Missy | January 31, 2002
A pre-Oscar roundtable with this year’s usual suspects of acting. There’s also links to past years’ interviews with directors and screenwriters. (Link via Catwoman).
Just in case you ever need to convert Farenheit to Kelvin, meters to feet, or ladies European shoe sizes to American, here is onlineconversion.com.
Proof is going to London for a run, and everybody
Missy | January 30, 2002
Check out this amusing take on the State of the Union address. (Link thanks to InstaPundit.) Actually, it’s more than amusing. I was damn near crying.
Missy | January 30, 2002
Todd Solondz: “I don’t think I was cut out to be a director.” You know what? I don’t think so either, Todd.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius as a film? Whah? Do people just not get that books like this are more about witty writing style rather than the plot? I’m afraid I just don’t see this as being a successful project.
Missy | January 30, 2002
No, no, no, no, no. Penelope Cruz? In a Mamet film? She can hardly speak English, much less act, much less Mamet-speak. What the hell.
Science links of the day:
Make science toys with household materials. Granted, some of these things are pretty involved. It’s probably worth the effort if you have kids. Or if you are a total nerd.
The Top 20 Science Questions (as selected by the New Scientist staff). (Thanks to BrainLog.) Example: Does beheading hurt? And, if so, for how long is the severed head aware of its plight?
The one thing that stood out on last night’s otherwise so-so Buffy (and no, it wasn’t that lewd sex scene in the alley with Spike): in one scene she was wearing orange Pumas, which I have been coveting for months. After that I watched about one and a half minutes of the State of the Union address. Then I went to bed. I slept until 7:35 am. That’s over ten hours of sleep. I think I need a new job.
Missy | January 29, 2002
Slow day for work and for blogging. I’ve been reading some of the DC Bloggers sites. Donna at Behind the Mask linked this: “What is Your True Color” emode test. Not surprisingly, I’m a Brown. Apparently, I am credible, stable, trustworthy, a problem solver, and always seeking ways to challenge my mind.
Last night Gay Jeff and I went to JR’s for Showtunes Night. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned Showtunes Night on here before. It is what you might think: video clips of various songs from musicals, movies, television, etc. There’s quite a bit of singing along. Before we went out, we sat around drinking wine and listening to the cast recording for Closer to Heaven–that being the Pet Shop Boys-penned musical which ran in London for about 5 months. The music is quite good and actually sounds less musical-y than an album simply featuring people singing Pet Shop Boys songs.
Missy | January 28, 2002
I’m still running SAS programs, which I need to finish today. At least my boss said I didn’t have to come in this past weekend. If you haven’t heard, the weather along the east coast is amazing right now. Yesterday I went to the newly re-opened Botanic Gardens. It was crowded. I think I was less interested in all of the flowers and plants than I was in the climate control. I enjoyed noticing the subtle shifts in temperature and humidity as I walked from one enclosure to another. Does that make me weird? I tell myself it means I’m more interested in engineering than in botany.
I also walked down the Mall to the Hirshhorn museum. I’ve seen their permanent exhibits many times, but you never know what kind of gem of a temporary exhibit you’ll find up on the third floor. Right now there’s a small, cool, and simple (yet as it turns out, quite moving) exhibit by Marina Abromovic. Apparently, she’s a performance artist. I don’t pretend to know anything about performance art, but I really liked this exhibit. It features a large projection of a 17 minute video of her, holding a white flag, sitting on a white horse, with the wind blowing. There’s a Slavic folk song about solidarity playing, and to the one side is display case. Upon her father’s death, she was sent a leather bag full of photos and medals. These things are laid out in the display case. Her father, a Yugoslavian war hero, died alone. I’m not sure I can articulate the impact this had on me. It’s sort of like my photography post below. There’s was so much story behind the ancient looking photos of family generations ago, photos of World War II soldiers, photos of Marina with her family when she was a child……The simplicity of the exhibit spoke volumes of her father’s life.
While waiting for The Simpsons to come on last night, I happened by the History Channel (and I stongly dislike their site; its content–or lack thereof–is embarrassing when compared with the likes of the always thorough PBS) which was airing (for undoubtedly the nth time) a program on the history of the World Trade Center. Two things stood out: that ingenius architect, Minoru Yamasaki, is, thankfully, no longer alive, for I fear the heartbreak of September 11th would be enough to kill a man; and, in true irony, one of the interviews (recorded in January 2001) was with engineer Frank DiMartini describing the strength of the exterior of the towers, so strong that they could withstand the impact of a 747 (a flip remark which discounts, as we now know of course, the extreme heat from all of that jet fuel). Mr. DiMartini had an office in the WTC and has been missing since September 11.
