I write about sports so often that I'm giving myself the gift of a birthday blog, and passing the benefits on to you. Here's a list of thinks I don't talk about a lot, but really enjoy:

1. Food and bars in Buffalo... You don't have to go on vacation to gain 100 pounds... just spend a week going out. A short list: Louie's hot dogs downtown, Mohawk Place, Big John's Pasta House in Tonawanda, The Nine-Eleven Tavern in South Buffalo, Founding Fathers downtown, Ilio DiPaolo's in Blasdell, Chef's downtown, et cetera. There's such a good variety that I'm terrified to leave out all the chefs, waiters and barkeeps who deliver on a weekly basis... Red Pepper Vietnamese in Amherst, Mexican Denny's on the Blvd (I think it's called El Palenque), El Canelo on Dingens... oh boy.

2. The song, "Your Humble Narrator," by Two Cow Garage... There's something to be said about a band who's goal is to kick your guts in with rock and roll, but there's something more to be said when they write a guttural "ballad" that has more garage-punk roots than a 1,000 year-old Oak tree on Bidwell. Micah Schnabel's voice probably isn't for everyone, but I don't much care.

3. Antonín Leopold Dvořák -- A friend emailed today asking if I liked classical music, and the answer is yes and no. I think there is a lot of mediocre material passed off as masterpiece, largely on account of pretention. The good stuff, however, is legit. I'm more a "piece" than composer guy, except in the case of Dvorak, who's music is genius. I would honestly say he has a lot of rock and roll in his music. Maybe I'm crazy and dumb, but he works for me.

4. Older movies that set standards in genre -- Next time you go to see the next big action, suspense or horror film, save yourself the trouble and rent:

1. Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial 'M' For Murder," "Vertigo," "Strangers on a Train," etc.
2. "Taking of the Pelham 1,2,3" -- the original. Walter Matthau > John Travolta.
3. "Die Hard"
4. "The Blues Brothers"
5. "The Shining" -- Like "The Godfather," I watch it almost any time it's on.
6. "Once Upon A Time in the West" -- the greatest Western ever made.
7. "The Last Waltz" -- Scorsese plus The Band. Any questions?
8. "Jeremiah Johnson"

If you're an "Art house" guy, this applies to you, too. Ingmar Bergman's "The Virgin Spring," also called "Jungfrukallan," is 100 years ahead of its time in haunting moral issues and more. Max Von Sydow is a more important Swede than any hockey player.

Recent "not necessarily great" movies that kicked my butt:

1. "Hot Rod" -- not for everyone, but totally irreverent and relatively-clean.
2. "Rocket Science" -- A stuttering kid tries to join a debate team.
3. "Stranger Than Fiction"
4. "Green Street Hooligans" -- Ten times better if Elijah Wood could act "tough"
5. "Good Night, and Good Luck" -- Glad I wasn't in the media during the Cold War.

5. Soccer... You don't get it, I know. You might even hate it. But do me a favor and tell me why, and we'll talk about things like how most American football games are 3-2.

6. is my least favorite number. So it's out.

7. Dogs

Thanks for all the birthday wish emails. You're all pretty swell: nick@wgr550.com