Frivolity at NYU

As the title suggests, it’s August. How the summer has flown by. 

I was never particularly into this whole blogging thing mostly because, to tell you the truth, I didn’t really have much to write about. I don’t mean that in a particularly angst-ridden way; I live in suburban New Jersey, that’s just how it is. Come August 24th, however, I will be off to TSOA at NYU, which will hopefully establish a solid beginning to what will be a more exciting part of my life (and more equally exciting blog material…hopefully). 

—–

I still cannot grasp the fact that in just three weeks I’ll be out of New Jersey and into Manhattan. I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling this way about leaving for college as many other people in my position are facing the same situation across the county. Nevertheless, it’s incredibly scary. I, personally, have never been away from home by myself for more than a week, so the idea of living on my own (in the city no less) is kind of daunting. 

Despite the stress that comes with leaving home and moving to a new place, I can wrap myself around the comfort that comes from having survived the entire “pre-college hell” stage of my life. One thinks that the college search ends once you get your acceptance letter, but there’s still roommates to sort out, scholarships to apply for, and all sorts of lovely financial issues to sort out. Now that I have my roommate, financial stability (at least for the time being), and assurance that the drop in the bucket amount of scholarship money I got is in the bank and begging to be put towards textbooks, I can breathe a lot easier. 

—–

I spent most of this evening catching up with James Bond by watching Casino Royale. The film itself was a mixed bag, but I found it to be an interesting entry to the series nevertheless. The movie clocks in at a whopping 144 minutes, and it definitely feels as if it could have been trimmed a bit here and there and brought down to a runtime closer to two hours as opposed to two and a half. Many of the poker scenes were very intense, but were also very long and drawn out. I could say the same for some of the action sequences as well. Each was very engaging but incredibly lengthy, which made the story falter in one too many places. 

However, this film was far from being all bad. Unlike many other Bond fans, I actually like Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond. Craig is not the best looking man on the face of the earth, and this makes him seem a lot more human when compared to the likes of Pierce Brosnan or Sean Connery. With this comes a lot darker tone that definitely hovers over this movie in its entirety. What did amuse me, however, was that the film decided to opt out of the signature “slow-mo sexy Bond girl shot” in favor of having a “slow-mo Daniel Craig in skimpy shorts shot” instead. They must know what I’m looking for. Anywho, Casino Royale sheds the campy nature of the previous films in favor of this previously mentioned moody and dark tone, and I’m still not quite sure how I feel about that. I always associate the Bond series with silly one-liners, sexual innuendo, and ridiculous gadgetry and while this film has that, it just feels so incredibly different that I don’t quite know what to make of it all in the big picture. I suppose this film is the equivalent of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films to the Bond series, though I am definitely not as satisfied with the change here. 

—–

Well, since no one in their right mind really gives a flying fuck about 90% of what I had to say in those two paragraphs (except next-to-naked Daniel Craig, don’t deny it), I’ll wrap this up on a more unrelated/NYC centric note: 

Tom’s Five Favorite Places/Shops in NYC 

1. Brooklyn Heights Promenade – The view of Lower Manhattan here is unprecedented, and the faint noise of cars speeding down the highway under you is strangely soothing. A very romantic place to bring a date, and a nice place for a walk as well!

2. Kim’s Video – The only video store I’ve been to in which the videos were sorted by director as opposed to genre. Kind of overpriced and pretentious (and those security people are kind of scary), but the selection is mind-blowing. For those of us who are more budget conscious, their used section is also very expansive and affordable.

3. Magnolia Bakery – The cupcakes here are fantastic, I could eat at least five of them. Enough said.

4. Brooklyn Bridge – Cliche, I know, but it’s such a nice walk (especially when coupled with the promenade, which is in walking distance from the entrance on the Brooklyn side). Great photo opportunities.

5.  West Village – There’s so much to explore here, and the culture (especially of the gay variety) is so prevalent and fascinating. One of the best neighborhoods to simply wander around in.