**Warning: Long, Long Update Post**
Confused by the title? You should be. A lot has happened since I last wrote on this Blogger. I'm ashamed of myself, frankly. Often, I tell myself: "Ricky, you should write on that blog thing you started." But then, as Oscar Wilde once said about the desire to exercise, "I always lie down until the feeling passes."
November 12-13 - Ashley's Visit, or Everything Goes Wrong but Fun Ensues
So, on November 12th, Ashley came to town to visit me here at NYU. We had planned to go uptown to visit Christina at Barnard and then go to MoMA together with Christina and her boyfriend, Richard, who we were meeting for the first time. Anyway, it took us a very long time to get up to Barnard, so we scrapped our ideas of going to MoMA so we wouldn't have to rush around trying to get somewhere. Anyway, after we had hung out around Christina's campus for a bit, we went down to the Village to go to H&M, eat at Pizzaria on MacDougal St., and go back to my dorm. Richard went off with a friend of his from NYU (he goes to Columbia), and Christina and Ashley and I went back to my dorm to plan our "gay club night." Anyway, that didn't work out. We ended up going to this little place called The Boiler Room, which was seedy, had nowhere to sit, and was populated entirely of old men. Ah, oh well. Ashley fell asleep watching Desperate Housewives, and then she left Sunday morning.
November 13 - The Light in the Piazza (time number three)
So, as part of the Freshman Dialogue program, I saw The Light in the Piazza for the third time. Anyway, I love the show and think that it's the most beautiful show on broadway. However, this being the third time and my being intimately familiar with the storyline, I was ready to doze off part of the way into Act One. Luckily, Act Two held my attention better, and I felt all right with myself as I left the theatre. Almost falling asleep during a musical makes me feel inadequate like an impotent man.
November 20 - The Woman in White
So, on November 20, I went to see The Woman in White, the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway. The show is playing at one of my least favorite theatres, the Marquis, and the lobby looks a bit like a mall. My seat, in the back row, was about as good as anyone could ask for a back row seat -- excellent sightlines. Anyway, I had heard the music before and thought that it was pretty good. I went in expecting not to be blown away but to enjoy myself, and that's just about how I came out. I really enjoyed a lot of the music, but Andrew Lloyd Webber can rarely achieve anything special (that rare distinction lies with Evita alone in my mind). The highlights of the experience for me were Maria Friedman in the lead of Marian (performing only days after undergoing surgery for breast cancer), Michael Ball, Angela Christian, and Jill Paice. They were all very nice after the show and signed my Playbill for me. The lowlight of the show for me were the projections used as sets. The entire show takes place on a rotating platform encircled by a circular wall on which images are projected as the set. Sometimes things worked out fine, but other times, the transitions seemed sloppy and didn't quite work. Also, the images were occasionally fake-looking. Projections simply can't compare with real stage magic. Some people in the theatre seemed to love the projections, saying that was the way theatre was heading, and I was about ready to cry at the thought of that.
Thanksgiving
This past week was pretty fun. I went home on Tuesday night with Ally, and her mom picked us up in Trenton.
On Wednesday, I went back to visit Upper Darby High School, my alma mater. I got to see how the school newspaper was running (relatively smoothly) and see some of the old faces from last year. On Wednesday night, the bunch of us went to see the Rent movie, but I'll get into the details of that soon.
On Thanksgiving Day, I went with my parents, grandparents, and uncle to a really nice restaurant, William Penn Inn, for a buffet. They had just about everything you could imagine there, and I had roast duck, turkey, and sweet and sour chicken, not to mention amazing desserts. It all seemed very nice to me, but I couuld sense my grandmother missed cooking the turkey and having our quiet family dinner.
It was so very nice to see my family again. I was afraid I would have a bad time at home, but things were quite delightful, really. It was nice to be back for longer than a few days and to have time to really settle in a bit.
Rent, or Measuring Up to a Year of Expectation
So, on November 23, the day of Rent's release, Ally, Christina, Ashley, Leah, Carli, Dave, Eugene, Steve G., and myself all went to see Rent at Granite Run. I was full of anticipation but also full of fear that this, perhaps the one creative work that I hold dearest to my heart, would lay at my feet, ruined on screen forever, leaving me with only the stage show to redeem my soured feelings.
