So I’m watching the tube on that most glorious of television nights (Monday), and during How I Met Your Mother (which was excellent, for once) I notice a familiar place. In the episode, Ted wants to take the girl he asked out on an elevator to “a restaurant - a nice one” and when they cut to the scene of them on their date they use this image as the location shot. The show takes place in NYC and is shot in L.A., but Capriccio is actually in Providence. And it’s one of the best restaurants at which I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining. The inside scenes are clearly not the real restaurant, which would be an absolute nightmare to light for television even if they wanted to cross the country to shoot there.

So I saw the new James Bond movie yesterday. I’m less inclined towards actions films than I used to be, and I’ve never been a Bond junkie, but I remembered that I enjoyed watching the previous Bond movie (Casino Royale). What I didn’t remember was any of the details. Fortunately I happen to own it on DVD so I re-watched it during the day before going to see the new one. I’m glad I did, because the new one (Quantum of Solace) is an extension of the last, and just as good. Highly recommended.

So there were two winners for the “breakfast” movie contest. I’ve already paid the prize for one of those, which worked out such that I could bring home a couple more Asiago Cheese Bagels. Mmmm! I’m on a roll with breakfast, since earlier this week I made cinnamon buns for the first time ever. It was the Pillsbury tube kind, so they were ridiculously easy to make and absolutely delicious. The toughest part about it was trying to stop myself from eating all eight of them.

Only one entry today, and it was a winner. But since I’m feeling generous here is yet another clue for the rest of you. Even if you don’t know you should guess. If I don’t get more entries I’ll be annoyed and I’ll punish you with a recap of my morning meal. Again. Don’t make me do it!

(Update: I just noticed the comment on yesterday’s post where “anonymous” also guessed correctly. Kind of like buying a lottery ticket and leaving it at the bus station. Or not. So now nobody else can win. Maybe the prize will carry over for the next contest, upgrading it to lunch or something.)

It’s time for something new on this blog... a contest! The first person to email me with the name of this cat and the film he was in gets coffee and a bagel (or muffin or whatever) on me. If you don’t have my email, you can find it by clicking “View my complete profile” on the right side of this page. Good luck!

Jazzy and her friends love romping at the beach. And so do I.

An Asiago Cheese bagel toasted with cream cheese while watching Sportcenter. It doesn’t get much better than that.

For you youngsters out there, boxing has never been a big-time sport. But there was a time when a top boxing match could rival the Super Bowl as a sports event. Being a part of the Rocky generation (I vividly recall coming home from the theater and shadowboxing in my room) got me into boxing as a fan, and the great fights of the 80s kept me one. I just finished a great book about that last great era of boxing, Four Kings by George Kimball. I couldn’t put it down. It chronicles the careers of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler and the fights between those great fighters. The book brought back a lot of memories and also detailed the behind the scenes politics I was unaware of at the time. Anyone who was a fan of any of those guys or boxing in general should definitely pick up a copy.

I voted today. For some reason. I even got dressed up and wore real shoes and a button down shirt! Once again I cast my vote for the Libertarian candidate for president, this time Bob Barr. The problem with being a libertarian is that there just aren’t enough of us. So if you think both candidates for president are terrible (and they are - just like Kang and Kodos), become a libertarian for a day and join me in my protest vote.