Sean Henri

Try something new

March 25, 2008 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

It's always nice to get out and try something new instead of following the same old routine.   I did a bit of that on Saturday and Sunday.  My friend Mindy and I went into New Haven to check out the Yale Art Gallery.  I was a bit surprised by the amount of famous artworks featured their permanent collection.  I spent years working directly across the street and I never had any clue they were there.  The gallery is free to the public and absolutely  worth your time if you've never been there. 

Aside from the gallery, we met up with our friend Kam for some lunch at the Educated Burgher, drove up to East Rock, and ventured down to the coastline to check out Fort Nathan Hale.

The day's adventures got me thinking.  There are so many things to do around Connecticut that many people my age never seem to think of doing.  I wonder if maybe they simply don't know about them.  I frequently hear complaints that "Connecticut sucks" or have people tell me they can't go out because they're low on money.  Well aside from my lunch and gas, everything I did on Saturday was free.  It doesn't cost a penny to go to a park or the beach.  Museums and galleries rarely charge for admission and if they do it's a few dollars at the most.  There's so many things to do on a weekend aside from just going to a bar every Friday night at 10.

We live in a great state.  It's filled with cultural, historical, and recreational attractions.  Its proximity to New York, Massachussets and Rhode Island make it even better.  There's tons of great places to see and things to do that are all within a day's drive.  So an idea I have is to start up a new blog that focuses on these sort of things.  I have a few co-authors lined up, so it may be something we get going soon.  The blog will feature strictly localized content.  It's just an idea now, but I see this coming together in the near future.  It needs a name.  Any thoughts?

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Art & Design, Culture, New Haven, Thoughts & Ideas | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (2)

The American Rock Scene Sucks

December 19, 2007 // 7 Comments  // Add yours »

Lately I've been seriously craving some new music.  So I asked around a bit and got some halfway decent suggestions, but none of them overly impressed me.  Then yesterday, I got an email from an Irish friend of mine who suggested that I listen to two different bands.  One of them was The Fratellis - a band from Glasgow, Scotland.  Freakin' incredible...  one of the best new bands I've come across in a while.  So this got me thinking.  Why does the music that's successful in America suck so much?  I mean, about 90% of the music I listen to comes from the UK.  Is there some law that says that the major labels in the US can only release and promote garbage?  Why am I forced to listen to Kid Rock's latest single when I turn on the radio?  Why do I have to reach across the Atlantic ocean to find something that's worth listening to? 

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Paul McCartney's Ecce Cor Meum on DVD

October 23, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Footage from the world premier performance of Paul McCartney's "Ecce Cor Meum" comes out on DVD  this November 20th.  I don't tend to listen to much classical music but I found this to be quite good.  So good I went to go to see the US premier at Carnegie Hall last November. Of course there were a few other factors in my decision to go see it, one being that this guy was a part of the most important band that ever existed, and I must admit I'm a big fan.  But seriously, I think it's worth a good listen.  It's fantastic stuff.  So pick this sucker up.

Update: The release of Paul's Ecce Cor Meum DVD has been put back until early 2008. Dates are currently being rescheduled, but a February/March release is most likely.

On another totally unrelated yet somewhat similar note:   If you like good music I'd suggest listening to Silverchair's "Young Modern".  I was a bit skeptical about how much I'd like it after seeing the very bland / pop-like video for the song Straight Lines, but now that I've heard full album a few dozen times I think it's one of the best group of songs I've heard all year.  It's creative, melodic, and has some interesting orchestral arrangements composed with a little help from former Beach Boy collaborator Van Dyke Parks.

Personal favs:

• Those Thieving Birds (Part 1)/Strange Behaviour/Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)
• Insomnia
• If You Keep Losing Sleep
• Low

Thus concludes my statement of the night.

Posted in:  Culture, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (0)

Across the Universe

September 14, 2007 // 4 Comments  // Add yours »

A new movie-musical built around Beatles songs opens nationwide next week.  Across the Universe features characters like Jude, Lucy, Max, Sadie, Mister Kite, Prudence, JoJo, and Dr. Robert.  I've just seen a few clips as well as the trailer and it looks very promising.

