2 posts tagged “culture”

What food item would you miss the most if it were removed from your diet and recipes? 
Submitted by scorpion1116.  

Can "savory" be a food item? I don't think that makes any sense, but while some of my friends have sugar addictions (two of you, actually, even though you might both be thinking that I'm only talking about you), I personally can mostly do without sugar. Don't get me wrong: I understand that there's sugar in some of my current favorites, like Chipotle burritos (white rice and flour tortillas aren't exactly healthy), peanut butter and jelly (I used to use sugar-free jelly, but Jennie has convinced me to go organic, which may still have sugar, but at least it won't kill me with chemicals), and even my beloved oatmeal.

Still, when I refer to "sugar," I'm primarily referring to cakes, candies, cookies, and other words that start with "c" (but not Chipotle...). I understand that "brownie" is not a food item, but my point is more that while other people bemoan the loss of such sugary treats from their diet, I personally don't mind their exclusion. Sure, I do enjoy pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but even watching someone savor a thick, gooey, chocolatey slice of cake doesn't really affect me...anymore.

However, it does shock me when some of my friends say that they can live without things like chicken or sandwiches or pasta. I'm far more addicted to full meals than I am to sugary desserts. In actuality, my addiction seems worse, just because it's so broad; while a sugar addict loves dessert, I salivate over breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So I can't really nail down one thing that would I miss from my diet, but I can say that I wouldn't (and don't) miss sugary things that much. However, as I've been typing this post (which has taken me a few hours, as work keeps getting in the way), I couldn't help but notice that it's "Donut Thursday" here at work, and the apple fritter/cinnamon bun thing that my boss was eating looked pretty good.... Still, between that and a roast beef and avocado wrap from our restaurant downstairs, I'd happily take the latter...maybe I'll treat myself to that next week.

I still haven't decided what to do about taking a vacation (as I described yesterday, it would be somewhat of a sabbatical from work, social interactions, online activities, etc...and by "sabbatical," I'm really only talking about, like, a four-day weekend or something, not some epic journey to the far reaches of the globe to find myself...I don't have that many vacation days). Part of me wants to go on some spontaneous trip...my dad, stepmom and sister are headed to New York this weekend for my sister's birthday, and I couldn't help but think about meeting them there...leaving tomorrow and coming back on Tuesday (which would actually be the same amount of time I was there during New Year's).

However, the point of taking time off from everyday life is not to spend 10+ hours on a plane (both ways) and to deal with all the aggravation that comes with travel (particularly during winter to the northeast). In addition, given that part of my problem comes from the fact that I'm kind of exhausted after my whirlwind trip to New York and the month-long stress-a-thon that was CES (which includes both the preparation and the event itself), it doesn't seem like the best idea to speed across the country, get little sleep throughout my time there, and return just in time for another grinding week of work. Still, I'll probably look at plane tickets, just for funsies.

No, I think if I take time off, I should actually retreat and just relax...go see movies (I still have yet to see I Am Legend...not sure about Cloverfield, though...I'd see it with a friend, but I probably wouldn't make the effort to see it alone), buy a new book, bike, drive down to Costa Mesa (an hour and a half from my apartment) and get Cosi, maybe go to the Getty Center, perhaps walk around Point Dume at Malibu, nap, etc. Even though it's a good movie, I'm glad that I've finished watching Zodiac...I'm not really in the mood for such heavy fare. Luckily, I'm now going to start working my way through Extras: The Complete Series, which should go well with my strategy for calm (or at least, my desire for humor).

Though speaking of New York, I took a first glance through the available job postings within the company this morning (because if I'm going to stay within my current department, I see no reason not to ask for that raise/promotion combo now...that way, it could potentially go into effect at my one-year mark [if they don't laugh at me and fire me]...and if I'm not going to stay, I might as well figure that out soon, too). As I was scanning, I did see something of interest within at the Manhattan offices...again, it's not outside the realm of possibility, but it does seem somewhat crazy and unlikely at this point. Besides, I also saw a few interesting things here at our Culver City studio, so...I don't know.

I won't get into an epic discussion about it right now, but the thing is, my boss has put so much trust in me and given me so many opportunities and responsibilities that I can't ignore how it would affect him and the team if I just up and left. Not that they couldn't get on without me, obviously, but I feel that any departure would absolutely have to at least be prefaced with some sort of meeting regarding my intent before I do any interviews or make any decisions. And indeed, perhaps I'm vastly overselling myself...maybe I'll be lucky to get a standard pay increase here at my current position...who knows. But really, if now isn't the time to take chances, then when?

And then there's the fact that I'll likely leave everything behind when I get my film money, anyway...but that's a future discussion (though in reality, I would more than likely take a leave of absence when that happens...it would be stupid to just quit my job before the movie has any semblance of success).

Anyway...I did see Walk Hard the other night. Even though there's room for bias, I actually thought it was pretty funny from time to time. Stupid, yes, and certainly nowhere near the excellence of an Airplane! or the first Naked Gun...it's probably around the level of the first Hot Shots!, which is still pretty decent. Besides, unlike such other recent "spoof movies" like Epic Movie and Date Movie (I only saw the latter, but wanted to destroy all of Hollywood to prevent its continued distribution after seeing it), it was actually vaguely intelligent and wasn't made by some evil joke-robot who thinks that farts, and only farts, are funny (with some room for midgets and and big asses). At the end of the day, if I had to choose between this and Scary Movie (possibly the last spoof movie that was anything approaching funny...and after re-watching it on Blu-ray recently...yeah, it doesn't hold up), it would be this. So good work, Walk Hard.

