:-)

Philip and I had lunch today at O'Charley's. The chicken salad I had wasn't nearly as good as the black and blue (steak and blue cheese) salad I had last time. I really should just go there for their caramel desserts.

I noticed while flipping channels that "Bare Essence" a bad mini-series from 1982 was coming on... so I just had to watch the credits to listen to the theme-song... which has stuck in my head these last 23 years. Imagine a jazzy-soulful black female voice:

I told my heart... stay away.
It isn't safe to feel this way.
But when it's love there is nothing you can do.
Before your touch, I'd barely been alive.
I learned to hide all that I felt inside.
But then I looked, I looked into your eyes...
and I knew... it was you!
So... touch me... hold me...
kiss me... feel me.
Honey, in finding you... I found love.
I found looooooooooooove.

Speaking of revisiting influential things from my past... Philip and I saw CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY today. It's not a remake of the 1971 film WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, which is a musical interpretation of Roald Dahl's book (which I never read... but my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Denicola, read us the sequel, CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR). Even though they are, in many ways like apples and oranges, it's difficult not to compare them. I still prefer the 1971 version... as far as emotional connections. But the 2005 one has superior art direction, of course. It also adds a bit more to the story which kind of explains why Johnny Depp's Wonka never seemed to mature... and he did a fine job of being creepy but kind. I guess I just prefer Gene Wilder's ultra-clever Wonka. This new film, although not a musical, does have a few short musical numbers featuring the Oompa Loompas (all played by Deep Roy) and those segments tended to be Philip's and my favorites.

Later we watched SIDEWAYS on dvd (from netflix.com) and it was very enjoyable. I don't know why they call movies like that "comedy" though. It had some funny moments but it had way too many real and painful moments for me to think "comedy" when I think of it. Dramedy (dramatic-comedy hybrid) maybe.