Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 108

Wetlands

is easily one of the strangest (always), grossest (frequently), funniest (at times), most disturbing (frequently) films I've ever seen.  I saw it on Blu-Ray, and though I cannot recommend it to everyone, I ended up quite glad to have seen it. 

Though it is a German movie with English subtitles that jumps around in time, I never had trouble following it--but I also never knew what would be coming next.  Few films manage that feat, so that alone is an endorsement of it.

This is absolutely not a family film.  Seriously.  Do not watch it with anyone who does not want to see breasts, vaginas, and penises on screen.  Yet it is not in any sense a porn flick; the dirty bits appear in other contexts.

Should you decide that, like me, you're up for a disturbing, odd, yet ultimately interesting film, I don't want to spoil Wetlands for you, so I'm not going to tell you any more about it. 

Should you decide to skip it, I wouldn't blame you at all.

If you watch it, though, and you hate it for being, say, gross or disturbing, don't blame me; I did warn you.

On the road again: Austin, day 5

Today went to travel and work during travel.  Lunch was at the Austin airport, which amazingly includes a Salt Lick Barbecue and an Amy's Ice Creams; I ate food from both.

I'm home now, and I'm quite tired, so I'm going to leave you with a question that I'm sure has been nagging you as much as it has been bothering me:  Is it possible that this



will finally be a good Fantastic Four movie?

I'm doubtful, but you know I'll check it out.

On the road again: Austin, day 4

Another day of work on the road, another day I can't say much about.  The work meetings were good, and the work reasonable, but that's the end of what I can discuss.

Dinner was with friends and colleagues at Hudson's on the Bend, a place that has, I am sad to report, slipped quite a bit.  The food was good, but it never reached the heights it had previously achieved. 

Tomorrow, I spend the day working and flying home. 

On the road again: Austin, day 3

Beautiful weather, with highs in the low eighties.  Wow.

Great meetings with clients and with our team here.

A client thank-you dinner at the world-famous Franklin Barbecue, home of the very best brisket I've ever tasted. 

Ice cream afterward at Amy's.

Lots and lots and lots of work.

Another day, a good day, on the road for work.

On the road again: Austin, day 2

While snowstorms battered the Northeast and cold hit home, here in Austin the weather was unseasonably warm, with highs today in the high seventies and tomorrow possibly reaching eighty.  It could hardly have been more gorgeous today.

For various reasons, we ended up with a large group eating together at the same two places I visited last night:  The County Line By the Lake, and Amy's Ice Creams at the Arboretum.  I was very happy to reprise that dinner-and-dessert combo, because it's one of my favorites. 

The rest of the day went to work, which, as usual, I cannot discuss.

I hope that wherever you are, the weather is treating you reasonably--or, if it's not, that you manage to stay warm and safe.

On the road again: Austin, day 1

The storms that are about to hit the northeast part of the U.S. affected me today in only two small ways:  rain on the drive to the airport, and a much lower than normal headwind for the flight to DFW that led to us arriving there half an hour early.  Not bad, not bad at all.

With a long layover in DFW, what else was I to have for lunch except a Red Mango berry parfait?  I've eaten a lot of these creations over the years, and every single one has been tasty.

I'm skipping all the work on planes and in my hotel room because, as always, I can't say anything about it.

Dinner was my usual trip to The County Line by the Lake, where I ordered what I always do.

Click an image to see a larger version.
My drinks were the usual vats of water and Diet Coke; nothing is small at this restaurant.


The sugar container just behind the water should serve to illustrate just how big these glasses were.

My meal was the three-meat combo, which features brisket, sausage, and a beef rib.


All three were delicious, though I could not finish all this meat.  (I don't even touch the sides.  I've tried to get them to serve me the meat without the sides, but that's never gone well, so I've stopped trying.)

For dessert, I headed to the nearby Amy's Ice Creams, where I enjoyed a small cup with three flavors:  mango, chocoberry (strawberry ice cream with chunks of chocolate), and sweet cream.


You cannot go wrong with Amy's.

And so another trip to Austin begins auspiciously. 

Blackhat

Exactly why would I go to a movie whose RottenTomatoes critics rating was a dismal 31% and audience rating an even worse 29%?  Two words:  Michael Mann.  I'm a fan of the look of Mann's films, and I'll check out anything he makes. 

To my pleasant surprise, I quite enjoyed the movie.  Despite its many flaws--I'll hit a few in a minute--I had a good time, found the look as interesting as I would expect from Mann, and very much liked the harsh, short brutality of the moments of violence.  Both Leehom Wang and Wei Tang turned in good performances, and Viola Davis created an interesting character without having a ton to work with.

