Another one from the alphabet series, which puts me about a quarter way through and I’m still enjoying the stories.
My rating: 3.5/5
john mulaney
Jake and I went to see another one of our favorite comedians last night, John Mulaney. Unlike the last time we went to Pittsburgh for a show, we didn’t hit any traffic in (this time, we mapped directly to the parking garage instead of the venue), but we ended up sitting in the garage for a while when we left, so we didn’t get home until almost midnight.
Anyway, the show was great! There were two openers and both were quite hilarious. They were definitely the best openers I have seen. John Mulaney was hilarious as well, though a big chunk of his show was about the drug and alcohol fueled meltdown he had a few years ago. So, this was a departure from the type of comedy I’ve seen from him previously, but it was still good. I mean, if you’re funny, you’re funny.
As far as comedians go, I guess I’ve seen a lot of my favorites already, though Bill Burr remains on the list (maybe Patton Oswalt, too). I think he comes to Pittsburgh just about every year, so I’ll have to keep an eye out. Hopefully Jake and I can see him before Jake’s possible move to Virginia next year.
the black phone
This movie was based on a short story by Joe Hill, son of Stephen, and one of my favorite authors. It’s been a while, so I don’t remember how true to the original story the movie was, but I liked it. It was good, but not great. Definitely worth watching, but probably not worth watching twice. I can’t remember if the story got into it, but the movie didn’t say what motivated “The Grabber” to do what he did. Some backstory would have been nice.
My rating: 3.5/5
phipps conservatory
I’ve been wanting to go to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens for the longest time, so I went there this morning. As much as I hate driving in Pittsburgh, at least this wasn’t dahntahn. But, it was definitely worth fighting the traffic and the nonsensical roads of Pittsburgh–it was amazing! The desert plants were my favorites, but it was all pretty amazing–especially the glass art collection. I will definitely visit there again. If I lived closer to Pittsburgh, I’d get a membership and go all the time. It was well worth the visit.
another round
This movie was listed as a comedy/drama, but it was pretty light on the comedy. Or maybe I missed it because it was a German film, and Germans aren’t exactly known for being funny. That said, I still enjoyed it. It was about 4 teachers/friends who decided to drink all day every day to see how it affected their personal and social lives. The idea was based on some psychological theory that you should maintain a .05 BAC. I didn’t look to see if this is an actual thing.
Given it was also a drama, you might guess that things did not end well, and you might be correct.
My rating: 3.5/5