Spatula Forum

This and that...
Every week I change the little "kicker" at the top up there below the "Spatula Forum" title. I use a different song lyric each week depending on what I'm listening to and throw my name in there (modeled after what one of my favorite newspaper columnists, the San Francisco Chronicle's Jon Carroll, does) somehow. Last week's was from Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," "Phone my family, tell them I'm lost on the sidewalk." The week before that was a lyric by The Pixies. Can anyone guess this week's? This has been your pointless musical nerd digression of the day.

Just over 24 hours until I see "Spider-Man 2." Picked up my ticket last night for opening day. My spider-sense is tingling in anticipation of my most-awaited action movie of the year.

Still reeling over "Fahrenheit 9/11." Particularly notable to me, politics aside, is how well the movie did opening weekend. It made $24 million dollars, not only exceeding the ENTIRE box office take of Michael Moore's last movie "Bowling For Columbine," but it also instantly became the highest-grossing documentary of all time (excepting IMAX movies and special releases). What's interesting is if you look at the "Top 10" documentaries of all time according to box office mojo, you'll find that EIGHT of the top 10 money-makers were released just in the past two years. That's impressive. I loves a good documentary, and many on that list, such as "Touching The Void," "Winged Migration" and "Spellbound" are among the best movies I've seen lately, period. It's fantastic to see a new interest in this very valid, very pertinent theatrical form. Even in a world where "White Chicks" can make $20 million dollars, it gives me hope.