Archive | May, 2006

Keri Russell Kicks Ass!

7 May

Mission: Impossible 3 is alright. Tom Cruise is at his enthusiastic, speaking-with-such-forced-integrity, stunt-happy best, and there are some good action scenes, but all told, I wasn’t blown away.

First off, it’s funny to even call this the third movie in the Mission Impossible series. Since each film was directed by a different director and, with few exceptions, has a different cast, there’s hardly any continuity between them. This one just felt like an action flick, independent of the series.

In fact, were it not for the theme song, it probably could have been a big-screen, male-centered episode of Alias.

I mean, the movie plays in a number of ways like an early episode of the show: Ethan keeps his real job a secret from those he loves, there’s a kooky computer/IT guy, there’s a torture scene that takes place in a dentist’s chair in China, plenty of disguises, and oh yeah, even Greg Grunberg has a quick cameo (he is writer/director J.J. Abrams’ best friend and J.J. puts him in most everything he does).

The only real difference is that Tom Cruise doesn’t kick ass like Jennifer Garner does. (Or did.) Continue reading →

Food for Thought

7 May

I don’t understand the Walk for Hunger.

I mean, who is for hunger? Shouldn’t the event be called the Walk Against Hunger?? Wouldn’t that be a more accurate name? It’s kind of like WalkAmerica. You don’t actually walk America. Just six miles of it.

I’m just wondering. Don’t mean to mock such worthy causes.

Olé!

5 May

I’ll bet you didn’t know this, but Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays.

No, it’s not because I have lots of Mexican friends and I respect their heritage.

And no, it’s not because I love to throw back a good margarita every now and then.

It’s because of the utter simplicity of the holiday’s name. Continue reading →

Comcastic!

4 May

alternate headline: Dad Was Right!

My sister and I often make fun of the fact that my dad, whenever he calls the cable company or a credit card company or any other customer service person, starts the conversation by saying, “First of all, thank you for your help.” His even-keeled nature is something I’ve inherited, but I’ve never quite developed an appreciation for the whole “kill ’em with kindness” thing he is such a fan of.

Well, last night I had to call Comcast (my chronic problem of turning on the cable box and getting a black screen needed to be dealt with asap) and for some reason, my natural instinct was to start the conversation with my dad’s “Thank you for your help” greeting, which I never do. About three minutes later, after I explained my problem, the guy paused me and said, “By the way, thank you for saying thank you. No one ever does that, or at least I’ve never heard it.” And he proceeded not only to help me with my problem, but also to give me all kinds of inside info about how I can get high definition reception on my less-than-HD television. He also told me that the fact that I’d had “only” five or six different boxes in a year and a half was actually good, comparatively, and that this summer Comcast expects to do away with these troublesome Motorola boxes altogether and introduce ones from new vendors (including TiVo). Further, he gave me the scoop that when Comcast initially introduced these DVR boxes, there was a supply and demand problem, so I should pay attention so I don’t get left out of the new devices. In total, I think I was on the phone with the guy for about 15 or 20 minutes just chatting away (sorry if anyone was trying to get through), and I walked away with a much better impression of Comcast than I had before. Now that’s customer service.

When I hung up, I realized that my dad was right, and being nice to the guy upfront paid off. That’s what I call an example of good karma, I guess, and proof that as always, though sometimes I don’t want to admit it, Father Knows Best.

Is It Spring Yet?

3 May

Over the weekend, I was discussing with Stephani the idea of forcing the seasons. She revealed to me that she’d recently moved her winter shoes to the back of her closet, and put her warmer-weather shoes in front. It’s not just a practical thing, she said, it’s psychological. After all, it’s May and even if the weather is still on the cooler side, it’s still springtime according to the calendar. I can buy into that, I replied, and told her that in a similar vein, I refuse to wear my winter coat until at least December 1 because every fall, I refuse to give into winter before I absolutely have to.

I’m posting this story because I feel like in recent years it’s taken longer and longer for spring to actually arrive, and quite frankly I’m sick of it. What happened to spring? It seems like we’ve gotten into a pattern of skipping over the season completely and going directly from winter right into summer. As spring is my favorite season, this simply will not stand.

Today, the third cold and gloomy day in a row here in Boston, I’ve done my part to force the season. At the risk of sounding like a girly-man, I’ll admit that I deliberately wore one of my brighter shirts — an orange, blue, green, white, and red striped one from the Gap — and it seems to be working. Aside from being told by various people that I look “citrusy” (as opposed to “fruity,” thank you very much) and that I can be seen from across the office, I can actually feel the weather changing. Through the skylights of my office, I can detect a clearing of the sky. The rain has stopped. And when I go out for lunch in a few minutes I’ll verify if, in fact, the temperatures are actually climbing.

Sure, this God complex is probably all in my head, and if I had only watched the weather report last night I would have known that regardless of what I wear and do, temperatures will be in the low 70s on Friday. But still, I think Stephani was onto something and that it has to be in my head if I want there to be a spring this year. If mother nature’s not going to cooperate, then I say, “Screw her.”

The Guy’s Got Balls

2 May

I hate to be crass, but um, Derek Jeter does himself no favors by promoting the Yankees’ “mini balls” on the cover of today’s New York Post.

What is he — and the team itself — thinking?

This One’s For Evan …

1 May

… and all the other Yankee fans out there.

(Thanks to Amy for the photo)

Purple Read

1 May

Another story of mine has gone live online, so I thought I’d post a link.

I interviewed LaChanze, the star of Broadway’s The Color Purple, for the May issue of Continental. Just click on the link to check it out. Continue reading →

Walk On By

1 May

You probably could not have asked for a better day than yesterday for WalkAmerica.

Skies were as blue as possible, with nary a cloud in the sky, temps in the high 50s (or low 60s — weather reports were conflicting), and a slight breeze off the Charles.

 I wore my track pants for the first time since I went skydiving.

My company’s team, in typical fashion, didn’t wait to be told “go.” Instead, we left 15 minutes before the official start time.

The walk itself was great; no sweat, as predicted. When most of our group seemed to split up and splinter off into smaller duos and threesomes, Stephani and I stayed together.

We finished the entire six-mile walk in just over two hours.

At the finish line, there was all kinds of food waiting for us (good thing, because I was starved), including delicious cake from Montillio’s (mmmmmmmmmm).

And, to top it all off, I had raised $350 in advance, which will be matched by my employer.

Thanks again to all who contributed.

All in all (despite a minor sunburn), a great day. (Click on the pictures to see a bigger version of each one.)

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