Spend a Couple Hours »Wishful Drinking

At The Roundabout Theater

“It’s not like some funny Shakespeare play!” said a ninety year old, wholly perplexed and angry man in the row ahead of upon the conclusion of Carrie Fisher’s delightfully foul mouthed Wishful Drinking. Got to love the matinee crowds, right? But he’s right, it’s not like some funny Shakespeare play! It’s a sometimes sad, sometimes heartbreaking but more often completely hilarious examination of a crazy life by a crazy lady.

Fisher is my kind of person, a sarcastic strong-willed kook who takes what life gives her and rather than lemonade, mixes a stiff drink. The details of her life: mental illness, broken families, alcoholism, addiction, death and loss are not the stuff of usual comedy fodder, but in the raspy voice of the former space princess, you’ll find yourself laughing.

We saw one of the last performances (it ends today) so Fisher had perfected the timing and the pacing. Hopefully, with its success, it will be available on DVD at some point for anyone that missed it live.

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Posted on January 17, 2010

Spend a Couple Minutes »Donate Money to Haiti’s Earthquake Disaster Relief

haitiIt Only Takes a Minute

If you’ve seen any photos of the tragedy unfolding in Haiti you’ve undoubtedly been moved to want to help. Fortunately, groups like Red Cross and Yele have made it simple to do so. Simply text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts or YELE to 501501 to donate $5 to Singer Wyclef Jean’s Earthquake fund.  Unicef is also requesting donations and can be contacted online or at 1-800-4UNICEF.

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Posted on January 17, 2010

Web Sites »Tokyo Connection

tokyo connection

artsy. delicious. busy. blinding. always sublime

I am not sure what kind of camera the author of The Tokyo Connection uses, but he manages to make the city look like the stuff of faded fantastic dreams. He even makes construction and wiring look delicious and with a subject like Tokyo for a reader like me, who has always since forever dreamed of visiting, it’s almost too much! I’m on the verge of grabbing Jim, leaving our life behind, and taking a one-way trip to Japan…

Okay, I’m back in the now again and will just have to get by with these small glimpses on the internet for now.

tokyo connection

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Posted on January 17, 2010

Places to Visit »Figueres

dali figueresHome of the Salvador Dali Museum

Figueres is about a two hour train ride from Barcelona, through landscapes that are in turn industrial, rural, urban, vineyardy before finally stopping at the little town Salvador Dali put on the map. It’s a short walk from the station to the eye popping museum, but not well marked, so we foolishly took a cab about three blocks.

The museum, Dali’s former home, is as wild as you can imagine from the outside, and I can only really do it justice by asking you to take a look at the photos we took (though, they are no substitution for actually being there either!).

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Posted on January 17, 2010

Laughs »Your Business Card is Crap!

your business card is crap

business card american psycho paul allen

He Brings Crowds

I hope that if I ever spend twenty five years creating something that it is at least in the ball park of this man’s business card. This almost seems too crazy to be real, but I believe it’s legit and for obvious reasons it should be viewed in concert with Patrick Bateman’s inner ruminations on the subtleties of the perfect business card.

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Posted on January 17, 2010

Recipes »Baked Grits with Country Ham, Wild Mushrooms, Fresh Thyme, and Parmesan

grits with ham and mushroomsfrom Cooking Light

With my very limited patience as a cook and a human being it’s impressive that I spent nearly two hours preparing this Grits, Ham and Mushroom dish the other night, and thank goodness it was all well worth it or I’d never spend that long ever again. I could seriously have served this in my own little country farm, Egg-style restaurant and make a killing, even nabbing a spot on all the Time Out and New York best of lists… but I digress.

The only trouble I encountered was that my grits stayed liquidy rather than congealing into a cake like the recipe intends (though it didn’t affect the magnificent taste one bit). I would probably follow the box directions for the grits part rather than the ones listed in the recipe for more predictable results.

The sauce, by the way, is incredible and must be able to be utilized in other recipes. And don’t skimp on the ham, go for the best you can find.

