Viola Davis

Viola Davis's great acceptance speech after winning Best Actress at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards

Lists of 2011

I have compiled a list of my favorites from 2011. As usual, this is not a complete list -- there are plenty of things I wanted to listen to/read/watch in 2011 that I didn't get a chance to. Also, I tried to keep the lists limited to Top 25 or less.

Favorite Music: 
I'm proud of myself for actually having the strength (yeah, that's the right word) to narrow it down to a Top 10 list. With the concession being that I created an honorable mentions section. The Top 10 I selected just stood out to me as complete albums, in which I enjoyed nearly every track (or every track). With some albums in the honorable mentions section, the separation between them and the Top 10 is very slight. And then some honorable mentions are a distance from the Top 10's greatness, but they were still albums I liked. These albums had some really good songs, but then also some not-so-great ones.

(The embedded songs are not necessarily my favorite track on the album, just the song I felt like putting on today)

1. The Decemberists - The King is Dead



2. Adele - 21



3. Beirut - The Rip Tide



4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues



5. Bon Iver - Bon Iver



6. Wye Oak - Civilian



7. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials



8. Lisa Hannigan - Passenger



9. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne



10. Milo Greene - The Hello Sessions* / Other Lives - Tamer Animals

*The reason this is a tie is that I felt Milo Greene definitely needed to be in my Top 10, but they technically don't have an album yet. The closest they have to an album at this point is a 4-song sampler. But I'm so in love with this band. And everything they do, I love. If they had a full album out, they would be higher up on the list. But as they don't, I felt they deserved to be in the Top 10 but probably should be at the bottom. And in case anyone thought it was a cop-out that they're on the list despite not having a full album, I decided to include the next album on my list -- so that at the very least I have 10 full albums in the Top 10 list. Thus, Other Lives.





Honorable Mentions:
11. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow (I went back and forth between this album and Other Lives for the #10 spot. I had the hardest time deciding. So I feel like it deserves an embedded song)



12. Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah
13. The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart
14. The Black Keys - El Camino
15. Tennis - Cape Dory
16. Wilco - The Whole Love
17. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
18. Feist - Metals
19. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
20. Eisley - The Valley
21. Bright Eyes - The People's Key
22. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
23. Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys
24. Dawes - Nothing is Wrong
25. David Bazan - Strange Negotiations

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Favorite Movies: 
1. Midnight in Paris
2. Bridesmaids
3. Beginners
4. The Artist
5. Win Win
6. Even the Rain
7. Incendies
8. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
9. Tree of Life
10. Moneyball
11. 50/50
12. The Descendants
13. Abel
14. Le Havre
15. Submarine
16. Jane Eyre
17. My Week With Marilyn
18. The Future
19. Martha Marcy May Marlene
20. Another Earth

Documentaries:
1. Our School
2. Life in a Day
3. Catching Hell
4. Hot Coffee
5. The Learning

---

Favorite TV:
If I did a Top 25, I'd pretty much just be listing every show I watch -- so I'm making a list of shows that I felt were exceptional or "special" this year (e.g., 30 Rock was great this year. It's great every year. But it was pretty much the same old 30 Rock this year. Nothing really stood out as different or exceptional).

1. Breaking Bad (!!!)
2. Community
3. Boardwalk Empire
4. Homeland
5. Portlandia
6. Louie
7. Curb Your Enthusiasm
8. Game of Thrones
9. Parks & Recreation
10. Big Love (A great final season to end the series)
11. An Idiot Abroad
12. The Women's Soccer World Cup (not exactly a show, but it provided some excellent TV watching this summer. So much drama!)

Other good TV this year: 30 Rock, Modern Family, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, The Big C, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The United States of Tara, The Walking Dead, The Hour, The Ricky Gervais Show, Hell on Wheels, Top Chef: All-Stars

Notes: The Office is doing better than I thought it would without Steve Carrell -- but it's still kind of struggling. I enjoyed the Glee episode dedicated to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. I felt they ended United States of Tara well. The Killing was frustrating. I'm still pissed there was no Mad Men in 2011.

---

Favorite Books: 
This list consists of books I read in 2011 and not necessarily books released in 2011. I was planning on doing Top 20 fiction and Top 5 non-fiction (as I tended to read more fiction this year), but Travels With Charley was begging to be on the list. So it'll be a 19-6 split.

1. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
2. The Art of Fielding- Chad Harbach
3. A Visit From the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
4. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
6. The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht
7. Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann
8. So Much For That - Lionel Shriver
9. The Cat's Table - Michael Ondaatje
10. Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
11. Room - Emma Donoghue
12. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
13. The Marriage Proposal - Jeffrey Eugenides
14. Great House - Nicole Krauss
15. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
16. State of Wonder - Ann Patchett
17. A Gate at the Stairs - Lorrie Moore
18. In the Woods - Tana French
19. The Fates Will Find Their Way - Hannah Pittard

Non-Ficton:
1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
2. The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson
3. The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
4. Bossypants - Tina Fey
5. Unfamiliar Fishes - Sarah Vowell
6. Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck

If It's The Beaches

The climatic scene from The Champ, with Ricky Schroder crying over his father, is (scientifically) considered the saddest movie scene. It's the scene, used in a laboratory setting, that elicits the most sadness. Even more so than the scene in which Bambi's mom dies. Psychologists often use the clip from The Champ to get participants sad in order to study the effects of sadness (e.g., one study found that people are more likely to spend money when they are sad).

