Wednesday, January 30, 2008
"Cloverfield" from Spring St. to CC in Minutes!
4th SW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
"Cloverfield," the movie in which an assorted group of Manhattan party-goers are picked off by an unexplained monster, reaches for authenticity. The one plotline that prompted a harrumph of disbelief from a downtown audience: the protagonists descend into the subway at Spring Street, walk along the tunnel, run from some alien cockroaches, and, within a few minutes, discover they're already at 59th Street. That's some express line. -- Gawker
"Cloverfield," the movie in which an assorted group of Manhattan party-goers are picked off by an unexplained monster, reaches for authenticity. The one plotline that prompted a harrumph of disbelief from a downtown audience: the protagonists descend into the subway at Spring Street, walk along the tunnel, run from some alien cockroaches, and, within a few minutes, discover they're already at 59th Street. That's some express line. -- Gawker
"Cloverfield" Trailer
McDonald's Gigantic Napkin Dispensers
When McDonald's Sweden launched their “Big ‘N’ Juicy” burger, they retrofitted these gigantic dispensers (with real, giant, recycled napkins) on certain 'euro-size' poster ads in Stockholm.
-- Swiss Miss
-- Swiss Miss
Tom Cruise "Acceptance" Speech
Tom Cruise was given the Freedom Medal of Valor at an International Association of Scientologists event in 2006. He gave a nine minute "acceptance" speech about himself and Scientology.
Hightlights of the speech are courtesy of the blog The Blemish via US Weekly:
Hightlights of the speech are courtesy of the blog The Blemish via US Weekly:
…I think it’s a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist, and it’s something that you have to earn because a Scientologist does… has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions. Being a Scientologist, you look at someone and know absolutely that you can help them.
“Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident… you know you have to do something about it because you know you’re the only one that can really help.
“But that’s what drives me… I know that we have an opportunity to really help… effectively change people’s lives and I am dedicated to that. I am absolutely, uncompromisingly dedicated to that.
“We have a responsibility.
“We are the authorities on getting people off drugs, we are the authorities on the mind, we are the authorities on improving conditions… we can rehabilitate criminals.
“…We can bring peace and unite cultures…
“Traveling the world and meeting the people that I’ve met, talking with these leaders in various fields, they want help and they are depending on people who know and who can be effective and do it and that’s us. That is our responsibility to do that.
“It is the time now. Now is the time… Being a Scientologist, people are turning to you, so you better know it, you better know it and if you don’t, go and learn it, but don’t pretend you know it. It’s like we’re here to help.
“If you’re a Scientologist, you see life, you see things the way they are, in all its glory, all of its complexity and the more you know as a Scientologist, you don’t become overwhelmed by it.
“Look, I wish the world was a different place. I’d like to go on vacation and go and romp and play and just do that, you know what I mean. That’s what I want it to be. There’s times I’d like to do that, but I can’t because I know I have to do something about it.
“I have to do it because I can’t live with myself if I don’t, and that really is it.
“So it’s our responsibility to educate, create the new reality. We have that responsibility to say, ‘Hey, this is the way it should be done because we do it this way and people are actually getting better.’
“And let’s get it done. Let’s really get it done and have enough love and compassion and toughness that you’re really going to do it and do it right.
“I have to tell you something – it is rough and tumble, and it’s wild and wooly, and it’s a blast, it’s a blast, it really is fun because, dammit, there is nothing better than the going out there and fighting the fight and suddenly you see things are better.
“I want to know that I’ve done everything I could everyday, and I think about those people out there who are depending on us. I think about that and it does make me feel that we’ve got more work. I need more help, get those spectators either in the playing field or out of the arena. Really, that’s how I feel about it.
“I do what I can, and I do it the way I do everything. [laughs] There’s nothing part-of-the way for me.”
Legault Still Smokes
4th SW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Neel Shah posted on Radar Online:
According to the Daily News, [Skip] Legault, who was recently featured in one of those graphic, state-sponsored anti-smoking ads designed to guilt you into quitting, has endured multiple heart attacks, strokes, and the loss of his right leg on account of his nicotine habit, yet still sucks down half a pack a day. "The more I watch my commercials, the sicker it makes me feel," Legault says. "I've lived longer than the doctors told me and it's tough to change something while you're still going."
Prada's Tutu for Men
4th SW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Cord Jefferson of the blog MollyGood posted the following about Prada's tutu belt for men:
This is a tutu belt debuted by Prada at the fashion house’s latest runway show in Milan. The New York Times called the piece “humiliating.” The designer called it “revenge.” We call it even more evidence fashion is a whimsical joke played on the world.
