Friends In High Places

Oops, an accidental 3 month hiatus. Summer happens :)

So a quick one to give props to three brilliant works:

My friend Carlene Bauer wrote a memoir called Not That Kind Of Girl. She's brilliant and witty in person, and a good writer, so although I haven't read the book yet, I am recommending it already. Here's what Elle had to say about it. And here's the official page from HarperCollins. Or just go to a bookstore on Tuesday or click over to Amazon.

Monday July 27 she's reading at Corner Bookstore (Madison-92nd) at 6 pm. I'll be there. And freeloaders can just seek out the free wine and cheese afterwards.

If you miss that one, Carlene will also be at the Brooklyn Court Street Barnes & Noble on August 6 at 7 pm.


And while I'm praising friends, a shout out for Chris Kornmann who designed the amazing new Tori Amos cover.



Finally, I don't really count Kim Longinotto as a friend (hey, we had a friendly phone conversation once) but I HAVE to recommend that everyone check out her amazing documentary Hold Me Tight Let Me Go on POV on Tuesday night (check local listings). This film - about a school near Oxford for kids with behavioral problems - really blew me away when I saw it - mindblowing access to her subjects and a reminder that being a freelance writer is actually a pretty easy job compared to what these incredible teachers do every day. A must-DVR.

The Eclipse

After a whirlwind tour of London to try to see all my old pals in 3 days, I’m now in Cannes as the festival kicks off tonight. Screen’s office has moved to the Majestic this year for anyone looking for us! I’ll be working non-stop for Screen during the days but hoping to see old friends. And who knows, maybe even a film or two eventually.

Anyway, before Cannes kicks off I wanted to blog about the Tribeca highlight for me this year, Conor McPherson’s The Eclipse. I heard pre-fest from the programmers that this one was a key film to watch out for, and I interviewed McPherson a few weeks before TFF started and I could tell that he was very passionately proud of the film and hearing him describe the unusual tone of the piece had me further intrigued. So when I did see it, it proved to be a slow dramatic thriller punctuated by some genre (horror) elements. Some audience members hated those I guess, but for me they somehow drew one further into the depths of grief that this character was struggling with. Ciaran Hinds was fantastic. Days, even weeks later, this film has still stuck with me. Magnolia picked it up for the US so keep an eye out for the theatrical release.

Other highlights of Tribeca for me were Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience and Ianucci’s In The Loop. Overall, I thought it was a great year for TFF.

Not so Obscure

I meant to blog about the amazing Camera Obscura gig last month at Bell House in Brooklyn. It was the first time I’d been to Bell House, and was very impressed with the sound, the sightlines (important for a short gal) and the grown up, non-Williamsburg crowd. Yes, Gowanus isn’t the most convenient place but this venue is definitely worth a visit. They've got a great lineup.

I was in perfect company -- Neil was over from London and then we ran into the Bauer Sisters (the three of us share such a love of Scottish pop that we trekked to the Bowlie Weekender together and then stalked B&S around Glasgow in 1999).

I always thought of Camera Obscura as something of a downer band but the live show was less downer than expected. And the new album is half happiness, half heartbreak (just like real life?). Plus I have to mention that at the Brooklyn show they had some amazing screenprinted posters, customized with the date and venue, for free for the fans. What a nice idea.

Their new album My Maudlin Career is out this week and highlights of it so far include Swans and French Navy. Or check out If Looks Could Kill from the last album. Go stream some songs at MySpace.

And on a tangent, I’ll also mention that this summer Neil and I visited the world’s largest Camera Obscura in Aberystwyth, Wales. One of those faded-glory seaside attractions -- rundown in a lovely way that typifies British seaside towns. Worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood (not likely in most cases).

And while I’m finally blogging, just a quick word to recommend State Of Play -- a very sharp thriller. Someone start lobbying for Jason Bateman for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar (highly unlikely but he was a scene stealer even with other great cast).

Manhattans. in Brooklyns.