Alas, all is right with the world. Chris Columbus, whose choice as director scared the bejesus out of me, came through. It was genius to cast the original Broadway cast (with the exceptions of Tracie Thoms and Rosario Dawson, both of which fit right in with the veterans). For the most part, things seemed just as I invisioned.
Rather than going into all of the amazing things about the movie, which could take me some time, I'll point out only a few of the flaws or inadequacies that I found.
1. The cutting of "Halloween" and "Goodbye Love," which were filmed and edited out after test screenings, really hurts the plot of the film. Columbus cites emotional reasons (too much built emotion after Angel's death) for cutting out these confrontations, but the movie really suffers for it. Luckily, this cut isn't irreparable, as, presumably, these scenes will be included on the DVD (can't wait!).
2. It was very jarring the first time seeing the movie to see some of the songs turned into dialogue using the exact lyrics that used to be sung. (For example, "You Okay Honey," "Happy New Year," various tune-ups and voice mails, and various other snippets from the show). This problem is alleviated after seeing the movie again and expecting that this is what's going to happen. If you didn't know the show already, you probably wouldn't even realize the dialogue used to be sung, as most of the lyrics don't rhyme.
3. Inaccuracy! The Life Cafe in the film was not the real Life Cafe. Why would they use a bar located on E. 7th Street and Avenue B to be the Life Cafe when the real thing is located only three blocks away on 10th Street and Avenue B and looks more interesting. That seemed like an odd choice. Also, there is no subway stop located on Tompkin's Square Park as depicted in the "Santa Fe"/"I'll Cover You" section. Anyway, for the most part, these are forgivable. No one would notice for the most part.
Overall, great film. I'm so glad that the story is now preserved forever for posterity.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I saw the latest installment in the Harry Potter franchise the week before Thanksgiving and again on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and I must say that The Goblet of Fire is by far the best movie in the series. Mike Newell, the latest director (after Chris Columbus of Rent and Alfonso Cuaron). I won't go into it too much but I highly recommend the film. It did a great job of balancing the action elements with elements of character development.
Renting Movies
Over break, I rented Bewitched, Kicking and Screaming, and The Color Purple. I've already seen Bewitched, and despite the fact that it would be hard to make a case for it as a good movie, I still find it charming and funny -- perhaps because it was written/directed by the Ephrons of Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. Kicking and Screaming was passable and quite funny at times. The Color Purple, on the other hand, was a masterpiece. I wanted to see the movie, because the novel is being made into a musical on Broadway now, and it was definitely a riveting story. Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey (who was hardly recognizable) were amazing.
Jim and Dave Defeat the Masked Man by David Lehman and Jim Cummins
So, tonight, I called out of work (rescheduled for Friday) to go see my teacher, David Lehman, read poems along with the coauthor of his latest book. This one consists entirely of sestinas (which use patterned end words almost like a villanelle). Their sestinas felt very effortless. It was definitely quite fun. The event was held at the KGB Bar on East 4th Street, which isn't too far away from Hayden, so I walked over close to the start of the event, but there wasn't any room to sit when I got there. Anyway, three of my classmates, Haydn, Sofie, and Shayne, were there, and we all stood together in the back. It felt pretty artsy and cool (oh, God, can you feel the pretension oozing from me?) going to a bar to hear poems read.
Anyway, I bought the book during the break between two halves of the reading, and I can't wait to give the poems a closer read.
Confused by the title? You should be. A lot has happened since I last wrote on this Blogger. I'm ashamed of myself, frankly. Often, I tell myself: "Ricky, you should write on that blog thing you started." But then, as Oscar Wilde once said about the desire to exercise, "I always lie down until the feeling passes."