Cord Jefferson of the blog MollyGood posted the following about Prada's tutu belt for men:
This is a tutu belt debuted by Prada at the fashion house’s latest runway show in Milan. The New York Times called the piece “humiliating.” The designer called it “revenge.” We call it even more evidence fashion is a whimsical joke played on the world.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Cute-Polar-Bear-Mania
3rd SE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
By The Blue Marble Blog
January 29, 2008
Cutie polar bear cub Knut made his public debut last week, to the sounds of thousands of cooing fans and 300 shutter-clicking media members. The fuzzy animal, now the size of a Labrador Retriever puppy, delighted visitors as he frolicked through a stream, kissed his keeper, and rolled in the dirt.
Berlin Zoo officials say the cub is not in danger of being killed, as a few animal activists have suggested. Instead, hand-raised Knut is the zoo's star attraction, especially after his neighbor, 22-year-old panda Yan Yan died Monday, of constipation.
The Berlin Zoo has seen attendance jump by 300% since Knut appeared to the public, and the Zoo gift store had to order 10,000 more stuffed Knut dolls after their original 2,400 sold out. The cub now has his own television show, podcast, and a blog written from his imagined perspective. Graffiti artists are even spraypainting his name on concrete pillars under the bear-shaped logo for the Berlin Film Festival.
By The Blue Marble Blog
January 29, 2008
Cutie polar bear cub Knut made his public debut last week, to the sounds of thousands of cooing fans and 300 shutter-clicking media members. The fuzzy animal, now the size of a Labrador Retriever puppy, delighted visitors as he frolicked through a stream, kissed his keeper, and rolled in the dirt.
Berlin Zoo officials say the cub is not in danger of being killed, as a few animal activists have suggested. Instead, hand-raised Knut is the zoo's star attraction, especially after his neighbor, 22-year-old panda Yan Yan died Monday, of constipation.
The Berlin Zoo has seen attendance jump by 300% since Knut appeared to the public, and the Zoo gift store had to order 10,000 more stuffed Knut dolls after their original 2,400 sold out. The cub now has his own television show, podcast, and a blog written from his imagined perspective. Graffiti artists are even spraypainting his name on concrete pillars under the bear-shaped logo for the Berlin Film Festival.
Flickr Abandoned Building Art
Taylor Hicks Dropped from J Records Label
3rd SE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
From the blog Zakuta:
Taylor Hicks might have won "American Idol," but he doesn't have his record deal anymore. The soul singer, who won the televised singing competition in 2006, has apparently been dropped by J Records, a label within Sony-BMG, which signs the show's singers. "Taylor is going to record on his own for the next album," said J Records publicist Liz Morentin, who did not give further details regarding Hicks.
Hicks' self-titled, post-"Idol" album, released in December 2006, debuted at No. 2 on the charts. In the weeks after it was issued, however, the disc slid down the charts. While it sold a respectable 699,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data, it did not reach the 1 million mark, unlike all the other debuts from previous "Idol" champs. It also did not register a hit song, unlike other "Idol" winners.
From the blog Zakuta:Taylor Hicks might have won "American Idol," but he doesn't have his record deal anymore. The soul singer, who won the televised singing competition in 2006, has apparently been dropped by J Records, a label within Sony-BMG, which signs the show's singers. "Taylor is going to record on his own for the next album," said J Records publicist Liz Morentin, who did not give further details regarding Hicks.
Hicks' self-titled, post-"Idol" album, released in December 2006, debuted at No. 2 on the charts. In the weeks after it was issued, however, the disc slid down the charts. While it sold a respectable 699,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data, it did not reach the 1 million mark, unlike all the other debuts from previous "Idol" champs. It also did not register a hit song, unlike other "Idol" winners.
Will Ferrell Plans One-Man Broadway Show
3rd SE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
The blog Just Jared posted:
Saturday Night Live alumni Will Ferrell is bringing a one-man-show to Broadway, reports NY Post.
“Ferrell’s as-yet-untitled show, which will have a small supporting cast and a band, will be produced by Jeffrey Richards… The Ferrell Project will be autobiographical and include anecdotes about the comedian’s work… Ferrell also will do some of his fabled impersonations - of George W. Bush, Robert Goulet, Neil Diamond, Jesse Ventura and Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton,” according to the article.
The blog Just Jared posted:
Saturday Night Live alumni Will Ferrell is bringing a one-man-show to Broadway, reports NY Post.
“Ferrell’s as-yet-untitled show, which will have a small supporting cast and a band, will be produced by Jeffrey Richards… The Ferrell Project will be autobiographical and include anecdotes about the comedian’s work… Ferrell also will do some of his fabled impersonations - of George W. Bush, Robert Goulet, Neil Diamond, Jesse Ventura and Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton,” according to the article.
