The best thing about the weekend was that it barely cost me any money at all. Many drinks were had and much pizza was eaten, but in the end it didn't really cost me a thing. The reason behind this was the 129th running of the Kentucky Derby.
As we did last year, a group of us went down to the Off Track Betting place on 5th ave in Park Slope, placed a bunch of bets, then walked down to Great Lakes for their annual derby party. Sandwiches and delicious pies were served along with the customary mint juleps, and they had a few minor gambling pools going around. Their pool ignored the odds, and just had you pay two of five dollars to pick a name out of an envelope. I didn't like this last year, but was in no position to complain, as the longshot horse that I drew actually won. This year, we tried to get a bit gussied-up for the event, but only managed a half-assed effort. I borrowed a shirt and tweed jacket from Jed, which he said made it look like I was interviewing for an associate professor of literature positiong at Bowdoin. As it turned out, only three of us won anything- me, ex-roommate Josh, and Jed. We had all placed winning bets on Funny Cide, to win. This was the first time I'd ever picked a horse to win that actually won. Normally I play it safe and pick a horse to show or place. But the odds were a good combination of realistic and high that a winning bet seemed most appropriate. Jed cashed in for $131 while Josh and I each got $65.50. After total gambling and drink expenses, though, I only netted about 20 dollars. Our main mode of wagering on the horses is the trifecta box, where you pick three horses, and if those three finish in the top three in any order, you win a ton of loot. If I'd just picked the heavy favorite in the box, I would've won over six hundred dollars. I think. I may be wrong. But there was heavy talk in our group on the longshot Scrimshaw, so I went with that. Then again, I only bet on Funny Cide after Jed placed his bet. Also of coincidence, the only winners that day were people wearing articles of Jed's clothing.Ventured into the city alone yesterday to catch X2, the X-Men sequel. I got there pretty early and went to the comic book store. When i walked out, I noticed a huge line down the street from the UA Union Square theater. I thought there was some preview screening or something, but when I got closer, I realized it was the line for the movie I was going to see. So I high-tailed it all the way to the end of the block and got in line. Behind me in line were two asians, a guy and a girl. they were talking about recent movies like X-Men and Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings. They were filling each other in on plot details that the other was unclear on. Or, I should say, thought they were doing so. Because a lot of what they were saying was just flat out wrong, that anyone who'd actually half paid attention to what was in front of their eyeballs would know it. It took a lot of will-power to suppress my geek rage to not spin around and tell him that, no, Aragorn is not the heir of Mordor, the man who defeated Sauron (Isilidur) was not his grandfather, and in Spider-Man, Harry Osborn does not become the Hobgoblin, but the second Green Goblin. And this dude's just explaining it to this girl like it's fucking fact. Fucking people don't know their fucking shit should know better than to talk like this in a comic-book movie line. Making me angry...It also took some loads of willpower not to open and read the Wolverine "Origin" collection that I had just bought at the comic store. Reading an X-Men book in line for an X-Men movie. Didn't want to be that guy.
Anyway, the movie itself was a damn fine spectacle. Especially enjoyable if you know anything about the comic or watched any of the tv shows. A lot of action, and a good amount of story, contrary to what I'd heard from some people. I don't think there were any cringe-inducing moments as there were in the first one. There was no need for any expository segments, so the story could flow a lot better. And the setup for the next movie was well done. Very "Wrath of Khan."After the movie I walked briskly down to west 12th st. to the New School auditorium, to meet Miss Charming Melodee. Her place of employment was receiving an ASIFA animation award, and there would be screenings of every award winner. So after sitting in a dark movie theatre for two and a half hours, and walked down the street and sat in another dark theatre for two and a half hours. As with most of these types of screenings, it was a real mixed bag. Some were great, others passable, and others intolerable. This had mostly to do with the stories, though, which in many cases the animators had nothing to do with. The animation itself was almost uniformly impressive. But some of the story lines really obscured that fact. At a few points I really felt as if I were dreaming. This may have been due to a combination of hunger and fatigue, as well as the mental state I've been in lately from the book I've been reading, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Lots of talk of dream worlds and takes on reality and whatnot, and I've been reading it pretty intensely for a few weeks now. The longest book I've ever read. Anyway, afterwards there were lots of sandwiches and cheeses and wines, which I was really hoping for. I'd been to events at the New School before, and I was hoping they'd be consistent in their food-after-screening policies. While talking to Miss CM's co-workers after the screening, I was asked how we met. Instead of just saying we used to be neighbors, I took a story right out of one of the cartoons we had just seen not 30 minutes ago. I thought it'd be pretty memorable since a prominent part of the narrative was a boy sitting by a pond, with a bear attached to his waist, and they were smiling and throwing rocks into the water. Then a red-horned, red-skinned female appears. Then the scene is reversed, with a bear sitting by the pond with a man in his lap/waist area. Anyway, I told them that's how we met. Went totally over their heads, and I got a lot of confused looks. So I just meekly said "Um... we used to be neighbors." Christ on a bike.
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