Week of February 27, Take a Load Off, Annie

1) The Oscars
Personally, I thought the Oscars were good, better than I had expected. Clearly, my view is not shared by all. I like Billy Crystal, he presented well, he said some funny things, and I didn't really get bored. I mean, what do people expect from this thing for crying out loud? Hosting the Oscars is like giving a wedding toast: you know you can go waay funnier, but if you do, you'll have a few less friends in the morning. You always err on the side of caution (if you're smart). The same goes for the Oscars. It is by definition, a safe, traditional and ceremonial event. Any red carpet interview is going to be contrived and boring and repetitive as hell (omg, George Clooney and Stacy Keibler, you look ah-may-zing. Who are you wearing tonight!? Armani Prive, Robin). Any award show is going to feel a little trite and slightly dull (hmm, good movie title). Unless you come up with a better way to reward these people for making us laugh, cry and feel, like, emotions, we're stuck with Awards Season. It's either that or apocalyptic chaos and the destruction of human civilization. Pick your battles, people.


1) Being Elmo
Grab a couple of tissues and see this very touching documentary about Kevin Clash, the creator of Elmo. I'm especially a fan of his work in "Elmo: Potty Time." A shining example of a good human being with a loving soul.




3) Bobby Fisher Against The World

This one is about the chess legend Bobby Fisher, the only American Chess player to beat all the Russians in the late 60s-early 70s. What happens after is very sad but somewhat predictable "genius behavior." As a kid, Fisher was completely obsessed with chess and developed his own winning strategies, which made him famous at age fifteen. Chess was not a popular sport in the U.S., but it was the most important in the USSR. It was, as it always is for these damn places, a national pride and prestige thing. Communist countries spend so much time working on the shallow veneer of their image, that they spend little effort on building real substantive programs, or making sure their people eat (see North Korea). Anyway, Bobby Fisher beat them, and everyone was all, Go America! We love chess now! And then Bobby became a paranoid schizophrenic and died alone in Iceland. You don't want your kid to be a genius. Trust me.    

4) I'm going on Vacation
Headed to Switzerland for an awesome wedding and some skiing. Can't hardly wait. 

Week of February 20, The Week Before Vacation

I should clarify something in last week's post, as it appears that I was against the 2008 TARP bail-outs. I understand that I don't understand everything. I also know that all this complex derivative stuff was so complex that even people who worked in the industry didn't understand it either. In any event, I do get that it was critical to restore confidence in the banking system, lest we should end up with the Apocolypse. What annoys me personally is the selective bailing-out and hypocrisy of the whole thing. I am realist, but I still feel the American people were jipped. Life's unfair, oh well. Ok, on to what we're here for.

1) Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples, Beacon Theater in June

I'm excited to say I'm going to see these two great ladies of music at the Beacon in June. Bonnie Raitt is one cool chick. First, she's written some beautiful songs. Second, she's got a wonderfully distinctive and cool voice. Third, she is one of the rare women in the world of rock music that plays the slide guitar. She is reliable, ever-present, ever-steady, one of the boys, one of the girls, passe-partout. Like, Sheryl Crowe wants to be Bonnie Raitt but never will be because she just isn't as good (I have nothing against her personally). if I could emulate a career and a personal style, it would be Bonnie's. Mavis Staples comes from the illustrious Staples family. She too has a very distinctive and recognizable voice. Her father was named Roebuck. What a bad ass name.


2) Season 2 of Game of Thrones

How's a girl to fill the gaping void left by the season finale of Downton Abbey? Well, I'm happy to say that another English- accented show is starting up again in April: Game of Thrones, Season 2. Thank God. I will have a reason to live again. In April.


3) American Experience: The Clintons

It wasn't that long ago, but it sure seems like it was. When Clinton was president, we were living in a different world. So I watched this documentary to remind myself of what happened during those times. The documentary definitely tries hard to be balanced, though most of the people interviewed were clearly pro-Clinton. That said, I had totally forgotten about the shut-down of the government which was caused by a stand-off over the federal budget between then speaker Newt Gingrich and Clinton. The disagreement was specifically about cutting Medicare and Medicaid funding as part of a plan to reduce the deficit. Gingrich wanted it, Clinton was not against reducing the deficit, but wanted to examine other places to cut that were not as critical as healthcare. As someone whose immediate family has had expensive surgery covered by Medicare, I find it hard to stomach any cut to something that important. This country is tough enough on its sick and weak, don't you think? Gingrich's defiant stance leads me to believe that he doesn't have much respect for the office of the presidency in the first place. I'm not really sure why he's running, except for the fact that he is clearly a megalomaniac. I do agree with his stance on education though. And he certainly can be cheerful (see Arizona debate).
                          
