I've thought about what I'd like to write about for my final since I've turned in the proposal. It's changed about 45 times.
So, to start I had this idea:
For my final Arts Journalism project, I’d like to explore food and food prices in terms of health. For instance, the cheapest (and in some cases tastiest) foods are shockingly unhealthy, while organic food, or even lower fat options at restaurants are more expensive and usually bland. I could go a little into fad diets, but I guess to keep myself grounded I could choose one or two restaurants that have lower fat options and critique the meal. I think TGI Fridays and Chili’s all boast of having healthier options, and I think it’s TGI Fridays that has decided to serve smaller portions, Right Portion Right Price kind of thing. I could talk about the dollar menu at McDonald’s or any other fast food place, and can even talk about supermarkets and organic and lower fat and sodium options being more expensive than regular items. In order to stick with the critique idea, I’d need to narrow it down and select one or two things to critique, so I could do a meal at TGI Fridays and see if there’s any meals that are similar and not a healthier choice and compare the two. I guess I need you to tell me when my story is straying from a critique and getting into regular feature writing.
Then, I thought about the last time I wrote about food and how hard it was, so I decided against food reviews. But I love food, and I actually do like reviewing movies, so I thought about some food-related movies. Well, more specifically, I had been thinking a lot about body image and then food and then media. So, I came up with the Gilmore Girls, because they're supposed to be this gorgeous mother-daughter duo who are inept in the kitchen and eat out all the time. They only eat pop tarts and cheeseburgers and they're both stick-thin. Then, I remembered reading an interview with Lauren Graham (the one who plays the mom) and as she was answering questions she was eating an arugula salad, then she said some things about how much she exercises and she doesn't really eat like her character does. I mean, I figured she didn't actually eat like that, but who doesn't want to believe that they can eat as much as they want like they're favorite tv stars and still stay thin? It had been a comforting thing, like when I ate badly they were my justification, as crazy as that sounds. It felt like false advertising.
They do that on the Disney show iCarly, too. I'm getting over how much of a weirdo this all makes me sound like. Anyway, there's one really skinny character who eats all the time and is known for eating all the time. It's this new trend of playing into American habits of overeating, but making the characters also fit the American beauty standards of being model-thin so it keeps all audience members happy.
I hope I have a story here, because I think I could get 1000 words out of it. We'll see.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Forget about the economy, let's watch movies
The eighty-first Academy Awards which aired last night set its own stage up for a possible disappointment with its decided change from the norm and the way it went about promoting itself. After the red carpet but before the ceremonies there was a behind-the-scenes look at the stage and music production at the curtain of crystals hanging from the ceiling and the recognizable theme from Lawrence of Arabia, but with a swing beat. Take all of the eccentricities and add Hugh Jackman—the first non-comedian single host since further back than anyone’s recent memory-- and let the nail-biting begin. David Carr summarized the pressure in the end of his pre-Oscars projection, “Can Hollywood find a way to acknowledge the times we are living in without giving in to the gloom?”
Jackman answered all of these questions with ease as he introduced his opening number, “Due to budget cuts,” he explained that there wasn’t originally going to be an opening song. Luckily, Jackman says he “stayed up all night in his garage” making props, and out comes a make-shift “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” set made from pizza boxes and glittery green letters on cardboard. Then Jackman started his song with full vibrato.
The longer Jackman was on stage singing about the biggest movies of 2008—props to Jackman and writers for the intense dance scene complete with backup dancers as he sang “I haven’t seen The Reader”—the more comfortable the audience became. He ended the number with a duo reenactment of Frost/Nixon with Ann Hathaway and finally Jackman belting the line “I’m Wolverine.” His playful jabs at the actors before the first award presentation was funny but by then the laughter felt more like his payment for not letting the audience down with his musical opener.
In perhaps the best-intended but minimal-follow-up joke Jackman mentioned Brad Pitt saying, “I don’t have a joke for him, my contract says I have to mention his name five times—that’s one.” He noted Pitt in the second number of the show, but for the most part, Jackman was offstage, letting the rest of the big-name presenters have full attention.
The awards lived up to its promise of changing from the norm by letting five previous winners of the best actor and actress awards present the nominees and the Oscar. It felt more like a moment from Star Trek as five of the Academy’s elite stood in a wide half-circle on the stage and gave individual praise to each nominee before the middle actor or actress opened the envelope.
