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I was starting to feel a little bad about my review of The Great Debaters. That is until I read this review on Vibe. I still very much agree with the sentiment. But this review echoes some of the same concerns that I had about the movie.

On Christmas day I went to see The Great Debaters. I had a vague idea of what the movie was about but I didn’t realize that so much of it would focus on James Farmer, Jr. I really, really wanted to like the movie (I did), but the ridiculously trite dialog and (sorry, Denzel*) inexperienced directing made it impossible.

One of the great regrets of my life is that I didn’t spend more time with Dr. Farmer when I had the chance. While I was an undergrad at Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) I had the great honor of taking his Civil Rights class. He was 77 years old at the time but the man had a memory that was truly astounding. He was able to recount epic moments in Civil Rights history as though they had happened days ago, instead of decades. He told stories of the abject hatred he faced when he attended his first sit-ins. And of the unimaginable struggles he had to endure as one of the Freedom Riders. To be able to hear first hand accounts from someone who played such an integral part in the shaping of American history was a privilege that I will always treasure.

So even though I didn’t completely like the after-school-special-hollywoodization of Farmer’s tenure at Wiley college, I did respect the sentiment. If nothing else, it served to remind us of the sacrifices of those that have come before. SNCC, CORE, SCLC, Farmer, King, Wilkins…and so many more.

Dr. Farmer was one of the most remarkable human beings I have ever known. And with every success that I achieve I honor him and those who have paved the way.

*Note to Denzel: While I respect you and think you are one of the world's greatest actors, come on dude, even you have to admit that there were WAY too many arc shots at the end. I got dizzy for goodness sake. Oh, and you totally deserved the Oscar for Training Day, you were awesome.

Went out boarding again today.  Sunday was better tho because it was so frakin cold today!  I bailed on the end of my lesson and instead rode the gondola back to the safety and warmth of Heavenly Village.  Also today’s instructor was a bit of a douche.  Mackenzie was much better (and nicer).  Even tho I probably re-injured her broken finger by not letting go during a back side swipe.  I’m pretty sure I’m done with snowboarding for this trip.  But think I’ll go skiing tomorrow.

I’ll probably head over to the lodge in a bit.  Or maybe I’ll practice my poker.  I plan on kicking some major ass tonight at Harvey’s.

Had an awesome meal at Gonzo last night. Probably one of the best of the whole trip.

• Appetizer: Rice Balls
• Entree: Duck Ravioli and Margherita/Spicy Sausage & Broccoli Rabe pizza
• Dessert: Pecan Praline Ice Cream Sandwich

The Rice Balls were a smaller, more flavorful, arancini. The filling was prosciutto, peas, and mozzerella. There was also a very strong (meyer?) lemon flavor that was tasty but a bit overpowering at times. But on the whole, they were really good.

The ravioli was filled with duck, carmelized butternut squash and ricotta in a sage, brown butter sauce. I’ve had a lot of squash ravioli in brown butter sauce and in almost every case, the squash is completely overpowering. In this case, however, there was a perfect balance.

The pizza is a house specialty. The crust is a grilled, perfectly crunchy, flatbread with topings including savory pumpkin puree, oyster mushrooms and bel paese cheese. The house gladly did a half and half pizza so that we could sample the different offerings. The spicy sausage and broccoli complimented each other well. And the margherita, while nothing special, was solid and didn’t disappoint.

If it weren’t for the ravioli, I’d say that the dessert was the highlight. The homemade Tahitian vanilla gelato was a perfect match for the almost meringue-like pecan praline cookies. The entire thing was drizzled with a dark chocolate and dusted with powdered sugar. I know, I know… If it sounds good, imagine how it tasted.

Overall, it was an amazing meal and I’d definitely go back. I’ve certainly been to lots of restaurants but what sets a place a part is the completeness of the menu. I’ve gone to many places where only a few of the items on the menu are stars while the rest are…”eh”. Not only was every thing I tasted at Gonzo delicious, but there were many other things that I would have like to have tried. I’d highly recommend it if you’re ever in the neighborhood.

Rating: 4 out of 5 plates

On Sunday night I had a pretty decent meal at Craftbar. It’s the more casual sister-restaurant of Craft both of which are owned by Chef Tom Colicchio (most notably of Bravo’s Top Chef). What I liked most was the atmosphere. Sure, the brown butcher paper on the tables was trying a bit too hard but the excellently eclectic music made up for it. Everything from Sia to Beastie Boys to late-80’s Michael Jackson pumped through the dining room’s speakers.