4) AdSense ---->
Check out the cool ads to your right (and feel free to click).
So far, I've made 42 cents. 

Week of February 13, Thank God It's President's Day

1) Pilates

Pilates, or "Pie-lates" if your name is Stefan, is my favorite form of exercise, one that I've stuck with for the last couple of years. I definitely feel like I've grown a little taller, recouping the bad posture I had as a kid and just years of sitting at a desk all curbed-like.

Yoga? No thank you. God bless you, yogis, but it's too hard. Pilates, on the other hand, can get hard, but there are certain exercises that just feel good. Like you know you're doing something good for your body and you feel the results as you're doing the exercise. That's instant gratification right there. Joseph Pilates, the guy who invented it, was a sickly child, suffering from rickets (rickets!!), asthma and other ailments. Meanwhile his dad had been a famous gymnast. So how do you reconcile the two? You devote your life to getting better, to studying the body and becoming stronger. To me, this background info makes a difference. When someone is plagued with something like physical incapacity at a young age, and overcomes it by inventing his own exercise techniques, you it know it can't be bullshit, right? Somebody make a documentary about this man, stat.


2) The Grammys

For the last few years I've noticed that the Grammys are REALLY GOOD. And I don't know why. The performances are always amazing, sometimes career-making, and the vibe is surprisingly laid back even if it's the most prestigious night in music. Maybe musicians are more laid back than actors (because the Oscars still manage to suck every year, but every year, I watch). Bruno Mars? Amazing, Rihanna and Cold Play? Amazing. Adele? The woman of the hour. Commercials? Awesome. What happened? I mean, who ever thought I could get inspired by a commercial for, of all things, Chipotle Mexican Grill?

3) Whitney's Star Spangled Banner

It wouldn't be right, as someone who appreciates and uses the vocal instrument, to not say something about Whitney. As my brother pointed out, it is a story of addiction. It plagues some more than others. And most of the time, there's nothing we can do about it. But what I rediscovered in all the Whitney coverage we've been seeing is her amazing rendition of the national anthem. It's honestly the best I've seen and heard. With the advent of vocal acrobatics, the anthem has become yet another ballad for vocalists to show off their prowess. It starts with the word "see". That little minor fall before the major lift on "see". God that trick annoys me and is totally overused. What I love about her version is that it is both unassuming and grand. She isn't wearing make-up, she's in a jump-suit and she looks amazing. Her vocals are unexpected and pure. She does things with her voice that are genuinely hard, not just pretend hard. Rip girlfriend 'snap-snap.'


4) Moyers on The Millenial Generation
This is just depressing. What's it gonna take for government to work again, like it did under Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and LBJ? First let's get rid of the parasites that are corporate lobbyists. They really have no place in DC. Second, let's just all collectively agree that "Trickle Down" doesn't trickle down shit. It was just a theory that well, hey everyone, was clearly proven wrong. Guess who is paying for it now? That's right, the children (who, by the way, are our future). And third, which kind of goes back to the first point, let's end crony capitalism. If we're going to be a capitalist society than let's be true to those rules. If a large corporation is going to fail, let it file for bankruptcy, or fail or whatever it's supposed to do when it stops working. It's harsher on everyone, including me, but at least it's not hypocritical. I am also appalled to learn that when individuals file for bankruptcy they cannot unload the most important debt they'll ever have, their homes and their education. Then what's the point of filing? Humiliation? Either you make capitalism pure or you use government for what it's there for, upholding the social contract, otherwise, just leave me be.  


5) The Contraception Debacle
I've been ignoring the whole contraception health care thing because, really? Still today? Don't we have other fish to fry? Yawn. But I read about it recently and was pretty annoyed by the whole debate. Companies that are "faith-based" don't want to cover birth control in benefits packages for their female employees. Obama says, hey faith-based companies, no sweat, I'll get the insurance companies to cover it, they'll be happy to do so because pregnancy costs way more to them than non-pregnancy. Faith-based companies are saying, hey wait Obama, this goes against our faith! You can't let these insurance companies be enablers of moral corruption! But here's the thing, if said faith-based companies are hiring females who want to take birth control, aren't they "hiring against their faith" too? Isn't it sort of weird to let these women into their companies if this is such a big deal to them? And what of the women? Why are companies interfering in their personal medical choices? Say these women decide to pay for birth control themselves, would this still be an issue for these companies? If so, they are passing moral judgment on the women who work for them. And what about the women and men who buy condoms over the counter? Is this not a problem? There are all sorts of logic flaws here, unless you start looking at it, pure and simple, as a women's rights issue, then it all makes sense. By getting insurance companies to cover this cost without involving the faith-based organization, it's as if the woman has decided to pay for birth control herself, so in essence, the organization is basically saying to hell with you woman and get thee to a nunnery, you are morally corrupt. This doesn't strike me as a very healthy employee-corporation relationship, now, does it.

