Holy cow, I did absolutely nothing on Sunday, only leaving the house once to go grocery shopping and once to attempt a run, although my breathing issues procluded me from going longer than 20 minutes, so I can’t even count it. What I did do is spend a lot of time reading, watching, and listening to some really good and really bad stuff.
Reading: I finished Cecilia Galante’s The Patron Saint of Butterflies. It’s a YA novel about two girls who grow up in a religious cult. It was “miss your subway stop” good, so I’m glad I read it in my living room where there was no chance of me ending up in Far Rockaway.
Movies: I’m on a bit of a spending freeze this month, so I declined to see W this weekend, and instead I relied on my Netflix. The disparate choices this weekend were 80’s classic Mannequin and The Piano Teacher, one of the 1,001 movies I must see before I die. I already knew I loved Mannequin, and I watched it with an appreciation that they just don’t make movies like that anymore. Nowadays, people prefer their plots to “make sense,” or at least have a lot of T&A. As for The Piano Teacher, *in a Men on Film voice* Hated It! While the acting was good, the overall fuckedupedness of the rest of the movie did not make up for that. It almost made me want to start hating the French, it was that bad. In short, I only watched 3/4ths of the movie, but once the Piano Teacher started making out with her own mother, I decided that I’ll be fine if I die without finishing it.
TV: OMG, everything you heard about The Wire is true. The show is more addictive than the herion being sold on the streets of Baltimore. The cats woke me up at 5AM on Sunday with their incessant catfighting and when I couldn’t get back to sleep, I stayed up to watch three epidsodes to finish up Season 4. I was going to pace myself before moving on to the final season, but by the end of the day, I decided I couldn’t wait and put Season 5 on the top of my queue.
Listening: There’s a local band called The Felice Brothers, and I popped on some of their music while making five days of Falafel for lunch this week. The songs are still in my head. Now they can be in yours:
Sports: Is there some kind of baseball thing going on this week? The Mets aren’t in it though, right? Meh. I can’t say I was bothered to watch any kind of sports this weekend.
The Internet: Again, I ignored it. All weekend, except for one time when I went to check the weather, and one time when I checked the TV listings. (Note: in the years since I’ve been TV-less, there is still nothing good on Sunday afternoons.) I didn’t miss anything, did I?
The Modern Gal said,
October 20, 2008 at 10:59 am
The Felice Brothers played at one of our local bars recently and I totally meant to go based on your recommendation for The MG cd, and I completely forgot. *slaps forehead* I’m hoping they come back.
nancypearlwannabe said,
October 20, 2008 at 11:31 am
I’m reading The Seamstress and it was just starting to get really good when the Red Sox game came on. Then the Sox broke my heart and I was mad I wasted that time I could have been reading.
Why has no one listened to my three-day weekend idea yet? I need more time!
julybug said,
October 20, 2008 at 12:14 pm
The Wire, swoon. Season 5 is amazing!
Kristabella said,
October 20, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I read the leaked online copy of the fifth Twilight book on Sunday. Which, is a good thing I did because now I am done with all her books and I can go back to having a life and stop day-dreaming about vampire boyfriends!
I watched football on Sunday. That was the extent of my TV watching. OH! And Rock of Love Charm School.
courtney said,
October 20, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Nah, you didn’t miss anything. Go Phillies.
sadieandleo said,
October 20, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I’m totally going to steal this format, btw. But I’ll give props, as only a white girl can.
Loved loved loved that you used a Men On Films voice, that was great. And thanks for the synopsis, I think I’ll pass on that one too.
I’m putting The Wire in my queue, thanks!
Allie said,
October 20, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Mannequin! I LOVE that movie. Now I’m totally going to be singing Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us Now all day. That’s not a bad thing. Not at all.
MrsTwink said,
October 20, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I am so glad that there is someone else out there who loves Mannequin!
As for The Wire… you’d think as a Baltimore resident I’d be all over this show. I just never got HBO (too cheap to pay for it) but it’s one of my to-do’s (rent the seasons).
Ann said,
October 20, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I had to go cold turkey after the first episode of season 3 of The Wire. I’m still going to finish it, but I need to make sure I have big, long blocks of unspoken-for time, which just hasn’t been the case recently.
BTW, Five Days of Falafel would be an excellent name for a band.
Kir said,
October 20, 2008 at 3:40 pm
yeah, what Allie said!
“and if this world runs out of lovers, we’ll still have each other… nothing’s gonna…” OK, I’ll stop.
Jennifer M. said,
October 20, 2008 at 9:38 pm
If you can handle the heartbreak of season 4 of The Wire, when you get a chance, you should also check out The Corner miniseries which is the same story as The Wire in a lot of ways, but all very very true. Just don’t watch all six parts in one Saturday like D and I did back in the day.
Stefanie said,
October 20, 2008 at 10:22 pm
You too, with The Wire? Everyone just raves about that show. I have never seen it. I finally gave “Dexter” a try this weekend, though, so maybe I’ll get to that one eventually, too.
And Mannequin! Oh, I haven’t seen that in years. I think it’s one I’m afraid to watch as an adult, because it couldn’t possibly live up to what I remember.
alexa said,
October 21, 2008 at 12:40 am
ive been getting into the weekend ignoring the internet thing and i LOVE it. LOVE.
Amy said,
October 21, 2008 at 10:31 am
I’ve been hearing great things about that book lately.
That settles it–I’m getting it for my kid (read: me).
Aaron said,
October 21, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Re: The Piano Teacher, Michael Haneke is a love/hate kinda guy. I only really like one of his movies (Cache).
Re: Mannequin. One of my mom’s favorites. Go figure.
Kyla Bea said,
October 21, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Miss your subway stop good? That’s how I judge books too! That’s definitely one I need to pick up then!
erikka said,
October 26, 2008 at 4:27 pm
i am so going to steal this little snippet in time post of yours. btw, that book has been on my to read list for some time. should i move it up on the list?