One could write a psychosociological thesis on the position of the two Dunkin’ Donuts shops in Harvard Square. There’s the above-ground “Eliot Street Cafe” which pretends not to be a garish chain, out in the open heart of Harvard Square and covered by green awnings to conform at least superficially with crusty Ivy culture; and then there’s the underground (literally and figuratively) Dunkies, down in the dank, dark bowels of the subway station with scowling employees and suspicious characters and no pretense at being anything other than a garish chain. In fact, the garishness of this garish chain provides some light and warmth in this underbelly of the Ivy league; even the flower carts are up one level cuz they can’t breathe down in that hole of cement and bus fumes.
Archive for March, 2004
Bored With the Hair
March 31, 2004
I’m thinking of getting rid of the red. Or maybe getting big blonde chunks mixed in. Or maybe just back to blondish brown. Ideally I’d like to just shave the whole damn thing off, but I don’t think I could get away with that. So, I’m thinking it’s back to blondish brown. I’ve had enough of the flaming hair, let’s see if I can survive without the artificial glow announcing me before I enter a room.
And the gorgeous babe in the photo is nephew #4.
Today in Widener library a man was in the lobby and appeared to be shutting the place down. Recalling that it is now spring break, I asked him if he was closing up shop. He said “No, we’re not closed, but you can’t get in until you smile.” I chuckled and he allowed me entry.
This is a fairly common occurrence for me. What the hell kind of image am I presenting to the world? Once I was walking down the street and a man in a car stopped and yelled out the window, “Smile baby, it can’t be that bad.”
Um, what if it is?
But my usual response is to chuckle, which satisfies them enough to let me go off and continue frowning or sending off hate-the-world vibes or whatever I’m apparently doing without realizing it.
I just realized that this post is so Tony Pierce.
Dialogue of the day
March 31, 2004
Art Bimbo!
March 31, 2004Wonderfulness on Sofia Coppola, via Oldhag:
AN ART BIMBO whose daddy happens to be movie royalty rides in on the tired back of Bill Murray and is proclaimed a new film genius. The genius’ film, Lost in Translation, is the most pretentious, overrated movie of last year, about an alienated Yale brat who feels so lonely in her five-star hotel that she strips down to her panties and curls up on the windowsill every half-hour (accompanied by My Bloody Valentine and Jesus & Mary Chain, just in case you didn’t get how much pain she’s experiencing). Even Translation’s pretty palette and indie minimalism couldn’t hide the empty dual core of Coppola and her Tokyo alter ego. L.A. can have her in 2005; this year the bicoastal princess of pout kicks things off at #50.
I am still divided over Sofia, but still agree 79% with the above sentiment. And although in some ways I loved Lost in Translation, I still have MAJOR problems with it. Its tagline should be “It’s so lonely to be so much better than everyone.” See here. And here. And here. And here. It’s all also collected in the sidebar at right.
Calling All Geeks, Again
March 30, 2004Today@MIT
March 30, 2004Media Lab Colloquium: John Zorn
[improvisor_performer_composer]
Tuesday, March 30, 2004, 4:00 PM EST
Bartos Theatre [Lower Level]
Building E15, 20 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
Map
Innovative and prolific composer and improvisor John Zorn will be presenting his work at the MIT Media Lab Colloquium. We invite the audience to listen, and to participate with Zorn in a moderated discussion of his music.
One of the most important composers and performers of our time, Zorn’s works have ranged from punk rock, to widely performed classical compositions for string ensembles or orchestra, to collaborations with well-known electronic musicians. He has developed “game pieces” — algorithms that tell musicians how to interact but not what to play — and composed 200 Klezmer-inspired pieces in one year (his Masada songbook). Zorn is has created tributes to Henry Mancini and to non-existent movie Westerns, performed with his “post-modern” ensemble, Naked City, which has been called the band that “turns on a dime.”
Always challenging, John Zorn tours extensively and runs his own Tzadik record label (www.tzadik.com), based in New York City.
This will be the first day of Zorn’s 3-day residency at the Media Lab. He will also work with students in the PEMI (Performance with Experimental Musical Instruments) Workshop.
Tired
March 30, 2004
Up too late doing laundry during the poker tournament. So punk rock: wrecked myself on laundry. But now all my clothes are clean. Five loads in one night is too many. I did not play bar wench, I dozed in the bedroom while the boys lost their money. These boys are SERIOUS about this poker stuff. Theory of Poker and all that. They chattered poker-speak all night and it was truly another language. I didn’t understand a word of it. Fascinating. It was like I was living in a low-rent beer-soaked version of Lost in Translation. Only without a cool Bill Murray soulmate.
