Looks like spammers are turning to society’s craving for juicy bits on celebs. Namely, Angelina Jolie.
Here’s a screeshot of some recent spam subject lines from my Gmail account, highlight a truly special accusation:
I must admit that I really wanted to open that email. I wonder how she would do it — especially without help. Enticing!
So I get these polls to take from NPR every once in a while. Normally they are exactly what one would expect from an NPR poll — dry, long, and boring.
Today’s, however, was quite humorous right from the start. Check out the third and fourth choices in particular (click to enlarge):
Which one would you pick?
Yeah, I have a WiiFit. And yeah, I still use it. Not every day, but I find it to be a great supplement to my exercise routine. I’m not one to join a gym or do a bunch of sit-ups on my own, so the WiiFit is a great motivator, and I definitely have reaped some benefits (firmer abs, greater endurance, and better posture).
Here are a couple of my finest moments.
Here’s a pic from when I finally beat that damn balance balls game or whatever it’s called:
Champion!! That’s probably nothing to a lot of people, but it took me nearly 50 days (unknown number of attempts) to reach this.
And here’s a pic of me achieving perfect balance on the balance test (part of the fitness test you’re supposed to take every day):
I pre-ordered Guitar Hero World Tour for Wii, which I am super psyched for. I played Rock Band on the Wii last night and can see what people have been complaining about. Still, what a fun and somewhat productive thing to do (making even fake music is productive in my book).
Also, a co-worker lent me Zack & Wiki, which was super fun so I decided to buy it. It uses the Wiimote in very clever ways, and the levels are interesting. You can’t buy it new any more for some reason though, but there’s some Amazon merchants selling new ones on the cheap.
But nothing will compare to what’s in store with WiiMusic (video). w00t!
I saw one of the finest films I’ve seen this year, if not the best. A friend wanted to go, and I went with, not knowing much about it.
It’s “The Visitor“, and I suggest everyone to run out and see it. I’m saying this not because it could be a sleeper hit like “Juno” or “Once” last year or ev
en an Oscar contender, but because it is an amazing story told in an elegant way by fantastic actors.
It’s hard to tell who is visiting who. The story begins with a lonely widower professor (you’ll know him as the dead dad from “Six Feet Under”), bored with life and missing his wife. He’s forced to go to New York (he lives and Conneicut) for a conference, where he temporarily moves back into an apartment he’s kept there (and probably hasn’t visited since his wife died). Much to his surprise, a young mixed-nationality couple has moved in based on their friend Ivan’s say-so.
The professor allows the couple to stay at the apartment anyway. The young man plays an ethnic drum of some kind (please excuse my ignorance), and the professor gets into it (he’s already failed piano lessons). The men become fast friends. From there, the story takes two very interesting twists that seem so natural are dealt with so seamlessly, you hardly notice they are twists. It simply feels real.
I won’t give away any more except to say that along with a great story, this is also one of the great New York movies I’ve seen. It really shows New York in all its (sometimes shitty) glory. The subway, the street musicians, the gross delis, the ugly coffee shops, and most importantly, the diversity. It’s the New York I’ve visited, and I’ve never really seen it shown correctly in a film before. Perhaps “Annie Hall” showed it honestly as it was in the mid-70s, but I wouldn’t really know.
So, go see “The Visitor” — 9/10 stars!
Here we are - about half way through another year. It’s hard to believe we’re almost done with the first decade of the 21st century!
What a great time to be a music fan though. The pseudo-mainstreaming of indie rock has catapulted non-bubble gum pop/rock to the forefront of MTV time and time again. TV dramady writers love to showcase songs by their favorite indie bands on their shows, and of course Garden State made one band change the lives of millions.
I want to share a couple things here: first, my adoration of what I’ve dubbed Pastoral (Indie)Rock. New-ish bands in this subgenre consists of, but is not limited to:
Each of these bands or musicians share a penchant for singing or playing about earthy things, or taking more modern thoughts and spinning them in a hymn-like web, in a very beautiful way. The instrumentation is always so intricate, and often includes banjos. I’m a big fan. There are more bands (Wilco, M. Ward for instance), but these are the ones taking it on now.