Researchers say it's a good scene because it produces one dominant emotion. Some suggestions for sad movie scenes were eliminated because they elicit a mixture of emotions like sadness AND anger. So I guess that's probably why my go-to heartbreaking scene from Steel Magnolias didn't make the cut. It's too complex. There's sadness, anger ("I just want to hit something!"), and it even makes you smile at the end ("Take a whack at Ouiser!"). That's right, it's too complex for you lab rats! (Also, I wouldn't be surprised if psychologists wouldn't want to use it because some male participants probably would be too stubborn to cry at Steel Magnolias. Because it's a girrrrl movie. Whereas, macho guys maybe allow themselves to cry when it comes to sports movies. Like Brian's Song. So maybe The Champ is universally crying-acceptable).

You might think that I will now discuss what movie scenes I think are the saddest. And while I do have a list of obvious contenders (i.e., movies where people die: Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Terms of Endearment, Boys on the Side...I've talked about these before) and not-necessarily-so-obvious contenders (i.e., scenes -- or moments in scenes -- that aren't necessarily sad, but they make me sad. Like in Almost Famous when William says to his sister's boyfriend -- as they're packing up to move away -- "take good care of her....man." And it's how he insecurely inserts the "man" at the end in order to sound cool. He's going to miss his sister and he's looking for approval from his sister and her boyfriend. And the boyfriend just rolls his eyes and laughs. That always breaks my heart a little), I'm not actually going to be discussing sad movie scenes for this post.

While the article did make me think about sad movies scenes, it then evolved into me thinking about sad songs. And while I was compiling a list in my head of sad songs, a sad song actually started playing on my itunes in the background (further proof that my itunes/ipod is sentient). And that's the point of this whole entry, to present this sad song. This sad song about not accepting that your significant other doesn't want to be with you anymore, and you're begging them to not end it, and that you promise you'll be someone that they want.

The Avett Brothers - If It's The Beaches


(The creator of this video took the 'beach' part of the song and ran with it...)

Don't say it's over, 'cause that's the worst news I could hear
I swear that I will do my best to be here just the way you like it
Even though it's hard to hide, push my feelings all aside
I will rearrange my plans and change for you
If I could go back, that's the first thing I would do
I swear that I would do my best to follow through
Come up with a master plan, a homerun hit, a winning stand
A guarantee, and not a promise, that I'll never let your love slip from my hands
If it's the beaches...if it's the beaches' sands you want, then you will have them
If it's the mountains' bending rivers, then you will have them
If it's a wish to run away, then I will grant it
Take whatever you think of, while I go gas up the truck
Pack the old love letters up, we will read them when we forget why we left here

I'm Crossing You In Style Some Day

Ever since living here, I have been watching more "classics" movies thanks to the AFI theatre playing retrospectives. There's tons of old(er) movies I've been meaning to see for a while, but never get around to it. Having the opportunity to see some of these classics projected on the big screen gives me that extra motivation to finally see them. It's a great way to experience these movies for the first time.

Last night was my first time seeing Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn was so damn adorable and charming (and oh how I loved her style). Mickey Rooney's Asian "impression" was way worse than I thought it was going to be (which is saying a lot) -- thank god he didn't really have a large role in the film. And Cat nearly stole the show for me. Oh, and Moon River! (Moon River always makes me think of Big). And Jets to Brazil! My favorite part of the movie is when Holly and Paul (or "Fred") go around the city and do things they've never done before.

I seriously love that Cat is in between them

A Day at Silverdocs

Eagan and I love the Silverdocs documentary film festival that comes every June to the AFI theatre in our neighborhood. We've seen four movies so far (The Interrupters -- from the guy who made Hoop Dreams, The Loving Story, and Our School). Our first movie today was Life in a Day. You remember the call last year for people to submit footage to YouTube for a documentary? Well this is the documentary. It was an excellent and impressive film.

Before the film started, I was waiting in line outside the theatre and guess who was standing next to me in line?  NPR's Linda Holmes! She's a pop culture/entertainment expert, and she writes for the NPR blog Monkey See and is on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. I recognized her and we started chatting in line about the festival and the different movies we've seen. I get so geeked out over NPR hosts, apparently.

And then when I got home, I saw this:

@nprmonkeyseenprmonkeysee

Shouts to the very nice blog/podcast fan I met in line for LIFE IN A DAY. Humans spoke to me who knew who I was!

20 minutes ago via TweetDeck

She's referring to me!! Very cool.

P.S. The other movie we saw today was The Learning. It's a documentary about Filipino teachers that come to Baltimore to teach (because of Baltimore's teacher shortage, they're having to look for teachers internationally). The documentary focuses on four Filipino teachers' adjustments to teaching and living in the U.S., and the struggles they encounter when having to leave their families back in The Philippines. It was a really interesting documentary. I think it's coming to POV on PBS this fall.
.

You Stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks! ...So You Get Nothing! You Lose!

Wow, has it really been 40 years since Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory came out? Granted this movie was made thirteen years before I was born, and I didn't see it until I was like seven...so the movie is more like 20 years old in my world. But, still, even 20 years ago seems like a long time ago (cue all those features going around on the internet that say "Don't you feel old: Macaulay Culkin is now 30, the last new Seinfeld episode was 13 years ago, The Lion King came out 17 years ago..." And it does make me feel old, and I do recognize the absurdity of that statement).

The cast recently reunited on The Today Show in honor of the anniversary (In case you're interested, you can see the video here. Though, it's not terribly exciting and the interviewer is pretty lame. But, spoiler alert, Violet Beauregarde obviously became a chain smoker...).

Apparently Augustus Gloop is the only one that got the memo to dress up like your character.

And does it weird anyone else out to see Veruca Salt smiling so warmly?

