Category: Brooklyn

On our six week quest to catch up on the past year’s movies for the Oscars, P and I finally saw RENT – the Movie from Netflix this week.

P is something of a RENTHEAD, but I actually haven’t had the chance to see the theater production, even though I am a musical theater junkie. I do have the soundtracks and the piano book, though, which pretty much is really the whole thing.

OK, one year ago we swore that we weren’t going to see the movie. The RENT film crew towed P’s sister’s car (we had borrowed it) when we rushed over to my parents’ house that awful night. For all of the panic of thinking the car was stolen and then the $45 ticket, it wasn’t worth it, since the subway scene ended up only being 15 seconds walking down the steps of my old station (this is about 1 hour into the movie before “I’ll Cover You”).

Well, we didn’t see the movie in the theater, and they’re not getting anything they weren’t already getting from us from Netflix. However, I’m kind of glad that we did get to see RENT (in the comfort of our home).

While the movie was not exactly like the show (they dropped three big songs), it did do a good job of portraying the feeling of that time, so in that way it was a success. Having gone to NYU during la vie boheme of the the late 80’s and early 90’s, I can say the squalor was real, the clubbing was real, the death was real. Yet, the music was real, the people were real, the joy was real. Love and acceptance are the eternal themes that runs through both La Boheme and RENT.

Saturday we’re all going to the cemetary for my dad’s one year anniversary. I don’t have all of the words, or all of the minutes. The best that I can do is to cover you with minute memories.

The coral reefs are in trouble, no thanks to the oceans’ rise in temperature. They turn pale and pasty. Makes me wonder what this may mean. It’s like the canaries who die first in the mines – this can’t possibly be good.

TV viewing:

Well, there’s American Idol. Simon’s still a mean man, but when he likes the contestant, he gets downright annoying. I mean, really: “Yes, that was really good. You will win this competition…” Dripping with… sincerity? Yikes.

I watched most of tonight’s NCIS episode. Hmm. The one big weakness in their plots is that they have to devise any possible way to bring NCIS into a situation. High school hostage taking situation – sort of a Columbine thing where the confused teen is strapped to a bomb to wipe out his homeroom – wouldn’t involve NCIS in real life, since NCIS gets involved in military-related incidents (“N” stands for Navy, duh). But, Special Agent Gibbs and the gang got involved because the high school is… located in the local Marines base and harms the lives of military brats. Ok. Sure.

Obviously, you just have to suspend your belief in reality, just a bit, to see how NCIS gets involved, but otherwise, the suspense was well done and the characters – well, I like anything where there’s respect for the characters and who they are and what they care about. NCIS isn’t a perfect tv series, but it’s okay tv. (unlike, say, JAG, where their sense of smugness got a bit grating for me).

NCAA March Madness brackets – hmm. I’m torn between choosing what will likely happen versus what I’d like to happen (a few weird upsets). Maybe I’ll make up multiple brackets. Hmm.

Digg.com pointed out the silly new mathematical holiday “Pi Day“, which celebrates the number that is about 3.141509… The official moment is on March 14 at 3:09 PM (15:09 in 24 hour clock). Mazel Tov!

Ever since I moved to the border between Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill, I’ve used a private mailbox service. When I moved in, it took the landlord 6 months to get a new mailbox key installed in the lobby, and I had to have some way to get mail. I found a Mailbox Etc. store that had just opened. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because having the service was like having a doorman – someone’s always there to receive packages, and you don’t have to worry about random things being left in hallways. In addition, the staff there gets to know you and they look out for your stuff. They’ve also let my 1 minute before closing (or even 15 minutes after closing) appearances slide, too. It also was my plan “B” if P and I had to make a quick move or were going to be travelling for a while.

The other thing that was great about the location was that it gave me an excuse to go down in the Atlantic Avenue/Carroll Gardens direction, which I almost never did during law school, but now know pretty well. Some lazy Saturdays would just consist of picking up the mail, and then going to the local pizzeria for lunch and reading the mail, and then reading at Barnes and Noble.

