Archive | February, 2007

Look Out for That Bus!

8 Feb

So after last night’s episode of Lost, it’s official: a character getting hit by a bus is my favorite plot twist on a TV show. You don’t see it all that often, but when it happens, BLAMMO! — it’s an effective shock that makes the episode even better. I remember the first time I saw the Felicity episode where Todd Mulcahy was hit by the bus. It was so random and unexpected that I laughed as I jumped out of my seat. And last night, when Juliet’s ex-hubby got hit, I had the same reaction, minus the laugh. It was shocking and exciting and unexpected. There are so many clichés of TV shows, but characters getting hit by a bus just hasn’t gotten old yet, and I hope it never does.

Poor Little Rich Girl

8 Feb

Andy Warhol is famous for, among other things, saying, “In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” And in the new movie Factory Girl, we see how Andy took one woman — Edie Sedgwick — gave her those 15 minutes, and then threw her away. Sedgwick (played in the film by Sienna Miller, Jude Law’s former squeeze) was an aspiring artist from a wealthy family, who became Warhol’s muse and a central figure in his “Factory” in the 1960s. She was transformed by Warhol — and not just physically — and the film takes us on the whirlwind ride from bottom to top and back down again. And it feels like a whirlwind because the film is only an hour and a half long — which, mind you, is not something I’m complaining about, but it definitely feels a little too short because there clearly has been a bit of editing here, and it feels like certain details are missing. Miller is good, but I didn’t get the bigger-than-life sense about Sedgwick or Warhol (played by Guy Pearce, from Memento). I mean, she was swept up into this world, and really, it didn’t seem all that cool or exciting to me. It’s interesting to think of how different the movie would have been had Katie Holmes been cast as Sedgwick (not better, I think). All told, I’m giving Factory Girl a B–.

Taking My Time

7 Feb

In every issue, Esquire runs a few quick endorsements.

So allow me to run one of my own: the random day off.

I’ve become a big fan of taking nothing-special-to-do, just-a-day-off days off as a chance to just hang out, relax, and catch up on my life. I took a couple in December when I was trying to burn them off (at my company, if you don’t use your days off, you lose them), and I took one today too.

The benefits of these kinds of days off are plentiful: You can sleep in. You can watch morning TV shows, such as Regis & Kelly, or Ellen, or old Dawson’s Creek reruns (oh, and today’s was a classic from back when Brittany Daniel was on). You can run errands at stores like Shaw’s or Target, go to the movies (more on that later), or walk down Newbury Street, and all of it is practically empty.

Similarly, you can actually do your laundry because no one else is competing for the machines. I also enjoy treating myself to a nice-er lunch, or rewarding myself simply because I’m not at work.

I’ll likely take another day in a month or two so I can go to the doctor for a physical.

I think we all tend to save our vacation days for actual vacations (I know I generally do), but I highly recommend taking random days off like this when you have the chance.

She Has My Vote

7 Feb

In the absence of anything better to write about … Just thought I’d tell y’all that I’ve already picked my favorite American Idol contestant: Haley Scarnato, who was on the show last night. Clearly, she impressed the judges — especially Randy, who was totally, obviously flirting with her. Simon thought she wasn’t unique, but given the crap that’s been on so far, the fact that she’s this good makes her unique. I think the foundation is there for her to make a strong run during the competition, and it’s not just because she’s really cute. So take a look and join me in the campaign to make Haley Scarnato our next American Idol!

I’m Not Lovin’ It

3 Feb

What is happening to Coolidge Corner? I mean, I’m no fan of Mickey D’s, but the news in today’s Boston Globe that the McDonald’s in Coolidge Corner is closing is something of a shock. (I guess I missed the story when it was in the Brookline Tab a couple weeks ago.) Apparently, the real estate that it (and the florist next door) occupied will become a Citibank location (sigh — another bank taking up residence in Coolidge Corner). Again, I’m not saying I like McDonald’s, but given that the space previously occupied by Zathmary’s that’s been closed and unoccupied for almost a year is still without a tenant, why doesn’t the bank go there? McDonald’s, for all its chaininess and bad foodiness, etc., is another one of those ‘Corner institutions that you just assume will always be there, like J.P. Licks or Zaftig’s. In fact, one of the best memories I have of this Mickey D’s (and this may be the only one) is after seeing Super Size Me at the Coolidge Corner Theater, when I had a sudden, unpredictable hunger for some Chicken McNuggets (no kidding. I thought the movie was supposed to have the opposite effect). The Coolidge Corner McDonald’s was right there across the street to satisfy me. So, whether or not I ate there recently (and I don’t think I have for at least a year or so), I’ll be a little sad to see this Mickey D’s go when it closes later this month.

Whack-a-Mooninite!

3 Feb

Saw this on UniversalHub.com this morning, and thought it was too funny not to post here too.

After the stupidity of the past week’s events, why not play a game of Whack-a-Mooninite?

Seems the area where I work is full of ’em. That’s the Dunkin’ Donuts I go to right there in the middle of the photo.

Anyway, go ahead and play.

Now That Would Have Been Cool

2 Feb

A friend of mine e-mailed last night and told me she thought “that gorilla campaign was moronic.” And of course, this got me thinking about how much more exciting this all would have been if it was an actual gorilla campaign and not a guerilla campaign.

Can you just imagine what it would have been like if there were gorillas on the side of 93 or outside a T stop holding up signs to promote the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie? That would have been so so so cool.

These Lite Brite thingamabobs are not cool at all by comparison.

And can you just imagine what would have happened when the gorillas got loose? King Kong only had one gorilla.We could have had 38!

Talk about a missed opportunity …

This Is So Not da Bomb

1 Feb

If you ask me, this whole bomb threat hoax story is a load of whooey.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t learn about the whole thing until 7pm last night, and only then it was because someone from out of town called me to ask about it, but it seems to me that the city is overreacting and, at least to me, it’s pretty ridiculous and kind of funny. This is a marketing effort that had been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities — including New York — and yet here is where the officials missed the boat? Huh??

What I want to know is, what happened in the other cities? Did no one notice, or were the folks there smart enough to realize it was a silly guerrilla marketing campaign for the movie version of a TV show that’s popular with college kids? I mean, those things didn’t look like bombs. And I’ll bet that as soon as folks who knew what they were saw the Mooninites being taken down, they laughed. I mean, even online in the Blogosphere, by early afternoon people knew this was related to a Cartoon Network program. So why all the extended hullabaloo? Why are city and state officials seemingly out for blood? Is it just because they look like like idiots? Is this a major CYA campaign? No one likes to be made a fool of, no one likes to be stuck in traffic for a stupid reason, etc. I get that. But this just reeks of overreaction.

So what of these poor guys who have been arrested for putting the things up? They’re just patsies in the whole thing. They were doing their jobs. Any young person in marketing or advertising hired to participate in something like this would have done the same thing. Give them a break. They’re not responsible. They were just doing what they were paid to do. Hell, I don’t even think the Cartoon Network deserves this much wrath. They apologized. That’s enough for me.

So yeah, I just don’t get it. Yes, I understand how on edge people are post-9/11, but c’mon. Lighten up, people.

[And as a side note, I love the fact that you can buy t-shirts to commemorate this whole thing.]

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