmond's quest for Penny but raised the following question. Is that Russian guy indestructable? He survived electrocution by those weird pylons guarding the Others' camp. He survived a violent harpooning. Will he survive the exploding hand grenade he used to kill Charlie?
THE AMBUSH
The ambush was complicated but in the end Sayid, Kwon and Rose's husband accomplished what they set out to do which was to stop the attack of the Others by setting off a series of explosions. Yes. They were captured by three of the Others after successfully killing seven of them. Yes. Sawyer and Juliette worked well together. Yes. Hurley saved the day by crashing his DHARMA van into the Others. Yes. All the Others involved in the ambush died. But wait? That was actually tied up very nicely. So. Nothing unresolved there.
side note: True bad ass that he is, Sayid broke someone's neck with his feet.
RADIO TOWER
On the way to the radio tower, Ben and his surrogate daughter Alex met up with our survivors so Ben could have a tete a tete with Jack. He wanted to convince Jack that Naomi shouldn't be trusted and that he shouldn't contact the ship waiting 18 miles off the island. During that conversation we learn that Ben killed 40 people so 40 new people could take over running the island. We also learn that there are 40 survivors so . . . maybe, Jack is not supposed to call for help because his band of survivors were chosen by the island to take over from Ben and his crew as the new keepers of the island and all its secrets.
FINALLY, A SIGNAL
That would explain why Locke murdered Naomi while she was trying to get through to her vessel after Charlie destroyed the jamming equipment. Locke knows that these survivors are NOT SUPPOSED to leave the island. But Jack called the ship anyway. He doesn't believe in fate. He just wanted to rescue his friends. Now, Ben had told Jack that Naomi wasn't who she said she was which was confirmed when Charlie got the message from Penny that she didn't know of Naomi or her rescue ship. And finally, the last thing we saw in the finale of season 3 was Jack weeping to Kate in the flash forward that they weren't supposed to leave the island and that he needed to go back.
NEW QUESTIONS
Whose non-funeral did Jack attend? Why did Jack tell someone that his father was alive and drunk somewhere when we know that Jack's father is dead? What force of nature restored Locke's broken spine and rescued him from the jaws of death? Is Kate living with Sawyer? Why did Jack fall apart? Is that Russian guy really dead? Is Charlie really dead? Did Jack's flash forward happen in an alternate reality? Did Claire really give birth to a devil baby? What is the secret of that damn island? Does Locke leave the island with his friends or does he decide to stay? Why doesn't that Richard guy from the others ever age? Is Kate pregnant with Sawyer's baby?
Last night's episode was no exception.
JACK
The show started with a Jack flashback. This flashback was different. We could tell Jack was falling apart, because he had an ugly beard and seemed drunk and stoned. First he's drunk on a plane, then drunk in a car. Some obituary he saw in a newspaper made him stop on a bridge so he can jump to the pavement in a bloody suicide attempt. But someone crashed into his parked car and he was compelled to rescue them. Through the rest of the flashback, he travels down his spiral of despair and hits rock bottom when he breaks into the hospital's medicine chest for some Oxycodone. The flashback ended with a desperate meeting between him and a mysterious person he'd been trying to reach throughout the story. Who was his meeting with? His meeting was with Kate. Where did they meet? By an airport runway. What does he tell her? That they shouldn't have left the island.
And that, my friends, is how the producers keep you hooked on this show. Instead of a flashback, they gave us a flash-forward. The flash-forward answers the question that we've been asking for three seasons. Will these people get off of this weird island? But it leaves you wondering what the hell happened to Jack.
Meanwhile back at the island, lots of things happened.
LOCKE
Locke was rescued by what I can only assume was the smoke monster manifesting himself in the form of Walt. In spite of having been fatally shot and re-paralyzed, the Walt manifestation told Locke that he need to keep going because he had work to do. Yes. Locke is alive. That answered that question, but what work does he have to do?
CHARLIE
Charlie survived his deep sea dive into the Looking Glass station but was taken prisoner by the two psycho hose beasts, who because of their blind belief in Ben's uber knowledge of the legendary Jacob, have been guarding the station. The sequence ends with a Charlie's daring rescue by Desmond, the resurrection of that crafty Russian guy and the death of Charlie as prophesied by Desmond. Yes. He turned off the jamming equipment. Yes. Penny was sending messages to the island trying to find Desmond. No. Penny DID NOT send a ship with a rescuer named Naomi. Yes. Charlie died telling Desmond that Penny DID NOT send the ship. That answered the question of Charlie's fate and Desmond's quest for Penny but raised the following question. Is that Russian guy indestructable? He survived electrocution by those weird pylons guarding the Others' camp. He survived a violent harpooning. Will he survive the exploding hand grenade he used to kill Charlie?
THE AMBUSH
The ambush was complicated but in the end Sayid, Kwon and Rose's husband accomplished what they set out to do which was to stop the attack of the Others by setting off a series of explosions. Yes. They were captured by three of the Others after successfully killing seven of them. Yes. Sawyer and Juliette worked well together. Yes. Hurley saved the day by crashing his DHARMA van into the Others. Yes. All the Others involved in the ambush died. But wait? That was actually tied up very nicely. So. Nothing unresolved there.
side note: True bad ass that he is, Sayid broke someone's neck with his feet.
RADIO TOWER
On the way to the radio tower, Ben and his surrogate daughter Alex met up with our survivors so Ben could have a tete a tete with Jack. He wanted to convince Jack that Naomi shouldn't be trusted and that he shouldn't contact the ship waiting 18 miles off the island. During that conversation we learn that Ben killed 40 people so 40 new people could take over running the island. We also learn that there are 40 survivors so . . . maybe, Jack is not supposed to call for help because his band of survivors were chosen by the island to take over from Ben and his crew as the new keepers of the island and all its secrets.
