Salad Is Slaughter

Katharine Hepburn died Sunday afternoon.  Some of my favorite Katharine Hepburn movies are “Woman of the Year,” “Adam’s Rib,” “Pat and Mike,” and “Desk Set.”  They all have something in common – Hepburn’s characters weren’t the stereotypical women you see in many movies of that era.  She played a foreign correspondent, a lawyer, a world-class athlete, and a television research librarian.  She played women who were strong, independent, and smart.

Hepburn played a brave woman willing to sacrifice for a cause in “The African Queen.”  But she could also play the carefree rich girl in “Bringing Up Baby.”  In a couple of films – “Pat and Mike” and “Desk Set” – she had a fiancée who either didn’t appreciate her talents, or used her to get ahead in the corporate world.  I hated that guy in both of those movies.  But eventually Hepburn would come to her senses and pick Spencer Tracy.

I have several of her movies on DVD, and would like to get more.  The last time I checked, “Desk Set” hadn’t been released on DVD yet.  I hope the studios start putting more of her movies out on DVD.

Technorati Tags: movies

On the way to work, on El Camino Real in Mountain View, there used to be a place called “The Psychic Eye.”  They sold books, did readings, conducted classes, and gave advice.  Their store is now closed.  Don’t you think that they should have known?  Doesn’t their business failure make their whole profession look bad?

I’m always amazed at the bullshit people believe.

A friend of mine told me last year that he no longer goes to movie theaters. If there’s a movie he wants to see, he waits until it comes out on DVD, then buys the disc. If he likes the movie, he can add it to his library. If he doesn’t like it, he’s not out much more than it would have cost to go to the theater.

I’m coming around to his way of thinking. If we wanted to go see Star Trek Nemesis on a Friday night, the tickets would have cost us over $10 each for at least $20. Add in a snack and a drink, and the evening would have cost around $40 dollars. True, for that $40, I would have gotten to see the movie on a large screen, but I would have also had to sit in a theater that is probably too cold, on dirty seats, next to people who talk alot and who won’t keep their kids quiet.

If I follow my friend’s plan, I can get Star Trek Nemesis on DVD for $22.49 at Amazon.com. I can get a box of microwave popcorn, a six pack of soda, and some hot dogs at the supermarket for under 15 dollars. The total cost is about the same. I can control the room temperature, movie volume and pause the movie whenever I want. And, I have the movie on DVD if I like it. Total cost is the same as if I went to the theater. If I decide to buy an high definition plasma television and a progressive scan DVD player, I end up with a better movie viewing experience than at the movie theater.

I don’t quite get rid of the extraneous noise if I just buy the DVD. If the dogs start playing tug-of-war with one of their toys, they’re at least as bad as the other people in the theater. But with the dogs, I can toss them in the back yard.

Do movie theaters really have a future if they price people out — especially if the lost costumers have the DVD option? The last movie I saw in the theater was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and we only paid matinee prices. We didn’t want to pay twice that for an evening show. It would have to be a movie I really wanted to see on the large screen to get me to go back. In most cases, I’ll just wait a few months for the disc.

Technorati Tags: movies

TNN (The National Network, formerly The Nashville Network) had plans to re-brand their network as Spike TV, the network for men. Their plans were proceding nicely until a second-rate movie maker sued to stop the change. He claimed that TNNs efforts to call themselves “Spike” was an attempt to steal his name and reputation. Amazingly, a judge bought that crap and ordered TNN’s owner Viacom to stop the change.

Now the real Spike’s family is getting involved. TNN is now filing papers by Spike Jones Jr. saying that Spike Lee does not have exclusive ownership of the name “Spike.” The Jones family wants to make a movie about Spike Jones called “Spike,” and they are afraid that Lee could hijack the name and prevent the movie from being made.

I know that when I hear the name Spike, I don’t think of Spike Lee — I think of Spike Jones, the musician. Here’s hoping that the judge comes to his senses and tells Shelton Jackson Lee that he is going to “Do the Right Thing” and let TNN continue with the name change.

Technorati Tags: television

People seem to remember me.  It might be that I’m especially hideous, or maybe really obnoxious.  I know that it’s not because I’m especially good looking.  Janet pointed the recognition to me after we went to the Ivan Tamas winery in Livermore.  We had gone up to pick up some port from Cedar Mountain, so we stopped by Ivan Tamas find out what happened to my wine shipment (they had mistakenly entered me as “pick up” instead of “ship to”).  We went back about a month later to scout some wineries for the parent’s upcoming visit.  Janet went into the Steven Kent tasting room.  The woman behind the counter asked Janet where she worked, etc., because she looked so familiar.  I walked in and she said, “Oh, you guys were here a couple of weeks ago.”  Janet had sparked a glimmer of memory, but there was something unique about my mug that caused her to remember us.

It happens in restaurants all the time.  For about a year I worked at Doubleclick in San Mateo, so I had stopped going to my usual lunch spots in the south bay.  After I got my job at Dialog I returned to my usual haunts.  Even though I was missing for over a year, waiters would come up to me and ask me where I had been.  It even happened yesterday when I went to Thai Thai for lunch.

It comes in handy sometimes.  Since I’m a regular at Chef Wang’s in Los Altos, I sometimes get free stuff.  In the past I’ve gotten soup, egg rolls, and green tea ice cream given to me.  I also get recommendations for things to try that other customers don’t get.  I go to Fiesta del Mar Too in Mountain View at least once per week.  Since I’m a regular and they recognize me, I can get some honest recommendations about various dishes.  It comes in handy.

The most recent occurrence of this phenomenon was at Chez TJ in Mountain View, and it happened twice.  We had gone to Chez TJ for dinner about three times in five months and the maitre d’ and the waiters recognized us.  At two of those dinners they gave us free refills on our red wine.  One of the waiters commented that we never take tea or coffee after our meal.  Being the smart-ass that I am, I had to ask him if we were coming to the restaurant too often.  He of course said “no.”

Developing a relationship with restaurant staff is a good idea.  Having a unique face is a better one.