Who wants to come to the Canterbury tonight for some Chaucerian revelry?
World’s oldest mum' defends her decision
Is it sad that all week I have been looking forward to mine and Faye's new tradition of “Trashy TV Thursday” wherein we get stoney baloney and watch The O.C. and Tru Calling? I hope not because it is one of my few relaxing joys in life right now. (Most of my other joys being highly stressful. Especially filmmaking. Who's crackpot idea was it for me to become a filmmaker? Oh yeah…mine. Doh!)
Anyway, we all know about The O.C. But for the TRUly uninitiated (gack), Tru Calling is one of the most poorly written, poorly acted and horrifically produced hour-long dramas ever to have made it to a second season. I know it's on Fox but jesus CHRIST it's bad. Laughably so. And it probably won't be making it to a 3rd season. So here is a short list of reasons why you should be watching now (preferably under the influence of some substance or another).
1) Zach Galifianakis. He is one of the funniest “alternative” comedians out there. But his IMDB resume does not reflect that at all. If you've seen his stand-up or Comedy Central special, you become one of the initiated few who can actually smell the bitterness, embarrassment and resentment coming off of him through the cathode tube and into your nostrils. Hilarious!
2) Eliza Dushku's “acting”. For those of you who only saw Dushku's acting on Buffy/Angel, you might thing she's not that bad. You are wrong. She is horrible. She's constantly making these weird faces when she's trying to look “concerned” or “scared” or “serious” and she smiles one of the most disingenuous smiles I have ever seen. But her character is supposed to be PROtagonist. She also has a tendency to look like she's flirting with people whom she really shouldn't be (and probably isn't) flirting with. People like the girl who she was supposed to save last week and her brother. And when she IS supposed to have chemistry with another character, it's SO awkward. Hilarious again!
3) Jason Priestly! Yes, THE Jason Priestly!! The Canadian wonder who captured our hearts on 90210 and has been doing indie films since then. Well, they obviously aren't paying the billz anymore. So now he's EVIL! And it's awesome. Best of all, you can sometimes actually SEE the chord that's attached to the phone with which he is phoning in his performance. Unimaginably funny.
So PLEASE watch Tru Calling before it's too late. Because it's really not worth the price of a rental. But it's definitely worth having on while you kill a few brain cells.
Gene mutation may link clusters of illnesses
Here's a more detailed version of the pronunciation quiz from before. I'm sure it's still mostly meaningless but fun, nontheless.
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 65% General American English |
| 20% Yankee |
| 10% Dixie |
| 5% Upper Midwestern |
| 0% Midwestern |
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Urge to kill rising…
Correct me if I'm wrong but if you're the director(s) of a movie, doesn't that mean that you make the final decisions about things related to YOUR movie? I don't know. If I'm wrong maybe that explains what happened to Tim Burton.
Happy Happy
I just wanted to share one of my favorite daily visits. I especially love the picture of the kitten that he wants.
mysteriousness he motioned the
WEEKEND RECAP
Friday
My mom was in town (still is till tomorrow), so after a delicious lunch at the Wild Ginger (I’d never been there but it really is as good as everyone says it is. Sometimes hype is justified), I met her for dinner in Redmond with the women of a family with whom we’ve known for 20 years. Weird. Anyway, we dined at Anthony’s which, being a seafood restaurant was still nice enough to make a pasta dish for me without the seafood. I really hate making special requests like that but if it’s between being embarrassed and missing a meal on someone else’s dime, I’m going to pick the former. After dinner, I met some folks at Ye Olde Canterbury for a quick 3 drinks before heading to bed. It was kind of quiet in there for a Friday. I hope that isn’t indicative of poor business because life without the Canterbury would be truly difficult.
Saturday
I hit a noon yoga class because I knew I wouldn’t be able to make my usual Sunday 4pm class. It had been two weeks since I’d made it to a class (both because of busy schedules and general lazyness. Bad.) and my attendance of late has been spotty in general. Needless to say, the lack of practice made my performance extremely poor. As a result, I am still sore. I really can’t go that long again. However, I hope to avoid that particular teacher in the future. While being a perfectly nice woman with what I’m sure is the best of intentions, she spoke so slooooooooowly, that the class seemed to last for ages and ages. It actually only went about 8 minutes over, but I just don’t think I can handle that kind of Haites-like environment again. I need a teacher that speaks quickly and constantly, thus making me feel like I’m working towards something, rather than stuck in something that will never end.
After class, being both famished and curious, I whipped myself up a vegetarian version of a McGriddle sandwich. It was, in fact, as delicious as the commercials boast. And my veggie version is probably slightly less heart-attack inducing. With some difficulty, I tried to select a movie to watch. I consulted my library loans and started with About Schmidt. About 10 minutes in, I was already bored to tears and so I put in 21 Grams. It was much more entertaining (Sean Penn aside) and I was reasonably invested in all the crying and drug abuse. But then Faye showed up and so we decided to watch THX 1138 instead. Turns out we should have just watched the trailer as it contained all the relevant information to understand the story and all the action from an otherwise extremely slow moving and uninteresting film. Bravo, Georgie. Another winner for you. I can see why you really went places after that. The best part was the description on the back of the box that said something to the effect of “this film paved the way for future George Lucas films such as ‘American Graffitti’ “. Ah yes. I could really see the fountain of influence for “American Graffiti” in a sci-fi social “commentary” such as THX 1138. Also, way to use the titular sound system.
