Ah, Friday.
All I ever needed to know, I learned from 6th grade math. Algebra: (positive view) switching perspective yields new answers; (negative view) the more things change, the more they stay the same. Fractions: situations pull you in different directions, each part must perform to the fullest. Prime factorization: distilling life down to its essential elements.
Friday, November 11, 2005
The universe has a sense of humor
...and it's a dark one.
Watching an episode of Six Feet Under (Season 1) on DVD last night. David is quizzing Nate for his upcoming Funeral Director's exam. Nate responds with, "C'mon David, it's not like it's the California Bar."
Watching an episode of Six Feet Under (Season 1) on DVD last night. David is quizzing Nate for his upcoming Funeral Director's exam. Nate responds with, "C'mon David, it's not like it's the California Bar."
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Reborn
I am born again.
Last night, I headed up to the city for a dinner date with ma chere brim at La Provence. We were quickly ushered to a two-top near the windows by the proprieter. I can be a little weird (shock of shocks!) about having my back to an open room, so I asked B if I could sit on the banquette against the wall.
The jovial owner said that they only allowed birthday girls to sit on the inside. B and I responded, just as jokingly, that we were willing to pretend it was our birthday. And that's where the joke grew legs, hopped up on the table, and did the can-can. The couple two tables down from us must have heard some part of the exchange, because they wished me a happy birthday as they left. Our waitress wished me a happy birthday, and brought me dessert with a lit candle in it. (I didn't feel that special: B's beef stew came festooned with a smoldering oregano tree.)
The food was phenomenal, the service very French (i.e. they left us the hell alone.) In the era of "forhereortogo," it's nice to have the time to chat, savor, and digest. The music was tongue-in-cheek ironic: the theme from Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, "Ne me quitte pas" - Nina Simone (I love me some Nina Simone), and one of my current favorites "J'ai deux amours" - Madeleine Peyroux. Loved the soundtrack, but I don't want to hear it three times in a row! The waitress sent me off with even more birthday wishes.
B and I decided that, since everyone seemed in the mood for it, that yesterday was a birthday for me. Maybe my rebirth as a San Franciscan (??) I've always wanted to have a non-winter birthday, and fall is my favorite season, so this works well.
I plan to celebrate it every year.
Last night, I headed up to the city for a dinner date with ma chere brim at La Provence. We were quickly ushered to a two-top near the windows by the proprieter. I can be a little weird (shock of shocks!) about having my back to an open room, so I asked B if I could sit on the banquette against the wall.
The jovial owner said that they only allowed birthday girls to sit on the inside. B and I responded, just as jokingly, that we were willing to pretend it was our birthday. And that's where the joke grew legs, hopped up on the table, and did the can-can. The couple two tables down from us must have heard some part of the exchange, because they wished me a happy birthday as they left. Our waitress wished me a happy birthday, and brought me dessert with a lit candle in it. (I didn't feel that special: B's beef stew came festooned with a smoldering oregano tree.)
The food was phenomenal, the service very French (i.e. they left us the hell alone.) In the era of "forhereortogo," it's nice to have the time to chat, savor, and digest. The music was tongue-in-cheek ironic: the theme from Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, "Ne me quitte pas" - Nina Simone (I love me some Nina Simone), and one of my current favorites "J'ai deux amours" - Madeleine Peyroux. Loved the soundtrack, but I don't want to hear it three times in a row! The waitress sent me off with even more birthday wishes.
B and I decided that, since everyone seemed in the mood for it, that yesterday was a birthday for me. Maybe my rebirth as a San Franciscan (??) I've always wanted to have a non-winter birthday, and fall is my favorite season, so this works well.
I plan to celebrate it every year.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Resolution 2.0
BE IT SO RESOLVED that maisnon, after careful research, consideration, and thought, agrees to watch ONE (1) movie, film, or motion picture produced, directed and/or distributed by the Indian film industry, informally known as "Bollywood", per month.
maisnon agrees to post her thoughts, reactions, and analysis of said movie on her online web log ("blog"), also on a monthly basis.
.............
Y'all rock the rock rock: my Netflix queue now contains 200 movies, including your recommendations on the Bollywood front. I think my Bollywood pic for Dec. has to be Sholay - a resounding crowd favorite.