Tynes Avoids Norwood-Buckner Club
3rd SE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Lawrence Tynes missed a 36-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of regulation in the National Football Conference championship game against the Green Bay Packers that would have given the Giants a trip to the Super Bowl. Tynes got a second chance to win the game in overtime, which would have prevented him from joining the Norwood-Buckner Club of Reviled Chockers. Tynes’s made 47-yard field goal with 2 minutes 35 seconds into overtime, which gave the Giants the 23-20 victory over the Packers allowing them to play in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz, against the undefeated New England Patriots on Feb. 3. (New York Times)
In Super Bowl XXV [Scott] Norwood's of the Buffalo Bills missed a 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of the game, giving the New York Giants the victory. (Wikipedia)
1986 World Series On October 25, 1986, the Boston Red Sox faced the New York Mets in game 6 of the World Series. Boston led the best-of-7 series 3 games to 2, and had a two-run lead with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. New York came back to tie the game with three straight singles off Calvin Schiraldi and a wild pitch by pitcher Bob Stanley. Mookie Wilson fouled off several pitches before hitting a ground ball to [Bill] Buckner at first base. The ball rolled under Buckner's glove, through his legs, and into right field, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run, forcing a seventh game, which the Mets won. Buckner's error capped off a poor Game 6 performance; he went 0-for-5 with runners on in all five at-bats. (Wikipedia)
(Photo courtesy Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Lawrence Tynes missed a 36-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of regulation in the National Football Conference championship game against the Green Bay Packers that would have given the Giants a trip to the Super Bowl. Tynes got a second chance to win the game in overtime, which would have prevented him from joining the Norwood-Buckner Club of Reviled Chockers. Tynes’s made 47-yard field goal with 2 minutes 35 seconds into overtime, which gave the Giants the 23-20 victory over the Packers allowing them to play in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz, against the undefeated New England Patriots on Feb. 3. (New York Times)
In Super Bowl XXV [Scott] Norwood's of the Buffalo Bills missed a 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of the game, giving the New York Giants the victory. (Wikipedia)
1986 World Series On October 25, 1986, the Boston Red Sox faced the New York Mets in game 6 of the World Series. Boston led the best-of-7 series 3 games to 2, and had a two-run lead with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. New York came back to tie the game with three straight singles off Calvin Schiraldi and a wild pitch by pitcher Bob Stanley. Mookie Wilson fouled off several pitches before hitting a ground ball to [Bill] Buckner at first base. The ball rolled under Buckner's glove, through his legs, and into right field, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run, forcing a seventh game, which the Mets won. Buckner's error capped off a poor Game 6 performance; he went 0-for-5 with runners on in all five at-bats. (Wikipedia)
(Photo courtesy Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Monday, January 28, 2008
"The Wire's" Rootsy Soundtrack
2nd NE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
The Wire's soundtrack is five years of music from the show. The "rootsy" reference is referring to the the hip hop band The Roots.
The Wire's soundtrack is five years of music from the show. The "rootsy" reference is referring to the the hip hop band The Roots.
2008 Oscars Nominations
2nd NE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008 BEST PICTURE
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Viggo Mortenson, Eastern Promises
Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley of Elah
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Ratatouille (written by Brad Bird; story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird)
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Viggo Mortenson, Eastern Promises
Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley of Elah
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Ratatouille (written by Brad Bird; story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird)
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Thomas Quasthoff Delivers a Chilling "Erlkönig"
2nd NE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Thomas Quasthoff delivered a "chilling" "Erlkönig" on January 19, 2007 at Carnegie Hall.
Thomas Quasthoff (born in Hildesheim, Germany, November 9, 1959) is a German bass-baritone generally regarded as one of the finest singers of his generation. Quasthoff was born with serious birth defects caused by his mother's exposure during pregnancy to the drug thalidomide which was prescribed as an antiemetic to combat her morning sickness. Thomas Quasthoff is unusually short (about four feet tall) due to shortening of the long bones in his legs, and he has phocomelia of the upper extremities with very short or absent long bones and flipper-like appearance of his hands.
"Der Erlkönig" (often called just "Erlkönig") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the "Erlking" (roughly translated as "evil spirit", but see the discussion of the legend below). It was originally composed by Goethe as part of a 1782 ballad opera entitled Die Fischerin. (Wikipedia)
Thomas Quasthoff delivered a "chilling" "Erlkönig" on January 19, 2007 at Carnegie Hall.Thomas Quasthoff (born in Hildesheim, Germany, November 9, 1959) is a German bass-baritone generally regarded as one of the finest singers of his generation. Quasthoff was born with serious birth defects caused by his mother's exposure during pregnancy to the drug thalidomide which was prescribed as an antiemetic to combat her morning sickness. Thomas Quasthoff is unusually short (about four feet tall) due to shortening of the long bones in his legs, and he has phocomelia of the upper extremities with very short or absent long bones and flipper-like appearance of his hands.
