Sundance

On Thursday night I was watching The Good Wife, my new obsession (only three years after it premiered), when Rae texted me. She’s in town for Sundance, had an extra ticket, and wondered if I would like to join her. Yes, of course! Who fills a theater seat better than me? The show was at 8:30 in the am—I haven’t been up for one of those in a while—so on my way to Park City, I swung by Starbucks. Their new thing is blonde coffee meaning lighter roasts whereas I prefer a bold, dark roast myself. But it was that or Pike Place which I detest. The Veranda roast ending up kicking my ass. I was so wired, I was literally jumping out of my skin during the screening. I thought I would shake right out of my seat. The people next to me must have thought that I was some kind of junkie going through withdrawals. Nope. I had just had a small coffee, lightly roasted. What the what?!

The film we saw was Your Sister’s Sister from writer/director Lynn Shelton, best known so far for Humpday (which I enjoyed). Your Sister’s Sister, which first debuted at Toronto, was the perfect way to kick off a day at Sundance. It stars Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Mark Duplass (whom I’ve been lusting after since Humpday). Shelton is associated with the mumblecore film movement (“the new talkies”) which often focuses on characters and dialogue. These are two of my favorite things. Duplass plays Jack, a man whose life if going nowhere. I can relate. His best friend, Iris (Blunt), who was dating his recently deceased brother, convinces him to go off on a personal retreat at her family’s island cabin somewhere in the Puget Sound. There he unexpectedly runs into Iris’s lesbian half-sister, Hannah (DeWitt). Things get complicated when Jack and Hannah drunkenly hookup and Iris shows up for a surprise visit. The film is hysterically funny and quite heartwarming as these quirky characters figure out the next step in their lives—which the movie leaves open-ended. It’s such a great film! I just had the best time. I can’t wait for it to finally show up sometime later this year in select cities. In the meantime I can rewatch Humpday and catch up on Shelton’s and Duplass’s previous projects.

Afterward, I got to catch up with Rae as we rode buses and taxis around Park City trying to get tickets for other showings that day. On one cab ride with two fabulous East Coast lesbians we got their tickets for Shorts V as they couldn’t go. That was pretty awesome. Or so we thought—we’ll get to that later. We both needed protein as well, so we found a diner that was crammed with people and had far too many Gregs which caused confusion. But I finally did get my English muffin which helped stop the shaking. After I got waitlisted for Middle of Nowhere, we hung out the hotel and gossiped waiting for the show. When we got there, someone ended up having an extra ticket so I didn’t have to wait in the standby line after all. Festival goers in Park City are awesome!

The film Middle of Nowhere, in its world premiere, was written and directed by Ava DuVernay. It’s a domestic drama that takes place in the greater Los Angeles area as a wife waits for her man who is in prison. The wife, Ruby, is played by Emayatzy E. Corinealdi who is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen (she was also there in real life for the Q&A). Hopefully we will see more of her; she deserves to become a difficult-to-pronounce household name. Despite some slow parts, this drama was very well written and acted and avoids cliché to truthfully depict these characters’ lives. Just as her husband Derek is about to be paroled after four years of good time, his record is sullied when a fire breaks out in his wing and other details come to light. Just as he is facing an additional four years in prison, Ruby begins a relationship with her bus driver, Brian (David Oyelowo, who is also gorgeous. and English!). It’s beautifully shot and full of close-ups which draws us into the drama. Also, I had a possible Chris Pratt sighting. If it wasn’t Chris Pratt, it was a very attractive man wearing very expensive clothes who looks exactly like Chris Pratt.

