Another One Bites the Dust

Vandyland, the 75-year-old West End diner, is set to close its doors on May 31st. I only went there once and had a damn fine milkshake, if I recall correctly. Sentimentally speaking, this is no skin off my nose, but it still sort of chaps my hide.
Read more about it here.

This is a test.

Here's something I'm excited about.

It's a Phillip K. Dick novel adapted for the screen by a guy named Richard Linklater, a filmmaker who lives and works in this place called Austin, Texas. Linklater has been around for awhile and has an impressive resume of moderately successful and quirky films. This one uses the rotoscoping animation technique that Linklater introduced in 2001's Waking Life, and his Detour Filmproduction company in association with Flat Black Films have completed the film using the technology pioneered by software guru Bob Sabiston. It should be in theaters this summer. No date has been set for the release, but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.

Click on the banner at the top to see the newest trailer for A Scanner Darkly, and yeah, I know it's got Keanu in it, but I'm excited about it anyway.

Us and Hem

I wasn't as enthusiastic as Jamye about going to last night's Hem show at Exit/In. In fact, I teased her about going home to watch the Olympics right up until the moment we walked into the venue. It was a small crowd, but as the handful of tables were all occupied, we headed for the end of the bar closest to the stage.

After suffering through a Tom Waits/Robert Earl Keene/John Prine knockoff from Minnesota named Ben Weaver, the four piece band we had paid to see ambled onto the stage. After two songs, the band's frontwoman, Sally Elyson (who sounds like Joan Baez without the corncob) implored the crowd to pull their tables and chairs closer to the stage as there was a ridiculous (although typical for the Exit/In) gulf between the stage and the first landing where the tables had been set up. With the kind of quick efficiency that should be reserved for fire drills, most of the crowd complied.

I must say, it was an excellent set that had the crowd rapt. Despite the one or two moronic girls shouting requests at the stage, our failure to get out of another concert without someone yelling "Freebird," and making us wait until the encore to hear our favorite songs, we left the Exit/In satisfied that we had heard a show where the band had enough faith in their talents to not comprimise their sound for more popularity. Actually, it was quite a shame that a band that so effortlessly fuses folk, country and pop stylings couldn't draw a larger crowd here in Music City, U.S.A. It just shows to go ya.

Postscript: Before I log off here, I do need to mention their cover of a classic old tune that I believe is still in the pantheon of my Dad's favorite songs. He (and anybody else) can download a live version of it by clicking here. Also, you can check out their albums and a brief bio on iTunes. Just figured out how to make those links. Cool, huh?

Nashville Favorites: In Memoriam II

Granite Falls

Jamye and I had our first date there. Six years later, my parents hosted our rehearsal dinner in the room pictured on the left. Obviously, Granite Falls was a special place for us. Now, according to their website, they are closed for business after 19 years.

We should have known that trouble was afoot weeks ago when we caught wind that the restaurant was only going to be open during the dinner hours for private events. The place put a positive spin on the change by trumpeting previously non-existent breakfast hours on a large banner hanging from the side of the building. Lunch would still be served too, but the scene had been set for eventual failure. The Midtown breakfast crowd had already been cornered by the likes of Pancake Pantry, Noshville, Le Peep, Provence and Jackson's, and even with the staggering amount of gentrification in Nashville, I guess the management of Granite Falls began to see the writing on the wall very soon after their last ditch effort to keep the venerable restaurant alive.

It's funny. With more and more urban living projects in the pipeline, the Nashville restaurant scene should be booming, and perhaps it is for some, but from our vantage point, the locally owned places seem to be disappearing. From what little I've experienced of it through our friends Tracy and Jody, the restaurant industry is a fickle business that can turn on a dime, and sentimental spots of our past are easily ground to rubble by the wheels of corporate expansion.

Granite Falls wasn't a place we visited often, but it was a special treat when we did. As with Blue Moon, we'll always have our memories of Herb Lemon Chicken, Rattlesnake Pasta and Maryland Crabcakes, but more importantly, Jamye and I will remember the place we met for lunch that sunny April day in 1996. Ten years later, we're still going strong. We wish we could say the same for Granite Falls.

Ever get the Mean Reds??

