I have to write a few words before my St. Louis trip about a movie I watched last night. Downfall is a German film about the final days of the Third Reich. In 2002 there was a documentary that was basically an interview with Hitler's stenographer, Traudl Junge. This movie takes the content of her revelations about Hitler's final days and dramatizes them. The result is riveting and revealing. The

I went to a Fort Worth Cats game last night at LaGrave Field with Robert I'll be going back for more Cats baseball. [photos]

There's a Robert Bechtle retrospective at the The Modern that really took me by surprise. You know, I certainly knew it had to be better than that Dan Flavin crap, but I didn't expect to get really sucked in. The exhibit is comprehensive and organized quite well. It was organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and its only other stop is here in Fort Worth. Bechtle is a Photorealist

Whoa, I've been neglectful of my blog! And it won't be the last time. So, catching up...I had a blast over the Independence Day weekend and took some pics, too: 4th party at the Plumbs (July 2) 4th party at the McCurdys (July 3) And here's some pics from the other day with Robert, Sam Derian at the Japanese Garden.

I finally rode the bike trail between Mineral Wells about 40 miles. A quick review of a topographical map would have told me that I started at the high end so my trip back was mostly uphill. I think I might start at Mineral Wells next time! About 10 miles from the Weatherford trailhead is the small town of Garner which has a Cafe/C-store and was a perfect place to stop and buy a Vitamin Water.

I've been watching a great DVD tonight. Its a compilation of the work of director Michel Gondry. He directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but before that he directed some incredible videos for the Rolling Stones, Bjork, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, and Foo Fighters. The DVD has about 20 of his music videos, some of his short films, and a couple ads he directed (including a great Levi's

Hilarious!! I'm a little late finding out about it (its in it's 5th season), but Trailer Park Boys is the best television show out of Canada since Kid's in the Hall! I can't stop watching it. It just doesn't get any better than Ricky, Julian and Bubbles! There's so much great Canadian television available on DVD now (at Amazon): Trailer Park Boys, Kids in the Hall, and of course, the Red Green

I went to see the movie Crash tonight. It developed slowly and 15 minutes in I was bracing myself for real disappointment, but then it started to pick up. The character development during the first act takes awhile and does drag a little, but its necessary given the number of integral characters. Once it does start moving it is a really emotional movie...I heard several gasps and quite a few

Seriously! Hunting over the Internet from your computer! Firing a gun with the click of your mouse! When I read about it I thought, 'only a couple guys from Texas could come up with something like Live-Shot.' I was right, "the shooting range is an outdoor facility located on a secluded ranch in the Texas hill country." Actually the ability to hunt a variety of animals won't be available until they

I went to see the new documentary on Enron tonight. It's called Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room [imdb]. Its an entertaining 110 minute documentary produced by Mark Cuban's HDnet Films. I didn't find myself getting bored and the attempts at political potshots were kept fairly brief. The film kept good focus on the main players, the facts and the fallout of the Enron debacle. The coverage of

The most famous hamburgers in Fort Worth (and arguably all of Texas) are now being served in Southlake, too! Frankly it just doesn't seem right to me to try and duplicate Kincaid's but what's done is done. I've checked it out and the burgers taste the same. The decor is an excellent reproduction of the original (including the inflatables hanging from the ceiling), but it just looks too new. And

A Love Song for Bobby Long [imdb] is a New Orleans movie... the city should be listed as a member of the cast. I don't know what it is about New Orleans in movies, but there's no mistaking it when you see it (eg. Down by Law). The other cast members do a fine job, too, namely Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) and John Travolta. The alcoholic adventures of John Travolta's character and his

Got a few things for the pod recently: These are the JBL Creature II Speakers. They're small and inexpensive, and they sound pretty darn good! They are not built specifically for the iPod (ie. no pod dock). They plug into the pod's headphone jack. It takes some tweaking of the bass and treble adjustment knobs to get the right sound for wherever you put them (on bookshelves in my case). Hey, ya

"Thieves spot people with the telltale white earphones, then snatch the devices and run out train doors. On Web sites, iPod devotees suggest keeping the devices concealed and switching to cheaper-looking earphones." (from CNN: iPod blamed for spike in subway crime) But why stop with cheap looking headphones; how about full-scale retro camouflage: RetroPod!

Great new music radio show in Toronto. Ongoing History of Music with Alan Cross. Great articles and daily podcast. Check the archives for great articles; including How to Build a Record Library.