So far so good

It has been a cold, but very enjoyable weekend so far. Last night, I joined Emilia and two of her charming friends for a night of excellent food and even better conversation. Emilia and I basically sat for hours and had heated political discussions on everything from the Iraq war, to gay marriage, to how Jesus would view modern political thought. I had a great time and I was sad to hear how quickly Emilia has to fly back to Boston. This morning, Trevor (an ISU friend who lives in Hopkins) and I went to the Gopher basketball game where the #21 Gophers crushed #23 Ohio State. After that I met my parents at Southdale and watched the movie Frost/Nixon. I give this movie an A... with a disclaimer. This movie is very heavy into American history and politics and if you enjoy an intellectually challenging movie about the ethics and ramification of Nixon's decisions, then this movie is for you. Again, I very much enjoyed this movie and so did my parents.

1. As many of you know, I have a small obsession with everything related to the 1960s. I was listening to a 60s music mix and I found myself really enjoying the song, "How do you do it?" by Gerry and the Pacemakers. The song came out in 1963. You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE1EffFAmBo. What I didn't know though is that the song was originally written by the Beatles. In 63, John Lennon wrote the song and the Beatles recorded it but never released it. Apparently Lennon thought it was garbage. The Beatles' manager, George Martin, however begged and begged the Beatles to release it but Lennon would have none of it. He then asked if he could give the song to another one of his bands, Gerry and the Pacemakers. Lennon said that would be fine. Needless to say, the song became a number one hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers and this was before the Beatles even had one top ten hit. On some lost tapes, people found the Beatles recording. You be the judge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY5x7nQ4_UY&feature=related

2. The Star Tribune yesterday gave their awards to the best restaurants in Minnesota. They gave Restaurant of the Year to Manny's and the runner up to Meritage. Their two "rookies of the year" awards went to The Strip Club (it's a steak restaurant) and Porter and Frye. I have been to Manny's but apparently I have some work to do and money to spend.

3. I very much enjoyed going to ESPN.com and reading about Charles Barkley's latest arrest. He was pulled over after driving through a stop-light. When the officer asked him why he was in such a hurry, he informed the officer that last week, this woman had performed "the best b**w job of his life." and he was excited to go over and see her again. You can just file this under the you can't make it up folder.