St. Helens Cafe has started serving new fries.

We went for dinner on Friday night (instead of Thursday - I swear we don't go there every night, Kevin and Cassioposa, regardless of what was indicated at C&R) and were served a smaller, tastier fry. I asked about the switch and was told that these are more distinctive, less, "frozen, straight out of the bag. We are a fish and chips place, after all!" She also told me Friday was the first day they had tried the new fries and people seemed to like them.

The new fries are more shoe-string style. I vote in favor of them.

Anyone else tried the new fries? If not, make it a point to do so.

We also got to experience eating at St. Helens with the garage doors up. It was great!

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1.Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. Star Wars
2.Name a movie that youÂ’ve seen multiple times in the theater. Titanic - hey, everyone went multiple times!
3.Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Steve Carell
4.Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. The Wayans Brothers (OK, technically that's two)
5.Name a movie that you can and do quote from. Best In Show
6.Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. Moulin Rouge!
7.Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. My Fair Lady
8.Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. The Princess Bride
9.Name a movie that you own. Antonia's Line
10.Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. Will Farrell, who was surprisingly good in Stranger Than Fiction
11.Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what? Nope. I've missed out on a great American experience.
12.Ever made out in a movie? Not that I can recall
13.Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just havenÂ’t yet gotten around to it. An Inconvenient Truth
14.Ever walked out of a movie? Garfield
15.Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. The Painted Veil (but just a little, because I knew it was coming!)
16.WhatÂ’s the last movie you saw in the theater? Blades of Glory
17.WhatÂ’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Comedy
18.WhatÂ’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? Empire Strikes Back. I remember sitting on my Dad's shoulders and staring at the line around the building to get in.
19.What movie do you wish you had never seen? Hulk
20.What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? The Hot Chick. It's terrible. I know. But whenever it's on cable, I must watch.
21.What is the scariest movie youÂ’ve seen? Alien - I was 12 - I couldn't sleep for a week.
22.What is the funniest movie youÂ’ve seen? Chasing Amy "You didn't tell me you were going to scream black rage. I nearly shit myself!"

Found at so anyway...

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more...

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THIRTEEN BOOKS I PICKED UP AT EMERALD CITY COMICON (in no particular order)

1. Wet Moon book 1: feeble wanderings by ross campbell - I finally found the first volume of this book after seeing the second volume at Zanadu forever. The art is AMAZING. I'm not much into goth, but it's seductive in this book. The story is good enough I want to read the second one now.

2. Banana Sunday by Root Nibot & Colleen Coover - Cute. Kinda pointless. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. The duo also has a porn book that I think I'd rather have picked up. Go-Go does rock though.

3. drunken MOMENTS by drunkenmoments@comcast.net - I was drawn in by a poster the artist had of the "Aflac" duck standing over a dead body asking, "Aflac?" The comic was $1. It's nothing special, but I did get a manga portrait of myself out of the deal.

4. For Your Safety: Matrimony Comfort Guide by John Aegard and Molly Friedrich - This might be the best thing I picked up at all of Emerald Con. It's a guide that teaches you the correct behavior at weddings. Any guide that includes a detailed description of the use of Optimus Prime on a wedding cake, correctly and incorrectly, has got to be good. Oh, and they had a flaming toilet on their table at the con. I initially bought it for my sister as she is getting married at the end of May, but it's so cool I want to keep it for myself.

5. Conversation #2 by Jeffrey Brown and James Kochalka - I heart Jeffrey Brown, but I am indifferent to James Kochalka. I haven't made any definite judgments as I need to check out more of Kochalka's work. This is OK - it's a discussion on art and life and the meaning of art in life...if you're a fan of either or both I'd recommend it.

6. The Elves of Iax #1: Finding Lorgo by Jeremy Kayes - What to say about this book? The author/artist grabbed my attention at the con immediately by wailing, "I don't exist!" and I bought the book off his chutzpah alone. It's a webcomic, the art could be better, but it's an interesting idea, and I would read the next book if there is one. There were some funny lines and if anyone can sell this book, this dude is it. Good luck Mr. Kayes!

7. Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed by Liz Prince - The female Jeffrey Brown. Funny and sweet, small snapshots of everyday life and intimate conversations. I was very happy to find this book and will happily purchase anything else Liz Prince puts out.

8. The West Seattle Middle School Comics Class Giveaway Sampler - I picked up a sampler last year and did so again this year. I love these things. Typically there will be a few gems in each one, although each one is fascinating in its own way, and this was no exception. Each student draws a page, and styles differ dramatically. The back cover featured a manga style with a dark spot labeled "emo corner," and another student drew herself and friends as cats "because I can't draw humans to save myself" although she draws humans certainly better than I can a panel later. Greg Hatcher of Comics Should Be Good! teaches these kids, and to him I say, "THANK YOU!" I wish my brother went to school up here instead of San Diego. He would have LOVED this sort of thing.

9. Feeble Attempts by Jeffrey Brown - Frinklin asked me the other day, "Would you leave me for Jeffrey Brown? Of course not." I told him. I lied.

