hilarious Bed Bug Intruder song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8GK6rJjuFo

Glee-tastic!

Omg, the Britney Spears episode! I always like when Glee dials down the plot to concentrate on the music. Let's face it, Glee's strong suit is not character arches and plot devices. It's unmitigated joyful camp- and that is in short supply on TV right now. The Brit episode was excellent because, as Kurt points out, Brit is popular culture. It was pure entertainment to watch the Glee kids recreate her image and voice in such an obvious tribute. The geek fandom was overwhelming and wonderful.

And they did their best to tangle with the cultural matrix that is Britney Spears, the object, by debating her place as a role model, popular icon, falling star, young mother and her slow and rocky road to redemption. Britney is the narrative, as Brandy would point out. I also liked the silliness of the episode as personified by Britney's doppleganger, Brittany (played by Heather Morris). Although she managed to pack some serious punch by using Britney as a path to feminist empowerment ("I get all the solos from now on. Next week I'l be doing Ke$ha").

All in all, a truly enjoyable episode. This is what Glee does best. Throw seriousness and plot out the window and let us have all the glory moments, the spectacle and the fantasies.

Next to Normal

Is a musical Broadway therapy session. The show is intense! and mad good, pun intended. It's about the average dysfunctional suburban family haunted by the image/ghost (played by a male actor) of their son who died when he was an infant. If there was any fault with this play, it was that the plot was structured in a fairly conventional way. Mom and Dad are unhappy, Daughter is ignored, Dead Son represents the unconscious.  Mom is emotional; Dad is the stalwart supporter. Daughter wants to escape in all ways possible.

 If the plot is a little well worn, the script really brings it back to life. The writing was at the perfect emotional level, getting maximum impact. And when you have incredible Broadway talents singing their hearts out in these rock-ballads about their deepest issues, it really works. I cried at the end and felt like I had just worked through some of my own issues, although this time with awesome songs! Quite the experience. It reminded me how Times Square can seem so irritating and cheesy, but within some of those theater doors there is a whole other world that justifies the throngs of tourists. It's Unique New York :)

Celebrity sighting!

Sometimes I even forget to look for celebs in New York City because I'm busy living my life. So on Saturday I did a bit of a double take when I tall, scruffy man walked by with a blond toddler on his shoulders. I thought, really? In midtown? But it was most definitely Liev Schreiber who I know best from Mixed Nuts and the Scream series.

hip Brookyn

So I follow a lot of NYC-centric websites and one of the, Curbed, was having a party to celebrate their list of 38 great places in Brooklyn. The party was four cocktail stations with bartenders from Brooklyn bars making cocktails with the sponsor liquor, Absolut Brooklyn. Absolut Brooklyn is red apple and ginger flavored. So the drinks were an interesting mixture of spicy and sweet! One was made with bitters and tasted grapfruity. The one I liked the least had homemade ginger spiked grenadine. It was really strong and sour. Then there was one that tasted almost exactly like apple pie, and was quite sweet. The favorite of the night was made with heavy cream, egg white, and cinnamon. It was like ginger froth. It was fun to be invited to such a classy free party!

Update: this photo appeared on Racked!

watch Huge now

Great, complicated show with excellent cast and sense of humor. About kids at fat camp.

Watch. It. Now.

(can be found on Hulu as well)

UCB visit

I got myself down the UBC this week-finally-after meaning to go for a long time. The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater hosts daily comedy shows, all for about $5. I went to see Diamond Lion which is a musical improv group. They were pretty funny, and boy- they could sing too! I like that New York is just brimming with all this talent. I am definitely going to try and see more shows as they consistently funny.

Rosemary had a devil baby!

We went to see Rosemary's Baby in Bryant Park yesterday. I was surprised by the incredible turnout- the park was jam packed with people who wanted to see a very retro horror movie. The night was cold, there were chills on my arm, and the film was just as creepy as ever. I tried to convince my friend Rosemary (for whose sake we went to see the movie) that it wasn't actually scary but campy. Didn't quite convince myself!

It was fun to watch it with a group of people who cheered when Rosemary poured her poison drink down the sink or threw her evil amulet in the gutter. I never realized before how much the movie creates this very creepy, claustrophobic New York apartment full of secrets and death.Very anti big apple! During the middle of the movie there was a commotion in front of us and someone stood up and yelled "Officer! Doctor!" and then all these cops and EMTs came and took someone out of the park into an ambulance. Eerie, huh?

busy!

