Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Zzzzzzz ...

Thanks to Sara for alerting me to the significance of February 28. Apparently, it's National Public Sleeping Day, a chance for people to fall asleep in public — on the T, in the office, at Starbucks, or wherever you may be — and have it be perfectly alright. In keeping with the holiday, I'm going to take a public nap right here on the Internets. So check back in a few days. There'll be nothing new to read here until next week.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Department of Redundancy Department?

Stuff@Night is out with its "Clubs Issue." I'm just wondering: Isn't that a little like Playboy coming out with a "Naked Chicks Issue?" Or Newsweek coming out with a "News Issue?"

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Monday, February 26, 2007

Movies I've Seen (2006 edition)

(click on the link for my review)

1. IMAGINE ME & YOU

2. GAME 6

3. SHE'S THE MAN

4. DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY

5. V FOR VENDETTA

6. FRIENDS WITH MONEY

7. UNITED 93

8. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3

9. POSEIDON

10. X-MEN: THE LAST STAND

11. THE BREAK-UP

12. KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS

13. THE LAKE HOUSE

14. CARS

15. CLICK

16. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

17. SUPERMAN RETURNS

18. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

19. YOU, ME AND DUPREE

20. MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND

21. SCOOP

22. THE NIGHT LISTENER

23. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

24. WORLD TRADE CENTER

25. THE ILLUSIONIST

26. TRUST THE MAN

27. SNAKES ON A PLANE

28. THE LAST KISS

29. SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS

30. HALF NELSON

31. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

32. THE DEPARTED

33. JACKASS: NUMBER TWO

34. BORAT ...

35. FAST FOOD NATION

36. FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

37. THE PRESTIGE

38. STRANGER THAN FICTION

39. CASINO ROYALE

40. SHUT UP & SING

41. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

42. BOBBY

43. HAPPY FEET

44. THE GOOD SHEPHERD

45. THE HOLIDAY

46. THE HISTORY BOYS

47. BLOOD DIAMOND

48. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

49. DREAMGIRLS (2x)

50. ROCKY BALBOA

51. WE ARE MARSHALL

52. THE QUEEN

53. CHILDREN OF MEN

54. NOTES ON A SCANDAL

55. BABEL

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Actually, I Need to Wake Up Too

I guess it was an enjoyable Oscars show. I'll probably always enjoy it. Perhaps that's the ultimate in denial, because this year's show was really safe, slick, slow-moving, and not too exciting or surprising overall. And for a change, it felt long. That said, it had its moments:

I was shocked that Alan Arkin actually won Best Supporting Actor (though let it be said that I predicted that). Somewhere Jeffrey Wells is gloating, and elsewhere, Dreamworks/Paramount is regretting releasing Norbit before the Oscars ... Celine Dion still sucks. I wish she'd stayed in Vegas, where we didn't have to hear from her ... J.Hud won and gave a nice, genuinely emotional speech — and gave me the chance to say for the last time (I promise) that I interviewed her months ago (I even scooped Barbara Walters) ... I liked the opening Nominees film, by Errol Morris ... I thought Ellen's monologue was good, but I think she was probably a little too quirky for the Oscars ... Good for An Inconvenient Truth, but I thought there was a little too much Al Gore, even if I do like him ... A definite highlight was Apple's commercial for the iPhone ... Why was Jack Nicholson bald? ... Does anyone else remember when Chris Connelly was cool? ... The Dreamgirls musical number was good — if you don't include "Patience" — but Eddie Murphy was missed ... Jennifer Lopez: whoa! ... So WTF were those shadow dancers?? ... I still wish Judi Dench had won Best Actress ... You know, say what you will, but I do sorta feel bad for Eddie Murphy. Were it not for Norbit, that award would have been his, and he seemed, in the end, to really want it (too little, too late, I guess) ... Did Ellen really vaccuum?? That was ridiculous ... Best acceptance speech: Forest Whitaker's. Second best: the guy who won for West Bank Story, the Best Live Action Short Film ... I'm happy Helen Mirren doesn't have to feign surprise anymore ... And while I thought Little Miss Sunshine would win Best Picture, I'm happy The Departed actually did. After all, it was my favorite movie of last year ... Oh, and I can't believe the three Dreamgirls songs actually cancelled themselves out and Melissa Etheridge won Best Song; that may be a bigger surprise/upset than Alan Arkin's win because I thought "Listen" was a sure thing. (A complete list of winners is here.)