"Der Erlkönig" (often called just "Erlkönig") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the "Erlking" (roughly translated as "evil spirit", but see the discussion of the legend below). It was originally composed by Goethe as part of a 1782 ballad opera entitled Die Fischerin. (Wikipedia)
Richard Easton in "New Jerusalem"
2nd NE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Focusing on the 1656 interrogation of the noted philosopher Baruch De Spinoza (Strong) by the Jewish community of Amsterdam for his controversial ideas, "New Jerusalem" examines the clash between religion and modernity that Jews, Christians and Muslims are still, some 350 years later, struggling to reconcile. (Broadway)
Martin Denton of NY Theatre wrote in his review of the play:
The excellent [Tony Award winning] actor Richard Easton portrays Mortera in "New Jerusalem," and there is a wonderful moment when we see that Spinoza has finally convinced him of the truth of his ideas; it's a stunning, cataclysmic moment, reflected on Easton's face and in his body language, reminding us that once a revolutionary idea gets released into the universe, it can never be taken back: progress, such as it is, can only go in a forward motion.
"New Jerusalem" has been extended one week, and runs throught February 10, 2008 at the Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, New York, NY.
Focusing on the 1656 interrogation of the noted philosopher Baruch De Spinoza (Strong) by the Jewish community of Amsterdam for his controversial ideas, "New Jerusalem" examines the clash between religion and modernity that Jews, Christians and Muslims are still, some 350 years later, struggling to reconcile. (Broadway)
Martin Denton of NY Theatre wrote in his review of the play:
The excellent [Tony Award winning] actor Richard Easton portrays Mortera in "New Jerusalem," and there is a wonderful moment when we see that Spinoza has finally convinced him of the truth of his ideas; it's a stunning, cataclysmic moment, reflected on Easton's face and in his body language, reminding us that once a revolutionary idea gets released into the universe, it can never be taken back: progress, such as it is, can only go in a forward motion.
"New Jerusalem" has been extended one week, and runs throught February 10, 2008 at the Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, New York, NY.
Maggie Gyllenhaal reads Miranda July
2nd NE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Acclaimed author Zadie Smith (On Beauty) hosted a reading on, January 10, 2008, to celebrate the release of "The Book of Other People" (Penguin), a collection that she edited of new short stories by contemporary authors. A selection of the book’s contributors read, including George Saunders (In Persuasion Nation), Vendela Vida (Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name), and special guest Maggie Gyllenhaal, read Miranda July’s story “Roy Spivey.” All proceeds from the book and the event benefited free writing and tutoring programs for children at 826NYC.
Acclaimed author Zadie Smith (On Beauty) hosted a reading on, January 10, 2008, to celebrate the release of "The Book of Other People" (Penguin), a collection that she edited of new short stories by contemporary authors. A selection of the book’s contributors read, including George Saunders (In Persuasion Nation), Vendela Vida (Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name), and special guest Maggie Gyllenhaal, read Miranda July’s story “Roy Spivey.” All proceeds from the book and the event benefited free writing and tutoring programs for children at 826NYC.
"Times" Reconstruction of Bobby Fischer Games
Boris Spassky vs. Robert James Fischer172 World Championship, Game 6
The New York Times Viewer Reconstruction
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American-born chess Grandmaster, an Icelandic citizen at the time of his death, who became famous as a teenager for his chess-playing ability. In 1972, he became the first, and so far only, American to win the official World Chess Championship, defeating defending champion Boris Spassky in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland. The match was widely publicized as a Cold War battle. He is often referred to as a candidate for the greatest chess player of all time. Fischer won the U.S. Chess Championship all eight times he competed, from 1957 to 1966, a record. (Wikipedia)
Wolf Blitzer
1st NW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
By The Huffington Post
January 22, 2008
It's Wolf's Fault! Feisty Debate Blamed On "Exceedingly Lenient" Blitzer
... Wolf Blitzer was exceedingly lenient with the format.
Mr. Blitzer appeared at some points to lose control of the conversation as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, and to a lesser extent the former Senator John Edwards, traded barbs during the two-hour debate televised on CNN. The result, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy write in Tuesday's New York Times, was "the most intense and personal exchange of the campaign season."
By The Huffington PostJanuary 22, 2008
It's Wolf's Fault! Feisty Debate Blamed On "Exceedingly Lenient" Blitzer
... Wolf Blitzer was exceedingly lenient with the format.
Mr. Blitzer appeared at some points to lose control of the conversation as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, and to a lesser extent the former Senator John Edwards, traded barbs during the two-hour debate televised on CNN. The result, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy write in Tuesday's New York Times, was "the most intense and personal exchange of the campaign season."
"The Wire's" Baltimore "Sun" Subplot
1st NW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
jamessal posted in the comments on Slate, "So far as we've seen most of the newspapermen are indeed stock characters, but that's nothing to worry about. Except for a few leads each season, very few characters have conflicting motives. Think Clay Davis, Mayor Royce, Herc, Horse, Burrell, Rawles, Weebay, Chris Partlow, Snoop, the school administrators, even Marlo."
This season of 'The Wire' is based in large part on Simon's experiences in 13 years at The Baltimore Sun. Simon decries recent trends in the newspaper industry that have conspired to make high-end journalism vulnerable: out-of-town chain ownership, an economic climate in which the share price of media companies matters more to industry leaders than the product itself, and a newsroom culture in which prizes, personal ambition and the cult of the "impact" story has replaced consistent and detailed coverage of complex issues as the primary goal.
