January Round-Up - 2012

Welcome to the first official round-up of 2012, happening on Leap Day no less. Does that make it more exciting?

Probably not.

But it does remind me, I never understood why the year with an extra day is called a "leap" year, when it seems to make more sense for common years to be called leap years because you are, essentially, leaping into March on years where there isn't a February 29th.

Right?

Whatever, let's look at January!


Movies Seen: Eight, with three in a theater. Getting off to a slow start this year...

The three theater movies started with a sing-along screening of West Side Story at the Castro, which was fun, but frankly, West Side Story isn't a very easy musical to sing along with!

The other two were The Iron Lady, which I didn't bother reviewing because not much could be said beyond, "Bad movie, but Streep was amazing," and Contraband, which I reviewed here.

Most of the DVDs I watched were lame, but I did enjoy Someone's Watching Me!, John Carpenter's 1978 made-for-TV movie starring Lauren Hutton. It's worth seeing because of her--she's just kind of a kooky character in it--and because, as far as TV movies go, it's above average.

Books Read: Four. Click through to read my (limited) thoughts on all.

Then Again by Diane Keaton.

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
and
Mockingjay, all by Suzanne Collin.

Regarding that trilogy, man. It started out so good! And ended so bad! But I'm still totally excited to see the movie!

Fancy Dinners Out: Four, although two were technically lunch. The first of the lunches was at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus, which I had never been to before, and would certainly go to again, if only for those popovers and strawberry butter.

I went to Disneyland for my birthday, and had what has now become a traditional steak dinner at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland hotel. Got the prix fixe. Delish.

On my actual birthday, I had dinner at La Traviata, per usual. Had pasta. Wish I had some right now.

And I ended the birthday month with another steak, this time lunch at the Leatherneck Steakhouse, which is in the Marines' Memorial building. It is pretty reasonably priced for what you get--which includes TRUFFLED TATER TOTS--and has a totally amazing view. I highly recommend it.

Live Shows Seen: None, but as I mentioned, I did go to Disneyland, which is basically a non-stop show.

Shoes Bought: Two pair, both metallic! The first are some goldish Old Navy flats that are kind of textured to look like lizard. Can't find a picture of them anywhere right now, though. The second are these silver American Rag pumps, which I snagged for under 30 bucks at Macy's.

SHOOP!

I'll admit, I was shocked to hear about the death of Whitney Houston. I can't say I was ever a big fan of her music, (just way too adult contemporary for my tastes), but there was no disputing she had an amazing voice that just puts other so-called divas to shame.

I was more a fan of Whitney Houston herself, in all her crazy glory. Of course, it was pretty obvious a lot of her kookiness came from her drug use, so it's probably in poor taste to find any of that funny now.

Except, I still do, and there's really no way I can curb that. So, I choose to remember her in the many ways she, and her influence, made me laugh.

Like this moment, where she's with Bobby B., and decides to try on some sunglasses.



Or here, where she's telling him, or maybe the cameraman, or maybe just the world, to kiss her ass.



I've also found myself mourning the (probable) loss of Maya Rudolph's Whitney impersonation, which never failed to crack me up. In a weird coincidence, Rudolph is set to host "Saturday Night Live" next week, and I am hoping they find a way to keep her impersonation alive.

Here are a few of the best of Rudolph's Whitney moments, collected so I can have a localized place to watch them over and over and over again, which I plan to do. A lot.


maya rudolph aka Whitney Houston by jenniesslave







Finally, I knew Rich Juzwiak would have something great to say about her, and I wasn't wrong. Check it out.

Today's TV Tirade

I've been thinking about some shows recently, and how they've been annoying me. Here's a blog post about that!

A few years back I wrote about the TV show "Jack and Bobby," and how no abortion on a TV show can go unpunished. In summation: Most of the time, to avoid any kind controversy, if a character doesn't want a baby, and is pregnant, the writers will introduce a very convenient miscarriage. As I mentioned in that post, this happens in movies too--and is one reason I didn't think the movie Citizen Ruth was that great; it didn't have the courage of its convictions--but I tend to notice it more on TV.

