Pär came home earlier than expected from the office last night and suggested that we rent a video. I was up for it, but was in the middle of working, so I sat at the computer for a while and he read a book. Finally I called it a night, and emerged from my office-née-closet.

"Are we going to rent a movie?" I said.

"Yes! What are you in the mood for? I'll bet you're in the mood for a kickass action flick!" he said, looking hopeful.

"How much do you want to bet?"

"Five dollars," he said promptly.

"Done," I said. I smiled. "I'm not in the mood for a kickass action flick. Pay up!"

"You had inside information!" he said, indignantly.

"How dumb were you to bet against me, about my mood? Pay up!"

Grumbling, he pulled $5 out of his pocket and handed it over.

"So," I said. "Besides a kickass action flick, what would you like to see?"

"A kickass action flick," he said.

"What else?"

"A kickass action flick!"

Sometimes it's like shaking a Magic 8-Ball; if I don't get an answer I like, I keep asking and the answer comes up different. On this principle I asked, "What else?"

"Butt Women From Mars," Pär offered. This is the name of a fictional porn film we invented long ago, but we've referred to it so often in situations like this one that it might as well exist.

"...Or?"

"A kickass action flick," he said.

We ended up renting Pushing Tin, with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. Ultimately it left us feeling a little hollow at the end, but along the way it was a whole lot of fun. It was even slightly kickass. So everyone around hereabouts was happy with the evening.