Triscribe

Category: Los Angeles – Orange County

  • More APA Items and What’s with the Law?

    Follow up on the Goodwin Liu nomination (see previous post here) and it’s unfortunate news: as Dahlia Lithwick over at Slate reports, Goodwin Liu has withdrawn his nomination for the 9th Circuit. The number of Asian Pacific American active federal appellate judges will remain just one. Pardon me as I say that just sucks.

    See also NAPABA’s press release on the subject: “NAPABA Disappointed by Withdrawal of Nomination by Professor Liu, Praises Liu for His Courage.”

    Meanwhile, the legal industry is getting some attention on how it does business: this NY Times article by Catherine Rampell, available via Yahoo notes that a non-partnership track in big firms are possibly good for work/life balance, and is sort of like outsourcing – but a perception that it’s a “second class” track can’t quite be ignored. (then again, public service attorneys earning $60k/year are not considered badly off; it’s more of a private sector thing – who would feel a little weird to not make the kind of big money in the big firm, just because you’re not on the same track as others in the big firm?).

    Interesting videos available via WLIW Channel 21: The Asian Indians in America and The Chinese Americans. They’re both more celebratory type of videos (sure, go ahead, celebrate those model minorities with their great work ethic, family values, and diverse cultures), but have some pretty fascinating talking heads giving their insights about being Asian Indian and Chinese in America. Guess we all need some positivity out there for the moment.

  • Ken Jeong on Conan O’Brien

    Hmmm. So, Ken Jeong is promoting “The Hangover II” over on Conan O’Brien’s show, and he does the mind-boggling Dr. Jeong vs. In-Character Weirdo thing. Oh dear. I guess it’s good that he has his other job as his fall back…

  • Other Items

    It’s that time again: previews for the 2011-2011 tv season.  Check out James Poniewozik’s post at Time.com about NBC previews, which, after checking them on-line at nbc.com, strangely intrigue me.  But, that’s the trouble of previews – they’re just previews.

    Poniewozik’s analysis of NBC’s previews also hits on some of my concerns (besides the whole Donald Trump’s-only-out-for-Trump business).

    For instance, as much as Maria Bello is fascinating as Detective Jane Timoney in the American network version of “Prime Suspect” in contemporary NYC, I’m a little disturbed.

    So, there’s a name change.  Ok.  And American Jane brandishes a gun, which the original British Detective Inspector (later Superintendent) Jane Tennison  – as played by Helen Mirren – wouldn’t really do that (well, because it’s more of a British thing).  And, Bello as Jane – in the preview anyway – isn’t nearly as self-destructive as Mirren as Jane (Jane Tennison kept failing with men; it got too sad to watch.  Actually, I fell so behind on watching “Prime Suspect,” so perhaps I shouldn’t say what was sad about Tennison).

    And, I’m not saying that a NYPD homicide unit isn’t sexist – it might very well be; but is it so masculine as to hate women in their midst, when it’s 2011?  Why wouldn’t the men mask their bastard behavior just a bit more? (as if we hadn’t learned anything from years of “Law and Order” and “NYPD Blue”).

    And, it’s really weird to see Kirk Acevedo in the “Prime Suspect” preview, because he was so recently Alternate Charlie on “Fringe” and, seeing him with the blonde Bello – well, it does look an awful lot like a redux of Charlie and Olivia from the first season of “Fringe.”

    And, if “Prime Suspect” gets picked up for a full season, will/can Acevedo still make a guest appearance on “Fringe” as Alternate Charlie (or even a non-dead Charlie, because time-traveling is a bitch, after all?).  I’d hate for Acevedo to lose a chance at weird tv. And, according to his profile on imdb.com, he’s part Chinese, so I’m all for representation and diversity on tv.

    “Grimm” could have been more interesting in its preview about a series of a modern day cop who finds out that he’s from a long line of Grimms, people who fight (were)wolves (and he seems to befriend one anyway; huh?).  I couldn’t really tell from the preview and I’m never sure of what to think when NBC makes a stab at fantasy/sci-fi (they find a way to botch it).

    The preview for “Awake” looks great – a bit of detective story with inter-dimensional/philosophical/dream versus reality and which is which.  And… Jason Isaacs as the lead! (continuing the trend of Brits as Americans; but he’s done it very well for quite awhile now (see the ex. of “Brotherhood“).  Plus, he’s clearly available after the end of the Harry Potter series anyway.

