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Restaurants I need to chill at before I leave this town
so making a list is probably a bad idea, because going out should be spontaneous. right? whatever. i have a list, and it's gonna get updated as i go along.
tangerine. fork. the continental, for dinner. bleu martini. caribou cafe. jones. rx. buddakan. novelty. patou. susanna foo's. magazine (again). loie. el vez. brasserie perrier (overpriced, but whatever). bistro st. tropez. alma de cuba. bar noir. beau monde. angelina.
my fave area right now is the stretch of spruce heading down into old city. there's some piano bar back there that i forget the name of, it's pretty cool. there's a bunch of nice bistro-y places, and dmitri's and angelina's are not too far away. plus, the houses are kinda cool.
Why would American students shun Ph.D. programs?
1) Non-adequate returns: expected salary is $24,000 a year with no benefits; 10% chance of getting faculty positions; and little room for upward mobility. A BS in industry gets $40,000 without a problem.
2) Incredibly long amount of time to get Ph.D. with high workload.
3) Lower marketability as a Ph.D., than with a masters or bachelor's degree.
4) General laziness on the part of Americans, as opposed to the rest of the world. We take it for granted that our opportunities come easier, so we are unwilling to move into fields with such a high level of work.
5) Unpreparedness for continuing education in science, due to inefficient education system.
Merely one aspect of the "foreign students in research" issue.
One more word. My little 5 point discussion of why American students are not exactly crowding the sciences isn't playa-hating. Nope. Too bad. These are general trends, as noted by commentators and journalists from the Chronicle of Higher Education to Atlantic Monthly to the New York Times. What should also be included is an urging to American institutions to provide more economic incentive to science graduates, American education to shape up in the sciences (if you can't get literacy quite right, it's kind of hard to move on), and American students to prove everybody wrong. Say yes, I am interested in furthering science. Not only being a doctor - everybody wants that - but being a researcher, a PhD candidate, somebody that will be part of the search for cures all over the country. Dems and Republicans bring up how America will lead the world, in respect to scientific research among other things. Stuff like AIDS cures, Parkinson's treatments, better drugs that are easier to produce - these are global needs that can only come about with strong support from the home team. And if we prohibit foreign students from packing the home team, then the burden falls on...
There you go.
Movies
I saw Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle with Rachel last night, at the Riverview. Even though freaking taxis cost us $25 bucks and tickets $18 making it a very expensive $21.50 each to go see the movie - I think it was worth it. It was hilarious! Most of it was being able to identify (though you really don't have to fit either stereotype) with the anal (Asian) finance person and the (Indian) pre-med still frontin' after all these years for daddy's dollar.
There's this weed scene, right? Kumar sees a giant bag of weed. And then, a dream sequence enfolds - Kumar going on romantic dates with said bag, Kumar making out with said bag, Kumar marrying said bag, Kumar calling said bag dumb bitch, ou can't make coffee, Kumar apologizing on bended knee to said bag... um, Kumar, still in jail here?
Whatever. The Princeton scenes were funny. And Battle-shits was definitely a highlight. As was the cheetah. And Neil Patrick Harris. And all the racists getting their due. And the American Dream as parallel to the search for a White Castle. And coming home at 11 pm and wondering where the entire day went. Yeah. I sat on my couch for 10 minutes pondering that one.
In other news... Dave Chappelle renews with Comedy Central for $50 million! That means two more original seasons to look forward to! And Dave Chappelle gets fucking rich! With all that money... that shit better be as good as the first two seasons. I'm gonna be watching. You know who else loves Dave Chappelle? Wait till she hears about this.
Also, Fahrenheit 9/11 becomes first documentary to top $100 million in domestic release.
I watched too many movies this week. Saw A Home At The End of the World - where Colin Farrell takes his acting abilities all the way. Extended male bonding and almost-nude scenes (the nude scene was dropped). The last half was the most emotionally terrifying for me (though the reviews loved the first half, which was just awkward). The relationship that these two friends have from their childhood extends into their adulthood, and as they change, their dynamics do as well. Robin Wright Penn comes in as "third wheel," but this reverts to the other guy soon enough. In the end, their makeshift family has fallen apart, leaving them back where they had started. It's pretty good like that. Says a lot without actually saying it (like Michael Moore... yup.). I also saw the Village, with some coworkers. Over pizza, we couldn't quite figure out if we liked it or not. Neither Anna, Mannin or Wendy had an opinion; TJ didn't say much at work the next day.