Summertime brings a more frenzied social life along with the searing heat. I've been busy the last few weeks but here's some of what I've been doing:

Long Beach- took the LIRR out to the beach. Although the $12 beach admission seemed pricey, it was worth it for the pristine sand beaches. The water was cold and a bit rough, but worked well enough to cool me down. And lying around on the soft sand and listening to the ocean was pure bliss

Movie in Bryant Park- due to the crowd, the concrete and the long bathroom lines we didn't stay to watch the movie. We did however enjoy a nice al fresco picnic in an interesting setting.

Sazon- awesome. This Puerto Rican restaurant offered two hours of unlimited mimosas or sangrias plus a two course burnch. They had a great eggs Benedict with a green Hollandaise sauce. It's a hard dish to pull off, but it was perfect. And the drinks were strong!

Madiba Restaurant in Fort Greene- tasty South African place in cute Fort Greene. We sampled lots of dishes and had a great time.

Hill Country- meat! meat! meat! gotta love the meat here and the caloric, buttery sides. Although the sauce doesn't match up to the actual hill country greatness, the meat is pretty darn good. And the drinks were great! I tried a serrano pepper margarita (what a kick!) and a rum & rootbeer mixer (like dessert!). Fun and informal.

Big Apple moment

Walked into a random wine shop in midtown west and Whoopi Goldberg was there! But I can't add her to my list because she's already on it. crazy city!

The Winter's Tale in the heat of summer

Shakespeare in the park! After many weeks of fruitlessly entering in the virtual lottery for tickets, I finally got rewarded with a pair to see The Winter's Tale. And it happened to be on day where the heat in the city broke, the sky was clear and there was just enough of a breeze to keep one altet and cool. The scene to the left is Paulina ripping Leontes a new one after he has let jealousy get the better of him and caused the death of his wife and son. Paulina was amazing! She really stole the show with her energy and fiery tongue. Although the it only got a tepid review in the New York Times (they liked the other play in this summer's cycle, Merchant of Venice) I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable. For a three hour play, it kept a pretty good pace and the actors recited the twisty Shakespearean lines with enough clarity and panache that I understood most of it. The staging was also well done. They had fake sheep popping up from hidden grooves in the stage and a lovely glass window pane that mimicked rain fall. The drama was absorbing and the comic relief hilarious. It made me realize that as the precursor to television and modern entertainment, Shakespeare knew how to keep the rabble interested. All in all, a most enjoyable evening. :)

Oh Canada!

This weekend I went to Montreal for fun with a few close friends. Montreal is a pretty and spacious city and seemed very uncrowded and sparkling clean from a New Yorker's point of view. I loved the spiral staircases, the flowers and ivy covered walls, and the cobblestone streets of Old City. And it was far enough away to feel like a real vacation and adventure.

We climbed up the winding Mont Royal to see the views from the top and the drum circles at the bottom. Bought and sautéed duck liver. Consumed loads of ice cream and sorbet, and maple flavored everything (including soda!). Went to the Montreal International Jazz Festival where we saw The Lost Fingers, a very popular Canadian band that covers eighties songs. Their rendition of Billie Jean was amazing.

We also ventured to Quebec City where we played around in the castle/palace like hotels before wilting in the scorching sun and having an impromptu picnic. Who knew Canada would be so frakkin' hot? Also did some shopping in cute French boutiques, where I bought pates, a nice wall hanging, and some maple tea.

What I'm watching

True Blood, Season 2- so far, so good. Same great characters, sexy and fun. And more Eric! I loved it when he turned all vampire and ripped some poor guy limb to limb, then turns and asks Lafayette, "Do I have blood in my hair?" Lol. I'm still not tired of Sookie and Bill either. I think they are cute together :) But I'm sure I'll be ready to watch them be ripped apart when the time comes.

Skins- yay for British tv! Another well written, well cast and well acted British teen drama. Well bad! Nothing terribly new or original but pretty high quality.

Dog Whisperer- fascinating show. I can never get tired of Cesar Milan magically knowing how to calm all dogs and solve the people problem. Plus, puppies!

Orange is the New Black

Just started reading Piper Kerman's Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison. It sounds remarkably like college! She describes how you had to carry all your shower articles in a bag or caddy and then wait in line to use the good showers since half of them didn't have great pressure or hot water. Hello old Parrish hall! I had no idea that prison was so similar to dorm life. I guess in movies they always portray prisons as maximum security. In minimum, as Kerman describes, there are no bars on the individual cells- there are no cells, just a barracks like dorm system. Prison is a scary, almost mythical concept. It is enlightening to hear a middle class hippie describe her journey down the rabbit hole.

