You're (not) Gonna Regret It!

American Horror Story

Starring: Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy & Taissa Farmiga

Premiere aired: October 5, 2011

Very rarely does a TV show come along that is in the genre of horror...and even more rarely does it compare, let alone surpass horror films. This one does just that and more. I have a fascination with ghost stories, and once I saw the preview for this show I was so excited, it looked great.

Mark had expressed interest in this at first, although he entitled it American Horror Gothic...he still claims rights to finding this before me. From the creators of Nip/Tuck and Glee this show is brilliant! I love the format of each episode, starting out with a crime / murder that took place within the house in the past, then following up with the credits (which along with Dexter and True Blood is one of the best opening sequence of any TV show) and then it continues with the story of a family who moved from Boston to Los Angeles to start anew. From a creepy neighbor (Jessica Lange) to a maid (Frances Conroy) who appears older to the wife and younger to the husband this show keeps me scared and wanting more with each passing second. It has quickly climbed the charts of my favorite television series list. (Lost remains # 1!).

Connie Britton, who plays Vivien, the wife...is so great in this role. I had never seen her in anything else, but now that I can see what a great actor she is, I want to check out Friday Night Lights, for Mark has told me she was amazing in that show. Dylan McDermott, who plays the husband is very nice to look at and plays the role of the cheater perfectly. You don't want him to be found out, but you despise him for cheating at the same time. Taissa Farmiga, who plays their daughter Violet is wonderful as the dark teenager with a habit of cutting. Frances Conroy is both sad, haunting and strong in the role.

I do have to say though, out of all the characters, the neighbor Constance is the creepiest character in the show, and she's one of the only ones (besides the family) who is actually living! She is played by the brilliant Jessica Lange.

If you haven't watched this show, if you haven't seen even one episode, get on it! It is brilliant!

I give this 10 out of 10 stars *********

The Ides of March

The Ides of March
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood

Saw: October 22, 2011 with Mark

I saw a preview for this once and thought it looked really good. And who can say no to watching Ryan Gosling and George Clooney for 2 hours? Hummana Hummana!

I'm not a huge fan of politics in general but this movie intrigued me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It amazes me the nonsense and bullshit that goes into managing a campaign for any position in the government, especially what people will do to ensure that their candidate they are working for gets into office. I knew politics was all dirty work but this took an inside nosedive into the innerworkings of it all...from promising a senate seat to a major influential person who stands for everything the candidate for President is against just for votes, to covering up an affair.

I was surprised to see Evan Rachel Wood, who has changed so much since her days on Once and Again and the movie Thirteen. She has grown to be a great actress from watching her in this and as the vampire queen in True Blood. Marisa Tomei however, who is one of the greats, has a small and rather insignificant role in this film. She speaks her lines with her head tilted to the side and only contribution to the film is to expose a secret meeting between Gosling and Giamatti. For such a great actor to be put in that small of a role was disappointing.

Other than that the story was great, you wanted so badly to believe in Mike Morris (Clooney) and to believe that he was the right choice for President. You feel for Steven (Gosling) as he has to cover up an affair and you see how that weighs on him. I recommend you see this movie.

I give it 8 out of 10 stars. ********

To Travel Is To Live

I have so much fun traveling. I really, really do. I lose myself in the destination that I choose. And how do I choose my destination? I let it choose me. I am often overcome with an image. This image could be something as generic as the Red Wood trees in San Franciso or a picture of a rainy day in Seattle. I then imagine myself living there. Whenever I travel anywhere I want to experience this moment as a resident. Because I am dreamer and I often dream about moving away. If I did move, where would I move to? Does any place outside of New York City really belong to me? I spent my childhood afraid of getting lost. I take trips now, on my own, each year, with the intent of getting lost. Because the best part of being lost, is finding your way again. Traveling has helped me each time I've been at a crossroads with finding a new road to take, that just might have a little less turbulence.

Looking for a change

I have always wanted to live in California. Ever since I was 17 and went with my Grandma to visit my extended family in Santa Barbara. Initially I had wanted to go to UCSB (University of California: Santa Barbara) but when I was looking at schools I decided on Salve Regina in Rhode Island. Although I'm glad I went to Salve; I never would have met my friends ... including Mark if I hadn't, I also regret that I didn't follow my first love.

