Hello again. We submitted our semiotic assignment today. Here are my 3 images. Larry David is:

evil

wealthy  &

intelligent.

Evil Larry

Wealthy Larry

Intelligent Larry

For my assignment I have chosen Larry David who is an American actor, comedian, producer and director. He is most famous for co-creating and producing Seinfeld and also for writing and starring in HBO’s hit TV show ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’.

I chose Larry for a few reasons. Firstly, because I am a big fan of his, but also because of his own character. Larry portrayed as he is in these pictures is very ironic as he has built up his reputation to be something quite different. He is a man that is very much set in his ways, very particular and compulsive about even the smallest things. He is an extremely funny man and does not take himself serious which explains why the pictures are ridiculous.  The pictures describe him as intelligent and wealthy (which he is) but show him being very serious and money hungry (which he is not). There is also a picture of him as an evil villain, which is tongue in cheek at a 1950s B movie and portrays Larry in a completely non-believable way.

Evil:

For the ‘evil’ picture I used a nuclear explosion background. This clearly shows a dark portrayal because of the huge flames and the dark red. I also gave him tinted glasses, which differ from the other pictures to give him that ‘villain’ look. The big red button and microphone give it the 1950s movie look.

Intelligent:

This was very easy because he is already giving the impression of a ‘thinking man’ by holding his chin and looking at the table. All I had to do was place a book in front of him to show he was deep in thought. I think the brightness and vastness of the sky behind him also gives him a slight godly impression as if looking down on us from above.

Wealth:

It is one thing placing money in front of him and another to place a pile of money in front. The pile suggests wealth at a greedy level. It suggests he has so much money he can just leave it lying around as he so wishes. The ‘Forbes’ and ‘Fortune 500’ magazines are symbols we all recognize to do with the highest levels of wealth in the world.

Side note: I chose the background colours as red, green and blue also to show the rgb colour model which is something we have been hearing a lot bout in different modules.

En su retorno a Nueva York, después de cinco años alejados de los “mamones de Hollywood” como él mismo dice, Woody Allen, en plan estajanovista, malacostumbrándonos a película por año, se saca de debajo de la manga a Boris Yellnikoff, un físico de mecánica cuántica, profesor en Columbia, cuasi aspirante al premio Nobel, casado y acomodado en la clase media-alta neoyorquina, que decide hacer borrón sin más y tirarse por la ventana. La cosa no irá demasiado bien, atendiendo al fin que buscaba, claro está. Caerá sobre un toldo, por lo que evitará la muerte y ganará un divorcio y una cojera de por vida.

En su nueva vida, trasladándose a un cochambroso piso, conocerá por casualidad a una inocente chica del sur que ha huído de su familia tradicional y conservadora para hacer una nueva vida en Nueva York. Qué vida le espera. Un lío sentimental junto al hipocondríaco de Boris, un tipo que es un manual en vida que trata de qué mal está el mundo, qué jodida está nuestra civilización y demás teorías acerca del amor, la esclavitud, África, las enfermedades, etcétera.

En medio de tal absurdez, físico inteligente de 60 años liado con niña necia de unos 18, la bola de nieve se hace más grande cuando les da por aparecer a los padres de la criatura. Dos beatos reconvertidos del día a la mañana en gay y puta. Una puta que apartará  a Boris de Melodie, quien acabará liada con un guaperas de tres al cuarto que se atribuye como mayor virtud el ser “muy romántico“. Ante tal comprobación empírica de su teoría acerca del amor, Boris decide lanzarse por segundo intento por la ventana. Tampoco resultará. Esta vez caerá sobre una mujer a la que destrozará en dos, pero que acabará saliendo con vida y liándose con él.

En fin, todo un cúmulo de líos sentimentales y familiares, propios del genio de la comedia Woody Allen, que una vez más nos regala un guión desternillante que da como resultado unas cuantas carcajadas y multitud de situaciones cómicas. Con un claro mensaje desde el lado del perdedor: la vida está tan jodida, que si la cosa funciona, por breve y accidental que sea, aprovéchala. A pesar de todo, “Whatever works” no perdura, no cala hondo. Buena, sin más.

