In The Half-Light Of The Canyon

Top 5 Films of 2008

2009-01-19T22:37:00.000-08:00

1) Rachel Getting Married -> I try to avoid Anne Hathaway movies at all costs, but Devil Wears Prada this was not. Arguably a breakout role for Hathaway. That said, my favorite performance was turned in by Rosemarie DeWitt, who played Rachel. My favorite scene from any film of the year was the rehearsal dinner. I felt 100% transported into a seat at the zig-zag dining table complete with alternating feelings of anxiousness, embarrassment, pity and joy. The handheld, somewhat grainy cinematography style lent itself to that feeling of being *truly* present for the entire wedding weekend. Oh, and one last thing, the bridegroom reciting the lyrics to Neil Young's "Unknown Legend" doubling as his "vows" was as heart-tugging as it gets and a reminder to the audience of why the family had gathered in the first place ... to celebrate the love of this great couple.

2) The Wrestler -> A comeback within a comeback! I'm convinced that there's no movie here without Mickey Rourke, my vote for Best Actor. Rourke plays the role of The Ram, the once A-list professional wrestler now squeaking out a living performing in small New Jersey towns and barely making enough money to live in a trailer park. The style in which Aronofsky shot this film gave me this cold feeling throughout the film that just added to the palatable sense of desperation, loneliness and pain that The Ram was experiencing. Marissa Tomei (44 and playing a stripper!!) and Evan Rachel Wood both put in excellent performances as The Ram's girlfriend and estranged daughter, respectively.

3) Slumdog Millionaire -> Incredibly vivid tale of a slum-dwelling boy who rises up to appear on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The way that the story is told is really unique and ultimately attempts to answer - among other things - how we all compile the things we know about life and love. Great soundtrack and visually stunning.

4) Dark Knight -> There was a time that I would have never paid to see this at the theater, let alone put it on a top 5 list, but this Batman sequel was really cool! Batman and Gotham City's finest team up to rid the city of its criminals, but The Joker appears on the scene and creates a new struggle for Batman / Bruce Wayne. Enough has already been said about Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. Just amazing to see him transformed into this complete psychopath. What a fun, yet scary/eerie character to watch.

5) Revolutionary Road -> One of the heaviest films of the year, but a great meditation on the idea and meaning (or lack thereof) of suburban life, especially at a time (mid-1950s) when the notion of a suburb was shiny and new. I think one of the reasons that I really appreciated the movie is that it spoke to some of our own insecurities about the suburbs, self-fulfillment and perhaps a life more "ordinary".

Worst movie of the year -> Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008 Mix

2009-01-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

1. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie
2. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
3. Fix It - Ryan Adams
4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend
5. Song For - Earlimart
6. Let It Be Me - Ray LaMontagne
7. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon
8. Enjoy the Ride - Morcheeba
9. American Boy (feat. Kanye West) - Estelle
10. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him

Christmas in Florida

2009-01-01T22:58:00.001-08:00

Baby Niam getting ready to hit the beach!

2008 Top 5 Live Shows

2009-01-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

1) David Byrne -> 10/6 @ Davies Symphony Hall. I didn't necessarily grow up listening to the Talking Heads, but have grown to really dig their music. I didn't know what to expect from a live DB show, but .... hands down the best show I saw all year and I knew it from the moment he stepped out on to the stage. Incredibly tight, well-choreographed, high-energy show in which he played a lot of the new Eno-produced tracks, as well as a healthy amount of the old Talking Heads material (alas, not "This Must be the Place"). If my memory serves me well, there were 4 dancers, 3-4 band mates and 3 back up singers ... all of them dressed in the same outfit ... white from head to toe, including Byrne himself. Without a doubt, they left EVERYTHING they had out there on the stage. Such a treat to see DB in such a cool venue that doesn't usually host acts like this. Couldn't help but dance to pretty much every song. Fun to see the Baby Boomers jamming out in the aisles and showing the youngsters a thing or two. Not only was this the best show I saw all year, but it also had the most killer encore I might have ever seen ... "Burning Down the House". The San Francisco Extra Action Marching Band comes charging down the aisles from the back of the house up on to the stage and the rest is best experienced by watching this clip.

2) Radiohead -> 8/22 @ Golden Gate Park. Radiohead kicked off the first annual Outside Lands Festival with a bang! My first time seeing them live and they were as good as advertised, if not better. It was a typical late summer evening in SF about a half mile from Ocean Beach; cold and foggy, which turned out to be the perfect weather for the band's haunting, eerie music and just added to the experience. There must have been well over 20,000 mesmerized heads all bobbing in perfect unison with the music. Now that I think back to that night, I'm not sure I even caught one glimpse of Thom Yorke or anyone else in the band, but it didn't matter (nor did the several AV issues that the band and fans had to endure).