After that, Dom and I supped with my mom at Roti and then drove her back to Redmond, where she is staying with the aforementioned 20 year family friends. We joined Elyse, Gene and a cast of 20’s at The House of Fun for the going away party of DJ Ron (a.k.a. DJ Nightshift). Drinks were drunk and dances were done. Everything went quite swimmingly right up to the point where we were leaving. As we walked down the (very treacherous) stairs to the car, I slipped and skidded down the pavement, skinning and bruising my already challenged knees. If it weren’t for the fortunate placement of Elyse’s ass, I would have been much more seriously injured. Thank you, Elyse’s ass. You saved my life and I shall never forget that. Here’s to you.
Sunday
Dom and I picked my mom up in Redmond once again and caught a ferry over to Vashon so that she could meet Dom’s dad and see the island. My mom was appropriately impressed with the flora and fauna of the island. We enjoyed a walk in the woods with Kirby the Beagle and some horse poop. We ate THE most delicious eggs at Homegrown. Apparently, I have never had fresh farm eggs before. It’s amazing how different (and delectable) they taste. After Vashon, we met the family friends at Ray’s Boat house were again we ate delicious food and drank some delicious wine. Really, this weekend has been all about eating and drinking. And I’m ok with that.
Tonight I get to scam one more free meal before my mom returns to New Mexico in the morning. I really hope one never gets too old to be taken out to meals by their parents.
accord atheist birdwatch expurgate dope
My friend Erik is one of those amazing writers who will be “discovered” long after his death as being one of the most funny, inventive and accurate “voices” of the 21st century. He keeps some of his writing on this website. My personal favorite is this piece which I have a feeling is “based on a true story”. It makes me laugh out loud in several places which tends to be dangerous for on-the-sly work reading. But I'll take my chances.
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This review bothers me. It’s a review of the new SCTV and Kids in the Hall DVD’s by Sean Nelson. I don’t know why I’m surprised that someone from The Stranger doesn’t like something. I guess it’s because that particular author has expressed a love for Mr. Show in the past. So I only assumed that he would appreciate the genius of the Kids in The Hall as well. I can’t speak for SCTV. I honestly never saw more than clips of that show (on clips shows about comedy). But I CAN defend my favorite 5 comedians from Canada. I realize that Mr. Show is the greatest (and most timeless) social and political commentary that America has in the way of comedy. But sometimes you need a little light-hearted abstraction in your sketch shows. The Kids in the Hall are that for me. And occasionally they WERE kind of dark. (Especially anything that Bruce McCulloch did). So maybe the Chicken Lady got a little old by the third sketch. But you can’t deny Dave Foley’s performance in the first one (particularly his delivery of the line “A beer” in response to the question “Can I get you a beer or would you rather just drink out of the toilet?”). You can’t deny the genius of “sarcastic guy” or the fun of “Daves I know”. Bruce’s troubled teenager character is hilarious and accurate (at least for any girl who was friends with a burnout guy in high school). And what about the Nutty Bunnies? Or Police Department? Or ANY of Bruce McCulloch’s monologues ( “That’s America” especially). Sure, you can mention all the most popular sketches and dismiss them as being played out or unimaginative. But that’s the nature of ANYTHING that can be called “the most popular”. It’s the lesser known gems that I love. Maybe it’s because I never stopped watching Kids in the Hall. I watched the reruns on Comedy Central and then I watched my tapes of those reruns. Seeing the guys live at the Paramount a few years ago was a highlight of my show-going career. I laughed heartily at material both old and new. Maybe they didn't have the biting, unforgiving humor of Mr. Show. But they certainly had a charm all their own. Maybe the work they’ve done since has been embarrassingly awful (with the exception of Bruce McCulloch’s brilliant first album) but there was a time when they were a refreshing voice in alternative comedy. And I’m glad I’m not too much of a bitter old hipster to appreciate that.
New 'Marathon Mice’ outrun rodent peers
Remember this newsletter that I posted about a while back? The one which is put out quarterly by one of the partners of the company I work for? The one which sounds like the ravings of a mad man? Well, the new “marketing specialist” in our office has just read the letter and despite all the rambling about mosquitoes and taxi cabs, the thing she feels makes it a bad letter that she keeps harping on is the fact that he used the word “ubiquitous”. She claims that this word, which she pronounces “ubiquious” is not only a word that she has never heard before, but also one that “people just wouldn't use in normal conversation”. Maybe so, because we live in an anti-intellectual society. But don't you want your investment adviser to be able to craft a sentence better in writing than in “normal conversation”? Apparently, she'd prefer the letter say something like “Dude, the market is rad!”. I can't wait to see what she churns out for the company.
aborigine kirov allegoric
I just finished watching season 1 of Carnivale on DVD last night. I want more!! (Even though the “behind the scenes documentary was L.A.M.E.)
Here's a question: Why is the DVD $60 if there's only 10 episodes and, like, ONE special feature? And why are these 10 episodes on 6 DVD's? These people need to talk to Joss Whedon's people about how to package a TV series DVD. I really want to watch the series again but I have to return it to the library and I can't afford a $60 DVD!
Effed by the Wind 