I love that Dowager Countess

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

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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.

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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

John Hodgman on Bookstores

I love John Hodgman. (Not liking the facial hair, though).


Jon Stewart: There's stuff bookstores can do, that the internet can't.

John Hodgman:  Oh, you mean like shelter the homeless?
...

Jon Stewart: What about the human element? Bookstores build a personal relationship with their customers you simply cannot get from a computer. There are employee interactions, employee recommendations.

John Hodgman: Oh, yes. Yes, thank you. Employee picks. Thank you, pudgy neck beard counter guy for cluing me in to Philip K. Dick. Again. What's the matter, are you sold out of Confederacy of Dunces this week? Ha ha! Up high, Jon! Literature slam! I got him!
But you do raise a good point, Jon. Bookstores employ a very special class of condescending nerds. These are the types that used to work at video stores before they went under.

JS: Where were they before that?

JH: Record stores, obviously. It's been a tough couple of years for condescending nerds. And if bookstores fall, Jon, America will be inundated with a wandering, snarky underclass of unemployable purveyors of useless and arcane esoterica.

JS: I'm not sure I understand.

JH: No. Well, *you* wouldn't.

JS: You seem to hate bookstore employees.

JH: Oh, I loathe them, Jon. They shunt my books under humor, Jon. Not witticism, as I asked. I ask you, do I look like Marmaduke to you?

The Daily Show - Borders Goes Out of Business

Let Me Count the Ways

In a recent interview with Entourage creator Doug Ellin, Tina Fey was brought up:

Did you read Tina Fey's anecdote in her book Bossypants, about pumping breast milk to episodes of Entourage?

Tina had a great line to me and [Entourage producer] Rob Weiss at the Emmys four years ago. We were like, "You're just gonna beat us every year, huh?" And she looked at us deadpan and said, "Yeah, but I'm sure you guys get more pussy than I do."

It's All in the PR

Medical Marijuana Show Premieres on Discovery Channel This Fall

"Weed Wars" profiles the challenges of running a medicinal cannabis dispensary in California.

I think one of the reasons why medical marijuana dispensaries have such a hard time getting any sort of legitimacy or credit is because it seems like they're all run by people that look like this...

(Though it does sound like an interesting show.)

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*)

Superficial Things

I was watching Glee last night (it was kind of a depressing/lackluster episode, actually. There's a reason why Rachel/Finn/Mercedes take all the solos...) and when they get to the performance at sectionals, we got to see Brittany and Mike Chang dance. Both are really good dancers and I was glad to see their moves. But when I was watching Brittany (or Heather Morris, in real life) dance on last night's episode (which isn't the first time we've seen her dance), something seemed kind of weird or off. Her feet seemed funny in the particular shoes all the girls had to wear for the performance. I remember thinking her feet seemed really long. This all happened in a flash, so I wasn't able to pinpoint it exactly.  And then today I saw this picture from last night's episode:

Brittany/Heather is the one on the far left

Look at Heather's crazy ankles!!! Those are the skinniest ankles ever! They don't seem to match the rest of her body. It seems like a weird optical illusion. I'm surprised the weight of her torso can even be held up by those twigs. And you can see how she needed to make her shoe straps really tight and so there's a lot of excess strap hanging off. Do what I did: Hold your thumb up to the (enlarged) picture and use the length of your thumb to block out her black leggings, so that all you see is the top part of her body, her dress, and then the bottom of her legs. Doesn't that just look so weird? It seems like she has Barbie legs attached to her body.

Regardless, I still love Brittany/Heather.

PBS, How Could You?

During the PBS broadcast of the Mark Twain Prize, part of Tina Fey's acceptance speech was cut out. PBS says it was due to time, but suspiciously (and unfortunately) they cut out the "controversial" part of her speech.

In her acceptance speech, Tina said that she has to also thank Sarah Palin for helping her get the award. She said, "My partial resemblance and her crazy voice are the two luckiest things that ever happened to me." And then here's some of the good stuff that got cut out:

"And, you know, politics aside, the success of Sarah Palin and women like her is good for all women -- except, of course, those who will end up, you know, like paying for their own rape kid and stuff. But for everybody else, it's a win-win. Unless you're a gay woman who wants to marry your partner of 20 years -- whatever. But for most women, the success of conservative women is good for all of us. Unless you believe in evolution. You know, actually, I take it back. The whole thing's a disaster."

