round and round

if there's one thing that life in Houston is defined by, it's the primordial importance of cars over any other form of transport. Living in Western Europe for 10 years had made me forget this fact somewhat, so accustomed had I become to walking everywhere and using public transportation. One major trend in that time was clearly the rise of bicycles as a personal transport mode, to the extent where Paris launched its vaunted Velib public bike rental system, with London following up this year with its own scheme. Bikes became more and more prevalent in building lobbies and in street traffic, with the growth of their use being closely tied to the increasing visibility of environmental concerns.
Being lucky enough to be able to walk to work every day, I never considered getting a bike for my commute. Then moving here I got a car, and got used to driving it 10-15mins every day to get to my office in downtown Houston. Driving just makes sense when you consider that public transportation is limited at best (one tram line, a few bus lines), the weather is generally hot and humid, and last but not least how cheap gas is compared to Europe. But making sense is no fun, so inspired by a few people at work I've been looking at possibly getting a bike and commuting the Dutch way. I'm looking to take it slowly, no need to get over-equipped and then realize I'm not cut out for it. So tonight I made my first foray into the twilight zone that is biking in Houston. Borrowed a road bike from a coworker, so I can spend a little time riding it around my area and get a feel for the road. First impressions:
I knew the roads where bad from driving, but riding a bike on them has given me a whole new appreciation to how shameful they really are. If you're a fan of potholes, do move to Houston
A road bike is what I want to get, but I might have to go with a steel frame. The one I'm trying out is made of carbon-fiber, which is great weight-wise but makes the afore-mentioned potholes feel resonate through every last one of your nerves
Before I even think about commuting regularly I will have to get used to basic safety rules. Houston drivers are pretty bad in general, and because there are so few bikes out on the roads, I'm not sure many of them would pay attention to bikers

Overall I'm pretty happy about this first day, and looking forward to more testing in my fairly quiet neighborhood. I even managed to achieve my (asininely ridiculous) first fall today, so I got that out of the way.

relax, move your arms

at this point the term chillwave has become a bit stale in the hipster music world, maybe almost as tired as How I Met Your Mother's plot twists. So let's move on, call it dream pop, or super-floaty-pop or what have you, and focus on the fact that some of these bands put out some excellent stuff regardless of the labels. One such band is Memoryhouse. Yes, they seem like they've watched Virgin Suicides and Pretty In Pink a few too many times, and yes, they are awesome. In fact they followed-up on something Jeremy Larson did a few years ago, which is write a song based on one of Jon Brion's fantastic skits from the Eternal Sunshine soundtrack. For them it's Phone Call, and they like it so much they've recorded two versions (so far):






Lovely, hypnotic, and yes, so totaly chillwavey. This duo is performing next week (Aug 24) at Walter's on Washington with fellow dreamers Twin Sister. If you enjoy this sort of thing, I do suggest you come on down. Because as much fun as it is, you can't always stay home to watch vintage Cusack movies with the shades drawn.

late night

danger zone

Today the temperature in Houston reached 100°F (that's 38°C in ye olde Metric System), not that unusual for this time of the year but still hot enough for the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory warning. According to this the official recommendations for behavior to follow were:

IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTSIDE... AVOID PROLONGED EXPOSURE OR STRENUOUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. YOUR BODY CAN LOSE UP TO A GALLON OF WATER AN HOUR THROUGH PERSPIRATION. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS TO AVOID DEHYDRATION. ALCOHOLIC AND CAFFEINATED BEVERAGES CAN INCREASE THE RATE OF WATER LOSS IN YOUR BODY... INCREASING THE RISK OF HEAT EXHAUSTION OR STROKE. WEAR LIGHTWEIGHT... LIGHT-COLORED... LOOSE- FITTING CLOTHING. WEAR A HAT TO SHIELD YOURSELF FROM THE SUN... AND USE A SUNSCREEN TO REDUCE POSSIBLE SUNBURN

(why does the NWS feel the need to scream at us btw? It's hot enough, I think we can do without the shouting)

Or, to put things more succintly, just look at what I do when I go running, and do the exact opposite. You do get used to it somewhat though. Which is what I'm sure every heatstroke victim thought before they faltered. But after 3 years of London "summers", it still feels quite exciting to feel the dampness in the air every morning when I set foot outside.

life, interrupted

after hearing French tonight (at my local Costco, of all places) for the first time since moving to Houston, I figured now was a good time as any to resume "writing" on this small piece of the blogosphere. Making things short:

• moved to Texas
• walked to work my first day
• realized only crazy people do that here
• tried the light rail for a few days
• realized that wasn't that much better
• bought a used beauty from Carmax, a 2003 Dodge Neon
• rented a 950 sq. feet apartment...on my own (for about the price of two movie tickets in London)

And pretty much having a good old-fashioned nice time all around here in the Southwest. People are nice, if different (which is exactly what's interesting about moving to new locations), the lifestyle is very enjoyable, and the weather is so nice I might create a new tag for it.

