Saturday Afternoon

Ian and I went to see Dan in Real Life on Saturday, and it was such a hilarious pleasure, at the same time sad. I love Steve Carell and the career he has carved for himself. Some critics had issues with the 'perfectness' of the family-Ian and I were grateful that (for once) the family portrayed was-functional! The cast is excellent-my lovely dream alter ego, Juliette Binoche,whom I have admired for years, as his love interest; Emily Blunt in a small but sexy, hilarious cameo; Dane Cook, as Dan's younger brother; and Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney as Dan's parents.

Crunch Time

Tonight Amanda, her bffl Nora, her mom and I went to an Open House at Brooklyn Tech (this year will mark my 20th anniversary) and didn't get back until after 1030pm or so. It was as great as I'd remembered, except that many of the old teachers were retired now, but the spirit was still apparent in all the students. The school now offers some new majors, too, like law and medicine. We've also been to Molloy and St. Francis Prep. She has the specialized hs exam this Saturday and her TACHS exam Nov. 10. Basketball practice tomorrow and a game on Sunday. I'm wiped!

Empty Spaces

So, Monday I decided to take a day to clear my head, walking for hours from the 20s down to SoHo, and back up again, it was a sunny day and I felt like walking. In my travels I noted that not 1 but three of my haunts are now gone, no mas:

Tower Records (this may have disappeared earlier, but I'd forgotten)
Dallas Texas BBQon 8th Street and Fifth Avenue-this wrecked me the most-i know it's silly-it's a bbq joint-but I have SO many memories in that place-ate there my first day at my first job at Postermat when I was 16 (well actually I took it to go and ate it in Washington Square Park); clung to the toilet once after too many champagne glasses at a nearby art show during my early college days; Ian suffering from an attack of sun poisoning in the basement, slapping cream on his itching back, as Marc and I then rushed him over to St. Vincent's Hospital...countless meals there with my mom, sometimes also with my grandmother...dinner with Ian's cousin after catching her in a show at the Papp Theatre, to a recent dinner with Chris and Lauren on their first meeting with Dan and Marty from WOW...
and Tennessee Mountain-the least important on the list, used to frequent there during my Union days...once had lunch alongside David Krumholtz (Numbers).


At work yesterday, I called home to check messages and heard a message I'd been expecting for some time but was saddened to hear-my childhood best friend's father passed away the day before, after a nasty fight with intestinal cancer. He'd had surgery several years earlier, but it returned with a fatal vengence. I was happy to visit him a few weeks back, made him laugh, as we recalled some silly stories of yore, once he took my friend and I to Atlantic City for her 21st birthday in a stretch limo. I remember him cooking curry in the house as a child. Until the next life, Victor, you are loved and missed...the other odd little detail in this is that his passing is one day after my father's, Oct. 14, making it five years. I love and miss you, daddy.

New Radiohead Tracks On Oct. 10

Can't wait! I'm curious to see what this experiment holds, this could revolutionize the whole music industry...I love 'em.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html

My blog look du jour

This is my look of the moment, I have to see how long I'll keep it. I love the colors and the pic...Ian helped me with this. Strangely though, I do not have the guts to write Media Whore on top of a photo of Paris, that I love (even though we had a really cool font chosen). So, I have to see if I'll change the name of the blog to say something else, change the picture, even though I love Paris, or maybe leave as is, with no Media Whore on it.

Did anyone go over to TMZ or on Superficial to see Danny Bonaduce throw Johnny Fairplay (a Survivor runner up) literally over his head...I mean the guy had it coming, don't get me wrong, but it makes for interesting entertainment...I think his front teeth got knocked out.

Pushing Daisies

I was excited to hear that this show is from the same person who did Dead Like Me (Amanda's favorite show) and Heroes, Bryan Fuller (apparently he did stuff back in the day too for Deep Space Nine, probably my favorite of the Star Trek shows.) Stylistically, it takes liberal doses from one of my favorite movies, Amelie, so I sure don't have a problem with that. I loved in the pilot how two of the main characters, who could not touch each other, held their own hands behind their backs, pretending to hold the other's. I thought is was very funny and romantic.

