Nashville, Day Three

Our last recording day went by quickly enough, although by the end of it we certainly felt like it would never end. We didn't eat lunch and instead sat on some nearby grass to enjoy some time of not-listening.

We left for Nashville quickly though, and decided to find food that would allow for Veggie eating. Enter Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Cuisine. The decor was nice, but generic Indian restaurant. The staff was pretty nice, though, the kind that do not write the orders down. We began by sharing an appetizer sampler.

It was tasty, what with Samosas, Cutlets, Idlys, Vadas and Vegetable Pakoras. The winner of the platter was the soup-like concoction that was intended to cleanse the palate between different meals.
As a main meal I opted for Aloo Baingan

Aloo Baingan is fresh eggplant and potato cooked with onion and tomatoes. I added to that some rice and garlic naan. I ate til I couldn't eat any more.

Since we had to change hotels after dinner, and we were both pretty tired, we both decided to not go out after dinner and instead had an early night. It was good - in my room I caught the premiere of Modern Family and Happy Endings, and after a quick phone call to Mi Cariño, had me a good night's sleep.

Nashville, Day 2

Despite the yummy Thai food we ate the day before, at the end of the second recording day in Murfreesboro, we were ready to head out of town. However, we began the "after work hours" by stopping by the Agriculture department of Middle Tennessee State University, thanks to the recommendation of a participant. There we tracked down the Head of the Department's secretary, who hooked us up with the one thing MTSU "Ag Department" is apparently well known for: Chocolate Milk.

The Ag Department students at MTSU take care of their own cows, milk them everyday, pasteurize it, then take it through the process of making it all chocolaty. We were lucky in that we were able to get a batch that was very much freshly made - so fresh the bottle still didn't have a label on yet.

Despite my lactose intolerance, I had me two delicious cups of chocolate milk. I admit it's been a long time since I actually drank milk, much less chocolate milk, so maybe my system was just doing the happy dance at flavors it thought it'd never taste again.

We chatted with our southern host about hospitality and oral history and archival work before finally beginning to make our way out of Murfreesboro. We decided to go with the recommendation made by Gaspar's friend, and headed to Monell's Dining and Catering in Nashville.

The restaurant is in the middle of a residential block, definitely the kind of place one only goes to when looking for it, and essentially it's a house/manor that's been emptied out and filled with long family size tables. You see, Monell's is a family-style restaurant, which we learned meant that you sat on a table with a bunch of people you don't know - and you share the food. That is, the restaurant has the food they've cooked for the day, and they bring you plates, which you pass to your left. The special of the night was Spinach Lasagna and Pot Roast.

We sat on a table where only two people were sitting, two very friendly men from D.C. turns out that they were U.S. Navy musicians, in town thanks to the Bluegrass Convention that was going on. One of them had even served in Iraq and Afghanistan a couple of times. We shared stories as we shared our meal, which ended up being more than just the special.

I wish I had taken better notes about the food but then I was very busy eating and having a great conversation. Besides what you see on the plate (biscuits, corn bread, mashed potatoes, skilled fried chicken, turnip greens, white beans, pot roast, spinach lasagna, something sweet and mashed I can't remember the name of) there were peas in mayo, and some other veggie in mayo. There was sweet lemonade before we ended the meal with peach cobbler.

The bill came in the cute form of a card, since everyone gets charged the same

Before they left, however, our table mates told us of the best way to listen to some live Bluegrass music: Go to the Renaissance Hotel downtown, and essentially walk up and down the 21st floor, where we could wander in and out of hotel rooms. Gaspar and I decided to take them at their word, and after paying our bill and admiring the outside garden of Monell's, found our way to the downtown area.

Mind you, neither Gaspar nor I can be considered real Bluegrass fans, but live music is live music, not to mention the opportunity to experience something that we'd otherwise never get to experience. We made our way to the 21st floor and were still too early to see any "shows" and so walked around. We heard some really fun music coming through partially open hotel room doors, but didn't have the guts to just open up and walk in. Eventually though, we ran into a show in room 2114, Acoustic Trail's room. We listened to Brittany Haas and Lauren Riouxe, who were pretty impressive.

