True Grit, and other thoughts

Even though I haven't written here in a few weeks, my brain has not been completely shut off. So here are a few things I want to comment on:

1) FORTUNE COOKIES: Kip took me to see "True Grit" for my birthday on Sunday, and to dinner at Chey Thuy, a Vietnamese restaurant that I am quite fond of (get the stuffed grape leaves!). After dinner, we were brought the fortune cookies which are now apparently required at any type of Asian restaurant. Kip's said she would be a leader in her community. Mine was empty. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that my empty cookie means I will be dead soon, and Kip will become a leader by starting a foundation to prevent whatever it is that kills me.

2) TRUE GRIT: If you are a fan of the Coen Brothers, you have probably already seen this entertaining film, or are planning to. If you are not a fan of the Coens, I would have to wonder about your taste in films. Anyway, I recommend you go see this for 2 reasons. First, it is a very entertaining film, and the use of formal dialog will remind you of "Raising Arizona". Second, in our economy we vote with our dollars, and it is important to vote for this type of intelligent, witty adult film so that we get more of them.

3) HULU PLUS: I received as an Xmas gift from Kip a dvd player that also has streams video via wifi from services like Netflix and Hulu plus. If you have been reading this blog for a while you know that I was a big fan of Hulu from the start. Which is why I am so deeply disappointed in what a complete crap service Hulu Plus is. Fortunately, I get a 3 month free subscription with the device, and you can be sure that I will not pay for more. What sucks about it? Well, first, even though it is a pay service, the shows are full of ads. Second, despite being called "plus", it has access to LESS content than the regular Hulu service. Some shows available on their regular service are not there at all, and others do not have the latest episodes. Apparently, this service is a "plus" for Hulu, in that it gets more money, but not for the viewer, who gets crap.

4)SNOW: Several people have asked me if I had any problems in Buffalo because of the big storm on the east coast on Xmas weekend. In fact, on Boxing Day I was at my friends Budd and Jody's house watching the Bills game, and switching over to the Weather Channel between Bills turnovers to laugh at video of people in N. Carolina trying to drive in snow, and yelling "pussies" at the TV when they canceled the football game in Philly (Who DOESN'T want to play football in the snow!). As TWC cut between various reporters in different cities standing in what appeared to us to be a bit of snow, we commented that no one was ever in Buffalo when it is not snowing going "Hey, it's NOT snowing here", nor are they there in July when the weather is quite beautiful. Not to say the weather was nice in Buffalo at that time.

5) WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY: The World Junior Hockey Tourney is taking place in Buffalo right now, a great event for Buffalo to host. Unless you are a hockey nut, or Canadian (redundant?), you probably don't care. But the Canadians were poring over the border to watch their under-20 boys take on the world. Budd and I went to a Tuesday afternoon game between Finland and Switzerland. Fun thing to do on a Tuesday. Unfortunately, it was a mismatch, and I concluded that we were watching a team full of future NHL-ers (Finland) play a team of future bankers, chocolatiers, and cheesemakers.