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Overrated ... Or Not

williamsburg bridge view from my roof
Originally uploaded by dnzsea

Radar Magazine listed their top 100 list of the most overrated people/trends/pop culture stuff. Though I disagree with some of them, I have to say that the ones that hit me hardest (Grey's Anatomy, The cult of Stephen Colbert, Jim from The Office) are things that I talk about constantly. I guess many other people talk about them constantly as well creating a very annoying pop culture chorus.

This week I cat sat for Beebs in Williamsburg while she was off to LA. I like to cat sit because it allows me the opportunity to stay in a different neighborhood, experience something new. It also makes me appreciate what I have.

Many of my friends are undergoing big life changes, moving to other cities, raising children, marrying or moving in with significant others. In a strange way, I was starting to feel left behind, as if their lives were moving at some record pace and I was remaining complacent somehow. I took the time at Beebs' place as a time out in a newish location -- I've been to Beebs' apartment like 700 times -- to think.

Well, not too much thinking actually went on; mainly waay too much TV watching!! She has HBO/Showtime/Cinemax on Demand!! I saw the following (Sorry linking to all of these things is too time consuming. IMDB can clear up any confusion about any of these shows/films.:
1. All of Tell Me You Love -- talk about overrated! I am really curious what is up with the couple with the kids though. That husband has either had an affair or is gay. Something is up. Oh, and I also think I know the husband but that's another story.
2. Season Three of Weeds -- I had only seen pieces of Weeds episodes in the past. I can tell that it is a good show and that this season is weaker. All of the characters are funny and interesting but this season's storylines are strange and sort of lame. I need to rent Seasons 1 & 2
3. Walk the Line -- for a umpteenth time. I love that movie.
4. Girl On A Bridge -- A French movie that I have been meaning to see for years now. So beautiful.
5. Deadline -- a film that I produced on The Sundance Channel. I did not actually watch it but I saw a part of it. Gosh, I can not believe our film is still being shown after all these years. Amazing.

I actually could go on and on but it is too embarassing so I'll stop. Unto some deeper thoughts.

Beebs' apartment in 15 minutes away from my office -- door to door. This is great in theory but I actually missed commuting. I travel about 40 mins to work and during that time I read, clear my head and get ready for a day of constant interaction. I never knew that time was valuable for me but it really is.

I realized that I can not have any premium cable channels. I will sit in my house 24 hours a day and watch movies. You see how long it has been since I have blogged! Watching TV is fine every once in a while but I have an addictive personality where TV is concerned. I can not control myself.

I like living in my unhip neighborhood. Sure, the convenience of everything in Willy B is amazing but boy do you pay for it. I was always too lazy to go shopping at the cheap supermarket so I would just pick something up at the overpriced gourmet supermarket next door to her house. If I made more money, this lifestyle would be fine but I do not so it's not ok at all.

I think I am going to stick to my original animal plan: no animals before kids.

I am not knocking all of these things. Most people need and prefer them. I just realized that I need other things more.

It was nice being so close to one of my good friends and easily grab a cup of coffee.

On a completely different note, I am off to Kentucky for my cousin's wedding. Immediately after the wedding, I am flying to San Francisco for a shoot. The shoot in SF is for a documentary that I am directing. I am sort of nervous about it but in a good way. It feels good.

I am also excited to see my family in Louisville. I miss my Aunt Wanda. She's a pistol.

I am reading Letters to a Young Poet. I really love it. I have some ideas that I am developing and this book is helpful. One fave quote:

What is happening in your innermost self is worthy of your entire love; somehow you must find a way to work at it ...

Forever

Heddy Honigmann's latest film, Forever, is just a lyrical masterpiece and I never say things like that. I do not have a deep clear analysis of it. If you are looking for one, read it here and here.

On a personal note, Forever made me understand something new about loss which I did not think was possible. The film may seem sad but it is not ... well, for a few moments and I was happy for the tears. I am not being articulate about it so you should just see it and tell me what you think. It ends in New York this week but it might still be in San Francisco.

Update: Here is a link to some upcoming screening dates. Scroll down to find Forever.

I'm tired

That's all. Nothing else. Too tired to even say why.

A Works In Progress Screening

Since many people I know accuse me of never telling them about the film goings on in my life, here is one that 99.9% of you will not be able to attend. Still, you can't say I didn't tell you.

Rose and Nangabire, a feature length documentary film that I am producing at Big Mouth, will be screening a ten minute piece of the film at the IFP Market this Monday, September 17th at 4:30pm at The Angelika in NYC. It is mainly for film industry people who have passes to the Market. However since I have no idea who actually reads this blog, that might be you.

We have just begun the process of making this film so I do not want to say too much about it here, not because I am being cagey but because we still are on the journey to figuring out where this film is going. We are putting up a trailer soon and when we do, I'll link to it.

Come On!

Can this be true? Is Alan Keyes running for President again? Does this man have money to burn? Why doesn't he just throw hundreds of dollars into the air and light it on fire? That's really what he is doing by getting into the race now.

I know. There are many bigger benefits to running for this position than actually winning the position: publicity, other fancy jobs. But come on! He ran against Obama before and we already saw what happened. I want to meet this guy. Someone is paying him to enter races to try to throw a wrench in them. Someone is wasting their money.

(BTW, I would link to a story that confirms this but all of the sites that do are all right wing and scary. Just take my word for it.)

Weddings and More Weddings

I love weddings. I do. At the actual ceremony, I always have a great time and am moved.

