After weeks of making lists and journaling - and actually doing some writing - I have returned. This is less of a post and more of a "blog-gasm" with a lot of stuff that I've been thinking about all rolled into one (probably incoherent) post. Just some notes from out and about in T-town this weekend...

First, if you're in the mood for great food, check out "A" Bar and Kitchen (sorry, no web site that I could find). It is located at the corner of 34th and Peoria and is now open on
Sundays. It is a perfect place to take a sunday newspaper (I took the NY Times) and relax. I had been wanting to stop there for weeks but usually was in my post-yoga workout clothes. Today, I went anyway and the wait staff was friendly and attentive but not in a hovering kind of way.

Here's what I liked:

1 - wait staff that was attentive but let me read my paper and journal in peace. I didn't even notice when my coffee (in a great, heavy, "real-coffee- drinker's- mug" was refilled).

2 - fresh flowers were brought to my table after I sat down. Hey, a girl loves flowers anytime. I think having flowers and a great meal brought to me is something that I could get use to.

3 - Small thing but a big deal to me - the cream for my coffee was in its own decanter - none of that "peel off and dump" stuff. Great coffee deserves great creamery and a great presentation. This is where I was completely hooked. Any place that takes time with small details like this probably goes the extra mile with my entree.

4 - More on the "small is big" category: special butter for my homemade rolls, fire burning in the dining room and lots of light for my table for reading. Even though busy street is right outside, I felt like I was in my own private dining room.

Can't wait to go back. The waiter told me that every Thurs, Fri, and Sat night there is live music. Worth the trip (construction still on-going) in every way.

Movies this week

I have this theory that the modern day movie house is to our society what the camp fire was to anicent civilisation: a place to hear stories, be moved by them and maybe even changed by them. It is where the village comes together to find out about itself and what its values are and where it may be going.

If my little theory is true, then I remain pessimistic about the summer's movie fare. Since the onslought of the "summer blockbuster" it seems that essentials for good movies such as character development and storylines tend to take a back seat to the explosions and chiseled features of big stars. My answer: find any movie that Pixar is doing and go see it.

I have no idea who is running Pixar but I maintain that the most creative movies come from this little workshop. Maybe because it is animation, the creators of "Finding Nemo", "Toy Story" and now "Ratatoulee" (sp???) have to find more than big names to tell their stories. They have to have a story arc and not just a great set of abs to make the point come home. Thank goodness.

I liked "Ratatoulee" because of the story: Who hasn't stood at the outside of a circle (in this case, a french kitchen) and wanted to gain entrance? Who hasn't doubted their gifts or been unappreciated for them? Who hasn't felt called to something outside their known world and wondered, "what if I could..."

I couldn't get past one main story line problem, though. Rats in a kitchen - no matter if they cleaned up well - didn't work for me. The animation is so good that even pretend rats in a pretend kitchen gave me the heebie jeebies. When your imagination is stretched by animation, that's darn good animation. Couldn't quite make the leap but the ride was worth it.

Less good, "License to Wed". What happened to Robin Williams and the films like "Fisher King" and "Dead Poets Society"? I use to rely on him to really transport me to deep proverbial truths and now what I get from him is comic schlock. Yeah, he's funny and makes me laugh - mostly from uncomfortable, political humor but I hope he'll return to more substantial roles that make me do what I go to the movies to do: think and be challenged.

I know, I know. It's summer and all we're suppose to want out of movies is entertainment. For some of us, being changed and challenged by art is entertainment.