Upcoming Events, Aug 2007

So, August has nearly arrived. It will probably not contain any trips to rival July, though I am entertaining ideas for Labor Day weekend.

Before really launching into the list, I'd like to mention that before This Is England today at the IFC Center they showed a ridiculously great trailer for The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. It's such a comedy goldmine that I have to wonder if there's anything left over for the film.

They also showed a trailer for The New Talkies (Aug 22- Sep 4), featuring some lively song by Guided by Voices (great t-shirt) that I didn't recognize because I don't listen to enough Guided by Voices.

MoMA's showing an unbelievable list of great stuff: two by Godard (Masculin/Feminin and Two or Three Things...), Mafioso, Billy Liar, Godzilla, Diary of a Chambermaid, Ruggles of Red Gap, Claude Chabrol's latest, The Necklace, and a interesting program called Automatic Update, from which I saw David Cronenberg's Crash on Saturday.

MoMI is also operating in high gear with a series of stuff from the 70's: Alan Arkin's Little Murders, Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid, Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, and Klute, among other things.

Anthology is hosting a Pedro Costa retrospective and screening The Bad and the Beautiful as well as The Beaver Trilogy. BAM's got a Hong Kong series and part of the New York Korean Film Festival. Hopefully I'll remember to go to a normal multiplex to see at least the Simpsons movie, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Stardust.

Playing music outdoors: Ted Leo/The Thermals, Glass Candy, Escort, The National, Camera Obscura, Battles, and The Hold Steady. Daft Punk & The Rapture are playing Coney Island the same night The Hold Steady play Prospect Park, but that already sold out so it's a pretty easy call. Oh, and Charles was on top of his game enough to get us tickets to LCD Soundsystem w/ The Arcade Fire in October, which should be pretty much the no-contest show of the year.

Cascadia '07, Pt. 2

Saturday morning I made a somewhat feeble attempt at breakfast, packed up my things (except my Keep It Rural hat, which is hopefully not lost forever) and took the bus down to the Amtrak Station. I attempted to enter Union Station before realizing that King Street Station was actually the site for Amtrak arrivals and departures.

We left and arrived a little late, and my knees were inches from the guy facing me, but the train itself seemed pretty nice. The dining car definitely surpassed what I'd seen on my trip to New England, and I liked the displays on the video monitors showing the route map, nearby stops, and estimated time of arrival. There were also nice views of the sound down past Tacoma, though it was too cloudy over the weekend to see any of the taller mountains nearby. Soundtrack: Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures ("Disorder" blew me away) and Michael Meyer's Immer.

After retrieving my bag I walked the dozen or so blocks to the Northwest Portland Hostel. Upon checking in I received a map of Portland with several points of interest made clear to me. It was disappointing that I didn't really have time to visit them, but I'll just keep it with me for when I return.

I wandered around the block a time or two until Max picked me up for the pre-wedding open house (shower?) in Beaverton, featuring Fat Tire and Mirror Pond. At first Anna and I attempted to steer clear of the crowd (mostly Max's relatives) by waiting in the living room for some of our contemporaries to show up, which they eventually did. I recall eating a number of items from the vegetable tray, a slice of meat or two, and several handfuls of the monogrammed M&M's.

Afterwards we wended our way to a nearby Ruby Tuesday's, where we ate and drank and bestowed humble gifts of our own manufacture upon the congenial and receptive bride- and groom-to-be. As Adam and I discovered while perusing the menu, Ruby Tuesday's really likes meat. There were at least a couple of vegetarian appetizers to be found, though, and I don't believe any of the drinks utilized animal flesh. Adam attempted to photograph someone through or around my rather forbidding tall mug of Black Butte porter (the black is to be emphasized), though I've not yet glimpsed the results. Amazingly, no one jumped into the pond next to the parking lot.

Next morning I breakfasted at the coffeeshop next door to the hostel, which was pretty good, and they get bonus points for playing My Morning Jacket. While there I read a few items in the Bike Issue of the Portland Mercury, including one enlightening article about the history of cycling as a form of transportation in the city.