I'll be heading into Manhattan tonight with a few fellow Beatles fans for an early showing!  I figure a movie based on some of the best songs ever written has to be at least somewhat decent.  Even if the plot sucks, I know I'll love the music.  According to Wikipedia.com, the movie features the following songs:

1. "Girl" Performed by Jim Sturgess (cast member)
2. "Helter Skelter" Performed by Dana Fuchs (cast member)
3. "Hold Me Tight" Performed by Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Lisa Hogg (cast members)
4. "All My Loving" Performed by Jim Sturgess (cast members)
5. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" Performed by T. V. Carpio (cast member)
6. "With a Little Help from My Friends" Performed by Joe Anderson, Jim Sturgess & "Dorm Buddies" (cast members)
7. "It Won't Be Long" Performed by Evan Rachel Wood (cast member)
8. "I've Just Seen a Face" Performed by Jim Sturgess (cast member)
9. "Let It Be" Performed by Carol Woods, Timothy T. Mitchum (cast members)
10. "Come Together" Performed by Joe Cocker, Martin Luther (cast members)
11. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" Performed by Dana Fuchs (cast member)
12. "If I Fell" Performed by Evan Rachel Wood (cast member)
13. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" Performed by Joe Anderson (cast member)
14. "Dear Prudence" Performed by Dana Fuchs, Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, T. V. Carpio (cast members)
15. "Flying" Performed by The Secret Machines (not cast members)
16. "Blue Jay Way" Performed by The Secret Machines (not cast members)
17. "I Am the Walrus" Performed by Bono (cast member) and the Secret Machines (not cast members)
18. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" Performed by Eddie Izzard (cast member)
19. "Because" Performed by Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, T. V. Carpio, Martin Luther (cast members)
20. "Something" Performed by Jim Sturgess (cast member)
21. "Oh Darling" Performed by Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther (cast members)
22. "Strawberry Fields Forever" Performed by Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson (cast members)
23. "Revolution" Performed by Jim Sturgess (cast members)
24. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Performed by Martin Luther (cast member)
25. "Happiness is a Warm Gun" Performed by Joe Anderson (cast member)
26. "Blackbird" Performed by Evan Rachel Wood (cast member)
27. "Hey Jude" Performed by Joe Anderson (cast member)
28. "Don't Let Me Down" Performed by Dana Fuchs (cast member)
29. "All You Need is Love" Performed by Jim Sturgess, Dana Fuchs (cast members)
30. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" Performed by Bono (this song plays over the end credits and is not performed on camera)

Also featured in the film

1. "Across The Universe" Performed by Jim Sturgess (cast member)
2. "And I Love Her" - brief extract incorporated into instrumental score

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My mom's a big Keith Urban fan

August 02, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

Parts of a video that I shot of my mother and a bunch of other Keith Urban fans at Yale is now playing on the big screen at Keith Urban concerts across the country.  I think it's kinda cool.  She also gets to meet the guy at a concert sometime later this month.  Here's footage with parts of the video playing behind the band at one of the recent shows:

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Throw away your television!

July 27, 2007 // 4 Comments  // Add yours »

Imagine how much more productive you'd probably be if you never had the option of watching television.  Suddenly you'd have countless extra hours in a week when you'd have to find something else to do. 

It's hard to imagine what the world would be like if suddenly there was no television.  Would people go outside more?  Would you see more people walking down the streets or socializing with friends or neighbors on their front porches?  Would the obesity epidemic go away?  Would you actually do something beneficial for yourself or for society?

Probably not.  The couch potatoes would simply migrate to their computer and play video games or surf the internet.  But still, I think that would definitely be a step in the right direction.  At least a person playing a video game would have to do some thinking.  The internet could be a great source of information and goes way beyond just the sound-bites and headlines that TV news gives you. 

Television allows you to be mindless.  It encourages you not to think.  TV networks want you to sit there and be sucked into the garbage they're feeding you so they could keep making a buck.  Seriously... how many times have you watched a reality show on VH1 and when it was done thought to yourself "wow, that was half hour well spent"???  Never!

Some people might actually go out and start experiencing life.   If they did they would find that their life had changed for the better and they'd never go back.  Does anybody honestly believe that watching somebody experience something on TV is better than experiencing it for yourself?