But they say everything happens for a reason. Maybe I wasn't meant to be out there at that time. Mark and I were destined to be best friends. He is a very important person in my life. Also, I probably wouldn't have met Carrie, because without Salve I wouldn't have been friends with Tara...and without being friends with Tara, we wouldn't have made that trip out to LA, where I met Carrie. I also wouldn't have known or made friends with Kris...and without knowing Kris I wouldn't be friends with Kari. It's like a spiderweb of friendships. I don't know what I would do without my friends I have met in college and in association with college. I wouldn't be the person I am today. But I always wonder...if I had gone to UCSB where would I be right now? Who would my friends be? Who would I be?

But we can't change the past, but we can change the future.

Yes, I did try to live out there after graduating college. I never made it past my cousins' house. My dream was to make it in Hollywood...no not necessarily an actor...I had thought of being a Director at one point. I'm not cut out for that though. Needless to say I came back. And if I hadn't come back I wouldn't have met Elle and Carrie.

The point of all of this is. I feel stuck. Stuck in whatever rut I am in right now. I need a serious change, and have known that for quite some time now. Working for my Dad hasn't been the best for me. Almost ten years has gotten me to a point of dreading every day. I am at a stalemate at the moment and don't know how to get myself out. How to dig myself out of this ditch.

For the past two years I have been planning on the big move. From this tiny state to the Golden Coast. I mean, who doesn't love California? It's simply the most laid back and wonderful state...sunshine and lollipops!

Originally I had been thinking of moving in the vicinity of Los Angeles, not directly in the city itself, but just on the outskirts (maybe Malibu?? Santa Monica?? HA - in my dreams!). But I found this wonderful apartment complex in a suburb of San Diego called Rancho Bernardo. It has the feel and look of a beautiful resort, and the moment I found it the place called out to me. So I have my heart set on it. I will see a model 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom in March, and hope that it speaks to me.

I am scared - out of my mind! But without fear and without progress where are we? Riddle me that! Okay, so I'm trying to convince myself that this is the right decision...and I am excited for it. But there are many times where I just lose sight of the joy and the fear takes over full force. It's not that I don't have support. My family supports me and I have family out there, a cousin who I am very close with lives just 45 minutes north of this place. My biggest fear is money. That is it. Money and a job.

But I know I have to do this, not only for my sanity, but also because I have to follow my dreams. Follow what I want to do. Make my life exciting. It is definitely time for an adventure. Who knows where it will lead.

Food For Thought

Punch 913 Broadway

My friend Tami and I went to dinner. I had a hamburger (no bun, lots of good fries). She had sea food. She loves sea food. It was a good time to catch up. It was good atmosphere and service. And did I mention I liked the fries?






The Dutch
131 Sullivan Street

Linda and I (with Tristan) traveled to Soho for brunch. A fantastic one with pastries, pancakes, eggs, alcohol.


Revel
10 Little West 12th Street

The three of us also ate dinner together. Linda was hungry for some meat (she got a lot that week). I opted for the pasta (and probably need to lose a few pounds because of it). A terrific space.

We also had some hot dogs (or Linda did). I don't do hot dogs.

La Linda Takes New York

Linda came to New York for business (but managed to sneak pleasure into the mix like only she can) over the last week. It had been a year since I had seen her. It had been five years since we met. Whenever I meet someone after not seeing them for so long I do wonder how have they changed? How have I changed? What have I forgotten about them? I forgot just how warm of a person Linda is. She is always examining each day and looking to extract everything she can out of each moment. The good and the bad. One of her favorite quotes is : "Life begins outside of your comfort zone." And seeing her everyday I was reminded of how she lives her life in this way. We are braver than we think. We are smarter than we think. And each time she comes to New York I fall in love with this city in a new way.

Pat me down and call me crazy

New York City

9/30/11 - 10/2/11

What one will do for a good mac & cheese meal. Have you ever been physically assaulted at a restaurant? All we wanted to do was eat a delicious meal of what Mark had told me was the best mac & cheese ever made! Was that too much to ask? It was 11:15pm and I know I was starving. But before we could be seated in the cramped space of the Hudson River Cafe Mark was accosted by a gentleman who worked for the bar/restaurant and patted down as if he was a known terrorist. I was then called over to a woman to have my bags searched as if I were his accomplice. Where did he take me? Why were these people treating us like we were about to blow up the place? That mac & cheese had better be as good as Mark said it was I thought to myself. It was.