Yes, that’s what it felt like earlier this week when I caught the last episode of the current season of Curb Your Enthusiasm; Larry David’s hilarious comedy on HBO.

For all of you whom I don’t wish to know who do not know who Larry David is; he only just created Seinfeld along with Jerry Seinfeld all those years ago.

Anyway he plays himself in CYE and in the current season he gets back the old cast for a Seinfeld reunion culminating in last night’s episode.  So my reality twisted and my perception of what was real warped as I watched Larry play himself, Larry play George for a minute whose character is based on Larry, Jerry playing himself playing himself etc etc.

It was sublime. I loved it. It had quotables, it had Seinfeldisms and it had Larry Davidisms

…on the other hand…..

….Mocha Joe!………….

…….do you respect wood?…………..

…….acting without acting……………….

……Madoff!…………………

from http://bonkersinhonkers.wordpress.com

Trailer Film:

Comedie | Romance – Durata: 92 min.

Plot Keywords: fizician, geniu, mizantrop, căsnicie, sceptic, nevastă, fiică, religie, schiop

Vaaaai, de mult nu m-am mai amuzat cu aşa o comedie bună, probabil de la Snatch încoace. Larry David m-a făcut să râd în hohote, cum doar Bernie Mac se mai pricepea atât de bine la treaba asta.
Comedia asta îşi merită toţi banii, e în regia genialului Woody Allen, şi are ca subiect, intersectarea mai multor destine prin intermediul unui mizantrop (Larry David). Deci pot să spun că iubesc persoanele care au asemenea caracter şi care probabil s-au regăsit în acest rol, cum de altfel m-am regăsit şi eu pe alocuri.
Un film EXCEPTIONAL!!!…musai de văzut.

Torrent Name: Whatever Works [2009] LIMITED DVDRip XviD-SAPHiRE
Download Subtitrare RO: >>Link<<

Whatever Works (2009) – Woody Allen

Staring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood

Viewed: 25 November 2009

Woody and the French

“A year is not forever. How much can a person change?…”

“…I’m an artist. I don’t bake pies. I don’t go to church. I do collages, sculpture, photography. I live in Manhattan with two men who I love… In a very happy ménage à trois… We all sleep together. A ménage à trois.”

“I knew we never should have trusted the goddamn French!”

American Brilliance (Sub: Ignorance)

“Yes. It’s true. I have been very patient with your phenomenal ignorance.”

“See, I’m the only one who sees the whole picture. That’s what they mean by genius.”

Woody Allen vuelve a New York. Eso ya de por sí es una buena noticia. No es que su periplo europeo (que parece que proseguirá) no haya dado buenas películas, dejando a un lado el truño de Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Pero es que esta vuelta a sus orígenes y a sus paisajes urbanos de costumbre también trae una vuelta a la brillantez y al mejor humor en su escritura.

En Whatever works, Allen exagera y estira los tópicos, eso es cierto. La América profunda, reflejada en la familia Celestine, pueblerina y reprimida;  la cosmopolita (y, a ratos, un tanto superficial) New York, retratada en los amigos del protagonista. El amor en sus encarnaciones menos habituales, la familia en su vertiente tradicional y no tanto, la brillantez intelectual y las dificultades que conlleva (para el que la posee y para los que viven con él).

Pero sobre todo, estira su propio tópico, esta vez encarnado en Boris, un ex-profesor de física hipocondríaco, grosero, soberbio, misántropo y sarcástico, magistralmente interpretado por Larry David. Pero cuando vemos a Larry David, estamos escuchando a Woody Allen; imposible disociar la persona del personaje. Sin embargo, sería injusto no mencionar la aportación de David, su sonrisa irónica y su complicidad, que probablemente hacen al personaje más simpático de lo que lo hubiera hecho Woody Allen.

