Whoa, I am all over the place. MILK, dinner, Mumbai, babies.

I saw MILK recently, and enjoyed it. I mean, it's an excellent film. Go see it. And while I think Sean Penn, James Franco, and everyone else were great, I couldn't help but wonder why there weren't gay actors cast for these roles. I mean, I find it INCREDIBLY hard to believe that there aren't equally talented gay actors all over Hollywood who could have done just as good of a job. Are they just not out, or not comfortable being open about their sexuality? If so, that's terribly unfortunate, and makes me a bit more disappointed in "society." I feel so lame blaming "society," like it's this “thing” that we have to blame, but whatever, it's the only word I could come up with.

I'd like to semi-preface this by saying that I'm not trying to diminish the significance of this film, or how important it is that it could be made, accepted, critically and socially acclaimed. I think it's progress, and I think it's wonderful. But let's say Sean Penn wasn't the lead. Let's say it was… Awesome Gay Actor. Would this film have been so well received? I'm not so sure. Are American audiences still only comfortable watching same-sex love scenes if, in the backs of their minds, they know that the people on the screen are just acting? I don't know…but I kinda wouldn't be surprised. And has this been tested? Are there any big-fancy Hollywood movies which feature homosexual actors in sex scenes together?

I guess it's kind of similar to evaluating a piece of visual art. Do you evaluate the composition as a whole - interpreting the artist's message, and appreciating the technical elements; or is the work only relevant if you are aware of the artist’s struggles while creating it? Is a piece of art only worthy if you know its backstory? Would MILK have been as critically acclaimed if the leads were gay? And, a step further than the visual art example, would it have been as socially accepted if the leads were gay?

What do you think, cuz I don't know.

I think that carrying 2 dogs on an airplane should automatically disqualify you from the "expert traveler" security line.

When babies say "Lincoln Park," it sounds like "Jinken Park" and it's adorable.

I've noticed lately that pretty much every new and/or trendy restaurant has a one-word name. Like Feast or Crocodile or Province or Orange; OR an article, followed by some ritzy sounding name, like The Publican or The Bristol. First, I clearly spend too much time in restaurants. B) if I ever open a restaurant of my own, it's going to have some obnoxiously long name, like This Is The Least Douchey Restaurant Ever In The History Of The World Ever. Although I don't know that it would make any business sense to include the word "douchey" in the title. And 3) Sarah Palin would be excellent at naming restaurants. Awh, I kind of miss her…

I generally dislike group dinners with friends with over 8 people in attendance. For 2 main reasons....a) there's no good place to sit. Either you're in the middle, not-really-participating in 4 different conversations, or stuck talking to Boringface McGoo. 2) There is always
sooommeone who insists on itemizing the bill because they ordered something small to save money. Here's the thing: when you go to a big group dinner, shit is gonna get expensive. So be prepared to drop some money, or don't go. Or like, if you see evvvveeerryyone ordering a
full entree, you might as well so you don't feel all bad about it when the check comes. It's poor form to stiff you friends, so don't do that. If you're the one person who wants to pay for what you ate, be prepared to calculate everyone's total, brainiac. The same goes for the opposite...though less frequent, if Everyone wants to pay for what they ate, don't argue with that and insist on splitting evenly. Nothing ruins a good meal like excessive fussing over the bill at the
end. ALSO...if you invite someone out to a meal of any kind, don't surprise them with other guests. Has that ever happened to you? You THINK you're having dinner with a friend, but then she decides to bring her friend, one you've met and decidedly don't enjoy...it's a total bummer.

I'm so over butternut squash soup in the winter. There has to be another hearty winter vegetable (or mix) which can be used for a "soup of the day."

What's the policy on keeping your friends' ex-signif others as Facebook friends? Is it okay to remove them? I'm going to start, I think. Don't worry, it's not you.

I'm reading this book Shantaram, which starts out in Bombay in the 1970s The more I think about it, I cannot belive my parents grew up there, and moreover, that they were satisfied with their subsequent 30 years in the suburbs of Chicago. I mean....crime, drogas, all sorts of crazy shit went down. No wonder my brother and I never really had curfews, and my parents weren't ever worried about us being out, or home alone when we were younger. I mean, what kind of nancies would they have had to raised for us to find harm's way in Downers Grove?

My brother was trying to explain his new snow-throwing technique for our driveway over IM, but I wasn't getting it - so he drew, scanned, and emailed the following diagram to me. This made think a few things: How old are we? I love the internet. And, I can better appreciate this piece of art because I know what a struggle it is to deal with that much snow in 15 degree weather :)