Reminder: Go Out To Dinner Tonight

Today, Tuesday November 30th, is the annual Dining Out for Life in St. Louis. There are about 190 restaurants that will donate 25% or more of your bill to the St. Louis Effort for AIDS so go out to eat and bring friends. For a list of restaurants go to the St. Louis Effort for AIDS site. I'm sure at least some of your favorites are on the list! It's a worthy cause and you know you weren't going to cook tonight anyway.

Thanksgiving

Instead of listing what I’m thankful for, which is a lot, I just wanted to leave my readers (aka the 2 people who may or may not be reading this) with something to think about. I’m a huge fan of Harry Chapin and in his music, poetry, and spoken word lies profound wisdom. This is Track #9 from Disc 1 of the Gold Medal Collection:

"Remember in school how at Thanksgiving we would be asked to bring in cans of food, etc. for hungry people? Just imagine if one year a teacher had the guts to say `Children, it was the most single wonderful outpouring of generosity this school has ever seen. More cans of food than ever before, feeding hundreds of families, were donated. We only have one problem, and we are going to deal with it this coming week. We're going to cancel our regular classes and we are going to talk about what are those people going to eat next week?"

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Which Literature Classic Are You?

You know I love a good internet quiz. I think this one was pretty accurate. Anyone care to share their results?


George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four. You are the
classic warning against the threat of
totalitarianism. To you, politics and
philosophy are inseparable, authorities suck
and the reality might not exist outside our
imaginations.


Which literature classic are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Another Saturday Night

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) is easily one of my favorite movies. Why? You may ask. Because Bridget is self-deprecating, anything but graceful, wears her clothes about two sizes too small, incredibly likable, and in spite of everything, ends up with the nice guy who “likes her just as she is.” Fast forward three years to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Much better than the usual romantic comedy fare with the teen queen du jour in an impossibly coincidental Cinderella farce* but falls flat delighting me in the same way as its predecessor. The story is contrived and the situations Bridget gets into are past far fetched and bordering on absolutely absurd but I laughed hard and had a really good time watching the movie. Sometimes it’s OK to see a movie and just walk away from it having had a good laugh at a time when nothing else in life seems particularly funny. That is just what I did on Saturday night.

It was one of those nights where you’re not expecting very much but you end up having a really nice time with a person who, in spite of very awkward circumstances, you end up calling a friend. We had a good laugh at the movie and then, surprisingly, a very nice dinner at Canyon Café. There are no words to express the flourless chocolate cake on the dessert menu. It was a nice escape from yet another Saturday occupied by yet another bridal shower.

*See A Cinderella Story, The Prince & Me, Ella Enchanted, just to name a few…

More Astute Observations From Your Author

Team America: World Police

This movie was totally hilarious. I recommend it to everyone. It’s not politically insightful or even scathing to one side or the other, it’s just plain funny. Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not even a clever funny. It’s more of a 13 year old boy dick and fart joke funny. You absolutely have to crack up though at the puppets, the fun poked at celebrities, and the complete lack of respect for anyone.

The New Drunken Fish at #1 Maryland Plaza

I had previously been to the Westport Plaza location but was very impressed by my visit to the new Maryland Plaza location last week. The one at West port was nice and the sushi very good but let’s face it, who really wants to be at Westport Plaza? Westport Plaza, also known as homage to college frat parties and skanky Bachelorette parties with a cover charge, is not my idea of a good time. Sorry for that tangent.

Anyway, the new Maryland Plaza location has a nice contemporary décor, large sushi bar, outdoor seating, and an overall pleasant and upbeat atmosphere. All the fish was fresh and the presentation is commendable. Everything I ate was well prepared but the most notable item was the Deep Fried Philly Roll. You should check it out.

Ray

This was a good movie and there were good performances all around. There’s nothing exceptional about it. If you wait until it hits Blockbuster you will live. If you do go see it you should be prepared to sit for quite a while. It’s a long one.

Vote Tomorrow

Unless you’re living under a big rock you know that tomorrow is Election Day. I’m not going to bore you with my politics or bore myself by asking you about yours. I’m just going to say, DON’T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW. I predict there will be record voter turn out tomorrow in comparison with many recent elections. No, I do not believe it will be because of P. Diddy’s memorable “Vote or Die” campaign with The Real World Philadelphia or because Cameron Diaz sat on the Oprah Winfrey show and urged women to vote by saying “if you think that rape should be legal, then don't vote.”

That pretty much sums up what's going on in my head on this very rainy Monday.