If this November is going to be the first time you vote in an election, then this video’s for you. (If this is not going to be your first time voting in an election, don’t worry — you can watch too.)
http://www.cnn.com/video/savp/evp/?loc=dom&vid=/video/politics/2008/08/17/loftv.daughtry.video.cnn
From its inspired, brilliant first 10 minutes, right on up to the closing credits, you’ll be on the floor laughing yourself silly over Tropic Thunder. This satire of Hollywood pretension, action films, Vietnam War films, method acting, tyrannical studio heads, overzealous agents, Oscar bait, and basically anything related to the art of moviemaking, is just fall-down flat-out funny. No, those trailers at the start of the film — before the credits — aren’t for real movies, but they’re totally dead-on. All the acting — by Ben Stiller (who also cowrote and directed), Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, and especially Robert Downey Jr. — is hysterical. The screenplay is filthy and at times offensive, but always meant in good fun. To ruin any of this movie’s pleasures would be wrong, so I’ll just tell you it’s the funniest movie of the summer and give it an A–. The film’s tagline is Get Some. I agree.
Just a quick kudo to the MBTA and their bus service. I was in my beloved Harvard Square tonight having dinner with Amy, and knew that getting home would involve some strategerie. Used to be that when I lived in Coolidge Corner I could just take the 66 bus and it would go right to Babcock St. Now that I live where no buses go, I needed a new plan. Anyway, long story short, the 86 bus went right to the corner of Comm Ave. and Chestnut Hill Ave., and after a quick two-stop B-line ride, I was home in no time. Seriously, the whole trip took less than a half hour — a fraction of what it would have taken if I had used the subway. So, nice job MBTA. That’s a pretty sweet way to get from home to Harvard Square and vice versa.
But if I can just throw in my two critical cents: Why does there have to be a bus stop on, like, every block? It’s worse than the B line used to be. It’s worse than the 66 bus. Can’t people walk like the people who take the train do? Especially considering all the traffic lights we have to stop at, there’s really no reason the bus has to stop sooooo often. Otherwise, I love taking the bus. Woo hoo!
I’ll admit it: I’ve come down with an acute case of Olympic Fever. I’m nowhere near obsessed, but I’ve definitely watched more of the games than I ever thought I would. It’s all been pretty exciting. And while I think there’s been waaaaaaaaaaaay too much Michael Phelps coverage already — c’mon, NBC, can’t we have just one Phelps-free day? — my favorite part of the coverage so far was last night when Bob Costas read off what Phelps’ typical breakfast is. I’m not making this up.
“Three sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and mayonnaise, one omelet, a bowl of grits, and three slices of french toast with powdered sugar. Then he washes it down with three chocolate chip pancakes.”
In total, the guy eats between 8,000 and 10,000 calories a day. Wow. And apparently, he has a hard time packing on the pounds, too. I wish I had his problem, and I eat just a fraction of what Phelps does. Amazing. Not only is he an impressive athlete, but he’s also got the best diet in the entire world. He washes it down with three pancakes? It’s official: Michael Phelps is my hero.
Here’s a clip to help me make my point.
On the morning of August 7, 1974, while many New Yorkers were hurrying to work, a lithe Frenchman named Philippe Petit was more than 100 stories above them, walking from the top of one of the Twin Towers to the other and back again.
The story of this amazing and unlikely feat is told in the fantastic new documentary Man on Wire.
Why did Petit do it?
Well, it’s almost the same answer as the one given by George Leigh Mallory when he was asked why he was attempting to climb Mount Everest: “Because it’s there.”
Petit, too, is driven by simple motivation. He’s a performer, and he thinks that to walk on a tightrope between the buildings would be an act of incredible beauty. Continue reading
Early on during his show Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, Bruce Springsteen played a special request for “the coach,” who apparently was in the crowd: Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”
Well, for a while on Saturday, I was wondering the same thing.
And silly me, because it became a non-issue.
Like the Boss himself sang later in the show, “Don’t worry Darlin’, now baby don’t you fret.” Although it rained pretty hard at times during the afternoon and there was a heavy downpour again around 8:15, by the time Bruce and the E Street Band took the stage around 9:30, the sky was clear and there were stars out.
It was perfect.
So Bill Belichick, I think you have your answer: Bruce stopped the rain. Continue reading
Martin's Musings 