On one hand I'm like "Look how old they are!"; on the other hand, I'm kind of disappointed and I expected them to look even older. The movie was made 40 years ago! Like, what is Charlie Bucket's mom doing there? I expected she would have passed away years ago. Then again, I think I might have seriously overestimated the aging process and how old she actually was... I looked up Mrs. Bucket's (or Diana Sowle's) age online and I guess she's younger than both my (living) grandmothers.
Learning Mrs. Bucket's age inspired me to look at what happened to the grandparents (thinking, surely they can't still be alive, right?!). Grandpa Joe (or the actor that played him) died in 1981 at the age of 74. Grandma Josephine died in 1993 at age 93. Grandpa George died in 1974 at the age of 79. Grandma Georgina died in 1971 (the year the movie came out) at age 90. Wait a minute, Grandma Georgina was lying in that bed at age 90, while her husband Grandpa George lying beside her was 77?! That little cougar! To a lesser extent, Grandma Josephine was 72 while Grandpa Joe was 64 (he was only 64 years old and already couldn't walk from atrophy?!). 

You know what also concerns me? Grandma Josephine (Franziska Liebing) and Grandpa George (Ernst Ziegler) were born in Germany in the 1890s. That means that in the 1930s they would have been about the right age to be....I'm just saying.

But I'm glad that Willy Wonka is still being celebrated today. I love that movie (and the original source, obviously). It's a timeless classic. What kid wouldn't love a movie about a reclusive, bipolar candymaker that decides to off children because they have childish imperfections and curiosities?! And he gets his point across with the help of dancing, singing, orange midgets! Brilliant! Oh, and that boat scene (the LSD scene) still freaks me out...and so does Mr. Slugworth (apparently, the actor Günter Meisner played Hitler in numerous movies. Thanks, IMDB!).

I love my Willy Wonka record

Speaking of the Willy Wonka soundtrack, did anyone else see the Glee episode last night in which they sang "Pure Imagination"? God, I was crying my eyes out. (And then after that I watched the movie Rabbit Hole and cried my eyes out some more. Despite the movie being incredibly sad, I really liked it and thought it was very well done.) 

I Heart Miranda July

I first fell for the lovely Miranda July when I saw the adorable, quirky movie, "Me, You, and Everyone We Know." She wrote it, directed it, and starred in it. In addition to movies, she's written essays and books; she's a performance artist; and she's also a musician.

The New York Times recently had a feature where they had celebrities discuss their favorite summer movies. I love the little essay Miranda July wrote:

I was 11 the summer I saw "A Room With a View." Too young for romance? Not at all, I was a very passionate 5-year-old, so by 11 I had already survived several romantic (if entirely fantastical) storms. But this was the first time anything had ever really happened. By really I mean I was really sitting there in the movie theater, I really saw it -- the kiss amid the cornflowers. And then I came stumbling out into the night, and walked silently between my parents, trying to imitate the child I'd been 90 minutes before and conceal my transformation into a woman in love. Not with anyone, not Julian Sands or Helena Bonham Carter -- just in it, drowning in it, love.
Obviously nothing normal could ever happen again. I wouldn't go to sixth grade in the fall. I doubted I'd even be living with my parents by then. I looked up at them wistfully. They would worry about me, but ultimately I knew they'd understand when they saw how mutual it was. Yes: I knew love loved me too, the way it held me in its thrall.
I got in the backseat of our car as a sentimental gesture, out of respect for the family we had once been. But as we got closer to home, I had a sinking premonition. I would go to sixth grade. I would probably even get caught up in it, and get excited about something provincial, like a purple backpack. My heart was exhausted; I pressed my head against the window and searched the night sky.
What was the point of anything now? And why would anyone make a movie that turns you against your own life? Damn "A Room With a View." I'd been so happy before, so innocent and satisfied. I'm still working through this, by the way; I've made very little progress over the last 26 years. And watching it again and again only seems to make it worse.

She also recently contributed a piece for Dossier, an arts magazine. They asked "cultural notables" to contribute a story about their first sexual experience. Miranda described how she was 17 (she said "I think [my mom] was surprised it had taken me so long."), and her boyfriend was a 27 year old grad student at UC Berkeley. He was so poor that he didn't have a bed, so they just did it on the floor. I love how she ends the piece:

We went out for a few months. It was an intense, formative time for me. I was thinking very hard about everything, including, but not only, feminism. One night I suggested we drive up to the hills overlooking the city. We parked and stood together on the edge of a cliff. I asked him to go down on me while I looked at the view. When he stood up again, I broke up with him.

Finally, when looking for pictures of Miranda July, I stumbled upon this. How great is this poster for "Me, You, and Everyone We Know"?!

This is the inside joke of all inside jokes: see the movie. 

P.S. Are we surprised at all that her parents were professors and writers...and that they founded North Atlantic Books -- a publisher of "alternative health, martial arts, and spiritual titles"?!

Kids Act Out

AOL's Kids Act Out series presents these videos of little kids reenacting some of the Best Picture nominees. They're pretty damn adorable.

Black Swan

The King's Speech

The Social Network

The Fighter

127 Hours

Things I Liked About 2010, Pt. 1

I'm just now getting around to making my Best of 2010 list. I might be a little late to the party, but here it is nonetheless. Without further ado, I present my list of Things I Liked about 2010 (a very incomplete list).

Movies:
The Fighter, The King's Speech, Black Swan, The Social Network, Inception, Carlos (the longer version), Made In Dagenham, Never Let Me Go, Toy Story 3, Illégal, Certified Copy, Winter's Bone, The Kids Are All Right, True Grit, Mr. Nobody
Documentaries: Les Arrivants (The Arrivals), Waiting for Superman, Freakonomics, Exit Through the Gift Shop, The Other City.

Items of Note:
I saw Casablanca for the first time ever. Luckily, I was able to see it on the big screen at the AFI theatre. I loved it.

