This is kind of pathetic really. I won't say I am proud of it at all. I even assured myself that I would not become like this. I don't drink coffee frequently, maybe once or twice a week at most and the concept of paying 3 or 4 bucks for a cup seems to border on lunacy. But I am becoming a snob for Starbucks coffee. It's just too good. I started with decaf a few years ago but that did not cut it. Then I went to the mild side, caffeine but lighter on the taste. About six months back I started hitting the hard stuff, bold and extra bold. Sweet nectar of Zeus, that stuff is amazing. No one else gets it quite right, at least that I can tell, and I find myself comparing everybody else to Starbucks. I've stopped with Mocha this and Frapa that. Just a straight cup of coffee ($1.92 for a venti) with a lot of sweetener and milk. Good stuff.
I felt very 21st Century yesterday. I went to Starbucks to get some reading done for my class. I had my sling backpack, my IPod, my venti coffee, and I read. So am I conforming or just enjoying the luxuries of the early part of the 21st Century?
My wife and kids have been out of town for a few days so I've had a chance to catch up on a few movies that I wanted to watch. One was decent, one not that good, and one just plain awful.
Decent - Lucky Number Slevin - I was prepared to not like this one but it surprised me. Bruce Willis is almost always good but Josh Hartnett did a good job as well. Lucy Lui was a little over the top. It was put together well and didn't drag on for too long and had enough of a plot twist (though you could see it coming to some extent) that you stayed with it.
Not so good - The Harvest - I'll say up front that I like just about anything John Cusack is in. Gross Pointe Blank is awesome. But this movie just didn't quite get it done. Tried to be very noirish but ended up just being kind of weird and out of place. I think they were going for a little Coen brothers kind of vibe like Fargo but missed it a bit. Billy Bob Thorton was okay, but it's kind of the same character he's played in about five other movies. The redeeming part is Oliver Platt who, though drunk all of the time, at least gave me something to laugh at.
Plain awful - The Wicker Man (new version) - This movie was terrible. Not scary in the least and I think that the director may have inadvertantly allowed Nick Cage to make fun of the film, either that or old Nick was doing the worst acting of his life (including Con Air). About 20 minutes in I started figuring out where this was going and little on this crazy island was even remotely scary. It was like a bad joke that no one got. The dialogue was awful and the ending was ridiculous. Spoiler alert!!! Sample line...Cage, allergic to bees, has been captured by the women folk who plan to sacrifice him (sorry to give this away but save yourself the time) and they put a bag full of bees on his head (ridiculous enough). Then Nick starts yelling, "Not the bees. Oh God not the bees. Oh no, I can feel them in my nose and in my mouth. Oh God, the bees!" If you want to listen to Cage describe death using no metaphors, only literal play by play of what is happening, then this is the movie for you. If you would like to save yourself 90 minutes, don't watch it. I don't know if the original is any better but I am not going to find out.
Here's hoping that The Squid and the Whale is better. That's just arrive from Netflix.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
my new friend
It is official. I love the IPod. Now, I don't have some big mammoth one with a 2000 gig hard drive, 46" screen, and all that good stuff. It's just a used IPod mini with a 4 gig drive and it is officially the newest member of my circle of friends. Here's a picture of it (or one just like it)below.
Dear Lord in heaven what did we do before this marvelous product. It took some time but I was able to search for specific songs by specific artists (even preview songs to make sure I had the right one) and then buy those, and only those, songs so that I didn't have to buy 20 different Christmas compilations. Here's what I came up with:
Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms (great early rock)
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams
I'll Be Home for Christmas - Bing Crosby (ever notice how sad this song is?)
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee (she sings so cool)
Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives (also I believe the narrator for Frosty the Snowman)
Sleigh Ride - Ella Fitzgerald (how cool is she, I bet she was a knockout too, just sounds beautiful talkin' about snuggling up on a sleigh ride)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Perry Como
Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale
White Christmas - Bing Crosby (one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland (Dorothy sings so pretty)
Winter Wonderland - Tony Bennett (big band at its best)
The Christmas Song - Mel Torme (Judge Harry on the TV show Night Court loved this dude and I never knew it was him singing this particular version that I love so much, also this is my other favorite)
Christmas Song - Dave Matthews (one of two new ones that I allowed in, I just love it)
Gabriel's Message - Sting (the other newbie, beautiful vocal work)
I need to add Frosty the Snowman to this. If you have read this far and notice a song or version you think I should add, leave it in the comments section.
Anyway, my IPod is awesome, my brother-in-law is cool for selling it to me for next to nothing, and Christmas is great, even in February.
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