I guess that's it. It's past Abigail Breslin's bed time. On to next year!

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

A Not-so-Wonderful Night for Oscar?

For all the unpredictability that accompanies this year's Best Picture nominees, the rest of the major categories look to go according to plan. As a result, there's not so much interesting about an Oscar predictions post this year. I'll say I hope The Departed wins Best Picture, but I expect Little Miss Sunshine to actually win — which is fine, because Sunshine is a great movie. Otherwise, Scorsese, Hudson, Whitaker and Mirren will all win (though I'd rather Judi Dench take Best Actress). And The Departed and Sunshine will win the screenplay categories. Perhaps the only surprise might come in Best Supporting Actor, where Jeffrey Wells has convinced me that Alan Arkin might actually win, not Eddie Murphy. So I hope Ellen DeGeneres does a great hosting job, because the show is not shaping up to be a suspenseful one. (And by the way, if you need a ballot to keep track of the winners, here's one.)

Either way, the show has to be better than the one in 1989, when Snow White and, yes, Rob Lowe opened the show by singing, among other things, "Proud Mary." If you've never seen it, here's your chance. The year after this debacle, Billy Crystal hosted and all was right with the world. But this is a great reminder of how bad the Oscars can be. So at 12:30, when the show is still going on, remember: it could always be worse. (And thanks to David Poland for the tip.)

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Making Change

It seems my blogging power has untold reach. First, on the way home, I saw that the stretch of sidewalk I wrote about earlier today had been cleared. Now I know it wasn't all my doing; Universal Hub linked to it and drove a lot of traffic to my post. And of course, I didn't physically do the shoveling. But still, I'd like to think I had at least something to do with it finally being cleared.

And then my girl Haley Scarnato wasn't voted off American Idol, which means you all must have read my post about her and called in to vote. Good for y'all. I mean, she wasn't the best singer this week, and she certainly looks a little out of place next to some of the other women, and I actually felt bad for her during that Tears for Fears song they all sang, but hey ... that's not the point.

The point is that in my own warped little world, my demented sense of reality tells me that my two posts made change happen today. Behold! I am the change maker.

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Ice, Ice, Go Away

Who is responsible for the ice and slush on the sidewalk of Babcock St. in Brookline not being cleared yet? The storm was more than a week ago, and yet, that long strip of sidewalk along the parking lot by Harvard Ave. is still covered by a mix of snow, ice, slush and just mess. It's the only extended part of the street that has yet to be cleared, most likely because it's not in front of an apartment building. And I know there are rules about this sort of thing if you own property. Well, if this is community property that doesn't fall under the aegis of a landlord, then doesn't this strip of sidewalk belong to the town of Brookline? And shouldn't the town have done something about it by now? And if the weather's been warm the past two days, wouldn't it make sense to clear the sidewalk now? I'd love to see this get done soon, so I don't have to walk in the street anymore to avoid slipping. Especially before the weather turns cold again and more snow comes. Thanks.

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California ... There They Go!

I really and truly wish I was upset about The O.C. ending its run tonight, but I just can't get too wistful anymore. Actually, I'm happy it's ending because the show got so bad halfway through season two and never quite recovered, and I feel like I started watching it again this season mostly because it was ending, and in doing so, I've missed out on watching supposedly better shows like 30 Rock. (Fortunately, I have a dual-tuner cable box, so I don't have to miss Grey's Anatomy.)

