I'm making a habit of eating at Duane's Sausage and Specialties. In fact, I just got back from there. I recommend you try it.

Duane's is relatively new. It's located where Spagatini's used to be at 26 North Main. (I would give you a link to a map but Google, Yahoo, and Mapquest all suck and put it in Walkerville.) I tend to eat lunch there on Saturday because it's immediately adjacent to the Farmer's Market. Oh, And it's utterly delightful.

The big thing at Duane's is high quality meat, specifically buffalo. I've devoured a few buffalo burgers and highly recommend them. I've also dined on the grilled pork loin sandwich, also excellent. Duane's also carries premade subs, deli stuff, and preservative free turnovers made by the Amish. (I'm saving my last one for this evening)

Duane also sells frozen meat like a good butcher shop. This week I'll be eating some ground buffalo dishes. I also recommend the pancetta wrapped buffalo filet mignon. That was awesome.

Duane's is a family-run locally owned business, so you can feel good about frequenting it.

The store front doesn't represent the business very well. It would be easy to walk right by it. But that's OK, it makes it our little secret. The front of Duane's Sausage and Specialties is full of brick-a-brack. Just ignore all that and walk towards the back were the good eating awaits.

• 16th - Double Buffalo Burger with Bacon. $5.95
• 18th - 2 Buffalo Frankfurters with Sauerkraut. $4.95
• 19th - 1/2 Pound Ground Round Cheese Burger. $4.95
• 20th - 1/2 Pound Mild Italian Sausage. $4.25
• 21th - Grilled Pork Loin Sandwich. $4.25
• 22th - Grilled Roast Turkey Sandwich. $4.95
• 23th - Pudgie Burger - 1/2 Pound Bavarian Sausage, 1/2 Pound Ground Buffalo Patty with Cheese. $6.50
• 25th - Grilled Buffalo Cube Steak Sandwich. $5.75
• 26th - Boneless Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich. $4.95
• 27th - 1/2 Pound Grilled Sausage Had with Melted Swiss Cheese. $4.25
• 28th - Old Fashioned Chili Cheese Dog. $3.75
• 29th - 1/2 Pound Buffalo Bacon Cheeseburger. $4.95
• 30th - 1/2 Pound Hot Italian Sausage Sandwich with Provolone Cheese. $4.25

Order ahead at 406-782-3030. You know you want to.

Labels: Butte, food, Montana, recomendation, review

# posted by Max : 9/16/2006 11:50:00 AM 0 comments

In November of last year I was bemoaning my fancy (but ooh so sucky) Audiovox 6600. Well things haven't improved. My favorite is when it crashes when you answer. No, wait! My favorite is when it just fails to ring. No, Wait! My favorite is when it forgets it has ever been turned on, reinstalls the OS, erases all the data, and requires you to reset all the retarded default settings to make it useable. Oh, Wait! My favorite is that no matter what I do the answer button has permanently switched to "show me my appointments", the hang-up button has switched to "Show me my list of phone numbers", and the left arrow (yes just the left one) has changed to "show me my to-do list". Well. Those were some of my favorites over the past year. But this morning my Audiosucks gave up the ghost for good. So now my new favorite is: Refuses to turn on.

So for the time being I'm using an office cell phone. (406) 498-1907. You might think I'm crazy putting my cell phone number online but I figure it like this. 1.) It's faster than calling all of you 2.) My phone number has been online for years now and it hasn't been an issue.

The new phone has a few diffrent rings. They all sound like I just saved Zelda.

My contract expires the 22nd so I'll be getting a new fancy phone then. This time I'll be avoiding all Windows Mobile suckage and going for a Palm or other such device. I'm sure your on the edge of your seat.

I'm sure some guy is reading this post from his condemned double-wide outside Battle Mountain Nevada, and wondering how pretentious I must be too I piss and moan so much about my fancy phone. And I say "Screw you hippy! Just because your life sucks doesn't me we all have to suffer. If you don't like it then don't read my blog!".

Hugs and kisses!

Labels: consumer goods, review

# posted by Max : 9/11/2006 09:44:00 PM 0 comments

Labels: food, mood, review

# posted by Max : 5/20/2006 05:49:00 PM 0 comments

Last time I outlined a new ratings system. Lets see it in action.

V for Vendetta
"Rent"
A mad vigilantly libertarian terrorizes "the man" in the not so distant British future. Pretty good except for the captivity of Natalie Portman. That bit manages to destroy any sympathetic notions we might have for the cause.

