How To Get Through a State of the Union

Bush is painful enough without having to watch him on purpose do our State of the Union. Well, one way to dull the pain and still pay attention is to play the State of the Union drinking game. Enjoy.

State of the Union starts at 9pm EST on most local stations.

Movies In My Head

I had the pleasure of seeing two excellent movies this weekend. Friday night, I took in Brokeback Mountain at one of our local theatres. As the lights came blazing up in the theatre at the end of the movie, I noted that most everyone was trying to wipe their eyes without it looking like they had been crying. A powerful, beautiful movie. I was a little amazed that it was even showing in the Jamestown-area, but I like to call this the "Golden Globe effect." It seems that after the Golden Globes come out, some of the favored winners suddenly appear on our movie screens. We don't usually enjoy a wide selection of "indie films" the rest of the year unless you head out to Chautauqua Institution or the Reg Lenna. Which brings me to my next film...

On Saturday night, Matt and I headed to the Reg Lenna Civic Center along with a rather large crowd to see Good Night, and Good Luck. Some of the people we talked to after the movie, including the Mayor, concluded that the subject matter was rather timely. We were very impressed with David Straithairn's representation of Edward Murrow. Matt even asked me after the film, if some of the scenes with him weren't news footage. It was all Straithairn. However, all the scenes of Joseph McCarthy were of the real man. No actor was used.

Two movies that would be worth the high price theatres want you to pay these days.

Don't Mess With Me When I Haven't Had My First Cup of Caffeine in the Morning

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

A Friday Meme on Saturday

Four jobs I've had:
1. Amusement Park Ride Operator
2. Radio News Reporter/Anchor
3. Executive Assistant to a County Executive
4. Public Relations Specialist

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. When Harry Met Sally
2. Sleepless In Seattle
3. You've Got Mail
4. A Christmas Story

Four places I've lived:
1. Rochester, NY
2. Berea, OH
3. Buffalo, NY
4. Jamestown, NY

Four TV shows I love:
1. CSI
2. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
3. House Hunters
4. Designed To Sell

Ten highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I've never watched (added category courtesy of kottke.org:
1. 24
2. Lost
3. The Sopranos
4. Arrested Development
5. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
6. Battlestar Galactica
7. 30something (I know, that goes way back)
8. Deadwood
9. 8 Simple Rules
10. The Wire

Four places I've vacationed:
1. London, England
2. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
3. New Orleans
4. Washington, DC

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
2. Basil Chicken Curry
3. Nick Tahoe's Garbage Plate
4. Sushi from California Rollin'

Four sites I visit daily:
(In my "open all in tabs" catagory):
1. Kinja
2. Muzenew's Inside View
3. National Weather Service: Buffalo
4. Google

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In my car on a roadtrip
2. Under an afghan with an endless cup of tea and the latest edition of Real Simple
3. Quebec City
4. Any time between May 24 and June 8, 2003 (on vacation with my parents and my grandma)

Four bloggers I am tagging:
1. Matt
2. Heidi
3. Courtney
4. Matt F

Along The Wall

Linda had asked me in comments to tell you all what I thought about The Wall exhibit.

A little personal art history first. I've never been a big enthusiast of modern art. In my early teens, I was all about Monet, Cezanne, Degas, and other French Impressionists. I think I've seen about 5 different versions, if not more, of Degas' Little Dancer. Even as I got older, I leaned more toward the easy styles of Maxfield Parrish, Georgia O'Keefe, Tissot, Van Gogh, and Hopper. Then on a visit to NYC in November '03, I saw a James Rosenquist exhibit at the Guggenheim. For the first time, I not only "got" Modern Art but enjoyed it as well. Like some foods, I think you can learn how to enjoy the bizarre.

And that's the mind-set I had going into The Wall exhibit. Matt and I really enjoyed it. We were fascinated by the screens of human hair at Albright-Knox. We marveled over the Buffalo sky-line that was recreated using imported stainless steel pots and pans from China at the Anderson Gallery. We giggled at the close-up shots of insects that had human body-parts "photo-shopped" in to look real. And we stood in wonder gazing at the wavy-rubbings of the Great Wall of China that stretched in front of us and up the sides of the walls.

I almost purposely didn't read a lot about the exhibit. I know a little bit about the history of China and the culture there. I kept thinking about the artists who had created the works we saw, and the fine lines they must walk while creating their art under the communist state they live in.

This is the only American showing of this exhibit. It closes on January 29th. On the date that I write this, there is still time for you to see it. The part of the exhibit that are at the UB Center for the Arts and UB Anderson Art Gallery are free. The main part of the exhibit at Albright-Knox is only $12. I strongly encourage those who can make it to go.

Life One Page At A Time

I got turned onto Library Thing by Heidi. It's quite a useful tool. You can use it in a variety of ways, including using it to catalogue books you own or books you've read. I'm choosing to do the latter since I borrow from the library more than I actually buy. The only dilemma is whether I should keep to books I've read in my "adult" years (which include some children's and YA lit) or include everything I've read.

My growing catalogue can be viewed here.

Wiling Away a Friday Night

Since Matt and I are getting up early tomorrow to take in The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art at the Albright-Knox, we're hanging in tonight. Matt's mom had given me the tickets for the exhibit for my birthday back in October. Junk Store Cowgirl has a review up from when she went a couple weeks ago. As for tonight, Matt is crashed out on the sofa and I've snagged the computer. Here's the past five songs flowing through my eardrums courtesy of iTunes:

"Detachable Penis" - King Missle
"Love At First Sight" - Kylie Minogue
"Sweet Soul Revue" - Pizzacato Five
"Super Sex" - Morphine
"Cherry Coloured Funk" - Cocteau Twins

The weather continues to blow my mind and lift my spirits. Naturally, the fantasy world outside will come crashing down as rain, then snow sweeps in from the south and west. Still, I got a few moments tonight to stand outside without a jacket and smile at the moon.

January Thaw

Our January thaw is at its height right now. As I write, it's already 52-degrees in Jamestown. Last year, I remember an early January day making it near 70-degrees in the Dunkirk area. Not bad for Western New York. And well deserved after a colder than average December. I'd link to the article if I could find it, but not even Google News seems to want to cooperate.

This is a Republican Scandal

One of my favorite Congressional Representatives, Louise Slaughter, will speak about the whole Jack Abramoff scandal at 2:50 p.m. EST on C-Span today.

The Greater Rochester Weblog has a related post. It has snippets of Slaughter's post on Daily Kos depending on where you feel like surfing today.