Distraction/ True Blood

Mentally, I am still on vacation. I just got back from ten days (not nearly enough) in Martha's Vineyard: beach, books, boogie boarding, bike riding, loBster...ok, I'm out of B things. But it was a great time, as always, with the extra bonus of a little summer romance thrown in.

So now I'm back at work, totally distracted and having a hard time actually remembering to do anything that I'm supposed to. Really, I'm lucky I didn't get run over by a bike on my way to work this morning, I had my music on and wasn't paying any attention to the hustle of the city.

So along with the loads of laundry I did last night, and instead of the grocery shopping or anything else useful I could have done, I caught up on the two episodes of True Blood that I missed while away. And I have to say, I'm not so sure about the ways that this season is deviating from the books. This is supposed to be when Sookie decides Bill is no good for her, after he lies and goes to Lorena, and then almost drains her while raping her in the trunk of a car. So they had a little bit of that on the show, and then they go off and have make-up sex. What about Alcide, the hot, good natured werewolf, who, yes, is a little pathetic in his obsessive feelings for Debbie (way more trailer trash in the show than in the books), but still would be worth having a little fun with. Come on, take a look and tell me you disagree.

But what it really comes down to is the fact that in this season, Eric is supposed to save her and arouse her interests. He is not supposed to provide distraction for a Vampire boy-toy (who kept getting in the way of all the good Eric nudity, may I add, so really just brought the staking on himself).

I do like Alan Ball's decision to keep Lafayette around, because he's awesome, and his new little romantic side plot is pretty cute. And the addition of Jessica doesn't bother me, though she seems kind of extraneous this season. But really, all of this Sam's family story I could do without. I don't care about his weird dog fighting mother and brother (who isn't even cute, so really, what's the point?).

And yes, from the books, I know what Sookie is and what this other world is, that Bill has absolutely no place in visiting, that was frustrating. I'm curious where this season is heading, and super excited for season 4, if it sticks pretty well to that book, which is my favorite in the series.

But back to vacation. I would happily trade in my TV and WiFi to go live full time on the island (of course they have those things, but my house there does not, which is fine by me). Of course, should a hot viking vampire attack me in the woods by my cabin, all the better ;-)

Unlucky Leo? (SPOILER ALERT)

I'm a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio. Of course I am, I'm a girl in her 20s who grew up on Leo, and have come to admire him all the more as his career has evolved beyond teen heart throb to Oscar nominated actor.

Why then would I question his luck? My concern for the golden boy comes less for the actor and more for his characters, who are almost all terribly unlucky. I won't mention them all, but by and large, his roles are that of tortured men who often either die themselves or suffer the death of a loved one (usually a lover). If they survive, it is to a life of hardship and torment. So here's my question to contemplate as you read on: is it the actor who chooses the role or the role that chooses the actor?

Let's take a stroll down memory lane of Leo's movie roles, shall we? (oh, but spoiler alert, i do plan to say who dies in each film, all the way through Inception).

I'll start with What's Eating Gilbert Grape, a great performance by our leading man, but clearly a character with lots of problems, from the obvious mental handicap to his disinterested brother to his obese house-bound mother (who dies).

On to Basketball Diaries. If you've seen this movie, it's pretty self explanatory why it's on my list. A growing drug addiction comes between him and his goal of basketball greatness, leading him to do truly horrible things to sate his appetite for heroin. No, he doesn't die in this one, but his dreams do.

Oh, Romeo + Juliet, how you shaped my young romantic visions. This is where Leo and I began the love affair we've had in my mind all these years. He was the perfect man to myself and many other young impressionable girls, all of whom felt his angst, which begins as apathy seeking something more, grows to an infatuation with exactly the wrong girl, the forbidden nature of the love adding all the more to its potency, and then the inevitable denouement as first she appears to die, then he dies to be with her, she awakes, finds him dead, and shoots herself beside him. We all know the story, it's an age old tragedy, and his emotive powers brought it home for us.

