Things of Note

Here are a few things that caught my attention recently:

My favorite city:
I don't know how I found this because it's a few months old. I must have been googling something and came up with this. It's an article from Slate about Buenos Aires. It is mostly about Argentine film and I haven't seen any of the films referenced so I can't comment on those, but there is some amazing stuff (besides dulce de leche and alfajores) that comes out of that country and it's nice to see some recognition. If anybody is interested in Argentine cinema, check out Nueve Reinas.

I also loved the sidebar on things you need to know before you go to Buenos Aires, especially the part about the pizza (it used to make me ill, but I've grown accustomed to it).

Drinking Pancakes, Yum:
Starbucks has done it again. Following its success in the New England market, maple flavored drinks are now available at Starbucks nation-wide. If you've always wanted your coffee to taste like pancakes, this drink is for you. The maple latte is pretty tasty, but I'd recommend less pumps (ask for 2 for a tall instead of 3) otherwise it tastes too much like drinking syrup. Don't be fooled by the maple macchiato, it's really just the maple latte with the shots on top. The drizzle on the top is the same as the syrup on the bottom (the caramel macchiato uses vanilla syrup on the bottom and caramel sauce on top). It's better if you get caramel sauce on top instead of maple drizzle.

A Message for Ben Kweller:
Please stop making music videos. Has the giant strawberry from "Wasted and Ready" taught you nothing?

You can view his new video for "Sundress" at www.benkweller.com. It's cheesy and it takes away from the song. Kweller's no actor and he should stick to what he does best.

Syracuse Hates Film:
So I'm not in the film concentration here, but I do enjoy me some independent films every now and again. But it is next to impossible to find these here in Syracuse. There are a few exceptions, but you'd think in a college town, there would be more opportunities to view something other than Snakes on a Plane or a frat pack movie (not that I don't love those).

Most of the movies I want to see are fairly mainstream. I'm not talking totally obscure movies (although those are good too), I'm talking about films like The U.S. vs. John Lennon which was released a few weeks ago in select cities and this week nationwide (I guess that excludes the 'Cuse). It might take a few weeks (that's what happened with Trust the Man which turned out to be a disappointment, but I'm just asking for the opportunity to see it).