Thursday, February 12, 2009

People Love Writing and Writing About Facebook's Top 25 Lists


Anyone who goes on Facebook regularly (and has some friends) knows the recent fad of the Top 25 Lists? Writers have become infatuated with making fun of it. All I know is people love lists and love making lists. Grocery lists, to do lists, top movies lists, top music lists. Lists, Lists, Lists. Slate's article is called "Charles Darwin Tagged You in a Note on Facebook."

Time has one called "Facebook: 25 Things I Didn't Want to Know About You" with in itself contains a list. How ironic. My favorite in the Time article has to be #6 (probably because of my Anchorman love):

"6. When I finally told my now fiancé that I liked him (as in, liked him liked him), I drunkenly gave him the Anchorman line, "I want to be on you." He had only seen the movie once and had no idea what it was from."

I saw an excellent band named Beirut last week at the BAM. This band of musical gypsies led by trumpet-playing, vocally blessed twenty-something Zach Condon was joined for half by the Vassar Orchestra. It was quite a beautiful place to see a performance. It wasn't just your regular musical performance. The space made it special and added to the complexity of the sound that you wouldn't get at your standard music hall.

While the set could have been a bit longer, it exuding the beauty and excellence that didn't necessitate it. The crowd was hushed which was continually noted by the band. It was as if the audience treated this as a performance and not just any other concert and I must agree. It wasn't the best show I've ever been too but it was poignant, pleasant and something I'd like to recreate over to and over again if I could. Stereogum has a more in-depth review and some photos.

This followed up a show I saw by the genius violinist & whistler-extraordinaire Andrew Bird at Carnegie Hall the week prior. Obviously, the sound was amazing. Actually I'd say it was extraordinary and incomparable (even from my second to last row seating). I'm not sure if it was because of the seating but the sound was just perfect, all-encompassing, which made up for the inability to really even see the show. BrooklynVegan has the set list, no good pictures though. They are pretty strict about that at Carnegie; it's quite nice to not see flashing lights are aren't from the stage lighting.

I am quite a big Doves fan. Their album Lost Souls are on a small list of the my writing albums, albums that I seem to be able to write and write often too. Well Filter Magazine has some details on their new album, Kingdom of Rust.

As a Yankee basher, nothing has made me happier than A-Rod' revelation that he is a cheater. I love it. Slate has an interesting article, "How baseball can usher out the A-Roid era."

An Israeli Supermodel Politician? I say genius! (Newsweek)

Time had another good article called "Competence: Is Your Boss Faking It?"

Tom Cruise & Denzel in a movie together directed by Cronenberg? (Hollywood Reporter)

Brett Ratner says new Beverly Hills Cop to be a "Hard R", it better just have a great Eddie Murphy in it. (Firstshowing)

I've also been reading some books. Here's my favorite quote out of one of them, Thornton Wilder's "The Bridge of San Luis Rey":

"Style is but the faintly contemptible vessel in which the bitter liquid is recommended to the world."

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