Life, Loss, Touch, and Laugh

Neither commanding nor blatant, Pushing Daisies is a slightly off-beat sort of funny. The latest project from Bryan Fuller, the man behind Dead Like Me, it is without doubt witty and well-written; the aesthetic is reminiscent of that of a Tim Burton film (one of said reviewer’s top directors), and the music accompaniment, created by Jim Dooley (who’s composed for everything from Harry Potter and Spiderman 3 movie trailers to entire film soundtracks for The Da Vinci Code and Madagascar) is melodic and instrumental, which, combined with the Lemony Snicket-esque narration by Jim Dale, plays well into the "forensic fairy-tale" nature of the show.

The premise for the show involves a young boy’s realization that he has the ability to return life to the dead.

At age nine, through a rather unfortunate encounter involving the death of his dog, Digby, Ned discovers that with a single touch, he can bring the deceased back to life. However, he shortly thereafter learns that this remarkable gift comes with some very explicit exceptions. While he can restore life, he can only do so for a minute without imposing death on another like-being in the area, unless he touches the being again, at which point they are dead forever. Both of these lessons are learned rather tragically, though the deaths of his own mother, and the father of his romantic interest, the girl next door, Charlotte, who he endearingly calls Chuck.

As his mother was baking a pie when she died, Ned, nineteen years later, owns and works in a pie shop, called The Pie Hole. He is aptly often referred to as "The Pie Maker" in the narration.

Through a chance encounter, Ned’s gift is revealed to Private Investigator, Emerson Cod, and the two become business partners: they join forces to solve murders and split the reward money. All is well until the deceased is none other than his childhood love, Chuck. After questioning her, Ned cannot bring himself to put her back to death and consequently re-falls in love with her. They accordingly must endure their love without physical affection, an interesting twist of nature.

The show approaches the reality of life, death, and human contact without being overbearing: while other shows (even by this very creator) handling the subjects have been relatively quick to be taken off air, Pushing Daisies’ approach is slightly more optimistic, and its wit, humor, and romance allow it to broach the topics without excessive morbidity.

While it isn’t difficult to grow weary of (or annoyed by) Chuck’s at times overly played eagerness and naivete, the consistency of Ned’s charm more than makes up for it. The characters are well-thought, well-developed, and well-played and it is easy to find oneself growing attachments and returning weekly.

A Vision of What We Don't Appreciate

In my Political Philosophy class, the boy I sit behind brings his laptop everyday. And everyday I watch him start off taking notes on lecture and slowly slide into checking WebCT to checking his e-mail to lurking around Myspace. I, myself, literally only bring my laptop to class when I distinctly know that I will not be paying attention to lecture and will instead be working on something else.

"A Vision of Students Today" addresses the ironies of technology and the advancements and setbacks it produces, and alludes to the ever-prevalent decline of the American education system. Overpriced, irrelevant textbooks, impersonal learning settings, and lack of engaging circumstance riddle universities throughout the country and promote not a pursual of higher education and informed masses, but a system in which people work harder to get out of work than that which it would require if they would just give in to the work allocated.

Inequity is quite possibly the root of the greatest problems plaguing us. In the US, kids go to university to party, not to learn, while almost everywhere else in the world education is seen as the greatest privilege and is prioritized in accordance. The part of the video clip I was most compelled by was the statements "over 1 billion people make less than $1 a day" and "this laptop costs more than some people in the world make in a year." In this country we put ourselves in thousands and thousands of dollars of debt for an over glorified four year party while around the world people are living on almost nothing and still working harder than us. We have more opportunity than anyone, yet we are the least likely to appreciate it, and to take advantage of it.

Then there’s the nearly equally absurd fact that education has become a profit industry: what is a basic human right is now priced to force the majority into debt, necessitating loans to cover tuition, texts, and housing. New editions of textbooks are put out faster than anything even remotely necessary and student fees are increasing semesterly at universities around the country. Administrators are getting raises while professors barely make enough to get by in this economic climate. The discrepancies are vast and unjust and little contained.

Technology allows us access to so much and yet we, the masses, use it only to distract ourselves. Meanwhile, people without the privilege that we, here, have work endlessly to ensure that they can take full advantage of the opportunities they receive. While advancements in technology further our downward spiral of non-effort, it is not the technology that needs to be curbed, rather our culture of ingratitude and fear of effort.

A Million Huge Pieces

Bringing in fresh ingredients on the daily, Pieces Pizza by the Slice on 21st and Capital is all-around the best pizza place I’ve found in Sacramento. Huge, cheap slices, (great) beer on tap, funny staff, and amazingly convenient hours make Pieces the place to go for a good time or an after-bar slice.

Open from 11am-11pm Tuesday through Thursday, 11am-2:30pm Fridays, and 12pm-2:30am on Saturdays, this cash only hole-in-the-wall (that somehow everyone in Midtown seems to know about) offers New York style slices as big as the paper plates they’re served on for under $5. Their pesto is amazing, and if you’re not in the mood for the sun-dried tomato and feta cheese variation they offer, ask them to put some pineapple on top before throwing it in the oven. It is superb. Or if you desire a non-pesto slice, I’m willing to bet almost anything that you won’t regret the pesto sticks, which are massive and fantastic. And if you’re craving something sweet, they also serve fresh baked cake and pie.

Fat Tire and Arrogant Bastard, quite possibly my two favorite beers, as well as a few others are offered on tap, and a $13 pitcher frequently becomes an $8 pitcher if you or a member of your party know the person working, or just make a good joke.

As enticing as the food, ambiance is huge at Pieces. The person serving you is more likely to have dreadlocks than a tucked in shirt, and there’s a high likelihood that she will not be wearing a bra, but I’ve yet to encounter any staff who’s even moderately unpleasant. Show up in the afternoon in the middle of the week and you could be the only people eating in. Come back on a Friday or Saturday night at 2am and you’ll have trouble finding seating to accommodate your group. Generally, though, it’s easy to start chatting with the various other patrons (the place being highly popular among the college and alternative crowds) and to make friends or share tables even.

The walls are muraled and covered in flyers for everything from slam poetry events to concerts and shows to house parties on Second Saturday. In fact, when a certain Director of Membership for the College Democrats did not get the okay to post some..slightly controversial flyers promoting the club on campus, she took them over to Pieces, among other student-frequented places, and was promptly permitted to put them up.

While the college may not appreciate satiric and bitter slogans like "Because a bunch of rich old white men don’t know shit about my uterus;" and posted with a large picture of a marijuana leaf, "Because being a Democrat these days is basically like having a club card;" proceeded by "Just kidding. How inappropriate! Join the party with a sense of humor;" both the staff and those who frequent the by-the-slice pizzeria most certainly do.

If you’re in the mood for personality with your pizza, buzzed or sober, make it a point to stop by Pieces at least once in the course of your Midtown adventures. Second Saturday is always a great chance to head over, and there’s little better in life than art, free wine, great pizza, and great company. Don’t forget to stop at an ATM beforehand, and especially don’t forget to say YES! to the fresh garlic added to your slice.