To My Neighbors …

2 Mar

Just a quick, public note to say how much I hate you. I hate you very very very very much. I hate you so much and I can’t stand it anymore. I want your violin strings to snap. I want your bows to break. I want both of those things to cause you bodily harm. I wish nothing good for you. I’m more than pissed off.

Since September I have put up with your your violin playing, complaining about it only on this blog. It has gone on day and night, for hours on end. And I think I’ve been more than tolerant and flexible about letting you play without banging on any doors or walls, or reporting you to the building management company. I’ve even dealt with your smelly cooking, which has stunk up the hallway, and every so often would back up into my kitchen sink — largely due, I was told, to the fact that you did not understand how to use a disposal. I’ve never spoken to you, even though we live next door to each other. But that day is coming and you’re not going to like what I have to say.

Do you have any conception of how loud you are, and of the fact that if I walk to the opposite end of the hallway I can still hear you playing? Do you know how annoying it is to get home from a long day of work and hear your screeching violin playing echoing through the hallways? Do you know how difficult it is to enjoy a TV show or to relax at night when you’re playing? Do you have any common decency or respect for your neighbors? Do you? I guess not.

Last week when you began playing violin during the Oscars, I finally lost all my patience, went beyond my breaking point, and reported you to Hamilton. I know they called you and sent you a note telling you it’s building policy that loud noise such as violin playing is not allowed. And yet, it’s Sunday evening and after listening to both of you playing your violins this afternoon for two hours — solo, and then together, and then solo again — now you’ve started again. Ladies, that’s enough. No, it’s more than enough. I’ve had it. This is fu**ing ridiculous. In fact, I’ve complained to Hamilton again (they asked me not to complain directly to you). Actually, I emailed them this afternoon and I’ve done so again this evening. And yes, I know I’m moving in about a month, but I don’t care. You must stop. Now. You must go to the practice studio at your school and practice there — just like my upstairs neighbor does. You must never cross me in the hallway. You must cease to exist in the building. And most definitely, you must stop knocking on the wall the very second I laugh at something on TV, as you have done twice this past week.

I’m generally a very nice person. But even I have my limits. If you keep playing your violin, I will keep reporting you to Hamilton (as they have asked me to do), and they will kick you out of the building. I hope that when they send you a second notice tomorrow morning that you will understand what they say and take it to heart. Otherwise, it will only get worse for you. Because if Hamilton’s efforts don’t produce results, then you’ll have to deal with me. And I can assure you, when my passive aggressive nature turns less passive, you will not like it. I, however, will enjoy making my last weeks in the building as unpleasant for you as I possibly can.

So please, for your own sake, please (and yes, I’m still saying please) quit it with the violin playing. Immediately.

Thank you.

– Martin

ps: Obviously, this picture is not of you. Just in case anyone else was wondering.

Raise this Roof

2 Mar

Hey there. Just a quick plug because an article I’ve written is now live on the Interweb for you to read and enjoy. It’s about the new Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which for the first time features an all-African-American cast. I interviewed Debbie Allen (who you most likely know from the TV show Fame), and, well, you can see what she had to say right here.

Power to the People

1 Mar

As an idealistic but still naive college freshman, I signed up for a class called “The Sixties” my first semester at Brandeis. The professor, Jerry Cohen, captivated me with stories of protests and social upheaval, and explained how the youth movement tried to transform the nation. And, he told us about how Brandeis itself was a hotbed of activity, and how graduates like Abbie Hoffman were central to the activism of the decade. This course excited me like no other course would, and it started my college education on an inspiring foot.

More than 15 years later, the lessons of Jerry Cohen have come back to life with the movie Chicago 10, a documentary about the infamous trial of the Chicago Seven — folks like Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, and Bobby Seale — who were put on trial for conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to violent protests that took place in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. (The title comes from a quote by Rubin, who said, “Anyone who calls us the Chicago Seven is a racist. Because you’re discrediting Bobby Seale. You can call us the Chicago Eight, but really we’re the Chicago Ten, because our two lawyers went down with us.”) Director Brett Morgen mixes archival footage with computer-generated cartoons and a modern-day soundtrack to illustrate the trial and the convention week events. As historical documents go, it’s pretty cool to actually see a lot of the older footage and see how folks protested the Vietnam War. It’s also fun to see Hoffman in action; he comes across here as more of an agitator than a political activist, since he seems to delight more in getting a rise out of people than making actual change. The trial itself was a bit of a farce, since few of the defendants took the proceedings seriously. Judge Julius Hoffman (no relation to Abbie) was basically a crotchety old man who looked down on the defendants and made his disdain for them clear. And the fact that they all basically got off only emphasizes how silly the whole thing was.

Morgen uses the actual court transcripts as the script for the cartoon segments (with folks like Nick Nolte, Hank Azaria, and Mark Ruffalo providing the voices), and to be honest, these are some of the weaker segments in the film. The animation isn’t terribly impressive, and the back and forth with Judge Hoffman gets sort of old. On the good side, songs like the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” are used to good effect to amp up the protest footage. I generally liked seeing these events I had in my head actually playing out in front of me. And it’s nice that there’s no present-day analysis from anyone, because what’s happening basically speaks for itself. But that said, the film is missing some degree of insight, and some extra degree of engagement that prevented me from being completely impressed. So I’m giving Chicago 10 a B.