The old Siberia stalwarts gathered on Friday night for the opening of Tracy Westmoreland's new bar Manhattans (NYmag blogged about it here). It's in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn despite the name. Had a very red-light vibe full of interesting folks drinking heavily. So in that respect, it was like Siberia. I went with Andy and Eamon and caught up with old Siberians like Gurley, Christian, Carla and Jim. Did Fallon show up in the very wee hours?

Anyway, it was a great night out and funny to bartend for about 5 mins. I know Prospect Heights has gotten trendy since my old Vanderbilt Avenue days at the Hot Bird, but this bar might come in handy for locals or Tracy's many fans. Check it out - 769 Washington Ave.

Pics on Facebook.

Siberia Flashbacks

Siberia wasn't just a bar, it was a way of life (go buy my book to read the details) but I've probably been better behaved now that it's closed. I saw Tracy soon after I moved back and he told had some Brooklyn plans cooking. And it sounds like his new bar is taking shape. I am bracing myself for opening night.

"Moms Are Good"

So I’ve been taking a blog break for real life but I'm getting back to New York now. Today’s cheerfulness comes because I was able to return from North Carolina breathing a sigh of relief. My mom had unexpected open heart surgery about two weeks ago and she’s doing remarkably well. It seems icky blogging about family health issues but I’ll just say she’s well on the road to recovery, which is the best news possible. As one colleague of mine said when I told him to cover my work, “Moms are more important. Moms are good.” Amen to that.

In addition to being a tough lady, she’s also popular. It seemed like mom & dad’s house was filled with flowers, cards and several casseroles a day thanks to her golf buddies, gin rummy partners, neighbors, church friends, knitting partners, old friends from Winston Salem, Stitch & Bitch ladies, my aunts and cousins and so on and on and on and on. I’m endlessly amazed that Southern women seem to have never met an animal, vegetable or fruit that couldn’t be enhanced with the addition of some combination of Ritz crackers, butter, cheese and/or cream of chicken soup. Seriously -- someone brought a casserole comprised of pineapple, Ritz crackers, butter and cheese. I generally think that pineapple is amazingly delicious on its own -- foodie friends look away now -- yet this concoction actually tasted pretty good. So did the frozen tub of Cool Whip and cherry pie filling. Just re-reading that makes my insides hurt. Now I’m determined to eat nothing but miso soup for a few days.

Anyway, thanks to my friends and mom’s friends for all the well wishes. Mom if you’re reading this get off the computer and go rest and watch your Netflix DVDs!

The Fisher Landau Center For Art

Yesterday, Andy and Eamon and I took an impromptu driving tour of Queens, including such non-scenic vistas as Costco and the car wash in Long Island City. But the focal point of the trip was a visit to The Fisher Landau Center for Art, in LIC. I'd never even heard of it but it was a very cool space (a former parachute harness factory) with an impressive collection and a particularly impressive exhibit running through March 31, Imagination Noir, including works by Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe, and my personal favorites - prints by Gregory Crewdson.
There was also an entire floor of Jasper Johns work.

The place is worth a look if you are in Long Island City. Or even for a special trip because it's very close several subway lines.

We capped the evening off with some very good Indian food from Five Star, a favorite of both local cabbies and Saveur magazine.

Finding Lost

I've been obsessed by the TV show Lost since it started. I happened to be visiting a film festival (thank you Sergio and Chris at Cinema Paradise!) in Honolulu the night in September 2004 when the TV show premiered.

The festival was over (I think) and so I had taken a scenic driving tour around the island (gorgeous) that day and passed by where the most expensive TV pilot in history had been filmed. The local media was obsessed with how this show could create an Hawaiian boom. Getting caught up in the local hype myself, I made sure I was home at my hotel room -- eating a probably non-authentic Hawaiian pizza -- to catch the pilot. From then, I was hooked.

When I moved to England in early 2005 I had to wait for the series to start there but was soon back on track. The only hiccup was when Channel 4 lost the broadcast rights to Sky (boo!) and I had to buy DVD sets off eBay. I think that DVD set of Season 4 I watched almost in a single weekend it was so good (and it took my mind off a bad breakup).