And then his next tragic love story, Titanic. Sure, plenty of people deride a story that begins with a girl trying to kill herself by jumping off the Titanic pre-iceberg. But I think everyone took a guilty pleasure in Celine Dion after that movie (which I think I showed restraint in only attending in the theater 3 times). Jack, the starving artist who wins tickets onto the largest boat in the world, becomes intrigued by a rich girl with ennui, and has a short lives love affair that ends when they can't both fit on a floating door and his chivalry allows him to freeze to death. Plenty of people got mad at Rose (the adorable Kate Winslet) for allowing him to perish in the frigid North Atlantic, but it's part of his character to save her above himself, and part of why we all loved him so. Alas, once more, he died for love.

Now, we didn't see a ton of Leo in the aftermath of Titanic and it's backlash. He did a few strange movies (The Man in the Iron Mask was terrible, The Beach was a strange twisted trip through a mystery island rife with insanity, perhaps a precursor for some of his roles to come later). And I must admit I never saw Gangs of New York. I know, strike against me. But the one that really felt like his comeback film was Catch Me If You Can. It was a fun movie, with Tom Hanks chasing him around all over the country and the world as he pretended to be a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, anything that would help him maintain a lifestyle he never could have afforded legally. But beneath this all is the story of a little boy who watched his parents torn apart by money and just wants a stable life back. He tries to marry a nice girl and be a part of her family, but his lies catch up with him, and she can't take who he really is. But where things really fall apart for him is when he tries to escape (after a stay in Parisian jail) back to his mother, only to find she has made a new family for herself, seemingly forgetting all about him. So our poor downtrodden hero once again is forced to a life of drudgery alone with only Tom Hanks' character by his side.

And then Aviator. A study in madness via Howard Hughes. I don't think I really need to say much of anything about why this role was profoundly disturbing. Sure, he dated Katharine Hepburn for a while, and was able to fly the Spruce Goose, at least a little ways. But the layers of madness that descend on him thereafter, the lines of jars of urine, the fingernails. Even when he attempts to clean up and pull himself together, the paranoia and compulsions continue to the very end. I think this was the movie that really introduced Leo to us as a serious actor capable of handling complicated and confounding characters.

Thereafter, his movies are all powerful, evocative, and riddled with death and deception. The Departed, a great film, where our hero is bullied into spying on the bad guys from inside, and ultimately killed (though he does get to sleep with the real bad guy (Matt Damon)'s fiancee first). But I believed him as a Bostonian and as a guy coming out of a rough past, trying to make good. However, I think my favorite character in the movie was Mark Walberg's Dignam, I mean what a prick, but eventually, the only one to see through what was really happening and get the last word (or bullet).

In Blood Diamond he's a mercenary (Danny Archer), greedy and looking for his ticket out of Africa and its constant warfare, regardless of who falls by the wayside in his pursuit. It is in this he falls in with Solomon (Djimon Hounsou), a man ripped from his family and desperate to get back to them, as well as Maddy (Jennifer Connelly), a reporter with some useful connections. Together, they fight their way to find a large diamond, Solomon's family, and a way out of Africa. Alas, Archer grows a conscience along the way, and an attachment to his fellow travelers, which leads him to sacrifice himself for their welfare. Once again, our hero dies in this one.

Revolutionary Road (based on a wonderful book by Richard Yates) places Leo once again opposite Titanic costar Kate Winslet in a story of young dreams and ambitions sliding seamlessly into the drudgery of everyday suburban life. The couple who were so hopeful for adventures and opportunities settled for a little cottage in a quiet community, children, and the 50's life of a housewife and bored, unfaithful business man. They decide to make a change, to do something about the monotony of their lives, to move to Paris and just see what happens. Alas, even as they formulate their plans and regain hope, Kate's character becomes pregnant again, and they must face that the financial realities of another baby won't allow them to make this move. The tension of options not legally available in this age flood them until Kate's character finds she must take things into her own hands or drown. Leo is then left to discover his wife bleeding to death, his baby gone, and himself left alone to raise his two remaining children.