A few months ago, on "Grey's Anatomy," the character of Cristina Yang got pregnant. She's married, and in a good position to have a kid, but she has never wanted kids, and didn't want this one. Her husband, Owen, knowing that his wife doesn't want to be a mother--and a kid should not grow up with a mother that never wanted him--agreed that terminating the pregnancy was best, and even went with her to the procedure.

That, as the saying goes, seemed to be that. There were several episodes after in which things were back to normal, they were doing fine, and it seemed to be non-issue.

Of course, this couldn't last forever. Two episodes ago, during a fight, her husband admits that he is not fine with the abortion, and bellows at her that she "killed" their baby.

And in the previews for this coming week's episode, it looks like Yang might get hit by a car, or someone might get hurt while trying to save her from getting hit by a car, or maybe she'll get hit by a car, and magically find out she's pregnant again, and this time keep the baby.



No abortion can go unpunished.

It's sad that I was more surprised by the show's few episodes where it all seemed to be a non-issue than I am by this latest development, because it's just so pathetically typical. I hope this wasn't the way creator Shonda Rhimes wanted it to go, and she was somehow influenced to add this new drama, but she's a TV writer. She probably knows how stories like that "have" to be handled on television...

In a completely different, but still very annoying vein, what the hell is up with "Alcatraz"? Every week we see one of the prisoners who disappeared back in 1963 reappearing in 2012 San Francisco, and we have yet to witness any of these prisoners having any kind of problem navigating modern life, or, indeed, acting very surprised by anything they witness.

I really hope I've just missed an important plot element, (which could very well be the case; my attention tends to drift when watching the show), and they've explained that, perhaps, all these guys have actually been wandering around for years, and thus we just haven't been privy to their moments of acclimation, or some other plausible explanation for their nonchalance.

But if that's not the case, and they haven't explained this at all, and don't intend to, well, I don't think I can keep watching. I don't know why, but this aspect of the show just really, really irks me. I think you have to earn that kind of preposterousness. You can't just throw it at an audience right out the gate!

As a final note, here's a link to blog post I wrote in 2004, about "Lost," that mentions a certain island in the San Francisco Bay.

In case you didn't know, "Alcatraz" comes from some of the creators of "Lost"...

So, yes, basically I am saying I am responsible for the existence of "Alcatraz." OBVS.

December Round-Up - 2011

I just got done with a crazy week of birthday celebrating, which included a party and a trip to Disneyland. I'm still recovering, so this post is going to have to be a bit on the brief side.

So without further ado, here is a final look at 2011...

Movies Seen: Eleven, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of four of them:

Carnage
The Sitter
We Bought a Zoo
The Grey

The fourth theatrical viewing was Hugo, which I did like, but didn't love. It's was beautiful to look at, and touching at times, but really went on way too long.

None of the DVDs I watched was worth mentioning.

Books Read: Only two, but one of those books was over 800 pages long. That book was Stephen King's 11/22/63. Click through to read my brief thoughts on the matter. I could go further into it, but that would be spoiler-rific...

The other book was Joan Didion's Blue Nights, which I read in a night, and is good, but not quite as devastating as her Year of Magical Thinking.

Fancy Dinners Out: Four! It was Christmastime. Imbibing is de rigueur that time of year! The fanciest night was an evening at the Bella Vista in Woodside. It involved a limo full of friends, and lots of flaming foods. Check out my blog Flambabes for some video from the evening.

Bix has daily lunch during December, so that was a must. The most amazing part of that meal had to be the truffled deviled eggs. OMG so good.

We took my mother to the Buckeye for a birthday lunch, and the highlight of THAT meal had to be their oysters bingo. I could eat a dozen of those myself, easily.

Finally, there was a dinner at La Traviata, which is always good.

Live Shows Seen: One! The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker, which, as always, was tons of fun.

Shoes Bought: I don't think I bought any shoes for myself, but I did get a pair of new Keds for Christmas.

The Year In Pictures

Picture the Day - 2011, a set on Flickr.

