A nice weekend out of town

I spent this past weekend in Long Beach, Wash., with my friend Elana's family. We hiked, played Taboo, swam, played water basketball and tetherball, grilled veggie skewers, chicken, and veggie dogs, saw two lighthouses on Cape Disappointment, splashed around Waikiki Beach (so named, supposedly, because a Hawaiian sailor once washed up on its shores), and just generally had a nice time. It was exactly what I needed after a tough week. The picture above is of Ari, the lovable Kupor dog.

A new Coldplay song that isn't "Violet Hill" or "Viva La Vida"

Not too shabby. Reminds me a bit of "The Scientist" (from A Rush of Blood to the Head), except that this is obviously a bit happier.

R.I.P., George

In other news, Crooks and Liars draws our attention to David Brooks' truly ridiculous op-ed piece on Obama. Looking for stuff that is worth reading? The New Yorker has been running strong political profile pieces (PPPs?) lately, including one on Nixonian dirty trickster Roger Stone (check that freakin' photo!) and another on MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, also known as the boil on Bill O'Reilly's ass.

Best child performance of the year: Catinca Untaru

The Romanian actress is 11 now, but she was several years younger when The Fall was filmed, and she plays a curious, persistent, intelligent 5-year-old with such naturalistic grace that she gives her grown-up co-star, Lee Pace, a run for his money. And say what you will about the movie's style-over-substance issues, The Fall has one of the loveliest, most unexpected endings I've seen in years. It sags a bit in parts, in terms of both plot and pace, but the good outweighs the bad. And Untaru alone is worth the price of admission.

Reed photographed a baby pug with his cell phone

'Twas at Roq La Rue in Belltown. What a cutie.

It sucks to be... someone without tickets to "Avenue Q"

Luckily, I saw it Wednesday night. And it's delightful.

In other news: My quarterlife crisis has an astrological explanation.

Happy almost-Solstice, everyone!

Equality in parenting vs. old-fashioned meanness

Exhibit A:

Change we can believe in.

Exhibit B:

The same old bullshit.