 The morning started off very nicely. Oliver made me tea before he left the apartment, I did my TV aerobics, showered, and then... listened to the OSCAR nominations! CONGRATS TO JOHNNY DEPP who's been one of my fav actors for many, many years. In recent years though, I liked others better but hey, he knows how to create characters and so does DANIEL DAY-LEWIS and all the others who got nominated for Best or Best Supporting Actor/Actress.
Then at work, the day continued to be pleasant. Busy, but interesting. Then, for lunch, I looked at the photos we took on Saturday, before heading to a concert. From that series is also the above picture, taken on 8th Avenue and 34th street. It's taken with our tiny Nikon since I didn't want to take the big Nikon to the BLONDE REDHEAD gig.
Sadly, I didn't see much from where we were standing and I headed to a lesser crowded space from where I couldn't see anything but at least no elbows in my face or so. When looking at the pics that Oliver took, I saw that there's PAUL BANKS in it! Paul Who? Paul Banks, the singer/guitarist/frontman from INTERPOL, one of my alltime fav bands. So, I obviously missed him...
The day continued to be nice - especially since tomorrow something really cool will be happening, something I've been "fighting" and hoping for a long, long, looooooooooong time - and now I just heard BAD NEWS :(
Really SAD NEWS. You know where this is going, right? Since this is my "movie blog"...
HEATH LEDGER has been found dead in his apartment. That's really such a bummer. Supposedly drugs. Not sure yet if that info is correct but if it is, then - WHY DRUGS DAMMIT? Money - Fame - Love - Beauty - Success - obviously doesn't make happy. Drugs :(
 Is 2008 still young to you or does it already feel "old"? And is it too late to have a look back to 2007? I think, it's still okay to take some resume of 2007:
There were a few absolute EVENT highlights in 2007.
1) The one with the most significant impact on Oliver's and my life was certainly LANI & RICHARD's wedding in the catskills! We listened to great, great live music. We enjoyed a hot summer day in the moutnains. We became friends with Laura. We became true friends with Lani and Richard. We discovered new bands and I fell in love with STATUES OF LIBERTY's music. All in all a fantastic event!
2) Having seen my family and friends in May in Munich and Garmisch. I wish, they'd come visit me in New York more often - maybe 2008?!
3) The other highlight was the INTERPOL concert at the MSG - but not just the Madison Square Garden *somewhere* but ARENA all access tickets! I could have touched the Interpol guys so close were we - awesome show! Love their music!!!
4) NINA's VISIT. We've had such a great time with Oliver's cousin Nina. I truly hope, she's visiting us again very soon.
5) Seeing SPRING AWAKENING twice - first with my sister in January (her visit was one of the highlights of 2006!) and then with Nina in October. It's THE BEST MUSICAL in a long, long time. Hands down!
6) MONTAUK in late September together with Bill and Mike. It is possible! It is possible to hang out with friends and simply enjoying life and having a great, great time.
7) My BIRTHDAY with the hottest temperatures ever and my BIRTHDAY PARTY with lots of happy and inspired guests. I wish, all parties could be like that one!!!
8) Attending the US OPEN - oh boy - why did I wait so long to finally make it over to Queens and enjoy a day filled with tennis fun? ROGER FEDERER is my fav player, in case you want to ask...
9) Our trip to WOODSTOCK. The weather could have been better, and the job related events less intense but staying at the beautiful log cabin was awesome and I'd like to do it again.
10) RADIOHEAD's new record. I love IN RAINBOWS and got myself the posh vinil/cd boxset.
And another highlight that just took place very recently: our VACATION IN JAMAICA, SANDALS MONTEGO BAY! Over x-mas, Oliver and I spent a couple of days/nights at this beautiful all inclusive, adult couples only resort. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It's been one of the most relaxing and beautiful vacations EVER.
Now, that 2007 lies behind me, I can look forward to what 2008 will bring. A few things are already lined up like mile stone birthdays for my sister, Oliver and my dad. Our wedding anniversary. Everything we'll see. May it be good!
