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Friday we went to CAPA‘s variety show event at The Five Points. The best performers were the filipino alternative band Striving in Greater Hopes (SiGH) and comedian Eliot Chang.
Food menu:
Silk Road Cafe/The Five Points (satay, small sandwiches, soybeans)
N.Y. Noodletown (dry wonton mein with veggies, Singapore mei fun)
Other people’s videos here:
Misnomer(s) – Korean MC and her violin playing sister
SiGH – cover of Cranberries’ Zombie:
Get this video and more at MySpace.com
Friday night: poked around Borders on Wall St.
While there, I skimmed a bit of the book “The Man Who Saved Britain” – a non-fiction work by Simon Winder, about how James Bond fit in the context of British history, but that the movies more or less dumbed down Bond’s value. A sociological view of Bond, if you will. The NY Times Book review of the book, by Isaac Chotiner makes the point:
When Winder turns his attention to the books and films themselves, his analysis is less deft. He is flat-out wrong to say Bond doesn’t change as the novels progress. Fleming’s hero becomes increasingly more depressed and exhausted by his job, and there is a melancholy air to some of the later adventures. Winder’s harsh judgment of the cinematic 007 is sometimes accurate (he rightfully flags a noticeable decline in quality in the early ’70s) but often misguided (the smooth appeal of “The Spy Who Loved Me” somehow eludes him). Bond fans can (and do) debate these particulars endlessly, but it would have been useful to get more insight into what now seems the most relevant question regarding Bond: why do millions of people, many of whose homelands were once British colonies, still love to watch a British spy save the world?
Saturday: Xmas shopping in NJ ain’t what it used to be – at least, not when I prefer the Day-After Xmas sales or just buying store gift cards these days.
On the ride home from NJ was seeing the weird lights along Route 1, in view of the Pulaski skyway: “It Is Green Thinks Nature Even” – in big red lights. Now, my siblings and I were like “Huh?” Weird. I was convinced that the sign was actually the other way around “Even Nature Thinks Green is it.” Which would kind of makes sense. The magic of Google provides an explanation: it’s the work of a conceptual artist. Sponsored by some environmental group, the full text is “It is Green Thinks Nature Even in the Dark.” “in the Dark” was apparently on the side of a building located on the perpendicular, which you can’t see unless you’ve an aerial view or on the Pulaski Skyway. The group’s website has photos and an explanation for the text, the brainchild of artist Mary Ellen Carroll. Curiously interesting. Although just saying “Even Nature Thinks Green is it” still seems fine to me.
Last Thursday night – the bunch of us went to Max Brenner, between 13th and 14th Street on B’way in Manhattan – best known for chocolate. Mmm, chocolate. The food was pretty good – I had the three cheese sandwich as an entre – delicious and portions were good – leaving enough room in that special section of the stomach for dessert. Had the cheesecake – which came with Max Brenner’s little beaker of chocolate syrup – mmm. Prices were okay too. Thumbs up! Would love to go again.
Saturday – went to Brooklyn Museum for First Saturday freebie day/day to attract all the young to dance at the Museum and eat food while listening to concerts and lectures. Well, personally, got to enjoy more of the museum. The “Looking Back from Ground Zero” exhibit was moving – capturing what it was like before World Trade Center and after World Trade Center. Strangely, though, I miss the items of what it was like when there was the WTC. Especially found the Brooklyn Museum’s Luce Center and the Visible Storage exhibit really interesting – walking through the area to glimpse at how the museum keeps the stuff it has rarely shown – eerie and exciting and just seeing more amazing stuff.
Sunday – saw the movie “The Prestige” – Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians in the late 19th Century/early 20th century. Kind of had the hint of Batman vs. Wolverine (or at least their dramatic alter egos anyway) having a go at each other. Interesting themes, and entertaining, but kind of disturbing too. (well, it is Christian Bale – I haven’t seen all his movies, but I get the feeling that he’s a guy who likes his work to have something disturbing). What does it mean to be obsessed; what is love; what is the power of hate; and do you really know who you really are? Plus Michael Caine (who’s always a nice watch) and David Bowie (yeah, that was a bit of a surprise there). A grade of B. A good watch, odd plot, but not bad altogether.
Plus: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors 2006 – well, odd. Funny? Eh, it was okay. The last skit, wherein the town of Springfield went a little batty over Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds but couldn’t defeat aliens Kang and Kodos’ invasion… let’s just say Kang and Kodos have their comeuppance when they realize their attempt at liberating Earth and failing to be welcomed with open arms are just a little too reminiscent of, say, real life issues. Is is significant that this comes just before Election Day? Hmm…