I mean, there was a time when I really really really liked this show. I was so excited to go to California just because I knew I'd be going on a tour of O.C. locations. The Chrismukkah episodes were a highlight of the holiday season. There was always great music. And of course, Summer Roberts. Mmmm...Summer Roberts.

But the bloom fell off the rose and I stopped watching for a while. And now that the show is ending, I'm actually happy about it. So, I'll be watching tonight (after Grey's, of course), but I won't miss The O.C. when it's gone.

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Monday, February 19, 2007

Biting My Tongue

I was already sort of embarrassed to be buying the three magazines I did today at Barnes & Noble, but somehow, it made me feel better that I didn't make a bad situation even worse. To wit:

Exhibit A:
The cashier rings up my copy of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and I notice the price. So I say to her, "Wow, six bucks for that thing?" And she says, "Well, it's a special issue." And I almost replied to her, "It's not as special as it used to be," and explained why I was saying that, but I figured it was better to just bite my tongue.

Exhibit B:
The cashier rings up my copy of Every Day with Rachael Ray and comments to me, "I didn't know Rachael Ray had a magazine." And while my actual response to her was an emasculating, "Yes, she's had it for more than a year now," I almost said, referring to the other magazine I was buying, "Yes, and so does that guy from M*A*S*H."

So yeah, that situation could have been much worse.

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Sunday, February 18, 2007

G-Men, B-plus-Movie

God bless Billy Ray. The director coaxed a good performance out of Hayden Christensen in Shattered Glass in 2003, and now he's done the same with Ryan Phillippe in Breach, a film that tells the story of the efforts in 2001 to catch FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was suspected of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. The end result of this film is known up-front — not only is this a true story, but the movie begins with a clip from John Ashcroft's press conference announcing his capture — so it's more about the way he was captured. Hanssen, who is played brilliantly by Chris Cooper, was a devout, seemingly by-the-book FBI agent, who doesn't suffer fools. I love that the Boston Herald called this movie The Devil Wears Brooks Brothers because at first it's like that. But as Hanssen's clerk, Eric O'Neill (Phillippe), starts to peel away the layers and becomes an instrumental part of the FBI's attempts to catch Hanssen, the movie becomes more cat and mouse and less, um, catty. Because we know how the story ends up, there aren't too many surprising twists like you'd find in a conventional spy thriller, and Ray does his best to ratchet up the suspense a few times, but mostly Breach plays like a solid inside-D.C. drama that eschews such conventions. As mentioned, both Cooper and Phillippe are good, but Laura Linney, as O'Neill's real boss, just doesn't carry her weight. For some reason, she can't bark orders like the rest of them and it's almost laughable. They say good movies don't get released in mid-February, and while I didn't enjoy Breach as much as Shattered Glass, I still say it's still worth seeing. I'm giving it a B+.

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Saturday, February 17, 2007

Free At Last!

And then, at 4:32 pm, my car rolled out of its parking spot.

I know I shouldn't make such a big deal about digging my car out — or in this case, de-icing it — especially in light of the fact that we're due to get another 2-4 inches of snow on Sunday, and because doing so only serves as a jinx and will guarantee I'll be stuck again come tomorrow morning, but I don't know ... getting my car out of its spot today felt like a major accomplishment.

After clearing all the snow off my car, crushing the ice and packed snow around my tires, and rocking the car back and forth by shifting into Drive and Reverse over and over, I still hadn't gotten very far. A neighbor came over and volunteered to put the car in reverse for me while I pushed, and that didn't do much. Nor did it help when two other neighbors came over to help me push. And we all kept looking to see why I couldn't move, but there was seemingly no good reason because all the wheels were clear and the mound of snow behind my car was low enough. It had to be something else.