Don't Come Knocking
"Rent"
Just ignore the acting (and some of the writing). Instead focus on the beauty and majesty of Butte.

Brick
"Matinee"
A high-school movie sans clumsy teen humor meets a murder mystery; but it's not that mysterious. Bizarre in a delightfully stylish way. The dialog is purposely hard to follow. Try to keep up. There is nothing about the cinematography that demands in theater viewing but the film is original enough to be worth the expense and hassle.

Thank You For Smoking
"Pay Full Price"
The twisted humorization of the world of the tobacco lobbyist. A rare funny film. The main character has a weak arc, but hey its funny. Its got a good message as well. Again, it doesn't demand in theater viewing but Its worth the $7-$10.

Labels: movies, recomendation, review

# posted by Max : 4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM 0 comments

Us journalists (Jesus, I kill me). Um yes; Us journalists have a dilemma when it comes to rankings for food, books movies, etc. If we've done a good job in the editorial section of our review then a simple rating shouldn't be necessary. The rating is probably more of a distraction. Ratings are an appeal to the lowest common denominator among us who wants content without depth. But, yet... so handy and ubiquitous are ratings that it's natural and expected to use them.

So going forward I will be changing the way I rate movies. Instead of a letter grade (which are great because they are so clear) I'll be switching to something more descriptive, more important, and more relevant to you the reader than just a simple rating of movie quality. Instead I will be making a terse suggestion of what you should do. Example: Saving Private Ryan would go from an A- to "pay full price". This new rating reflects not only the quality but the perceived importance of the film while also taking into account the relative value of watching films in a particular medium.

The ratings I'll be using for now will be following: "Avoid", "Catch on TV", "Rent", "Matinee", "Pay Full Price", and the ever rare "Opening Night". I reserve the right (as I always do) to change these ratings up all willy-nilly.

The clever amongst you have probably already realized a weakness in the new system. Example: Finding Nemo is a good movie that is probably best seen in the theater, and I might well recommend "Matinee" but by now its not in the theaters any more. Well... tough. You'll just have to do the best you can. And plus, sometimes things do go back to the theaters, or sometimes be found at a second run cinema.

Huzzah! I have spoken.

Labels: art, movies, review

# posted by Max : 4/22/2006 12:02:00 AM 3 comments

Labels: movies, recomendation, review

# posted by Max : 1/27/2006 01:30:00 PM 0 comments

Another entirely untimely movie reviews:

The Chronicles of Narnia D
Um... Have you ever been on a date with a someone gorgeous and mind-numbingly dumb? Its kinda how I feel about this film. Its very pretty but your best off packing your ears with popcorn and just enjoying the CG monsters. Just like the aforementioned date don't worry about missing any important dialog. I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie were the main characters are so entirely unimportant to the plot.

Labels: movies, review

# posted by Max : 1/21/2006 12:29:00 PM 0 comments

More entirely untimely movie reviews:

King Kong D
in a word. Barf. Just painfully boring. I'll forgive the predictability of just about any remake but it still has to be an entertaining film. I get the sense that there might be a good version of this movie on the cutting room floor. But at 3hrs and change I bet a lot of non-monkey scenes where cut. The interplay of the characters was far more interesting that the magical bullet-proof randomly scaling gorilla. Pretty visual effects, amusing casting of Jack Black, and Naomi Watts is exceptionally fetching.

Syrina A
Confusing but in an on purpose good way. The characters are real to life. There are no real heroes or villains in this movie, just characters handling things in the way they think they must or at least the best way for themselves. It's a rich a believable film and probably one of the best of the year (2005).

Munich A-
Another great film. What happens to a soldier when you ask him to be an assassin? Its a fun and gritty look into late-cold war covert operations from a non-US perspective. If only Eric Bana had range as an actor it would be great.

Now admit: when you first read the title "Gorillas in the Middle East" you thought it might be some racist thing, yes? Of course you did, Further admit: that my play on "Gorillas in the Mist" is super clever and that I'm a mad genius of no equal. ADMIT IT!

Labels: movies, recomendation, review

# posted by Max : 1/14/2006 02:56:00 PM 0 comments

Since the move to Butte my eyes have opened to new host of projection techniques. The repertoire is rich with films that slow to a stop or proceed for minutes at a time without all that pesky audio. Carmike Cinema 6 also has invoked the classic, but rare, on screen melting of a film strip.

