Random thoughts on a Saturday night in

When I recently ran out of TV series I wanted to Netflix, I started adding random movies, some of which I've mailed back without watching, because I'm not in the mood when then come.  But though I tend to really dislike romantic comedies, I felt compelled to do a little comparison of the two identical concept movies that came out last year, No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits (coincidentally each staring one of the stars of That70's Show).  I would have watched the latter just for Justin Timberlake, but the rom-com challenge seemed like an interesting way to go.  

So first up in the mail was No Strings Attached, and as he often seems to, Ashton Kutcher was cast as the guy who really is a romantic and wants to be the perfect boyfriend, but keeps dating bitches.  Natalie Portman (who seems like a really strange match for him I have to say.  Then again, she was less believable opposite Thor) plays the totally emotionally stunted medical intern/resident (that part wasn't very clear, particularly for a fan of House and Grey's Anatomy) who has no time or patience for dating, just wants to get laid.  Yes, it's a role reversal kind of game.  As you would expect, she is able to talk Ashton into the arrangement, but then he keeps showing up with like balloon and mix tapes, like a cat you snub who therefore becomes determined to win you over to its awesomeness.  They decide to slow it down by dating other people and have a big fight, but then she realizes she's jealous because she actually is in love with him, but by then he's been too hurt by her and thinks it's too late for them.  Enter medical emergency of a family member (I did enjoy Kevin Kline's character), our doctor character hears about it and shows up to be supportive, and everything works out finally, cue drive off into the sunset.

Friends with Benefits at least contains more of the comedy element, and further convinced me that I want to hang out with Justin Timberlake, because he seems like tons of fun, even if he is engaged to Jessica Biel and we could only be friends (I have to believe the thing about him loving Kris Kross as a kid and dressing like them is true).  So he is paired with 70's Show alum Mila Kunis, who plays her role fairly similarly to her part in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which I enjoyed, so that was fine.  Also, bonus for the cameo in this one by Jason Segel, and the supporting cast including Woody Harrelson and Jenna Elfman.  So, the story begins with Mila recruiting Justin for a job in NYC, because both are bright and talented with advanced careers and the money to have huge Manhattan apartments (always a pet peeve to see as a New Yorker).  They get along great, start hanging out, and become friends.  This is all fine.  Inevitably, while hanging out one on one, they start to talk about how complicated relationships are and how great sex is, wham bam, they are in bed together.  This is actually kind of great for all the tips they give each other, the banter and comic realities of the bedroom.  They keep this up until it seems like things are getting to relationship-like and decide to date other people, and this actually goes alright.  But Mila's new guy turns out to be a jerk, and then her mom bails on her for a holiday weekend, so she goes with Justin to LA to meet his family.  They of course love her, but in trying to convince his sister they aren't a couple, Mila overhears him say awful things about her.  She flees, they stop talking, all is lost.  But wait!  Both miss each other, realize they really love each other, and because of all his fancy work contacts, Justin organized a flash mob to ambush her, and we assume they live happily ever after.

So the stories are about the same, in the way those stories always play out in the movies, but I did prefer the latter movie, which had far superior dialog and screwball comedy.

However the thing they both made me think at the end is how that is absolutely NEVER the way those kind of relationships end up.  Like many modern Gen-?-ers (this is my new term for post-X pre-Millennials) I gave the arrangement a try, because sometimes actual dating doesn't seem like a real option.  I'm waiting for someone to write this movie, because both times I did this, it ended with the guy (who I was more interested in than he was in me) meeting another girl and hastily marrying her, and then getting divorced a few years later.  Turns out these girls were kind of crazy, and the friendship part of the deal I'd had with the guys beforehand was gone very soon, either because the girl sent a fake email from the guy telling me to go screw myself, or because the guy was indelicate enough about the end of the affair that I didn't want to have anything to do with him thereafter.  

Have I said too much?  My point is this: rather than it ending with both participants realizing they actually do love each other, and you really can't just have sex without emotion, it ended with the guys finding love at first sight with someone else entirely, and now being the only people I know personally of this generation who are already divorced, and I'm not in touch with either anymore.  How does that happen twice?  Which has to be twice as likely as the movie ending actually happening.  

I'm going to check what else Netflix has in store for me tonight.