To my friends that come home from work every day and turn on the television to unwind - do you have any idea how much time you actually waste sitting there?  If you spend just two hours a day watching television you will have lost over 4 years of your life by the time your 50.  Imagine what you could have done with those 4 years!!  Think of all the people you could have met, all the places you could have gone and all the things you could have accomplished.  Your life could be totally different.

If you're reading this - I DARE you to disconect your tv for a full month.  Hide it somewhere if you need to.  And don't go over your friends house to watch it either.  I guarantee you you'll notice a positive improvement in your life.  And I'm not going to be a hypocrite on this one.  Tonight my TV leaves my room and leaves it leaves for good.      

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Who is Radioman?

July 01, 2007 // 5 Comments  // Add yours »

Radioman, or "Radio" is a bum.  His real name is Craig Castaldo and he's a former homeless man from NYC who earned his name by having a large radio hanging from his neck.  What makes him stand out from other homeless guys is the fact that he's appeared in over 30 major motion pictures, including The Departed, Mr. Deeds, Elf, and Godzilla. 

I first encountered Radioman while I was waiting in line to meet Paul McCartney last November.  At first I thought he was just trying to find a place to sleep, but then the next day we actually saw him in the building waiting in line with the rest of us.  I learned his name when a couple of guys walked by and shouted "Hey Radio!"  He sat there all night rewinding his tape and singing along to commercial jingles that he liked.   It was really annoying.

Fast forward to yesterday - I was in New Haven picking up my costume for Indiana Jones 4, when Radioman bursts into the door and runs right past security.  At first everyone was kind of startled, but once they realized who he was they brought him over, gave him a shave and a costume, and let him be an extra. 

Following the last shoot of the day, Radioman walked towards Steven Spielberg to personally thank him for allowing him be in the movie.  Spielberg let him come right up to him, shook his hand and said  "No problem!  Great to see you again".  Again?  They know each other?  So I looked him up online.  There are pictures of Radioman kissing Jessica Simpson, a story about him in the New York Times, and even a profile on IMDB.   His website features pictures of himself alongside people like Tom Cruise, Pierce Brosnan, and Johnny Depp. 

Radioman used to be homeless and a drunk, but now is able to support himself by collecting the small amount of money he earns from being an extra in movies, and by selling the autographs of the celebrities he meets.  Sometimes he sells autographs for sandwiches.  He's become well known among New York celebrities, and is a source of information for paparazzi because he's "in the know" when it comes to celebrity appearances and movie filming. He has hopes of becoming a big actor himself one day.

From the New York Times.

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Paul McCartney talks about his younger fans

June 26, 2007 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

In this interview with Sir Paul McCartney about his recent show in New York, the interviewer expresses his amazement at the growing number of young Beatles fans and mentions how two of his contest winners, possibly my friends Steph & Bret, were born in the 1980's!!!  Paul then responds with his thoughts.

Paul: A lot of people (from) my generation would think: 'Well the only people that are gonna really like my music are the people who grew up with it'.  You know?  People who are my age.  Maybe a little bit younger...but, that's it.
Interviewer: Two of the five winners (Steph & Bret) we had on Wednesday morning were born in the 1980's!
Paul: Ha!  Is that possible?  Haha nobody was born in 1980..
Interviewer: No it's possible
Paul: Er, no exactly that's the thing.  And I see that at my shows.  You get these generations - you'll get the people my age, and then you'll get their kids, and then their kids.  And, I love it!  Cuz, these kids know the music.  They know it better than I do.
Interviewer: Well I tried to make it a little difficult to win the tickets to the show, because I wanted to make sure that real Paul McCartney fans would win, obviously.  So I didn't just say.. be the 25th caller and you're in.  I asked questions that Paul McCartney fans would be able to answer.
Paul: Mmhmm.
Interviewer: And those two young people, born in the 1980's, knew the answers!
Paul: You know, it's phenomenal, I must say.  But it's great!  It's kinda, you know, very satisfying to think that young kids are into it.
Interviewer: What would you say to your young fans... ?
Paul: ...What would I say? I would say thank you for like, appreciating something we did a long time ago.  But, I'm with them.  I understand that thing.  Cuz, I'm wrong to assume that it's just my generation that's gonna like it.  And I know that, for instance, cuz I like Fred Astaire, Nat King Cole - and that wasn't my generation.  So, I suppose that what they're doing is they're liking good music.  You know, and I can say that now about The Beatles.  Cuz, you know, it's not being conceited.  I know that the stuff we did was really good.  You know?  And I think that somebody appreciating it now is just great.  It's just very gratifying.  So there you go.  I love it.

