This week in friendlies: phone edition

I was supposed to go out with a friend tomorrow, but we had to change our plans. We ended up talking on the phone, though. We shall call her rrraquel.

And earlier today (as I made my breakfast... at 3 PM) my friend Gilby called. We haven't spoken since Christmas, so it was nice to catch up. 

I met both friends at my old job--we were all part of the new staff hired on to open up the store when it was new. It was a big format store, and so many great people were hired, we all walked around a little suspicious in the beginning. 

- [whisper] Do you find you like a really high % of people here?

- [whisper] Ya, it's really weird.

I had certain groups of friends with whom I'd go out to lunch, and certain groups I'd sit in the back doorway with while they had their smokes, and other groups with whom I'd go drinking next door after work (I drank ginger ale), and other groups with whom I went to Chenoy's and debated Life with 'til 3 AM, and other friends with whom I went to Chenoy's and talked about our own lives with 'til 3 AM.

That never really changed. The average age of people hired decreased, but in all the years I worked there, I not only made a ton of friends myself, but I saw generation after generation make their own gang of friends-for-life. I guess book stores attract interesting, quirky, intelligent, fun people. I'd recommend working at one, except it's a March of the Dinosaurs.

My friends rrraquel and Gilby were practically opposites, but sometimes the three of us would go to the dessert place next door (gone now) and loved being served by Raoul, who gave everyone a Spanish name, forgot our orders, and was very charming. He died a few years ago of throat cancer.  :-(  

Anyway, two important outcomes of these phone calls. Important to The Arts.

1. Gilby needs us to go ahead with Gilmabelfest 2011 even if he needs to shoulder more of the cost this year. I suggested he come to my city, stay with his folks, we see one show. He expressed disapproval of this plan in his Usual Gilby Fashion that I won't repeat. So I guess I'll be off to see him again in the fall, and to see some great shows. Time to start planning! Gilmabelfest 2011!

2. rrraquel told me Videotron picked up Turner Movie Classics channel at the beginning of April!!! I didn't know!!! There's always been a classics channel but it was poopy. Not the real one! TURNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She said it's to compete with Netflicks, which must explain the other great no-commercial movie channels I now have.

TURNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This weekend is Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, which me loves. And it's playing in French this weekend on Cinépop, which I was going to tape as well.

And on PBS this weekend starts the new Upstairs, Downstairs. It's a sequel, but I've never seen the original so I hope I understand.

Wonder Woman's costume revealed

Here's the new costume. I like the pants and boots. But it's hard to add metal to something without it looking like plastic, which makes it look like a Halloween costume. Probably should have gone with bronze colored material instead, like the piping on her boots. Interesting that they moved away from the Americanness of the costume.

I also think that, in real life, her boobies would constantly pop out of that costume while chasing baddies. Usually her bustier goes up a little farther than that. Wonder Woman must now go through a lot of double-sided tape.

I also hope these high heels are like those new really expensive boots with lots of cushioning, and good grips. Cause running around in heels is really hard. When I'm in running shoes, I can by-pass a woman in heels any day. But it's possible that amazonian women have exceptionally high arches and this is a healthy shoe for them.

Still in for a Videotron, still out for a Bell

Alright, Opération Franophonize La Mabel begins. I'm taping a French movie called L'Esquive. Hopefully my TV's subtitling will work, because it's Parisian French. It is! Phew, cause it's a bunch of fast-talking Arab-French banlieue youth! I would be totally lost.  "Ils nous prennent pour des baltringues." What is that? Hmm I see.

A customer who was learning French gave me a good tip once--to never look up words in French-English dictionaries, but in French dictionaries. He was right, if only because most of the words I need to look up don't tend be in pocket F-E dictionaries anyway.

My cable provider must have known I wanted to practice French and was on a budget, because they're building a library of Quebecois cinema, and the movies are only $1.99:

ÉLÉPHANT
LA MÉMOIRE DU CINÉMA QUÉBÉCOIS

Quebec's film heritage is now secured! As part of the "Éléphant: mémoire du cinéma québécois" project, Quebecor is investing half a million dollars per year to digitize 800 Quebec feature-length movies and make them accessible. To help you enjoy them, this treasure trove is available through Videotron's Video on demand service. 

