Okay Media, October 2006
Reading: Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas. The daily subway commute has provided a reason to read again, if only to avoid awkward stares and confrontational panhandlers. I started with Klosterman at the beach this year with Killing Yourself to Live, and have Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs waiting in the wings (if anything, his books have totally sweet names and equally cool covers - CK IV's clear jacket design doesn't disappoint). The latest installment is a collection of individual episodes and celebrity interviews (from Bono to Britney Spears) that reads, much in line with his other work, like a personal journal with the occasional footnote and obscure music reference. So far so good. Also, there was a great NY Times article yesterday about how computer-animated movies have seemingly reached a saturation point (with Pixar being the exception, of course). While Pixar has told fresh but simultaneously timeless stories with cars, monsters, fish, superheroes, bugs and toys, it seems that the majority of the competition can only make a CGI film if it involves a talking animal inappropriately voiced by whoever is popular at the time. Seems on target.
Watching: The Seven Samurai. As embarrassing as it is for me to admit, I had not seen Seven Samurai until this weekend. Now I can safely and retroactively fit Kurosawian origins into the Okay Samurai name. This 3.5 hour Japanese masterpiece must have blown people's minds out when it was released in 1954. The story and cinematography have held up remarkably well 50 years later, and you can see how far its influence has spread (Roger Ebert marked it as the birth of the modern action film). I also recently enjoyed Layer Cake, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Lucky Number Slevin.
Browsing: A new version of the root42 international graphic design forum launched a few weeks ago, and this one was hand-coded from scratch by the wickedly talented Rob Mason. There are so many inspiring creative minds from around the world here - and it's always refreshing to hear their take on political and social issues as well.
Playing: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, in preparation for the Twilight Princess in a little over a month. The black and white sequence with the frozen-in-time underwater castle is a mastery of the medium. There are so many reasons why this game rocks, but the music might be the very best one. Nintendo pulls on my nostalgic heartstrings when I hear familiar themes that used to be bleeps and bloops now realized as fully orchestrated symphonies. Even the in-game fighting is punctuated with dynamic string progressions and percussive blasts upon each hit. Every morning when I step into the elevator, the Zelda "secret passageway" chimes ring in my head. This and Metroid Prime are Nintendo's two near-perfect efforts from the Gamecube generation.
Listening: WQXR 96.3 FM. New York's classical music station is currently my alarm clock, and there is nothing nicer than waking up to a Cello Concerto in A Flat Major (although one day I was late to work because the "alarm" started in the middle of a pianissimo flute trio). Now I know in New York you're supposed to wake up to jackhammers and foreign taxicab obscenities, but sometimes Park Slope feels like a different world altogether. Quite a few of you have probably seen the video for Weird Al's White and Nerdy, but it's worth mentioning solely for the "keep your 40 / I'll just have an Earl Grey tea" line and Donny Osmond cameo. I'm also eager to check out Fascination Streak's recent recommendations...Howard has never steered me wrong (except tasting that leftover apricot salsa in the back of the fridge once).
Visiting: Former roommate / everyone's favorite crazy republican Mike Ferenczy is in NYC this Friday, Celebrity Jeopardy is at Radio City Music Hall this Saturday, and I'll be heading out to San Francisco for the weekend of October 13 (for the first time in like 20+ years). I'm also hoping to squeeze in a samurai reunion back in DC sometime later this month. (See you at the Ram Oasis. Thanks for the hot chocolate, Mrs. Birkhoffer. Coach says if I watch my caloric intake I might play second-string.) And with those inside jokes that only four people will find even remotely funny, good night and namaste.
Tuesday, October 3 at 8:53 PM
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