The Misadventures of a Native New Yorker

First of all, I absolutely must wish a happy birthday to killerweasel, one of my favorite journalers these days. She posts a fabulous amount of stuff, which makes me look cool, because I get to see all the memes and read all the geeky articles before they break wide. She always gets them first. And she's a cool person besides. Happy birthday, and congrats on your new job!!

Secondly, I'd like to wish all and sundry a happy Jameson appreciation day. XD Personally, I prefer to avoid bars like the plague on this kind of amateur night, but enjoy to those who are celebrating. I had some soda bread for breakfast, we'll see what comes later. (After Frankenstein, anyway. Really excited about that!!!)

I got to see The Fighter this morning, and it was excellent. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.

And, in the spirit of the holiday:

Last night, j_bkl and I finally saw Avatar in all of its IMAX 3D glory.

And you know what? I loved it.

Now, let's get a few things out of the way first. I've seen many of James Cameron's films. I can say that of the films of his that I've seen, I've enjoyed the hell out of all of them. The first one I ever saw was Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and it blew my 11-year-old mind. After that was True Lies, which my family went to see one rainy summer's day in 1994 and spent the next 6 months quoting extensively. (And every time since, when we've rented a minivan, someone always states: "You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys are going to be in the van next time. I've been in the van for 15 years, Harry!") I somehow missed out on The Abyss until I was 16 or 17, but I loved it from the minute my dad pushed play on the director's cut. (If you're familiar with the film, the phrase "Love You Wife" makes me bawl like a toddler with a skinned knee. If you're not familiar with the film: NETFLIX. BLOCKBUSTER. LIBRARY. VIDEO STORE. NOW.) And of course, I saw Titanic. I ran to see it the first weekend it was open because I figured it would be in and out of theaters in minutes. (This is probably why I'm not a highly-paid film executive.) I enjoyed it, too. Appealing actors, beautiful visuals, amazing effects, and enough story to remind you that you're watching a movie of some kind. It's something Cameron does well. He's more interested in tinkering with his effects than anything else. Hell, I still wonder if he made Titanic as an excuse to build the little submarine camera-pod thing he and his brother created to film the actual ruins of the real ship. Cameron is a gizmo freak. He likes things that go bang. He likes things that crash. He likes big shiny pictures. In many cases, though, I wonder if the script process of late has gone something like this:

Flunkie: Um, Mr. Cameron?
Cameron: Yes?
Flunkie: The effects look great, sir. The action sequences are fantastic. I think it's all coming along well.
Cameron: Ah, it is, isn't it?
Flunkie: Just, um, one tiny little thing...
Cameron: What? Did I forget something?
Flunkie: Oh, not much sir...just maybe..um, you know? The story? Some character development? Little things.
Cameron: ::smacks forehead:: CRAP. WILL SOMEBODY GET ME THE BACK OF AN ENVELOPE?

I've never attended a James Cameron movie expecting overly complex characters or story arcs. The guy does things well, but constructing complex plots and characters isn't exactly one of them. But you know what? That's not what I expect from the guy. And it's not what I expected from Avatar. What makes Avatar worth the price of admission is the unbelievable visuals, jaw-dropping effects and pulse-pounding action. Which is what I wanted and Cameron delivered in spades. There’s a battle scene that makes the battle of Helm’s Deep from LOTR look like a scrimmage. Holy shit, for that alone he deserves Oscars for visual effects, sound editing, editing – anything you can hand out for the feast for the eyes that he put together.

I have a few more spoilerish thoughts below, but a few non-specific things that I know a few of you will howl "spoiler" at, so if you're so concerned, use your mouse's scroll button now.

The story we’ve seen before. Big Evil White Man wants something! Inconvenient Natives are in way! BEWM wants it, so they send someone in! Someone the send finds that the natives have beautiful, spiritual way of life, and falls in love. (Dances with Smurfs? What?) Old story, done before and done better, probably. But again, this was never his strong suit.