    But, as tv critic Alan Sepinwall notes: “Awake” is made by “Lone Star” creator Kyle Killen.  And, “Lone Star” looked good – but couldn’t last as a series (as I’ve noted previously (and when it first aired)).  I wonder if “Awake” is going to be the same – sure it’s high-concept, but its staying power for purposes of a series is another story.  And, Sepinwall’s right – previews aren’t exactly the best ways to judge the potential of a tv show.

    Also, over at Entertainment Weekly, check out Ken Tucker’s commentary about the NBC previews (I like his take – pretty even-handed about “Grimm” and I totally agree about the out-of-era sexism of “Prime Suspect”), about the FOX previews (the un-evenness is making it that, yeah, I think I’ll only watch “Fringe” on FOX, unless this new Abrams show is somehow fascinating), and about the ABC previews (another fairy tale show?  why is it that NBC and ABC keep trying to vie with each other – “Community” vs. “Modern Family” and now this?).

    I have to say, following the travails of the NFL lockout has been fascinating for all these legal gambits (and yet another opportunity for mediation – assuming the parties will negotiate in good faith). Crazy, though…

    The passing of Edward Hardwicke, who played Dr. Watson to Jeremy Brett’s Holmes; now, both men are gone. I grew up watching those episodes on PBS, when “Mystery!” was not under the “Masterpiece” umbrella. Edward Hardwicke was also the reader for Sherlock Holmes audiobooks (check out his imdb page – I honestly wouldn’t have thought that he did a voice in the Lara Croft game).

    The passing of Murray Handwerker, the son of Nathan Handwerker – of Nathan’s (hot dog) fame.

  • Is it Spring Yet?

    Supposedly, it’s spring.

    Thanks to the annual NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness, my brackets are completely a mess. Pittsburgh’s out, as are much of the Big East. Me and my Big East sentiments. And, I didn’t pick Princeton, but I did kind of rooted for them (had to support the Ivy League); then again, who were we kidding? Cornell’s amazing run of last year couldn’t possibly be repeated.

    But, the Princeton kids seemed like a good bunch, playing in memory of their young fan, who had passed away due to cancer. Plus, before last year’s Cornell was that other amazing Ivy League upsetters – the Princeton team of 1995-1996, in the 1996 March Madness; a nice commemoration over at Time.com by Sean Gregory, who was a member of that team.

    Re: the APA legal community – Judge Edward Chen gets another go-around with the Senate confirmation hearings for a federal judgeship.

    YC linked to this on Facebook; I’m forwarding it along: perhaps the tv series “Outsourced” on NBC isn’t that offensive, as Geetika Tandon Lizardi suggests in an op-ed in the LA Times? I don’t know – when I catch a little of it, I find myself wishing it were more funny. I want so badly for talented Asians/Asian Americans to have a shot on mainstream tv, whether in writing, producing, or acting (Parvesh Cheena is seriously talented; I liked him in other roles), but then again, with sitcoms, sometimes it does take time and development. I guess NBC’s giving it a shot; what else can it possibly air, after all? (certainly something far worse).

    NASA’s Messenger has finally made it to Mercury.

    Thought this article on Newsweek.com about George H.W. Bush was fascinating to show how a different perspective might change the way we think about a president that was perceived to be “weak” (and who was far more strong and wise than we thought at the time).

  • Mother Nature

    The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Scary news, regarding the effects of these natural events toward Japan’s nuclear power plants.

    NY Times’ Nicholas Kristof observes his sympathy and admiration of Japan, under these circumstances. He had been the Tokyo bureau chief for the Times and so he has some experience about his perceptions of the Japanese:

    Uncomplaining, collective resilience is steeped into the Japanese soul. We sent our eldest son to Japanese school briefly, and I’ll never forget seeing all the little kids having to go to school in shorts even in the dead of winter. The idea was that it built character. I thought it just gave kids colds. But it was one more effort to instill “gaman.” And it’s “gaman” that helped Japan recovered from World War II and tolerated the “lost decade” after the bubble economy burst in about 1990. Indeed, it might be better if Japanese complained a bit more – perhaps then their politicians would be more responsive.

