Instead of trying to pronounce all these French and Italian words why not get something simple in English like a Latte.
Latte- Italian for milk. American usage is derived from caffe e latte or caffelatte which means coffee and milk.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Coffee and Milk
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
We're all doomed.
The $2 Trillion Nightmare
Trillion is a word you use to describe something so great that the word billion just doesn't cut it:
"This fabulous bag cost me a trillion dollars and a half."
"Yo, there were trillions of people at that party, it was off the hook!"
"How much do you think the ozone layer is worth, a trillion dollars?"
It is not, however, a word that should ever be used to describe the national debt, or how much the war is costing American taxpayers. EVER. But that's what it's come down to. The cost of this war is bordering on $3 trillion (!!!). Trillion! Can you even wrap your mind around that?? And with these kinds of figures and facts swimming around, I just can't take seriously anyone who genuinely believes that pulling our troops from Iraq is not the thing to do. There is no simple solution to any of this. But the fact of the matter is, the quality of American life is being sacrificed because of a war we shouldn't have been involved in in the first place. It's a price we're going to be paying for a very, very long time. Like a trillion years-long.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
As you probably already know, Hillary won a majority in Texas and Ohio, effectively making the Democratic primary race last for another couple of weeks.
What’s more, you can expect the race to get dirtier from both sides. There’s going to be a lot of political spin and half-truths being said. All of this can be very confusing to your average voter.
That’s where Factcheck.org comes in.
Factcheck is a “nonpartisan, nonprofit, ‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.” Basically, they gather everything the candidates are saying and put it through a machine that takes the BS out.
So next time you find yourself thinking, “Obama says Hillary is the devil, so I guess it’s true.” or “Hillary says that Obama wants to murder my mother.” stop by Factcheck.org and get the story straight.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Music: Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk
Album: Scarlet's Walk
Artist: Tori Amos
Release Date: October 29, 2002
Genre: Alternative Rock. Piano pop/rock.
There are some really great up and coming female artists out right now, which I will write about in a future post, but I wanted to call attention to an oldie but a goody, and my favorite album of all time, Tori Amos's Scarlet's Walk. Tori Amos is a very interesting, ecclectic artist, who first rose to fame in the 90s as a female singer song writer known for being a social commentator and for her emotionally intense songs. What's interesting about her is that she tends to take on different characters through her albums, meaning she writes and performs her songs as her alter egos. For Scarlet's Walk, she explores the loosely-based on herself character of Scarlet, and the album details her travel through America. It was released a year after the 9/11 attacks, and was written during Amos's cross-country road trip shortly after those attacks. It is essentially a travelogue and an ode to America, its history, its people, and its values across the landscape.
Scarlet's Walk is Amos's most commercial and commercially-successful album, and in which her piano takes a back seat to other sounds, such as drums and bass. For that reason, it sounds different from any of her previous efforts. A lot of the time, her songs are very experimental and thus harder to get into, but Scarlet's Walk is not like that. It deftly blends her piano skills with percussion, jazzy sounds, and guitar work to create a melodically pleasing overall sound. And of course, there's her voice/vocal range, which perfectly complements the atmospheric moods of all of her songs.
Amos is also known for her candid, sometimes puzzling, but always poetic, lyrics. This album is no exception. Her first and most successful single off the album is A Sorta Fairytale, a catchy, melancholy song that is also politically controversial in its lyrics about Native Americans. The rest of the album is filled with stark observations about American life- the epic I Can't See New York (for obvious reasons, a tribute to the city), Amber Waves (a tale about a porn star and men's exploitation of women), Taxi Ride (about her late friend Kevin Aucoin, the famous make up artist, which touches on anti-homosexuality).
For all these reasons, I think Scarlet's Walk is an important piece of American art, in addition to it being Amos's greatest and most relevant album. I listen to it all the time, and everytime I pick up on new things.
Recommended Tracks: Amber Waves, A Sorta Fairytale, Strange, Taxi Ride, I Can't See New York, Gold Dust
Grade: A
Movie: Be Kind Rewind
Movie Release Date: February 22, 2008
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 101 minutes
Director: Michael Gondry
Cast: Mos Def, Jack Black, Danny Glover, Melonie Diaz, Mia Farrow
When I had first heard that Michael Gondry was directing a new film, I was ecstatic. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind remains to be one of my top favorite films, and although The Science of Sleep was a bit too fantastical and surreal for my liking, I couldn't help but to give Gondry credit for pushing the limits of mise en scène. A lot of people find Gondry's works to be overrated and too much of a push on fantasy, but that's probably because they cannot either appreciate such an approach to film making, or they had a very dull, childhood imagination.
Be Kind Rewind tells the story of a run-down video rental store, that for some reason, still rents out their supply of movies in the form of old school VHS. Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) is the old store owner, with Mike (Mos Def) as his apprentice/sort of son-figure. Throughout the film, we learn that Fats Waller, the legendary jazz musician, is some sort of a mythical figure of inspiration for Mike; the fact that Fats Waller was said to be born in the very same building as Be Kind Rewind keeps Mike in good spirits, despite the obvious dilapidation of the business. Under the guise of going away for a trip to celebrate Fats Waller's life, Mr. Fletcher leaves Mike in charge of the store, secretly going away to research his competition (West Coast Videos).
