Rants and Raves

We have had an interesting weekend.

I'll start with a rave: Osi and I finally had a chance to spend a few hours together, sans little man, yesterday. We went to see Frost/Nixon. Now, I usually go to movies to get lost and laugh, so it apparently took The 'Wald by surprise when I suggested we go see the political/historical film. (Hey, the only comedies were entitled "Paul Blart, Mall Cop" and "Hotel for Dogs." Puh. Leeze.) The movie was exceptional! I was both entertained and educated during the 2 hour movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. Funny how there were maybe 2 people in the packed theater under age 30. Wouldn't it be GREAT if The Millennials plugged into a little bit of this interesting entertainment rather than sitting through $9 of crap about an inept mall cop? If you get a chance, Frost/Nixon is well worth the money. It won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and the guy playing Nixon (Frank Langella) won the Globe for Best Actor. Plus, it has Oliver Platt, whom I have adored sine the Three Musketeers in the 90s. I hope you'll see it.

(Rant:) We arrived for said movie a good 20 minutes early and found decent seats. The theater continued to fill in up until the opening credits. Here is what I do not understand: A woman came into our row during the lights-already-down previews and asked that everyone in the row move down a seat so that she and her friend could sit together in our row. Now, there were plenty of seats available in the strain-your-neck first three rows of the theater and all of us had gotten there in plenty of time to secure the fact that we could enjoy the movie without having to do the arm rest tango with a stranger. It takes a lot of chutzpah to come in while the lights are already out and ask - ney, demand - that the entire row scooch down for you. She actually got into a loud argument with the people seated next to us. She was not even pleasant about it. I just don't get people. Had it been me, I would have sucked it up, accepted we were late and sat in the second row. That is the price I pay for not timing my arrival appropriately.

(Rave:) We also enjoyed - or tried to enjoy - a wonderful dinner at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe. Osi and I agree they have the BEST wings in Columbus. The bread them THEN fry and coat them. GENIUS! Also, they are large (bigger than Hooters? Don't know. Haven't been and won't go.)

(Rant): In the middle of dinner, we received a call from my sister, who was home with Jack. Apparently, the City of Bexley has stopped by (not the entire city, just a worker), and WE were the reason for the giant ice rink/puddle on our street. Oops. Some dumbass (that would be me) forgot to disconnect the garden hose from the outside faucet. Know what that means in -9 degree temps for several days? That is correct, friend - a burst water pipe. Yay! Luckily, our basement is, like, one of 6 in Bexley with a sump pump, so the water was running into the sump pump and then being pumped out to the street - thus causing the ice rink/puddle. Doh! And, even better news, it has apparently been broken since Thursday. We are both dreading the water bill.

(Rave:) Luckily, Super Duper Gary Cooper to the rescue! While neither of us is particularly handy, Gary (who basically raised Osi from age 8 or so on up) is the Jewish MacGyver. He came over last night and put a shut off valve on the offending pipe. We owe him a debt of gratitude and tiramisu.

(Rant:) With that crisis averted, we sat watching last night's news. The Director of OSU's Institute for Race and Ethnicity, made the following comment on the local news: "For a long time, African Americans have been on the wrong side of racism." What the hell? Is there a RIGHT side of racism that I have missed in 35 years on this earth? Last time I checked, ALL sides of racism were abhorrent. This is a man, theoretically one of the top in his field, implying that there is a correct side of racism? I just give up. Two steps forward, one step back. C'mon people. Think before you speak.

So, that was our Saturday. We are headed to Bubby and Zayde's for lunch today (rave, rave, rave!) so that Jack and Chelsea can play and relieve Bub and Zade of having to keep the kids constantly entertained. Let's hope the rest of the weekend shapes up to be a little less eventful.