Drinks, Nature Factor Organic Young Coconut Water: Bought this on a whim at the local organic grocery and regretted it from the first taste. Not since attempting to consume a can of bird’s nest drink a few years back have I encountered such an awful product. Despicable. Foul. Warn all those around you.
Film, The Wrestler: Most realistic minor-league wrestling scenes ever committed to film. Most realistic strip club scenes ever committed to film. Thus… possibly the greatest movie ever.
Plants, basil: Easy to grow, easy to use. What’s not to like? A new friend, indeed.
Success, KDHX pledge drive: Thanks to the folks who contributed some coins to the recent summer pledge driver at KDHX, during the Silver Tray timeslot. Much appreciated.
Save the date, Friday, Nov. 20: The St. Louis International Film Festival will be running through that weekend and Friday night has some good programming. Guaranteed. Keep it open.
Choices, TV shows: If you were to get sucked into a new (to you) television program via Netflix, would be Weeds, The Sopranos or (fill in the blank)? Tempted to try something new, but not sure of the direction to take/amount of hours emotionally prepared to lose.
Tuesdays, Horse Hooky at Fairmount: In past years, I might’ve visited the track once a year, or once every couple. This season, sensing that the track might be closing for good in the near future, I’ve been ramping up my attendance, catching about five afternoons of racing at the down-at-the-heels raceway. Enjoyed a piece in the Post just today, detailing the fortunes and future of the track. Will lose my customary $10-20 tomorrow, in hopes of securing a safe future for the horse people of Sou’western Illinois. (I’d link, but it’d die in a week, so…)
Bands, Echo & the Bunnymen: For whatever reason, this flag-bearer of new wave never caught my ear like their contemporaries of The Cure, New Order, etc. But having just checked out the four-disc compilation “Crystal Days” at the St. Louis Public Library’s Buder Branch, I’m enjoying the cuts anew, remembering that songs such as “Lips Like Sugar” stand the test of time. Plan of dipping into this one for the next few weeks. Any gems in their catalog for you?
Music blogs, 33 1/3: More than just a space to discuss their book series, the 33 1/3 blog has a variety of quality posts dedicated to musicians past and present, written in the same smart style that defines their series of books. Quality stuff.
Zine sale, Big Takeover: We end this trio of pop music items by noting that Big Takeover back issues are for sale, including an entire set discount at a mere $135. I’m about to raid the piggybank to make this happen. What a great way to have two-decades of in-the-moment music reportage at the fingertips. Yes.
Lifestyle choices, HomeGrown Revolution: Attempting to fix every meal for a month, I’m intrigued by the growing practices of the Dervaes family in Pasadena, CA. They’re the subjects of the Robert McFalls documentary “Homegrown” and have produced works under a similar name, HomeGrown Revolution. Check out their YouTube page for a variety of pieces that they’ve created or been featured in; afterwards, see if you don’t want to run out to plant a crop.
Trailer, “New Orleans Mon Amour“: Have been waiting a couple minutes shy of forever to see this film by Michael Almereyda.
New site, thomascrone.com: Coming soon.
Choices, TV shows: Recently exploring the same, I settled on Arrested Development. My nine-year-old nephew followed me around quoting the show and trying to explain plots for a month. Also plenty of other people said it was great and I have a little thing for Michael Cera's sweet demeanor. I heard Weeds is pretty good. Sopranos seems daunting to me with so many seasons but I swear by the cookbook. I am NOT a TV watcher but totally dug the first few episodes of Six Feet Under if you haven't gone there yet. I can't believe I am trying to give advice about TV on DVD, alas …
SPACED! It's British & awesome and by Simon Pegg.
arrested development is good. i love weeds & loved 6 feet under. I loooved Queer as Folk (american) and L Word.
I like Lie to Me a lot and it's current. So is Californication…
There are lots of people who are insane for the Wire. I hear Carnivale is great.
Homegrown was screened at the STL Film Festival last year. It is an amazing story, but those people live a really hard life!
As for TV, actually the funniest show I've seen lately is strangely enough on ABC. Better Than Ted is like the American version of The Office if it was more like the British version of The Office with a total replacement of awkwardness with absurdity. It resembles 30 Rock in disobedience to plot trajectories.
i can make you a bunnymen mix that'll blow yer wee mind! you want?
KG: Six Foot Under, yes, that's the ticket.
JB: Tried Arrested, but, wow, it just didn't click for me. Maybe will give it one more shot.
AF: Homegrown, agreed. Very inspirational.
JL: Uh… yeah!