So now for season five, living again back in the US of A, I've been glued to the set. I have to say this season hasn't blown me away completely -- of course things are confusing and I am about sick of the flashes of light/time travel blips. But last night's episode was probably the best hour of TV I've seen all year (sorry Don Draper) and proves that this smart, confounding, amazing show is worth sticking with. Here's one obsessive fan's analysis of what happened last night. I can't wait to see where the journey takes us next. The only thing that could make it better is if somehow Chuck Bass is revealed as the secret founder of the Dharma Initiative.

A Movie and A Singer

Two things to enthuse about today:

The first is a singer that I discovered at the Friday night music series at the American Folk Art Museum. Her name is Alexa Woodward and she's a banjo player/singer/songwriter. She has a new CD coming out soon and is hosting a CD release party on April 18 in NYC. See her website for details.

And the second recommendation is the documentary Dear Zachary. I had missed it over at Cinema Village but kept hearing great things, but then my friends at Oscilloscope are now releasing it on DVD later this week. Not sure what the release status is in the UK for my British friends but look into it.

Dear Zachary really is one of the strongest stories I've seen on film all year -- the filmmaker, Kurt Kuenne, attempts to pay tribute to the life of his murdered longtime friend Andrew Bagby. And then it turns out his murderer ex-girlfriend is having Bagby's baby. The film takes some expected twists and turns -- it will break your heart and maybe change your life. Simply amazing. I turned off the DVD player and immediately started thinking who I could lend it to first -- it feels like every one I know would be moved by this piece of work. Seek it out.

Cabin Fever

Thanks to Carrie (and Melissa's car), I found myself with a weekend away in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, at this great cabin owned by lifestyle guru Danny Seo. Some very cool decorating ideas. And if you’ve got a spare $350,000 you can buy the cabin for yourself.

Highlights of the weekend include NOT having a visit from Jason Voorhes on a scary Friday the 13th in the woods, the Golden Nugget flea market, seeing transvestites out for V-Day dinner in quaint Lambertville, and a visit with Carrie’s friends Tom and Kay who also have a house nearby. As cool as Tom and Kay are, their cats may be even cooler. Callie and Sam are Cornish Rex-es with a lot of personality. Such as jumping on Carrie’s back without warning or nesting in my sweater for an hour. While I was wearing it.

More pics over on Facebook.

Romance, Bed Stuy Style

This Valentine’s Eve seemed like the perfect time to share my favorite Bed Stuy storefront. I walk past this lingerie store every few days and the name never fails to make me laugh.

Just imagine the scene:
“I've got the perfect name! Let’s call it Panties In A Bag!”
“Yeah but don’t forget to add the word 'boutique' to give it a touch of class.”

Happy V-Day Everyone!

Tea Time in Tribeca

London's a tea city and New York's a coffee town, I think. So as a non coffee drinker, I have been missing the English cuppa in the past few months -- although thankfully good tea is getting easier to find in America in general (less of that abysmal Lipton everywhere!).

I had a meeting in Tribeca the other day and had time to kill so I stumbled upon a relatively new shop called Amanzi Tea. Well designed store/cafe with an insanely large menu of many dozen types of tea - black, white, oolong, green, you name it. I sampled a few exotic blends but settled on a nice cup of Earl Grey, which was fantastic. Anyway if you like tea check out the store on Chambers Street or the site; or if you are in need of a non-Starbucks during the forthcoming Tribeca Film Festival keep this place in mind.

Cool Moules

So after Rotters, I took the train over for a quick two days in Brussels to meet Neil from London. I have to say I thought Brussels might be ultra-boring and feel overly clean, staid and traditional and be full of EU bureaucrats. But it was a pretty hip place, saw lots of cool design and music stores, bars, restaurants, and so on. The food was FANTASTIC. Probably on par with Paris prices I guess, but probably the best food I’ve eaten all year (outside of Rome which doesn't really count as normal food).

