Weekend Report

Friday- Attended a surprise going-away party at a local bowling alley. I hadn't been bowling in years, and it was a blast, and almost like entering a time warp. The decor and most of the clientele appeared to be twenty years behind the times, as evidenced by the rare sighting of a mohawk/mullet hybrid, circa 1986. By bowling, I mean candlepin bowling. It's just known as "bowling" by Massachusetts natives, whereas the other kind of bowling is referred to as "big ball bowling" or "cartoon bowling" because, like anvils and people cheering by clasping their hands together and silently raising them from one side of their head to the other, the type of bowling where the balls and big and heavy and you stick your fingers in them only exists in cartoons. I was stunned the first time I went bowling in Indiana: "Oh my gosh! Big ball bowling! It's real! Wow, the balls are so heavy! And you stick your fingers in the holes! Dirty!" To my dismay, the new, trendy bowling alleys that have popped up in downtown Boston over the past couple of years all offer big ball bowling instead of candlepin. I'm a big fan of regional cultural differences, be them accents, cuisine, or bowling styles in the United States, and am therefore personally opposed to the homogenization of bowling styles. Viva la candlepin.

Saturday- Went out to breakfast, swam at the gym, put in some face time at an NFL draft day party, and visited some friends and their brand new baby at the hospital. The proud new parents are from Spain, and I learned something new about Spanish baby clothing: in Spain, it's traditional to dress both boy and girl infants in a fancy gown called a faldon. The baby's grandmother had brought a whole set of faldones and traditional handmade outfits from Spain, and had a great time showing them to the visitors at the hospital. After visiting hours ended, I went home and watched Capote. I enjoyed it, especially because I had read In Cold Blood several years ago and was therefore familiar with the story and interested in how the movie would portray the relationship between Truman Capote and the killers he interviewed for his book. Philip Seymour Hoffman obviously excelled in the title role, and I was pleased to see both Chris Cooper and Catherine Keener in their supporting roles. It's strange to think that Harper Lee worked as Capote's assistant, considering that she is currently probably the more well-known of the two writers.

Sunday- Went to a bridal shower, then shopping. How very girly of me. I did have a grilled steak for dinner, though.

Recent Observations

I cooked dinner for three college friends last night, and made the following observations:

1. Thouroughly cleaning your apartment (as opposed to frantically shoving clutter into closets and under beds) makes it look a lot nicer.
2. Drinking a stiff cosmo before cooking is a Very Bad Idea, unless you like your broccoli burnt.
3. Adding the word "face" to any insult makes it ten times better. Examples: nerd face, douchebag face
4. The best way to prevent yourself from making ill-adivsed drunken phone calls is to delete the tempting number from your cell phone.
5. Nothing cures a hangover like a greasy bagel sandwich.

TGIF, everyone!

Snoop involved in airport brawl

Fellow representative of the LBC (yes, I was born in Long Beach) Snoop Dogg was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday after a few members of his entourage were denied entrance to the British Airways VIP lounge. Here's my favorite part of the article:

"There were all these huge 20-stone men smashing up display cabinets and throwing people around," said a Heathrow worker who witnessed the fracas. "I saw Snoop Dogg on the ground with four riot police trying to put him in handcuffs.

"His minders were throwing bottles of duty free at people. They were throwing people around like pillows. Then the police used pepper spray on them."

20-stone? Minders? Gotta love those wacky Brits.

Whorepresents

Check out this list of hilarious easily mispronouced domain names. Is it bad that the pervy name is the one I see first, and I have to think for a minute to figure out the real name?
For example: Lumbermansexchange = Lumbermans Exchange, not Lumberman Sex Change

via Freakgirl

He wears it well

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon is sporting a mohawk. His new 'do is the result of a wager he made with fellow Sox youngster Kevin Youkilis.

Music Genome Project

I recently discovered Pandora.com, a free music site designed to introduce music lovers to bands they might like. You create a "radio station" by entering the names of one or more bands or songs you like, and the program searches a database for songs/artists deemed similar to your selection. So far, I made three stations, a Rolling Stones station, a Cure/Clash/David Bowie station, and a hipster station (Devotchka/Arcade Fire). The Stones station plays rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam, plus some other (new, I presume) bands I've never heard of. The other two stations play mostly music I'm unfamiliar with, but so far, I like most of it.