Speaking of Videotron.  Today salesmen from Bell, the other major Canadian competitor for internet/phone/TV services came knocking at the door. I tried warning them right away, politely, that I have NO interest in switching to Bell. Now... here is what I hate about hard selling techniques, cause here are some of the things they tried.

• When I said I had bad experience with Bell and would not switch, they actually said I wouldn't be switching, and then launched into their spiel. At the end of which I said... Me: "But I would be with BELL."  Them: "Yes."  Me: "I have no interest in switching TO BELL."
• How they somehow justified that I wasn't "switching" was in saying that I'd keep the same phone number and package of services, I wouldn't even notice the switchover. Yes, but, that's still SWITCHING. You are LYING to me.
• They presented "keeping the same phone number" as though this was a service. Of course I would! That's the norm!
• They tried to pressure me by saying all my neighbors had switched over. Which of course there's no way I can know.
• They tried to get me to tell them what I spend on my bill. "Your bundle if it's like your neighbors must cost about $120 right?" ...silence... "You will receive the same service for only $60!"  I did NOT bother asking how this was possible, for how long, what's the small print, etc. If this is the real deal, then there's enough competition that Videotron will be forced to match them. In all likelihood there's a catch somewhere anyway. Because Bell is always full of catches catches catches which is why I refuse to do business with them.
• I kept telling them over and over that I would NOT do business with Bell, and they kept trying to tell me, yes in the past people had trouble with their service, but now we have these bla bla whatever cables with x x x whatever company so service is yada yada improved which is why we're here annoying you. I think what I didn't make clear to them is that I never had any service issues with Bell, cause I never had them for internet or cable TV. I just mean I cannot STAND their customer service, their billing practices, their practices once you cut ties with them, their general underhandedness and pressure tactics, such as I was presently experiencing.

But I didn't hold it against these guys. I've been in sales and I know that these are the kinds of people who make sales. I could see how their wee lies, their little ways of saying things just the right way, their stories about the neighbors, etc. were hitting all the right notes. I suspect they were pretty successful. They were pushy, they wouldn't take no for an answer, they never let me close the conversation (I had to close the door on them, so they put me in the position of having to be the rude one) etc. You can tell a staff member that you don't expect them to hard sell, but the reality is that a staff member who uses techniques like this will outperform their co-workers.



So I didn't take it personally, they were doing their job, and well. And but it made me dislike Bell all the more, cause they (the managers) are the ones who created whatever incentives that inspired this bit of tomfoolery.

Wonder Woman - ugh - for the LOVE

Ghost Rider.
They made a movie about a chainy ghost on a bike before they made a movie about Wonder Woman.
They made a movie about the Hulk looking like a moldy Stay Puft Marshmallow man before they made a movie about Wonder Woman.
They made a movie about the Green Hornet before they made a movie about Wonder Woman.
They made a movie about a dorky looking guy in purple head tights before they made a movie about Wonder Woman.
How long? How long must we sing this song?

I'm glad to hear David E Kelley is making a Wonder Woman TV show, it's better than nothing and I like the casting, and if it's any good it might help a movie along.

 

Though I think he should have made a She Hulk series, because she was the lawyer in the gang. In fact, she eventually decided to remain in green form and practiced law this way. That would have been a very funny series and right up Kelley's ally.

Oh Wonder Woman, hero of my childhood. I guess you're just too good for this world. Le sigh.

good teevees

In WWII London's National Gallery collection was removed to a slate quarry in Manod, Wales for safe keeping. (There was talk of taking the collection to Canada, but Churchill refused to let them leave the island. My first thought was: Imagine if that ship sank!!) Once a month they would bring a picture out to display, to keep up morale.

Inspired by this story, children's author Frank Cottrell Boyce wrote a book about this happening a second time--the National Gallery needing to be emptied (because of flooding) and the paintings removed to Manod, but this time the effects of the paintings on the inhabitants of the town.

They made it into a BBC TV movie, which I taped off Masterpiece Classic but only just watched today. It was so good--a keeper. A mix if two genres I like: (a) quirky inhabitants of small town; (b) value of art for everyone, including non-art-scholars.