FINALLY, A SIGNAL
That would explain why Locke murdered Naomi while she was trying to get through to her vessel after Charlie destroyed the jamming equipment. Locke knows that these survivors are NOT SUPPOSED to leave the island. But Jack called the ship anyway. He doesn't believe in fate. He just wanted to rescue his friends. Now, Ben had told Jack that Naomi wasn't who she said she was which was confirmed when Charlie got the message from Penny that she didn't know of Naomi or her rescue ship. And finally, the last thing we saw in the finale of season 3 was Jack weeping to Kate in the flash forward that they weren't supposed to leave the island and that he needed to go back.
NEW QUESTIONS
Whose non-funeral did Jack attend? Why did Jack tell someone that his father was alive and drunk somewhere when we know that Jack's father is dead? What force of nature restored Locke's broken spine and rescued him from the jaws of death? Is Kate living with Sawyer? Why did Jack fall apart? Is that Russian guy really dead? Is Charlie really dead? Did Jack's flash forward happen in an alternate reality? Did Claire really give birth to a devil baby? What is the secret of that damn island? Does Locke leave the island with his friends or does he decide to stay? Why doesn't that Richard guy from the others ever age? Is Kate pregnant with Sawyer's baby?
May 23, 2007
American Idol - Final Two
The final night of competition began with a scene from last week. Ryan Seacrest flipped a coin and Blake Lewis won the right to choose when he would sing - first or second. He chose first. I don't know if it would have made a difference because Jordin Sparks outsang him. Yes. I agree. He is more entertaining but his singing voice isn't as strong Jordin's. Letting Jordin go last was a mistake. The last impressions viewers got was Jordin crying after an emotional performance of the song submitted by the songwriting contest winners.
It was a crap song - just the kind of song the producers like. The singer who makes the crap original song they save for the occasion of the finale is usually the winner.
Did anyone else notice that they sang different arrangements of the song? Blake's version was a little more top 40 while the only trick missing from Jordin's arrangement was a live gospel choir backing her up. I know there are a lot of conspiracy theories regarding the producers of American Idol fixing the show so certain people will win. I don't normally subscribe to other people's paranoid fantasies but if one were arguing in a court of law that the producers of American Idol do indeed fix the show, they could offer those differing arrangements as evidence.
I think Jordin is going to win this. Swelling music and gospel musical influences are very inspiring and in this case, they will have inspired people to vote for Jordin.
I wish the final contest could have been between Jordin and Melinda. Not that I don't like Blake Lewis. I like him a lot. He's fun to watch and seems like a nice person.
But it would have been more of a contest.
It was a crap song - just the kind of song the producers like. The singer who makes the crap original song they save for the occasion of the finale is usually the winner.
Did anyone else notice that they sang different arrangements of the song? Blake's version was a little more top 40 while the only trick missing from Jordin's arrangement was a live gospel choir backing her up. I know there are a lot of conspiracy theories regarding the producers of American Idol fixing the show so certain people will win. I don't normally subscribe to other people's paranoid fantasies but if one were arguing in a court of law that the producers of American Idol do indeed fix the show, they could offer those differing arrangements as evidence.
I think Jordin is going to win this. Swelling music and gospel musical influences are very inspiring and in this case, they will have inspired people to vote for Jordin.
I wish the final contest could have been between Jordin and Melinda. Not that I don't like Blake Lewis. I like him a lot. He's fun to watch and seems like a nice person.
But it would have been more of a contest.
Meanwhile Back In Astoria
We've been back a week. The pictures in my head of the things that we did on vacation are still vivid enough that I can close my eyes and summon the memories as if they were as fresh as yesterday. I really need that too because this week they have me working at a great play - but it's a show that requires a lot of patience and perserverence dealing with the public.
I'm not going to say which show because I don't want to implicate anybody or give anyone ideas about how to jam up theater management.
The subject matter is attracting an older somewhat harder of hearing patronage and much to my dismay they are all crabby. That's not always the case. I've spent some time working at Journey's End and those patrons were all lovely. It's a similar demographic.
These patrons - woof. Last night, I got several complaints about my equipment. Two people were so insistent that the manager gave them the option to come back again and see the show for free. I work very hard to make sure my equipment is functioning properly before the show. There's a playback that can only be heard by my patrons that plays before the show to help the patrons adjust and test their headset. In spite of all those efforts, people still complained. What more can I do? It's the failing of the equipment.
Now. If the show had an intermission, that would be a different creature. Because then the patrons could exchange their headsets for better ones if the need arose. I'm not looking forward to today. Traditionally, the Wednesday matine attracts the nastiest patrons.
But while we're on the subject of patrons, they've got some nerve. I offer free freaking service. They aren't "entitled" to use the headsets. The ADA requires that facilities make accessible activities that were not previously accessible by the physically challenged. I don't think, being slightly hard of hearing qualifies as being truly disabled.
Don't get me wrong. I've got patrons who have some serious hearing loss. But for the most part, they're just people who want to hear a little bit better.
I've never seen so many people get so up in arms about a free service.
I'm not going to say which show because I don't want to implicate anybody or give anyone ideas about how to jam up theater management.
The subject matter is attracting an older somewhat harder of hearing patronage and much to my dismay they are all crabby. That's not always the case. I've spent some time working at Journey's End and those patrons were all lovely. It's a similar demographic.
These patrons - woof. Last night, I got several complaints about my equipment. Two people were so insistent that the manager gave them the option to come back again and see the show for free. I work very hard to make sure my equipment is functioning properly before the show. There's a playback that can only be heard by my patrons that plays before the show to help the patrons adjust and test their headset. In spite of all those efforts, people still complained. What more can I do? It's the failing of the equipment.
Now. If the show had an intermission, that would be a different creature. Because then the patrons could exchange their headsets for better ones if the need arose. I'm not looking forward to today. Traditionally, the Wednesday matine attracts the nastiest patrons.
But while we're on the subject of patrons, they've got some nerve. I offer free freaking service. They aren't "entitled" to use the headsets. The ADA requires that facilities make accessible activities that were not previously accessible by the physically challenged. I don't think, being slightly hard of hearing qualifies as being truly disabled.
