Weekend Recap

And here we are back after the weekend, and this is what I have for you:

- The highlight of the weekend was dog and pony show known as the News Corp Holiday Party on Friday evening at the Hilton New York. I was lucky enough to go as the guest of the Jessica and the whole time I'm thinking: (a) Where's Rupert Murdoch? I want to ask him how he managed to single-handedly decide the 2000 Presidential Election in favor of George Bush; (b) I think there could be more gay men here than straight men; and (c) Look at all the food these people are wasting because they're too busy drinking. There's plenty of time to drink....but at least take advantage of the free buffet as well.

It was quite a scene. They rented out every reception room on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the hotel, and there were easily a few thousand people in attendance. Each room had at least 2 bars set up, and the old men in tuxedos who were the bartenders were very nice and prompt with the beverages. Each room had a theme. One was TeleVISION, which displayed the latest technology with various flat panels TVs and had some video game systems to test it all out. They had a game room with poker tables. They had a room sponsored by FOX Sports with about 10 TV's showing sports clips, the wait staff dressed up as referees and dancers all around the room in cheerleader outfits. Another room was sponsored by Ice Age 2, and they set that one up like a "club scene" with the thumping techno music, but my favorite part was the free Haagen Dazs. The room where the large buffet was located was called "Mmmm....Food" and they had episodes of The Simpsons showing on a loop on the big screeens. Yet another room was where a live band was performing, but unfortunately, when we made it in there, the band was in between sets and thus I didn't get to check it out. Any case, the News Corp party was lavish to say the least, and I'm sure the bill ended up costing the company somewhere in the 7 figure range. I have to thank the Jessica for bringing me along to the shindig, so I could have the privilege of attending a nice holiday party. Some companies don't have real holiday parties, just so they can save some cash, but we won't get into that right now...

- Saw "The Family Stone" on Saturday Night, and although you think this might be a chick flick, it is to some extent, but not as much as I thought it might be. Really, this movie is similar to a "Meet the Parents", but with some sad parts toward the end. To be honest, the movie is vastly different from what the previews make it out to be. It has a great cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson and Claire Danes and that usually makes for an entertaining movie. The first half of the movie is genuinely humorous, but then the movie takes a turn into a sappy drama. I won't say too much about it in case people want to see it and not have me ruin it for them. Overall, I'd say it's worth seeing if you're going to the movies anyway during this holiday season. Personally, the next flick on my list is "King Kong", so I'm hoping to take care of that one over the Christmas weekend, because let's be honest, I'm a Jew and the movie theaters love us on December 24th and 25th. However, due to entertainment value, I'll give "The Family Stone" RPR recommendation status.

- Sunday nights are usually my supermarket nights, which works out well because I can get my food for the week. I often run into this guy who also goes to the market on Sunday nights around the same time I do. The reason I'm mentioning him is because this guy is always wearing shorts. And not just any shorts, we're talking high shorts. And this guy is tall...probably around 6'2" or 6'3", and his shorts are really short. To be honest, I'm not sure what's more disturbing: the length of his shorts or the fact that this guy is wearing shorts to begin with during the dead of winter. I think more people need to get their heads examined.

- Last week's deadline for the transit strike came and went, and everyone was left with a "bluff" of sorts from the TWU. However, I don't think anyone's f'ing around this time when the next deadline hits on Tuesday at midnight. It seems as though the two sides are still very far apart in the negotiations, and progress is not being made. This could be very bad news, as I would expect there to be more and more tourists in the city for the Christmas holiday. As I said last week, let's just wait and see what happens...

That's it for tonight...enjoy Monday as best you can. After all, Mondays aren't meant to be enjoyable. If they were, they'd be called Friday.