It's Dionne's birthday party this weekend, so V and i head off down south today. We're carpooling with N and G, who are venturing south to see N's mom. As such, we had to figure out what to do with our two little demons while we're away. My parents are off in Italy for two weeks, and Hilary isn't too keen on dogsitting, so that leaves kennel. The last time we tried this Bob arrived unannounced on Thursday night and agreed to look after them for the weekend. This time, Tara apparently couldn't call in any more favors, so this morning i took them over to Fremont and the Mission San Jose veterinary clinic. I brought Pepe's two cough medicines, and scheduled an appointment for Tara so a vet could have a look at a new wart in her ear. The vet surmised that Tara has seasonal allergies, as evident from her skin irritation near her tail and her ear infections. She gave me some tips for cleaning the buildup out of her ears and keeping her scratching in check. Meanwhile, the vet also suggested how to go about treating Pepe's collapsing trachea. Millions of homeless dogs to adopt and we get the two medical marvels. Oh well. They're worth it. Even if they do get me up twice a night.

Matthew and Dionne have rented a party bus to drive 30 people around to a host of bars and clubs, so that should be amusing. As V put it, i should wear my shiny shirt. I'm also hoping to take in a showing of Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, although i have my reservations about whether Johnny Depp's depiction of Willie Wonka will supplant Gene Wilder's dry-as-Sahara wit ("Help. Police. Murder."). The two reviews i've read today, while both generally positive, have gone out of their way to avoid comparing the current film with the 1971 classic. I read an article in Entertainment Weekly a week or two ago where Burton sounded like he was fed up with people telling him he's ruining the memory of the first film. Even Wilder himself has gone so far as to say that money is the sole motive for the remake. Burton is quick to note that he didn't care for the original movie, and is making a film version that is faithful to the original Roald Dahl novel (the original movie did make more than a few modifications to the story). That's all fine and dandy, but there is a definite magic about the original (i'm getting teary-eyed thinking of "Cheer Up, Charlie") and i'm not so sure Burton's umpteenth depiction of the "lonely, bizarre, but beautiful outcast" will bear the same chemistry.