The ceremony was rushed during the recognition of some of the technical aspects of film—the visual effects, sound editing, and sound mixing— all presented by Will Smith. He seemed to be continuously tugged around the stage by those beautiful-but-business-oriented silver-clad stage women as he moved from presenter to background to presenter again. At one point acknowledged the rushed awkwardness, “Yes I’m still here,” and “I believe Hugh is napping” at another. It was if that section of the show was thrown together at the last minute and Smith was stuck with more than his share of presenting and in half the amount of time to do it.
The Academy Awards were starkly different this year finally in a lack of long-winded acceptance speeches; no one got the orchestra music to signal a wrap-up. With a great majority of the winners giving their own version of Hilary Swank’s “I’m just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream” speech, the Oscars had the effect of a feel-good movie. Even with bleak economy and bleak Midwestern winter it was easy to watch the excited faces and, like Swank, start to dream.
Jackman answered all of these questions with ease as he introduced his opening number, “Due to budget cuts,” he explained that there wasn’t originally going to be an opening song. Luckily, Jackman says he “stayed up all night in his garage” making props, and out comes a make-shift “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” set made from pizza boxes and glittery green letters on cardboard. Then Jackman started his song with full vibrato.
The longer Jackman was on stage singing about the biggest movies of 2008—props to Jackman and writers for the intense dance scene complete with backup dancers as he sang “I haven’t seen The Reader”—the more comfortable the audience became. He ended the number with a duo reenactment of Frost/Nixon with Ann Hathaway and finally Jackman belting the line “I’m Wolverine.” His playful jabs at the actors before the first award presentation was funny but by then the laughter felt more like his payment for not letting the audience down with his musical opener.
In perhaps the best-intended but minimal-follow-up joke Jackman mentioned Brad Pitt saying, “I don’t have a joke for him, my contract says I have to mention his name five times—that’s one.” He noted Pitt in the second number of the show, but for the most part, Jackman was offstage, letting the rest of the big-name presenters have full attention.
The awards lived up to its promise of changing from the norm by letting five previous winners of the best actor and actress awards present the nominees and the Oscar. It felt more like a moment from Star Trek as five of the Academy’s elite stood in a wide half-circle on the stage and gave individual praise to each nominee before the middle actor or actress opened the envelope.
The ceremony was rushed during the recognition of some of the technical aspects of film—the visual effects, sound editing, and sound mixing— all presented by Will Smith. He seemed to be continuously tugged around the stage by those beautiful-but-business-oriented silver-clad stage women as he moved from presenter to background to presenter again. At one point acknowledged the rushed awkwardness, “Yes I’m still here,” and “I believe Hugh is napping” at another. It was if that section of the show was thrown together at the last minute and Smith was stuck with more than his share of presenting and in half the amount of time to do it.
The Academy Awards were starkly different this year finally in a lack of long-winded acceptance speeches; no one got the orchestra music to signal a wrap-up. With a great majority of the winners giving their own version of Hilary Swank’s “I’m just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream” speech, the Oscars had the effect of a feel-good movie. Even with bleak economy and bleak Midwestern winter it was easy to watch the excited faces and, like Swank, start to dream.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Kael Revision
Marni Newell
With lewd humor and images, Kael’s art shines through
2/20/09
Oscar Wilde describes criticism as an art form that is staunchly subjective in his essay “The Critic as Artist.” The art Wilde speaks of is in the critic’s ability to convey her sense of personality in the criticism and make the piece her own. He says “the highest Criticism deals with art not as expressive, but as impressive, purely.”
Pauline Kael, in this sense, is the pinnacle of Wilde’s portrait of a critic. Kael’s critiques of films are a reflection of her values and her reasoning in a way that is as entertaining as it is informative. This allows for readers to draw their own conclusions on the films she reviews without simply agreeing with her decision.
Renata Adler describes Kael’s writing style, or more specifically, what Adler perceives as Kael’s shortcomings as a critic, in her essay, “House Critic.” Adler details Kael’s use of questions, seemingly unclear metaphors, uses of personal pronouns, and repetitive images in Kael’s latest anthology of critiques, and cites them as reasons why Kael has “ceased to care about” films.
More accurately, these quirks in Kael’s writing represent her unique style.
