Just saw 'Juno' for the first time last night on DVD. It had been hyped to an unbelievable degree by E and various friends and colleagues. I have to admit, it largely held up very well. It had been billed to me as an unexpectedly hilarious comedy. But what helped it meet or exceed expectations was that it is definitely not, in my opinion, a comedy.
The highlights for 'Juno' for me were the fantastic writing, fantastic characters, and fantastic acting. The writing was very witty, genuine, intelligent, sentimental, and refreshingly simple and straightforward. Funny, too, but it definitely wasn't through jokes or gags; again, a drama with funny moments, not a comedy. It also completely avoided being preachy, cloyingly sweet or sappy, or pretentious. The characters talked like real people would talk and only said things real people might say. But it was all stitched together seamlessly with a firm direction. The characters were beautifully developed. No stereotypes (I guess the adoptive husband comes the closest), no clear good guys and bad guys (again, husband comes closest), complex but genuine characters that you immediately care a lot about. And the acting was wonderfully understated, nuanced, and solid throughout. Ellen Page was justifiably heralded, though my close second was J.K Simmons as Juno's dad.
I also recently saw 'Iron Man' in the theatres. Totally different film, obviously, but also fantastic. Favreau did a great job directing this. Robert Downey, Jr. was spectacular and really made Tony Stark his own. He was powerful, gripping, charismatic out the wazoo, funny, and very very convincing. It was impossible not to have fun watching him. That's the movie in a nutshell: very very fun. The special effects were great (his armor is badass!) but didn't detract or overwhelm. The writing was light and well done for the genre. The plot was very feasible as superhero plots go; you could follow it without too much need for willing suspension of disbelief. And it packed plenty of thrills while still staying character-focused. The only drawbacks for me were that the romance with Gwynyth Paltrow was a tad forced, her character was a tad lightweight, Terrence Howard was also a tad lightweight and one-dimensional, and while Jeff Bridges was awesome as a greedy corporate tycoon, he unraveled a little when he put on the armor suit and became a supervillain, a little too formula. But all in all, considering the genre and source material, this was an extremely fun film.
This summer is promising to be a doozy! Next on my list is the new Narnia flick, which looks a lot more exciting and action-packed than the first. And of course the new Batman and Indiana Jones movies coming up. Just the things to pick up business for Hollywood after a slow start to the year.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Baby Names Part II
So the top baby names of 2007 are in. Tops for boys were, in order: Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua, Daniel, Christopher, Anthony, William, Matthew and Andrew. For girls: Emily, Isabella, Emma, Ava, Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah, Elizabeth. The list is a little skewed because alternative spellings are treated as separate names. For example, Jayden is the 18th most common boy's name while Jaden is number 76 (also Jaiden, 191, Jaydon, 415, Jadon, 423, etc.).
So how did our proposals fare? Well, the lists are:
GIRLS
Clara (228th, no alternative spellings in the top 1000)
Isabel (86th, but again, Isabella is 2nd, and 5 alternative spellings make the top 1000)
Ariana (73rd, with Arianna 70th and Aryanna 617th)
BOYS
Garrett (162nd, and on the decline; Garret is 938th)
Parker (108th, no alternative spellings in top 1000)
Donovan (replacing Devon; 198th, with Donavan at 904th)
Given that E is opposed to common names on principle (with the weird exception of Abigail, which she loves and I hate), I have a feeling that Isabel might be leaving the top three soon, and Ariana is shaky. We're thinking of possibly starting babymaking efforts next month so this is getting increasingly relevant! Fun stuff.
So how did our proposals fare? Well, the lists are:
GIRLS
Clara (228th, no alternative spellings in the top 1000)
Isabel (86th, but again, Isabella is 2nd, and 5 alternative spellings make the top 1000)
Ariana (73rd, with Arianna 70th and Aryanna 617th)
BOYS
Garrett (162nd, and on the decline; Garret is 938th)
Parker (108th, no alternative spellings in top 1000)
Donovan (replacing Devon; 198th, with Donavan at 904th)
Given that E is opposed to common names on principle (with the weird exception of Abigail, which she loves and I hate), I have a feeling that Isabel might be leaving the top three soon, and Ariana is shaky. We're thinking of possibly starting babymaking efforts next month so this is getting increasingly relevant! Fun stuff.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Planet Earth
So lately I've been infatuated with BBC's miniseries, Planet Earth. If you haven't seen it, you are missing out. It is simply the greatest nature documentary ever made. HD-quality shots of absolutely stunning landscapes and exceedingly rare animals and their behavior. And make sure to get the original British version narrated by David Attenborough; the Discovery Channel adapted it for U.S. audiences and chose Sigourney Weaver to narrate. Not that she was god awful, but she's no David Attenborough.