Moules frites, Belgian waffles, chocolate - all lived up to the reputation and then some. And of course great beer, though I didn’t stray too far from the Stella/Leffe family. The nicest meal we had was at a great place near Sablon, Au Vieux Saint-Martin. Seemed to be a lot of posh locals in there and some amazing art on the walls if you get tired of staring at your frites.

Other highlights were the comic strip museum (lots of Tintin), walking around looking at some great old buildings, and a funny accidental trip to Anderlecht. We wanted to see a Belgian brewery in action (it appeared to be long shut) but instead went to the heaving food and butcher’s market near the aptly titled Boulevard de l'Abattoir, where it seemed all of Belgium’s Polish immigrants were gathered on the freezing cold sidewalk drinking Zywiec on Sunday morning. Further proof -- along with graffiti and some interesting run down buildings even in the city centre - that Brussels isn’t as scrubbed clean and boring as I feared.

A very nice place to spend a weekend (the city, not the scary butcher’s market) especially with the Eurostar zipping over there from London.

Rotterdam 2009 highlights

I'm now back in NYC after an inspiring trip to the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2009. I was there for almost two weeks working at the festival's own newspaper, The Daily Tiger.

And at the risk of sounding like I'm sucking up those people who hired me, I do have to say it was hands-down the best Rotterdam I've attended in the past few years. New programme sections, even a new tiger logo -- something was working despite the credit crunch.

Once you've done 'the circuit' for a few years, it almost seems like festivals start to blend into one another -- that everyone is programming the same 20 festival favorite films in a different city each month. So that's why Rotterdam seems like such a rare and refreshing festival with a true sense of identity. Sure these films are challenging and won't be to everyone's taste -- but that's better than being boring, I think. The only drawback is that Rotterdam becomes
the sort of place where one (or maybe it's just me) can be made to feel embarrassed for being drawn to a straight narrative. I almost (but not quite) watched Road House in the hotel one night because it had an easy story to follow and might have given my brain a break.

Anyway with a programme of hundreds films, there's no way I can pretend to have seen a large chunk of them (by concentrating on new films I missed out on retrospectives, for instance). But I did see nearly all the Tiger competition films (first and second features) and I thought it was a particularly strong year. Of the three winners (Breathless, Wrong Rosary, Be Calm And Count To Seven), none of them were my personal favorites, but I could see why a jury chose each. And could have easily agreed with another five Tigers that had their own merits.

Part of the credit of course goes to the veteran programmers at IFFR, and some of it also goes to the new festival director Rutger Wolfson. He was temporarily at the helm last year and was in the job more permanently this year, and I heard a lot of industry guests and film-makers remarking about how he was making an impact.

The city itself is well suited for a festival -- great cinemas (especially those enormous Pathe screens), easy walkability between venues, and enthusiastic local audiences that will seemingly sit through two hours of just about anything. One especially cool feature of IFFR 2009 was part of the Size Matters project, which saw the festival commission works by Guy Maddin, Carlos Reygadas, and Nanouk Leopold and project them on buildings in the city center. Looked very cool against the modern Rotterdam skyline (even the skyline, such as it is, is growing on me).

Of course, I think any festival experience can depend on your own personal state of mind. And for me, seeing films and interviewing filmmakers was a rejuvenating way to spend two weeks. It was busy but not the same kind of stress as doing dailies for Screen, where obviously my job is to talk to industry sources and report on news and deals (I like that stuff too). But for contrast it was nice to kinda ignore the commercial prospects and just enjoy some films. And have an
excuse for a trip to HEMA - sort of like a Dutch version of Target.

Anyway, whatever the combination this was an energising festival for me and hats off to the IFFR team, my fellow Daily Tigers, and the film-makers.

[Is all this too sickeningly positive? Maybe I need to start an alternate negativity blog where I can write about the cockroach in my hotel bathroom, those ridiculously small beer glasses, the public health hazard of frost on that metal Schouwburg square, and the fact that the Dutch can't seem to make a decent sandwich.]