It's Ok, Try Again

The Shins on Yo Gabba Gabba. Love it.

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):

Jimmy Fallon

I enjoyed this New York Magazine piece on Jimmy Fallon. The article focuses on how Jimmy Fallon distinguishes himself from the other late night hosts because he's very laid back and just likes to have fun on his show:

Fallon's best segments are upbeat and rarely have targets, let alone victims. Jay Leno, by contrast, is known as the "nice guy" of late night, but even a signature bit like "Jaywalking" revolves around asking normal people questions, then chuckling at their dumb responses. David Letterman is late night's crotchety truth-teller, and he perpetually looks like he might walk off his own show in disgust. Fallon's biggest hit so far came when he staged a number with Justin Timberlake in which they performed a medley tracing the history of rap, starting with the Sugarhill Gang and ending with them bum-rushing the audience to "Empire State of Mind." There wasn't even a real joke at its heart (whereas on Conan, the same bit might center on "Isn't it funny that dorky white Conan is rapping?"). But the clip earned over a million views online.

Fallon's feel-good-jamboree approach might sound fusty and old-fashioned, but it's actually a very modern antidote to free-form irony. "Our research has told us that young viewers respond less to angry comedy," says Brent Haynes, the senior vice-president of comedy and animation at MTV, which recently hosted Fallon on the teen-oriented game show Silent Library. "These viewers don't have a strong sense of rebellion, because they're generally happy with their lives. So their comedy is more about surprise and randomness. And Jimmy's a very hopeful guy. He doesn't have a 'That's fucked' attitude. It's more of a 'That's silly' attitude." If other late-night shows echo the snarkier outposts of the Internet, Fallon's smartly plugged into the Internet's more earnest side: the part where fans flock to gab about last night's Glee or watch videos of adorable puppies.

"I'm on so late I'm definitely the last seconds of anyone's attention," says Fallon. "So I just want to give them something dumb to laugh at, so they go, 'That's funny,' then fall asleep."

I don't watch a whole lot of late night talk shows; and when I do, I don't watch too much of Fallon's show. Though, as mentioned in the article, I sometimes see funny bits from his show the next day online (which doesn't really help his ratings, I know). I think he does good stuff, and I do think he has an interesting approach to late night. It does seem like he's doing the show simply for him and his friends involved with the show. It really does look like he's just having fun, and that's refreshing.

Speaking of Jimmy Fallon, remember that Pepsi commercial he did with Parker Posey? I loved that.

Red vs. Blue TV Shows

A media research company, Experian Simmons, analyzed what shows Republicans tend to favor compared to Democrats. It appears as if, very generally, Republicans tend to like popular/mainstream shows that are on the basic network channels like NBC, CBS, ABC. On the other hand, Democrats are more likely to like shows that are on basic cable or premium cable channels like AMC, HBO, Showtime. These shows are often critically acclaimed but don't have high ratings, because the audience isn't very broad (e.g., Mad Men).

A senior marketing manager at Experian Simmons said, "Looking at the Democrats side, I don't mean to make light of it, but they seem to like shows about damaged people. Those are the kind of shows Republicans just stay away from." Haha. Though, I think that's actually a pretty fair assessment. A lot of Democrats tend to be well-educated (many with liberal arts degrees...), and also younger, and that demographic tends to appreciate shows that feature more complex storylines and characters (where the protagonist is not always a good person. Or, maybe a better way of putting it is that the protagonists have a tendency to be more morally ambiguous). These type of viewers usually aren't as interested in shows that fit the typical mold (i.e., unoriginal), have blah writing/art direction, are fluffy, or have a laugh track.

No surprise, the most polarizing shows (in the top 15) are Glenn Beck and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. 

I had to do a double-take when I first went down the list of most popular Democrat shows. Mad Men at number two, very nice. Dexter at number 3, I approve. Then we get to Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami and 90210?!? What the fuck?! What caused that drop off to terrible land?

Reality shows tend to be more popular with Republicans. Five of their top 15 shows are reality shows. Whereas with the Democrats, one reality show is in the top 15 (and it's a pretty bad one). 

