Fellow Vancouver-ites: ever see those cryptic film set signs around and wonder what production it is? I’ve had good success matching the signs (which are usually initials or some take on the real title) to the B.C. Film List. With this information, I think I can reach my current stalker goal of finding the Scooby Two set and yelling at Buffy to eat something, for God’s sake.

Oh! Oh! Speaking of Buffy, I was away during the series finale, which means I haven’t had a chance to be publicly distraught about evil Joss killing off [my favourite character]. (I’m trying to be spoiler sensitive for those folks in other parts of the world who may not have seen the finale yet.) I cried, and then Mr. Pith and Vinegar laughed at me, and then I told him to hush up. It was a special moment.

Minesweeper Strategies. Ah, Minesweeper.. the last refuge of the computer-addicted when their ISP flakes out.

I don’t get the “add -izzle to the end of everything” slang that all the hip kids are using nowadays. I just don’t understand. I feel so old.

Marge Simpson: “You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn’t even notice.”

Did anyone else out there make the mistake of watching Paradise Hotel last night? Eleven hot singles hang out at a hotel for a week and then whomever doesn’t (in the vernacular of the show) “hook up” gets replaced with an audience member. The best part is that there’s no prize money, no promises of being whisked away to a new life with a tire magnate.. no, the reward of this show is simply being on television. Really, though, for full effect Fox should have just named the show “Gettin’ it Awwwwwwn!”

Useful Spanish Phrases. It wasn’t until we were on the plane heading for our honeymoon in the Mayan Riviera that we realized the entire extent of our Spanish was picked up from Bumblebee Man. (“Aiyiyi.. No es bueno!”) The worst thing, though, was that eight years of French classes and the occasional trip to Europe caused horrible, horrible manglings of almost every sentence: “Hola! Due biere, bitte.”

However, despite being slow learners we felt much better prepared than the couple we saw (off a cruise ship, natch) who declared upon being served a bowl of chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro: “Um.. what is this?” It’s salsa, people. Salsa. I realize it’s a rare Mexican delicacy, but.. sheesh.

Reasons why I love Las Vegas, No. 2633: Although I can’t find it online, rumour has it that the latest Vegas attraction will be an exact replica of the famous Munich Hofbrauhaus, the king of beer gardens. No word on whether the Las Vegas version will keep the one litre biere tradition. (One of my fondest memories is having a few drinks with a table of randomly assorted nationalities at the original Hofbrauhaus. At one point the ompah band in leiderhosen started playing “New York, New York”, and the entire place broke out in song. Totally brilliant.)

Fellow zombie movie afficionados will most likely want to get their braaaaaaaaains down to see the new indie horror flick “28 Days Later“, which scared the stuffing out of me this weekend. Before you go, though, in the name of being prepared you might want to review The Five Pillars of Zombie-Fighting.