between sundance, the golden globes and a bit of time on the couch - i've spent much of the last week either reading about celebrities or watching them on tv. i've been amused by the various commentaries on the boobage at the golden globes (this is not a new phenomenon, people) and the snobbery of sundance.

i've followed the sundance coverage intensely as it is particularly dear to my heart. you see, in my youth I attended park city high school and worked in a lovely little coffee shop at the mouth of (old) mainstreet. i had the honor of serving skinny half-caf quad mochas to the drunk, rich and famous... and i was rarely tipped for the privilege.

we had a bumpersticker in those days: "don't bite the tourists, they feed us." we were also known for pelting fur-laden women with snowballs from the roofs of mainstreet restaurants, or chasing them down the street, reaching out to pet their coats or make animal noises in their general direction. yes, i was a bratty teenager.

but most of all i remember the entire town bending over backwards for the pomp and circumstance, putting their best foot forward - genuinely ignoring the fact that you couldn't visit the post office or have any hope of getting an evening off that week. you couldn't eat at any restaurant except hardie's and you got tired of explaining that beer from the grocery store was only 3.2 and that no, you can't buy liquor at albertson's - but the guy who owns the toy store is rumored to be quite the coke dealer. (true story)

i am extremely amused by the sundance recap from the morning news - although it is of note that the smog of which she speaks is actually known as the inversion layer (dad - "the whole valley must be on fire!"); the mediocre and overpriced restaurant she refers to as the "wasach" is really the wasatch brew pub, named for the mountain range that is home to park city, and also the site of my brother's bachelor party; and lastly the eating establishment should never be a site for lunching - because the miner's breakfast is THE ONLY breakfast worth having in town.

also of amusement was heather havrilesky's sundance review in salon. (subscription or ad viewing required)