Don't get me wrong. I've got patrons who have some serious hearing loss. But for the most part, they're just people who want to hear a little bit better.
I've never seen so many people get so up in arms about a free service.
Barbados - Catamaran
Our last full day in Barbados was spent riding a catamaran to a couple of beautiful snorkeling spots where we saw lots and lots of beautiful fish and swam with sea turtles. I guess I don't really need to say anything more than the catamaran took us up the west coast, the best place for both those activities. Everything was beautiful.
May 21, 2007
Barbados - Oistins
On Friday afternoon we went to Oistins for the famous fishfry. Here are some cool shots from the Oistins market.
Oistins is a fishing town where you can watch fishmongers cleaning the fresh catches of the day for purchase.
Nothing is hidden. Everything is out in the open, like this lovely bin of fishheads on ice.
Everyone can get in on the action. These cranes are picking at the nasty leftover fish scraps in the trash heap.
While we still had some time to kill before the fishfry, we wandered into a boatyard with beautiful wooden points in various stages of repair. This trip to the boatyard was my second favorite adventure on the island.
And of course the fishfry itself was really great. The location consists of 20-30 small shacks, all competing for your business. Here is the guy who won our hearts. He was friendly without being pushy, complimented Jon on his wife's smile and looked like he really knew what he was doing at the grill. We shared a plate of grilled red snapper and then a plate of grilled marlin. Both platters were delicious. I didn't catch his name but if you ever find yourself at the fishfry in Oistins, be sure to stop at Pat's Place.
Oistins is a fishing town where you can watch fishmongers cleaning the fresh catches of the day for purchase.
Nothing is hidden. Everything is out in the open, like this lovely bin of fishheads on ice.
Everyone can get in on the action. These cranes are picking at the nasty leftover fish scraps in the trash heap.
While we still had some time to kill before the fishfry, we wandered into a boatyard with beautiful wooden points in various stages of repair. This trip to the boatyard was my second favorite adventure on the island.
And of course the fishfry itself was really great. The location consists of 20-30 small shacks, all competing for your business. Here is the guy who won our hearts. He was friendly without being pushy, complimented Jon on his wife's smile and looked like he really knew what he was doing at the grill. We shared a plate of grilled red snapper and then a plate of grilled marlin. Both platters were delicious. I didn't catch his name but if you ever find yourself at the fishfry in Oistins, be sure to stop at Pat's Place.
May 20, 2007
Barbados
I've finally uploaded our vacation photos and I won't bore you to death with all the details but here are some pretty pictures with brief explanations.
Frangipani grows like crazy all over the island.
Some other amazing flora includes this enormous snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue whose tallest leaf stood at 4.5 feet high.
I really, really like plants and flowers. If you are interested in seeing more pictures, you can find them by clicking on either of the above two photographs.
On our first trip to Bridgetown we visited the synagogue which claims to be the oldest in the Western hemisphere. There was a synagogue in St. Thomas that claimed to be the oldest as well, but Jon reminded me that, there, it's only under the American flag that they can say theirs is the oldest. Here are a couple of interior shots from the temple in Barbados.
The one in St. Thomas was nicer. It had sand floors. But this synagogue has an amazing old cemetery with remarkably old and cool headstones.
Jon took some shots of these headstones that have little illustrations that demonstrate the profession of the person buried beneath.
We walked around a bit after our visit to the synagogue. Here is a slice of life photo of a vendor selling fresh coconut water.
Frangipani grows like crazy all over the island.
Some other amazing flora includes this enormous snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue whose tallest leaf stood at 4.5 feet high.
I really, really like plants and flowers. If you are interested in seeing more pictures, you can find them by clicking on either of the above two photographs.
On our first trip to Bridgetown we visited the synagogue which claims to be the oldest in the Western hemisphere. There was a synagogue in St. Thomas that claimed to be the oldest as well, but Jon reminded me that, there, it's only under the American flag that they can say theirs is the oldest. Here are a couple of interior shots from the temple in Barbados.
The one in St. Thomas was nicer. It had sand floors. But this synagogue has an amazing old cemetery with remarkably old and cool headstones.
Jon took some shots of these headstones that have little illustrations that demonstrate the profession of the person buried beneath.
We walked around a bit after our visit to the synagogue. Here is a slice of life photo of a vendor selling fresh coconut water.
May 18, 2007
Melinda Doolittle Went Home
I was surprised that Melinda received the least amount of calls after American Idol on Tuesday night, resulting in her leaving the show. But she's probably already got a recording contract as a result of her consistently excellent performances. I was absolutely confident that she was going to be one of the final two contestants. She was my favorite.
May 16, 2007
American Idol - Three Final Contestants
Last night, the contestants sang songs picked by the judges, the producers and then finally by themselves. We saw the contestants being celebrated by their home towns where they were informed of the choices made for them by the judges.
Simon and Randy picked good songs for their contestants - Wishing on a Star for Jordan and I Believe In You and Me for Melinda - but Paula failed Blake when she picked Roxanne for him. Jordan did a decent job performing Wishing On A Star and the judges liked it. Melinda closed the segment with I Believe In You and Me and performed it flawlessly much to the admiration of the judges. But poor Blake was stuck in the middle with Roxanne. Unless your Sting or Eddie Murphy in the opening of 48 hours, you're not really going to have much success performing that song without sounding like a copycat - which was the sentiment expressed by Simon. Paula of course loved it and Randy seemed please but unenthusiastic with the choice.
Then it was the producers turns to pick songs for the final three. For Jordin they chose Hard for the Money. It was pretty lacklustre. Watching her, I got the feeling she wasn't thrilled with the choice that was made for her. She went through the motions of performing the song while not actually connecting to it. The producers saved Blake by choosing a Maroon 5 song - This Love -which perfectly suited his voice. And for Melinda they chose the oddly titled Nut Bush City Limits. I guess it was meant to bring out her inner Tina Turner and she did a great job performing it but it really was a kind of sucky song.
