balmy days sweet sangria she's been gone have you seen her

[offbalance]

Last night at Catherine's utterly fabulous birthday shindig I had what is probably the very best sangria I've ever tasted. We got a couple of pitchers of it at this Greek restaurant called Delphi in Tribeca, and it was just amazing. Unbelievable. The wine was cold and sweet, the fruit was fresh, and it went down like silk. Which is the reason I fell asleep during Clash of the Titans (one of them, anyway) and woke up with a pounding headache this morning. But I do have to commend Madame Wallachina on a truly wonderful celebration, and I hope that her 25th was as wonderful for her as it was for me. :)

I've been on a real sangria kick lately. I've had it while out with a couple of different groups of friends and I'm developing a real taste for the stuff. I can't wait until summer's in full swing, and I can enjoy it properly.

Oh, and Clash of the Titans? Two hours of pure hilarity. Kelso battles monsters and stuff. And repeats every line. You thought Legolas was Mr. Obvious in ROTK? This guy has him beat. The script was abominable, and had very little resemblance to any Grecian myth I remember reading (and that's a favorite topic of mine). I'm sure the changes were fine though, totally easy to believe that Perseus was aided by a FREAKING MECHANICAL OWL in his mighty quest. And the effects were just....I realize that Ray Harryhausen was amazing in his day (Mighty Joe Young, Jason and the Argonauts), and this is way before CGI was ever even consiered a possibility, so I could still appreciate them, despite the laughter at all of the incredible cheese. This is not a movie for the asthetically lactose intolerant.

And speaking of cheese, we saw a trailer for what might be the very worst rock-opera-movie ever made. It's called The Apple, and the sheer awfulness of just the trailer of this movie seeped through the screen and had me transfixed. So.Bad!! Part of me is hoping that the Landmark might be showing it at some point, but I'm not sure who'd be interested in joining me for a night of sheer godawfulness. Hell, I'm not even sure I want to subject myself to the whole thing. But it looks baaaaad. So very bad. Phantom of the Paradise (another late-night Cinemax favorite of mine) bad. ::glee:: According to IMDB, the screen at the Paramount Theater in L.A. was badly damaged at the premiere screening of The Apple by audience members flinging their free copies of the film's soundtrack at it.

I also finally watched Annie Hall over breakfast today. It was decent, I can see why it's so well thought of, but I like Manhattan much better. I think Allen is great as a storyteller, but in Annie Hall he got too caught up in the gimmickery and stayed away from the story for too long. Granted, romantic comedy always benefits from reinventing the wheel, I just feel that he explores the same territory in terms of relationships in Manhattan, but better. Plus, that film is so beautiful I could stare at it for hours.

Now I'm going to see about fixing the terrible mess in my shirt drawer, take a shower and then meet blergeatkitty and teany at Dim Sum Go Go. I also might offer to lend quasisonic a movie, as she's sort of been couch-bound most of the day. We're not sure if she's just sick or exhausted, but her not feeling well will keep me from the fesitivities up in Washington Heights this evening. Poor thing. :(

Comments

[neoguardian.livejournal.com]

I saw "Clash of the Titans" in fourth grade and my nine-year-old mind liked it, you just tore off my rosy colored glasses as I was looking back at the past :(

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Sorry!! I also didn't see Goonies until I was 20, and I hated that, too.

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

Sorry to keep lobbing missives at your LJ, but coincidentally I also watched Annie Hall on Saturday. I was on a plane back from London and they showed Something's Gotta Give. It's the first movie I've ever seen where I thought Diane Keaton was attractive, so I wanted more. I happened to have the Annie Hall DVD with me, so I popped it into my laptop and managed about 10 minutes before I got bored. I grew up in LA and always thought everyone in NY talks like Woody Allen in that movie, and that was reason alone never to want to move here. Luckily I have since learned otherwise. I prefer his movies when he's not in them, or at least when he's not so central a character.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Don't ever apologize for that! I love getting interesting comments, and yours have been consistantly interesting. :)

Did you have a good flight?

What did you think of Something's Got to Give as a film? I was curious about it, having heard both very good and very bad things about it.

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

I liked Something's Gotta Give, even though I wasn't expecting to and I generally scoff at Hollywood fluff. But this one was a bit more realistic (though still fluffy) than other studio pics. I guess because the characters were older and had to seem a little bit wiser than what you'd see in American Pie or American Wedding. Diane Keaton made the movie. Jack Nicholson played a more sober and coherent version of himself. Amanda Peet was kind of annoying. She was too sweet and loveable to be the true NYC career woman who also happens to be gorgeous. She didn't have enough attitude based on my experience. The other movies I watched were House of Sand and Fog (on the plane's screen) and Clockwork Orange (on my laptop). It was a very eclectic flight. Virgin definitely has the best film selection and best food of any economy class airline, for future reference. Also, their flight attendants (politically correct) are about 30 years younger than the ones on US airlines.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

I flew Virgin when I went to England, it was actually one of the three non-negotiables of my trip; the other two were a direct flight and a hotel room with its own bathroom. My friend Catherine had flown Virgin to the UK the year before and raved about it, so I had to see for myself. It was the best possible decision I could have made.