What I have a harder time with is all of the stuff that surrounds weddings. By stuff I mean wedding etiquette stuff or gifts or various parties. I am going to a wedding this fall and the bride had this card in the invitation saying that gift cards were required and expected. This is a direct quote. Geez.

One other wedding related thing I hate are cheesy over the top wedding websites. I appreciate the convenience of having all of this info online but sometimes people take it a little too far. It is especially hard when people who barely know each other -- who have been dating for a hot minute -- have these huge websites with all of this text about the story of how they met. I know this seems ironic since I have a blog and share all kinds of personal information about myself. So be it. All I know is that when I get married, in the section that asks how we met, I am simply going to put our phone numbers and a sentance: If you want to know how we met, just call us and ask us. We'd love to tell you the story again and again!

I read this funny, funny piece in The New Yorker's Shouts and Murmers that spoofed wedding websites. It made me laugh. Be sure to click on the links. They lead to an actual site.

Photo by Christy Bassman.

The King of Kong

This movie is hysterical and brilliant. I know it is hard to believe that a movie about two men battling to be the world champion of Donkey Kong could be so good but it is! It is entertaining and incredibly dramatic. See it. You won't be sorry.

Idiosyncratic Passion

I went running this morning. This is something I have not done in a while and every time I do it -- though it is extremely difficult -- I wonder why I don't do it more. I was reminded of a post that I read a while back. Why is it so hard to do things that make you feel good?

I have been feeling much better physically and am now seeing some of the positive effects of this process that I am undergoing. My anemia is pretty much non-existant. I am sure that my hemoglobin is still low but the tired feeling that plagues me is gone. I am unsure if this is because my body has so many other things going on or if I am actually getting better. I am choosing the later.

The title of this post comes from an NPR story I heard this morning about Fashion Week. The commentator said that New York City is filled with people with idiosyncratic passion, geeks if you will. I agree and am reminded that that is what I love about this city.
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A few bits:
I am reading On Writing Well. I am going to write a longer post praising it but am not finished with it yet. It is so engrossing which came as a pleasant surprise.

The last set of Senate hearings sounded so annoying. All of these Senators running for President who are making long speeches and micromanagaing. I am sure the Senators who are not running for President are completely over the ones who are.

I am thinking about changing the look of my blog. Typepad has a bunch of new options. We'll see.

The VMAs -- My Take

I admire MTV's attempt to do something different each year for the Video Music Awards.  Award shows can be stale and MTV will not rest on their laurels.  This year MTV moved the show to Las Vegas.  There was one main space that a few higher profile performers sang on (Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown) and smaller parties where people sang pieces of songs and got completely wasted!  I enjoy celebrities wasted at awards shows.  The Golden Globes is great for that.  But when people are wasted and incoherent when they are performing, that's a little tough to take. 

A few random thoughts:

*I am the only person on the face of the earth who hates Rihanna's song, Umbrella.  It's lonely. 
*I do like Rihanna though.  Her dress was cute.
*Britney Spears ... there are no words for how lame that performance was.  She used to be such a good dancer.  What happened?  She was so awkward.
*When Sarah Silverman started making fun of Britney, it was just too harsh.  I had to turn away.
*Chris Brown impressed me.   People keep saying that he's back.  He just came on the scene two years ago and he's 18.  Was he ever gone? 
*Foo Fighters' party was one of the better ones with Cee-Lo doing a great guest appearance.  Still, I hate hearing pieces of songs.  I want to hear the whole thing.  They better stream some of these performances online.
*If Kanye West is going to have his own party and be performing throughout the night, can you properly light him!  And is Kanye West on MTV's payroll?  How many times did he perform, geez?!
*Kanye's "beef" with 50 Cent is for publicity.  I am sure you guys know that but it had to be said.
*Justin Timberlake said it best when he challenged MTV to start playing videos again.  I agree.  Enough with all of the bad reality shows.  You can keep The Hills though.  I love The Hills.
*He and Timberland's Southern Hospitality suite was the party I most wanted to be at
*Fall Out Boy's party was just chaos.  Too many people were on the stage.  People were trashed. 
*It was strange watching Maroon 5 and other pretty big performers play pieces of their songs as the show went to its commercial breaks ala Paul Schaffer's band on The Letterman Show.   
*If I hear Mark Ronson's Stop Me one more time, I am shooting myself.  You heard it here first.
*I get it.  You all are going to go to Diddy's after party.  How many times did I have to hear about it?
*After years of hating on her -- because I am so strangely fickle -- I finally like Alicia Keys.  She has just grown on me.  Her performance was great, the best one of the night.  Plus, she was a class act in a pretty random show.
*Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado have played their CDs out.  I have heard these same songs so many times!  They need to take a break or make new CDs.  Pick one.
*I'm just hoping that Jamie Foxx was drunk because if he is actually that annoying, I might not be able to see his movies anymore.
*The one thing I wanted to see, Kid Rock punching out Tommy Lee, was off-camera! 

Tonight, I realized that I will never love award shows the way I did when I was a teenager.  They are not created for me anymore but I guess there were some decent moments.  I guess.  They say they are not rebroadcasting this show after today.  Can that be true?!  If it is, then this was the best award show MTV has ever done!

The Times did a good piece on the VMAs.  I understand MTV's thinking on this new structure but, as the time of the piece reflects, the best part of the show was off-camera.

I Am Old!

Check out Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet's daughter! Geez! She's 19. She really does look like both of them.