Rabbit Troop Sucks!
So, while it would only rate somewhere around 15% on the official standard DIS (Degrassi Intensity Scale), maybe 30% if you count the intensity of the gross city heat, I had a really good weekend. It started on Thursday, which is always a good thing for a weekend to do. The magazine threw its Best of Westchester party, where everyone who won a "Best Of" distinction in the magazine did their very best to make me gain 50 pounds and like it. It was booth after booth of restaurants that I can't afford to go to myself, so I had to try all the samples, right? I bet if they tested my blood type after the party, it would have come out "chocolate" (I found out later this weekend that my blood type is actually O+, so I should probably give blood again and stop hoarding all my universally-beloved blood :x).
Since Fridays are dead anyway, I took a day off and went to the city early. After a brief stop at H&M, I met up with Jesse for lunch, and then we headed to Prospect Park to get on line for They Might Be Giants. I tried to count, and I think this is the 16th time I've seen them, but I can only tell the shows apart by trying to remember the (opening bands = Cub/Magnetic Fields, Brian Dewan/Chainsaw Kittens, Some dance troupe and orchestra that had Brian Dewan in it, Michael Shelley, M. Doughty, The Rustic Overtones, OK Go, "Sapphire Bullets," Scout, Mike Viola, OK Go, OK Go, Moldy Peaches, Kimya Dawson, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Corn Mo, Michelle am I missing any?), so I may be missing one or two. That's far and away more than I've seen anybody else, unless you count OK Go, who I've seen ten times (soon to be 11), but three of those were opening for They Might Be Giants. So in my expert opinion, I'd say this show was pretty good, but not excellent. I know that a band shouldn't have to split up the set list evenly between all the albums or have every show be a "greatest hits," but this concert was hugely disproportionate. There were a ton of songs from No!, which I thought was an odd choice because it's a children's album. And while they understandably played a bunch of songs from The Spine, they didn't play my favorite (Museum of Idiots) and picked a couple I don't really like (Wearing a Raincoat, Bastard Wants to Hit Me). They still rock much harder live than they do on the albums, the park was set up nicely with lots of room for sitting/standing/lawn, it was a nice night outside, and it was fun show. Some parents brought real little kids, and I thought that was adorable, and I hope that I can do that some day in the far, far, far, far distant future, at my 129th show.
Speaking of concerts, I pretty much hate New Jersey for a series of concert-related injuries (getting stuck in NJ after Radiohead and missing the last train out of Manhattan, getting lost trying to find Maxwell's in Hoboken, tolls, tolls, tolls). Jesse will be the first to point out that it's always my fault we end up going to New Jersey, but I say it's the person who decided the Pixies are playing Camden and not New York who is really to blame. So I'm still allowed to hate it, and plan trip after trip on its toll-infested highways. Anyway, I hate New Jersey, but I loved Garden State. Seriouslyhonestly, it's so good. It takes a while to find its groove, but once it does all of the characters are interesting and funny and sweet, and there are a few amazing little details. It also looked really good and had a bunch of jokes that were purely visual.
After that was The Village at the celebrated Ziegfield. I'm underwhelmed because of how things turned out. Everything else about the movie was fine. Bryce Howard was pretty amazing and was one of the only people who sounded natural with the dialogue. Joaquin Phoenix is the man and he's my new pick for a synonym for "underrated" (since we obviously can't use Johnny Depp anymore). Adrian Brody and William Hurt were also pretty good. There were moments where it ratcheted up past 90% on the DIS, M. Night's creatures are excellent as always, but overall I feel pretty lukewarm. It just didn't come together like the rest of his films. I'm interested in what Bryce Howard does next, though, I bet it'll be something really good.
Today is an all-too-typical Sunday. Thai Too, cleaning, updating LJ after Jesse. My sister is watching a movie that some kids from my high school/my year made and got my local video store to carry as a free rental. That's pretty weird, but it's cool that the store has it. From what I can tell it's pretty well acted, but it's distracting that the locations are in and around Ardsley/NYC. And there's a ton of background noise. But look, there's Bubba's!
Since Fridays are dead anyway, I took a day off and went to the city early. After a brief stop at H&M, I met up with Jesse for lunch, and then we headed to Prospect Park to get on line for They Might Be Giants. I tried to count, and I think this is the 16th time I've seen them, but I can only tell the shows apart by trying to remember the (opening bands = Cub/Magnetic Fields, Brian Dewan/Chainsaw Kittens, Some dance troupe and orchestra that had Brian Dewan in it, Michael Shelley, M. Doughty, The Rustic Overtones, OK Go, "Sapphire Bullets," Scout, Mike Viola, OK Go, OK Go, Moldy Peaches, Kimya Dawson, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Corn Mo, Michelle am I missing any?), so I may be missing one or two. That's far and away more than I've seen anybody else, unless you count OK Go, who I've seen ten times (soon to be 11), but three of those were opening for They Might Be Giants. So in my expert opinion, I'd say this show was pretty good, but not excellent. I know that a band shouldn't have to split up the set list evenly between all the albums or have every show be a "greatest hits," but this concert was hugely disproportionate. There were a ton of songs from No!, which I thought was an odd choice because it's a children's album. And while they understandably played a bunch of songs from The Spine, they didn't play my favorite (Museum of Idiots) and picked a couple I don't really like (Wearing a Raincoat, Bastard Wants to Hit Me). They still rock much harder live than they do on the albums, the park was set up nicely with lots of room for sitting/standing/lawn, it was a nice night outside, and it was fun show. Some parents brought real little kids, and I thought that was adorable, and I hope that I can do that some day in the far, far, far, far distant future, at my 129th show.
Speaking of concerts, I pretty much hate New Jersey for a series of concert-related injuries (getting stuck in NJ after Radiohead and missing the last train out of Manhattan, getting lost trying to find Maxwell's in Hoboken, tolls, tolls, tolls). Jesse will be the first to point out that it's always my fault we end up going to New Jersey, but I say it's the person who decided the Pixies are playing Camden and not New York who is really to blame. So I'm still allowed to hate it, and plan trip after trip on its toll-infested highways. Anyway, I hate New Jersey, but I loved Garden State. Seriouslyhonestly, it's so good. It takes a while to find its groove, but once it does all of the characters are interesting and funny and sweet, and there are a few amazing little details. It also looked really good and had a bunch of jokes that were purely visual.
After that was The Village at the celebrated Ziegfield. I'm underwhelmed because of how things turned out. Everything else about the movie was fine. Bryce Howard was pretty amazing and was one of the only people who sounded natural with the dialogue. Joaquin Phoenix is the man and he's my new pick for a synonym for "underrated" (since we obviously can't use Johnny Depp anymore). Adrian Brody and William Hurt were also pretty good. There were moments where it ratcheted up past 90% on the DIS, M. Night's creatures are excellent as always, but overall I feel pretty lukewarm. It just didn't come together like the rest of his films. I'm interested in what Bryce Howard does next, though, I bet it'll be something really good.
Today is an all-too-typical Sunday. Thai Too, cleaning, updating LJ after Jesse. My sister is watching a movie that some kids from my high school/my year made and got my local video store to carry as a free rental. That's pretty weird, but it's cool that the store has it. From what I can tell it's pretty well acted, but it's distracting that the locations are in and around Ardsley/NYC. And there's a ton of background noise. But look, there's Bubba's!