Yeah, well, I do too. I've never resorted to shoplifting, but a good rant-fest is never beyond me. (Poor Jon!) Right now, it's the annoying Kindergarten teacher from none-other-than-Nashville on the Bachelor that's giving me the fidgets...I know, I know! Could it get any more pathetic?? I think I'm just getting fed up, feeling some issues are way overdue. Definitely becoming impatient, restless, and I'm most assuredly giving up on the news.

When Arthur March only gets 18 months in prison, and a Metro officer only gets 30 days and some community service for hitting and critically wounding a college student while driving under the influence--I just want to pull my hair out. Not to mention a VP with bad aim, riotous fundamentalists (I mean, c'mon! Isn't everyone just sick and tired of being offended already??!?), kids dying from some stupid choking game that I remember idiots performing in the Girl's restroom by the cafeteria in high school, and enough about Hillary! Stop it! Just... stop it.

Who knows, maybe a more conservative outlook is in my future. Maybe Ann Coulter and I will one day see eye-to-eye. Um, HA. Maybe it's because I've been out of the job-hunt for too long and no longer know what to expect. Perhaps it's all of the recent snow and ass-chapping weather. (Although we've just had the most relaxing weekend I can remember in months). Or maybe it's because I'm breathing down 30's neck. (By the way, I feel old. The undergrad volunteer in our lab, Michael, told Marty and I today that he had never heard of The Police. Imagine our surprise when Michael gasped, "Sting? He was in The Police?") Whatever it might be, I'm having a hard time shrugging off this cabin-fever.

Well at least the Olympics are on and my inner, neglected athlete is getting motivated. I'm off to the gym.

Oscar Wieners

No, that isn't a Brokeback Mountain joke. It's a slam on the 5,800+ members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Oscars are bestowed on the important pictures that Hollywood usually releases during the final month of the year after they've spoon fed us pap for the previous 11 months. "These are the Oscar-worthy films," they say. "This is the good stuff. All that other stuff was just to sell popcorn and pad our accounts so we can make great cinema. Yes, many of you will get a chance to see these movies in your hometown weeks after they have been released in New York and Los Angeles and after the critics in those two cities have told the rest of the country what we already knew: These films are the cream of the crop. Now, we will nominate ourselves for awards to confirm what the critics said about what we already knew."

I watched Million Dollar Baby on HBO recently. You may remember that it won the Oscar for Best Picture last year because everyone in Hollywood thinks that Clint Eastwood can do no wrong. If you recall, this is a man who made his career out of 1. playing gunslingers in Spaghetti Westerns, 2. toting around a hand cannon as a guy named Dirty something-or-other, 3. acting as second banana to a precocious orangutan named Clyde, and 4. singing that they called the wind Mariah. Now, I'm not going to say the movie was terrible, because it wasn't, but man, it was a bummer. I guess the new measure of a movie's worth is if you leave the theater wringing your hands and crying, "Woe is me!" while simultaneously rending your garments and gnashing your teeth.

Sadly, I'm still a sucker for the stuff (stuff=Oscars). When the final act in the Lord of the Rings trilogy swept the Oscars two years ago. It was a reward for a staggering achievement in film that will probably not be duplicated in my lifetime: Three features filmed back to back on location in New Zealand and recreating, down to the finest detail, a completely engrossing fantasy world. A movie I actually loved (although not as much as the previous two installments) had won for being accessible, crowd-pleasing entertainment. To each his own, but give me movies that aspire to be rousing entertainment over movies about cowboy lovers, Truman Capote, racial tensions in Los Angeles, a 50-year old witch hunt, and a 30-year old act of terrorism.

In all honesty, I haven't seen this year's nominated films. Every year, Jamye and I plan to see each one, but we never make it. I think there's something to that. After a long day at work, it makes more sense to go see a big gorilla scale the Empire State Building or a Caped Crusader take down ninjas rather than watch two ranch hands stare at each other longingly across a campfire. Maybe we just resent being told what is good and/or important by the very people who make sequels to movies called Big Momma's House.

"The Weighing Is the Hardest Part"

Or, "What I've Been Doing Since My Last Post"

I've needed to lose some weight for awhile, and by "some weight" I mean about 50-60 pounds... roughly 1/4 of myself. I had tried the Atkins approach before and had some success (losing roughly 20 lbs in six weeks), but once I fell off the no carb wagon, I rapidly put the 20 lbs. back on after a few helpings of potatoes. If man cannot live on bread alone, what makes Dr. Atkins (may he rest in peace) think man can live on bacon and rabbit food alone.

