MSG x2

I saw JM on Thursday and Friday at Madison Sq. Garden this week. And in case you are wondering, they were totally different shows and both were awesome.

I always bring my camera and take a few photos, but usually think they come out terrible and I'd rather just watch the show and let someone else do the work and I reap the benefits on You Tube later. But then I'm always stunned when I see that people actually bother to upload videos like this. Seriously, why? Why? WHY??



OKay, moving on...

Here's another shaky, blurry video from the encore of "Who Says." Basically, I think this is a silly song and when I think of the brilliance of "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" or " I Don't Trust Myself with Loving You," I just don't get it. But clearly the crowd likes it and the live version is not bad including name checks of New York City, Brooklyn, & New Jersey (I claim all three) and then sings part of "Empire State of Mind."

name drop

When they filmed this, whenever it was, they had no idea how true it would prove to be.



(I still love him, although he sometimes makes it hard.)

The tour continues

I went to see JM perform in Connecticut Friday night. As usual, it was a great show. The highlight of the show was "Half of my Heart" which is also the highlight of his new album (in my opinion). He had a little surprise at the end of the song that made me so happy!



(this performance is actually from Florida, and not recorded by me, but is still pretty good. These audience recordings are always pretty rough. This clip is actually 10x better, but not the whole song. )

Tribeca Treats

Friday after work I ventured down to Tribeca Treats. This is another bakery that I've been wanting to try for a long time, but since I never make it below Canal, haven't been. They look pretty run of the mill, but don't be fooled. They were goooooood!


From left to right, Black Velvet, Vanilla/Vanilla, PB&J, Mudslide.

The Black Velvet was my fave -- super moist chocolate with cream cheese frosting.

Let's hear it for New York....

30 Rock quote of the week -- 2/11

Okay, the whole single-girl-who-hates-Valentine's-day storyline is super played-out. But then again, with Tina Fey doing it, you can't go wrong. After Liz Lemon tells Jack that she plans to get a root canal on Valentine's day, Jack says, "You are truly the Picasso of loneliness."
Liz replies, "Or, I am the elephant painting of being awesome?"

The Office quote of the week -- 2/11

After a few "off" weeks, this episode was a return to greatness.

The quote goes to Dwight, as he says to Ryan, "Why don't you just let me handle the Tolkien references. Okay, dumb jock?"

Modern Family

The new show Modern Family is getting lots of buzz. I was chatting with Jason about the show, and he said that he thinks if/when he has kids, he'd be a parent like Phil. Ironically, I think I'd be most like Cam. Watch this and decide:

Best of 2009

Top ten movies:
1. 500 Days of Summer
2. An Education
3. Precious
4. I Love you, Man
5. Adventureland
6. Crazy Heart
7. The Hurt Locker
8. Two Lovers
9. It's Complicated
10. Paper Heart


Best adapted screenplay: Precious.

Best original screenplay: 500 Days of Summer

Best Song: "The Weary Kind" in Crazy Heart

Best old song in a movie: "Limelight" by Rush in I Love You, Man

Most overrated:
Up in the Air and George Clooney in it. Basically, wasn't he just being Doug Ross, but as a corporate guy instead of a doctor?
The Hangover. This won the Golden Globe. Don't get it.
Penelope Cruz. Is it just me, or is she becoming the new Judi Dench and gets nominated in every movie?


Best performances:
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
Best Acress: Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Best Supporting Actor: no strong feelings in this category, actually.
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique in Precious

This was the most joyous scene of any movie I saw this year. I literally couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

TV

best comedy: 30 Rock.

best drama: FNL

best episode: Mad Men season finale.

best new show: Glee

best TV on DVD: thirtysomething (thanks Esther!)

best fake news: The Daily Show. Still awesome, even after Bush left office!

guilty pleasure: The Bachelor, or as my brother in law calls it, The Crap-elor. It's so wrong, but it feels so right.

Best books I read this year:

Fiction: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. (I'm only 10 years late to this book. So good!!)

Non-fiction: It's kind of a silly book, and most of the time I was thinking, "I can't believe this person got a book deal." But then again, I thought it was funny and sad and I couldn't put it down. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker.

Best concert: Bruce Springsteen at the Meadowlands.

30 Rock quote of the week 2/4

I think you know what's coming, and it's the second time there has been a JM reference on this show.

Jenna: "It was perfect. Like a John Mayer song."

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Other than that, I loved when Liz caught Frank smoking. Because really, the only thing that is better than referencing JM is referencing a great 80's TV show!

Liz: "It's not a lecture to simply point out to someone that the episode of Different Strokes about Dudley's dad has proven incontrovertibly that smoking destroys your health and leads to ridicule from Willis."

Frank: "What about you? You can't judge me when you are eating that garbage. Dr. Oz did a show about junk food. And this stuff will kill you."

And by the way, I'm trying super hard to cut down on sugar and baked goods... and I could NOT get donuts out of my mind after watching this episode. If I didn't live in a 5th floor walk-up, I would have been at Smile Deli at 9 pm last night.
Luckily, lazy > hungry.

Fostering

I have a new show. It's called Life Unexpected on the CW. It's a super cute new show about a girl named Lux that grew up in the foster care system and then found her biological parents as a teenager. I have worked in foster care for over 12 years. The characters in the movie Precious are about a million times closer to the foster children and teens I work with than Lux. But that's probably why I like it so much.