Potter mania

I was one of those crazy people at a midnight showing of Harry Potter yesterday … eh, today. (This morning to be exact.) Honestly, I don’t know what possessed me to see this movie at midnight. I could have waited just a couple of hours and seen it after work, heck I’ve waited years for it to be released.

But no.

In 2001, I went on opening day to the first showing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone – little did I know I would be starting an insane tradition.

I’ve now see the first showing on opening day of every Potter movie, by myself (a hard and fast rule) with popcorn, drink and candy. While in college, I kept up the tradition even though I had not slept having just turned in a 15 page paper two hours before the movie; I did this in Florida when Prisoner of Azkaban opened, so of course I was going to do this is Jersey. Tradition is tradition.

The first showing today was at 1 PM, that was just too late for me. Plus, I don’t think my boss would have approved of me coming in at 4 PM because I HAD to see Harry Potter.

While waiting in the theater for an hour–and-half for the movie to start (yeah, you read that right) I decided to take notes on my fellow Potter fanatics. Some came in costume (no, before you ask, I wore my normal Muggle clothes) and others just showed up for the heck of it. Note to those who do the midnight showings: bring a book and buy the medium popcorn.

10: 15 PM
Arrive at the theater. Pay too much money for the large popcorn and a hotdog. My well-balanced diner along with the bottle of water and snickers sitting in my purse that I didn’t eat for lunch.

10:30 PM
Go to theater 14 and get a seat.

10:31 PM
Play games on my iPod.

10:35 PM
Wait, wait and wait. There are numerous high school kids here, I guess they got permission to stay out past their curfew. Wait, some are probably 18 or older. Wow, I’m really bad at telling peoples ages. I must be one of 12 ‘adults’ in the theater. I bet a some point I’ll be telling someone to stop talking during he movie. Probably the amazingly loud ‘adult’ behind me yelling at the top of his lungs about being a big boy – I can’t make this stuff up.

10:42 PM
“Look how full it is already,” some dude says while entering the theater.
Yeah guy, you should have gotten here early. Some people chat, others play video games or listen to their iPods to pass the time. I note the lack of iPhones. I really should have brought a book!

“Don’t laugh at me if I cry,” I hear one girl tell her friends. “Don’t worry, I will.” I like this kid, cynical and jaded at such a young age.

10:46 PM
An hour-and-a-half to go. This is insane. What was I thinking? Now two kids are left to guard the four open chairs next to me, while an older gentleman holds three others. He seems very disinterested in all the hoopla, but seems to be loving his nachos. I get the distinct feeling he was roped into this.

Feakin’ A. Now I want nachos.

10:47PM
I scroll though my music, Kelly Clarkson, Lilly Allen, Amy Whinehouse, JustinTimberlake, The Bravery, Rhiana, Beastie Boys. I settle on Justin.

10:48 PM
“#@!$% *&#$&!!!,” a man says after seeing it’s close to capacity.
Yeah guy, you should have gotten here earlier! I really should have gotten a Coke.

11:06 PM
I need a magazine.
Or a book.
Or a something.

Did I forget to mention that they turned on the lights, nearly blinding us?

11:07 PM
Mullet spotted. The party can officially begin.

11:08 PM
Finished my hotdog and in half-and-hour I can go swimming.

11:09 PM
“What the … we still have an hour wait,” a man says while coming into the theater. It’s obvious he didn’t get the memo about arriving two hours early.

11:16 PM
I really wish I had bought a Coke. I hope I stay awake until the movies over. I’ll be really angry if I fall asleep before it even starts. Man, it’s past my bed time.

11:17 PM
I’m hoping the clock on my iPod is wrong and that it’s really 11:57 PM. No such luck.

11:30 PM
My butt is numb. I really need to stretch. Would it be weird if I did downward facing dog in the aisle?

11:36 PM
Sceenvision previews start. Awesome, I really wanted to learn more about Diet Coke.

11:38 PM
I give up on the iPod.

11:43 PM
Vince Gill sings about underwear with a giant apple for a Foot of the Loom ad. Words escape me about this; he used to be a well-respected county musician. Seriously, underwear?

11:45 PM
I really need a nap.

11:52 PM
Lights go out and there is thunderous applause. But it’s premature, like when people clap for the stage crew at a concert because they think the bands about to start.

12:01 PM
It’s start time. But no movie. The natives are getting restless. People start clapping and chanting “HARRY, HARRY, HARRY.”

Nothing happens. The AMC logo is on the screen and it feels like it’s starting to mock me, or that may be the sleep deprivation talking.

12:05 PM
The screen goes blank, and PREVIEWS start. Previews? You got to be kidding me, there are five of them.

12 something.
The movie starts. SWEET! People clap, cheer and yell. Finally.

