RAVE - The Ghost Writer

According to some stories, this is loosely based on shenanigans surrounding Tony Blair, the British prime minister who brown-nosed the country's entry into various American-sponsored conflicts.

Maybe we'll never know for sure whether or not he sanctioned water-boarding and other acts of torture, but this was an interesting if fictitious take on the shabby goings on in Whitehall and the White House.

I'm not sure if there's ever been a senior executive on either side of the Atlantic as suave and good-looking as Pierce Brosnan, but as all of us gorgeous hunks know, we're not as angelic as we look. 

This is a thriller in the classic sense - no gratuitous violence, no ridiculous special effects, not even a big explosion - and it's all the better for that.

Ewan McGregor was perfect, Pierce Brosnan wasn't, but what stood out like sore thumbs in an otherwise excellent movie were Kim Cattrall trying to do an English accent and bombing badly, and the usually fabulous Tom Wilkinson trying to do an American accent.

I'd heard that director Roman Polanski idolizes Alfred Hitchcock, and the film looks, sounds and runs like a Hitchcock thriller, right down to the wintry scenes and dour colors. Made to look like Martha's Vineyard, the movie was shot in Germany, because Polanski cannot enter the US without being arrested. Now that's another thriller in the making.

REVIEW - Ironside

This place is hidden in plain sight, right near AT&T Park and opposite Paragon, yet we had to drive around and around to find it.

I guess we're glad we did, although it's not perfect.

I'm dinging them a bit for having a less-than-stellar host, not having a table ready at our reservation time, keeping us waiting for 10 minutes after we got seated and before anyone bothered to get our drink order, and then having a 15 minute wait between appetizer clearance and entree arrival, but I'm being super picky.

My Raclette (Gruyere, fig jam and toast) starter was hot in all the right ways, while my Bison Burger was good if not stupendous. Pavey's Arugula and Crispy Prosciutto Salad with blood orange, white balsamic vinaigrette, shaved fennel and spiced pecans sounded better than the mound of grass it turned out to be, while her Crispy Leg of Duck Confit with roasted parsnips and chestnuts, brussels sprout leaves and pomegranate reduction stood out as the evening's star.

The shabby chic kind of worked, although the noise was a bit intense and while I liked it, I couldn't work out what they were aiming for with their 70s British blues selection on Pandora.

And it's cheap of them to not spring for the $36 per year Pandora upgrade in order to lose the advertising that boomed around the restaurant every few songs.

REVIEW - Shutter Island

Was it going to be all too obvious? Was it going to be full of bangs, screams and lunges just for their shock value? Has the meat already been served up in the trailers? Was Gareth going to scream and grab my hand? These were my misgivings going in to seeing Shutter Island.

It turns out none of those things happened. However, that didn't make it a good movie. It was well made, perhaps a little drawn out, at 2 hours 18 minutes, but in the end, unsatisfying.

The movie's all about the twists, so the trailers and the first 2 hours just lay the foundation for the big one. Trouble is, when it happened, neither of us enjoyed the way it turned.

And so much for it verging on being a horror movie. We only jumped once during the 2+ hours, and that was at a particularly loud gunshot.

Shame.

RAVE - Creation

There were 2 major deviations that made this movie an experience. 

First, after a run of wham, bam, thank you ma'am movies we'd seen: Wolfman, Edge of Darkness, Avatar, Legion, Book of Eli, Sherlock Holmes, the measured pace of Creation was a real joy.

Second, after repeated trips to Century and Sundance Kabuki - both of which boast ultra-comfy seating and giant screens, the Landmark Opera theater is - according to Mrs. Page - like visiting a tumbleweed town.

Neither of these deviations ought to matter, though. It should all be about the film.

At its start, there were some words to the effect that Darwin's Origin of the Species represents arguably the most important act of thinking in all of history. Indeed, if the script is accurate rather than glorified history, Darwin recorded, developed and published his ideas without much help from other scientists, except those that pressed him to finish his book despite his inner battles and the disapproval of his somewhat devout wife.

Not an action movie. Not really a movie about the discovery process. Very little Beagle. No Galapagos. And yet, an engrossing story about Darwin's demons.

RAVE - Blowfish, Sushi to Die For

There isn't much of a reveal here. No-one's likely to say "Ooh! I'd not heard of that place". 

And it's not as if this was our first time here; far from it. When we first moved from the UK to San Francisco 12 years ago, we lived in a loft on the same block as Blowfish. After 2 years we moved one block away, but still went there every week, dividing our time between Blowfish and Universal Cafe for the next few years. I'm sure we ate everything on both establishment's menus, several times over.