So after eight years, and a name change later, on Saturday I had a notice in my box that they were closing down at the end of the month. It wasn’t clear whether they weren’t making enough money or that the landlord was forcing them out. The company that owned the franchise got bought out by another company, and the new overlords thought that they needed to simplify the side businesses and use the space for something else. All I know they were so busy that I could barely step foot in the place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. They directed us to the other store that is a couple of blocks farther away, but on the main strip.

It’s an end of an era, and I hope that all of the staff are able to find new gigs. Rob, Sam and Artie, I’m going to really miss you guys. You did good.

A warm March weekend in NYC.
Scientific news in this post:

Water found on a Saturn moon – so, what does that mean? It means, arguably, we could find a new form of life that exist in what we Terrans would call extreme conditions. Ok, more likely than not, it’d be weird microscopic life, or if more evolved, sort-of like the worms living off the sulfuric gases of Earth’s oceanic volcanos. But, it’d be a life form. And, ok, so I must have watched too much “X-Files” to think this, but we really ought to be careful with what we find (in “X-Files,” Mulder and Scully always ended up scrambling to find solutions to the weird extraterrestrial microscopic life infecting something or someone…)

The latest Mars orbiter – looks like it’s safely orbiting. The impending new pictures will be amazing, I’ve no doubt.

The whole Blackberry litigation settlement – wherein the makers of Blackberry paid off this plaintiff who accused them of patent infringement, when he never even made a product – well, the whole thing makes me wonder if patent law needs some reform. But, I’m no IP person (patents was the course I didn’t take; liked trademarks, but got bored with copyright).

A friend of mine e-mailed me this link. A sarcastic Precious Moments. Quite funny.

Oh, and last but not least – it’s about to be March Madness – NCAA Tournament. It’s Bracket Time!

I was watching JoJo New York, a travel guide show about New York City for Mandarin speakers (with English subtitles) on the ImaginAsian channel. It occured to me that there is a real lack of travel shows about New York, almost as if it just sells itself. When probably half of prime time TV uses New York as their backdrop, it almost does sell itself, but CSI: New York, Law & Order, King of Queens or Conviction can’t tell you where to get decent Greek food or vintage jeans. Sometimes you need a new perspective – you just need to have someone view things with the naive wonder that a tourist visiting the City can have.

Host JoJo Zou definately has that spunky look of wonder down pat as she explores aspects of the City that most non-English speaking Chinese — not to mention most visitors or natives — never have the courage to experience. She does unusual tourist things, like go on a bike protest with Critical Mass, play a saw with street performers, and venture to far flung eateries in the Outer Boroughs, like Astoria and Coney Island. That, of course, is something wonderful.

As of this writing, I have not yet read reactions; in fact, as it is post-midnight, wee hours of the Monday morn, I’m about to go to bed or should have been in bed awhile ago, but for various things. My own reaction: well, I want to think that Jon Stewart did an ok job. His opening monologue (which I caught mostly) was funny. His little sound editing tidbit was funny. I have a feeling that critics will put him in the David Letterman category in the history of Oscars – but I don’t think it’s his fault. The Oscars folks put him in a bind, with not-that-great writing and this terrible pacing they had. (then again, I never thought David Letterman was that bad and thought people overly criticized him).

Much of the evening was — meh. The music from the pit below the stage kept going from the very start of the winners’ speeches, forcing people to speak quickly or else cut them off without popping up out of nowhere. Yet, the winners managed to say a lot without saying very much. The stage design was bizarre and not tv friendly by any appearances. (why does the “78” for 78th Annual Awards have to be so damn huge?). And, the breakneck speed to which they got through the awards show – man, they ended at 11:30pm EST – way earlier than they have in YEARS. The filler still felt like filler, but there was somehow a feeling of boredom and “could you just get to the point” even as they headed to a point.
Well, maybe it was award ceremony fatigue – this whole ambiance that everybody at the Oscars just wanted to get this over with, since they’ve been to the Golden Globes and SAG and so on, so the winners (who they would be was incredibly predictable) already knew what they wanted to say, since they rehearsed their speeches in the previous awards shows.