Lo mejor de esta película es, como solía ocurrir, el guión. Rápido, divertido, a ratos realmente brillante. Lo peor, algún que otro recurso demasiado fácil. Pero es que uno no lo puede evitar. De Woody Allen siempre espero lo mejor de lo mejor. Y está vez se ha quedado cerca.

* Sad: Republicans have successfully convinced their followers that climate change isn’t real.

* Nate Silver: How Bad Could Obama Screw Up and Still Beat Sarah Palin?

* Ezra Klein on fixing the filibuster and SCOTUSblog on fixing the Court.

* Blueprints for nerds. Via Kottke.

* New Jersey in the news! This one seems a bit too much, even for Jersey.

* From Dan’s Facebook feed: Behind the scenes of Curb Your Enthusiasm: Jason teaches Larry how to be George.

* And, from Tim, Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody.

Week 10 was the most interesting week so far in this class. We had a lecture on design principals and we went back over semiotics.

We had a look again briefly at design elements which are:

– Shape/form
– Space
– Point
– Line
– Texture
– Pattern
– Colour

Design principles are something to be learned to help improve imagery.  They are as follows:

• Balance (the arrangement of objects in an image – either symmetrical or asymmetrical)
• Contrast (the difference of size, shape, composition and colour in an image)
• Movement (the path our eye follows when looking at an image – achieved by line, repetition and rhythm)

• Emphasis ( the stressing over a certain area)

• Unity  to be looked at next week.

We had our lab and made a start on the semiotics assignment. My celebrity of choice is the great Larry David.

Writer of Seinfeld and star of Curb your Enthusiasm

I often attribute every thing out-of-the-ordinary that happens to me as some sort of psychic experience or sign.  A few days ago, for example, I was working (mental-exercising) on some psychic tests and the ice cubes in the water-glass sitting next to me shifted with a loud “clunk”. When something moves like that, I always think “earthquake” before I even think “psychic” but in this instance, the glass didn’t move, just the large ice cubes. No earthquake. Loudly. I said “hello” as is my practice when books fall off the  shelves or strange noises, like paper crinkling, are heard in my office/study.  This doesn’t happen daily, but often. It’s happened so many times, I seek no explanation, I just accept and move on.  However, I can still be surprised. Once a Star Trek drinking glass full of vintage pencils, scissors and a  cocktail stirrer or two took a flying leap off a near-by book shelf and ended upright, all by itself. That was one of those times I said “whoa…..” and then moved on.

Having said that (as Larry David would say), sometimes a noise is just a noise. Clinking ice cubes, sounding like a drum beat, are just ice cubes settling. Nothing more. A glass leaping off a shelf – well it’s just a leaping glass. That could happen.There is no need to assign a “sign” or psychic label to any movement that has no explanation.   Though Dr. Freud most likely did not say, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.…” his much-repeated mis-quote is relevant when it comes to my so-called psychic (PK) events.

I need to keep Freud in mind lest I start believing reality is other than concrete. Sometimes a cigar is just something to smoke.

Danny Duberstein can white the shit out of it.

Lunes 23 de noviembre

HBO ESTE, 18:15 hrs, SKY 450, CABLEVISION 632

HBO OESTE, 21:15 hrs, SKY 453, CABLEVISION 633

Curb your enthusiasm HBO 2009 "the reunion"

Larry se rehusaba por completo a una reunion del programa SEINFELD, pero cuando se da cuenta que esto le puede ayudar a recuperar a Cheryl, accede a la idea. Larry se molesta con Jason Alexander cuando este se rehusa a compartir consejos importantes, así como cuando consiguen boletos para los Lakers.

The Curb Your Enthusiasm/Seinfeld reunion culminated in what is certainly to be one of the most iconic moments in television history. After accusing Jason Alexander (a.k.a. George Costanza) of having an affair with his ex-wife, Cheryl, Jason quit the Seinfeld reunion – leaving a gaping hole in the cast.