Water is wet

And Charlie Sheen uses drugs, gambles, and hires prostitutes. Normally, I'm above dishing out celebrity gossip (okay, that's a complete lie), but check out this doozy of a document (courtesy of The Smoking Gun) that Denise Richards filed during divorce proceedings. Or save yourself some time and just read the transcripts from the crazed phone calls. Yikes.

You're Beautiful

and not in that melodramatic James Blunt kinda way. Hannah the bulldog was named Most Beautiful Bulldog in the 27th annual Beautiful Bulldog competition.

Book Review: No Country For Old Men

My number one, all time favorite book is All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy. Yes, it has a sissy title, and yes, it was made into a movie starring Penelope Cruz and Matt Damon (which I never saw- has anyone seen it?), but if you make fun of it for those reasons without reading it, fuck off, because it's an awesome book. (I know I sound defensive, but it's a sore spot.) I read all three novels in the Border Trilogy (All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain), all following male protagonists through Texas and Mexico during the 1940s and 1950s, and loved them all. I also read Blood Meridian, set during the Westward expansion during the 1840s, but it was too disturbingly violent for my tastes. Since McCarthy hasn't published anything since Cities of the Plain in 1998, I was eager to read his latest novel, No Country For Old Men, which came out last year. I was planning to wait until it came out in paperback, but I found a cheap used version for sale on amazon.com and purchased it.
No Country For Old Men lacks the rich language found in the Border Trilogy, but the setting is similar. It takes place along Texas and Mexican border, but in modern times. Llewelyn Moss is out hunting in the desert when he stumbles upon the remnants of a drug deal gone bad: dead bodies, shot up trucks, heroin, and a briefcase containing 2.4 million dollars in cash. He takes the money and runs, knowing full well that whoever the money belongs to will never cease looking for it. Sheriff Bell arrives on the scene, connects the dots, and figures out that local boy Llewelyn has no idea how much trouble he's in. The man hunting Llewelyn is pure evil, a cold-blooded killer who leaves a wake of death and destruction in his path. Bell aims to find Llewelyn before the killer does, and ponders his own life and the dark world that surrounds it during the pursuit. The novel is a bit confusing in the beginning, but once you figure out who the main players are, it is easy to follow. I liked it, not as much as the border trilogy, but far more than Blood Meridian. Rumor has it that No Country For Old Men is being made into a movie by the Coen brothers, of Fargo and O Brother Where Art Thou fame.

Let the sun shine in

This morning, I awoke to a strange glowing light outside my window. Was it a Japanese firefly squid? No, it was the sun, which hasn't shone its light in these parts for many a day. I was starting to feel like one of those eyeless cave-dwelling salamanders. Hey, that's two freaky animal links in one post.

Notre Dame nets top QB recruit

Jimmy Clausen, the high school quarterback from California that has college coaches drooling, has verbally committed to ND. Clausen chose Notre Dame because he believes that playing under coach Charlie Weis would best prepare him for a future in the NFL. He was also heavily recruited by USC, but one look at Pete Carroll's sissy website made him nauseous. Okay, that may not be true, but would Charlie Weis ever have a personal website whose sole purpose is do declare his own greatness? Of course not. Hey, Pete Carroll, talking about how awesome you are on your own website makes you look like a douchebag. Do you know who else brags about himself on his personal website? This guy.

Weekend Update

This weekend, I decided to pretend that I was 24 again, and kicked things off a day early by going out to 80s night at the Common Ground on Thursday night and dancing to the likes of Cyndi Lauper and ABBA. I had a blast, but staying out until 2:30AM on a school night probably isn't the wisest idea.

Friday- Eri's boyfriend Ryan was in town for a wedding, so we went and saw Thank You For Smoking, an entertaining movie starring Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist. He feels no guilt or shame in his defense of cigarettes, and meets weekly with two friends, an alcohol lobbyist and a gun lobbyist, who refer to themselves as the MOD squad, for Merchants of Death. Despite the moral flexibility required for his profession, Naylor is a loving and caring father for his 12-year old son. Eckhart is perfect as the modern day anti-hero, and most of the other casting is excellent as well, with the exception of Katie Holmes as a reporter/seductress. I'm sorry, but Joey Potter just wouldn't use the F word. The movie is filled with cynicism and funny moments, and avoids a feel-good ending, which surprised me.
After the movie, Ryan and I went on a impromptu Southie pub crawl and eventually met up with a few of his friends and found ourselves drinking beers at Murphy's Law at 2AM.