I had kind of a disastrous time trying to find the Downtown Value Inn, southeast of downtown very near the river. I'd gotten the address mixed up in my mind, and, after exiting the streetcar, wound up walking much farther than I'd anticipated, retracing my route and eventually agreeing with Max that I ought to simply wait at the Waterfront Park for the wedding-bound van to swing by. We made our way through Forest Grove, past North America's only licensed sakery, to Elk Cove Vineyards, where they produce some rather good wine. The wedding took place in what I guess would be the nominal cove, where there was a gazebo and sufficient seating space. After doing our small part in setting up the chairs, those of us who'd ridden out early bided our time until the wedding started.

The strains of the Polyphonic Spree filtered up to the deck outside the banquet room about half an hour before start time. Max said Islands and other bands were included, though the next thing I remember is the Decemberists playing "Sons and Daughters" from The Crane Wife for the processional.* (I'll link to pictures eventually. I didn't really take any as so many other people were doing so.) Afterward Wilco played "I Got You (At the End of the Century)" as the recessional and Viva Voce followed up with the postlude, "Alive with Pleasure." The ceremony itself only lasted 15-20 minutes.

The attire was tasteful and appropriate--wine-colored dresses for the bridesmaids. The gentleman wore "morning dress" including tails for their coats, but no top hats. Summer declared her the train of her dress to be somewhat compromised by walking up and down the stairs to get to the gazebo.

The reception got going pretty quickly thereafter. The food, drink, and toasts were all up to snuff, and after the cake there was dancing and even some karaoke, at Max's request I believe, although thankfully they did not have the song he wanted. I won't embarrass him by listing it here, although he is free to do so himself in the comments if he chooses.

A large number of us reconvened in the basement bar of the Grand Lodge. Summer held out for an admirable length of time, but eventually Max was obliged no either nudge her awake and carry her out the door, I can't recall which. Neal, Taylor, Adam, and I did our best but also retired before closing time, I believe. Marc even showed up, giving himself a bit of time before driving back home. Firefly Kölsch and Hammerhead Ale were involved; I preferred the kölsch .

Shuttled back to the airport, I commenced the wait for my delayed flight. Having neglected to charge my iPod earlier, I listened or watched the two in-flight movies, though I dozed quite a bit through the second.

After waiting quite some time at baggage claim, I caught the shuttle back Bryant Park and a 4 train home to arrive at exactly 1 am.

*The groom replies: "'Sons & Daughters' immediately preceded the processional, which was, instead, an edited version of 'Pitter Patter Goes My Heart' by Broken Social Scene."

23rd Five Films, 2007

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Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007] at the Ziegfeld. I thought the theater was great, but was slightly disappointed by the movie. Disappointed only because of expectations that were perhaps too high. If I watched it again, regarding it in the same light as, say, Finding Nemo, it would probably be more satisfying.
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Seraphim Falls (David Von Ancken) at home on DVD. I liked the initial chase sequence all right, but can't say that I enjoyed the rest all that much. It kind of feels like an idea for a movie that went into production without being fleshed out into a real, live screenplay.
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Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman) at MoMA. I think there were a few delightful moments here and there. The subtitles were kind of sparse, leaving a few scenes slightly misunderstood. Not my favorite romantic jealousy comedy.
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Once (John Carney) at the Landmark Sunshine theater. It's a musical, but since the performance of the songs is actually integral to the story, and not a collection of strange, non-diegetic set pieces, it doesn't feel quite like a musical. The songs are nice, and fit well with the characters, but they could just as easily be in a really dumb movie. It's probably the performances of the two lead actors, and the setting in Dublin (with a trip to the coast), that make the movie so good.
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Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Alfred Hitchcock) at MoMA. I thoroughly enjoyed both Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard, but I think either the writing or directing was not quite up to the highest screwball standards.
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22nd Five Films, 2007

This is kind of awkward, as I saw some of these almost a month ago, but that's July for you.

