It's Been Such a Long Time

the blog is back! there have been many events over the course of the past year and a half that made me think about blogging again: the phillies world series victory, the election of barack obama, and the return of phish, but none of them seemed to push the right buttons to get me back on the train to write until my lightning bolt of inspiration last night: that travis bickle is michael scott is leslie knope.

now, who are these people, you might ask? i'll tell you. travis bickle is the hero (anti-hero?) of martin scorsese's 1976 masterpiece "taxi driver". bickle is played by a young robert de niro and also stars cybill shepherd, albert brooks, a YOUNG jodie foster, and harvey keitel. the character of travis bickle is very complex. it's a story about a man who is completely clueless about the world around him. he can't seem to fit in with society, either because society in new york in the mid-'70s was out of control or because he has severe mental problems, most likely aspergers. in reality, its both, the decay of society in new york further alienated a man who already had trouble connecting with people. its really interesting to watch bickle as he tries over and over to understand people, human emotions, and verbal cues. he takes shepherd on a date to the movies, except they go to a porno, much to shepherd's dismay. travis' defense to his movie choice is "i don't know movies", which, understanding the character of bickle, is completely plausible. he didn't know which movie was socially appropriate to take her to, so he took her to what he knew and that was porn. bickle's further inability to connect and understand people further isolates him from a society that is spinning out of control and ultimately leads him down the dark path to the movie's finale.

michael scott, steve carell from "the office", and leslie knope, amy poehler from "parks and recreation", also suffer from this derangement that bickle does, albeit to a different extent (i couldn't see michael ever wanting to assassinate a presidential candidate!). neither of them understand how society works, pick up on verbal, physical, or emotional cues, and generally have a tough time acting like normal people. but that is not all they share with bickle...

admittedly, had taxi driver not been on TV wednesday night, i never would have made this connection, so i guess i have that horrible kate ascher project to thank for this (man, did that thing suck! i have never gotten something more wrong in my life!). one of the most curious things about bickle is his diet, which consists mostly of sugar and brandy. when he and shepherd get coffee on their first date, he orders a slice of pie with melted cheese on top (in his words, a "perfectly sensible choice). later on in the movie we see him making a breakfast consisting of sugar, milk, and brandy (had it been allen's coffee brandy that would have been perfect). pretty gross, right?

well, in addition to sharing bickle's aspergers, they also share his fondness for sugary foods. in last night's "parks & recreation", knope is seen twice eating waffles with whipped cream, and in last night's "the office", michael, in response to pam's request for some coffee, hands her a thermos and says "sugar & milk". pam accepts, thinking that its coffee with sugar and milk, but nope, its just sugar and milk! michael then goes on to say he drinks this every morning. yum.

so what am i trying to say here? that michael and leslie are going to team up and attempt to assasinate senator palantine? that they are going to go all urban commando and rescue jodie foster from the hands of harvey keitel, the pimp? well, no, but there are some eerie similarities here, both about the characters' mental faculties and their taste for sugary foods. i wonder if the producers/directors of both "the office" and "parks and recreation" were aware of this. it seems like too much of a coincidence to me for it to be random. i am also surprised that no one on these here internets has made the connection between michael and bickle (leslie knope has only been around for a month, so it will take some more time to get to know her), and as they say around these parts: FIRST!

travis bickle:michael scott: leslie knope::sugar&brandy:sugar&milk:waffles & whipped cream

FIRST!

as far as i can tell, i am the first person on the Internet with this idea.

had taxi driver not been on TV last night, i never would have made this connection.

ill explain more...

Why Is NBC Getting Such Poor Raitings?

all 3 of you that read this blog regularly know my deep fondness for the office and 30 rock. i think both shows are in the top 5 on television today. both have a dedicated spot on my DVR. so it was with great surprise that i read that NBC has fired its programming chief due to low ratings. i can't, for the life of me, figure out why NBC is last in the thursday night ratings. what are these shows going up against? not idol. not monday night football. not even the ratings juggernaut deadliest catch. so what the hell else are people watching? let me rephrase that: why aren't more people watching the office and 30 rock? it makes no sense.

maybe this is another reason i am just a bit outside. i don't watch american idol, so i am clearly out of the loop on the appeal of the most watched show on television. that is probably why shows like 30 rock appeal to me. i wonder how many people out there watch both idol and 30 rock...

Thoughts On The Office

this post dovetails on a post i have been wanting to post for a while now on the subject of jim and pam (and karen).

SPOILER ALERT .... DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WEEK'S THE OFFICE

like most, i was initially pro-pam. who wouldn't be, right? but then one day i read a back-and-forth on a blog about pam or karen and i realized that the karen side was making some good points, and over the past few episodes i have been agreeing with team karen. i feel that karen pushes jim more. she makes him better...not that pam keeps jim down, but i feel that karen just makes jim a better worker...again, not because pam is stupid or has a bad job, but karen as the professional woman pushes jim forward in a manner that pam can't...or can she? maybe from her position pam can push jim to achieve and realize his full potential...stop distracting me...bottom line: i have become pro-karen.

but tonight it has become aparent where jim wants to be; in scranton with pam. can i blame him? no. but did he make the right choice? i'm not sure. maybe jim does belong with pam, but jim does not belong in scranton. he is like (gag...i can't believe i am doing this again) lloyd dobler in seattle. i've always felt that part of the reason lloyd went for diane court is that she, in a weird way, was his ticket out of seattle. karen was jim's ticket out of scranton. in this i sympathize with jim. i needed a ticket out of washington and i got it in admission to NYU. but unlike jim, i was able to take it. maybe that is the kind of life jim wants, but he could do better, again, not better by pam, but better by himself professionally.

i guess what i am saying is i don't know anymore what i think. i would kill for a girl either like karen or like pam and if i had one and the other wanted me, i don't know if i could give one up for the other necessarily. but what i did find touching was the montage of jim and karen in new york. they had a magical day, the kind of day you can only have in new york. again, here is the new york romanticism floating out of me, but its true. you can only have those days and experiences in new york, and if i could be so honored to have just one during my tenure there, it will all have been worth it (ok, thats a lie, but THAT is one of the main reasons i am moving to new york. i need those new york experiences.). i just hope that jim has made the right decision. i like him.

one other office note: there are lots of philadelphia sports references in the show. the character ryan howard is actually named after THE ryan howard who used to play for the scranton/wilkes bare red barons. and, if you noticed, the corporate dunder mifflin guy joked with jim about him being a sixers fan. i don't know what affinity the writes of the show have to philadelphia sports, but i like it.

and in closing, as much as i like both the office and john krasinski (jim) i will never, ever, ever see that upcoming movie he has. ever. (unless there is a woman involved)