Customizing Templates

Does anyone know how to do this? Ian is offering to cheat and help me out, I've been trying on my own...I've seen a million other blogs on Blogspot with customized fonts, layouts, etc, other than the basic 20 or so layouts they offer. I switched my layout to another, but it's temporary. Lots of other stuff I want to do here, have to figure it out.

Eastern Promises

Talk about edge-of-your-seat flicks. This was an excellent, tense film from beginning to end. Viggo Mortensen completely immerses himself in this character, or as Ian put it, really (literally) throws himself into the role. Not for the faint of heart. Definitely worth seeing if you get a chance. Story resolved bit different than I expected it to, but that's ok, still good ending.

A Trip to the Library

I went to the Forest Hills library today, which had been closed for some time for renovations, to get a book for one of Amanda's assignments. It now has a room of computers for internet access, new floors, DVDS are now on alphabatized shelves, but more interestingly, you can now check out your own books-slip your card in a slot, and place your items on a small surface-all at one time, that scans em in, print out your receipt, and that's it. Bags are free now, too! If this is ancient news, and I've just been out of the loop, I apologize.

On the way out, I saw a book called "Life on the "Refrigerator Door: Notes Between a Mother and Daughter." I liked the premise, so I took it. I didn't think to thumb through the book-it is entirely comprised of refrigerator notes. I was skeptical that the book could offer much, but a very short read away, it made me cry. I realized that the brevity of the writing suits it, kind of like the situations life can throw, sometimes there's no time to react.

Gossip Girl

Did anyone catch it? I admit with shame that I did, strictly out of curiosity for the hype, (I am the media whore, after all) and I love the song that they kept playing in the commercial, "Something to Believe In" by Aqualung.

So, aside from the fact that it's not my age range, and I never ran with the rich or popular crowd (more Freaks and Geeks), Serena is sort of a likeable character, made a mistake, tried to clean up her act and is back in town. She has a streak of being genuine, amidst all the phonies. The phantom Gossip Girl that narrates I can do without, EXTREMELY annoying. Lose her! Let the characters gossip. Then again, I guess that would mean losing the show's premise, and deviate from the books the show is based on.

I know some critics are talking about how shocking it is to see sex and drugs, in a high school scenario, on tv, but I remember sitting in a class once in junior or senior year and a group of the popular/druggie kids giggling, having a discussion about who gave who crabs. This stuff goes on, not only at the rich uptown schools.


There's a cute guy, Dan, who played the 'geek' guy in "John Tucker Must Die" (I thought was way cuter than John Tucker, anyway), except this time he's got really short hair instead of his curly locks.

There's a despicable character who tries to date rape or screw anything that walks, including a 14 year old girl, that was disgusting. Luckily her brother Dan and Serena come to the rescue.


Anyway, don't expect substance here. I don't think I'll watch that closely, but it can't be worse than watching 'reality' television on VH1 or anything...

The Glass Castle

For those that love memoirs, Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle is an amazing read. She has been a gossip columnist on !E and a contributor to MSNBC, just recently resigned to continue with her writing. The book is an account of her childhood (she is one of four) with brilliant but troubled parents-her mother an artist and her dad, a genius at math and engineering, but a drunk. Neither can hold down a job. They live in the dessert, in Vegas, Phoenix, and Virginia in shacks, shantytowns-in some places with no plumbing. They give their children so much yet so little at the same time. One Christmas when they were little, they didn't have any money, so their dad gave them each a star; Jeannette chose a planet, Venus. Years later, their dad steals money three of the kids had been saving to move to New York, to go out and get drunk. I strongly recommend reading this book. Walls' pluckiness will make you laugh your ass off and her candor will make you cry at the same time.

The Two Coreys

I never thought I'd say this, but I watched A&E's bio on Corey Haim and Corey Feldman and now I've been watching the series, The Two Coreys, and I have to say it's very endearing, not to mention hilarious. I used to think they were so obnoxious in their heyday, but now I find them kind of cool.