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Traces of Love (Kim Dae-sung) at the IFC for the New York Asian Film Festival. A young, likable lawyer loses his fiance when a building collapses downtown. He feels responsible because he'd told her to wait for him in a cafe there. He goes on a trip through a national park area to trace the route she'd planned for their honeymoon when he meets up with someone else doing the exact same thing (well, sort of). Wistfully melodramatic and very pleasing to look at.
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In Between Days (Kim So-Yong) at the IFC Center. This was my first ticket purchased as a member (w/ free popcorn!) and since it's been a busy month I haven't yet been back, but from the newly released calendar, I'm hoping to see This Is England, Helvetica, Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, Charles Burnett's My Brother's Wedding, and basically as much of their twelve-film mumblecore series, The New Talkies, as possible. Oh, and Traces of Love felt like a movie that somebody else would really enjoy, but for some reason I was not into it. It's a fairly intimate portrait of the trials and temptations an adolescent Korean immigrant girl who lives somewhere in New Jersey. +

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Cruel Winter Blues (Lee Jeong-beom) at at the IFC for the New York Asian Film Festival. It's about a gangster from Seoul and his inexperienced sidekick who travel to a small town in order to take revenge on a mob boss. Difficulties arise when the gangster makes friends with the mother of his arch-enemy. This is an awesome movie for all kinds of reasons. There are interesting, richly detailed male and female characters of all sorts of ages and backgrounds. The protagonist is at once both sympathetic and kind of disgustingly greedy and egotistical. Plot twists. The final death scene. The shopping scene. I don't know.
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Le Doulos (Jean-Pierre Melville) at Film Forum for a Stylus review.
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Knocked Up (Judd Apatow) at Loew's Lincoln Square. This place has kind of interesting decor in the large main hall connecting the individual theaters. I personally liked this better than The 40-Year-Old Virgin, though Brendan claimed a preference for the former as it had more memorable comic riffs. Stuart Klawans had a kind of obnoxious review in The Nation that I'm not going to link to, but I would agree that there is sort of a weird, fundamental difference between the conflicts faced by the male and female characters. That may be true, but it's still almost entirely hilarious.
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Cascadia '07, Pt. 1

Feel free to skim...

I started out from work on Wednesday afternoon, opting to take the Newark shuttle bus from 42nd Street @ Bryant Park, since that meant less walking than the AirTrain from Penn Station. It wasn't until the driver asked me what airline I'd be flying on that I realized I had no idea (Continental both ways, it turned out). We left about half an hour before the steam explosion just south of Grand Central. I'm sure that would have been rather jarring just before taking a plane out of greater New York City.

The first "Departures" screen I glanced at after arbitrarily exiting the bus at Terminal B didn't even list a flight to Seattle, which left me concerned with under 90 minutes to what I'd expected would be the departure time.

Turns out I didn't need to rush. After queuing for about 40 minutes to check my garment bag, I waded through security with my photo-less interim ID with no problem only to discover a delay; I think 9:50 was the initial revised estimate. Initially I envisioned sampling inexpensive items from all the eating establishments in the Terminal C food court, but for some reason decided not to and settled on chow mein followed by a visit to Dunkin Donuts. I still had plenty of time to get solidly into Jonathan Lethem's You Don't Love Me Yet before boarding--even with Dramamine, I avoid reading on the plane just to be sure.

After further delays and taxiing for eternity, I seem to recall taking off a little after midnight. The flight is a rather hazy memory, although I know I was definitely into the easy listening station during takeoff. It repeated the first three songs, which included Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, and a Motown number. After that I don't really know. I probably plugged in the iPod, but maybe not. I do recall getting very little to drink and eating the first of two of the airline's impossibly satisfying beef and swiss sandwiches. Kind of like a hamburger, but elliptical and notable for the weird consistency of the bun and the steamed nature of the whole thing.

We landed at 2:25 am. After checking out the bus lane (completely abandoned, but I did catch my first return whiff of light rain and evergreens) I decided my only option was probably a taxi. Expensive, but also a terrific relief to not have to think at all on my way to the MVS house arriving at 3:30.

Failing to drink any water before trying to zonk out on the couch, I received a cramp in my left calf when trying to stand up the next morning, but that subsided by mid-afternoon. I was surprised to catch four of the volunteers before noon, due to shifted or lapsed work schedules. Napping and puttering around (to the new Clientele album and a lot of KEXP after gingerly adjusting the aging hi-fi's controls to the precise position where everything works correctly) are basically all I accomplished before Holly and I caught the tail-end of Smith's happy hour (Fat Tire & sweet potato fries). We visited Value Village later, but for donations, not purchases.