Movies I’ve Seen

26 Feb

(2007 Releases)

Click on the link for my review:

1. ALPHA DOG

2. CATCH AND RELEASE

3. BECAUSE I SAID SO

4. FACTORY GIRL

5. BREACH

6. ZODIAC

7. REIGN OVER ME

8. THE HOAX

9. THE LOOKOUT

10. FRACTURE

11. IN THE LAND OF WOMEN

12. SING NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE

13. SPIDER-MAN 3

14. WAITRESS

15. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END

16. KNOCKED UP

17. ONCE

18. SURF’S UP

19. OCEAN’S THIRTEEN

20. RATATOUILLE

21. PARIS JE T’AIME

22. EVAN ALMIGHTY

23. A MIGHTY HEART

24. LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD

25. SUPERBAD

26. HAIRSPRAY (x2)

27. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE

28. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

29. TALK TO ME

30. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

31. 3:10 TO YUMA

32. INTO THE WILD

33. IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

34. THE KINGDOM

35. AMERICAN GANGSTER

36. MICHAEL CLAYTON

37. THE DARJEELING LIMITED

38. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES …

39. RENDITION

40. GONE BABY GONE

41. LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

42. DAN IN REAL LIFE

43. LIONS FOR LAMBS

44. FRED CLAUS

45. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD

46. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

47. ENCHANTED

48. I’M NOT THERE

49. BEE MOVIE

50. JUNO

51. CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR

52. MARGOT AT THE WEDDING

53. I AM LEGEND

54. WALK HARD

55. SWEENEY TODD

56. THE SAVAGES

57. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2x)

Jimmy’s "Revenge"

25 Feb

You may recall a couple weeks ago that Sarah Silverman announced on her boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel’s show that she was, ahem, sleeping with Matt Damon. Well, last night on his post-Oscars show, Jimmy got his revenge with the help of guest — and Matt’s best bud — Ben Affleck, not to mention a boatload of big names (watch for the cameos by Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford). Check it out.

Not to state the obvious, but if this has any shread of truth (and yes, yes, I know it’s a big joke), then that certainly paves the way for me and Ms. Garner.

Good Show!

25 Feb

What can I say about this year’s Oscars? It was the best, most enjoyable show in quite some time. The winners were spread out across a few films (even The Bourne Ultimatum won three), and most of the winners spoke very well. Of course, I was very happy about Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova winning Best Song for “Falling Slowly,” the song from Once (and I loved what Glen and Marketa had to say — and that Marketa got a second chance to speak), and I liked that There Will Be Blood won not only for Best Actor but also for Best Cinematography. I liked the “surprise” of Tilda Swinton winning Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton too; that category could have gone any one of four ways, with all four deserving of the award. But really, my favorite part of the show was not Jennifer Garner (surprise!) or even Keri Russell but Jon Stewart, who simply rocked as the host. He had so many great lines, he had a lot of confidence, he was hip and cool, and he just did a really nice job. I loved when he came back from a commercial break and was playing Wii Tennis. (Here’s a link to the text of his very funny monologue.) The show felt like it moved very quickly, even if it did last about 3:17, and I just had a great time watching. I even enjoyed the montages — especially the Bee one (me! me! me!). Props to Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen for their presenting. And on the subject of Jen Garner, no one knows what was up with that Gary Busey ambush, but here’s how he defended himself. So, another year over. Now onto a new year of movies.

He’s Still the Man

25 Feb

I’ve written previously of my great respect and admiration for George Clooney — not a man-crush, but a real appreciation for the man — and if you want further proof of why I think he’s just so damned cool, all you have to do is read Joel Stein’s article in the new Time magazine. Here’s the scenario: Clooney accepted an invitation to have dinner at Joel’s house, and the two (plus Joel’s wife) downed about four bottles of wine, ate near-raw rack of lamb, and clearly had a great time over the course of about five hours. Oh, and when an alarm of some kind went off, Clooney went all through the house to look for it. (If you follow the link, you can watch the video of him doing so.) Well … color me jealous. How I would love to have been at the table with them, or to have the opportunity to hang out with George myself (with or without his girlfriend). Read the article and I’m sure you’ll feel the same.

Whoa … Pretty Woman

24 Feb

People, look at this photo and tell me now you understand why I’m just a little obsessed with Jennifer Garner. Wow. She looks amazing. Click on the photo for a much bigger version. (Thanks to Jen-Garner.net.)

Great with Social Cues

24 Feb

This is from Saturday’s back-from-the-strike, Tina-Fey-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live:

Prime Time

24 Feb

If I could eat every single meal — alright, fine, every single dinner — at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, I would be a very happy man.

(I’d probably also be really fat.)

Iceberg wedge salad with lemon basil dressing. (Mmmmmm.)

Filet mignon, medium, served on a sizzling-hot plate, with a dollop of butter to make it extra juicy. (Oh-my-God-beefy-goodness.)

Shoestring potatoes, seasoned just right. (Yum.)

Chocolate explosion cake. (So good.)

I love love love love love this restaurant. Just thinking about my meal Saturday night makes my mouth water.

When can I go back?