And then, all of a sudden, without any help, after people had gone their own separate ways, my car just, uh, moved. Backwards. All the way over the ice and snow and onto the black pavement. And I could finally see what was holding it in place all that time. And the answer, plain and simple, seemed to be ice. But not just any ice — this must have been super powered ice from another world, whose grip on my car knew no limits. It was determined to not let me go to the Atrium, or Best Buy, or any of the other places I had to go today.

And yet, I can say that my patience paid off and I was able to go to those places and more (despite the late start to my day, mainly because I was waiting for the air and ground to warm up above freezing). Now we'll see what happens in the morning when I go to move my car again. Still, today I feel a great deal of accomplishment.

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Winter: 1, Martin: 0

To be honest, it wasn't really a fair fight.

Even though I didn't have anywhere to go, I decided to be smart for a change and go defrost my car tonight before the iced-up snow got any thicker. And at first I thought I was actually going to do a good job; the heat was up way high, circulating all over the car, I was able to push and release huge chunks of snow and lift them up with my hands, then foist them on the pavement and watch as they broke into multiple pieces, and everything was going well. A few times I actually stood there and laughed. "Winter won't beat me this time. Look how I can lift the heavy snow off my car. This almost too easy."

And yes, I spoke too soon, because not five minutes after I started, my ice scraper, my Extender Ice Scraper, which had served me well in the past, broke. In half. The brush and scraper came right off and I was left with that and a pole. So I tried to run the pole over the snow and create blocks that I could remove, but alas, this snow was too firmly attached to my windshield and I didn't want to risk breaking the glass.

Eventually I got enough off so I could see clear across my windshield, and I thought now it would be time for me to at least try to get out of my parking spot. Well, if I moved two inches, that was a lot. And when I started to smell the foul smell of rubber burning, I knew it was time to give up and go inside.

So, winter, you may have beaten me this time ... but it's a long season and I'm not giving up yet. I'll be back, with a better, stronger scraper and a better plan, and oh yes, I will beat you. Be ready.

[Full disclosure: that picture is not from this week. It's from after a storm a couple years ago.]

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This Doesn't Rock

I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to include aging, wrinkly musicians with the models in this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, but I'll just say it like it is: seeing Steven Tyler rocking out with a model (in this case, Bar Refaeli) is just not a turnon. Other not-so-exciting singers in the portfolio: Gnarls Barkley, Panic at the Disco, and Jimmy Buffett. Clearly, it was fun for them — not so much for us. I remember the days when it was just the models in the swimsuit issue. When Kathy Ireland and Elle MacPherson would smile out at me and all the cold of winter would suddenly disappear. Those were the good ole days. This Steven Tyler and Cee-Lo crap just ain't hot. Not that it's going to stop me from buying the issue, mind you (that Beyoncé cover alone is worth the price), but I wanted to bitch about it anyway.

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Vote for Haley

Well, my favorite American Idol contestant, Haley Scarnato, has made it to the top 24. Last week I told you she was one to watch, and now I'm getting a little confident in my prediction. I mean, she's already got a fan site and a blog (sort of), and a Google search produces all kinds of results. Clearly I'm not the only one who sees her potential. So next Wednesday night, when the top 12 women perform, do your part and vote for Haley. Woo hoo! (And if you need reminding of how good — and good looking — she is, here's her initial audition clip again.)

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Live-Blogging the Weather?

Some people live-blog award shows and others live-blog Super Bowl commercials. But how come no one live-blogs the weather, especially on a day like today? I mean, it may not be all that interesting by comparison (9:38 — It's snowing really hard; 10:22 — Now it's starting to turn to rain; 3:40 — The wind has really picked up) but wouldn't it be infinitely more practical and useful? I mean, forget those weatherpeople on TV, stuck inside their comfortable studios with their computers, telling us how much rain has accumulated or what the forecast is. And forget the reporters all across the region telling us that, yup, it's snowing out here in Worcester (or up in Marblehead, or out in Framingham, or wherever the reporters are stationed). What I want to know when I go out to lunch or home at the end of the day is, what is it really like out there? Are the winds really as bad as they sound? Is the rain coming down hard, or is it just misty? And how have the conditions changed over the course of the day?