Why I love where I work
Conversation this morning in the kitchen:
maisnon: So I saw Jarhead last night
coworker #1: Is that that war movie?
maisnon: More importantly, the one with Jake Gyllenhaal in it
coworker #2: Oh, you mean my boyfriend
maisnon: Bitch, please - the boy is mine!
maisnon: So I saw Jarhead last night
coworker #1: Is that that war movie?
maisnon: More importantly, the one with Jake Gyllenhaal in it
coworker #2: Oh, you mean my boyfriend
maisnon: Bitch, please - the boy is mine!
...............
My review of Jarhead: Please sir, can I have another?
Monday, November 07, 2005
Devdas
I've always thought of myself as a romantic. You know the saying "scratch the surface of a cynic, and you'll find a romantic"? That's me - or so I had always thought, until I watched this movie. I nearly turned the whole damn thing off after our "hero" whispers something about how the lamp that the heroine had kept burning for 10 (ten!!) years...he too had burned in that lamp. First of all, it doesn't make any damn sense (might be the translation, to be fair), and second...bitch, please!
I finally got the hang of watching a 3 hour Hindi movie - watch it in fast forward! I soon found that if I watched it at 1.5 to 2X, it was all good. Enough time to read the subtitles, and no more being annoyed by the "dramatic pauses."
But I decided that my "romantic side" may truly have died/never existed when my response to the movie was this: SUCK IT UP! [spoiler alert - if you care] When your childhood (and I do mean childhood - since you've been gone for 10 years) sweetheart ends up marrying someone else because you are a gutless wonder, get on with your damn life! Do not turn to drink (with an emphasis on whine) - it's such a freakin' cliche. In short, Devdas - you're a sniveling little shit.
And.....scene.
I finally got the hang of watching a 3 hour Hindi movie - watch it in fast forward! I soon found that if I watched it at 1.5 to 2X, it was all good. Enough time to read the subtitles, and no more being annoyed by the "dramatic pauses."
But I decided that my "romantic side" may truly have died/never existed when my response to the movie was this: SUCK IT UP! [spoiler alert - if you care] When your childhood (and I do mean childhood - since you've been gone for 10 years) sweetheart ends up marrying someone else because you are a gutless wonder, get on with your damn life! Do not turn to drink (with an emphasis on whine) - it's such a freakin' cliche. In short, Devdas - you're a sniveling little shit.
And.....scene.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Netflix
So. As you may remember, one of my goals post-Bar was to see more movies. Movies ("film" if you're pretentious) have always been important to me. Like so much else, I think in part I crave them because I was not allowed to watch movies when I was young.
Shortly after starting my new job, I signed up for Netflix. Getting movies in the mail is my idea of heaven. After 3 relatively dry years, it has been like water falling on parched earth. In the last 2 weeks, I have seen 10 movies.
In order, I have seen:
Shortly after starting my new job, I signed up for Netflix. Getting movies in the mail is my idea of heaven. After 3 relatively dry years, it has been like water falling on parched earth. In the last 2 weeks, I have seen 10 movies.
In order, I have seen:
- Ran (Akira Kurosawa - retelling of King Lear set in samurai era Japan)
- City of God (Cidade de Deus) (Brazilian movie set in the favelas)
- Before Sunrise
- Before Sunset
- You Can Count on Me (I love Laura Linney!)
- Annie Hall
- Trainspotting
- Ma Vie en Rose
- Six Feet Under, Season 1, Disc 1
- Croupier (Clive Owen = yes, please. And he spends many, many scenes in a tuxedo. Swoon++)
Hopefully, I will watch Devdas before the weekend is out.
I will tell you about a small disappointment. My friend Betsy briefly dated an utterly useless guy (we called him Mark, but his name was actually Scott - or the other way around?) Anyway, one of the few things he was useful for is this little story: Betsy parallel parked the car, and asked Mark/Scott if she was in the spot. He replied "Well, we can walk to the curb from here."
Genius!! Unfortunately, that little wry moment has been undercut for me because, as it turns out, that is a line from Annie Hall. Sigh. It's still witty and all, but somehow less so when it is Woody Allen instead of Mark/Scott.
My Netflix queue currently has 148 titles in it. But what it's really yearning for? Your recommendations. I'm not giving you homework, but I'd love to hear a few (or more!) of your favorite movies.
Friday, November 04, 2005
55 Fiction Friday: november
Friday, again.
It doesn’t count if you cry in the shower. With all that water, no one can really tell. It’s the perfect time: you can release all of the frustrations, and petty disappointments before you start your day. What counts is if you can leave it behind, watch it all swirl down the drain and disappear.
