Cheap Entertainment

Okay, so I've been M.I.A. lately from my blog and from the internet in general (word of advice... don't drop your laptop on the ground), but I've finally got my mac back. And Damn! it feels good. Not having a computer to suck up all my time, I had to find other ways of keeping myself entertained so below is a breakdown of everything I've read, listened to, watched and done over the last two months.

TELEVISION

Currently without cable, I get three channels, NBC, PBS and FOX. So, weirdly, I've kind of gotten into "Prison Break." But, my latest thing, is downloading t.v. shows like the current season of "The Hills" and "Gossip Girl" which I LOVE. It makes me miss "The O.C." a little less. Watching episodes while I'm curled up on my couch with Dudley asleep next to me is my new favorite thing.

MOVIES

I've never been very good about posting reviews of the movies I get from netflix so here's a list of what I recently liked and didn't like.

1. Broken English- directed by Zoe Cassavetes (yes, THAT family) and starring Parker Posey about this 30-something woman who keeps meeting the wrong guys while all her friends are settling down (oh, that sounds kind of familar). One night she meets this effervescent Frenchman named Julien who woos her despite her cynicism about relationships and the obvious baggage she's carrying around. Melvil Poupaud plays Julien, and he's the cutest thing in his straw fedora, white tee and dark jacket. In fact, I loved him so much, I rented...

2. Time to Leave- Francois Ozon (one of my favorites, he also did Under the Sand and Swimming Pool) directed this film about a gay guy who finds out he has a month to live and pretty much cuts ties with everyone in his life except his grandmother (played by the sublime Jeanne Moreau). The ending is beautifully sad.

3. Starter for Ten- A cute British movie set in the new wave 80's about this guy who loves trivia and ends up on the "Quiz" team at his university while falling for the wrong girl before ending up with the right girl.

4. The Puffy Chair- A low budget film about this brother who finds an exact replica of a puffy chair his dad used to have on ebay, and he sets off on this road trip with his girlfriend and slacker brother to pick it up. A friend of mine says its his favorite romantic comedy which actually says a lot about him considering what ends up happening at the end.

5. The Child- A very disturbing Belgium film about two homeless kids who have a baby and what happens when the young father decides to sell the baby for a few bucks.

6. Entourage, Big Love and Weeds- Love them! If you haven't seen these shows, what are you waiting for?

7. Lucky You, Year of the Dog, Evening, In the Land of Women- Didn't care for any of these films. Don't waste your time.

MUSIC

Jeez. Where do I even start. Music is the soundtrack of my life so I'm always listening to something, but here's the stuff I'm loving right now.

1. The Shout Out Louds... when I first heard this, I seriously thought it was Robert Smith doing a Cure side project while taking prozac.
2. New Young Pony Club... just really fun. Favorite track: "Ice Cream."
3. Spoon... not sure what's going on with the album's title, but it's really good.
4. Editors... kind of figured this was a one album sort of band, but their follow-up is just as good.
5. Band of Horses... since this band recently moved back to Chucktown, I figured I'd give it a go, and, hey, it's pretty awesome.
6. Rilo Kiley... Nobody sings about the seedy underbelly of L.A. as pretty as Jenny Lewis.

BOOKS

I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately.

1. Jon Katz... um, pretty much everything.
2. Various elephant books... I've decided to go to Africa to be a volunteer at a sanctuary for orphaned elephants.
3. A Long Time Gone... brutal memoir of a boy soldier in Africa.
4. Privilige and Scandal... another memoir but this time of a frivolous 18th century aristocrat.
5. Heart Made of Water... a journalist's chronicle of staying put through Hurricane Katrina and its surreal aftermath.