3) She & Him -> 11/3 @ Bimbos. It's hard to describe the sounds of the duo Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M.Ward, but I guess you could categorize it as alt-country indie pop. Zooey's voice is incredibly dreamy and takes you back to another time. Clearly, she was born to perform, but at the same time, has no airs about her. Her and her friends just look like a bunch of little girls "playing dress up" on stage. The band's passion and ability to not take themselves too seriously - not to mention their really unique sound - make them such an appealing act, one that I didn't want to see end. My only complaint was that M. Ward seems to play second fiddle in this project and seemed to almost get lost in the shuffle. I'd love to see him solo later in 2009. MySpace page

4) Bell X1 -> 3/26 @ Cafe du Nord. Irish indie pop band that's been making great music since the start of the decade, but has only recently begun to gain notoriety in the US (with their latest release, Flock, which hit #1 in Ireland). Catchy lyrics, a high energy act and one of the most intimate spaces to see live music in SF (and great company) made for a great night. The previous incarnation of this band included Damien Rice. MySpace page

5) Vampire Weekend -> 3/23 @ Rickshaw Stop. Waited outside this *tiny* club for over an hour to score a ticket to see one of the best new bands of the year and it was well worth it (well, except for the oh so painful, trite parade of Mission hipsters in skinny jeans, smoking cigs and drinking PBRs). These Izod sweater-wearing guys are just a year or two out of Columbia University and so don't have a ton of material, but what they played in the short set was killer. Incredibly unique, contagious sound that the band describes as "Upper West Side Soweto"; their sound seems to be influenced by punk, classical and African music. The experience felt like I was watching a band inside of a diorama, just from the top of the "shoebox". Of course, they'll never ever play a venue like Rickshaw again. MySpace page

6) Honorable Mention
⁃ Ryan Adams -> 1/28 @ Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall
⁃ Josh Rouse -> 9/26 @ Swedish American Music Hall
⁃ Day 2 of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival -> 10/4 @ Golden Gate Park

7) Biggest disappointment
⁃ Pinback -> 10/19 @ Bimbos

Are you effing Matt Damon?

2008-02-12T11:37:00.001-08:00

Apparently this was written before the WGA strike (and was supposed to air in the fall, I think). Sure, Silverman's crude, blah blah blah, but com'on folks, have you seen a funnier video in months?!

Gettin Pumped for Lost

2008-01-08T16:44:00.001-08:00

Great clip posted by a YouTube user that assembles major "Lost" events in chronological order.

Best Movies of 2007

2008-01-08T15:53:00.001-08:00

Best

1. No Country for Old Men -- This was an easy pick. I'm not usually a fan of Westerns, but this latest film by the Coen brothers was too hard to ignore. A simple, dark thriller that had me engaged from start to finish. The two main characters - Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem - delivered some of the best acting performances of the year. A character in and of itself was the Texas landscape; if anything, go see it for it's gorgeous cinematography.

2. Juno – This quirky, unique comedy is about an unwanted teen pregnancy. While it may sound like a typical teen comedy on its surface, it definitely turns the genre on its head. Ellen Page is pretty much perfect as Juno what with her witty one-liners and mannerisms. She made it look as if everything was improvised. Already poised to win many awards this season, this flick is everything that Knocked Up wasn't.

3. The Cake Eaters -– Hands down my favorite movie at the Tribeca Film Festival. This coming of age film set in a small town in upstate New York tugs tighly on your heart strings and doesn't let go until the final credits. Kristen Scott Stewart inhabits the role of "Georgia", who is afflicted with an obscure genetic disorder. Probably the role of a lifetime for her. Also interesting to note that it was Mary Stuart Masterson's directorial debut.

4. In the Valley of Elah -– Sadly, this thought-provoking film flopped at the box office, but it was probably the strongest "war movie" in a year where the genre was overdone. Tommy Lee Jones gives a powerfully subtle performance as a father (and Army vet) who takes it upon himself to search for his son who has recently returned from Iraq and gone AWOL.

5. A Very British Gangster – We got up at 6:30am to stand in line for a chance to see this documentary at Sundance last January and it was well worth it. The doc introduces us to one of the UK's most feared crime families based in Manchester and their fearless, larger than life leader, Dominic Noonan. I'm still blown away by the unparalleled, intimate level of access provided to the filmmaker. I can't imagine the Gotti family even giving a proposal like this the time of day. Needless to say, the director succeeds in putting a vividly human face on these monsters.

