16 July, 2007

I Hate Moving But At Least I Get to Eat Well

The move is over.

The Dulcinea's house is now sold after a weekend of scurrying to get her moved out. I learned a good lesson and it's that she and I are diametrically opposed when it comes to packing. She packs like old people fuck whereas I'm of the mindset of "get 'er done". Throw crap in a box and move on. Thankfully it's all done and she's going to hire Two Men (Neither of Whom are Named Palmer) and a Truck to move her stuff out of storage when she finds a place.

We paused for dinner on Saturday night at Papa Bear's BBQ over on Cottage Grove Road. It blows Famous Dave's and Smokey Bones out of the water and, from what I've tasted, ranks right up there with Madison's best, Smoky Jon's and Jada's. I had the smoked pork while The Dulcinea had rib tips. The pork was sliced thin and was very tender. Compared to Smoky Jon's, Papa Bear's meat had a sharper smoke flavor. The sauce was quite tasty as well and was less sweet than a lot of joints. Complimented the flavor of the meat well. My sides were corn on the cob and garlic roasted potato wedges. The corn was mushy, unfortunately, but the spuds were quite good. Just the right amount of garlic on them and, when dipped in the sauce, they made for a, well, not a symphony of flavor, but a chamber orchestra, at least. The restaurant itself was unremarkable in its décor but it's par for BBQ joints. We were the only folks there so service was quick and it was also friendly. I don't know if it was Papa Bear himself in the kitchen but whoever it was there was very friendly. He thanked us and wished us a good night. Their ribs definitely deserve a go. If you're an eastsider like me, do give it a shot. This side of town has been blessed with some good food lately in the form of unpretentious holes-in-the-wall that serve great food and, from my experience, also have great service.

Tonight The Dulcinea and I are going to chill out in front of the television and watch episode from of Jekyll. It's a modern re-telling of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the BBC. Right now TV is a big void as LOST, Doctor Who, and Life on Mars are over or on break until next year. As is Torchwood. There's gonna be no drama I care to watch until January. However, my barber has given me last season of Heroes, some Doctor Who, Trailer Park Boys, et al. Plus The Dulcinea has season 3 of LOST to catch up on. On the other hand, there's plenty of films that make me wanna get my bum in a cinema. The new Harry Potter flick is going to have to wait a couple weeks as I want to avoid the teeny bopper crowd at all costs. Radiant City is playing at the Orpheum and I'd like to check it out. Lars von Trier's Direktøren for det Hele (The Boss of It All) opens on Friday at Sundance. I saw it at the Film Fest this spring and found it much funnier than the reviewer from The Onion did. Also opening this week at Sundance is Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn. On Thursday night there will be an advance screening and it's free. You'll just need this pass and to get there early.

OK, I just went to the Sundance webpage and The Boss of It All is nowhere to be found, the free screening isn't listed, and Rescue Dawn is set to start on the 27th. Call the theatre to be on the safe side. Curiously enough, Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) is, according to the webpage, set to open on Friday. How blatantly odd considering it has already played here at Westgate. Whatever you want to say about Sundance's pricing scheme and its ploy to be a trendy spot for well-heeled westsiders, the fact is we're going to get a free advance screening of Herzog's latest film and it will open a week or two after Chicago instead of months. While there are things about Sundance's programming I'd like to see change, so far so good. I just can't wait for everyone to see Sicko so it goes away and is replaced by something else. Hopefully Redford can use some of his muscle and actually get filmmakers to put in a stop at his theatre. And how about some revivals? I still take the place to task for not being about cinema enough. How about celebrating the history and art of cinema with the décor and some old flicks?

Lastly, UW Cinematheque has an African film series this summer and some Bob Altman to boot. So there's a country ton of films to see.

2 comments:

  1. Pack you, Palmer.
    :D

    I was trying to get rid of shit I didn't need, and did succeed in getting together 10+ years of check carbons and nearly all of my tax returns for the past 12 years, so it wasn't all a wash. Plus I consolidated nearly all of the family photos. And I found my notebooks from high school! I'll think about posting some of my stellar duran duran fanfic (who am I kidding? I will NEVER post that).

    You were a great help, even when you were yelling at me. At least next time I move I'll know to start packing REALLY EARLY. Lesson learned. I promise.

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  2. You never told me you wrote Duran Duran fanfic. This adds a whole new dimension to you.

    And I just have to say that I never yelled at you. I chastised in a calm, collected voice that emphasized the need for celerity.

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