But re-visiting Blowfish after a hiatus of several months reminded me why I like this place so much.

I'm not the world's biggest sushi fan. I like cold, dead fish as much as the next guy, but I don't like the stinky fish smell that permeates Pike's Place in Seattle, or Sushi Groove South in San Francisco. While I'm dissing Sushi Groove South (which deserves it, as it was revolting last time we visited), let me say that Chaya Brasserie is not renowned for its sushi, Tokyo Go Go is probably up there with Blowfish in the fun 'n fish league, while our Potrero Hill locals, Moshi Moshi, Umi and Live Sushi, are all places to get the stuff if you want it, rather than fun or date-worthy destinations.

I've heard sushi snobs say that Blowfish isn't a destination sushi place, and to those people I say "           ", which I gather is the sound a Blowfish makes when it puffs itself up to show how dangerously inedible it is.

My favorites: Ritsu Roll, Fire Oysters, Kamonnatsu, Dragon Roll etc. make sure I eat well while enjoying the techno music and Anime eye candy playing on the various monitors around the place.

REVIEW - The Wolfman

The ideal Valentine movie, for the woman who likes a little bit of rough.

We've come a loooong way from when an actor would take a sip from a beaker spouting wispy clouds of gas, clutch his throat, duck down behind a sofa and reappear with fangs and a hairy face.

However, if you ignore the cutting edge effects, this film adds little to the old sprouty hair and teeth genre.

Interestingly, there's lots to compare with Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. Where he elected to redo the classic with modern editing and action, this Wolfman was quite traditional, almost plodding in its faithfulness to the original concept - misty moors, manors and mores.

Also, both movies feature 17th century London skylines and streets, and pivotal scenes around Tower Bridge.

However, aside from the repetitious pop-up scary fang and snarl moments, there was little to move the viewer. Apart from the arses next to me that is, who jumped and wimpered at every scene, like they got lost on their way to an intended Disney experience.

Anthony Hopkins has become a caricature of Hannibal Lecter, hamming up every scene with his out-of-place Welsh accent, and Benicio Del Toro continues his slide from the Usual Suspects, Traffic and Che.

If I can be forgiven a dreadful pun, this Wolfman lacks bite.

RANT - World's Most Livable Cities

The Economist's new, 2010 report on the World's Most Livable Cities, yet again fails to tell you where you really want to live.

Yes, I know the image is from another survey, by Monocle, but I couldn't find an Economist image that looked as appropriate.

By using an algorithm that includes Stability, Healthcare, Culture and Environment, Education and Infrastructure, The Economist misses out my main criteria: Weather and Social Life.

It looks like they include social life in Culture and Entertainment, but they must not like Nightlife, Restaurants and actual Socializing with real people, otherwise they couldn't possibly have a list that looks like this (I've only included the top 60; enough to show how the survey misses the point):

* the city observations are mine, but as this is a Rant, and I've visited around 50 of the 60 cities, I forgive myself *

