Monday mess-around

♦ I will be your best friend if you've seen Broken Flowers and are screaming to talk about it with someone. It's a really good movie and continues the recent streak of impressive Bill Murray performances. (Also very good is Jeffrey Wright, who strikes me as one of the great underrated actors working in movies today.)

But the ending will either drive you hair-pulling crazy or drop you to your knees in appreciation of its brilliance. I'm leaning more toward the latter now, but when the credits rolled, I initially grabbed my hair. I suppose it comes down to what you think this film is really about and whether or not you believe the ending satisfies that premise.

In an interview on the movie's official website, director Jim Jarmusch said he wants Murray's character, Don, to remain in your mind after you walk out of the theater. Mission accomplished, Mr. Jarmusch. It's like an itch I can't scratch right now. I needed to talk the hell out of this at a bar or coffee shop after I saw it, and I didn't get that. So if you can help me out, I'd love you.

♦ Speaking of movies, if you're running a studio and think Fried Rice Thoughts is just the place to advertise your latest project, please refer to my e-mail address at the right. I don't have a lot of pride. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz would look great on this page. Just don't ask me to pimp Deuce Bigelow 3: Now He's Got a S.T.D., okay?

♦ I will also be your best friend if you know of any good college and pro football blogs. More specifically, if you know of any dealing with Iowa football or the Detroit Lions (besides Blue Cats and Red Sox, of course, Samela), I'd be extremely grateful. Hey, I'm not completely lazy. I've tried to find some. I've been looking. But I've been rather unsuccessful. And once baseball season ends, there will be a huge void in my daily blog browsing. Don't make me do something productive on Monday mornings. I need to read people ranting and obsessing over the Hawkeyes and Lions.

♦ Here's a headline that caught my eye on washingtonpost.com this morning. I wish I hadn't been eating cereal at the time, though.

♦ Did you know Bob Costas declined to sub for Larry King Thursday night, because he didn't want to spend an hour talking about Natalee Holloway and the BTK killer? I didn't, until I read this at Cyphering. But I'd like to join in the applause now.

Seriously, have you tried to watch Larry King lately? It's awful. Every night, it's Natalee Holloway, BTK, or that dude that disappeared off a cruise liner. Well, his guest is Pamela Anderson tonight, so maybe I'll give Larry another chance. But only because my mother likes you, Larry.