August 21st, 2006

White Chicks
The woman rented this one, White Chicks and though I wasn't eager to see it in theaters, I have to admit I was curious when I heard from a few folks it was better than it should have been. Well I'm here to report that it wasn't better than it should have been, but it was better than it could have been, which is saying something. The Wayans crew seems to be stuck with SNL-itis, where you take a joke or concept and try to stretch it out for 90 minutes. Sometimes this works, but usually it depends on such stereotyping and predictability that one nods instead of laughs. But the film did have its good moments, most of them thanks to Terry Crews as the one black man in the Hamptons. In the end, I'd say this one is a fine group-rental, or if a friend insists, you won't be too put off. But not worth too much effort to find.

Talladega Nights
Been meaning to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby since before it came out, and finally got to it on Saturday. Pretty funny; Will Ferrell's penchant for over-the top character-acting is in full force here, though due credit must be given to his supporting cast, both straight-man lines and characters as goofy as his own. A nice surprise was Leslie Bibb in a comedic role and Amy Adams in too much make-up and glasses (rrarr). Also featured was Sasha Cohen (TV's Ali-G) who provided the main foil and plot device. With lots of racing cinematography and a a story you can more or less predict, this one had it's yawn moments, but its good for a giggle or two.

Wonder Showzen
A friend of mine told me about "Wonder Showzen" a long time ago, and it finally inched up on my Netflix queue. The idea was a very adult parody of Sesame-Street type kids' shows, especially the ones we used to watch in the 70s. Puppets, little kids, cartoons, clips from educational films, and lots of silly songs. Regular features include one blue puppet asking people annoying questions on the street, Beat Kids with little kids doing the same thing, Q&A with straight questions (What is heaven?) being answered by little kids with terrible responses (That's where drunk daddies who drive go) and other bits. Irreverence is the key word here: puppets humping various things, a knife fight between letters and numbers (complete with a West-Side-Story gay love affair between a Jewish number and a Muslim letter), puppet plants bleeding when mother nature gets a sex change-- you get the picture. Very bold stuff, and side-busting hilarious in places. Definitely worthy a watch, if only to have fun catching the quick side-jokes that pepper the background like confetti.

An Intellectual Blog
I have a friend down Alabama way who teaches English at Auburn and is keeping a blog, which is so way more smarter than mine. Go check out Beautiful and Just and be amazed at the brain power. No, seriously, this guy obviously not only reads, but really understands what he reads. Book mark this one and when you're done reading it for the day, leave it on your screen so people will think you're brainy.

Boka
Bold Original Kitchen Artistry. Me and mine met some relatives/friends here for lunch on Saturday. Talk about swank. Attached to a new hotel in downtown Seattle, Boka, at the corner of First and Madison, is not a place to burp through a few beers and snarf curly fries in front of the game. Then again, I was comfortable, at lunch, in my jeans and t-shirt, and I ordered a cheeseburger. A nine-dollar cheeseburger, to be sure, pre-empted by a plum wine and vodka cocktail. The GF had some kinda BLT, but, you know, gussied up to be more than just diner food. All in all it was okay, but not so amazing that I need to go back. I mean, if someone wanted to go there, I'd go along, but as it was downtown, where parking has given me many a migraine, I would never put up first on the list of places to get feed the gullet.

Weight Watchers
I have officially lost 10% of my starting weight. That's right, I dropped another 2.8 lbs, hitting 194.2 for a total loss of 23.8 lbs. 1.2 to go for the 25 lbs sticker, hooray. Of course, WW doesn't like that my average for these 11 weeks has been more than 2 per, but hey. Actually, hey indeed-- at the gym on Sunday, I got that ammonia smell in my sweat, which is a good sign that I'm burning muscle not fat. So maybe I should pig-out this week? No, that's not how it works. But I'd love to lose that 1.2. It's all about little steps: lose 1.2 for the 25 lb sticker, than 3.1 more to go below 190, and eventually my goal, to get below 180. And then what? Gain it all back and start over. Okay no, just playin'. Sorta.

Tool at the Gorge
Last night a few of us drove for two and half hours out to George, Washington, home of the Gorge Amphitheater. This is no misnomer-- the stage I set on the cliff of an enormous gorge, with a spectacular view. We got there fairly early, paid 25 bucks for the premier parking (well worth it) and wandered around for a bit. There was a beer garden outside the venue, though "garden" just meant large enclosed area with no shade or chairs. Nevertheless, we beer-gardened before going inside. Once inside, there where festival-booths selling all manner of alcohol and foodstuffs. There where also a few Xbox 360 displays, with some kinda boxing game, the playing of which against friends and GF alike saw me get my butt whooped. I had some noodles, the GF had a wine margarita, and eventually we went to our seat.

Like I said, a beautiful view, as the sun set, and then opening act Isis came on. A sound that's hard to describe, though some call them post-metal. Long songs with droning riffs and deeply buried vocals-- just my style actually, so I liked them a lot. Eventually the sun set, and Tool finally came on, and did what they do. This marks my 5th ever Tool concert, and it was pretty damn good, but not quite as good as seeing them at the Paramount a few months ago. We had pretty good seats, so I could see everything, and for the last song and the encore there was all kinds of laser lights and whatnot.

When it was over we threaded the crowd to get back to our car, and thanks to the premier parking we made it back to the highway with virtually no waiting, which is why I say the 25 bucks was well worth it. And kudos to the folks who drove-- that was a long haul for so late at night, and me and mine sleeping in the back seat. Today writing this I'm still a bit deaf in one ear from the noise, but it was, altogether, a pleasant way to spend a Sunday.