Last week of January

I have not been writing much (read: at all) on my blog and decided it was time I started writing more. So for my reader out there, I believe there will be some new stuff available on this site starting very soon. Some things that I expect to write are my yearly Movie column where I discuss what I enjoyed this year, and since I'm on a HUGE reading kick, expect more updates of what I'm reading and why. And I also hope to add my 100 favorite scenes like Patton Oswalt included and I pasted here a few weeks ago.

For now though, expect to read my "favorite things of the week". I'm stealing this from a blog I read, but every Friday, she includes her favorites of the week, and I decided to try and steal that since I consume enough pop culture I may help you guys find some interesting things you may have missed.

Best TV show I saw: This is hard, but I think it was most likely the newest episode of Parks and Recreations. I literally laughed out loud four or five times. The show strikes my funny bone every time. Funniest part when Andy was diagnosing Amy Pohler and found out she had "Connectivity problems"

I also enjoyed: The Office, Last week's episode of Fringe



Best movie I saw: I only watched one this week from beginning to end, but it was great. It was a documentary called Tapped. This was about the bottled water industry and how they are stealing water from local water sources and selling it at 9000% profit. It also discussed how terrible PET plastic bottles are for not only the environment, but for our own health. The movie even featured music by three of my favorite bands: Radiohead, Blind Melon and The White Stripes which was an added bonus. Check this movie out on your Netflix Watch it now feature. It is only 75 minutes long, but it will really make you think the next time you want to buy a bottle of water, when literally the same product is available for free out of any water tap in any kitchen or bathroom.




Best thing I read: I finished one good book and am reading a second great book now, so there will be 2 for this category. I finished Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. It's a book of 4 short stories and this is a great book to suggest to people that think Stephen King is all horror. There are 4 stories in them, and only one of them (the shortest at 40 pages) has even the remotest sense of the supernatural. Instead these stories are all about normal people put into awful situations and how they deal with them. After reading these, I also think Stephen King may be a feminist since although awful things happen to women in these stories, they all are met with repurcussions for that.
I am also reading a book called Endurance about an expedition to Antarctica in 1915. I am only half-way through this book, but so far it's quite good, and non-fiction.



Best music I heard: I listen to mostly the same music over and over again. But this week I especially enjoyed the song Dreamer in my Dreams off of the Wilco CD Being There (Disc 2). I've heard this song hundreds of times, but the chaotic nature of it really struck me this week. And I even enjoyed the fiddles. I usually hate fiddles.







Best Other of the week: I had another treat this week. On Sunday, I went and saw a preview of the Spider-Man musical on Broadway. I'm a HUGE fan of Spider-Man as most people know but was not expecting much from this show. I will say this: It's not what you expect. The music is OK. Mostly boring and repetitious, but loud. The acting is fine, but that's not why you should all see the show. It visually looks like nothing I've ever seen before. The villains truly look like comic books come to life, and Spider-Man and the Green Goblin fly over the audience and have battle above your head. The aerials are well worth the price of admission. The show is all fun, it does not take itself seriously, and although the main "villain" of the show is a little out of left field, it works for people that are not as into the comic book-ness of the show. But Julie Taymor has an eye and a vision that is unlike anyone else. It cannot be described how great this show is visually.