2008

December 31, 2008 

As 2008 comes to a close (it’s late afternoon), I’ll issue an appreciation, some of it strictly personal, and by association, some recommendations: 

Fencing (classes and advancing one level; barely scratched the surface of scratching the surface); the people at the Fencing Academy of Phila.; meeting my friend Sarah and discovering that meat substitutes can be worthwhile (Find her Vrapple - “We kick the crap out of scrapple” - at a store near you!); Seeing “Kooza” by Cirque du Soleil in the spring - avoided Cirque for years only to be knocked out by it; a few really fun trips to NYC, including a few rich exhibits at Fashion Institute of Technology (Yeah! I’m a girl!); Labor Day weekend on Fire Island at my then-employer’s lovely, better-than-beach house with work mates and their partners (a town full of vacationing gay men, the most fun place in the world!); the extended tomato season, including the cool black cherry tomatoes with the tasty, viscous juice (Thanks, Fair Food Farmstand!); Indian summer; The Phillies winning the World Series; The Obama win, though he’s just a man, and not King, Gandhi, Kennedy, and last but not least Jesus, rolled into one; introducing myself to the work of Eddie Izzard, George Carlin, and the people behind The Wire; Torchwood (Only enhanced by John Barrowman’s hammy acting - visiting Cardiff, Wales is now on the wish list); hookah/shisha smoking (it was an herb that wasn’t weed or tobacco, apparently); re-discovering how much fun my aunt is through e-mail letters; dad still hanging tough through a serious illness with an iron will and occassionally, his signature wry sense of humor.

Movies: Man On Wire; Hellboy II: The Golden Army, so weirdly different in tone than the first one. Lots of movies, some not released in 2008, including Paprika (anime); Candy; Broken English; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; Once (quiet film about an Irish musician and the piano player woman he meets on the streets of Dublin); Flannel Pajamas; Dinner Rush (saw this before in the theater, I believe, but didn’t absorb it); Persepolis (though the girl’s grating rendition of “Eye of the Tiger” stayed in my head for a while and almost made me sorry I saw it); Rounders, finally - it went down like an appetizer, quick and clean and tasty; The Future is Unwritten: Joe Strummer -this is inspirational, in a way that Man On Wire is.

Caught up on several years of TV, on DVD, and was impressed enough to not want cable in my home, lest I stay on my couch for months at a time. Tried The L Word and (in the interest of seeing for myself what all the yelling was about) Sex and the City: unwatchable, both. Why are silly, annoying, and desperate for a man (or woman) so interesting to female viewers? Compelling? Five seasons of The Wire; the latest (and/or all of, on DVD) Arrested Development; Medium, Dexter; Weeds; Torchwood; The Office (US); 30 Rock. There were more - Like Mad Men but was sick of hearing how great it is: Okay, people smoked and drank and littered and thought unhappy women were mentally ill- How clever! Some things have changed, yes, I get it. Hate that secretary with the dumb bangs. Definitely not routing for her. I kept watching because I cared about the Drapers and wanted to see Betty’s dresses. Lots of straight men seem to like this show, which I find strange. Anyway, I’m a season behind and not minding it.

Saw Elf at last! Fine addition to my Christmas movies. 

Missed, but intend to make my movie-watching business: Patti Smith: Dream of Life; Wendy and Lucy; Encounters At the End of the World; A Christmas Tale; Synecdoche, New York; and The Wrestler.

There were books and magazine articles but I don’t feel like listing them here.

Taste sensations 2008: The blend of mayo with sriracha sauce - I’m a genius!; various heirloom and local tomatoes; shitake mushrooms; Uncle Richard’s hot peach salsa; candied fennel by the chef/owner of James, found at a local food-lover’s paradise (except for the annoying “foodies” the place is awash with); the stuffed squash blossoms at Persimmon (seasonal/changing menu) in NYC’s Village somewhere - you think it’s filled with Parmiggiano and bacon, but it’s a tofu-based mixture; the tripe sandwich from George’s window shop in Philly’s Italian Market. Really! A few weeks back I was melancholy for my mother, who had a father from just outside Rome. Passing the window, went for it. Try this offal once, in a spicy red sauce, if you eat meat anyway, and/or before you go vegan. And no, tripe is not cow intestine - find out yourself what it is.  All sorts of roasted vegetables. Bok choy - the salmon of the vegetable world; you can’t ruin it. The pad thai at a joint on Race Street, not sure of name now, but you just can’t get passed great pad thai. Dulse -a seaweed, minerally tasting and somehow addictive.

I’m closing out 2008 with George Carlin: Jammin in New York, and the 2nd season of the Sarah Silverman Program. Maybe some Thai or Thai-inspired food tonight. A party with the aforementioned Sarah, at the home of someone I don’t know. It remains to be seen where I’ll be at midnight, tipping my hat to 2009.

Alright, 2008. Well done. We need big now, though. Glitz, a little drama, maybe New Orleans. Devotion. Raw oysters. The opera. Hunkering down. Some roof-top shout-outs.

This entry was posted on 31. December 2008 at 16:00 and is filed under Sugar Plums Dancing In My Head. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.