Maine

While Stacey and Adam made a romantic rendezvous in Jamaica, we took a more family-friendly but still fun trip with the 'rents to New Harbor, Maine. We shared a house with them on the water and brought along one of Amanda's buddies. Here they are looking angelic on a Puffin watch cruise. It was really nice, actually, they shopped (of course), went to the beach, and learned how to play gin and eat lobster. It's nice once in a while to forget what day or time it is.

Unabashed Francophile

I wanted to encourage you to take a peek at some of the photography I found at this blog I added a link to at right, Paris Et Environs, by this guy Jimmy, some if it is just stunning. I recently went to see the movie about Edith Piaf's life, La Vie En Rose, which was amazing and SO sad...just made me reminisce about Paris, I guess...

I'm also adding a few pix from our trip to Paris in 2002, I can't get over how small Amanda is here (specifically at Versailles in first two)...sigh...have to go back...








It's a rare day I nail it, and while it is blurry, it's still one of my favorite, endearing photos of Ian and Amanda together...




one of my favorites of Ian...

Go, Lady Jokers!

Here's a pic of Amanda and some of her teammates from her awesome basketball team, Lady Jokers! We've done lots of travelling this year, and came in third in our division at the Junior Nationals at Hershey, where this was taken. One night I had five girls sleeping in my room! Now we're off to a 10 game round of tournaments that will be played at Christ the King. We also got to go to Hershey Park, our first time and enjoyed some fireworks. What a great place! Reasonable, too. We went for the sunset admission, 5-10pm, got on everything, for $24. I've got a fireworks pic too that I'll post shortly.

Girls' Investment Club

Hey All,

I was watching The View this morning, and thought these guys had a great concept,

www.chickslayingnesteggs.com

It's a pool of women that invest $50 each a month, and 4x a year (to accrue a chunk of cash to invest) they buy/sell stocks.

What do you think? Maybe we could start something like that, doesn't seem too painful on the pocketbook, could be fun and profitable for us all (as an aside to all our own personal 401K stuff). We'd need to so some research. Let me know if there's interest.

Highlights of our Lives

I was watching the series finale of Gilmore Girls tonight, where Rory got to meet her idol, Christiane Amanpour. This was a wonderful episode through and through, tying up the ends, and rather than an overly written script, let crucial moments shine with few or no words, like Lorelai by Rory's bedside the night before she leaves to report on Obama's campaign trail. Or the loving exchange between Rory and her best friend Lane, or the moment when Lorelai realizes all Luke did to help make Rory's bon voyage party come to fruition.

Then, something better happened. I went online and found out one of my good buddies from college is now a doctor. I still can't believe it. I was explaining the final process to Amanda, how Chris gave a dissertation, was questioned for an hour, then was asked to leave the room for a bit, and when he went back inside, his peers gave him the title of Dr. What a wondrous moment.

Thank God for these times. Even though they are not mine, I certainly can share in the thrill of accomplishment for another, real or virtual, as'my Rory' has grown up. I have moments like this with Amanda all the time, when she writes a great paper (she now wants to be an author), makes a wicked lay up, or does a kind deed, like treating a friend who is being shunned by others in her class as a friend, because she has some seriously scary issues at her door. I'm trying to figure out what might happen when the girl comes over on Friday. I hope to find the right words, or right way to be. If I do, that'll make my day, and hopefully hers.

GG Fest?

Amanda was suggesting we get a group of us to do a GG Marathon one day, what do you think? We'd have to pick our faves of each season to condense...

GG Blues

"It can't be ending!"
That was Amanda as she and I curled up on the couch in sandwich fashion to watch tonight's episode, on edge when we saw Logan go to propose...I can't believe I've watched Rory graduate high school and college, I was just as teary eyed when her grandparents sang to her, or when Paris hugged her on graduation day. Tonight's episode was great, dammit!

GG Going!

I just read in the Post today that GG's series finale is May 15! Contracts hadn't been going well with the girls, I think they're relieved that it's going to end, although now I'm dying to see how it's going to all wind up, and feel a little bit sad that one more thing I've enjoyed with my kid (and my friends) is going to end.