I think it'd actually be fun to have a regular Joe (or Jane) post a dispatch from his or her experience of being outside every so often (like, say, every hour) saying what the conditions were like. For example, when I went out to lunch earlier today, it really wasn't so bad walking down Summer Street toward Downtown Crossing. But as soon as I turned the corner on Chauncy St. onto Franklin, that's when the wind and rain became a bit of a problem. That's valuable information. If I had documented that here, in a running commentary that I updated often, maybe I could have provided a service. Not that such a thing would have to be so exact so you knew exactly where the person went. But at least you'd know what the weather was like downtown.

I know Mike Wankum, from channel 5, has a blog and I'm sure there are other weatherpeople who do, too, but I want someone down on the ground, one of the "real" people out there, to give me an actual weather report, not a forecast. I think that'd be a good read.

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What I Did For Love

As is well-documented on this site, my theory on Valentine’s Day — especially if you’re like me and don’t have anyone to spend the day with — is to be good to yourself and spend the day doing things you love. So despite the storm (which sounds worse as it hits the skylights in my office than it actually is outside), I made the hike over to Sam Lagrassa’s for lunch today. And damn if it wasn’t worth it. As always, my roast beef was freshly sliced and warm, the Italian roll was doughy and good, and the mayonnaise, lettuce, and cucumber provided the perfect accompaniments. Suffice it to say, it was yet another excellent sandwich from Sam’s. And thanks to one of my coworkers, who ordered holiday cupcakes for the office, I also had a tasty dessert.

So, storm be damned, I am in love — with myself. I hope you all have Valentines who go that extra mile to make you happy today too.

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The St. Valentine's Day Mess

I don’t know what’s lamer: that there’s a big storm on Valentine’s Day, or that all the snow we have waited all winter for and that was only on the ground for, like, an hour is already getting washed away by all this stupid rain. Are we ever going to get a real snowstorm this year?? You know, one with accumulation that stays on the ground for at least a day? I’d say at this point we’ve earned it.

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Love Is All Around

In honor of Valentine's Day, just thought I'd compile a short list of some of the things I love today:
* the Oreo cookies at the Paradise Bakery in the Pru
* Eddie Murphy's Delirious — especially the "Ice Cream Man" bit
* getting a seat on the T in the morning
* Lost and Grey's Anatomy
* waking up with Ann Curry
* the cake at Shaw's
* my new computer
* Business 2.0's "101 Dumbest Moments in Business"
* quarter-zip sweaters
* Countdown with Keith Olbermann
* hot chocolate on a cold day
* a roast beef sandwich on an Italian roll from Sam Lagrassa's
* Barats and Bereta
* snow!
* baseball is back!
* you (yes, you)

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Monday, February 12, 2007

It's a Miracle

Two of my friends are due to give birth this week. One of them is having twins. Which means that by week’s end, there will be three more little babies in the world. Life’s amazing, ain’t it?

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Sunday, February 11, 2007

Good, In Any Language

As I've previously said, when I see movies after the Oscar nominations have been announced, I'm skeptical that the movie is that good. So I'm happy to say that yes, Babel is a very good movie. Is it one of the year's best? Sure, I'd say it's worthy of the nomination. But I'm not going to adjust my top 10 to include it. I wonder if I'd have liked it as much if I saw the movie when it was first released in October.

If you don't already know, Babel tells four interrelated stories that take place all over the world, and not exactly at the same time (though they're only a day or two apart). Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett play a couple vacationing in Morocco, Oscar-nominated Rinko Kikuchi plays a deaf Japanese teenager still troubled by her mother's death, and Oscar-nominated Adriana Barraza plays the nanny in charge of Pitt and Blanchett's characters' children back home in San Diego. There's also the story of a Moroccan family, and how the actions of the two sons have tragic results. It's a vast canvas that director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is working with and it all comes together well. This is a message movie, about how people communicate with each other and how we all get along, and that concept is explored from these varied perspectives. Interestingly, and appropriately, more than 60 percent of Babel is in a foreign language.