Lest we think this is the worst that could happen to one of his characters, along came Shutter Island. I must admit, once I made my way fully through this movie, I sympathized with old Teddy Daniels (Leo) in wanting to retreat into a world of his own imaginings rather than face reality. Yes, I am giving it all away, I apologize, but I did warn you. Throughout, I enjoyed the great mindfuck of it. By the time he saw rats covering the cliff side, I was starting to wonder just what was up with him (but maybe they had slipped him drugs). Not until he crumbles the plastic gun in his hand after trying to shoot the doctor with it was I convinced. And then the horrible memory returns to him, his insane wife drowning all three of their children, still not seeing that she had done anything wrong, and him finding no choice but to kill her, as much as he loved her. Yes, I think this one takes the cake as his most tortured and destroyed character. And to date, the best mindfuck film he'd done.

That is, until Inception. I adored this movie. This kind of sci-fi trippy ride is exactly the kind of movie I enjoy. Sliding through other peoples dreams in layer upon layer of non-reality, never quite sure you are really awake, in the real world at all. And we are set up with a man who has been so scarred by previous experiences in the dreamscape of his existence that he can't even trust himself to design the dream worlds anymore. He is haunted, literally, by the memory of his dead wife, who appears to make trouble for him, to punish him for letting her die alone. In the midst of all of this emotional drama, a gang of dream bandits must plant an idea in a man's mind in such a way that it can grow naturally as though spawned in his own mind. This involves three layers deep of dream within a dream, the danger of losing themselves in the limbo of the subconscious mind, and precise timing in order to complete the job before waking. The concept is fabulously intriguing, the actors all contribute (Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt notably), and the film is able to leave you not quite sure what's real (to the point of sparking incredible online debate over the ending).

I love the movies Leo has been choosing the past few years, and while I hate to see him tortured over and over again, he plays it so well, I can't help enjoying it. I mean, when we are subjected to performances by Nicholas Cage and Keanu Reeves, he's just such a breath of fresh air. So Leo, he's hoping you find more happiness in your real life than on the screen.

Plus he saves polar bears, how can you not love him??

SYTYCD

While I normally shun reality TV, I do have a soft spot for So You Think You Can Dance. Because It's dancing, and how is that not fun? I've taken dance classes since I was in elementary school (don't let this fool you, I'm not very good), I took hip hop classes in LA at 24 Hour Fitness (one of the only white girls in the class, and loving it, so much fun), I like musicals with big dance numbers, and the only real chick flick I own is Center Stage.

So back to the show. And spoiler alert if you aren't caught up (through 7/21).

I think there must be a curse on the season first off, what's with all the injuries? Alex getting hurt was a major upset from the get go. He could have easily won, all the judges thought so, and then he's benched, in a cast. Suddenly, it's a free for all. And then Ashley, who would have been voted off soon anyway, like the rest of the girls. And this week, Billy (although I have a suspicion he feared this was his last week anyway, and it looks better to go out injured than get voted off). So we will assume that though Billy's injuries aren't too serious, he will be the one going home this week.

So onto the remaining five. First of all, I admit it, I love Kent like everyone else (except Mia with her, "everyone loves you, apparently," super sass line last night). He is innocent and charming and a regular Peter Pan kid, who can fly because he thinks happy thoughts. And because he is such an audience favorite, and we are the voters, he'll most likely be in the top two. But he is a good dancer, and I thought he pulled off that stepping routine with Twitch pretty damn well last night, especially for a skinny white boy from Wapakoneta, OH. I really would have liked to see him and Billy doing that together, but it probably would have been rough on Billy. Oh, and I think Cat has wanted to be his cougar since day one.

The other dancer I see going to the final two is Lauren, the last girl left standing. She is also a crown favorite, and rightly so. She has handled every genre of dance put to her with great skill, including being "bad" last night with Twitch. The girl can dance, no question.

On to Robert (who looks the way I picture Clark Kent looking). Actually I'm surprised he's from LA and not farm country. But anyway, he is a skillful dancer, who for some reason hasn't won over the audience. The judges can't figure out why either. But every week he assumes the role given to him, dances his ass off, and smiles for the camera. I think he should be in the top three, but the voters may not give him that chance.