I thought that he at least had some fun with it, calling the material BEWM was after “unobtanium.” Doesn’t matter if it was land, oil, gold, diamonds – everywhere in the world throughout all of history, there’s been unobtanium of some kind or other. I thought it was a wink at the audience, a way of saying to not pay such close attention to the item being sought, it could be anything. The point was how we were going to get it.

I would also like to point out that I've known people who've lost mobility, due to accidents or disease (and in one case, both). My uncle lost his leg, and although he was not confined to a wheelchair, the loss of that leg was utterly devastating to him. Even though he had a decent prosthetic and a modified car and so many other aids, he would have done anything to get his real back, were it possible. He told me so. If, heaven forbid, I was confined to a wheelchair, I would be inconsoloable at best, and at worst, suicidal. So, Jake's initial desire to have his mobility back by any means possible made sense to me. It wasn't something that he'd lived his entire life without happily and didn't know about what he was missing. He was a Marine. He relied on his physicality, and it was a part of the core of who he identified himself as, both as a human being and as a Marine. The lost of that was a loss of his self, and that can't be ignored.

( Very Spoilerish Thoughts. )

I welcome your thoughts and links.

So, Carly linked me to this movie on Google Reader called alma. It's a 5-minute short, and creepy as fuck.

(warning: if dolls terrify you? Don't click.)

Of course, J had no idea what I was doing when I was watching this, just that I was sitting quietly on the computer. So he manages to walk into the middle room without making a sound until he starts talking and scared the holy bejeezus out of me. Ack.

Anyway, I'm going to go dry my hair, eat oatmeal, and get myself together, for today we venture to Jersey City to meet the newest member of my circle - Carly & Tim's new baby, Eva. Carly and Tim had a baby. I sometimes say that to myself so I can believe it, because it's...weren't we worrying about finals yesterday? Didn't we just do a run in Tim's (long gone) little green car to Crossgates? Don't we have to go to Price Chopper later? WTF, time.

Ever since j_bkl showed me this, I've been giggling uncontrollably.

( How Twilight Should Have Ended )

OMG teh lulz. I haz them.


And now, two bonus things that have made me crack up this week:
( Follow for the funny: )

Lazy evenings are teh awesome.

I think I'm on my fourth wind at this point.

Lemme summup.

Thursday night, redesigner and I celebrated Restaurant Week at Butter. It was...okay. Nothing terrific. I think the best thing I could say about it was that it was trendy, but tasty. (to borrow from S1, E1 of Buffy). The staff was nice and the cocktails were strong, though.

Friday was a short day (hurrah) and after a few errands, I met up with J and J's family for their birthday celebration. (J's family all has birthdays in July, except for him. He's March, like me.) It was a definite good time.

Saturday was two parties, one a birthday, one a gathering of friends. Both were excellent - full of good food, good people, and rollicking good times. All things one should have in a Saturday, really.

Sunday was a day of win and awesome. The win was for the Yankees, as I watched a fantastic pitcher's duel at the Stadium with trebleahead. The weather was seriously perfect, and a day it was almost a crime not to be outside. It was one of those games that causes me to be utterly baffled at people who call baseball boring. (And I was so proud of Joba!! 7 2/3 innings with 8 strikeouts and less than 100 pitches?? Attaboy!!) Afterwords, I met up with j_bkl, teany and selftoken for Harry Potter, which was awesome. I didn't mind too many of the story changes they'd made (there was a lot of ground to cover, after all), but I liked the story they did tell, and thought some of the shortcuts and tricks were quite clever. However: ( book-spoiler question )

Today, since J and I were both off, we decided to give our apartment a good straightening. It was perfectly clean (a bit disorganized, but that's what happens when you're two busy people in a small space). After several hours of hard work, however, the place looks excellent, and I'm proud of us. And now that I've had a shower, I'm going to drag my exhausted carcass to bed. I'm just glad I don't have to be back at work until Wednesday.

First, natal greetings go out to some of my very favorite people, who all seem to be clumped around this time of year.