I can't remember the names of the songs they played, but some were originals, and some were well known. The "Show" was great - there was free beer to be had, and even some spicy soup to wake up the system. After they were done we made our way to the basement showdown floor, where several bands and groups were performing. They were okay, but I liked these two the best.

Eventually we made our way back to Murfreesboro, listening to a Radio Lab podcast about parasites, which of course, sparked an energetic conversation between Gaspar and I about the little suckers, evolution, and perception.

Not what I thought I'd be doing with my Tuesday evening, that's for sure. But the whole thing was great, tasty and a lot of fun.

Go Blue Raiders!

Our first full day recording in Murfreesboro, TN went by without a hitch, except for the fact that we didn't have much time to eat lunch. Thankfully both Gaspar and I had brought some food from the Hotel with us, and so we had a little something to snack on. However, by the end of the workday we were ready to eat and so we searched for something close by. Our only searching caveat: after the meat fiasco that had been the day before, we wanted vegetarian. Enter Thai Spice, which was quite near our recording location. We shared appetizers of Spring Rolls and Summer Rolls

I followed with my Thai staple: Tofu Pad Thai

The meal was good, although not mind blowing. I did wish I had gone with my second choice, but after the fiasco that was Sunday, this meal was awesome.

Afterwards, we decided that we sill needed to do a little something to shake the day off, and so we went to a run/walk right outside of Murfreesboro's Stones River National Battlefield, were several run loops surrounded a man made lake. It was pretty neat, the sound of sneakers on concrete as I walked. I recorded it for you:

All in all, not a bad way to end the day.

Nashville, Day One

So, work sends Gaspar and I to Tennessee. We stopped in Nashville on our way to Murfreesboro, a town about an hour away. There's no way you can stop by Nashville, TN without stopping by... you guessed it! The Parthenon!

What?! Yes, that's what I asked myself upon entering Nashville Airport, searching for "things to do" and finding "The Parthenon" hidden in between entries about Country Music and the Ole Opry. Apparently Nashville was once known as "Athens of the South" and so, in the 1897 fair they built a full scale replica of the original Parthenon. Apparently a bunch of other ancient buildings were replicated for the fair, but The Parthenon is the only one that still stands, made entirely of concrete.

I don't know if "full scale replica" means that it's exactly the same size, but the thing is pretty big. It functions as an art museum now, but Gaspar and I didn't have the time or the money to go inside. However, thanks to Gaspar eye, I did take a pretty picture:

The Parthenon is smack in the middle of The Centennial Park, which was holding a flea market type thing. We stopped there long enough to have some sweet, sweet lemonade

and to meet "Princess, [who] loves to ride."

This did not quell our desire to sightsee, and so we made our next stop de place de rigueur when in Nashville: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. 

Mind you, we didn't have the stomach (or the money) to see the whole thing. Instead we stopped by a free Banjo Demonstration by Blake Williams who is apparently a big name in the Banjo world - or rather someone who's played with lots of big names. A bit of his prowess: 

Although it was pretty impressive and fun to hear him play, he spent most of his time talking about the people he's played with and what they had written and how awesome they were, and so Gaspar and I were ready to depart about 30 minutes in. 

After all the sightseeing we were ready to have some food, and had several recommendations from a friend of Gaspar's. However, we were determined to have some BBQ - after all, Tennessee is in the South, right? Isn't the South supposed to be chock full of good BBQ everywhere? Well, after several yelp and urbanspoon searches, we decided on having a bite to eat at Jack's. Although it was a chain, we decided it sounded local enough to have been just a good restaurant that did well. We had high hopes, since we got to see a nice little piggy with wings as their drive thru image.