November 12-13 - Ashley's Visit, or Everything Goes Wrong but Fun Ensues
So, on November 12th, Ashley came to town to visit me here at NYU. We had planned to go uptown to visit Christina at Barnard and then go to MoMA together with Christina and her boyfriend, Richard, who we were meeting for the first time. Anyway, it took us a very long time to get up to Barnard, so we scrapped our ideas of going to MoMA so we wouldn't have to rush around trying to get somewhere. Anyway, after we had hung out around Christina's campus for a bit, we went down to the Village to go to H&M, eat at Pizzaria on MacDougal St., and go back to my dorm. Richard went off with a friend of his from NYU (he goes to Columbia), and Christina and Ashley and I went back to my dorm to plan our "gay club night." Anyway, that didn't work out. We ended up going to this little place called The Boiler Room, which was seedy, had nowhere to sit, and was populated entirely of old men. Ah, oh well. Ashley fell asleep watching Desperate Housewives, and then she left Sunday morning.
November 13 - The Light in the Piazza (time number three)
So, as part of the Freshman Dialogue program, I saw The Light in the Piazza for the third time. Anyway, I love the show and think that it's the most beautiful show on broadway. However, this being the third time and my being intimately familiar with the storyline, I was ready to doze off part of the way into Act One. Luckily, Act Two held my attention better, and I felt all right with myself as I left the theatre. Almost falling asleep during a musical makes me feel inadequate like an impotent man.
November 20 - The Woman in White
So, on November 20, I went to see The Woman in White, the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway. The show is playing at one of my least favorite theatres, the Marquis, and the lobby looks a bit like a mall. My seat, in the back row, was about as good as anyone could ask for a back row seat -- excellent sightlines. Anyway, I had heard the music before and thought that it was pretty good. I went in expecting not to be blown away but to enjoy myself, and that's just about how I came out. I really enjoyed a lot of the music, but Andrew Lloyd Webber can rarely achieve anything special (that rare distinction lies with Evita alone in my mind). The highlights of the experience for me were Maria Friedman in the lead of Marian (performing only days after undergoing surgery for breast cancer), Michael Ball, Angela Christian, and Jill Paice. They were all very nice after the show and signed my Playbill for me. The lowlight of the show for me were the projections used as sets. The entire show takes place on a rotating platform encircled by a circular wall on which images are projected as the set. Sometimes things worked out fine, but other times, the transitions seemed sloppy and didn't quite work. Also, the images were occasionally fake-looking. Projections simply can't compare with real stage magic. Some people in the theatre seemed to love the projections, saying that was the way theatre was heading, and I was about ready to cry at the thought of that.
Thanksgiving
This past week was pretty fun. I went home on Tuesday night with Ally, and her mom picked us up in Trenton.
On Wednesday, I went back to visit Upper Darby High School, my alma mater. I got to see how the school newspaper was running (relatively smoothly) and see some of the old faces from last year. On Wednesday night, the bunch of us went to see the Rent movie, but I'll get into the details of that soon.
On Thanksgiving Day, I went with my parents, grandparents, and uncle to a really nice restaurant, William Penn Inn, for a buffet. They had just about everything you could imagine there, and I had roast duck, turkey, and sweet and sour chicken, not to mention amazing desserts. It all seemed very nice to me, but I couuld sense my grandmother missed cooking the turkey and having our quiet family dinner.
It was so very nice to see my family again. I was afraid I would have a bad time at home, but things were quite delightful, really. It was nice to be back for longer than a few days and to have time to really settle in a bit.
Rent, or Measuring Up to a Year of Expectation
So, on November 23, the day of Rent's release, Ally, Christina, Ashley, Leah, Carli, Dave, Eugene, Steve G., and myself all went to see Rent at Granite Run. I was full of anticipation but also full of fear that this, perhaps the one creative work that I hold dearest to my heart, would lay at my feet, ruined on screen forever, leaving me with only the stage show to redeem my soured feelings.
Alas, all is right with the world. Chris Columbus, whose choice as director scared the bejesus out of me, came through. It was genius to cast the original Broadway cast (with the exceptions of Tracie Thoms and Rosario Dawson, both of which fit right in with the veterans). For the most part, things seemed just as I invisioned.
Rather than going into all of the amazing things about the movie, which could take me some time, I'll point out only a few of the flaws or inadequacies that I found.