Climate Change like Crazy

As a resident of the Northeast, I'm used to a certain amount of weird weather.  Sure, you can start the day sunny and 70 and end up with a hail storm.  Rain storms pass through seemingly from nowhere, soaking everything for 5 minutes and then disappearing.  My years spent in LA didn't make me as hypersensitive to any weather as you might think, though it is nice to see forecast after forecast predicting partly cloudy and high in the 70s ad infinitum.
But if you've been paying attention these past few months, you have to admit that the weather has gotten ridiculous.  If the term Global Warming throws you off because it doesn't always seem that warm, then just admit that the climate is not what it used to be.  As evidence, here is a highlight reel from the past four months in the New York area.
In late July, we suffered an extreme heat wave.  The temperatures were in the 100s for the better part of a week, made all the worse by the high degrees of humidity.  On one of the worst days, I refused to make the descent into the hellish subways and instead walked to a bus stop, taking a break every block inside an air conditioned store to cool and dry off before continuing on.  When I made it to the bus stop, I waited inside a nearby Duane Reade until the bus pulled up.  Clearly my experience could have been worse as over 20 people died from the heat that week. 

By comparison, August seemed mild.  However toward the end of the month, things took a turn.  Within one week, we experienced an earthquake and a hurricane.  Now, the earthquake actually hit in Virginia with a magnitude of 5.8, which is pretty large for the region.  Southern Californians would have yawned and gone on with their day, but on the east coast, people were pretty freaked out.  What we felt in New York was a minor tremor, but for people not used to the ground swaying, which you feel more the higher up in a building you are, it was a major event.  In my office, it prompted heated debates about whether the proper protocol is the stand in a doorway or to hide under your desk like in Cold War Air Raid drills.  (In case you are curious, the latter is now the preferred protocol) 

Some days later, the warnings poured in about the approach of Hurricane Irene, one of the rare tropical storms actually maintaining strength as it approached the northeast.  I remember Hurricane Bob, and boarding up the windows and all the men going out with their chainsaws to clear the road afterwards.  But it was 1991 and I was young enough that I just sat inside reading until the storm passed.  This time, it was a flurry of activity, everyone go buy water and canned foods, and fill your gas tanks for your generators, and get out the flashlights.  I went out to CT the night before the impending doom of the great storm and took care of these errands.  I also filled lamps with kerosene and pots with water.  The storm itself didn't really get going until late into the night, but then it ripped through, leaving our house without power for week afterwards.  Trees were torn up and toppled onto power lines and streets flooded, though in our area nothing compared to the damage done in New Jersey and Vermont.  For New Yorkers, it was a lot of alarm for not a lot of actual catastrophe.  There were some power outages, the trains and subways stopped running for a while, but no major damage was done. 

As Fall began, the Northeast began to put itself back together.  The weather was mild, remaining pretty warm through most of October, and the leaves changed slowly without frost hurrying their transformation along.

And then, Halloween weekend, we get this snow storm.  The idea of snow this early in the season isn't entirely unheard of, though usually at this point you would expect a light dusting, not even sticking to the ground in most places.  With the temperatures for the day staying above freezing, most of us expected nothing more than an unpleasant wintry mix that would result in slush.  We did not anticipate 5-6 inches of very wet, very heavy snow piling up everywhere.  Once again, I ventured out to CT, but because of Friday Halloween celebrations, I went out on Saturday in the thick of it.  A train ride that normally takes me a little over an hour to get to my home town instead lasted for over two and a half hours, at the end of which I couldn't even get all the way to my town as service on that line was suspended.  My parents came out to pick me up, winding through various routes to find where the roads were still clear and passable.  By the time we got back home, my travel time was over five hours.  The main cause of the excessive damage was that the heavy wet snow stuck to the leaf laden branches, weighing them down until they broke off all over the place, on streets, power lines, houses, cars, train tracks, etc.  My family was lucky, and, for maybe the first time in a storm ever, didn't lose power; aside from several down trees, our property is fine.  But over 800,000 people in CT did lose power, with no clear dates of when it will be restored, all the more dangerous for the sudden cold snap.  This was actually a record setting storm, according to ABC News: “The record for snow in October for New York City is .8 inches set on Oct. 30, 1925,” said senior meteorologist Paul Walker.

When you start talking about Historic and Record Breaking weather, you have to admit that there is something unusual going on with the climate. 

So going into the end of the year, we are looking at more extreme weather, nudged on by La Nina and the Arctic Oscillation.  Sometimes I can't help thinking that people with their end of the world survival caves and cellars might be on to something.

Good luck, friends.

Trick or Treat?