One of Adler’s criticisms of Kael is her use of questions in reviews, which Adler believes distracts the reader and has them blindly reaching for answers. What Adler doesn’t appreciate about Kael’s use of questions, is the effect they have on the reader that cannot be mirrored with a statement; it gives the sense of inviting the reader to disagree with Kael instead of telling them what to believe. For instance, one question Adler quotes is, “How can you have any feeling for a man who doesn’t enjoy being in bed with Sophia Loren?” This question catches the reader’s attention and is rhetorical, humorous, and illuminating.
With this one question, Kael opens the readers eyes to a different perspective of the actor who isn’t enjoying being in bed with Sophia Loren, it recalls them to specific scenes, and then, lastly, allows them chuckle at the absurd idea that any man wouldn’t enjoy being in bed with Sophia Loren.
The effect would fall drastically short if Kael had followed Adler’s strict guidelines and written, “A man who doesn’t enjoy being in bed with Sophia Loren can’t be taken seriously.” Odds are the aggressive sentence would have been overlooked and dismissed.
Similarly, Adler picks apart Kaels images and metaphors that deal with bodily functions. One example she cites is Kael’s phrase “just a belch from the Nixon era.” Even not knowing the context of this statement, a clear image is still communicated: an attempt at something that not only fell short, but stank.
Adler summarizes her criticisms with a list of four aspects of movies Kael does seem to appreciate, “frissions of horror; physical violence depicted in specific detail; sex scenes...; and fantasies of invasion.” With this, Adler is attempting to warp one of the main duties of a critic: to know what they like. Adler distorts and emphasizes the perversity in her description of Kael, but the fact remains that she does have a style, she has preferences, and she is consistent in pointing out when a film executes these correctly and when they do not.
In the end, readers know where Kael stands based on their knowledge of her inclinations and can enjoy her critiques as both entertainment and an assessment of the film based on her unique interests and perspective.
With lewd humor and images, Kael’s art shines through
2/20/09
Oscar Wilde describes criticism as an art form that is staunchly subjective in his essay “The Critic as Artist.” The art Wilde speaks of is in the critic’s ability to convey her sense of personality in the criticism and make the piece her own. He says “the highest Criticism deals with art not as expressive, but as impressive, purely.”
Pauline Kael, in this sense, is the pinnacle of Wilde’s portrait of a critic. Kael’s critiques of films are a reflection of her values and her reasoning in a way that is as entertaining as it is informative. This allows for readers to draw their own conclusions on the films she reviews without simply agreeing with her decision.
Renata Adler describes Kael’s writing style, or more specifically, what Adler perceives as Kael’s shortcomings as a critic, in her essay, “House Critic.” Adler details Kael’s use of questions, seemingly unclear metaphors, uses of personal pronouns, and repetitive images in Kael’s latest anthology of critiques, and cites them as reasons why Kael has “ceased to care about” films.
More accurately, these quirks in Kael’s writing represent her unique style.
One of Adler’s criticisms of Kael is her use of questions in reviews, which Adler believes distracts the reader and has them blindly reaching for answers. What Adler doesn’t appreciate about Kael’s use of questions, is the effect they have on the reader that cannot be mirrored with a statement; it gives the sense of inviting the reader to disagree with Kael instead of telling them what to believe. For instance, one question Adler quotes is, “How can you have any feeling for a man who doesn’t enjoy being in bed with Sophia Loren?” This question catches the reader’s attention and is rhetorical, humorous, and illuminating.
With this one question, Kael opens the readers eyes to a different perspective of the actor who isn’t enjoying being in bed with Sophia Loren, it recalls them to specific scenes, and then, lastly, allows them chuckle at the absurd idea that any man wouldn’t enjoy being in bed with Sophia Loren.
The effect would fall drastically short if Kael had followed Adler’s strict guidelines and written, “A man who doesn’t enjoy being in bed with Sophia Loren can’t be taken seriously.” Odds are the aggressive sentence would have been overlooked and dismissed.
Similarly, Adler picks apart Kaels images and metaphors that deal with bodily functions. One example she cites is Kael’s phrase “just a belch from the Nixon era.” Even not knowing the context of this statement, a clear image is still communicated: an attempt at something that not only fell short, but stank.
Adler summarizes her criticisms with a list of four aspects of movies Kael does seem to appreciate, “frissions of horror; physical violence depicted in specific detail; sex scenes...; and fantasies of invasion.” With this, Adler is attempting to warp one of the main duties of a critic: to know what they like. Adler distorts and emphasizes the perversity in her description of Kael, but the fact remains that she does have a style, she has preferences, and she is consistent in pointing out when a film executes these correctly and when they do not.
