Monday, March 28, 2011
WHEN YOU READ SOMEONE'S FUTURE, THEY MUST THINK OF A QUESTION. THEY MUST HOLD IT IN THEIR MIND. THE CARDS ARE READ IN SEQUENCE, EACH CARD LEADS TO THE NEXT. WE MOVE FROM TERROR AND LOSS TO UNEXPECTED GOOD FORTUNE AND OUT OF DARKNESS, HOPE IS BORN: Flavorwire's Christine Jordan imagines where the My So-Called Life characters are now.
CLEARLY THE BEST THING TO COME FROM OTTAWA SINCE SARAH CHALKE: At the start of last weekend, two Senators fans enjoyed a song at a hockey game.
MOTOWNPHILLYFORGOTTEN: The fine folks at the Village Voice surveyed 15 prominent music critics, asking them to name the 5 Boyz II Men songs to hit #1 on the Hot 100. None of the 15 got all 5, and most stalled out at 3 or fewer. Can you do better (without peeking)?
TWO NON-NON-BLONDES: I enjoyed both Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer this weekend, a pair of films about pretty boys being forced to use their brains in new and creative ways. Each film has one pretty odd logical gap: if you've become supersmart through your supersmart pill, isn't the first thing you do ensuring an unlimited supply of the drug? In the latter, well, there are some questionable assertions as to the power of Realtors, and I'll leave it at that.
Both films have side attractions of note: the Philadelphians among us will appreciate Limitless for its repositioning multiple local sites to New York City -- including the Marathon Grill at 18th and Market and the former AAA Building at 21st and Market (both flanking my office), Del Frisco's, Union Trust, Rittenhouse Square and The Happy Rooster; and for Lincoln Lawyer it's the deep supporting cast with folks like Bryan Cranston, William H. Macy and Frances Fisher all used well in small doses. Also, Limitless has towards the end an incredibly silly moment that had the audience tittering with anticipation (hell, I shouted "do it!"), and you'll know it when you see it.
Neither film is essential viewing; both fall under the category of "if you were thinking about seeing this movie, you'll probably like it." I can't say that either Cooper or McConaughey have wrested the That Guy crown from the other quite yet, but I think the universe has room for both.
Both films have side attractions of note: the Philadelphians among us will appreciate Limitless for its repositioning multiple local sites to New York City -- including the Marathon Grill at 18th and Market and the former AAA Building at 21st and Market (both flanking my office), Del Frisco's, Union Trust, Rittenhouse Square and The Happy Rooster; and for Lincoln Lawyer it's the deep supporting cast with folks like Bryan Cranston, William H. Macy and Frances Fisher all used well in small doses. Also, Limitless has towards the end an incredibly silly moment that had the audience tittering with anticipation (hell, I shouted "do it!"), and you'll know it when you see it.
Neither film is essential viewing; both fall under the category of "if you were thinking about seeing this movie, you'll probably like it." I can't say that either Cooper or McConaughey have wrested the That Guy crown from the other quite yet, but I think the universe has room for both.
A SWARM OF SYNERGIES ... A TRUCKLOAD OF TIE-INS ... A TAKE-AWAY CARTON OF CROSS-MARKETING ... A LOT OF ALOTT5MA FAVES: Beginning today, and presumably for a limited time, New York and Los Angeles will be visited by food trucks serving menus designed by Tom Colicchio to celebrate George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire fantasy franchise.
Coincidentally, on April 17, HBO will launch their Game of Thrones series, based on Martin's first Ice and Fire book. Around here, we almost resubbed HBO for Boardwalk Empire. Probably we should have. Now, I'm guessing it's a done deal. IMDB doesn't seem to have the complete cast list, so here's the Official Site.
Equally coincidentally, I'm sure, Ol' George himself is supposed to release the long, long, long, long anticipated Dance With Dragons installment of the franchise come July (though I could swear I read a press release a month ago that said it would be out in June).
In summary: Fantasy nerds rejoice! And the rest of you just consider that if Tom Colicchio is willing to associate his brand with this franchise maybe we're on to something. He's more than likely getting paid good money, after all, in the hope that it will get you to consider just that.
Coincidentally, on April 17, HBO will launch their Game of Thrones series, based on Martin's first Ice and Fire book. Around here, we almost resubbed HBO for Boardwalk Empire. Probably we should have. Now, I'm guessing it's a done deal. IMDB doesn't seem to have the complete cast list, so here's the Official Site.
Equally coincidentally, I'm sure, Ol' George himself is supposed to release the long, long, long, long anticipated Dance With Dragons installment of the franchise come July (though I could swear I read a press release a month ago that said it would be out in June).
In summary: Fantasy nerds rejoice! And the rest of you just consider that if Tom Colicchio is willing to associate his brand with this franchise maybe we're on to something. He's more than likely getting paid good money, after all, in the hope that it will get you to consider just that.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
PLEASE DO NOT OFFER MY GOD A PEANUT: There are many good things that can happen when you drink a lot of tea, and if you drink a whole lot of it you can get sympathetic, pitying applause from the locals. But by the many arms of Ganesh I swear that we've seen this all before on The Amazing Race: India is crowded! Mallory is easily excited! Luke gets frustrated! Product gets plugged!
That said, it was (other than the lack of airplane intrigue) a well-constructed leg: a smartly-constructed needle in a haystack, a clue that required some intelligence to recognize, local navigational skills. I'm just not finding a lot to excite me -- either in terms of teams doing things which impress me or saying/doing things which amuse me. YMMV.
That said, it was (other than the lack of airplane intrigue) a well-constructed leg: a smartly-constructed needle in a haystack, a clue that required some intelligence to recognize, local navigational skills. I'm just not finding a lot to excite me -- either in terms of teams doing things which impress me or saying/doing things which amuse me. YMMV.
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