 

A jolly way to start my day right. But now I have to go do careerz homeworks.  >:-(

Am Idol

American Idol is on. I think I'm gonna give it a try this season, now that they've made some big changes. First, to having artists with actual talent on the judging panel, and a mix of genres. They're gonna coach the contestants more. They're gonna let them sing in their own genre. They've changed music directors which I hope means the music arrangements will be less cheezy.

The intro is verrrrry silly, though.

Anyway--it'll either be way worse or way better. The only thing left to hope is that they give them better original songs to sing at the end of it. They've also changed to Jimmy Iovine, so that might change the finished product.

We'll see!

Next hot British series! Downton Abbey starts Sunday on PBS

From USA Today

The "upstairs" half of this upstairs/downstairs drama from Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) is pure Austen, from its wit and compassion to its propriety obsessions, despite its 1912 setting. The comparison starts with the well-meaning proprietor of this sumptuous estate, the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), who married his American wife, Cora (an exquisite Elizabeth McGovern), for her money and fell in love with her later.

They have three daughters to marry off: Mary, beautiful and willful (Michelle Dockery); Edith (Laura Carmichael), plain and waspish; and Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay), sweet and with a budding social consciousness. And they have the Lord's imperious mother to fend off, not easy when she's played in a constant state of high dudgeon by the peerless Maggie Smith.

They also have a very British problem: On his death, Lord Grantham's title and estate, including his wife's money, will pass in total to his closest male heir, cutting out his daughters entirely. That was all right when Mary was engaged to the earl-in-waiting. But now he's dead and the new heir, Matthew (Dan Stevens), is a middle-class Manchester lawyer. The horror!

Where Abbey exits Austen and enters Gosford Park is in its "downstairs" interest in class conflict, not just between aristocrats and servants, but among servants themselves, with their carefully constructed hierarchy. But here's the egalitarian bit: From the heads of the staff (Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Joanne Froggatt) to the opening episode's newest employee (Brendan Coyle), the servants are as universally well written and played as their employers.

Carlos the Dwarf: "You got a problem with that Gorthon?"

This was the best storyline ever in Freaks and Geeks.

Dickens

I've been occasionally popping in to see what Oprah's up to this season cause it's her finale. Today she picked her new book club reads, but they're books she's never read--A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. (Penguin made this special edition--lots of profit to be had in copyright-free books. But I must admit it's gorgeous.)

I've read two Oprah picks, though not when they were announced. Both were really REALLY good. Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance is one of my favourite books of all time; and Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, which I loved but would rank higher if the ending wasn't so mediocre.

But this is the first time I think I'm going to read an Oprah pick at the time it's announced. I don't know about Great Expectations, but I've always wanted to read A Tale of Two Cities. And since I'm close to finishing the Dashiell Hammett I'm reading, it's good timing.

The only Dickens books I've ever completed were A Christmas Carol, and Our Mutual Friend--both are excellent. Judging by these two books, and the screen versions of others, I just LOVE Dickens' characters. He was able to create the weirdest, funniest, most hated, most lovable creatures.

If you like this sort of thing, you must watch the Bleak House mini-series. Oh my days. Gillian Anderson--wow. The screenplay is by Andrew Davies who's a master, he did the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice.

I guess I should be doing nano instead of watching Chappelle

"Looks like Malcolm X before he converted to Islam."

watching a little vicar of dibley

"Do AAAAANYTHING I try!"

I had this theme song in my head all day at work. Which was very strange, because I haven't heard it in golly knows how many years--it certainly doesn't play on TV now. And also, because we were having a stressful-busy day, and I kept wanting to start singing it out loud. I felt like it would have relieved my stress. But possibly raised everyone else's.

New York's full of gay people, just FYI

Hey my cable's not down yet!

I decided this fall to not bother trying to resist Survivor, and I don't regret. Still so good. [There's an episode 2 spoiler now.] I'm watching the second episode, the part where one of the tribes has to gather and vote someone out. There's one guy who earlier showed himself to be sexist and the cliché of a redneck, and now... he's outed himself as severely homophobic! Don't ever remember seeing that on this show!