1. Vancouver - nice city, but cold for half of the year
2. Melbourne - fine for cricket fans, but ...
3. Vienna - clean place, handy for skiing and close enough to Paris
4. Perth - there's more atmosphere on the moon!
5. Toronto - even colder than Vancouver
6. Helsinki - brr (it's cold)
7. Adelaide - see Perth
8. Calgary - double brr
9. Geneva - See Vienna
10. Sydney - better than Melbourne, but still 12,000 miles from a cultural center
11. Zurich - See Vienna
12. Stockholm - a bit brr for most of the year
13. Osaka - eh?
14. Copenhagen - See Stockholm
15. Auckland - When on earth would you see your family?
16. Hamburg - for red light fans only
17. Montreal - even colder than Toronto!
18. Brisbane - this is getting silly
19. Paris - ahhh, at last, somewhere you'd REALLY want to live, just 18 places too low
20. Frankfurt - what?
21. Wellington - like Auckland, but colder and quieter
22. Tokyo - puh-lease, I can get all the electronics I need from Amazon
23. Berlin - for history buffs only
24. Amsterdam - for drug addicts and cyclists only
25. Oslo - ok, it's getting colder
26. Luxembourg - only for tax dodgers
27. Brussels - only for politicians
28. Munich - only for Germans
29. PITTSBURGH - what, did they ever spend any time here? Be reasonable guys; how can this be the top US city?
30. Honolulu - only for those who're happy working with tourists
31. Barcelona - nice, handy for the beach
32. Boston - only for sports fans, and only a small percentage of them at that
33. Chicago - only for sports fans
34. Lyon - not sure why you'd want to live here, and not Paris
35. Madrid - too Spanish?
36. Hong Kong - only for agoraphobics
37. Dusseldorf - if you're at a party, and someone asks "where do you live?", I guarantee that if you say "Dusseldorf" there'll be a long pause while they work out how not to say "What for?"
38. DETROIT - this is ridiculous, only for those wanting to buy a house with a week's wages
39. Reykjavik - only for alcoholics
40. MINNEAPOLIS - only for penguins
41. WASHINGTON, DC - only for politicians
42. ATLANTA - only for ... I can't think why you'd want to live here
43. MIAMI - only for salsa fans (dance or food)
44. CLEVELAND - it may have been, 50 years ago, but why live in America and stay here?
45. HOUSTON - ask Bill; he's got his own Top 10 reasons not to live in Houston
46. SEATTLE - ask yourself "how come it's so green?" The answer is rain, rain and more rain
47. LONDON - the first REAL social city on this list. Bring your Amex card
48. MANCHESTER - what? only for music fans, and misguided soccer fans; you need an umbrella and a hoodie on a typical mid-summer's day
49. LOS ANGELES - I loved it here, you'll be the smartest person on your block
50. Dublin - only for bachelor / stag parties, and golfers
51. Milan - food, fashion, opera
52. SAN FRANCISCO - ahhhh, nice. Home at last
53. Rome - food, foreign soccer fans
54. Budapest - only for those who miss the Trabant, Yugo and Lada
55. Singapore - see Hong Kong
56. Lisbon - great weather, that's it
57. NEW YORK - the center of the universe, according to New Yorkers
58. Seoul - too close to North Korea for my liking, and a cultural vacuum
59. Lexington - Jonathan's the only person I know from Lexington, and aside from the Kentucky Derby, there's no reason to go there
60. Prague - see Dublin, but forget the golf

RANT - Shave-able Dolls

Not sure what to say about these things, except double-u-tee-eff!

I happened to Google "dolls that you can shave", when ... NO I DIDN'T!!!

It was one of those weird, linked stories you sometimes follow, that occasionally prove worth following.

No indication of price, but probably worth buying at ..... NO THEY'RE NOT!!!

Why on earth would you encourage toddlers to shave anything? Before you know it they'll be dragging dad's razors off the bathroom counter and across their younger sister's face.

And why would they make them GINGER?

RAVE - Temple Grandin (new HBO movie)

I happened to be in the car for an hour listening to NPR, and got hooked on an interview with Temple Grandin, a now-renowned campaigner for those suffering from Autism, and an accomplished engineer and designer of humane animal management systems.

Temple Grandin was born in 1947, and was diagnosed with Autism. 

She explained in her interview that autistic children and adults can be nervous of physical contact, and therefore need to handled carefully. 

Having spent a summer on her aunt's farm in Colorado, she saw how anxious and hyperactive cattle were held firm in a device that pressed on their sides, rendering them calm and less anxious about the injection they were about to get. She realized that this device might be used to calm herself down when she got anxious, so she designed her own wooden "hugging" machine when she went to college.

The fact that many autistic people relate to physical stimuli more than non-autistic people (getting scared by sudden sounds, or being less aware of their emotions), and her ability to visualize complex interactions led to a career designing cattle yards that allowed the animals to move naturally in a curved corridor, free of scary noises and objects. She proved that this would deliver cattle to and through a dip, or to and into the slaughterhouse, in a calm and orderly fashion, cutting down on accidents and reducing the number of people needed to herd those animals.

Sounds dull, doesn't it? But her unique insights on how animals of all kinds react to their surroundings are downright engaging.

The reason for the interview was the imminent screening of a new HBO film about Grandin's life, with Clare Danes as the lead.

The movie aired last Saturday night, so look out for repeats on HBO, and maybe a cinematic release later in the year.

RAVE - Editors at The Warfield

Several times during this show I wished Ian Curtis was back from the dead and singing lead vocals with Editors, or that the original Joy Division were playing, with Tom Smith as guest vocalist.

Editors lived up to their Daily Mail vote as the "2nd most important band of the decade, after Arctic Monkeys".

Anyhow, to get a sense of how good it was last night, squeeze 100 people into your living room, each with a plastic glass of beer in their hand, and click on any of the songs in the set list:

RAVE - The News Quiz, Radio 4

Thank heavens for BBC.com, which allows me to keep up with news coverage, sports and comedy, England's top 3 contributions to the World.