Afterward, Rae and I chatted over pints of Guinness and shots of Jameson at an Irish sports bar. The service was terrible—we never did get our nachos!—but in the end our server bought our beers which was at least semi-decent of her. We then went to dinner at the J&G Grill at the St. Regis Deer Valley, the treat of Rae’s fiancé. I can’t even tell you how amazing it was. First, we had to ride up to the restaurant in a funicular—look it up. We had the best wine I have ever had. For an appetizer we ordered the black truffle pizza which was divinely decadent. For the entrée, I got the glazed Niman short rib with jalapeno-apple puree and rosemary crumbs. Oh. My. God. I have never had short ribs before, and now I am obsessed. Obsessed. It is one of the best things I have ever tasted in this life. And for desert, apple crisp. Now that was fine dining. I now know how the other half (and by half I mean 1%) lives, and why they don’t want to give it up. I was Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, only with slightly better table manners. Last night, I had fish sticks. Fish. Sticks. I have surrendered the ruby necklace and am back to my shitty hooker’s apartment. *sigh*

To end the night, Rae and I went to see Short Films V. WTF? Seriously, what the fuck? That’s all I have to say, except that I’m going to say a lot more. There were seven short films, each one worse than the one before. They were shocking, disturbing, and exploitative. And not in a good way. I did not find any of them artistic and/or meaningful. After each one a piece of my soul died. If this was the crème de la crème of all the shorts submitted, I have to tell you that it’s curdled cream from a rotten crop. Dear Sundance, if you need someone with eyes, ears, and taste to help go through the shorts submissions, I would like to humbly volunteer. Let me briefly tell you about a few of them. The second short was basically gay porn as a guy is looking for some action in a public mall restroom. At first nothing was shown, it was all implied. But then there were flashes of masturbation and fellatio. I’m not a prude and like seeing cock on screen as much as more than the next person. But if you’re going to use hardcore sex in a film please try to do it as tastefully and meaningfully as John Cameron Mitchell (see: Shortbus). People were laughing but only because it was uncomfortable, outrageous, and well, okay, slightly funny. People stopped laughing when there was use of religious imagery that bordered on blasphemous. There was a strange Bolivian film that began with the Official Sundance Selection seal, which at first seemed funny and self-aware. It was interminably long, boring, and painful. In the end I think that seal was used in all self-important seriousness. There was one set in the Scottish highlands where past and present collide. However, it was the goriest thing I have ever seen (between splayed fingers) and full of very black humor. However, I think it jumped the shark from what could have been interesting and funny to something tasteless and sickening. The coup de grâce was the last film. At least I think it was the last film. Rae and I—and half the theater—walked out before the credits had finished to even see if there was any more torture to be endured. Walking out of a festival screening is a pretty big faux pas, but we were well and fully done. Only Dain and Elise know about that bizarre animated short with the chicken and the eggs and the pirates that was absolutely traumatizing. This was even worse and more horrifying by a factor of a lot—and more soul-crushing than all the other films combined. And I was only listening, because from the first ten seconds I knew this was something I could not handle, mostly because of the animation style. So I closed my eyes for most of it. The motto of this year’s festival is “Look Again,” but every time I opened my eyes and glanced up at the screen, I was given a good reason to shut my eyes again. And it was SO LONG. It just would not end. At the end I felt like standing up and saying “I reject you!” much like Jen Andrews does before she walks out of weekday matinees where no one is there. But that’s pretty daring to do in a full theater, especially when the directors are sitting five rows in front of you. I was surprised that no one booed—during any of them. But maybe that’s something they only do at Cannes. Remember how those New York lesbians were just looking to give their tickets away? They knew what was up. “Because they don’t sleep with men, their other senses are heightened.”

So to recap: Your Sister’s Sister is the best thing I’ve seen so far in 2012. The shorts were the worst thing I have ever seen. Ever. Short ribs are fucking delicious. Also, driving down Parley’s Canyon is terrifying, especially in the dark. The End.

Ghosts of Turkeys Past

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. In fact, I'm going to my first of three dinners this Sunday. It's the annual "Apartment Thanksgiving" with my college friends, only none of us currently live in apartments. I will be making cranberry sauce (it's my thing), pumpkin roll, brownie cheesecake (for Ellen who dislikes pumpkin and pies), and spinach dip. The big day itself will be hosted at my house with 20-30 relatives from both family sides. Ugh. We'll have two turkeys--one oven roasted, the other deep-fried. I'm making rolls and cranberry sauce. The final meal will be at Elise's the Sunday after. It will also be the only boozy one. In addition to the sauce, I'll be bringing dressing and some sort of pie.

