It's London Baby!

So I went to London for a few days this past weekend. Now, understand, I adore that city. If I could, I would move there right now. London is vibrant in a way that LA never could be; it has the same energy as NY, but with a much deeper sense of history and pomp and circumstance.

Unfortunately, I went to London this time around with a friend, let's just call him David. David, while he's a very very good friend of mine, is someone I should never ever travel with. I think that from now on when someone says "I'm not that into museums" it means "As soon as I walk in, I will want to walk out. I will scoff at everything in the museum and insult the valuable objects contained therein." I think that will help me in the future. I also realized that when someone says "I snore" I should interpret it as, "When I am asleep the sounds that come out of my mouth will keep you awake all night. Chainsaws, pneumatic drills, and a large roaring lion have nothing on me. The walls will vibrate, the floor will shake, and you will remain sleepless till sunrise." That will also help me in the future.

Thing is that I did have a great time when I wasn't trying to sleep.

In a very sort of old tyme move, I saw "The Pirates of Penzance" at the Savoy Theatre. What would be better than watching a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta than watching a G&S operetta performed in a theatre that was built especially for them. Granted, the first performance of "Pirates" was in a little beach town, but the Savoy is still the home of Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan, and I did sense a sort of historical communion that night.

I also went to high tea at a very lovely hotel, The Landmark London. Not the same as the Ritz or Claridges, but a very grand hotel, all marble and sweeping staircases. The tea itself was faboo, with impeccable service and some rather delish strawberries and fresh cream. Of course some of the conversation was incendiary; my friend spent a good hour telling me how the Ashkenaz rabbis need to be "educated" about how what they're doing isn't really Judaism. Rather than really arguing, I just tried to point out how that isn't the best way of promoting understanding. More on the Ashkenaz/Sephardic problem at a later date though...

Sunday, after a night of sleeplessness, I wandered around Hyde Park and other areas, with a British friend. He was much more accommodating about doing "cultural" things and I got to see Apsley House, the domicile of the Duke of Wellington. The house itself was rather lovely, full of wonderful artwork and all the gifts of china and silver he received for stopping Napoleon. And the death masks themselves were a treat; not necessarily a delightful one, but a visual treat nonetheless.

Sunday evening was a blast-we had dinner at this Lebanese restaurant, Levant. The entryway leads to a long stairwell, the stairs covered in rose-petals and the hall full of incense. The restaurant itself is almost like the cave of a sultan, with low couches smothered in silk pillows, low brass tables and leather stools. The food was pretty good and they had all these nifty Middle-Eastern flavored cocktails. My friend's cucumber infused vodka, however, was a bit earthy for my tastes.

Monday morning brought the great expenditure of money in the name of the goddess Make-up. They could see me coming a mile away, I swear. But I do believe that the red and hot pink eyeshadows were more than necessary. And no, I'm not a hooker. I just like their makeup.

The flights, well they deserve a separate post to themselves, but suffice it to say now, that British Airways has a ways to go before I start recommending them to my family and friends. Who knew they were such an employer of the French??

I think I just need to schedule another trip to the UK to take the nasty taste of this one out of my mouth. When two out of four days of your trip are agony, you just need another one to replace it.

I'm off to look for flights....

Another episode of "The Sopranos" last night, and while it was good, I feel that it's just building up. I hope that all this build up leads somewhere. I can appreciate the producers and writers wanting us to anticipate what is going to happen throughout the rest of the season, but that the denoument has to happen a bit before the last 15 minutes of the season finale. That being said, I think some wonderful character development is going on right now, especially with Adriana and Carmella. The women have always been strong on "The Sopranos", but we are seeing a real depth of emotion from both of them. All in all, I still have high hopes for this season.

Last night was also the season finale of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". This has been a very uneven season, with some of the episode failing miserably and some creating moments of pure comic genuis. Who but Larry David would pick up a hooker just so he could drive in the carpool lane? However, I found that last night's finale made up for everything. It is a shame that anyone who hasn't seen the movie "The Producers" probably wouldn't truly get the show; seeing the musical might have helped, but the movie was the kicker. The entire season led up to a spoof of basic "Producers" plot. Having seen the movie countless times, I was able to talk along with Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft as they sat in the bar toasting to failure, singing "By the Light of the Moon", and going to see what the majority has to say. The thing is that if I had paid to see LD and Schwimmer perform in the show, I would have felt gypped. They couldn't sing, they couldn't dance, they had little to no chemistry together...but I guess that wasn't really the point now was it?

I don't know if it's because I haven't been to the movies in two months (a staggering lapse considering I used to go every week) or that the film itself was actually entertaining, but spending Saturday night watching "Starsky and Hutch" wasn't nearly as painful as I had predicted. In fact, it was downright enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong -- I will never see it again; I won't be going around telling people to see it the way I did with "Old School" or quoting it with any of sort of frequency. But as comedies go, this wasn't awful. For once, though, I would like to see Ben Stiller NOT play the wound-up neurotic to Owen Wilson's laid-back stoner. It's become sort of a cliche at this point.

