I loved Batman Begins. I am a huge Batman fan going way back and was eagerly awaiting the new movie. So, I packed up my step-son and his best friend and headed to the theater last night to check it out.

Let me first say that I am always sceptical of movies where the hype is everywhere - and with this one I mean everywhere. But, let me also say that this one lives up to, if not surpasses, the hype. Wow - what a movie.

Heath Ledger is everything his performance was billed to be. Just as Christian Bale redefined the role of Batman and has washed away any memories of who played him in the past - so has Ledger with his portrayal of The Joker. This movie was great. It was superbly cast and extremely well written and I can’t wait to see it again in a few months when it comes out on DVD.

There are some great action scenes in this one - but that’s not where it excels. There’s actually a great story and excellent dialog throughout the movie. I told my wife last night when I got back that it was the first time I had seen a fantasy movie like this where you could actually believe that both the characters and the plot could happen. I mean this version of The Joker is possible in real life - in my opinion.

Anyway - go see it. It’s a great movie - the bigger the screen the better. I’m hoping to get the chance to catch it on an IMAX screen before the run is over.

I was recently heading back home from a snow skiing trip to Breckenridge, CO. We ended up having to leave early because of high winds, 8″ of new snow and a few air travel SNAFU’s (thanks American). Anyway, we were heading down from Summit County and wanted a little breakfast before we hit I-70.

We looked around Breckenridge and couldn’t really find anything - most of the restaurants were lunch and dinner. Then we hit Frisco, Dillon and finally Silverthorne, where we lucked out. We found this little cafe on the main drag there called the Mountain Lyon Cafe. For $7.95 I got a short stack, two eggs, bacon and O’Brien potatoes - a mountain of food. The pancakes were the size of an LP and had that little butter induced crunch that I love on my hotcakes. Everything was great - don’t miss this place if your up for a little time on the slopes.

Here’s the address:
Mountain Lyon Cafe
381 Blue River Pky
Silverthorne, CO 80498
(970) 262-6229

I have watched Iconoclasts on several occasions and absolutely love the show. Last night they paired Paul Simon and Lorne Michaels - it was a fabulous look into the similarities and differences of their personal and professional lives.

A while back, I caught the episode that paired Eddie Vedder and Laird Hamilton. That was fantastic. The new season is about to begin and I’m really looking forward to the pairing of Mike Myers and Deepak Chopra. The only drawback is that I’d love to see them do more pairings of people in the business world.

I am fortunate to be a member of the Nashville chapter of Entrepreneur’s Organization or “EO” for short. It is a fantastic group of men and women entrepreneurs and a great way to learn how to run businesses and grow as people.

Anyway, we had this great event last night called “Movable Feast”. The idea is that the group would have appetizers at one place, salads at another and then entrees at another - followed by an after party. We also would have different people at our table each stop so that everyone would get a chance to mingle with different members and spouses at each stop.

We started out at one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville - Watermark. We had a couple of excellent appetizers that included carpaccio, calamari, shrimp and fried lemons of all things (yum) with some great wine pairings by my favorite Sommolier - Justin Maestas. Excellent as usual. Next we trollied over to Radius10 for an excellent baby greens salad with goat cheese and a lemon garlic vinaigrette, along with some more fabulous wines.

Finally, we made our way back to Sambuca for the main course. We had the choice of a Gorgonzola topped Filet, Sea Bass, a Chicken thing and one other which I cannot recall. So, I went with the Filet and had a great glass of Penfolds Thomas Hyland Shiraz to go along with it - great combo.

To wind the evening down, everyone headed to BarTwenty3 for cocktails and catching up with everyone. BarTwenty3 is very cool - the kind of place that feels like you’re in a chic club in L.A. or New York.

A great time was had by all. A big thanks to the committee - Clay Blevins, Tim McMullen, Arnie & Anne Malham, Carissa Pereira and Sameera Lowe! Awesome event - great night!

I am a foodie. Having grown up in Louisiana, I really love a good meal. Having just returned from the LSU-S. Carolina game, we made a point to stop by Drago’s Seafood Restaurant in Metarie, LA before heading to the New Orleans airport.

Now I have been fortunate to taste some great things in my life. But, their Charbroiled Oysters are right at the top of the list. After polishing off a half-dozen raw oysters, I proceeded to devour 2 dozen of these scrumptious treats. They are loaded with garlic, butter and herbs - then topped off with Parmesan cheese.

I was so anticipating this lunch that I told everyone at the table that under no circumstances were they getting a taste from me. If they wanted some, they better order them! They had been warned.

I think that I still smell like garlic and it was 24 hours ago. For those of you who don’t know it - garlic is the second most popular flavor after cayenne pepper in New Orleans cuisine.

I was recently listening to ESPNRadio and they were talking about the 25th anniversary of the release of the “Thriller” album. Yeah - I had it … a LONG time ago.

Anyway, they went on to expand the thought and began talking about their top 3 albums of the last 25 years - since 1982. There were some great ones in this stretch and the commentators had some great idea. So, I’ve been thinking about it for a little while and here’s my list:

1. Appetite for Destruction - Guns ‘n Roses
2. Shake Your Money Maker - The Black Crowes
3. Ten - Pearl Jam

This isn’t the definitive list - it’s my list. Each of these albums came at a different time in my life and I can still listen to each of them from start to finish.