Friday was rather more eventful. I worked out some details for the southern leg of my trip before heading downtown to Grist, where a champagne celebration was taking place in honor of the departing director of development. (He was at least partially responsible for this picture used during the early summer '06 fund drive. You can attempt to guess which one is me.) Following that came a pilgrimage to the Olympic Sculpture Park and Espresso Vivace, the former brand new and the latter outgoing due to construction of Seattle's Light Rail. I confirmed as well that Cal Anderson Park is still there. New townhouses have finally gone up at 14th & Olive, which was an ugly hole for most of my time on Capitol Hill. Other notable new buildings included the condo tower near the Central Library and the condos+retail near the 15th Avenue Safeway. There's now a hole in the ground where Thumper's used to sit, but that, too, will probably be rebuilt when I next return.

Holly and I attempted, half successfully, to gather provisions for the party; I had some issues with my identification. Oddly enough, we discovered a package of Brooklyn Lager and Pennant Ale (from a Park Slope address) just hours before the party was to begin. I guess it was someone who had recently visited. Also, there was Pike Kilt Lifter and, by request, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The usual suspects showed up, and we recounted old times and ritualistically bonded out on the deck. Other people played Dutch Blitz, but I enthusiastically abstained. Amanda and I finally closed out the festivities a bit before dawn, and I kind of slept for around four hours.

(Note: I just discovered that this picture of the Fremont Rocket is, for some, reason three times as heavily viewed as any other picture I've uploaded to Flickr. Do people look at rocket photos that frequently? Or is it the neighborhood?)

Lag Time

I was a bit surprised to get an email from Spun.com today (Subject: The product you want is now in stock), as I haven't exactly visited in a while.

"You recently visited Spun.com, and told us you were interested in being notified when we got the following products back in stock."

• Sweetheart of the Rodeo [Expanded Edition] - The Byrds
• Mock Tudor - Richard Thompson
• S/T - ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
• Chronicle, Vol. 1 - Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Millions Now Living Will Never Die - Tortoise
• Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
• Tim - The Replacements
• Stooges - The Stooges
• Red Thread - Arab Strap
• It's Hard to Find a Friend [Jade Tree] - Pedro the Lion

This might have been a useful notification... a month or two after I made the list in December 2003.

Transportations

I arrived home this evening about 1 am. Having not watched a movie for nearly two full weeks, I sort of saw Firehouse Dogs and The Last Mimzy on the plane. (UPDATE: And don't forget Are We Done Yet? on the train.)

Perhaps I will describe interesting bits of the trip in detail later, but for now I merely wanted to note that this was an massively multi-modal journey. To wit:

• Express bus (Manhattan-Newark)
• AirTrain
• Airplane (delayed, always delayed)
• Taxi
• Seattle bus
• Amtrak (Cascades)
• Walking
• Personal automobile
• Portland streetcar
• Airport shuttle
• NYC subway

Rock & Roll Mix

Runtime: 43:25
Size: 49.7 MB

Download

01 Dinosaur Jr "Just Like Heaven" 1987
02 The Cure "In Between Days" 1985
03 The Mary Onettes "Lost" 2007
04 Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart" 1980
05 Nick Lowe "Heart of the City" 1976
06 The Ramones "Do You Wanna Dance?" 1977
07 The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" 1981
08 The Ronettes "Be My Baby" 1963
09 The Crystals "Then He Kissed Me (3/4 Speed Edit)" 1963
10 Buddy Holly "Peggy Sue" 1958
11 The Sonics "Money" 1965
12 The Sonics "Good Golly Miss Molly" 1965
13 Little Richard "Tutti Frutti" 1955
14 Beach Boys "Surfin' USA" 1963
15 Sam Cooke "Another Saturday Night" 1963
16 Velvet Underground "Rock & Roll (dB Edit)" 1970

Mid-July Notes

Brian and Chepina will be arriving by train tomorrow. Apart from a Yankees game Monday night, I'm not sure what exactly is on the agenda. Well, probably a slice or two (or more) of pizza.