It doesn’t count if you cry in the shower. With all that water, no one can really tell. It’s the perfect time: you can release all of the frustrations, and petty disappointments before you start your day. What counts is if you can leave it behind, watch it all swirl down the drain and disappear.
..........
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
BRR...it's cold in here!
Question: how many times can I work the above cheer into conversation?
Answer: more times that you'd believe (and my Halloween dreamteam will back me up on that.) HOWEVER, I'm still having trouble getting people behind "Let's do this, Clovers!" Embarking on a night out, getting ready for a team meeting at work - it suits all occasions!
P.S. - The relative frigidity of the ambient temperature indicates a strong probability of the presence and proximity of Clovers (occasionally, misidentified as Toros) in the immediate environment.
Answer: more times that you'd believe (and my Halloween dreamteam will back me up on that.) HOWEVER, I'm still having trouble getting people behind "Let's do this, Clovers!" Embarking on a night out, getting ready for a team meeting at work - it suits all occasions!
P.S. - The relative frigidity of the ambient temperature indicates a strong probability of the presence and proximity of Clovers (occasionally, misidentified as Toros) in the immediate environment.
E.F(ilial).S.P.
In a continuing series about my relationship with my mother:
My father is the social butterfly, while my mom would be much happier holed up at home watching basketball games and drinking tea. She once described her ideal vacation as getting a hotel room on the beach with the whole family, but to be clear - we would not actually visit the beach. When questioned as to what we would do, my mom suggested that we would all take naps.
I spoke with her this weekend and she kvetched about having to go to an engagement party the next day. I asked her who it was for, and she said "You know - that loud woman?" I responded, "Mrs. Venugopal*?" Now, to be clear - that was the only identifier she gave me. In addition, I've had lunch with Mrs. V once.
I don't know how she's done it, but this is yet another example of how my mother has trained me. I always seem to know what she's talking about, even when given incredibly vague and ambiguous clues. Another example: my mom knows I'm a big movie fan, so she wanted to tell me about a few movies she had seen.
maisnon's mom: You know that one, where he's a lawyer and his client did it ...
maisnon: "Primal Fear"
maisnon's mom: Yes, that was very good. I saw that other one. White lawyer, his client is black...
maisnon: "A Time to Kill, " it was based on a John Grisham novel
maisnon's mom: Very suspenseful.
I think if you've known someone for decades, you start to be able to fill in the mental ellipses. I always want to know a person's stories - their personal constellation of events, people, and experiences. It is my primary way of relating to people. I learn so much from that story about the embarassing thing you did in 7th grade: the way in which it is told, where you pause, what you emphasize, your choice in words and pacing, how you've grafted it into your mental map.
That's how I think of memory, and to some extent, life itself: the most bad-assed linked list ever.
* Names have been changed to protect the loud/innocent. Oh - the party was for her eldest child.
My father is the social butterfly, while my mom would be much happier holed up at home watching basketball games and drinking tea. She once described her ideal vacation as getting a hotel room on the beach with the whole family, but to be clear - we would not actually visit the beach. When questioned as to what we would do, my mom suggested that we would all take naps.
I spoke with her this weekend and she kvetched about having to go to an engagement party the next day. I asked her who it was for, and she said "You know - that loud woman?" I responded, "Mrs. Venugopal*?" Now, to be clear - that was the only identifier she gave me. In addition, I've had lunch with Mrs. V once.
I don't know how she's done it, but this is yet another example of how my mother has trained me. I always seem to know what she's talking about, even when given incredibly vague and ambiguous clues. Another example: my mom knows I'm a big movie fan, so she wanted to tell me about a few movies she had seen.
maisnon's mom: You know that one, where he's a lawyer and his client did it ...
maisnon: "Primal Fear"
maisnon's mom: Yes, that was very good. I saw that other one. White lawyer, his client is black...
maisnon: "A Time to Kill, " it was based on a John Grisham novel
maisnon's mom: Very suspenseful.
....
I think if you've known someone for decades, you start to be able to fill in the mental ellipses. I always want to know a person's stories - their personal constellation of events, people, and experiences. It is my primary way of relating to people. I learn so much from that story about the embarassing thing you did in 7th grade: the way in which it is told, where you pause, what you emphasize, your choice in words and pacing, how you've grafted it into your mental map.
That's how I think of memory, and to some extent, life itself: the most bad-assed linked list ever.
* Names have been changed to protect the loud/innocent. Oh - the party was for her eldest child.
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