Animal Kingdom

After just missing it in theaters, I watched Animal Kingdom last night. Despite the fact that I cried twice and had to pause it and ask questions, I liked it. I should have anticipated the violence, but I was surprised by the up close shots of people dying. That being said, my chief critique is that the most attractive actor dies early.

The Weather of the Future

Just 5 minutes of this Fresh Air interview was enough to make me stay up all night thinking about the water table in the SW United States. Anyone brave enough to read Heidi Cullen's book The Weather of the Future should report back to me. Am I exaggerating the coming apocalypse or am I not doing enough to sound the alarm?

Ticket2TearTown

Apparently a lot of my time now is spent thinking about what makes me cry. To that end, I started a new secret Twitter feed.

I don't feel strange disclosing that information here, because this blog is also a secret.

The next logical step would be to start a secret Tumblr about secrets but that has been done.

I would like to expand upon a recent piece about the saddest movie scene of all time. My thoughts are that science is wrong in this instance. The most tear-inducing scene has to be from Radio Flyer or A League of Their Own or an old standby like Terms of Endearment. Or maybe I was born too late to appreciate Jon Voight tears?

Holy Ghost! at the Echoplex

After a killer seder, Mike and I went to the Echoplex to see Holy Ghost! play their new, self-titled album live. I really like this album, though I don't think Do it Again was the best choice for a first single.

We arrived at the Echoplex around 10 and caught the end of Futurecop's set. They were joined by a couple vocalists.

Next up was this guy, who I thought was performing ironically, but now I think is sincere. He may have been my bat mitzvah tutor.



After shalom Mattie was Chairlift, whose 2009 release I enjoyed casually. They played new songs that I liked, but I can'd find any clips of them. So deal with this Bruises cut:



Finally, Holy Ghost! took the stage. At this point, it was about 12:30 am and some members of my party were having a hard time maintaining a positive attitude (all that Manischewitz can induce fatigue and grumpiness). One man mosh pit guy right behind us was also not helping, nor was a frequently malfunctioning piece of equipment. Despite these setbacks I thought their set was fun, and offered a nice translation of a studio album that is mostly computers.



We bailed during Jam for Jerry, which is a song I appreciate in sentiment but not execution. By that point, we had seen most of their set, but had to be real about the 1:30 am in Silverlake factor. Holy Ghost! Come back! Start earlier! Thank you!

Requests of Humanity, Vol. II

• Please don't clip your nails at your desk. I can hear you, and that is nasty.

Coachella 2011 already?!?

People are talking about it. PJ Harvey will allegedly be there, which is not as exciting to me as the fake poster with Talking Heads headlining on Sunday.



After last year's crowded fiasco, I am not so jazzed. I would go if I got a free ticket, or could buy a one-day pass, or if Goldenvoice assures me they will prevent the extra 15,000 people from attending each day. Thank you for listening.

Miracles that I would accept from the Late Pope John Paul II

To achieve sainthood, the Vatican needs to confirm a second posthumous miracle performed by JPII. The first miracle was curing an old nun of Parkinson's. Boring! This is what I'm talking about:

• New job, riches, eternal happiness, etc.
• Move 10 lbs accumulated over past year from thighs to breasts
• Cure cancer, end famine, stop global warming, pollution, and overfishing
• Give Amy Heckerling the inspiration to create another Clueless-caliber masterpiece
• Bring John Kennedy Toole back from the dead to write a follow-up to A Confederacy of Dunces.
• Make Sigerson Morrison redesign their closed-toe shoes so that they fit me.

There is still hope, JPII! Make a believer out of me.

Where to?

New year, new thoughts about how climate change will irrevocable change my way of life, especially considering that I live in Southern California, "the first dying canary in the coalmine" due to increasing drought conditions.

So ... France? Vancouver? I bet Detroit will be ready for a renaissance in a few decades.

Black Swan

Because I like creepy movies, I was really looking forward to seeing Black Swan. If I had read any of the reviews (LAT, NYer, etc.) my enthusiasm would have been tampered. Even though I don't think it stands up as a masterpiece of the medium (that bar is high), I liked watching it. The film moved quickly, was nice to look at, and remained suspenseful until the end when some of the imagery became overblown and a little silly.

Discussion questions: Was Winona Ryder happy to play her role or did she cry inside and wear this heinous outfit to the premiere as a result?

Is Vincent Kassel attractive or repulsive?

Is Sebastian Stan still dating Leighton Meister, and if not, is he still interested in brunettes??

What about Just Dance?

I think it is obvious that poor Wii sales can be traced to insufficient Just Dance promotion.

Related: Just Dance could boost its own sales with a Robyn infusion. You're welcome, Ubisoft!