They go together so well, why has no one made a symphony of it?
Match a meal with a symphony. 5 course meal, 5 movement symphony. Match the flavors with the feeling of music. Heavy, light, playful, serious. Music and food both have distinct emotions connected with them. Have a conductor choose a symphony that has 5 movements with different feels for each movement. He then explains the music to the chwf, who prepares a five corse meal to match.
You could probably only monetize this by using a few pieces... strings, horns, etc. Place them on a platform. Prepare one 5 course tasting menu. Everyone gets the same thing... no menu. Everyone arrives at the same time. The conductor and chef greet the audience and explain what they will be hearing, what they will be eating, and why the two pieces pair well. The first course is delivered as the first movement is played. As they end, the plates are taken away and the second course is brought out... until it is finished.
One night, one performance, one group. Repeat 3 times each weekend for a month, then change the menu and music. I haven't run numbers to see if this could be profitable, I just know that I have longed to experience food paired with music for several years now and would love to see it happen. If this were happening in chicago or new york I would fly in just for it.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Spiderman 3 - First Review
The movie of the summer is here, and here's your first look... no spoilers, I promise!
In a word: letdown. I hate to say it, but the movie just wasn't that good. It was very reminiscent of the latest Superman movie. Lot's of hype, lots of expectations, but in the end it just didn't live up.
To begin, well, it didn't. It literally took about a half hour just to get moving. Lots of setup. Lots of melodrama. Little action. I kept wondering when the action would start. Back-story. Foreshadowing. Love scenes. Drama. No action. I could have stood for about 10-15 minutes of setup, but it took twice that.
"This is an intricate story," you say. "It needs detailed setup." I'll give you that. However, I think what made it so unbearable was the fact that the lines were awful and the acting was worse. Comic book movies are supposed to be a little cheesy, I know, but the audience was literally groaning from the cheese factor.
After the action did begin, it didn't last. There were long, excruciating bouts of drama. Poorly written, terribly acted drama. A friendship between two main characters was so sappily acted that the audience was shouting gay jokes. The writers try to force some kind of drama between Peter and MJ and the plot is very weak. Think daytime soap opera. A good action scene would ensue, only to be followed by 10-20 minutes of "Days of Our Lives."
Speaking of the plot, the writers make a failed attempt at twists, only to end up weaving a weak web that is not believable, even for a comic book movie. Characters are connected by weak threads and driven by shallow, predictable motives. "You killed my Dad, you killed my uncle, you kissed my girl, blah blah blah."
Let's move on. Everyone wants to see black spiderman. How did he turn out? Bad. Very bad. At one point, the guy next to me called him "Emo Spiderman." There is a scene with Emo-man that is so cheesy it rivals Jim Carey's "The Mask." At one point it felt like I was watching the blooper reel, or deleted scenes instead of the actual film. Like the editors just finally gave up and left everything in. Remember that easter egg in the Star Wars DVD where Yoda dances with the Storm Troopers? Yes. That's exactly what you'll see. I'm not kidding. It's that bad.
But what about the action scenes? In the beginning, they were very enjoyable. But after the first two, it got old. It was almost as if they had no new ideas. They kept using the same fights over and over. Not to mention that there comes a point when the "camera" is moving so fast that all you can make out is a blur for the entire scene.
Without giving anything away, I'll also say that there a many things left unexplained. And not in a "we'll explain them next time" kind of way. There are just things that happen that are only there because they had happen for the movie to move forward. No connection at all.
Is there anything good to say about this film? Yes. I am amazed what they are doing with special effects. The first time you see Sandman, you will be impressed. Incredible detail, excellent effects.
It's just too bad it seems they spend all their time on the FX, and no time on the acting, writing, or plot.
In a word: letdown. I hate to say it, but the movie just wasn't that good. It was very reminiscent of the latest Superman movie. Lot's of hype, lots of expectations, but in the end it just didn't live up.
To begin, well, it didn't. It literally took about a half hour just to get moving. Lots of setup. Lots of melodrama. Little action. I kept wondering when the action would start. Back-story. Foreshadowing. Love scenes. Drama. No action. I could have stood for about 10-15 minutes of setup, but it took twice that.
"This is an intricate story," you say. "It needs detailed setup." I'll give you that. However, I think what made it so unbearable was the fact that the lines were awful and the acting was worse. Comic book movies are supposed to be a little cheesy, I know, but the audience was literally groaning from the cheese factor.
After the action did begin, it didn't last. There were long, excruciating bouts of drama. Poorly written, terribly acted drama. A friendship between two main characters was so sappily acted that the audience was shouting gay jokes. The writers try to force some kind of drama between Peter and MJ and the plot is very weak. Think daytime soap opera. A good action scene would ensue, only to be followed by 10-20 minutes of "Days of Our Lives."
Speaking of the plot, the writers make a failed attempt at twists, only to end up weaving a weak web that is not believable, even for a comic book movie. Characters are connected by weak threads and driven by shallow, predictable motives. "You killed my Dad, you killed my uncle, you kissed my girl, blah blah blah."