Who was to reprise George’s role?

Well, Larry David fanatics can all rejoice. Our curiosity regarding the actual similarities in character between George and Larry has now been satisfied. This scene literally made me jump from the couch in gleeful laughter. Brilliance. Utter brilliance.

Larry seems to think highly of Derek as well…

I was a latecomer to Curb, and the genius of Larry David, probably because I didn’t like Seinfield. I only started watching it this year and I enjoyed it so much I watched seasons 1-6 in about a month. I’ve been watching season 7 avidly online and I have to say like a fine wine, a fine cheese and not like a female, Curb Your Enthusiam and indeed Larry David himself only get better with age. Season 7 has been the best season so far, infact one of the best seasons of any comedy ever, seriously up there with Gervais’ ‘The Office’ I kid you not. There are 2 episodes inparticular in season 7 (one about dating multiple disabled women for the perks and one about the itchy pussy of a pre-pubescent girl) which should definitely rank highly in the next episode of Channel 4’s ‘The 1,000,000 greatest thing of a thing ever’.

This is gold, straight up boxset purchase.

Enjoy.

Well I’m big enough to admit when I’m wrong.  I had predicted that somehow Larry would screw up the Seinfeld Reunion show and it wouldn’t happen.  I was partly right, but in the end the show must go on.  It was a great way to end this season, and possibly the series of Curb Your Enthusiasm.  I’ll get to that later.

The rehearsals are still going on and Cheryl is rehearsing with Jason Alexander in the diner.  Everyone things Cheryl is doing great, especially Larry.  The two ex’s are starting to hit it off again and make plans to get together later that night at Cheryl’s house after the party that Julia is throwing for Jason Alexander’s new book, “Acting Without Acting.”  As Larry is leaving he see’s Mocha Joe, the lot coffee guy who Larry asks for a favor.  At the party Jerry Seinfeld tells Larry that Mocha Joe was a little upset that Larry didn’t tip him.  At that point Julie Louis-Dryfus pulls Larry aside and asks him if he left a ring on her table.  Larry proclaims his innocence,but Julia isn’t buying it.  Larry spots Mocha Joe outside and confronts him about what he was just told by Jerry.  In order to make it even Larry agrees to do a favor for him, going to pick up his coffee beans in West Hollywood.

Larry get’s stuck in traffic and is going to be late to Cheryl’s so she cancels.  Larry was also late picking up the beans and the place is closed.  The next morning Larry finds out that Cheryl had Jason Alexander over in his place, and starts to get jealous of the time they are spending together.  This obviously is the beginning of the end.  Larry does all he can to catch the two of them together just to confirm his suspicions.  At the same time he’s looking for who really left the ring on Julia’s coffee table.  At one point Larry even catches Jason in Cheryl’s dressing room, but Jason escapes through the bathroom window before Larry can confront him.  Larry tells Cheryl, “You’re not attracted to him, you’re attracted to George! I’m George!” In the end Larry ends up writing a new script for the show that gives Cheryl and Jason less screen time together.  This outrages everyone and Jason quits.  Larry offers to play the part since it is based on him anyway, and it doesn’t go so well.  For the betterment of the show Larry quits.  He tells Jeff (at least I assume it was Jeff on the other end of the phone) that since he did this all to get Cheryl back and that didn’t happen he decided to quit.

Larry is sitting at home watching the show as it airs, and he seems happy.  When Cheryl is supposed to come on screen Larry is shocked to find out that Virgina (played by Elizabeth Shue) is playing the part.  At that point the doorbell rings and it’s Cheryl holding some Mocha Joe’s coffee.  The two make up and Larry might have also discovered who left the ring on the table.

Like I said it was a great way to end.  No one is really sure if the show is coming back or not.  Larry David is mum on the thought of a 7th season, and HBO hasn’t said anything either.  I personally hope it comes back, but if it doesn’t it’s nice that Larry ends on a high note for once.

Thoughts and Observations:

• “Act without Acting.”  Brilliant.  It’s almost as if they were summing up Jerry Seinfeld’s acting style.
• “I respect wood.  I revere wood!”
• Jerry explaining why Larry can’t play George, “He’s an icon. She’s an icon. He was an icon. [points to self] Icon. [points to Larry] No-con!”
• It would have been great if Leon showed up in the final episode.  He was underutilized this season.  I love Leon.
• Was it cruel that Jason Alexander left his dogs in the hot car all day long?
• I really didn’t think the finale was that bad, but boy they kept bringing up how bad the cast thought it was.  That’s the problem with things like finales, they will never be as amazing as you want them to be.
• Jerry and Larry really are just the same.  Jerry Seinfeld could have played Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm and it might have been just as good.  The scene where Jerry gives Larry Larry’s stare to tell if he was lying was great, and dead on.  Jerry even describes them as “twins in the womb.”
• Michael Richards really was under utilized in this episode, and maybe all season.  I hope this helps vindicate him after the trouble he got into.
• We got to see almost 15 minutes of the fake Seinfeld Reunion show on Larry’s TV.  It really was great.  For a while there I thought we would see the whole episode.
• I complained a bit about the whole seaosn being a little far fetched, but I really did love it.  It was great seeing the whole cast back together again for the first time on TV.  This really was almost as good as a real Seinfeld reunion and in someways maybe it was better.

Voicemail message from my father, approximately 5 p.m., as New England took a 21-0 lead:

“Why don’t you leave the bar, go home, talk to your wife, have a nice dinner, anything else but watching this.”

The man is a fountain of wisdom. I was sitting at Houligan’s, having just finished off a nice pulled pork sandwich (Mmm, pulled pork), and I was watching the Patriots systematically take apart the New York Jets.

The Pats ran on the Jets. They threw on the Jets. They stuffed everything the Jets tried to do on offense. They completely befuddled and confused Mark Sanchez (more on him in a minute).

So, I left. It’s not the first time I left a Jets game, and it won’t be the last.

Course, I get home, and I check the score, and it’s 24-14, so I start watching again, and of course they never got any closer and lost, 31-14.

Very few positives to talk about in this game, so let’s deal with the negatives, shall we?

– This defense is not only not good, not only can’t they tackle well, but they can’t cover a bedspread right now. What happened to Kerry Rhodes? Guy used to be great. Bart Scott, anytime you want to earn that contract, go right ahead. The pass rush was OK, but never there when it was needed.

– How does the Jets coaching staff come out SO woefully unprepared for the first half? They got outgained 273-34. That’s insane.

– I know Mark Sanchez is a rookie. And I do have faith that he’ll be a good quarterback one day. But man oh man, the kid keeps making the SAME mistakes over and over. Trying to throw into triple coverage. Throwing off the wrong foot. I just get worried that he doesn’t seem to be making any progress here. But I don’t want to bench him. Look, Peyton Manning was awful as a rookie, too.

– Four and six wouldn’t feel so bad if they hadn’t started 3 and 0.

Some more Monday NFL thoughts:

– I know this will never happen, but let a sports fan dream for a minute: Indianapolis is 10-0. New Orleans is 10-0. Wouldn’t it be incredible if they met in the Super Bowl, after BOTH having gone 16-0? I think the Internet might explode if that happened.

– Two more reasons I never, ever wager on NFL games individually: Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24.  Oakland 20, Cincinnati 17.

– I think Jack Kent Cooke and Tom Landry were spinning wildly in their graves Sunday, as the Cowboys and Redskins combined to play one awful football game. I knew it was bad when the Cowboys fan sitting near me whooped at one point, really loudly. What happened, I asked.  Skins missed a field goal!, he exclaimed.

