This isn’t something I’d normally go see/rent, but I was stuck on an airplane going from Dallas to Seattle. It was surprisingly not bad. As NYCinephile wrote, Sacha Baron Cohen was over the top in his role. The best part was the outtakes and bloopers at the end.

It’s what you’d expect from a Rachel Carson Levine story plus some modern references: cute, predictable, light and benign. I’d rate it 3 out of 5 stars, or “average.” Shrek was much funnier and Hamlet deeper and darker.

The best part was the redone classic rock tunes, especially Anne Hathaway’s singing Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

I’m not really “done” with the book, but it is due back at the library. It will likely be a well-placed hint for a Christmas gift as it’s useful as a reference.

Because of an ill-timed arriving library hold, I have had only a few days to read this before it’s due at the library. I can’t renew it because of pending holds, not that I would have the time to read this with NNWM coming up. I’ll try again after the first of the year, perhaps with the musical version instead.

El Tiempo, 5602 Washington, Houston, TX

Oh, my, where to begin? The warm, smoked tomato salsa is to die for. This is another place where you could easily pig out on the chips and salsa before the main entree arrives. My chicken enchiladas came with grilled onions, chile toreado, borracho beans, seasoned rice and barco of lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheddar cheese. My parents had the crab enchiladas, a specialty.

At most places, rice and beans are usually an afterthought at most places, a filler for insufficient meat. El Tiempo’s were as good as the salsa. The rice had fresh cilantro and other seasonings I couldn’t put my finger on. The beans were similarly elusive. Were I to go back, I’d forgo the chicken for the rice and beans.

Had I not gotten there early (~4:30), I would have had to rely on the valet parking option. The restaurant was on the loud side as it was filled up with evening patrons. Conversation was progressively difficult to as the hyena-like laughs of the margarita-chugging party behind me got worse. The atmosphere isn’t why you’d go, though.

I’d feel slightly guilty going in and pigging out on the free roasted tomato salsa and freshly made chips – they’re very good. My favorite entree is the fajitas, hands down.

The best way to roll one: in an unfurled tortilla add a dab of garlic butter. Stir in a spoonful of salsa mixed. Add cheddar, chicken, onions and any additional toppings (though by this time, it’s a full fajita).

To eat: Pinch the far end of the rolled fajita between your third and fourth fingers. It’ll still drip, but the ingredients won’t squoosh out as you eat.

The book is written in the same spirit as The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, namely its material is serious, but with tongue planted in cheek. The obvious sequel is the “How to Survive a Human Resurgance: Tips on Defending Robotkind from Ugly Bags of Mostly Water.”

• Your dinner host serves sparkling red wine (wink) with shellfish
• The IRS wants to audit you
• You get pulled over for driving way too fast in Louisiana AND have out-of-state tags
• During a company presentation, you discover your fly is open

• Why does the office printer/fax/scannier/copier always jam up thirty minutes before a monthly project review meeting?
• What’s really up with the Dell Laptop Batteries?
• Is the microprocessor behind the “Check Engine” light just screaming for attention? (I know it’s supposedly caused by a loose gas cap. Maybe.)

Overall, it’s a very entertaining bathroom book.

Hail to our metallic overlords!

One night in early January, 2004, I noticed the weather forecasts for Seattle were all over the map, proverbially speaking. On a lark, I tracked forecasts for that week from eight sources. What struck me as particularly odd was how often the forecasts changed for the worse.

I repeated the experiment the following month, this time coming up with a control case based solely on assuming typical weather conditions. Much to my surprise, control won.

I knew I was lucky, but was curious why a model based on freely available data did better than those benefitting from a gaggle of weather radars and degrees in climatology.

It’s unfortunate that this book, Somewhere I was Right hadn’t been published because it would have saved me a lot of research into how weather is forecast and why, every once in a while, I get to shovel six inches of partly cloudy off my driveway (to borrow his recurring joke :-).

The book is done in a conversational tone, yet conveys much information about how forecasting is done, why much of it is open to interpretation (and interpolation), and nuances of this geographic area. Also useful are the supplemental web resources

... they have excellent taste in music. This volume has strong Celtic and French influences, and it stands as masterful as the first CD. Like a storm in the desert, it fills up my senses.

Dervish’s “Live in Palma” album is an excellent compilation of songs from their previous records. The sound quality is exceptional—as if you’re sitting there in the front row of an attentive, respectful audience. Beteween most of the song are separate tracks providing an introduction of the song and which album it’s from. For example, the introduction to The Hills of Greanmore:

“This is a song that we haven’t done in years [...] about a hare hunt that took place in northern part of Ireland [...] nobody wants to kill the hare, they just want the sport of chasing it. [...] Speaking of hair, or the lack of it, Brian.”

It’s very charmingly done and one of my favorite albums.