What I Watched -- Man Up

Man Up was a random Netflix find.  We were looking for something light and funny, but not too dumb.  Nailed it!

It's a goofy British rom-com starring a bunch of people you've never heard of, but in the usual British way, it's dry and actually funny!  Our female lead is jaded and dissatisfied with her love life.  Our male lead is jaded and dissatisfied with his ex-wife.  Male lead was set up on a blind date with a girl, and mistakes female lead for that girl.  The date goes on, but not quite as he had planned.

Bottom line: a cute, funny, and totally predictable story - as any good rom-com is.

What I Watched - Chasing Amy

I had seen Chasing Amy once before, when I first got into the whole Mallrats craze, but it was so long ago that I really didn't remember it any more.  When it showed up on Netflix a couple of weeks ago, I decided it was worth checking out again.

That may have been a mistake.

I remember Chasing Amy as I did when I first saw it - as an eye-opening trip through a new relationship, sponsored by Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams (who I was sure for years was Renee Zellweger).  Now, honestly, it just seems like a dated '90s flick.

Or maybe not.

Let's give it credit for the following:
1) My boyfriend has a role; and
2) Jay and Silent Bob have roles.

Bottom line: it's definitely a throwback. If you have no nostalgia for (or memory of) the 90's, probably skip it.

Goals - Progress Update

Garden: S built me a raised bed for my garden!  We leveled out a nice spot for it in the yard, close to the hose spigot for watering purposes, and someplace that will get mid-day and afternoon sun.

I also started my compost pile, although it's not big enough yet to generate the heat necessary to successfully compost.  But I'm eating all the veggies I can, in order to keep adding scraps.  S filled the leaf blower bag with lots of little chopped up leaves for me, so I have a good stash of that stuff to mix in as well.

Gym: the TV with Netflix access has been hooked up.

Craft table: nothing yet, other than the design ideas I previously mentioned.  Maybe a more concrete blueprint will be this weekend's project, since it's supposed to rain cats and dogs.

Recipes: just for the sake of being old-fashioned, I think I'm going to type up the recipes that I really love on index cards.  With a typewriter.  And keep them in a box.

Yes, that old-fashioned.

To that end, I took my typewriter to the repair shop to have the levers straightened out so I can use it.  I'm waiting for the call saying it's ready.

Pictures: nothing yet.

What I Watched -- Deadpool

I really hadn't even heard of Deadpool until S asked if I wanted to go see it one night.  I like the latest spate of superheroes on the big screen, and I like Ryan Reynolds, so why the hell not?

It was hilarious.  It is not the best remake-of-a-comic-book that I've seen lately, but (perhaps especially since I had no expectations) I just laughed out loud at all the crude jokes - and don't kid yourself, this movie is rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.  I really enjoyed it.

Bottom line: if you're feeling completely irreverent and game for a laugh, Deadpool has got your back.

Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium

Last week, I was out of the office around mid-day, so I decided to stop at Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium for lunch.  I was at the Richmond Heights location, though I hear tell there is at least one other.

I ordered the Ed's Slaw Dog (no onions), on someone's recommendation; it was so long ago now that I can't even remember who made it.  The dog was quite tasty, but a complete mess to eat.  It was still cold outside on the day I was there, which meant that none of their outdoor tables were set up.  They have two or three indoor tables, but they're all taken up by people who are ordering and/or waiting for their food.  As a consequence, since I was just out running some errands, I ended up eating in my car.  It was a bit messy, but I got to rock out to my own music, so that was nice.

I also had the Fozz-a-licious shake, which had apples and goat cheese in it.  It was a bit difficult to drink, since the goat cheese chunks were too big to fit through the straw, but the flavor was good - sweet and tart.  The shake, as the hot dog, was literally overflowing, so it was a good thing they gave me half a dozen good quality napkins to sop up the mess! I'm not talking about those little jobs that disintegrate as soon as you try to use them, but real napkins - and it's a good thing too.

This is the kind of place that I will go back to if I'm in the neighborhood at lunchtime, but probably not the kind of place that I'll make a destination. Even though it's a chain, I prefer Potbelly, where the shake is both larger and less expensive!

Random Links

If you're into maps, here's a do-it-yourself version.

I didn't know they were called hydroperoxides, but I have heard this before.

A funny song.

Global population graphics.

I had no idea you could do this on a road bike.  Or at all.

An old video from just after last fall's Paris attacks, but it is an amusing summary of the nice things (and there are some!) we can say about France.  Skip to 1:00.

What I Watched -- Adult World

It may not actually be fair to say that I watched Adult World, on account of the fact that I fell asleep halfway through.  My only claim to watching the ending was to back up the Netflix stream to about 3 minutes before the end, and ask S for a recap.  Neither the information I got from S nor the last 3 minutes that I saw were any improvement over what I expected, nor did they appear to make it worth it to have stayed awake for the intervening hour.

Now that I have you thoroughly convinced not to see this movie, here's what it's about: Emma Roberts plays Amy, a recently-graduated poet who, upon being kicked off her parents' payroll, gets a job at a sex shop to pay her bills.  The two men in her life are her co-worker at the shop (hometown boy Evan Peters) and her idol in the poetry work (John Cusack).  Amy realizes that people aren't always what they seem.

Bottom line: pity it took her so long.

Another Goal

Like I need one.

Nevertheless, I would like to organize my recipes.  I don't have many - yet - that aren't in cookbooks.  However, I feel that's why it's important that I start now.  If I get a system going, it's easier to add recipes one at a time as they come along, right?

Sorry

I am trying to get some time to blog.  Really.

Happy Birthday, E!