Hot Fun in the Summertime

19 Jun

It was a very warm weekend here in Boston; I guess summer is finally here. (Woo hoo!)

It was also a busy one for me.

Among the highlights, I spent part of Saturday on the Common with Amy, Amy, and John. It was another one of our ‘stravaganzas — this one was dubbed the MarcottMartinStravaganza, in honor of our birthdays.

Usually we have brunch and go bowling, but because of the weather, we opted for an outdoor activity. Thankfully, we found a shady spot for our picnic that kept us cool. Continue reading →

Just an Urban Legend?

18 Jun

Apparently, a lot of you out there like cupcakes … in all their varied forms.

My recent post about the new Johnny Cupcakes store has had the most hits of any posting I’ve written (at least it seems that way), thanks largely to UniversalHub.com, and one guy has even posted about my posting, albeit with a false reasoning (i.e.: he overlooks the fact that Newbury Comics actually sells comic books, but Johnny Cupcakes does not sell cupcakes).

And people are still commenting on my site about Johnny Cupcakes even though the posting is three weeks old.

In fact, in more than one place I’ve read that on weekends, Johnny’s mother gives out homemade cupcakes with any purchase.

So, because I’m not entirely a bad person, I’ve been back to Johnny Cupcakes twice now on weekends. And wouldn’t you know it, both times there were no cupcakes.

And no one I know has had a cupcake from Johnny Cupcakes.

It’s kind of like the stories I’ve heard from people who live in Los Angeles: it’s illegal to jaywalk there, and no one I know has ever gotten a ticket for it, but they have all heard of someone getting one.

So I ask: Do these free cupcakes actually exist? And if so, why don’t they exist when I’m in the store? Does this mean Johnny is tracking me, and does he know when I come by? Is he hiding them when I am in the neighborhood? And also, is he reading my blog, and enjoying the publicity?

I have nothing against the guy. I just want a cupcake. Is that so wrong?

Get Your Kicks … Elsewhere

16 Jun

Cars is cute.

And that’s both a good and bad thing.

It’s good because it’s colorful and fun to look at, but it’s bad because it borders on childish and doesn’t have the wide appeal of Pixar’s other recent films.

I’d even say it’s the worst of Pixar’s films since A Bug’s Life.

Now of course, let’s put things into perspective: a bad Pixar film is still better than many other releases. And Cars isn’t necessarily a bad movie. It just doesn’t have the same spark or endearing qualities of The Incredibles or Monsters Inc. Continue reading →

I’m Really Losing It

15 Jun

So the weirdest thing has happened to me.

Last Thursday night, after foraging through my kitchen for something to eat (I still hadn’t gone shopping after my vacation), I settled on some Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. And because sometimes I do stupid things, I sat on the couch and ate about half a strip of ’em.

Maybe 10 cookies total.

Well, the very next morning, my pants didn’t fit. I mean, they were too big. It was really odd. Not that they were obscenely big or anything, but for the first time in I don’t know how long I really needed to wear a belt. Continue reading →

House Is Not a Home

12 Jun

To put it in the most simple way, here’s what’s wrong with The Lake House:
1. It makes no sense; how can things that happen in 2004 not affect what happens in 2006?
2. Keanu Reeves can’t act, but even worse, he can’t read a letter
3. Although it’s not overly long (108 minutes), it feels long
4. It makes no sense
5. Keanu and Sandra Bullock have no connection, other than they have to get together by movie’s end
6. When they do get together, it’s absolutely nauseating
7. It’s stupid
… oh, and did I mention the movie makes no sense?

And also, alright, so they’re “sending” each other letters through this one mailbox. Well, what happens when they get actual mail? Does it get delivered in 2004 or 2006? And when the mailman shows up, if he sees a letter meant for one or the other, does he mail it?

There. I’ve just saved you $10. If you want to see a decent movie where the two romantic leads don’t share much screen time, rent Sleepless in Seattle. And of course, if you want to see these two together in a good movie, rent Speed. I’m giving The Lake House a C–.

ps: It’s a shame the movie’s so bad. When I interviewed Shohreh Aghdashloo for Continental, she had such nice things to say about it (not that any of that made it into my article).

A Real Show Man

12 Jun

The Tony Awards were handed out last night, and for the fourth year in a row, Continental has proven to be a positive jinx. What I mean is, whatever we’ve had on the cover of our May issue has won. In 2003, it was Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won best actress for Hairspray. In 2004, it was Idina Menzel, who won best actress for Wicked. Last year, it was Spamalot, which won best musical. And this year, it was LaChanze, who won best actress for The Color Purple. The cooler part, at least for me, is that I interviewed Idina Menzel and LaChanze thinking both would be a front-runner for the award. I also interviewed Sutton Foster, who was nominated last year and this year (though she didn’t win either year), and suggested profiling Winokur back in 2003. So, because my Tony prognostication skills are apparently quite good, I just thought I’d gloat for a minute on here. Congrats, LaChanze!

Pass This Bar

11 Jun

I’ll keep this one short. Keeping Up with the Steins begins with a hysterically over-the-top Titanic-themed Bar Mitzvah that takes place aboard a cruise ship and actually features the guest-of-honor yelling out, “I’m king of the Torah!” But that’s the high point. Soon after, the movie becomes a better-than-average movie-with-a-message, perfect for Hebrew school viewing. For mainstream audiences, much less non-Jewish ones, I don’t think the movie’s all that great or worth seeing. Jeremy Piven does his Jeremy Piven thing, but he’s more enjoyable on Entourage. So, Steins gets a C+ from me.

At Least I Got an Umbrella

11 Jun

umbrellaI’m happy to report that my 10-year reunion has come and passed.

And while I only went to the barbecue on Saturday afternoon (which was moved indoors because of the weather), that was clearly enough. Continue reading →

California Dreamin’

8 Jun

As promised, here’s a link to all my photos from my trip to Los Angeles last week (minus a handful that were deemed “unworthy of public viewing”). There are two separate photo albums, and each one covers two days (it’s easy to switch from one to the other, just click on “Browse all albums (2)” and then scroll down.) Be sure to read my captions for explanations of what everything (and who everybody) is.

If you want some context, here’s my recap of Friday, my recap of Saturday, my recap of Sunday, and my recap of Monday.

And fyi, unlike those used with the daily recaps, the photo above is actually one of mine.

Some Birthdays Are Happier Than Others

7 Jun

Today is my 32nd birthday (as if I hadn’t mentioned it before) and I hope the day goes better for me than it did for Michael James Emanuel Jr. You see, for his sixth birthday, Michael’s family left him behind at Chuck E. Cheese and didn’t even realize it until the next day. I’m not sure how a six-year-old boy gets left behind on the day of his birthday party, but, well, happy birthday to you, Michael. I hope you got to play a few extra games of Skee Ball and earned some cool prizes. Just remember, it could have been worse: you could have been left in a hot car with the windows up, or in a locked freezer.

But on a much happier note … did I mention that today is my birthday? And did I mention it’s one of my favorite days of the year? Oh, and if I forgot to say something earlier, it’s my birthday today. Thirty-two. That’s right, all day long I’ll be celebrating my 32nd birthday. So yeah, happy birthday to me. Woo-hoo!

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →