OMFG

Go see Dark Knight. (Like I have to tell you too. Because you already knew you were going to see it.)

And if you already did, did the opening scene feel familiar to you? Like a nod or tribute to another movie? I was wondering if I was the only one who felt that way. Bonus points if you understood a certain actor's cameo appearance too, because I missed this significance until it was pointed out to me in a forum :)

I bet cabin boy caught this reference. I'll have to ask him if he wants to watch it again with us.

Anyhoo, a warning (no spoiler) to the more sensitive demographic of our readers: Heath Ledger's depiction of the Joker is so harrowing and terrifying (and entertaining!) that I can't remember being that impressed with onscreen madness since Jack Nicholson's sick portrayal of Jack Torrance.

The Joker's theme "song" pretty much sums up the atmosphere of this movie:



Twisted, white-knuckled fun.

Pics from our cookout

I hardly took any photos this year. There were so many guests and so much interaction going on that I simply didn't have the right moments to step back and document the whole event. Oh well.





One of many new young faces this year.



They look like they're lined up for some execution, right?? (Actually, it's our annual ghetto-style pentaque tournament on our lumpy lawn. Can you see the big silvery orb being flung into the air?)



The garage "Rock Band" setup. In has such an awesome voice.

Enjoy cabin boy's capture of the great day. Much better than what I took!

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listening to: "Keep Your Dreams (live)" by Suicide

Yes, it was fun! And dang it, I'm tired.

Every year, the list of invitees gets bigger O_o

We had our usual Fourth of July cookout last Saturday, and this year, it was massive. You should have seen the Shaw's meat guy's face when we told him we needed about 14 lbs. of ground meat. He was awesome, however, and advised us how to get the most bang for our buck, and even pointed us to a reasonably priced box of smoky hot dogs. (And as weird as the weiners looked, I thought they were delicious!)

Anyway, we had a nice open tent thingy for shade, the entire lawn, and half of a garage (with Rock Band set up) for our cookout. Thanks to those who came and to those who couldn't make it...we will see you next year!

Pics courtesy of cabin boy coming soon.

For the record, I was exhausted from Sunday through Wednesday (and I went to bed at a reasonable time each night). You guys nearly killed with your good party vibes and voracious appetites :)

City of Cambridge's Annual Dance Party, or Possibilities For America's Worst Dance Reality Show (and I Would Be an Awesome Contestant.)

Once a year, Cambridge decides it would be a grand idea to shut down part of Mass Ave and lure locals into a public, all-night tribal festivity of grooving, swinging, jumping, sliding, pop-n-lockin', swirling, and generally making asshats out of themselves. Myself included. Last Friday night was just summery-muggy enough to make us restless and want to be outdoors. It was the perfect summer night to get outside with friends and just be...well, liberated. Or lubricated. Or both. Anyhoo, a group of us descended upon a certain Central Square household and its abodeon Caitlin (hahahahaha get it? never mind) then led us to the ultimate street party of the year.

If you go early enough, when it's still quite bright with daylight, you'll encounter "Family Hour." Mostly families and kids, senior citizens, people in wheelchairs, and of course, uncoordinated people who are excited about dancing without the excuse of a wedding. The city block was running amok with some of the happiest faces around; I really couldn't help but smile at the sweet older couple sashaying to the beat, locked in each other's eyes. If you weren't into swaying your butt all over the place, you could at least enjoy the people watching. Seriously, for those of us who stayed on the sidewalk, shying away from the action, we were all fixated on the flailing arms of mayhem. At the risk of sounding politically incorrect here: goddammit, I love watching white people dance. (Don't get me wrong, it was a very multicultural event, but believe me, you couldn't stop staring at the unrhythmic yuppie/hipster demographic. Mesmerizing.)

While Caitlin, Jeff, Christina, and a bunch of other friends went off dancing into the crowded street, I waited on the sidewalk forever, just hoping for some song I could get into, but the playlist was mostly classic Top 40 soul and R&B stuff — not my cup of tea. (Not that I would ever expect anything esoteric to played. But a little Daft Punk wouldn't hurt anybody, right?) As the evening progressed, it was clear that the music style wasn't changing, so I sucked it up, traversed through throngs of sweaty dancers, and joined the gang for some feet shuffling. At least it was dark enough where I didn't feel so self-conscious. Also, the darker it got, the more talented dancers started infiltrating the crowd, and I liked the idea of hiding out between them :)

Here's somebody's video capture of the night (no cuts of me, thank god).

