Taking A Chance On Something You Think You Won't Like

I could very well be the only person on earth who actually likes sardines. Weirdo, I know.

And really, what's to like? You have to open some oddball can, then look down at these little fishy bodies laying there, all stinky and covered in mustard with their little dead fishy bones sticking out of their dead fishy bodies. "Appetizing" is not the word that comes to mind.

But if I eat one of these things...wow! Granted, it's no Bissinger's Chocolate or anything, but it's still tasty!

And ya know how I know sardines are so good? I went against my "better judgement" (i.e. prejudice) and tried one. And the rest, as they say, is history...

Similar thing happened tonight. Whether it's blindness related, or just because I get bored easily, I'm not much of a movie buff. The video description service at our local Regal Cinema has changed my movie experiences for the better, but I'm just a hard sell on flicks. If I can set through the whole thing and it wasn't knock-my-socks-off fantastic, I keep thinking, "There's two hours and $30 I'll never get back."

So, why would I read movie reviews? I wouldn't usually. And why would I listen to radio podcasts of movie shows? Again, typically, I wouldn't.

My fav talk station, 97.1 FM out of STL, has a weekly program called Max On Movies. For someone who doesn't love film, I just pass over this section every time I'm grabbing my Dave Glover Show podcasts. My mistake!

See, I'm headed out on a four night work trip in a few days. Lots of plane time means lots of podcast time. So, figured I'd just stop in the Max On Movies spot and take a gander...man, shocker!

Sure, Max reviews the movies, but he also has a couple interviews with two of my favorite authors; Neil Gaimon and Chuck Palahnuick (did I get that spelling right?)

Both these authors would easily rank on my top 10 of all time favorite authors. Throw in Stephen King, Hunter S. Thompson, Ridley Pearson and Douglas Coupland and we've got a party (especially if Hunter S. Thompson brings the goods from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"...which is highly improbable since he's dead. But, I digress...)

So, I downloaded these podcasts and am super, SUPER pumped to get to hear an interview with Neil Gaimon. I just discovered Gaimon's work within the last year or two and, since then, have been reading everything I can get my hands on of his. This is going to make for an especially interesting listen somewhere between here and Albany, or Albany and Wichita.

And who'd have thunk it? Me! Getting something cool out of movie talk! And just think, had I not reached in and grabbed that slimy sardine to learn how good they are, I'd never know the joys of fishy goodness! And if I'd just kept passing over Max on Movies, I wouldn't get the Gaimon interview, either!

Awesome!