After that, assuming I can secure a photo ID (my birth certificate arrives tomorrow), I'll fly out to Seattle on Wednesday evening, where, if all goes well, I ought to arrive at the MVS house about 1 am by some formula involving the bus and perhaps a taxi. If I manage to pack light enough I may just stroll up from downtown as Pike and Pine should be lively at that time. There will be a party on Friday night.

Saturday I'll take the train to Portland, head to Beaverton for a gathering at Summer's house, and stay at the NW Portland hostel. Sunday will be Max & Summer's wedding at the winery. Monday I'll return to New York, hopefully in decent enough time so that I can stay awake at work the next day.

I'm kind of worried that I'll forget something important along the way. Regardless, it should be a fairly packed (and outstanding) week and a half. I don't think I've ever seen so many different friends in such a short period of time.

In other news, after seeing nine movies in theaters in a week, my urge to go out has snapped, so I've turned to season 1 of How I Met Your Mother, which is as great as I'd hoped. I've never really seen it regularly on CBS, but what I did catch I really liked. Apart from Neil Patrick Harris's Barney, one of the most brilliant roles ever featured on a sitcom, almost everyone on the show feels like someone I went to college with or have met since. The writers have a terrific ear for twentysomething dialogue that sounds lifelike (unusual for sitcoms in my experience) but sharp and witty (it's not exactly mumblecore) and a knack for slipping in cultural signifiers pretty inconspicuously, except for the Belle & Sebastian product placement which was overdone and clumsy, though not unappreciated. They also drink more regularly than I think I've ever seen on television. That is to say, it seems like the consumption of alcohol is more broadly and intelligently planned than on most shows, where it's good for drunken escapades roughly once a season or so.

In addition to NPH, Jason Segel is really solid. He was perhaps my favorite male on Freaks & Geeks (though Seth Rogen is tough competition), at least when he wasn't totally stoned, and also has some great one-liners in Knocked Up, if you've unwisely avoided seeing that so far. (Sample, outside the delivery room: "I mean, gynecology is just a hobby of mine, but...") That reminds me that I saw an article in Variety about how Judd Apatow has something like five movies slated for release in 2008. I can't find the exact thing online, but this blurb about Year One lists a bunch of projects at the end.

Ableton: Gain Level

I just figured out how to (ab)use the gain level in Ableton. Basically, if you want make loud, raucous music sound far more loud and raucous, just turn this all the way up, simulating the distortion of an overdriven piece of sound equipment. This is pretty much the awesome button for the climax of a rock mix.

It's kind of like turning your amp up to 11.

Odds & Ends

When they call my parents always ask if I've been anywhere new lately, and it seems that I've been to a greater number of new places than usual recently. It took me a while, but I was very pleased to finally happen upon Bethesda Fountain at the southern tip of The Lake in Central Park.

I saw Ratatouille last Wednesday and made a point of doing so in the Ziegfeld Theater, a rather majestic and plushly carpeted cinema that seats 1200.

The dumplings in Chinatown are cheap and tasty. They're also more or less in the same area of Manhattan as South Street Seaport, so I picked some up last week (10 boiled dumplings and 4 pork buns for $3) before Fujiya & Miyagi.

Killing time between screenings at the IFC Center, I've gone to Washington Square in the past, but I recently wandered through the West Village over to Hudson River Park, which has a lot of nice waterfront facing New Jersey.

Finding myself on the Lower East Side after Once at the Landmark Sunshine, I stopped by Teany (hard to find a good picture, but this captures the aesthetic and was, in fact, exactly where I sat), which I'd always wanted to visit from back when I regularly read Moby's blog, maybe sophomore year in college. The iced Earl Grey was good, but the gazpacho with avocado and mango chunks was probably even better.

Tomorrow I get to visit the most exciting new place of them all: the DMV!