I also watched Across the Universe last week...however, while, yes, this was another of our movies, I don't think my opinion of it is the result of bias. While it was visually interesting, the story itself was pretty terrible. Not to spoil anything (because really, who would see this insane plot twist coming?), but when the two main lovers were driven apart, I found myself not caring at all...not a good sign for your movie's character development. It was too long, trite, pointless, predictable and dumb. I think Scary Movie might be more enjoyable than this movie...though the songs were good (duh).

Thanks to a gift bag from CES, I also had the opportunity to see Stardust. I guess the best thing I can say about it is that I don't quite see why some critics absolutely hated the movie. It certainly wasn't terrible...and it certainly wasn't great. However, I did read another review of the movie yesterday that said something like "Robert DeNiro gives his best performance in years...it's bold and touching" (I'm paraphrasing). Bullshit. His performance was ridiculous, the worst part of the movie. I don't think it's entirely his fault (I'm looking at you, Matthew Vaughn), but how could anyone give that performance and actually look at themselves in the mirror the next day? I can't necessarily determine whether or not I'd go so far as to say that it was "offensive," but I can say it was just stupid and unfunny. And that's the thing about the whole movie: some parts were engaging and fun and some were outright terrible. I guess it's worth seeing...if you get it for free in a gift bag and don't feel like watching Transformers on HD DVD (which I most certainly did not...not because it's HD DVD, but because it's fucking Transformers).

I'm also 3/4ths of the way through The Last Picture Show (thanks, HDNet Movies!). While I'm not entirely in the mood for a black and white southern-fried end-of-innocence drama, it's a pretty good movie and worth seeing, if you get the chance. It's got some great performances and lots o' sex...what else could one want?

All right...I should go get some coffee, lest my opportunity slip away, like yesterday. I suppose my big decisions can wait until after a large cup of caffeine (speaking of "can't do without").

If you could easily choose to live in another country without all the red tape and legal stuff, which one would you select and why? 
Submitted by Matthew 25.

I didn't really decide to write a weekend post to answer this burning question, but rather, because I feel slightly anxious...or more than slightly. And indeed, this question is enough of a softball to give me the excuse to pick up e-pen and e-paper to briefly "voice" these feelings, all under the guise of answering a simple Question of the Day.

Although I've traveled abroad more often than some people, I've also traveled far less than others. My boss and I worked on renewing his passport last week, and just this current one of his had every page filled with stamps...of course, he does get to travel abroad for work, but he's just a world traveler in general, really...which is one of the reasons why he's awesome, but I digress. My passport would have stamps from Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Israel, and The Netherlands...so out of those places, I suppose I'd have to be relatively boring and say England, specifically London. Out of all of those places above, I've spent more time in England than any other, as my aunt, uncle and cousin took me on a 10-day trip there when I was 11 or 12, and then I studied abroad in London for four months during my junior year of college.

But while London would be my first choice (in fact, whenever I think about where I'll live when I make my millions, I figure on a "home base" in New York, a smaller house in LA [for work-related travel], and some sort of residence in London), it's not necessarily because I have the best memories from my time there. Oh, I had a good enough time whilst studying abroad, but I was also at quite a low point: I was nearly at my heaviest, I had practically no money to my name, the girl I liked came over to visit me for a week...but then sort of used the trip to see someone else that she actually liked, who was studying in Spain at the time, and sort of used me when she wanted to find a place for him to sleep, etc. And because I had no money, I couldn't really go do anything, outside of seeing movies (ugh...I remember I was so bored and desperate one day that I spent about £12 [which was, like, $24] to see a matinee of that wretched movie Ghost Ship...and was summarily freaked the fuck out by the opening scene, when everyone got cut in half), surfing the internet at school and eating. It all became quite the vicious circle.

However...none of that was London's fault. I loved the city, despite its ridiculous prices, and I knew that I would want to come back one day when I have money. Of course, if I were to hold a debate with myself over London vs. New York City, the latter would win, if only because of the "home turf" advantage...I feel I would be somewhat homesick if I lived in London permanently. Plus, New York feels like what I am, while London feels like what I want to be...if that makes any sense. I would go back and delete that, but I feel like it makes sense to me somehow...or maybe it just sounds pretentious. Either way.

In addition, London could serve as a hub for the rest of Europe. With cheap EasyJet prices (though I haven't followed their prices since 2003) and the existence of the Chunnel (once they fix it up after that Tom Cruise/helicopter incident from 1996), it would be easy to travel anywhere in Europe or Asia. That's not to say travel would be impossible from, say, Paris, but if I look at the world like one of those air-travel maps from Raiders of the Lost Ark (you know, with the little red lines connecting the cities), it just seems like the lines from London all go out in a few basic directions to get to the maximum number of places, whereas from Paris, it's a whole bunch of lines in a whole bunch of directions for a whole bunch of places. Okay, I know what I'm talking about...and that's really what matters.

Other than London, I think my follow-up choice would be Paris...but that's it. I haven't really traveled enough to make any further educated choices. I probably wouldn't live in Amsterdam, as I'm not into biking (or drugs, though I think that's more of a tourist trade, mostly) and it doesn't appeal to me as much...I was only in Rome for six days and it seemed nice, but I'd need to spend more time there to make any sort of decision...despite the security issues, I just don't think Israel (Tel Aviv or Jerusalem) would be for me, though they were nice cities, overall (and no, Vickie, all the buildings aren't bombed out shells)...and why would I live in Canada if I can live in the US? No offense to Canada or anything, but...blah. If I'm going to live abroad, it sure as fuck wouldn't be Canada.

So that's that. I woke up this morning at 3:30...then 3:45...then 4...and finally, 4:30. That girl and I are going to Legoland today (well, there's an 85% chance we are, at least) and even though it isn't a date...I'm still nervous. But who knows...maybe my new home of choice will be Legoland and not London. I hear their health care system is amazing and everyone can build their own house (complete with snap-on trees and flowers). Anyway...we'll see how it goes....