Then the contestants got to pick their own song. Jordin picked I Who Have Nothing which she had some success performing earlier in the season. She did do a nice job. But not as good as Blake and Melinda. Blake performed something called When I Get You Alone and it was really entertaining. Melinda reprised her version of I Am Woman and again it was perfect.
I'm pretty sure Melinda will be one of the two moving on to the finale. And I would be disappointed if Blake didn't make it, but it could go either way between Jordin and Blake.
Blake should be rewarded for his creativity and originality. I'd love to see him move on. But then again Jordin just has raw talent that if nurtured properly could help her become an enormous star. They both deserve to move on. But between the two of them, I prefer Blake.
Simon and Randy picked good songs for their contestants - Wishing on a Star for Jordan and I Believe In You and Me for Melinda - but Paula failed Blake when she picked Roxanne for him. Jordan did a decent job performing Wishing On A Star and the judges liked it. Melinda closed the segment with I Believe In You and Me and performed it flawlessly much to the admiration of the judges. But poor Blake was stuck in the middle with Roxanne. Unless your Sting or Eddie Murphy in the opening of 48 hours, you're not really going to have much success performing that song without sounding like a copycat - which was the sentiment expressed by Simon. Paula of course loved it and Randy seemed please but unenthusiastic with the choice.
Then it was the producers turns to pick songs for the final three. For Jordin they chose Hard for the Money. It was pretty lacklustre. Watching her, I got the feeling she wasn't thrilled with the choice that was made for her. She went through the motions of performing the song while not actually connecting to it. The producers saved Blake by choosing a Maroon 5 song - This Love -which perfectly suited his voice. And for Melinda they chose the oddly titled Nut Bush City Limits. I guess it was meant to bring out her inner Tina Turner and she did a great job performing it but it really was a kind of sucky song.
Then the contestants got to pick their own song. Jordin picked I Who Have Nothing which she had some success performing earlier in the season. She did do a nice job. But not as good as Blake and Melinda. Blake performed something called When I Get You Alone and it was really entertaining. Melinda reprised her version of I Am Woman and again it was perfect.
I'm pretty sure Melinda will be one of the two moving on to the finale. And I would be disappointed if Blake didn't make it, but it could go either way between Jordin and Blake.
Blake should be rewarded for his creativity and originality. I'd love to see him move on. But then again Jordin just has raw talent that if nurtured properly could help her become an enormous star. They both deserve to move on. But between the two of them, I prefer Blake.
The Sopranos - Heidi and Kennedy - Episode 83
Christopher's death in the first five minutes of Episode 83 was the most shocking of the entire series. Perhaps it was because of the way he died. Christopher was driving Tony home from a meeting with his asbestos-dumping guy where he learned that Phil wanted a 25% cut of the asbestos-dumping business before he could resume dumping at Barone's. While driving he was trying to talk Tony into accepting the deal and wondered what happened to the "stop and smell the roses" philosophy bandied about by the two men after their extensive hospital stays. He was also distracted by the radio and continued to fiddle through the stations until he got to Comfortably Numb (not the Pink Floyd version by the way). It was around that moment that Christopher swerved into the wrong lane of traffic and then swerved again, causing his car to flip over and over until finally landing in a pile on the side of the rode.
Tony was looking over at Christopher, lying in a heap behind the steering wheel when he heard him asking for Tony's help because he would never pass a drug test. Tony looked at the back seat where he saw a tree branch had somehow crushed the baby's carseat. Then he made a decision I never imagined he would make. He pulled himself out of the wreck, limped over to the driver's side of the car and suffocated Christopher. But it wasn't just that he suffocated Christopher, it was how he did it. When he saw that Christopher was coughing up blood he knew how badly injured Christopher was. He suffocated him by holding his nose and mouth so he could choke to death on his own blood. He held his nose and mouth with one hand and waited until Christopher was dead. With his bare hand. Hand.
The rest of the episode he tried to convince himself and those around him that Christopher was better off dead. His unfeeling gangster pals agreed but I got the feeling they didn't care either way. Actually, they don't really seem to care about each other - at all - except in as much as they can trust a guy. And I guess Christopher was no longer trustworthy. Their reaction made me think that in the world created by David Chase the death of someone you can no longer trust is the result of some kind of kharma. In other words, Christopher had it coming to him.
The accompanying story line followed AJ's descent into a world antidepressants and violence. We saw him talking to his therapist about how even tempered he's been feeling about Christopher's death and Bianca's desertion. In stark contrast to the peace AJ seems to be feeling, the next time we see him, he's laughing with his friends about violently amputating some kid's toes in a previous episode - as if that violent episode had somehow pacified his inner rage. After that his friends beat up a Somalian guy who crashed into the door of Jason Parisi's car - calling him the N word and telling him was in the wrong neighborhood. When AJ went to see the therapist after that he was clearly distraught and I saw the beginnings of a conscience, sadly lacking in his father - who to deal with the death of his believed surrogate son Christopher, decided to go to Las Vegas, screw Christopher's girlfriend and gamble.
The episode ended with Tony winning at roulette. It seemed Christopher's death was what he needed to break his losing streak which was thoroughly explored in the previous episode.
I really enjoyed this episode even though it was highly upsetting. It was the first time, that viewers really got to see just how ruthless and loathsome Tony Soprano really is. Sure there have been hints over the years, but the fact that he would kill Christopher just to appease his own guilt about failing the young man he'd taken under his wing as a tribute to his friend, Christopher's dead father, in such an intimate and cruel manner and then celebrate his death for freeing his guilty conscience. It was just despicable.
Other things happened in the episode but for me, the above two storylines were the highlights.
