Amy Heckerling is a funny lady

Rosie [breaking up a fight between Izzie, her daughter, and some boy named Noah]: Hey!  Hey!  Break it up!  Who taught you to hit girls?

Noah: She started it!

Izzie: I can take him!

Noah walks away.

Rosie: What was that about?

Izzie: He said, "Your mother's show only got a 6.3 rating and it's down the toilet."

Rosie: Hey, Noah!  I heard Brad Pitt's firing your dad's law firm!

Heckerling [on the commentary track]: Oh, this is based on a-- a fight my daughter had with a kid at the park once, because, uh-- she was playing Ninja Turtles and another kid said, "You can't play Ninja Turtles.  My father produced Ninja Turtles."  So she told him him, "You can't play any talking baby games," and I thought, "I gotta get outta Hollywood."

I don't know.  I thought it was funny.  Here's another gem...

Upon waking this moment will unwind itself

This week I had the good fortune of seeing You Me & Iowa, who are quickly becoming one of my favorite local bands.  This is especially noteworthy because unlike Carney or the Ruse, I was introduced to their music before any members of the band.

I was hanging out with Buddy Girl Cath at Hotel Cafe, when they took the stage and opened with “Christmas Time is Here”.  Instant points for an awesome cover of one of my favorite Christmas songs, but talented performers don't always translate to high-quality bands.  I had time to stick around for “Dress the Stage”, which segued from the Vince Guaraldi classic.  I was sold.  On the strength of that song, I made a point to see a full set the next chance I got; even if it meant driving to Silverlake.  Their live show as well as their recordings showcase the polish of a much more veteran band.  I was surprised when lead singer Andrew Carroll told me that the night I happened upon them at Hotel Cafe was their first show in Hollywood.  They are a band who could very easily go very far.  They remind me of a combination of old and new Incubus.  Not so much in regards to their style, but more so in terms of their creativity.  A band that bands would like, and songwriters talented enough to have a broad appeal.

Without preaching that you should buy their record now (though they might send you a second free), I will strongly suggest that you watch one of their videos.  Remember the creativity I mentioned earlier?  This is it in a nutshell...

You Me & Iowa: Make Your Home (Smell Delicious) from You Me and Iowa on Vimeo.

À la Rufio

Admitting this will undoubtedly damage my nerd-cred, but I was late to the Joss Whedon party.  I never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel despite enjoying the movie many have forgotten.  By the time I would have been open to the idea the breadth of canon in the Buffy-verse created a whole new obstacle.  I am constrained by a 24-hour day, which is not enough to consume all the media I wish I could.  Maybe one day I'll see what the big deal was.

As the life span of Whedon's space western was only marginally longer than that of a bolt of lightning, I missed out on Firefly's original run as well.  I suppose that makes me partially responsible for its cancellation, so my apologies to science fiction enthusiasts.  Not having been a Buffy fan, I was wary of Malcolm Reynolds and his crew.  But praise of their exploits on the big screen as the next Star Wars sold me.  I maintain that naming the series after the class of Reynolds's ship -- or vice versa -- is a little bit weird.  That aside, I really got into both the series and the movie.

When Dollhouse arrived, I suppose there was no reason for me to be cautious.  I fully endorsed the portion of the Whedon anthology I had experienced, but the previews just didn't hook me.  When I did invest the necessary time in the new series' first three episodes, I was disappointed when the aspect of Firefly that most spoke to me was absent.  I didn't care about a single one of the characters.  Three episodes deep I could see the general direction in which Mr. Whedon and Ms. Dushku were likely heading, but the cost was too high.  I was not willing to invest an hour a week for the promise that one day I might care about the tiny people in the box in my living room.  I cared about Jack Shephard within 10 minutes.  He was saving lives out of the gate!

Last night I was introduced to Richard Castle, and with him a second theory to explain my affinity for Captain Reynolds.  Perhaps Joss Whedon's role was less than I had assumed.  After all, my personal experience in his work was limited.  I now believe that Nathan Fillion, in all of his snark, gave the character and his series the lively spark to which I attached.

There is a new show that I will watch on a weekly basis.  He has Whedon's sword.  He's the Pan now.  My loyalty has shifted... Fil - li - oooooooon!