Let's move on. Everyone wants to see black spiderman. How did he turn out? Bad. Very bad. At one point, the guy next to me called him "Emo Spiderman." There is a scene with Emo-man that is so cheesy it rivals Jim Carey's "The Mask." At one point it felt like I was watching the blooper reel, or deleted scenes instead of the actual film. Like the editors just finally gave up and left everything in. Remember that easter egg in the Star Wars DVD where Yoda dances with the Storm Troopers? Yes. That's exactly what you'll see. I'm not kidding. It's that bad.
But what about the action scenes? In the beginning, they were very enjoyable. But after the first two, it got old. It was almost as if they had no new ideas. They kept using the same fights over and over. Not to mention that there comes a point when the "camera" is moving so fast that all you can make out is a blur for the entire scene.
Without giving anything away, I'll also say that there a many things left unexplained. And not in a "we'll explain them next time" kind of way. There are just things that happen that are only there because they had happen for the movie to move forward. No connection at all.
Is there anything good to say about this film? Yes. I am amazed what they are doing with special effects. The first time you see Sandman, you will be impressed. Incredible detail, excellent effects.
It's just too bad it seems they spend all their time on the FX, and no time on the acting, writing, or plot.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The Big Tea Idea
A commenter mentioned an old idea I had about tea, so I figure I'll lay it out.
Starbucks is massive. People have totally gotten used to paying $2-$6 for a beverage. However, coffee is bad for you. And hot on the heels of the coffee trend is something diamtrically opposed to it: The all-natural-home-grown-organically-farmed-over-priced-but-we'll-still-buy-it-
because-it's-supposed-to-be-good-for-you trend.
Also hot right now is anything Asian. Japanese to be exact. So what's my point?
Mix Starbucks, health food, and asia, and what do you get?
Tea.
"Wait just a minute," you say, "Starubucks already has tea". My answer? No they don't. If they treated coffee like they treat tea they wouldn't be in business. All they do now is give you a cup of microwaved water and a crusty old tea bag.
Think of this. You go into a starbucks-like cafe. On the board are several choices that are there all the time. Call them "neccesiTEAS". Basic white tea, black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and such.
Move on to more exotic leaves. Call them "varieTEAS".
Move on to the most expensive teas you can find. Those, of course, are the "RariTEAS".
Then, there are the special mixed tea drinks. "DiversiTEAS"
But this idea is not about cute names. When you pick your tea, the employee opens a vacuum sealed tin with fresh loose leaves in it. He lets you smell the leaves. Makes you feel like a connoisseur sampling the fragrance of a wine cork. He then places the right amount of leaves in an individual infuser, sets the timer (built into the infuser) and sets it on the "tea bar" next to all the other teas that are steeping.
You then wait two minutes, and when it beeps (or pulsates, of course), you set the infuser on the cup next to it, it strains your tea into the cup, and you go on your merry way.
Just think of it. A completely organic store. No microwaves or other machinery. Just a very natural looking bar that is about chest high with several different teas beautifully infusing with the leaves blossoming and falling inside, the soothing music and lights, the hip chatter from like-minded customers watching the magic.
In England, tea is just too huge to imagine. It's actually quite amazing that America hasn't caught on yet. But we can't do it the English way with milk and crumpets. It must be my way. The American way. The Starbucks way.
Starbucks is massive. People have totally gotten used to paying $2-$6 for a beverage. However, coffee is bad for you. And hot on the heels of the coffee trend is something diamtrically opposed to it: The all-natural-home-grown-organically-farmed-over-priced-but-we'll-still-buy-it-
because-it's-supposed-to-be-good-for-you trend.
Also hot right now is anything Asian. Japanese to be exact. So what's my point?
Mix Starbucks, health food, and asia, and what do you get?
Tea.
"Wait just a minute," you say, "Starubucks already has tea". My answer? No they don't. If they treated coffee like they treat tea they wouldn't be in business. All they do now is give you a cup of microwaved water and a crusty old tea bag.
Think of this. You go into a starbucks-like cafe. On the board are several choices that are there all the time. Call them "neccesiTEAS". Basic white tea, black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and such.
Move on to more exotic leaves. Call them "varieTEAS".
Move on to the most expensive teas you can find. Those, of course, are the "RariTEAS".
Then, there are the special mixed tea drinks. "DiversiTEAS"
But this idea is not about cute names. When you pick your tea, the employee opens a vacuum sealed tin with fresh loose leaves in it. He lets you smell the leaves. Makes you feel like a connoisseur sampling the fragrance of a wine cork. He then places the right amount of leaves in an individual infuser, sets the timer (built into the infuser) and sets it on the "tea bar" next to all the other teas that are steeping.
You then wait two minutes, and when it beeps (or pulsates, of course), you set the infuser on the cup next to it, it strains your tea into the cup, and you go on your merry way.
Just think of it. A completely organic store. No microwaves or other machinery. Just a very natural looking bar that is about chest high with several different teas beautifully infusing with the leaves blossoming and falling inside, the soothing music and lights, the hip chatter from like-minded customers watching the magic.
In England, tea is just too huge to imagine. It's actually quite amazing that America hasn't caught on yet. But we can't do it the English way with milk and crumpets. It must be my way. The American way. The Starbucks way.
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