Just a few things...

On a kinda slow Monday afternoon here in New York:

• Saw another movie over the weekend whose review doesn't really belong on MovieGrenade, but it's not a great film either. I really don't know how I feel about it. It is called Brick, and it is basically a new take on the 40's style private detective film. The filmmakers took all of the elements of that genre and integrated it into a modern high-school setting. The dour hero constantly getting his ass kicked, the strange villains, the odd sing-song dialogue. It was just weird. And the main drug dealer, the Pin played by Lukas Haas, basically wore the costume of the vampire from the 60's/70's soap-opera Dark Shadows. Really weird! Here's a bit of dialogue from the film: "See the Pin pipes it from the lowest scraper for Brad Bramish to sell, maybe. Ask any dope rat where their junk sprang and they'll say they scraped it from that, who scored it from this, who bought it off so, and after four or five connections the list always ends with The Pin. But I bet you, if you got every rat in town together and said "Show your hands" if any of them've actually seen The Pin, you'd get a crowd of full pockets." I couldn't stop watching it. Can't tell you if it was good or bad, but it was certainly worth watching.
• Made a (un)healthy batch of sauerbraten this weekend for a family get-together. Twas a whole lotta fun. Chowed it down with bratwurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, hot German-style potato salad and lots of other goodies. Yum! Oooh, and warshed it down with some pretty good Belgian and non-Belgian beers. Leffe Blonde, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, etc... It was all good! Those last two were courtesy of Gia. The young lady knows her beers!
• The New England Patriots continued to show why Boston can suck my ballz! I really hate it when Boston becomes the center of the sports world here in the States. At least BC lost.
• Got a chance to talk about my favorite series of fantasy novels over the weekend. Although I really hate to lump them into the "fantasy" genre. People immediately think of Dragons and Hobbits. Blech! Anyway, it's the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant trilogies from Stephen R. Donaldson. The link above can tell you much more about them than I want to in this small space, but they are wonderful. I first read them when I was in high school over 22 years ago, but I recently re-read them and they are still just as good.
• Syd has been rejuvenated after his recent shaving adventure. He is much more energetic and is climbing and jumping up on things that he never would have considered before. Must have been annoying carrying around all that hair.
• I'm with Slyde on this one. My boycott of "Heroes" starts tonight! It should have started last week, but I was weak. Although I have to say that I did take a phone call halfway through it and I was flipping back and forth between it and the football game. Couldn't tell you what happened, but that can be said for every episode this season. It's been extraordinarily ordinary.
• The Amazing Race started again this weekend, and it has the usual cast of odd characters. The gay couple, the old/young combo (two of them this season), the freaky couple, etc... My favorite are the freaky couple. A "dating" duo of Goths from the Kentucky area. I say "dating", because the male Goth is clearly gay...through actions and his own words...yet they insist that they are "dating". Not that there is anything wrong with that. I got Gia to watch it with me, but I don't think that will continue. She found it too stressful. Imagine that!
• Going to see Young Frankenstein, the Broadway musical next Tuesday. Roger Bart, Megan Mullaly and Andrea Martin. Psyched!
  

And that's all I got. Have a great Monday evening, y'all - Earl