So Halloween is a little over a week away, and I feel unspirited this year. I really like Halloween, I like dressing up, eating candy, our big work Halloween party, mostly cheesy scary movies, the whole thing. Not to mention yummy pumpkin flavor treats (have you had the pumpkin spice scones at Starbucks? They are almost worth the price). Yet somehow this year, I haven't gotten into the spooktacular zone. I haven't bought a costume, though I have an idea, I haven't been to any haunted houses/hayrides or Halloween: Part 27 type movies, and there are no dangerous bowls of candy sitting around the office, free to take all you want. Something is very wrong here.

So how do I make things right, in a good, scary, is that guy dressed like a clown just jumping the gun or is he really psychotic, kind of way?

My first idea is that I need to go see the re-release of Ghostbusters in theaters.  The movie is a classic, the ghosts didn't even scare me when I saw it in the 80s for the first time, but are still more believable villains than in many current horror movies, and come on, Bill Murray. I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to bring this back, but I really should take advantage, cause I ain't afraid of no ghosts (except after seeing Paranormal Activity, that scared the crap out of me).

Next up, I just found Trader Joe's new pumpkin bread and muffin mix, and I think i really should make some delicious treats, which I can bring in to help fill the void of there being no candy dishes out and about. But seriously, I could go for a twix or a kit-kat. Oh, those white chocolate kit-kats, those are awesome. Or the Hershey's cookies and cream bars, those rock. Not to mention skittles and reece's pieces. I may have to make a run to the vending machine.

 

 

 

 

 

So I guess after all of the candy and muffins I have in mind, I'll have to plan a costume accordingly (as in no midriff baring slutty anything this year.  Except possibly slutty pumpkin).  But store windows around the city are telling me that zombies are the way to go this year.  What's great about that is you can be zombie anything.  It's the ultimate easy costume, you can wear anything and add some makeup, and bam, you're a zombie.  Seriously, a simple Google search will show you that nothing is off limits, there are no specific rules.  Granted, it's not a very attractive look, it may not be a good way to pick someone up at the bar on Halloween, but my own experience is that the same way your costume goes into the back of the closet as soon as the holiday is over, anything that happens in Halloween is best left hidden away in the dark.  So bringing the scary back to your costume instead of to your morning after is really the better way to go. 

So do I feel more spirited now...not yet, but hopefully soon.  Where's a flash mob Thriller reenactment when you need one?

Fincher's Dragon Tattoo

I just discovered the gloriously cryptic Mouth-Taped-Shut site with updates on the making of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -American version, as well as other Fincher-isms.  Love it.  And the rumor is that the behind-the-scenes shots are provided by Fincher himself, so even better.  Here is a trailer for the movie, in theaters in December, which looks awesome. 

I admit that I was initially skeptical about remaking the Swedish version, which was good, though lacked a fair amount of exposition, and cut the second tier characters (Erika Berger notably) down to almost nothing.  On the other hand, when Daniel Craig plays Mikael, his appeal to women of all stations and ages makes more sense than it did in the original.  But seeing that David Fincher craftsmanship, those haunting close ups of otherwise benign objects, the sweeping shots of the house and the woods, I can see the potential this new adaptation holds. 

As I mention, Daniel Craig plays our journalist and amateur detective hero, Mikael Blomkvist.  And as our leading lady of vengeance and no mercy, Lisbeth Salander, we have Roony Mara, a thankfully almost unknown indy actress who we can see in the role without picturing every other role we remember her from.  I really liked Lisbeth in the Swedish version, tiny and tatted up, but I am curious to see what this new actress can do.  Among the rest of the cast, Christopher Plummer is always a treat, and Stellan Skarsgard (father of my favorite vampire portrayer, Alexander Skarrsgard), who is eerie in his own right, should bring the right air of actual Swedish to the mix. 

As though the director and cast weren't enough to excite us about this movie, the soundtrack Trent Reznor.  I have to say, I never feel the need to rewatch The Social Network, but I bought the soundtrack because of how good he is at setting a mood. 

Also amazeballs: rumors of a Fight Club musical, because Fincher and Palahniuk together are just that awesome.  Because if they can do it with Silence of the Lambs, why the hell not?  I see a whole song and dance number for "His name is Robert Paulson."  Also eerie background voices singing "You are not your khakis."

Ready to Spit Nails

I don't usually get political here, but I read something yesterday that so infuriated me that I have no choice but to react verbally.

