Good evening, friends. Please excuse any perceived hastiness with this Thursday Rundown but it is a special day. You may see tonight’s first item to understand why. Let’s get going…

Happy Birthday, Sid – It is my wife’s birthday today and I sincerely believe she has earned a day to relax and enjoy herself. Sidney’s most recent trip around the sun was filled to the brim with significance. Giving birth to Beau and moving across the country were a couple of the highlights but it was such a blessed year in so many other ways. You are the BEST, Sid! Enjoy your day.

Happy birthday, Sid!

First Root Beer Float Experience – I like root beer. I like ice cream. I don’t like root beer floats. Soda and ice cream mixed together never really appealed to me. However, I would argue that you aren’t a real American if you have never at least tried a root beer float. Sloan took the plunge this week. I held my breath as she tasted it but she actually really liked it. In fact, she drank/ate all the contents of her glass. Perhaps I am missing something about the epic-nature of ice cream floats?

Sloan really enjoyed her first ever root beer float.

Latest Movies – I found myself watching some interesting movies on Hulu this past week. I first finished “Chaplin,” a 1993 film that stars Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin. For me, Chaplin always had a certain mystique to him just because he appeared in grainy black and white silent films. It was cool to finally see a voice given to him. Another biographical film (sort of) I watched was “Vice.” This particular movie told the story of Dick Cheney, “the most powerful vice president in history.” Christian Bale did a superb job of playing a satirical version of Cheney and you can’t overlook the performances of Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney. Finally, I recently finished “The Cooler,” a story about a struggling casino in Downtown Las Vegas that depends on an unlucky guy (William H. Macy) to pass on his bad luck to people who are on winning streaks. Out of those three films, perhaps something will inspire you to pursue it past this blog post.

Thanks to Hulu, I recently watched these three movies.

Rin Tin Tin – As a kid, I watched a show called “Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop.” I thought it was a one-off random television series. But as I scrolled through one of my favorite Twitter accounts I found out that just like Charlie Chaplin, Rin Tin Tin was a silent film star. The dog was rescued from a WWI battlefield by an American soldier and brought back to the States where he became a box office sensation. The original Rin Tin Tin may have died in the early 1930s but his bloodline lived on. The Rin Tin Tin character has played in countless movies and television shows. Did you know that?

What a picture! This is from 1927, folks.

End on a Funny Note – I always appreciate a good Dennis the Menace comic strip. This is from yesterday’s newspaper. I have some friends in the restaurant business who would be extremely upset if this happened at one of their tables.

Never snag the money left on a table.

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Let me give one final happy birthday wish to Sidney. Now, if you don’t mind, I am off to celebrate with her. Don’t Blink.