Many, many happy (and happier) days to redstapler, jackalprey, firynze, and of course, antheia. I hope your days were all happy, and I can only wish you all even happier ones to come. ::hugs and smishes all around::

And now, a brief rundown about how things are chugging along:

* Last Friday I had the day off. I did some grocery shopping, but then j_bkl and I went and bought a real-by-God mattress. One with springs and coils and puffy parts and the whole bit. I was initially suffering from sticker shock, but after sleeping on it for the first time last night, I can honestly say it was worth every last penny. I also ran into whtegrlwthehair and her friend S and wound up joining them for an impromptu picnic earlier in the afternoon, while I was aimlessly wandering the slope. The picnic and company were both delightful.

*Saturday, the 4th, I was lucky enough to be a guest at two lovely barbeques. Lots of meats, beer, and good times. (And really amazing pulled pork that I must get the recipe for. For serious.)

*On Sunday, J ACTUALLY HAD THE DAY OFF. No, really. Seriously. So we slept in, watched some of Season 2 of Veronica Mars, and then, inspired by a call from lwoodbloo, wound up heading out to the Dumbo Brooklyn Flea, Bubby's for some lunch, and several shops along the way to the F train. Then it was home, some tidying, and even more Veronica Mars, and then dinner. It was so amazing to actually get to spend a weekend day with him, just doing random stuff. We had a lot of fun together, but that's not a surprise, we always do.

*Sadly, I wound up having the WORST NIGHT OF SLEEP EVAR on Sunday. I was a zombie on Monday, so much so that I forgot half of the stuff I needed to get on an after-work Target run. Blah. But then we finished Season 2 of Veronica Mars, and I got a much better night of sleep.

* Yesterday our mattress was delivered, work was crazy, but THEN we got to see Public Enemies. It was visually beautiful, Johnny Depp was terrific, and it was most definitely a Michael Mann Film. Every director has his/her own stylistic markers, some more prominent than others, and Mann's love of tight close-ups, slow-motion, light saturation, and quick cuts were very prevalent. He also doesn't hit you over the head with lots of detail, he gives enough to be accurate and just lets the actors work. Which was really great. Definitely worth seeing. Then we had Shake Shack after the movie. (yum).

*And now, work. Yay. J is working late tonight, so I still haven't made definite evening plans yet. Don't know if I'm going to go home or what. Still pondering. I haven't watched any of Torchwood: Children of Earth yet, so that's not a bad way to spend an evening. We'll see.

I've been too busy/distracted to write on stuff I've been ruminating about more deeply, so I guess that will have to wait.

Let's see.

I shouldn't really be updating, as it's shaping up to be nice and crazy this week. Great. I suppose that was the giant looming dread I felt that made me want to stay in bed this morning instead of going anywhere or doing anything. Thankfully I have yet to be yelled at for not being in possession of a DeLorean with Emmett Brown mods on it. But as it's not even lunchtime, I suppose there's LOTS of time for that.

I feel like I might be coming down with something. I don't know if it's allergies or what, but I do not feel 100%. I do not approve. This probably is why I did not feel like doing anything except sleep today. And why j_bkl had to use dynamite and a crowbar to get me out of bed this morning.

Good weekend, though. j_bkl had the whole thing off for once (WOO!) so we got to spend time together (omg). Friday we went to drinks at the Draft Barn with some friends, Saturday we saw Coraline and had dinner with some other friends, and yesterday was a fun Easter celebration.

Coraline scared the crap out of me, and this is as someone who read the book. Stuff was changed, but I really loved it as a whole. It's nice to know that people are still willing to make visually interesting, thoughtful and compelling movies for kids (that their parents won't want to beat themselves senseless during) that aren't afraid to teach lessons by being scary. It was also very worth seeing in 3-D - it added to the visuals, instead of just being gimmicky. I highly reccommend.

Yesterday J and I got up super early to meet up with his folks, and we headed deep into the wilds of Pennsylvania for an Easter celebration at the home of one of their parents' very gracious, generous friends. I can't really argue with getting to spend the day with nice people, great food and drink, and an absolutely marvelous dog, a standard poodle named Harley, who won my affection by not JUMPING ON ME or trying to lick my face, but who still was friendly and affectionate (he nuzzled me at dinner, and loved being petted and paid attention to). I guess the general mellow-ness of the dog was due to how much exercise he gets on a regular basis in the woods surrounding the property, or perhaps it was just his personaltiy. But I liked him a lot, as I did the rest of the company. (also, fun fact -Standard [not toy!] Poodles were initially bred as hunting dogs, and Harley still has the instincts. It was amazing to see him in action.) I loved having that day in the country, even though I'm tired from all that traveling yesterday.

