FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  Ally and I had a girl's night out and saw Water for Elephants.  I read the book years ago and loved it, she read it more recently.  I was skeptical of the casting and I am always wary of move adaptations of books I like but was willing to spend the money to see it in the theater and I am actually glad I did.  It was enjoyable and as good an adaptation of a book to film as I have seen in a long time. 

I realized that the reason so many books I love are so terrible on film is the issue of  time - there just is not time enough to tell the complex layers of story and character in the 2 hours or less that we are willing to sit in the theater. I still think that the book was much richer and more satisfying but it was worthwhile - and not just because I had a nice night out with my daughter!

2.)  It was predicted that after hatstrvaganza of the royal wedding that the ladies of the US would start strutting their bonnets more frequently than Easter and Derby Day.  Apparently there were a number of them at the Metropolitan Gala this week in New York.

Of course, the most talked about ones are those worn by Fergie's girls.  I did take a look at some of the other hats worn by Beatrice and I found that the one worn to the wedding was far from the wackiest - and the fact that her coat and shoes were so nice sort of took the edge of the GaGaesque factor.  No such excuse for young miss Eugenie - both dress and hat were really bad.  To think of having all that money and no taste...or at the least no advisers with her best interests at heart.

3.)  In the Bay Area we are paying $4.19 a gallon for regular gas.  Ten days ago when I last filled up it was $4.12.  I am lucky that I normally don't need to drive much, I can go about 3 weeks on a tank of gas.

I just read in the paper that high gas prices have caused consumers to cut back on their driving and that after 6 weeks of dropping demand, the oil companies are concerned that less driving by Americans (read less interest in buying their high priced gas) is going to undermine the economic recovery. 

Okaaay.  The oil companies are taking 4 billion dollars of taxpayer subsidies a year and Exxon Mobil reported Thursday that its profit rose 69 percent to $10.65 billion during the first three months of the year.
When the President made a speech on the ridiculous Republican stance on the subsidies, Exxon responded calling it “predictable political positioning but no action to actually help bring down energy prices.”

Uh.  Bringing down oil prices seems to me to be in the power of the guys making 10 billion dollars every 3 months.

4.)  The hotel plays the same recorded acoustic music every day for months on end. ( I was about out of my mind by the first of the year from the Holiday Mix.)  Since then the mix is quite eclectic.  Some new age sounding stuff, a few jazzy tunes and a jarring little number that is sort of gypsy music on steroids.  The one that cracks me up though is the strings version of the Amy Winehouse song Rehab.  Bet she never thought she'd earn residuals from Muzak!