And of course the Amanda Peet character wouldn't have enough attitude to be realistic - they had to sand her down to make her palatable for the rest of the country. Although as a NYC career woman (of sorts) I do take some exception to the 'not sweet and loveable' thing - we're not as bad as all that, you know!

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

Sorry to stereotype the NY career woman. I guess it would be fairer to say that no one in NY is sweet and loveable, male or female. I'm not, that's for sure! And no one I know comes immediately to mind who I'd describe that way. No one seems to have the time to be sweet and loveable. Politely nice is usually about as far as it goes.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

What do you classify as 'sweet and loveable,' though?

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

I guess for me, sweet and loveable implies a sense of innocence. Do you know anyone who lives and works in NYC that has a sense of innocence? Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but the crowds, the cost of living, the daily commute, the rushed pace, the brusqueness, don't you think all of those things make it hard to be innocent, sweet and loveable?

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Well, you'd have to describe what you mean by innocence. If you mean someone who is completely naive, the type who doesn't understand why it's bad to walk into dark alleys or be by herself on a deserted street in a rough neighborhood? That they sell genuine Louis Vuitton purses out of garbage bags on the street? That you can find a two-bedroom apartment to rent all by yourself for $500/month in midtown? That sleeps with a teddy bear at night? Give me a clue here so I can defend my city properly.

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

I guess it's like Charlotte from Sex and the City (good icon timing on your part). She's the archetype of sweet and innocent, without the cynicism and irony and tough attitude that most New Yorkers in real life seem to have. Maybe I just move in the wrong circles and/or work in the wrong industry. Being around financial people all the time can make you jaded.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Well, you're glamorizing her a bit - Charlotte was also very snobby and stuck up at times, and at worst a gold-digger - she almost never even dated guy under a certain tax bracket.

Living in New York is tough. It knocks you around a bit. You have to be little bit tough or you don't make it here. If you're looking for someone who is sympathetic, kind, and generous of spirit, we're out there, but you have to realize that there are also lots of men who've taken advantage of this, and of us, which have caused us to become cynical and somewhat jaded as a means of self-preservation.

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

I guess you're right about Charlotte. What a let-down! In my defense I'm more of a Sopranos than SATC person.

Fortunately for me, it's all theoretical being married and all, but it's nice to know that there are nice, genuine people out there. I guess they don't go to the trendy spots I tend to frequent when I go out in the city. Maybe I'm just projecting my own cynicism and irony onto everyone else.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Sorry to disappoint, but as much as I love Charlotte, she does have her negative qualities.

Oh, there are many nice, genuine types out there, but we usually don't feel sharp enough to hit the trendy spots (or we can't afford it). They're there, you just have to look. LJ does help with that, though - the majority of the people I've connected with on here have been of the genuine variety, rather than the opposite. :)

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

Well if you and your LJ friends are interested in being trendy and getting some free drinks, my friend from Boston and I are going out in the city after work tonight and we're on expenses. We might go to Otto.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Speaking academically (not sure what I'll be up for this evening, have to see how the rest of the day goes).

Will your wife be joining us? Is your friend married?
A girl can't be too careful these days.

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

Look who's jaded now! No, it's just an after-work thing. My friend (who is married) and I work together and he's in town and we're going out for drinks. My wife works in NJ so it's not convenient for her, though we're going there afterwards. But you may be reading more into the question than I intended. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Hey, there's a fine line between jaded and self-preserving. ;)

Sorry for the misunderstanding, too...honestly I'm quite a bit tired, enough for it to be disconcerting, and I think I'm going to go home at 5. I hope I'm not coming down with something...

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

Self-preservation - sounds dramatic! One bad apple ruins it for everyone else. I would think that public places are generally conducive to self-preservation, though no guarantee against boredom, disappointment and disgust. I'm coming down with the effects of splitting a bottle of wine at lunch (all men, business lunch, don't worry). See my upcoming post on the "star" sighting at the restaurant. Hope you feel better.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Well, there is a school of thought that believes that all things are dramatic in your early 20s, and to a degree I suppose they are. Sometimes a bad apple can ruin things, depending on how bad the apple is. One case of worm can make a person mighty leery.

Ooh, star sighting! How intriguing.

Thanks. It's more a combination of being tired and allergies, making me not quite up to drinking.
Hope you have a good time tonight!

[wanderlust-nyc.livejournal.com]

The advantage of being older is that you realize you aren't really that unique. I think it's because when you're younger, you measure yourself based on what you know, so if you're smart and intelligent you tend to feel like you're at the epicenter of the world. As you get older, you're measured more on what you do, and since only the tiniest sliver of the population ever do anything lasting or significant, you realize that you aren't as unique as you had thought unless you are a household name. And that is actually a very liberating experience. It's a big burden to think when you're young that you have huge potential and that you have to fulfill it. Once you accept that you're an average Joe, life gets easier - and less dramatic.