What do Johnny Depp, bad acting and creepy fingernails have in common? Nightmare on Elm Street, that's what. Yes, we watched that upon our arrival at Mark's dwelling. It creeped me out a bit, although it was cheesy and the acting wasn't stellar (nancy's mom I'm talking to you!). So afterwards we watched the episode of all episodes of the hit series Friends...'The One Where Everyone Finds Out'. Classic.

Saturday morning proved to be what we assumed was a beautiful day. Not sunny, but a nice day to walk around. The walk to the subway stop in harlem was nice, we enjoyed it. Taking the subway train was exactly like usual, smelly and noisy but fast. Then we exited the subway station in the city...and that beautiful day turned into a rain storm of wet! So we walked to the High Line and it would have been gorgeous and really nice to just sit and enjoy the view, but because of the rain and our lack of sweaters and umbrellas, it was just ... wet.

Following that we decided we needed to solve a crime to get our minds off of the weather. Thankfully we found an exhibit at Discovery Times Square, a CSI: The Experience exhibit. What a coincidence! We were assigned our case number and we were on our way to speaking for the victim. After compiling the evidence at the scene, we analyzed blood spatter, did a toxicology test on the victim, analyzed the shoe prints and fingerprints. Finally we did a blood analysis on the victim and the blood found at the scene. SHOCKER! The perp was the vic's twin brother! Who would have thought!

Famished we were, crime solving does that for you. So we went to my favorite sandwich shop, Cosi on W 51st Street & Broadway. <3 delicious. I had my usual a tuna melt. Mark had a grilled chicken & lettuce. We then met up with the very fashionable Carrie. After chatting we walked on over to the Eugene O'Neill theater where we put our names in for the Book of Mormon lotto. Sadly none of us won. :/ Carrie Beth left us to go home herself. Mark and I decided on then going to see the movie 50/50 starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Anna Kendrick. The movie was good...made me cry and laugh.

Ryan Gosling is hot. Even when he plays a crazy lying murdering SOB in All Good Things. The movie also starred Kirsten Dunst. Where has she been? This is a classic example of how the rich and powerful can get away with murder and know how to cover things up. Based on a true story. Liked it a lot.

Sunday morning I had a delicious burned pancake, just how I like it! Mark made it for me and I loved it. I also really liked the cupcakes he made the day before. The pancake was better though. I love pancakes. Then we watched some Queer as Folk before my departure.

Thankfully it was not raining and we got to spend the next hour in dry clothes and not shivering. But one last stop before I left....



Yummy!!! My delicious tuna melt.

Crazy in NYC

Crazy pants (LindsAy) came to NYC - Dont forget the A!

It was her second visit to the Harlem neighborhood that I've been residing in since I moved in over seven years ago. She got scared of a bang and swore she'd never return. But when they started smoking crack on my front steps I couldn't turn her away :)

We watched A Nightmare on Elm Street (introducing Johnny Depp!), All Good Things (Ryan Gosling is my third husband), Friends (The One Where Everyone Finds Out), Queer as Folk (because I might be queer... shhhh), and Adventures in Babysitting (Lindsay loves her Anthony Rapp... don't fuck with the babysitter).

And then we went to the cinema and saw 50/50 which is currently my second ranked film of the year. It takes place in Seattle (filmed on Pike street!). And it's really well acted and feels truthful. My kind of movie. We should have stayed in the theater (it rained all weekend!). But we traveled to the High Line (a must see).

And we went to the CSI experience at the Discovery Center. This was fun. I made cupcakes (Lindsay enjoyed them more than she expected too I think :) ). And I made pancakes.

And we also ate The Hudson River Cafe: 697 West 133 street. They have the best mac & cheese ever. Lindsay also devoured the sweet potato fries. I got grouped by security and her bags were checked. We look suspicious. But the food is worth it. I try to take everyone there that will go. It's just so worth it.

And the subway. We rode the subway. And we talked and laughed and had fun like friends who have known each other for more than a decade do. Come back soon - but skip the bus. Gate 71-74 no way!