Last week, went to see De-Lovely. A glowing revue of all of Cole Porter's famous numbers, it felt more like an extended take (with drawn breath the entire way through) of shock toward his gayness. Not really that much material to go on. His wife, played by Ashley Judd, is good as a wife that loves him regardless of the miseries the smooth but almost callous Cole heaps upon her. The scenes are filtered with the syrupy tenderness that fill his songs, but lack very much solid substance. Of course, I wasn't expecting any solid substance, because this was more a chance to see a visual rendition of the amazing soundtrack (featuring Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Alanis Morrissette and Sheryl Crow, among others).
Harold and Kumar, of course, and today, Little Black Book. It was billed as a romantic comedy, but it really ain't. It's a sad, depressing little tale, with a good moral bite. While the beginning of the movie sucked, the real meat was the ending, where Brittany Murphy's abuse of her boyfriend's privacy, and the depths to which she lowers herself to find out about his past loves, all clash with her job as associate producer on a grubby Springer-like talk show. It's effective, that one last embarrassing scene. The rest is tripe, but for that 20 minutes, it's gold. Because the sound messed up (sounded like Russian) and the projection flipped over (it was fixed), Molly and I got free tickets to a movie of our choice, redeemable any time.
A movie based on Che's early years is in the works (not the pictured one). In other movie news, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, writers of "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle", are working on "Harold and Kumar Go To Amsterdam." I'm excited... if the sequel is as good as White Castle, there's yet another movie I can watch on a night like this. I had dinner at Buca di Beppo's with Sim and a bunch of people. Really good times - I met this BBB major named Rebecca who has big plans (coincidentally... like mine!). Finally, someone else who potentially wants an MPH and maybe go to Columbia for it. Competition, she said. This girl that was in Philo and ran the art gallery when I played for it was there, as well as Youngstrom, Ken and this other girl, who apparently lived three doors down from me. It's a little embarrassing to see neighbors you've never ever seen before, and such close by too. Anyway, I came home instead of going barhopping (as I needed to wait for my check to roll on in, and I am going on weekend trips the next few...). I got to chill with Eugene and Laura (it's been forever). Laura got back from Peru yesterday, and Eugene is leaving to California for a week. Some leaf, and lots of Everybody Loves Raymond. He's absolutely ecstatic about the Counterparts CD... sounds awesome. Should be, I hear it enough through the floor, and it sounds pretty damn good.
I've really got to stop playing this Frou Frou song, it's getting kinda scary. I do want to see Garden State again. The party scene is just so perfect, as is the unending sweetness of Natalie Portman. Peter Sarsgaard is endlessly expressive and perfect in his best buddy role (yeah, not too demanding, but still the picture of that guy sitting in a town back home and waiting for things to happen, and always waits for people to come back to him). Zach Braff is enduring in his role: where mere vapidness is called for, he delivers an effective recovery from a childhood of numbness and shut-away emotional pain. They play the Shins - while not my favorite band, it's a pretty good choice for "feature band". It's part love story, coming home story, personal realization story, family ghost angst story, power of friendship story... a big package for something that is effortlessly funny. The only gimmick seems to be the scene where Zach has the same pattern shirt as the wallpaper; the joke is made clear by a Jersey aunt. But, even as it is a see-through attempt at humor, it's still funny. Probably because it's understated when any other director would palm in an American Pie of Friends-size pause and piped-in laughs. The other thing was the last few lines in the movie. "because I love you..." or something to that effect. That was sweet but really did seem to break the flow of smart and/or realistic dialogue, kind of ending the movie on a sour (tho mostly sweet) note.