… 2:35 AM
I only ate a third of my popcorn, I should have gotten the medium. It’s too late now, the movie’s over. It was wonderful. I can’t wait to see it again, and well, probably a third time. I really liked how they kept it dark, and didn’t try to make it all happy go lucky. It’s late I need to go home, and start the countdown all over again … movie six should be out in a couple of years.

Run for the border

LEFT: My cousin, Shane, me and his girlfriend, Mira, at the after paty for his film.



Quesadilla.

Not only is it a delicious Tex-Mex dish, but also how a woman at the Tribeca Film Festival pronounced Quintanilla. But let me start at the beginning.

While visiting my family during South by Southwest we learned the documentary (The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez) my cousin co-produced would get it’s first American viewing at Tribeca . I was jazzed. I would get to see my cousin, Shane, his movie and what Tribeca Film Fest was all about.

[***WHAT THE FILM IS ABOUT*** Nearly ten years after the murder of 18-year-old American citizen Esequiel Hernández by a U.S. Marine team in Texas, the border continues to see increased militarization. Juxtaposing the grief of the victim's family with the Marines' frustration and guilt in their first on-screen interviews, this probing documentary, narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, asks: is history doomed to repeat itself?]

Las Friday I headed to the City. My Brooklyn friend attends with me, and we headed out at 7:30 p.m. to get to the 9 p.m. screening. We needed ample time for tickets and most importantly, a large bucket of buttered popcorn.

Upon reaching the theater we saw line -- not just one, not just two, but four -- one for each movie showing that night. But I was on the case – we already had tickets waiting for us at will call.

While in line we looked for my cousin but unbeknownst to me he was standing right in front of me. Not until I heard someone say, “Shane” from an escalator did I even recognize him.

Hey, the last time I saw him was almost four years ago. And now, looking less like a college student and more like Vincent Chase – head to toe black suit and three days of stubble – I didn’t even recognize him.

We said our hellos and headed to get our seats and popcorn. There were a fair amount of people, but soon enough it was packed -- a full house in fact.

The lights went dim, the movie started, and hour and a half later it closed with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

This is where the quesadilla comes in.

After the film finished, the director, producer and my cousin (co-producer) stood at the front of the house for a Q&A session. People asked how it was developed, how they got Tommy Lee Jones to be the narrator, what the families thought.

Then it happened, the woman thanked the crowd and then said each persons name…. so and so, so and so and then Shane Slattery-Quesadilla.

I turned to my friend who looked at me mouth-hanging open, only able to mouth “quesadilla.” I don’t know if she was more shocked at the woman butchering our last name, or that the woman saying “quesadilla” didn’t even faze me.

Yes, I told here. I’ve been called quesadilla – my last name even ran like that in our college newspaper.

Quesadilla. Now, I know Quintanilla is a bit of a tongue twister for people, but quesadilla? Seriously?

Yet, to me none of that mattered, I was able to see my cousin’s film on opening night and attend the after party at a bar that served fondue. (Yummy, but slightly more messy than the popcorn.)

So to my cousin, congratulations! The Quesadilla family is proud of you!

Let's get physical

I’ve become a gym rat.

Yeah, you read that right.

Sure, I’ve been a member at my club for more than two years, but it wasn’t until recently I actually started getting something out of those monthly dues.

I like going to the gym. I know it’s crazy, but in college it was my one-hour of quiet time -- when everything slipped away and I would elliptical like a crazy lady.

Since January I’ve been hitting the gym, working out and doing the fitness thing. (No it wasn’t a New Years resolution, I’m calling it a life style change. Stop laughing.) Now I’ve learned something very important – there’s a gym culture and maybe one specific to Jersey.

The thing is, you only see the cliques and the “types” when you go to the gym often and on a regular schedule.

I’ve learned that there are the “hard cores” those men and women who look like Arnold Schwarzenegger of years past.

The odd balls – you know, the people who show up in jeans, a t-shirt and sometimes wear boots. That can’t be comfortable on a Stairmaster.

The rookies who are too shy and timid to go beyond the basic treadmill -- you can spot those easily by their inability to work the TV remote on the machines.

Then you have the well -- how do I put it -- the big men in the tiny shorts and wife beaters, with chest hair everywhere (yuck!). Often they will stare at you with a head nod and “how you doin’ ” look. Usually they are covered with copious amounts of sweat that seems to be coming from everywhere.

The spandex people, mostly women (but some men) who’ll only wear spandex to workout in. The problem is some of them wear it the wrong way (you know what I’m talking about ladies.)

Then there are people like me; we wear comfortable shoes, loose clothing made of natural fibers and are sort of the hippies of the gym. A very relaxed, almost Zen-like quality of to us, we’re often found laughing at the shows on the TV while others stare at us and smirk.

