Chicago: customers are advised to allow extra travel time

unrelated: i think i'm going to go to the FF show tonight. i'm staying a few shot blocks away from the bottle. anyone else going?

Yeah, Nick, that's basically the reading list of every yuppie/Brooklynite/literarily defined/McWhatever that zine is called-reading person anyway.

Goddamnit, what IS that zine called? It's not really a zine anymore, they do actual books w/ really high production values and stuff, it's more of a boutique publisher now...Mc Something!

McSweeney's

otm

ty

xp

you do not have a rap name

I do when I make beats for people!

I want to go to the FFs show tonight, but I am also supposed to meet up with my aunts and uncle tomorrow morning at like 8:30 or something to drive to Michigan, so that may put a damper on show-going.

what time at the bottle?

We are playing first, so probably pretty soon after 9:00. You could be out of there by 10:00.

McSweeney's published that book I posted upthread, The Children's Hospital. Hipsters are reading Sidney Poitier's autobio?

cool... i'll deffo think of making it out tonight.

Oh god, Nick, I dunno -- I've only read one book off that list, and only because it was Eugenides. But those seem like the mildly cannonical books that everyone's always talking about.

Well, I've only read 5 so I'm not going to make any big judgements either. I guess what's interesting to me about it is how Oprah, or whoever picks those books, seems to be trying to do so many things at the same time, seemingly trying to appeal to different audiences. A few are old-school, touchy-feely overdramatic Oprah books (Poitier, Morrison). There are a bunch of just straight "classic novels" on there (Tolstoy, Faulkner). Then there are a few newer, more "cutting-edge" books (McCarthy, Frey, Eugenides). I'm actually impressed by the diversity of her selections and the difficulty of some her selections, I'm glad she's just not sticking to one type of book.

Mildly canonical books for high-school reading curricula, maybe. (I read Cry, the Beloved Country for a book report in 9th grade history and Night for 11th grade English. And though I haven't read that particular Steinbeck book, the only things I've read by him -- Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men, an excerpt from Travels with Charley -- were all in high school.)

McWhatever that zine is called

Haha, I thought this was a joke because you hate Dave Eggers or something.

No, all I could think of was McSorley's!

http://images.sportsnetwork.com/hockey/nhl/tsn/boston/mcsorley1.jpg

btw, I don't know if it's been mentioned, but Steppenwolf is taking August: Osage County to Broadway in October.

One last bit of self-promotion:
http://www.victimoftime.com/articles/mika-miko-accompany-black-ladies-tonight-chicago/

Judging by Steppenwolf's website its too late to see August: Osage County, huh? The remainder of the shows appear to be sold out. I always sleep on this stuff.

I noticed that in the Tribune today, Dr. Morbius. I assumed it would get a run in NYC, but I didn't realize that it'd be the same cast as in the original production. (Although I'd assume that Fawn Johnstin will be replaced, as she'll be in school? One can hope, at least.)

Yes, the teen is the only one who won't go to NY.

Surely they must have some kinda standby line...

JVC, the show I saw was technically sold out, but they reserve 20 tickets for $20 to be bought the day of the show, which is what I did. I just had to show up at the box office an hour before it opened that morning to ensure I could get one of them. I think there are rush tickets available, too (an hour before the show) but that's less of a guaranteed seat.

Yes, the teen is the only one who won't go to NY.

Was I unfair to think her performance was pretty wooden?

Thanks jaymc, I'll have to look into that this weekend.

(not that it matters, but at least judging from myspace tunes/videos, you guys are way better than those other two bands)

Based on the one record I have, I really like Mika Miko a lot. I am a big sucker for hardcore-style dual vocals like that. I didn't check out the middle band.

I'm not playing any favorites though, if I make it to the show I'll stay for everyone.

speaking of music - my new ipod arrived today! i just can't actually use it until my laptop gets here.

Was I unfair to think her performance was pretty wooden?

I didn't find it excessively so, as she was playing the teen stoner, the most wooden and least interesting species on earth.

I just thought we wouldn't get along IRL. (But how much can teens really act anyway?)

and, how many teens do you want to befriend IRL?

But how much can teens really act anyway?

Judging by Leonardo DiCaprio before and after Marvin's Room, pretty goddamn well sometimes.

I thought she was pretty terrible.

But how much can teens really act anyway?

Well, all these threads about Freaks and Geeks lately have been reminding me how awesome those kids were. (John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, and Seth Rogen were all under 18 when the show was aired.)

I think about those kids sometimes & wonder if they were acting or if their personalities just fit those characters so so well.

Yeah, I guess I don't know what I'm talking about, but I generally assume most child/teen actors are just playing themselves for the most part.

I think you know what you're talking about.

From an interview with Paul Feig:

PAUL: In real life, Martin is very cool. He's like this really cool guy, and very athletic. When we were shooting the episode with the rope climbing, Martin was like right up the rope. And then when we were doing the Halloween one before that, when he was dressed up like Lindsey Wagner, he had his shirt off at one point. And I was like, "Oh my god, Martin, you've got like huge guns. You've got to stop working out, man." He didn't look like a geek; he was all buffed out.

But that's what's so great about these kids. They are actors. A lot of people sometimes go, "Well, they were just like the kids," and no, they were acting. But we tailored the things to be close to their personalities, and then let their personalities tell us where to take the characters and how to write for them.

what about the dude who talks about role playing on his livejournal? i can't remember his real or character's name...

also, having huge guns as a teen & playing a dork doesn't mean you're acting. You can have huge guns AND be a dork, as bizarre as that seems.

actually, it makes sense about the tailoring to their personalities bit.

I generally assume most child/teen actors are just playing themselves for the most part.

If that's true, I wouldn't want to be friends with F. Johnstin IRL, either, since it would mean she always talks in a flat, unaffected, all-sentences-strung-together manner.

I used alot of qualifiers there, because I feel like I'm insulting the entire acting industry.

ACTUALLY ROBOTS??

http://www.umich.edu/~uac/threeweeks/Volume2.9/vicki.jpg http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1560000/images/_1563063_film_ai300.jpg

I want to be friends with Busy Phillips in real life.

Apparently she dated Tom Hanks' kid, weird.

I am so intrigued by her!!

Nick spilled water on the laptop and it isn't turning on. What should he do?? (on phone)

Get a hairdryer and blast that shit.

Not too close/hot though, you don't want to melt anything.