And then Jose. I really want to borrow the line from Full House here and say No way Jose! He is continuing to not impress me. I know he has a smile that seduces the voters, but he doesn't have the skill to back it up. Honestly, when a great choreographer has to figure out a dance where he barely has to do any dancing because he doesn't have the technique for it, that really says it all. I liked the concept of Sonya's dance too, but he never gave me the sense that he was losing control, that he might fall, and so I don't think he even pulled that off. And then in the Paso Doble with AdeChike, he may have looked good and strong with his shirt off, but you could tell that AdeChike out-danced him. I think it's time to stop with the injuries and vote him off.

As for AdeCike, just showing up Jose in a dance isn't really saying much. I think the boy has a beautiful smile which takes him a long way, but he is getting out of his depth here. He has the technique, but not the versatility they are looking for, and doesn't show enough personality for the audience to really connect with him. I'd like to see him outlast Jose, because he deserves to, but he isn't hanging around to the end.

One last comment: where is Mary Murphy??? I like Mia Michaels as a choreographer. As a judge, she is awfully harsh, and we already have Nigel for that. I want the Hot Tomali train!!

Rough Week

I have been having a hell of a week. It's not bad enough that the heat and humidity have transformed NYC into an enormous crock pot. I swear some ring of hell invented post-Dante is standing in a subway station in summer waiting for a train that never comes, it's like 4000 degrees down there with no fresh air.

Anyway, on Saturday I decided to bake some fresh cookies for a 4th of July party I was going to on Sunday. I make pretty good cookies, if I do say so myself. But taking the first batch out of the oven, I managed to burn my wrist on the rack. Ok, not that big a deal, something most cooks go through at some point, it happens. I got some aloe on it, and it's healing slowly, probably a second degree burn, since it blistered up and hurts a bit. But overall, on it's own, nothing worth mentioning.

On Sunday, after the party, I went out with my friend on her dad's boat for the fireworks, really nice, a great idea. Except that for the first time ever, I got really sea sick. It wasn't very rough out, and we sailed slowly out to Oyster Bay, using the slight wind to carry us, but after the sun and drinks of the first half of the day, it proved to much for me. So I ended up half watching fireworks while lying on the deck feeling gross.

I made it to Tuesday uneventfully enough, and on Tuesday, only cut my finger while dicing up some vegetables for a salad. Very minor injury, though a cut on the tip of your index finger is pretty annoying.

And then last night, I went out for an evening walk, since it had slightly cooled off and I was tired of sitting inside. I had my ipod, I was just wandering, it was nice. Then walking up sixth avenue, two men were coming toward me, an old man with a slightly younger one holding one of his arms, like he had some trouble walking. I went to the right, as people usually do when passing on the sidewalk, and they kept getting closer, so that I was all the way up against the wall of the building when we passed. And out of nowhere, the old man balled his fist and punched me in the boob. I yelled OW because it seriously hurt, and I was totally shocked. I looked back, and the two men just kept walking, didn't stop or say anything. I kept walking, with my arms curled up, just wondering what the hell had happened. Clearly my zen walk was ruined.

So here it is Thursday, the week isn't quite over, and I'm kind of afraid of what is in store for me next. After you get punched in the boob by a stranger on the street, I really don't know where your week can go from there. Of course, leaving my apartment this morning, I did open my door to find a giant roach trying to crawl in. I had to stomp him. He was gross. Maybe that will be it for today, at least I hope so.

Please wish me luck.

Noms

I have found that dieting works best when you can forget how good food can be. You don't think about the things you are missing, and just dig your fork into that salad, mmm crunchy lettuce. The problem is that if you work in an office, every so often an occasion comes up that warrants baked goods being laid out in front of you in all their sugary goodness.

And then you remember the first soft, crumbly bite into a cupcake or cookie, the way chocolate or frosting sticks to your lip, so that you have to lick off the creamy gooey goodness. It's an erotic experience really.