It's an interesting read- really brings out the gender and race issues in representations of prison. Jail stories are almost always about men and violence. So far in the book, what Kerman has noticed about prison is the racial divisions and the army like structure. I was turned on to it when Kerman's fiancé had a NYT Modern Love article describing visiting her every week in prison and the bond he developed with the other prison men. He writes really eloquently about what it is like to be one half of a couple in prison.

Who I saw last night!

J-Lo at the Apollo! She is amazingly beautiful in person, and that golden dress was radiant. :) She hid in the VIP section the whole night but I did get a brief glance when we crossed paths en route to the bathroom. Not the most glamorous way to see such a celeb, but I will take what I can get! 

And Aretha was there too! Also dressed in gold. Nice night!

What I'm watching

Season 1 of True Blood in preparation for Season 2 being released on Netflix this week. I've read most of the books so it is quite pleasurable to watch the show and enjoy this fluff in another medium. True Blood is popcorn and enjoyment, pure escapism

I struggled to make it through the first few episodes of The Bachelorette. I just couldn't do it. The heroine of this season, Ali, is so disgustingly all American. She quit her job to be on the show and when asked what she wants out of life responded that all she wanted was a family and love to fill the holes in her life. Ack! I cannot watch her search so obviously for a "husband" to complete her, to give her life meaning.

Rewatched Kill Bill again and found it much more fun the second time round when you know what to expect. Then you can just relax and enjoy Tarantino's masterful touches and awesome female characters.

Still watching Party Down, and the characters just keep growing on me. Witty writing and excellent acting make this Starz comedy a critic's darling. With the stars being stolen away for other projects, who knows if it will last.

and Big Brother is coming in July! talk about summer flings :)

at the ballet!

tutus! en pointe! prima donnas! Last night I made my way to the Met to watch the American Ballet perform Don Quixote. Sometimes when you live in New York, you forget there are amazing opportunities right around every corner. $20 for nosebleed tickets to watch some of the most bendy dancers (splits in mid air, wowza) cavort around on stage in shiny tights. It was great :)

Prince of Persia, or the movie that had entirely too much shirt

So do you buy Jake Gyllenhaal as the nest Johnny Depp? Disney is certainly trying its best to groom Jakey into a money making action machine still imbued with some artistic integrity. And although they might want Jake to be their new Captain Jack Sparrow, complete with hotness, camp and appeal to all ages, this movie turns out more like The Mummy than Pirates. 

Which is not necessarily bad- both The Mummy and Prince are great summer action films. They rely on well known cliches that comfort and amuse, have eye candy for all genders, don't take plot or character development too seriously, and deliver 2 hours of solid fun. Prince even had great video game moments where the characters leap and fight in such unbelievably awesome ways. Although, as noted in the title, Jake had his shirt on for way too much of the movie. What a tease!

But does Jake really work as an action hero? After Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain? The answer is maybe sometime in the future, but not yet. Prince of Persia was rich in good looking people, comic relief and quick action. It just lacked that special spark that makes a movie irresistible. Jake is not yet Johhny. Maybe one day...

So...lost

I watched the much hyped Lost finale last night. In one sense it was satisfying. All the relationships that I loved about season one were revived and resolved (except for Juliet and Sawyer, which happened after I started watching).

But of course the show failed to truly wrap up its loose ends. But was I expecting it to? Lost has always been chaotic- that was one of the reasons I stopped watching after season three. Most questions were left unanswered and fanboys everywhere can go crazy trying to connect the dots.

But the finale truly drew from Lost's strengths: the relationships between thoroughly developed characters as well as a sense of "otherness," otherwordly and liminal displaced sense of time and space. Ultimately the show cannot return to the beginning, but there is no where for it go except back into mystery.

Film Festival Time

One of the best benefits of living in New York is the ability to see independent films. Many of these interesting indies simply can't find a distributor and sometimes can only be seen at special screenings in NYC or LA. I thought I should take advantage of this fact, so last night I went to see Timer at the Tribeca Film Festival. Timer actually premiered last year at TFF, but a year later it still hasn't found a distributor. According to what the director told us in the Q&A after the film (yay for directors showing up to screenings!), they had a few offers but none were what they were looking for.

Timer takes place in a society where once you hit puberty you can get a digital timer implanted on your wrist that will count down the days until you meet your soul mate (and there is a 98% success rate for those couples!). It all sounds great and happy until you realize the complications that could arise. What if your timer remains blank like the protagonists- does that mean you don't have a soul mate? What if your timer says the soul mate is 50 years away? What are you supposed to do about relationships in the meantime? What if your match dies? What if you are matched with someone too young, or too old, or you don't like them? The movie seems to say that you can't force things like love, and you can't live your life waiting for something to happen to you.