But back to the good stuff -- of the films I saw, these were my favorites:

Morphia
The late Sergei Bodrov Jr's script is adapted from the autobiographical stories A Country Doctor's Handbook. Its 1917 and a doctor arrives deep in the Russian countryside, where he's got to deal with all kinds of medical crises. (Hard for this squeamish viewer to watch the amptuation scene!) He also falls in love with a nurse and develops a crippling morphine habit. A fascinating portrait of the time, and also one man's descent into addiction hell. Director Alexei Balabanov laces black humour throughout, and delivers a note-perfect ending. The kind of film people were saying could have easily been in Cannes competition, and I agree.

The Ferrari Dino Girl
Czech New Waver Jan Nemec recently got the original footage he shot in 1968's Prague Spring. It's the same footage he used in Oratorio For Prague, but now he's restored it and used it as something of a centerpiece for this inventive autobiographical project. Nemec casts Karel Roden (mostly heard through voiceover) as the director and revisits the locations of the past, when he had to smuggle his footage out of Czechoslovakia with the help of Prague's most beautiful
girl and an Italian friend. It ends with a personal reflection of Nemec's about his past and his present film-making. Very moving and funny and an inventive way of telling a personal remembrance of an important historical time.

Troubled Water
Norwegian director Erik Poppe's third feature. Almost won IFFR's audience award (which went to Slumdog Millionaire which frankly doesn't need it right now!) A film full of surprises for me -- thanks in part to its unusual structure. A kind of thriller, a kind of psychological character study, the story follows a young man just released from prison where he served his sentence for murdering a young boy eight years ago. The mother of the young boy comes back into his life and we start to follow her point of view. Moving and disturbing and shows a masterful touch from the director. Too bad the title is easy to confuse with Frozen River and Trouble The Water.

Be Good (Sois Sage)
Debut from French filmmaker Juliette Garcias. Reminded me a bit of Innocence by Lucile Hadzihalilovic. A glacially paced story about a young girl new in a country town who is lying to everyone about her past, as the truth is slowly revealed. A very unusual story about incest. I thought the lead actress Anais Demoustier was stunning and that Garcias has an amazing eye -- the film's mood was sustained by a series of artful and sometimes shocking images -- a girl's bloodied cuticles pawing at her thighs, a hand plunged into a bucket of snails, an ice cream scoop being swirled in milky water.

Turistas
Another Tiger film by a female director, Chile's Alicia Scherson. A bourgeious couple is going on holiday when their relationship takes a sudden turn, so the wife sets out on her own to a nature reserve where she's thrown into a sort of alternate society. Beautifully shot and observed, I thought this was funny and compassionate at the same time.

Unmade Beds
Alexis Dos Santos follows up his lauded debut Glue with this story of immigrants in contemporary London's east end. The script had some holes for me (do squatters really have money to go skydiving??) but it would be nearly impossible to watch this film and not have some kind of affection for its lead characters, a Belgian girl trying to get over heartbreak, and a Spanish boy looking for his father. Displays a real youthful exuberance that is hard to capture on film.

Daily Tiger English issues available here.

My Facebook pics here.

Dutch Treat

I’m in Rotterdam for two weeks – and it’s great to be back in Europe for the first time since I moved back to the US. They even have BBC 1 and 2 in the hotel so I can catch up on cheesy Brit TV.

It’s funny -- one of the first things everyone asked me when I got here was whether I was sad to be missing the inauguration at home. But in fact it was great watching it overseas (thanks to Internet streaming at CNN) – as an American living abroad during the second W administration I saw just how far America’s reputation overseas had fallen.

But watching Obama take the oath of office yesterday was a proud moment for America, and the several nationalities of colleagues in the office here were all enthralled and inspired by yesterday’s speeches. We even went out for apple pie last night.

But in a funnier look at Americana abroad, I snapped this pic of a cheesy American-themed bar in Rotterdam that has this tacky Deliverance-style tableau set up on the roof. Juxtaposed with the classy new Rotterdam film festival logo.

The festival gets underway tonight – so stay tuned for more from Rotterdam soon.

Hair skills and haute cuisine

Today's shout out has to go to that amazing pilot who landed a plane in the freezing cold Hudson without anyone being seriously hurt. miraculous.

