I like Classical (Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven), Opera (Mozart, Verdi. Wagner, Puccini, Strauss), Jazz (Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis) and the kind of pop music you would hear on WCBS FM in New York -- that is, the music of the 60s through the 80s. I own close to 30 recordings of Beethoven's 9th, if you find that helpful.
Movies
Most of the films I like (provided they're not silent movies) were made in black and white during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. The exceptions to this rule were the movies made during America's Silver Age of Cinema -- the 1970s. I like to tell people that my favorite movie is one they've never heard of called "The Kennel Murder Case." Track it down and try to figure out why it's my favorite movie.
Television
I like "How I Met Your Mother" "The Big Bang Theory" "Gary Unmarried" "Brothers and Sisters" and "Two and a Half Men," the latter mostly because I'm obsessed with Marin Hinkle. And no, Marin, I'm not kidding.
Books
My favorites would include "War and Peace" (which I've probably read a dozen times if not more), Proust's "In Search of Lost Time," Gibbon's "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and the novels of Anthony Trollope, particularly the Barsetshire and Palliser series.
Heroes
In no particular order: Charlie Chaplin, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, Sergei Eisenstein, Edward de Vere (I'm what they call an Oxfordian), Orson Welles, Preston Sturges, Buster Keaton, Bob Fosse, Erich von Stroheim, Yasujiro Ozu, Bob Clampett, Lenny Bruce, Billy Wilder, Henry James, Jean Cocteau, D.W. Griffith, James Agee, Eugene O'Neill, Honore de Balzac, Christopher Marlowe, Natsume Soseki, Anthony Trollope, Francois Rabelais, Edward Gibbon, Edmund Wilson. And Ron Jeremy, of course.
About me: I was born in New York City, a few minutes after noon on St. Patrick's Day, accompanied by my twin sister. I am the penultimate child of five siblings, four of whom are twins. I grew up in Queens, NY and went to college in Annapolis, MD, where I read the Great Books and studied Ancient Greek as well as similar recondite subjects (such as -- and I'm not kidding -- Ptolemaic astronomy) that turn out to be terribly useful in later life. After that I studied film and philosophy at The New School for Social Research in Greenwich Village. I've held many jobs, including late-night concierge, office temp, movie usher and extra in a Woody Allen movie (blink during "Bullets Over Broadway" and you'll miss me). Currently I'm a freelance writer living (and starving) in New York's East Village having just acquired the bachelor's degree that eluded me during the Reagan Administration. I've worked on the editorial staffs of Time and Newsweek magazines, written for Good Morning America and World News Now and freelanced widely -- including at Opera News, Opera Monthly, Soap Opera Weekly, Theater Week, In Theater, ABC News, The New York Sun and Condé Nast. I've also guest lectured on film at The City University of New York. If you really want to get a sense of what I'm interested in and what I'm about, check out my gargantuan Wish List on Amazon.com. It has more than 3,000 items on it -- and it's growing every day. It will tell you far more than you (or probably anyone else) would ever want to know about me.
Who I'd like to meet: Smart, literate, confident women who are as attractive as they are intelligent. Women who don't think Paris Hilton is a role model or that The Fountainhead is great literature. Who don't spend their lives with their fingers down their throat. Who like films shot in black and white and who will actively seek out such films at venues such as MOMA or the Film Forum. Women who are willing to go to the opera one night and a baseball game the next, and will enjoy both equally. Are any such women out there? And could they look like Kelly Monaco, please? Or possibly Victoria Sinclair, Carla Gugino, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Beckinsale, Corina Ungureanu, Eva Green or Dita Von Teese. After all, it's not like I'm picky or anything.
Being able to get around on the subway will be one of the single biggest advantages to the location (I'm used to having to drive a half hour or more from one place to another in Baltimore). I'm probably going to come up there one day later this month once I've done a bit more research just to start taking a look.
You're right about the original score for "Four Sons"-I was surprised when I popped in the disc and didn't even find the original score listed under the audio options. It's ashame, too, since there's no real reason not to include it. I haven't seen "Tobacco Road" yet but everything I've heard makes me want to see it if only to see where things went wrong with it.
I meant to ask you if you'd had a chance to check out the "Ford at Fox" DVD set. I finally broke down and ordered the whole set (it was going for a good discount price on Amazon) since some of the films included in the complete set aren't available in the smaller sets that were released. If you have a chance to see it, it provides a great opportunity to see a lot of Ford's lesser-known work. Now I see Fox has released a Murnau and Borzage set! (I can't keep up with all the new releases!)
Thanks! I'm in the process of looking through NYU's off-campus housing guides. Williamsburg looks like a real possibility, especially considering the cost.
Yes, I'll be moving up to New York over the summer (still looking at housing options at the moment). The fall semester begins in early September, so I'll have to be moved in by then. I am really looking forward to finally relocating to NYC!
I've been meaning to give you a call. Between work and the cold the girls and I have been sharing for the last couple of weeks....I keep forgetting. How are things?
Thanks for the Birthday Wishes! MK and I had a great 22nd Birthday and we both thank you for making our day even better for your wonderful greatness. Have a good one. Love Ashley Olsen
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