--- What did YOU take away from 2007? Let me know about it :)
P.S. The picture is taken on Orchard street, Lower East Side - "my" neighborhood.
 Don't have any x-mas themed movie poster photos. This here goes out to my friend Mark: http://www.fotolog.com/rodney_tojao who's a big fan of I'm a Legend. I am not particularly fond of seeing New York getting destroyed on film yet another time nor do I like zombies, but WILL SMITH might make up for both.
Movie wise, 2007 was a pretty bad year for me. I didn't watch many, not on TV or DVD, nor in the theater. I've been to lots of concerts though and overall I've been out A LOT.
And speaking of being out, I'll be gone for a couple of days. Nope, not to Germany where our families live, but Oliver and I are heading South. We'll spend a couple of days in the Caribbean - beach, sun, fun.
Where do YOU spend the Holidays?! Let me know :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody - have a great, festive time!!!
 In my last posting I asked you whether you watched more movies or been to more concerts and the majority watched movies or went dancing! I also learned that many of you enjoy watching a movie at home with friends and family. Actually, that's something I love too.
I recently watched a couple of movies with Oliver on DVD. It's getting cold and we stay at home a bit more again. So, what did we see?
- HOAX with RICHARD GERE - didn't like it too much to be honest. It's quite a weird movie...
- THE LIVES OF OTHERS - a German movie that won this year's Oscar for Foreign movies. Pretty good movie, absolutely worth watching. I didn't know anything about East Germany and this movie is very well researched. Highly recommended.
- AMAZING GRACE with IOAN GRUFFUDD - very interesting and historically relevant. A tid bit complicated at times. but then again, it's with Ioan Gruffudd!!!
- RATATOILLE - who did NOT love this movie? Well, I had to overcome the fact that rats play a leading role but after that, all was quite enjoyable.
I also went to the movies, twice last week. I watched AUGUST RUSH which is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. But wait - I've seen a worse one, but I'll come to that in a moment... So, August Rush, not even JOHNATHAN RHYS MEYERS can help this crappy screenplay. The sound is great, and New York is depicted well but that's about it.
The worse movie I've seen was on Thanksgiving at our friend's house. We watched HAPPY FEET. OMG - where was the story? Where were the characters? Why was everybody so ugly? Why do penguins sing? Or dance? Pardonnez moi - did not get that one.
And then, finally a movie I truly loved! On Saturday, as a special Holiday Weekend Treat, Oliver and I went to see ENCHANTED. What a sweet, funny movie! Yes, it's entertaining and funny. The ending is a bit over the top but it doesn't matter. It's just a great, great romantic feel good movie.
With the Holiday Season almost in full swing, what's YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE? Do you have one? Let me know please. I'd like to probably discover something new or share some classics with you.
Also, thanks to everybody who's posted in my guestbook. I love it :) - Have a great weekend!
 True, I haven't been to the movies much this year. I snubbed all the big block busters and saw a couple of indies, which I liked. Not exactly an indie but certainly not a blockbuster (sadly!) either, I think, I liked DAN IN REAL LIFE best so far. The "Oscar movies" are still to come but if you're in the mood for a really well made romantic comedy, go see this one - you won't regret it. Hey, after all it has Steve Carell and Juliet Binoche in it, how bad can that be?
So, I haven't been to the movies much - what have I done then? Have I at least watched movies on DVD? No, not really either. Okay, I finally managed to watch THE LIVES OF OTHERS, which was highly interesting and very well made. I also watched MOSTLY MARTHA which, after watching NO RESERVATIONS fell a little flat, even though the German movie is the original. Hm... but that's about it, for now anyway.
I've been busy with attending concerts. It's the one thing I love the most. Yep, even more than movies. Go figure. There are fantastic New York bands out there and most of them deserve to make it BIG. I am rooting for all of them. My favorite still, since I first listenend to them, STATUES OF LIBERTY - go check them out http://www.statuesofliberty.com
Tomorrow, I'll be seeing a Brit band - RAZORLIGHT - which I am very much looking forward to.
What did YOU do more often this year:
- Went to the movies?
- Went to concerts?
- Something else?
Let me know :)
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