Despite the crummy weather, I only saw one movie this weekend: North Country, starring Charlize Theron. My review in brief: Good film, worth seeing. Acting’s good all across the board. Charlize may be Oscar-nominated again, I suppose, but she won’t win. The film gets a B+ from me.
Is the Head of the Charles really this weekend?
I remember when this was one of the biggest events of the year, when you’d make plans with your friends to go over, watch some races and make a whole afternoon of it, and it felt like the whole city was over there on the water.
In fact, I even remember when Mr. Stickman went out rowing on the Charles River on the same day as the Head of the Charles and got hit by the Brandeis crew team. (One of Vijay’s best Mr. Stickman strips from back in the day.)
Then last year the weekend was more significant because it coincided with games one and two of the World Series and, well, people had better things on their mind. Continue reading
They say that everyone out there has a twin, and while I doubt this guy looks anything like me, he does have the same name for his blog: Martin’s Musings.
My proof that the only thing we have in common is the name of our blogs? He’s a married conservative Christian, with two children and one chocolate labrador retriever, who lives in Phoenix. His favorite books include The Holy Bible and his favorite movies include True Grit and The Passion of the Christ.
Thankfully, it sounds like we’re both rooting for the Houston Astros to win the World Series, so at least we have something in common …
Since it’s officially fall, allow me to announce that today is the first Tie Thursday of the 2005–06 season. From now until May (or, depending on the weather, June), I’ll be wearing a tie every Thursday, just as I’ve done for the last few years. Continue reading
So here’s an etiquette question: Let’s say two guys standing in the middle section of a car on the T (i.e.: not on top of anyone) are having a discussion. Not a loud one so that it’s disruptive to those around them, but admittedly one about a topic that everyone seems to have an opinion about (i.e.: Theo Epstein remaining the general manager of the Red Sox). Do you interrupt and join in on the conversation?
If you’re the random guy who did just that to Todd and I last night, well, I guess you thought there was nothing wrong with this. But Todd and I surely didn’t want to talk to this guy, and we didn’t appreciate his butting in. Were we wrong to act not all that interested in what he had to say? Did we perpetuate the unfriendly image that so many people seem to have of Bostonians? Or were we perfectly justified to not really indulge his desire to add his two cents to our conversation?
Personally, I think the guy should have minded his own business. Call me rude, but we didn’t care what he had to say. We certainly weren’t forcing our opinions down anyone’s throats (the T wasn’t that crowded), and we were amusing ourselves quite well until this guy stood up and joined us. And then he wouldn’t leave us alone! Blah, blah, blah, Theo’s parents won’t let him leave town. Blah blah, I once heard Dan Shaughnessy speak, blah blah blah.
Suffice it to say, the guy was good for something: He gave me something to write about today. But really — am I wrong? Is it alright to butt into someone else’s conversation on the T?
I think I may have coined two words during dinner tonight.
monoblogamist (mon-o-blog-a-mist) n. A person who regularly only reads one blog, either by choice, or due to time constraints or lack of interest, or because the blog he or she has found is so entertaining that no other site can compete. David likes reading “Martin’s Musings” and has decided not to read any other blogs out of loyalty to Martin. — also: monoblogamy, the practice of only reading one blog
polyblogamist (pol-ee-blog-a-mist) n. A person with the habit of reading multiple blogs regularly. Heather is a blog fan who reads “Martin’s Musings,” “Planet Gordon” and “Universal Hub” daily. — also: polyblogamy, the practice of reading multiple blogs
Use these today and help spread the word(s).
I received the following press release today:
<< Executive producer Sharon Osbourne has announced the Tuesday, October 18 release of a star-studded recording of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” exclusively on iTunes to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina and survivors of December’s devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia. The special song — originally recorded following the tsunami, but unreleased until now — features vocals from Elton John, Mary J. Blige, Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Gwen Stefani, Ozzy Osbourne, Andrea Bocelli, Steven Tyler, Phil Collins, Katie Melua, Robert Downey, Jr., Pink, Gavin Rossdale, Kelly Osbourne and Scott Weiland, with music performed by Velvet Revolver.
iTunes will forward the song’s entire $.99 download fee to “Save the Children,” which will help fund the long-term rebuilding of the lives of children affected by the natural disasters. Donations made in the U.S. will go directly to the Hurricane Katrina victims, while monies received outside the U.S. will be assigned to the tsunami relief fund. >>
Now, I’m all for charity and the contributions of musicians and singers following tragic events, but, um, couldn’t Sharon Osbourne have picked a better song? Something hopeful, and not depressing or inappropriate given the context? Were all the good songs taken? What about “Bridge Over Troubled Water“?
Now I know I’m not writing Pulitzer Prize-level stuff here, but for the second time in three days, my blog has been quoted in the Boston Globe.
Today I’m in the “Sidekick” section writing about two movies I saw this weekend, Elizabethtown, which I hated, and Capote, which I loved. Check me out!
(Since “Sidekick” isn’t online, I scanned the quote; click on the image to see it bigger. And here’s a link to the first quote from Sunday’s paper.)
Thanks to my sister and her fiancee for one of the best laughs I’ve had in a long time.
On Epicurious, the online recipe site, you’ll find recipes for most every dish — including “Salted Water for Boiling.” (Yes, I guess some people need a recipe for that.) But that’s not the laugh, see.
The site allows for comments from readers, and this particular recipe, which went up in November 2001, has so far accumulated 637. That’s six hundred and thirty seven reviews about boiled saltwater. Here’s one posted just a couple days ago by “kinwart,” a reader from from Southern California:
I hated this recipe. I didn’t have any water so I used juice and I don’t like salt so I substituted with baking powder. It was nasty. Don’t waste your time.
When you have the time and want a laugh, click here to read the other 636. (It’ll help if you’re in a particularly silly mood.) You’ll thank me later.
That’s it, folks. You’re looking at the best magazine cover of the last 40 years — at least according to the American Society of Magazine Editors.
You may recall that back on September 29, I posted something about ASME’s competition to select the best magazine covers of the last 40 years. Well, the winners have been chosen, and John and Yoko top the list.
If they say so.
Coming in second was the shot of Demi Moore looking large and lovely on the August 1991 cover of Vanity Fair, followed by an April 1968 photo from Esquire of boxer Muhammad Ali with arrows in his body (a cover that Radar magazine recently parodied with Tom Cruise standing in for Ali). 
The Saul Steinberg drawing of New York’s West Side dwarfing the rest of the country, published in The New Yorker on March 29, 1976, came in fourth. Esquire‘s May 1969 image of Andy Warhol drowning in a can of tomato soup took the fifth spot.
For the complete list of 40, click here. Of course, the famous National Geographic cover that we all know is on the list (#10 — I’d have ranked it higher), as is the cover of the first issue of JFK Jr.’s George with Cindy Crawford made up like George Washington (#22). 
There are three 9/11-related covers, and a five-way tie (!!) for #37 that includes Time‘s infamous “Yep, I’m Gay” cover with Ellen Degeneres and Fast Company‘s “Brand Called You” cover.
It’s a pretty interesting — though just a bit odd — group. I mean, I’d never pick the John and Yoko cover as the best cover, though it is a great one. But then again, they didn’t ask me, did they? And considering the examples I cited in my previous post, it’s probably better that they didn’t. 🙂
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