ampersand

If there's one thing I know, it's book learnin'

Books are hopefully going to come to my aid once again, this time as I stand in stunned silence, mind racing (even more than usual), trying to get out of my head and produce an improv scene. It doesn’t sound possible, does it? But I’m gonna try it!

Two of the three improv books I asked the internet for have arrived. They both look pretty short, so I might even be able to read one before my next class. We’ll see if that happens, or if my nagging desire to have my physiological needs (you know, sleep, peeing, etc) met wins out.

This week’s class kicked my ass. Which was pre-determined the instant I started hoping for an easy class. It really felt like that scene in Garden State where Zach Braff and Natalie Portman are running around trying to avoid the flaming arrow that the rich dude has shot into the air. Except that we did it for three hours. Don’t think I got burned, but it was pretty touch and go there for a while. Read more…

Rewatch Redux: Charlie Wilson's War

Movies are more than just a story slapped onto celluloid. To me, if you love a movie — even if you hate it — that experience becomes part of the tapestry of who you are, affecting the way you think about and do things. So, when a movie that feels like it should be a perfect fit for me turns out not to be such a great fit, I often feel obligated to give it another chance. Sometimes that second chance is influenced by a new person in my life, by the constant urging of existing friends, the Internets, or a beloved publication. This paragraph probably tells you a lot more about me than you ever really needed to know. Like how susceptible I am to guilt and endless badgering. Read more…

Weekly Nerd Roundup #1

In an attempt to blog more frequently, I’ve decided to try and keep track of the nerdy things I do each week. Here’s what I can think of from this week:

Signed up for an OpenID

Got a StumbleUpon account

Consolidated Facebook with this blog, my digg, flickr, stumbleupon, delicious and last.fm. It was already linked to my Twitter account

Found at least three things on google that the other people around me could not find.

Wrote more than four to do lists, broken down by location.

Hm. All in all, not too nerdy a week. We’ll see what happens next!

Up next on "Really? with Seth and Amy"

I know it’s a ladies’ locker room and everything, but come on. Really? REALLY?!

Not so fast there, sparky.

So, I’m watching “Hairspray” for approximately the 684th time. The musical version. Shut up, James Marsden is cute. And the songs kind of get into your head. It is in absolutely no way anywhere near as good as the original. In fact, I barely even associate the two in my head. But that’s not why I started writing this.

When the movie was released, people kept talking about how this film is about accepting yourself no matter what your size is, what you look like, what color you are, yada yada, different is good. Which it is. But, the movie/musical are also full of all these backhanded compliments to Tracy (and Edna – but the less we say about Travolta, the better). Read more…

Flying by the seat of my pants: An actual update

I went through some older posts and discovered that I had mentioned something in passing that has since taken control of a good chunk of my life. That, my friends, is improv.

Truthfully, I signed up for this improv 101 class last year. But, with the hellacious beginning to 2008 that I had (combining migraines, sick days and extra long hours at work), it quickly fell by the wayside. Cut to October, when I finally got around to seeing an improv show and was told to come back to the fold. So, I whipped out the Visa and signed up once more. This time around, I’m actually going. The buddy system (and the fact that the class is during the week and doesn’t eat up any of my precious weekend lazy ass time) has helped, and we just passed the halfway point. Read more…

You give my old mint julep a kick, Meme

Here are eleven things you probably didn’t know about me.

1. Clothes Shop: It used to be the Gap. Then they started selling ugly clothes. So I moved onto Banana Republic. Then they stopped making clothes that fit me. I’ve had more luck at Old Navy lately — they appear to have stopped making as many ugly clothes, and are making cuter stuff that works for my body type.

2. Furniture Shop: IKEA. Most of my apartment is from the Swedish uber-retailer. And I’m pretty OK with that.

3. Sweet: Tough call. Chocolate covered almonds are good. And I make mean cupcakes.

4. City: New York City. A part of my soul is always there.

5. Drink: non-alcoholic – water. I’m a purist. alcoholic – whiskey in almost any form.

6. Music: The Beatles are always classic. I also love Rilo Kiley a lot. And Bruce Springsteen.

7. TV Series: Right now, How I Met Your Mother. Watch it, you’ll love it. I also love 30 Rock and The Office. On the ‘all-time’ list, Roseanne. Sex and the City. Sports Night. I’m really on a comedy kick right now, for obvious reasons. Wait, have I discussed the obvious reasons on this blog yet? Probably not. Look for that to come. Must be a better blogger.

8. Film: No way to whittle the list to one: The Godfather, Good Will Hunting, and the Sound of Music are my top three.

9. Workout: Nothing. I hate working out. No patience for classes, cardio or yoga. Except maybe swimming. When I do go to the gym (at least once a week), I do a quick resistance training circuit. And I walk a lot. Having no car in a big city does that.

10. Pastries: BUTTER TARTS. Bonus points for pecans. I LOVE pecans.

11. Coffee: Dean & Deluca’s Charlotte Blend. I love it and crave it (it has pecan flavor!). But like Jerry Seinfeld, I get my coffee on the outside so, there isn’t much chance for me to ever have this beautiful, perfect coffee again.

the weather outside is frightful

As I type this, the first snow of the season is falling. Because I don’t have any plans tonight, I’m quite happy to sit in the warmth of my apartment, bundled up with some tea and watch it fall. I love sitting inside a warm, dark house (maybe with candles burning), looking out on a city whose volume and bustle have been baffled by a gentle blanket of snow. It makes me (even more) contemplative and thoughtful.

I like that when it snows, it doesn’t get completely dark outside. That kind of pinkish night sky, coupled with the yellow incandescent light of street lights, it makes me want to bundle up and go out for a walk, all huddled up with someone special.

This is the part of winter I love, reminiscing about winters past, romanticising all the possibilities of winter, and pretending that the trudging through snow and getting sweaty and gross, then piling onto a packed subway car doesn’t exist.

I might even break out Christmas music tonight. And candles. Now where is my big comfy sweater?

I don't always agree with Olbermann, but…

This video totally moves me. In a world where people go on TV game shows to find a spouse, the whole “sanctity of marriage” argument is ridiculous. And the government has no place in the bedrooms of its constituents.

Thanks for the heads up on this link, Val.

Best. Costume. Ever.

It takes some pretty cool parents to dress your kid up as a punk on his first Halloween. And the pilot costume rocks too. But hands down, perhaps my favorite costume of this entire decade, is this, Bob Ross. BRILLIANT.