And on a much more inconsequential note, I wanted to call attention to a great hair salon that I've discovered (via Carrie) that's cool and (somewhat) affordable. It's called Hayato, and it's run by a bunch of very hip Japanese people.

In addition to their hair skills, I love the fact that they give you a free 10 minute back/shoulder massage and that they have a handy list of NYC recommendations they pass out, old-school style, as copies of a handwritten document. The list points clients to cool restaurants, bars and shops.

I figure you can definitely trust Japanese expats in their choices of Japanese food, so here's a few of their picks of Japanese restaurants to try (I'm only including the affordable downtown options):

Ippudo, 65 Fourth Ave.
Kyoya, 94 E. Seventh St.
Setagaya, 141 E. First Ave.
Gyukaka, 34 Cooper Sq
Shabu Tatsu, 216 E 10th St
Sobaya, 229 E Ninth St.

And turning my attention to NON-affordable restaurants, I accidentally found myself with friends last night at one of the hottest restaurants in NYC, Ssam , part of the Momofuku empire that recently got a NY Times three-star review . I've now realised why I tend to avoid NYC's "hottest restaurants." The food was pretty stunning, but we calculated we might have had to spend $100 a head to get enough sustenance to actually have a dinner-sized meal. Instead we
got shavings of raw country ham, one bite each of an amazing beef pasta, and some spectacular stir-fried brussels sprouts -- all delicious but more like a tiny appetizer with a big dinner price. So with our stomachs primed but still mostly empty from three-star cuisine, we dashed across the street to fill up on fantastic zero-star free pizza at the Crocodile. That seemed more agreeable with the credit crunch and my freelance "income."

Golden Globes, Dim Sum & Docs

Cheerfulness this weekend came from:

Eating dim sum in snowy chinatown. I think in London I was eating dim sum once a week somehow, thanks to the film business being located a block or two from Chinatown and to the ubiquitous branches of Ping Pong. So I was really craving it and Carlene and I got the full 'carts and hundreds of diners' experience at Jing Fong. I thought the dim sum itself was good, maybe not mindblowing, but the atmosphere was fun. I'd go back and maybe try a few more adventurous tidbits like those scary fried things larger than my head.

Then thanks to my friends at Tribeca I went to see two of the long-listed Oscar docs that I'd missed -- At The Death House Door and They Killed Sister Dorothy. Very different films, both admirable, yet I think Death House will probably stay with me longer. Great weaving of the two interconnected stories -- campaigning for the innocence of a previously executed man and the remarkable prison chaplain who oversaw dozens of executions over the years. I can't wait to see what Peter Gilbert and Steve James do next.

Sunday of course I was just thrilled to be in the right time zone to watch my first US awards show in 4 years. Cheesy as it is, I do love a red carpet. Kate Winslet was one of my personal fashion faves, looking classy and sexy. Salma Hayek and Anne Hathaway also looked great. I even loved Drew Barrymore's big hair!

Highlights of the show? Tracy Morgan telling Cate Blanchett to deal with it; Tina Fey addressing her internet haters; Ricky Gervais bringing his pint glass on stage; tiny Sally Hawkins - who I was so scared might forget to thank Mike Leigh; Sacha Baron Cohen and his quips (thank
god the Brits livened up the show!); Kate Winslet's genuinely flustered speeches; Colin Farrell winning for the wildly underrated In Bruges (get it on DVD now!) and his cocaine quip; Mickey Rourke thanking his dogs; Darren Aronofsky giving Mickey a good natured finger; and Vicky Cristina Barcelona winning over Mamma Mia! - we shouldn't encourage Pierce Brosnan's singing career. As usual E! has the most exhaustive recaps, they might even be able to explain JLo's "Mama Talkin!" outburst or why the Jonas Brothers were presenting.

I really enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire, and even thought it's not my personal top film of the year, but I was so heartened to see it winning. Danny Boyle and Christian Colson -- the British film industry doesn't get nicer than those guys and it was fantastic to see them taking center stage over more typical awards-y fare. And all the shout outs to Tessa Ross are a good sign, not just for the night, but for continued funding for Film4 to keep backing some amazing films, larger and smaller, British and international.