I really liked this film. I thought it was well written and well acted. I mean, it had Anya from Buffy in it, so how could I not?

Timer also had some very non-Hollywood relationships that were great. Una, the main protagonist, lives with her stepsister Steph. When the timer and men threaten to come between them, Una tells Steph that their relationship is the most important in her life and she will not let anything come between them. It is so refreshing to see this non-romantic and non-familial bond between two women be so reinforced. The ending was bittersweet but authentic and made me respect the writing even more. Plus, it is very much a romantic comedy and made me laugh out loud several times. Honestly one of the best films I have seen in a long, long time. The DVD comes out in June or July and I hope people go rent it. 

Party Down

If you are not watching this hilarious catering comedy on Starz, you should be. The writing is quick and witty, the cast is pitch perfect (including Megan Mullally as a cloying divorce), and they capture the catering/acting community with comedic accuracy.

The show might not last that long because so many of the stars have been stolen away- including Jane Lynch who moved to Glee. They are streaming the current season on Netflix as it airs. Which is awesome. 

Word of the Day

Shipping, from Wikipedia

Shipping, derived from the word "relationship", is a general term for fans' emotional and/or intellectual involvement with the ongoing development of romance in a work of fiction. Though technically applicable to any such involvement, it refers chiefly to various related social dynamics observable on the Internet, and is seldom used outside of that context.

Shipping can involve virtually any kind of relationship — from the well-known and established, to the ambiguous or those undergoing development, and even to the highly improbable and the blatantly impossible. People involved in shipping (or shippers) assert that the relationship does exist, will exist, or simply that they would like it to exist.

Examples inclue LoVe (Logan and Veronica from Veronica Mars), shippers for Hermione+Harry, etc

TV Recap

1) Sunset Daze

WE's new show about the zany folks at a retirement community in Flordia. They are too cute! Seriously, it's great fun to watch Gail "the actress" visit her gay son's rodeo and make friends with the drag queens. Or Sandy "the wild child" go on a first date and get those ageless butterflies. Like all reality shows, it's a bit over produced, which is why the first episode features sky diving, air balloon rides, and a gay rodeo. I'm hoping that as the show calms down it can let its stars shine. Because the great thing about these retirees is that they really want to live it up :

2) Glee

Was back this week with a calmer, less frenzied atmosphere. It was refreshing for once for Rachel not to dominate the show and see the side characters really step it up. I enjoyed the power ballads and the return of Kristin Chenoweth. The plot was sugary sweet and continued Glee's dedicated commitment to retaining the after-school-special flavor. You are beautiful no matter what they say!

3) Selling New York

New episode tonight! If you haven't yet seen this show about real estate brokers in the wild jungle of Manhattan, check it out. I love peeping into all the ritzy apartments I could never afford. Last week one even had an outside hot tub! As always, the people of NYC make for good television with their crazy personalities and blunt negotations.

easy on the ears

I really like Colbie Caillat's new album. It's more folky and less pop. Perfect for listening to on the subway.

Bloody Bloody

The Public Theater is really a great institution. They've given me two of my absolute favorite New York moments- Hair and Twelfth Night. They also offer up a season summer play festival (SPF) which has $10 plays by first time playwrights. I've been to two of those as well and they were actually decent. Most recently, I went to see Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which has a great write up- Old Hickory, Rock Star President (NYT).

Bloody Bloody is a political emo-rock musical. If you don't know what that means, neither do I. This was a mash up of political comedy, slap stick randomness, rock show and solemn lecture on the dangers of populism. The political is personal and we sing about it. At one point, Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel smear blood on each other in a 19th century riff on illness=love metaphor.

So it was weird, but in an enjoyable way. The cast were slick and confident, the music was solid, the points were well made. And it made me laugh. 

United States of Tara

Great new show with Toni Collette. I've loved her ever since Muriel's Wedding and she doesn't disappoint with this new show about a woman with multiple personalities. In fact, it's amazing to watch her transform into these characters. Good supporting cast, solid writers. I'm hoping the second season can spice things up a little and bring on the chaos.

Glee was blah

I shouldn't have raised my expectations- or maybe I should blame it on Madonna. The musical numbers just lacked soul for some reason and I think it is because Madonna is a performer, not a vocalist. These kids are from Broadway and they know how to belt with emotion. Madonna is just too pop and spectacle and not enough soul. 
Other than the weakness of the Madonna tie-in, the rest of the show as pretty on point. Brittany, the bubble headed cheerio, has some of the best lines delivered with deadly straight face. When the gang is talking about Madonna's girl power and fight with misogyny, she quips "When I pulled my hamstring I went to a misogynist." The Jesse-Rachel-Quinn threesome is a good source of drama. And it was awesome that Kurt and Mercedes joined the cheer leading team because they weren't getting enough solos. Hopefully next week will have better musical numbers! 