In the long documentary battle, the Right is being left far behind. All the recent documentaries are somewhat left-leaning. The Fog of War has Robert McNamara explaining the policies that led to the firebombing deaths of hundreds of thousands in Tokyo and in Dresden, and why his actions in war were (what he thought was) right. He seems like a nice man, but the implication is that he isn't. Fahrenheit 9/11, naturally, is anti-Bush, anti-Republican, and a breadwinner for Michael Moore. The Hunting of the President depicts the Right's attempts to stymy Clinton during his tenure; it's supposed to be chilling in the way it depicts a giant collaboration to slow all political activity in Wahington (all Dem activity of course)... but then again, the Democrats tried to do that to Bush too, with less success, due to inefficient attacks or not rising totally to the bait. And now, the penultimate "documentary" for the left campaign is Going Upriver: the Long War of John Kerry. There will be an October 1 theatrical release, with plenty of time left over for this to sway minds for the November elections. Any tricks and advantages the Bush campaign thinks it has right now, or that it can pull in October - you better make sure this movie gets canned. Points in its favor (or against it, depending on which way you lean) include the movie's director: George Butler, a long time friend of Kerry. Mmhmmm. Documentary.
I asked Melody to see a free sneak preview with me on Wednesday. What could go wrong? a) It was National Lampoon (remember Animal House?) and b) it had Nikki Ziering, Playboy Playmate in 1997. So we get there and there's 12 people in the audience. 12. Ridiculous. This is at Ritz East, which was probably paid oodles of money to show a movie it would usually never condescend to show on its screens otherwise. By the way, the movie was "Golddiggers", changed from "Lady Killers" which I guess had to be changed not to confuse it with the Tom Hanks' vehicle "The Ladykillers". And who could have guessed? Put a Playmate, the older bro from Boy Meets World, Fran Drescher's momma from the Nanny and the Sherminator in one room and good things should happen, right?
So the movie starts. And we find that things are not as they seemed. (Play Jaws music.) The movie is so bad, and that's why it's funny. Not because any of the jokes are actually funny - but because the premise of the movie involves two dumb criminals trying to make a quick buck by marrying and killing off two crones, who are conspiring to do the same to the boys. They think each other has loads of money. Playmate shows up for maybe 5 minutes in juicy bikini, but it's a dream sequence. Damn dream sequences! Well, we didn't win the 3 prize drawings in a room of 12, some lady kept snoring and shouting, alternately, and the buffoons next to us were shouting in vain for the idiotic mental patient to shut up. After not being able to stand two ugly old crones for the entire movie, it ended. Finally. Some seated guy, on the way out, asked us if we would go back to watch it again. "Yeah, sure," I mumbled. Over my dead body.
It must be the only movie to get a 0% on rottentomatoes.com. For real, it did. Shame on National Lampoon. Shame. In other news, Cellular wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was stupid ridiculous for the first half and pretty good for the second. And any time I get to watch Jessica Biel do anything, is a good time. Hero is a GOOD movie, I skipped the Cookout, Anacondas was a bad movie... um, I think that's it. Oh wait, no it's not. Vanity Fair was thoroughly enjoyable, though a bit long (and Romola Garai is so cute); and Bright Young Things was awesome. Just awesome. Emily Mortimer is so amusing, for some weird weird reason.
watched zatoichi with steve a couple nights ago. strange movie. they had a glee club-esque tap scene at the end, as the ending festival... weird. bloody, bloody action, but kind of weak story buildup. is it just me or do some of these foreign movies got to have more tight storytelling? they dwell on silence as emotion, pretty uneffectively. i mean, there are some great practitioners of the art, but this pretense of moving slow without maintaining interest is getting old, man. i mean, not only asian directors, but also some of those european guys. fine, we have amelie and city of god but stuff like red, white, blue, the horseman on the roof, swimming pool, monsieur ibrahim, la dolce vita, even amores perros... lack something in the "i'm just a simple guy trying to enjoy the film" area. yeah, call me a low-minded runt, all you film buffs, but give me something like the sweet hereafter or the cider house rules or riding in cars with boys or boys don't cry or even garden state. slow, building, has something to say, leaves me unbearably sad. pretty good work, guys.