Secondly, I’d like to highlight my favorite releases this year so far. You can vote for yours at All Songs Considered.
There are other albums (Shearwater, Stephen Malkmus, R.E.M.) that are really good, but haven’t really stuck to me. I’ve been listening to an interesting mix of old and new this year. My favorite album for the past three weeks has been Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue Live 1975 (Bootleg Series Vol. 5). So passionate.
That’s enough!
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a show at Patrick’s Cabaret in Minneapolis. I had been there before, a couple times. I had thought that these mishmash performances with a wide-ranging bill were anomalies. I went because I had friends performing, and just figured these evenings were one-offs.
The cabarets include artists ranging from poets to belly dancers. One evening I saw a poet from northern Minnesota, a female vocalist of the local cable show ilk, and then a sexy “Rocky Horror Picture Show”-type mini play that included a drag queen and a topless woman. The variety was amazing.
Turns out this is a regular thing. At least monthly, Patrick puts together a conglomerate of artists for an evening or two of total weirdness one could not find anywhere else in the Twin Cities. Last night’s show included the drag queen (dancer/singer/writer Justin Leaf) from the mini play from last time (though this play is not nearly as well thought-out), a gay Japanese man singing the blues for conservative listeners, belly dancing to a Harvey Milk tribute, and a woman with a spectacular old-timey voice doing beautiful accapela songs.
But the highlight was “Happy Imposter”, which is also appearing in the Bedlam 10-minute Play Festival. The piece is a monologue times two: a lesbian character named Melissa has different conversations with a video projection of herself. They’re always talking about different Melissas: “Oh, you ran into Melissa. Are you guys getting back together?” “Damnit, Melissa is calling. Should I pick up?” It’s difficult to convey, but trust me that it was absolutely brilliant. Her timing was nearly perfect and the writing and acting were superb. I can’t figure out if Molly Van Avery, the director, is the actor in the piece. I don’t think it is. Either way, each part was notable.
The best is that I’ll be seeing her piece again on Sunday because she’s in the same group at Bedlam I’m seeing on Sunday. One of my friends is directing a play her boyfriend wrote, so Molly’s piece is icing on the cake. Hooray for local art!
Hey everyone, I’m on Twitter now. So, if you’re interested in seeing my adventurous life as it unfolds, follow me.
By the way, does anyone know of a bug in Firefox for Mac where you can’t save images by right-clicking?
I’ve been busy with little to show for it, except this list.
My other primary distraction from the world has been Mario Kart. One word: SUPERFUN! I love that
there’s old courses on this one, though the only ones I know are the N64 ones. Using the steering wheel is far easier than a joystick. I’m winning most of my Gran Prix races, so I haven’t lost my touch apparently. Then
again, I haven’t started on 150cc yet. I’m a little scared. I’m excited to play online with friends who live far away with their Wiis. Weeeee!!!
I wanted to get another Wii Wheel for guests, but the Target and Best Buy in Eden Prairie were sold out. The Target guy said that more Mario Kart games were made and sent out than wheels. That’s another strike against Nintendo in my book. Hello - that’s simple math! There’s four possible controllers for every Wii, so naturally you need at least four Wii Wheels per copy of the game. I finally found one tonight at Circuit City, though I think it was $5 more there than at Best Buy. Whatever.
This year’s Voltage Fashion Amplified was bittersweet. It was my friend Nathan’s (aka George Moskal to the rest of the city) second and final time showing at this prestigious event in Minneapolis. He’s moving to Portland, which I’m sad about but I cannot wait to go visit him all the time. I adore Portland.
We were hoping this year would be better than last year in a few ways. One was that the First Ave staff stupidly refused to let to let others go into the VIP Lounge after the show to help the designers (or anyone) get their shit packed up. Last year I whisked past the security dude somehow, but this year he stopped us cold and wouldn’t let us in. Tell me, First Ave, what is the point? Don’t you want those people out of there as quickly as possible, especially when you know there’s an afterparty everyone wants to go to? It’s not like you’re going to sell tons of drinks after the show. To top it off, and to show First Ave’s hypocrisy, a friend of a friend got into Voltage for free by simply holding up his hand and walking through the front doors. He didn’t have a stamp to show off, but he played it like he did, and got in.