George Clooney was a good winner, I thought, for Best Supporting Actor. He kindly acknowledged his fellow nominees for their good work; acknowledged the Academy’s lead in doing progressive work (ex., awarding Hattie McDaniel of Gone With the Wind with an Oscar during the pre-civil rights era); and teased that he probably wasn’t getting the Oscar for Best Director now that he won his night’s award. He even mugged for the camera and went along with Jon Stewart’s teasing him. Charming Mr. Clooney. Poor Paul Giamatti though – he should have won for Sideways and again loses out for Cinderella Man. (I saw Sideways and definitely felt he did great there).
And, they forgot to honor Don KNotts among the passing of the Hollywood community. Or maybe they figured the Emmys will cover him, thinking that he was more of a tv guy. But, he did do a few movies in his day!

I had that feeling that the Oscar wouldn’t go with Brokeback Mountain – Crash seemed to be having momentum from those awards shows (plus, it’s a movie about Los Angeles – the Academy people must be suckers for movies about/and taking place in their own neighborhood). (but, I’ve seen neither movie, so who am I to say?). But, really, kudos to Ang Lee for winning Best Director and Donna Osana and Larry McMurtry for winning Best Adapted Screenplay.

The group singing “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” seemed like the group most enthusiastic for being at the Oscars and for winning an Oscar (again, that feeling of meh couldn’t be avoided). I suppose it was amusing that their title was what it was; but then even the presenter and Queen Latifah noted that it isn’t that shocking (I mean, if the song for Shaft can win an Oscar for best song, reflecting its movie, why not this song for “Hustle and Flow”?) – amusing jokes of double entendre. Dolly Parton’s song for “Transamerica” wasn’t so bad, and seemed pretty relevant to the movie. So, no one can feel that upset really. However, there was a benefit to the five-second air delay – they managed to bleep out the curse words of the winners – at least keep joy clean for Middle America. But, the natural joy – it flowed well.

And kudos to the winners for Wallace and Gromit. I really have to see that movie!

I almost missed the lengthiness of Oscars shows of yore; at least they were long so that people bonded and celebrated movies. Here, it’s just… boring. The writing of the words which were meant to celebrate movies were trite and wordy, as if the writers wanted to give the presenters substantive stuff about movies and movie making but ended up getting them all tongue-twisted and more uncomfortable than ever. Please. Jon Stewart’s skit about the sound editors lobbying for Academy votes to win Best Sound was funny and kind of made you wonder more about sound editing than the usual gobbledy-gook the award presenters had to read from the teleprompter. Honestly, the Tony Awards were more fun with the wit and veneration of the art form. (I’m not suggesting that Hugh Jackman’s a great host; I’m just saying that there was a feeling of respect the art).
When morning comes, I’ll see what the professional commentators will say; I may post again later.

“Charmed” is the first casualty of WB’s conversion into the new CW. Too bad – it’s a decent show. The writing could have always been improved (it never made all tht much sense to me), but it had a long enough run (WB was debating whether to keep it for quite awhile).

A nice article on Bob Schieffer, the CBS News anchorman (the so-called transitional guy until CBS find a permanent flashy anchor). I think he has a deft touch, and maintains a certain network identity. While NBC News is identified by Brian Williams, the face of its nightly news, CBS didn’t go wrong with Bob Schieffer. ABC though – well, it’s a tough transition, let’s just say.

A story of Asians on TV – the relationship development of Jin and Sun of ABC’s “Lost”. I’m not a viewer of “Lost,” but follow along with the story lines (more or less), so this was a nice tidbit (well, I confess, I did watch pieces of the episode referred therein, and I think that both actors playing the characters Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim are quite talented).

TV is not bad for you after all. Ooh…

And, tonight – the Oscars.  Hmm.