Weekend of Rockumentaries

I am Trying to Break Your Heart: a black and white film that documents the drama of making of Wilco’s landmark album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Band members get fired, pretention abounds, record labels make stupid decisions, cigarettes are smoked and suddenly you have an even greater appreciation for an album that you already thought was pretty decent. The highlight is watching Jeff Tweedy and his son play imaginary drums on the Wilco tour bus. Award: Golden Globe

The Devil and Daniel Johnston: the story of one of the craziest and most interesting figures in modern music. Daniel Johnston rose to fame by playing eccentric songs in Austin; his tape “Hi, How are You” is a self-recording of quirky songs that still resonates with a cult following. The film is not just a fascinating story but it is really a tribute to Johnston’s parents, who have supported their son through various mental institutions, artistic ventures both successful and not, and bouts of mania and depression. Johnston is an artist in the truest sense of the word and you get sense that he really can’t function in any other capacity (even if it means living in his parents basement well into middle-age). And you gotta respect that. Award: Oscar.

Lolita, Light of My Life

On the cover of my copy of Lolita, Vanity Fair calls it “The only convincing love story of our century.” I’d like to think that I am not cynical enough to agree with that completely, but I would say that it is one of my favorite books of our century.

There is a lot going on in Lolita—the psychology of a true narcissist, the culture clash of a hyper-civilized European man living in America, the fear and paranoia of “when will he get caught?!”—which is good because sometimes the obsession that Humbert Humbert has for 12-year-old Dolores Haze is so intense and disgusting that you are forced to distance yourself from the overarching love story. How Nabokov is able to turn it into such a beautifully written classic is amazing.

If we were to group books, Unbearable Lightness of Being-style, into day books and night books, Lolita would certainly be a night book. Dark, engrossing, ecstatic. And highly recommended.

Clap Your Hands Say "Great Show"

After a whirlwind couple of days in NYC, I dragged myself (and Taylor) to the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show last night at DC9. Totally worth it. I have seen Clap Your Hands before, but not in such a small venue. I have a strong attachment to their self-titled first album because I listened to it a lot when I first moved to Washington, so I was glad that they played plenty of those songs mixed in with yet-to-be-released songs.

I wish they would have played more from their second album Some Loud Thunder, but the unreleased songs were great and I will definitely be on the lookout for their new album. Plus, it’s always an added bonus when the opening band turns out to be good; in last night’s case the band Wild Light played upbeat, danceable music that reminded me of Arcade Fire.

Between the good company, dive bar, hours of dancing and excellent music, I felt like I was back in Athens for a night. Only without the cheap PBR tallboys. Clap Your Hands is coming back to Washington on October 14th—check them out if you can!

Rundown of Recent Movies

Tell No One: A French thriller about a guy trying to figure out who killed his wife eight years ago. Totally captivating, with well developed characters that you actually care about and a good plot with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Award: Oscar.



Vicky Cristina Barcelona: A story of two girls who live abroad in Spain for a summer. Everything that I like in Woody Allen movies without most of the stuff that I hate about Woody Allen movies. Warm, fun and total escapism--and how cute is Javier Bardem?! Award: Golden Globe.



The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Based on the story of a Elle editor who wakes from an accident to find that his entire body is paralyzed. Beautifully shot in French and one of those movies that makes you ask yourself: “Who/What do I really need/want/love in life?” Award: Oscar.


Man on Wire: Documentary about Philippe Petit, a French guy who walked on a tightrope between the World Trade Center Towers in the 1970s. Fascinating story that is artfully told, but somehow I was disappointed. Award: People’s Choice.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Robert Redford AND Paul Newman? Of course it’s good. Very fun and perfect for a Saturday afternoon. Award: Golden Globe.

Our Life is Not a Movie, or Maybe

Cinema Paradiso

I see quite a few movies. Sometimes I go with my friends, sometimes I take dyslexic boys to subtitled foreign films, sometimes I curl up on my couch with pretzels and Nutella and lately I have gotten really into going to the independent E St. Theatre by myself. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious asshole, I am going to try to write short reviews using the following rating system:

Oscar: This is the type of movie that you definitely want to see again. When you walk around the city in the days following your trip to the theatre, moments/things/people remind you of this movie. You find yourself telling your friends “Dude, you have to see this movie. It’s soooooooooo good. Seriously, check it out.” Examples: Amelie, The Graduate, Cool Hand Luke.