This year Eagan and I took advantage of the many great special film events in the area. There were free screenings; advanced screenings; and screenings with discussions afterwards with the director, writers, and/or actors. This year we attended screenings that included Edward Norton, Sam Rockwell, Tony Goldwyn, Betty Anne Waters and Barry Scheck -- who were portrayed in the movie Conviction, Oliver Stone and the writers of South of the Border, the people involved with 8: The Mormon Proposition, Ambassador Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame -- who were portrayed in the movie Fair Game (the director, Doug Limas, was also there). And Neal Conan, from NPR, moderated two of the above discussion panels.
We also enjoyed the different film festival and film showcases in the area, including the Silverdocs documentary film festival, the European Union Film Festival, The Latin American Film Festival, and the Labor Film Festival.

During Thanksgiving break, the AFI was the host of a special road show of the full (uncut) version of Carlos. It was 5.5 hours long (with 2 intermissions!). That is definitely the longest movie I have ever seen -- and all in one sitting. It was a really fascinating film and didn't seem like 5.5 hours. Edgar Ramirez, the actor that played Carlos, did an amazing job.

TV:
Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Community, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Parks and Recreation, Louie, The Walking Dead, The Ricky Gervais Show, Glee, Modern Family, Nurse Jackie, Dexter, The United States of Tara, The Big C, The Benson Interruption, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

Music:
Rocky Votolato - True Devotion, Arcade Fire - The Suburbs, Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Girl Talk - All Day, Sarah Jaffe - Suburban Nature,  The Black Keys - Brothers, Matt Pond PA - The Dark Leaves, Stars - The Five Ghosts, Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP, She & Him - Volume Two, Broken Bells - Broken Bells, Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now, Best Coast - Crazy For You, Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More, Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues, Azure Ray - Drawing Down the Moon, Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me, Band of Horses - Infinite Arms, Midlake - The Courage of Others, Jakob Dylan "Women and Country", J. Tillman - Tillman Sings 'Tonight's The Night'.

Items of Note:
Aaron Neville played a free concert in our neighborhood! He played all his major hits and other great R&B/Soul standards.

The best concert I attended in 2010 was an intimate living room concert that Rocky Votolato played in Ogden. One of the best shows I've ever attended.

Books:
The Best American Magazine Writing 2009 by The American Society of Magazine Editors; Franklin & Eleanor by Hazel Rowley; Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe & Sabin Streeter; Everything is Going to be Great by Rachel Shukert; American Voyeur by Benoit Denizet-Lewis; The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson; The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall; The False Friend by Myla Goldberg; The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender; I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson

Items of Note:

I know it's not a book, but Eagan got me a subscription to The New Yorker this year as a gift and I love it dearly. Each weekly issue is usually 100+ pages, so it's pretty much like a book. Each issue is like a really great book of essays. There are great in-depth articles on politics, social issues, economics, science, pop culture, and profiles on interesting people.

We attended a lot of great book readings this year. My favorites were David Rakoff (for "Half Empty", Jonathan Franzen (for "Freedom"), Jonathan Safran Foer (for "Eating Animals"), Roxana Saberi (for "Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran", and Nell Irvin Painter (for "The History of White People").

David Rakoff and Jonathan Safran Foer (*swoon*)

Jon Hamm is Super, Man

Jon Hamm was a guest on Conan last night, and it was a really great interview. It was really funny, and Jon and Conan had a great back-and-forth.

I loved when they started talking about the rumor that Jon Hamm might play Superman.

Conan: You know, I keep hearing a rumor, which is they say there's going to be a new Superman movie and your name keeps coming up. Which I thought you'd make a great superman.
Jon: Everyone wants to see a middle-aged Superman.With the power of handicap parking...mall walking.
Conan: Haha! A Superman who is struggling with some issues. Sure, what's wrong with that?
Jon: A Superman that had to buy a fast car.
Conan: Haha! That makes no sense.
Jon: Dated a younger woman to make him feel alive.
Conan: I like that he's Superman, and he has to get a Porsche. You know? He can fly to Mars in a second, but he needs a car that can go 80 mph on the freeway.
Jon: Well, you know, he doesn't really feel all that good about himself. He hit a certain age. He's not so super anymore. There's a bunch of super kids everywhere, taking his super publicity.
Conan: You can't put "super" in front of any word.
Jon: You super certainly can

Here's the full interview (Superman discussion starts at about 6:30):

Oh Snap!

George Hickenlooper, a filmmaker of both documentaries and narrative film died of a heart attack a few days ago at the age of 47. He was probably most known for his documentary Hearts of Darkness (about the making of Apocalypse Now). His most recent movie, Casino Jack (about the Jack Abramoff scandal), has been shown at festivals and will be released this winter.
The point of this entry is not that he died -- though that definitely is of note -- but that he said something pretty "oh snap" in an interview. During an interview at the Toronto Film Festival, he said:

"For me, I think there's a good balance of tone in [Casino Jack]. But I think a lot of people aren't used to films that have that balance of tone. In the last 30 years, independent film has become what I call Pottery Barn cinema. It's a little bit ostentatious, it's beautiful to look at, but it's lost its sense of storytelling."

This is probably what Art Smith and Karl Rove's child would look like. Too bad Art Smith is gay. 

So That Explains It

In a New Yorker interview Judd Apatow was asked, "Do you think there's a big difference between being funny in prose, as opposed to writing a comedic screenplay or television script?" He responded,

"I've never been able to write prose well. I've certainly sat down and attempted to write short stories, but I get up from the chair very quickly. I don't have the mastery of language that's required. One of the reasons why a lot of my characters are high is that it's easier to write for people who are stoned, who are not very smart and don't know big words. I don't have great powers of description. Even my screenplays don't describe things well. Some screenplays go into great detail about what the setting looks like and feels like, and I'll just go "Interior. House." And that's it. But I admire people who do it very well. And I had the thought in the back of my head that I would one day put more effort into seeing if I could express myself in that way." 

