For those about to drink. And a quick thought or two on Shine A LIght, the new Stones film.

If you are like me and can't be bothered to wait for your red wine to breathe, buy this gadget, called a Vinturi. Seriously, it is amazing. My dad bought one for me after reading about it in the Wall Street Journal, and while I was skeptical at first, one taste made me a believer. Of course, what would any opinion be worth without a dissenting one, so here is a post I found that pretty much skewers the Vinturi. What can I say? I think the thing works.

SHINE A LIGHT: ON RONNIE WOOD. On Friday, I enjoyed one of life's great luxuries: an afternoon movie on a weekday. The flick: Shine A LIght. The venue: IMAX.  If you've seen as many Stones movies and tours as I have, you're not going to be overly surprised by the movie: but if you are also a guitar player, as I am, you will be absolutely floored by Ron Wood's greatness. It's no secret that Woody once had a bad drinking/drug problem, and in my opinion, Keith dealt with Woody'd BS by simply telling the soundman to keep Wood very low in the mix and even turn him off all together at times. The famed two-guitar attack of the Stones be damned. Well, Woody kicked his bad habits and while I still don't think he and Keith really play off one another the way Keith would like you to think they do, simply having Wood back in the mix is a true pleasure. He is an INSANELY GREAT guitarist. As for Scorcese's direction? Whatever. It looks like goddamn MTV video with cuts every ten seconds. Annoying really, despite the occasional inspired angle. And Christina A? Sucks. Oh, she tries. Hard. Too hard, slipping into that annoying Tarzan vocal style so favored by Simon Cowell. Jack White also turns in a crap performance; in fact,  I'm convinced his vocals were dubbed and they're still off key and uninspired. How sad. He's gonna regret phoning in his performance.