1. The cutting of "Halloween" and "Goodbye Love," which were filmed and edited out after test screenings, really hurts the plot of the film. Columbus cites emotional reasons (too much built emotion after Angel's death) for cutting out these confrontations, but the movie really suffers for it. Luckily, this cut isn't irreparable, as, presumably, these scenes will be included on the DVD (can't wait!).
2. It was very jarring the first time seeing the movie to see some of the songs turned into dialogue using the exact lyrics that used to be sung. (For example, "You Okay Honey," "Happy New Year," various tune-ups and voice mails, and various other snippets from the show). This problem is alleviated after seeing the movie again and expecting that this is what's going to happen. If you didn't know the show already, you probably wouldn't even realize the dialogue used to be sung, as most of the lyrics don't rhyme.
3. Inaccuracy! The Life Cafe in the film was not the real Life Cafe. Why would they use a bar located on E. 7th Street and Avenue B to be the Life Cafe when the real thing is located only three blocks away on 10th Street and Avenue B and looks more interesting. That seemed like an odd choice. Also, there is no subway stop located on Tompkin's Square Park as depicted in the "Santa Fe"/"I'll Cover You" section. Anyway, for the most part, these are forgivable. No one would notice for the most part.
Overall, great film. I'm so glad that the story is now preserved forever for posterity.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I saw the latest installment in the Harry Potter franchise the week before Thanksgiving and again on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and I must say that The Goblet of Fire is by far the best movie in the series. Mike Newell, the latest director (after Chris Columbus of Rent and Alfonso Cuaron). I won't go into it too much but I highly recommend the film. It did a great job of balancing the action elements with elements of character development.
Renting Movies
Over break, I rented Bewitched, Kicking and Screaming, and The Color Purple. I've already seen Bewitched, and despite the fact that it would be hard to make a case for it as a good movie, I still find it charming and funny -- perhaps because it was written/directed by the Ephrons of Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. Kicking and Screaming was passable and quite funny at times. The Color Purple, on the other hand, was a masterpiece. I wanted to see the movie, because the novel is being made into a musical on Broadway now, and it was definitely a riveting story. Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey (who was hardly recognizable) were amazing.
Jim and Dave Defeat the Masked Man by David Lehman and Jim Cummins
So, tonight, I called out of work (rescheduled for Friday) to go see my teacher, David Lehman, read poems along with the coauthor of his latest book. This one consists entirely of sestinas (which use patterned end words almost like a villanelle). Their sestinas felt very effortless. It was definitely quite fun. The event was held at the KGB Bar on East 4th Street, which isn't too far away from Hayden, so I walked over close to the start of the event, but there wasn't any room to sit when I got there. Anyway, three of my classmates, Haydn, Sofie, and Shayne, were there, and we all stood together in the back. It felt pretty artsy and cool (oh, God, can you feel the pretension oozing from me?) going to a bar to hear poems read.
Anyway, I bought the book during the break between two halves of the reading, and I can't wait to give the poems a closer read.
Calling All Gay Men at NYU
If you are a reasonably unugly NYU student who at least enjoys attending musical theatre on a periodic basis, please contact me via Facebook (the name's "Richard Pattersson"). I'm getting desperate for a significant other. Some time soon, I'm going to have to become assertive.
The End
Well, I suppose that concludes the summary of my last few weeks. I hope the typos aren't too numerous, but, by now, I've tired so of writing that I don't really feel too keen on going back and revising my post. Also, after this endnote is a list of my schedule for next semester, in case anyone was wondering.
______________________________________________________
Spring 2006
Mon.:
Natural Science II: Brain and Behavior (Lab, 9-10-40)
Tues.:
World Cultures: Chinese/Japanese Tradition (8-9:15)
German Intermediate I (9:30-10:45)
Contemporary Central European Drama (12:30-1:45)
Natural Science II: Brain and Behavior (2-3:15)
Wed.:
World Cultures: Chinese/Japanese Tradition (Rec., 8-9:15)
German Intermediate I (9:30-10:45)
Thurs.:
World Cultures: Chinese/Japanese Tradition (8-9:15)
German Intermediate I (9:30-10:45)
Contemporary Central European Drama (12:30-1:45)
Natural Science II: Brain and Behavior (2-3:15)
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