But I was up so late that now I’m completely tapped. Still, it’s nice to be chauffered to and from your house by big burly men who carry your 500-lb laundry bags so that you can do laundry for free at someone else’s house and watch free Tivo and drink free beer and eat free pizza. Only problem is I left my backpack at his house so now I have 500 pounds of clean laundry but no wallet and no papers that I stayed up late to grade so I could hand back today. So punk rock.
Quote of the Day
March 29, 2004Laundry Date
March 29, 2004
I have made a date to do laundry at a friend’s house, as I have finally gotten fed up with the tiny laundromat in Davis Sqare which opens and closes at the whim of its proprietor and even at its best is open for laundry only until 5pm weekdays, 2:30pm Saturdays, and NOT AT ALL SUNDAYS. This doesn’t include the days when she decides to close shop in the middle of the day, so you arrive heaving with laundry only to get a dismissive, “Sorry, back in one hour,” as she locks the door and scurries away. Bitch.
I’m too old for this.
So after resorting to hand-washing most vital pieces (i.e. unmentionables), I am now instead making laundry dates with a friend who has his own machines. Tonight it turns out I will be washing clothes amid a boys’ poker tourament. So I’ll be the girly toiling away over laundry while the boys smoke cigars and play cards and tell dirty jokes in the other room. Perhaps I should wear a busty bar wench costume and serve frothy lagers to the rowdy bunch.
Calling All Geeks
March 29, 2004Mystery
March 28, 2004Funny, I had no trouble finding a picture of Scarlett Johansson’s ass on the web (and indeed I am now the #1 authority on the web for it), but for some reason I can’t find a picture of the skinny naked guy fixing his window blinds in Goodbye Lenin.
Reunification of Germany Humor
March 28, 2004Goodbye, Lenin! had a naked shot of a man, full-frontal, fixing window blinds. Not a mere shot though, he was just part of a scene. Others were fully clothed. Nothing sexy about it, though my American mind, trained to never see naked men in the movies, did giggle at seeing a penis wiggling around onscreen. This is the main difference between nudity in European and American films, I think–in European films the body is treated as a whole body, not always carved up and displayed for your pleasure as it nearly always is in an American film. In America we get a lingering shot of Scarlett Johansson’s ass in closeup, in Germany we get full shot of a skinny naked guy fixing his window blinds while his roommates are arguing. (Very reductive, I realize, but I’m making a point.)
The movie wasn’t bad. A little comedy, a little drama, a lot of history, a little preciousness. A few inside jokes that were beyond me, but having a German in tow helped clear much of that up.
Fave Tree Fort Lyrics
March 27, 2004Plans
March 27, 2004Tonight, y’all: Mexican food and Reunification of Germany humor. I’ll have an authentic German in my company too–the only way to enjoy Reunification of Germany humor.
Blogging in the Blood
March 27, 2004I just bought me some blogcards by Hugh Macleod for BloggerCon. I also had a dream that I posted an entry to my blog that included the gibberish phrase, “paragonically skipping conversation.” It’s as if my dream was written by a spam poet. So:
1. Bought Blogcards
2. Going to BloggerCon
3. Dreamed about posting to my blog
4. The imaginary blog-post had the nature of spam poetry
Yep, I am completely blog-infested.
Hipster Central
March 26, 2004Jim Jarmusch is getting back to his black-and-white roots, and I’m excited: Coffee and Cigarettes. It looks screamingly hipster, but that’s okay. You are what you are, Jim. I’m just glad you’re not staying in color and am hoping that you’re also reverting to subtlety and not the sickening obviousness of Ghost Dog. Opens May 14. (via Greencine)
And incidentally, there will be a group of short films selected by Jim Jarmusch in this year’s Boston Underground Film Festival. Along with lots of other great shorts picked by the very elite BUFF committee. (Elite=pizza and beer-soaked marathon screening nights.) We looked at a lot of the submissions late into the night last night and there were some very cool films–I’m excited. There’s an animated short based on a Bukowski short story, an ode to photocopy art that is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, and several insane little animated pieces. Not to mention George Romero in person, Mission of Burma in person (though likely not playing), and lady wrestlers. Stay Tuned.
Spicing Up Cinema Studies
March 26, 2004