So here I was on January 22, 2006, back from a week of gorging myself on queso in Austin and looking for a sensible way to change my eating habits without being forced to give up the lifeblood of any self-respecting Irishman or adopt the eating habits of primitive man.

I decided to return to a site of a former failure. CalorieKing.com I had attempted to keep track of calories in the past, but had been unsuccessful sticking with it. I would get tired of toting around my little book made from office-supplied materials and jotting down my caloric intake day after day. This time, I downloaded their trial software, so I could keep track of what I was doing in the comfort of my little Macintosh world. Plus, it gives me fat, carb, protein, and fiber content in addition to caloric information. The database of foods included is truly stupefying, so I can usually find what I need and simply drag the item into my daily intake window. After two and a half weeks, I can see that I tend to like things that have fat in them. Imagine that. I am routinely close to or slightly above my daily allotted fat intake while I usually lag behind in the protein department. The whole exercise has been very eye-opening, and speaking of exercise, it'll keep track of that too.

Anyway, if I can trust our little bathroom scale (and that's a big IF), I have managed to shed eight pounds in two and a half weeks. At that rate, I should find myself getting to where I need to be in another.... oh, four months. I suppose it would help if I ramped up the exercise regiment a little, and by "ramped up" I mean started, of course.

I realize that some of our loyal handful of readers will be taken aback by the confessional nature of this post, but as somebody once said, "Confession is good for the soul." Now, let's see if it does anything for love handles.

Austin, TX: Days Five and Six

We were too lazy to even take a picture on Monday. With all the running around the previous four days, we opted to veg in our hotel room. We ventured out once to eat at Shady Grove where Jamye had the Hippie Chick sandwich and I tried the Airstream Chili with a side salad... OK, and some onion rings (vacation's not over yet). We then rushed back to the room to take a nap.

We roused ourselves later to surf the web, paddle about and watch the Golden Globes. When Gwyneth Paltrow (whom we do not like for various reasons... 1-1a-2-3) came out in her ghastly maternity frock to present the Cecil B. Demille Award to Anthony Hopkins I phoned in an order at the Mr. Gatti's Pizza down the road. Haven't had Mr. Gatti's since I was in high school. It was just as I remembered it. That's a good thing.

On Tuesday morning, I was up pretty early by vacation standards. I had a sitdown scheduled with Mike Rollins, the President of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, at 10 am to discuss some possible job leads, and I left Jamye behind to make our final preparations to return to Nashville that afternoon. Upon my return to the hotel, we checked out, loaded the car, made one more stop at Texadelphia for lunch (see the link below), drove to the airport, dropped off the rental car, checked our bags, boarded the plane, flew, landed, got off the plan, picked up our bags, got on a shuttle bus, got off a shuttle bus, got in our car, drove home, unloaded the car, watched TV, drank a couple of Miller Lites, unpacked (actually Jamye did that) and generally dreaded getting back to work today.

So, here we are. Back in Nashville. It snowed last night, naturally, and I vaguely recalled wearing shorts and a tee shirt the day before. I tried not to think about that as I scraped the snow from our windshield this morning while the car was warming up.

Austin, TX: Day Four

Late start. First stop was Z Tejas with Fred and Rebecca for brunch/lunch/what have you. That's it above. Then, it was off to the Co-op (The UT Bookstore). It was packed full of students buying books and folks getting their commemorative gear before the National Championship celebration at the Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. We left before Jamye broke out into hives.

We then met back up with Ward at Opal Divine's for one more pow wow and a couple of drinks, and as time had started to slip away before Fred and Rebecca had to hit the road, we hit Texadelphia for dinner. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. After that, we begrudgingly took Fred and Rebecca back to their car and saw them off before Jamye and I headed back upstairs and spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Boring, huh?

Austin, TX: Day Three

I didn't take the picture on the left, but I could have ;) We were there after our return visit to Curra's, and we were also here and here. In between, we went down to Run Tex, a specialty running store on South First. Rebecca and Fred bought some stuff to facilitate their New Year's resolutions.