Once in at Jack's, you go over the counter and ask for your heart's content. I went with their combo plate, which lets you pair up three meats and two sides. I was content with trying their Texas Brisket and Sausage, with turnip greens and mac and cheese. Pair that with cornbread, icy water, and a taste of three sauces: Original Tennessee BBQ Sauce, (Tangy Vinegar based), Texas Sweet Hot BBQ Sauce (Tomato based), and Kansas City BBQ Sauce (Sweet and Smoky.) 

I'll say this: Nashville doesn't show up on the list of places known for BBQ because... it's not known for BBQ. We should've accepted that and gone with the local flavors. What is there to say? The greens were too sweet, the mac and cheese was powdery, the sausage was sweet and passably okay, and the brisket was a shame, specially compared with the still deliciously in my memory North Carolina Brisket I had in August. Let us not talk of the corn bread. 

We ate our food because we paid for it, but neither Gaspar nor I were really happy with it, which was highly disappointing. Afterwards, we got on the road to Murfreesboro, not really excited after that bad encounter with what should've been really good. It was hard to try to remember that until then Nashville had been fun, but we tried our best. 

Catching Up

Tried to listen to some poetry at the Bowery, but just couldn't make myself do it. Instead, met up with Weks and we tailed it to Sláinte, an Irish Pub nearby to talk about girls, food, and poetry.

In the meantime, I had me a little something to nosh: a Louisiana Cajun Chicken Sandwich; on Italian bread, chicken and bacon, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and mayo. A side of fries to complete the meal.

Frankly not the best meal I've ever had, but it wasn't horrible. Can't say I'll be going here again. It was, however, nice to see Weks again.

Latin Cabana

An afternoon of walking down Steinway in Astoria gave way to finding a restaurant that claimed to have authentic Cuban food, Latin Cabana. We walked in and talked to the owner, figured out it looked legit enough and decided to have dinner there as soon as possible.

And that we did, Mi Cariño and I with our different ideas as to how to test the place. Since my experience with "authentic Cuban food" is limited, I just go with what I think is tasty. A caribbean restaurant that can't do white rice right is not worth it in my opinion, and so I had me arroz blanco with maduros and picadillo (seasoned ground beef.)

For good measure, we tried the tostones

It wasn't the best white rice or picadillo I've ever had, but it was seriously good, and according to Mi Cariño, authentic enough. We'll be there again, for sure! 

Ringer

Sarah Michelle Gellar returns to T.V. in a wannabe Film Noir of a series. Although very excited I was also very nervous. I'm sure that half the reason this show was picked up was because of SMG. I hope the other reason is because it's really good.

It being SMG, the Show has lots of expectations off the bat. The pilot didn't really go deep enough for me to be able to say if the show is good or not yet. This isn't Buffy Season 1, with episodic goodness and witty one liners. This show is committed watching and figuring out nuances. Veronica Mars season 1 did this beautifully - but the one plus that VMars had was the crutch of private detective stuff, helping the show move along.

But onto Ringer. We open with Bridget, who's at an AA meeting, talking about finally being in touch with her sister and hopes for the future. Little by little, we learn more of Bridget. She's under protection. Witness to some horrible crime. Relationship with her Sponsor. But then she's cunning. She slips away from the cops/feds and escapes to the Hamptons were she meets up with her twin sister, who is also played by SMG.

Turns out the sister is also cunning. She gives some details of her life to Bridget, then they take a ride out where Bridget wakes up from a "nap" to find her sister Siobhan gone, no trace of her. Bridget assumes she killed herself and decides the only thing left to do is... Take Siobhan's place.
It's not as easy as it looks since Siobhan's life, though with plenty of money, is not as perfect as it looks. Bridget has to stay on her toes, but since Bridget is being looked for by both good and bad guys she has incentive to stay in place. After jumping through hoops, she finds out that Siobhan was pregnant (or someone called her to say she was), we see Bridget look at a picture of her and a kid, and someone is trying to kill Siobhan. Mind you, this might be Siobhan herself, whom we see at the end of the episode, has found her way to Paris, is nice and comfortable, and receives a phone call from someone indicating that they "have a problem."