Honorable Mention:

* The Lives of Others –- Set in 1984 Berlin, this chilling political thrilled is about a member of the Stasi who is asked to set up surveillance on a well-known couple

* The Savages –- Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman are perfectly cast as bickering siblings who go to Arizona to bring their estranged, dying father - back to the east coast to deposit him in a nursing home, where they are faced with caring for the man who abused and neglected them as children.

* After the Wedding – Another superbly original Danish film with many layers that continue to surprise and haunt.

* Hotel Chevalier – This short film (set in a hotel room in Paris) starring Natalie Portman (featuring her, ahem, first nude scene) and Jason Schwartzman is the prologue to Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited.

* 3:10 to Yuma – Not one, but two westerns making this year's movie list! Christian Bale steal the show as a down on his luck, noble rancher who is struggling to not only win his ranch back, but also the respect of his family.

Worst

* Superbad – Most likely an unpopular choice with many of you, I'm sure. They still can't make 'em like they did back in the day. God bless John Hughes, wherever he is today. Not sure this movie would have gotten made if it weren't for Judd Apatow.

Argentina Recap

2007-10-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Buenos Aires was a very European city; probably the most of any South American city (architecture, population, vibe). It's also the 8th or 9th largest city in the world, I think. Needless to say, there were your typical elements of cosmopolitan city living -- traffic, pollution, noise and a huge disparity in income levels.

There were many streets that I visited that were almost identical to what I don't like about streets like Broadway or 7th Avenue in NY. Luckily, however, I stayed at a hotel in Palermo, which is a neighborhood in the NW part of town that stands apart from downtown (Microcentro). It's really leafy, relatively quiet and local. Tons of cafes, bars, restaurants and boutiques. It's got a very bohemian, artsy vibe. I've got to think that Buenos Aires is one of the design capitals of the world. The furniture design and fashion were truly impressive.

Although the subway was fairly easy to navigate, I did tons of walking here and came across a few neighborhoods similar to Palermo that were easily my favorite - La Recoleta and Las Canitas. Lots of open park space and plazas, tree lined streets and boulevards and French-influenced architecture. It seemed as if locals were always spending their free time lounging about the open spaces regardless of the time of day. Many of the sights in BA included the usual old government buildings, churches and what not and I could have done without them. The one that was somewhat interesting, if not morbid, was the Recoleta Cemetery that houses over 6,500 mausoleums. It was built in the late 1800s, I think. The main attraction is Eva Peron's resting spot.

My first day in BA was the most memorable for reasons good and not so good. I attended a cooking class of sorts in a chef's home. Turned out the chef (Argentine) and his wife (San Diego) had just returned from living in SF for 2 years (which also helped in the language barrier department). They have just started an underground restaurant of sorts in their home. They can accommodate up to 15 folks 3 nights a week and the seasonal, healthy menu changes every week. They don't advertise and rely purely on word of mouth. One night a week, they also hold a cooking class for up to 4 people. Fortunately, there was only one other dude on the night I was there, so the vibe was more like cooking with friends than sitting through a class or something. The meal was good (not great), but the experience was killer! [For those that care, we made vegetarian chorizo, saffron risotto and stuffed portobellos.]

After dinner, I was off to see an underground tango show (yep, the theme of the night was definitely, ahem, subterranean) on the outskirts of Palermo. I pulled up in a taxi (more on this later) and there was an unmarked steel door behind which there was a long passage way which led to a large, high-ceilinged space that resembled a mini airplane hangar. The bohemian orchestra was made up of 12 members playing various instruments - 4 playing the accordion - and one singing with a change of costume every few numbers (gas mask, wig, skirt, etc). I can't imagine any of the players were older than 30 or so. Lots of trippy lights, dry ice/smoke and a decidedly Mission vibe. No dancing that night, but the orchestra was really the main event anyway.