    One factor may also have to do with our relationship with nature. Americans see themselves as in confrontation with nature, taming it. In contrast, the Japanese conception is that humans are simply one part of nature, riding its tides — including many, many earthquakes throughout history. The Kanto earthquake of 1923 killed more than 100,000 people. The Japanese word for nature, shizen, is a modern one, dating back only a bit more than 100 years, because traditionally there was no need to express the concept. In an essay in the Times after the [1995] Kobe quake, I made some of these same points and ended with a 17th century haiku from one of Japan’s greatest poets, Basho:

    The vicissitudes of life.
    Sad, to become finally
    A bamboo shoot.

    I find something noble and courageous in Japan’s resilience and perseverance, and it will be on display in the coming days. This will also be a time when the tight knit of Japan’s social fabric, its toughness and resilience, shine through. And my hunch is that the Japanese will, by and large, work together — something of a contrast to the polarization and bickering and dog-eat-dog model of politics now on display from Wisconsin to Washington. So maybe we can learn just a little bit from Japan. In short, our hearts go out to Japan, and we extend our deepest sympathy for the tragic quake. But also, our deepest admiration.

    I’m not sure about how to react to the tv coverage of the news so far, as I haven’t gotten to watch much of it. James Poniewozik at Time posts on the concern about how coverage is successful (or not) with the networks having cut back on their foreign bureaus and so coverage is due to the social network/Internet/cell phone systems.

    I kind of expected more from “Nightline” than seeing Bill Weir at Santa Monica, CA, about a tsunami wave that didn’t devastate mainland USA; then, he spent a few minutes talking to the ABC Tokyo bureau correspondent; glad that they at least still have a bureau.

    Nice that PBS Newshour does some context about the tsunami’s effect on the Pacific Rim; it’s good to hear that Hawaii has gotten better experience with these situations (after last year’s threat from the Chilean earthquake).

    The images of the tsunami in Japan, though, are horrifyingly devastating. “Devastate” becomes a word used so often, it nearly becomes a cliche. But, I’m not sure what else one can say.

    ABC did turn to Dr. Michio Kaku for scientific context about the earthquake and tsunami. I like how he explains things.

    The troubling 21st Century continues.

  • Marching On in March 2011

    Yeah, it’s still March.   But, not yet the NCAA brackets time.  We’re getting there…

    Hat tip from Roger Ebert’s Facebook fan page (yeah, I checked off that I’m a fan – his blog is great writing): the happiest man in America is Alvin Wong, a Chinese American Jew from Hawaii.  Why am I not surprised that the happiest man in America is in Hawaii?  Angry Asian Man also does his acknowledgment of Alvin Wong.

    Interesting blog post on MoCA’s blog – what is in a Chinese-American’s name and the more personal take on the 1882 Exclusion Act.

    Hat tip from AALDEF‘s Facebook page: the Washington Post editorial says that Prof. Goodwin Liu don’t have bad values to be a US appellate court judge.  This fear of his becoming a potential US Supreme Ct. nominee is making his current nomination for the 9th Circuit ridiculously more difficult than it has to be, I’d say…

    Hat tip from NAPABA‘s Facebook page: interesting post on The Huffington Post about the Goodwin Liu confirmation hearing, from Richard Painter, a former Chief Ethics lawyer of the George W. Bush White House.  Honestly, when even a George W. Bush administration ethics lawyer says that Prof. Liu is qualified to be a US appellate court judge, well, it goes to show how this craziness is.

    Yeah, I’m on Facebook way too much…

    The whole Borders in Chapter 11 bankruptcy saddens me, because the Wall Street Borders was pretty much my local Borders.  Plus, Wall Street Borders was essentially the successor to the World Trade Center Borders, so it feels really sad.  Yeah, the mega bookstores did harm to the mom-and-pop independent bookstores and so the e-book reader is the comeuppance of Borders – but I still feel depressed about any bookstore closing.  Time.com has an article on how Barnes and Noble might continue doing better in this climate.

    Over on “Law and the Multiverse,” the folks there analyze on the legal ethics of the She-Hulk.  I had no idea that She-Hulk is a lawyer.  Actually, of the comic book character world, I only knew that Daredevil is a lawyer.  Kind of awkward to think of the legal implications when you’ve a secret identity and have legal ethics to think about.