The show has possibility. It also has plenty of male eye candy. The fare is a little older than The CW crowd is used to but if the old Buffy fans can make their way there, they are the right age. I'm sure the show will find a way to introduce teens or younger hunks. SMG's performance was good, though the difference between Bridget and Siobhan were too subtle to see who's who right away - and that might be on purpose, since at times they tried tricking the audience. Like my friend O said, if the writers stay on point, I can give it three good seasons at least. We'll see.

In the meantime SMG was in my TV and the DVD wasn't on! So Huzzah!

Home Depot! Home Depot!

In search of Beef with Chili, Lil Boo and I made our way to Grand Sichuan Eastern. I think its technically on the Upper East Side, but barely escaping Midtown East. I had found it through some internet searches the week before and had confirmes by calling them that they did in fact, have crispy beef.

We arrived early, the first of the dinner crowd, and were very excited about the possibilities. We ordered Veggie Dumplings to share.

For my entree I had fried tofu Mai Fun.

In hindsight I realize I should've taken a picture of Boo's Guinzo Beef with Chili, because that has been the closest we've ever found it. Good thing that she went with her instincts and ordered spicy rather than crispy. It was delish. She ate more than I've seen her eat in months. I felt like an over bearing mother, pushing food on her.

The only thing is that at the beginning they took their sweet time bringing our dumplings, and other people were eating before we were, even though we arrived first. Plus, I was going to be bad and order a beer or diet soda, but they never asked me if I wanted a drink! And I needed to feel persuaded.
Regardless, the meal was goodness and close to reasonably priced. Afterward while walking to the subway we passed a Home Depot, and since Boo had never been we went inside to have us a fun time, specially while looking ay floor models of kitchens, bathrooms, etc. We found convenient items to purchase, and felt very lesbian.
Not bad for a Monday Night.

Employees Must Wash Hands

Went to see "Contagion" with Missy on Friday Night. What a scarily good movie! I don't know if I'd describe it as a Thriller but it's being billed as such.

The main conceit: There's a virus. It's airborne, traveling quickly because it's the age of airplanes and people touch things and we touch our faces apparently 6 to 8 times an hour. The story is told via many characters, and they don't all interact/overlap. Things are happening in Hong Kong, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta. The Center for Disease Control is neck deep in attempting to create a vaccine. A blogger in California thinks that the entire thing is a conspiracy theory from the pharmaceutical companies, trying to get money from people. Soon enough the entire ordeal escalates, people are dying both from the virus and because of human panic and we hear the words "Don't talk to anyone, Don't touch anyone."

The director, Sodenbergh, does a great job at keeping the suspense going, all the way til the end of the movie. People whom you do not expect will die, do - because they're big name stars, because they're the good guys, the bad guys, whatever our expectations are - truths about the human condition are told, plainly, in over the top ways that yet feel subtle. Essentially we're talking about invasion from within, we're talking about the helplessness that comes from being human. And the truth that something as simple as touching the wrong pole in the subway at the wrong time can make you wake up the next day feeling like a Mack Truck ran you over.

Go see Contagion. Do not be surprised if you invest in hand sanitizer after.

Thursday Night In

After mucho planning Cesar and I eventually just decided to have dinner Thursday night. After work I took the train to Queens were I met up with him. He was already on his way to finishing dinner.

Cesar is a true entertainer, even when it's just a night in. We began the evening by having a delicious salad. It had figs, cucumbers, green peppers, strawberries, romaine lettuce, goat and blue cheese with a dressing of oil and balsamic vinagrette. He topped the salad with crumbled homemade rosemary bread.

We followed that with a main course that consisted of Fingerling potatoes smothered in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, onions, carrots and butter; fillet mignon, a veggie portion of chopped carrots, peas, corn and green beans, and some scallops.

I ate every bit of that, even the scallops which I did not really like, but I can now say that I've tried it. Everything was done to perfection, specially the fillet mignon and potatoes. I'm hungry again just by looking at that picture.