Of course those are only a couple of the top clique. And like high school they’re subsets, offshoots, and those that defy labels.

Like a certain group of high school boys -- who wear baggy shorts circa Kris Kross of the early ’90s, wife beaters and backwards baseball caps while using the weight machines. Often they slam down the weight stack (a big no-no in gym culture) and can be found saying, “No man, this is how it’s done.” In all honesty, I don’t think any of them really know how to use the machines. Plus, those backwards baseball caps must be a hazard to those knuckleheads. I bet money one of them gets it suck in a machine and that most defiantly is not “how it’s done.”

Moral of the story: Please wear spandex wisely, don’t slam down the weights stacks, and don’t laugh at the girl on the elliptical machine laughing her butt off to The George Lopez Show. Thank you.

On Tivo: The New Adventures of Old Christine

Virginia Tech

It made no sense. Then again, these things never do.

I was checking my e-mail like always when I got into work yesterday morning. There was breaking news from CNN. “One person has been killed and one wounded in a shooting at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, a state government official tells The Associated Press.”

I read the next e-mail. “At least 20 people were fatally shot Monday on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, police said, according to WDBJ. CNN working to confirm.”

I turned to a co-worker. Had he heard this? Did he know what was going on? No.

We made our way to the TV in the newsroom and flipped it to MSNBC. There it was -- police cars, students running, gun shots. At that moment we didn’t realize what we were seeing, I don’t think anybody did. We didn’t realize it would end up becoming the deadliest mass shootings or school shooting in American history.

I knew coming from Texas (and the University of Texas at Austin) this tragedy was going to have a massive impact -- not only on the community, but the nation.

See until yesterday, the deadliest mass shooting in the US occurred in 1991 in Killeen, Texas, when a man went into a Luby’s cafeteria and killed 23 people, then himself. It took years for me to go to a Luby’s after that.

Until yesterday, the 1966 Charles Whitman shootings at the University of Texas tower was the deadliest shooting on a campus. UT closed the tower after that, and didn’t reopen it for nearly 25 years. But now there are metal detectors, security guards and a new “safety lattice.” There are still bullet holes in the buildings on Guadalupe Street on west campus and the shooting was the reason SWAT teams were created.

Now your saying this happened around you, not to you? Why such an impact. I don’t know. Maybe because just a couple of years ago I was on a college campus, because you don’t think someone will walk into your dorm and shoot you, because when you’re in college – you should be thinking about finals, parties, projects and grades – not whether your friends have survived a mass shooting.

Reading the early accounts from the students, I got the feeling that there was no warning. It was just another morning on a sleepy campus – and then it happened. And as I watch it all unfold on the web, I read each updated report. The death toll rose, 21, 22, 30, 31, 32 and then as I was at the gym at 10 PM – 33 people were dead.

Thirty-three people. I just stared at the TV while on the treadmill. Thirty-three people. I closed my eyes and ran, and ran. Maybe if I believed hard enough I would wake-up from the nightmare. Surly there were not 33 people dead. But instead I saw Date Line interviewing students. I couldn’t take it and turned off the TV.

The woman next to me kept flipping between MSNBC and Family Guy. Then she stopped. She left it on a movie. Maybe she too couldn’t watch anymore. We both just ran.

I hoped that maybe by this morning there would be more answers, there would be more information – at least a hint as to why he did this. Or maybe as this is being posted there are only more unanswered questions as to why Monday, April 16 will be marked as the worst shooting rampage in US history.

GO! RUTGERS! GO! (I mean Texas!)

I feel dirty.

I did something I said I wouldn't do.

I cheered for another football team. I cheered for Rutgers.

Last night, I sat in front of the TV slowly biting my nails, twisting my hair; tapping my foot impatiently . . . I was also designing the sports page. See, my page was dependent on this game -- the art and stories -- 90 percent of it hung in the balance until the last seconds.

But let's start at the beginning.

This week I've designed the sports cover, and my interests in the Rutgers vs. Louisville game got peaked. In the BCS standings No. 3 Louisville is ranked above my beloved No.5 Texas Longhorns.

See where I come from football is king. You may have heard the sayings "live and die by the Friday night Lights" and "football is second only to God." Then there are movies like Varsity Blues and Friday Night Lights. It's not something Hollywood made up; it is life in Texas in some form or another.

It's not just high school football, but college too.

In Austin, my hometown, the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns is in every aspect of city life. It doesn't matter if you went to the school or not because during a home game the city is a sea of orange. In high school my Friday nights were defined by the lights and in college -- I didn't miss a home in five years. So you see, I'm a bit of a fan. As we say in Austin, I bleed orange.

When I moved to New Jersey, I felt like I left behind the lights. I realized people didn't have a football addiction the way we do in Texas. It was a shocker and a little heart breaking.

