BROKEN Flowers

Birthday Boy: "Well, when the cable guy came in to run some cable into the second bedroom, he said that normally rooms aren't this big and he had to charge me another $5 for the extra cable, but I had already gone to WalMart earlier in the day to get heavier gauge cable for my stereo after I had already spent $5 (5 DOLLARS!!!) on regular sound cable, but it was cutting in and out..."

Attendee (silently to self): "Geez, I just asked if the second bedroom was as big as the master bedroom."

And such was the style of conversation at a birthday party JC and I attended last night...Anyways, on to this morning's review.

Broken Flowers - Bill Murray plays an even more depressing version of his Lost in Translation character, as a man who gets a letter from an old girlfriend saying that he fathered a child 20 years ago. But which girlfriend? He sets off on a cross-country trek (I think...all the airport shots seemed to be at Newark) to see his old flames to discretely investigate this son. Each of the old flames, captured in four vignettes, has some quirk to them that makes you chuckle a bit. But which one sent the letter? I'm not going to give away the ending, in case it's on your Netflix list. However, once the credits rolled, JC uttered "That was awful!" I wouldn't say awful, but the movie is dreadfully slooooooooow. I think the only thing that saved the movie was Jeffrey Wright's performance (Angels in America, Syriana). He plays Bill Murray's next-door neighbor, a guy with 3 jobs, 5 kids, and a dream to be a CSI. Overall, I don't recommend the movie. 2/5 stars. That's right, 40%.

We have Constant Gardener and the Walmart documentary on the way, so hopefully this weekend of crappy movies will be put to rest.

Friday Night Revue

I'll let JC write up the food on her blog. I'll review the movie.
Wedding Crashers: The funny parts are funny, and the rest of the movie is just a draaaaaaaaaggg. The middle of the movie resorts to unnecessary schtick in order to get laughs (a la Ben Stiller chasing the cat in Meet the Parents). The main story revolves around Owen Wilson trying to steal Rachel McAdams away from the guy from Alias. You know, we used eyedrops to send a kid to the bathroom in 7th grade...funny how screenwriters would think grown men use it to win over the hearts of a good-looking girl. Vince Vaughn is far more entertaining and the crazy girl that's after him (Isla Fisher) is hilarious. Will Ferrell's cameo at the end is OK at best (MA!!! MEATLOAF!!!). So all in all, if there's a highlights video, catch that...don't sit through all 2 hours. I give it 2.5/5 stars (rounded to three in the Netflix star whole number system).

Good soundtrack though (Flaming Lips, Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie).

Mid 90s Hardcore

As promised, I've put together some tracks by bands I was really into when I was in high school. There are stories with everyone of the bands, which makes the fact that all of them are available in a subscription service that much more surreal.

Mid 90s Hardcore:
"1. More Hate Than Fear - One King Down (really good guys, headlined a show that Stan put on at the Bates Lodge)
2. Pins And Needles - Dead Guy (again, great guys...stood too close to the stage the first time we saw them in Keansburg...that's when we learned that Dead Guy was actually the "Swinging Guitar Band"
3. Free Mustache Rides (Single Version) - Dead Guy (same band name, but different singer...the new bassist ran a rehearsal studio in Red Bank that we frequented)
4. Deathbed - 108 (Hare Krishna band...broke up before I came on to the scene, but a heavy influence in the scene)
5. Proud To Be Straight - Ten Yard Fight (there was a running email chain between my brother and someone in the band...as their name implies, this was a band of militant straight-edge ex-football players)
6. Cognition (Single Version) - Snapcase (probably the only band that I'd still listen to...definitely the tightest hardcore band)
7. Come And Get It - Fury Of Five (Steve, fill in Fury of Five story here...among the trend-setters in announcing your band name in multiple songs)
8. Through And Through - Strife (straight-edge to the max...never my favorite, but listened to all their crap)
9. Washed Up At 18 - Floorpunch (against, militant straight-edge jocks who thought it was cool to terrorize people who weren't straight-edge)
10. The Saddest Day - Converge (sickest...live...show...EVER)
11. Firestorm - Earth Crisis (god, where to begin...should I start with the fake fur coat causing a riot at Middlesex County College, or the fight outside the church in Northern NJ...these were the most insane vegan straight-edge guys ever, and their fans made Beatle-mania look like the Seventh Day Adventists...I've been to Syracuse, and while it's a quaint town, how could anything so vial come out of it?)"