At the last place, I got the high score on their Ms. Pac Man. I had a great burger too, and Jamye and I split cheese fries.

We might get some rain here today or tomorrow. They need it.

Finally, I'll wrap up this quick post with a question: Anyone ever heard of Cedar Fever?

Austin, TX: Day Two

A Central Texas sunset from our hotel room window in South Austin.

OK, let's recap. Our Austin realtor, Ward, met us at the hotel a little before 11 and we hit the road to look at houses. We saw a total of 5 in the South Austin area (MLS area 10), and the last 3 really piqued our interest. Check them out here.

1808 Pannier Lane

6304 Berkeley Cove

5507 Kings Highway

Can you guess which one was our favorite?

After our last stop we headed to Curra's Grill South for a late lunch. For comments and a link to their website click here. I had the Enchiladas Curras (filled with monterey jack cheese and topped with carne guisada) and Jamye had Enchiladas Chile Colorado. Great salsa and queso. We're going back today when Fred and Rebecca get here. Apparently, Fred had a late night at the club last night. They just left Corsicana an hour ago. *yawn*

After Curra's Grill, Ward took us to Mother Egan's where he works four shifts a month. We got introduced to a lot of people before Ward took us back to the hotel by way of Opal Divine's. After that, Jamye and I promptly ran down the street and grabbed Whataburgers for dinner which we ate in bed while watching TV.

Voila!

Austin, TX: Day One (continued)

A northbound view on South Congress which terminates at the State Capitol there in the distance. This is SoCo. Funky little shops and restaurants line both sides of this street that slices through the trendy heart of South Austin. Jamye and I landed at Doc's Motorworks to kill a couple of hours before our first appointment. She had a Stella and a Lone Star. I had two Shiner Blondes. We played Shuffleboard. I won. Handily.

Last night we went to Opal Divine's - Penn Field, where I had a bowl of Texas Chili and a pint of the local Live Oak Pilz. Jamye had the Divine Quesadilla (which she shared with me) and a Live Oak Ale, we both annihilated a basket of Cracked Pepper Fries served with Dill Ranch. I ordered a Fat Tire Amber to put out the fire from the Chili, and after finishing that, we headed straight back to the hotel and crashed. Long day. I even left out one of the funniest parts, but maybe Jamye will fill y'all in on that.

It's Friday morning (Day Two), and Jamye just woke up alittle while ago. We're going to look at a few houses with the realtor we met with yesterday at Shady Grove. His name's Ward. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that later.

Later.

Austin, TX: Day One

Goodbye Nashville.
Hello Austin.
Yeah, it was awfully cloudy this morning in Austin, but it turned into a gorgeous day. Upper 70s. Sunny. Shady Grove. Texas Martini. Just one.

Anyway, we're goin' to eat dinner now. Don't know where yet. We'll let you know.

We're Off... Again

In fact, we leave in thirty minutes for the airport to fly to Austin, TX, home of the National Champion Texas Longhorns. Look for updates from (clap clap clap clap) deep in the heart of Texas.

Team Angelina

I'm sure if you have a pulse, you've probably already heard about this today.
And seeing as how (Hollywood-crazed society that we really are) we've all been waiting for the other shoe to drop......and there it is:
Brad and Angelina are having a baby.

Sure, I feel just as horrible for poor, little Jennifer as the next gal who has ever been dumped for another woman. But, come on! I just can't help but think that this was all--in the fate of Hollywood standards--inevitable.

Angelina is dangerous territory. Not that she can help it, she's a goddess.
Simple fact. What man on the planet doesn't think she's just the coolest?
She's independent (men are apparently attracted to this trait in women), gorgeous, has a body to die for (men are apparently attracted to this trait in women as well), tattooed, and does things that make you raise an eyebrow and wonder if it was cool or whack, AND she's a frickin' goodwill ambassador for the U.N. for crying out loud, so she can therefore play the Mother Teresa card as well. What's not to like? I mean, no offense Jennifer, but what have you done for me lately? Brad probably knew he was treading on thin ice going into the making of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and decided to go ahead with the movie anyway. So much for marital loyalty. Jennifer probably never stood a chance. Not that I consider Angelina a homewrecker at all. Women should know better--beware the Angelina. Angelina is a man magnet. Angelina adopts children in need. Angelina is a force to be reckoned with. Angelina is more a state of mind, than tangible flesh and bone.

