Sundance 2012

This year I attended and volunteered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Here's a rundown of the movies I saw and the ones I recommend!
Nobody Walks, starring John Krasinski, Olivia Thirbly, Rosemarie Dewitt, Justin Kirk. I gave it 3 stars at the time, but it was the first movie I saw, so I have since demoted it.  Probably would give it 2 stars now. John plays a sound mixer in LA, who is married to Rosemarie, a therapist who used to be a feminist revolutionary or something. Olivia comes to stay with them from NYC to work on her short film, "the bug movie" or something like that. and lots of bad choices and sexy times ensue.

Cast of Nobody Walks at the Q&A:

Liberal Arts, written, directed, and produced by and starring Josh Radnor, as well as Elizabeth Olson, Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, Meredith Gray's mom from Grey's Anatomy, and Elizabeth Reaser. One of the best comedies I saw; 4 stars. I thought it was funny that they made fun of Twilight-type books, and yet one of the actresses is in those movies! Josh plays an admissions councilor at a NY college who returns to his alma mater in Ohio for his professor's retirement party (Jenkins). Elizabeth Olson is the 19-year-old daughter of another couple, who is attending the college. she and Josh bond and he struggles with their relationship. It's very well-written and funny.

Liberal Arts cast at the Q&A (Josh is at the podium; Right to left is Kate Burton, Allison, richard, Elizabeth Olson, and John Magaro

On Monday I went to Redstone for the Animation Spotlight. The first short, Dr. Breakfast, was great. (check it out! only 7 minutes.) everything after that was kinda strange. Robots of Brixton won the Special Jury Award for Animation Direction.
Then I saw Sleepwalk with Me at the Library Theater before my volunteer shift. It was written by Mike Birbiglia and his brother Joe, based on Mike's experiences trying to make it as a stand-up comedian, while having violent episodes of sleepwalking. (I used to sleepwalk on vacation!) Another excellent comedy. Lauren Ambrose stars as Mike's girlfriend, but she wasn't at the screening. I only got a picture of Ira Glass, one of the producers (he also has a cameo as a photog). Mike was there, as was Carol Kane, who you probably know from Princess Bride, Marc Maron (a popular comic who gives Mike advice in the movie; he must have been staying at our hotel b/c i saw him in the lobby at 6:50 am!), and a few other cast members and a lot of the crew.

Tuesday we skied then went to the premier of Goats at Eccles. It was pretty good. the young star, Graham Phillips, was very good...and very easy on the eyes. (he's totally legal! 19 in a few months!)
Cast of Goats at the Q&A: Vera Farmiga, not sure her name, Dakota Johnson, Ty Burrell, David Duchovny, Anthony Hamilton (i think? is that his name? he's not listed in the cast on IMDb), Graham Phillips, and the director Christopher Neil. Not present: Keri Russell and Justin Kirk. (that guy plays a great asshole.)

Wednesday was Volunteer Appreciation Day, so we got to go to a free screening of Safety Not Guaranteed. We were surprised the Director and screenwriter were there for a Q&A for us lowly vols! The movie starred Aubrey Plaza (April on Parks and Rec), Jake Johnson (from New Girl), and Mark Duplass, with cameos by Kristen Bell, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Jeff Garlin. It was also very good!

On Thursday we waitlisted the documentary Finding North at the MARC (which is at the Park city Racquet Club. i thought it was cool that on the other side of the curtain, people were playing tennis). It showed many people around the country who are hungry, and sometimes overweight, because they can't afford real food. I thought it was very timely as Feb/March are Minnesota FoodShare campaign time. 1 in 6 people are hungry in this country! So if that gets bought and distributed, you should see it.

Then we saw For Ellen at Eccles, which is pretty much the only movie I saw that I would not recommend. I should have read the reviews before I was sitting in the theater to see it. It was as slow as described. There weren't any stars of the movie there, but we did see Amber Tamblyn and David Cross in the entourage section (and then stood right by them in the lobby afterwards...) it was kind of strange. it's also strange that they are dating, as she is my age (28) and he is 19 years her senior!