We finished the evening by watching "Win Win" on demand. A Paul Giamatti movie, the flick is about a lawyer in Jersey who does something unethical when his practice is running into trouble and his family is running out of money. But in the process he helps a young boy and eventually ends up helping his entire family and himself. It was a very subtle commentary on the times, showed a very level (under the circumstances) teenager, and a loving family that worked through their problems happily. The entire thing was well performed and you really fell in love with the teenage boy that throws Paul Giamatti's character and his family on its ear. I totally recommend. I also recommend driving down the highway with the radio on high, screaming a song (any song.) It's good for the soul.

A Sunday with Mi Cariño

Sunday was a blast: low key but fun. We began by lazying about in bed, reading and what not before heading for brunch to Cafe Triskell. I had scrambled eggs with bacon, sausages, salad and red onions.

I did not really like it. I put as much stuff as I could in them eggs to stem the yuck feeling I knew I was going to get from them, but c'est la vie. Brunch took some time so it was well in the afternoon by the time we set out to do some shopping. Or mi Cariño shopped while I tried to not be a pain in the bum. Eventually, however, we made it to the city, where we watched "Circumstances."

The filmmakers described the movie as taboo busting, and that it was. Two young girls in Iran, best friends, lovers. One comes from an affluent family, is used to the little freedoms money can buy. The other is used to pain and oppression - her parents were professors, killed by the regime. The story really begins when Brother (I can't remember his name) comes to town, ostensibly after spending time in rehab. In an attempt to get his life together he repudiates what was once important (music, friends, drugs) and tries to become a better Muslim. Unfortunately, for him this means getting in cahoots with the Morality Police. This doesn't help his sister and friends at all though - soon enough Brother reports them to the Morality Police, and has no qualms with the fact that they'll check to see if his sister is a virgin. Several new things are found about the Brother, and Friend and Sister go through the hardest part of the film. There is no real happy ending, as these kinds of movies rarely will, but it was tough for us to watch. I think you have to be in the right set of mind to watch this film. We were glad we supported it, although we left the movie theater already thinking about what happy lesbian movie we'd watch once arrived back at her place. 


Before that though, we stopped at Patsy's to have some pizza and salad. I'd never been. It's a chain, I believe, but it doesn't feel like one. 

Before heading back to Astoria we stopped by Dylan's Candy Shop to look at the candy, but didn't get any. We finished the day by (partly in my case) watching "Saving Face," which is a happy ending, actually fun and loving romantic lesbian story. 

The Power of Six

After waiting a couple of months, "The power of six" by Pittacus Lore finally made it to bookstores. The second part to "I am number four" this book was noticeably shorter and obviously a sequel. I don't know who Pittacus Lore really is (a man, a woman, a conglomeration?) but I think they may have suffered from contract problems. That is they have a contract for a series, have a slight idea of what they'd like to do, and then have to publish something because people are expecting them to publish something.

Let's start from the beginning. The Lorean Series (Everything's a series now) posits the idea that nine Lorics and their guardians arrived in planet Earth some years ago. They are being chased by the Mogadorians (yet other race of Aliens) that need to finish the Loric kids before they are old enough to properly fight the Mogadorians. You see the nine Loric kids will eventually develop special powers. In "I Am Number Four" we met two of these Lorics, (the eponymous #4 and #6). They've got their handy powers. In "The Power of Six," we are introduced to #7, briefly introduced to #9, and in a surprise move, an unknown #10.

Instead of leaving behind 4 and 6, the book includes them and their budding friendship just as it introduces us to 7 and her friendship with 10. It's told from the point of view of 4 and 7, which is a nice touch. I know, my review is a little all over the place: that's because the book was all over the place. It was a quick and easy read, with plenty of romance action, and with 4 being confused about his feelings about 6 and the human she loves. For good measure, 6 is also attracted to 4 AND to the human that accompanies them. In any case, after being chased over many U.S. States, 4, 6, and human separate. 6 flies to Spain where she helps 7 and 10. 4 ends up helping 9, but losing his human ally.

