Pop culture potpurri

Today's post is a mish-mash of various items on my mind lately. So many tidbits, so little time...

First up, a movie. The other day I went to the AFI Theater in Silver Spring to see a special screening of Pedro Almodovar's classic Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. What I hadn't realized was that this was part of a film festival honoring his work called "Viva Pedro!" They'll be showing 8 films in the coming weeks. First off I should say that the AFI is an excellent place to see a movie if you've never been there. The movie itself was pretty good. It's definitely showing its age (it's from 1988), but the climax of the movie was very hilarious, and the only other person in the theater and I were laughing quite a bit. It's a nice introduction to Pedro's work - I give it a B-. Right now they've started showing Talk To Her, which is excellent and highly recommended.

In the world of music, I picked up the latest Indigo Girls album, Despite Our Differences. Those who know me well are aware that I'm a HUGE fan of the Girls, who have now been recording for an amazing 20 years. I've listened to the album over and over, because I find that I really have to hear the songs often to appreciate them. Their harmonies are complex and the lyrics are dense poetry. But if you give the Girls the time, you will be rewarded. The best song by far is "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate" which features a great guest appearance by Pink. (The Girls actually guested on Pink's album as well, singing on "Dear Mr. President.")

And how about art? A few weeks back I finally got to see the Rousseau exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, and I admit I was disappointed. They had a few great pieces that were in his signature "jungle" style, but none that were really famous, per se. And they really only had about a dozen of those paintings. Don't get me wrong - it was great to see the exhibit - I've just see the Gallery present much more comprehensive displays in the past.

You didn't think I'd leave out TV, did you? On Dancing With The Stars, the men did the quick-step, while the women tackled the mambo. The best performance was a surprise to me - it came from pop singer Willa Ford. She had great energy and sharp twists - well done! For the men, Emmitt Smith continued to be my favorite. He wasn't quite as awesome as last week, but still way up there. In the end, Shanna Moakler (who?) was eliminated, which just goes to show that when you perform a mambo, Kris Kross' "Jump" is not the best choice of music.

This Thursday brought us the much-anticipated season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. It wasn't amazing, but it certainly made me happy to sit down and reconnect with my doctor friends. And fortunately the major focus wasn't on Meredith and her choice of beau. We actually had some nice highlights of Bailey, the chief, and especially Addison. How about that flashback scene with Derek? He was MAD! But I think my favorite scene was Callie in the kitchen trying to explain to Dr. Finn why they are all so screwed up. Maybe after orthopedics she can move into psychiatry?

After that I watched the season premiere of Six Degrees like I mentioned previously. I didn't like it. Perhaps it will pick up as the season progresses, but there just wasn't much interesting that happened. Too many long looks of worry, sadness and indecision from the cast. And the the "twist" at the end was not at all shocking. Of course, there's nothing good on after Grey's anyway, so I may continue to have it on in the background, but it will definitely not be appointment television.

In my next post I'll talk about what I know several of you have been dying to hear - the season premiere recap of America's Next Top Model! It was a 2-hour show, so I need some time to write up all the commentary. Rest assured, the show was really good, and I am hooked once again!