Kurt Vonnegut is an utterly beloved author by anyone that's discovered his equally humorous and gravely poignant novels, but he is rarely given satisfactory adaptation to screen. His time traveling anti war sensation Slaughterhouse Five, adapted in 1972 by George Roy Hill, is an exception.

It's been many years since I read the book, but the film to my memory seems to capture the languid fatalism and realistic surrealism of the book personified perfectly by the toothy smiled, calm voiced Michael Sacks as Billy Pilgrim. Even Vonnegut is a fan, which is rare among novelists of their big screen interpretations. He said “I drool and cackle every time I watch that film, because it is so harmonious with what I felt when I wrote the book.”

The cinematography is appropriately lovely considering Miroslav Ondricek (Amadeus) is behind the camera, and the exceptional Glenn Gould supplies the Bach. While the film may not have captured the intricacies of the novel, it captures the essence and gets one in the mood to re-read his novels (for some of us for a third time).

I found the song Ce Garcons from a RC link Marcus wrote up about the lost art of the Scopitone. As he informed us:

“The Scopitone was a sort of ?ideo jukebox' that was first started in France during the 60s then slowly made there way to the US for a short time (there were about 5-600 in the States until the 70s, maybe killed by cable and the beginnings of MTV?). It had a 26″ screen on which a special 16mm music film were displayed.?It operated very similar to a jukebox so I sort of envision a moppy haired mass of teens crowding around it in some bar or coffee house.?Checking out scopitones.com, looks indeed like the French really elevated this art form.?Sort of makes one wants to dig up an old film camera and start a fake band.?Who's with me?”

As for the adorable Les Surfs themselves, I have very little information. The only wikipedia entry is in French and no par lay voo. But the pint sized band also covered Be My Baby.

If you were like me, you may not know the first thing about professional ski racing in the 1960's?but I am about to tell you the first thing about professional ski racing in the 1960's: Jean Claude Killy ruled it and was stunningly handsome. Now we know.

My ignorance about current popular music is profound, so it's no surprise that my introduction to Janelle Monae was from a Refinery29 photograph of her attending fashion week. While I get updated on her musical career, I'd like to take the time now to praise her personal style, regardless of what I find her songs to be like. The girl is adorable, strong with a menswear dressing and spectacular hairdressing flair.

Those wacky Icelanders! Mixing black licorice and sugary pink ganache in one dessert? Well, to my surprise – the result is pretty delicious and even pickier eaters than me (read almost everyone) agrees – my whole office rejoiced in the treat which Grace brought back from a trip to Helsinki.

Added bonus – the adorable packaging featuring the beloved Moomin characters! I cut off the box top to save, but it was the one thing on my desk the cleaning crew decided to throw out, boo

Look at that photo! It's like I am the angel of shopping! No one's ever asked me to help them buy an entire new wardrobe but from the way it went so swimmingly this weekend, maybe people should more often.

Within a couple hours at the Rockefeller Center H&M (which is absolutely the location for their affordable mensware) and Tony had three pairs of pants, three shirts, a cardigan, a sweater vest and a winter peacoat that all look great. Any men in your life needing a wardrobe makeover on a slightly limited budget? I might just be able to help.

While there are quite a few lovely gardening shops in the city, most tend to be a tad on the expensive side, and as we were working on the finishing touches to our sidewalk tree project, we decided to look for more affordable places. The suburbs of Long Island offered Hick's – a massive nursery that has been in business since 1853!

Clearly visible from the Jericho Turnpike, (and very close to the depressing Source mall that houses an Oshkosh – the new Fall stuff we've done is adorable!!), the nursery is almost overwhelming in its enormity. Staff is helpful, if not a bit on the grumpy old lady side, and we found amazing deals.

Our trees will be surrounded with an ivy like plant called periwinkle, that will hopefully bloom in the spring. We got each plant for half of five dollars, which let us go a little wild with some pretty flower bulbs too.

If you have kids, make sure to show up for the hay rides, and this fall there are plenty of event planned for adults like bulb planting seminars, the 7th Annual Pumpkin Weigh Off, and Houseplants for Beginners.

Have you heard about the Newark airport? It's like the Newark of airports! That's the kind of joke that the optimistic and inspiring mayor of the city, Cory Booker would like to see fade away. Once a thriving community, Newark has become a symbol of crime, drugs, and everything people once feared about the “inner city”. To see the real life struggle to turn that around is harrowing, uplifting, heartbreaking, and intense.

The documentary series Brick City is definitely going to be touted as a real life version of The Wire and the similarities seem intentional on the part of the makers (including producer? Forest Whtiacker). Each segment begins with a quote from one of the main characters and every aspect of the city is explored – from politics, schools, families, and police.

While it may seem too close a structure to the popular fictional series, I think it was wise for the filmmakers to structure this in a familiar way. Looking at the real life darkness and struggle of such a torn apart area is not always easy and any way the film makers can get our attention is fine with me.

Carrot cake is in the air. Both my friends Grace and Mike have baked up the veggie goody this past week. Mike used a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa that to my joy omits those pesky raisins. The frosting calls for obscene amounts of confectioners sugar and butter.