You can listen to the full interview by clicking HERE.
Paul talks about the show at the Highline Ballroom HERE.
And you can read my recap of  Paul's secret concert in New York and see the pictures HERE.

Posted in:  Culture, NYC, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (2)

Paul McCartney's Secret Gig at the Highline Ballroom

June 14, 2007 // 8 Comments  // Add yours »

I'm back from the Paul McCartney concert!  Time for the recap:

Let me go back a few weeks to explain this.  About a month ago I found out that Paul McCartney would be doing some type of live performance in NYC to promote his new album Memory Almost Full.  Any large-scale world tour would be postponed to next year due to "personal issues" (his divorce from Heather Mills).  So being a huge Beatles/Paul McCartney fan, I did some intense research until I found out the details of what would be going down.

I found out that the show was going to be a small-scale "secret" show about two weeks ago and that I'd have to win tickets through a radio station contest in order to go.  Only a few hundred contest winners and invited guests would be given tickets.  So after looking through the websites of nearly every FM radio station from the country's major cities, I finally found a contest where you could enter a raffle to win tickets by correctly answering 20 questions about Paul.  I didn't win.  But my friend Steph did, and she offered to take me.  Amazingly, my friend Bret won as well and offered to take my brother Justin.  So now we had 3 people from CT's smallest town attending a concert that thousands of people from around the world were trying to go to, and I was one of them.

More below the cut.

Continue reading "Paul McCartney's Secret Gig at the Highline Ballroom"

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Culture, NYC, Photos, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (8)

My plans for the evening: Attend a secret Paul McCartney Concert

June 13, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Tonight I'll get the incredible opportunity to see Paul McCartney in concert from just a few feet away.  Along with my friends Steph, Bret, and my brother Justin, I'll be among just 300 contest winners and invited guests who will watch McCartney play Beatles classics as well as some of the best songs of his new album Memory Almost Full.  The show takes place at 8:30 pm tonight at the Highline Ballroom on 16th St. in NYC.  It's extremely rare for a guy who usually performs in front of 50,000 people to do a show in a venue this small.  What makes tonight even more interesting is that his album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 this morning with his highest weekly sales since 1982.  I'll post a recap after the show.

Thanks for MaccaReport.com for the heads up on the secret gig!

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Culture, NYC, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (0)

New Paul McCartney album - Memory Almost Full - out today

June 05, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

Today's the day Memory Almost Full comes out - Paul McCartney's 21st solo album since the breakup of The Beatles.  Every single Starbucks on the planet will be playing the album back to back throughout the day for a "global listening event".  They estimate that somewhere around six million people will hear the album through Starbucks alone.  It's a great album and it's well worth buying.  I've had it for over a month now and it's all I listen to.  You can buy it at any Starbucks, most retail outlets, or download it via iTunes.

Related Posts:
"Meeting Paul McCartney"
"My Night at Carnegie Hall"
"McCartney on his new album"

Posted in:  Culture, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (1)

Billy Joel

March 31, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

This guy kicks ass.  I'm making it my mission to see him in concert this year.  The song All For Leyna is a  recent discovery of mine and I'm slightly addicted at the moment.  I LOVE piano rock.

He also has a new song out called All My Life.  It's the first pop song he's recorded in over 13 years and it's pretty good.

Oh, if you're a South Park fan, and you find yourself bored at work in front of a computer every now and then, I suggest checking out SouthParkZone.com.  You can watch every episode there for free. 