At the beginning of 2011, I decided I'd try and take a picture every day and post it on Flickr. Miraculously, I did just that, and that set is now 365 pictures full. Check it out!

I'm kind of amazed I accomplished it, and with only two mistakes: There was one day when I totally forgot, and ended up taking a picture that was technically the following day since it was about two in the morning.

The other "mistake" is I posted a picture of me that someone else took, so technically I suppose it doesn't count. But it was taken with my camera, and on the day, so....I let it slide.

Oh, and I also found out the date set on one of my cameras was wrong, so some pictures taken with my SLR are dated wrong.

Since it wasn't really a hard habit to keep up with, I've decided to keep it up in 2012. If nothing else, I'll be prepared to document the coming apocalypse!

In With the Old

Yo. Happy New Year (a tad early)!

In many ways 2011 was pretty awesome. Sure, for most of it I was unemployed, (and still am), but because of that unemployment--the longest time I have been without a job since I started working in earnest, mind you, so about 20 years--I was able to do a hell of a lot of nothing, and a hell of a lot of fun stuff. I traveled somewhere different once a month for five months straight; I stayed up until four in the morning, reading, or watching TV, or Internet-lookin', for more nights than I care to admit to. And I basically took a much needed break from IT.

You know what IT is. We all do.

But 2012 is a new year. (And if the Mayans are right, the last year.) I still plan on having tons of fun, but since fun needs funding, I'm going to have to find a new job, and probably pretty damn soon. Wish me luck.

But along with job searching, I'm hoping to do some more writing in 2012, and towards that goal, I am starting up a new blog.

Musty TV will remain the source for all things TV-related, (and Rain-related), but my new venture--Mulling Movies--will be a fond look back at the year 1982, and my birth as a genuine movie dork. Please check it out, add it to whatever you use to keep up on such things, and join in on the discussions therein.

Here's to a terrific New Year!

November Round-Up - 2011

Happy New Year!

Let's talk about November.

Yes, as is tradition on Musty TV, when the end of a month approaches, I talk about the end of the month before. Screwy, I know, but that's just how I roll.

In actuality, November, and Thanksgiving seems like it happened yesterday; the end of the year always comes too fast. And I suppose I should save my year-end reminiscing for December's Round-Up post. (Which I might try to publish before the end of January, just to change things up.)

But I will let you know that I've got some things in the works for 2012. I'm hoping some will be entertaining, for both you and me, and if they aren't, well, the world is supposed to end in 2012 anyway. We won't have to deal with the disappointment for too long.

On with the Round-Up.

Movies Seen: Ten, with three in a theater. Here are links to my reviews of those three (though to sum up, "The Artist" is the only one really worth seeing):

"A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas"
"Into the Abyss"
"The Artist"

None of the DVDs I saw are really worth mentioning, though I guess my favorite of the bunch was Errol Morris's "Tabloid."

Books Read: Eight. Click through to read my brief reviews, where applicable, (though, again, to sum up, "Among the Porcupines" was the most enjoyable read):

"The Prince the Showgirl and Me," by Colin Clark

"My Story," by Marilyn Monroe

"Among the Porcupines," by Carol Matthau

"Rules of Civility," by Amor Towles

"The Night Strangers," by Chris Bohjalian

"The Walking Dead – Vols 9 and 10," by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

"The Visible Man," by Chuck Klosterman

Fancy Dinners Out: Only one dinner, at Harris' Steakhouse. We sat in the bar area, the food was great, and there was a jazz pianist playing. Pricey, but a good experience!

Also had fancy tea at the Top of the Mark.

Live Shows Seen: None, unless you count my annual visit to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, which is always a hoot and a holler.

Shoes Bought: I am pretty sure I bought no shoes in November!

October Round-Up - 2011

Christmas is fast approaching, but it seems like October was just yesterday. Seriously!

No. Seriously.

But I can't dwell on that. I've got Thanksgiving food to continue to digest, and a holiday to plan. On with it!

Movies Seen: Fourteen, with five in a theater. Here are links to my reviews of those five films.