We took all of Nathan’s stuff to their car in the Target Center ramp, then proceeded to Sound Bar for the afterparty. None of us had heard of it, and with good reason. Last year’s party was fairly lame, and again I barely got let in because the Voltage crew were only allowed one +1. This year though, anyone could get in with a $3 cover. Or at least that’s what we were told.
We got a little lost, and as we walked up we noticed a small crowd and a velvet rope. I was fumbling for my ID when I heard a little commotion. Greg (Nathan’s S.O.) was trying to hand over his ID for inspection to one of the two bouncers. Nathan was getting his Voltage tag out. He said that we’re here for the Voltage party. The bouncer was unresponsive. Greg noticed that he was starting at Nathan’s feet. The bouncer, noticeably Easter European, turned to his buddy and whispered something. Nathan waved his Designer tag in front of him again and the bouncer replied, “We don’t allow white shoes.”
I began to cackle. Greg huffed and Nathan simply said, “Seriously? Well fuck this!” with his best diva hand action. We walked off, me still cackling. The party was partly for Nathan, yet he’s not allowed inside this ridiculously pretentious Minneapolis bar because of his super cute, uber hip, off-white Keds. Ummm, yeah. Well, better him than me in my super cute retro Nike slip-ons.
We returned to the Target Center ramp where Greg and Nathan took off long before me because my car was a little farther away. It took me a bit to find my way off the top floor (there was a Timberwolves game), but when I finally reach the exit, Greg and Nathan were still at the toll booth thingy. I could see Nathan’s siloutte obviously shouting at the toll guy, and Greg trying to hand the toll guy money. The toll guy had a ticket in his hand, but got out and wrote down their plate number. Meanwhile, I’m thinking the toll guy must not be honoring the tickets we already paid for ($10, thank you very much) due to some stupid post-midnight rule or something.
Finally Greg and Nathan pulled away, after much more shouting from Nathan. I pull up to the booth and said to the guy, “So you’re not honoring these tickets?” The guy replied, “They lost their ticket. They had to pay for lost ticket charge.” The money and lost ticket ticket (yes, he generates a ticket for a lost ticket) is still in his hand. I get a little flustered and apologize. Pretending I didn’t know the trouble-makers, I offer the possibility that the men had a bad day. I talked with the toll booth guy for a good couple of minutes, trying to make him feel better. He was near tears, and appreciated my concern.
Nathan called after I pulled out and he said that they had no idea that they needed to take a ticket when they entered, which was obviously the toll guy’s fault. *Sigh*.
We’re all rude and pretentious sometimes, but Minneapolis was full of it last night.
I finished reading Charlie Chaplin’s autobiography late last week, and I am now officially obsessed. After I was done, I missed reading it before bed. Luckily I had queued up a bunch of his films on Netflix. I watched “City Lights” early on Sunday and basically never stopped watching or reading Chaplin-related stuff the whole day (turns out there’s tons of obsessed fans who create YouTube mashups or compilations. Today has felt incomplete without being inundated with the Tramp.
One of the YouTube compilation vids featured what appeared to be Chaplin in drag. The author kindly sent me all her pics of Charlie dressed in high flapper gear. Here’s a couple.
I think the biggest reason (beyond his pure genius) I love him is because of his politics. The fact that he was driven from America shortly after he began his talking pictures proved what a powerful political voice he could have become. In some ways I feel like he was born slightly too early. That if he’d been born 10 or 20 years later, he could have been the old guy amongst the hippies chanting for peace. But he certainly wouldn’t have the comic talent he had if he was born later. He was very old-fashioned, and lagged behind the times in Hollywood in many ways. He was more innovative in his politics and comedy than in his directing films.
He reminds me a lot of John Lennon. Both are English, spent much of their adult lives in America, slept around and didn’t really settle down until late in life, followed by the FBI because of their strong leftist leanings, led their field in terms of talent and popularity, and made daring art for their time.