Tony was looking over at Christopher, lying in a heap behind the steering wheel when he heard him asking for Tony's help because he would never pass a drug test. Tony looked at the back seat where he saw a tree branch had somehow crushed the baby's carseat. Then he made a decision I never imagined he would make. He pulled himself out of the wreck, limped over to the driver's side of the car and suffocated Christopher. But it wasn't just that he suffocated Christopher, it was how he did it. When he saw that Christopher was coughing up blood he knew how badly injured Christopher was. He suffocated him by holding his nose and mouth so he could choke to death on his own blood. He held his nose and mouth with one hand and waited until Christopher was dead. With his bare hand. Hand.
The rest of the episode he tried to convince himself and those around him that Christopher was better off dead. His unfeeling gangster pals agreed but I got the feeling they didn't care either way. Actually, they don't really seem to care about each other - at all - except in as much as they can trust a guy. And I guess Christopher was no longer trustworthy. Their reaction made me think that in the world created by David Chase the death of someone you can no longer trust is the result of some kind of kharma. In other words, Christopher had it coming to him.
The accompanying story line followed AJ's descent into a world antidepressants and violence. We saw him talking to his therapist about how even tempered he's been feeling about Christopher's death and Bianca's desertion. In stark contrast to the peace AJ seems to be feeling, the next time we see him, he's laughing with his friends about violently amputating some kid's toes in a previous episode - as if that violent episode had somehow pacified his inner rage. After that his friends beat up a Somalian guy who crashed into the door of Jason Parisi's car - calling him the N word and telling him was in the wrong neighborhood. When AJ went to see the therapist after that he was clearly distraught and I saw the beginnings of a conscience, sadly lacking in his father - who to deal with the death of his believed surrogate son Christopher, decided to go to Las Vegas, screw Christopher's girlfriend and gamble.
The episode ended with Tony winning at roulette. It seemed Christopher's death was what he needed to break his losing streak which was thoroughly explored in the previous episode.
I really enjoyed this episode even though it was highly upsetting. It was the first time, that viewers really got to see just how ruthless and loathsome Tony Soprano really is. Sure there have been hints over the years, but the fact that he would kill Christopher just to appease his own guilt about failing the young man he'd taken under his wing as a tribute to his friend, Christopher's dead father, in such an intimate and cruel manner and then celebrate his death for freeing his guilty conscience. It was just despicable.
Other things happened in the episode but for me, the above two storylines were the highlights.
May 13, 2007
May 12, 2007
Barbados - Still hot
Jon and I are having a great time. We're doing so much during the day that we're going to bed early which means we're waking up early which is why I find myself using the internet at 7 in the morning. I checked my emails, looked at my friends' blogs, checked to see new comments on my flickr photos and now I'm blogging.
Yesterday, I had an amazing facial. Hydradermie by Guinot. It was the best facial, I've EVER had. I was going to get a massage and deep cleansing but instead I upgraded to the more expensive fancy facial. What's nice is since yesterday, I've discovered there is a spa very close to our apartment that does the same treatment for around the same price. Three of the Hydradermie treatments in one month are supposed to do wonders for your face. It felt good and my skin looks AMAZING.
Then we went swimming in the ocean but it was so windy that the current kept either knocking me over or pulling me ashore. So then we went swimming in the pool. I swam with my snorkeling gear on. It's long been my problem that I can't coordinate my breathing with my fourth swim stroke properly. But with the snorkel mask I can actually swim laps. I wish I could wear snorkel gear at my local pool in Queens without people looking at me like I was a freak.
Last night we went to Oistins. We were smart. Instead of spending $15.00 per person on the shuttle offered by the hotel, we took the bus for 75 cents each. The busses here are great. In Oistins we took photos of some drydocked boats waiting for repair. I feel like I got some great shots. Oistins is famous for its fishfry. So the second part of the evening we pigged out on some amazingly fresh fish. We had grilled red snapper and grilled marlin and we met some other travellers who made us feel superior because they paid $25 per person to get to the fishfry when they could have taken the bus. But they were nice.
Two days ago, we took the bus to someplace absolutely amazing. The west coast of Barbados has the most beautiful beaches with the best snorkeling. We visited Mullins Bay and snorkeled for hours. Then we spent an hour and a half getting back.
Today, we're taking a free shuttle into Bridgetown. This will be our second trip. The first trip we had two missions. One was to visit the Synagogue. The second was to find me a new bathing suit. Jon's indulging me. I want to go back for the sole purpose of taking pictures, but we might pick up some souvenirs along the way.
Tomorrow, we're booked for a catamaran cruise. Six hours. Two snorkeling stops. One lunch on the beach.
Then Monday, it's home for us. But that's okay with me, because seven days is about my limit for any vacation.
Yesterday, I had an amazing facial. Hydradermie by Guinot. It was the best facial, I've EVER had. I was going to get a massage and deep cleansing but instead I upgraded to the more expensive fancy facial. What's nice is since yesterday, I've discovered there is a spa very close to our apartment that does the same treatment for around the same price. Three of the Hydradermie treatments in one month are supposed to do wonders for your face. It felt good and my skin looks AMAZING.
Then we went swimming in the ocean but it was so windy that the current kept either knocking me over or pulling me ashore. So then we went swimming in the pool. I swam with my snorkeling gear on. It's long been my problem that I can't coordinate my breathing with my fourth swim stroke properly. But with the snorkel mask I can actually swim laps. I wish I could wear snorkel gear at my local pool in Queens without people looking at me like I was a freak.
Last night we went to Oistins. We were smart. Instead of spending $15.00 per person on the shuttle offered by the hotel, we took the bus for 75 cents each. The busses here are great. In Oistins we took photos of some drydocked boats waiting for repair. I feel like I got some great shots. Oistins is famous for its fishfry. So the second part of the evening we pigged out on some amazingly fresh fish. We had grilled red snapper and grilled marlin and we met some other travellers who made us feel superior because they paid $25 per person to get to the fishfry when they could have taken the bus. But they were nice.
Two days ago, we took the bus to someplace absolutely amazing. The west coast of Barbados has the most beautiful beaches with the best snorkeling. We visited Mullins Bay and snorkeled for hours. Then we spent an hour and a half getting back.