As you'd expect, Babel is also a long movie (it's about 2:20). And some of the stories are more engaging than others. I'd definitely have cut out a bit of the Japanese section. Conversely, I wouldn't have minded if there was more of Pitt and Blanchett before she gets shot. But overall, this is a very good movie and that's why I'm giving it an A–.

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Look Out for That Bus!

So after last night’s episode of Lost, it’s official: a character getting hit by a bus is my favorite plot twist on a TV show. You don’t see it all that often, but when it happens, BLAMMO! — it’s an effective shock that makes the episode even better. I remember the first time I saw the Felicity episode where Todd Mulcahy was hit by the bus. It was so random and unexpected that I laughed as I jumped out of my seat. And last night, when Juliet’s ex-hubby got hit, I had the same reaction, minus the laugh. It was shocking and exciting and unexpected. There are so many clichés of TV shows, but characters getting hit by a bus just hasn’t gotten old yet, and I hope it never does.

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Poor Little Rich Girl

Andy Warhol is famous for, among other things, saying, "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." And in the new movie Factory Girl, we see how Andy took one woman — Edie Sedgwick — gave her those 15 minutes, and then threw her away. Sedgwick (played in the film by Sienna Miller, Jude Law's former squeeze) was an aspiring artist from a wealthy family, who became Warhol's muse and a central figure in his "Factory" in the 1960s. She was transformed by Warhol — and not just physically — and the film takes us on the whirlwind ride from bottom to top and back down again. And it feels like a whirlwind because the film is only an hour and a half long — which, mind you, is not something I'm complaining about, but it definitely feels a little too short because there clearly has been a bit of editing here, and it feels like certain details are missing. Miller is good, but I didn't get the bigger-than-life sense about Sedgwick or Warhol (played by Guy Pearce, from Memento). I mean, she was swept up into this world, and really, it didn't seem all that cool or exciting to me. It's interesting to think of how different the movie would have been had Katie Holmes been cast as Sedgwick (not better, I think). All told, I'm giving Factory Girl a B–.

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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Taking My Time

In every issue, Esquire runs a few quick endorsements. So allow me to run one of my own: the random day off. I've become a big fan of taking nothing-special-to-do, just-a-day-off days off as a chance to just hang out, relax, and catch up on my life. I took a couple in December when I was trying to burn them off (at my company, if you don't use your days off, you lose them), and I took one today too. The benefits of these kinds of days off are plentiful: You can sleep in. You can watch morning TV shows, such as Regis & Kelly, or Ellen, or old Dawson's Creek reruns (oh, and today's was a classic from back when Brittany Daniel was on). You can run errands at stores like Shaw's or Target, go to the movies (more on that later), or walk down Newbury Street, and all of it is practically empty. Similarly, you can actually do your laundry because no one else is competing for the machines. I also enjoy treating myself to a nice-er lunch, or rewarding myself simply because I'm not at work. I'll likely take another day in a month or two so I can go to the doctor for a physical. I think we all tend to save our vacation days for actual vacations (I know I generally do), but I highly recommend taking random days off like this when you have the chance.

She Has My Vote

In the absence of anything better to write about ... Just thought I'd tell y'all that I've already picked my favorite American Idol contestant: Haley Scarnato, who was on the show last night. Clearly, she impressed the judges — especially Randy, who was totally, obviously flirting with her. Simon thought she wasn't unique, but given the crap that's been on so far, the fact that she's this good makes her unique. I think the foundation is there for her to make a strong run during the competition, and it's not just because she's really cute. So take a look and join me in the campaign to make Haley Scarnato our next American Idol!