Just so long as they don't name their kid Apple or Capone, I will remain on Team Angelina.

A Link from Link to Link

So I spent a lot of time this weekend playing The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker with my 7-year-old niece, Morgan... effectively avoiding some quality time with the rest of the family, but really, how often can you say that you and your niece figured out how to escape a prison cell, swing across chasms and learn how to use a sword and shield?

Having bought the game for Morgan, I had a bit of vested interest in the content and whether or not it would strike a chord with her. Sure, it had gotten critical raves when it came out almost 3 years ago, but would a sword and sorcery game featuring a towheaded little boy in a green outfit be greeted favorably by my Barbie-crazed niece? Thankfully, moments after inserting the game, Jamye reported to me that it appeared to be a hit.

I strolled into the room and watched the girls play for awhile and tried to feign disinterest as I watched this little green guy scoot across a tropical island chasing pigs, but the more I watched, the more I wanted to play too. Soon Morgan handed me her little pink controller, and I was off to the races: learning to fight, boarding a pirate ship, sneaking about under barrels, etc. etc. etc. To be honest, I think Morgan was more than happy to have me play in her stead as some of the challenges became a little too difficult for her, and I have to say, I was glad to oblige.

Truly, I've never played anything like this game. Every corner of it seemed to be jam packed full of imaginative details and small bits of whimsy. Yeah, that's right guys, I got hooked on a kids game. An E for Everyone game. A game where villains disappear in a cloud of smoke when vanquished. Wanna make something of it? In a time when games geared towards adults who grew up playing video games continue to get louder and more violent, this game reminded me of what video games used to be: escapist fun.

p.s. for Morgan. If you get stuck in the game, click on the purple picture of Link above to get help.

What my Husband Got Me for Christmas

And I soooooo LOVE it. It's the 12-inch G4 PowerBook with SuperDrive! Complete with Dashboard--my new favorite hobby.
And seeing as how I've been getting so many requests from my fans to add more posts of my own,
*snicker*
this will obviously help.

It's no MacBook Pro, which Jon has been drooling over ever since Apple unveiled it earlier yesterday morning, but really.
What else could a girl ask for?

Out with the Old. In with the New... Baby.

So, Jamye and I went down to Florida last weekend for New Year's and finally got to see that little Disabantonio kid in person. At nine weeks old, he wasn't exactly doing cartwheels, but he was fun to hang out with nonetheless. We even got to get him out on the town to the Villages of Baytowne Wharf in Destin for a couple of hours before he started to protest. To be honest, I wasn't that thrilled with the place either. It lacked character, and I think Joey sensed it. I think he's gonna be more of a McGuire's type... especially with that red hair he's gonna have. His red-headed momma took the picture above.

The Texas Longhorns are Invincible!

The Texas Longhorns defeated the mighty Southern California Trojans last night in what was probably one of the best college football games I have ever witnessed. This National Championship Rose Bowl was everything the sportswriters and analysts have been saying it would be for months. The only thing that most of them got wrong was the winner. As most people were ready to crown USC the greatest college football team ever, the Longhorns spoiled the Trojan's run at an unprecedented third straight national championship by beating them 41-38 in their own backyard.

Texas Quarterback Vince Young, the game's MVP, piled up 200 yards rushing to go with 267 yard passing and account for 467 of Texas' 556 yards of offense. As he routinely knifed through Trojan defenders in the second half, I began to hope that the Tennessee Titans could use their number three pick in the NFL draft to bring him to Nashville and learn Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow's system under his mentor, Steve McNair. Of course, Young has yet to declare his intentions to enter the draft and forego his senior season, but one wonders if, like Matt Leinart decided last year, he'll feel like he still has more to prove in the college game. If he does return, it would be for a run at the Heisman and back-to-back championships. If he leaves, he will have his detractors in draft pundits who look at Matt Leinart as the second coming of Joe Montana and Young as a raw and undisciplined talent with an unorthodox throwing motion. Young, the first quarterback in NCAA history to throw for 3000 yards and rush for 1000 yards in a single season, will prove them all wrong. The only question is, "When?"