Two bands that stayed more on the DIY bent that I'd like to add to this list:
1) Mouthpiece - was at their final show in Princeton
2) Arcane - probably the most talented hardcore band in NJ...they could actually play their instruments and had lyrics like "Open your eyes to the lies of the presidency...robbin you blind!!!" And that was during CLINTON!

Enjoy! Spread the hardcore reality!

The Wife Wants In...

Check out the link to The Wife's (JC) cooking blog on the side. It's called Patently Delicious, which is clever.

Couple of Movies for ya...

So its 1000 on a Saturday night, so you know someone's on the couch sleeping, and it's not this guy...It's been an enjoyable evening, with a trip to the new Whole Foods in Old Town, and some Rick Bayless for dinner, and Lamar Street Pale Ale (it's organic!) as the drink of choice for the night.

We've watched a couple of movies the past couple of nights:
Grizzly Man - Detailed portrait of a guy who was doing great work for wildlife, but became a little too self-obsessed for his own good, and it wound up leading to his death. The filmmaker (Werner Herzog) could have focused on how INSANE the subject was, but it's a much deeper film than that. Earned 5/5 stars.

The Producers (old version): So you can make more money with a Broadway flop than a Broadway play? I got too lost in the financials of the entire movie. The setup of the movie is, in a word, LOUD. There's lots of yelling and me wishing Gene Wilder could play more roles like Willy Wonka (subdued, judgmental). But once they get to the opening of the play, I didn't stop laughing for a good 20 minutes. I haven't seen the play, nor have I seen the new movie, and this was a good experience. I like Mel Brooks' old movies, and this ranks up there. Earned 4/5 stars.

Listening to Calexico while writing this...Upstairs neighbors are listening to some type of techno-funk, and they have good subwoofers.

Victory is Mine!

Well, not really. Rhapsody recently reached deals with Victory Records and Equal Vision Records. As an angry youth in the mid to late 90s, bands on these labels provided some type of soundtrack to my Jnco strut. I'll post a playlist soon with some good chugga-chugga tunes for all to enjoy.

Additions to My List

Check out my review of a couple DC-area Italian restaurants in the Salem food blog (link to the right).

Rhapsody is great, but one of the great limiters is that record companies can keep material from their artists off of the service. I believe that individual artists may be able to do this as well, but I guess it lies with whoever holds the copyright. Notable absences include Radiohead and the Beatles (thanks, MJ!).

So there are a couple of artists that I want to add to that list I posted yesterday:
1. Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
2. Bright Eyes - "Arc of Time" and "Road to Joy"

Also want to add Broken Social Scene's "7/4 (Shoreline)", but I have been weirded out by their music for too long.

Couple of artists I'm searching out right now: Calexico (highly recommend the collaboration with Iron and Wine), and Youth Group.

Rhapsody Playlist

Here's me trying something new...In the new version of Rhapsody, you can blog your playlists. I figured I'd put up some songs I thought were good last year.

Rhapsody Playlist: "1. Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
2. Constellations - Jack Johnson
3. Gold Digger (Album Version (Explicit)) - Kanye West
4. Black And White Town - Doves
5. Of All The Gin Joints In All The World - Fall Out Boy
6. Brothers On A Hotel Bed - Death Cab For Cutie
7. The Engine Driver - The Decemberists
8. Que' Onda Guero - Beck
9. Grounds For Divorce - Wolf Parade
10. Brooklyn Stars - Matt Pond Pa
11. Give Judy My Notice - Ben Folds
12. Off The Record - My Morning Jacket
13. The Bleeding Heart Show - New Pornographers
14. Woman King - Iron and Wine
15. Mama - Stephen Malkmus
16. Details Of The War - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. Don't Save Us From The Flames - M83"

I don't much get into making playlists titled "Happy Songs for Windy Days when the Redskins are Trailing by 7 and John Hall is thinking about his good-looking wife and misses a kick, but hell I've had several beers already and good vegetarian chili with soy flakes." I usually just pick an artist, pack in all their stuff to a playlist, and hit shuffle. Currently, I have playlists devoted to Ben Folds, Beulah, Cave In. Dismemberment Plan, Death Cab for Cutie, Get Up Kids, Gorillaz, Guster, Incubus, Interpol, Iron and Wine, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Eat World, Mogwai, Our Lady Peace, Pinback, Postal Service, Rage Against the Machine, SDRE/Fire Theft/Jeremy Enigk, Smashing Pumpkins (will probably delete, now that I think about it), Superchunk, Ted Leo, and Weezer.

