Quick Five Faves- Small, Smart Character Movies

1) Benny & Joon- Depp, Masterson, Quinn, Moore.
2) A Simple Plan- Thornton, Paxton, Fonda, Cole. Dark but thought inspiring.
3) Juno- Page, Cera, Garner, Bateman. Directed by a Reitman. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
4) Chasing Amy- Affleck(2), Lee, Adams. Directed by Kevin Smith.
5) Keeping The Faith- Stiller, Norton, Elfman. Before the boy's egos got too big.

Incense

No, it's not just for masking the pot smells coming out of your dorm room! Incense has been around since ancient times, but I don't use it for religious reasons, or for rituals, or to cover the smell of pot, in case you were wondering(but I have no problem if you do!). I'm also not a hippy. I know people sometimes associate incense with those strange long-haireds who sit around and talk about enlightenment and world peace- not that there's anything wrong with world peace!

No, I love incense for two reasons. The first is obvious; it makes the room smell nice, which is especially beneficial when you have pets or if you cook fish for dinner. I also like to bring incense with me when I travel to improve the scent of hotel rooms and, for me, it eases homesickness when on long term trips.

The second reason I use incense may sound a bit new-agey, but it's a great way to clear the mind. I use it during meditation or when I wish to write. It helps me focus. In fact, when paired with classical music, it can be a great cure for writers block.

Incense comes in many shapes and sizes, but I prefer the sticks, and sometimes the cones. I have a round, brass incense holder that was given to me by an old friend some years back that I've used for both, but I suggest an incense boat for the sticks because you'll want something long enough to capture the ash that falls during burning.

My favorite sticks are the Airs brand. Okay, their packaging can be kinda new-agey, but the scents are fantastic. My faves are Ocean, Secret Garden, Dragon Cloud and Rain. If you buy the variety pack, you can get all of these without spending too much. (The company recently had some issues, so they might be hard to find in stores right now, but after a little research I found their site. They are well worth the trouble and hopefully the product will be back on shelves soon).

I tried rope incense once, but I didn't like the scent or the smell of the rope when it burned down. I've also used smudge bundles, but I find them inconvenient as there are times when I only want to burn a small amount of incense and sticks are much easier to extinguish and save for later. 

Usually, I avoid traditional earthy scents like wood(eucalyptus, sandlewood, etc) or myhrr but the following product recently caught my eye, or should I say, my nose...
So I bought a pack and now I absolutely love this stuff. It burns cleanly and the indescribably wonderful scent lingers in the room for days- longer than anything I've ever tried. I bought mine in Canada, but Amazon and other online retailers sell them here in the U.S.

But if you are new to incense, I suggest you avoid buying online until you know what your nose prefers. Shop for incense like you would a candle. Stick all the packages up to your nose until you find a scent you can't resist. Some people buy incense like they do aromatherapy products- for what each smell is supposed to do for you. I find that doesn't work for me. If something smells unpleasant, I don't care what the benefits are. And for me, variety is important as I like to change my incense with my mood.

The best places to find and try incense are specialty home and garden stores, new age book stores, "head shops" and aromatherapy stores. You can also find incense at places like Target or Pier One, but I've never found chain store incense to smell quite as good or burn as nicely as the stuff sold by specialty retailers.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite scent? How do you use incense? I'd love to hear from you. Email or comment below!

Quick Review: Creamy Dill Dip Mix

Bought at Whole Foods(I paid about $1.60). Package says you need two cups of sour cream, but I add to taste and use it as I go. One package can last weeks this way. This stuff is even better after it sets in the fridge for an hour or so. I use it mainly as a dip for potato chips(A great alternative to onion dip and ranch dressing), but it has recipes on the back for baked dill potato and a sandwich spread(yum!).

Quick Five Faves from Trader Joe's

1) TJ's Jelly Beans- Like Jelly Belly, only with natural ingredients.
2) Scallops Wrapped in Uncured Bacon with Brown Sugar Glaze- Yum, yum, yum! Eat with fries for a totally unhealthy but delish meal. Seasonal, tho. Boo.
3) Tarte D'Alsace- Flat bread, ham, Yummy Cheese and Carmelized oniony goodness!
4) Tuscan Italian Dressing- Love the creaminess. Wish they sold it in a bigger size.
5) Rosemary Apricot Chicken Salad- Good flavor combo and Sliced Almonds for crunch. Great on multi-grain crackers.