One of my favorite radio programs is the News Quiz, where a panel of comics are quizzed about the week's news. The show finishes with a clip from a newspaper of the previous week. Here are some highlights:

"A Nigerian arrested in Rosenthal, The Netherlands was carrying 186 false papers, including 29 Nigerian passports, 30 British passports, 74 Dutch work permits, and 18 Birth Certificates. Police say they haven't yet identified him."

"A primary school's new $100,000 toilet block was opened yesterday with a blessing. The Bishop of Lancaster, the Right Reverend Stephen Pedley recited a special prayer, and splashed water onto the walls."

"Britain's nude boules team have won a sponsorship deal from Persil to pay for kit for the sport's naturist world cup. The 10 competing couples are allowed to wear socks and trainers to protect their feet from the gravel, and they'll used the sponsored towels to wipe their boules."

"A news report reaches us from America, where a patient was diagnosed as clinically depressed and was scheduled for controversial shock therapy, until it was discovered that he was not in fact depressed, he was merely Scottish."

A selection of funny newspaper cuttings sent in by listeners:

Police reveal that a woman arrested for shoplifting had a whole salami in her knickers. When asked why, she said it was because she was missing her Italian boyfriend. (Reuters via The Manchester Evenings News)

Irish police are being handicapped in a search for a stolen van, because they cannot issue a description. It's a special branch vehicle, and they don't want the public to know what it looks like. (The Guardian)

Would the congregation please note that the bowl at the back of the church labelled 'for the sick' is for monetary donations only. (Churchtown Parish Magazine)

A young girl who was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable teeth was rescued by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coastguard spokesman commented, "this sort of thing is all too common". (The Times)

At the height of the gale, the harbourmaster radioed a coastguard on the spot and asked him to estimate the wind speed. He replied that he was sorry, but he didn't have a gauge. However, if it was any help, the wind had just blown his Land Rover off the cliff. (Aberdeen Evening Express)

 

Mrs Irene Graham of Thorpe Avenue, Boscombe, delighted the audience with her reminiscence of the German prisoner of war who was sent each week to do her garden. He was repatriated at the end of 1945, she recalled. "He'd always seemed a nice friendly chap, but when the crocuses came up in the middle of our lawn in February 1946, they spelt out Heil Hitler". (Bournemouth Evening Echo)

 

Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West gas said "We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr.Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that blew his house to pieces." (Bangkok Post)

RAVE - A Conspiracy of Paper, by David Liss

This was the book chosen by our newly-minted, LA-based, guys' book club, and it was well worth the overnight trip to LA to discuss it, and everything else under the sun, with George, Kevin and the two Daves.

As I somewhat ironically said to George after he picked me up at Burbank airport, I like "learning from books." What I meant is that I like learning stuff from books that are first novels, but also offer historical insights.

A Conspiracy of Paper tells the story of Benjamin Weaver, a 17th Century Portuguese Jew living in London, investigating the untimely death of his father. Set among the early days of what became the stock market, Weaver gets involved with stock-jobbers, crooks and crooked magistrates, whores and noblemen, blackguards and jackanapes.

The backdrop is the competition between the Bank of England and The South Sea Company, both aiming to be masters of the country's financial systems.

It turns out this book put into context one episode from grammar school, where we were taught about the South Sea Bubble. I never really understood that first national financial collapse until I read A Conspiracy of Paper.

One other gem: Bank notes were so called because they were literally 'notes' - contracts to pay the note holder the sum of money written into the contract or note. They were share certificates. Over the years (and after story is done), those notes became printed as currency, and for 200 years UK currency carried the words "The Bank of England promises to bay the bearer the sum of X pounds."

RAVE - Cryingwife.com

I have two gorgeous relatives who REALLY get into their movies.

Rippy and Simi - bless 'em - get really involved in the movie experience, gasping at every gripping scene, screaming at every scary scene, ooh-ing and ahh-ing when appropriate. I've never been to a pantomime with either of them, but I guarantee they'd be first to holler "he's behind you!" when necessary.

They are well and truly outdone by this blogger's wife, who cries after every movie with a happy or sad ending.

The way this woman gets involved in the stories and characters, her reaction to them, and her acceptance of her husband's recording those reactions and posting them to YouTube are amazing. 

Either that, or she deserves an Oscar for her acting.

RAVE - Tough Guy Challenge

 











Each year, in the frosty countryside outside  the city of Wolverhampton, in England, there's a race called the Tough Guy Challenge. 

Last Sunday, January 31st, the 2010 event boasted 5,000 entrants, men and women, each of them signing a waiver that said "It's my own bloody fault for being here".

As you can see from The Big Picture site, the obstacle course includes ice, rocks, mud, water and fire. 

Just like Christmas shopping in London.