Missy | January 25, 2002
And for something a little more lighthearted (depending on your viewpoint): watch a bird get nailed by a high-speed tennis ball at the Australian Open. What are the odds?
Missy | January 25, 2002
Thanks to Tim at Traveler’s Diagram for the link. Check out his blog.
Missy | January 25, 2002
Friday Five:
1. What cologne or perfume do you wear? I don’t. Perfume makes me sneeze.
2. What cologne or perfume do you like best on the opposite sex? See above. Besides, I prefer a person’s natural smell , mixed with soap mixed with detergent sort of smell.
3. What one smell can you not stomach? Seafood.
4. What smell do you like that others might consider weird?Rubber cement, matches.
5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Dancing in a show Saturday, sleeping the rest of the time.
Missy | January 24, 2002
Several entries ago I mentioned Charlotte Rampling’s performance in Under the Sand. Here is a lovely interview with the long-shot best actress. (I’m obviously doing non-work while I run these programs.)
Missy | January 24, 2002
Today (and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow) I will be running SAS programs. 85 of them at this point. Who wants my job?
Missy | January 24, 2002
Photography interrupts time. It is inherently elegiac. A piece on photography and September 11 from The Chronicle of Higher Education. I think the true meat of the article is towards the end. The part which nearly (once again) brought me to tears:
For weeks, the faces on the posters were the only smiling faces in the city. The smiles were traces of another time — a vacation on the beach or a boat, a barbecue on the patio, a wedding, a moment of familial intimacy. These are images of people looking toward a future they were never to have. Violently yanked out of one context and inserted into a totally incongruous one, they exemplify what Roland Barthes describes as the retrospective irony of looking at photographs — the viewer possesses the deadly knowledge that the subject of the image will not know.
(Link via Riley Dog via jimhart3000)
In other news, I’m hoping Jennifer Capriati once again wipes that snotty look off of Martina Hingis’ face.
I’ve been enjoying InstaPundit’s ongoing following of the plagiarism and lying on the part of popular historians. I’m no history buff, so I’m not into reading the likes of Ambrose and Kearns Goodwin, but that doesn’t mean I’m not offended by the not-so-tidy manipulation by these so-called scholars. They are just as accountable for their work as anybody else.
In personal news, my neck hurts this morning. I’m not sure if it’s because I slept funny or if (as I suspect is the case) it’s because when I got home from rehearsal last night I was so excited that Fosse was on television that I had to watch it right away (even though it was 11 pm and I taped it and can now watch it whenever I want) and emulate “Steam Heat” and “Sing, Sing, Sing”.
Missy | January 23, 2002
Mp3 downloading capabilities are once AGAIN blocked here at work. Fuckers. (I apologize for my use of profanity lately. Generally, I try to avoid it on this site.)
Missy | January 22, 2002
I can download mp3s at work again. I don’t know what the heck is up with our “security”. It’s so inconsistent.
Missy | January 22, 2002
Hi dudes. Long weekend, eh? I spent mine at a happy hour, at a three hour movie, at two rehearsals, watching some television, and even doing a little running.
Saw The Fellowship of the Ring, finally. I was quite enthralled by it. I’ve got a few minor quibbles with characters and their roles in the grand scheme of things, but then I never read the book so…. Anyway, I didn’t look at my watch once until after the 2 hour mark, but at about the 2:20 point I was thinking, “okay guys let’s wrap it up”. Great flick.
The Golden Globes. What the hell? With the exception of Russell Crowe (and this given the fact that there wasn’t too much competition this year with male leads), I thought A Beautiful Mind was overly praised. Aside from the story itself, which I imagine was better told in the biography, the movie did nothing noteworthy. Gah. The television awards were a shocker, too. The Sopranos gets shut out, and people like Kiefer Sutherland and Jennifer Garner (I loved her acceptance speech) win. And Six Feet Under. I can’t say I was displeased, but I was certainly surprised. Still, for an organization (the Hollywood Foreign Press, that is) willing to take the risks it does, I’m still pissed that Buffy is ignored.
Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I wrote some long-winded diatribe last year so I’ll save my breath this time around.
From Medley and La Di Da: how to appear smarter than you really are. Although this is amusing, it holds a great deal of truth. Step 1 has always been easy for me thanks to shyness (unless I’m drunk; then I occasionally border on logorrhea), and in my adulthood I’ve learned how crucial step 2 is. I have a feeling people think I’m a hell of a lot smarter than I really am. And I grew up reading a lot so I can throw in big words every now and then. I’m a good faker.