Bad Dads

I know I've already done a post on artwork for Wes Anderson films...and, so, here's another! A gallery in San Francisco has a new exhibition opening next week called Bad Dads, and it features art inspired by Wes Anderson films. Artwork from over 60 artists will be displayed. Here are some great pieces:

by Jessica Deahl

by Ibraheem Youssef

by Kevin Tong

by Serge Gay Jr. 

by Max Dalton

by Brandon Schaeffer

by Lauren Gregg

by Tim Doyle

by Greg Gossel

Criterion Collection

I know I sound like a nerd when I say this, but I love looking at cover artwork for Criterion Collection dvds. Here are a few new ones that I really liked:

Objects: Wednesday Morning, 3 AM

This is Simon & Garfunkel's first album, originally released in 1964. This particular record had belonged to Eagan's dad, and he graciously gave it to me about four years ago. Not only do I love this album (musically), but I also love that this particular record has a personal history -- that this used to be part of his record collection. I think of him listening to this album when he was younger; and what it must have meant to him. I think about what it must have been like to be able to listen to a Simon & Garfunkel album as it just came out (if not this particular one, at least later ones). Eagan's dad even has his last name written on the back of the album in marker (his last name is also written in pencil in the second "d" of "Wednesday" on the cover. And he wrote his last name in pen on the label of side one). I miss the days of labeling your music collection. I always loved that my mom's record collection had her initials written on the cover.

Simon & Garfunkel were a big part of my musical upbringing. I've been listening to their records for as long as I can remember. My mom was a big S&G fan and she exposed me to their music early. She would play their music in the house while grading papers or working on something. Even my grandfather (my mom's dad) was a big fan. He loved listening to S&G through big headphones. I had one hip grandpa.

I think Paul Simon is one of the greatest songwriters ever.

I absolutely love the scene in Almost Famous when William's sister plays "America" to help explain why she's leaving home. As the song is still playing in the background, William discovers the record collection his sister has left for him. I love how he touches the covers with wonderment.

"America" is one of my favorite S&G songs. When Paul sings, "'Kathy, I'm lost,' I said -- though I knew she was sleeping. I'm empty and aching and I don't know why", I get goosebumps. Sometimes it makes me cry.

Back to Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. This was Simon & Garfunkel's debut album. Paul and Art decided to go their separate ways soon after they finished recording (Paul moved to England. Art went back to studying at Columbia University). Initially the album did not do very well. About a year later, the song "The Sounds of Silence" off the album caught on and became more popular. People started to request it on the radio and it received more airplay (this is the original, acoustic version). Looking to take advantage of this new popularity, their record producer decided to remix the song by dubbing electric guitars, bass, and drums (provided by Bob Dylan's studio band) onto the acoustic track because "folk rock" was becoming more popular (and he was inspired by the success of The Byrds doing electric versions of Dylan songs). He released it as a single, and allegedly neither Paul nor Art approved of what the producer had done to the track. Paul was still living abroad when he first learned that the single had hit the charts. After hearing the news, he moved back to the states and Simon & Garfunkel decided to re-form the group. Wednesday Morning, 3AM was re-released in January 1966 (which is also when they released their second full-length album, Sounds of Silence) and it was more successful the second time around.

On the back cover of Wednesday Morning there is a letter that Art wrote to Paul, who was living in London at the time. In the letter, Art explains to Paul that he was asked by the producer to write the album notes (Art compares this task to that of the man that was advised by Franz Kafka to burn all his manuscripts upon his death, but he nonetheless felt the obligation to publish Kafka's stuff anyway). What follows is sheer admiration of Paul and his songwriting ability (sometimes it sounds like Art isn't even in the group, but a devoted follower. Which, let's be honest, Art is definitely not at the same level of Paul; though he's still an important part of the group). Art then writes a track-by-track "listener's guide". In the guide he further compliments Paul and discusses the songs -- including what the songs are about (or what Art thinks the songs are about, at least. For example, here are some of his thoughts on "Bleecker Street": "I confess that Bleecker Street was too much for me at first. The song is highly intellectual, the symbolism extremely challenging... Admittedly, the song is difficult to understand, but worth the effort."). In the final paragraph of his letter, Art writes, "Paul -- let me know what you think." His devotion and approval-seeking kind of breaks my heart.

My favorite song off Wednesday Morning is "Bleecker Street". Not only is it my favorite song off this album, but it's also one of my favorite S&G songs when I think of their whole catalog. The acoustic guitar part is so beautiful and calming (and very Simon-esque. You know what I'm talking about: guitar picking that sounds like soft raindrops falling. He mastered that sound) and the vocal harmonies are excellent. I also really like the bass on this song -- it adds a really nice touch. The song kind of reminds me of Ian & Sylvia's "Early Morning Rain" (written by Gordon Lightfoot); actually, it's probably more appropriate to say Early Morning Rain reminds me of Bleecker Street. I also really like the lyrics of Bleecker Street. "Voices leaking from a sad cafe. Smiling faces try to understand. I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand...on Bleecker Street." The part that really gets to me is when they sing, "I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand." That line, for me, really gets at feelings of isolation and desperately seeking a connection. And that line is sung beautifully.

  Simon and Garfunkel - Bleecker Street by hconover

Bleecker Street was actually used on a recent episode of Mad Men. It was the seventh episode of the fourth season. The episode was entitled "The Suitcase". This was a really great and emotionally-powerful episode, and I feel like it's my favorite Mad Men episode in the entirety of the show. And how could this episode possibly get better? Well, in the closing scene of the episode, they use the song Bleecker Street. When the acoustic guitar at the beginning of the song starts playing during the scene, I thought to myself, "Wow. They actually just topped perfection." I completely approve of them ending my favorite episode with one of my favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs.

