The Filtered Excellence: December 22, 2011
Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” Its right here. Here are this weeks picks of what to WATCH, what to DO what to TRY what to READ what to LISTEN TO and more:
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WATCH THIS
Pariah. A captivating coming-of-age tale with a dynamic soundtrack (including 3 songs by Afro-Punk rocker Tamar-Kali), set in NYC. Adepero Oduye gives an excellent, compelling performance as Alike (Aleee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American teenager, growing up in Brooklyn. She lives with her parents and her younger sister, Sharonda, and she’s living a double life. Dressing “butch” for school– hats, do rags and jeans– she changes into more mother-approved feminine clothing before she returns home. It’s evident to the viewer that she is anxious to affirm her lesbian identity during the day, but works to avoid projecting any indication that she is gay at home. Pariah is a coming-of-age story, as well as a coming-out chronicle and is the full feature-length evolution of the award-winning 2007 short film by the same name, directed by writer/director Dee Rees. (Spike Lee is among the film’s executive producers.) In theaters Dec 28th
Jets Giants Game. New York City is the only city in America that two NFL teams call home. It’s brother vs brother this weekend with bragging rights to who owns the biggest piece of the big apple. Long Island is Jets country while New Jersey leans almost exclusively to the Giants. New York City divides itself between both teams but no true New Yorker is a fan of both. New York sports radio heavily tilts towards the Giants and the Jets always come into this game with a chip on their shoulders. Win or Lose, Jets coach Rex Ryan is sure to head out for a God damn snack after the game. Saturday December 24, 1pm on Fox.
It’s a Wonderful Life If you love tradition, this is where you’ll be on Christmas Eve. Some of us at the IB staff have watched this Christmas classic faithfully every year, and every year we still are moved by it. If you’ve never seen it, it’s about time you did. Plus it gives you an excuse to stop making small talk with your family for at least two hours. Saturday Dec. 24th, NBC at 8 PM
A Christmas Story Marathon. Maybe It’s A Wonderful Life is a little too sugary for your tastes, but you still want to avoid making small talk with your family on Christmas Eve? Well head over to TBS at 8pm (or 10pm or 12am or 2am and so on) for this slightly different kind of Christmas Classic, where you can share lines like “you’ll shoot your eye out” and “fa-ra-ra-ra-ra” with older and younger generations who have not yet made A Christmas Story a part of their own holiday tradition.
READ THIS
Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens. This is the fifth, and unfortunately last collection of Hitchens’ essays. Arguably features favorite Hitchens’ topics of interest, ranging from the political, cultural, moral… Whether he infuriated or entertained, Hitchens’ brilliant writing and intellect endured to rank him as one of the great provokers and galvanizing thinkers of his time. Order it here from Amazon.
The Last Holiday by Gil Scott-Heron. (Grove Atlantic) Gil Scott-Heron was more than just ‘The Godfather Of Rap’. He was an accomplished author, poet, social commentator and humorist. Gil passed away this year shortly after completing a successful European tour behind his comeback album, ‘I’m New Here’. He also finished his long-awaited memoir, ‘The Last Holiday’. Gil recounts his Southern roots, his move to New York and the basis behind some of his most classic songs. The book is also a love letter of sorts to his mother and grandmother he raised him and shaped his world views. It’s also a public appreciation for Stevie Wonder, whom he toured with in 1980 campaigning to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. Insightful, informative, and incredible, The Last Holiday is the summation of a true auter. It comes out on January 14th – MLK Day – but you can preorder it through Amazon. Order the hardcover here 
LISTEN TO THIS
Let’s Go Eat the Factory by Guided by Voices. Last year’s huge surprise for Guided By Voices fans was the reunion and tour of the Robert Pollard-led group featuring the “classic” 1993-1996 line-up. It’s Pollard, along with Greg Demos, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout, and Kevin Fennell…and as if that assemblage of musical talent wasn’t nostalgically exciting enough for followers of the lo-fi indie rockers, the announcement that GBV would be releasing not one, but two new albums in 2012 was certainly met with much anticipation. The first of these albums, Let’s Go Eat the Factory, is the band’s first new studio album in almost eight years. The Guided By Voices goodness here is plentiful: There’s grungy guitar, melodiously catchy pop hooks, power chords and those bizarre yet strangely poetic lyrics. The album won’t be generally available until January 21st, but iTunes has it exclusively now and it is streaming for free on npr.org. Download it here
BROWSE THIS
Improv Everywhere. If you aren’t familiar with Improv Everywhere, their name alone may conjure up a stage groups asking for audience suggestions for on-the-fly performances. Rather, this site is devoted to pranking the general public. The pranks aren’t mean-spirited, but rather devoted to creating unexpected events. Past “missions” have included the Star Wars Subway Car, sending real-life Ghostbusters into the NY Public Library and the Cell Phone Symphony at a bookstore bag check where sixty people checked bags with cell phones and called them simultaneously. They are also responsible for 11 years of No Pants Subway Ride days.
Howcast.com If YouTube were completely dedicated to how-to videos, it would be this site. How to do…pretty much everything. Mostly fun, but sometimes very informative. Need to know how to fold fitted sheets? How to fix your iPhone? How to clean your keyboard? How to find out a girl’s name after you’ve had sex with her? It’s all here, in easy to watch video form.
270towin.com. Our favorite polling site for the presidential elections. An interactive Electoral College map for 2012, a history of Presidential elections in the United States, and polls to let you know who is winning for each state. These polls are even more important than the country’s popular vote, and it’s also a good site for news. It’s sports stats for political junkies and a chance to interact with others who are just like you.
BUY THIS
Peppermint Bark and Hot Chocolate from Williams Sonoma. Once again leading everyone for seasonal treats, Williams Sonoma has two of my favorite last-minute gifts for people you don’t know that well but want to impress. If you need a gift to bring to a holiday party, skip the generic wine gift and bring either of these. The Peppermint Bark is affectionately known as Christmas crack and you can only get it this time of year. Its dark and white chocolate layered together, infused with peppermint, and sprinkled with cracked candy cane. And no, other brands don’t compare. You’ll have to shell out whatever insane prices they’re asking to get the good stuff. Same deal for their Hot Chocolate mix, made from shaved chocolate. Nothing compares. mmmm.. They may have already run out, but you may be lucky enough to get it as a gift. Cross your fingers.
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