THE GOOD EGG - TUCSON, AZ

I will NOT eat here again. I've not been here for way over a year because my eating experiences have been getting worse and worse regarding the food quality and prices. So I must have lulled myself into thinking it improved in my absence and I was so wrong.

It was crowded being Friday and lots of screaming and screeching kids and babies; one would think they had stepped into a nursery.

The service was good as always; that's something admirable that has remained constant.

I had a $9 scramble which consisted of a mounded oval dish with scrambled eggs and a shitload of potatoes with a few onions, a sparse amount of tomatoes, and chewy bacon. This egg melange, as all their food, was so flat and dull; without any kind of seasoning whatsoever; even salt didn't help that much.  This came with an English muffin which was the best thing I had for breakfast and even that wasn't toasted enough.

And then i couldn't resist one of their new menu items; specialty pancakes. so for $7 (though the menu said it was $5) i had a banana presley. This sounded halfway interesting; a buttermilk pancake topped with banana slices and a drizzle of salted peanut butter topped by a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips with a side of bacon.

Oh, it was horrid and would instantly turn anyone into a diabetic with clogged arteries. The pancake was thin without any taste and it was drowning in a pool of liquid peanut butter with sad pathetic slices of brown bananas (5 of 'em) poking their melancholy faces and mewling "what have i done to deserve this fate?" Bad bad entree.

So after spending a king's ransom for an undertoasted English muffin; i vowed never to grace their doorstep again.

HER

This film touched our heads/minds but not our hearts. We rated it a 9 for the thought provoking ideas but only a 6 for the film as entertainment.

Joaquin Phoenix was very good in his role as an emotionally restrained man who befriends an operating system girlfriend named Samantha who is Scarlett Johansson (voice only). He falls in love with her and she encourages him to be more vulnerable and open socially and to be adventurous.

However, as the functions she is able to perform grow (her software evolves with time and practice and interaction with humans) and change, she also wants to broaden herself. This results in the discovery by Theodore (Joaquin) that she is an operating friend to over 800 other humans and loves most of them just as she loves Theodore.

The movie was slow and i just could not connect with any of the characters (amy adams plays a close friend and fellow apartment dweller of Theodore's). They didn't seem believable to me.

The film brought up some ideas that bill and i talked about: can a computer really "feel" (Samantha used all the right emotion words at the right time)?, how will communication between humans be in 10 years with so much of it already being done without any physical closeness?, can you love more than one person the same way?, what is it when talking to another that gives you validation and a sense of worth? is it just the words?

Theodore kept pushing his glasses up on his nose and that was annoying and  by the end of the film i was getting irritated at Samantha's throaty whiskey whisper way of talking.

OUR JANUARY HOUSE

This is the fireplace with a bit of  the kitchen and the bright blue flowered tablecloth. Right behind the kitchen is the Arizona room - a sunny haven. Off to the side of this room is a Freda Kahlo curtain which leads to the laundry.

This house is so far the best and most comfortable and decorated with verve and originality and loads of color and Mexican tiles and pottery. I wish i had taken pictures of the first 2 places. The one we stayed in November and December was just a normal ordinary 2 bedroom and 2 bath east part of town house; nice and quiet but nothing special.

The next one we were in for just 3 nights over New Years and that was a small casita located in an area where there were several other casitas and some duplexes. It had a nice community feel and was also really quiet. in that house, the bedroom was the best room; lots of sun with 2 big windows and a lovely patterned bedspread.

Well, from now on there will be at least one picture of each place we stay (except for nightly motels as we travel cross country).

One thing i've noticed in each place is the greasy and desperately in need of cleaning ovens; even in houses where everything else is spotless. I guess I can understand since when people cook and bake there are spatters and if not wiped up right away, they accumulate. I never thought i was a clean freak but i guess part of me is.

this Jan. house is in a great part of town and very convenient to everything. When we come back to Tucson (unless Steven Seagal is governor) i certainly would include this area in our rental search.