"The Ides of March"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"The Thing"
"In Time"
"A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas"

Of the DVDs I watched, I think I most enjoyed the latest adaptation of "Jane Eyre," this one starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska. And I probably least enjoyed "A Little Help," which was just a meandering and meaningless mess.

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my (often brief) reviews!

"The Internet Is a Playground," by David Thorne. (No review, but if you want to read the best parts of this book, just go to the guys site here.)
"My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me," by Hilary Winston
"This Is the Zodiac Speaking," by Michael D. Kelleher and David Van Nuys
"Popular Crime," by Bill James
"A Stolen Life," by Jaycee Dugard
"Record Collecting for Girls," by Courtney E. Smith

Fancy Dinners Out: Nothing too fancy this month. Had tea at Lovejoy's, (I think I prefer Crown & Crumpet), and dinner at Garcon, a small french restaurant in the Mission. Ate at the bar. Had a steak. It was good, if served a little on the cold side.

Live Shows Seen: Actually did make it to one show, the Dukes of Hamburg at Bottom of the Hill, as part of the Budget Rock Showcase. Hadn't seen them in some years, and it was as fun as always.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these American Rag t-strap pumps, which were on sale at Macy's. I love the color, and they have a hidden platform, giving height without the obvious look of a platform heel.

State of TV - Fall 2011 Edition!

A few years back I wrote a series of posts called "State of TV," which basically took a look at my viewing habits for every day of the week, post the premiere of the Fall TV season.

This year, I've done something similar for the San Francisco Appeal, taking a day-by-day look at how the new batch of TV shows are faring, and by "faring" I mean whether or not I am still watching them, and what I think of them.

So go check those posts out, won't you?

Appealing TV: Monday, Monday, Can't Trust That Day

Appealing TV: I'll Love You Till Tuesday

Appealing TV: You Won't Give a Damn By Wednesday Week

Appealing TV: Thursday Has Its Own Peculiar Way

Appealing TV: Gotta Get Down On Friday

Appealing TV: Everyday Is Like Sunday

September Round-Up - 2011

Nearing the end of September, I realized it would be the first month since April that I didn't spend at least a few days out of town. And that would just not do. So a friend and I decided to take an overnight trip to the Madonna Inn, with a stop at Hearst Castle. I hadn't been to either since about 2004, and there were changes to both: At Hearst Castle, you can now wander around the grounds all you want after an indoor tour, which means if you want to hang out on a lounge chair by the pool for hours, you can. (Can't go into the pool, of course, but still...) And a pool was also a relatively new addition to the Madonna Inn. And a really, really nice pool, at that, complete with a fake rock waterfall and two hot tubs. The fact that the place has existed for years without it is kind of amazing since it is now, to me, the main reason to even go there. (Along with the pink steakhouse, of course.)

But oh my goodness, it is Halloween night, and it's almost coming to an end, so I should probably get this round-up over with!

Movies Seen: Eight, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of "Contagion," "Moneyball," "I Don't Know How She Does It," and "Killer Elite."

None of the DVDs I watched was memorable in any way, good or bad.

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my brief thoughts, where applicable: "Love Sick" by Sue William Silverman. "A Paper Life" by Tatum O'Neal. "Walks With Men" by Anne Beattie. "Found: A Daughter's Journey Home" by Tatum O'Neal. "The Walking Dead – Vol. 8" by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. "Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shtyeyngart.

Fancy Dinners Out: Five! Living large! I finally went to the House of Prime Rib, after many, many years. In fact, I think I was a kid the last time I went. I love it, especially how the meat is wheeled around the room in a silver zeppelin, but have to say, I was a little disappointed with my prime rib! I ordered it medium rare, which is how I always order it, and it's done me well in the past, but this time, it was just too well done. Not pink and slightly bloody as it should be, but pretty much cooked through. The sides were good, including the awesome salad that they spin tableside, so that almost made up for it. Almost.

Ironically, I had the same problem at the Gold Rush Steakhouse at the Madonna Inn, once again with prime rib. (Michele ordered a New York steak, medium rare, and it arrived perfectly cooked, so I'm not sure what the issue is! Other places I've ordered prime rib medium rare has always been fine, so, I guess I was just cursed this month.)

