August 29, 2003
RAIN RAIN GO AWAY
When I started writing for lexiphane.com, my one personal vow was
never ever to write about the weather. If I'm writing about the
weather, that means I've nothing left to say. But this is tangential.
After getting rained on all summer--especially during the weekends--it
now looks like our Labor Day weekend is
href="http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USNY0996_f.html">going to be
shit as well. Lexiphane.com therefore helpfully presents some
suggestions for indoor fun.
If movies are your thing, this could be your weekend if you're in
NYC. The Film Forum on west
Houston caters to fans of film noir as it screens Billy Wilder's
href="http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0043014/">Sunset Blvd.,
with William Holden and Gloria Swanson. Jumping ahead a few decades,
they're also showing Roman Polanski's
href="http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0071315/">Chinatown,
with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. If you commute to work every day
on the subway--especially the 6 line like myself--you'll want to catch
Joseph Sargent's
href="http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0072251/">The Taking of Pelham One
Two Three. That's all just at Film Forum. Midnights this
weekend will feature screenings of the camp camp comedy
href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0243655/">Wet Hot American
Summer at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd between Broadway and 8th
Ave. Members of the cast, including former members of comedy troupe
The State, will be present to add to the revival atmosphere. Midnight
Friday continues the Two Boots Pioneer Theater's (3rd St. & Ave. A)
custom of screening the now-cult classic
href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/">Donnie Darko. That
should not be missed. On a lighter and brighter note, the Oscar-
nominated documentary
href=http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0301727/">Winged Migration is
still playing at the Loew's Lincoln Center and the Village East Cinemas
on 12th and 2nd Ave. I've heard this is an excellent piece of work.
Finally, I highly recommend
href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0324133/">Swimming Pool,
which I'll review here in the near future. It's the story of a middle-
aged woman connecting with her sexuality after years of repression. Or
does she just have a really bratty teenage housemate? Check your local
listings for all times and locations.
Curling up with a good book more your thing? I
href="http://www.lexiphane.com/lex/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcon
tent&id=5">reviewed Ty Wenzel's excellent memoir of life in the
service industry,
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0312311028/qid=1062182897/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/103-6915268-
2251069?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Behind Bars, last week and
can recommend it. I'm also currently reading
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140150749/qid=1062182965/
sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-6915268-2251069">The Portable Dorothy
Parker from the Penguin Classics series. She's hilarious and
not at all dated. I'd skip the poems though. Their persistent
cynicism and morbidity most likely will only appeal to the suicidal or
recently jilted. I'm also tearing through Eric Newby's
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0864426046/qid=1062183059/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-6915268-
2251069?v=glance&s=books">A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, his
story of quitting the London fashion industry and heading off to climb
mountains in Afghanistan with a friend. Newby has his British humor
down cold: understated, sardonic, utterly hilarious. Whatever the
weather brings, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.
Posted by Lexiphane at August 29, 2003 3:02 PM
|Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.lexiphane.com/mt/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/217