Enjoy 'Sex,' forgo 'Zohan' and learn a new bus trick

I went to two very different movie screenings this week ... Tuesday, I went to see "Sex and the City." The crowd was mostly women (of course) and totally into it (of course). It was completely over the top and borderline cheesy at times, but I really loved it. Mainly I was just excited to see those four girls again! I was surprised at how much of an emotional roller coaster the film was; it was funny, sad, tragic, dramatic, outrageous... I highly recommend it to any and all "SATC" fans. I may go see it again.

Last night was a screening of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan." Apologies in advance to anyone I know at Sony who reads this, but...man, it was HORRIBLE. The only mildly funny/interesting parts were the cameos. Other than that, it was truly excruciating. Taylor, who sees a lot of movies (2-3 a week) declared it the worst movie she'd ever seen -- even worse than "Son of the Mask." Now, I have a pretty corny sense of humor, and can find "dumb" funny movies hilarious, but this was a looonng way from even "dumb" funny. It was just "bad" funny. So those of you who're thinking to go check it out -- you've been warned. I'm really curious to see what the critics have to say about it.

Finally, on a completely different topic -- I took the bus from work to the screenings, which were at Pacific Place. It was my first time on a Sound Transit bus (I always take Metro). As the bus approached downtown and my stop, I looked around the bus a bit and realized I couldn't see a bell-pull string thing that you yank to let the driver know you want the next stop. I kept looking all around, but couldn't see any instructions on the walls or anything to clue me in to what I was supposed to push/pull/yank to request a stop. I started getting a little anxious, and then decided I'd just walk up to the driver before my stop to tell her that I wanted the next stop. But then -- a guy in front of me reached up to the wall behind him and pressed this thin, vertical yellow strip on the wall and then "bing!" the "Stop Requested" sign lit up! Funky! I was kind of curious to give it a try myself, but as my stop approached, someone else pressed it before I got a chance. Next time! Here's a pic I took surreptitiously on my cameraphone for any other Metro riders who randomly hop on an ST bus: