The weeks in culture: March 10-23

This post should actually be titled 'The weeks in culture...or lack thereof' since I have been completely undedicated to my cultural education of late. I mean, look at this paltry compilation of my cultural consumption since March 10:

Watched:
Beverly Hills Cop II
Michael Jordan: His Airness
Becoming Jane
48 Hours
Independent's Day

Read:...in progress
Heard: ... (crickets) ...

Seriously. That's nearly nothing! How can this be?

I'll tell you how: basket-frickin-ball. Whether it's attending Warriors games in person, watching them on TV, watching pieces of other NBA games on TV, or watching UCLA and Stanford games, my March has definitely been mad so far. Let's break down all the games I've watched the past couple weeks:

Mar. 12 Warriors v. Raptors (in person)
Mar. 13 Warriors v. Suns (on TV)
Mar. 14 UCLA v. USC (on TV, PAC-10 tournament semi-final)
Mar. 15 UCLA v. Stanford (on TV, PAC-10 tournament final)
Mar. 15 Warriors v. Grizzlies (in person)
Mar. 18 Warriors v. Kings (on TV - partially watched)
Mar. 19 Warriors v. Clippers (on TV)
Mar. 21 Warriors v. Rockets (in person)
Mar. 22 Stanford v. Marquette (on TV)
Mar. 22 UCLA v. Texas A&M (on TV)
Mar. 23 Warriors v. Lakers (on TV)

Umm...it's no wonder I haven't been doing anything else. Even though I multitask, it's hard to really absorb a book or compose a heartfelt, entertaining email while you're trying to watch a replay that will show whether Monta really got fouled when he missed that layup (chances are, he did). So my lack of productivity, both in terms of chores and in terms of cultural prowess, should not be a surprise.

I also, however, did play a little soccer! However the downside of that is that I can't remember any highlights. I was kind of annoyed during one game because I kept booting it up to the forwards, but they were being a bit too lazy to run after it and put it in the goal. So that was irritating. And I failed to score on my one awesome breakaway - also irritating. But it's hard to get too bent out of shape when the weather is almost sinfully gorgeous and you get to run around for a couple hours.

Site of the Week:
So, Better World Books isn't Amazon in scope of titles. But it IS actually good for the world, I think, overall, so maybe you should buy your paperbacks there, instead? I just picked up a couple. We'll see how it goes.

Pop Culture Zen of the Week:
In the interest of my recent basketball obsession, enjoy Baron Davis' version of the Oscars. (If you don't know who he is, he's the closest thing the Warriors have to a star -- and he has one sweet beard.) I can't say that I necessarily agree with all his picks, but he's got some goofy fun categories, if nothing else.

Trip Report: NYC with Murry

Psst...you might need to view this one in Internet Explorer or the pictures won't align right.

Two weekends ago, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting NYC with Murielle. It was short, but it was a blast. It was Murry's first time, so we did some classic tourist stuff (Staten Island Ferry, Broadway show, the Met), and some classic Murry-Julie stuff (trying on dresses at Macy's since it was so darn wet outside).

See it all:

NYC with Murry 2008

You can even see us describe it all (in French) since I put a dorky video up on YouTube for Murry's boyfriend. Ignore how terrible I was at getting both Murry and I in the frame -- the nifty little camera I was using is super-easy to use, but hard to angle properly.

Assorted thoughts:

- Some experiences, while fun, are a one-time thing.
Did I enjoy strolling through Central Park in the pouring rain? Yes. Would I do it again? No. Well, probably not. On the upside, Central Park was nearly deserted, so we got to walk through it relatively unbothered by other tourists. On the downside, hard as we tried to squish our entire bodies under one shared umbrella, our pant legs got completely soaked, which made our subsequent visit to the Met a bit soggier than desired.

-The sights are unbeatable.
The skyscrapers in Times Square disappearing into a dense fog. The set design of Phantom of the Opera, a boat skimming over waters lit by hundreds of candles. The "Moonrise" by Harpignies at the Met. Some things, you only see in New York -- that's why you have to go back again and again.

- We like a wide range of food.
From the unaffected homestylings of the Peanut Butter & Co. Sandwich Shop to the messy, unusual Meskerem to the friendly, authentic El Parador Cafe, we consumed mass quantities. One thing's for sure: Murielle loves American service. She practically wanted to make out with our friendly server at the Olive Garden (don't worry, Herve, she did restrain herself).

