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This clip has been making the rounds on the Internet, so odds are you’ve seen it. If you haven’t, you should watch it, preferably in HD at Vimeo. At the very least, click the title of this post to see it full size. :)

The premise is simple: Matthew Harding took a trip to 42 countries to film short clips of him doing a silly dance, sometimes alone, sometimes with lots of local folks, often in beautiful locations. The result is this 4:28 video.

I’m proud to share the fact that this guy is from Connecticut. They don’t call us nutmeggers for nothing.

Update: The song is (called Praan) is available at Amazon’s MP3 store. The web site for the project is, appropriately, wherethehellismatt.com, where there are more videos and maps.

6:59 pm | leave a comment
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I realize there are far more important things to worry about in the world, but as I read local blogs about West Hartford news, I keep running into people who refer to our town council members with phrases like “our Democrat mayor” or “the Democrat majority.”

Democrat is a noun. Democratic is an adjective. Beyond that, “Democratic Party” is a proper noun and the official name of the party. So, it’s “our Democratic mayor” and “the Democratic majority” in American English.

If this were a slip or a typo, I’d ignore it and certainly wouldn’t bring it up but I’m seeing it enough that it’s clearly a tactic from Republicans more interested in making cheap partisan shots than showing basic respect for neighbors and fellow citizens who happen to disagree with them politically.

Let’s all grow up, please?

3:47 pm | leave a comment

My wife played bingo last night at a local synagogue. Then, she admitted it on her blog. Go read and make fun of her. Please.

12:50 am | 1 comment

Amy keeps posting this so I have to pass it on now… Still makes me laugh.

As for Heidi and I, we’ve got our weekend plans. Tomorrow night at 8PM at Real Art Ways, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adapatation. We’ll probably swing by Celebrate West Hartford in the afternoon. Hope to see you there!

11:09 am | leave a comment

For the local folks, Real Art Ways is showing 3 screenings of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation along with a Q&A with two of the filmmakers. Here’s the email I just received from RAW:

Dear Sujal,

Like precious artifacts, whips, do-it-yourself culture, and irrepressible
creativity in children? I sure do. That’s why I’m particularly excited
about an event we have coming up at Real Art Ways. On Friday, Saturday and
Sunday (June 13-15), we are screening Raiders of the Lost Ark: The
Adaptation and hosting its directors.

After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, three 12 year old friends,
Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb, began filming their own
shot-by-shot adaptation in the backyards of their Mississippi homes.? Seven
years later their film was in the can.

Chris and Eric will be at Real Art Ways for each of the three screenings
(Friday and Saturday at 8PM, Sunday at 2PM), as well as for a special
lecture (Saturday at 2PM) about the process of making the film. Each
screening is followed by a Q&A. Chris and Eric give a great
presentation-it’s witty and heartfelt, funny and unforgettable.

More information is available on the film’s website:
www.theraider.net/films/raiders_adaptation/

And here’s a review from Pete Vonder Haar at Film Threat:
http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=10959

For more information or to reserve your tickets, please call us at
860-232-1006 x222.

Best,

Meghan Maguire Dahn
Development Associate

Imagine the love and effort that went into this. Shot for shot remake before they could rent a video copy, before iMovie and inexpensive editing software, and made by teenagers. You should read the second link above. I’m going to see if Heidi is interested. If she is, we’ll be there. More info about the event is on the RAW web site.

1:07 pm | leave a comment

Heidi and I went to see Tennessee Williams’s The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, featuring Olympia Dukakis in the lead role. I have to admit I was looking forward to seeing an Academy Award winner in person, and she didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the play itself. The writing was uneven, surprisingly so for a play Tennessee Williams himself rewrote and one where the Hartford Stage’s Dramaturg said has been massaged since.

The whole story is focused on an exploration of the main character, Flora Goforth. She’s a dying, wealthy woman, working on her memoirs. Her life story is full of friends and lovers and husbands but through it all, we discover that she’s actually quite alone. We learn this, though, through too many scenes that take a loooong, time to get advance the story.

I got the sense, watching it, that the ending was what Williams was writing around, that it was the core of the idea. I just don’t think he figured out how to get there.

11:12 pm | leave a comment

Wow, the guy has just gotten elected to the town council, has done crap, and he’s already looking at the next stop on his career path. Normally, I’d say, whatever, it’s ambition, but this guy has bad-mouthed so many WH residents and politicians, for example our mayor (for doing the same thing!) that I have to point out the hypocrisy. He’s rude to those who disagree with him, and that’s why he’ll make a horrible Rep.

2:35 pm | leave a comment

Heidi and I were able to see Lydia Diamond’s stage adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel, The Bluest Eye, at the Hartford Stage tonight. If you’re in the area, I recommend taking a night out to see the show. It’s in preview right now and officially opens next Friday.

The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison’s first novel, published in 1970. Here’s a brief synopsis from Wikipedia:

The Bluest Eye is a 1970 novel by American author and Nobel Prize recipient Toni Morrison. Morrison’s first novel, which was written while Morrison taught at Howard University and was raising her two sons on her own, the story is about a year in the life of a young black girl in Lorain, Ohio named Pecola. It takes place against the backdrop of America’s Midwest as well as the Great Depression. The Bluest Eye is told from five perspectives: Pecola’s, her mother’s, her father’s, her friend Claudia’s, and Soaphead Church’s. Because of the controversial nature of the book, which deals with racism and child molestation, there have been numerous attempts to ban it from schools and libraries.

The narrator advises the reader not to look at the “why” of the story but at the “how.” The novel, with child sex, irresponsible adults, and corrupt society seeks to show the misery of black people living in a white society.

In the afterword, Morrison explains that she is attempting to humanize all the characters that attack Pecola or cause her to be the way she is; that it is not a matter where one person can be pointed out as being the cause of all this pain.

Ideas of beauty, particularly those that relate to racial characteristics, are a major theme in this book. The title refers to Pecola’s wish that her eyes would turn blue. Claudia is given a white baby doll to play with and is constantly told how lovely it is. … Most chapters’ titles are extracts from a Dick and Jane reading book, presenting a happy white family. This family is contrasted with Pecola’s existence.

Not having read the book, I can’t comment on the similarities between the two stories, but the play keeps the multiple narrators and presents some emotionally tough material. The story is powerful and hard to let go. Pecola’s desire for blue eyes and Claudia’s hatred of her little, white dolls were things I could relate to, not because I want blue eyes, but because these are metaphors for the reminders of one’s race. I’ve been pulled out of line at the border because I wasn’t white, and I’ve been followed by police around Amsterdam because I had a camera and brown skin. I could be the same person, but if I were white, I wouldn’t have to deal with any of that. So, Pecola’s peculiar desire makes sense to me.

The play does a good job of touching on all of these issues in a matter of fact way. Sometimes, you laugh at a joke before realizing that the humor masked a painful truth.

I was confused at some points during the play, and I think it came from the shifting perspective and the fact that several actors played multiple characters. Beyond that, some of the acting was a bit rough (stumbled lines), but forgivable because this is just the third night of the show. Those are really minor issues, and overall the production was excellent.

Being who I am, I have to point out that the set was one of the more interesting ones I’ve ever seen. The set itself becomes a metaphor for how the “how” becomes more and more obvious, and how Pecola is more and more exposed to the world around her. This is the first show I’ve seen where the set involves a fair amount of water. Pecola plays in a puddle on stage at one point and rain makes up a key metaphor at one point of the story.

This was also my first time at Hartford Stage which looks to be a great space. Really enjoyed watching the play in that theater. It looks like a fun place to stage a production.

The Bluest Eye is strongly recommended by both Heidi and I. She may comment more on the story at her blog, since she’s read the original book and teaches Morrison.

12:33 am | leave a comment

Looks neat. Wonder if I’ll have time to make it before it leaves.

1:57 pm | leave a comment

I am really looking forward to seeing Cloverfield. Anyone that wants to meet up on Friday night to see this, ping me via email. Thinking about rounding up the Fanzter folks and doing a night out. Come along!

Update: yes, I’m willingly marketing a movie. JJ Abrams! Lost! Come on, how can I not?!

Update 2: Also, check these out as well.

4:54 pm | leave a comment

For the local real estate watchers…

6:41 pm | leave a comment

Looks like Connecticut’s state run short term investment firm, which municipalities use to park funds that need to spent over the year (e.g. teacher/civil salaries, etc.) has also invested in some of the crappy mortgage-backed securities. See what happened in Florida for what might be coming to CT. Hopefully our exposure isn’t as bad, but I don’t have time to look this up now. I wonder how much money West Hartford keeps in that fund and whether any restrictions on withdrawals will affect the towns (cherished and protected) bond rating.

2:31 pm | leave a comment

West Hartford is on the list once again. Proud to live here.

8:39 pm | leave a comment

This post at CTLP basically captures my thoughts on the optical scan machines. For those of you outside CT, this was the first election where we went from the old lever machines to the new optical scan machines. As the CTLP post points out, I also hated the fact that the poll worker could see my ballot, and I hate that it takes longer to vote. This election was one where I was voting party line anyway, and the old lever system that would’ve been one switch and done. Here I had to fill in the bubbles for each and every candidate. No big deal, but does make it more tedious.

The privacy thing bugged me more. If a ballot ever needs both sides, turning it over won’t be enough to hide your votes. The bold, black circles make it easy to read from a distance so there really isn’t any privacy. I think the principle of the issue bothers me more than any actual concern about my poll workers. I’ve seen them every year since I started living in West Hartford, and they’re uniformly helpful and knowledgeable.

10:14 am | 2 comments

Don’t forget to go vote. I got my sticker. :)

10:47 am | 1 comment

The Cheesecake Factory opens up in West Hartford on Thursday!

2:22 pm | leave a comment