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Saturday, February 03, 2007

I'm Not Lovin' It

What is happening to Coolidge Corner? I mean, I'm no fan of Mickey D's, but the news in today's Boston Globe that the McDonald's in Coolidge Corner is closing is something of a shock. (I guess I missed the story when it was in the Brookline Tab a couple weeks ago.) Apparently, the real estate that it (and the florist next door) occupied will become a Citibank location (sigh — another bank taking up residence in Coolidge Corner). Again, I'm not saying I like McDonald's, but given that the space previously occupied by Zathmary's that's been closed and unoccupied for almost a year is still without a tenant, why doesn't the bank go there? McDonald's, for all its chaininess and bad foodiness, etc., is another one of those 'Corner institutions that you just assume will always be there, like J.P. Licks or Zaftig's. In fact, one of the best memories I have of this Mickey D's (and this may be the only one) is after seeing Super Size Me at the Coolidge Corner Theater, when I had a sudden, unpredictable hunger for some Chicken McNuggets (no kidding. I thought the movie was supposed to have the opposite effect). The Coolidge Corner McDonald's was right there across the street to satisfy me. So, whether or not I ate there recently (and I don't think I have for at least a year or so), I'll be a little sad to see this Mickey D's go when it closes later this month.

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Whack-a-Mooninite!

Saw this on UniversalHub.com this morning, and thought it was too funny not to post here too. After the stupidity of the past week's events, why not play a game of Whack-a-Mooninite? Seems the area where I work is full of 'em. That's the Dunkin' Donuts I go to right there in the middle of the photo. Anyway, go ahead and play.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Now That Would Have Been Cool

A friend of mine e-mailed last night and told me she thought "that gorilla campaign was moronic." And of course, this got me thinking about how much more exciting this all would have been if it was an actual gorilla campaign and not a guerilla campaign. Can you just imagine what it would have been like if there were gorillas on the side of 93 or outside a T stop holding up signs to promote the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie? That would have been so so so cool. These Lite Brite thingamabobs are not cool at all by comparison. And can you just imagine what would have happened when the gorillas got loose? King Kong only had one gorilla. We could have had 38! Talk about a missed opportunity ...

Thursday, February 01, 2007

This Is So Not da Bomb

If you ask me, this whole bomb threat hoax story is a load of whooey.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t learn about the whole thing until 7pm last night, and only then it was because someone from out of town called me to ask about it, but it seems to me that the city is overreacting and, at least to me, it’s pretty ridiculous and kind of funny. This is a marketing effort that had been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities — including New York — and yet here is where the officials missed the boat? Huh??

What I want to know is, what happened in the other cities? Did no one notice, or were the folks there smart enough to realize it was a silly guerrilla marketing campaign for the movie version of a TV show that’s popular with college kids? I mean, those things didn’t look like bombs. And I’ll bet that as soon as folks who knew what they were saw the Mooninites being taken down, they laughed. I mean, even online in the Blogosphere, by early afternoon people knew this was related to a Cartoon Network program. So why all the extended hullabaloo? Why are city and state officials seemingly out for blood? Is it just because they look like like idiots? Is this a major CYA campaign? No one likes to be made a fool of, no one likes to be stuck in traffic for a stupid reason, etc. I get that. But this just reeks of overreaction.

So what of these poor guys who have been arrested for putting the things up? They're just patsies in the whole thing. They were doing their jobs. Any young person in marketing or advertising hired to participate in something like this would have done the same thing. Give them a break. They're not responsible. They were just doing what they were paid to do. Hell, I don't even think the Cartoon Network deserves this much wrath. They apologized. That's enough for me.

So yeah, I just don’t get it. Yes, I understand how on edge people are post-9/11, but c’mon. Lighten up, people.

[And as a side note, I love the fact that you can buy t-shirts to commemorate this whole thing.]

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