Saturday night I watched Giant on tv... yes, a classic movie on regular ol' tv, on a channel that anyone still using an antenna could get. At about the point where Rock Hudson shoots Elizabeth Taylor's horse, I decided that I wanted popcorn. Let's reflect: I've survived without a microwave since July 2007. However, I have a jar of corn kernels and oil and butter. I put kernels and oil in one of my outstanding Calphalon pans, put the heat on medium, and lo and behold, within about five minutes I had popcorn. Drizzle on some Irish unsalted butter and sprinkle on some sea salt (paradoxical, but there you go), and I had a bowl of the best damn popcorn I think I've ever had. Way better than the movie itself which was kind of a disappointment. (And still don't really get how the Levi's 501 "Travis" ads from the 80's tie in.)

Other tv stuff: So upset that the chef from Absinthe in SF was the first to be booted from Top Chef. We did an event for a client at Absinthe a while back, and while they're better known locally for their bartenders than their food, I thought they did a fantastic job with our menu, and people still talk about that party.

Also watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. (Why? I have no idea.) DeShawn's husband Eric is the nicest person on Earth. Have to say I kinda like NeNe. Kim is just a freaking disaster (who the hell buys one Louis Vuitton bag for an 11 year old, let alone two??), and while I started out liking Sheree, she's rapidly wearing out her welcome.

Other current trash tv viewing includes Stylista. I feel really bad for Anne Slowey; at this point she has to be wondering how she got stuck with this merry band of half-wits.

My other regular viewing these days is The Wire on DVD, so cut me some slack. That show takes concentration, not to mention the ritual sacrifice of small furry animals to the writer's uncanny genius at the conclusion of each brilliant episode. Gossip Girl is on hold until I can get caught up on the current season, and Mad Men is sadly done 'til next season.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967, Robert Morse [now Betram Cooper on Mad Men] and Michele Lee) has just become my favorite movie because not only is the color design pure genius (Mary Blair, y'know), but the head of the company (Rudy Vallee!) secretly knits when he gets stressed.

I've been enjoying the first season of Mad Men so much that even though I'm watching the episodes on On Demand I'm still tempted to buy the DVD set just for the commentaries. By chance, The Apartment with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine rose to the top of my Netflix queue just after I watched the MM season finale, which was perfect timing as it's set in the same year and revolves around office politics and affairs.

Could not have cared less about the finale of Hell's Kitchen. GR certainly likes perky blonds.

Knitting is mostly on hold lately because of persistent pain in my hands. The symptoms are neither classic carpal tunnel nor arthritis, so hopefully it'll go away soon with some rest. It's making yoga challenging, too.

E3 was this week and I doubt they'll hold another one next year. While losing the out-of-control megabooths and general show chaos was a good thing, the ESA's and IDG's disorganization meant a lot of press didn't come to the show and many of those that were there missed the Concourse pavilion booths entirely, thinking all the companies were up in meeting rooms. Some big companies even sent their demo'ers home Wednesday night, leaving their games unattended all day Thursday because the traffic in the pavilion was so light.

One of my clients did receive the distinction of having the Worst Trailer at E3 (maybe Ever) as decided by the trolls over at gametrailers.com, so that was something. Never mind that it wasn't exactly a trailer and had been thrown together in a couple of hours right before the show because the deal had just been signed and they wanted something to catch the attention of walk-bys. At least they're talking about the game.