There are new proposed amendments to health care reform that include covering the cost of women's health care, including birth control without co-pay, counseling about sexually transmitted diseases, screenings for HIV, screenings for cervical cancer, abuse counseling, etc. Of course this has become a bi-partisan issue, as liberals and conservatives cannot agree on anything involving how much involvement government has in the way women use their bodies. There are, of course, much greater implications here, since we are dealing with the prevention of diseases and of unwanted pregnancies.

The way that conservative commentator Sandy Rios went off about this reform recently, comparing the coverage of women's preventative and follow-up care to covering manicures made me want to literally beat some sense into her. And by the way, I could get 5 manicures for the cost of one pack of my OCPs (clearly not the point, but I could go off about this for hours.) Also, my nail salon has never offered me counseling of any kind. I have caught athlete's foot from the pedicure baths though, so maybe they should be more aware of disease prevention.

She also asserted that women should not have the option of consequence-free sex, the way that men do. You know, because we are an inferior, weaker sex and all. It's much better to encourage your daughters and granddaughters to have teenage pregnancies and rely on you to raise the children they don't yet have the independence, financial stability, maturity, or wisdom to raise themselves, than to encourage them to simply be responsible for themselves by having safe sex should they choose to have it. No, wait, that's completely reversed from logic.

But Sandy wasn't the only one to react in completely offensive and derogatory ways. Congressman Steve King also decided to speak in gross exaggeration with inflammatory remarks about how providing free birth control targeted the poor, and if the poor no longer reproduced at their current rate, they would cease to exist. In fact, if people didn't have any unplanned pregnancies, the human race would die out! You know, because over-population isn't a problem for us. And being poor is a genetic condition passed down to children like hair color. I'm sure poor families who had less children wouldn't have a greater opportunity to pay off their debts and actually make their way out of poverty. The world is not at a loss for people struggling from economic burdens, nor is the US. The lower class will not simply die out because they are provided options. Way to write a horror story, Steve King.

You'll notice the only issue these people are pouncing on is that of access to safe sex options. They are condemning a much larger package (one that notably includes disease prevention information and screening, and help with dealing with domestic abuse or rape) because their moral compasses expect all unmarried women to abstain from sex, period. Nevermind the reality of the situation, nor the fact that not everyone can be expected to have the same set of values. In a study conducted in 2008, 36% of women aged 20–44 are single, and nine in 10 single women are sexually experienced. Obviously these numbers are changing all the time, but generally speaking, about 90% of unmarried adult women are sexually active, and therefore ought to have easy access to birth control and information about safe sexual practices. Again, these are women over 20 years old, not teenagers. They have every right to choose how they want to use their bodies and how they want to live their lives. And considering how much more controversial the issue of abortion is, denying women the option of birth control, or the morning-after pill should something go wrong, is condemning them to have to make a much more difficult decision.

The State of the Printed Word

I don't typically write about my job, and I won't go into specifics, but the fact is that it's a nerve-wracking time to be in the publishing industry.  The past couple of weeks have feature many closed-door conversations, which I've witness from the outside, sometimes overhearing yelling, sometimes watching someone virtually run out of an office afterwards.  And sometimes the doors are left ajar and I am able to glean a little more. 

Basically, the triad of the recession, the ebook revolution, and Borders collapsing has sent the world of print books into a bit of a tailspin.  We aren't down and out yet, but we are bleeding.  Sometimes we bleed in the form of layoffs, sometimes just financially, and sometimes more bookstores are brought down as collateral damage. 

Since the economy took a dive back in 2008, all businesses have taken a hit, and publishing is no exception.  While you might think the newly unemployed would have a lot more time to spend reading, it seems that buying books is not a priority for those updating their resumes and counting how long they have left on unemployment benefits.  Impulse buying in every market has dropped, books included.

It was 2010 when ebooks really began to make an impact.  Between the Kindle, the Nook, and the IPad, plus many other devices, people are finding it easy and convenient to download their reading materials all onto one portable tablet and leave the paperbacks behind.  More than any other genre, Romance readers have come to appreciate the anonymity ebooks provide their reading choices.  There are far less mass market books being bought every month as digital book readers take over the niche.

And the long slow death of the book store giant that is Borders has finally been declared.  While we all hung on to hopes that someone would buy them out and continue to sell the merchandise, no such savior arose.  Books-A-Million plans to buy a number of stores, and so some book selling will continue through that account, but a lot of stores, their employees, and their inventory are simply defunct.  Along with them go all of the publishing house reps who sold to the chain.  And as one of the strongest sellers of mass market books, this compounds the problem that ebooks brings to the format. 