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was not my favorite holiday. There were relatives to contend with, televised parades to ignore, football games to avoid, and homework to procrastinate. But once I got to college, there were also friends to celebrate with and from many Friendsgivings, it has become one of my favorite holidays. Besides, I love to cook and eat. So here are my top five Thanksgivings.

2005
I was a sophomore in college living in the Villa apartments with five other guys. Gross. I was also working at Convergys where employees were guaranteed only one of the Big Three holidays off: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. I got Christmas off, which meant I would be on my own in Cedar City for the holiday and working. But it actually was really fun. Work was really slow, so we played games like Ten Fingers (I Have Never) and bounced bouncy balls all over the call room. The few people who did call in always wished me a Happy Thanksgiving. Then I went home to an empty apartment--all mine. I don't remember what I had to eat, but I did drink an entire bottle of Meier's Sparkling grape juice (that stuff is seriously good guys!) while watching The Rules of Attraction (something of a guilty pleasure). After the movie I was so wound up--sugar rush!--that I went cruising Cedar's Main Street (a favorite pastime of mine), and the street was decorated and lit up for holidays and Christmas music was playing on the radio. All in all, it was a lovely way to spend Thanksgiving by myself.

2010
Last year I hosted my first Thanksgiving with Heidi. We were going to feed all the iSchool orphans who didn't have family in the area, but in the end they all decided to fly home for family Thanksgivings anyway. (Even my dad called last minute, offering to fly me home for the weekend, but I didn't want to leave Heidi all alone.) This did not deter me from making an entire feast including my first turkey (well turkey breast--nobody was coming and Heidi's vegetarian). Heidi made the mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and a pumpkin spice cake. I made everything else--we had rolls for days. In the end Chloe and Cameron were are only guests bringing cranberry bread and sparkling pinot noir. We had plenty of wine and plenty of food. After dinner we played Trivial Pursuit. And then I did have to finish an assignment that I didn't understand (on Thanksgiving! evil!) drunk. The other nice part of last year was that campus operations were suspended Monday evening (just as I was leaving work) due to a little snow and cold weather that resulted in two snow days. No class for a whole week. It was a Thanksgiving miracle.

2008
The year before I left for Seattle, I had a Friendsgiving at Chez Whitney's. There was much drunkenness so I don't remember a whole lot of the food, except that it was delicious. Pecan pie, yum! There was even a fight/breakdown which just means that it is officially the holidays. We ended up watching Pieces of April drunk and doped out on fat calories. Good friend times. Dain, Whitney, Alex, Elise, I miss us.

The Gang (not on Thanksgiving)

2006
This was Apartment Thanksgiving my junior year. After dinner we moved all of the couches outside, huddled under blankets, and sang Christmas songs. It was very cold. and fun.

The furniture is outside!

Huddling under the blankets with Valerie. It was cold!

1995
This was one of the more unusual Thanksgivings I've had. We went camping in the Nevada desert outside of Boulder. My step-grandfather's nephew owns an old gold mine there, so there we went. It was also my first time eating deep-fried turkey. We kids explored the caves, shot potato guns, and went on a wild treasure hunt on ATVs.

(Dis)Honorable Mention
2007
My senior year I lived in an apartment with an oven that didn't work properly. It turned out one of the heating elements was broken. We did not realize this for the longest time. Even after the turkey had been roasting for quite some time, it still was not cooked. So we took the turkey over to Ellen's apartment, but in the end, Melissa carved the bird up and cooked the pieces in a pan. If it weren't for her, we may have all died or at least gotten very sick.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Ten Things

Is it November already? When did this happen?! And what's all this white stuff on the ground? Now that I again live (for the meanwhile) where snow happens, I hope we all have a milder winter than last year.