–Who’s that guy in the picture above, you ask? Daytona Beach’s own Eric Weems, now an Atlanta Falcon. He caught at TD pass Sunday against the Giants. He’s a great kid; I’ve interviewed him a few times and he just never put on the attitude some guys have. He’s a great story; 5-foot-9, undrafted out of Bethune-Cookman University, makes the Atlanta practice squad for a few years, and now finally is getting his shot. Good stuff.

Finally, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” season finale aired Sunday night. It was pretty funny, especially the stuff when Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David were just riffing off each other. I also loved that they finally addressed the whole “George Costanza really is just Larry David” thing; that was always out there but never talked about.

Last week’s episode was still this season’s masterpiece, the equivalent of “Crazy Eyez Killah” and “The Producers” episodes from years past.

Anyway, good to see Cheryl back, and the still-pretty Elisabeth Shue, too.

For you “Curb” fans, here’s a little best of video I found on YouTube.

Last week, I proved to myself that I am less like Woody Allen or Larry David than I thought.

I was at an advanced movie screening, and the star was there to answer questions afterwards.  I had managed to secure second-row seats, but the friend I was meeting was running late.  With a few minutes before his seat would be sold, I started to worry frantically.  I had to run up to give him the ticket as soon as he got there.  But there was no one to guard the seats I had secured.  So, I scribbled a note on a page ripped out of the notebook I brought.  It read: “PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THESE SEATS.  I GOT HERE FIRST.  THANK YOU. <3, MARSHALLANDTHEMOVIES.”

After five minutes waiting up top, I knew I had to return to my seat or I might not have one.  I came back to the row to discover two non-adjacent seats open on the row.  A very well-dressed women had taken a seat where I had left my note.  I asked, “Are those two seats taken?”

She replied, “No, I believe not.”

A little bit of anger was working up inside of me.  ”They wouldn’t happen to be occupied by the person that left that note?”

She giggled, “Oh, I don’t know what happened to them.”

A part of me wanted to reprimand her for blatantly disregarding my note.  If I had not secured front-row seats, I probably would have.  But nonetheless, it was a victory for my self-control.

The Queen in 3D: Channel 4 (Recorded 16th Nov Watched 16th Nov)

I wouldn’t usually watch anything about the ‘royals’ if you paid me but this was an opportunity to use my Chuck 3D glasses again.

I started off being quite enthusiastic about the programme; it’s always interesting to see colour footage of life in the 1950s and earlier so it’s quite remarkable to see it in 3D.  Some of the scenes were incredibly effective and the ‘royal’ stuff wasn’t as interesting as the footage of ordinary people.

The problem was that the novelty wore off after about 10 minutes and then you’re just sat there watching boring clips.  It certainly made me question the current trend for 3D films in the cinema.

Top Gear: BBC HD (R 15th Nov W 17th Nov)

It’s the return of Top Gear (now in HD), the programme that evokes more conflicting emotions than any other programme that I watch.  On the negative side, the presenters are annoying, it’s too pleased with itself, there’s too much fakery and most of Clarkson’s views are reprehensible.  On the other hand it has a sense of adventure and wonder that you really don’t find anywhere else and it’s more beautifully shot than any Hollywood film.  Annoying but watchable.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: iTunes (Downloaded 17th Nov W 17th Nov)

I was distraught, last week, when I missed episode 5 of Curb but I decided to take Jed Unpopcult’s advice and download it from iTunes (as much as it hurt for me to pay for it).  And boy, was I ever glad that I did.  After last week’s somewhat disappointing episode Larry & co were right back on top form.  There really were too many funny bits to mention – but if I told you that the plot revolved around Larry dating a woman in a wheelchair, you might start to get the idea.  Highlights included: asking about a Chinese child’s proficiency with chopsticks, Larry attempting to kiss Denise in her wheelchair, Leon asking if Larry “brought it”, hiding the blackberry under the towel and Rosie O’Donnell being as pig-headed as Larry.

There haven’t been many programmes ever that have made me laugh so much.  If you’re not watching it then I want a written note from your mother as to why not.