I was surprised that Modern Family made the top 3 for Republicans, but didn't make the top 15 for Democrats (though Modern Family scored 124 with Republicans and 108 with Democrats. So it's not like Democrats have no love for Modern Family). I understand why Republicans would like Modern Family -- it's on ABC, it's a sitcom, it's about family. But it's also a kind of a progressive show. I mean, it does feature a happy gay couple that have an adopted child...and it doesn't result in the world catching on fire. I'm just surprised it's as high up on the Republican list and as low down on the Democrat list. 

Yay Democrats: Democrats appreciate 30 Rock, Community, Parks & Recreation, and Breaking Bad for the great shows they are. Republicans are missing out.  

The Republican score for Mad Men is 55 and for 30 Rock it's 68; yet their score for Dancing with the Stars is 117, The Bachelor is 114, and Two and a Half Men is 112?! Blasphemy!

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.

Hecklers

Recently, the comedian Michael Ian Black was doing a show in Columbus, Ohio and he was talking about how much he liked Obama. This resulted in some scattered boos. Then somebody yelled out "Heil Hitler!" Michael was taken aback by the comment and then asked the man what he meant by that (hoping there guy was trying to be ironic or funny in some weird way). The heckler said, "Because when you say you like Obama, that's the same thing to me as 'Heil Hitler.'" So Michael responds, "Sir, I say this with all due respect -- you are a fucking moron."

And then Michael got really worked up and started screaming at the guy. Saying things like "How dare you compare Hitler to Obama or any president? How dare you equate what he did to what Obama is doing? Do you have any idea how insulting that is? Do you know anything about history? Do you have any idea what Hitler did? He killed six million of my people, which is six million more than Obama has killed." Then Michael started calling him a fucking idiot, a fucking moron, and that he's the problem with this fucking country. And he basically started yelling fuck at the guy. Then the heckler got up and left.

In the aftermath, Michael says he feels bad for how he reacted because his response was immature. He said, "I could have made my point a million different ways without screaming into a microphone in a room filled with drunk people. I wasn't clever, I wasn't thoughtful, I said nothing that would move the conversation forward." I thought Michael's response was definitely appropriate. A statement like that definitely brings about an emotional, angry response. It's hard to deliver a rational, calm retort to a statement like that and to a person that makes statements like that. Even still, I thought what Michael initially said was rational and does move the conversation forward. Michael pointed out that it's absurd to compare someone like Hitler -- and all the atrocities he committed -- to Barack Obama; that this heckler is doing a great disservice to history; and that you can't treat a statement like that as if it's a buzz word -- there's actual meaning behind what you say. As for Michael screaming "fuck" at the heckler? That served a purpose too because it probably embarrassed the heckler. And he should be embarrassed.

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This got me thinking about other comedian hecklers. On the FX show Louie -- written by, directed by, and featuring the comedian Louis C.K. -- there was an episode that brought up hecklers. Louis was doing a set and there was a lady in the audience that kept talking loudly to her friends. She also would interrupt his set and try to make jokes herself. Louis then makes fun of her during his set. Afterwards, the lady approaches him outside the club and said that was really mean and unfair of him. I love how Louis responds to her. He says, "Most people would never do that. Most people are polite and they'd rather cut off their hand then hurt a show by talking. That's what...a good person wouldn't do that. So you must be a bad person."

She then says, "I know I'm a good person. And you have no right to talk to me like that."

Louis says, "Actually I do. That's the whole thing. That's how that room works. I have a right to talk. I'm actually paid to talk in there. And to say stuff and people laugh. You're not supposed to say anything. It's a show. "

She goes on to defend her talking and says that's what people do and he has to learn to put up with it.

Louis says, "Let me ask you a question. Do you like your life?"

"Yes. So?"

"I'm sure you do. You're a student. You're happy. You have good days and you have full and fun nights. Right?"

"Yes, I'm not a loser like you."

