Movie Review: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy

Fun fact about PN Seattle: A small group of folks from the office occasionally watch movies together after work.

I know, I know- it's weird that people who spend eight hours together in the office would willingly spend MORE time together outside of the office but hey, that's how we roll. Anyway, I digress...

A few weeks ago, we went to watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, the guy who plays Sherlock in the BBC update, and Bane. The movie was based on the novel by John Le Carre and is considered the ultimate spy tale (the book, not the movie).

Before I wax poetic about the clothes, the atmosphere and Gary Oldman, let me tell you upfront- I really liked this movie. If I had to rate it, I would give it four out of five bottles of vodka. 

(This is an accurate description of the movie)

This movie is all about restraint. Gary Oldman plays George Smiley, a retired MI6 agent, who has to identify a mole within the agency. He's an outcast– a former top guy looking in, so with his right hand (inside) man, Peter Guillam, he's working in the shadows to uncover the traitor.

What I liked about this movie was its atmosphere. Almost everything looks faded and worn- from the SIS headquarters to Smiley's workspace and all the places in-between. Taking place during the Cold War, you get the sense that the old guard is tired (Connie's hostel and Control's home) and a bit of a mess. This is a quiet movie, where the silences carry as much meaning as the dialogue and where almost every action hides a motive. A smile, a side-eyed glance, a hesitant look over the shoulder... there's a lot left to interpretation. It's a movie that demands attention (even if you had a long day like me... shut up, Noah and Will).

What I also squee'd over were the costumes. If you enjoy men in three peice suits, this movie is for you. At first glance, you might look at the characters and think- yeah suits, so what? But I thought each character's costume was so distinct and so reflective of his state of mind. Toby Esterhase is sharp and snappy, a bit flamboyant- he is a man who cares about appearances. Bill Haydon was dressed like his older counterparts in the Circus, but he showed bits of his personality- from his cufflinks to his desert boots, and he's one of the few in the movie that displayed any light-heartedness. And of course, there's George Smiley whose somber clothing reflects his quiet personality. He peers at documents and people with equal thoughtfulness and deliberation through his glasses, which were chosen with such care in the first part of the movie. 

Peter Guillam, the young MI6 agent, is more modern and less "military" than the men he works for. I mean, look at this handsome cat (trust, I never thought I'd say that about Sherlock).

Look how dapper he is- with his flash of color and modern hairstyle. You can't see them here but he wore slightly flared trousers, which -high-five, dude! Good job rockin' those.

So bottomline? I liked this movie. A lot. Watch it and see why Gary Oldman was nominated for an Oscar. He probably won't win (whatever Clooney, you play the SAME GUY IN EVERY MOVIE) but he damn well deserves to be recognized.

Side note: While I was walking out of the theater I overheard a guy tell his friends, "I don't know what just happened." Well, Real Steel is on DVD now so maybe you might have better luck understanding that. Seriously man, some movies require a bit more concentration than a text. 

So... what movies have you seen lately?

How I Won a Macbook Air

I’m detailing this not to gloat, but to give a glimpse into the depth of my humble genius.

The Set-up

Porter Novelli’s client devised a competition around using their new business-related social networking app on Facebook. The app allows you to search for job openings, request business connections, endorse your contacts, and post your job experience on Facebook.

The Game

The sweepstakes was to get as many contacts as possible in a set time frame. One gets their name added to a hat for every ten connections one makes (e.g. 10 contacts = 1 names, 500 contacts = 50 names in the hat). One name is drawn out and the winner is announced the next day. The limit for the number of names one could enter was capped at 100 (1000 contacts). Prizes were given away every week during a six week period. Winners of weeks one through five won an iPad 2 and the final winner, week six, got a Macbook Air.

Overall Strategy

First, it was a game of chance. For instance, if there were two individuals competing and one had 1000 contacts (100 names in the hat) and the other had 10 contacts (1 name), the outcome would not be certain.

There were over 100 participants in the competition from Porter Novelli. Essentially the game is a foot race to 1000 contacts and you’re racing against your colleagues.

My strategy evolved over the course of the competition in three steps.

1 – The Hay Burner Method

Add as many contacts as fast as possible. At first this method seemed promising. I sent requests with those that I knew in our Seattle office and got to a little over 10 contacts (1 name in the hat). I then sent requests to those I’ve met in other offices, 50 contacts (5 names total). I then started sending requests to people I didn’t know using the “People You Might Know” tab. I got to over 150 contacts (15 names), but noticed my method was not very efficient. For every 25 requests, I received a single confirmation.

2 – The Kevin Bacon Method

The first method was not very strategic. I put on the Porter Novelli critical thinking hat and remembered some lessons I learned from Malcolm Gladwell ‘s The Tipping Point. According to Gladwell , “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” Gladwell dubs these socially gifted folks connectors. I began sending requests to the connectors, people who “link us up with the world ... people with a special gift for bringing the world together.” I noticed that these people responded more often than not to my connection requests and happened to share 5 or more contacts from different companies. This method ballooned my connections to 350 (35 names) by the second week. I shared my method with Will Tucker, our magnificent IT guy, and his numbers shot up as well. Reaching out to those with 5 or more shared contacts from different companies proved to be an effective strategy, though not perfect.