So, the taxi ride over to the show was, how shall I say, in-te-res-ting. From the moment I saw the driver's face, I knew I shouldn't have gotten into the car, but it was already 11p and I was running late to the show. His eyes were glazed over and it was hard to figure out what he *wasn't* on at the time. We stopped at a stop sign and as we're waiting for a girl to cross the street, he says "Hola" to her (she couldn't have been more than 21 or so). This was more than just a friendly, "Hola". The tone was devilish at best. Anyway, turns out the girl's boyfriend was waiting on the other side of the street and saw/heard the cab driver. The boyfriend is as wrecked as the driver and has a sea of zits that would probably rival that of Manuel Noriega. The driver gets out of the car and the two start yelling at each other. As the driver gets back into the car and belts up, the boyfriend comes over to my side of the car, starts twirling his sneakers in the air like a friggin mad man, hitting the car repeatedly and threatening to unleash them on the driver. He's not having much luck with the tied-together sneakers, so he takes his open palm and jams it into the window on my side of the car unleashing a blizzard of glass all over me - hair, face, clothes, arms, shoes, socks, etc (I'm still finding glass in my stuff). Finally, the driver (with great reaction timing, of course) decides to speed away, but doesn't stop for what seemed like 10 mins after he finally realizes what happened in the back. We get out and clear the glass out of the car and off of my body. Yep, I know you're wondering why I didn't just ditch that cab. I had *no* clue where I was and the cab situation in BA is one that everyone warns you about, so I just decided to stick with it. Needless to say, my first beer couldn't come quick enough at the show.

Buenos Aires Pics -- Click Here

After 3 days in BA, I flew to Iguazu Falls in the NE part of the country. I stayed one night on the Brazil side and one night on the Argentine side. The falls are smack in the middle of a subtropical jungle, so the humidity was a pretty intense change after a totally pleasant spell of mid-70s, Spring temperature in BA. Igauzu Falls are made up of over 270 waterfalls that have formed over 120 million years. It's truly one of the wonders of the world. Seeing the sheer force of the falls up close is awesome, but I was ready for my next destination after half a day.

Iguazu Pics -- Click Here

After 2 days at the falls (and by this point, saddled with a nasty bout of the flu), I flew to Mendoza, which was by far the prettiest of the three stops. It's the home of the majority of Argentina's wine production, specifically, Malbec. I stayed in a tiny (6 rooms) hotel that sits on a small vineyard in the middle of nowhere. Frankly, on hindsight, I should have added at least one if not two more days to my stay there and skipped my trip to Iguazu Falls altogether.

I spent one full day wine tasting at both big and boutique-sized wineries. There are of course many geographic similarities to California's Wine Country, but Mendoza takes the cake because of the awesome Andes mountain range (you'll see many snow-capped shots in the album) as its stunning backdrop. The next day was a 9 hour trip up into the Andes; we made it to within 5 km of the Chilean border. The highlight was Aconcagua, the highest peak in not only South America, but in the Western Hemisphere at over 22,800 ft. The rugged scenery was out of this world, but the flu coupled with some altitude sickness essentially knocked me into a daze for most of the day. Mendoza is an outdoor-lovers paradise and I didn't even get to scratch the surface. [A quick side note: Argentina has free health care. For everyone. Including tourists. I got a free doctor's visit to the hotel and the meds only cost $10. Gotta love it. University and post-grad are free, too.]

Mendoza Pics -- Click Here

New gig starts manana. Shocking how quickly the 6 week "sabbatical" evaporated. Definitely not ready to head back to the cube farm just yet.

You're My Blue Sky

2007-03-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's going to be close to impossible for the 'rental units to match their 2007 Christmas gift to me ... a ticket to the UNC vs. Duke basketball game at the Dean Dome. Yep, last game of the 2007 regular season. The most storied rivalry in all of college sports, if not the entire sports world, some might argue (check out my related post from 3/7/05; search "Duke"). In fact, they shouldn't even think about giving me any more Christmas gifts because anything else would just be a disappointment. To be frank, they've essentially screwed themselves. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

In any case, after a quick night in DC with J&K, I landed up in Chapel Hill on the Saturday evening before gameday ... just in time to see my first lunar eclipse. There's a new boutique hotel that opened barely 8 weeks ago right on West Franklin Street, the main drag of Chapel Hill, so to speak. The first hotel on Franklin that is anywhere close to the main action. They gave me the Rain Man suite for some reason which was kind of a waste given the time that I was actually planning to spend in the room. Shame.

Saturday night was a great start to the weekend. Dinner across the street at Elaine's, which has been around for almost 8 years and is arguably one of the best restaurants in the Triangle area, was off the charts. Right after I checked into the hotel, I ran across the street to Local 506 to grab a ticket to see a few live bands that night ... one of which is from San Francisco. The first band, Dirty on Purpose, was by far the best of the evening and funny enough, wasn't really the band that I was there to see. I left during the Papercut's set and found myself at a new wine bar that opened about a block from Local 506. They happened to be hosting a late night jazz session made up of what appeared to be local UNC students. Guys were just rotating in and out of the band for the hour that I was there and playing out of their minds.