About those flaws.  I really can see what the critics and audiences responded to; I just reacted differently to the total package.  The film ran too long, with many scenes Mann could have tightened.  Chris Hemsworth's limited acting was never more tested, as in this movie he was supposed to have at least two emotions.  (He managed maybe half of one.  He was also smaller than in the Thor films; clearly he was cycling off the juice to give his body a break.)  The tech, though by far not the stupidest in a hacker movie, had plenty of issues.  I could go on, but to no point.

If you're a Michael Mann fan, definitely check out Blackhat.  If you're up for an action flick with an interesting look, consider going.  If you're seeking great acting, give it a pass.

Pico Iyer and The Art of Stillness

One of the books I read while in Grand Cayman was The Art of Stillness:  Adventures in Going Nowhere, by my favorite travel writer, Pico Iyer.  This slim volume, one Iyer means for you to be able to read easily in a single short setting, is one of the new TED Books.  In it, Iyer turns from outward journeys to an inward trek and focuses on the value of finding stillness, of going nowhere at all.

If I've already made the book sound more than a bit crunchy, that's because it is--but it's also refreshingly practical and grounded.  Iyer offers several suggestions that any of us could easily follow, and he also suggests that companies would be wise to encourage their employees to take periodic breaks and instead find their own roads to stillness.

Eloquent and evocative, Iyer's prose makes the book a pleasure to read.  I have been thinking a great deal about it since I read it, and I am increasingly determined to make some changes in my own life to reintroduce the moments of stillness I once sought regularly.

On a dollars-per-minute basis, The Art of Stillness is far from a bargain, but it's still ten bucks (at least at Amazon) well spent.  I very much recommend it.

Laptops, tablets, and a mystery box

All of these appear in the latest episode of Now with PT, which you can catch here.



Have we gone too far down the absurdism well with the final segment of this one?  You be the judge.

Dinner at Blue by Eric Ripert

Back in
The restaurant offers three dining options:  two tasting menus and an a la carte option in which you essentially create your own mini tasting menu.  Given only one visit to the place, which is what I thought I would be making when I ordered this meal, to me the only choice is the Eric Ripert tasting menu.

Click an image to see a larger version.
This menu offers the most courses, and it is also the only one that features Tuna-Foie Gras, Ripert's signature dish from Le Bernardin, his flagship New York City restaurant.

Before starting that menu, however, I opted for the caviar addition.  Over the last several years, I've learned that I very much like caviar--as long as it's very good caviar.  As you might expect from Ripert, the caviar his restaurants serve is quite delicious.  

The little mother-of-pearl implements were both pretty and just the right size for assembling blinis covered in caviar.


The caviar presentation was lovely, and all of the accompaniments were delightful.


The caviar remained the star of the show, but pairing it with the various options enhanced its flavor beautifully.

Before the menu officially began, as is the custom in so many high-end restaurants, the chefs sent some tasty nibbles to the table.


Each of these combined seafood with other delights, from fruit to a rich fritter.

This bit of mahi (I think) crudo was sweet and wonderful.


The menu proper began with the tuna-foie dish I mentioned earlier.


This composition is one of the great all-time dishes.  About as thick as a piece of cardboard, it consists of an incredibly thin slice of baguette with a spread of foie gras on it and a paper-thin layer of tuna above it all.  Oil, chives, and salt cover the whole thing.  However odd it may sound, its taste is astonishingly good, rich and flavorful and not in the slightest bit fishy.

Up next was the shrimp tartare, one of the better shrimp presentations I've ever tasted.


What followed it, though, was so good that I quickly forgot the shrimp.  The scallop dish, which managed to include turnips, something I rarely enjoy, and to make me like them, may be the best scallop I have ever tasted.


Rich and evocative of both the sea and, thanks to the maitake mushrooms, the woods, this course was so very good that I was on the edge of licking clean the shell on which it came.

The halibut, striped bass, and monkfish dishes were all exceptional presentations of fish, each one flavorful and progressively richer than the one before it.











The monkfish satisfyingly held down the spot where a meat would appear in a traditional tasting menu. 

Lest anyone go home hungry, the chefs prefaced dessert with, well, another dessert, this one a rich chocolate treat.


The final and official dessert, "Caramel," delivered a delightful combination of sweet, rich, and clean tastes.


Sorry about the poor shot.

I have to confess that the last dessert was not the last sweet they served.  Before they brought the check, they served a plate with three small mignardises, all of which were delicious.


After the check, they presented this lovely folded box


in which sat two perfect chocolate macaroons--which taste as good as they look.


Yes, at Blue, as at many great French restaurants, nothing says dessert like excess.

I've never had the chance to eat at Le Bernardin, though I hope one day to do so.  Until that day, a dinner at Blue by Eric Ripert is both as close to that experience as one can come without being in New York and an absolutely wonderful experience in its own right.  I'm already looking forward to the next time I can eat there.