Don't mind me, I'm currently in the sugar afterglow of Magnolia cupcake(s). Which are certainly good, don't get me wrong, but for my money, the ultimate cupcake in NYC comes from Sweet Revenge. The flavors are inventive, and run all through, not just a topping, but a wholly infused cake. I am partial to the Ducle de Leche ones, "Argentine Caramel Cake with Argentine Caramel Buttercream." But don't forget their self-named cupcake, the Sweet Revenge, "Peanut Butter Cake, Ganache Filling with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting." Tell me that and a glass of milk, or better yet, a White Russian, doesn't sound heavenly?

And the best cookies I've found here are from Milk and Cookies. The snickerdoodle is particularly good. (BTW, does anyone know why a cookie that has nothing to do with Snickers is named that?).

As for frozen yogurt (ok, I know, why wouldn't I just go straight to ice cream at this point? But I happen to really enjoy the mix and match flavors and toppings craze) was a place called Yogurtland, which closed. But in it's place, Phileo Yogurt opened, which is essentially exactly the same, just slightly more expensive. But it's self serve, you can choose from about 10 different rotating flavors of yogurt, mix them as you please (I usually go Oreo and Peanut butter, with a dash of Vanilla), and then put on your own toppings (almond slices, granola, and graham cracker), and then they charge you by the weight. It may be nonfat yogurt, but after the toppings, it quite a treat all the same.

And then on to donuts, because as anyone who cares about pastry knows, Dunkin is a poor choice. I am a newcomer to this place, but Doughnut Plant (they even spell it right!) is delicious. The Creme Brulee one is amazing. I go into sugar shock just thinking about it. May I also recommend the Tres Leches.

Now that your mouth is watering, do you really want a little salad, or something warm, gooey, and delicious that melts in your mouth and leaves you begging for more?

Reading update

It occurred to me that I haven't been sharing my bookshelf updates, so here is a run down of what I've read over the past few months, and my reviews.

I am currently reading two books, as is usually the case. One is my commuting book, one is my bedside book. So right now it is Under the Dome by Stephen King and Some Girls by Jillian Lauren.

Under the Dome is my bedside book, meaning I get through about ten to twenty pages a night, which in a book this long (1,074 pages), will leave me reading it for a long time. As a Stephen King fan, this reminds me of earlier books, like 'Salem's Lot, where there is a large cast of characters, and even the town is a character. Because of the dome encapsulating the town, the setting is especially limited, but there are so many different key people to follow and keep straight, and many times, watch die horribly. But this is not a horror story, nor is it that supernatural, beyond the mysterious origin and composition of the dome itself. More than anything, it is a character study, which is something Stephen King knows how to do well. This of past characters like Jack Torrance or Annie Wilkes or Roland Deschain. In this book, Jim Rennie and his son Junior are some of the most fascinating characters, using the dome as an excuse to allow the monsters within them to feast on the helpless town.

I have only gotten a couple of chapters into Some Girls, but am already intrigued. Plus I have sat in on countless meetings discussing the book, so I know what I'm getting into. It's an autobiography of a girl who decided instead of finishing her theater degree, to drop out and learn from the world. This included stripping, working as an escort, and finally embarking on a trip to Brunei to become one of Prince Jefri's girlfriends. She tells her story in a compelling and contemplative way I am enjoying so far. For further reviews and interviews, click away.

I began the previous book after finding myself so disappointed with Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronksy that I actually couldn't finish it. I rarely leave a book unfinished, but I have such a stack of books to read, I couldn't keep at it. Basically, the problem was that the story is so non-linear, jumping in time and place, that I couldn't keep track of when I was. Beyond that, the author doesn't introduce characters, simply brings them into play, so that I couldn't be sure of how they related to the narrator, a young girl going through family turmoil in a country that isn't her own, who has promised her brother to avenge them against the man who killed her mother and potential new step father. This is about as far as I got, and extracting that much of the plot took some work. I have nothing against translations, I enjoyed Elegance of the Hedgehog, and am a big fan of all books by Paulo Coelho, but this one left me feeling lost.

Before this one came two books I really enjoyed and in which I appreciated the voices and contexts so out of my repertoire. These were The Color of Water by James McBride and The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips.