Meat was also on the menu at Absinthe, where I had the burger. This was perfectly cooked, and perfectly delicious.

I also had dinner at Jaspers Corner Tap, which isn't particularly fancy, but is relatively new, so on the list it goes. Stuck to smaller bites, with some mac and cheese, deviled eggs, sausage bites, and a chopped salad. Deviled eggs won the evening.

Finally, had one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had at Nizza La Bella in Albany, along with some very good French onion soup.

Live Shows Seen: None, unless you count the swing dancers that were performing at the Madonna Inn the night we had dinner.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these vintage "lizagator" pumps, found for under 20 bucks on eBay.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 31

Happy Halloweeeeeen!

I can't believe an entire month has already gone by! It sure has been fun being a part of the Countdown to Halloween, and I thank all those who have stopped by. Be sure to knock on the doors of the other sites taking part in the Countdown, as they have plenty of treats to offer you today!

There's no lack of the scary on TV today and tonight, I hardly know where to begin. Of course, TCM continues to be the one-stop-shop for the spooky, so be sure to check out their entire line-up here; lots of monsters, vampires, ghouls, and ghosts!

My top pick would have to be "Night of the Living Dead" at 6:30 P.M. It's been a Halloween staple since the early 80's, when MTV used to show it on Halloween night every year. It's kind of become a Halloween version of "It's a Wonderful Life" in that way...



Another perennial favorite is "The House of the Devil," which I first watched on Halloween night in 2009. It's on in the wee hours of the morning (very soon, in fact!) at 4 A.M. on MTV. (I guess it's replaced "Night of the Living Dead" on that network!) The film's opening credits are what really sold me on it the first time I watched it; SO much like a 1980's horror flick, it's uncanny.



Finally, there's one of the most ridiculous horror movies ever made, "Blacula," which you can watch on TVONE (whatever that is!) at 9 A.M. (The sequel, "Scream Blacula Scream" is on much later at midnight, on the same channel.)



However you spend this Halloween, I hope it is filled with frights, fun, and lots and lots of treats.

Here's to next year!

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 30

Once again, all you need to do today is turn it to Turner Classic Movies when you wake up, and leave it on that channel for the rest of the day. You can view the schedule here. They'll be re-running most of the movies that have been a part of their horror-filled Mondays, with some added classics thrown in, such as "Them!" at 4 P.M...



...and "Forbidden Planet" at 6 P.M. (And for the record, "Forbidden Planet" is a movie I will always associate with Halloween merely because it makes a cameo appearance in the movie "Halloween."

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 29

Oh boy. We're nearing the home stretch, aren't we? Since Halloween falls on a Monday, I imagine the majority of this year's tricking will happen tonight, with a few treats thrown in here and there...

...like the 1964 movie "It's Alive!" No, not the one about a monster baby. This one is about a crazed farmer who kidnaps tourists in order to feed them to his pet dinosaur. REALLY. He also terrorizes them with whistles and rats served for dinner.

Seriously, this movie is the best. It's on the MGM Movie channel at 10:55 A.M, a channel I didn't even know I had until recently. But! If YOU don't have it, no worries. You can watch the entire movie right here!

[Edited to add: Whoops! Look like a made a mistake! This is actually on Sunday morning. Doesn't change your ability to watch it above though!]

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 28

"How To Make a Monster" is superfun for any fan of 1950s horror movies, particularly the "I Was a Teenage [fill in the blank]" ones. When a movie studio vows to stop making horror movies, their resident special effects make-up guy gets his revenge, via monster make-up of course!

In black and white and color! Watch it at 4:45 A.M. on AMC.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 27

Finally! "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is on at 8 P.M. on ABC. I have been waiting in the pumpkin patch for the past week, hoping for its arrival, and at last, it is here.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone dressed up as Charlie Brown's holey ghost for Halloween; seems kind of obvious, and yet, nope. Guess this year's costume dilemma is solved! Although, I'll need to be prepared to carry a bag full of rocks by evening's end.