more to come later (?)

coast to coast

it's official: there is, right now, not a single place on the planet that is Michael Jackson-free. Last night in Shoreditch: 3 bars, 3 MJ songs. I bet even the North Koreans are busy moonwalking across their nuclear silos right now. Which means we can expect a NY Times article on this "trend" in oh, about 3 months.

roll up your sleeves

wait, what's the word again? Oh yeah: ugh... With a friend coming over this weekend while I'll probably have to be at work most of it, I don't really think those drinks at the Twilight Sad show last night were what the proverbial doctor ordered. But hey, bygones I guess. With a view to alleviating some of the morning "fatigue" I resorted to my ususal post-drinking remedies (eternal respect due to Purdey's, the drink of champions), with one unexpected kink:

That's right, this time my recovery package includes the Economist. Spontaneous hangover shopping never sounded so grown-up. I won't have time to read more than 5% of it (as opposed to the usual 10), but at least if I want to prolong the sweet sensation of my ongoing headache, I've got what I need.

And I guess this is as good (or bad) a point to mention that I might be moving to the US in a few months. An opportunity has come up within my company and we're currently going through the visa and contract process so it's still early days. I would be locally employed though so the title of this blog would still be truthful. I'm pretty excited about it but we'll see what happens.

In the meantime there's a full day of glorious work ahead. I think I might need another bottle of Purdey's soon...

this post is not about Michael Jackson

Hyde Park
June 30, 2009

yet another chapter in the formidable story of Bon Iver. Another monumental gig to cap off two fantastic years since the release of "For Emma", with a gig full of tenderness, power, and soul. On a day so unexpectedly warm and sunny (think the organizers had planned on that? The concerts being held under a tent, so I'd wager that no, they did not, and I can't say I did either), that the deep sorrow heard in so many of those tunes did not put a damper on the mood, but rather heightened it to a dizzying degree. The band was there, the crowd was there, I was there, nothing else mattered. Near the end band leader Justin Vernon revealed this would probably be their last gig this year in London, and if that's the last performance we get to see for a while, that's perfectly fine. Fantastic even, if it means the guys get back to the studio for their sophomore effort.

ps: MJ, just kidding. You truly were the greatest

how to make friends and influence people

Just a hunch, but something tells me that I'm gonna receive lots of visits to my desk at the office tomorrow. The best thing about brownies is that they are the dessert equivalent of quiche: (very) easy to make, yet for some reason most people are impressed when you make some. Which is a good thing because, all in all, quiche and brownies are the extent of my cooking expertise.

the saga continues

rise again

OK, I give up

I thought I had a good case for not listening to Phoenix, based for once not on an irrational hater mentality, but rather developed empirically over the past few years. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not always logical when it comes to bands I could listen to based on my general musical tastes, but choose not to. Yet for these guys the crux of my argument was pretty simple: I didn’t like the songs. I never listened to a complete album, but I kept hearing their songs here and there and nothing really struck me. It seemed to me they suffered from the same problem that affects Coldplay on its bad days, let's call it mainstreamitis. Too bland, too nice without being perfect, I figured this was a band that I’d just do without. Then I saw them play at Rock en Seine 2007 and that was the clincher: they were far from bad, just not… interesting. Which is the kiss of death when it comes to my overcrowded iTunes library. From that point on I just wrote them off, disregarding the various times I heard people around me talk them up.

When their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, was released this year, I paid no mind. The clamor was pretty strong in my music circles before it came out, and only increased after, compounded once they started touring and good reviews kept streaming in. I thought to myself that I should maybe give them a quick try, just to confirm my previous impressions, but kept pushing it off. Then last week while browsing in a store they played a ditty with an unshakeable hook (you know where this is going) that made me stop and notice within seconds. After some furious iPhone querying I was able to ascertain that it was, in fact, a song from my Gallic brethren. So to recap, I was shopping at Urban Outfitters when I used my iPhone to discover the name of a Phoenix song. Yes I am a huge indie yuppie cliché. Anyway I finally did give them a proper listen soon thereafter…and have since disregarded all my previous opinions of their music.