Friday morning we left the house early to see Hello I Must Be Going, once again at Eccles (it's the biggest venue with about 1200 seats, so it's easy to get in without a ticket bought in advance or a special pass). It has the same premise as Liberal Arts: 35-year-old involved with a 19-year-old, except in this case Melanie Lynskey (from Ever After and two and a half men) is the older one. it was really funny and charming. It was directed by Todd Louiso and written by his wife. you probably don't know that name, but you would recognize Todd from High Fidelity (he works at the record store) and small roles in lots of other things. No cast members at the Q&A, just Todd and his wife and two producers, I think. This is a movie I'd recommend to adults of any age.

And last but not least on Saturday morning, the documentary The House I Live In at the Egyptian.The writer/director/producer was inspired by the family and life of black woman who worked for his family when he was growing up; her son died as a result of drug use, so he looks into the history of criminalization of drug use in the US, and specific targeted racial groups. today, the targeted group is cultural: poor people. so my solution to both of the subjects of these docs is have all the criminals in prison grow fruits and vegetables to give/sell for cheap to the poor and hungry people (and lots of government reform) and then everyone will be rehabilitated and no longer fat and hungry! tada!

I saw a few celebs while I was working at the Library theater: during Smashed, Aaron Paul, Nick Offerman, and Megan Mullally (who was looking too skinny and had to be helped up the stairs into the building as she was wearing wicked high heels; when she left I think she was wearing snow boots); during Grabbers, Richard Coyle and probably lots of not-yet-famous Irishmen; during Filly Brown, Edward James Olmos. Rhi was working while i saw Sleepwalk with Me, and said that Eddie Izzard walked the press line, but he left early and I didn't see him. (he isn't in that movie.) Spike Lee and his entourage stayed at our hotel, as well as the attorney general (no one in my group could recall his name), which is why there were secret service guys about (not that I noticed them).

A lot of the movies are balloted, meaning they are up to win an Audience Award. here are all the Award winners.

I only got to 10 screenings, so I hope all the other movies get released so I can see them when they come to town or on TV!

Craft Day Resumes!

When the mercury drops and the snow flies (it actually snowed today, OMG!), we take to our warm(ish) houses and settle in. And we often craft to keep from going crazy. Today Karyn hosted the crafty girls at her house! The main theme was scrapbooking, but others made cards or knitted, crochet, and cross-stitched. We all ate and drank a bit too!
Delicious dishes:

Cheese sampler; bread I brought; bagels from Brueggers and cream cheese (not pictured: great egg bake in the crockpot, and Laura's raspberry muffins)
Closeup on the fruit:

Jen's not much of a scrapbooker. She worked on both of her crochet projects, and a bit of the cross-stitched samurai.

 I brought some hootch! Laura decided to improve her cranberry juice.

 Hard-core card makers! we were impressed with their creations.

 The scrapbooking table, with Saleh, Karyn, and Jen.

I finished 2 years worth of ski trips (9 pages from Park City 2000; 5 or 6 pages from Breckenridge 1999). My scrapbook technique is basically "glue pictures to pages." Nothing too fancy.

I also recently finished a couple of yarn projects. check them out on ravelry:
Headband
Bumpy Hat
Insou hat
If you weren't already aware, I love purple.

favorites of 2011

Not finished yet.
Songs:
Vomit by Girls - because you don't expect a song named that to be so majestic and moving. the end sounds like something the Stones would have done.
Midnight City by M83
Paradise by Coldplay - I admit to being in the camp who hates coldplay just because they are Coldplay. And because I don't like a lot of their songs. this song i crank up when it comes on the radio.
A Little Bit of Everything by Dawes
Wandering Star - Polica
Ritual Union - Little Dragon

Albums:
w h o k i l l by Tune-yards - anything that sounds like nothing i've ever heard automatically goes to the top of my list.

sick of:
If i never hear another song from the Bon Iver album, it will be too soon. JUST GET OVER HIM ALREADY, MUSIC INDUSTRY. FOR EMMA WAS BETTER.
Adele. overplayed.

Fall TV!

These are the shows I'll be DVRing soon, based on Entertainment Weekly's Fall TV Preview (print edition, but here's the online version). I think this looks like a good crop of shows! (these are only the shows on network TV; all times Central)
Monday:
How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 7 pm
2 Broke Girls, CBS, 7:30: about two girls two work in a brooklyn diner; one of them is Kat Dennings, and i like her.
Mike and Molly, CBS, 8:30: although it does remind me of 2 and a half men, it has some funny moments. i love Mike's mom's dog.
The Playboy Club, NBC, 9 pm: will this be any good? I have no idea.