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Posted on January 17, 2010

Movies »Pumping Iron

pumping_irondirected by George Butler and Robert Fiore (1976)

It’s always been hard for me to believe that Pumping Iron is a great movie, not just as a piece of bizarro kitsch, but a respected documentary that  frequently tops reasonable peoples’ lists of their favorite films… until I watched it, of course. The film, set during and before the 1975 Mr. Olympia competition in South Africa, follows the king of the sport, Aaanold as well as his upstart competition, a then sweet and dopey kid named Lou Ferrigno, his friend and fellow champion, Franco Columbo and other lesser known men striving to achieve success in the unique world of body building.

The movie shares much with some of my favorite documentaries: the well renowned The King of Kong and the criminally forgotten Derby in that it’s an intimate portrait of a small subculture that is strange to most of us; it’s always fascinating to get into the minds of people obsessed with what they love.

It’s a well made piece of vérité that’s infinitely quotable:

“It’s like I’m cumming all the time” – Arnold

“I’m the kind of person that’s like the kind of dog that’s going to bite back” – Mike Katz

“I was always dreaming about powerful people – dictators and things like that” – Arnold

“Milk is for babies. When you grow up you drink beer” – Arnold

After years of being unavailable, the DVD can now be widely purchased, so do enjoy!

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Posted on January 10, 2010

Books »A Good and Happy Child

good and happy childby Justin Evans (2007)

Psychiatry and demonic possession collide brilliantly in Justin Evans’s debut thriller, A Good and Happy Child. Partially set in modern day New York, where a young father is seeking help for the crippling fear of loving his baby son and partially set in that man’s youth spent in a Virginia college town, the novel swings back and forth between adulthood and childhood; faith and reason – Evans’s greatest achievement is that you can enjoy the book no matter where your personal beliefs fall.

The back of the paperback would lead you to draw comparisons to The Exorcist and The Little Friend,  but I consider those masterpieces, and A Good and Happy Child didn’t draw me in quite as much – still, it’s well written, often tense and would, in the right hands, make for a pretty great movie in the tradition of The Omen. Imagine character actor extraordinaire Tom Noonan as Tom Harris.

Evans did a lot of research on cases of demon possession and drew from his own childhood in Virginia growing up with a belief in and experiences with ghosts to create a rich story that is leaps and bounds above your average demon filled paperback out for quick and easy thrills. Well worth the five years it took to write. I look forward to reading more by this author.

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Posted on January 10, 2010

Albums »Third

portishead 3rdby Portishead (2008)

Third was the first Portishead album in a decade, and while it retains the sensibilities of the band as I remember them, the album manages to feel new and excitingly different as well. I was never a huge fan of the band, but enjoyed their spacey dark hits when they would play on college radio stations or MTV, usually accompanied by visually stunning videos. I became aware of this release when it played in the background of a lovely paella meal at Mercat Negre. It reminded us a bit of Amon Duul II, so we were surprised to hear it was Portishead. Since listening to it more, the album reminds me less of the kraut rock band than it did originally, but unlike the connotations of 90’s trip hop I associate with the band, this album certainly has a moody, almost psychedelic vibe.

Third was both a critical and comercial success and made many short lists for the best albums of its year.

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Posted on January 10, 2010

Songs »Dirty Girl

dirty girl feltby Felt (2005)

I’m not rap unfriendly exactly, but my list of favorite hip hop songs is not a terribly long one. I love Gravediggaz, Eazy-E and Doctor Octagon with the rest of you, and now I can add Felt, or at least their ode to blue collar working girls, Dirty Girl to the list. Slug and Murs, who make up Felt, are underground rappers which means I’ve never heard of any of their previous collaborations or projects, though I am curious.

The joyfully lustful Dirty Girl is just so fun to listen to and any song that can talk about shopping for the best veggie burgers in town, not knowing how to change your motor oil and the eroticism of hair nets and dripping mascara is aces in my book.

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Posted on January 10, 2010