This article summed it perfectly: "The music selection was somewhere between a middle school dance and a sloppy wedding reception." That's okay. It was still tremendously fun.

Highlights:
- dancing
- people-watching
- going for frozen yogurt run in Harvard Square
- pretty lights
- cute kids
- hoola hoop dancers that were the most hypnotizing things I've ever watched in my life. (If you get a chance, ask Caitlin to do an impression of one of them.)

Downsides:
- the fucking Cha Cha Slide. I hate those kind of dances. I feel so micromanaged.


You bastards better be coming out with us next year!

Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

Last Christmas, Jeff surprised me with a gift certificate for a night of culinary adventure. So Friday, we had our date in the kitchen :) I signed up for the standard "Cooking Couples" class at the the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

The class was led by two chefs at the school. Both were extremely generous, helpful and completely enthusiastic about helping novices and more intermediate cooks alike. In our tightly packed class of eight couples, we had a wide range of talents and age groups. A few of us wanted (or were coaxed by the chefs) to get out of our comfort zone and try new things. I felt pretty good about side dishes and appetizers, and Jeff can't handle shellfish, so we wanted to brave either the Spicy Herb and Pepper Steak or a dessert. Another couple ended up snagging the main entrée challenge first, so we volunteered for the Raspberry Creme Brulée. Fine by me, I love creme brulée!



It was SO much fun. It was laidback and the chefs were very hands-off or very supportive, depending on your comfort level. Their only concern was that everyone tasted everything as they cooked, experimented, and had fun. All the participants cooked at the same time, which was chaotic (in a fun way) and a great way to intermingle with other couples. On paper, three hours sounded daunting, but it flew by pretty fast. You get distracted by the noise, the smells, the tastes, the concentration, the hollering and hustle, and more importantly, the unlimited wine flow.



I have to say, caramelizing brown sugar with a defective butane lighter is not the way to go. The sugar went straight into burn mode and the flame kept extinguishing itself whenever Jeff tipped the canister. I noted the chefs' disappointment with the recipe's suggestion of brown sugar, so I guess it wasn't entirely our fault that we could not achieve a nice glassy surface that creme brulée is known for. Our dish tasted pretty spectacular anyway, and one kind woman told us it was the best creme brulée she ever had. Well, we take only partial credit — I owe a great deal of gratitude to the chef who scurried to find fresh raspberries for us and then returned with a huge of white chocolate to boot. "Let's experiment and add this." Whom am I to argue when confronted with a scrumptious chunk of cocoa butter goodness.



I really recommend trying out a class or two at the Cambridge school. I already see ourselves doing this again, perhaps focusing on the Spanish, Asian, or Indian classes for couples.

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listening to: "S_hadow (Backlash Remix)" by Haujobb

Yo bitches.

I'm still here.

Will get back into blogging soon, I think.

Some minor news:

I'm working on a new book cover for my girl Heather.

We have new neighbors and they rock.

I fucking hated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls.

I thought I was gonna hate Speed Racer. Found that the first hour was stupid, and then it got better and even enjoyable.

Our water heater leaked and we went without hot water for two days while waiting for a replacement.

I'm thinking about chopping my hair back to a short messy cut.

I want to go out dancing. When can we all go out dancing together?


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listening to: "Babel (live)" by Covenant

Nerdcore?

Seriously? Fo' real.



Cabin boy had been on Independent Film Festival rampage all week and he invited us for a showing of Nerdcore Rising at the Brattle. It hasn't been picked up for distribution yet, but I hope to god it does. It is so delightful, so fun, so entertaining, and most importantly, so identifiable. It's a comedy and documentary, not unlike the awesome King of Kong that came out last year.

Weird side note: so, about that Meat Beat Manifesto concert I previously blogged... I went to the show hoping to meet two locals from the electronic music forum that I frequent. Yes, it was really cool meeting online posters in real life for change, heh. Anyway, one of them had a friend who accompanied him to the show...

...who turned out to be the drummer featured in this film :)

Of course, I didn't know this until after I saw the movie. The cast and film crew got onstage for a Q&A session, and being way up on the balcony, I still didn't recognize the drummer as the guy I kinda-sorta-but-not-really met at the MBM concert. Heck, in the movie, he looked drastically different, so I couldn't even tell then. But when Jeff and I were hanging at the Brattle afterwards, the drummer recognized and approached us. "Were you guys at the Meat Beat Manifesto show? I'm Mark's friend!" Heh, small world.