In the end, readers know where Kael stands based on their knowledge of her inclinations and can enjoy her critiques as both entertainment and an assessment of the film based on her unique interests and perspective.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Hicok Review
Sorry this is posted late, I don't have the stamina for the K life anymore and everything seems to be falling by the wayside.
Self-taught poet charms K College
Marni Newell
In the room packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Kalamazoo College students and faculty, Bob Hicok, the self-taught poet from suburban Detroit, sympathized with his audience. “If it’s any consolation to those who are here because they have to be,” he told the rustling students. “I hate poetry readings. I can’t focus on the poetry.”
Lucky for the students who had to be there, his poetry was interesting enough to focus on. As visiting professor Glenn Deutsch stated in his introduction Hicok’s short-but-dense poetry is “serious-funny.”
In one poem about and named for the gene that has been linked to cancer, BRCA-1, Hicok describes a woman who has the gene and then imagines she’s had a mastectomy and her ovaries removed, “The faux breasts and egg sacs are gone.” He continues talking about her ovaries, or more appropriately, her “novaries” as she blow dries her hair in the bathroom near where he waits in the bedroom, petting his dog, “I would not dry my hair in such a moment, but I’m bald.” In nearly all of Hicok’s poetry, if the audience is ever unsure of whether to laugh or not, it’s probably safe to laugh.
Hicok succeeded in being just as entertaining in that awkward space between poems by talking about how awkward that space of time is. In another space between poems, he discussed his hatred of the debate about a stimulus package for the country and said of President Obama, “I hope for Michelle Obama, he does have a stimulus package.” An audience member, comfortable with him by now, shouted back, “Oh, he does, Bob!”
His poetry, never pretentious or abstract, utilizes images and metaphors that are accessible without being cliché. He is honest in his descriptions because he isn’t trying to please anyone. In the same poem about a woman’s cancer, his line “I have no reason to use the word cancer while petting a dog” reverberates with simplicity, yet hits a common emotion.
Hicok never extends himself beyond what he can accurately describe, and this leads to concise, sincere poetry that induces both chuckles and serious thought. In his poem, “Lost American in Paris,” he describes following a wandering violin player before exclaiming, “I felt doctors had replaced my heart with a kitten.”
His poem about Michigan was a favorite among the Midwestern audience and perfectly timed for the snowy Wednesday night of his reading. Michigan, Hicok says, has a February that’s fourteen months long, which explains why “‘What did we do?’ is the state motto.”
Unlike most contemporary writers, Hicok rarely writes more than one draft of a poem. As he describes it, his poems are “records of a moment,” and the moment he wrote it in is as important as the subject matter. Hicok’s refreshing perspective on poetry lends itself to poems that are simple yet honest to the complexity of human emotion and never void of humor. It was hard not to be inspired by his quirky poetry as the large crowd filed back out into the 14-month-long Michigan winter.
Self-taught poet charms K College
Marni Newell
In the room packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Kalamazoo College students and faculty, Bob Hicok, the self-taught poet from suburban Detroit, sympathized with his audience. “If it’s any consolation to those who are here because they have to be,” he told the rustling students. “I hate poetry readings. I can’t focus on the poetry.”
Lucky for the students who had to be there, his poetry was interesting enough to focus on. As visiting professor Glenn Deutsch stated in his introduction Hicok’s short-but-dense poetry is “serious-funny.”
In one poem about and named for the gene that has been linked to cancer, BRCA-1, Hicok describes a woman who has the gene and then imagines she’s had a mastectomy and her ovaries removed, “The faux breasts and egg sacs are gone.” He continues talking about her ovaries, or more appropriately, her “novaries” as she blow dries her hair in the bathroom near where he waits in the bedroom, petting his dog, “I would not dry my hair in such a moment, but I’m bald.” In nearly all of Hicok’s poetry, if the audience is ever unsure of whether to laugh or not, it’s probably safe to laugh.
Hicok succeeded in being just as entertaining in that awkward space between poems by talking about how awkward that space of time is. In another space between poems, he discussed his hatred of the debate about a stimulus package for the country and said of President Obama, “I hope for Michelle Obama, he does have a stimulus package.” An audience member, comfortable with him by now, shouted back, “Oh, he does, Bob!”
