Two friends and I went out to dinner and a movie in Palo Alto tonight. We had a wonderful dinner at Evvia; I had the Katsiki Yiouvetsi, which is a goat casserole braised with pearl onions, artichokes, and feta cheese. I’d never had goat meat before, and found it to be quite tasty.  [...]

Mike, Diane and I went to Santa Cruz today to watch Blade Runner: The Final Cut.  Afterward we stopped by Bookshop Santa Cruz.  Aside from a few books, I faced a dilemma as to whether I’d rather buy the George W. Bush Voodoo Kit or the Albert Einstein Action Figure.  Albert won.

I just bought a cap and gown, so I guess I will go to commencement after all.
Herff Jones apparently must make them from some ridiculously cheap fabric, since they say not to wash or dry clean them.  I presume they must use better fabrics for the rental ones so that they can at least be [...]

Three friends and I took BART to San Francisco last night to see The Golden Compass at the Metreon.  If I’d gotten around to it sooner, we wouldn’t have had to go 45 miles each way to do it.  Prior to that, the longest trip I’d taken to see a film was 35 miles from [...]

In late 2001 I was visiting friends in Oregon, and we decided to see The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson’s film of the first book of J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I was torn between excitement to see it and fear that it might not compare favorably to the book (since most [...]

Based on the fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman, Stardust is one of the best fantasy films I’ve seen in a long time.  The acting, cinematography, costumes, makeup, and special effects are all top-notch, but the key is a very engaging story.  I expect that Stardust will be nominated for many awards.

The Princess Bride, 20 years later
When it first hit the theaters, I didn’t even want to see it.  Fortunately for me, my friends forced me to go.  It’s in my top ten list.

What if God Wanted Pasta Sauce

As we’re told by Weird Al Yankovic:
Put your Viking helmet on,
Spread that mayonnaise on the lawn,
Don’t you know, it’s Weasel Stomping Day!
Make your kids knitted Viking helmets, and start indoctrinating them while they’re young! [h/t Boing Boing]

Timmy: “Are we gonna discover the secret of life, Mr. Wizard?”
Mr. Wizard: “We will if we’re not careful, Timmy!”
—”Mr. Wizard and Timmy” parody by Stevens & Grdnic
I’m not old enough to have seen the original “Watch Mr. Wizard” show, and I hadn’t even heard of Don Herbert’s more recent Nickelodeon series “Mr. Wizard’s [...]