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Recently, I had one of those days. Really. It was bad. Some might say that just the fact that it was Monday would have been enough to ruin a perfectly good day –- but it was worse than that. It was a dark, misty Monday. I had a ton of work to do, so I started work early, only to discover that my computer wasn’t working, and I couldn’t get online (which is a bit of a problem when you edit a web site). And that was just the beginning of a long, headache-inducing Monday.
After I went out that afternoon and destroyed a cash register at a local department store with my bad karma, I came home and opened up a bag of Oreos. I looked for the perfect CD to listen to –- and I chose Havana 3 AM. In no time, I was smiling (just a bit, but smiling nonetheless) and dancing around in my chair. The silliness of it all -– especially “Peanut Vendor,” my favorite song on the album –- just made me feel better.
I first discovered Perez Prado on the Office Space soundtrack -– and I went right out and bought the CD. The music is just plain fun –- instrumental mambo music, filled with horns, drums, and random human sound effects (one of them sounds like a woman with a disturbing case of the hiccups). The album reminds me of the soundtrack to I Love Lucy (which makes sense, since they’re from the same era) -– or perhaps the occasional Speedy Gonzales cartoon.
Admittedly, Perez Prado isn’t for everyone. I once gave the CD to a coworker, and he returned it in just a few minutes. When he handed it to me, he gave me a suspicious look and said something like, “Never make me listen to that again.” This music requires a certain personality -– a certain silly sense of humor –- and that’s precisely why I like it.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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