- The Museum of the Moving Image is totally boss.
It's in Queens, in this kind of sketchy neighborhood, so you probably wouldn't stumble on it; you'd have to make a point to go there, which we did. But we did pass by the Kaufman Astoria Studios on the way there (too bad we didn't see Will Arnett). There were so many great interactive exhibits -- voiceovers, creating a stop-motion photography video (a la Wallace and Gromit), a ping-pong video game without controllers. I was totally entranced by an exhibit that showed how a baseball game is edited live from numerous different camera views. It was fascinating!

And, since I do it every time, a little comparison of how apparently we never change.

We still have hair issues.











Things still go wrong with our clothes.











We are still visions of loveliness in green and pink.













I still don't photograph well.











Then there's this series of gems...

Ah, persian grandma Murry.


And after all the fun we have, it's still a bummer to have to say goodbye, and I try to brave it by making funny faces.

Hahahahahaha

Heeeee. That's pretty good. I think the "invisible [item]" lol macros might be my favorite.

PS: I seriously am working on the NYC post -- maybe in the meantime we can enjoy a little "invisible strangler"?


Man, I take some seriously unattractive pictures. Aren't y'all lucky I share them with you? Je n'ai pas de honte.

PPS: Steve Young was in line next to me at the grocery store yesterday. His little daughter was really cute.

The week in culture: Mar. 3-9

Watched:
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Beverly Hills Cop
Friends with Money
Rendition
Juno (again -- on the plane)
Wedding Crashers -- Murry's first time seeing it! A perennial fave.


Read:
Bastard Out Of Carolina by Alison Smith. Not really an upper, but well-written; I love the line about her mom "turning down anything that looked like a down payment on something she didn't want to sell."
Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter. Not the best I've read, but it makes those mental gears start turning.

Heard:
Life in Slow Motion, David Gray's latest (to me) album. I just love his voice, and the songs are mellow but catchy.

Pop Culture Site of the Week:
I can't remember if I linked to Rich Sommer's blog before, but it's super-cute. He's an actor on a hit show (AMC's Mad Men, but he's very down-to-earth, family-focused, nerdy, and irreverently funny. The best part is how frequently he puts up a slew of adorable pictures of his baby girl, complete with amusing commentary. Dads + kids = win.

Visited:
My big trip of the week was to...New York City! But I'll do a long, dorky post about that later. Don't you worry. ;)

Here's a taste...

Yeah, that's Central Park. It's basically underwater at this point.

The week in culture: Feb. 25 - Mar. 2

Watched:
The Feast of Love
Gridiron Gang
Rescue Dawn
Definitely, Maybe
I Could Never Be Your Woman
French Connection II

Read:
Magazines? Though those don't count now do they...I guess this was more of a movie week than a book week. Still, I've broken my streak of at least a book a week. I'll have to do at least 2 next week (which shouldn't be a problem since I've got a 5-hour flight on Thursday.

Spectated:
Warriors v. Sonics - they pulled out a narrow victory, but it was satisfying after that loss to Atlanta the previous week. Also, Kroshere really rocked his minutes -- guess he is trying to make a difference while Biedrins is out. And he is, in his slightly ungainly way.
Warriors v. 76ers -- at last, a resounding victory. Belinelli didn't play (alas!) but we did get to see Brandan Wright with quite a bit of game time, though the guys behind us were pretty big d-bags about it. They also didn't like Kroshere, but that guy has been exhibiting serious hustle lately!

The week in soccer:
A win! A windy wind, too -- it was a gorgeous day but the wind really picked up during the second half and was blowing the ball to many unexpected locations (e.g. out of bounds). I managed to head the ball while on the ground (not a dangerous play) and get called for high-kicking (which was just dumb, since my foot was not near anything delicate and in fact can go waaaay higher than waist-level).

Pop Culture Dorkiness of the Week:
I think I've linked to this before, but Married to the Sea makes some freakin' hilarious comics. They're so wrong, they're right. I think the "Listen, Michael" and the muffins one. But there are so, so many, and many of them just hit the spot. An acerbic delight for any day...and there are over 700 of them so you could read one a day for the next two years or so. (I'm pretty sure you'll want to read them faster than that, they are so fun.)