My friend said you shred the cello, and I'm jello baby!

I was listen to my Ipod .01 (whatever brand it is with its tiny flash drive) and I heard my favorite Weezer song, El Scorcho, for the first time in about a year. I was just thinking about how nice it is to hear a random long neglected song, like finding a $5 in a jacket pocket. Then, in a roudabout way, it made me think about my poor neglected blog........overgrown with weeds and assorted verbal shrubbery at this point. But I am back, and will hopefully prove a more dedicated blogger again.

Waht has the new year brought thus far..........well, lots of work.......and running........and sleep. Somewhat all tangentally related. Work has been steady busy this new year and, with one co-worker with small children, one out on maternity, and one having her share of familial tragedies, I have been uncommonly harried. All to the good though because the days pass that much quicker. Plus, in the midst of all this work, I have managed to begin my allergy shots.

I have given, at this point, roughly a thousand injections by my estimation between shot clinic and working with Dr. Price, but have until recently not fully understood what it is like to go through the process myself. Let me say emphatically, it is NOT FUN! It isn't terrible by any stretch, but I am thoroughly exhausted on days that I get my RUSH therapy. One evening, I was fast asleep before 8pm. Most evenings, I kind of wish that were the case. Evidently this will pass in time. Otherwise I have no idea how anyone could tolerate it. Additionally my right tricep has been red and itchy for the past 4 days. On the upside, the swelling makes me look totally buff!

Ah yes, the running. First, I should say that I am not one to make resolutions. On the rare occassions I have made them, I have either aimed too high or had to vague a goal in mind and, subsequently, failed miserably (if I remembered making the resolution in the first place that is). This year, I am trying to actually stick with one. I am going to try to accumulate 400 miles of cardio work this year. I expect to, hopefully, surpass that number....but it is my goal. I am only counting actual cardio work, not my walks to and from my car or the wandering I do on the job. It is a modest goal yes, but considering my limited lung capacity, I am sure it will not be as easily achievable as it seems at the moment. That said, I am off to a good start. Updates periodically.

In other news, I have seen another batch of ho-hum movies, none of which are particularly memorable in a good or bad way. I also re-watched the latest Batman movie, and sadly it didn't hold up as well as I had hoped. All I could see the second time around were the gaping plot holes.........though the acting and action sequences were still top notch. I am already pre-geeking out for Coraline and the Watchmen.

I read a really interesting book........perhaps it was Crichton's last: State of Fear. I am not saying it was a great book, but it brought up some interesting counter-points to the global warming theory. I don't know if i agree with all those counter points either, but it was rather intriguing and it did make me think about the things that we take for fact that often don't have a lot of supporting evidence or, at the very least, have no conclusive evidence.

Some possibly interesting news on the job front. Tune in next time with your Ovaltine decoder rings!

Rachel getting my $8........and married

Tia and I like different kinds of movies. On occasion we reach an accord, but just as often we do not. I cannot justifiably say that I have better taste than she, just different. I like movies that require me to suspend disbelief and often are in no way based in reality (or only tangentially so). With comedy as well as action, I tend towards that direction. Tia tends to like more 'real' films, though she, like I, generally stipulates that something must happen to make the movie worth seeing (not just a slice of daily life). What we tend to agree upon with near unanimity however, is that most oscar nominated films (or films that at least create a 'buzz' akin to that for fine acting performances and the like) are dead boring. Such is the case with Rachel getting married.

Yes, something did happen at this film, the titular character did indeed get married, but other than that it was like watching a home movie of someone else's wedding........someone that you know nothing about. Unless you have wedding fever, it is as dull as it sounds. Its a bummer because Tia really wanted to see it, and was equally disappointed. Just makes me thankful that we only paid $8 instead of $18 to see it. Then i might have had to demand my money back.

On a scale of 1-5, this film fell soundly in the 1 column.
1 = Bah! (wish I had those hours of my life back)
2 = Meh! (It was a diversion, but nothing I would care to see again)
3 = So-so (if it were on TV in the future, I might sit for it again)
4 = Yah! (would watch again)
5 = Yippee! (one of those films that you could watch over and over and never really tire of)

Other films we have seen recently:

Happy Endings - Some sort of interesting storylines that, too neatly and unrealistically, tie together at the end. = 2.5

21 = very glitzy and decently paced with a nice twist at the end. Nothing spectacular, but good fun. = 3

Step Brothers = Will Ferrell usually brings the funny.........not this time. With the exception of the music video, an almost complete loss. = 2

Burn after reading = for me, Coen brothers movies are either home runs (Fargo, O Brother Where art thou, The Big Lebowski) or complete an utter misses (No Country, Intolerable Cruelty) and this definitely falls in the latter category. Disapointing. = 1.5

Zach and Miri make a porno = in Kevin Smith's usual way, the dialogue is quick and profanity laden. The film is uneven, but overall solid and there are some big laughs along the way. It isn't great, but it definitely falls into my solid 3 category.

Crazy Love = An slow paced, but interesting doc about a couple that met, and subsequently broke up, in the 1950s. oh, and the gentlemen in the film paid some hoodlums to throw lye in the woman's eyes blinding her and going to prison for 15 years for it.........and yet they end up together. = 3

Off to watch another movie. Hopefully something at least happens in it.

Pudding on the rice

I love food, but I am not a foodie. I don't harbor the desire nor do i have the inclination to wax poetic about each french fry that passes my lips..........but every once in awhile a place catches my attention and i feel compelled to say something about it. Frequently, it is a particular menu item like bulgogi, the tomato soup at Elephants, or my most recent palate delight of chocolate braised rabbit. But, Tia and I were in Bridgeport Village returning clothing (and doing so unsuccessfully, exchanging the one item for other items worth more), and we happened up a place called Pudding on the Rice. They serve only a few things and I cannot speak to most of them, but the rice pudding is sublime and comes in enough flavors to make Baskin Robbins jealous. I urge anyone who reads this with a remote predilection for the desert to seek this place out and try it. Let me know if you try their tart yogurt or crepes as well. I certainly hope to.

http://www.puddingontherice.com/