little queen

so, the cycling... Nearly 6 months in, and it's become such a daily part of my life I can't remember why I never tried it before. Although knowing me it's not that surprising that it took a move to a city that lives by the car to get me pedaling. 1,200+ miles into it, I can probably count on one hand the number of fellow commuters I've seen (hobos on busted bikes and Tuesday-night cycling clubs don't count), but there's some sort of reassuring gratification to being the odd one out. Odd as in how 99.9% of your coworkers will view you as they ask you for the hundredth time if you cycled in today. Then again I've got a friend who reacts with horror when I tell her I'll walk to her place, which takes all of 10 minutes, just to give you an idea on the typical thought process about commuting by your own physical volition.

Safety-wise it's been fine, drivers seem to be over-cautious to the point where if they get to a crossroad before I do they often still wait to see what I'll do. I'm guessing many of them might have never seen a cyclist before, so they don't know how to react, like when you come across wildlife on a hike. I've had a couple of accidents, none serious, which according to what I've read online is par for the course. One of them was a stupid fall all on my lonesome, while in the other (just two days prior) I got hit by a car at low speed. The driver was doing a U-turn without looking, so she never saw me coming up from behind, and her lack of us of signal lights didn't help. Got off the ground after it happened (bike took most of the hit, in fact the back wheel had to be changed) and instinctively yelled "what the F*$K are you doing?!" at the driver, and immediately realized I was shouting at a car of middle-aged people, including a lady driver who must've been 65. Felt kind of bad about that on the hobbling ride home, and even more so when I found out the next day that the lady in question was a nun. I never did get the money back for my wheel since I got too busy to follow-up with her insurance company, but hopefully got some karma points out of it. Especially since she lied about having her signal lights on. Are nuns allowed to do that? The main lesson I learned from my two crashes was that it's always better to stick to routine, since both of them happened on a road I don't usually frequent. And my coworkers gained many joking opportunities out of it ("any rabbis on the road today?"), so really it's a win-win.

I still get the occasional honk, and mild close-calls, but overall it's been much safer than I thought it would be. And the benefits have been so plentiful that the drawbacks seem very minor. Now if only I could prevent those stupid River Oaks joggers from running on the road...
On the weekends I frequently see people going for strolls on their bikes, and it always seems like a very relaxed and enjoyable activity, but for me biking is purely utilitarian now. I do it every weekday (or at least 90-95% of the days by my estimate), and by Friday I feel fine just putting the bike away until Monday morning. I've mostly stopped running, which I loved to do, but in exchange I've gained a workout that literally blends into my day's routine. I wouldn't mind to see a few more fellow cyclists out there in the morning/evening traffic, but if a risk-adverse person like me takes to it so eagerly, I figure it's bound to catch on in Houston sooner rather than later.

Battle: Los Angeles (Liebesman, 2010)

The very moody and effective trailer (highlighted by a great use of a Johann Johannson track) had me thinking the movie ifself was bound to be average at best. And indeed it's formulaic and kind of stupid, but also very badass. This is where it helps to have low expectations. Great action, and for once the aliens weren't completely all-powerful like in every other alien movie.

**1/2

top 10 movies of 2010

1. Somewhere (S. Coppola)
2. Winter's Bone (D. Granik)
3. The Social Network (D. Fincher)
4. Black Swan (D. Aronofsky)
5. Inception ( C. Nolan)
6. Mother (J. Bong)
7. True Grit (E/J Coen)
8. The Fighter (D. Russell)
9. 127 Hours (D. Boyle)
10. Please Give (N. Holofcener)

127 Hours (Boyle, 2010)

One of the most amazing stories of human will and survival in recent history, Aron Ralston's tale gets a very just treatment by Danny Boyle whose usual dynamic directing and pop-culture sensibilities for once seem appropriate. But this effort would be naught without James Franco's incredible performance. Looks like the Oscar race for Best Actor is over already (sorry Firth, again)
***

Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010)

Astounding work all around, from the acting to the directing and the editing (especially during the virtuoso dance sequences). Natalie Portman gives her all in a career performance, and Aronofsky makes an inspired decision to alternate between different genres without really committing to one.

****

Skyline (The Brothers Strause, 2010)

Like a much more stupid version of Cloverfield, but still managed to keep things entertaining thanks to a deft blend of arresting visuals and well-constructed action scenes. This is where it helps to have (very) low expectations when going into a movie.

*1/2

Due Date (Philips, 2010)

Tough to see this one and not compare it to last year's comedy smash The Hangover, seeing as they share a star and a director. But Due Date is a much more minor effort, saved in large part by some great scenes sold by both Downey Jr's awesome deadpan and Galifianakis' weirdo routine (although he is much more grating than appealing in this one compared to The Hangover). If nothing else it confirms what I wrote in my previous review: we need more of Juliette Lewis in movies.

