The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food - Jennifer 8. Lee

Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?

I went to college with Jennifer 8. Lee, who is now a reporter for the New York Times and apparently has an obsession with Chinese food. This book starts with the story of an improbable multiple-winner Powerball lottery sparked by the "lucky numbers" printed on fortune cookies. Lee tracked followed the trail of winners to various Chinese restaurants around the country and eventually back to the source of those particular fortunes.

On the way, she delves into the history of Chinese food, particularly "American Chinese food," the sort served in countless Chinese restaurants across the country. She traces the history of the fortune cookie (were they really Japanese in origin?), tracks down the family of General Tso, and discovers the man who might possibly have invented "chop suey." She ponders the link between Jews and Chinese food, tells the sordid tale of the human smuggling that supplies Chinese restaurant workers, and gives me a good reason never to buy La Choy soy sauce (which contains no actual soy). She posits the reason why Chinese restaurants, though decentralized, still seem to serve the same thing all over the country; and she tracks down the greatest Chinese restaurant in the world. And, of course, she explains the difference between American Chinese food and Chinese Chinese food.

It's an ambitious book and at some points it doesn't entirely tie together. Sure, it's fascinating that more Chinese restaurant workers get hitched on Thanksgiving (the only day they have off) than any other day of the year, but does it really tie in to the story of a missing Chinese deliveryman? A few times, Lee writes about things that I feel almost certain she's mentioned before. This may be because most of the chapters could serve as stand-alone articles, usually with the trail of the fortune cookie tying them together, and these unifying strands were tightened afterwards.

Still, it's a wonderful book filled with lots of conversation fodder. I found the poignant chapters about Chinese restaurant workers particularly eye-opening, and the book provides some history lessons by way of cuisine. It may not change what you eat, but it will certainly give you food for thought the next time you head to the China Buffet.

You can get more information about Lee and her book at her website, FortuneCookieChronicles.com.

The Martian Child DVD

As a fan of John Cusack, and yes I'm still waiting for a truly great film from him, I rented this combined with the fact that it is based on a true story, more or less, of David Gerrold who, among many other things, wrote the Star Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles. He took on the challenge of adopting a boy from a foster home as a single father after the death of his wife.

The movie is pretty much that same scenario, with Cusack taking on a child to kind of fill in the hole left by his wife's death. The kid being eight and bounced around in foster care was a big enough challenge, but like Gerrold, he also took on the challenge of a boy so emotionally abused that the boy took on the reality that he must be from another planet. This boy believes, as much as a mentally and emotionally abused child might, that he is from Mars, complete with hiding from the sun and wearing affectations to complete his fantasy.

Now with this you could have one of three films. The Hallmark channel film, The Lifetime channel film or a gutsy indy film about the struggles of the day to day care of such a special needs child. Now I'm going to say that what we wound up with was pretty solidly a Hallmark channel film that never really challenges you or the characters and all is well at the end. That being said, the tone of the film is fine, the acting is fine, particularly of the odd, Martian boy as played by Bobby Coleman. He deserves high praise for his ability to control and improv his character though being only eight years old. It's worth it to see this performance alone. There is also a good turn by sister Joan Cusack who is really begging to be given something more to do in this film as she chews her way scene to scene and by Amanda Peet (Saving Silverman, Igby Goes Down, The Whole Nine Yards) as John's love interest.

The film is engaging and worth a look as a passing some time laundry film for Cusack fans, but I really would have liked to see the nuts and bolts of this relationship. The guy is an author on deadline and he's trying to take care of a seriously emotionally helpless little boy who was just dumped somewhere with his sister (and where is she?) and apparently tried out and returned by at least one prospective adoptive family, I mean there is more than enough meat here for a really serious drama, with some comedy... the stuff he does as a Martian is pretty cool for an eight year old actor... and I really would have liked to see that movie much more than this one. In that regard, if you ask yourself if this another half hearted attempted at creativity by Hollywood, well yes.

(Isn't it something like 85% of Hollywood output is rated generally poor in an average consensus like at Rotten Tomatoes? And they wonder why American box office is in a slump? But I digress...)

So I give it 2 of 5 stars, 3 if your a Cusack fan just for a breezy, generally good family type film that you can watch in a group or casually ignore as you do laundry.

Pushing Daisies

Yeah, I know, "Pushing Daisies" is so last fall and didn't make it back after the strike, but I'll put in a plug for it now anyway. Robyn and I watched it when it was on and it was hands-down our favorite TV series of the season.

It's got an odd premise: Ned ("The Pie-Maker") has the ability to touch the dead and bring them back to life. But there are some catches, of course, arbitrary but certainly necessary to make this interesting: if he touches them a second time, they're dead forever. If he doesn't return somebody to death within a minute of their revival, somebody else in the vicinity will die instead to take their place.

Ned works with a private investigator who solves mysterious deaths for reward money; they simply find the dead people, bring them back to life and question them (within a minute), and then restore them to death and collect the bounty. Of course, in the pilot episode we run into a hiccup: Ned resurrects his childhood sweetheart and can't bear to kill her again. So for the rest of the show, they're doomed to a touch-less romance. Figure that one out.

But what really makes the show sparkle is the way that it looks and sounds unlike any other TV show. The colors are extra-vivid, the writing is snappy, and there's narration (by Jim Dale, who did something like 300+ voices for the Harry Potter audiobooks) which gives a storybook quality to the whole thing. You can practically hear Dale winking at you from behind his microphone. It's not a show that takes itself seriously, and it's all the better for it. Ridiculously complicated murders and accidental deaths? Check. Bereaved aunts who used to be synchronized mermaid swimmers? Check. Incredibly delicious pies made from once-rotten fruit? Check.

If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and go check it out. I think you can watch full episodes at ABC.com.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

The older books were bound in calfskin and leather, and some of them contained knowledge that had long been forgotten, or that was found to be incorrect as science and the process of discovery uncovered new truths. The books that held this old knowledge had never come to terms with this relegation of their worth.

"Once upon a time—for that is how all stories should begin—"John Connolly begins a tale about books and fairy tales and the world of the imagination that grips you and doesn't let go until the end. David is a young boy in London, and after his mother dies and his father remarries, he grows more and more distant and buries himself in books. But gradually, the boundaries between his world and the world of fairy tales begin to dissolve. He can hear the books whispering to him, he has visions of a Crooked Man, he hears the voice of his mother calling to him from across the divide.

The story has echoes of movies like "The Neverending Story" or "Labyrinth," where a child enters a realm of make-believe and does battle with monsters of all sorts, most notably fighting the demons inside themselves, and then re-emerges, changed for the better. It also reminded me of the more-recent "Pan's Labyrinth," partly because it's also set during World War II, but also for the terrors contained in David's storybook world. These are definitely not the Disney versions of fairy tales that you grew up with; nor are they Grimm's originals. They are something more sinister, with our modern fears and sins mixed in, and some of them are extremely creepy.

It's no real spoiler to tell you that David survives, but all other characters are fair game: you never know who's going to fall prey to wolves and trolls and sorceresses in towers. David is on a quest to seek the king, who is said to have The Book of Lost Things, in which perhaps he will find something to help him get back home.

The writing is superb, although I found that some of my favorite passages were from the beginning of the book, before David enters the other world. It is here that things seem most dissonant, and there's a tension as we try to figure out what's real and what isn't: does David really hear the books speaking to him? Is there really a Crooked Man skulking around in the house? But once we enter the other world, the rules have all changed. Wolves that speak, trees that bleed, Communist dwarves—they're all less startling than the ivy creeping into David's bedroom in the real world, because in this dream world anything seems possible.

Still, this is not to say that I didn't enjoy the rest of the book, for I definitely did. I'm almost certain this will take a spot in my favorites list at the end of this year. If I happen to find ten more books that are all better than this one, it will be a good year for reading indeed. If you're a fan of books about reading, Neil Gaiman, and fairy tales, give this one a go.

(from my books blog at http://books.rainybayart.com)

One - Neal Morse (CD)

Available at Amazon.com HERE
This is a slightly older release by Christian artist Neal Morse. Neal was formerly with neo-progressive rock group Spock's Beard and the supergroup Transatlantic. As the singer and predominant writer of those groups, he restarted a genre of music made most popular in the seventies by bands like Yes, Genesis and ELP. Fortunately, he also greatly influenced by the pop sensibility of The Beatles and thus his music is a little more modern, a little fresher and definitely more light hearted than some of the old school dinosaur bands of time's gone past.

Neal writes big sweeping epics that are really suites of songs linked together to make great epic songs, many lasting 20 minutes or more. He uses that elongated style to create thematic albums that are often singular concepts that run through the whole album. This particular CD is about the creation of man by God, man's fall from grace and his reunification with God. In one track you can expect to hear not only great musicianship in typical rock music formats, but he veers into jazz, acoustic, latin and symphonic music. He improvs particularly well at the piano and at the acoustic guitar. His voice is passionate and unique though he does tend to wear his love for John Lennon right out on his sleeve sometimes. The music here is not an immediate post grunge blast of 3 minute pop. It's thoughtful, spiritual and considerably rockin' music that may take several spins to really find everything that he's doing in each song.

There are some great musicians on this album aside from Neal who can play nearly every instrument. There is also Phil Keaggy, renowned Christian singer, songwriter and guitarist. On drums is percussion powerhouse Mike Portnoy of the mighty mighty Dream Theater and a host of other metal and progressive rock acts. On bass is Randy George of the Christian progressive rock band Ajalon who is a fine guitarist and singer as well as bassist. With such a line up, even if you weren't a big Christian fan, you know the music is going to be top notch.

The Creation opens the disc with a long suite of music about God and Adam and Eve in the garden. The end where God searches for the hiding shamed pair is extremely powerful and along the way you twist and turn through an incredible variety of music. From there you work your way through to the final epic tracks where there is reunion between man and God. At eighty minutes across several tracks, you know you are getting your money's worth on music.

The special edition, if you can track it down on e-bay or amazon, has the rest of the tracks that couldn't fit including one stand out track that should have been front and center on the main disc, King Jesus which just a real celebration.

This disc is for fans of classic rock styles, but with an updated modern sound by some amazing players. It rewards the listener with great music and with a good sound spiritual message that is never cloying or superficial - it's passionate and he means it. Well worth a look, and if you like that one, Neal's previous release Testimony might even be better.

I give this one a definite 4 out of 5 stars for solid musicianship and a positive message in a fresh old school rock style.

- Eddie

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

So this is my first review post. Ever. Big deal huh?

Brittany (my wife) and I went to go see Forgetting Sarah Marshall on Sunday. Interesting Movie. This was an infamous Judd Apatow (Superbad, 40 year old virgin, Knocked up) movie. I wouldn't necessarily say it was done in his typical fashion though. It was produced by Apatow, but actually written and directed by other people.

The movie was based on a script written by Jason Siegel, the main character in the film. Tall, Akward, and huge wang? Yeah that's him. Oh I'm sorry, you didn't wanna hear about his penis? Too bad. It's in the movie. Brace yourself. I didn't. And that was a mistake.

Anyways, all penises aside, the movie was a good flick. Fairly dry humor in my opinion, which I'm slowly becoming a fan of. Definitely thought it had somewhat of an 'Office' feel to it. Almost even seemed kind of slow, but at the same time not. It doesn't make sense, I know. I think it was actually because of the acting style of Siegel (main character). The premise of the movie is that Siegel's character gets dumped by Sarah Marshall (girl who's in Veronica Mars) and she is actually a TV star in this movie too. He goes to Hawaii to try to rid of his mind of her, and lo and behold, she's in Hawaii too! go figure. Had she not been there, then Siegel would've written quite the shi**y script haha. But seriously.

Jackie from 'That 70's Show' is also in it as well, playing a slightly different, more mature, and older character in this movie. Also in this movie is a guy I've never seen, who plays a British Pop Star with far too much Sexual Education. The chemistry between all the characters was unbeatable though. Partly awkard, partly way too comfortable.

Get ready for some sexual awkwardness, some laughs, some love, and some penis.

I give it 4 of 5 stars. Recommend it for a date with someone who's not easily offended.

-Justin

Florida Orchestra featuring Pinchas Zukerman

Program:
ELGAR: Serenade for Strings
MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 3
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5


Previously this month I was lucky enough to win tickets to see the Florida Orchestra featuring Pinchas Zukerman from the local NPR station here in Tampa. James and I went and over all it was a decent concert.

The tickets ended up being 5th row center, which is not bad but for orchestral music it would have probably been better to sit a little further back. We did luck out that there was no one sitting directly in front of us.

The concert started out with Elgar's Serenade for Strings. Elgar is the most contemporary of the composers featured, and it definitely is apparent in his works. Most people would know Elgar as the composer of the six Pomp and Circumstance marches. (Think graduation song) This serenade is quite a bit different from that. It is a very relaxing piece of music, which makes it easy to listen to. This is an excellent choice for performing for an audience that may not be hard core classical music fans.

The second piece is the one that really showcased Maestro Zukerman's talent. The other two he conducted, but this one he actually played the violin. Pichas Zukerman is one of the top violinists in the World. Zukerman has recorded over 100 works and has been nominated for 21 Grammy Awards, winning two, most notably with Itzhak Perlman playing Music for Two Violins. Being able to hear some one of his caliber play in person was a privilege. This concerto is played with limited winds, and is beautiful to behold. It is three movements long and holds the same theme throughout. Again, like the Elgar it is a "happy" piece of music that could be enjoyed by anyone.

After a brief intermission, the final piece began. The instrumentation is light for Schubert's 5th Symphony as clarinets, trumpets and timpani are not called for. This was by far the "meatest" piece of music the entire night. It does not always follow the traditional form of a symphony, which keeps the more attentive classical music listener guessing. In the interest of avoiding too much music theory, there are many things in this piece that are very much known to be associated with "Schubert." This one is a little more elaborate and therefore a little harder for the casual listener to enjoy, but over all a nice piece of music.

As far as the performance was concerned, it was what is to be expected of a small, local orchestra. They were decent, but not any stand outs. Only once did I hear a mistake made, of course by a French Horn player, but it was quick and not too many people seemed to notice.

Overall I would give this concert 4 out of 5 stars.