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spent a wonderful weekend in boston at my friend n.'s place. my friend p. and i took the chinatown bus up, and can i say, had the weirdest guy sitting behind us. he talked on his cell in a booming voice... about his "recovering junkie" friend and how he "loved to quit jobs"... the man was cracked. but boston was a lot of fun, because we did absolutely nothing, just chilled in the city. we went to hay market, which is a great outdoor produce market. they sell all sorts of fruits and veggies at ridiculously low prices - 2 boxes of strawberries for $1.
i would cook like crazy if i lived near there! we walked around the pier and even saw a somewhat horrible hindi movie. and of course, we ate wonderfully - italian in north end, a buffet brunch, and excellent thai near newbury street. we had such great weather while we were there, and the minute we enter new york, we're accosted by severe rainstorms... it just says something. mainly, that i need to get out of the city more often!!
that's one of the tag lines for hbo's ads for the new season of entourage. i saw a set of posters as i was walking down the street the other day. one of the other ones says "in a town full of sharks, it's nice to have a turtle by your side"... i love it. i absolutely love entourage. it just cracks me up because i love to see guys acting so guy-ish, albeit within the very unreal world of young, rich hollywood. the new season starts in about two weeks and i am psyched!
well, that may be a little bit of hyperbole, but this story really gets to me. it's a weird story to begin with, but americana's reaction to it is even more annoying. basically, a group (some would probably call them a cult) founded by a rishi is starting a "town" in the middle of kansas. they plan to do transcendentalist meditation from there and sent out "peace waves" to all of america. the surrounding town is upset and wants to run them out. they fear that the group is trying to get the souls of the local people. now, i'm the first person to flee from most organized religion, especially any sort of master, guru, or leader. i've just seen enough of it to not like the idea personally. but still, if these people want to send out good thoughts, what's the problem? as long as they're not knocking on your door and condemning you to hell for not joining them, let them do what they want. and i especially think any sort of preemptive action against the group is unwise. be vigilant and watch out for any shadiness, but don't automatically assume the worst. it's funny, i grew up not far from the famous hare rama hare krishna temple in wv. we'd visited numerous times as kids, and of course, we all heard the news about the murders and weirdness that happened there. i'm a skeptic when it comes to these groups, but if it makes those people happy, good for them, just as long as it doesn't infringe on my life in any way.
it's not quite as dramatic as it sounds, but abc announced today that it's replacing elizabeth vargas (a fellow mizzou alum) with charles gibson as its evening news anchor. vargas started months ago, but she is pregnant, and when she comes back from maternity leave, will work for 20/20. gibson will leave gma at the end of june where, as of now, diane and robin will continue on. it's been an interesting couple of years for evening news... what with the three veterans leaving, replacement anchor bob woodruff being seriously injured, and couric becoming the first solo female evening news anchor. i will be curious to see what happens along the way - gibson obviously has the gravitas to pull off the job, and he will be the most experienced newsman of the anchors. i would think the segment of society that still religiously tunes into the nightly news would want to watch him and not katie... it could create an interesting ratings race. also, the highly-coveted morning news will also be a different ballgame now... gma, which has been threatening today, may see a momentum change once gibson leaves, all those women may turn to matt lauer for company during their morning coffee now!
fidel castro has created an opportunity for all those seeking to remove him from this "throne." Forbes reported that castro is the 7th wealthiest ruler in the world, with a personal fortune of $900 million. castro denied the claim, going on tv to challenge forbes to prove it. and if they did? castro said he would step down. now, the story isn't radically interesting, yet to me, this information is. castro claims he has no foreign bank accounts, has no personal net worth and is paid about $40/month. now, i would never call castro crazy, because i don't think he is. but perhaps the world deluded could apply? and another question, assuming he is worth somewhat more than his own estimation of his wealth, where will all that money go when he finally, you know, dies?