Summer Music Report, Pt. 2

It's been awhile since part one. I recall thinking that it was pretty fantastic to hear Television play "Marquee Moon" at their last show, for whatever that's worth. Also, there was some guy in attendance, a promoter or at least a very enthusiastic booster, who claimed responsibility for the rise of the jam band scene. He also lamented the fact that Richard Hell had failed to turn up for a last-minute reunion. You have to be a pretty old-school scenester to even make that remark, as Hell left Television in 1975, two years before they released their debut LP.

Panda Bear at the Bowery Ballroom was pretty good. It was more of a live PA than a rock show, but that wasn't unexpected. "Bros" was probably the highlight. He may have had some amazing encore, but I wouldn't know as I left a bit early, it being a Monday night and all. Animal Collective is definitely preferable in a live setting.

Tonight was Black Moth Super Rainbow and Fujiya & Miyagi. I'd read a bit about the first band, but I'm definitely going to investigate further now. Boards of Canada-style synths with a live bass player and large dose of hippie. Fujiya & Miyagi sounded good, but don't seem to have much of a stage presence. It's a shame, because with their sound (lots of 4/4 bass thump, not heavily melodic or verse/chorus driven) they could really loosen up on stage and play forever. They probably played about 45 minutes, but it seemed like most any of their songs could stretch out to 20-30 minutes with a bit of creative improvisation. They could also stand to mix the material together rather than taking between-song breaks, as they use a synthesizer for rhythm rather than a drummer. But it was free and it was outside, so really it was pretty great anyway.

The Great Satan's Birthday

For once, our street is wholly justified in being noisy after midnight, though it's not even really that bad.

Other than watching fireworks, I think I really only have two memories from Independence Days past that stand out in my mind. The first would be at Crack House in 2003 when someone decided to load up this Puzz-3D castle they'd put together (maybe Jake Weston?) with Roman candles and sparklers and a few other odds and ends. I think it left a large plastic glob melted into the driveway, but it looked great while it lasted.

Number two would be last year when we were standing on the roof on Capitol Hill trying to watch fireworks over Lake Union as well as some from I think the Space Needle and somewhere out on the peninsula across Puget Sound as well. I was barefoot and, hearing a rustling in the tree next to the house, I thought there were squirrels running from branch to branch, but in fact they were a couple of rats looking to access the roof, which they did, about six inches from my toes.

I'm not expecting to add to the list this year, but we'll see.

Mixed Results

Last night may have been about the lamest Saturday night of all time. Attempting to hear Prins Thomas spin at the Beach Party at Water Taxi Beach (did you know he's remixed not only Bebel Gilberto, as mentioned below, but Stephen Malkmus as well?), I left the apartment at 9:00, boarded the B43 bus at 9:20, got off in Greenpoint (a few stops too soon) around ten, crossed the Pulaski Bridge, and probably got in line about 10:20. At 10:40 I reached the front of the line, and stood just to the side for about five minutes looking for my driver's license which I'd apparently misplaced for the first time in the ten years since I got my first Iowa permit.* At this point I left and boarded the 7 train into Manhattan, getting off earlier than planned as there was a shouting match in my car; for the record, it was between a group of annoyed pre-adolescent black girls and some loud drunks who didn't seem to know any English--Russian, perhaps?. I then took the 4 at Grand Central, the Q at 14th St, and the 4, again, at Atlantic Ave, getting off at Franklin Ave and walking home in a roundabout fashion so as to bypass the kids shooting off firecrackers on the sidewalk, finally arriving back at my door at 12:15. And then Saturday Night Live turned out to be a rerun of one of the two episodes I saw from last season.

Today was a bit better, I suppose, as I saw two great movies (Cruel Winter Blues and Traces of Love) at the IFC Center, and another that probably has a lot of merit (In Between Days), but I couldn't get into it. The Asian Film Festival has been handing out prizes before all their screenings, and today I finally won one, a DVD of Peppermint Candy. I also somewhat impulsively bought a membership, but I calculated that if they keep programming stuff as good as they've had in the first half of 2006, I'll probably at least break even on the deal. At worst some will wind up as a donation to the most enjoyable cinema in the city.

*Hopefully this happened at the Bowery Ballroom when I went to see Panda Bear a couple weeks back. Otherwise I have no idea what happened and will need to get a new one.