So Damn Busy

School and work are combining forces to eat away at the small, and continually shrinking,entity that is my free time. As of late I haven't written anything because there has been nothing cool to write about to be honest. Besides working nights and getting a crap ton of work done for school before working those nights I haven't had much free time. But, there has been some time to watch some cool shows, finish a book, and see a great comedy show, guess I'll write about it.

I recently found that Anthony Bourdain's television show, No Reservations, has multiple seasons available for streaming through Netflix. I highly recommend checking out this series if you have Netflix and enjoy travel shows without the fluff and tourist stuff. Bourdain is a very likable host who has 28 years of cooking experience under his belt, multiple published books, and now his own show. The premise is simple and that is what makes the show so fascinating. Bourdain goes somewhere, he immerses himself in the local culture, and learns to eat and have fun like the locals do. That is the big message of the show, traveling somewhere and doing what locals do not tourist type activities. For instance, when Bourdain goes to Vegas he doesn't hang out on the strip he goes into Old Vegas or checks out up and coming restaurants. It's a great show and I highly recommend watching it for a different look at traveling.

As I mentioned I managed to find time to finish Motherless Brooklyn. The story was great, filled to the brim with twists and turns that were unexpected and deeply thought out. However, the most interesting and grasping part of the book was the main character Lionel. Watching Lionel and his outbursts due to Tourette's Syndrome makes the story completely unique. The character is so well developed and the tension is built very well due to his disorder. Parts of the book that would be boring and predictable are made tense and scatterbrained simply because Lionel is the main character. At one point he is sitting quietly in a Zen meditation session and certain elements of the story are coming together.

In a normal story it would be tense but not as tense as it is for Lionel who must suppress his urge to scream out the flow of words that stampede his mind during this peaceful meditation. It isn't just that the reader knows Lionel wants to burst out, instead you read each individual thought he wants to scream. It's truly an excellent and unique read.

To keep this post from going on too long I'll just post a video of Jimmy Fallon, who was at Hofstra on September 25th. He was great, big props to him for getting Hofstra's president to say "Balls in your mouth", and was incredibly down to earth as well.

Mad Men Season 1 Early Thoughts

I had heard a lot about how amazing the award winning show Mad Men was since it first debuted in June of 2007. The hype around the show and the astounding number of positive reviews made me want to start watching it but something always seemed to get in the way. The other day, to my surprise, Mad Men Season 1 disc 1 was in my mailbox from Netflix. Today I popped it into the DVD player and checked out the first two episodes, and I was utterly impressed.

The setting is 1960 in an advertising firm on Madison Avenue in New York City. The show's first episode starts by letting the viewers know that these advertisers were given the name "Mad Men" in the 50's and it was they who coined the term. Right off the bat you get a feel for the time period, dialog, motivations, ideals, and everything that matters to the characters.

There's Peggy, the new girl, who seems to be a lot more playful then she lets on. Peter Campbell, a privileged upstart who is poised to take the top spot in the ad firm. And Don Draper, the hot shot who claims that top spot and does so with all the style in the world.

Characters smoke often and give off a vibe as if they know viewers know it's bad yet they know their time period is just beginning to realize that. Some lines do feel forced as if edited to fit the idea of the time frame instead of written to feel comfortable. But overall it is a killer show with an absolutely commanding presence. Everything from the dialog, to the acting, to the costumes is top notch.

I've only seen the first two episodes and Mad Men has already won me over with its charm and style. I'm sure I'll be catching up in the upcoming months and hopefully it'll stay as incredible as the first episodes have been.

Here's a trailer for season 1 to give you a quick idea of the show



Line of the century: (Said by Don Draper to Pete Campbell in regards to his horny demeanor and young and reckless mindset.)
"I bet the world looks like one big brazer strap just waiting to be snapped to you..."