It is with no qualms that I can say this album is a mix of some of the best pop moments I’ve heard in recent years. It’s sweet, it’s fast, it’s cheery. I kept hearing people describe them as “Air rocking out” which is pretty ridiculous , but it is actually undeniable at times, and this often sounds like Air jamming with the Strokes. Songs like Lasso, Rome or Girlfriend just latch on to your cranium and refuse to leave. These aren’t perfect 3 minute pop songs, but they never overstay their welcome, either. There’s an instrumental portion that might be the weakest part of the album, but even that is far from the cringe-fest it could be. The lyrics are pretty much what you’d expect (“I never loved you/ And if I loved you /I wouldn’t say I’m sorry oh no”), but the singer’s belts them out w/ a sure confidence that washes away any nagging doubts about their authenticity. In fact confidence is probably the best word to describe this entire effort, from the songwriting to the instrumentation.
To be fair I’ve since gone back and listened to some of their previous output, and feel like I was almost justified in my non-interest. But on this album the effort feels complete, organic, and entirely satisfying. So it might’ve taken them four LPs to corral me in their camp, but from now on I will definitely pay them the interest they deserve.

battlefield

post-game report

Action Jackson

finally (now can we get a trailer sometime soon, hmmm?)

not so pointed observation

you know how in warmer climates (aka any country south of the Channel) the first day you know summer is close is when girls' hemlines get mysteriously shorter? Well here in the UK that day is the first time someone tells you "my God it is boiling today" when in fact it's at most 13°C. And the way you know you've integrated in that country is when you start having those thoughts yourself. If that weren't enough, I actually spent half the weekend in shorts and flip-flops, when the weather probably dipped above 17°C for all of three minutes. Now if only I could elevate my British accent skills to a level above that of Don Cheadle's...

spring hopes eternal

while I'm always ready to argue about Opening Day being the best sports day of the year, it really doesn't get any better than the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament. Actually it's really the first four days, as the tournament holds its first two rounds, aka 48 games, from Thursday to Sunday every year, giving very little time to reflect or catch one's breath. With the single-elimination format the games generally live up to the hype every year, which is why March Madness is pretty truthful, contrary to so many other overcooked sports marketing terms (okay for once with this year's Superbowl Super Sunday was an apt description, but usually it's flatter than a four-day old souffle).

Having to follow it from an ocean away does take away some of the excitement, what with litterally no one around here being aware of the event. I guess I could head over to one of the bigger sports bars, like the Sports Cafe, but with some many games going on I might as well enjoy the hoopla from the comfort of my home, beer, chips and other instruments of culinary depravity in hand. Official broadcaster has been showing the games live online for the past few years, and this time the coverage has been improved even more, with HD quality streaming for every single game. I remember the "old days" of insufferable buffering and their oh-so -fun virtual waiting lines, so all this added technological boost is a godsend.

But really anyone who's lived in the US knows that at the heart of this massive three-week affair is the opportunity for everyone and their third-cousin to make predictions on the games, no matter how little they know about the game. ESPECIALLY if they know little about it. Office pools get filled up, online banter heats up, and for once everyone is pretty much acting like a graduate of Michael Scott University, work ethics-wise. Even if the current economic climate will put a damper on some celebrations, the tradition of playing hooky to go watch some ballgames will be as tempting as always to many. Being 4 hours ahead will spare me this issue, but I guess the lack of sleep due to late games will be the karmic counterpoint to that. But hey, that's where my extensive experience will come in handy. Not to mention my affinity for late-night snacking.

pub humor, Irish style

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by lematt.

The Reader (USA, 2008)

while Winslet's performance does justice to the Oscar she was awarded on Sunday, her character's story often seems way too unconscionable. Perhaps the book goes into things more, but there's a form of heartlessness here that had me more than a little uncomfortable (not the good kind), to the point it affected my opinion of the whole movie.

*1/2

and all that jazz

Michael Yada/EPA) @ TimesOnline

thoughts from this year's surprisingly breezy (by usual standards) Oscars telecast:

• for all the talk about toning it down in the face of the recession, the ceremony lost no luster at all. Though it seems the producers went for timeless class rather than gaudiness, the moon-sized chandelier setting spoke louder than any speeches about "the times we live in".

• good job by Hugh Jackman in a number of dance numbers that aren't easy to pull off in a live show. Not as good during the joke segments, but he was more than honest.

• funniest bit of the night: Steve Martin/Tina Fey presenting the screenplay awards ("...and I'm Steve Martin"). Close second: Seth Rogen/James France/Janusz Kaminski laughing at sad movies, and Ben Stiller's Joaquin Phoenix impersonation. Too bad he didn't rap though.

• despite Slumdog Millionaire being a good movie, winning this many awards seems destined to push it into "overrated" territory. More diversity in the nominations on a regular basis would be nice, instead of having one "little indie that could" become a juggernaut simply because it's likable enough. For all its flaws, The Wrestler should have had a nod, and The Dark Knight definitely should have too.

• while my vote would have gone to Robert Downey Jr for his incredible performance in Tropic Thunder, Heath Ledger's Joker was acting at its very best. And his family gave a very dignified speech that was one of the more moving moments of the ceremony.

• despite a frenzied movie-viewing slate in the past few weeks that had me feeling at times I was watching The Curious Case of Slumdog/Nixon Getting Married, I didn't get around to catching a few of the front-runners like Milk or The Reader. With the releases for so many of these movies jammed up together in a couple of months, it would be nice if they moved the show back to March, like it used to be.
  

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make my 14th cup of tea of the morning.