Today, we're taking a free shuttle into Bridgetown. This will be our second trip. The first trip we had two missions. One was to visit the Synagogue. The second was to find me a new bathing suit. Jon's indulging me. I want to go back for the sole purpose of taking pictures, but we might pick up some souvenirs along the way.
Tomorrow, we're booked for a catamaran cruise. Six hours. Two snorkeling stops. One lunch on the beach.
Then Monday, it's home for us. But that's okay with me, because seven days is about my limit for any vacation.
May 08, 2007
Barbados Is Hot
Jon and I made it to Barbados. It's hot down here. The beach is beautiful and breezy, so as long as we're on the beach it's not so bad. We're staying at the Amaryllis Beach Resort. Our room has a view of the ocean which looks both sapphire and turquoise. Yes. The ocean is striped. I'm not kidding. Well, at least it looks that way through my sunglasses. We have been repeatedly warned about the hot caribbean sun. So, at every opportunity today I've been slathering on the 45 spf lotion we picked up at Eckerd's on Sunday. Yet, somehow, I've still managed to manufacture freckles, but thankfully without the sunburn, so far.
You will probably be amazed by this, but I've taken less than 10 pictures so far. On our walk this morning, I saw two interesting houses - two pictures. And I may have taken one of the ocean from my lounge chair. I don't remember. Maybe I was just sizing up the shot. I don't remember because my memory is shot to pieces. The last week or so, I've been having trouble remembering the silliest things. Anyway, while I'm luxuriating in this cool, air conditioned internet cafe, Jon is looking for a supermarket where we might be able to pick up some supplies. Our room has a kitchenette which is fortunate because the hotel restaurants are expensive with a capital "e".
I should be able to upload pictures at the hotel's business centre. We'll see. If not, I'll post some pictures when we get home.
Enjoy the nice spring weather. We'll be home soon.
You will probably be amazed by this, but I've taken less than 10 pictures so far. On our walk this morning, I saw two interesting houses - two pictures. And I may have taken one of the ocean from my lounge chair. I don't remember. Maybe I was just sizing up the shot. I don't remember because my memory is shot to pieces. The last week or so, I've been having trouble remembering the silliest things. Anyway, while I'm luxuriating in this cool, air conditioned internet cafe, Jon is looking for a supermarket where we might be able to pick up some supplies. Our room has a kitchenette which is fortunate because the hotel restaurants are expensive with a capital "e".
I should be able to upload pictures at the hotel's business centre. We'll see. If not, I'll post some pictures when we get home.
Enjoy the nice spring weather. We'll be home soon.
May 06, 2007
The Sopranos - Episode 82 - Walk Like a Man
Spoilers about episode 82 follow.
Tonight's episode was very upsetting.
Walk Like A Man was no doubt chosen as the title of the episode because both AJ and Christopher were challenged by their circumstances to act like the men they are expected to be instead of the men that they are.
On the one hand you had Christopher who has been staying clean and sober by avoiding the situations that caused him to drink and use drugs. His friends have started noticing that he doesn't hang around the strip club like he used to and they are starting to resent him for it, especially Paulie. Paulie challenged Christopher by having his nephew rob tools from Chrisopher's father-in-law's store. You might recall that those tools were being supplied by a connection made through Paulie in the first place. But still. The whole point of stealing from the father-in-law was to create problems for Christopher.
When Christopher tried to talk to Tony about it, Tony told him that his problems stem from his absence from the strip club. He's not in the loop. He's a ghost, therefore he's losing respect. After Paulie's nephew steals from the store a second time, Christopher beats him up, throws him out a window and breaks his back. While Christopher and Tony were meeting about this Paulie drove in circles on Christopher's front lawn destroying $40 thousand in landscaping. A peace is reached. Christopher went to the Bada Bing club to settle things with Tony and Paulie. He decided to have a drink with Paulie to close the deal and ended up getting wasted. Feeling sorry for himself he went to talk to his writer friend played by Tim Daly. When Tim Daly's character told him that he didn't want to hear about Chris's war stories, Chris shot him point blank in the head. Dead. He murdered his friend after having a few drinks. That was very, very upsetting.
It seems that Christopher's father figures (Tony and Paulie) are failing him. This theme has been a constant through these last few episodes. And continued through AJ's story line.
As you remember, last week, AJ's fiance returned her engagement ring and broke it off, which has sent him into a downward spiral of despair and suicidal ideation. After responsibly setting him on the path of therapy, Tony then irresponsibly suggested to AJ that he start hanging out with Patsy Parisi's kid who has become a successful bookmaker at his sleep away college. AJ's new friends invited him to drink at the Bada Bing strip club and then later in the week to a frat party on campus. From the frat party they invited him along to rough up one of their debtors. AJ helped hold down a kid his own age while his friends beat him up and poured sulfuric acid on his feet - all for squelching on his bet. But that's what Tony wanted. He wanted him to hook up with Patsy's kid so his son would stop feeling sorry for himself. But I think he also wanted to set AJ on the same path that Tony's father set him on all those years ago. I think he wants AJ to become a criminal like him.
Tony as a father figure has let down two of his charges. First his nephew by discouraging him from staying sober and then his own son by encouraging him to hang out with hoods.
It was an upsetting episode all around.
Tonight's episode was very upsetting.
Walk Like A Man was no doubt chosen as the title of the episode because both AJ and Christopher were challenged by their circumstances to act like the men they are expected to be instead of the men that they are.
On the one hand you had Christopher who has been staying clean and sober by avoiding the situations that caused him to drink and use drugs. His friends have started noticing that he doesn't hang around the strip club like he used to and they are starting to resent him for it, especially Paulie. Paulie challenged Christopher by having his nephew rob tools from Chrisopher's father-in-law's store. You might recall that those tools were being supplied by a connection made through Paulie in the first place. But still. The whole point of stealing from the father-in-law was to create problems for Christopher.
