A really crappy movie

I had hooked up Waiting within my Blockbuster queue and decided to partake last evening. Its cast includes Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, not bad), Justin Long (from the Mac vs. PC commercials), Anna Faris (the incessant Scary Movie series) and a bunch of others. Its supposed to be a gross out American Pie/Road Trip type comedic feature. Not a bad start, I like that stuff.

I began the film...10 minutes passed...20...a half hour. I didn't laugh. Nothing was funny. I turned it off and want 30 minutes added to my life.

Please.

Restaurant Review: La Brace (North End)

My sister, gf, and I decided to walk through the cobblestoned North End for some eats Saturday night. Despite a lack of reservations, I figured we'd get into at least one of the myriad of eateries. Giacomo's? Line out the door. Strega? Booked for the night (although my sister found the host quite appealing). Cantina Italiana? 90 minutes. Assagio? 45. Three unhappy campers.

Walking over to Salem St, we finally stumbled upon a place called La Brace, which could seat us right away. That's usually not a good sign, but we were all very pleased with our experience. We were served by one of the owners, Gail, who was very accommodating to our requests. My sister's butternut squash lasagna was one of the best she ever ate. My clams were extremely fresh and the pasta tasted as if it was right out of the oven. Dessert, usually saved for Mike's, was also terrific, with homemade cannoli and some vanilla creme brulee. And to top it off, Gail hooked s each up with some Grand Marnier on the house. The place is less than a year old, but we all really enjoyed the food, the experience, and the gracious hostess. Highly Recommended.

Portable video player issues

Why are all the major companies coming out with PVP (portable video players) that have such tiny screens. The iPod Video's 2.5" is about the smallest I can deal with, but their software won't take DIVX, Xvid, H.264 or any of the other stuff I have. I tried the Creative M player and their software was crap, so I returned it and don't won't to try the W version (which has a decent sized screen). I've always liked Archos products but Veronica's recent battle suggested some really shoddy control schemes. Thus, my only option is the Cowon A2, which I'm trying to eBay. We shall see...

Pretty friggin cool bits

30 years of family pictures

Thank you, Digg.

Ghetto Spellin B

Thank you, GF.

Addendum to the Billy Crystal film critique

I can't believe I forgot about one of the greatest mob films ever. Analyze This took Deniro's Jimmy Conway and placed it under the care of neurotic psychologist played by Crystal. Everyone was perfectly cast and it was a very funny film, thanks to the performances from the leads as well as Harold Ramis' direction. The only fault was the DVD commentary heralded Deniro and Crystal, but if you listen to it, they are both in different locations. If you could have heard their discussion together, I'm sure it would have been one for the ages.

The sequel, unfortunately, tried to replicate the success but only succeeded in the first quarter of its run time. The rest was dull and a waste of time.

Very underrated film

Looking back to 2002, I really enjoyed Drumline. Yeah, it's extremely formulaic. Cocky freshman hot shot thinks he's the next coming, when it comes to marching band drumming. He's then embarrassed by the current hotness, they become best buds, taught a lesson by the instructor, gets the girl, and wins the big game. My man Greten could have easily picked this one.

But the plot isn't what's important. Marching band always seemed like a joke, which was further exaggerated by other films. Drumline, however, makes it extremely exciting. The musical quality of the performers and the visual exuberance is quite the spectacle. Who would've thought they could reproduce Sugar Hill Gang's "Apache" or J5's "Can You Feel It?" so well? Totally worth the Netflix.

Today's lesson: How to write a rap song that sells millions

Yo, I'm kickin it live
Direct fo sho
I don't know where I'm goin
But it better be with some flow

My girl is here, my ride is hot
My hand is ready, with fingers on the glock

The work is hard, the work is tough
Hey, my brain is full - that's enough!

Let's go y'all and continue this rap
Cause I can't dance but I sure can tap

This is supposed to make some sense to you
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell ya - I am a Jew

And Passover's coming - matzah for all
Eat some bread? Hell no! I'd be apalled

Man, this rap sucks, and I'm sick of rhymin'
Maybe I'll get better, as we pass the timin'

Word

Can someone PLEASE explain it to me?

There's a Dunks downstairs at my new office.

A small coffee is $1.30.
A small ice coffee is $1.68.

It is just a small coffee with some ice cubes - is there some cube shortage that causes the price to jump 30%???

And I thought Pursuit of Happyness was unimpressive. Virtually the entire movie was depressing. Don't bother.

Why doesn't Billy Crystal make more movies?

While watching the severely disappointing You've Got Mail, I thought about other films that Meg Ryan was in and of course the classic "When Harry Met Sally" came to mind. Not because it was Ryan's best film (not that she's a good actress) but because Crystal steals every scene. Sure, City Slickers was good and no one hosts the Oscars like William. If you are into baseball, "61" was a great assessment of the big Roger Maris/Mickey Mantle rivalry of 1961, and Crystal directed it.

But what else? (Yeah, Princes Bride, no, not "Mr. Saturday Night", "My Giant", or "Father's Day")

Big fan of Chi-town

So the lady and I hit up the Windy City during this past weekend, as neither of us had been there, save the lovely O'Hare airport.

Here's a quick overview of this mysterious part of the Midwest.

• Scenery: Friggin' great. Chicago is known for its architecture and it's clear why. This thing looked liked it was pulled from Flight of the Navigator. Not to mention the Sears Tower and Hancock Building, which is almost twice the height of the one in Boston.

• Stuff to do: That's a yes, your honor. You've got a ton of shopping on Michigan Ave (similar to Fifth in NYC and Newberry in B-town), the architecture, a huge aquarium, free zoo, world-class art museum, and lots of other stuff we didn't get to.

• Weather: Sucked, but we weren't going there for surf and sun.

• Eats: Very good. We had three very good meals and one decent one. Of course, the latter was the most expensive ;)

• Cost: Super reasonable. Our hotel was way cool, had a watering hole called the "Big Bar" as well as free buffet every morning. Their sales tax (9%!!) can hit ya hard though.

Overall, I'd describe Chicago like this - it has the (relative) cleanliness of Boston, the size of NY, and the hospitality of St. Louis. If you have the means, get there.

Talk about some customer service!!

Anybody who's anybody has been forced to make a customer service call. Whether your monitor is shot, or you can't figure out your cell phone bill, toll free numbers and lengthy wait times can be the bane of your existence. In fact, I wrote about some examples I partook in a few years back.

While perusing Digg, I found this great story. It talks about how a Nintendo customer's Wii died and instead of having to ship the unit to Mario's HQ, they had the guy simply stop by in person., since he lived so close. Thirty minutes later, he was ready to go. Very impressive work!