Meryl Streep in Stonington Borough

Her IMDB page starts with "Considered by many movie reviewers to be the greatest living film actress" and goes on to talk about her 16 Oscar nominations and how generally fabulous she is.  Swoon.  Oh and did I mention she is a Vassar alumna?  I saw her at graduation, just very briefly, but was instantly struck by how beautiful she was.

She is currently filming in the quaint Connecticut fishing village of Stonington Borough, where my parents happen to have a home.  This new film, Great Hope Springs, also stars Steve Carrell and Tommy Lee Jones.  IMDB describes the plot as "After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense counseling weekend to decide the fate of their marriage."  It's not a thrilling opener, but you can bet my butt is going to be in that cushy theater seat.

Mostly because my parent's house is likely to be in the movie!  This week their filming on our block.  My mom keeps texting me about Meryl being in a car right outside, or Tommy Lee Jones standing around outside our house.  And we though Mystic Pizza was exciting!

Meryl and Tommy stroll a transformed Water Street 

Make sure you check it out when it comes out this December.  Look for the blue house with the white front porch!


Photo Credit: Kathy Calnen, stonington.patch.com

New TV Review: Terra Nova

So admittedly, this is not the type of show I would typically tune into, except for one thing: dinosaurs.  I love dinosaurs.  Like, an eight-year-old boy type of love.  I watch NatGeo specials about dinosaurs and I totally lose it at natural history museums; it's crazy.

And the dinosaurs in this show didn't disappoint.  It was just everything else that did.  For those of you who haven't seen the previews I've got a little youtube video for you.  Basically in the future the Earth is uninhabitable because of pollution and so humans have devised a way to go back in time (85 million years to be exact) to build a new society.

If this sounds like every environmental dystopia you've ever seen, plus Jurassic Park, plus Lost you're right.  The show is incredibly derivative and just feels like a poor knock-off.  The two-hour pilot, unlike a movie of a similar length, moved too quickly to actually incite any emotional involvement because it was trying to set up a whole range of future story lines rather than exploring one and bringing it to completion.

So my suggestion: Netflix a NatGeo special instead.

Anthony Weiner's Penis is Ruining Foreign Policy

Jake and I were watching the news this morning when he had the horrible realization that Anthony Weiner's penis is ruining sound, moderate foreign policy.  Weiner-gate, while fabulous for late-night jokes, pun-filled headlines and double entendre, is turning out to be terrible for politics.  It was bad enough when the whole thing was just straight up embarrassing and distracting.  First it was denials and claims that he got hacked, then came the tearful apology, then came the twitter conversations with underage girls, then the pics taken in the Congressional gym, then the realization his wife was pregnant and then finally, the holy grail of good-god-just-resign-already the iphone photo of his penis.  Now, just when you might have hoped the whole thing was behind us, the penis shot seen round the world is having a ripple effect on foreign policy. 

 

Subsequent to Weiner's resignation was the dreaded special election.  Specials, as they're known in political shorthand, are notorious for low turnout.  Except you know who always turns out?  The Jews.  You don't become a powerful minority by sitting on your ass on election day.  Weiner's district has a large Jewish population and, more specifically, a large Orthodox Jewish population.  So while you might say the Democrat lost because of the economy or a weak campaign, you can't deny the fact that he also lost because of Israel.  How could a Democratic candidate lose because of Israel when he himself is a pro-Israel Jew?  Because it wasn't about the positions of the candidates in the race, it was about Obama and sending him a message about his moderate stance towards Israel. 

 

And you know what?  It worked.  The New York Times reported that after the election Obama aides were scrambling to create multi-page talking points about the president's record with Israel.  A couple weeks later, the Leader of the Free World is on television telling Palestinians not to press too hard for U.N. recognition of statehood.  All because the Congressman from the 9th district couldn't keep it in his pants.  If it hadn't been for Weiner-gate and the subsequent surprise results of the special we wouldn't all be freaking out about losing the 2012 election because of the Jewish vote, we'd just be freaking out about the 2012 election for every other reason in the world. 

 

So add it to the list of apologies Weiner had to make: Sorry Chuck for letting you down after you made me your protege; sorry Huma for betraying you while you were carrying my baby; and sorry Palestinians for squashing your dreams of peace and statehood. 

What to Watch this New Fall TV Season

Fall is a great time of year.  Everything is changing and everything feels new - a new school year, a change of seasons, and a brand new season of Fall TV!  This Fall has brought me more than the usual number of changes as you all know and I'm looking forward to getting back to my familiar favorites on the tube.  Most shows start up this very week!  Below is a list of the shows I'll be tuning into and putting on my DVR and you should know that "my recommendation is essentially a guarantee."  You should also know that that's a Ron Swanson quote and not actually a fact as I'm notorious for loving terrible television.  But it's not all bad, I promise!  And what is bad, is awesomely bad so it's still worth checking out, at least in my opinion.

Monday

House 
Fox 8 pm
While I'm beginning to get sick of that predictable moment when the solution visibly crosses House's mind in the middle of a conversation it's still worth tuning into.

The Sing-Off
NBC 8pm
I LOVE a cappella!  This show is hopeful and full of beautiful voices.  Plus, it has music genius Nick Lachey, ugh I mean Ben Folds.

Tuesday

Glee
Fox 8pm
While it seemed to be sliding last season I can't wait to see the new students from The Glee Project.  Here's hoping for more Top 40 smashes and Darren Criss.

The New Girl
Fox 9pm
I haven't seen it yet, but it's one of the only new sitcoms that actually looks decent and possibly funny.  And since it comes on right after Glee, I'll definitely be checking it out.

Wednesday

Modern Family
ABC 9pm
Just won the Emmy for best comedy and it was well deserved.  This show is laugh out loud funny, true to real life and heartwarming.  The family sitcom at its best.

Thursday - aka Epic Day of Television

Community
NBC 8pm
This show has Chevy Chase.  And Joel McHale.  And plenty of quirky story lines and laughs to boot.  This show is still sort of the little brother of the rest of the lineup, but it is a lovable little brother for sure.

Parks and Recreation
NBC 8:30pm
This show is overlooked and it's so funny and so sweet.  It has Aziz Ansari and Amy Poehler who is hilarious.  It's another one with a great supporting cast (see my Ron Swanson quote at the beginning of this post) who are all unique and wonderful.  Leslie Knope for Mayor!

The Office
NBC 9pm
We're all skeptical with Steve Carrell gone, but this funny show is full of wonderful characters and you know you're curious to see where this show is going post-Michael Scott.

30 Rock
NBC TBA
This critical darling is one of the funniest shows on TV and features one of my favorite wish-I-could-be-friends-with-her celebrities: Tina Fey.  How could it possibly be the last season?  And how could you possibly not check it out?

Project Runway
Lifetime 9pm
See: Summer TV: Project Runway.  Make it work!

Jersey Shore
MTV 10pm
Like watching monkeys learn sign language - both fascinating and entertaining.

Grey's Anatomy
ABC 9pm
My favorite girly prime-time soap opera, I'm looking forward to another sappy season.  Last season ended on a very sad and distressing note so I'm hoping things are looking up for my girls when it returns, but not so much that there aren't a few good cries to be had.

Friday

Say Yes to the Dress
TLC 9pm
Can you say guilty pleasure?  It's ogling plus judging plus pretty, pretty prettiness.  To die for!

Saturday

Go out people; you can't watch TV every day

Sunday

Sister Wives
TLC 9pm
The craziest part of gawking at these polygamists is how shockingly normal they seem.  This season brings a new baby and what seems like plenty of family drama.  In a great political twist, the family is bringing a suit against what I agree are unfair polygamy laws.  It will seriously blow your mind.

Fishing the Crystal Coast with Cap'n Jess

Could it have been only a couple of weeks ago that I was in North Carolina?  Pre-Irene, pre-move to Boston, pre-work?  It feels like ages ago.  But it's more than worth revisiting.

While we were there we went on a fishing tour with Captain Jess Hawkins.  Captain Jess has over 30 years of experience studying fish and marine biology and knows the North Carolina coast like the back of his hand.  As fish jumped out of the water, flashing only the briefest glimpse of scales, he could name them with perfect precision.

We went fishing and even us land-lubbing Yankees were able to catch a few.  Even I caught one, although I was mostly happy to be the expedition's chief photographer.  The key is to learn from the birds -  find where they are gathering for their meal and then fish for your own.

Once you've found your prey, just cast it out and reel it in.  Okay, it's not quite that easy, and we may have knotted up a fishing line or two, but we still managed to catch a nice variety.

Spanish Mackerel

Bluefish

Sea Robin

We also went to look for sand dollars and Jess brought us to a shallow area where the water is perfectly clear and we picked up one after another.  Together Jake and I found about 16, although most of those were his finds.  We gave some back to Captain Jess to give to kids who don't find any on their tours.  I still have a few that I plan to turn into Christmas ornaments and general keepsakes.

It was great fun and we'd do it again!

A Little Night Music

Last Friday after work I walked to the T station through the Public Garden and the Commons as usual.  I love that walk for all the entertainment it provides: the two college guys playing Taio Cruz on their violins, the old man with his accordian, the guitar player complete with amps, and even the ipod from behind me playing "Empire State of Mind."  It seems Boston is full of music and I love it. 

 

At night, Jake and I went out to dinner in Davis Square and were met by more musical entertainment.  Two men took shifts on acoustic guitars in the center plaza, but the best show was hidden behind the subway station.  A 13 piece band, complete with tubas, an electric violin, percussion and an assortment of other brass and woodwinds played Justin Timberlake classics and klezmer tunes.  The band included everyone from the dirty hippy in Tevas, the older man with the Hulk Hogan 'stache, the renaissance chick with purple hair, a hipster holding a tuba that looked as though weighed as much as him, and plenty of NSO types (for those of you who didn't go to Vassar I have two words for you: Magic Cards).  Most of them didn't even have sheet music.  Let me tell you, that is some badass nerdery. 

 

They had the crowd going.  An old man in a camouflage kilt was slapping his thigh and bobbing his head and a little girl in Dorothy red slippers and a bicycle helmet skipped around with her dad.  It was one of those perfect September nights, with only the best of late summer breezes.  Everything was just right and the band played on. 

Adventure 5: Old North Church

While in Little Italy, I saw the Freedom Trail and knew we were near Old North Church.  Here is the statue of Paul Revere that stands behind the church before the beautiful courtyard.  

I was happy to see that seeing the church, a real historical landmark, is still free.  We saw tour groups coming through with guides dressed in full revolutionary garb.  We stood in the church for a while and got a history lesson from a guide telling the story of Old North Church from the pulpit.  This is the church where Americans hung the lanterns to tell the people if the British were coming over the ground or by the Charles River.  

"One if by land, two if by sea."