-- HBO
Plot Summary: Set in Baltimore, this show centers around the city's inner-city drug scene. It starts as mid-level drug dealer, D'Angelo Barksdale beats a murder rap. After a conversation with a judge, Det. James McNulty has been assigned to lead a joint homicide and narcotics team, in order to bring down drug kingpin Avon Barksdale. Avon Barksdale, accompanied by his right-hand man Stringer Bell, enforcer Wee-Bey and many lieutenants (including his own nephew, D'Angelo Barksdale), has to deal with law enforcement, informants in his own camp, and competition with a local rival, Omar, who's been robbing Barksdale's dealers and reselling the drugs. The supervisor of the investigation, Lt. Cedric Daniels, has to deal with his own problems, such as a corrupt bureaucracy, some of his detectives beating suspects, hard-headed but determined Det. McNulty, and a blackmailing deputy. The show depicts the lives of every part of the drug "food chain", from junkies to dealers, and from cops to politicians.
-- IMDb
jamessal posted in the comments on Slate, "So far as we've seen most of the newspapermen are indeed stock characters, but that's nothing to worry about. Except for a few leads each season, very few characters have conflicting motives. Think Clay Davis, Mayor Royce, Herc, Horse, Burrell, Rawles, Weebay, Chris Partlow, Snoop, the school administrators, even Marlo."
This season of 'The Wire' is based in large part on Simon's experiences in 13 years at The Baltimore Sun. Simon decries recent trends in the newspaper industry that have conspired to make high-end journalism vulnerable: out-of-town chain ownership, an economic climate in which the share price of media companies matters more to industry leaders than the product itself, and a newsroom culture in which prizes, personal ambition and the cult of the "impact" story has replaced consistent and detailed coverage of complex issues as the primary goal.
-- HBO
Plot Summary: Set in Baltimore, this show centers around the city's inner-city drug scene. It starts as mid-level drug dealer, D'Angelo Barksdale beats a murder rap. After a conversation with a judge, Det. James McNulty has been assigned to lead a joint homicide and narcotics team, in order to bring down drug kingpin Avon Barksdale. Avon Barksdale, accompanied by his right-hand man Stringer Bell, enforcer Wee-Bey and many lieutenants (including his own nephew, D'Angelo Barksdale), has to deal with law enforcement, informants in his own camp, and competition with a local rival, Omar, who's been robbing Barksdale's dealers and reselling the drugs. The supervisor of the investigation, Lt. Cedric Daniels, has to deal with his own problems, such as a corrupt bureaucracy, some of his detectives beating suspects, hard-headed but determined Det. McNulty, and a blackmailing deputy. The show depicts the lives of every part of the drug "food chain", from junkies to dealers, and from cops to politicians.
-- IMDb
"November"
1st NW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Nathan Lane stars as incumbent U.S. president Charles Smith, Dylan Baker is an advisor, and Laurie Metcalf is his speech writer who wants the president to perform her civil marriage in David Mamet's new comedy "November" playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Mamet, whose script for "Wag the Dog" may be the most prescient piece of politically subversive comedy to ever make it to the screen, takes the lazy way out with the election-year sitcom that opened last night at the Barrymore Theatre, starring Nathan Lane as a lowlife losing president called Chuck.
Instead of wit and fury, we get gags and grimaces. Instead of humor so daring that critics have been known to bite their own lips to maintain decorum, the comedy is so eager-to-please that we strain to hear Mamet's voice beyond the punch lines.
Oh, there is plenty of noisy impertinence and throwaway bits of pertinence in the hyperextended sketch about a failing incumbent. But mostly, this is a commercial Broadway fluff ball disguised as a tough-talking political troublemaker.
(Photo courtesy of Newsday)
Nathan Lane stars as incumbent U.S. president Charles Smith, Dylan Baker is an advisor, and Laurie Metcalf is his speech writer who wants the president to perform her civil marriage in David Mamet's new comedy "November" playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Mamet, whose script for "Wag the Dog" may be the most prescient piece of politically subversive comedy to ever make it to the screen, takes the lazy way out with the election-year sitcom that opened last night at the Barrymore Theatre, starring Nathan Lane as a lowlife losing president called Chuck.
Instead of wit and fury, we get gags and grimaces. Instead of humor so daring that critics have been known to bite their own lips to maintain decorum, the comedy is so eager-to-please that we strain to hear Mamet's voice beyond the punch lines.
Oh, there is plenty of noisy impertinence and throwaway bits of pertinence in the hyperextended sketch about a failing incumbent. But mostly, this is a commercial Broadway fluff ball disguised as a tough-talking political troublemaker.
(Photo courtesy of Newsday)
"The View from Castle Rock" Book Cover
1st NW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Alice Munro mines her rich family background, melding it with her own experiences and the transforming power of her brilliant imagination, to create perhaps her most powerful and personal collection yet.