They were having all this arguing and wrangling, and then out of the BLUE he turns and asks another player: "Are you gay?"
[shocked expressions on all faces]
Accused Guy: I bet I've had more beautiful girlfriends than you.
Redneck: You have not!
[bicker bicker]
Accused: I'd like to see you try to work your magic in New York.
Redneck: New York's full of a bunch of gay people, ya.
Host: New York is full of gay people?
Redneck: They got a lot of them, Jeff, more than they do in Louisiana.
Dumb Blonde Guy Who's In Redneck's Alliance: Be quiet dude! We're all on the same team for the next 2-3 weeks!!

Wow. Vair vair entertaining. I love that Accused Guy not only brings up that he dates women, but that they're beautiful. Like... if you've had a lot of plain women, you just might be a little further along the spectrum towards gay. Alright, good to know.

I'm a ramblin' gal oh ya...

So I've just watched a week straight of Sports Night, all three seasons. And I've had these things on my mind all week that I need to spill, so it's going to be long. Skip now or forever read this post.


TOPIC I - The Wizard Behind the Curtain

1. Writing Style - It's Not a Criticism


From episode 1 I've had that weird wizard-behind-the-curtain sensation.

I had the same feeling the last time I read Georgette Heyer. And the last time I re-read Connie Willis' Bellwether it was so strong as to be almost jarring, similar to this Sports Night time.

It's when you've read or watched a writer's work so much that you see the structure under the surface. The cast of Sports Night talk exACTly like the cast of West Wing. I'm sure it was the case with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as well, but it didn't hit me over the head that time.

It's weird, cause you go around feeling like the only people in the world who talk like the West Wing characters are the West Wing characters. You feel like it's *their* thing. Intellectually you know it's Sorkin's Thing, but you can forget. With Sports Night I couldn't forget. There were moments when the show's head cheese, the Stern-yet-Fatherly Isaac, would walk into a room and say and do something exactly the same way as the president would in WW.

Almost every character could have been played equally well by another good actor, or the cast of WW. Wouldn't hardly change the show.

The only actors who really stood out for me as transcending Sorkin were two actors who I loved in David Mamet's State and Main: Clark Gregg and William H Macy. They were acting like themselves, because they're character actors. So they brought that extra something special that only they can bring.

I'm not saying all this as a criticism of Sports Night. It just came from watching back to back episodes of the entire show. For the same reason I rarely read more than 3 books in a row from one author, because no matter how great they are, by book three you can see the wizard behind the curtain and it loses a little magic. What IS interesting is that I haven't watched West Wing in yeeeeaaaars. Maybe 10 years. And Studio 60 in four years. I've always loved Sorkin's dialogue, so it must have really imprinted on my brain.



2. Okay There's a Bit of Criticism

One criticism, though, is that ALL the characters in SN talk à la Sorkin. I'd be curious to rewatch WW and see if by then he'd learned to limit it to only certain characters. Cause in Sports Night the ubiquity of the style of talking gave me some cognitive dissonance. You can imagine an inner circle of friends all talking the same, because that definitely happens; but not an entire office. My boss and I have worked together for 13 years and you would not mistake my dialogue for his.

Incidentally, kudos to Joss Whedon. The "Scoobies" in Buffy all talk the same, but not everyone in the town, and not the characters on Dollhouse.


Anyway. Just somethin' on my mind.


TOPIC II - Sorkin At His Best

The other thing I spotted in the first episode was the reason why Studio 60 failed in the beginning. Sorkin's at his best when balance drama / touchingness / with humour. Politics was the best playground for this style, because it can so easily be grave, moving, infuriating, righteous, and funny. I've never forgotten the one small scene where a hurricane is about to hit a fleet of Navy ships, and at the end of the episode the president gets on the phone with a young signalman and talks to him until the line goes out. Shiver.