My Globes evening was helped along by pithy comments from Eamon and Andy -- "did she get dressed in a Victorian junkshop?" -- and tapas I made from the amazing El Parador cookbook Stu & Tiff sent me. Delicious, even if I can't get all the best ingredients at the ghetto Foodtown in Bed Stuy. On that note I'm going to go eat leftover tortilla and albondingas.

Blindingly Good?

So some of you have already heard that Glasvegas might be my fave new band of 2008. I finally got to see them live last night (thanks, Heather). Because I'm trying to stay positive-only in this blog, at least for a full week, I will leave the commentary on those insane blinding lights to this guy, this guy and this guy, but I will say it was a real treat to finally hear "Geraldine" live. And I got a reminder of just how great a song "Flowers And Football Tops" is. You can stream their debut album here.

Planet Earth, Brooklyn Style

Today is the first official day of my fabulous brownstone sublet in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn (the same place I was in more temporarily in December). So I'm glad to be back in Brooklyn, even if it is a bit further out than my old Brooklyn home, the Hot Bird. There's some cool stuff in my new 'hood, namely the great bar/restaurant Peaches around the corner.

So in honor of Brooklyn, I have to share the story of what I witnessed in my backyard in December -- a fight between two squirrels and a stray cat over a piece of pizza. Not sure where the slice came from. But it was one of the most entertaining things I've seen in a while. Brooklyn squirrels are tougher than London squirrels. Here's some blurry pictures of the winning squirrel with his prize. Pretty impressive climbing a fence with a slice of pizza bigger than your body.

Elizabeth Peyton

There's a great Elizabeth Peyton show at the New Museum. It runs through January 11 if anyone's interested...

This one, Roseland, was one of my faves.

Films I Loved In 2008

It's that time of year, and because of my day job -- errr, my freelance career -- I get asked for film recommendations a lot. So here's my favorite 12.5 films of 2008, mostly in order:

The Visitor
The Wrestler
Frost/Nixon
Waltz With Bashir
Man On Wire
Rachel Getting Married
Gone Baby Gone (may have been an 07 release in US but was 08 in UK!)
In Bruges
Genova
Burn After Reading
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Hunger
Wall-E (first half)


and the book I loved the most: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (belated thanks for the bday present Louise)

An inspiring start to 2009. Thank you Jim James.

Hello friends, I've decided to blog again.

So the idea is that I've become too cranky in my old(er) age - and New York can be a place full of complaining even though it's the greatest city in the world. So I want this blog to be a celebration of things that make me happy, inspire me or are just cool things that deserve more attention. The idea is partially inspired by Carrie, whose new motto is "positivity in '09." Oprah would be proud.

Because of said crankiness I almost didn't go to see My Morning Jacket ring in the New Year at Madison Square Garden -- I was thinking of all the excuses not to go -- it would be too jammy, too big a crowd, too much money. Boy was I wrong, it was a fantastic, inspiring show and a great way to start the new year.

So I'll kick off this new blog with a list of 10 things great about last night:

• A fun pre-show drink at Me Bar (La Quinta Inn hidden rooftop bar) and some funny college kids in the elevator
• The guy in the pink buttondown constantly dancing up and down the aisles
• MMJ and Nicole Atkins covering "Islands In The Stream"
• Grellan crossing the stadium to come over for a visit
• A friendly, fun crowd - especially the guy in front of us rocking the Daniel Plainview look
• White balloons, confetti, and Jim James boogeying through "Celebration" and "Get Down On It" -- I can't think of a better way to welcome in 2009
• lots of beautiful white balloons bouncing around in the crowd
• getting a cab in about 3 minutes despite the freezing cold and it being just after midnight
• Gallons of champagne, free pizza, and good friends, at a West Village penthouse after the show
  

(Here's some pics on Facebook.)
Stay tuned for more things I like in 2009!
Wendy