Last night as I sat there, yelling at the TV for Rutgers defense to get their act together in the first half, it shocked my co-workers. So did my fists pumping in the air as Rutgers scored touchdowns and fingers crossed as they kicked field goals.

As the clock ran down with a score of 25-25, I felt like I was back home. Sure, it wan't orange and white I was routing for -- but for a moment the "Friday night lights" adrenalin ran through New Jersey.

Ok, Thursday night lights. But what's one day among friends?

On Tivo: Arrested Development

Fashion Forward

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

Sorry for being absent for the past, well month. Here I go again telling y'all why I've been a no show. Well, at least this time I brought photos.

So for the past month I've been immersed in what we call "Good Life." It's the luxury magazine we produce at the paper. Well, if you can believe it, I got the opportunity to art direct our latest fashion shoot.

What does 'art direct' mean exactly?

Well, I worked with Ellen, Good Life editor, and Karyn, style editor, to create a concept for the shoot. Next Jim, our head photographer, Ellen and I scouted the location. Then I wrote a script or storyboard for each shot; including which of the four models would be in each frame, where it would take place and how it fit into the storyline. Then Karyn and I headed off to the City to meet with our stylists, Jersey and Susan, to choose clothes for each shot. The following day we were at the venue with five fashion stylist, four models, three photographers, two art peeps and one magazine editor. Not a bad weeks work.

So what I present to y'all is a couple, O.K. 12, behind the scenes photos from our latest fashion shoot at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Enjoy.

P.S. Much thanks to Count Basie Theatre - NUMA SAISSELIN, VANTONY JENKINS, ANTHONY CALICCHIO. And to Retromedia Sound Studios, Red Bank; for the VIntage microphone.

Fashion Forward II

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

1)Makeup artist Dina, stylist Jersey and hair stylist Sarah on the fire escape of the theatre. 2) Models Steven and Chanue wait during a photo op outside. 3) Models Julia, Chanue and Irsida. 4) Photo assistant Treola strikes a pose so photographer Jim (not pictured) can check the lighting.

Fashion Forward III

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

1) Model Julia shows off her sweeping up-do. 2) Photographer Jim, art assistant Megan, and style assistant Deana fawn over model Chanue. 3) Jim photographs Irsida and Julia. 4) Photographers Keith and Jim engage in tomfoolery while setting up an outdoor shot.

Fashion Forward IV

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

1) Megan poses in a beaded leather jacket with fox collar by Escada COST:$10,550. And check out her right wrist -- that's a platinum antique diamond bracelet courtesy of Gem of an Idea. COST: $20,000. She was in charge of wearing that bracelet all day and guarding it with her life. 2) Jersey gets model Steven ready for the first shot of the day. 3) Models Irsida and Steven chat while Julia gets her hair and makeup done. 4) Stylist Jersey and Deana get racks of clothes ready for the shoot.

This is where I tell you what to watch.

Dude, what are you watching Monday nights at 10 p.m.? Ok let me rephrase that -- you need to be watching "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Ok, listen to me. You NEED to be watching this show.

All the reviews said it was going to be great but, personally, I rarely listen to what critics say. If I like something, I watch it -- even if others think it's crap.

So here I was, trying to decide between my regular show, "CSI: Miami" or this new show from the peeps who did "West Wing." I decided I'd give "Studio 60" a shot. I loved "West Wing" and even now can watch continuous reruns on BRAVO.

At 2 a.m., I settled in to watch "Studio 60" on Tivo. I went in with low expectations. I mean, it couldn't be as great as "The West Wing" ... could it?

Well, one word: AWESOME.

That's right Jersey folk, you need to give this show a try. It's smart, witty, well written and has Matthew Perry, my favorite "Friend." What more could you ask for?

Now you are asking, "You keep blathering on about this show, but what the heck is it about?" Take SNL and move it to L.A. and call it "Studio 60." Next, the creator of the show has a "Network"-style breakdown. (Remember "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore.") Now, get Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford (who were fired from this very show years ago) to come in and run "Studio 60." Nice.

Now, listen. I don't tell people to watch things often, as my tastes are all over the place. I know only two shows have aired, and there's a chance it might suck tonight (I totally doubt it!). But if "West Wing" is any indication, this has the potential to be big. And I'm not talking last two seasons "West Wing" big, I'm talking season two cliffhanger finale 'Josh in the ER this is insane' awesome.

So set those VCRs and DVRs (or get someone who know how to do it) to record this show. I think the critics got this one right: "Studio 60" might just have what it takes to knock out "CSI: Miami" in this battle royale on Monday nights. And if not, I just hope it doesn't get the boot mid-season to make room for something really depressing. Like a reality show where people have to eat bugs to win prizes. ... Oh, yeah. too late.

On the Tivo: Cold Case