Week of February 6, Survival of the Illest

This week, I'm all about survival.


1) Kill the Irishman

Every so often, it's important to watch (the first half of) a really bad movie to remind us how incredibly difficult it is to make a pretty good one. For me, this movie is usually directed by Ed Burns, one of the biggest hacks in Hollywood. I have nothing against him personally, but I still don't understand how he became so successful off a shit movie like "The Brothers McMullen." Anyway, that's certainly not the case of this movie, Kill The Irishman. This film is good, and definitely worth watching. It doesn't feel like a big movie and sometimes I got a tiny little amateurish vibe, but the story is compelling and the acting is great. That's because there are only good actors in it: Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, even Paul Sorvino makes an appearance. The film is based on the true story of Danny Greene, a Cleveland native with strong Irish roots who collaborated with the Italian mafia and later turned on them quite violently. He is credited with causing the dismantling the Cleveland mob. And that ain't bad. 



2) The Endurance

This is a film that big banks and MBA programs recommend their people view to learn about leadership. Yes, Sir Ernest Shackleton's disastrous attempt to explore the South Pole with a crew of 27 men is the blueprint for leadership under incredible duress. Where was Sir Shack in 2008, huh? huh? This is a great retelling of how Shackleton managed to save the lives of his entire crew after their ship, The Endurance, got trapped in ice. The footage that was captured by the ship's photographer is amazing given the circumstances. 


3) Any Episode of PBS Nova

Every so often, it's important to ponder our mortality. It's also important to remind ourselves of just how very insignificant we are in the universe. "Dust in the wind", Kansas once sang, all we are is very insignificant, tiny little specs of dust in the wind. Nova, one of PBS' staple shows, is a great way to get us thinking that way. All that talk of science and nature and ancient history puts a whole hell of a lot into perspective. When you think of things like dinosaurs being extinct 65 million years ago and the earth being 4.2 billion years old, then place that next to our meager million years, you realize that we will likely be extinct before the official end of earth. And then you go to all sorts of weird places in your mind that make you go "whoah." And then you stop and go back to thinking that you're important because all that pondering is a little intense and scary. But it's good to think for a few seconds, hey, one day, I will disappear from the earth, and the earth won't give a shit.


4) Touching The Void

This one's an oldie but goodie. Plus I'm running out of shit to like this week. So if you haven't seen this beyond harrowing tale of surrival, you are lucky and I am jealous. Because this story is so incredibly insane in its unbelievable-ness that all you can do is believe. Trailer here, but you might as well watch it already.








5) Jay Z and Beyonce's Kid

If this kid doesn't grow up to be president, then God help her. 

Week of January 30

1) PBS: Empires, The Medici Godfathers of the Renaissance
    

An in-depth look at the Medici family and their influence on one of the most renowned eras in history. Let's face it, they bankrolled the Renaissance. Really, without PBS and Netflix, I would be an ignorant fool. Instead, I am an arrogant bastard.










2) The New Yorker "Goings-On" App

So, this is a great idea. I receive the New Yorker at home, like a good New Yorker, but like most New Yorkers, I can't keep up with my stack of New Yorkers. The articles are too long and I rarely finish them. But that said, I do like their Goings On section and I always regret getting to it late because I'm three issues behind. This app remedies that problem with instant access on your mobile device! Whenever and wherever I need it! I can search on the go! I hope this means I'm gonna do more stuff in New York.

3) Update on "Haiti: Where Did the Money" Go Documentary

I just wanted to let you know when this doc will be airing so youse can see it. OK? It's going to be on PBS, channel 13, on Feb 19 at midnight (or Feb 20 if you want to be horlogically correct). If this time changes, I will let you know. In the meantime, check out this article by columnist Clarence Page about Michele's documentary.

4) Maggie Smith is My Betty White

Lady Grantham is the best character on Downton Abbey. She has the best lines in the show and the best delivery of said lines. Plus she's often the one pulling the strings in the background, acting like an aristocratic Trojan Horse carefully placing ideas in people's heads under the guise of, well, something aristocratic. One of my favorite retorts takes place when she's talking to her daughter, Rosamund:

Rosamund: You know me, Mother, I always have to speak my mind.
Lady Grantham: But why? Nobody else does.


And not that I dislike Betty White in any way. She is lovely. But if I had to pick amongst the old lady actresses of the world, Maggie Smith would be my girl all the way. 


5) Fridays

Fridays are like Soup for the Psyche. They are the best part of the entire weekend. Because Fridays are all about the anticipation of the weekend, but not the weekend itself. The hope for a better day, but not the day itself. And anyone can tell you, fantasizing about the weekend, is just a little bit better than the actual weekend.