Well, back from a Regulars' Night at my favorite coffee bar. Got an invite for myself and a friend and while the first friend I invited got a dreadful allergic reaction today (she doesn't know from what but she's still sneezing), the other one was all rearing to go. Which was good as we had a fabulous night of free white wine, salad, olives (oh I love olives, black and green both), watermelon, crusty fresh bread and red onions. And mojitos. I really enjoyed it all. We dicussed politics, movies, books, all things interesting and I finally feel like I was on a vacation... I'd still rather work but unfortunately, the autumn term only commences in the middle of August. Oh well.

Anyhow, last night I saw a truly amazing movie, Gone Baby Gone, which is based on a brilliant novel by one of my all time favorite authors, Dennis Lehane. His books are simply wonderful, well-crafted and intelligent... it's no wonder that Eastwood's Mystic River and Marty's Shutter Island are also based on ones. I really loved the film, the gritty and real feel it had, the smartness and the honesty. It felt like real Boston. (I've lived close by for one summer.) Casey Affleck truly shines in this movie directed by his older brother Ben.

I must admit that one of the reasons I love Casey is that he's a vegan and an avid advocate for the animal rights... Here's a really wonderful interview

He loves cats, too. Go Casey!! There are still some influential vegans in Hollywood, even though Casey's brother-in-law has started a career in music... There's Tobey Maguire, Daryl Hannah, Woody Harrelson, Jason Schwartzman, Alicia Silverstone, James Cromwell, and many more... James Cromwell turned vegan when filming Babe.

In any case, a wonderful and inspiring day. Casey Affleck will go far... I wish lots of luck to him and all the other vegan actors. And will go and see every one of their films.