Monday, February 04, 2008

One More Sign ...

So do you want to know why I'm seriously fearing the apocalypse? Well, besides the seemingly unbeatable Patriots losing, something far more surprising just happened.

While getting ready to write some album reviews for Friday's Weekend, I popped in Sheryl Crow's upcoming "Detours" album and realized that I really like the first song, "God Bless This Mess." I mean, I really like it. This makes no sense to me. Oh, sure, Sheryl made some good songs in her career, but this tune is great. Something funny's going on ...

Bring On The Hate Mail

When my prediction column on the Super Bowl was published Friday, I did not receive one e-mail about it. Not a one. But now that I was wrong, the hate mail is flowing. The number is up 44. Here's my favorite one, from Robb from Fair Haven, who at least signed his name, unlike many others. But, you see, he'd have much more credibility if he didn't wait till after the game. I would have picked the game right too if I did it today.

"The Giants have no chance." That's what you said Friday! Not only do you not know anything about music, it's abundantly clear that you know don't know anything about football either!!! The New York Giants are Super Bowl Champions!!!
Robb, Fair Haven
Yep, nothing. At least it was a great game. That Eli Manning/David Tyree catch was, seriously, the greatest play I've ever seen. And I've seen the Pats win three Super Bowls in my adult life, while a lot of my Giants-fan friends hadn't seen one since they were a kid. I'm happy for them.
You can read my diary about the game here. And, yeah, I'm wearing the origami hat right now ...

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Videos, Videos, Videos

I admit it: I've gotten video happy the last couple days, but, what's one more? Last night, my friend Harris McCabe and I had a somewhat intoxicated conversation about the song "Apache," which, I admit, I did not know by name. It's an instrumental that I remember from The Ventures, though.

So Harris sent me a link to this video today, and it's hysterical. Tommy Seebach, a Danish composer, is my new idol. All hail Tommy Seebach.

Preview Of Tomorrow's Features Section

Tomorrow, on the Life/Styles page of the Register, Jim Shelton has a story about the burgeoning popularity of the neti pot, something that's been championed by our own Features Editor Rick Sandella for years. He beat Oprah to the punch by a long shot. Rick is the King of the Neti Pot. Anyway, as a preview of the story, here's a video from YouTube. Now you'll know how to clean your nasal canal ...

Fun Time

OK, so people probably already know about this, but for those who don't, let's have a little fun. Little Nicholas told me about this. Follow these instructions:

Go to google.com.
Type in "find chuck norris"
Hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.

That's it.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Tuesday Time

Well, guys, I know I already posted a very important entry today, but I just wanted to mention a couple great records I've been listening to.

Currently, while I type this, I'm digesting American Music Club's "The Golden Age," which I've been waiting for excitedly. Well, it arrived today (and arrives in stores Feb. 19) and it's pretty great. I'm on my second spin and it's really simple AMC. The huge arrangements of "Love Songs For Patriots" are gone and this sounds more like a distant folk album, which is really working for me. It's also a lot more accessible than most AMC releases, which doesn't really mean it's accessible, just that some of these songs have elements of pop. I still can't wait for April 24 at Cafe Nine.

At the risk of speeding up the hype machine even more, Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut hits stores today. I know the band's been getting tons of buzz from blogs, online magazines and hipsters everywhere, but it's deserving. This record is just so much fun. I mean, it's certainly not a "great" record, and it's not revolutionary like some are claiming, but it's a very good Camper Van Beethoven-like disc. Take a listen, really. And look for my full review Friday. That's Vampire Weekend in the photo.

And that's it for now. Later, OK? Anna Liffey's trivia tonight, be there. And then my good friends Jay Kubeck and Stefanie Harris perform at Cafe Nine. Go see them.

Work Out? Why Not Pray Too?

This is too good not to sure. A friend sent it to me, and it makes me happy. I guess if exercise and prayer are both part of your day, you might as well get them both done together, right? And this guy is just so happy ...

Editing note: I've been told that I must credit my friend. She got very upset when her name did not appear. So, to make everyone happy, former Register reporter Candace Taylor sent this link to me. It's her sense of humor and disdain for the Lord that made this video appear in my e-mail this morning.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Happy Days

Maybe I'm slow to the party or something, but I feel so strongly about buffalo shrimp, that I'm having urges to write about them here.

You see, I've never had a buffalo shrimp until today, and let's just say they're great. Very nice Play reporter Nicole D'Andrea is working on a story that involves the very nice Stowe's Seafood in West Haven. Because she has dinner plans, Nicole brought back a whole bag o' fried food and dropped it off at my desk. The bag had a bunch of fried goodies, but also a ton of buffalo shrimp.

I wish there were a ton left. Everyone should get down to Stowe's and enjoys these for themselves. I'm telling you, they were great. What's not to love? Fried. Buffalo sauce. Shrimp.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Teaching Time

So, in a couple hours, the spring semester will arrive for me. For the third spring semester in a row, I will be teaching a class on magazine journalism at Southern. While it's my third year doing it, I think it will be my first year where I incorporate this blog into the mix.

How am I going to do that? I'm not sure. But I might share some of the better articles on here, post some of the good query letters, maybe I'll complain a bit ... who knows? I'm not sure what benefit this might all have, but maybe someone will learn something, and maybe I'll be able to get things off my chest. Anyway, it should be fun. Wish me luck tonight.

Oscar Nominations ...

OK, guys, so here we go. This is a list of the 2007 Academy Award nominations. I'm not going to get into my feelings on the choices just yet, because I'm saving that for a column on Friday. But I will say that I'm very sad about "Gone Baby Gone." I'm crying at my desk. Tears of sadness. What do you guys think?

Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:

1. Best Picture: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."

2. Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"; Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"; Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises."

3. 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."

4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"; Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"; Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton."

5. Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"; Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"; Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."

6. 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."

7. Foreign Film: "Beaufort," Israel; "The Counterfeiters," Austria; "Katyn," Poland; "Mongol," Kazakhstan; "12," Russia.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"; Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"; Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood."

9. Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno"; Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"; Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Persepolis"; "Ratatouille"; "Surf's Up."

11. Art Direction: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "The Golden Compass," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "There Will Be Blood."

12. Cinematography: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."

13. Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "3:10 to Yuma," "Transformers."

14. Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "There Will Be Blood," "Transformers."

15. Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli; "The Kite Runner," Alberto Iglesias; "Michael Clayton," James Newton Howard; "Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino; "3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami.

16. Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined; "So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

17. Costume: "Across the Universe," "Atonement," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "La Vie en Rose," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

18. Documentary Feature: "No End in Sight," "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience," "Sicko," "Taxi to the Dark Side," "War/Dance."

19. Documentary (short subject): "Freeheld," "La Corona (The Crown)," "Salim Baba," "Sari's Mother."

20. Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Into the Wild," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."

21. Makeup: "La Vie en Rose," "Norbit," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

22. Animated Short Film: "I Met the Walrus," "Madame Tutli-Putli," "Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)," "My Love (Moya Lyubov)," "Peter & the Wolf."

23. Live Action Short Film: "At Night," "Il Supplente (The Substitute)," "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)," "Tanghi Argentini," "The Tonto Woman."

24. Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Transformers."