Number crazy yet? Ha. You should be. I don't know how many books are left in the series but the action was sure escalating, and I predict that soon enough it'll show that the Mogadorians are in cahoots with the government or something. This said, aside from the fun powers and implications, I haven't been able to discern if Pittacus Lore is at all attempting to bring any other message to the story. This thing is pure fluff to my estimation, but it was entertaining enough for a day or two.

Only for Now

Continuing my week of Broadway, yesterday I woke up early to get rush tickets to Avenue Q. Off-Broadway, technically, but who counts? Turns out the box office doesn't open til 1 on Fridays, which I'm glad I checked. I grabbed my cousin as the second body so that I could score three tickets and by 1:15 we were heading back to Brooklyn.
Later on I met with Naomi and the little Boo and we had us Thai food at Chanpen in Hell's Kitchen. I chose tofu pad thai, but I think I should've branched out, it wasn't very good.
I did choose to have me a Corona with my meal, it being Friday night and all.
Avenue Q was as good as I remembered it being, the actors were hilarious and it was nice to see it all up close. Naomi and Little Boo enjoyed it, which made me feel good, too. It was a good reminder - everything in life, is only for now.

Colombiana

My cousin and I rushed to the theater Thursday night to catch a showing of Colombiana, the new movie with Zoe Saldana. I write her name without the ñ because I think at this point she's given up about it and doesn't want to confuse people by making her name different. I do wonder wether she still pronounces the ñ though.

The flick is visually appealing, and like many action films, it does have a scene or two that makes you think "Yea, Right.". The premise: young Cataleya in Colombia witnesses her parents death. She manages to escape and grows up to become a beautiful and hot assassin. At some point she gets involved with Michael Vartan, who has made a career out of being "the boyfriend" to strong women. I still dislike his not pretty self. Finally, cornered by police and bad guys, Cataleya does she does best: kill.

I don't want to ruin anything. The biggest WTF moment happen at the beginning, but after that, its pretty good. Some of her fight scenes at the end are hella hot and inventive. Zoe is believable, I think, in her role of killer, and the death of the uber bad guy is satisfying. As a "dont think, but enjoy the next hour and a half" movie I think it does very well. I hope the movie kills at the box office so that Zoe can keep getting good and juicy role.

Battle Royale

So an acquaintance of mine says that The Hunger Games is a ripoff from some other book. I decide to make that decision on my own. Enter Battle Royale.

Initially a movie in the late 90's, the story was so popular it was turned into a Manga and later novelized. When I began reading I had to take into account that I was reading a translation but let me say, that even after thinking about that, the writing sucks.

I mean it, like its really bad. I'm sure the movie is fast paced and entertaining, but "knowing what the characters are thinking" doesn't help this at all. Here's the premise: its the future, Japan has turned into a socialist republic with a dictator. In order to help "the military" the government has instituted a Program. Every year one random junior high class is chosen, and its 40 plus students are dropped off in an island where they must fight each other to the death, til there's only one standing.

So far, yes, somewhat familiarly to The Hunger Games. But also somewhat familiar to Gladiators, and thunderdome (two enter, one comes out!) Population knows about the Program, but anyone that dares speak out is killed.

What I couldn't stand about Battle Royale was that the dialogue, if it was following the movie word for word, does not work in a book. Not to mention that someone kept thinking that 15 year olds could only be preoccupied about their crushes. The bad girls all had prostituted themselves. The bad boy didn't have any feelings. It was just stereotype after stereotype - ten times worse than Twilight, if there's such a thing.

I read all the way through though, to make sure I got it all, and I'll admit the plot is somewhat clever. The writers attempted to make the story about something more than murder with their dialogue, hut I felt like i was being hit on the head or something.

All in all, Hunger Games was better. And even if the story is similar, HG took it and made it more than just spectacular ways to show teenagers killing each other. In any case, Joss Whedon already did the Vampire with a soul story. Does that mean no one else should?