Conversational stuff

Just a few quick hits on personal interests.

Note 1 = there are more flavo(u)red vodkas on the market than you can swing a dead feline at. My drinking habits (ha!) are sporadic -- an occasional nip now and again, but I keep a decent stock. Vodka stock now with comments = Chopin (kinda veggie-tasting), Belvedere (very good), Luksosowa (OK, but not great), Zubrowka (outstanding funky taste), Stoli Gold (still unopened), Stoli Honey (earthy and full-bodied; no longer available), Absolut Kurrant (the best Absolut b/f the Vanilla came out), Absolut Vanilla (excellent), Absolut Mandarin (tastes more like the peel than the fruit), Van Gogh Citroen (unopened), Three Olives Green Apple (decent). All are kept in the freezer (alcohol's freeze point is lower than water so it's all liquid). As my local spirit-seller said to me last year, there are tons of "martini-quality" vodkas on the market. Why? First, vodkas can be produced anywhere, unlike the various whisk(e)ys; second, they only have to be "grain-neutral spirits". There are potato vodkas, wheat vodkas, rye vodkas and even grape-based vodkas.

Note 2 = I hope for Hollywood's sake that there are enough dollars in the economy for all the expensive movies coming out this summer: King Arthur, Van Helsing and other less sure-fire pics will have to compete with Shrek 2, Harry Potter 3, Troy and Spider-Man 2. G'luck.

Note 3 = I'm a fan of epic fantasy fiction (Lord of the Rings type stuff) but some of the offerings are frustrating. First, there's Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series where nothing substantial has happened in the last four books and the series is at 10 and counting. Then, there's George R.R. Martin's exc. series whose fourth installment will be released FOUR years after the third one, and at least two more are pending. I'm wondering if I'll be my dad's age before some of these are finished.