Public servants just don't understand

I don't do drugs.  I never have.  I won't do drugs today, and the odds are high that I won't do drugs tomorrow.  As a matter of policy I try not to plan much farther ahead than that.  I  do, however, know a number of people who have used drugs in the past, could use drugs today, and may very well use drugs tomorrow; it will be Saturday, after all.  Traditionally I never cared that that's a manner in which they chose to spend their time and money.  They most assuredly would not ascribe any greater value to my collection of Star Wars novels.  All of this was before today.  Before I learned what really hangs in the balance.

I have to thank 1up.com by way of Penny Arcade for bringing to light the true perils connected to drug use.  After the implication that drug use would lead to breakfast fell flat, the producers of anti-drug PSAs have decided to hit young people where we live.  I don't think that I'm alone when I say that my ability to complete Prince of Persia is far more compelling than the thought of, oh I don't know... dying.

I respect what people are trying to do with regard to steering kids away from drugs, but there's a line.  Across this line the impact is lost, and the message becomes fodder for bloggers who are both handsome and awesome.  I have been a young person -- to one degree or another -- all my life.  And I know my kind well enough to say definitively that if Leonardo and company could not keep my generation from using drugs, nothing will.

I wish I still cared about Peter Petrelli

My take on serial shows is that once I invest in them, I'm in for the long haul.  I have to know what's the deal with the island, who the mother is, and in this case how people with abilities and people without them will reach resolution.

As many of my other compulsions sometimes do, this has become inconvenient.  When I first decided to jump on the Heroes train it was because I was particularly interested in the stories of a few of the lead characters.  So I Netflixed the first two seasons, and caught up on this season on Hulu.  It was a fun ride for a while, but things about it are beginning to get under my skin.

First of all, no one dies anymore.  In fact, the last major character to die was one of the ones whose story first hooked me.  I don't even almost care about the new character that the actor is playing.  Not that I need to see people dying to be entertained, but the sense of dread any time someone could die is gone.  And when *spoilers* Noah was brought back to life after being shot through the eye?  It's a good thing that happened at the end of an episode, because I would have missed the next 45 seconds as my eyes were rolled to the back of my head.

Next, the title character... Hiro Nakamura.  Again, one of the characters who first hooked me.  I really dug his origin story, but as the series progresses I feel like his character is becoming more about comic relief and less about what it means to be a hero.  I'll freely admit that I could just be looking to see him as the funny guy, but that's the risk the show runs when he says things like "Greatu Scott!" in extreme close-up*.  Masi Oka is a funny.  But every time I see him being funny I give a little sigh because I thought he was funnier on Scrubs, and have hoped that Franklin would reappear at some point.

In effect, I now only watch the show out of habit.  I'm out of characters to care about.  The Bennett family never did it for me, although I am glad that Sandra is less of a damsel in distress.  But Claire needs to stop making out with every dude she meets who isn't a relative.  Peter needs to decide once and for all a happy-go-lucky smart alec, or a brooding tough guy.  Suresh is kind of a tool.  The whole Sylar side story feels like it was concocted just to give him something to do.  And what's up with Parkman falling in love with a girl who's like 15 years his junior at the drop of a hat?  I watch TV for characters.  If I just wanted to see people with cool abilities, I would spend my evenings looking up parkour videos on YouTube.

*to date this has been the single funniest moment of the series.

Lectori Salutem

What's up, everybody?  I've decided to run a little experiment, and you get to be part of it.  But before we start proper, let me back up and give you a little bit of history, for the sake of context.

I love going out.  I love seeing bands, eating at diners, watching movies, hanging out in bars... all manner of things that are customary for twenty-somethings living in the big city.   But here's the thing... I run in a broad circle with such varied interests that I can't always rely upon my friends' opinions of what's awesome and what's less than awesome.  Not that they're not valid opinions, they just don't always fall in line with my likes, dislikes, and various idiosyncrasies.

This became less of an issue when I discovered Yelp.  It turns out that teh internets are full of people, a few of whom like the same things I like.  Who knew?  It was a new dawn.  I learned that I could look to a few reviewers I trusted to get recommendations on bars, restaurants, and the like.  In turn, others were interested in what I had to say about spots around town.  I was not prepared for this, but cool.  Let's run with it.

But wait... I have opinions on things that aren't exactly "Yelpable" -- that is, they don't have physical addresses.  If people care about why I love Timmy Nolan's and hate the Happy Ending, maybe those same people would care why I love Stone Temple Pilots and hate M.I.A.  That's how we wound up here.  This will in effect be my Yelp for everything that isn't a place.  Bands, movies, TV shows, people I meet on the street, you name it.  I hope we all enjoy it.