Central Village

Sufjan, The Lives of Others and Section 402: Opening Night

Knicks home opener last night was not an easy win. While I have to say, there was no point in the game where I was really concerned that they would lose, they should not have had this Wolves team hanging around with them for so long. But a win's a win, so I can't complain. Bonus points for having plenty of TVs around the Garden with the Pats/Colts game on, and for Nate Robinson's well-intentioned Smash Williams-esque "Thanks for sticking with us, we're gonna try harder this year" speech. I'll say it now, and hopefully another 20 times this season, but I really feel like this team cares. They're a gang of guys who have all seen the highs and lows of NBA attention, and I think many of them genuinely want to shed their troublemaker/bust label and prove themselves. I still think this team will win 42-44 games and get in the playoffs. But we will see. I'll be back up there on Friday against a much tougher Orlando team before they head West for a tough road stretch.

Sufjan's BQE was interesting. Overall, good. I didn't LOVE the music for the first half, but thought it was OK. Didn't mind the hoola-hoopers at all, really liked the video clips he did of the highway and the neighborhoods it goes through. All in all, it was a perfectly entertaining 35 minutes or so, tho it might have dragged a bit long.

The second half was really good. Nice mix of some great songs. Ended extremely strong with that incredible new birds of prey song and Chicago. What was weird was Sufjan himself. Just can't get a read on that fella. Goofy and awkward the whole way through, but was it completely sincere? Is there any sort of act with him? When I saw him at the Bowery run for Illinois, he had this subtle confidence that really stood out. Like with all this crazyness, he had a firm grip on what was going on. He was in complete control. Here, he seemed overwhelmed and flustered. Even tho the show still came out nearly flawless. Nothing against him, he knows how to write great music and put on an engaging show. Just can't figure him out.

Last night I finally watched The Lives of Others, which has been sitting on my coffee table from Netflix since September. Really good flick. Was worried it might be a little show or arty, but it kept pace, maintained an emotional and redeeming plot and presented characters that I was rooting for, even with two protagonists who were in conflict with each other for a good chunk of the movie. Thumbs up.

Dessert Truck, Rickshaw Dumplings and La Mia Pizza

On my way home from getting the videogame mentioned in the previous post, I walked down East 8th street on my way home. A couple stops...

La Mia Pizza is closed. For renovations...to be converted into one of those Sbarro-ripoff mall pizza places, "Fratelli's Pizza." Considering Mama Mia up the block made the same change a few years back to this type of chain, this seemed inevitable, since this place had always positioned itself as a knock off of that one. Regardless, it was a decent, old school New York pizza parlor, and it will be missed.

Rickshaw Dumplings are tasty. Seems like a rip off compared to the Chinatown/LES $1 Dumplings, but the quality is good and you can still get a sold meal for under $10. Last night was my third trip there and perhaps the best yet. The Steamed Chicken Thai Dumpling might have been my favorite so far, trumping the also very good Pork and Chive and Sichuan Chicken flavors. I like the miso soup on the side also. It's still hot when I get home, very brothey, and flavorful. The disposable plastic soup spoons are a major plus.

Dessert Truck is as you'd expect. Amazing. The chocolate bread pudding was the tastiest treat I've ever eaten out of a truck, and I regret not having the foresight to ask for the bacon creme anglaise instead of the plain. My only concern was trying to get the delicate dessert home, with my Dumplings, in one piece without getting cream all over myself. Some sort of to-go lid option would be very welcome. Also, if there is any way to create a waiting/dining area without violating any permit laws, go for it. Seats may be tricky, but a heat lamp, plastic palm tree and swatch of AstroTurf could go a long way. Regardless, if this is the future...If 20 years from now everything we eat comes out of mobile trucks in little tinfoil cups, I will not complain, because I will know it all started from a good place. Long live dessert truck. Current menu below...

UPDATE: They emailed to say they have lids and bags for to-go orders. All you have to do is ask. Brilliant!

Adventures in Preordering: Stranglehold

I hate preordering games. It's such a scam. I don't see the reason for it to exist, except to install fear in the consumer that somehow a game will "sell out" and a willing gamer won't be able to buy. But all that said, at some point many months ago, I preordered the Collectors Edition of Stranglehold, the long delayed John Woo/Chow Yun Fat/Hard-Boiled Sequel game for the PS3. For the first time ever, a "Collectors Edition" appealed to me, because a full, high-def version of the original movie, Hard Boiled was included in the disk. I thought that was pretty nifty. So this week I got an automated call from Gamestop to tell me that the game was in stock and I should go finish buying it. So I took a night off from Orange Box, picked up the game, and gave it a whirl. It rules.

See, I'm at a point in my life where the length of a game is not as important to me. In fact, If I can actually finish a game that I buy, I feel like I've gotten much more of my money's worth than if I get some 30 hour impossible epic that I'll never see the end of. I like a good story, but I'm easily distracted. So the biggest knock on Stranglehold that it's a pretty short game (around 6-8 hours of gameplay) did not concern me. I appreciate the focus. Regardless, the game is a ton of fun. The gameplay is enjoyable and the entire package just feels really cool. Jumping around in slow-motion, double pistols, locations getting blown to pieces, the whole bit. The game is really easy to pick up and play, the graphics...especially the detail on the characters...are very good and while the story is kinda retarded, it's presented well with cheesy voice actors and good looking cut scenes. It's just super-immersive. And despite what else you might have read, it doesn't feel too repetitive. The easiest and most obvious is the guns blasting/diving everywhere way, which is fun but could get old. It's more fun to use cover where you can, swing out from behind a column as pieces of plaster are flying through the air and take a couple slo-mo shots at the baddies before ducking back. These are the best moments. That, and diving face first on a rolling cart taking out a bunch of dudes as you slide by in...yea, slow motion. That's pretty cool too.

I just cleared the second of seven levels and throughly enjoyed it. Hope to finish it soon.

Halloweenhead

Jeez, Halloween...it was like New Years Eve out there last night! Don't these people have jobs??

So, I dressed up as Soulja Boy and went to see Ryan Adams at Hammerstein last night where, surprisingly, there weren't a whole lot of other costumes about. Good show, but man he plays for a lonnng time. Over 3 hours, with an intermission, and boy do they drag some of those songs out. We were in the first mezz, which meant a seat, but if I was standing through that whole set I think I would have been pretty miserable. The mezz @ Hammerstein is really far away from the stage, and the lighting was extremely dark, so not much of a visual show overall. The band sounded really great tho. I'm not overly familiar with every single one of Ryan's songs, but I really liked hearing the ones I knew.

Aiming to make it to the scorching hot new Central Village Institution Dessert Truck tonight at some point. I will report back on the tastiness tomorrow.