So now we all huddle in our cubes, trying to avoid shrapnel from the fall out, and hoping that independent stores will rise again in the void left by the demise of the book selling giant, and that people will always want the experiencing of holding a book in their hands, turning its pages, and getting lost in the printed words.

Books to check out

It's been a while since I posted any book reviews, but trust me, I have been reading constantly.  A lot of what I've been reading either isn't out yet, or isn't available in paperback, but that shouldn't stop you from taking note of it, or finding it in hardcover or ebook (no seriously, please keep buying physical books!). 

Those Across the River (on sale 9/6/11) is a mystery with a fantastical bent.  You don't have to be into werewolf books to read it, because the setting, characters, and mystery are compelling enough on their own, but that element is also present for those who like a dose of un-reality.  It is a fast read, set in Georgia in a slow-moving town in the period between world wars.  Everyone is dirt poor, very Christian, and afraid to remain in the woods across the river after dark.  It doesn't take long to figure out what they are afraid of, even if they aren't sure what it is.  Quick and entertaining, this is a fun book.

The Magician King (on sale 8/9/11) is the sequel to last year's triumphant original, The Magicians.  You absolutely do need to read the first book first, as the second picks up right where we left off, assuming you already know these characters and their history.  For those not familiar, these are magical books for a non-Harry Potter audience, which isn't to say that you can't enjoy both, as an adult (not suitable for children).  Here, the magicians curse and drink and fornicate while mastering complicated spells and using them to gain fortune and other earthly rewards.  This second book is divided between the stories of two characters: Quentin, the title character we followed through magic school in the first book, and Julia, his high school friend who I had all but forgotten by the end of the first book, and had to refresh my memory about. The story in the "present" is Quentin's, in which Julia plays a role, as the magicians travel all across Fillory, their magical kingdom ala Narnia, and beyond on a quest. The other story is that of Julia's past, what happened to her while Quentin was off at Brakebills earning a first class magical education. I found the story of her struggle to learn magic at any cost more intriguing, but that may be my taste for the sadistic side of life in literature.  Once again, the end is left open for a sequel.

On a completely different note, You Deserve Nothing (on sale 8/30/11) is a poignant and thoughtful book, told from three intertwining points of view. Set in Paris and revolving around a teacher and two students at the ISF, a school for Americans whose parents are stationed in France, you are wrapped in a feeling of being out of place. Most of the students don't speak French, and there is a Lost in Translation kind of aura to it.

Will, a divorced teacher in his early 30s, wants badly to inspire his students, though he himself is uninspired. Marie, a girl of about 17, is used to living in the shadow of her best friend and worst enemy, Ariel, and wants to be seen and loved by someone on her own merits. And Gilad wants to fit in somewhere, wants to be Parisian and to please his favorite teacher and to have the courage to stand up to his father.
As Will's class studies existentialism, all of these characters find that they have to compromise in a world unsuited to idealists and dreamers.

If you haven't already heard about A Discovery of Witches (currently available, or on sale in paperback 12/27/11), get on it!  Yes, their are witches, vampires, and daemons, but their are also wonderfully detailed descriptions, eccentric and endearing characters, and an underlying commentary on prejudice and bigotry.  I don't know one person who hasn't enjoyed this book, including those who don't tend toward fantasy.  It's a story of clashing fantastical factions, of history, and of the forbidden romance between a witch and a vampire.  I dare you not to like it.  We are all salivating for the sequel. 

 

  

The Death Instinct (available now, or in paperback 1/3/12) does not have a single magical or fantastical creature.  It is a compelling historical novel, propelled by strong characters and a central mystery. The book opens with the first terrorist attack on American soil: a bombing on Wall Street in 1920. The country is in a post-war dysphoria, heightened by prohibition, and eager to elect a new president in the first election after granting women’s suffrage. Against this backdrop, New York Police Captain Littlemore and his friend Dr. Younger attempt to piece together how this bombing was planned. But Dr. Younger has another mystery to solve: who is out to get his friend (and love interest) Collette Rousseau, a Frenchwoman he met during the war and brought back to the States, along with her mute little brother, Luc. Rubenfeld also treats us to period cameos by Freud and Marie Curie.  This book held my interest and had me trying to keep up with Littlemore’s instincts, while hoping for Younger and Collette to finally get together.  I highly recommend this one.