As per usual, the highlight was Will Ferrel, as Big Earl, the dragon-loving inmate who initiates what, in my view, was the funniest visual gag the movie had to offer. It is wonderful to see him gaining the popularity and recognition he deserves as one of the foremost physical comics around, as well as just a very versatile comedian all around. Granted, nothing but nothing will top his performance as Frank the Tank, but I did really love Buddy the Elf and Mugatu. I'm waiting to see his new movie, the one about the weather anchor (forgot the name, mea culpa), but I think that he's worthy of the status Adam Sandler had. More worth, in fact, because I find him a hell of a lot funnier than Mr. Sandler. Anyone who has seen the SNL "Cowbell" sketch will most definitely attest to that. "I've got a fever and the only thing that can cure me is more cowbell !" Sigh...that is just classic. I guess a godbless goes out to Christopher Walken as well.

Now if I can only get around to see The Triplets of Belleville, The Station Agent, Monster, The Fog of War, 21 Grams, and yes, The Passion of the Christ, I just might feel I'm catching up before the summer blockbusters roll around.

I'm not totally dismayed at the slew of comic book movies coming out soon. I just read a "Hellboy" trade this weekend and if the movie is anything in tone like the comic, we are in for a treat. "The Punisher" looks pretty good, as long as John Travolta doesn't ham it up for the public. "Van Helsing" looks disastrous, but I loves me my Hugh Jackman, so what can I do? Some people feel they are scraping the bottom of the barrel for comic book inspired movies; I say they are just getting to the good stuff.

Also...just throwing it out there, but when did the summer begin at the start of May? I must have missed that announcement. I guess Hollywood's release schedule has nothing to do with the actual seasons as much as maximizing profitability; Nature be damned. If nothing else, you gotta admire their audacity.

My coworker announced recently that he has been abducted by aliens. This was said very matter of fact and without expectation of his listener's surprise.

Is there something wrong with me that I find this highly dubious? He is utterly convinced that on more than one occasion little green men from other planets have come and taken him up into their spaceship. He hasn't mentioned if there was any sort of probing going on, but I guess one should just take that granted.

He is also convinced that anyone who complains about something is a Bush voter...and that they hate puppies.

I think he's crazy.

Caught the first episode of the Sopranos last night. I think that show is more darkly funny than the majority of fans would like to admit. For all of Tony Soprano's machismo and bravado, he's just a big baby -- except when he doesn't get what he wants he doesn't cry...he shoots people. I never really got into this show before, though I'm a sucker for a lot of other HBO series. I firmly believe that HBO is the future of non-reality based TV. Between the Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, we are getting a glimpse of what non-network controlled television can be like and it is glorious.
It's not just the ability to say "fuck" or show a breast. It's the fact that these shows are allowed to show the characters in all their flawed beauty. They can be despicable or devious or even evil and then turn on a dime and do something worthy of the audience's affections. As much as I love "Friends", they are charicatures of themselves, playing out on the same jokes from 1994, with only minor evolution to sustain the series. I find I connect to people like the Fishers because they are real and not in the "Survivor" sense of the word. While it is always obvious that I am watching a television show, that doesn't stop me from thinking I might run into one of them at the supermarket.
Granted, none of this means I won't watch "Friends" or some of the other network crap that I am wont to watch. It just means I know what good television is and hope that one day NBC, et al learn that as well.

I just read Maureen Dowd's Op-Ed in today's NY Times about John Kerry and his "culture" and I wondered if anyone really cares about that stuff. I mean, sure I do but does the average American give a damn that Kerry loves Keats or that he enjoys folk music. After four years of beef jerky from a back pocket, do Americans want filet mignon served on a plate? Have Americans grown tired of down-home homilies and the "aw shucks ma'am" tone of GWB or during a time when the United States seems to be standing alone most of the time, do they want to embrace the cowboy image as purely American?

I learned a long time ago that the smart person isn't always the popular one (not necessarily because that's been my lot in life, mind you). And Gore was ridiculed in many ways for being that bookish, stiff, stereotype versus Bush's apparent ease with people, despite his mangling of the English language. But isn't it time that we put to rest the idea that the United States is sort of ambling along, helping the endangered farmer's daughter and going after the wanted bandits by electing someone who seems to have read a book above the 2nd grade level?

I'm an intellectual snob, I admit to it wholeheartedly. I love classical music and going to the theatre, and talking about how I read the entirety of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" in the original Middle English and I would love to have a president whose intellect I could respect. I just don't know if Kerry is that guy...or if that is enough to run a country these days. Can someone whose cultural leanings tend towards "Hee Haw" really be my choice to lead us? Does being book smart mean one can keep us in balance?

Sigh. Either way I just hope whomever is elected knows better than to try to dance with Ricki Martin at the inauguration ceremony in January 2005. That was just too sad for words.