The Work Conference Part Deux

So today I'm back at a work conference for an entire week. No internet access means no blogging for me. So here are five things I'm obsessed with at the moment:

1. Ethan Hawke. He's not the world's greatest actor, he dumped Uma Thurman (wha?), and he's got those strange crooked teeth, but ever since I watched the heartbreaking and yet still uplifting Before Sunset months ago during my recovery, I can't get him out of my head. He's my superstar crush. I think too, because the film is set in Paris, and I'll be going back there this summer, that it resonated even more for me. That tender place where youth finally transcends into adulthood, barely making a mark on how fast life goes by, it's been months since I watched the movie, but I'm still thinking about it.

2. "Night Flares." Greg MacPherson's new album came out this month. The Rock and Roll Boyfriend had a copy that a friend burned for him, and his band is opening up for MacPherson's Toronto record release on April 28th and I'm really looking forward to it.

3. Coronation Street. Look, I know we're, like, a year behind the UK here in Canada, supposing the colonies aren't allowed to be up-to-date on our "teley," but the CBC has been showing two episodes in a row for the past two weeks and we're all obsessed in this household. We all got teary when Todd said goodbye to his baby, and his storyline is so heartbreaking. Bah! Soap operas, who knew me and my snobby, artsy-fartsy mentality would be so obsessed?

4. Prep. The more I think about this novel, the more I realize I really, really liked it. Not just because it's a fascinating example of teenage angst, but because of how the author Curtis Sittenfeld creates such a real character. Lee Fiora is so absolutely normal, but so heartbreakingly abnormal, that you can't help but associate yourself with aspects of her life. Who hasn't sat alone at a food court? Who hasn't wished they could be a part of cool kids? Who hasn't looked at themselves in the mirror and cursed their genes for making them so humbly average looking? Don't let the cover fool you, it's not a chick lit book, it's a lovely combination of a coming-of-age tale mixed in with the aura of Catcher in the Rye and Toews's A Complicated Kindness (as I said before).

5. Deadwood. The swearing (yes!), the traditional Western (yes!), the tragically flawed characters (yes!), the magnificent scripts (yes!) -- all add up to this show soon overtaking The Wire as the best show on television. At my work conference over the past couple of days, I met a woman who said, "I don't think there's anything worth watching on television, at least not anything that I'd actually make a point of watching." My heart broke at that instant because I think HBO has revolutionlized television, bringing aspects of BBC-inspired shorter, well-written, excellently performed and magnificently shot series to the forefront. Plus, Robin Weigert, who plays Calamity Jane, makes me howl -- the whole diatribe about drinking and farting made me pee my pants.

Oh, and, of course, I've got to go away for a whole week and miss all the WB shows with new episodes. What happens with Ephram and his baby? Will Rory stay with Logan? How will Keith react to Dan's meddling in his love life? So many questions, so little time for television viewing.