His poetry, never pretentious or abstract, utilizes images and metaphors that are accessible without being cliché. He is honest in his descriptions because he isn’t trying to please anyone. In the same poem about a woman’s cancer, his line “I have no reason to use the word cancer while petting a dog” reverberates with simplicity, yet hits a common emotion.
Hicok never extends himself beyond what he can accurately describe, and this leads to concise, sincere poetry that induces both chuckles and serious thought. In his poem, “Lost American in Paris,” he describes following a wandering violin player before exclaiming, “I felt doctors had replaced my heart with a kitten.”
His poem about Michigan was a favorite among the Midwestern audience and perfectly timed for the snowy Wednesday night of his reading. Michigan, Hicok says, has a February that’s fourteen months long, which explains why “‘What did we do?’ is the state motto.”
Unlike most contemporary writers, Hicok rarely writes more than one draft of a poem. As he describes it, his poems are “records of a moment,” and the moment he wrote it in is as important as the subject matter. Hicok’s refreshing perspective on poetry lends itself to poems that are simple yet honest to the complexity of human emotion and never void of humor. It was hard not to be inspired by his quirky poetry as the large crowd filed back out into the 14-month-long Michigan winter.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Some thoughts on Pauline Kael
I loved reading Afterglow, and at one point I had my computer next to me with IMDB open so I could look up the movies they were talking about and watch the trailers, it was fascinating.
Kael's ability to watch a movie once and be able to have such a strong opinion about it impresses me, and that she can recall the movies enough to carry conversations about them years later is just ridiculous. Especially at eighty. I love what she said about modern movies, and I love that she didn't really like Star Wars, because when something is so universally loved like Star Wars usually is, it makes me nervous. To be honest, Star Wars is kind of boring to me.
I looked up Francis Davis and read a bit about his jazz reviews. It's so interesting that there's enough jazz venues to have a reviewer. Maybe I'm showing my ignorance, but I thought it would be hard enough to find a movie or music critic job, jazz seems so sparse these days that there would only be 3 job openings for a jazz reviewer...ever.
Kael's ability to watch a movie once and be able to have such a strong opinion about it impresses me, and that she can recall the movies enough to carry conversations about them years later is just ridiculous. Especially at eighty. I love what she said about modern movies, and I love that she didn't really like Star Wars, because when something is so universally loved like Star Wars usually is, it makes me nervous. To be honest, Star Wars is kind of boring to me.
I looked up Francis Davis and read a bit about his jazz reviews. It's so interesting that there's enough jazz venues to have a reviewer. Maybe I'm showing my ignorance, but I thought it would be hard enough to find a movie or music critic job, jazz seems so sparse these days that there would only be 3 job openings for a jazz reviewer...ever.
Outline
For my second draft, I completely rewrote it. I took the comments from my workshop members about the environment being a strong point.
1. Intro by describing the inside of Thai Cuisine, decorations, wallpaper, white tablecloth covered in paper etc.
2. introduce the almost-there theme I try to keep through the whole thing
3. Drinks and thai heat
4. Cup of soup
5. Entree
6. Dessert
7. Price/conclusion
1. Intro by describing the inside of Thai Cuisine, decorations, wallpaper, white tablecloth covered in paper etc.
2. introduce the almost-there theme I try to keep through the whole thing
3. Drinks and thai heat
4. Cup of soup
5. Entree
6. Dessert
7. Price/conclusion
Thai Cuisine Review: Revision
Thai Cuisine: Some heat in the dead of winter
Marni Newell
2/08/09
Apple red wallpaper donned with golden Buddhas and shiny colored mirror ornaments greet the customer of the recently added restaurant, Thai Cuisine, on the corner of Drake and West Main. Chic white square tables are generously spaced around the tidy room and waiters dressed in white and black give off the air of an upscale restaurant. With a closer look, however, the white sheets of paper covering each tablecloth and the printed cover sheet of Buddha on the menu gives a slightly more elementary feeling: finger painting day and Microsoft WordArt.
Thai Cuisine is consistent in its almost-there mood, right down to the food that is almost-Thai. Kudos should be given to the cooks for keeping with Thai tradition and giving the option of severely spicy entrees that are the norm in Thailand. Whereas in Thailand a normal spicy dish includes eight or so chili peppers, at Thai Cuisine diners have the option of “mild,” “hot,” “very hot,” and “Thai hot.”