    Some TV commentary:

    “Fringe” on FOX – umm, I don’t know where the arc is heading for Peter “the ex-Pacey” Bishop.  Which Olivia or which universe will he choose?  Assassin (of – spoiler! – shape-shifters)/psycho Peter was a little over the top.  Peter “I hate my father-umm-which-father?” Bishop was also a little… well, the life of Peter isn’t easy.

    The episode where Peter’s and Olivia’s first meeting as youngsters was an interesting episode – not only for what it revealed about Peter, Olivia, and the two Walters, but also about Elizabeth Bishop, who I think is a missing piece of the puzzle, no matter which Elizabeth of which universe it is.

    Looking forward to the next episode, where the preview suggests that Walter thinks he can bring William “Belly” Bell back from the dead.  Yeah, right, Walter, you crazy troubled mad scientist.

    Of course, none of the foregoing commentary about “Fringe” makes any sense unless you’re a viewer of the show.  Or if you do not mind sci-fi tv shows that cover two universes, and/or you don’t mind feeling blown away with simultaneous confusion and amusement over a tv show.

    Will still catch up on “Community.”  I sorely need a laugh.

    Actually… I think we all need laughs.  The world is too crazy, as usual, what with all the anti-public sector sentiment, political revolutions, continued economic problems, and craziness over Charlie Sheen (sad vs. amusing; Ken Tucker over at Entertainment Weekly posts the contrasting reactions of Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Fallon – it is crazy out there, it really is).

  • Catching Up on Stuff – or Is it March Already?

    I put in my two cents in the comments section of David Bianculli’s blog, in response to his thoughts about Oscars Night 2011.   Some further elaboration on my part below (I sort of live-micro-blogged it on my Facebook feed when I was watching it; kind of fun).

    I appreciated that Bianculli and Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker struck a nice note about the night – there were highlights and good stuff.

    Really.  There was.

    I thought that a lot of reviews about the Oscars broadcast was way too negative and hard on the presentation; honestly, Roger Ebert and Alan Sepinwall made it seem like God-awful tv.  I think that might be an exaggeration (seriously – there are way worse things on tv than a boring Oscars show; pick any night of “Jersey Shore” – and I tried to watch a half hour of Snooki and the Situation et al., of NJ, and I had to walk away.  Really.).

    And, okay, comparing this Sunday’s Oscars to past Oscars doesn’t make it great or bad or anything either.  Granted I’m not an Oscars tv historian, but surely the past Oscars nights were not exactly Greatest TV Ever?  Then again, I’m probably the one tv viewer who didn’t hate that David Letterman tried to be funny with his Oscars hosting gig; he tried; the Uma-Oprah gag just gathered no positive response from the live audience.  I don’t begrudge Letterman for that; it just wasn’t his night at all.

    James Poniewozik of Time was more even-handed about his critique, but he conceded that he felt tired about the broadcast.  I guess it depends on what you’re looking for in an Oscars night.  How many surprises or weird moment or great moment do you want?  Oscars isn’t the Golden Globes (thankfully; let the Oscars be the Oscars, I say; let them celebrate the history and present of movies and to continue trying to teach and reach out to us, for better or worse).

    Personally, I thought this latest Oscars night was nice, even if not that exciting and a little unsurprising or a tad dull (if only because it had rather unsurprising results: I kept hoping that my sentimental favored movie, “True Grit” would have won something, even if I did like “The King’s Speech”).

    At the start of it, I thought it was pretty cheesy.  I mean, really – James Franco and Anne Hathaway entering Alec Baldwin’s dreams to get the secret of hosting Oscars, a la “Inception”?  James, Anne: why Baldwin?  Why not Billy Crystal’s brain?  Billy Crystal was a better Oscars host and he’s funny; I guess I’m not a big Baldwin fan.  And, James entering the Oscars stage with his cell phone (was he really tweeting on Twitter as he did that?  Please!) – that was a bit much irritating for me.

    Kirk Douglass was being a good sport/ham.   And, seeing Tom Hanks and Billy Crystal at the Oscars was a real joy.

    Some amusing moments included James Franco’s “Congratulations, nerds” to the special effects awardees.  Franco in Marilyn Monroe drag was not nearly that funny – and I kept hoping that Anne Hathaway would have gotten Hugh Jackman up on stage with her (Hathaway sings well, I must say).

    Melissa Leo’s winning Best Supporting Actress – well, I liked that she seemed honestly happy and thrilled, and her rambling felt natural.  Kind of amusing that she let out the f-word, and that the silent bleep caught it in time.  (although, I really like Hallie Steinfeld as Mattie in “True Grit”; she was so strong as a strong character).