In any event, towards the end of the series, they discussed conservation efforts and endangered species. They interviewed some woman who is heading up an effort by American zoos to create a cryogenic library of animal DNA, the idea being that any extinct species could be kept alive in stasis and then simply repopulated later by cloning.
While that sounds cool and high-tech (the woman was clearly a huge technophile), that has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Lets take the Amur leopard, one of the rarest (if not the rarest) large predator in the world, as an example. There are an estimated 30 Amur leopards in the wild. Yes, three zero, thirty. And only six of them are females. They all live in Russia in the Siberian wilderness, one of the harsher environments on earth. During the long winters, prey is very scarce. As a result, cubs stay with their mother for up to two years to learn the skills necessary to survive.
So lets say we clone one of these leopards at a zoo. Or even just have one thats bred in captivity through a normal mating between captive parents. And we let it wean for a couple years until it is grown enough to release into the wild. What will happen? Well, the first winter hits and it will die. No one has taught it the necessary skills to survive. It can sure run around a cage and attract oohs and aahs from schoolchildren with the best of them. But hunt and catch prey in the wild? Nope. Know to stay away from other predators like the Siberian tiger? No clue. Know to stay away from human poachers and hunters? When the heck did it learn that humans are dangerous when it was fed from a bottle by a human!
The other ridiculous thing this woman was saying (while getting all dreamy-eyed) was that in the future, if man colonizes Mars, we should populate Mars with cloned animals from Earth. I think she might not have been paying attention during ecology and evolution classes in school. If she ever took them at all. She might need to look up "eco-system" in the dictionary because she clearly doesn't understand the concept.
Lets face facts. Thirty animals is simply not enough to save a species. The Amur leopard, like so many others, will go extinct sooner rather than later. Habitat destruction and hunting will finish them. The only ones left will be in zoos. That is tragic; they are magnificent creatures. I'll leave the political side of this discussion for another day, but I think we can all agree that it's a sad thing. And don't fool yourself like the cloning woman. Technology is great. But it's no panacea.
In any event, towards the end of the series, they discussed conservation efforts and endangered species. They interviewed some woman who is heading up an effort by American zoos to create a cryogenic library of animal DNA, the idea being that any extinct species could be kept alive in stasis and then simply repopulated later by cloning.
While that sounds cool and high-tech (the woman was clearly a huge technophile), that has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Lets take the Amur leopard, one of the rarest (if not the rarest) large predator in the world, as an example. There are an estimated 30 Amur leopards in the wild. Yes, three zero, thirty. And only six of them are females. They all live in Russia in the Siberian wilderness, one of the harsher environments on earth. During the long winters, prey is very scarce. As a result, cubs stay with their mother for up to two years to learn the skills necessary to survive.
So lets say we clone one of these leopards at a zoo. Or even just have one thats bred in captivity through a normal mating between captive parents. And we let it wean for a couple years until it is grown enough to release into the wild. What will happen? Well, the first winter hits and it will die. No one has taught it the necessary skills to survive. It can sure run around a cage and attract oohs and aahs from schoolchildren with the best of them. But hunt and catch prey in the wild? Nope. Know to stay away from other predators like the Siberian tiger? No clue. Know to stay away from human poachers and hunters? When the heck did it learn that humans are dangerous when it was fed from a bottle by a human!
The other ridiculous thing this woman was saying (while getting all dreamy-eyed) was that in the future, if man colonizes Mars, we should populate Mars with cloned animals from Earth. I think she might not have been paying attention during ecology and evolution classes in school. If she ever took them at all. She might need to look up "eco-system" in the dictionary because she clearly doesn't understand the concept.
Lets face facts. Thirty animals is simply not enough to save a species. The Amur leopard, like so many others, will go extinct sooner rather than later. Habitat destruction and hunting will finish them. The only ones left will be in zoos. That is tragic; they are magnificent creatures. I'll leave the political side of this discussion for another day, but I think we can all agree that it's a sad thing. And don't fool yourself like the cloning woman. Technology is great. But it's no panacea.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dining at its Best
Whew! Back to sanity. So after a long month of hectic-osity at work, I finally have some free time to breathe and sleep. And blog.