1. Ceremonials, the sophomore album by Florence + the Machine is no slump. If you enjoyed Lungs, I think you'll like this. If, however, you're no fan of Florence, this is not for you as it's Flo in overdrive--dark, sonic anthems full of harps and unrelenting drums. The BBC's critique that it's "all grandeur without any grace" may be legitimate; it is relentless, but I find it more exhilarating than exhausting. And it's provided excellent opportunities for awesome kitchen dancing in front of god and everyone. My favorite review is from the A.V. Club: "Ceremonials is Welch barreling off a cliff on wings made of dear-diary sentiment, art-school theatrics, and pure-cut sincerity, and somehow, against all odds, she manages to soar." Some of my favorite tracks include the singles "Shake It Out," "What the Water Gave Me," "No Light, No Light" as well as "All This and Heaven Too."

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2. I am loving the nonfiction book Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by one of my favorite critics Mark Harris (who is married to Tony Kushner--what a power couple!). The book traces the five Best Picture nominees of 1967--In the Heat of the Night, Bonnie and Clyde, Doctor Dolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner--just as the old Hollywood studio system was crumbling along with the Production Code. It's a brilliant piece of cultural history with fascinating profiles of key players such as Warren Beatty, Mike Nichols, Dustin Hoffman, and Sidney Poitier.

3. With the Halloween jack-o-lanterns moldering and the advent of snow, Christmas commercials have already begun. Ugh. Two full months of soul-crushing consumerism run amok.

4. Speaking of Halloween, my group of friends went as old people. I did not choose this theme as I found it borderline offensive and being old is not really a costume--it's something that happens if one is lucky to live long enough. Anyway, I ended up looking a bit like my uncle Richard. So this is probably what I'll look like when I'm sixty, god willing that I live that long and keep all my hair. Yes, I am wearing a tracksuit.

5. Speaking of Christmas, I may be jumping the gun, but I'm looking forward to making this year's playlist. As much as I enjoy effervescent pop like Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," I really love melancholy Christmas music--you know, like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "River." So I'm kind of excited by the spare and bluesy sounds from A Very She & Him Christmas, the latest offering from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.

6. This mock vintage Inception poster. I want it.

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7. These applesauce oat bran muffins adapted from Martha Stewart Living. They're so moist, chewy, spicy, lightly sweetened, healthy, and delicious. A note: they are not very quick to whip up, plus you'll have to buy things like wheat bran, ground flax seed, and dried dates. Still, excellent. They keep well and they'll keep you regular.

8. If you were planning on reading Death Comes to Pemberley, yet another Austen sequel/reworking, you can just read this digested version from the Guardian. It's hilarious, so you should all read it, even if you're not an Austenhead. You're welcome.

9. The Occupy Wall Street movement has filled me with hope and on occasion tears (of joy). In my own small way I am in the middle of transferring my money out of the big bank Chase to the more regional Zions. One day--when I have a job and don't live with the parentals--I plan on using a credit union.

10. I wasn't really planning on seeing the upcoming film Immortals, but these two things have (mostly) changed my mind.
a) The truth in advertising of this commercial:

b) Henry Cavill naked and dirty:

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10 Things

(Sometimes I hate Blogger--your rich text editor is kinda terrible.)

1. I HATE frosting/icing, don't you? It's so sickly sweet. Gag. I also hate confectioners' sugar--I'm not sure if I hate it because I hate icing, or if I hate icing because I hate confectioners' sugar. (Also, I don't like powdered donuts.) One time I did make a French buttercream frosting--it was pretty good though also very labor-intensive. I made it for a birthday cake for a combined birthday party for Ellen and me. in the summer. in the park. where it melted. because it's mostly butter. It was still pretty decent.

2. I am rereading Great Expectations which is my favorite Dickens novel. I'm reading it with my good friend Lillian from UW who is a lover of nineteenth century literature. It's her first time with GE. Naturally, I am also listening to Tori Amos's song "Siren" which she wrote for the modern adaptation starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. By the way Charles Dickens's bicentennial is next year.

Currently I'm still reading Frankenstein, The Catcher in the Rye, and rereading The Golden Compass.

3. Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) as Batman on Parks and Recreation. It was the greatest thing in the world; I about died. I think Adam Scott is sexy adorable, I love the character of Ben, and I love Batman. Super hawt! The whole episode "Pawnee Rangers" was excellent. Treat yo self to it!
4. Socks. That's what Ben Wyatt treats himself to, and you know what, socks are awesome! I ran around the whole summer in bare feet and flip-flops and that's one of the things I love about summer. But now that autumn's here and the days are colder, I get to treat my feet to warm, soft, comfortable socks. I hate the standard white crew sock, and for a while I was into the whole no sock fashion look, but now I just love a colorful (solid, stripped, patterned, argyle) dress or boot sock.