i say mcselfish. i was screaming at the tv last night during grey's. i truly think mcdreamy (who is still as cute as ever) is losing his appeal as a character. make up your mind, you cant have the cake and eat it too! and the ending, a literal triangle, frustrated me to no end. and is meredith crazy for temporarily forsaking chris o'donnell? i thought it was an okay season finale, wasn't too crazy about the prom storyline (c'mon, give us a better excuse for them to dress up), but i will continue to watch in the hopes that george gets recognized for all his loveliness..
i swore i wouldn't write entries about my descent into debauchery and drunkeness... mainly because i think a lady should never boast of such things. and yet, once again, i find the need to document an interesting occurrence: the hangover. i think i experienced my first one today. i've been drunker than i was last night, so i don't think it was actually the amount of alcohol that did it. maybe the type or the sequence of drinks, but i think it's more likely the fact that i had also gone out drinking the night before, and two nights in a row is a rare one for me. anyways, had to work on top of it, so it was just all around a bad thing. but now that i've popped that cherry for lack of a (truly) better term, let's all pray that it doesn't happen (too often) again.
as i write this, barry bonds has not passed ruth's 714 career homeruns. somehow, he has been thwarted in his last several attempts. i'm resigned to the fact that babe's record is probably a thing of the past, but it brings me much satisfaction to know it hasn't happened yet. i detest bonds. i believe he represents all that is wrong with sports today - ego, money, and of course, drugs. yes, it's been going on forever, but bonds stands out to me as one of the worst offenders (well, he and mark mcgwire, palmeiro, canseco... hmmm). he shows so little true joy in the game anymore, strutting up to bat, rarely smiling, barely interacting with fans, as if his only reason to play is to for posterity's sake.
but coming to posterity, let me just say that when bonds reaches 715 and beyond, i don't believe his record should be marked with an asterisk. it kills me to admit it, but i actually think, that if baseball is going to let him play, then whatever he achieves while he's playing is fair game. there's a great movie out there 61* about the race between roger maris and mickey mantle for single-season home run record. once again, the man to beat was babe ruth, and when maris did pass his record, baseball officials put an askterisk by his name because of all the public pressure. the public argued that because the season was longer, it wasn't a fair comparison. in the movie, maris says that they have other things to deal with, such as night games, coast-to-coast flights, and other natural progressions in any sport. so, the separate records stood for many years, even until after maris died. on the same basis, i don't think you can do it to bonds. as bad as he is, it's up to baseball to intervene on all his play, not just his records.
this is a great story. several professional baseball players will use pink bats during games this week, as a fundraiser for breast cancer. the mlb allowed the louisville sluggers to be dyed light pink for the cause, so players will bat with them for a week, after which they'll be auctioned off. i just love the idea of a player like big papi going out there with a little pink bat. but just this once, i hope he does he hit one out of the park.
okay, so last night's episode of gilmore truly, truly infuriated me. that show has been a weekly constant in my life for several years now, and to see them mess with luke and lorelai in such a serious way, makes me want to puke. (for those sane ones out there who don't waste as much time on tv as i do, lorelai called off the engagement and then proceeded to sleep with christopher, who is rory's father (but not the right man for lorelai!)) i know it's fake, but still, i've been living vicariously through this show for a while now. anyways, the creator and main writers of the show have left, and they left it on this note, so i'm wondering what will happen next season. i worry about the tone of the conversation and of course, how they'll reverse this situation. and luckily for me, i have months to wait to find out.
okay, so i was heading home from work today and i saw liv tyler sitting at a table, feeding her son. or should i say, trying to feed her son, because the poor little kid was in one horrendous mood. he just did not want to do anything the easy way. but she was persistent and kept on trying to get him to take just one more bite. it was cute.