How can you be that moving with a comedy show? (Studio 60 was supposed to be another Saturday Night Live.) It could have been done, but he floundered for the first half of the season. There were these moments where you felt like you were supposed to be Moved, and you just weren't. They weren't sufficiently important. Only towards the end did he pick up steam--one of the only scenes I really remember was the Christmas episode, when the band-of-the-night were New Orleans musicians, playing "O Holy Night" in front of devastation scenes from Katrina. Shiver!

And proof that Sorkin could have been moving with comedy just as he was with politics, was that he managed it with sports. In the very first episode one of the main characters is feeling disenchanted with his job, when they start reporting on a 40 year old South African athlete, whose knees were broken because of his political protests, breaking a world record in running. And the character runs to the phone to call his son and tell him to watch. Brilliant!


The episode made me want to tear my hair out because that's how good Studio 60 could have been, and with a subject dear to my heart. Comedy is very important. Georgette Heyer wrote "fluffy" books, which she herself put down a bit; but her favourite fan letter was from an ex-Romanian(?) prisoner who for 12 years told the story of Friday's Child over and over to her cellmates, and it's what kept them sane.

It's what Spike Lee does when he's at his best--he's able to bring poignancy out of basketball, or TV, or politics. It's also what I loved about Slings and Arrows, which was about a Stratford Festival type theater.

So anyway. There's my rambling. Aaron Sorkin. Brilliant. Better make a TV show again one day. Might need to lay off the shrooms from time to time.

Me and Minion and la TV

Sat on the couch all day watching back to back episodes of Sports Night. Minion watched too, as you can see.

Here she's sucking on my finger.

See?

tv land

So, like many people, I found it impossible to keep watching Robin Hood after Marian died saving King Richard's life. They had so successfully built her romance up with Robin, over two seasons, that her death scene was soooo saaaaad. Like most fellow fans, I cried like a colicky baby. It was hard to imagine enjoying the show without that relationship.



I've only just now watched the premiere of season 3, though it's been on tv before. They've finally introduced Friar Tuck. The ending of the episode was great. Every season they up the ante in terms of how nasty the Sheriff is--this time Prince John has demanded more taxes from him, so things are getting supa ugly. So then they have to up the ante on how heroic Robin and his peeps are, and they managed it.


And Guy finally stood up to the Sheriff! One of the funniest things on the show is how sad and pathetic Guy is, and how the Sheriff makes fun of him all the time. This time Guy finally told him off. Probably one of the best ways to keep this show going will be an interesting character arc with Guy--there's a lot of depth possibility there. And it looks like season 3 was the last season, so at least there'll be an ending.


In other TV news, I'm starting season 3 of Nos Etés. It's my Quebec Saga Show that I watch with French sub-titles to practice my French. But I don't remember all the details of the previous seasons! I watched them when I was doing my BA.




And I borrowed Sports Night from a coworker--the Aaron Sorkin show that came before West Wing. I love Sorkin's writing, I just wish he'd managed to un-crapify Studio 60 in time to save it, cause it was juuuust getting good when it was canceled. He's back to writing movies now, which is a bit disappointing. (American President was good, but it was no West Wing.)

vomitahj

I became disenchanted with Mel Gibson when all his weird X-treme Catholicism beliefs came out around the time of The Passion. And when he was arrested and spouted his anti-Semitic and sexist remarks, I was Out. And now that we've heard more evidence of his ugly personality... bleh. Bird on a Wire is on TV and... bleh.

I apply a certain amount of disassociation between an artist and their work, but there gets to a point where the artist's life becomes Unignorable. Mel! You're just GROSS!!!

Ari and son

Sherry and I are finally watching season 6 of entourage. They do a good job of humanizing the foul-mouthed and crude agent, Ari Gold, by making him a family man. Like this funny exchange:

Ari Gold is sleeping on the couch. He wakes up to find his little boy staring at him.

Ari - What are you doing buddy?
Son - I'm waking you up with my mind.
Ari [awed] - Good work!

Ramblings of an entourage girl

So as you know, I'm a big fan of the show entourage. I wouldn't objectively claim that it's The Best Show on TV! but it is for me. The basic premise is a guy from Queens, New York who's in Hollywood, trying to make it as an A-list star. He lives or hangs out with his three best friends:

1. his half-brother Johnny "Drama", who's a C-list star desperately trying to get work; when not working he acts as his brother's cook and trainer;
2. Turtle, who drives Vince around (Vince doesn't have a license) and takes care of the house;
and 3. "E" who acts as his manager.

