Gee, I’ve been all over the city today. Ravenswood, Uptown, the Newberry, Binny’s, home. Hardly feels like I’ve relaxed. But I did hang out with my friend Steven AND …
I Picked Up a REAL Oscar!
Awarded to Ben Hecht in 1928 for Best Original Story (for “Underworld”), it now resides in the vault of the Newberry Library.
It’s one heavy sucker. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Still, I feel blah. Shrug.
Much to my surprise, my offer was just accepted by priceline. So the first weekend of August I’m going to Yale to see my friend Jessi’s production of “The New Tenant,” By Eugene Ionesco. Only iffy thing is that I’m flying into Hartford and so I hafta find a way to get to New Haven (and Amtrak is out because my flight gets in after the last train and leaves before the first train). There’s Greyhound. Or, umm, someone with a car.
Even with priceline, the airline ticket was somewhat obscene. But still. Jessi is one of my oldest friends, and it’s always good to know a Yale alum. Right? Maybe I could be president.
It’s a lovely morning. I got to work extra early. Wheeeeeeee. Before getting to work I bought a pound of coffee at the new Intelligentsia, and got my free cuppa joe. It snapped my eyes wide open. I’m flying. I’m listening to “Limbo Jazz” by Duke Ellington; I’ve checked in all the customer returns; I’ve even written down all the voicemails. Manic. Watch me: I’ll crash in about ninety minutes.
“Nixon in China” is on Sunday and I’m thrilled. It got a rave in the Trib this week. Furthermore, we’ve decided that after the show (it’s a 3 o’clock matinee) we’re going to dine at the Golden Budha Chinese Steakhouse. They’ve got a waterfall!
Binny’s is having a Weekend Clearance sale, which fits snugly with my Saturday plans to stock up the bar for Andy’s party. I’ve got to get all the punch ingredients.
Last night we watched “My Beautiful Laundrette.” Something about it I didn’t like. I didn’t hate it, mind you; there were parts I liked a lot. It’s quite funny in parts. But Omar’s character just didn’t make any sense at times. Distanced me. And the tone of the film was wildly uneven, veering from pseudo-farce to social commentary to parable to family drama. Can’t hold a candle to Stephen Frear’s “The Grifters.” So I dunno. I can see why it’s an important film, and Daniel Day-Lewis was great (notwithstanding his dye-job). The 1985 London fashions were hilariously dated. Big padded jackets, teased-up lion-mane hairdos. The comparison might be a stretch, but the films of Mike Leigh that date from around this period (“High Hopes” for example) are much better in my view.
Okay. Now that “Blue Monday” is playing on my iPod I feel I can really get to work now.
I’m reading this fascinating book called “Low Life,” by Luc Sante. It basically details the underworld of Manhattan from the years 1800-1918, focusing on gangsters, dives, whores, pimps, con men, brothels, graft, corruption, saloons, tenements, and poverty. It’s colorful stuff, and depressing. But I can’t tear myself away from it. In some respects I think I enjoy reading about New York City more than actually visiting.
“The Da Vinci Code”: I have no interest in or intention of seeing the movie or reading the book. It looks like lazy, frenetic storytelling: a ripoff of Umberto Eco by way of Indiana Jones. I don’t like Tom Hanks or Ron Howard. And yet … it’s annoying so many religious conservatives (for such silly, trivial reasons) …
milehighguy is an old flame of mine and going through some rough stuff right now. Send some benevolent thoughts his way.
There’s a new album coming out June 16th! And they’re playing at the Metro on September 13th!
Brandon certainly deserves a day off to spend with his mom and dad. I won’t begrudge him that. However, today will still suck.
I’m going to be posting (and reposting) some awesome Spring/Summer cocktail recipies fairly soon. Keep your eyes peeled!
Last night’s SNL was the most solid new show of SNL I’ve seen in quite a long time. Some sketches were funnier than others, but there weren’t any clunkers in the bunch. Al Gore’s two sketches were brilliant! Had no idea he was gonna be on. Wild! Gore in 2008, I’m tellin’ ya. He could whip McCain. Paul Simon’s two songs were enjoyable too. Andy Samberg is so hot. My own Andy makes fun of me for drooling over him. I don’t care.
NPR is on while I’m eating breakfast and having coffee, and that idiot Kenneth Turan comes on. What a boob of a man he is! He’s so annoying. He always has this oh-so-superior tone in his voice, and uses the most asinine cliches as if they’re brilliant phrases he’s just invented himself. Everything is “at its core an intensely human story” or “a tapestry of desperate lives” or “the resilience of the human spirit” etc. etc. Not to mention the fact that his cinematic memory goes back as far as, oh, 1970 maybe. And the patronizing way he talks about foreign film: if he approves of the film then it’s “see, foreign films can be wonderful too!” and if he doesn’t like the film then it’s “gee, they just can’t do ’em like Americans can.” Why don’t they boot his ass back to Hollywood & Sunset and get Jonathan Rosenbaum to do a spot every Friday? Now THAT would be cool.