Comic situations ensue, resulting in Jerry (Jack Black) becoming magnetized, therefore erasing all of the VHS tapes. As a frantic attempt to salvage what has become of his brief stint as the man in charge, Mike and Jerry reenact popular movie titles, but within 20 minutes of recording. The locals fall in love with the idea of "sweding" their favorite movies, eventually snowballing it into a community project to make their own adaptations (there's a hilarious scene where Danny Glover "swedes" Driving Miss Daisy, a 1989 adaptation that he once starred in).
The basic premise of the film is a comedy, but if you are looking for an outright laugh-out-loud comedy, you might be disappointed. Sure, there are a few chuckles here and there, but you have to remember that Gondry's films carry a certain element of whimsical fantasy. Personally, I'm not much of a fan of Jack Black, but his comedic performance fits with the mood of the film. Mos Def plays a head-in-the-clouds, yet logical character of Mike near to perfection, playing it off in between Jim Carrey's Joel (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Gael Garcia Bernal's Stéphane (The Science of Sleep).
All in all, if you have plans to see Be Kind Rewind, go in expecting a Michael Gondry film. It's funny, heart-warming, and overall an ideal movie where a community can be brought together with dreams and an imagination of wanting to be something big and meaningful.
Grade: B
Monday, March 3, 2008
[Feature] Here's To You Rush Limbaugh
For the past couple of weeks I've been tuning in to conservative talk radio, primarily Rush Limbaugh. This informal social experiment started out as a curiosity and turned into a guilty pleasure. The more I listened to Rush the more I realized that I was going about life the wrong way. For 23 years I had tried to make choices based on logic, reasoning, and a sense of humanity. Now I have realized that doing that involves thinking and why should I bother to think when I can accept that the President, as long as he's Republican, is always right. Shame on me for not seeing that before. To all of you commie lefties, here are a few Rushisms to live by.
1. Healthcare Is A Privilege Not A Right
Are you listening Hillary supporters? If you can't it's probably cause you're not privileged enough to have that inner ear infection taken cared of. Healthcare is like a bag of M&M Peanuts. Both are delicious and necessary but I don't expect the government to give me one. Providing universal healthcare would be like providing the country with some sort of service that would protect the health of its citizens like some sort of health police or health fire department.
2. Tax Cuts Are Always Good
If the economy is struggling the best way to fix is to offer tax cuts. I know a lot of you are wondering why someone earning seven figures would need a tax cut but the answer is quite simple. Offering a tax cut to the poor accomplishes very little because they would spend their money on things they actually need and not an iPod or a Chevrolet Tahoe. A tax cut on the middle class would be a step up but with so many middle class families losing jobs a tax cut for them proves to be highly inefficient. That leaves us with one clear solution, a tax cut for the privileged. This way Rick Wagoner (CEO of GM) can buy an iPod, and Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) can buy a Chevrolet Tahoe. Jobs will probably opt to buy something good though.
3. Liberals Are Always Conspiring To Destroy Conservatives
I never noticed while I was hanging out with my hippie friends, getting high on a game of Catan, that what I was really doing was undermining the Conservative plan for salvation. Every roll of the dice was a stab at Democracy. Although I had mentioned his name maybe five times in the past, since I started listening to Rush, I realized that I too was out to get him.
In conclusion I'd like to leave you with this quote from Rush himself "Liberalism is many, many things. There's a report out of this week from an actual clinical psychologist, that it's a mental disorder." That's right. Liberalism, aka Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder. The remedy to this is a healthy dosage of Rush Limbaugh.
*Warning. Too much Rush Limbaugh might lead to an addiction to oxycodone, hydrocodone, George Bush, and lack of common sense.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
What are you doing this weekend?
Forecast
Fri.: 32/35°F, partly cloudy
Sat.: 27/40°F, morning snow showers
Sun.: 30/44°F, sunny
See
Opening this weekend:
Semi-Pro (starring Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre 'Andre 3000' Benjamin)
The Other Boleyn Girl (starring Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, Scarlett Johansson)
Penelope (starring Christina Ricci, Reese Witherspoon, James McAvoy)
Events
The Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden: From now until April 6th, the NY Botanical Garden is featuring thousands of orchids "set against the magical backdrop of Singapore." There is even a Southeast Asian pavillion set up. A great chance to take some nice photos.
Free Hot Dogs at Papaya King: Today and tomorrow, Papaya King will be giving away free hot dogs to the first 500 customers at their store on 7th ave and 14th street. It part of a promotion for the Fox show, Unhitched.
Free Haircut at the Tropical Hair Salon: The Tropical Hair Salon is giving away free haircuts on March 2nd to the 4th. The catch? You have to donate your hair to Locks of Love, which is a great organization that takes the hair and makes them into wigs for children who need them. So if you have 10 inches of unbleached hair to cut, boost your karma, save some money, and visit the Tropical Hair Salon.
News Alert
Get ready to start paying more for to get to New York City: Starting 3 A.M. this Sunday, it's going to cost you $8 now. If you have an EZ Pass, you can forget about your peak travel discount too (although you'll only pay $6 off-peak).
Also, get ready to start paying more to take a subway: Along with the bridge price bump, metrocards are going to be more expensive starting Sunday. 1-Day Fun Passes are going up to $7.50 and the Montly pass is going up to $81.
Driving while on the cell phone will cost you $100 in NJ: As mentioned previously, starting tomorrow, driving while talking on a cellphone (without a hands free device) is going to be a primary offense. Getting pulled over will cost you $100.
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