Lunamania

Two years ago, I spent President's Day snowed in at a motel run by a lonely looking South Asian man in the middle of Vermont. A group of us planned a grand snow adventure that I imagined would be a mellow weekend of hot chocolate, board games and good company. Instead, I discovered a newfound inability to balance myself on ice while strapped onto a waxed piece of fiberglass.

This year, I spent part of the long weekend in a motel run by a lonely and harried South Asian man in South Lake Tahoe. It was a pricey weekend to be up there, but the snow was great and the vacation much needed. We spent half a day at Kirkwood and spent Sunday on the Nevada side of Heavenly. Heavenly is the largest resort up there, but the Nevada side is mellow and friendly. Kirkwood is more of a scene, but has runs that are more suited to my bunny skills. Either way, I'm just happy I spared myself a concussion.

Highlights of the weekend include, watching my brother eat two orders of prime rib, BBQ brisket, stuffed roast pork, breaded trout, and mashed taters topped off by a unique concoction of ice cream, caramel, M&Ms and jelly beans; the view of Lake Tahoe from 9500 ft; not sitting in traffic; sipping tea in my warm house while it pours outside.

Posted by at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my Oscar movie viewing...
I'm feeling that crunch to drop a wads of cash to see Oscar nominated movies. I'm such a Hollywood tool.
I sheepishly admit that Neverland is the only nominated movie I've seen. Yes, I went to see it for the Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet eye candy. There were moments that I didn't know whether to laugh or cry--it was a "could have waited for DVD" flik. That said, I had a good time seeing it with 2 queens and my Sentimental Monkey. The lights came up and there was full blown sobbing from my fellow movie goers and amused eye rolling on my part. I mostly spent the rest of the evening saying "Pee--taah"
The last movie I cried at was Boys Don't Cry--nice segue to Hillary Swank and her extreme method acting trajectory. I do want to see Million Dollar Baby. I want to do my part of piss off the Right Wing and their rabid Spongebob and Patrick the Starfish are gay dogma. Because that's really what we should be focusing on as opposed to the war, budget cuts, and the insanity of Alberto Gonzales and Condi Rice.

Posted by at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The second "check this track" from Lunamania is The Blast from Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's classic Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought LP.

Reflection Eternal was Kweli's first solo album after his classic Black Star collaboration with Mos Def. He's released two more solo albums since (and made numerous promises of another Mos Def partnership) but Reflection Eternal remains my favorite Kweli LP. It's one of those albums I want to tell everyone to really listen to at least once in their lifetime.

I chose this track over Too Late and Love Language (featuring the very schexy Les Nubiens) because thanks to DJ Hi-Tek, I think it has the tightest production on the entire album. It's all about respecting the DJ. The first 3 beats ensure a little chill out vacation in my head. Sometimes ear worms are a good thing.

Posted by at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)