A young boy, taken to Edinburgh’s Castle Rock to look across the sea to America, catches a glimpse of his father’s dream. Scottish immigrants experience love and loss on a journey that leads them to rural Ontario. Wives, mothers, fathers, and children move through uncertainty, ambivalence, and contemplation in these stories of hopes, adversity, and wonder. The View from Castle Rock reveals what is most essential in Munro’s art: her compassionate understanding of ordinary lives. (Amazon)
“Exhilarating. . . . [Munro's] ability to travel into the minds and feelings of people long dead is uncanny.” —The New York Times Book Review
Alice Ann Munro, née Laidlaw (born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short-story writer who is widely considered one of the world's premier fiction writers. Munro is a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction. Her stories focus on human relationships looked at through the lens of daily life. While most of Munro’s fiction is set in Southwestern Ontario, her reputation as a short-story writer is international. Her "accessible, moving stories" explore human complexities in a seemingly effortless style. Munro's writing has established her as "a major voice among fiction writers." She has been referred to as "the Canadian Chekhov." (Wikipedia)
Book Description:
Alice Munro mines her rich family background, melding it with her own experiences and the transforming power of her brilliant imagination, to create perhaps her most powerful and personal collection yet.
A young boy, taken to Edinburgh’s Castle Rock to look across the sea to America, catches a glimpse of his father’s dream. Scottish immigrants experience love and loss on a journey that leads them to rural Ontario. Wives, mothers, fathers, and children move through uncertainty, ambivalence, and contemplation in these stories of hopes, adversity, and wonder. The View from Castle Rock reveals what is most essential in Munro’s art: her compassionate understanding of ordinary lives. (Amazon)
“Exhilarating. . . . [Munro's] ability to travel into the minds and feelings of people long dead is uncanny.” —The New York Times Book Review
Alice Ann Munro, née Laidlaw (born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short-story writer who is widely considered one of the world's premier fiction writers. Munro is a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction. Her stories focus on human relationships looked at through the lens of daily life. While most of Munro’s fiction is set in Southwestern Ontario, her reputation as a short-story writer is international. Her "accessible, moving stories" explore human complexities in a seemingly effortless style. Munro's writing has established her as "a major voice among fiction writers." She has been referred to as "the Canadian Chekhov." (Wikipedia)
Vegan Shoes for $300
1st NW Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of February 4, 2008
Elisa Camahort posted on the blog The Hip & Zen Pen:
Have you seen Charmone Shoes? Most. Adorable. Vegan. Shoes. Ever. And, unfortunately for me they may also be the Most. Expensive. Vegan. Shoes. Ever.
Before I became a veg*n I sold shoes during college and became a total shoe hound/snob...that ended when I was stuck shopping at Payless Shoe Source to get vegan shoes. I've always longed for a source for really gorgeous, non-cheap, vegan shoes. Along comes Charmone.
I mean, their mission could not be more hip & zen:
Charmoné’s mission is to create charming women’s shoes in harmony with animals, people and the environment.
Only two problems:
1. I don't actually wear high heeled shoes very often...and when I do I am nearly always immediately sorry.
2. I have probably never spent $300 USD on a pair of shoes before, particularly a pair that I'll wear rarely and that will probably hurt me when I do. Sigh. But I love them.
(Update: Just in case you didn't see it, Michelle posted in the comments that www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com has trendy AND affordable vegan shoes!)
Elisa Camahort posted on the blog The Hip & Zen Pen:
Have you seen Charmone Shoes? Most. Adorable. Vegan. Shoes. Ever. And, unfortunately for me they may also be the Most. Expensive. Vegan. Shoes. Ever.
Before I became a veg*n I sold shoes during college and became a total shoe hound/snob...that ended when I was stuck shopping at Payless Shoe Source to get vegan shoes. I've always longed for a source for really gorgeous, non-cheap, vegan shoes. Along comes Charmone.
I mean, their mission could not be more hip & zen:
Charmoné’s mission is to create charming women’s shoes in harmony with animals, people and the environment.
Only two problems:
1. I don't actually wear high heeled shoes very often...and when I do I am nearly always immediately sorry.
2. I have probably never spent $300 USD on a pair of shoes before, particularly a pair that I'll wear rarely and that will probably hurt me when I do. Sigh. But I love them.
(Update: Just in case you didn't see it, Michelle posted in the comments that www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com has trendy AND affordable vegan shoes!)
Friday, January 25, 2008
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
The remaining items in the 4th quadrant of the Year-End Mega Matrix were a bunch of movies you guys have already probably seen by now, or don't want to see. So, I decided to do a "Best Of" post today. It was hard to choose, because as we know, many of the items in the matrices are very interesting.
The new issue of New York Magazine should be out Monday, so we'll have an all-new Approval Matrix to post, and research.
Thanks for reading!