• Appetizer: Warm Pecorino Fondue w/ Acadia Honey, Hazelnuts and Pepperoncini
• Entree: Veal Ricotta Meatballs (atop Orechiette)
• Dessert: Brown sugar cake

While a bit of a misnomer, the “fondue” was pretty delicious. Since pecorino isn’t what I’d call a melty cheese, instead a traditional fondue consistency it was more of a hot cheesy mound beneath an oozy layer of warm honey and whole hazelnuts. It was served with one lone slice of crusty bread. They should really consider upping the bread to “fondue” ratio.

The meatballs were close to perfection. In general, the best meatballs consist of the classic: pork, beef, and veal. So I was worried about whether pure veal meatballs would have enough fat to be flavorful. However, they were moist and flavorful and the tomato sauce was just the right mix of zesty and tangy.

Dessert was truly amazing. The brown sugar cake was a moist, spongy mound of heaven. The entire thing was dusted with a brown sugar coating-like-crust that wasn’t too sweet and was a perfect match for the fluffiness of the cake.

Overall, I’d say it was a good meal. I will say I was expecting a LOT from the way Colicchio beats up on the contestants on Top Chef. I wasn’t disappointed but I wasn’t completely blown away either.

Rating: 4 out of 5 forks

Following the success of SNL Live the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre put on 30 rock Live. I went to try and get tickets but to no avail. Within the first 5 minutes a seemingly nice guy comes out and goes: Sorry, none of you are going to get tickets, there are no standbys. A few people leave…maybe 4 or 5 but the rest of us (for whatever reason) stay in line. 10 minutes or so later a different guy comes out and yells:

YOU ARE STANDING IN A LINE TO NOTHING! THERE ARE NO MORE TICKETS! PLEASE LEAVE!!

Ha! Well, that was all the motivation I needed to head over to Momofuku for some delicious noodles. However, during the time between the Guy #1 and Guy #2 a lady comes over and is interviewing people for CNN. She’s trying to get folks to talk to her and the girl standing next to me volunteers. It went something like this:

CNN Lady: Didn’t you hear the announcement? Why are you still in line? What are you waiting for?
Girl: Well…it’s one of our favorite shows and blah…

Too funny! But hey, I was still waiting in line too so who am I to talk? The only cool thing is that about 2 minutes after I got there Toofer, Josh, and Kenneth walked by me as I was standing in line. Looked like they were heading off to get some pre-show grub. For some reason I imagined Toofer would be taller IRL.

You ever have someone tell you something is good so many times you start to believe it? Seriously, if one more person tells me that Lil Wayne is the illest MC out right now…

Yeah, ok I saw him on the VMAs and I will admit that he comes up w/ some original and off the wall freestyles:

“I can’t pronounce her last name so it should be mine” (w/ Nicole Scherzinger)

“I’m a fall out boy / Need a stand up girl” (w/, duh, fall out boy)

That’s all well and good but people come on. The greatest MC of all time?! Let’s not go crazy.

Last Monday I saw a coworker’s band perform at Amnesia. Towards the end of their set my coworker (who is the lead singer) tells the crowd:

I’d like to dedicate this next song to my coworkers who are all sitting up front tonight. This next one goes out to them especially Arquay!

The name of the song, I kid you not, “She’s No Angel”. Ok, so I’ll never win the “Coworker of the Year” award. I can dig that. But right after she made the dedication a guy in the back yells out:

Ain’t that the truth!

Brutal. I don’t even know that dude. I can’t help it if my fly Pumas cause people to hate on me.

I stopped in to Sellers Markets this morning to get myself an egg-a-muffin.  After waiting a short while my order was ready.  The cook calls out: “Arquay!.

Now on the surface…this isn’t terribly remarkable.  Except for the fact that he actually pronounced my name correctly.  I actually did a double take and smiled at the not oft heard pronunciation.

It was my first time going there for breakfast.  This almost makes me want to consider an egg-a-muffin-only diet.

Yesterday during an impromptu visit to the Puma store (go figure) I decided to venture upstairs in search of super-cool t-shirts. I pressed the button for the elevator but to no avail. I asked the salesman if it was out of order to which he replied: There’s a celebrity upstairs shopping with his entourage.

On mention of the term “celebrity” I immediately assumed it was some low-level D-lister like Bookman from Good Times. So I decide to risk it and hoof it up the 2 flights. But I was treated to major a surprise as I rounded the final corner of the spiral staircase. Looking me dead in the eye was none other than Mr. Human Beat Box himself!

He was just doing his thing, shopping for shirts and there were a few guys and a lone photographer with him. After looking around a bit, I nodded to the photographer for confirmation that it was indeed Mr. Fresh. He confirmed it and said that I could talk to him.

I walk over to him and say: Excuse me, Doug E. Fresh! He didn’t reply “YES?” but it was still cool. I told him I was a big fan and then he posed for a pic. On the way out I saw MC Shan milling around outside.

See people, this is why I love SF.