Glee is back

Finally! Let the musical nerdom commence! The new episode was fresh and fun, although I thought the "hello" framework for all the musical numbers was a bit tiring. Can't wait to see more of this great show. I heard the back 9 have a lot more music and less outrageous plot, which is definitely an improvement. But you don't watch Glee for character development or plot, you watch if for the CAMP! and vibrant musical numbers, a sharp sense of mocking humor and lovable, over the top caricatures. Can't wait for next week :)

Country music in New Jersey

I guess NJ counts as the country when juxtaposed with NYC? Anyway, it is surely the suburbs. On Friday I took the train an hour or so outside of the city to Red Bank, New Jersey to see LeAnn Rimes sing me some country songs. The tickets were free so I was really just paying for the round trip train fare, which wasn't too cheap in rush hour.

But the concert was surprisingly fun. I wouldn't have considered myself a LeAnn Rimes fan. I knew her music vaguely and knew she could sing but I don't have a single song of hers on my ipod. Turns out that she is much, much better in person. She was very charismatic and personable and boy can that girl really belt it out! I love that kind of soul singing where you can tell it makes the singer happier than anything else to be on the stage singing. She has a powerful alto voice and she can really control it and let it rip when necessary. It was a nice treat and made me want to go to more concerts!

Happy Spring, y'all!

I've been too busy enjoying the 90 DEGREE WEATHER in April to blog lately, not to mention the profusion of flowers, blooming trees and delicious sunshine.

I had an interesting experience last week being an audience participant on a reality show featuring chefs and food. For four or five hours, I witnessed the chaos that is food tv while drinking free wine and eating bits of things that haphazardly arrived at the table. Oy, the list of things they ran out of! The melted icecream! The dry, overcooked entrees! It was a long and fun process but I don't think I would do it again simply because there is so much waiting around, but it was a good use of a cold and rainy day. Not to mention it fed my food/blog nerdiness. Luckily, living in New York it's easy to find lots of interesting and drool worthy food experiences.

Most recently I visited Island Burgers and Shakes in midtown west where I had a juicy blue cheese and onion burger cooked medium rare- which is rare in NYC, ha. Most places cook their burgers to a dry brown no matter what you order. But this one was nice and red. I also tried a malted vanilla shake which was delicious. Typical NYC prices- $9 burgers and $5 shakes, but worth it occasionally.

Now to go bask again in the sunshine

Carnegie Hall

I had the good fortune to get free tickets to a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. I had never been and I'm glad I went because the hall is quite elegant and I felt honored to be in such a legendary space. The pianist, Thomas Ades, played some brilliant Schubert and Beethoven and even premiered a composition of his own. I left feeling very classy and culturally enriched :)

Sondheim on Sondheim

Roundabout Theater's tribute to the legendary composer and lyricist was, like most musicals, rich with music and emotion and thin on editing and momentum. Nearly 3 hours is way to long to string together different songs from different musicals, even if they are very well performed. The excellent cast did they best they could to glue together this fragmented piece of media. They sang their hearts out and acted out the little vignettes with passion. But for all their best efforts, it just seemed amateur and forced.

Part of this show is pieces of a documentary shown on a giant, scrabble like screen on stage. The screen was made of 10 smaller screens and throughout the production these screens would form different formations. Sondheim's bits of wisdom were great- and it would have made for a good TV opportunity. Stringing together these filmed moments with live performances of various songs just didn't work for me- or at least, it worked for the first 2/3 of the show, but after that I was tired of the conceit. With a big chunk of editing and less screen footage this could be a good show, but it won't save it from the fact that it's not a musical but an anthology.

The West Story live on the West Side

There's always danger when you reinvent a classic. The Broadway show simply has a hard time living up to the classic 1961 film.

One of the main points of contention is the show's use of Spanish. When the Puerto Rican characters are alone on stage they spoke mostly in their native tongue. The lyrics and verses assigned to the Sharks are also in Spanish. I guess this was done in an effort to maintain authenticity and retain a PC distance from the film, which was equally famous for its whitewashed cast playing "ethnic." And in some ways, it works and gives the live show its own identity. But if you come to the show because you loved the film, you will be upset not to here "I feel pretty" in English and sing along in your head. I definitely felt a bit left out at times, distanced from the musical  I know so well.