    Christian Bale’s winning Best Supporting Actor – good for him.  Sweet that he got all choked up thanking his wife and daughter; he came off as a real person, not a actor caught up in craziness (which happens).  And he didn’t let out the f-bomb (and had the good humor to reflect on his past f-bomb incident while showing gratitude for his win).

    I loved director Tom Hooper’s “Listen to your mother” bit!  And, I thought Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi singing the song from “Tangled” was sweet (when I saw “Tangled,” I kept wondering if that was really Zachary Levi’s voice; so I’m pretty impressed – tv’s Chuck is talented!; and I really liked that they kept it simple; simple can go a long way; ).

    The no applause of the “In Memoriam” portion was respectful (although I remain a not-fan-of Celine Dion).  Lena Horne’s quote at the end of the “In Memoriam” was fitting and powerful.

    I was charmed by Colin Firth’s Best Actor award acceptance speech.  He even saluted his significant other – how sweet!  (but – as a disclaimer – I, like so many others, have a crush on him since “Pride and Prejudice” and my crush on him will continue unabated…).

    I also like this new tradition of acknowledging all the nominees for their acting before announcing the winner.  Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock did such nice jobs of it and I do think that people should be acknowledged for their amazing efforts (even if they don’t get that statuette).

    Steven Speilberg’s saying that the nine Oscar Best Picture non-winners were in good company was solid.  The video of the speech from “The King’s Speech” as a foundation/background for the clip montage from all the ten Best Picture nominees was also nice.  I think the Oscar folks really did a good editing to match the right clips to the king’s words (words that observed the eve of World War II and concerned a changing world and desire for better and hope for peace in the face of danger – kind of timeless stuff, actually).

    I liked that Anne Hathaway put in a lot of effort and spirit.  I kind of wanted more from James Franco, but then again: I’m not sure how much to expect from actors who usually aren’t in the position of hosting three hours of stuff (and I wasn’t sure how much guidance were they given about their task).

    The pacing of the whole thing was probably a bit off (but no worse than usual from past years – Billy Crystal was so right about that, when he came out on the stage and said as much).  I thought the auto-tuning “musical” gag ran too long; it would’ve been funnier if it was tighter (but the gag did make the scenes from the Harry Potter and Twilight movies hilarious).

    I was really touched to see all the winners come out at the end with the PS 22 kids’ singing “Over the Rainbow.”  That was a great moment to end the night, with a great song. (even if a little late for the kids…!)

    Oh, and take a look at Colin Firth on “The King’s Speech” on Charlie Rose.  Mmm.  Colin Firth.   (yes, I’m very superficial).

    Eli Wallach was among those with a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars (along with Francis Ford Coppola).  I liked that they had his clip of “I live to act” remark from his acceptance speech.  A.O. Scott of the NY Times has a charming profile of Eli Wallach, noting that Wallach is his great-uncle.  The accompanying video of A.O. Scott visiting his Uncle Eli and Aunt Anne (Jackson) was also sweet stuff.  A.O. Scott even touched on this in his Oscars video with David Carr.

    Yes, Natalie Portman won for Best Actress.  She is also someone with a science background back in her Harvard days, somehow balancing her intellectual and acting sides, as this article by Natalie Angier notes in the NY Times.  The article also cites Hedy Lamarr (who helped develop torpedo guidance systems during World War II), Mayim Bialik (ex-Blossom of tv fame and now a recurring neuro-biologist character on “Big Bang Theory” and a real-life neuro-biologist), and Danica McKellar (ex-Winnie Cooper of “The Wonder Years” tv fame; and later a math honors graduate of UCLA who’s advocating for better math education for girls – and currently doing the voice of Miss Martian on “Young Justice”) as examples of actors who understand and work in the science and math fields.

    Somehow, James Franco continues his education (pursuing a Phd. in English at Yale) and acting.  I don’t know how he does it, but apparently with little sleep.  Oh well!

    MSNBC.com – with a comparison of the two True Grits.   I haven’t seen the original True Grit, so I have no basis of comparison, but I really did enjoy Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hallie Steinfeld, etc., and apparently the Coen brothers tried to be true to the original book “True Grit,” so that goes.