The other main character is Vince's agent, Ari, who's hilariously assholic, but powerful; and the show wouldn't be the same without Ari's gay assistant Lloyd, who he endlessly abuses, but who sometimes brings out (or sees) Ari's human side.

[Drama, Turtle, Vince, E, Ari]

We follow the ups and downs of life in the industry, and it's based on a lot of real people, and they always try to shoot in actual locations, like being at Sundance, or at a U2 concert. So part of the enjoyment is this behind the scenes look.

But the real enjoyment comes from the loyalty and friendships, either between the boys who grew up together, or occasionally between the boys and Ari, and between Ari and Lloyd.

Drama is my favourite character--an insecure narcissist, who's always spouting theories on relationships, or the business, and is usually (oddly) right. Because the boys are from Queens, they always retain this core of "street" which is great fun when it comes out, such as during a bar brawl with Seth Green and his boys, or when Drama gets road rage and smashes up a Malibu townie's car with a 9 iron.



I just rewatched the first episode of season 5 and it's a great picture of the friendship aspect of the show that really drives it. Drama is on the set of his series, having poster photos taken, and he refuses to let them take pictures of the right side of his face. He thinks the weirdness of his right side is why he was rated by teen girls as creepy.

The camera flashes between 5 tough looking executives coming down to the set to talk to him, and Drama on the phone with E who's trying to find out where in Mexico Vince is:

D - E, I can't talk right now.
E - Drama it's an emergency!
D - [pauses] An emergency? Is baby bro in trouble?
E - Ya kind of.
D - [steely determination] I'm on my way.
[He leaps out of the trailer as the execs walk up.]
Main Exec - Johnny Chase.
D [extends his hand] - Mr. Chairman. Shoot me any way you want. I got to get to Mexico. [runs back to the photoshoot]

Ahhh now that's brotherly love. It's one of the most foulmouthed shows on TV, and the guys are constantly insulting each other (as boys are wont to do), and yet... heartwarming. I've watched all of Sex and the City, and I enjoyed it, but for some reason I get more enjoyment out of a bunch of boys running around Hollywood trying to get laid, than I a bunch of women running around New York trying to fall in love/get laid. Maybe it's just cause the one liners are better.

[Drama doing the macarena with the girls in France, where his old show Viking Quest has always been a huge hit.]

My boyfriends Crabtree & Brackenreid

So one of the TV shows I can't resist sticking to is Murdoch Mysteries. They were originally a couple of TV movies based on books by Maureen Jennings, about a Toronto detective using early forensics. When it morphed into a regular TV series, with different actors, it took on a lighter tone than the books, but it's super entertaining.

They have full episodes at CityTV, and there are some uploaded on youtube. The one below (Me, Myself and Murdoch) is the one I just watched (seaons 3) and it's one of the best--as many commentors agree, the acting is great in this one.



The best part, as with most shows, is the chemistry between the core team of characters.

William Murdoch is our hero--a very tightlaced, moral Catholic. He's basically a science geek, and therefore incomprehensible to his Chief Inspector.




Brackenreid: In the beginning he was the usual old fashioned Irish policeman with no patience for Murdoch's poofty-science investigating. What I like about the series is that they grew the character, so that he appreciates Murdoch even if he doesn't get him. He's so unrepentantly Mr Tough Guy that (a) he's quite funny and (b) he's the one you want when it's time to rough up a suspect!

Crabtree: He's our #1 constable sidekick. He's a young goof, but he also looks up to Murdoch so as the series progresses you see him turning into a really good detective, picking up on Murdoch's skills. He's so cute I just loves him. He's only had a one-episode love interest, centering around his love of dogs and an animal activist. I hope he gets another.

Dr. Ogden: Julia is our chick coroner. She's very progressive--so much so that the path to romance isn't always easy between her and Murdoch. Murdoch is broadminded, but Julia's a little more freewheeling, and in no rush to marry and have children. They do a good job using her to address feminist issues of the time.