Dissonant Notes II ...

♪ A couple weeks ago, I read "Running with Scissors," Augusten Burrough's memoir of his dysfunctional childhood, and I was happy that the DVD of the movie adaptation was due out February 6. In a rare moment of Netflix benevolence, I received the movie right away. My cousin Patty stayed with me for the weekend and we popped it in. The movie is not like the book, but then, it turns out that the book is not like Augusten's life. Not entirely. It's greatly embellished, exaggerated, erroneous. Pick a word that starts with "e." Patty is the one who informed me that the family portrayed in the book filed a lawsuit against Burroughs. Turns out, it's not enough to simply change someone's name. It's a good thing Oprah didn't select this book for her Club. Then again, James Frey would probably have appreciated some company in his exclusive club. I was irked by the dramatic license. The parts of the book that were changed for the screen weren't necessary tweaks. I love forming pictures in my head, but film adaptations rarely match the movie I see when I read.

♪ Ethan, pal that he is, was nice enough to burn a DVD of a special he watched about "The Electric Company," one of the shows of my youth. It was a total trip to see Morgan Freeman so early in his career. And it was another total trip to realize the star power behind some of the skits. One fond memory was "The Adventures of Letterman." I totally remembered it, but didn't realize when I was a kid that the characters were voiced by Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel, and Joan Rivers. Check it out! (I tried embedding the YouTube clip here, but YouTube isn't cooperating with me tonight.)

♪ The Police have pulled the trigger on a 2007 World Tour! (Yeah, I know, I'll stop with the police puns.) Chicago dates will be announced in the coming weeks, but there's a rumor swirling that the dates will be at Wrigley Field. And according to stories I've read today, the top ticket will only be $225. I expected top tix to go for more. But $225 to see The Police is a steal. (Ooh, there I go again.)

♪ I was telling Patty about buying seasons 4 and 5 score for "24" for Dave for his birthday. Patty's reply: "There's music on '24'?" And I realized that composers and editors have a lot in common: if we do our jobs well, people don't really notice our work. Of course, composing is way cooler and gets you listed in IMDb.

♪ Out shopping yesterday, Patty spied a restaurant in a strip mall and asked, "What's Old Country Buffet?" We nearly wet ourselves considering the duplicity, if "Old" modified "Country Buffet" or if "Old Country" modified "Buffet." One way, you get homey, feel-good fried chicken and biscuits. The other way, you get sturdy women with chin hair in knee-high stockings and babushkas serving borscht.

♪ Watching the terrorist dudes on "24," both the bad guy and the bad-guy-who's-trying-to-reach-a-compromise guy, I realize all over again how much of a thing I have for swarthy men. Come to think of it, Hamri Al-Assad is like the Middle Eastern version of House. And we all know how much I dig Dr. Gregory House.