Precious (2009)

People have been talking about this movie, pushing it into the "must see" ranks. After watching it, I participated in three separate conversations about it. The first, huddled in Lilly's car post-movie, trying to come to terms with what we just saw. The second, in the parking lot outside my favorite ramen house, and then another extended conversation in my friends' living room later that night. This movie was made for talking.First things first....

You Don't Know...

Listening to: Jermaine Stewart, "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off." Dedicated to/from a friend, High Entropy. They just don't make songs like this anymore. And probably for good reason. Sample lyric: "But I'm not a piece of meat, still you like my brain."We have discovered the greatest party game since, well, Catchphrase? My list of fantastic group games is pretty short but this one has vaulted into the top five immediately. Buzz! is a Jeopardy...

Shut It

Listening to: Girls, "Hellhole Ratrace." Apparently frontman Christopher Owens has quite the origin story. My friend Victor who recommended the band likes this track.I was at a Container Store the other day and wondered what these little plastic boxes were for. Storage obviously, and the bigger sized ones seem useful, but they have these tiny thumb sized ones that I can't begin to imagine what people buy them for. All adult uses seem creepy to me. Kids using these tiny boxes, I totally get. You can put in the first tooth you lost, a treasured...

The Bloggers League

This Saturday was Bananas, the first ever Asian American bloggers gathering and round table discussion. The whole thing was organized and co-hosted by Lac Su, author of "I Love Yous Are For White People" (aka, the greatest title ever) and Steve Nguyen, a Los Angeles based film and video producer. I've had the event on my calendar for awhile but almost didn't make it. Waking up early enough to drive two hours to USC by three pm is not my strong...

New Moon (2009)

You know how it took Natalie Portman a few years to recover from her epically wooden performances in the Star Wars movies? Well, Kristin Stewart is facing an even bigger uphill battle. Not that I blame Natalie or Kristen too much. It is much better to go for the paycheck and name brand recognition when you're young, and still have plenty of time to build a solid career while making some bank along the way. But while I love Kristen, it can't be...

Oh Brother!

You might be only familiar with Jonathan Franzen because of his whole "I don't think I want to be an Oprah book selection" drama. I've never actually read "The Corrections" but his non-fiction stuff is fantastic. I picked up his 2002 book of essays, "How to Be Alone," a while back and loved how smoothly and intelligently he wrote. I'm going through his book of memoir essays and it's really great so far. For example, here's an excerpt from his piece...

Little Earthquakes

Listening to: A Fine Frenzy, "The Minnow and The Trout." It can't be easy to make a song about fish so charming. I love the lyrics. "Help me out said the minnow to the trout / I was lost and found myself swimming in your mouth / Help me chief / I've got to plans for you and me /I swear upon this riverbed / I'll help you feel young again"Blondes have more fun, brunettes are smart, and who doesn't love a red head? I know I certainly do. My friend...

New Eclipse

Listening to: Ce Ce Peniston, "Keep on Walkin." I didn't know who Ce Ce was before but now I'm all caught up. And I'm ecstatic she's in my life. From her Wikipedia: "Among the list of those who have personally requested Peniston at private engagements are Aretha Franklin at her private birthday celebration in Detroit, Michigan, Pope John Paul II in Rome at The Vatican, and President Bill Clinton at both of his inauguration ceremonies in Washington,...

Jingle All the Way

Hello Bay Area folk. I'll be up here in December doing a few author things as part of the Holidaze With the Debs events series. The end of 2009 approaches and there's only one more Debs release to go, Rhonda Stapleton's "Stupid Cupid." That means fifty-plus Debs books have already been released into the world and everyone is working hard and out there promoting, promoting, promoting. Remember, the holidays are the season for giving!So yeah, I'll...

For the Longest Time

Listening to: Mayer Hawthorne, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out." MH went to my friend's high school in Ann Arbor and he's been adamant about pushing his music on me. Listen to the song and if you don't already know what Mayer Hawthorne looks like, you'd be shocked to see that's he's a goofy looking white dude. Nice old soul sound though.I can't even remember when I figured out there was no Santa Clause. I doubt we were told because my parents seem like the types that would have just kept the myth going. I wonder if George or I found out first. And...

Game Time

I bought Bill Simmons' "The Big Book of Basketball" when it was released two weeks ago. I'm nearly done with it now and it's not because it's taken me that long to finish it but because I've been going as slowly as possible. Like I won't allow myself to read it for more than an hour or so at a time. See, I don't want the experience of reading it (for the first time) to end. But yet I want to know what happens. Yes, I know, it's a non-fiction...

An Education (2009)

I'm glad we managed to catch "An Education" before it rotated out because it's easily the best movie I've seen since early March (Revolutionary Road). The plot is pretty simple. A teenage girl meets an older man and he courts her. That's about it. But the performances are extraordinary, the dialogue is dry and witty, and lead Carey Mulligan is being touted as the new Audrey Hepburn. Or as my theater companion kept saying, "she looks just like...

Fifteen Hands

"What I learned from editing that book [Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit] was just how important it is for a book to actually leave you with a feeling. I had been a very analytical guy up to that point, in terms of my editing. For nonfiction, I had always assumed that if it made sense and was well written and had an important point to it, people would respect it and like it. But that isn't what it's about, ultimately. People have to be moved by it. And there was something going on between the lines in that book, from beginning to end. I could give...

This Is It (2009)

Listening to: Michael Jackson, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You."If you're planning on watching "This Is It," stop right now and don't read this review. I'll ruin it for you. It's best to enter untainted by anybody else's opinion. For everyone else (if you've already seen it or aren't planning to watch it), what would you say if I told you that there was a documentary about the other MJ, Michael Jordan, but only covering his second return to basketball,...