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The dashboard melted but we still had the radio

March 25, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Remember Modest Mouse?  Their new album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is out and I'm absolutely hooked.    It's probably not something everyone would enjoy though.  The singer has a unique style, so you need to have a certain taste in music to fully appreciate the album.  If you like upbeat, melodic, and creative rock, you'll definitely love it!  Here's the video for the new single Dashboard:

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My Dose of Truthiness

March 05, 2007 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

Tonight I was back in Manhattan with Joe and Steph for a taping of one of my favorite TV shows - The Colbert Report.  It was well-worth the small sacrifices I made to get there - something many other people I had invited refused to do.  The three of us got into Manhattan around 4:00 and we had an hour to kill before the doors opened, so we decided to stop in a pub for a quick meal.  I had a really good burger - which I had been craving all day, along with one of the best pints of Guinness I've had since my trip to Ireland in September.  Steph had some Smithwicks, which is my second favorite beer, and Joe was a boring American with some dull mixed drink.   They were kinda slow with the meal and we were running out of time so as soon as the food came out we devoured it as fast as we could and then started running towards the studio. 

We made it there just on time.  Once we were in we had to sit in a waiting room for about an hour and watch all the non-VIPs go through the x-ray.  It was extremely boring and after a while it got to be aggravating.  But once we got in the actual studio my mood changed instantly.  The room was much smaller then it appears on TV, and you could see a lot of things on the set that you normally miss on television.  A warm-up comic came out and entertained us for about a half hour, making jokes about the rich guy with the paycheck falling out of his pocket and the Save Darfur idealist in the front row.

Then the man himself, Stephen Colbert, walked onto the stage.   He introduced himself and did a few Q&A's before the show.  Not many people had questions to ask but Steph was quick enough to come up with one.  She asked him how many bears he had killed in the last year.  He had quick responses to that and after other question.  It's impossible to nail this guy.  When he was done with the questions he bounced around for a bit doing some goofy dance as he made his way up to the desk.

The show went by at a very quick pace.  Ben & Jerry came on to talk about their new ice cream flavor AmeriCone Dream.  Shortly after he went into the interview with some Democrat author who was boring and couldn't keep up with the intense nailing she got.  Colbert's wife and son were sitting on the steps next to us and Joe heard her say "Daddy's smarter then that lady".  I couldn't agree more.

At the end of the show we all got our own ice cream and that was that.  I tried some in the car on the way home and the sweet taste of liberty in my mouth was incredible.   If you didn't catch the show tonight it will be on again tomorrow at 1PM on Comedy Central.  I'm not sure if you'll see me, but you might pick up our laughter.  If you've never seen the Colbert Report, I strongly recommend it.  It's what Lincoln would have watched.  I don't even come close to agreeing with him politically but I still love it.  Great times.

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Ecce Cor Meum at Carnegie Hall

November 15, 2006 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

Last night Steph and I went back into the city to attend the United States premier of Paul McCartney's latest classical album Ecce Cor Meum.  The concert took place at Carnegie Hall, which was one of the few major places in the city that I had yet to visit.  We arrived minutes before the show was to begin, walked right in and took our seats on the main floor.  We were excited, but not shaking with anticipation as I had thought we'd be, probably because we had just met Paul the day before, but still, it was great to be there and I couldn't wait for it to start.

A minute or two before the performance was scheduled to start Paul entered a box maybe 10 feet directly above us and sat down with a bunch of celebrities.  The crowd went nuts and many got out of their seat to get closer.  Eventually they sat everybody down and the show began.

Continue reading "Ecce Cor Meum at Carnegie Hall"

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Culture, NYC, Photos, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (1)

How I Met Paul McCartney

November 13, 2006 // 13 Comments  // Add yours »

I have now met one of The Beatles.  The other day I finally got to meet Sir Paul McCartney, the most successful popular-music composer and recording artist ever, at the Times Square Virgin Megastore in NYC.

It took some effort to get the opportunity.  Steph and I arrived 22 hours before he was scheduled to arrive.  We had expected maybe 30 people or so to already be standing in line, but instead found a line that wrapped all the way around the corner and down W 46th St.  A man towards the front of the line started passing down a list for people to sign, and we found that we were the 114th and 115th persons in line. 