5. Zachary Quinto. He just officially came out even though it really wasn't a secret. I've had a crush on him way before he played Sylar or Spock. It was when he was Tori Spelling's gay best friend on the pretty terrible TV show So NoTORIous.
6. Mizithra cheese. If it were physically possible to make love to a cheese product, this would be the one. I haven't had mizithra in years, but it has returned to my life, and we are so, so happy together.

7. In other food news, how good are French dip sandwiches? Amahzing. The best one I ever had was at Hell's Kitchen in Minneapolis. The Robin's Nest in SLC also makes a good one. I like to top mine with Swiss cheese and pickles, yes pickles. It's delicious!

8. I recently made a Tarte Tatin, an upside-down French apple tart. I wish I had taken a picture because it turned out so brilliantly. I was nervous because it looked so intimidating, but like so much French food the impressive results belie how easy and simple it actually is. I used the recipe from The New Best Recipe Cookbook which I adore. Try making one sometime. I'll send you the recipe if you want.

9. My fingertips are currently peeling. I'm not sure why, but I think I've ruled out leprosy. But I'm just a librarian, not a doctor. According to some web forums I've looked at, it may be a bacterial or fungal infection. If it doesn't get better soon, I guess I'll have to see the doctor. It's weird, and kind of gross.

10. Horror films. 'Tis the season. I just saw Carrie--who knew the scariest parts were after she killed everyone at the prom (*spoiler alert*)? Man, oh, man. Currently, I have Manhunter at home. I'm also trying to decide whether to Exorcist or not to Exorcist. On the one hand I love Ellen Burstyn and "Tubular Bells" (as played by Tori Amos, anyway). On the other hand, demonic possession terrifies me (which I guess is kind of the point). I'm not even sure why really since in my personal experience the Mormon church doesn't really focus on possession (though they do believe it can occur), so it wasn't a huge childhood concern. But I would much rather watch a ghost story and/or a psychological thriller.

Anyway, I thought I would list my top five scary movies. Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a masterpiece. The (original) Haunting is the scariest film I have ever seen. El Orfanato is a wonderful ghost story. The Innocents is a ghostly thriller story based on James's story "The Turn of the Screw." Those children are terrifying! Finally, the gloomy and turgid Interview with the Vampire for its homoeroticism between Cruise and Pitt, Dunst's uncanny performance, and that ending scene which scared me for the longest time.

I thought you might enjoy this macabre animated short of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" which was nominated for an Oscar (1953) and narrated by James Mason.

School and Sushi

So this is the end of the first week of my last quarter of school. (Well at least of library school--maybe one day I'll want to get another Master's.) It's scary because I need to start looking for jobs NOW, and I don't want to. However, apart from that, I think I'm going to really enjoy my last quarter.

I'm taking Library Technical Systems online this quarter. I should have taken it last quarter in person instead of Government Publications, but live and learn right (and then get Luvs). The word "technical" scares me, but I think it's going to be a very good, practical course and perhaps help ease my technophobia. I don't want to be a systems librarian (the people who run the technological back-end of libraries), but any and all technical skills can only help me in the job search. So far the work load is not too bad, and the online discussions have been interesting.

I'm taking The History of Recorded Information which is a humanities-style class on information coupled with special collections. It may be one of my favorite classes ever. I've never been that interested in special collections, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should have taken more classes in that specialty--it's much more interesting than I thought. It's one of the few classes in the Information School where it's okay to say that we actually like books and have concerns over the exponential growth of technology--concerns I've had since starting this program. There's going to be a lot of reading for this course and a very long research paper due at the end, but I've very excited.