That said, the show had it's positive points as well. The music from the live orchestra was fantastic. The dancing, the energy from the young cast, the swirl of color and costume- perfectly Broadway. I thought the leads were great- Tony, Maria and Anita especially. And they really captured the emotion of the play. I even shed a few tears at the end.

Whedon strikes again

Happy St.Patrick's day everyone! May your Guinness be potent and your rainbow have a pot of gold.

I finally got around to watching "Dr.Horrible's Sing Along Blog" directed by Joss Whedon. It's a hilarious farce starring Neil Patrick Harris as a wanna be evil villain and his nemesis, Nathan Fillian's Captain Hammer. To any Whedon fan, this little internet sensation is entirely logical. It is strongly reminiscent of the musical episode of Buffy that Whedon also directed. The sing-songy music, the good vs evil plot, and the refreshingly witty Whedon quotes are all there. I laughed out loud for real several times.

The casting of NPH vs Nathan Fillian is perfect, and after seeing Nathan playing such macho protagonists (Firefly, Castle) it's lovely to see his excellent ability to parody himself. The heroine, Felicia Day, was definitely overshadowed by these two powerful actors. She's apparently a Whedon muse because she had roles in both Buffy and Dollhouse.

Now I just cannot wait to Whedon's GLEE EPISODE!!! I even think NPH will be in that as well. Talk about geek heaven!

Kell on Earth

Kell on Earth is a new reality show based on PR diva Kelly Cutrone's cutthroat fashion industry life coordinating runway shoes and marketing designers. Some of you- my fellow reality tv brethren- know Kelly from The Hills where she gave gainful employment not only to Whitney but Lauren and Stephanie as well (and when Lauren was forced to fire Steph, ah the drama!). Kelly's reward for hiring these vapid blondes was her own reality show where we see that despite appearing on The Hills Kelly is actually 1) a New Yorker at heart who likes to wear black and prefers to hire people who die their hair at the other end of the spectrum from LA blondes and 2) is an awesome bitchy feminist who clawed her way to top and is deeply dedicated to pulling up others now that she's made it. The picture below makes the point quite clearly (Kelly is dead center):

and Kelly also likes goth gay guys and buys lube for employees! viva la liberation

Now, the real question is can Kell on Earth make it as reality TV? Well, in its favor it has models and runway shows (ala Project Runway). It has crying employees (ala The Apprentice). What it doesn't have is romance. Kelly is unapologetically unromantic. She is a single mother dedicated to her business and has a "modern" relationship with her euro/metro baby daddy.  Now, that's fine with me. I like the driven, business focused tone of the show and the working relationships provide a good cast of supporting characters. I like the edge of feminism, of alternativeness.

But I have doubts about whether this interesting show can stay on the air because it's lacking two things critical to reality show success: ridiculously good looking people and heterosexual romantic tension. Basically, what has made The Hills, The Bachelor, The Kardashians, The Millionaire Matchmaker, The Girls Next Door and myriad other reality shows successful. And it doesn't have the competition aspect that Project Runway or American Idol or Top Chef have. Or even the family & friends dramatics of the Kardashians and the Hills gang. But maybe it can live for a while in Bravo's niche of similar shows like Million Dollar Listing (truly terrible show) or the fun Housewives series. All I can say is Bravo!

$$$

Just spend a Coach purse's worth of money on a long weekend trip to Montreal and Quebec City. Who knew Canada could be so expensive, eh? Anyways, even though it seems pricey, travel has always been my priority. And why do I have a job if not to fund adventures? It should be a really great girl's trip. :)

Empire State of parody

New York was all ablaze with the new Alicia Keys/Jay Z song "Empire State of mind." I've even danced to it in a club where we all blare out "New York! New York! makes you feel brand new!" But the best part of this song was the parody it inspired- a tribute to the Jewish burb of Forrest Hills. The best lines are "where people are shaped like pears" and "why did everything have a prune in it?" Check it out.

Empire State Of Mind - Forest Hills State of Mind with Billy Eichner and Rachel Dratch

Must See TV this week

Things I will try not to miss, even though I have to stay up past my bedtime :)

1) The Office Baby special. I loved The Office Wedding special. It was hilarious, awkward and touching all at the same time, which is this sitcom's specialty. Jim and Pam are wonderful and cute.

2)Real Housewives of NYC. Second season premiers tonight and the delightfully catty New Yawkers are back. Are Jill and Betheny no longer friends? Are the crazies still insane? I will definitely watch the best iteration of the "Real Housewives" spin

3) Kathy Griffin on Law & Order: SVU. Watch as Kathy breathes some life into this gray and dour show. Plus- she plays a bisexual named Babs!

