Six Feet Under scared the (insert appropriate expletive) out of me. For the uninitiated, the show started out with the accidental death of a six year old boy who finds a gun under his mother’s bed. They dealt with it without the sentimentality of a Lifetime movie or a Touched by an Angel soft-focus lovefest. It rocked me. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose Max. I don’t want to either… If you have kids, give them a big hug and stop being such a bastard.
Category: entertainment
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I’m fighting a wicked sinus
I’m fighting a wicked sinus infection, so I rented a bunch of movies. Last night, we watched MonkeyBone and most of Requiem for a Dream (talk about a mood shift). MonkeyBone was funny, and the feel of the movie was just perfect. Brendan Fraser is a good actor! Go figure… I had no idea. He pulled it off and was pretty believable in the the whole thing. Downtown had some of the coolest looking characters and sets I’ve seen since Beetlejuice. The stop-motion monkey was great, and the Minotaur bartender was great. Definitely worth renting.
On to the drug movie… This is one depressing flick. Unlike Traffic‘s semi-hopeful recovery ending (sorry if you haven’t see it yet), Dream‘s ending left no room for hope, no light at the end of the tunnel. It showed the darkness at the bottom of the well of addiction. It’s a great film. Ellen Burstyn was robbed, absolutely robbed. She shows the journey in unflinching reality. It was amazing to see her go from lonely widow to strung out junkie. Even Jared Leto was good! Marlon Wayans was good! This is not a movie to watch if you want to feel good about yourself. If you have a kid who likes to play with pot or drink on the weekends, this is the movie to sit them down in front of. The beginning’s sexy and shows people having a good time, and then shows what happens when they lose control and the drugs take over. Not pretty, but I think it was very honest.
Speaking of Jared Leto, I ALSO watched American Psycho. I liked it, but I don’t think I got all of it. Was he really crazy? Did he really kill Paul Allen and the stripper, and holy crap, everyone else? Or was it all in his head? Was he a closet lunatic like the rest of us, keeping our rage and pain under the surface, finding outlets in video games or fantasies? Did his fantasy life come a little too close to the surface? Was that last scene him gaining control over his secret life? Ok… if anyone can explain it to me, please do. Also did anyone else think the “Have to meet Cliff Huckstable at the Four Seasons” line was terribly funny?
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I had sushi for the
I had sushi for the first time today. Yes, I KNOW! What took me so long?! Well, I’m a chicken when it comes to raw food, and well, that’s why. We went to Aoba Sushi and it was mighty tasty, the tuna especially. I went safe and got the box that came with chicken teriyaki (which is cooked, go figure). I didn’t dig on the california roll because fish eggs are just gross, but the other stuff was quite tasty and highly recommended.
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So, I found this cool
So, I found this cool indy station today from Santa Monica (didn’t GO to Santa Monica – thank you Internet!). It got me thinking about my favorite station in Tucson, KXCI. Which then reminded me: DC radio sucks. I can’t find ONE eclectic, goofy, eccentric radio station here. WETA is good for NPR, and JFK is good if you like funny fat white guys. But, there’s no COMMUNITY radio station here that I can find.
KXCI was (and I’m sure still is) awesome. Saturday nights was reserved for the Blues until 11, and then it was live Dead bootlegs until 6 am. There’s nothing better to listen to when driving home on Tucson streets on a cool summer night after a great party. Sundays were great, because everyone got a chance. There was the Irish hour, which was them immediately followed by African music. Weekdays were even better, because you never knew what you were going to get. My favorite set included Ring of Fire according to Social Distortion, and then three versions of Amazing Grace, interpreted to a techno beat, straight-up shaker gospel, and then on accordions (the last being my favorite… yeee-haw).
Back to DC’s poor situation… Does one exist? Is there independent radio in the nation’s capitol? Or is one of the biggest markets in the country doomed to live the rest of its days with pre-packaged corporate sludge coming over the airwaves? Well, is it?
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Big Brother Is Back!
Big Brother is back. I watched it last night in between Max playing the drums with a metal spoon and pan. I must say, the prisoners this time are much nicer to look at than last year. The only problem was it just feels like The Real World now. Everyone was full of sexual tension, except for Holy Rollin’ Kurt. Part of the fun last year was the absolute stupidity of it all. It was a horribly funny train wreck that CBS didn’t have the heart to pull.
Oh, and can you believe that Julie Chen is back?! No, me neither!! Holy Crap, why?!
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I wanted to write this
I wanted to write this before I lost the feeling. Six Feet Under is going to be a great show. Last night’s episode was so beautiful and painful. The last scene where Brenda takes David and Nate on the bus was the most cathartic thing I’ve ever seen on TV. The look on David’s face as he finally let go, finally opened the door and felt real grief was amazing. In a second he went from stuffy and cold to real and grieving. I couldn’t stop crying (yes, I can admit it, I cried). It was one of the only times television has made me do that, and I loved it.
In two hours of screen time, I love this show. I love the characters. I love the pacing of the show. Think about it. In TWO HOURS, I’ve become emotionally invested enough in the characters to CRY! Jen cried last week (sorry sweetie) and I came close. How amazing is that? It honestly doesn’t get better than this. I know people will disagree, but this show is better than the first two episodes of The Sopranos by far. I can’t wait to see where it goes…
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I saw the CNNdotCOM story
I saw the CNNdotCOM story about Blogs on Sunday and I was sorely disappointed. It was basically a collection of soundbite quotes from a bunch of bloggers (Meg and Ev were the only people I recognized by name and/or face). It was a fluff piece that lasted maybe two minutes. Maybe it’ll show up on Headline News or something in the near future and spur some interest. I’d love to see some more mainstream media attention paid to the whole blog-nomenon (how’s that for a new word?).
On a separate note, Six Feet Under on HBO last night was GREAT. I’m hoping it turns out as good as the Sopranos has. The first episode was great, dark, funny, touching and heart-wrenching. It was great to see Peter Krause again (he was in the best sitcom ever, Sports Night). Everything about the show was great. The opening credits were some of the most original and mood-setting I can remember. The fake commercials were hilariously morbid. The characters leave me wanting more from them.
This show reminds me of some of my favorite shows of all time. The characterisation and stark sets remind me of the first 6 seasons of Homicide. The comedy is very dark, unlike anything I’ve seen on TV (that I can remember at the moment). It also reminds me of Once and Again. Like Homicide, the characters drive the plot, not the other way around, unlike a show like ER where it’s all about the accidents. The best shows let the characters provide the drama in their reaction to the plot, no matter how mundane or ordinary. Once and Again has its pot-boiler moments, but it’s the characters that I come back for. I hope Six Feet Under turns out to be as satisfying. If the first week is any indication, it will be and it’ll be a great summer.
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From my wife, sent to
From my wife, sent to me with the subject if I had a blog. Anytime, sweetie, anytime.
“If I had a blog, today my rant would be on bread! yes, you read right. At lunch, I ate not one, but two peices of bread, whole wheat! I used to hate bread. It seemed a total waste of time and calories. Now, I am forgoing a salad and perhaps dessert in favor of it. How weird is that? Is it maturity creeping up on me in this inane form? Or has my bread-loving husband wooed me away from gooey chocolate confections in favor of what used to be the bane of my dinner table? I have converted, I admit it! I see the future and the future is home-made bread! “