In what’s feeling kind of like a retro activity these days, I’ve been watching some TV shows on DVD these days.
Angel Season 5. Probably haven’t seen it since it went off the year in 2004. I’d forgotten so many details it almost seemed new at times. I remembered that Angel and Spike had an epic fight over who got to shanshu, but forgotten just how awesome that entire episode—Destiny—was.
So good I had to rewatch with commentary. And be still my Spike-loving heart if the commentary didn’t reveal that in the first draft of the script, Angel won the fight. Only, after the scripting out each vampire’s arguments, they came to an inevitable conclusion: Spike was the better man. He was the deserving one.
And he won the fight.
(Vid above is a fan edit, not the original show. And like everything I tried to embed, not allowed. All have to be watched YouTube.)
Then there’s Everwood, Season 1. This I can be forgiven for not remembering, as I’d never seen it before. I’d seen later season, but not the start of it all. As it was somehow in memory as a good but rather sentimental program, I was a bit startled by some of the rawness, as in the epic fight (another fight!) between father and son in the pilot, below.
Another example? Episode 4 dealt with a breakout of gonorrhea among the teens of the town. Gonorrhea of the throat, to be precise. (“But I’m a total virgin!”)
Finally, the much-lamented Freaks and Geeks, which lasted only one season, but launched so many careers:
This year’s Oscar host, James Franco.
Jason Segal of How I Met Your Mother and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
John Francis Daley—Sweets on Bones
Seth Rogen, unlikely movie star and leading man
Busy Philips, now Laurie on Cougartown
And of course, that Judd Apatow guy.
The following short (1 minute) scene, in which Lindsay’s parents try to decipher the lyrics of The Who’s “Squeezebox”, is one of the damn funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I’ve got to watch the commentary track of that episode now.
I have friends who are really interested in photography, and one of the challenges some of them follow is this Sunday Stills idea, a weekly blogged photo challenge. A week or two ago the theme was High Tech / Low Tech, which resulted in two contrasting photos of eReader vs books: Robin’s | January’s.
That led me to thinking it would be interesting to do that with music: LP > CD > iPod. Main problem was, I’m really not interested in staging or taking photographs. Fortunately, though, I live with someone who is. So the following is a joint effort. I picked out the items. Jean staged them, took several photos from many angles, selected the best ones, edited those to be better, and here we are:
The iPod is just so little, isn’t it? Dwarfed by the five albums it contains, not at all obvious that it contains thousands more.
Yet, the LP lives on as well, and I think this also shows why. So big. So tangible. So warm, as they say. With every new LP you buy today, you also get a code to download a digital copy. The best of both worlds.
James Franco, Jon Hamm, David Strathairn. Docudrama that looks at the creation of and controversy around Allen Ginsberg’s beat poem, Howl.
She says: The movie cuts between Ginsberg’s reading of the poem (either actual reading in a cafe, or enlivened with animation of the words), the obscenity trial it was at the center of, and an Ginsberg being interviewed about Howl. Not for everyone, but as someone who had heard of Howl but had never heard Howl, I found it interesting.
He says: The canoeing guys asked me about the movie. I really didn’t know what to say.
The Globe and Mail has spent a fortune redesigning itself—again. And certainly, I have no problem with the smaller page size, the increased colour, the glossy pages. But the content…?
The rumor was that, in trying to attract a younger audience (or something), there would be more “fluff”. But really, I find it’s in the “fluff” — the arts, the life stuff — that have been downsized the most.
The 7-day TV listings on Friday I used to program the PVR to? Gone.
Rick Salutin’s always interesting Friday column? Gone.
Tabitha Southby’s often hilarious Saturday column? Gone.
Movie reviews? Greatly reduce. Book reviews? Ditto.
The Style section, which I used to generally love its seemingly being aimed primarily at rich Torontonians, is barely worth looking at anymore. Pictures of expensive clothes. Repeats of the Style emails I already get. Russell Smith’s column reduced to a paragraph. Wine reviews now in list format, with rating numbers. So easy to scan–I sometimes miss it completely!
I’m starting to feel like I should be getting a discount, I’m getting so much less that actually seems worth reading. For the first time in many years, I’m actually think of cancelling my subscription.
Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. An inside look at those responsible for the creation of Facebook.
She says: Witty, fast-paced, and fascinating look at the anti-social nature of the man who created Facebook. Made me want to read that old New Yorker profile again.
He says: A really fascinating movie about really sad, unlikeable men.
Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz. After years of con jobs, one of two brothers wants to quit. His brother convinces to do one final con. It will all work great—as long as he doesn’t fall in love.
She says: Its quirky style reminded me a lot of the TV show Pushing Daisies. The plot twists and connection between the actors kept me interested. A very interesting film—in a good way.
He says: Man, I’m tired. [Then later.] I think I missed too much sleeping to follow the plot.
I lost it quite some time ago, and I always found it irritating that I had to make a phone call—rather than fill in on some kind of online form—to get it replaced. So I didn’t bother. I don’t really go to Cineplex theatres all that often. I don’t like them. They’re tacky and crowded. Most of their movies play either too early, or too late. (6:45 or 10:00? These are my choices?) After charging me too much, they play too many commercials and movies. (The “pre-show”, they call it. Ha!)
But, if you want to see 3D or big-scale epics—and I sometimes do—they’re the only game in town.
And it would niggle at me that I’d have to say “No” to the “Do you have a Scene card?” prompt. So, having formed the plan to see The Social Network this weekend (review soon, but in short, it was good) I made the phone call and a new card is on its way. So someday, I may earn a free movie. At the theatre I hate going to.
In fact, points accumulation is our cornerstone of our family budget. We have a joint MBNA TravelRewards card, and we use it as much as possible. Because we have family in Timmins, and it’s far to drive there, but expensive to fly. But with this card, a mere 15,000 points gets you there by air, for only the cost of the taxes on the ticket. Yes, it has an $85 annual fee, but trust me, we save quite a bit more than that on each ticket. And yes, the interest rate on it is appalling, so it’s absolutely critical to pay it off in full each month. But so far, that’s not been a problem. And the points have also taken us to Boston and San Francisco.
But why stop there, eh? (That would hardly be Canadian.) So despite the resulting bulging wallet, I also carry:
Air Miles card. Though I get the majority of my Air Miles by paying my Primus phone bill, and few more from shopping online through their portal, I still carry the actual card around in case of stops at LCBO. Of course, I don’t use these points to travel—they accumulate far too slowly for that. Mostly, I cash them in for gift cards to Chapters or iTunes. Which take three weeks to arrive, and then you have to go through the bother of redeeming before you have any actual free stuff in hand. Kind of an exercise in patience, this card.
Shopper’s Optimum card. Because I do go to Shopper’s semi-regularly. I don’t have much strategy here. I usually just wait until it gets to $10 off, then cash that in the next time I spend at least $60 there. I have no idea if that’s a wise approach.
Club Sobey’s, because it’s the nearest grocery story to my house, and actually, points accumulate pretty fast on this puppy, at least if you spend as much on food as we seem to. Strategy here is to redeem $15 once it reaches $30 off. (Because it’s faster to get from $15 to $30 off again than to start from $0.)
Beat Goes on card. A retro card, matching the retro products they carry (physical CD, LPs, and DVDs): Made of paper, you get a stamp with each purchase; when it’s full, you get a free CD or DVD.
Then there’s all those stores who track your points for you, at the store, sans plastic. Meaning that I’m currently also accumulating points at:
Is that a lot? Am I a points queen, completely typical, or just a lightweight?
Apparently, I don’t see much of a downside to these reward programs. I did hear that those who are savvy about using points credit card (meaning they always pay them off, but also accumulate enough points to get rewards) have a slightly inflationary effect for everyone else who doesn’t do that. That is, prices rise slightly for all to helping pay for my rewards. Umm, sorry about that, I guess.
And yes, there probably are times I’ve selected a particular product or even store because I get points there. But I don’t think it’s out of control yet.
Then, finally, the whole privacy issue. But really, given how much Google, for example, knows about me, what’s the big deal about Sobeys Inc. knowing that I buy food? Or Air Miles thinking I’m a wino with a modest phone bill and occasional online shopping habit? And Cineplex? They must think I haven’t been to a movie there in three years, when the Social Network caused me to break my fast.
In yet another week where we seem to have something on every night, tonight’s event was a wine-paired dinner at Bloom, the newly named student-run restaurant at Conestoga College. But I just couldn’t resist the offer when it showed up in my mailbox.
It was a four-course dinner, with wine, for $36. The featured winery was Fielding Estates. The menu was as follows.
Amuse: Apple turnover, red pepper mousse, and spicy sausage of some type. Seems a weird mix, but every thing was quite nice.