4) and finally the OSCARS! omg there is so much drama this year. 10 best picture! A woman nominated for director! Dueling exes! And to top it all off, Baldwin and Martin :)

Police Women of Broward County

is my new trashy tv selection. The Police Women on this show are really intriguing. And yes, it's definitely a few steps up from "Cops" in terms of story lines and footage. It follows a few select women over the course of a season so you actually get a feel for their lives and motivations.

I always wondered what would possess a right minded woman to become a cop. You are signing up to deal with angry, aggressive people all day long. In what way does that seem like a good idea? But this show offers some insight. Most of the women seem to be in the career to "give back" to society or, to be very stereotypical, to help.

One of them works in a rape unit and seems very dedicated to her job. It's amazing to watch her first console the victim with such complete sympathy and then turn around and make the accused assailant feel like she's on their side too- and the amount of confessions she wrangles from these guys is amazing. Another woman spends most of her time answering domestic disputes and acting as a family counselor. A third has to come search women for drugs or weapons whenever her fellow male cops find someone suspicious.

As with any pop culture phenomenon, the show has messy politics. It certainly has a claimable feminist aspect as we watch these women enter a decidedly masculine career and do well for themselves. They try to balance home and work, feeling the conflict keenly between mother and cop. There's a lot going on with gender based crimes, like rape or prostitution. It's also reality tv that draws its roots from Cops, which was all about macho spectacle. So...tune in sometime and see what you think.

I'm addicted

to the Sims 3! I waited so long but then all my willpower just crumpled. Watch my real social life go out the window as I sim out. But it's so fun for my perfectionist personality :)
The new game is easier to use than previous versions and that makes it more rewarding. Everything is a little smoother and more detailed. Your sims make friendships easier and it takes less to make them upset. They also have a much more instant goal/reward system that keeps things running smoothly.

They also changed the game so that you are really encouraged to make one household and just stick with it rather than changing your active characters constantly. I'm not a huge fan of this because one of my main joys with the game is making my own sims and then having them meet in the Sim World.

They also have "opportunities" where you are offered a challenge and if you complete it, then you get rewards. I like this because it keeps the game spicy. I also love the new "trait" system where you can give your Sims characteristics like workaholic, flirty, lucky, daredevil, artistic, natural cook, hopeless romantic etc. Then they have certain affinities and can learn faster. All in all, a better change than from the first to second version. Sims 3 makes things easier for the player while being just as challenging and absorbing.

Oscar contender: The Hurt Locker

I finally got The Hurt Locker through Netflix, after it had been labeled "very long wait" for a very long time. There was no way I would have watched this movie except for two things 1) it was directed by a woman and 2) it is nominated for best picture. I do not go for war movies. But I wanted to see what a war movie directed by a woman and considered one of the best pictures of the year would be like.

So, first of all, yes it is still a war movie. There are bombs and military garb, and sweaty men drinking whiskey and wrestling with each other. There's alpha dog behavior and testosterone. The movie is basically about a bomb squad in Iraq. Their leader dies and a new guy, William James, replaces him. William James is wild and heroic and inspires his followers. The most interesting aspect of the film is James' psychology. As the viewer, we can see that he is on the edge of something- sanity, maybe?

James bonds with a young boy who is later killed. There is a sequence with James running around Baghdad as a vigilante, a wannabe Batman searching in a city of "infidels" for someone to blame for his young friend's death. James becomes an impostor, a vulnerable outsider doing a dangerous job for unknown, unclear reasons. There is no Truth to found in this version of war.

For me, the clearest statement of the film was the last five minutes. We see James back in the states, utterly lost in the sterile aisles of a giant grocery store. He is unable to bond with his family. The distance between the two realities- one of war, one of homeland- feels immense and uncrossable. When James goes back to Iraq, you can feel his joy. The war has changed him. He can't get that intensity of feeling, the tick tock countdown of a bomb, the adrenaline of good versus evil, anywhere else.

Good film, but I don't know if it is great. It wasn't radical, or cinematically stunning. It wasn't even that original. But despite all the macho violence, it did have a heart and drew me in. That's success in my book.

Snow day!

I worked a half day today due to Snowmaggedon's arrival in NYC. Here's a quick peek at the lovely white fluff in Harlem.