The new issue of New York Magazine should be out Monday, so we'll have an all-new Approval Matrix to post, and research.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Stolen White Truffles
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
The Approval Matrix: Week of November 19, 2007
An Italian truffle hunter has been robbed on his way to the market by thieves posing as police officers who relieved him of 400 grams of freshly collected white truffles worth €2,000.
Dario Pastrone, 58, had spent Friday and Saturday night in the wooded valleys around Chiusano collecting the prized delicacy and was driving to a truffle market in Asti when another car forced him off the road, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Three men dressed as police officers jumped out, opened his trunk and stole the truffles. The price of truffles has risen to as much as €8,000 ($11,500) this year, almost half the
price of gold. (Spiegel Online)
The Approval Matrix: Week of November 19, 2007
An Italian truffle hunter has been robbed on his way to the market by thieves posing as police officers who relieved him of 400 grams of freshly collected white truffles worth €2,000.
Dario Pastrone, 58, had spent Friday and Saturday night in the wooded valleys around Chiusano collecting the prized delicacy and was driving to a truffle market in Asti when another car forced him off the road, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Three men dressed as police officers jumped out, opened his trunk and stole the truffles. The price of truffles has risen to as much as €8,000 ($11,500) this year, almost half the
price of gold. (Spiegel Online)
Popped Collars
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
The Approval Matrix: Week of October 8, 2007
Vanessa Tsang wrote in Washington Square News that never before have two inches of fabric been so controversial. The style of wearing the collar on a polo shirt flipped up - or "popped" - has become a runaway trend in recent months, inciting both disgust and glorification among students. Pastel, striped, plastered with name-brand logos, double popped, or half-popped and half-down, these errant collars are causing a stir across campus.
"Especially with the opening of Rugby, there are a lot of NYU students shopping there and wearing the entire [preppy] look head to toe now," said Patrick Michael Hughes, professor of fashion history at Parsons, The New School for Design. "It's very urban."
Hughes also said that this trend is especially prominent in a city like New York.
"I get compliments [when I pop my collar]," Stern sophomore Greg Hammond said. "Girls will compliment you on your shirt. Guys will say, 'Oh, you're a pimp!' "
The Approval Matrix: Week of October 8, 2007
Vanessa Tsang wrote in Washington Square News that never before have two inches of fabric been so controversial. The style of wearing the collar on a polo shirt flipped up - or "popped" - has become a runaway trend in recent months, inciting both disgust and glorification among students. Pastel, striped, plastered with name-brand logos, double popped, or half-popped and half-down, these errant collars are causing a stir across campus.
"Especially with the opening of Rugby, there are a lot of NYU students shopping there and wearing the entire [preppy] look head to toe now," said Patrick Michael Hughes, professor of fashion history at Parsons, The New School for Design. "It's very urban."
Hughes also said that this trend is especially prominent in a city like New York.
"I get compliments [when I pop my collar]," Stern sophomore Greg Hammond said. "Girls will compliment you on your shirt. Guys will say, 'Oh, you're a pimp!' "
(Tiny) Sharks in New York City
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
The Approval Matrix: Week of September 17, 2007
The Daily News reports that a Coney Island lifeguard rescued a 2-foot sand shark from a mob of panicked swimmers. According to the lifeguard, some of swimmers actually hit and smacked the baby shark in the face.
Another shark was seen at South Beach in Staten Island on Sunday, following the 5-foot thresher shark that startled swimmers at Rockaway Beach on Saturday before its lifeless body washed ashore the next day.
The Approval Matrix: Week of September 17, 2007
The Daily News reports that a Coney Island lifeguard rescued a 2-foot sand shark from a mob of panicked swimmers. According to the lifeguard, some of swimmers actually hit and smacked the baby shark in the face.Another shark was seen at South Beach in Staten Island on Sunday, following the 5-foot thresher shark that startled swimmers at Rockaway Beach on Saturday before its lifeless body washed ashore the next day.
"¡Ask a Mexican!"
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
The Approval Matrix: Week of October 1, 2007
Why do Mexicans use their car horns as a doorbell? Do Mexican children get tamales at Christmas so that they have something to unwrap? The chances are that you will know the answers to some of these questions if you live in the United States and read the wickedly funny "Ask a Mexican!" column .
The brainchild of a Mexican-American reporter, Gustavo Arellano, and his editor at the OC Weekly in Orange County, southern California, the column started out as a prank in 2004. Since then it has become a sleeper hit read by more than a million people from California to New York each week.
The questions -- some addressing Mexicans as "greasers" and "beaners" -- pull no punches, and are met with equally arch slapdowns meant to sneak in an unexpected cultural rapprochement with humor, Arellano said. Through his blunt discussion of stereotypes, he hopes to defend Mexicans and their identity in the United States. (Reuters)
The Approval Matrix: Week of October 1, 2007
Why do Mexicans use their car horns as a doorbell? Do Mexican children get tamales at Christmas so that they have something to unwrap? The chances are that you will know the answers to some of these questions if you live in the United States and read the wickedly funny "Ask a Mexican!" column .