Starter: Lobster Bisque scented with Vanilla and Basil Wine: 2008 Fielding Chardonnay
I was very impressed with this wine, which turned out to be a small batch of 200 cases, so I may not get to have it again. The lobster bisque was also nicely done. I wasn’t so sure about vanilla scenting it, but it was a moderate flavoring, just giving the soup a touch of sweetness. The little spoon we were given to eat it with was kind of awkward, but it did look cute with the little bowl.
Second course: Salt Cured Foie Gras accompanied by Mango and Pineapple Salsa served on Toasted Brioche Wine: 2008 Fielding Gerwurztraminer
They do a nice cold foie gras here. It’s not strongly foie gras flavored, but has a lovely texture. Mango isn’t totally in season and so the texture wasn’t ideal, but that’s a quibble. The taste was still fine. The Gerwurtz, which is available at LCBO, was less impressive than the Chardonnay but still a very nice wine.
Main: Navarin of Lamb, Mint and Celeriac Sauce, Sweet Potato Rosti and Harvard Beets. Wine: 2008 Fielding Carbernet-Syrah
A “navarin” turns out to be a stew kind of thing, combined with peas and potatoes along with the celeriac. The whole thing had a slight sweetness that was quite appealing, and excellent texture. The rosti and beets were a little tougher than they should be, but tasted quite. The wine was quite delicious. Not big, but fruity enough and with the acidity necessary to make it food friendly. It’s a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah. Available from the winery.
Dessert: Chocolate and Caramel Baked Alaska Wine: 2007 Select Later Harvest Gewurtztraminer
The wine was very nice, with an apple sweetness to it. It didn’t quite stand up to the dessert, but that’s OK. The dessert on its own was quite fine. The caramel was pretty subtle, with the slightly chocolatey meringue and ice cream predominating.
All in all, definitely a deal for $36.
The service had the slight awkwardness one might expect of students learning their craft, and generally lacking in downright funny moments of the now mythical “wine cupboard” night. But it was slightly amusing to be told that they had only one type of tea, “and I’m not sure what it is. It starts with O.”
Last night Jean and I took in some belated Halloween viewing and watched the pilot episode of AMC’s new series, The Walking Dead. All I knew about it was that it was about zombies, and it was supposed to be good.
So I was expecting it might be kind of scary, but wasn’t expecting it to be quite so—intense, I guess, as the warning said.
Because this not be a “fun” zombie series. In fact, they’re not called zombies at all, but walkers—the walking dead, you see.
But I should backtrack. The premise is a small town sheriff who is shot and goes into a coma. When he awakens from it, he finds the world much changed. Most people in it are dead. But some—well, it’s not quite accurate to say they don’t stay dead, because they are still dead, but they don’t stay still. They rise. They lumber around. They look for live flesh to feast on. The only way to stop them is to damage their heads (shooting being the most efficient way). While easy enough to get away from one on one, in a frenzied crowd, it’s a different story.
The whole thing is treated quite seriously, and is therefore horrible. Decaying corpses. Adorable little girls with teddy bears but rotting faces. Pathetic paraplegic zombie woman. And worst of all, loved ones rendered as walkers. Could you shoot the face of the person you loved and just watched die?
So. It was good, but it really wasn’t the ideal thing to watch right before going to bed.
If you’re curious, AMC is rerunning the pilot this Friday, apparently. Then it’s continuing on Sunday nights, in Mad Men’s old time slot.
Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard. A 16-year-old girl takes up with an older man, and starts to reconsider her plans to attend Oxford.
She says: A simple enough story, but a great, funny script by Nick Hornby along with strong acting by all made it very engaging. You do kind of want to tell this young girl to run screaming from this older (though charming) guy who is tempting her away from university, but the character is very intelligent, and her arguments about how much an education will benefit her at time (early 1960s) when career prospects for women are very few can’t that easily be dismissed.
He says: This movie just made me way too uncomfortable. The whole premise was wrong. I could barely watch it.
Through the So You Think You Can Dance Canada season, I’ve been taping my favorites to DVD. In advance of tonight’s final show, I just rewatched them all. Be interesting to compare my picks with the judge’s.
Week 1
Bree and Edgar – Sexy hip-hop
Of course, with Bree having been eliminated so early, no way this will be in the final show. I love how sexy it is, but that’s apparently the very reason these two ended up in the bottom three that week: People were offended by it! (In the video, the actual dancing starts around 1:37.)
Hani and Tara-Jean – Nico’s jazz routine
Yep, also won’t be there, given than Hani was the first to go! Seemed completely unfair, though, both that he ended up in the bottom 3, and that the judges dismissed him along with his injured partner.