Superbowl Sunday

So I actually watched a whole football game! And the proper way too, with friends and tons of junk food and cold beer. The game was surprisingly interesting. There was the underdog spirit of the Saints and the whole rooting for New Orleans to actually gain a small but important victory. And they were losing for a while too, so it make the last touchdown sweet. The commercials were bad though. They were just boring and conservative. Now to enjoy the whole year before I watch football again!

Gaga rocks my world (and the Grammys)

Lady Gaga & Elton John

Check out this video of  Lady Gaga opening the Grammys with a fabulous duet with Elton John. Meld her ballad "Speechless" with Elton's "Your Song" plus glitter and glasses, and you've got camp heaven.

Bright Star

If ever poetry and film could intertwine, this would be it. Bright Star is a slow, dreamy, emotionally luscious film that, like all good poetry, still has a sting beneath all the flowery prose. What kind of sting? The sting of death, of poverty, or reality. What kind of great poet dies at 25, as Keats did? What a waste. But maybe it's the impending knowledge of your own mortality that brings out great poetry. It's really that mystery that makes Bright Star interesting. And to see, as always, the women behind the great men. The muse. The heart.

I liked Bright Star- it was hard to love. It's not at all what Hollywood grooms audiences to like. It has a very slow pace. The scenes are all about the dynamics between people, the power of words in a pale, light washed room. And most of all, it's about the clash between love and reality- not really Hollywood's thing. But it's my cup of tea. 

What goes around comes around

When I was a senior at Swarthmore I took advantage of their externship program to spend a week in New York City interning for Ark Media. Ark was working on a documentary about lobotomies. I remember watching One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest and marking spots that referred to lobotomies and reading an autobiography of a woman who spent time in a mental hospital when lobotomies were common. I even went on a pre-interview to meet one woman whose mother was lobotomized by the infamous Dr. Walter Freeman. I sat in on an editing session with the director and editor as they pieced the film together. And now it's going to air on PBS! It's always interesting how different parts of your life collide.

The Lobotomist: American Experience airs 3/22/10 in NYC :)

Project Runway Avenue

New York is the center of the fashion world! Or so declares Project Runway Avenue now in midtown near 39th street and and 7th Ave/Fashion Ave. I went to see the new signpost and catch a peek at the Runway cast. Heidi was a no show but I was more excited to see Tim Gunn. Michael Kors and Nina Garica were also there, which was cool but I didn't relate to them as much as the contestants.

A whole slew of them were there but the only two I could name off the top of my head were Austin Scarlett and Laura Bennett. Austin also appeared briefly on another of my favorite guilty pleasures, Say Yes to the Dress because he now designs wedding dresses.

It was a blazingly cold morning, but worth the pink cheeks and cold toes to see the designers in the flesh.

Also, the article and picture from Racked.com

http://ny.racked.com/archives/2010/01/13/project_runway_day_commences.php

mmm soup dumplings

I never had soup dumplings before coming to New York City and I am so glad I delved into the heart of Chinatown to discover these delicious creations! Prepare for food porn:

The place to go for soup dumplings is Joe's Shanghai. The rest of the food is okay but you really come for the soup dumplings- delicious steamed pork dumplings filled with a dangerously hot and fatty broth.

Happy New Year!

It's 2010 already! Wowza! What do we call the last decade- the aughties? the naughties? the zeros? the Os? Soon we will be in the teens- I don't think America can handle another adolescence!

I had a nice break and managed to see several new movies.

Up in the Air- Good cast. Now, I'm not a big fan of George Clooney. He was not my favorite batman. But he was good in this movie. I cared about him. Up in the Air's strengths were the writing and the cast. The two lead women were really captivating. The dialogue was witty and interesting. However, the movie was a bit slow and more than bit trite- moving, but predictable. B+

Princess and the Frog- Well, Disney, what do you have here. You've taken a bold move forward (black princess, yes) and wrapped that bold move in a thick fatty, cheesy layer of stereotypes and cliches. One step forward, half step back? Princess was charming. Like Disney comfort food, here you have the pretty 2-D hand drawn animation, the familiar outlines, the fairy tale world, the magic and singing, the true love. And weird bits of the dysfunctional real world thrown in like we wouldn't notice. Like: New Orleans, site of  national disaster and chaos. Or hello uncomfortable stereotypes that are not funny. A charming hot mess.B+

Sin Nombre- don't know it? You should if you ever feel up for those thoughtful, sad foreign films that break your heart. This one was about a gruff (and cute!) Mexican gang member with a heart of gold that kills his awful, bullying gang leader and then tries to flee over the border and reluctantly makes a connection with a pretty Honduran immigrant. No happy ending in the traditional sense but maybe worth the ride if you are in the right mood. A-