I came to The Color of Water in a roundabout way. I went to see The Rock Bottom Remainders in concert in NYC, and after hearing how well James McBride plays the saxophone, I wanted to read his writing as well. It turns out, it matches his musical skills. His story goes back and forth between learning about his mother's past in her own words, and telling his story of growing up the son of a white mother and a black father in a world not quite ready for the melding of the two cultures. He is insightful, poignant, and very readable.

The Well and the Mine takes place during the Great Depression in Alabama. It begins with a young girl seeing a woman drop her infant into the family's well, and continues on, looking through the eyes of each member of the household, as they try to uncover who the woman was, try to keep food on their table, and to struggle with racial relations which already feel outdated to them. While writing in an accent can come across hokey, it is well done here and helps to bring you into this small town which revolves around the mine where most of the men work. But Albert Moore wants better for his children, and works hard to give them a chance at a better life. It is a mystery, a coming of age book for the two girls, Tess and Virgie, and a glimpse into a time and place forgotten.

Before these great literary tales, I indulged my fantasy bone (does that sound wrong? Ah, well), and read the most recent installment of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, the inspiration for the hit HBO series True Blood (which I also adore). I had been waiting for this book to come out for six months, so my expectations were high, especially after the dark events that finished the previous book, Dead and Gone. Maybe those expectations lead me to some disappointment. I was glad to finally have Sookie with Eric, though I would have liked to see more of him in the book, especially since Alexei was such a haunting character. And I enjoyed Sookie at the werewolf meeting tripping out on shaman juice. But I didn't feel like Charlaine used this book to move forward much on the pressing issues of the werewolves in the mainstream culture or the power struggle in the Vampire hierarchy. Instead, it had a very neat conclusion to events only created within the scope of this book. I wanted more, since it's another year until the next installment. But I will eagerly await that book as well.

Skanking

Back in the day, when I was a teenager in the suburbs, underage and under-entertained, we had to make our own fun on Friday nights. Sometimes this meant going to TJ Maxx with a disposable camera and taking pictures of each other in the ugliest outfits we could find.
Or going to Bradlees (the Walmart of the times) and raiding the bargain music bin for the most awesomely bad hits to add to our Friday Night Cruising mix (because we had to listen to something as we hit up all these rad locations), like the classics of New Wave, Give Happy Head's Atomic Candy and Wave That Breaks Forever. Seriously, this is some amazingly ridonculous stuff.
Or going over to where the guys were having a sleep over and peeking in at them watching porn (and someone will have to explain to me why teenage boys watch porn in a group together, how is that not kinda uncomfortable?). And then just for fun, riling up the dog, so it keeps barking and spoiling the dialog for them by leaving messages written in dog biscuits and red vines on the hoods of their cars. Like I said, it was a small town.
But sometimes the thrill of these silly escapades wasn't quite enough to keep us going. That's when we decided to go skanking. Being underage in a small town meant we couldn't get into any clubs or bars or anything, there was literally no where but a bowling ally we could have gone to hang out. No, that's not entirely true, we could have hung with the cool kids at the Mobil Station in town. Exactly.
So, a couple of us girls got dressed up in our mini skirts and belly shirts and heels, put on our make up and did our hair, basically made ourselves look ready for the frat parties we had another year or two before we could attend, piled into my Acura, turned up the Friday Night Cruising Mix, and went skanking, driving around the local area, flirting with guys at red lights in other cars, and feeling hot in our skankiest ensembles.
On one of these occasions, I was driving us through town and stopped at a stop sign at the top of a hill before turning left. A cop car was coming from the right, but put on his signal to turn off, so I made my turn. Boom, he suddenly decided to go straight, lights and sirens on behind us. Now, I wish I could tell you I hit the gas and we fled to hide out in some seedy bar until the heat tapered off. But no, I pulled over, rolled down the window, and greeted the (male) officer with a friendly smile. He asked if I saw him coming, I told him I saw him signal, and he took my licence and registration back to his car, while us girls giggled in ours. He came back, gave me a warning to be safe, a smile, and let us go. No joke.
I think I may go listen to some Happy Head and relive the good days.