Sunday, October 28, 2018

A Star Is Born...A Bath Is Needed

I saw the latest version of A Star is Born yesterday starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and really enjoyed it. The film was a little too long, but the performances were great. The main crux of the film, in my opinion, was how Gaga's character dealt with loving an alcoholic. She knew from the jump that he was an alcoholic, yet she hung with him because she loved him and he was the one who helped her become a success. Would she have excelled as a songwriter and performer if he hadn't taken her under his wing? Maybe, but I doubt it. I've been reading critical observations about the film and one thing I read discussed how she needed emotional support also when she was spending so much of her time and herself being there for him and that's true. Where was her shoulder to cry on? She did have a supportive father (an unrecognizable Andrew Dice Clay) and their relationship was nice to see, but she was largely left to her own devices to try and navigate a career and an alcoholic spouse. The helpers need help too, people!

Aside from my notes above, I left the film with a few observations:

1. Lady Gaga looks so much better to me when she's not dolled up as Lady Gaga.
2. "Always Remember Us This Way" is a great song.
3. Bradley Cooper's Eddie Vedder imitation only went so far with me. Don't give up your day job, dude.
4. Why did Bradley Cooper look like he needed a bath in every shot of the movie? There's a scene when he's actually IN a bathtub in the movie and he STILL looked like he needed a scrub down. Seriously, he looked consistently greasy, sweaty, and nasty. I know he was supposed to be an alcoholic and pill addict but he never could seem to clean up. Even in rehab when he was free of substances, he still didn't look sufficiently clean.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Surprised? Not Really.

Was anyone truly surprised when a Florida man (aka the MAGA bomber) was arrested yesterday? When I read about the guy and saw pictures of him and his "decorative" van online, I wasn't surprised at all. He fit the profile and, given his crude construction and amateur letter-mailing skills, I knew it was just a matter of time before the cops got him. This was no sophisticated operation. I also wasn't surprised that he has a criminal record or that he'd worked on various strip clubs or that he sometimes lived in his van or that he was from Florida. The whole #Floridaman thing is no joke! I hadn't heard about the analogy until it was mentioned on an episode of Atlanta.

In other not-surprising news, Megyn Kelly is out of a job. While I have absolutely no sympathy for her, I also don't have any for NBC. They hired her knowing what she was like and now they'll have to pay millions of dollars just to get her out. They get what they deserve. Seriously, you hire someone who has, in the past, proudly displayed racist tendencies and then, when she says something racist on TV, you act surprised? Please. Once again, there are no winners here. The amount of money that TV people like Kelly are paid is ridiculous. These folks are given millions of dollars to basically read from a teleprompter. What a waste of money.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Playing Nice

I attended an alumni thing over the weekend for my graduate school university and the woman who arranged the gathering asked me about a professor I'd had in graduate school. I think she was expecting me to sing this woman's praises, but instead she got my unvarnished opinion of the woman. This professor, I thought, was nuts. She'd come to class and complain about her neighbors, their dogs, their wind chimes, how she thought they were in Mafia, how they were stalking her, etc. Now I don't know if any of the stuff she said was true but, considering the fact that (A) she was/is nuts and (B) she was/is a fiction writer, I tended to believe she was bullshitting about most of the stuff she said. It's a sad thing to be held captive by a crazy professor. You can't just get up and leave when the craziness starts. Well, I guess you can, but your grade will surely suffer. Back then, I just took it because I needed to get through the classes and graduate. I played nice, kept calm and carried on. Now, at my age, I'd probably be more tempted to speak up and say something like, "I'm not paying tuition to hear this shit! Tell it to your therapist!"

Sunday, October 14, 2018

The Lifespan of a Fact

I had a brief trip (as they usually are) to New York for my day job last week and had the chance to see the play The Lifespan of a Fact at Studio 54 Thursday night. The play was really great and the three actors (Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, and Daniel Radcliffe) were all great in it. The play is about an intern (Radcliffe) hired to fact check an article written by Cannavale and Jones is the publisher who puts the two men together. It's a fascinating look at how poetic license in non-fiction writing is becoming extinct. You can't say "On the night of September 9, 2018, a light rain was falling over Montgomery, Alabama" if that wasn't really the case. With the Internet now, anyone can fact check you and find out if skies were indeed clear the night of September 8, 2018, in Montgomery, Alabama. Then, suddenly, everything else written comes into question. I went to the play mainly to see Bobby Cannavale. He's a great actor and terribly underrated (in my opinion). I suspect most people came out to see the Harry Potter wizard boy (I know he's a grown man now) and he was great also, but I hope Cannavale and Jones get their props too. If you're in NYC during this run, try to check out the play. It's very good and I'm glad I got the chance to see it.


Monday, October 8, 2018

DIY

I'm not a "do it yourself" person mainly because I'm not particularly handy. But, after being in desperate need of a little side table and a new desk, I went to Ikea over the weekend and bought both items and embarked on two DIY projects. The little table I'm using as a desk didn't require more than screwing the legs on, but the little side table took considerably more time and instruction. However, in the end, I put that sucker together and it seems to be holding up fine. I hope it doesn't collapse in a few days. The next time I get some furniture, no matter how small the piece, I'm buying it already assembled.


Thursday, October 4, 2018

The Move Is Over!

I've spent most of this week moving and, finally, the move is over. I bought a small place (small being the operative word) and now, after months of stress and a lot of money, I'm a homeowner (well, a co-op owner). My advice to anyone considering buying a co-op? Don't! Too much paperwork, too much bullshit. However, if you're willing to put up with all of that, go for it. I did but I'd be hesitant to do it again. I think I'd go condo if given the choice.

In other news, I read at The Red Cat restaurant in New York is closing. I went to The Red Cat a few years ago with friends and really enjoyed it. I'm sorry to see that it's closing, but changes come for all of us and I read the owner was just ready to move on with something else in his life. I understand.