Post Thanksgiving... put down the fork!

Thanksgiving has come and gone. The tell tale signs are all there: a refrigerator full of Tupperware containers and a vat of turkey soup simmering on the stove, filling the apartment with its savory smell. Our guest were plentiful and joyous, and the food was delicious all around. I like staging the food in the kitchen now, leaving more room around the actual table for relaxing and conversation. The feasting and merriment lasted for eight hours, my roommate and I cleaning as we went, so when the last guests vanished I could crash with a clear conscience.

The theme of the weekend was late to bed, and late to rise. Friday night Ruben and I checked out Superstition for a while. It feels very much like Ceremony on a Friday,except without the bar staff who knows all your favorite drinks and a huge crowd of top 40 and hip hop folks out front. I don't know how viable floating between rooms would be, but if you dressed appropriate for both, it might work. Saturday night was a long adventure with SilentQ. We started at Casablanca for appetizers and drinks. The mushroom and cheese cigars were tasty, the jumbo shrimp a tad underdone for my taste but still flavorful, and the flatbread pizza interesting and delicious. I passed on desert and ordered their hamburger appetizer instead, which almost did me it. That could be an entree all on its own! My vanilla rose cocktail was very tasty, but any buzz was quickly absorbed by the burger. We popped around the corner (literally) to the Brattle for our Double Feature: The Maltese Falcom and the Big Sleep. I remembered my suit, but was cursing that I couldn't find my fedora.

The Maltese Falcon really is a Great Film. Marvelous actors, a riveting story, and great characters and dialog. It's witty and clever and holds up to anything you'll see in the theater today. The patronizing is occasionally grating, but it's just a reflection of the time. The Storyteller in me really responded to the twists and turns, and memorably sound bites that make a character stand out. I'd love to use Mr. Gutman in one of my games in the future. The Big Sleep was also good, but had a different character than the first film. Humphrey Bogart played both leads, but made each their own character. Sam Spade was darker and more cynical. Philip Marlowe was more sarcastic and witty, much more like James Bond with his cavalier way with the ladies. I laughed several times as I noticed all the background actresses (bookstore workers, cigarette girls, waitresses cab drivers) were all extremely pretty and all fawning over Humphrey. I gotta get me his scriptwriter for the story of my life! This is exactly the scene that The Last Action Hero was making fun of. We ended the night with cocktails at Noir (naturally), the perfect end for a perfect evening.

Sunday there was laundry, and working through our DND campaign. A simple artifact hunt has turned into freeing an oppressed slave race. Ah, the downfalls of playing a paladin! The job may be bigger than we can accomplish, but so far so good. I can't say I'm looking forwards going through something called the Ghoul Pits though... The work week begins. As the year starts winding down, I will begin to start thinking about putting new plans in motion. This week already has several adventures in store, full of peril and the potential for greatness... or tragedy. It's not just about how the dice roll... but how you handle what you roll. Stay tuned, faithful readers. Stay tuned.