January Round-Up

I figured at the end of every month, I'd tally up some of my entertainment gains of the past 30 days or so, because I have a compulsion to make lists, and keep everyone on the Internets abreast of my every move.

Books Read: Six. That's a pretty good tally for one month, isn't it? That's more than one a week! Combine that with the number of movies I've watched, as well as endless hours of TV and you have proof that...I have no social life. No! You have proof that one can be addicted to television AND still read like all the hoity toity "I don't even OWN a TV" snobs do. So there.

And if you're interested in what I've been reading, just look down on the right of this here blog for a little Library Thing widget. I plan to keep it updated.

Movies Seen: Eleven. And that includes two seen in an actual theater, which means I have stuck to my New Year's resolution to see more movies outside of my living room. In the future I hope it will be more than two, but for a start, that's not bad. (For the record, those two flicks were "Pan's Labyrinth" which I was a little disappointed in. But then again, I fell asleep during part of it. That might be an indication that it was boring, or that I missed the really awesome parts. The other movie was "Children of Men," which was depressing, but also incredibly exciting at times, and oddly humorous. I liked it a lot.)

If you want to know what DVDs I've got at home, there's a Netflix widget down there on the right, below the book one. I love them widgets!

Fancy Dinners Out: Five. But that was mainly because of my birthday, and the whole Dine About Town thing wherein I could eat at a fancy restaurant and only pay $31.95 for the meal ($21.95 at lunch). I wish I could have taken more advantage of that, but it's probably better for my waistline that I didn't.

Live Shows Seen: Two. Kind of. Technically I can't include the New Year's Eve comedy show, but I will anyway. And the other was the Rifftrax show. I hope some band I like comes to town soon, because I haven't been to a concert in a while, and I'd like to.

Shoes Bought: Four pairs. But one was a gift.

So, there you have it. My life in a consumerist nutshell. Fascinating, yes?

Proof That "Ghost Rider" Is Going to Be the Worst Movie Ever

OR, everything they'd hoped "Snakes on a Plane" would be.

Exhibit A is familar to many of you:



Exhibit B: The Trailer



Exhibit C: The Worst Advertising Tie-In Ever

SFist In the News...Again!

SFist made it to the local news again. Someone else posted the ABC-7 news story on YouTube before I got the chance to, (but I WOULD HAVE!) Check it out below.

Birthdays Are Cool

First off, my latest "I'm From Rolling Stone" recap is up on SFGate now. Now! Now!

I had a pretty great birthday. While it rained all day Friday, the day I took off work and rented--yes--a convertible, it was still fun. That night I met up with friends and family at my favorite bar, got lots of cool presents, and drank way, way too much. I was adhering to that New Year's resolution, you know. Except I think in the future I will pace myself better. That's hard to do when people are buying you birthday drinks every five minutes.

Saturday I recovered and then went out to a fancy dinner with a friend, and Sunday I did precious little.

And next weekend I go to Disneyland! I have to say, so far 2007 has been pretty damn good.

It's My Birthday, and Apparently That Means I Must..."Go"?

Yes, today is my birthday. Woo! And a woo hoo!

And that's it with the wooing because I have to work. But at least I get to work at home, which means I get to wear my jammies and sad, tarnished birthday tiara all day. Here at home. ALONE.

Ha ha. Just kidding. It's awesome. And tonight I get to eat rich food. And tomorrow I have the day off and I'll be riding around in a convertible, making the occasional stop to shop. And tomorrow night, I'll be drinking. So, really, what could be better?

Aside from a nice, huge piece of Just Desserts chocolate cake with white (cream cheese) frosting?

Oh Stewardess? I Speak Jive.

I put this video up on SFist, but the site is whack, and it hasn't gone live as of yet, and this video is just too awesome to sit on.

If you like San Francisco, the early 60s, greasers, and jive, you'll love this.

And I Am Telling You, You're Not Going...To the Oscars

Well, as you probably know by now, the Oscar nominees have been announced. And I have some opinions about them...

Best Picture:
"Babel,"
"The Departed,"
"Letters From Iwo Jima,"
"Little Miss Sunshine,"
"The Queen"

I admit that, so far, I have only seen two of the nominees: "The Departed" and "Little Miss Sunshine." It goes without saying that I loved "The Departed." And I might have liked "Little Miss Sunshine" more if people weren't drooling all over themselves with praise for it. It just wasn't that fantastic. It was much funnier the first time I saw it, when it was called "National Lampoon's Vacation," and [spoiler alert!] Alan Arkin, the best thing about the movie, is only in about half of it. The whole thing feels like a carefully planned Sundance Festival entry; way too contrived, and ultimately, not funny enough.

As for the other movies, I'll probably see "The Queen" before the actual awards, but I am not looking forward to watching "Babel." I'm getting a little tired of movies that pass incomprehensibility off as depth. I'm just glad "Dreamgirls" didn't sneak in there. Enough with the nominating of musicals already!

Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond";
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson";
Peter O'Toole, "Venus";
Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness";
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

I guess the only surprise here is that voters actually remembered Ryan Gosling and "Half Nelson." But once again, I haven't seen any of the nominated performances, so I can't say much about the choices.

Actress:
Penelope Cruz, "Volver";
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal";
Helen Mirren, "The Queen";
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada";
Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

There's a good variety of grand dames and (relative) newcomers in this category, but I really don't think Streep's role in that movie was a lead one. Hers was a supporting character, and should have been nominated thusly.

Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine";
Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children";
Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond";
Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls";
Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed."

I'm really pleased to see Jackie Earle Haley nominated; it's awesome that he's gone from a "whatever happened to that weird looking kid from 'The Bad News Bears'?" to an Oscar nominee. Also, how awesome are the words "Academy Award nominee Marky Mark"? That said, I think Alan Arkin will take it.

Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza, "Babel";
Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal";
Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine";
Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls";
Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

Once again, only saw "Little Miss Sunshine," and as cute as that little girl was, I don't think she deserves an award for it. I haven't seen "Dreamgirls," but in all the acting clips I've seen of Jennifer Hudson, she's not...that great. Will they really give her an award based solely on the strength of her singing?

Directing:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel";
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed";
Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima";
Stephen Frears, "The Queen";
Paul Greengrass, "United 93."

It's another one of those years where they nominate a director and not his film (and a film, but not the director) in this case Paul Greengrass for "United 93," and not Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris for "Little Mis Sunshine". Which just reminds me, I'm sure happy "United 93" didn't get nominated. I think the praise it garnered was based on the emotions brought up by the events of September 11th, and not by the film itself. It was good and all, but it wasn't great. As for the rest, the question remains, will Scorsese get passed over in favor of Clint Eastwood once again?

Of course there are more nominations, but I haven't the time to get into those right now. Maybe later. I need to start planning my Oscar night menu. "The Queen"'s bangers and mash? And "Departed" lobster rolls. Yes!

Some Things Never Change

Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been, Experienced?

This week's recap of "I'm From Rolling Stone" is now up on SFGate's Culture Blog! Go now, go!

Goddamn Cows

I just ate my second Skinny Cow chocolate fudge cone of the evening. The whole low fat, only 150 calories thing kind of goes out the window after one, doesn't it?

In totally unrelated news, Liz Lemon's reaction to the Hair's asking her out on a date on tonight's "30 Rock" had me laughing for about five minutes. I think this is the first series of the season that I might have to buy when it comes out on DVD.