Misfits: E4 (R 12th Nov W 19th Nov)

Misfits has, inevitably, been described as ‘Skins meets Heroes’ and this made me question whether I was actually going to bother watching it.  As much as the description put me off, there was no was that I was going to miss a British superhero programme.

Five, typically annoying, teens are struck by lightning while on community service and find that they have gained superpowers.  I have quite a low threshold for watching anything featuring ‘realistic’ teens, so the first ten minutes or so were a bit of a chore.  Things picked up, though, as the story gained momentum and it was really successfully done.  It’s rare that we get these high-concept sci-fi shows in the UK but when we do they often have a unique flavour.

Having the powers relate to the characters’ personalities wasn’t the subtlest touch (the shy one turns invisible etc) but by the end of the episode we did start to see them as real human beings.  I’ll definitely be tuning in for the second episode.

Stargate Universe: Sky One (R 17th Nov W 21st Nov)

I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by this series from the start but I stuck with it because it seemed like something might happen.  Well, it only took about 5 minutes of this episode before I decided that nothing was ever going to happen.  It felt like a relief to finally give up on it.

Kamikaze Girls: Film4 (R 13th Nov W 21st Nov)

I’ve got a habit of recording any foreign-language film that I spot because I’m a bit of a snob and they don’t tend to repeat them; you’ve got to watch them when you can.  The problem is that I’ve really got to be in the mood to watch a movie and when they’re sub-titled you really have to concentrate, so I’ve ended up with lots of unwatched films.  I’ve found myself deleting a few recently but I made an effort to watch this.

Kamikaze Girls could be described as a Japanese Amelie; it’s a quirky film that features an attractive female stuck in her own magical realism world.  This being a Japanese film, though, means that it has its own strangeness that makes it nothing like Amelie.  The plot, such as it is, revolves around two teenage girls who form an unlikely friendship – Momoko, who like to wear frilly ‘lolita’ dresses and Ichigo, a slightly psychotic biker chick.  In some ways nothing much else happens, but that would be really selling it short, and it kept my interest to the end.  There is a great scene towards the end when Momoko finally flips when trying to defend Ichigo against a biker gang that’s actually very funny.

I’d like to add that the reason that I liked the film had nothing to do with the main character being gorgeous and prancing round in ‘lolita’ outfits.  Honest.

Also known as “Favorites of the Week”:

TV: Gotta say Curb Your Enthusiasm. Sunday night’s episode was really just top notch. I’m a recent convert to the Curb cult, but with episodes like “Table Reading”, I’m pretty sure that I’m in for life.

Music: “The Dark End of the Street” by Dan Penn and Chips Moman. Holy shit that’s an amazing song. I’ve probably listened to 5 different versions of this song within the last week and, even though I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, the Commitments and Cat Power versions are my favorites. There seems to be two different ways to play this tune: really digging into and embracing the minor chord built off the 7th scale degree in the verse, and shying away from it. These two versions own that chord and the melody around it so hard, and it makes me shake to hear something that beautiful.

Books: Kurt Vonnegut’s Hocus Pocus. This is a book that I’ve probably read 5 times in as many years, but every time I read it I get a little more out of it. That man has an uncanny skill for tackling pretty much EVERYTHING in one book while still providing a really entertaining and focused plot.

Food: Trader Joe’s Mac’n'Cheese. A blend of 4 non-dairy gourmet cheeses on top of delicious noodles. Who’s gunna argue?

Bar: SkyBar. It’s not really too fancy, and the gimmick of the telescope is not too in your face. That’s why I dig that place. Also $2 wells are pretty sweet too.

Restaurants: B-Line. Eat one of their carne asada breakfast burritos with their salsa and tell me it’s not love. I dare you.

Here’s a video cause that’s how I roll:

Here’s the best:

Here’s the worst:

Jesus, I love Ryan Adams but this is one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen!

-Zach