Honorable mention: Best tagline from their newsletter...

"Kernel Of Wisdom: Whole wheat flour uses the whole kernel versus white flour, which only uses the endosperm. Any attempt at a joke would be crude."

Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza

Those of you familiar with Drew Carey's old comedy/improv show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," will recognize the format of this updated version on the Game Show Network. 

Improv-a-ganza is filmed in Vegas at the MGM grand. The audience sits night club style, meaning unlike the old 'Whose Line' audience, they can eat and drink at tables(which makes it interesting when they pick volunteers who've had one too many!). Aesthetically it works better, but the sense of intimacy and the feeling that anything can happen is gone. I used to like when the cast would run into the audience during skits and involve the crowd. Now, due to the raised stage and enormously spread out seating, doing that is impractical, so the only time they are in the audience section is to pick out volunteers for their sketches.

I was glad to see most of the old cast from 'Whose Line' on the new show. Well, except for Greg Proops. Sorry, but he annoyed me on the old show, and he annoys me on this one. I find him the least funny of the players and he seems phony--like he is above the people he is entertaining; in contrast with the rest of the cast, who all seem to like their audience and people in general.

The cast is older now, of course, than they were on 'Whose Line' but still very on their game. Drew Carey has changed the most because of his massive weight loss. Jeff Davis has changed the least; he looks like he stepped out of a time machine.

It's hard to pick a favorite cast member, but top on my list is Colin Mochrie. Colin is hilarious and you never know what will come out of his mouth. The great thing about him is that he rarely breaks character. When he says something crazy, he'll have the rest of the cast in stitches, but he'll just keep right on going. I liked him better when he was on 'Whose Line,' but only because there was more of him. Sadly, he isn't in all the episodes of Improv-A-Ganza. 
Wayne Brady is another bright spot, but unfortunately, he is in even fewer episodes of Improv-A-Ganza than Colin. Wayne is witty, has always connected well with people, and he's never afraid to laugh at himself. His warm personality oozes into everything he does. No wonder they gave him a talk show.

Ryan Stiles is terrific, of course, and I always enjoy Brad Sherwood and Chip Esten. I haven't had enough exposure to Heather Anne Campbell, but she seems okay. It would be nice to see Cathy Greenwood, though. Hopefully she'll guest in future episodes.

Newcomer Jonathan Magnum is terrific. I say newcomer, but he has a resume that goes back to the early nineties. His energy and enthusiasm led me to believe he was a twenty-something so I was shocked to discover he is 40 years old. He makes a great addition to the cast.

As for the format... The new show is more ensemble oriented. It may be Drew Carey's show, but he doesn't host it like he did the old one. The players all alternate hosting duties, which keeps it interesting, but also makes it less cohesive. The good thing is there are more players per episode so you get to see cast members mingle that you never got to see together in the old show. The bad thing is that because there are more players, it's harder to use everyone enough in the half hour show. Any chance of giving us an hour, Drew?

"Whose Line" seemed to move better because they fit more sketches in the half hour. If you didn't like one sketch, you didn't have long to wait for a different one. The new show only seems to do about three, maybe four sketches per episode and sometimes they drag on past funny. Most of the skits are similar to the ones on 'Whose Line,' but I miss Irish Drinking Song and the green screen stuff they used to do. I do not miss Three-headed Broadway Star, though, as I rarely found that one funny. Of the new sketches they've added, I like 'kick it' the best so far. This is where two players act out a scene, but have to break into rap whenever a third player tells them to. It's an upbeat, lively sketch that really showcases the wit of the players who can sing.

Improv-A-Ganza has only had one guest star so far-- Charlie Sheen. And they had to bleep most of what he said, so he was probably more enjoyable for the live audience. "Whose Line" used to have some great guests. In fact, some of the funniest episodes came from guest appearances. Who could forget Richard Simmons pretending to be a jet ski under Colin Mochrie? It might be harder to get guests on the new show because they aren't in Los Angeles, but hopefully they will try.

To sum it up, I will probably continue to watch Improv-A-Ganza because I like improv comedy and no one does it better than Drew and his cast. And if I miss the old show, I can still get my fix, as they air it every night on the Family Channel.