My last class is Nancy Pearl's reader's advisory class. In the fall I took her Genres for Adult Readers. We haven't actually had class yet as we meet every other Saturday. I'm also excited for this class. We have to read three books--the whole class is reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, then we each get to choose a narrative nonfiction from an approved list (I'm considering The Liar's Club, The Tender Bar, or The Devil in the White City), and finally a book suggested by an reader's advisory peer--we'll see what I get. I think my favorite part of her classes is that every week I get to send the Nancy Pearl a journal entry on reading and books, and she actually reads it and responds with comments! Awesome.

Being at work every day by nine o'clock is kicking my ass. I do not care for this going to bed and walking up early thing. It is absolutely no fun. And I'm realizing that life is going to be very long and tiring as a responsible adult.

Yesterday, my friends and I decided to make sushi and watch The Lost World. Jason, Meagan, and I drove down I-5 on a Saturday (which is something I never recommend) to go to the Asian market downtown in the International District. Then we picked up Susan, consumed Dick's, and headed back to Megan's to make sushi which is a very involved process. We consumed a lot of Bourbon and made California rolls, Philadelphia rolls, and spicy tuna rolls. They were all very good, and we did not die (well, at least I didn't). We also had mochi, miso soup, and Riesling (which of these is not like the others?). Then we watched The Lost World--we had watched Jurassic Park a few weeks earlier--which I had never seen before. Since I didn't see these movies growing up, I was not all that attached. It was fun, but it made me miss my dinner/movie nights with Whitney, Dain, Elise, and Alex. Those were good times.

The Day After Yesterday

I am thankful for my roommate Heidi who did almost all the dishes from yesterday's feast.

Only Cameron and Chloe came over, but that did not deter me from making a feast. We were small in numbers but had enough food to feed an army. My thinking was that you can never have too much food at Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving leftovers are the best leftovers of all.

I started taking some pictures of the food but then I forgot, so this post will not be illustrated. If you would like to see what the food (mostly) looked like, you can go to The Pioneer Woman Cooks. It is my new favorite blog and is where I got most of my recipes this year. Besides, she's a better cook and photographer than I.

On Tuesday I first made cranberry sauce which I do every year. Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce is a sad state of affairs. On Wednesday night I made an apple de leche pie (oh my!) and then proceeded to eat the rest of the dulce de leche from the can.

I bought a 6+ lb turkey breast and brined the bird for over 24 hours. The meat was very moist, but I don't know that the flavor was exceptional. This was my first year roasting a turkey--I had to buy a meat thermometer!--but I think it went pretty well. The nice thing about a small bird is that it only took around 3 hours to cook. The sad thing about buying a turkey breast is that there's no dark meat.

On Thursday morning I started the Parker House rolls. I thought about halving the recipe, but opted against that. It made about a bajillion rolls. Well the recipe says 36, but I think we got more than that. But rolls are the best!

Then I made homemade stuffing which was basically a cubed baguette topped with onion and celery sauteed in butter and boiled with herbs and vegetable broth. It was actually quite good.

While the turkey was resting, I made gravy from the drippings. This was my first time making meat gravy, but it turned out all right, I think. While this was all happening, Heidi made a pumpkin spice cake (Heidi once had a bad experience with pumpkin pie, so this was not allowed), mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.

Cameron and Chloe brought us some cranberry bread and sparkling Pinot Noir. It was delicious--after it was gone, we had some Washington State Merlot and New Zealand Suavignon Blanc. Tasty! And since Heidi doesn't drink, this equated to a bottle per person. After dinner was done, but before dessert, we played a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. Chloe won of course. She recently auditioned for Jeopardy, and may get a call any day to be on the show. I almost got a third wedge, but I answered Julie Kristeva instead of Julie Christie. Similar names; very different people. I blame the wine.

After they had left, and I was quite drunk, I had to finish an assignment that was due that night. On Thanksgiving! Evil. And the assignment was evil. It was a lot of work about web crawlers--something I understand at a very minimal level. The hardest part was going to open source crawlers and trying to find certain architecture features. I just made stuff up.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday this year. How did it go? What are you thankful for?

Once I finish the dishes, I'm going to catch a matinee of Love and Other Drugs. I'll report back. I'll also give a rundown of my holiday playlist.