"Yes, see that's the whole point. You have a good life and it's just the way you want it to be. These guys -- comedians, me -- these guys don't have a life. This is all they have. Their days are shit. They don't have many friends, they don't have families; they have this. The only good part of their lives is the 15 minutes they get to be on stage, maybe once a week. Sometimes once a month. And you took that 15 minutes...the one 15 minutes that they would have had, that they would have enjoyed maybe for a long time. And you ruined it. You took that away from them. I know you think it's cute, but it's not. It's really...it's a rotten thing to do. And I don't know how you can think you're a good person if you do things like that. Honestly, I think you should be ashamed of yourself. I really do."

Brilliant.

---

Speaking of brilliant, I also love what Patton Oswalt said to a heckler once:

"You're going to miss everything cool and die angry."

Who's Left to NOT Be a Guest Star?

I keep hearing entertainment news about X actor joining the upcoming season of Dexter or Weeds as a guest star. Showtime is going a little crazy with the guest stars. Yes, John Lithgow was an amazing guest star on Dexter playing Arthur Mitchell/The Trinity Killer (and he won a Golden Globe for the role. And was also nominated for an Emmy). But that doesn't mean you need to go hog wild on guest stars for the upcoming season, Showtime. As for Weeds, yes, this show is getting crazier and crazier every season (aww, remember when Nancy was just a little ol' pot dealer in the suburbs? My what a long journey she has been on...), and yeah they've jumped a couple of billion sharks, so I guess the thinking is 'What's the harm of a couple of more guest stars?!' Regardless, I'll still watch both shows loyally.

So, from the latest gossip I heard, the following people will be guest stars on the upcoming season of Weeds or Dexter (some were guest stars last season as well):

Dexter

Julia Stiles

You might remember her from 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance, Mona Lisa Smile, or those Bourne movies

Jonny Lee Miller

You might remember him from Hackers, Trainspotting, or the TV show Eli Stone. You might also remember him as Angelina Jolie's first husband (back when hardly anyone knew who Angelina Jolie was).

Shawn Hatosy

You might remember him from The Faculty, In & Out, or John Q. He's in a bunch of random stuff, but you don't really remember what.

Katherine Moennig

You probably only remember her from The L Word, if you ever saw that Showtime show. Oh and it seems like every time I see her name mentioned, they bring up that she's Gwyneth Paltrow's cousin.

April Lee Hernandez

I don't actually know who this is. But apparently she was on ER. And in the movie Freedom Writers.

Peter Weller

or

You probably remember him from the Robocop movies, Buckaroo Banzai, or the TV show 24.

Weeds

Jennifer Jason Leigh

You might remember her from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, or Margot at the Wedding. You might also know her as the wife of director/writer Noah Baumbach. Or the daughter of Vic Morrow, the actor that died on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie due to that tragic helicopter crash.

Alanis Morissette

You Oughta Know her from her music. She was also on Dogma, the TV show You Can't Do That On Television, and that episode of Sex and the City where she kissed Carrie in a game of Spin the Bottle. You might also remember she was once engaged to the actor Ryan Reynolds (who is now married to Scarlett Johansson. Talk about a downgrade. Haha.).

Richard Dreyfuss

You might remember him from What About Bob?, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or Mr. Holland's Opus.

Linda Hamilton

You might remember her from The Terminator and Terminator 2, Dante's Peak, or that weird Beauty and the Beast TV show with Ron Perlman. You might also remember her as James Cameron's 4th wife (he's now on to wife #5).

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

You might remember him as Zack Morris from Good Morning Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. He was also in Dead Man on Campus (where he debuted his dyed-black, instead of blonde, hair. Scandalous!). Then he was on a bunch of bad network TV shows where he seemed to always play a lawyer or a cop.

Peter Stormare

You might remember this creepy Swede from Fargo, The Big Lebowski, or Dancer in the Dark.

Eric Lange

I have no idea who this guy is. But apparently he was on the TV show Lost. Also, according to imdb, he's been on one episode of pretty much every TV show: Angel, Firefly, The Shield, CSI, The West Wing, JAG, Judging Amy, The Bernie Mac Show, Without a Trace, ER, CSI: NY, NCIS, [This is starting to look like a stock market ticker], Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer, Burn Notice, Entourage, Boston Legal, Criminal Minds, Bones, Numb3rs, My Name is Earl, Monk, Law & Order: SVU, Modern Family, and Dark Blue. Wow. Now add Weeds to that huge list.

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...