Not really recommended: "Broken English"

I stumbled across "Broken English" on cable tonight. Parker Posey caught my eye, as she usually does, and I paused on the station long enough to realize that this was the movie I saw her filming in the Village during my week of NYC in 2006.

The first half of the movie is intriguing. There is very little background music, which makes it feel still. The photography alternates between steady long shots and shaky close ups. Posey is well cast as a beautiful but quirky woman in New York who doesn't understand why she is alone, well into her thirties.

After several funny but disturbing failed relationships, she randomly meets a younger French man who is only in town for a few days. He is too good to be true, and after a few wonderful days of doing everything right, he heads home, asking her to follow him to Paris. She at first refuses, but then later throws caution to the wind and heads to France to find him.

Now, I know what you're thinking: this sounds all very unoriginal and chick-flickish. And maybe it does have some common elements with something that Meg Ryan would have done in the 90's. But this is different. The words are better, and the scenes are grittier. No perky here.

When she leaves for Paris, she only has Frenchy's cell phone number, which in real life would be more than enough. But this is where it all goes wrong. It's almost as if Posey leaves her great script and her director back in New York. From the moment her plane hits the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle, my eyes must have rolled a hundred times.

I recommend the movie only if you love Manhattan and love Parker Posey. Some of my favorite spots are featured in this film, including the park where I saw them filming, and the stoop in front of Joe The Art of Coffee on Waverly in the Village.

There is a cute ending, so it ain't bad for a movie on cable.

P.S. Parker Posey used to date one of my favorite musicians, Ryan Adams. Here is a fun interview that Posey did with Adams when they were together:

FindArticles - Ryan Adams: behind closed doors, one of music's most idiosyncratic heartbreakers gets intimate with his paramour, actress Parker Posey, opening up about finding his voice and getting his rock on - Interview

IJM's New Web Site

International Justice Mission's new website is up and it's a beut! Please check it out ... especially the Careers page, as we are looking to hire a lot of great people. Please take a look at the openings and pass the word to five of your friends who may be interested and qualified, or who may know others who would be.

Happy Friday

What am I daydreaming about this great Friday afternoon? World peace? True love? Spiritual transcendance? No.

Ducati.

Recommended: Jon Foreman

Switchfoot's front man, Jon Foreman, has a few solo EP's that you must check out.

I've always thought Switchfoot was a great example of a Christian band who could stand on it's own - none of the "If you like U2, you'll love the Christian version, Me2" style of copycat believer music.

Foreman's solo work is more folk, less rock than Switchfoot, which keeps it from sounding like just another Switchfoot album. The lyrics are pointed, but not preachy, and I think this comes from someone who just wants to talk about what's important to him -- without an agenda.

I've combined the tracks from the two EPs named after Fall and Winter into one iMix so you can listen and hopefully purchase a few. Spring and Summer must be on their way later this year.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think ...

Travel Club Does Austin! Take 2

Travel Club is back from a three day weekend in Austin, Texas, and it was a blast. Click on the photo to see some shots from the trip. Thanks to Biggers for a few of these ...

Travel Club Does Austin!

Be jealous. Travel Club is in Austin and we are LIVING IT UP. Day 1 started with Jo's coffee, then lunch at Shady Grove, my favorite Austin eatery. Queso Fried Catfish with Jalepeno twice baked potato for less that ten bucks.

Here's part of the posse dining al fresco:

More tales from the city ...

I promise I don't make this stuff up.

Last night I walked to the corner store to pick up a pack of AA batteries for my camera flash. While standing at the corner, waiting for the light to change, I overheard the woman behind me berating the guy next to her.

"I don't care, it's gross. Seriously."

"I've licked the roof of your mouth with my tongue - what difference does it make if I use your toothbrush?"

"It's totally different: you used my toothbrush to brush the skuz off your teeth, and now all that gunk is going to fester in my toothbrush until the next time I use it ... and then it will go in MY mouth, you son of a bitch."

So as I stood there listening to this, I thought to myself ... maybe it's ok that I'm not in a relationship right now.

Big news from Apple!

Steve Jobs. I love you, dude.

Jobs just completed his press conference at Macworld, where he made some fantastic announcements. Here are some of my faves:

First, AppleTV is not dead - it was just resurrected and can now download movie rentals from iTunes right from your television. HD quality, offerings from ALL the major studios. $2.99 for most, $3.99 for current releases. You can also purchase new music from iTunes right off your television and it syncs with your collection stored on your computer. Amazing.

Second, the new notebook: the MacBook Air. It's crazy thin - the thinnest available - and less than 3lbs. Beautiful, fast, and only $1,799. It doesn't have a CD drive, but it can "borrow" a drive from another nearby computer wirelessly.

Third, tons of new features for the iPhone, but the most exciting is a kind of GPS location in Google maps - the iPhone will now show your current location on your Google maps using triangulation off cell towers and hotspots. This was my biggest complaint about the iPhone, and now they've fixed it.

Lots of other great news - you can now see your .mac and Flixr photos online from your television using AppleTV. You can customize your iPhone menus for the features you use. Lots more fun coming from Apple.

I told you so ... DC Rock Club hits the big time

NTYAMB readers ... I know a good thing when I see it.

Last month I told you that DC Rock Club would be hitting the big time, and oh, have they.

This foursome of hilarious, irreverant, and sometimes inappropriate indie-music hipsters are featured on the ENTIRE front page of this week's Sunday Source of the Washington Post. They are four thirtysomethings who see a rock show once a week and write reviews on their blog. It was on the DL for a while, but now the word is out. If you love indie music and haven't seen this blog, check it out.

Read more about Dan Corbin, pictured second from left, in the NTYAMB archives.

Style-Meets-Function

Following my Kinoki foot pad post last week, my sister reminded me of her favorite stupid product, the Cruzin Cooler.

I wish that the Bass Pro Shops were kidding when they offered this ice chest-meets-razor scooter, but they aren't. I'm pretty sure that some of my buddies from high school got this for Christmas.

Actually, this would be very handy for transporting organs from the donor to the hospital, or for selling cheese door to door on a hot summer day.

What are some of your favorite stupid products?

Hokie Kinoki

Have you seen the ad for Kinoki Foot Pads? The alegedly suck all the toxins out of your body down through your feet into the pad while you sleep.

I really think that if you are stupid enough to buy these things, you should be very concerned that these pads will suck your brains down through your feet into their super absorbent fibers. Why? Because your brain is obviously the most toxic thing in your body.

... a fool born every minute.

Germeridian January Mix

Here it is, the mix spinnin' at the Germeridian this month. Some of these are from Girl con Queso's best of 2007 list. Ever since elementary school, GcQ has always been a great source of the best tunes. We've always wanted to start our own consulting business doing soundtracks for movies ... but in reality I would just depend on her for all the picks and spend all the money we would make.

If you're short on time, check out the first three tracks from The Weepies, Radiohead, and LCD Soundsystem.

Enjoy!

Safety First

I'm all for employees washing their hands before returning to work. I'm all for people washing their hands before returning to anything if they are in the rest room. But the good folks at the Fairfax County health department have gone a step too far in their attempt to encourage restaurant employees to wash up before returning to food handling by posting the sign shown here in county restaurants.

Pin Worms? Ugh. That's not what I want to be thinking about just before sitting down to a nice meal.

Thanks a lot Fairfax County.