When Christopher tried to talk to Tony about it, Tony told him that his problems stem from his absence from the strip club. He's not in the loop. He's a ghost, therefore he's losing respect. After Paulie's nephew steals from the store a second time, Christopher beats him up, throws him out a window and breaks his back. While Christopher and Tony were meeting about this Paulie drove in circles on Christopher's front lawn destroying $40 thousand in landscaping. A peace is reached. Christopher went to the Bada Bing club to settle things with Tony and Paulie. He decided to have a drink with Paulie to close the deal and ended up getting wasted. Feeling sorry for himself he went to talk to his writer friend played by Tim Daly. When Tim Daly's character told him that he didn't want to hear about Chris's war stories, Chris shot him point blank in the head. Dead. He murdered his friend after having a few drinks. That was very, very upsetting.
It seems that Christopher's father figures (Tony and Paulie) are failing him. This theme has been a constant through these last few episodes. And continued through AJ's story line.
As you remember, last week, AJ's fiance returned her engagement ring and broke it off, which has sent him into a downward spiral of despair and suicidal ideation. After responsibly setting him on the path of therapy, Tony then irresponsibly suggested to AJ that he start hanging out with Patsy Parisi's kid who has become a successful bookmaker at his sleep away college. AJ's new friends invited him to drink at the Bada Bing strip club and then later in the week to a frat party on campus. From the frat party they invited him along to rough up one of their debtors. AJ helped hold down a kid his own age while his friends beat him up and poured sulfuric acid on his feet - all for squelching on his bet. But that's what Tony wanted. He wanted him to hook up with Patsy's kid so his son would stop feeling sorry for himself. But I think he also wanted to set AJ on the same path that Tony's father set him on all those years ago. I think he wants AJ to become a criminal like him.
Tony as a father figure has let down two of his charges. First his nephew by discouraging him from staying sober and then his own son by encouraging him to hang out with hoods.
It was an upsetting episode all around.
Camera Dump
I emptied out my camera for the first time in a month. I did this because Jon and I are going to Barbados tomorrow and I wanted a clean canvas.
Here are some of the more memorable images.
Red Wall
Jon and I were walking one day and he liked this wall. He asked me to take a picture of it.
Scallions
What can I say? I like to photograph fruits and vegetables. Is that really so wrong?
Macy's Marker
New York City has been adding these plaques to the sidewalks in front of famous landmarks, like Macy's.
Dead Bird
Walking down 30th Avenue, I saw a dead pigeon. I took its picture because I thought it was interesting that his feathers match the color of the sidewalk where died.
Here are some of the more memorable images.
Red Wall
Jon and I were walking one day and he liked this wall. He asked me to take a picture of it.
Scallions
What can I say? I like to photograph fruits and vegetables. Is that really so wrong?
Macy's Marker
New York City has been adding these plaques to the sidewalks in front of famous landmarks, like Macy's.
Dead Bird
Walking down 30th Avenue, I saw a dead pigeon. I took its picture because I thought it was interesting that his feathers match the color of the sidewalk where died.
Ooga Chugger
In light of David Hasselhoff's recent bout with insobriety, I thought I would post something that maybe paints him in a better light.
Which activity of Hasselhoff's in the following video is your favorite?
1) Bouncing with tribal people in a safari outfit
2) Flying on his motorcycle
3) Tobogganning in a fur coat
Which activity of Hasselhoff's in the following video is your favorite?
1) Bouncing with tribal people in a safari outfit
2) Flying on his motorcycle
3) Tobogganning in a fur coat
May 03, 2007
American Idol - Final Four
The final four contestants are Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle.
May 02, 2007
American Idol - Bon Jovi Mentors Remaining Six Idols
Jon Bon Jovi was this week's guest mentor which means that all the contestants had to sing Bon Jovi songs. It's too bad he didn't go the way of Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez. They had the decency to NOT INSIST that the contestants only sing their songs. It gave the contestants a much great selection than Bon Jovi's limited book. Not to take anything way from Bon Jovi. It's just that most of their songs kind of sound the same and none of them are particularly good for showing off someone's vocal talents. But with that said, he was pretty nice to the contestants. All the contestants acted excited to be in his presence. I have to admit. He is pretty handsome. But I'm one of those people who actually prefers his acting to his music, so I'm not the most subjective person when it comes to critiquing his music.
On to the show. Opening for the American Idol's menagerie was Phil Stacey in the first spot. I know I've said repeatedly that I'm not a fan of Phil Stacey but even I can't deny him his moment in the "I finally don't suck" spotlight. He finally found a song that matches his mediocre voice and he sang the bejeezuz out of it. I found my listening to him and not watching him. When I listened to him "only" I enjoyed his rendition of "Blaze of Glory", a song I don't know. But when I did watch him, it was difficult. Is it just me or does he look unwell?
Jordin struggled through Living On A Prayer. She shouted her way through the song, like she did last week. Yet. Last week the judges didn't mention anything about her having shouted her way through the song while criticizing Lakisha quite harshly for doing so. That was last week. This week, the judges seem to have forgotten about the "Jordin Sparks Will Be The Next Idol" conspiracy and judged her appropriately. The cool thing about Jordin is she knew she didn't do well. So she was accepting of the judges' critiques - without being defensive - which is always a good quality for an American Idol contestant. I hope she doesn't have to go home tonight. I like her. She's confident and spunky.
At this point, I wondered again, why these poor contesants had to sing these lame songs. But I guess if you can sell a lame song well enough, you can succeed at anything in the music industry.
Lakisha found the one song probably of the Bon Jovi book that was good for her voice. And she sang it beautifully and she didn't shout and she brought a tear to my eye and she restored my faith in her ability to overcome her obvious lack of training. She sang something called "This Ain't A Love Song" a song I had never heard of either. I say either because before her meeting with Jon Bon Jovi, her only experience with him or his music had been an interview she'd seen on Oprah Winfrey. How cool is that? That's like Yoko Ono saying she had never heard of the Beatles when she first met John Lennon. Whether you believe it or not, it was probably humbling for Jon Bon Jovi to hear something like that - which in my opinion was much needed as you'll see in the chapter about Blake Lewis.