In Between Three-Bean Chili Servings...

...we've watched a couple movies this weekend.

Pretty Persuasion (2005) - Ranks behind Heathers and Jawbreakers in the evil rich kid high school dramedy genre. Thought the five-minute explanation at the end wasn't necessary, but the first part is pretty hilarious (and disturbing), the middle is a bit slow, and the end/moral lesson is actually unexpected. Count three uses of the nasty c-word and one of the nasty t-word. 4 out of 5 stars.

Bad News Bears (2005) - What happens when the star of Bad Santa stars in a movie directed by the guy who directed School of Rock? Well, you get a PG-13 movie with just enough cursing (kids included) to make it "edgy", with a good-hearted message at the end. Billy Bob Thornton is probably one of my favorite actors, and he is very good in this movie. It jumps around a little, inserts a pretty random bit about his pseudo-daughter, and picks and chooses which kids to focus on (and the lessons we all can learn from them). The original might have also done this, but I think the original also had the Astrodome at the end. Good flick...a step back if you're looking for a reprisal of Bad Santa, but serves as impetus to rent Bad Santa if you want to see some dirtier cussing. 4 out of 5 stars.

And the Redskins won today!!!

The Melting Point of Polymers

So this is what you get when two Georgia Tech engineers get married.

Three Kings Day is a tradition in the wife's family, where the person who get some type of plastic toy in their dessert wins a prize (cash is usually a popular choice). The only plastic toy we had around the apartment was a skull that came with a bottle of death hot sauce, so we decided to use that. As this was our first attempt at a Three Kings Day cake, there were obvious concerns that a hot oven could melt the piece of plastic, thus making our cake something that they serve in the Dupont cafeteria (zing!).

While on the phone with her mother, the wife debated that the oven being set to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius) was higher than the melting point of poly(propylene) or poly(ethylene) or polyester (whatever polymer it is)...at which point both her mother and I gave her the "DORK!" line.

...and Sirius still rocks the house.

Merry Christmas!!

Okay, so it's a couple weeks late, and I haven't posted anything in a while, but I'm excited about getting my pseudo-Christmas present from my parents. I say pseudo because it started with me being dumb, and now things are worked out (well, 80% anyway).

So I asked for a Sirius radio, and I put a Sirius boombox on my Amazon wishlist...that's right, a boombox, not a receiver...a boombox that requires a receiver that is next to IMPOSSIBLE to get because it's rarely sold anymore. Well, after nearly purchasing off of the Amazon marketplace, then actually placing an order on Buy.com, THEN seeing that it's not available from the manufacturer, I finally got fed up and went to Best Buy on my way home from work. Well, wouldn't you know, they had one Starmate Replay in the store, as well as the home kit, and lo and behold I bought it (only get a $20 rebate as opposed to the $50 rebate available on the Audiovox model). Thanks to the guy who didn't pay attention to the salesman, thus allowing me to swipe the radio off of the shelf. I think I said "Yoink!"

I've hooked it up at home and it works great. I'm actually getting reception off of the terrestrial repeaters, but I'll try putting the antenna on the deck tomorrow morning...it helps that my apartment faces west and I'm about 25 feet off of the ground. Listened to some classic rock, but found my way to the Indie/College Rock station and have heard two new (to me, which is hard) GOOD songs already (Goldfrapp and Stars). Funny that the wife is dead asleep on the couch.

The big question is whether I will listen to Howard Stern on Monday morning. Umm...yes. It's not the only reason to get it, though (given how horrendous the NFL announcers are...I'll take local drunken broadcasters any day). The main challenge won't be Stern's taste, but me waking up at 0600 to hear him.

Add Broken Social Scene and Futureheads to the playlist...good stuff.