James Cameron is an Asshole

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly there's an interview with James Cameron. And here's what he had to say about The Hurt Locker (the film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, his ex-wife, that beat out Avatar for Best Picture and Best Director, among others):

Entertainment Weekly: Would The Hurt Locker have been better in 3-D?

James Cameron: It would have been better in 3-D.

EW: You think so?

JC: Absolutely. It wouldn't have been hugely better in 3-D, but...[and then he rambles on about 3-D being the future of film].

Oh man, if only Kathryn would have had that foresight and wisdom, maybe then The Hurt Locker could have won Best Picture...oh....

EW: Were you surprised that The Hurt Locker beat Avatar for Best Picture and Director?

JC: [...] It was David and Goliath. The Goliath had made more than a couple of billion dollars and Hurt Locker had made about what it cost to shoot, about $15 million. The Academy always likes to be the great equalizer. But I don't begrudge her any of that. I couldn't think of a better outcome for our two lives. I got my Oscar. She got her Oscar.

Spoken like the modest, gracious man he is. It's like "I don't begrudge her. And why should I? If I laid out all my money on the ground, forming a path, it would stretch all the way around the world. Her money would only stretch to the Applebee's across the parking lot from the Best Western Inn that she and her Hurt Locker film crew stayed at. It would be downright criminal for me to begrudge that. People like to cheer for the underdog, the loser, the handicapped kid with no legs. And I'm not going to step in and say 'You know what, not only do I have both my legs, but they're also really fast legs. And we all know I would win in a race.' But I'll play along and smile uncomfortably when you give the handicapped kids with no legs the medal out of pity. That's just the kind of person I am. Plus, I have way more medals anyway."

I actually wrote the "I'm the king of the world" line into Titanic just so I could say it now and have it be even more poignant. You know, I have the same initials as Jesus Christ.

The interview also showed what a great activist he is. He talked about his work in helping the Achuar (an Amazonian tribe that is trying to keep oil companies from drilling on their land). I think he helped with a fundraiser. But definitely the greatest thing he could have ever done for them was he bussed a bunch of Achuar to watch Avatar at an IMAX theatre. It was their first time in a movie theatre. I'm sure that helped them a ton... And then he gets pissed when they don't agree with him:

JC: And when they came out [of the theatre], the BBC interviewed them. This one woman, a tribal elder, says, "In this movie, they solved their problems by fighting. We are not afraid to fight, but we have decided to try to solve our problems through dialogue. So this movie needs a better message."

EW: Ouch

JC: I felt like I'd been punk'd. But it made me think.

So, James Cameron feels punk'd when people disagree with the message of his movie?! That anytime someone disagrees with him, he's waiting for Ashton Kutcher and a film crew to bust out of the bushes and say this was orchestrated?! "Just kidding, dude! You know no one actually disagrees with you!" exclaims Ashton. Also, I'm not entirely sure that James realizes his film is a fictional movie...and that not all native people have to fight their battles physically because the Na'vi did...

Favorite Scenes: Moonlight Mile

Moonlight Mile (2002), to my understanding, wasn't a hugely popular film. I don't remember it even coming to theatres (at least where I lived at the time -- which isn't saying a lot). And the movie even had a pretty impressive cast with Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, and Holly Hunter. Also in the movie was Jake Gyllenhaal (when I only knew him as Donnie Darko, Bubbleboy [despite never seeing the movie], and Holden from The Good Girl) and Ellen Pompeo (before she was Dr. Grey and just simply known in my mind as "Hey, that girl kind of looks like Renee Zellwegger."). Despite the movie not getting much coverage or attention, I happened to stumble upon it. I was seeing another movie, and Moonlight Mile was one of the previews. The trailer actually made me cry. And I thought to myself, "I have to see that movie if the trailer made me cry."

I had completely forgotten about the movie until it came out on DVD and I saw it at the rental store. The plot of the movie is that Jake Gyllenhaal was engaged to Diana, the daughter of Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman. Diana ends up being shot and killed during a robbery at a diner. We never actually meet Diana. The movie starts post-death, and it's about her family dealing with her loss. What I liked best about the movie was the interactions between Susan, Dustin, and Jake and how they dealt with the loss of Diana. The other parts of the movie I just didn't love as much. Like Jake eventually meets Ellen and they start to like each other -- that part of the movie just didn't do it for me. And there's also parts of the movie dealing with the trial (against the guy that shot Diana), which I also didn't care for as much. This movie, as whole, wouldn't exactly make my list of top movies, but there are great scenes in the movie (with great acting and great dialogue) that will always stay with me.

For me, the best thing about the movie was Susan Sarandon's character. I absolutely loved her (and Susan did an amazing job playing her. She really should have gotten more attention for her role). Her character was witty, funny, honest, and such a pisser. She has the best dialogue in the movie. I really liked how her character dealt with Diana's death. I think she dealt with the death and her feelings the most honestly. She talks about how sad she is that she is forgetting the details of her daughter, how it "stops [her] fucking heart" when she sees girls on the street that look like her daughter and at first she thinks it is her daughter, and how annoyed she is with her daughter's vulture friends that come to claim Diana's clothes soon after the funeral.

I love the scene after Diana's wake. Susan is in the living room and she has a stack of books next to her (books on grieving and loss. Titles like These Things Happen), and she begins throwing the books into the fireplace. Dustin, who is very polite and meek, says "Those were gifts!"

She holds up a book. "Grieving for Grown-Ups?" she says in an annoyed tone.

"They're supposed to be helpful."

She throws another book in the fire."Please. This is helpful."

She then begins to shit-talk with Jake about all the annoying neighbors and guests that came to the wake. She talked about one couple, "Oh I just wanted to smack them. They had those big dripping looks of sympathy. 'Oh, she was such an angel.' How would they know?! They met her once for two seconds and she was being a total brat that day." Dustin chimed in, "It's an awkward situation for them. Put yourself in their shoes."