The brainchild of a Mexican-American reporter, Gustavo Arellano, and his editor at the OC Weekly in Orange County, southern California, the column started out as a prank in 2004. Since then it has become a sleeper hit read by more than a million people from California to New York each week.
The questions -- some addressing Mexicans as "greasers" and "beaners" -- pull no punches, and are met with equally arch slapdowns meant to sneak in an unexpected cultural rapprochement with humor, Arellano said. Through his blunt discussion of stereotypes, he hopes to defend Mexicans and their identity in the United States. (Reuters)
The Book Design Review
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
2nd Quadrant 8/13 '07
The Book Design Review is a [very intriguing] blog dedicated to the best, and sometimes the worst, of book design, book covers, and book jackets.
Pilobolus Dance Theater
Best of Behind the Approval Matrix
2nd Quadrant 8/20 '07
The Pilobolus Dance Theater is an internationally known American dance company that started in 1971 in a dance class taught by Alison Chase at Dartmouth College. The theater’s Wikipedia pages states that, “Their performances have long been characterized by a strong element ofphysical interaction between the bodies of the performers, and exaggerations or contortions of the human form (or other anthropomorphic forms), often verging on gymnastics.”
The Times review of Pilobolus mentions that, “Its performers look as much animal as human. Further yet: Much of its imagery is vegetable, flora rather than fauna. Sometimes we find we’re watching amoebas; changing organisms; explosions of seed heads.”
If you missed the August 11 performance at the Joyce Theater, Pilobolus will be back in the New York area on the following dates in 2008:
March 29, 30 Queens Theater in the Park
February 16 Stony Brook Staller Center
Pilobolus @ 79th (2007) Oscar Awards
"Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design"
The Approval Matrix: Week of August 27, 2007
From the publisher's website: Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design is a collection of writings by Michael Bierut. The 272-page hardcover book brings together twenty years of essays on subjects that range from New York’s faulty “Push for Walk Signal” buttons, to the disappearance of the AT&T logo, to the implications of Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire for interaction designers.
Many of the pieces first appeared on Design Observer, the popular blog that Michael edits with Jessica Helfand and Bill Drenttel. Seventy-nine Essays also includes pieces that appeared elsewhere and pieces that have never been published in other collections, like “Waiting for Permission,” “How to Become Famous” and “Ten Footnotes on a Manifesto.”
If you seek a design book that navigates with aplomb between French semioticians, typographers, movie stars and Mad magazine cartoonists, Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design is the one for you.
From the publisher's website: Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design is a collection of writings by Michael Bierut. The 272-page hardcover book brings together twenty years of essays on subjects that range from New York’s faulty “Push for Walk Signal” buttons, to the disappearance of the AT&T logo, to the implications of Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire for interaction designers.
Many of the pieces first appeared on Design Observer, the popular blog that Michael edits with Jessica Helfand and Bill Drenttel. Seventy-nine Essays also includes pieces that appeared elsewhere and pieces that have never been published in other collections, like “Waiting for Permission,” “How to Become Famous” and “Ten Footnotes on a Manifesto.”
If you seek a design book that navigates with aplomb between French semioticians, typographers, movie stars and Mad magazine cartoonists, Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design is the one for you.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
"Viva Laughlin"
4th\SE Quadrant The Year-End Mega Matrix
By BloggingStocks
October 24th 2007
Viva Laughlin, the universally panned musical/mystery/drama/casino-intrigue series has been canceled after just two airings. What's worse, the show has been pulled after just one try in its regular Sunday-night time slot.
While the CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) show was rife with talent, including star Melanie Griffith and executive producer/star Hugh Jackman, it suffered from pitifully low ratings and even worse reviews. On Sunday [October 24th 2007], the program scored a 1.2 rating and a 3 share among adults 18-49. The show was based on a successful BBC series, Viva Blackpool.
Plot Outline: Small-time casino owner, Ripley Holden [Lloyd Owen], dreams of opening up a snazzy resort on the Laughlin Strip. (IMDb)
If Elvis isn't already dead, Viva Laughlin just might kill him. -- USA Today
By BloggingStocks
October 24th 2007
Viva Laughlin, the universally panned musical/mystery/drama/casino-intrigue series has been canceled after just two airings. What's worse, the show has been pulled after just one try in its regular Sunday-night time slot.
While the CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) show was rife with talent, including star Melanie Griffith and executive producer/star Hugh Jackman, it suffered from pitifully low ratings and even worse reviews. On Sunday [October 24th 2007], the program scored a 1.2 rating and a 3 share among adults 18-49. The show was based on a successful BBC series, Viva Blackpool.
Plot Outline: Small-time casino owner, Ripley Holden [Lloyd Owen], dreams of opening up a snazzy resort on the Laughlin Strip. (IMDb)
If Elvis isn't already dead, Viva Laughlin just might kill him. -- USA Today
Short "Preview"