shoe of the day...

shoe of the day...

Monday, January 29, 2007

what are you doing? looking for my talent.

i like tv. i've always liked tv. i like reruns. i love tv on dvd -- it combines two of my favorite things: staying home & sitting on the couch for hours and tv. i think there are a lot of excellent shows on tv right now: friday night lights, heroes, lost, the office, house.

studio 60 on the sunset strip is not one of these shows.

here's the thing: i have deep-seated love for aaron sorkin. i'm actually watching sports night as i type this. i'm watching sports night because prior to this i watched an episode of studio 60... and it made me so upset at the state of sorkin's misguided intentions that i had to watch something that reminded me of a time when he was smart and witty and not quite so sorkin-centric. s60 is painful. absolutely painful. and the thing is, the parts are clearly superior to the whole. matthew perry? good. bradley whitford? good. nathan corrdry? good. aaron sorkin? good. there have been a lot of theories floating around as to why the show is less than watchable (too much focus on the poorly written sketches; too many sorkin self-referential plotlines) and i can't pinpoint the exact reason, but i know one thing: it. is. painful. all of the men are idiots (why is bradley whitford stalking amanda peet?) and the women are either painfully self-righteous or painfully bland/underwritten. obviously, sorkin's shows have always left some sort of morality tale in their wake, but never this poorly organized or executed. sports night and west wing both tackled race, politics, drugs, etc. -- often quite heavy handed. but it was always contextual; you rarely felt that it was thrown in to make you feel inferior or to "ponder."

maybe it's the hype that is sinking s60. clearly sports night was pre-hype (it was eventually the buzz-builder for ww and s60) and west wing lived up to the hype (for the majority of its run. so what's the problem here? mini-list of reasons why studio 60 is ridiculously bad:
  • it's only been 2 hours since the show ended and i can barely remember what happened
  • not nearly enough timothy busfield -- he handles the sorkinian dialogue like a champ
  • sports night was brilliant because it showed why the characters -- not the fake show -- were worth investing in. it's about the people. no one cares about the s60 characters. they're annoying.
  • d.l. hughley is hilarious. and they never give him an opportunity to do anything remotely funny. it's like having a bmw and using it as a planter.
  • the character of harriet is horr-i-ble. HORRIBLE. nothing against sarah paulson, but her character is terribly written, terribly positioned in the plot. she's not a likable character, but the plot makes you feel guilty for hating her. not fair, plot. if you want me to like your characters, then DON'T WRITE THEM CRAPPILY. hugh laurie's character on house is a wretched man, but he's written so damn well that you can't help feeling enhanced while watching. s60 has no such characters.
  • is it a comedy? is it a drama? is it a romance? i'm not saying it can't be a combination, but it needs to have some semblance of self to begin with.
  • how did amanda peet become the least annoying person on the show? i started out hightly suspect of her 'jordan mcdeere', certain she would be the show's downfall, but she's become the only character with any sort of relatable traits.
  • finally: the background noise is too loud. but maybe i'm just getting old.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

distractavision.

george stephanopoulos just popped up on my screen following this. his head pretty much takes up the whole television screen. and he's very tan. now barack is on! love him. his blue tie is very smart and slyly political. some caption under his name contained an exclamation point. heh. am fairly certain whoever is in charge of graphics is going to get canned. charlie gibson looks cold, but obama looks like he could stand there all night and then some, making brilliant point after brilliant point. he's also going to be on gma tomorrow morning. my good intentions are telling me to get up and watch but my body is just laughing at the notion. also, diane sawyer? she's got to be the most fascinating woman on tv. and she's married to mike nichols, who has an oscar, a dga, emmys, golden globes, and SEVEN tony awards. seven. tony awards. unreal. i'm fascinated. their collective brilliance is astounding.

anyway.

oh, also: i'd like to buy ryan phillippe some new facial expressions. and a haircut. or maybe a wig.

i started out ready to write about something, but i've been completely distracted by the television. they also just showed d. cheney, posited behind the president during the speech, and looking eerily like this guy. i really can't remember why i'm typing... as my mom would say, 'must have been a lie.'





i'm madly in love with you and it's not because of your brains or personality...


oh, oscar. it makes me happy that you heard my heartfelt plea; today's nominations were a testament to our friendship. yes, there are a few disappointments (not enough love for 'children of men'; peter o'toole?) but, as i previously mentioned, you played your cards right. 'little miss sunshine'!; ryan gosling!; nobradpitt! -- i could go on and on. in addition to the aforementioned happiness, i'll mini-list my top 5 favorite moments from this morning's announcement:

1. no best picture nomination for 'dreamgirls'. i enjoyed the movie (it's a good movie musical; it's a decent movie) but in no way thought it was bp worthy.
2. paul greengrass for best director. 'united 93' was an incredibly painful, painfully incredible film. this was an excellent use of a nomination, for a film that no one necessarily wanted - but absolutely needed - to see.
3. mark wahlberg. seriously -- marky mark? love it.
4. costumes for 'marie antoinette'. obviously 'devil wears prada' was a given in this category (hello, shout-out.) but the costumes in 'marie antoinette' are practically a lead character.
5. adriana barraza. it's no secret that i was less than enamored with 'babel' (see above reference to brad) - still, it was impossible not to be affected by barraza's emotional, tragic storyline. she was the sole reason to see this film.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

dear oscar:

i am an award show fiend. specifically: you. oscar sunday has long been my favorite evening of the year. but not too long ago (2000) we began a feud that, i'm sad to say, has increased in intensity throughout the years. you may remember that in 2000 russell crowe won for best actor...for gladiator. he won you for grunting and fighting computer animated tigers. for grunting and fighting the air. but as much as i don't care for crowe, my shock/anger/nausea/incredulity couldn't even be aimed at him. someone told him to fight that 'tiger'; he was just doing his job. and someone told him to fight that 'tiger' because they knew it'd be bait. bait for the golden boy. thus my disdain went higher. much higher. it went to you, oscar. it pained me to see our long-standing romance turn sour, but that's exactly what happened. in the years to come i would have to sit through shows that rewarded halle berry. then charlize theron. renee zellweger. i can feel phyiscal pain having to type that out. sadness. despair. yes, you had some redeeming moments (clooney. hoffman. cooper. harden.) but -- nothing for scorsese? crash as 'best picture'? how was this possible? why was this happening to us? for as long as i could remember, i would pour through the world almanac, drinking in the list of winners past...reveling at how many times meryl and kate won, or what year 'it happened one night' took the top four honors. but all that was a distant memory now. i loathed your history, oscar. it was forever tainted.

however.

i am a very forgiving person.

so i shall mini-list the top 6 things you, oscar, must do to regain my love and affection:

1. nominate ryan gosling for half nelson. this is what we refer to as a 'long shot', but if you comes through for me here, i'd be willing to consider all debts paid.
2. a win for helen mirren. closest thing to a 'lock', but i need to see it in writing. ask annette. she knows. am pretty sure she's not speaking to you either.
3. babel cannot win for 'best picture'. when brokeback mountain lost last year i considered disowning you. a win for babel would send me into an oscar-free, hermit-esque existence. i don't care if the globes are doing it...being your own person!
4. matt damon must appear someplace prominent in the telecast. mostly because he's pretty. also because he almost always looks like he just heard a really filthy joke. love that.
5. nominate children of men for 'best picture' and/or clive owen for 'best actor'. it's funny/heartbreaking/depressing/hopeful/ridiculously realistic. the amount of brilliance encompassed by that film is nearly overwhelming. it's a big, fat anarchaic diamond.
6. nononononononobradpittnonononononononononononononono. no.

that's it, oscar. i'm a simple girl. i hope you're listening.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

smitten.


if i could marry a beverage, it would be coffee. i briefly considered my options this morning: martini, beer, juice (meh.), tea; thoughts inevitably returned to the tried and true mug of brown water waiting patiently for me on my desk. no matter your mood, coffee will satisfy you. feeling ornery? grab a latte, sure to soothe. just finished playing a game of tennis after months of being sedentary and, essentially, inert? iced coffee -- cream, no sugar. it is a staple. it is a constant. it is the crutch on which i lean to get through the day. if you think i'm kidding, witness my mid-day caffeine-withdrawal hand tremor, or my penchant for mugs. things that i love about coffee: the taste; the color (i own a skirt the exact hue of a vanilla latte); the SMELL. i love that i can almost, literally, hear it say 'good morning!' when i pull it from the refrigerator. and i love, love, love that it's one of the very few socially acceptable at-any-meal-at-any-time drinks. (martinis for breakfast? careful. juice for dinner? pansy.) coffee has been a friend and a mentor. i would not be where i am today without coffee. it's strong, it's robust. it's dependable. it's always good. it's the george clooney of beverages.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

transformers...for girls!

i hate getting to work and gradually realizing that the outfit i've chosen for the day is less than stellar. or, even worse, uncomfortable. it happens most often on days when i don't pre-think my outfit (i usually have some sort of dream during the previous night's sleep wherein i choose my clothes for the day) and today is one of those days. it's getting to the point where i want to drive home and change my clothes (something that's been done in the past), burn them, and start from scratch. i can feel the uncomfort rising. new life plan: invent machine that allows for on-the-spot wardrobe changes. said machine will also fold laundry and organize closet. and make my coffee. and dust. and change the oil in my car. and take me shoe shopping. when not in use, it will fold up into a compact that i keep in my purse. i love you, wardrobatron.

Monday, January 8, 2007

he didn't have a barcode so i bought kix instead.

i was shopping yesterday, looking for cereal and possibly some snacks (snacks!) when i found myself meeting the same (cute) guy in every aisle. i dream-scenarioed (read: hallucinated) that we were shopping for cereal together. it is apparent that i have maxed out on the crazy, being that i was trolling for mates in a grocery store. who does that? hungry people.

before we begin...

there's a good chance i'll decide that starting this site was not the smartest use of my time (12:53 AM). this may in fact be the only post. for the time being, let's think of it as a limited edition...only without the resale value and prestige. (note: i was presumptuous in the use of 'let's'. i was referring to the cat & i, but she just left the room for animatronic catnip and some tissue paper.)

mini-list for today -- 'things that i greatly disdain, followed by one thing i adore, so as not to appear completely cantankerous'

* misspellings (in general, but specifically on menus and signs/public postings)
* the smell of wet peanut butter
* people who take your coffee order, repeat said order back to you, then proceed to muck it up
* poorly written children's books
* poorly made movies
* the word 'special'
and finally, i adore
* my niece, who at 2 & a half has a shoe habit that rivals my own