So now I have to get back to it. I hope the rest of this week passes painlessly, although I have no idea if it will. :P

My throat is itchy. I do not know why it is, but either way, I do not approve.

It snowed. Which while is kind of either amusing or annoying (depending on your perspective), it's nothing new. If I remember 1993 accurately, there were some really bad snows that year in April. So, there you go. None of it stuck, so I don't see the BFD.

I also may wind up going to get the new Echo at FP on Friday, only because I can, and because I'm getting annoyed by the fact that Midtown charges for bags and boards.

Last night j_bkl and I saw Adventureland. I was expecting a kind of dumb, slapstick-y, gross out sort of comedy, with a lot of mugging, and Jesse Eisenberg trying to do his best Michael Cera impression. It was none of the above. The movie had moments that were really funny, but also a lot of sad ones, too. There were no histrionics, either, which impressed me. Every time I thought the movie would take a painfully predictable route, it didn't. And, as I was surprised to discover, Kristin Stewart is a pretty good actress. I don't know how many notes she has, but as Em, she made her pain palpable,and her angst understandable. I found myself rooting for her to be happy. I was also impressed by a nicely understated performance by Ryan Reynolds. He nicely sidestepped cliche and gave his character a wistful edge (you could believe that even he was aware that he was kind of a slimeball). I also liked how you were very aware of when it was set, but they didn't beat you over the head with the OMG IT'S THE EIGHTIES feeling of some other movies. It's more mumblecore than Apatow, but if this had been made when it was set, I almost wonder if Cameron Crowe would have helmed it. See it.

1. A few days ago, Midtown Lunch posted a review of Dainobu Japanese Deli, which just opened its doors on 47th street b/t Lex & 3rd. Since I was down that way anyway to pick up a few comics, I decided to poke my nose in and see how it was. I'm a big fan of Cafe Zaiya (on 41st near Madison), so I was eager to try this place out.

And oh, I was SO far from disappointed.

See, they had a sign in the window that said, "Miso Soup: $1.50." So that was enough of a lure for me. But then, they had a Spider Roll (soft-shell crab tempura with cucumber) for only $4.99. This is a general rarity. I could not resist. The soup was delicious - complex broth, robust greens, velvety tofu - yards away from any miso I've had in ages. And the roll? Heaven. There was roe, arugula, and some lovely spicy mayo mixed in with the tempura and rice and cucumber. The pair made an excellent, mood-improving lunch.

2. Last night, j_bkl and I were supposed to see Milk. Due to some theater fuckery, it was not available, so he got us tickets to The Wrestler instead. The movie was a cinematic body slam. I immediately liked Mickey Rourke's character, Randy "The Ram", and finding sympathy with the place he's found himself in, even though after seeing some of the choices that got him there, you can't completely feel bad for the guy. Arnofsky really did a bravura job. The entire thing felt like a documentary, from its grainy, cinema verite cinematography to its lack of dialogue in many scenes. And, Mickey Rourke is just fantastic, as is Marisa Tomei (you really feel her being two people - the stripper persona she has at work, and the woman she is outside of the club). I found Evan Rachel Wood to be a bit hysterical, but I suppose it fit the character. I highly recommend it if you've yet to see it.

Good gravy, I love The Last Waltz. quasisonic got it for me for Christmas, and I'm watching it as I perform my pack & purge. And damned if that film isn't totally ageless. It's just a brilliant collection. I could just watch hours and hours of the raw footage.

It makes me all happy inside. Especially in one point of lulz. There are all of these special guests. Most of them are to be expected. Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, the Staples, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and many others. Including Neil Diamond. He just pops up at one point (and totally kicks ass). But it's this marvelous LULWHUT moment. I mean, Diamond is talented and all, but his aesthetic was the total opposite to the rest of this group (especially at the time)