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Trying to extend the birthday festivities for my wife, I arranged to have both of my sisters come stay with my mother (I made dinner for the three of them of spaghetti & meatballs, green beans, salad, and garlic bread (the spaghetti was cooked and drained, and the sause and meatballs were hot in the crockpot)). I then took my wife out to dinner and to a film.

I let my wife choose the resturant and of the myriad of choices we had, she selected the "Olive Garden". She had a chicken fettucinni and broccoli main course. I ordered something new which was made with small pieces of chicken, several different vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, asparagus, carrots, broccoli and tomatoes served on a bed of bowtie noodles with a light sause that was wonderfully rich in a variety of spices including basil, rosemary, oregeno, and garlic). Of course, as anyone who knows this resturant, we also had salad and breadsticks, and we shared an appetizer of fresh bruschetta on toasted bread. My wife had some sort of fruity drink that had a small amount of champaign in it, and I had two glasses of wine.

I had scanned the newspaper earlier in the day and had copied synopses of all the likely films that were available to us in the time frame we had. Happily, my wife agreed to see the film called "The Illusionist". This is a newer film and features Ed Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel. The film is set in turn-of-the-century Vienna (roughly 1902) and is about a magician who uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.

The film was universally praised by both of us. It was a delightful mix of drama, intrigue, excitement, and romance. The "magic" was handled in a pleasantly realistic manner as well. In many films today where "fantasy" is a part, the director takes far too many liberties using the CGI capabilities to create NONSENSE that does not conform to any realistic expectation of anything. The special effects here were not like that... they were subtle and ADDED to the story. A special treat was in Paul Giamatti's character, an officer of the law... an inspector/future police chief who was a pipe smoker. His pipe was a very nice looking dublin shaped briar with an amber stem.

It was a very pleasant evening.

PipeTobacco