"I don't want to put myself in their shoes. Why the hell should I? We are the ones that lost the girl for god's sake. Let them put themselves in our god damn shoes!"

Dustin then begins picking up dishes off the coffee table. Susan says, "Please stop. Stop cleaning up. Look, if we ever had an excuse for once to have our place look like shit, it's now. So just relish the opportunity. "

Another great scene with Susan is when Jake discovers Susan at her typewriter, madly typing away. Susan says to Jake, "The specifics are back." She had previously complained to Jake that she was forgetting the details about Diana. She had said, "I've been hearing so much shit lately, so much fluff, that I've started to lose sight of her already. And a phrase like 'filled with goodness' actually passed through my mind today." Cut to the scene where she's at the typewriter. She tells Jake, "I'm doing an accounting; the real her, the Diana facts." She pulls out the piece of paper from the typewriter and reads, "'Number 92: Laughed like a pig. Full-throated, nasal snorts.' I mean this is the stuff! Fuck the perfume, give me the warts!" She then asks Jake to give a Diana fact. He says, "Oh, those really ratty sandals she always loved to wear. They always made this incredible farting sound every time she moved." Susan replies, "Yes! Oh...yeah." She pauses, letting that memory sink in. She smiles at Jake, and then begins typing again.

Criterion Collection

I saw an advertisement recently for the upcoming release of the Criterion Collection edition of The Darjeeling Limited. And it reminded me how much I love the cover art for the other Wed Anderson films.

Artwork done by Eric Chase Anderson, Wes's brother:

Artwork done by Ian Dingman:

Deal Breaker?

A.V. Club recently had a piece on couples that have disagreements over their tastes in movies/tv shows/music/books. For example, a guy not understanding how his wife didn't share his love for the Beastie Boys and another guy being annoyed that his girlfriend reads so many young adult novels.

It got me thinking. I'm not one of those people that would write somebody off for their pop culture tastes. I wouldn't dump a guy because he hated Dolly Parton (though I would seriously consider it...). I wouldn't ditch a friend because they like the TV show Reba or The Bachelor/ette. But I am one of those people that could build a friendship on similar tastes.

I wouldn't defriend you because of your tastes, but I might befriend you because of your tastes. When I meet someone new at a get-together or a party, and we soon find out we have a similar pop culture interest (or interests), that can become a good icebreaker. That can get the conversation going. Discussing the medical bills we've accumulated due to the heart attacks caused by Breaking Bad can be a great way to start a friendship. If I find someone that says High Fidelity is one of their favorite movies/books, then they have my attention. Finding a shared love of Rocky Votolato results in album reviews (and our preferential ranking of the albums) and concert stories, which leads to discussions of other bands that toured with Rocky, and on it goes until you get married (ok, maybe that's a stretch).

And while not everyone that has similar tastes end up being a good match for you -- I've met assholes that like Elliott Smith and annoying people that like David Sedaris -- at least it's a good starting point to see if there's potential.

This piece also got me thinking about my own personal relationship. Luckily, Eagan and I have very similar pop culture tastes. I don't find myself having to compromise and go see Transformers 2 in the theatre because he really wants to (because he doesn't). I don't have to fill my ears with cotton balls because he's listening to Kid Rock in the other room (because he isn't). We pretty much like the same music, movies, TV shows, etc. But that's not to say we have all the same likes. We have our differences -- luckily we don't have disagreements over them or anything. We might give the other a hard time, in jest, but that's about it. It more results in a situation where when one is not around, the other will watch the movie they know the other wouldn't want to see. Or when we're in the car together and something comes up on my ipod that Eagan doesn't like, he just changes the song (and I don't mind). Here are some of our differences:

Musicals. I like musicals. I'm not one of those people that love all things musicals and have seen every single musical. Far from it. But I did watch a lot of musical movies when I was growing up (some of my favorite movies as a little kid were Grease, Sound of Music, and the Wizard of Oz). My aunt is a choir director and singer and she exposed me to a lot of different musicals when we would visit her. Furthermore, I took piano lessons when I was a kid and my teacher would often assign me sheet music from musicals and I fell in love with some of the songs (songs from Les Miserables are really coming to mind). Since I grew up with musicals and was exposed to them by an aunt I was very fond of, I have a special place in my heart for them. Eagan didn't really grow up with the same exposure.

Also, Eagan is opposed to the idea of musicals. I'm not turned off by actors suddenly breaking out into song and dance -- I actually like that -- but that's a deal breaker for him. I get super excited when Sound of Music is on TV, while Eagan groans. This also translates into my love for the TV show Glee, which is not Eagan's thing. He agrees the show is funny and has smart writing, but the singing and dancing does him in (which is pretty much the whole show).

Speaking of dancing, I love So You Think You Can Dance. Like with a passion. Eagan doesn't care for it.

Another reality show I like that Eagan doesn't watch is The Biggest Loser. Eagan thinks it's funny/cute how much that show makes me cry (it seems like just about every episode makes me cry. Once Jillian corners them outside the gym to talk about their feelings, look out tear ducts!). Though one thing is for sure, Eagan loves the theme song! He does a really funny over-the-top impersonation of that terrible song ("What have you done today to make you feel proud...").

Another reality show is Survivor. Although he doesn't watch that show, he pretty much watches it because I say stuff to him like, "Oh my god, you will not believe what just happened on Survivor!!" and then I proceed to describe the whole hour of the show. So although he doesn't watch a single episode, he knows who's still in the game, what strategies they've played, and who I want to win. Like he knew Russell didn't deserve to win because he doesn't have a good social game -- and that's a huge part of winning Survivor (!).