“Mild” entrees still induce moderate nose-running, but it’s offset by the options of popular Thai drinks like the bright orange sweet iced tea and equally sweet iced coffee with a douse of condensed milk that’s reminiscent of the bags of drinks travelers can buy from kiosks in downtown Chiang Mai. These drinks seem to solidify the idea that Thailand isn’t only a country of intense heat in dishes, but instead intensifies all flavors.
The lunch entrees come with a cup of the soup of the day to start, but the experience would have benefited without the hot and sour soup that was filled with too many red pepper flakes to be ingested without coughing. The sour aftertaste was consistent with Thais’ love of extreme flavor, but hot and sour soup is generally a Chinese dish which has been done better at grungy Chinese restaurants and definitely not good enough to redeem the discomfort of the spice. Fortunately, entrees come soon enough after the soup to serve as a forgettable mistake.
The Gang Garee was plated beautifully on circular white porcelain plates with dollop or two of rice as a contrast to the smooth pale orange of the curry. The curry succeeded at being all at once sweet, spicy, and smooth, but the baby-carrot-sized chunks of green pepper could have been chopped more finely to evenly disperse the strong onion flavor. Substituting traditional Thai ingredients for what’s readily available in America only slightly inhibits the integrity of the dishes: the crinkle cut carrots--much like French fries--distracts from the rich sophisticated curry that covers it, but doesn’t compromise the experience altogether.
The heavy potato and tofu curry lends itself well to leftovers giving an excuse to stop early and order Thai Cuisine’s only dessert at the moment: coconut ice cream. It’s hard to tell if this coarse dessert is coconut flavored ice cream covered in shredded coconut, or vanilla ice cream blended with shredded coconut, but either way the flavor is sweet with only a mild coconut flavor. The ice cream is enhanced by the shredded coconut which gives a satisfying bite to savor the sweetness.
Averaging at nine dollars a meal for lunch and twelve for dinner, the large portions are consistent with a casual dining experience but coupled with an almost-classy environment. Compared to typical delicious-but-grungy Asian restaurants, Thai Cuisine offers an entire experience rather than just the order ahead and take out mentality for nearly the same price.
Marni Newell
2/08/09
Apple red wallpaper donned with golden Buddhas and shiny colored mirror ornaments greet the customer of the recently added restaurant, Thai Cuisine, on the corner of Drake and West Main. Chic white square tables are generously spaced around the tidy room and waiters dressed in white and black give off the air of an upscale restaurant. With a closer look, however, the white sheets of paper covering each tablecloth and the printed cover sheet of Buddha on the menu gives a slightly more elementary feeling: finger painting day and Microsoft WordArt.
Thai Cuisine is consistent in its almost-there mood, right down to the food that is almost-Thai. Kudos should be given to the cooks for keeping with Thai tradition and giving the option of severely spicy entrees that are the norm in Thailand. Whereas in Thailand a normal spicy dish includes eight or so chili peppers, at Thai Cuisine diners have the option of “mild,” “hot,” “very hot,” and “Thai hot.”
“Mild” entrees still induce moderate nose-running, but it’s offset by the options of popular Thai drinks like the bright orange sweet iced tea and equally sweet iced coffee with a douse of condensed milk that’s reminiscent of the bags of drinks travelers can buy from kiosks in downtown Chiang Mai. These drinks seem to solidify the idea that Thailand isn’t only a country of intense heat in dishes, but instead intensifies all flavors.
The lunch entrees come with a cup of the soup of the day to start, but the experience would have benefited without the hot and sour soup that was filled with too many red pepper flakes to be ingested without coughing. The sour aftertaste was consistent with Thais’ love of extreme flavor, but hot and sour soup is generally a Chinese dish which has been done better at grungy Chinese restaurants and definitely not good enough to redeem the discomfort of the spice. Fortunately, entrees come soon enough after the soup to serve as a forgettable mistake.
The Gang Garee was plated beautifully on circular white porcelain plates with dollop or two of rice as a contrast to the smooth pale orange of the curry. The curry succeeded at being all at once sweet, spicy, and smooth, but the baby-carrot-sized chunks of green pepper could have been chopped more finely to evenly disperse the strong onion flavor. Substituting traditional Thai ingredients for what’s readily available in America only slightly inhibits the integrity of the dishes: the crinkle cut carrots--much like French fries--distracts from the rich sophisticated curry that covers it, but doesn’t compromise the experience altogether.
The heavy potato and tofu curry lends itself well to leftovers giving an excuse to stop early and order Thai Cuisine’s only dessert at the moment: coconut ice cream. It’s hard to tell if this coarse dessert is coconut flavored ice cream covered in shredded coconut, or vanilla ice cream blended with shredded coconut, but either way the flavor is sweet with only a mild coconut flavor. The ice cream is enhanced by the shredded coconut which gives a satisfying bite to savor the sweetness.
Averaging at nine dollars a meal for lunch and twelve for dinner, the large portions are consistent with a casual dining experience but coupled with an almost-classy environment. Compared to typical delicious-but-grungy Asian restaurants, Thai Cuisine offers an entire experience rather than just the order ahead and take out mentality for nearly the same price.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Scrubs Season 8: first, a hesitation, then a good old LOL moment, but ultimately sadness.
In order for Scrubs to even have a season 8, was traded from NBC to ABC, and with that came very unfortunate consequences. Mainly, The Todd is no longer allowed to be shown in a banana hammock, which constitutes about half of his jokes. From now on, The Todd will only be making crude jokes and high-five snapping guest stars, which is a loss, but it's manageable.
Zack Braff (JD) is sporting an annoying beard now. I'm not sure what else to say about the patches on his face, but after a while you can start to ignore it. Besides not seeing enough of either Carla or Turk, my main beef with season 8 is it has a distinct feeling of transition. We're being given these new, quirky in a bad way, interns who I have the feeling are going to slowly take over the show. In the end, JD will pop out here and there but it will be mostly the Intern story with Zack Braff voice-overs. I also read that they might be doing this.
I have two words to say about that: bad idea. It's better to burn out than fade away, and this show is definitely fading and it's compromising it's integrity all the while. Although it still gives laugh-out-loud moments, they're interrupted by this anxiety because too much has changed for this to be going on much longer. Bob Kelso isn't the chief of medicine anymore, but he hangs out in the coffee shop for the muffins, the janitor makes a few appearances, but rarely is in the same scene as JD, we're still laughing at Turk's diabetes? The show has definitely lost it's umph and it's left with a flat, overdone set of jokes that still get me laughing, but leave me ultimately sad because it doesn't seem like the actors like it anymore.
In the words of one of the interns I don't really like, Scrubs has turned into a buzz kill.
Zack Braff (JD) is sporting an annoying beard now. I'm not sure what else to say about the patches on his face, but after a while you can start to ignore it. Besides not seeing enough of either Carla or Turk, my main beef with season 8 is it has a distinct feeling of transition. We're being given these new, quirky in a bad way, interns who I have the feeling are going to slowly take over the show. In the end, JD will pop out here and there but it will be mostly the Intern story with Zack Braff voice-overs. I also read that they might be doing this.
I have two words to say about that: bad idea. It's better to burn out than fade away, and this show is definitely fading and it's compromising it's integrity all the while. Although it still gives laugh-out-loud moments, they're interrupted by this anxiety because too much has changed for this to be going on much longer. Bob Kelso isn't the chief of medicine anymore, but he hangs out in the coffee shop for the muffins, the janitor makes a few appearances, but rarely is in the same scene as JD, we're still laughing at Turk's diabetes? The show has definitely lost it's umph and it's left with a flat, overdone set of jokes that still get me laughing, but leave me ultimately sad because it doesn't seem like the actors like it anymore.
In the words of one of the interns I don't really like, Scrubs has turned into a buzz kill.
Marni pretended food was a medium.
Marni Newell
Thai Cuisine: A hot spot in the middle of winter
2/4/09
In a typical Thai fashion, Thai Cuisine, on Drake Rd. near West Main, has an air of exotic fashion with a modest twist: the neat square tables with stark white table clothes are each covered with their own matching white disposable sheet to be removed as the customer leaves, allowing for slick, clean look all day. It isn’t too distracting, the walls are covered in bright red and gold wall paper featuring Buddha, and ornaments and statues grace the walls and doors with mosaic colored mirrors. The atmosphere distracts long enough for the wait staff to notice within a reasonable amount of time to seat customers.
This exotic on the outside, modest at a closer look theme resonates through the entire meal starting with the thick menus encased in chic plastic and leather holders, but with a picture of Buddha printed on white paper that has that Microsoft Word Art feeling, not to mention the loose leaf of white paper with the lunch specials printed on it.