**1/2

Seventh Heaven

A few reasons why MTV's upcoming remake of Skins sounds like a really really bad idea;

1. It's a remake
2. Judging from the previews the first episode is a scene-by-scene remake. Gus Van Sant's Psycho, anyone?
3. The original premiered in the UK less than 4 years ago. It's not like watching it makes you feel like you're staring into a time capsule. OK, so Twitter was a non-entity back then, but this show isn't one to name-drop tech trends anyway (why do I feel like the US version will be different...)
4. The MTV-casting looks severely underwhelming. No Hannah Murray in that group, for sure.
5. At no point so far has there been confirmation in previews that the fantastic theme song by Fat Segal will be re-used. Granted, the garage and DnB musical elements on the UK version might go over the heads of most viewers on this side of the pond, but one would hope they still manage to re-use the opening song, which by the way is one of the all-time greatest ways to start your day when you wake up feeling exhausted.
6. There's no way MTV will allow the same level of cussing as on the British version, creating yet another sanitized offshoot while supposedly going for maximum edginess.
7. Because I said so

against the tide

very good piece in The Guardian yesterday about men who've noticed some of the negative effects of pornography and as a result have turned away from it

cliches

I still can't decide whether the commentary on this Big Picture post is ironic (Lady Gaga cancels gigs!!!) or just plain old-fashioned lazy writing. Oh well, at least the pictures are nice. Where's Super Frenchie when you really need him?

Conviction (Goldwyn, 2010)

there is very little in this movie that doesn't scream LOOK AT ME OSCAR, but when the performances are this good (Swank just dives into the role with ferocity, and Rockwell is as amazing as he's ever been. Please tell me he'll finally get the acting nod he deserves with this one) it really doesn't matter. The story is dealt with in a strong-hearted manner that avoids pathos where it can, at least by Hollywood standards. And at the very least this movie reminds us why we need more Juliette Lewis in our lives.

***

you mean you can leave the office before 6pm on a Friday?!?

and leave the rest at arm's length

3 words of advice if Frightened Rabbit ever come to your town: GO GO GO

pacifico

adding some refreshing tropical fever to the jangles of 2010's breakthrough genre Surf-pop, LA band Lord Huron are young, laid-back yet punchy, and deserve much more acclaim than the timid reactions they've garnered so far. The Vampire Weekend comparisons are right around the corner, but their reverberating sound, reminiscent of El Guincho, really takes a life of its own on the few songs they have put out. Tracks like "We Went Wild" or "Mighty" are what people from the future might listen to while seeing Endless Summer for the first time, and feel that very human emotion: nostalgia for something they've never known.

It's Kind Of A Funny Story (Boden/Fleck, 2010)

sometimes I wish Zach Braff had never made Garden State. I mean, I liked it at the time, but I was young and foolish, so what did I know. The main problem with it is that it jumpstarted the whole cute indie movie movement about young people having problems which they could overcome in 90mins. You've seen them 1, you've seen them all. This one's not that different, but thankfully Boden and Fleck imbue it with enough soulfulness that it doesn't just feel like a rehash. And comedy god Zach Galifianikis is a revelation as a depressed man trying to teach young Keir Gilchrist the ropes of life.

**1/2

Never Let Me Go (Romanek, 2010)

truth be told, there was little chance I was not going to be disappointed by this adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's tremendous novel. Books have this unassailable advantage over movies when it comes to describing characters' inner lives, and as such the cinematic versions can feel incomplete. However this one, while no masterpiece, has tremendous acting and densely thought-out visuals which helps connect to the source material. A dour and somber tale, for sure, but still one focused enough on sentiments that it remains true to the universal themes of the book.

***

hubba hubba

this post brought to you by the letter A

in honor of a series of biking firsts today (1st commuter seen, 1st time being honked at, 1st close-call because of an over-eager driver), I thought I'd list a few observations made so far on my commuting adventures:

- the roads of Houston are horrendous. Anyone who's driven on them knows this, but on a bike, that horrendousness goes to a whole new level. In particular there is a stretch between Taft and Montrose that I would politely define as the anti-cat's pajamas.

- drivers here are much better behaved than I thought. I do avoid many interactions and thus potential for conflict by being out there before 6:30am, but even when coming home from work when the streets are busier I haven't had too many problems so far.

- in the morning hours, many River Oaks runners prefer to jog in the opposite direction to traffic, on the street. That would be dangerous enough, more so when you consider that many of them do not wear lights or distinctive clothing. I have yet managed to establish the "thinking" behind this behavior, but I might just ask the next few individual who I see doing this for pointers.

- while cycling, one should try to adhere to the same rules governing motor vehicles. That is something you stick to the first two days of biking, before the ninja in you tries to take over. So far I've gathered from my short experience that it is better to completely stop at a red traffic light when cars are involved, and stay in a regular lane as opposed to the cycling shoulder (when there is one). Another good tip is to get going when the light turns from orange to red, as long as the cars from intersecting streets are stopped or in the process of completely stopping.

- the negative aspects of cycling are few, especially if you're lucky enough to have a fairly danger-free route, but the rewards are ever-so bountiful, and tend to reveal themselves more with passing time. Getting to work awake, feeling energized and ready to tackle the day is a feeling I had not often experienced in my working life. Now, it's pretty much a daily occurence.

But as new-agey as I might sound about the journey of bike commuting so far, I have to admit to one very negative event that almost counters everything listed above: that older guy with his fuddy-duddy bike (and panniers!) who overtook me this morning downtown. I'm gonna get some extra sleep tonight buddy, just you try to do the same thing tomorrow should we meet again...

ACL 2010

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