Eagan pretty much doesn't watch reality shows. Luckily for him, the above shows are pretty much the only ones I watch. The other reality shows I watch, Eagan actually watches with me and likes -- Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Top Chef, and Project Runway (though the past 2 seasons were kind of boring and we didn't really watch consistently).

Another point of departure is 80s movie (some would say 80s girl movies). For example, Dirty Dancing and John Hughes's Molly Ringwald Trifecta (Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink). I could watch that shit over and over and over again, much to Eagan's dismay. I think Eagan would admit these are decent movies and that there are some merits -- but these aren't movies he loves to watch or would watch on his own accord. Although I did in fact convince him to go with me and a friend to see the 20th Anniversary screening of Dirty Dancing in the theatre! But I think he was more going for the interesting/crazy experience than for the movie itself.

And then there's the sentimental-crying-movies-about-women. Eagan actually doesn't mind these as much -- he acknowledges that Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Terms of Endearment, Boys on the Side, etc. are good movies (though, some more than others). But, like the 80s movies, these aren't movies he's dying to watch (no pun intended!!!). As for me, I cannot tell you how many times I've seen these movies. Especially Steel Magnolias. I first saw it when I was about 4 (I saw it at my Southern aunt's house) and I've loved it ever since. I pretty much have the dialogue from that movie memorized. Despite the number of times I see these movies, they always get me. I'm drenched in tears by the end of the film. I cry until it hurts ("It hurts! The bee stings!" -- That's another good crying movie).

Speaking of Steel Magnolias, I have a deep love for Dolly Parton. I've loved Dolly ever since I was a little girl. Both of my parents love Dolly's music, so I grew up listening to Dolly records. One of my favorite records as a kid was Trio -- a supergroup, if you will, consisting of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. My parents loved all three singers, and often played their records, so I grew up listening to and loving all three. So when those three came together? Daaammn. Listening to Dolly music was a huge part of my childhood.

In addition, me and my siblings pretty much watched anything Dolly was in. We absolutely loved Steel Magnolias, Smoky Mountain Christmas (that's another one of those movies that I've seen so many times that I've lost track), 9 to 5, and Straight Talk. I even remember loving this Dolly Parton TV special where she went to Hawaii. Dolly could do no wrong. Unfortunately, Eagan doesn't share that same love for Dolly. I think I just have to live with the fact that very few people share the same deep love I have for Dolly.

And then on the other side, there are certain things Eagan enjoys that I don't care for as much. For example, there are certain sci-fi or horror movies that Eagan admits look terrible, and he would never see them in a theatre or rent them (in other words, wouldn't pay to see them)...but if they're on TV one lazy Saturday, he'll watch them. Now I've never seen these movies, so I can't say for sure -- they could actually be amazing (...) -- but they look pretty bad in my opinion. I'm talking about movies like 13 Ghosts (oh, I meant, Thir13en Ghosts. My bad.), Resident Evil, The Core, 28 Weeks Later (I did like 28 Days Later). These are definitely not his top movie choices -- it's more like one of those situations where you find yourself at the end of the moving saying "wow, I actually watched that whole thing." I don't find myself doing that too much. I usually watch with a purpose. If I stumble upon a movie on TV and I watch it, it's actually one I've seen before and like -- like 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, which TBS seems to play all the time. So we differ in our levels of tolerability when it comes to those so-bad-they're-almost-good-no-actually-they're-not-good-at-all sci-fi and horror movies on TV.

Another thing we don't have in common is Star Trek: The Next Generation. Eagan liked the show as a kid, but it seems like his love for TNG really started to blossom in college. A philosophy professor of his played an episode in class to discuss the issue of cyborgs and humanity (I think?). Anyway, after that, Eagan realized the show had some smart writing. Then his love really took off in grad school. Some channel, maybe Spike, seemed to play TNG episodes all day, every day. He would turn on the TV when he took a break from stressful grad school work and the show was always on. And then he was hooked. I would be in the other room working on something and I would hear the faint hum of the TNG theme song playing in the other room, and I would say jokingly, "Eagan! What did I catch you doing?!" When I go out of town, Eagan puts TNG episodes at the top of our Netflix queue.

The other day I read Eagan a comment I saw online, one person said something like "Let's start a nerd fight. Fact: The Millennium Falcon is a better ship than the Starship Enterprise." And Eagan quickly retorted with disgust, "NO WAY!!" and proceeded to go into the technical specifics of why the Starship Enterprise was better. I got very concerned, while at the same time being very impressed. He concluded his argument with something along the lines of: "I'm not saying the Enterprise is better than the Millennium Falcon, just that in a direct fight the Enterprise would win. I have no doubt the MF would be better for smuggling, running a blockade, or any number of tasks. But the crew of the Enterprise is in the thousands, whereas the crew for the MF would be less than ten, maximum. "

vs.

I've never really seen a whole episode of TNG. I think it's because TV shows set in space just don't seem to pique my interest (haha. Great answer!). I wouldn't say sci-fi/fantasy is Eagan's favorite genre, but I think he has more appreciation for it than I do. I do like some sci-fi/fantasy stuff, I just tend to not give that genre much of a chance ('What? It's in space? Takes place in the future? Has futuristic weapons? No, thanks.'). For example, I love the Star Wars movies, but didn't see any of the movies until I was almost in college -- because I never gave it a chance. In fact, my family even owned a copy of Star Wars: A New Hope. My brother checked out that movie from our local library in Connecticut, then my family misplaced it like they always do, and then we moved to Utah. Then when we were unpacking the boxes in Utah, there it was. So we had "Star Wars: A New Hope (Property of the North Haven Public Library)" in our collection for years and years, and yet I still never saw it. So could it be that I would like TNG if I gave it a chance? Possibly. But, then again, it does takes place in space...