In his film clip, Blake was shown displaying his arrangement of "You Give Love A Bad Name" to JBJ and his accompianist. He expressed doubt that Blake's interpretation of his song would be well received because the song was such a familiar part of the rock-n-roll lexicon. He thought that Blake was taking a huge risk. That made me laugh. Because who walks around thinking that "You Give Love A Bad Name" is as untouchable as "Hey Jude" or "Feelin' Groovy". Did JBJ really expect the audience to storm the stage with torches and pitchforks because Blake dared to change "You Give Love A Bad Name"? (Honestly. What hubris.) Blake Lewis nailed it of course. His rendition made the song more interesting that it ever was any time I've heard it on the radio. He took a boring, generic 80's rock song and turned into an excuse to show off his originality, personality and inate abilites. Go BLAKE!!!
Chris Richardson sang "Dead or Alive", apparently employing the nasal technique so lauded during country music week. I'm still don't see his alleged resemblance to Justin Timberlake, either vocally or physically. I don't have anything more to say about him.
Melinda sang "Have A Nice Day". I never heard it before but as I was listening to it, I realized it's one of those tracks that falls somewhere near the end of the album. It would have been song 5 on the B side of the vinyl release. But she sang it like it was the most important song ever written and probably made that song sound better than it ever has or ever will. In other words, I didn't like the song, but I loved the singer.
The show ended with a pre-recorded message from the President and Laura Bush. You may not like President Bush and chances are that you don't because his approval rating is so low, but you have to admit that it was nice of the President to take the time to thank the people who helped raise $70 million last week. He's not running for office again. He didn't have to do that. I thought it was nice.
Because none of the contestants were sent home last week, tonight they'll be sending home two people, which means tonight we find out who the final four American Contestant Idols will be. I predicted a long time ago that Gina Glocksen would be in the final four. I'm sorry that she's not. I'm hoping the final four are (in no specific order) Melinda, Jordin, Lakisha and Blake. I'll be surprised if Phil and Chris make it. But they probably will.
On to the show. Opening for the American Idol's menagerie was Phil Stacey in the first spot. I know I've said repeatedly that I'm not a fan of Phil Stacey but even I can't deny him his moment in the "I finally don't suck" spotlight. He finally found a song that matches his mediocre voice and he sang the bejeezuz out of it. I found my listening to him and not watching him. When I listened to him "only" I enjoyed his rendition of "Blaze of Glory", a song I don't know. But when I did watch him, it was difficult. Is it just me or does he look unwell?
Jordin struggled through Living On A Prayer. She shouted her way through the song, like she did last week. Yet. Last week the judges didn't mention anything about her having shouted her way through the song while criticizing Lakisha quite harshly for doing so. That was last week. This week, the judges seem to have forgotten about the "Jordin Sparks Will Be The Next Idol" conspiracy and judged her appropriately. The cool thing about Jordin is she knew she didn't do well. So she was accepting of the judges' critiques - without being defensive - which is always a good quality for an American Idol contestant. I hope she doesn't have to go home tonight. I like her. She's confident and spunky.
At this point, I wondered again, why these poor contesants had to sing these lame songs. But I guess if you can sell a lame song well enough, you can succeed at anything in the music industry.
Lakisha found the one song probably of the Bon Jovi book that was good for her voice. And she sang it beautifully and she didn't shout and she brought a tear to my eye and she restored my faith in her ability to overcome her obvious lack of training. She sang something called "This Ain't A Love Song" a song I had never heard of either. I say either because before her meeting with Jon Bon Jovi, her only experience with him or his music had been an interview she'd seen on Oprah Winfrey. How cool is that? That's like Yoko Ono saying she had never heard of the Beatles when she first met John Lennon. Whether you believe it or not, it was probably humbling for Jon Bon Jovi to hear something like that - which in my opinion was much needed as you'll see in the chapter about Blake Lewis.
In his film clip, Blake was shown displaying his arrangement of "You Give Love A Bad Name" to JBJ and his accompianist. He expressed doubt that Blake's interpretation of his song would be well received because the song was such a familiar part of the rock-n-roll lexicon. He thought that Blake was taking a huge risk. That made me laugh. Because who walks around thinking that "You Give Love A Bad Name" is as untouchable as "Hey Jude" or "Feelin' Groovy". Did JBJ really expect the audience to storm the stage with torches and pitchforks because Blake dared to change "You Give Love A Bad Name"? (Honestly. What hubris.) Blake Lewis nailed it of course. His rendition made the song more interesting that it ever was any time I've heard it on the radio. He took a boring, generic 80's rock song and turned into an excuse to show off his originality, personality and inate abilites. Go BLAKE!!!
Chris Richardson sang "Dead or Alive", apparently employing the nasal technique so lauded during country music week. I'm still don't see his alleged resemblance to Justin Timberlake, either vocally or physically. I don't have anything more to say about him.
Melinda sang "Have A Nice Day". I never heard it before but as I was listening to it, I realized it's one of those tracks that falls somewhere near the end of the album. It would have been song 5 on the B side of the vinyl release. But she sang it like it was the most important song ever written and probably made that song sound better than it ever has or ever will. In other words, I didn't like the song, but I loved the singer.
The show ended with a pre-recorded message from the President and Laura Bush. You may not like President Bush and chances are that you don't because his approval rating is so low, but you have to admit that it was nice of the President to take the time to thank the people who helped raise $70 million last week. He's not running for office again. He didn't have to do that. I thought it was nice.
Because none of the contestants were sent home last week, tonight they'll be sending home two people, which means tonight we find out who the final four American Contestant Idols will be. I predicted a long time ago that Gina Glocksen would be in the final four. I'm sorry that she's not. I'm hoping the final four are (in no specific order) Melinda, Jordin, Lakisha and Blake. I'll be surprised if Phil and Chris make it. But they probably will.
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