Choke

I thought this was a pretentious and not universally insightful book. I did however find the comments about the Ren Faire workers entertaining.

Juno

This little indie movie had everyone up in arms when it came out. I got it a while ago, but postponed watching it because neither of my roomies was interested. In the end, I really enjoyed it. I think my favorite scene, unlike everyone else's, was the one where the boyfriend is explaining to Juno that she's full of shit when she says she slept with him because she was bored. Also, the step-mom character was the most likeable mom character I've seen in a long time. I hope this movie cost like $1,000 to make and made a million...

Pope Valley 2005 Merlot

This strikes me as a very inexpensive, simple, capable merlot.

Fussili and wine

Several points...
One: Schockingschadenfreude, you ass, why do you not live where I live so I could have invited you to dinner tonight?

Two: Fucking fussili. My mom was addicted to them, and as a kid I really didn't get it, but I think I'm beginning to. Tonight's dish: baked fussili with tomatoes, onion, super-hooper-dooper organic asparagus (*perfect* thickness stalks, thank you very much), black olives, capers, button mushrooms, olive oil and fancy black pepper, and crumbled feta on top. Basically what was in the fridge, minus the leeks which I'm saving for a frittata with turkey bacon -- to die for. Holy crap, is it good! And it's going to be better tomorrow. How do I know? My mom's fussili creations, which I positively dreaded as a kid, were always better the next day, after the tomato had lost its zing and the rest of the flavors (always black olives, always!) had melted together.

Three: Fucking Rex Goliath Pinot Noir! Total bullshit by itself, awesome, I mean epic, with a mediterranean dish.

Clearly I've had, like, half a bottle of the stuff :-)

All the pretty horses

I started this book during my trip to Death Valley and just finished it. Whether because the setting in which I read it was perfect or simply because it sweeps you along with its impeccable pace, I really enjoyed it. It's hardly a deep book, but it was enjoyable, in a simple way.
Unlike Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy does not bother me with the liberties he takes with English grammar and syntax. I'm debating whether to read the remaining two Border Trilogy books. Probably sometime, but not right away.

My Blueberry Nights

The new Wong Kar Wai movie has received mediocre reviews in the press, but I thought it was amazing. This is WKW's first movie made in America with Hollywood actors, and he picked good ones: Jude Law and Natalie Portman were incredible together in Closer, and both do a great job here. Norah Jones is fantastic, and I love how her hair actually has a screen presence. Rachel Weisz is brilliant, as always, and David Strathairn, who was an unknown to me, impressed me. The most memorable thing about the movie is the grain, although the fact that "Try a little tenderness" is deconstructed during the first half of the second love story is up there too. Yeah, I don't know what the critics were complaining about: this is not an obvious masterpiece like "In the mood for love", but it's really really excellent.

Three memorable wines

I hosted a wine night last night, and we went through 3 bottles of whites and 12 bottles of reds. I didn't sample everything, because I was too busy talking to people, but I did try maybe 5 or 6 of them, and three stood out. I had the Orleans Hill Cote Zero (2006) early in the night, and liked it, despite the "organic sulfite free" label. I noticed the Stolpman 2005 Syrah later in the night, and Jeff told me a little bit about where it's made and who Stolpman is. And finally, I wrapped up the night with the 2005 Echelon Pinot Grigio, which I will come back to and try to cook for some time. All in all, a great success!