Tuesday:
Glee, Fox, 7 pm
New Girl, Fox, 8 pm: Everybody's gonna watch this because it has Zooey Deschanel! I wonder how many Death Cab or She and Him songs it will feature...

Raising Hope, Fox, 8:30: if you haven't watched this show, give it a chance. i didn't have room for it in my schedule last season, but when i watched it, it was hilarious. it's like the new My name is Earl--kinda white trashy, but not necessarily dumb humor.
Ringer, CW, 8 pm: Sarah michelle gellar's new show. will this be any good? I have no idea.

Wednesday:
Up All Night, NBC, 7 pm: You had me at Will Arnett, Mya Rudolph, and Christina Applegate.
Modern Family, ABC, 8 pm
Happy Endings, ABC, 8:30: another show you should watch if you aren't already!
ANTM: All-Stars, CW, 8 pm: were they not able to find any good new models? so they had to bring back the old ones? But one of them is, as Amanda called her, "Jealous" girl (Allison), and she's amusing. this should be an interesting season.

Thursday:
Big Bang Theory, CBS, 7 pm
How to be a Gentleman, CBS, 8:30: kevin Dillon from Entourage is in it!
Community, NBC, 7 pm
Parks and Rec, NBC, 7:30
(maybe I will watch the Office this season, since Michael is gone...)
Whitney, NBC, 8:30
Bones, Fox, 8 pm: they are having a baby! i'm still confused by that.
I have mixed feelings about The Secret Circle (CW, 8 pm), because it's an LJ Smith series that I LOVED as a kid, just like the Vampire Diaries, which the CW totally changed and ruined. plus i can't DVR 3 things at once, so maybe i'll catch it in repeats!

Friday:
Supernatural, CW, 8 pm: only one more season, right?
Grimm, NBC, 8 pm: there's a fairy tale theme in shows this year, just like at Fringe!

Saturday:
Rules of Engagement, CBS, 7 pm: i'll either watch it live, or on sunday morning!

Sunday:
Allen Gregory, Fox, 7:30: animated show from Jonah Hill
Pan Am, 9 pm, ABC: this looks like "Catch me if you can," but with Christina Ricci!

and some non-network shows:
The walking Dead, AMC, 8 pm
(and Dexter's back on Showtime, but i've only watched the first season, and i don't have Showtime, so it makes no difference to me!)

pictures of downtown Minneapolis

in no particular order...
I suggest clicking on the pics to see them larger (I've resized them from the original file though).
From the Walker Art Center (which is south and a little west of downtown) on August 31, 2011:

June 3, 2011, from the Witch Hat Tower (east of DT), on a rather smoggy day:

 

Also from the Walker Art Center, but on the hill during Rock the Garden on June 18, 2011, on a rainy day and night:

I like this one at night, it looks like the skyscrapers are steaming.

From within downtown (Hennepin and 11th), during the Pride Parade, on June 26, 2011. I liked seeing the planes flying low on their way to land at MSP. Directly below the plane is Foshay Tower, the first skyscraper in Minnesota. The IDS Center is the one with 2 spires on top, now the tallest building in Minnesota.

From the rooftop of Cafeteria Restaurant in Uptown (southwest of DT) on July 24, 2010:

And one more (for now)! From Target Field, April 16, 2010. I like how the overhang from the upper deck frames the image.

2011 Fringe Round-up!

Shows I saw and how I rate them:

1. Underneath the Lintel: 5 kitties
2. Our Freaking Kids Show: 4
3. Rambler Family Ramblers...: 2
4. Smothers Brothers Grimm: 4
5. Brain Fighters: 5
6. Proper way to beat a dead horse: 1
7. MacBeth Video Game Remix: 5
8. Disney Dethroned: 4
9. Balls Out!: 5
10. 7 (x1) Samurai: 3
11. History Camp: 5
12: Uptown the Musical: 4
13. Comedy = Tragedy + Someone Else: 3
14. You only live forever once: 4
15. Minnesota: Finally Famous: 2
16. Entwined: 4
17. How Do You See It: 4
18. Minnesota Middle Finger: 3
19. Knit One, Purl the Other: 4
20. Once Upon a time in the Suburbs: 4
21. Death Perception: 4
22. Blood and 2 Gingers: 3
23. Nightmare in Bakersfield: 4
24. Sousepaw: 3

