Freddy and Einstein

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Because Ella's 14 months old, it's not often we get the chance to go to the movie theater anymore. And I've slowed down in book consumption as well - well, not counting There's a Wocket in my Pocket or Where's Arthur's Gerbil?

I will try, however, to pass on reviews of movies I do manage to see, or books I think might be generally interesting. Where's Arthur's Gerbil was worth the read, for instance. (And it turns out, the gerbil was in Arthur's lunchbox - hope that wasn't too much of a spoiler).

I managed to sneak away yesterday to watch Freddy vs. Jason. Don't roll your eyes - this was the horror movie I never knew I always wanted to see. Come on - what a premise! And the director/writer managed to keep it from being totally campy, and yet fun to watch. This is like those classic questions of our childhood - who would win, Superman or Spiderman? (Superman) Batman or the Flash? (Batman) Aquaman or Wonder Woman? (Who cares? Linda Carter was just too hot for words.) Freddy Kreuger or Jason? (I'm not going to tell you who won... see it for youself) And true to the movie genre, there was plenty of blood, drunken obnoxious kids looking for the fuse box in a power outage, and the only one left standing was the cute virgin girl. This was the first movie I've seen in quite a while that I could go back to the theater to watch again. It was pure entertainment.

Bookwise, I urge everyone to go run right out and purchase What Einstein Told His Cook - Kitchen Science Explained. It's a quick read, but explains the science behind why you shouldn't put tomatoes in the fridge, why the best frying pan would be made of silver, and what make kosher salt kosher (no pigs). He injects enough humor to make it fun to read, and has a smattering of recipes throughout the book, including a killer margarita recipe that I'm going to try this weekend.

If I drink enough, I'll escape the Freddy nightmares. He's just plain creepy.


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Trimming the photo wall

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There are some folks out there who haven't realized we're living in The Future. They still take pictures with film. And then they develop them. And send them to me. I realized long ago that the amusement value of looking into my personal life only stretches for about 12 seconds for anyone other than me - 18 seconds if the recipient was actually at the event. Hence the 'Groove. A convenient place to point people to for the display of photos of our last camping trip or the latest oh-so-cute pictures of our kid that doesn't require more than a few moments of their ADD beset minds. From those who haven't made the digital plunge, on the other hand, we get periodic envelopes with a 2"x3" or some such glossy photo of their wedding/vacation/kid/puppy. I smile and share it with my bride and we are truly - for the requisite 12 seconds - happy to have shared the captured moment in our friend or relation's lives. But then I have to figure out what to do with it. I mean - they spent good money on this photo. Those things aren't cheap. Especially the ones that come from a real live photographer. We have this board in our kitchen that is absolutely overflowing with pictures of our friends, our friends' kids, our godchildren, my mother, my nephew (not the former guest of the state - the other one), somebody's dog, and one or two of our own kid. (I haven't figured that one out - I can look at the actual kid pretty much anytime I want. Why do I need a photo on my kitchen wall of her? In case someone comes over who hasn't seen her? Wait right here - I'll go get her.) My bride is soft-hearted about these things. She doesn't want me to throw any of them out. In case our friend brings his dog over, we'll be able to say "I recognized your cute dog immediately! See? Here's the picture I keep of him on my wall!" And what else do you do with them – put them in the family album? Create a special album just for Other People’s Kids? But we're beginning to run the risk of creating Robin William's wall in One Hour Photo. Please people - next time you get your film developed, opt for the photo CD - email the photo of your wedding/vacation/kid/puppy. Save my wall.
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A New Day - A New Blog

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Everything changes. Even the 'Groove. What's a "blog," the technically-unwashed amongst you may ask? It's short for "weblog" - it's a collection of entries, commentary, etc, that the 'Groove staff will attempt to keep up to date as frequently as proves convenient. It's more interactive - you can comment on an entry which you find particulary brilliant (or offensive). It also precludes having to receive the infrequent mass email - another way to incent the 'Groove staff to make updates more frequently. And this way OTHER staff (*cough* Giuia *cough*) can make some updates without having to whine about learning html. It does mean that there will be a period of time where the 'picture' areas of the site will be somewhat chaotic - a new look for the site, a new organization for the links - it adds up to a lot of tedious work. If you're just dying to see the latest story time or pictures of the youngest 'Groove employee, just email me and I'll work on that part faster. Here's to the dawning of a new 'Groove.
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