stuff...I like stuff

* I have now seen Marty twice, and I wonder now how I ever didn't want to see it. It's such a great movie: such great structure, great dialogue. And who knew I really liked Ernest Borgnine. That movie grabbed me by the lapels and made me watch it, once I got close enough. Love that.

* On the other side of things: I recently watched Love and Other Disasters, basically to see a hilarious 2.5-minute Dawn French bit, which you can watch here. The bit was good--again--as was about one minute of unrelated dialogue towards the end. The rest: yick.

* There is something about the four-main-guys format of Family Guy and King of the Hill that makes you constantly wonder which one's your favorite. The correct answer, by the way? Quagmire and Dale. Every time.

* It's very (alternately) lilies-of-the-field and exasperating to do deep breathing/stretching next to two cats. They sort of look at you like...cripes. You're working awfully hard at something we never ever ever have to think about.

* I descended into the Billy Goat the other day and felt overwhelmed with...feeling. All sorts of layers of reactions (touristy; I still get tweaked being offered "cheeps" and "coke"); nostalgic (remembering all the time logged at Billy Goat II in my 20s); happy (I love to order their double hamburger and eat the two patties open-faced on the separate halves of the bun); familiarity (newsguy on the TV was one I'd dealt with at my old job); angsty about the crash of civilization (yellowed bylines of now bankrupt papers; the empty spots where payphones were, thinking about Studs), amped up by the drone of the evening news. I'm starting to think the only analogy for years in journalism really is the military. I felt like a vet at a VFW or something, overblown as that sounds, although it wasn't all about that. It's just not a very neutral space, somehow. I always get torqued up there. Love those little flat hamburgers, though!

Other random food pensées:

* Bell peppers are the throw pillows of the cooking world. And vice versa (in things culinary).

* I am dying for a savory bistro meal of roasted chicken accompanied by a brilliant simple salad dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette and chicken juices. Some wine and good bread. Must achieve.

* God help me if I ever see an ad for Domino's Bread Bowl Pasta™ when I'm drunk. Good golly.

* I would like to see cooking shows actually prep veg real-time, especially greens. Just cause. Watch them wash and clean and wash and wash and dry pounds of spinach. Let's see you do that for thirty minutes.

* I dunno abut J. Pepin's new show. There are flashes of the old amazing Jacques, but oh. Oh. Oh.

* Must try the no ice cream machine chocolate ice cream from Cook's Illustrated folks! Looks fabulous.

* Why is white American cheese so much better than orange? It can't just be red n yellow dye.