10. Lost Souls in Love by Steve Rolston - This was originally a 24-hour comic. A sweet little story.

11. The Cat With a Really Big Head and one other story that isn't as good by Roman Dirge - Wrong. Then wronger. But always funny. I've been eyeing this book for a few comic-cons and never bought it for some reason. But thank God I finally did. It makes me laugh every time I did. Magic lung beasts...? Haha. I think I just made a poopies.

12. Lions, Tigers, and Bears TPB #1: Fear and Pride by Mike Bullock and Jack Lawrence - A really wonderful idea executed very, very well. This is the type of comic that I enjoy reading, but could just as easily give it to someone who is 12 years old and have them enjoy it equally well. The art is fantastic, the writing is solid, and the characters are sweet and likable. Who didn't grow up believing that their stuffed animals had some life in them? Or maybe still do?

13. The Virgin Project: A Collection of True Stories by K.D. Boze and Stasia Kato - I paid $5 for this self published work, which I think is a cool idea, but I nearly fell over when a guy at the table I bought it at said, "Yeah, it's a neat piece. People are comparing it to Maus." Seriously? Maus??! A Pulitzer prize winning work about the horrors of the holocaust? I was relatively disgusted at that moment, and I'm afraid it's colored my opinion of this book. Anyway, you can participate in The Virgin Project by going to the link above.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. A Gentleman's Domain
2. Desert Diva
3. (leave your link in comments, IÂ’ll add you here!)

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At King's Books the other day I was able to pick up my button for Tacoma Reads: The Pact. If you aren't familiar with Tacoma Reads Together, you should be.

Tacoma Reads is a program created after September 11th, 2001. From the Tacoma Public Library website:

In the aftermath of the tragic event of September 11, 2001, Tacoma educator Patrick Erwin sought a way to bring the Tacoma community together to talk about the issues which appeared to keep the community apart. Remembering What if all Seattle read the same book?, a project begun by Seattle’s Nancy Pearl, Erwin met with Mayor Brian Ebersole and others to suggest that perhaps Tacomans should be encouraged to come together to read, reflect upon, and then respond to the ideas and issues raised by one good book – one book which the entire community would be encouraged to read and discuss. In short order, Tacoma Reads Together was born.

The rest of the Tacoma Reads Together history can be found here.

The 2007 Tacoma Reads selection is The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt. This is the inspiring true story of three young black men from the projects in Newark, New Jersey. All three were chosen to attend University High School, a magnet school in the city. As they bonded together as friends, the three made a pact to graduate, and go on to become doctors. All three succeeded.

I was lucky enough to meet all three doctors at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in 2003. They were the keynote speakers and I was running the books sales for the event. I sold 600 books in less than 2 hours. The line wrapped around the room. Their story wasn't just amazing, they were great speakers, and they stayed afterwards to meet with every single person (1000 people attended the session) who wanted to shake their hands.

There is also a version of The Pact written for younger readers called We Beat the Street.

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1 Altoona's April book is "To Kill A Mockingbird."

Posted by: Eden at April 05, 2007 02:41 PM (BDCWt)

2 I have never read "Mockingbird". I really should. I'm reading "Emma" right now. Considering I work in a bookstore, there are a number of classics I have shamefully ignored.

Posted by: ensie at April 05, 2007 03:20 PM (6We+3)

3 Just skip the unnecessary background that starts on page 2 or 3 or so. It's dry and doesn't have an impact on the story. Then it'll hook ya.

Posted by: Eden at April 06, 2007 06:05 AM (BDCWt)

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I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had joined Book Crossing, a very cool web-based community that allows you to register your books, tag them, and "release" them into the wild for others to find. I've released two books so far, one at the black water and the other at St. Helens Cafe.

Today I was rewarded - someone "caught" the book I released at the black water! Hopefully they will keep the trend going and once finished with Then We Came to the End will set it free in another public location.

You can check out other books that I have released, or are soon to be realeased by clicking the icon here:

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I'm supposed to be working right now, but I'm waiting for the doggie dental specialist, Dr. DeBowes, to call me back about Pharaoh. I dropped him off this morning for radio graphs and surgery on a couple of teeth that are still bothering him following his initial dental work.

With his being so old (nine? ten? older?) it's always a gamble to put him under, and I hate waiting for that call to let me know he's awake and doing OK. I felt much better about his being at the Met with Dr. Warren, even though Dr. DeBowes work out the the Emergency Animal Hospital here in Tacoma. Couldn't really be in safer hands. And Dr. DeBowes is an incredibly talented specialist.

Still...fingernails are chewed down to the nubs.

UPDATE: Pharaoh is out of surgery and awake. Pickup is scheduled at 4:30!

UPDATE: Pharaoh is home, asleep, sans two teeth. We are now sans the equivelent of one mortgage payment.

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Frinklin is starting a new blog all about the Tacoma Rainiers. No Rhubarb! is under construction right now, but should be fully up and running later this week.

I have a sneaking suspicion this is just to get us to more baseball games this year, but whatever.

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