Notes from the weekend.

Friday night was spent primarily watching UMass lose to Appalachian State in the 1-AA title game. Or, as we were reminded something like 20 times, the title game of the "Division 1 championship subdivision." Which, by extension, makes the Fake Bowl the title game of the "Division 1 bullshit subdivision."

Even with the loss by Our State U, this game will still wind up being more entertaining than at least a half-dozen of the coming bowls.

Saturday saw us do exactly what we didn't want to do - go Christmas shopping. Another year of planning to do things early goes by the wayside. Still, we completed the vast majority of the shopping we needed to do, so I can't really complain.

That night we saw The Prestige at the Cabot Cinema, a local theater that shows indie and second-run movies. I won't go into previews too much, given that four of the five were for movies that have been out for a while (The Queen, Flags of Our Fathers, Marie Antoinette, and Flushed Away). The fifth, Keeping Mum, is about a woman (Maggie Smith) who becomes a housekeeper to a vicar and his wife (Rowan Atkinson and Kristen Scott Thomas), who only learn after the hiring that Smith's character spent most of her life in a facility for the criminially insane... and may not be all that cured. This also stars, for reasons I cannot fathom, Patrick Swayze. One scene in the trailer had him wearing only a red codpiece. For reasons I'd rather not fathom.

(Apparently, Keeping Mum has been out for a while, too, as it was a 2005 release in the UK and was released over here last September. So perhaps it's better described as the one film I'd not heard of from the bunch.)

Anyway, it was fitting to see The Prestige at the Cabot, as it's best known as the home of Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Show, which has been resident at the theater since 1977. I've never actually seen the show. The only times I've been in the theater are for movies, and even then none since high school.

And while it's called a cinema, the Cabot is clearly a theater primarily for stage productions. It's not a bad place to see a film, but it's clear that it's not going to try to keep up with the multiplexes. Which is fine with me, if it keeps the tickets at $6 and the concession prices as low as they are.

Anyway, enjoyed the movie, but glad I didn't pay regular theather rates to see it.

Sunday was mostly football, punctuated with a run to get a red onion (for a dish I brought in for a divisional potluck today). Figured out I needed it at 9:45, got to Stop & Shop at 9:50 only to discover it closed at 9. So I raced across town to get to Shaw's before 10 (thinking it closed then), only to find that it closes at midnight. Good to know.