Week 2
Nathalie and Mackenzie – Hip hop
Seems I either love the hip hop or am completely indifferent to it, and this one, I loved. I think it’s partly the song, which I liked so much, I bought! (Also a very rare thing for me, with hip hop.) And these two white, contemporary just did a great job with it.
Charlene and Jeff – Contemporary
Having rewatched, I have to say, I don’t think I’d include this one. It was fine, they danced it fine, but there was just so much contemporary this year! Nothing especially stood out about this one. I can’t even remember the choreographer, but it was probably Stacey Tookey.
Danielle and Sebastian – Theatre
This one, on the other hand, was very memorable. I think Sean Cheeseman may be my favorite choreographer. This seemed to suit Danielle and Sebastian perfectly.
Week 3
Amanda and Denys – Quickstep
Someday, someone needs to explain to me why in the ballroom dance classes I take, quickstep is considered one of the easiest. It’s typically the first one you learn. Yet on this show, it’s taken as gospel that it’s the hardest. Either way, Amanda and Denys nailed it.
Charlene and Jeff – Hustle
Oh my God, just as impressive on the second viewing (well, it’s more than my second). Still think this is the best disco I’ve ever seen on one of these shows. They were amazing.
Week 4
Nathalie and Mackenzie – Blake’s contemporary
I think I’d like this better if I didn’t now know that the tatoos represent Blake and Mia Michaels (are we ever going to find out what that was about?), but it was a fairly striking contemporary piece. And at least neither was supposed to have a disease.
Amanda and Denys – House
The number that, insanely, landed these two in the bottom three. Aren’t they great? (By the way, this is the closest Denys got to hip hop in the entire competition.)
Week 5
Charlene and Mackenzie – Latin
Some sexy Latin thing they did. Another one that, on retrospective viewing, I’m not sure deserves a place here.
Amanda and Sebastian – Contemporary
Amanda is afflicted with something here—Alzheimer’s? An eating disorder? I don’t remember. (When I tape, unlike YouTube, I don’t include the intro.) Sebastian tries to uphold her. Clearly, I liked it at the time, but they did way too many of these “issue” dances this year. (Ever since that cancer number made a big splash on the American show…) Caused each to lose something in the repetition.
Claudia and Denys – Samba
Clearly I wasn’t being overly picky this week, but Denys was great as usual, and Claudia kept up reasonably well.
Danielle and Edgar – Contemporary
Mostly notable for how well Edgar handles this dance, given that it’s not his genre. Danielle looks remarkably strong (physically, not as a dancer) with him. And, I love this song!
Week 6
Janick and Denys – Tango [Edit: Paso Doble]
Possibly at some point I just started taping everything Denys did? Although this was a good tango paso doble (and Janick’s first appearance on the DVD). But I can’t say I particularly remembered it before rewatching it just now.
Amanda and Mackenzie – Afro-jazz
Another one I didn’t remember all that well, but it is nicely done.
Claudia and Jonathan – Hip hop
This one, I actually remembered! Because I was so surprised how good they both were. On rewatch, I remained particularly impressed with Jonathan (and Claudia still wasn’t bad). But don’t expect to see it again, as they’re not top 10, and there’s a tour to promote… [On edit: Or, not so much, apparently…]
Group number by Mia Michaels (results show)
Even though I taped some, I’ve been mostly ignoring group numbers and solos in this list (as it’s already insanely long), but had to include this, as I think it’s possibly the single best thing done all season. Wow. Just, wow.
Week 7
Danielle and Denys – Contempory (military loss)
On rewatch, this really is my favorite contemporary number of the season. I can tell the story without any preamble, it’s incredibly touching, Danielle is just amazing, and Denys is Denys.
Week 8
Edgar and Amanda – Hip-hop mannequins (Luther Brown)
I think Amanda actually held her mannequin positions better than the hip-hop boy, but whatever, it was a very fun number. (Amanda is actually quite amazing, especially given her young age.)
Janick and Jeff – Blake’s jazz fusion
Nice sexy number, with whips and cages! I was impressed how well Jeff, who looks so Pillsbury dough boy, pulled this off. Amazing what eyeliner can do. Great dancing doesn’t hurt, either. (And apparently not offensive often for either to be eliminated, which is good.)
I’ve left off the “Top 4” show, as it’s not taped yet, but my favorite there was definitely the Sean Cheeseman “royalty” number that Janick and Jeff did. After that, Nico’s contemporary with Denys and Janick.
My picks (not necessarily predictions) for top dancer are 4. Janick 3. Jeff 2. Amanda 1. Denys.
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