Golden Globe: A Golden Globe Award winning movie is a solid movie that you had a good time watching. Maybe something is a little off—the plot doesn’t hold your attention the whole time or Scarlett Johansson is the main actress or you can tell there is a lack of direction—but you remember it well and you watch it again when you stumble across it on TV. Examples: Notting Hill, Ocean’s Eleven, Shopgirl

People’s Choice: This is a movie that you wish you had rented instead of paying money to see it in the theatre. And if you did rent it, it’s the kind of movie that fell asleep while it was supposedly at the climax. It’s an okay movie—the past 2 hours of your life weren’t a complete waste—but it’s pretty forgettable. Examples: Garden State, Sex and the City, Once

MTV Movie Awards: When you come out of the theatre from an MTV Movie Award winning movie, you are more focused on what was wrong with the movie instead of what you enjoyed. You tell your friends they should avoid it and hope that it isn’t on the “Top Ten” list of the boy you just started dating. Examples: The Savages, Stop Loss, anything with Cameron Diaz.

Every once in a while a movie may exceed the system (Dr. Zhivago) or fall below the system (Transformers), but we’ll keep it simple for now.

Suddenly, The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s song “Modern Romance” comes to mind

Even though the second paragraph of this Times article hits a little too close to home, it is an excellent take on everyone’s guilty pleasure: Google-ing a boy or girl that you just met. We’ve all done it. And it’s one of the many reasons I refuse to join Facebook, Myspace, etc.

::and yes, I get the irony that I am blogging about how I hate having an online presence::

The Dude Abides

After rediscovering The Big Lebowski’s brilliance last night (compliments of the oh-so-tasteful Adam Goldstein), I came across this Slate piece from a couple of weeks ago. Even if you don’t care whether or not Walter is a neo-con, the article is worth checking out solely for the video clips.

"Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude. At least it's an ethos."

Keepin' It Fresh

Taken from my friend Donna’s blog, here is a great peak-season produce map from Epicurious. Click on the month you want and the state in which you live, and voila! Listings include not only what produce is fresh in that area, but also recipes, cooking tips and details on each item.

If you had any doubt that I am an "old soul"...

From Charles & Marie, here are pop-out placemats.

I am in love! Make sure to check out the two other designs, too.

Very cute, and very fitting for a JRoss dinner party...

Cycling Month in DC

Apparently September is Cycling Month in DC. Who knew? DCist has a nice run-down of events going on in this article. Of note, Bike DC on September 27th is a 17-mile (or more if you want to do the optional tours at the end) ride that has the added benefit of road closures.

There is also the 50 States and 13 Colonies Ride on October 11th, where you ride on streets named after each of the states and colonies. Something tells me that if I end up doing this one, I will opt for the 13 Colonies Ride over the "brutal" and "insane," 50 States ride.

Yay for biking!!

Album Review: She & Him

I was introduced to She and Him (she=the actress Zooey Deschanel, him=collaborator extraordinaire M Ward) when I saw their show in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago. I fell in love with their simple songs and Deschanel’s slighty-off vocals. A combination of original songs and covers, their album Volume One is definitely worth checking out.

Perfect for: dancing around your apartment, half-full wine glass in hand, while your dinner is baking in the oven; background music as you read in bed on a rainy Saturday.

Favorite tracks: Sentimental Heart, Change is Hard, You Really Got a Hold of Me.

Bling-bling

From LA designer H for Hannah (via the great blog Oh Joy!) , here is jeweled dinnerware. I am not crazy about the jewels themselves, but love the idea.

How the Party Parties

Last week it seemed that everyone I know was in Denver for the Convention. I’ve read several write-ups on the parties, speeches and overall mayhem, but this piece from The Stranger (coming through yet again!) is the best yet. It’s refreshing to get a perspective from someone who’s NOT in our Washington world (and hey, if you can't laugh at yourself then who can you laugh at?). Nice mention of the GPG party too!

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

After a tumultuous six months, The Wire and I have decided to end our relationship. I have no problem saying that this was entirely The Wire’s decision and not mine. After our glorious late-night and weekend-marathon viewings, one of the things that I treasure the most has simply abandoned me.

That’s not to say that we had a perfect run. Season two? Not my favorite. After Stringer Bell was killed in season three, I almost walked away for good. And in July, we took a break so that The Wire could get its act together and release season five on DVD. During the break, my wandering eye discovered Mad Men. And while Mad Men is a fantastic show in which I took much comfort, it has yet to fill the hole in my heart. The simple fact is that no show has taught me as much as The Wire has. Street slang, drug trade hierarchy, corrupt government (and police department and school system and port system and media system), Baltimore history, alcoholism and infidelity--these are all wonderful things that I knew next to nothing about.

Farewell, my love.