Starsky and Martin

I saw two movies yesterday, "Grosse Pointe Blank" and "Starsky and Hutch". Both were very funny, but for different reasons. "Grosse Pointe Blank", for the two of you who haven't seen it yet, is a John Cusack movie where he plays a hit man come home for his tenth high school reunion, to see his high school sweetheart, and to kill someone. It's funny (Dan Aykroyd plays a rival hit man), witty, and says something about life and purpose in life. And it's available on DVD.

As for "Starsky and Hutch," let me say up front that when I was in the eighth grade I had pinup posters of Starsky on my wall, taken from the pages of "Tiger Beat." I thought the movie was very funny. It didn't make fun of the TV show so much as have fun with it. In the movie, Starsky is a straight line cop to the point of overkill, while Hutch is an amoral thief (though he's shown to have some redeeming qualities, such as caring for a friend's kid after school). They are assigned to be partners because no one else will work with them, and they stumble across an impending cocaine deal. Highlights (but no spoilers) from the film are:

Ben Stiller clearly studied Paul Michael Glaser's Starsky, as he even runs like him.
Owen Wilson sings David Soul's "Don't Give Up on Us, Baby".
Snoop Dogg does a better Huggy Bear than the original.
Starsky wears the same sweater and the same shoes as he did in the TV show.
David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser have a very nice cameo.

It was a fun show.

Clear as a bell

I paid my monthly bills last night, and got an add from AT&T, my long distance
and in-state carrier, for AT&T's One Rate plan. For under fifty dollars a month total I can get local, state, and long distance (inside the U.S.). Since I tend to call a lot of people in-state, which is very expensive, and a lot of people out of state, which is somewhat expensive, and local service along is about thirty bucks, this is quite the deal. I've have AT&T local service before, so I have the equipment (it runs over cable), and the sound quality was better than anything I've ever used before. This will save me at least fifty bucks a month. (Yes, I know I sound like a commercial. Sorry.)