Saturday- Since I still can't run and I'm bored with the stationary bike and elliptical at the gym, I decided to try a new form of exercise...swimming. I'm not a very strong swimmer (my normal stroke is a breaststoke-dog paddle hybrid), and I've never used the pool before. I was worried that I would inadvertently breach pool etiquette, so I decided to go on a Saturday afternoon when the gym is usually fairly empty. There were only a couple of other people in the pool, so I didn't have to share lanes and it minimized the number of people who saw me in my ridiculous new swim cap, which makes my head look tiny. I swam for about 45 minutes, varying the strokes, and felt satisfied with the workout, even though I can't do the flippy thing to turn around at the end of the lane. Saturday night, I went out to a karaoke bar for my friend Joe's birthday, and we sang I Got You Babe as a duet. What we lacked in talent we made up for in enthusiasm. The dance floor was packed with college kids grinding and making out. I felt too old and too sober for the scence, and only one of those two variables could be altered. A few $1.50 drafts largely increased my tolerance for the environment.

Sunday- I went swimming again, and now I'm in the lab writing this instead of doing actual work.

100 Unsexiest Men

The Boston Phoenix recently published a list of the 100 Unsexiest Men, with Gilbert Gottfried claiming the number one spot. Here's the list (I had trouble getting the original article). Some of the choices I agree with (Randy Johnson, Richard Simmons), most made me laugh (Art Garfunkel, Don Zimmer), and one I object to- Brad Pitt at #100?
Here's the Friday discussion topic- from the list, and you're not allowed to choose Brad Pitt, who would you do? And who would be your worst nightmare?
I pick Chevy Chase (#19)- he's a little old but not that bad, honestly.
My worst nightmare would be #43 David Gest (shudder), with Dick Vitale (#84) announcing play-by-play.

If George Foreman can have his own grill

can Larry Bird get his own vintage wine? Apparently, the answer is yes, with a California winery pairing up with the Celtics great to produce a line of wines known as Legends. Larry likes wine? Who knew? Personally, I think Bird is much more suited to produce a line of Budweiser, or even better, Rolling Rock...the green, the 33, it's a match made in marketing heaven.

Duke rape scandal continues

The Duke lacrosse rape scandal continues, with two players arrested and charged. Regardless of whether they are innocent or guilty, something bad happened at that party, and one thing sticks out in my mind. Based on my own reaction and that of several commenters on this blog- none of us were surprised. At elite universities like Duke, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest, male athletes (especially rich, white ones) get away with a lot. I thought this article on ESPN.com makes some good points- these athletes received all of the benefits of their status without the intense scrutiny of basketball or football programs. The warning signs, like 15 of 47 players having arrest records, were ignored the by the coach, the AD, and the administration.
The incident reminded of an unpleasant encounter my friend Teri and I had with a few hockey players at ND. At the end of a night out, we hopped in the same station wagon taxi as a group of hockey players and decided to share it to campus. The guys were drunk and incredibly obnoxious, insulting the cab driver, a black man who looked to be in his sixties, shouting things like "shine my shoes!" and singing "I don't want to grow up, I'm a taxi cab driver" at him. Teri and I were growing angrier and angrier; we could hardly even believe what we were witnessing. When the cab stopped to let the guys out, one of them leaned over and said goodnight to Teri and me. Teri replied "I am ashamed that I am associated with you by school." The floodgates opened- the guy was like "What???" confused and angry, his friends all started yelling at us, and then I started in with a tirade that went something like "You think you're better than everyone because you play hockey? You think you can just go around treating people like crap and that's okay? Well, it's not, and you're all f#$ing a#$holes!" Then they retorted with something intelligent like "you stupid ugly bitch" and I yelled "at least I'm not a f^$#ing racist!" More shouting, then the guys ended up mooning us as the cab drove off. Teri and I were furious. Guys like that, who think they're better than everyone else, and have never suffered any repercussions from unacceptable behavior, who get drunk and mean when they're in a group, are the kind of guys who would end up raping a stripper.

Book review: Three Junes

Apparently I am all about the reviews these days, which means I haven't done anything interesting so I have to fill in the void with books and movies. Anyways, I recently read Three Junes, by Julia Glass. The novel centers around a Scottish family and has three sections, each one detailing one summer over a ten year span. The first section centers on the father, Paul, on a trip to Greece following the death of his wife. The central (in both location and significance) section of the book chronicles the life of Fenno, the oldest son, the reserved gay owner of a bookstore in Manhattan. The last section features Fern, a young American woman whose life crosses paths with both the Scottish father and son. I really liked this book. It reminded me of The Corrections in how it switches points of view in different sections and realistically captures all of the struggles and emotions that come along with being part of a family. However, it wasn't nearly as dark. I prefer Three Junes to The Corrections, because due to my self-absorbed nature, I always prefer books where I can relate to the characters, when their thoughts and actions occasionally remind me of myself. I had nothing in common with any of the characters in The Corrections, whereas in Three Junes, I could see little bits of myself in Paul, Fenno, and Fern.

