Yael Naim

I am very happy right now for two reasons.

1. There were two new episodes of Chuck on NBC tonight, and I really like that show. I enjoyed it before, but the writers did a wonderful job this time more smoothly integrating the Buy More life with the Spy More life. Also for the first time watching the show tonight, I started to appreciate Devin, or Capt. Awesome, who is Chuck's sister's fiance. He is played by Ryan McPartlin, who reminds me of a young Patrick Warburton.

2. I finally googled the lyrics to find the song that Apple uses for their MacBook Air commercial. The YouTube video is here (the lyrics are in the info to the video). Her MySpace page is here.

Temptations

"Whenever I'm asked who makes my dreams real, I say that you do."

So I ask you, "what or who makes your dreams real?"

Call of Dudy

So tonight I got home from work around 6:40 and was greeted at the door by my sister with a message from Angela to go to Crescent Moon for Eric Robison's performance at 7:00. So I went. and greatly enjoyed myself. After, I went to Oso Burrito, because I hadn't had a proper supper yet. They had a JournalStar from Sunday still on one of the tables, and I was happy for the company while eating my chicken pesto burrito.

I specifically had the company of a nice article about the Czech bagpipe, the dudy. There was one sentence that the junior high boy in me had a little chuckle over.

After Tuesday’s concert, local musician Sue Underwood shows Cwach her dudy, and asks him for pointers.

My post shares its title with a documentary made on the instrument.

Good Eats

Maybe one of my favorite shows on all of television is Good Eats. The host is Alton Brown. Each show he takes a food topic like Macaroni and Cheese or Egg Nog or Water. He has quirky characters that propound various myths he dispels with his arsenal of food experts, scientists, nutritionists, chemists. He usually executes two or three recipes during the show.

Even better than all that information that he provides, the recipes actually work. I've gone to his recipes frequently, and I have yet to be disappointed. My most recent delight from him was his eggnog recipe. So even if you don't watch the Food Network, or Good Eats, if you are looking for a recipe, go to foodnetwork.com and then choose what ever Alton Brown is offering because it will be . . .

Good Eats.

Movies

So I like to watch movies. In addition to these below, which came out in 2007, I watched a little over 40 other movies through Netflix (not including TV dvds or music themed dvds that aren't musicals). I didn't watch You Kill Me, Disturbia, Fracture, Ratatouille, or Shrek the Third in the theatre. The others I did. Here they are in order of my appreciation of them:

The Cream of the Crop

1. No Country for Old Men (If this isn't the Cohen Brothers' Magnum Opus, I can hardly wait for their best.)
2. Lust, Caution (Tony Leung Chiu Wai is always strong.)
3. Once (Super Duper musical.)
4. Dan in Real Life (I can't remember seeing such real laughter in a film.)
5. Bourne Ultimatum (Solid finish to a strong franchise.)
6. Michael Clayton (See my review here.)

Compelling Crime Dramas

7. Mr. Brooks
8. American Gangster
9. Eastern Promises

Pleasing Comedies

10.Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End
11.You Kill Me
12.The Simpsons Movie
13.Ratatouille
14.Ocean's Thirteen

Solid with Some Flaws

15.The Golden Compass
16.Fracture
17.Across the Universe
18.300
19.Disturbia

Some Good, Lacking "It"

20.Talk to Me
21.Superbad
22.3:10 to Yuma
23.Beowulf
24.Knocked Up

Great DVD rental

25.Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Few Laughs, Good Concept Stretched One Movie Too Many

26.Shrek the Third
27.Blades of Glory
28.Hot Fuzz

Few Highlights, Often Painful to Watch

29.Smokin' Aces
30.La Vie en Rose

Movie Limbo

On the First of January, Marcy and I went to Juno in Omaha, because Douglas Theatres wasn't running it in their Lincoln theatres. It was released in 2007, but I didn't watch it in 2007, so it doesn't qualify for my list exactly.

Regardless, I really liked it, and if it were on this list, it would be in the top four, right behind Once. The soundtrack is superb, almost to the point of being distractingly good. Kimya Dawson is the main contributor to the soundtrack.

Then you have the tremendous cast. Ellen Page carries the movie very capably, delivering her well-crafted clever dialogue with aplomb. Michael Cera (of Arrested Development and Superbad fame) fits his role perfectly. Jason Bateman and JK Simmons are good. Allison Janney was great as ever. But who really surprised me was Jennifer Garner. I guess I had never wanted to see any of her other movies like 13 Going on 30 or Elektra, so I figured that since she was in bad movies, she was a bad actress. Not the case.

More broadly, what I liked about the film was what I liked about Dan in Real Life. It is very natural. The movie is written and acted within a scope that is very believable. It reaches me and entertains me because it is the exact opposite of far-fetched. The closer to reality that the emotions are the easier they are to relate to. Sorry to go all overly analytical, but it easier than saying, "The movie was great. Everyone should watch it." and hope that you do.

So watch it.