One of the events of the past month was a work-related trip to Philadelphia, my old stomping ground. I took the opportunity to introduce my co-clerks to the greatness of Philly's restaurant scene and food in general.
For the high-class, trendy, gourmet sector of the scene, I took them to Stephen Starr's Alma de Cuba. And as usual, it did not disappoint. Fantastic ceviche, a solid entree of seared tuna, and the reliably delicious coconut tapioca dessert made for a fabulous dinner. And the top-notch mojito certainly didn't hurt.
For the hip, off-the-beaten-path, indie, BYO sector, we took a couple bottles of wine over to Django. E came with us for a very relaxing and satisfying meal. Simple dishes that are just amazingly well-crafted make this one of my favorite BYOs in Philly. And the flower pot brioche bread sets just the right tone. It all seems wonderfully homemade, but it's a gourmet French chef's home! And the intimate setting is right up that alley.
Finally, for the blue collar, salt of the earth, truly "Philly" sector, we went to none other than Pat's King of Steaks for the consummate Philly cheesesteak. It is as delicious and artery-clogging as ever, but I wouldn't change a thing. Cheese wit, may you never change. The inventor of the cheesesteak still makes them the best. The one flaw I saw though was that inflation has hit even Pat's -- it's almost $8.00 for a steak now! Yikes!
One of the events of the past month was a work-related trip to Philadelphia, my old stomping ground. I took the opportunity to introduce my co-clerks to the greatness of Philly's restaurant scene and food in general.
For the high-class, trendy, gourmet sector of the scene, I took them to Stephen Starr's Alma de Cuba. And as usual, it did not disappoint. Fantastic ceviche, a solid entree of seared tuna, and the reliably delicious coconut tapioca dessert made for a fabulous dinner. And the top-notch mojito certainly didn't hurt.
For the hip, off-the-beaten-path, indie, BYO sector, we took a couple bottles of wine over to Django. E came with us for a very relaxing and satisfying meal. Simple dishes that are just amazingly well-crafted make this one of my favorite BYOs in Philly. And the flower pot brioche bread sets just the right tone. It all seems wonderfully homemade, but it's a gourmet French chef's home! And the intimate setting is right up that alley.
Finally, for the blue collar, salt of the earth, truly "Philly" sector, we went to none other than Pat's King of Steaks for the consummate Philly cheesesteak. It is as delicious and artery-clogging as ever, but I wouldn't change a thing. Cheese wit, may you never change. The inventor of the cheesesteak still makes them the best. The one flaw I saw though was that inflation has hit even Pat's -- it's almost $8.00 for a steak now! Yikes!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Bad Parenting
So E and I are at a restaurant the other night when I hear the following conversation.
Boy: Did Patton have a front row seat when he kicked the Nazis, um, in the butt?
Man: Yeah. Germany has this river at the border, the Rhine. Do you know what Patton did when he crossed it?
Boy: No.
Man: Don't tell your mother I told you this. He stood on the bridge and pissed in it.
Boy: What's that?
Man: Means he peed in it, went pee pee in the river.
It was a middle-aged man and his son who looked maybe six or seven years old. The boy attempted to become interested in his handheld video game, his food, his soccer team, baseball . . . but the only words coming out of his father's mouth had to do with how Napoleon was a good general, Hannibal was a good general, Hitler was a bad general, Rommel was a good general, and that in fact the Jews had NOT started World War II. Whatever schools this kid ever attends, I don't want my kids anywhere near them because he's being groomed to be the next kid who shoots up his classmates.
Boy: Did Patton have a front row seat when he kicked the Nazis, um, in the butt?
Man: Yeah. Germany has this river at the border, the Rhine. Do you know what Patton did when he crossed it?
Boy: No.
Man: Don't tell your mother I told you this. He stood on the bridge and pissed in it.
Boy: What's that?
Man: Means he peed in it, went pee pee in the river.
It was a middle-aged man and his son who looked maybe six or seven years old. The boy attempted to become interested in his handheld video game, his food, his soccer team, baseball . . . but the only words coming out of his father's mouth had to do with how Napoleon was a good general, Hannibal was a good general, Hitler was a bad general, Rommel was a good general, and that in fact the Jews had NOT started World War II. Whatever schools this kid ever attends, I don't want my kids anywhere near them because he's being groomed to be the next kid who shoots up his classmates.
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