Continue reading "How I Met Paul McCartney"

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Culture, NYC, Photos, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (13)

Bebo & Borat

November 04, 2006 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Alright I just signed up for Bebo, which is another networking site like MySpace and Facebook.  It seems to be pretty popular in Ireland and the rest of the UK so I've been able to find a bunch of old friends on it that I met when I first traveled to Ireland in 1999.  Go sign up.

As for MySpace, I hate it.  But it's how I communicate with half of my friends now so I have to stick with it.  I finally fell sucker to a virus on there today.... I got a message from somebody so I went to check out their profile, was asked to log into myspace and then realized they had just stolen my log in info.  So learn from my mistake.  If you're asked to log in when viewing another persons profile, make sure you aren't logging into a fake site that is designed to look like MySpace.

Continue reading "Bebo & Borat"

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Snakes on a Plane

August 18, 2006 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

"I've had it with these motha fuckin snakes, on this motha fuckin plane!"  The crowd burst into laughter and a loud applause erupted as soon as that line rang out across the theater.  Snakes on a Plane is one of the best/worst movies I've seen in a long time!  It's supposed to be a horror movie, but is soooo ridiculous it's become a hit even before it was released.  Go see it, and laugh.  Stick around and watch the music video at the end.  Don't take the movie seriously and you'll love it. 

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Ringo Starr

July 17, 2006 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

I just saw Ringo Starr in concert!!!  He was great!  Soooo cool to see a living Beatle.  He sang "What Goes On", "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Yellow Submarine", "Photograph", and a bunch of other good ones.   My only disappointment was that he didn't come back for an encore and he never performed "Octopus's Garden".  His All-Starr band included Rod Argent, Richard Marx, Sheila E., Billy Squier, Edgar Winter, and Hamish Stuart and they were all great too. At the end of the show we walked around for a bit and got to meet Ron Campbell - the animator of the 1960's Saturday morning Beatles cartoon.  Now all I need to do is see Paul McCartney live.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Culture, Music, The Beatles | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (1)

Springtime For Hitler

May 25, 2006 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

I'm hooked on The Producers right now so I had to post this.

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Vegan Celebrity Galas & Broadway Shows

May 22, 2006 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

I had such good weekend and did so much that I'm not even going to try to recap everything but here's a little summary along with a few pics.  I'm having trouble even remembering where to start because so much has gone on the past couple days it feels more like a week.  It started off Thursday afternoon when I got a call from Justin and found out that I was going to NYC to see The Producers with him and Steph.  I left work 5 minutes early, trekked through the rush hour traffic, parked somewhere in Harlem and made it to the show 20 minutes late.  That was my second time seeing it on Broadway and I NEED to go again.  Go check it out if you haven't already.  After the show we stopped in some Irish pub/restaraunt where Steph proved she was a real man when she got her lamb-chops while I ate my girly bacon cheeseburger.  Beatles-listening-fest all the way home.

Friday was long, extremely busy, and stressful.  After working both jobs during the day I rushed down to the doctors office where I got stuck sitting in the waiting room for exactly 2 hours and 15 minutes before I got aggrivated and walked out.  I wasn't even sick.  That night I ended up seeing the Da Vinci Code (which kinda sucked) and went to a party down in Milford.  Woke up in Hamden to screams and "St. James Place" and then spent early Saturday morning driving all over the state putting up signs for open houses.

Saturday night was the highlight of the weekend.  Me and Steph ventured down to New York again to go to a charity dinner on Wall St.  It was cool eating dinner with a bunch of celebrities but most of em are insane.  Alicia Silverstone looked like she was drugged up and sounded crazy.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but Steph saved the day and snapped a picture of me with Dave Foley from "Kids in the Hall" and "NewsRadio".  We ran into a lot of people, like the Pepsi girl, Daryl Hannah, James Cromwell, Paul Sorvino, and Moby.
   
On the way out I saw Moby walking towards my car so I slammed on my breaks and he walked right into the side of my car... suckaa!  Gave me a good laugh to say I just hit Moby with my car.  And just for the record, I don't really support the charity that was throwing the gala, we went for a laugh and for the adventure. 