But do not suppose for a moment that Carmike is all projection genius, they don't fail to under whelm in a number of areas. The sound proofing is so poor that during the quiet moments in your film you can enjoy the hissing and popping sounds of the next movie over's sound system. Lets also not forget the off brand candy. Why have good candy when you can vend utter crap?

Its not all bad. We do have the Sliver Bow Twin; a two screen drive-in of movie going divinity. It has near perfect throw and they usually pick two decent movies. To bad it's closed during the winter and that I'm too inept to clean my windshield before the show.

But none of that is my point. My point was to mention that I took some free time whilst visiting CA to catch up on some movies. For those with long memories perhaps you'll recall the DSR Movie List. Essentially, the movie ratings of Steve, Chris and myself. Consider this a mini revival. It's not really so much of a current list but rather somthing to consider when your trying to fill your Netflix cue.

What's the over-under on a whole new release, you ask? About 2%. I already burn a lot of time on non-productive ventures, so until y'all start paying to read my blog it will be hard to justify. Step one: get someone to read my Blog...

Rent D+
In a word...inane. Take the medications your prescribed, stop taking the medications you buy on the corner, and get a job. I didn't see the musical version, I mostly dislike musicals, I don't believe good artists are entitled to the artist life much less these talentless hacks, I'm a landlord, and I'm brutish and simple-minded. So perhaps I'm not the target audience. But in any case the suckage was audible.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. B-
These movies leave me feeling that the books are probably better. I'd say it is the best of these Potter movies so far, if only because its darker and less juvenile. If you liked the others then you'll likely enjoy this.

Walk the Line B+
Musician bio-pics tend to be gappy and cliched. Walk the Line is gappy without most of those painful cliches. Joaquin and Reece carry the film and do a surprisingly decent job filing the singing shoes of Cash and Carter.

Jarhead B+
Not a war movie. Just thought I'd warn you. Its not a spoof of Full Metal Jacket either though you'll be tempted to think otherwise at first. It's a comment on what is to be a modern foot soldier, or at least what it was to be a soldier in the early nineties. The main character is a bit blank so when he does show some emotion its hard to tell if he's just being a smart ass. You'll like or hate most of the characters.

Ice Harvest B+
Like a windyroad on a lakebed, it has twists and turns but you can see them all coming. It's a fun movie anyways, and people die when they should. The ending is nice as well. Very much the dark movie you'd expect and enjoy from a Thorton and Cusak team.

Good Night, and Good Luck B+
A short and largely undramatic flick surrounding the clash between Edward R. Murrow and company with Senator McCarthy. Its makes for an interesting story about an interesting time and is told without unnecessary glitz. Think docu-drama but without the painful melodrama.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang C+
A murder mystery that's a bit strung together. The film manages to be amusing without being funny. It's an excuse to see the chemistry between neurotic Robert Downey Jr., and gay but tough Val Kilmer, with some nudity thrown in. Think: Empty Cake with Cleaver Icing.

Chicken Little C+
Another animated romp for kids with enough little jokes for adults. It's a luke-warm first attempt by Disney at CG animated films. I predict only one direct to video sequel.

Labels: Butte, Montana, movies, recomendation, review

# posted by Max : 12/05/2005 05:54:00 PM 0 comments

The new batman movie was quite enjoyable. I like the usage of the Scarecrow as sorta thinner mid-tier DC baddie that didn't overwhelm the more important hero's journey elements of the batman backstory. A more compelling character like the Joker would have been too much.

Keeley is off for a few days. She sorta sprung that on me after I offered her the job. Rampant grumpiness has ensued.

Keri is in town. We are going to the Virginia City Follies (I think) tomorrow. I'm debating stopping by and hastling Bartender Girl some more. But it's probably a wasteful and self-destructive endeavor. But I don't want her to think I'm seeing Keeley. Keeley and Craig mentioned a hot raven-haired woman was at a newish coffe shop. I saw her at the Art Walk. They are quite right. Very Tasty. It requires further investigation.

The Art-Walk was pretty nifty. Its where a number of temporary "Phantom Galleries" are put up with all manner of artists. We had a "Phantom Gallery" here with a Yellowstone themed ceramics artist and a regional outdoorsy photographer. Very cool.

Labels: art, Butte, culture, Montana, movies, recomendation, review

# posted by Max : 6/17/2005 09:58:00 PM 0 comments