so i've become a 24 fan over the past few years. i didn't watch it in its infancy, but i enjoy it now. but, as cool as jack bauer is, he is one trigger-happy govt agent. just in this season, he's harshly tortured a suspect, shot an innocent woman, and finally, hijacked a plane... all in his quest to protect america. now, i realize this is a fictional show, but it represents a key dilemma in this country's current affairs. jack always acts first, thinks later. whether you can call it acting on the side of caution, he basically sidesteps all the conventions that try to protect people until proven guilty. guantanamo bay and abu ghraib are simple examples of the same thing. we've locked up these people in horrible conditions all because someone defined them as an "enemy combatant". no trial, no jury, no verdict and all their rights as human beings are stripped away. and of course, the entire war in iraq is applicable as well, only our actions are much more morally reprehensible for the large of "collateral damage."now, don't get me wrong, i root for jack all the same, because i understand the basic premise behind the show. that a series of decisions and actions within 24 hours will determine the history of america forever. i do support agents who have to make split second decisions to save lives, but at the same time, i just think the show perhaps reinforces the gung-ho thinking of many americans.and on a side note, can i just say that i love curtis. i just love it when he pulls out his authority voice!
i've been volunteering for the tribeca film festival for almost two weeks now, and i have to say, i've been amused by the degree to which new-to-even-mild-fame directors handle themselves in public. many of them seem to have a you-know-what stuck up their you-know-where, all because their precious little movie is screening at tribeca. i understand the pride they must feel, and yet, i feel somewhat disgusted by them. most, not all, acted as if they were the end all and be all of the festival, that without them, how did this festival ever get anywhere. as a lowly volunteer, it actually made me sad to see the way they treated everybody on my level. okay, end of virtual venting.now, on to the show. i saw some really good movies, not nearly as many as i wanted. my favorite of those i saw was eden. it's a small german movie about an overweight chef whose professional life is in order, but not his personal one. when he meets a married woman with a somewhat-mentally challenged daughter, his life turns upside down. it sounds sort of weird, but it was very charming actually. sounds of silence is a documentary about the underground hip-hop scene in iran. the regime doesn't allow any music that isn't religious or traditional to be played or distributed publicly, so all these modern groups have taken to the internet to dispense their music... it's was pretty good, but as usual, needed editing! then yesterday, i snuck into see "the tv set".. about a writer whose tv pilot is getting shot, and then follows through the process by which a show gets picked up for the season. it was very funny, but only if you enjoy poking fun at showbiz. overall, it was a great experience, hopefully i'll be around to do it next year!
the kentucky derby is tonight, and i'm actually excited to see what happens. i went two years ago, and ever since, i take a passing interest in the race. the day was actually great. there are tons of smaller races preceding, and i actually won some money on those races. i did NOT however, win any money on the actual derby. but, it's such a great atmosphere. all these women wear outlandish hats and men look somewhat old-time charming. the mint juleps are actually pretty good, but more fun for me were of course, the souvenir glasses! but the best has to be the infield. it's one giant party. i mean it, drinking, smoking, eating, dancing, you name it, you saw it. and the minute we stepped in the infield that day, a deluge of rain for like a half hour. we were truly soaked through and through, it was hilarious in a non-funny way. but tonight, even though i'm not putting any money on it, my picks are sharp humor, point determined, barraro, and brother derek. i'm a "the name speaks to me" sort of girl, so you can see why the first sparked my interest. barraro continues in my tradition of backing spanish-sounding names, though borrego did shun me in 04. and brother derek, well, he seems to be the odds on favorite, so why not. we'll see, it's like a couple of minutes to glory, but it's great.
so, one of my new-ish friends invited me to go see a band from nashville, "everday atlas". she knows these guys from college days, and i was excited to see that they were pretty good. they have a slightly rock-pop vibe, but i am very bad at describing music, so i'm sure that's a somewhat insulting description. but it was actually a fun night, had to schlep down to the LES to see them, but it was worth it. it felt like college again, seeing people play for the true love of music. not that i doubt famous bands don't still love the music, but there's a purity to people who aren't playing for the money and continuing fame. (but maybe they wouldn't mind that either!) ;)
