bill bodkin rolls out the unlucky 13th column…
First and foremost, I’d like to say that I’m still on Cloud 9 from my wedding on Saturday. For all 20 of you who read this (and you were probably there anyway haha), it was an absolutely perfect day. Rainclouds gave way to sunny skies, the bitter chill went away for the most part and my beautiful new wife and I were able to become a family in front of the most important people in our lives. In this column, I’m going to reflect on a few pop culture items that were apart of our wedding day.
Music: “Lucky” Jason Mraz and Cobie Caillat
This was the song that my wife and I choose for our first official dance as man and wife. I’m usually not a fan of Mraz, especially after his awful song “Wordplay” in which I wanted to light myself on fire like a Buddhist monk after hearing. Yet, this duet with sultry acoustic songstress Caillat is a beautiful, bouncing diddy that perfectly summates the relationship my wife (B&B blogger Sue) and I have. We’re best friends, we love each other and the song, like us, is just a bit different from your normal romantic duet. And after my harsh words towards Mraz, I have to say I enjoy his work, most off his last full studio album: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The tinges of Hawaiian campfire sing-a-long, breezy guitar work and his unique vocals are plain fun and enjoyable. Originally my wife had chosen Mraz’s hit single “I’m Yours” as our original wedding song (it does appear on our wedding album), but when she heard this track she fell in love with it. It’s just a really simple, sweet song with vivid imagery of the beach (we were married at the Shore, so it makes sense) and the unified and unbreakable union that two best friends in love have. And that’s us. Aww…I know, superlame, but it’s true and this is my column so I can be lame if I want to.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acvIVA9-FMQ]
Movies: The Girl Who Played With Fire
When you have a trilogy sometimes the second movie can be the best or worst of the series. The Empire Strikes Back is oft regarded as the best movie in the original (and in my opinion ONLY) Star Wars trilogy. It was fresh, creative, it zigged when 
people expected a zag, it had a dramatic punch, a great cliffhanger, tremendous revelations. In simple — an awesome movie. On the other end of the spectrum there’s a film like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. This was the follow-up to the fun and creative first Pirates movie. Unfortunately for this second movie it was an underwhelming retread of the first film highlighted with some effects and new characters. It’s a decent film, but it can’t hold a candle to the original.
As you can read in my last column, The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo (the first film in the Swedish Millennium series) was a classic. A film noir for this generation that could rival the classics from the 40s. An iconic female character brought to life by a virtually unknown actress. This film — awesome. Sadly, the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, suffers from the same problem as Dead Man’s Chest. It’s a been-there-done-that film that seems to have been rushed to capitalize on the first film’s mega-success. There’s no new ground really covered in this film except that we dig a little further into the complex mind of cyberpunk Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander. Other than that — nothing specials. It’s a decent potboiler that is good for a rainy night stay-in, but it’s nowhere near as gripping and sweat-inducing as the original.
Food: Hemingways
The reception for our wedding took place at one of the best restaurant/bars at the Jersey Shore — Hemingway’s Cafe in Seaside Heights. Opened in 2007, this venue walks the razor thin line between classy and casual. It’s rich woodtoned decor complemented by the New Orleans’-inspired rod iron work gives the venue a metropolitan-by-the sea feel. You know you’re at the Jersey Shore, but it’s still pretty hip and cool at the same time. The food at Hemingway’s is top-notch: brick oven pizza, fresh sushi, steaks, pasta, burgers and seafood; all done to perfection. On our wedding day sushi couldn’t stay out long enough, lamb lollipops were eaten with gusto and bacon-wrapped scallops owned! And that was just during the cocktail hour. This is the perfect spot for a casual night out, a romantic evening out or just a spot to party. And best of all — it’s the only spot in Seaside where Jersey Shore did not film.
Books: Simon Pegg…Author!
I’m not the biggest reader in the world, my wife holds that title in our household. But in the coming months
there are two books I am completely excited for — nonfiction works by comedian Patton Oswalt and Simon Pegg. In this column I will focus on Pegg, my absolute favorite actor and comedic icon. Currently available on Amazon.com, is Nerd Do Well, Pegg’s biography. The biography chronicles the British actor/comedian’s rise to the king of all that is nerdom from his geeky young sci-fi obsessed days to his rise to comedic superstardom to his tight friendship to longtime collaborator Nick Forst. Pegg is an absolutely brilliant writer, something that can be noted from his amazing sitcom Spaced or his films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Pegg’s every-nerd charm makes him a hero to people who grew up obsessing over Star Wars and reading comic books (read: yours truly). His wit is razor sharp and I can’t wait to check out what will be a warm, fun and funny piece of nonfiction.
Television: HBO Short Seasons…
To quote Jerry Senfield, “What’s the deal With…” the really short seasons on HBO this year? Bored to Death and Eastbound and Down are already heading into their season finale’s after less than 10 episodes each 
(eight for Bored, seven for East). Seriously? These shows are beloved pieces of television yet HBO insists on making us wait a year for them to return to TV and then only produce less than 10 episodes? Maybe it’s beyond HBO’s control –scheduling hot stars like Danny McBride and Zach Galifianakis can probably be hard. Yet, the scant amount of episodes is still kind of annoying and I see this as becoming a huge trend with not just HBO but basic cable TV as well. Bravo reality series not named Top Chef have been getting super short runs (probably on purpose) while USA original seem to be on for two months take off eight and then come back for two — I’m looking at your Burn Notice. I don’t know maybe these guys know something I don’t…and they probably do.