My ratings are based on how much I enjoyed the show. and I enjoy, above all else, humor and music. for a "drama" to get a 4 or 5 from me, it has to be well-written, well-acted, and so engaging that my mind doesn't wander off. I'd say Underneath the Lintel fit that requirement... so it kind of set the bar high for the rest of the festival. Sousepaw got lots of good reviews, so I reserved a ticket to make sure I saw it. It was more "theatery" then most of the other shows. i'd say it was well-acted and well-written, but it was a full house and I couldn't see very well from where i was sitting.
There are lots of shows I wanted to see but either didn't have time, or they sold out before I got in. oh well, the world keeps turning.

Baking: Artisan Bread

A few weeks ago I was intrigued by this posting from Snack Girl: easy, homemade yeast bread. For a while now I've wanted to bake with yeast. I don't know why it seems so interesting; I've made non-rising sweet breads plenty of times (pumpkin, zucchini, banana, etc), but the idea of getting the bread to rise sounds kind of magical. Once before I made whole wheat rolls with yeast; they turned out okay. I just didn't know where the best spot was to let them rise, since my house is generally colder than "room temperature" in the winter. (I put them above the satellite dish receiver, but I mixed them up wrong anyway, so I scrapped the first batch.) But this book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, claimed that it can be easy to bake bread like you find in bakeries! I was in. But knowing how my hobbies usually burn out quickly, I didn't want to invest too much dough (haha, baking pun) into this before I am sure I will stick with it. There were a few pieces of "equipment" I needed before starting out. I got a round baking stone from Jen (it was her mom's) and borrowed a pizza peel from a coworker who had also done the artisan bread thing in the past. Then I just had to buy an oven thermometer (to make sure the temperature my oven said it was at was accurate) and a 5-quart container to store the dough. Both I found at Target.
Supplies: cookbook (borrowed from the library), yeast, water, kosher salt, and unbleached all-purpose flour. and my container (it's actually a plastic shoe box!).
First step: put the yeast and salt in the container and add with lukewarm water.
2: add the flour, mix with a wooden spoon.
all mixed up. then, let it rise with the lid on for 2 or more hours. Refrigerate overnight (or you can use it right away, but the dough is easier to use when it's cold).
The next morning: cornstarch on the pizza peel and the cold, risen dough. you flour the top of the dough, then grab a big blob (they say about a pound, but i didn't weigh it.). add more flour and shape/rotate it into a ball. (I found this video very handy for figuring out this technique. It shows the whole process.) Let it sit on the peel for 40 minutes to rise. (I didn't think it looked much bigger after the 40.)
20 mins before baking, set the oven to 450F. after the 20 mins, the oven therm didn't say it was 450 in there (even though the over said the preheat was done). so i cranked up the temp to 500 to get it hotter. but then it was over 450, so i tried to cool it down. the pizza stone started smoking, and it got a bit foggy in my house. I opened a window. (the book says to put the bread in the oven after 20 mins, even though your thermometer won't read 450 yet. oh. wish I had realized that earlier...)
Anyway, after rising, dust with flower and cut a cross into the top with a bread knife. Slide the loaf from the peel onto the stone in the oven. You also need a broiler pan above the bread that you put 1 cup of hot water into right before you shut the oven door. I guess the steam is needed to achieve the crispy crust.

30 minutes later, voila! Bread! The book recommends letting it cool completely before eating, but that's not possible for me. It probably sat for 30 mins when I cut into it, still steamy in the middle.
Very delicious and doughy, but not undercooked! It must be easy if I can do it! I still have dough for 3 more loaves (the basic recipe is written to make 4 loaves), but you can shape it into different things; I'm going to try a baguette and pizza crust (both I will hopefully serve at my Oscar party next weekend). The book has recipes for a lot of other kinds of bread, and things to do with the bread (sandwiches, pizza, jams, etc). But I have to take the book back to the library in a week, so I will either have to have a crazy week of baking, or buy it! my kitchen shelves are already filled to the max though... but the authors have a blog with some recipes, yay! Also I think it's really cool that they live in the Twin Cities, so maybe i can meet them some day!