Movie Reviews

V for Vendetta. When is a terrorist not a terrorist? According to this movie, when said terrorist is fighting against a corrupt and brutal government. Based on Allan Moore's graphic novel, V for Vendetta is set in futuristic and fascist England, where a masked figure known as V fights against the oppressive government and is eventually joined by Evey, the young heroine played by Natalie Portman (with shaven head). Although the novel was written as a critique of Margaret Thatcher's England, the use of fear tactics to persuade citizens to surrender their individual freedoms and rights bears some resemblance to our current political climate. Hugo Weaving plays V in a role challenging because throughout the entire movie, his face is covered by a Guy Fawkes mask. Unlike a Batman mask, this mask covers the entire face, so it's sort of weird to hear him talk without seeing the lips move. James Purefoy was originally cast as V, but he quit because he hated wearing the mask so much. Overall, I really liked the movie- the characters were compelling and the story interesting. Some of the special effects during action scenes seemed a little silly, like they were just thrown in to please the Matrix fanboys in the audience.

A History of Violence. Viggo Mortensen (hot) plays Tom Stall, an upstanding family man who runs a diner in a small Indiana town. When the diner is held up by violent criminals, he jumps to the defense and ends up killing both men. After the news coverage, mobsters from Philadelphia show up on the scene, claiming that Tom is actually a former gangster who disappeared. Is it true? And if it is, does his family really want to know? In order to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that I enjoyed this movie. It's intense. The wife is the one put in the worst predicament by the situation, and Maria Bello does a great job in the role. Ashton Holmes also excels as the teenage son.

Could Tom Cruise get any weirder?

No. Please tell me that he's kidding, and that he's not really planning to eat the placenta. He is kidding, right? RIGHT?

Weekend Report

Friday- Went to a dinner party for Kim's birthday. Food + friends + wine + The Office on TiVo + more wine + karaoke = loads of fun.

Saturday- My friend Brian arrived in town for the marathon, and it was a beautiful day, so I decided to fire up the grill for the first time all year and invited a few friends over for swordfish kebabs. Afterwards, we headed out to the Cantab lounge to see Little Joe Cook, a.k.a the Nutman, a name reminiscent of both his short stature and his 1957 hit song "Peanuts." If you live in the Boston area and you've never seen him perform, I'd highly recommend it, and sooner rather than later, because the guy has got to be pushing eighty. The music is fun, the beers cheap, and the entertainment is, well, entertaining. The people-watching is also unparalleled, a prime example of which on Saturday night was a man in a polo shirt and spandex bike shorts who alternated between hitting on girls and dancing by himself on the dance floor. I've known about Little Joe Cook for years, because he lives right near my elementary school in Framingham and was often spotted cruising around in his yellow convertible with a NUTMAN vanity plate.

Sunday- Went for a jog with Brian, then had a big breakfast with MJ and Jamie. We had a traditional Easter Dinner at my parents house, where I got busted for skipping church and probably caused some initial confusion when I showed up with a married guy. Sunday night, I saw V for Vendetta, which I really liked, despite the cheesy Matrix-like special effects in the final fight scene.

Monday- Patriots' Day! One of my favorite holidays, which I believed was celebrated nationwide until my freshman year at ND, when I mentioned it and no one had any idea what I was talking about. Patriots' Day commemorates the battle of Concord and Lexington that kicked off the revolutionary war, and is also known as Marathon Monday. Most people have the day off and spend it drinking beer, eating junk food, and cheering on the runners. I did exactly that, and even spotted Brian cruising by at the 25 mile mark. Congrats to him and to Tricia.

You know you're having a bad day when

strangers call you "creepy" on the internet. My friend Jason, who has a part-time gig as an assistant to the Celtics' mascot Lucky (yes, Lucky has an assistant), recently appeared in the corner of a photo that popped up in a basketball chat site. That's him in the very bottom right of the photo.

For the record, Jason is not creepy and does not look like Will Ferrell, but the fact that strangers are making fun of him on the internet is very, very funny.