Academy Follies

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What were they thinking? A while ago, I posted that Crash was a bad movie. With the exception of Good Night, and Good Luck, we’ve now seen all the other Oscar nominees from last year’s ceremony. All of them were superior to Crash, but Capote–in spite of its subject’s physical stature–was head and shoulders above the crowd.

Don’t get me wrong. I would not want to spend time with Truman Capote. He seems to have been a manipulative, unthinking, even cruel man. But Philip Seymour Hoffman’s portrayal is masterful, and the movie itself is visually stunning. On the surface it is almost monochromatic–but look closer and you see all the layers and textures. This is a tremendous example of how design, lighting, and cinematography can play a powerful role in transmitting a movie’s message.

I have no doubt that Good Night, and Good Luck will be better than Crash, but I’m hard-pressed to imagine that it will be better than this film. Capote may have been a person to avoid, but Capote is a don’t-miss.

Eating near Yosemite

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First, I will go on record as saying that the food in the Badger Pass cafeteria is nasty. That’s probably a given, but it’s worth pointing out, nevertheless.

Less well-known, perhaps, is the fact that Gummi Bears are better when slightly cold. I suspect that the ones in my refrigerator are, at the moment, too cold.

But the town of Oakhurst, a dozen or so miles outside the park’s south entrance, does offer some nice food options.

Crabcakes Fun Family Seafood offers not just crab cakes, but rich and hearty clam chowder as well. It’s definitely not the cheapest place in town, though.

For breakfast, try Country Waffles or Ol’kettle. Although they don’t have the websites offered by Crabcakes (hence the Citysearch links), they do provide affordable, filling, and–most importantly–good breakfasts.

There are also a variety of fast food restaurants (McDonald’s, KFC, etc.) and a number of small local ethnic restaurants.

On the other hand, if you’re staying on the valley floor, I wouldn’t drive to Oakhurst just to eat.

Deja Vu

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I’m reasonably sure that I’ve already experienced this kind of heat during the summer. It’s November, right?

Reading:

Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart. I know I’m liking it, because I just put it on hold at the library for a third time. Apparently everyone else wants to read it, too.

Things to Keep in Mind When Planning a Reunion

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1) Name tags must be legible. Don’t use tiny script fonts because you think they look elegant. A name tag is useless to me if I can’t read the name.

2) Have some events to get people mingling and talking. Dinner and a DJ means people just stay at one table. That excludes the out-of-towners who may be trying to reconnect.

3) Don’t be cheap with your bar. It’s not necessary to have an open bar, but there’s no reason not to include a drink or two in the price of admission. And don’t charge for sodas. Just don’t.

4) If it’s a class reunion, have yearbooks. It’s been a while, and we don’t all look the same. Sometimes that photo makes a difference. And having them on the illegible name tags is not enough.

5) If you’re having a directory or memory book of some kind, for crying out loud, have it copyedited. It just looks sloppy to have names and dates listed incorrectly. Especially if the date of the event is wrong.

On a related note, I’d really like to know how many people actually buy the panoramic pictures, and what they do with them afterward. Do they look at them and have happy memories of how the photographer yelled at the group throughout the photo?

Pinkberry in Westwood

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Pinkberry is here! There’s no website I can find, and no page on Citysearch yet (they only have the West Hollywood location listed). But it is, in fact, here–on Lindbrook, right next to the Subway at the northwest corner of the Westwood-Lindbrook intersection.

So I had my first taste today, and it is delicious. Tangy, like the frozen yogurt I used to get in the early 1980s at White Flint Shopping Mall in Maryland. I’ve always remembered that frozen yogurt with fondness, and still prefer it to the sweeter kind that can be found everywhere (when I want ice cream, I’ll eat ice cream, thank you very much).

Today I had the original or traditional or whatever they call it, with almonds and Captain Crunch. Next time I’ll try the green tea. But I’m definitely going back.

Edit: There is also one in Marina del Rey. Thanks, Triplecreme!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

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Kayaking, snorkeling, hiking on lava, eating, shopping, brother’s wedding. All fantastic. Oh, did I forget to say that I spent a week in Hawaii? We were on the Big Island–truly magnificent.

Also, I read:
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Waiting by Ha Jin
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

I started Personal Memoirs by Ulysses S. Grant, and (as I had heard) it is highly readable. But it was a bit heavy to carry on the plane, so I’m still working on it. I’ll bet that was the least-predictable book being read at the resort pool that day.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

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Actually, I don’t think I ate any cheeseburgers there. And in a week on the Big Island of Hawaii, we never went to Starbucks and only ate one meal at McDonald’s. Hey, we were late to the airport. So sue me.

At any rate, for a romantic sunset dinner, I highly recommend Huggo’s. I know, the name sounds like there should be clowns and balloons, and maybe a giant Sasquatch mascot. But it’s not like that at all.

Or maybe you’re looking for something more casual. For that, you might try L&L Hawaiian Barbecue.

Both of those establishments are in Kailua Kona, on the west side of the island. Perhaps you’re staying in Hilo.

Hilo Bay Cafe is a fantastic place for lunch. The crab cake sandwich is tasty and enormous, and stays crisp for a surprising amount of time, considering that it’s a crab cake inside a sandwich. The french dip is excellent as well. Hilo Bay Cafe is nowhere near downtown; clearly it’s designed for people who actually live in Hilo, rather than tourists, but they were perfectly happy to provide us with food in spite of our out-of-state driver’s licenses.

And that’s just a few places on only one island. Be adventurous. Enjoy.

Tender Greens

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Instead of Ford’s Filling Station, try Tender Greens next door. The prices are better and the food is just as good. You have to stand in line to order, and that can take a while, but once you’ve ordered, the food is prepared very quickly. The flatiron steak is good and the Yukon Gold mashed potatoes are excellent. Only two soups, but lots of salads (hence the name). But carnivores shouldn’t fear: while there are a couple of entirely vegetarian dishes, there’s plenty of meat to go around.