    On a not-Oscars movies thing: I had seen the trailer for Josh Radnor’s “Happythankyoumoreplease” when I went to see “True Grit” last week; I was impressed by the preview.  Yes, it’s the guy who plays Ted of “How I Met Your Mother” – again playing a romantic but skeptical artist (this time, a writer, not an architect) with a circle of friends in NYC – and he wrote, directed, and starred in this film.  Hmm!  The NY Times profiles Radnor and his soon-to-be-released film.  I’m looking forward to this…

    And, a non-movies and science-related note: Congressman Rush Holt, a former five-time Jeopardy champ and a nuclear physicist, managed to beat Watson in a game in Washington, DC.   Yay, a Democrat is going to save humanity from machines.  Sorry to Ken Jennings.  A nice video from CBS on Holt’s observations – including how we can invest in our human capabilities.  Ain’t that the truth?

    More posts later; “Fringe” and “Community” are still good tv as far as I’m concerned…

  • Happy Lunar New Year and A Super Bowl Sunday

    Gearing up for the big game tonight?

    If not: PBS has counter-programming with Masterpiece Theatre’s “Emma” (all three-parts).

    True, the Jets aren’t in, but it sounds like the Big Game (in Dallas this year) could be interesting with Packers v. Steelers.  Not sure about whether the commercials will be interesting though.

    That was pretty powerful though: a 20 second bit of FOX having actor Dan Lauria, who’s playing Vince Lombardi on Broadway, play Lombardi to goad the current Packers, as part of the mega pre-pre-game festivities.

    Amid all the drama surrounding Amy Chua’s book (you can check the links I noted), her husband (yeah, another Yale Law professor), Jed Rubenfeld, has another historical thriller/mystery, “The Death Instinct.”

    (I did a search – I actually did notice Rubenfeld’s past book; but I never get around to reading it)

    Anyway, so Rubenfeld’s latest book seems to have positive reviews so far and when I skimmed the first chapter, it seemed to be pretty gripping.  But, it must be tough to be in a household where you both have books out at about the same time and the reviewer in the NY Times couldn’t resist noting your wife’s controversial book in the review for your book.  Geez.

    Check this out: The (PBS) Newshour does a review of how their new format’s been doing.  Impressive that the new format of The Newshour has turned out well (at least, better than I expected; but then again, I’m probably the generation that’s watching more Newshour on-line than ever).

    Slate article pondering the popularity of “Hawaii 5-O.”  I haven’t watched the show in awhile. But, I do like Scott Caan and Daniel Dae Kim. And, hooray for diversity for on tv! This show probably has more APA’s on screen than anywhere else, not to mention that it is helping the economy of Hawaii (kind of like how “Lost” and “Magnum, PI” and original “Hawaii Five-O” did).

    Mark Bittman moving on from The Minimalist column; he’s heading to the opinion side, to talk about food (as an industry, as politics, as culture – because we’re screwing ourselves with bad food – take a look at the first post of his new blog on the opinion side of the NYTimes.com). Good luck, Bittman! Loved your videos!

    With all the horrible weather that we’ve been having: find your inner Cory Booker.  Dig out yourself and your neighbors.

    Fell a bit behind on this, but: Fred Korematsu Day in California!   Time coverage here, by Ling Woo Liu, director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education and a former reporter for Time in Hong Kong (I remembered that she used to be part of Time.com’s old China Blog).  More coverage on Angry Asian Man blog: here, here, and here.

    Will post more about tv commentary and other things (as usual) later…

  • Weekend!

    A-Team and The Karate Kid!  Oh My God – it’s the return of the 1980’s, in a revised kind of way.

    I got to see The A-Team movie; nothing perfect, but if you liked the old tv series, this was a fun.   Plot made no sense; but what was there was an origins story of how my generation’s favorite tv soldiers of fortune got together to be the gang that we know and love.

    Oh, and putting aside the excessive CGI and explosions (yeah, I know – explosions in anything related to A-Team) – but the cast was pretty good – Liam Neeson! Bradley Cooper! And, the guys playing the B.A. and Murdoch roles!

    See also: Steven James Snyder’s review on Time Magazine’s Techland; and even Richard Corliss’ review (Corliss being the official Time movie critic); review by EW’s Owen Glieberman; and Dana Stevens on Slate.  Roger Ebert really didn’t care for it – which I understand and empathize, but I seriously don’t go into watching the movie on the A-Team to hope that I’d get “Hurt Locker” (seriously – no.).