Once that was all over me and Steph stopped in for desert at Serendipity's and then took the long drive home to Derby.  Almost hit a raccoon and a possum.  The rest of the night featured hot pockets, chester the cactus, and loud snoring.  Slept in till 2 the next day and I'm still winding down.

"The Red Carpet" from Green Eyes
"The Producers" from Green Eyes 

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PCA Art Show Tonight

April 21, 2006 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Paier College of Art
Student Art Show and Sale

20 Gorham Avenue
Hamden, CT 06514
www.paiercollegeofart.edu

Reception:
Friday, April 21st 7PM - 10PM
Live Music, appetizers and refreshments.

Gallery Times
Saturday, April 22nd 1PM-5PM
Sunday, April 23rd 1PM-5PM

Get Directions

Posted in:  Art & Design, Culture, New Haven | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook |Comments (0)

Beast From The East

January 28, 2006 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

La Times - The Next Big Thing

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The Producers

December 30, 2005 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

The Producers is a new movie adaptation of the Mel Brooks Broadway musical The Producers, staring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Will Ferrell, and Uma Thurman.  I saw it on Broadway last year, and I've seen the movie twice already.  I love it and I think that everybody should see it.  I think it might be the best movie I've seen this year.  It is a musical though, so I know some people won't enjoy it because they either think they are "too cool" for musicals, or they just don't like them, which is perfectly fine.  But if you write it off just because it's a musical your missing out. 

The movie is about two Broadway Producers, Max Bialystok (Lane) and Leo Bloom (Broderick) who discover that they could make more money with a flop then a hit, and set out to find the worst play ever written and have it directed by the worst director to ever live.  They come across a play called "Springtime for Hitler", written by Noe-Nazi Franz Leibkind (Ferrell,) and have it directed by a flamboyantly gay director, Roger Elizabeth DeBris.  The plan is to produce a play so bad that it will close in one night, and they will run off to Rio with the investors money.

When I saw the show on Broadway I laughed my ass off.  In the movies I had a smile on my face from the very beginning to the end.  In my opinion, it's perfect.   But att the same time I know some of you will hate it simply because it's a musical.  One of my friends even walked out.  Last night at the movies, 3 guys sitting behind me were grumbling when they realized it was a musical.  One of them said "I can't believe I came to see this shit" and another kept on saying "this is killing me".  But a few minutes into it they shut up and were laughing for the rest of the movie.  What I really loved about it was that they didn't try to change it too much for the movies.  It is almost exactly like the Broadway show, with the exception of the abscence of one song that they replaced with another.  I wanted to clap at the end of each scene.  So if you like Broadway, musicals, comedy, Will Ferrell, and of course Mel Brooks, go see it. 

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M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village

July 30, 2004 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Ok I just got back from seeing "The Village" and I've been talking about the movie with my girlfriend nonstop since it ended. We don't see eye to eye on some things. I thought it was great. It was a midnight showing and the theater was pretty packed.... but not sold out. The rest of the crowd seemed to like it but I think people had mixed feelings. Parts of this movie are pretty damn scary. But what really impressed me is the hidden stuff in the movie. This movie makes for some great discussion. Some might also argue that M. Night Shyamalan also had a political message in the film. I'm not entirely convinced it was his intention, but I can definately see it. If anybody wants to discuss this movie with me after they have seen it please do. There is something in the movie that is sort of driving me nuts and I want to know if anybody else agrees with me. So once you've seen it, send me a private message and let me know what you thought. I'm also curious how people feel this matches up to some of his other films.

As of tonight I have one great costume idea. Sara says I'm all talk. But we shall see.

Also on my mind. I want an iPod. But it doesn't look like I will buy one for a while. I'm broke and I'm trying to save up some money. I went to go see theSTART in Boston yesterday. I was worried about getting up there cuz of the DNC. I heard the place was like a fortress. Had a little trouble, the highway I needed to go on was closed, but I made it. At the show I saw somebody rocking out to a song on their iPod. And I thought... dammit! I want one! But I don't need it, so I'm gonna wait. The show was great. I had never really heard any of their music until recently and now I kinda like it. I'm surprised they aren't bigger. They have a lot of potential. The other band was called the AKA's. They were ok but nothing great.

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