Thai Cuisine has authentic Thai appetizers like barbequed skewered pork, Moo Tod, and deep fried tofu along with more generally Asian items like Crab Rangoon and hot and sour soup. They offer Thailand’s two biggest drink options: Iced Tea and Coffee, in an accurate, if classier, representation of the bright orange and light brown super-sweet bagged drinks bought on street corners in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Meals are moderately priced at Thai cuisine with lunch specials between nine and twelve dollars for a cup of soup and lunch entrée and twelve to twenty-five dollars for any dinner entrees. Appetizers are three to six dollars and their coconut ice cream is three dollars. Not only are there strictly vegetarian options, but all meals can be ordered with either pork, chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu.
When ordering dishes, the wait staff asks what heat level the dish should be: mild, hot, very hot, and Thai hot, in an effort to appease Westerners. Mild hot still leads to runny noses, and one customer had a full plate of fried vegetables, Pad Pak, she couldn’t eat even though it was only ordered “very hot.” Discretion should be taken when requesting hot dishes from Thai Cuisine: they’re used to making meals much hotter.
The entrees come quickly after the soup to start and are hearty portions, mostly curry or fried vegetables with a scoop or two of rice on the side. The presentation is once again beautiful at first glance and when a zigzag cut carrot is speared in the curry, it brings back the modest air of crossing cultures.
Though Thai Cuisine uses more American vegetables like green onions and carrots, but the general flavor is reminiscent of Thailand. The sweeter and milder flavors of Thai Cuisine will bring customers the ultimate Thai-American meal for a moderate price. The atmosphere is comfortable, the music quiet and soothing, and although customers are treated with a large view of the snowy parking lot and adjacent pancake restaurant, it’s all oddly part of the endearing exotically modest experience. After all when a meal for two including drinks and a dessert is under thirty dollars, the view is definitely not a deal breaker.
Thai Cuisine: A hot spot in the middle of winter
2/4/09
In a typical Thai fashion, Thai Cuisine, on Drake Rd. near West Main, has an air of exotic fashion with a modest twist: the neat square tables with stark white table clothes are each covered with their own matching white disposable sheet to be removed as the customer leaves, allowing for slick, clean look all day. It isn’t too distracting, the walls are covered in bright red and gold wall paper featuring Buddha, and ornaments and statues grace the walls and doors with mosaic colored mirrors. The atmosphere distracts long enough for the wait staff to notice within a reasonable amount of time to seat customers.
This exotic on the outside, modest at a closer look theme resonates through the entire meal starting with the thick menus encased in chic plastic and leather holders, but with a picture of Buddha printed on white paper that has that Microsoft Word Art feeling, not to mention the loose leaf of white paper with the lunch specials printed on it.
Thai Cuisine has authentic Thai appetizers like barbequed skewered pork, Moo Tod, and deep fried tofu along with more generally Asian items like Crab Rangoon and hot and sour soup. They offer Thailand’s two biggest drink options: Iced Tea and Coffee, in an accurate, if classier, representation of the bright orange and light brown super-sweet bagged drinks bought on street corners in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Meals are moderately priced at Thai cuisine with lunch specials between nine and twelve dollars for a cup of soup and lunch entrée and twelve to twenty-five dollars for any dinner entrees. Appetizers are three to six dollars and their coconut ice cream is three dollars. Not only are there strictly vegetarian options, but all meals can be ordered with either pork, chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu.
When ordering dishes, the wait staff asks what heat level the dish should be: mild, hot, very hot, and Thai hot, in an effort to appease Westerners. Mild hot still leads to runny noses, and one customer had a full plate of fried vegetables, Pad Pak, she couldn’t eat even though it was only ordered “very hot.” Discretion should be taken when requesting hot dishes from Thai Cuisine: they’re used to making meals much hotter.
The entrees come quickly after the soup to start and are hearty portions, mostly curry or fried vegetables with a scoop or two of rice on the side. The presentation is once again beautiful at first glance and when a zigzag cut carrot is speared in the curry, it brings back the modest air of crossing cultures.
Though Thai Cuisine uses more American vegetables like green onions and carrots, but the general flavor is reminiscent of Thailand. The sweeter and milder flavors of Thai Cuisine will bring customers the ultimate Thai-American meal for a moderate price. The atmosphere is comfortable, the music quiet and soothing, and although customers are treated with a large view of the snowy parking lot and adjacent pancake restaurant, it’s all oddly part of the endearing exotically modest experience. After all when a meal for two including drinks and a dessert is under thirty dollars, the view is definitely not a deal breaker.
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