3 – The Ninja Pirate Method

Will continued to use the Kevin Bacon Method to get to well over 750 contacts by the third week with me close behind at 500. The remaining competitors were all below 250 contacts at this time.

I discovered the mobile app for iPhone during this time. The mobile app allowed me to add contacts more quickly than using a laptop or desktop. Fortune smiled upon me after going through the app. It allowed me to see the connections made by my contacts with those not in my network arranged chronologically. For instance, “Will is connected with Dave in Finland 2 minutes ago.” I could swoop in, send a request to Dave in Finland, and hear back almost immediately by simply tapping on my phone twice. Eventually Will caught on to my shenanigans. I was basically stealing his contacts. We both reached our 1000 contact goal a little after the third iPad was given away.

The final drawing was on November 28 and I won. Roughly three and a half hours of work for a new MacBook Air.

How to Become a Whoopie Pie Champion in Four Easy Steps

Steps

1) Be Kevin Wren or Christy Howell. Congratulations, you are a Whoopie Pie Champion!

 Not Kevin or Christy? Follow these steps.

 1) Enter Oddfellows Whoopie Pie Bake Off.

2) Adopt corgi puppy named Eggs for Whoopie Pie inspiration.

3) Come up with award winning recipe: “Double Rainbow Discoball Pie.”

• Take your favorite cake recipe and make the batter (we used a lemonade cupcake recipe).
• Divide batter into 6 separate bowls.
• Mix each bowl with a different colored food dye.
• Spoon batter in equal portions on whoopie pie baking sheet (from Sur la Table), making 12 multicolored cakes and bake for 15 to 20 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Spray cooled whoopie pie cakes with silver or gold food spray (from William Sonoma)
• Pipe favorite butter cream recipe (ours was raspberry) on one whoopie pie cake
• Press another whoopie pie cake atop the frosted cake, so it looks like a giant disco ball oreo.
• Sprinkle gold sugar on frosting
• Pie should look like this once complete.

4) Enter Double Rainbow Discoball Pie into competition and win.

You can now add “Whoopie Pie Champion” to your name/resume once you’ve completed those four simple steps.

Office Ec (aka office sciences): Pickles

Our IT guy Will gave me a great idea for a home project, which turned into an office project: pickles. Five simple ingredients: Rice wine vinegar, hot water, sugar, salt and cucumbers. The recipe comes from David Chang's Momofuku Cookbook. You’ll need: 1-quart mason jar, 2 large cucumbers, 1 cup of hot water, 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar, 6 tablespoons sugar, 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt and voila, that's it. Slice the cucumbers about ¼ inch thick and place in mason jar. Mix the hot water, sugar and salt till they dissolve. Add the vinegar and pour mixture over cucumbers in mason jar. Refrigerate for three to seven days. The pickles last a month.  It took me about 3 minutes to do this in our office kitchen. You can use other veggies too, radishes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and even watermelon rind. Deep fried pickles are delicious, by the way. 

(Side note. The picture looks funny because I used Hipstamatic on my iPhone for the picture.)

The best food ideas in the office are usually the most simple. A slow cooker is one of those the kitchen gadgets that can feed your office with minimal effort.

Monthly "Last Meal" Club, September Edition

On my way to PN on Monday, I stopped for one of my favorite breakfasts: Glo’s smoked salmon Eggs Benedict. This gave me an idea for “Monthly Last Meal Club.” Every month I would go out and have a “last meal” for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I encurage all to take a day and do the same.

I love to eat and as most people that love food have created a list of “last meals.” For this club, I have 12 breakfast, lunch and dinner last meals. For instance, on Monday: Glo’s smoked salmon Eggs Benedict for breakfast, a heaping BBQ chicken sandwich with pasta salad on the side for lunch from Mad Oven BBQ and mushroom risotto for dinner from Cafe Bengodi.

Eggs Benedict is one of my favorite breakfast/brunch items, though it can be a little intimidating at first glance and gut busting. The hollandaise and poach condition of the egg are the crux. Glo’s does it perfectly though. Perfect poach where the egg jiggles a little with an oozy yolk and a rich Hollandaise (egg yolk, butter and a little lemon). Smoked salmon elevates this Eggs Benedict to “Nomnomnom, drool status,” though not for the faint of heart.

BBQ is great, even if it’s "Plain Jane" chicken. Nuff said. Also, around our office here in Seattle there are five known BBQ places within a three block radius (that I am aware of).

I love risotto despite it just being rice, broth and cheese. I think that is the appeal, simplicity. Risotto has that same buttery, creamy, etherealness that Eggs Benedict does, like edible velvet with a little more texture. One of my goals this year is to make a truffle risotto from scratch and, hopefully, have it be delicious.

Needless to say, I had a light breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day.

On tap for October, the poor man’s last meal: full stack of blueberry pancakes for breakfast at IHOP, 10 piece chicken McNugget meal with BBQ sauce and sweet & sour for lunch and a peanut butter, bacon burger from King’s in Ballard with a can of Hamm’s for dinner.