    The Smurfs movie is in progress.   Actor Hank Azaria as Gargamel – there was a picture floating in one of the entertainment magazines catching him in the city in his Gargamel costume.  But, Neil Patrick Harris as Johan?  Oh My God!

    Speaking of the 1980’s, the man behind “Voltron,” Peter Keefe, passed away.  The 1980’s as a decade keeps coming back.

    World Cup time; Slate has a good explanation for why North Americans call the sport “soccer” while the rest of the world calls it “football.”

    Pretty entertained by the US v. England World Cup game: ending on a 1-1 tie.  It seemed festive in South Africa, and even stateside (in the city, anyway).  Not sure how they took it in England, but oh well.

    I do thank the Angry Asian Man blog for posting a very hot photo of the Japanese team – these fit men in suits – so hot.

    Oh, a funny yet hot look at David Beckham’s reactions to the US v. England tie – the pictures were funny indeed (including a photoshopped look at the Obama White House laughing at Beckham.  Oops!).

    What’s with soccer athletes looking so good?

    Finished reading Bonnie Tsui‘s book “American Chinatown: A People’s History of Five Neighborhoods,” where she examines the contexts for the Chinatowns of San Francisco; NYC; Honolulu; Los Angeles; and Las Vegas.   Smooth read; especially fascinated about the Chinatowns I knew least (Honolulu and Las Vegas).  The rest could have been more original – but then again, the book might be more for an audience who need to be more aware about Chinatowns.

  • June Continues

    World Science Festival in the city; some good stuff.

    So, along with wacky service problems on weekends (shuttle bus, anyone?), MTA’s going to be issuing a new map (probably to reflect the end of some subway lines and other things). It’s supposed to look sleeker.  Hmm.  We’ll see how good it’ll be.

    But, it’s a pain in the neck over the weekend, when subway lines aren’t going between Brooklyn and Manhattan and buses all clumped up.

    Coming up, on 6/12/10: Save NYC Libraries.

    Here’s a link to a trailer of the new “Hawaii Five-O,” coming this fall on CBS.  I’m getting more into the new Hawaii Five-O than I expected, based on the trailers alone, which look good. They seem to fit in this era of “Can we please have a more diverse tv cast” and “are we losing Miranda rights?” — plus, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, even Scott Caan! (oh, and Alex O’Loughlin, who is in need of a… show that doesn’t get canceled; but, he’s no Jack Lord though as “Steve McGarrett” (and I never really watched the original Hawaii Five-O).

    I posted the trailer on Facebook, and FC noted that there’s one continuity blooper – at 1:02, one of the cops is holding his badge upside down, and at 1:03 his badge is right side up.  Clearly, they’re still working on the show (well, tv is tv).

    But, I’m not sure what does it mean if I’m not really into much fall tv as it is.  Hmm.

    Via Angry Asian Man blog: by Jeff Yang, on the SF Gate, “The Book of Daniel,” profiling Daniel Dae Kim.  Good stuff to read.

    Apparently, “Heroes” wants one more shot to say goodbye (from Time’s Techland, of the TVGuide.com posting). — seriously, no.  I gave up when they had unceremoniously killed off the Adrian Pasdar character Nathan.  I’m not getting on board just to see more mess and say goodbye.  “Lost” earned a goodbye, because they cared about their characters; “Heroes” did not, because they didn’t care about their characters (or stopped doing so).

    On the other hand, I’ll still give “Heroes” credit for its diverse cast.  Sure.  But, it didn’t do more appropriate stuff with the characters.

    Shakespeare in the City: check it out the list on WNYC and Wall Street Journal’s review on New York Classical Theatre’s scheduled “Richard III” at Central Park (yes, roving Shakespeare).

    Lawyers as writers – Scott Turow was on Charlie Rose a couple  of weeks ago about his  newest book.  John Grisham was on NPR’s All Things Considered, about his own legal thriller for kids (seriously; I’m not entirely sure how it works either, but it sounded intriguing).  I’m impressed that these two pioneers in legal thrillers are still at it.

    Linda Greenhouse on J. Souter’s commencement speech at Harvard and her observation that he hasn’t completely disappeared.  Good for him!

    The passing of John Wooden, UCLA’s legendary men’s basketball coach.