After spending most of the chilly, yet sunny Sunday morning and early afternoon wandering around town and campus, I made my way over to the Dean Dome to soak in the pre-game festivities going on outside the arena. They let us all in around 2:30p; 1.5 hrs before game time. It's pretty damn difficult for me to put into words what transpired over the course of the next 4.5 hours, so check out these pictures for a photo essay instead. Here are some quick highlights, though:

Senior Day - Carolina has a tradition of using the last home game of the regular season to honor it's seniors. This year, it's Wes Miller, Reyshawn Terry and Dewey Burke. They parade the families out at the beginning of the game and then let the players take the mic at the end of the game. Incredibly emotional stage.

Champions - By virtue of beating Dook, Carolina won a share of the regular season ACC championship and took the #1 seed in the ACC tournament. The team got the opportunity to cut down the nets after Senior Day festivities were over.

Oh, my nose! - As some of you have seen by now, Duke's Gerald Henderson came down hard on Tyler Hansborough with less than 15 seconds left in the game and the game already well out of hand for the Dookies. Blood everywhere and the Tar Heel faithful wanted no less than the blood of Coach K and Henderson (ultimately ejected/suspended) in return! Tyler's nose was broken, we'd later find out. Henderson was ejected and ultimately suspended for the first game of the ACC tourney later in the week. He needed his 3 assistant coaches to escort him to the locker room because the 22,000+ fans were ready to pounce! Coach K had the gall to insinuate in post-game interviews that Carolina shouldn't have had their best players on the court that late in the game in any case given that the game was out of hand already. Interestingly enough, he was the one that was still calling timeouts with less than 30 seconds left and leaving *his* best players on the court. Mind you, the point differential was rougly 12-15 at that point. A-hole. Here's a great column from ESPN.com's Forde on the incident and the black eye it left on the Dook program.

Speaking of noses - Yep, my seats were 3 rows from the top. I was sure my nose was on the verge of a nice big bleed, but no such luck. Speaking of luck, out of the 8 folks sitting in my direct radius, how did I get saddled sitting next to 3 of the total of 20 Dook fans in the entire building?!?! Of course, they were not afraid to show their true colors, which made for an interesting afternoon of, ahem, conversation.

Lunch - BBQ pulled pork sandwich. Mmmm. Now, them was some good Southern eats.

The Temple - The arena is pretty lax about letting fans travel down to courtside to take pictures of the floor, the arena, the players warming up, etc. Makes for a pretty damn intimate fan experience. Standing on the cushioned, hardwood floor staring up in awe at the 4 NCAA championship banners and the too-many-to-count retired player and coach jerseys and ACC tournament and regular season championship banners. It never ever gets old.

The Game - Oh yeah, we won.

Scorcese!

2007-02-25T00:45:00.000-08:00

Some random thoughts/hightlights from tonight's 2007 Academy Awards telecast:

- so, jodie foster is gay, right? why can't she just acknowledge it? she's already got a steady career
- john c reily, will ferrel and jack black -> funniest part of the evening
- ellen -> less funny that I expected, but i still like her delivery/timing/sense of humor
- photograph that i would pay a LOT for -> marty, coppola, spielberg and lucas walking off the stage side by side and greeting nicholson who was waiting in the wings. hollywood doesn't get ANY better than that right there. classic, unassuming, old school, hollywood power.
- top 5 ladies -> reese (man, i used to hate her, but damn, ryan is a friggin idiot!!!), penelope, cameron, winslet, naomi watts (honorable mention - isla fisher)
- stud -> clooney (possibly verging on man-crush)
- reason # 7496 to always go with your gut / first guess -> the departed
- did gweneth really mention you tube in front of a glaobal audience? did they pay for that promotion?
- kiki dunst -> she was kinda drunk when she came out with toby, no?
- if she was 20 yrs younger (ok, maybe 15) -> helen mirren in that dress. yes, sick, i know, but still
- i've seen corpses on 6 ft under that look better -> peter o'toole
- where were they -> scarlett, charlize, jennifer connelly
- already in training to be a nagging, pushy/bossy girlfriend -> abigail breslin
- did i mention reese already?
- how come none of the white peeps ever thank god?
- someone forgot her undergarments -> jessica's biels
- best canned presenter's "joke" -> robert downey jr.
- favorite/most sentimental moment -> scorcese finally winning
- j-hud -> stop the madness. you'll never work in this town again. did that really happen?
- worst couple -> marc anthony and j lo. what a dud that guy is.
- best acceptance speech -> william monihan referring to his valium rx
- MIA -> jay-z ... where you at, jigga man?
- forest whitaker wins for best actor in his role as charles jefferson? nice!! 25 yrs late, but still
- viva mexico!
- biggest snafu -> ellen inplying that penelope was ... umm, mexican
- reeeeese!

Eyes of the World

2007-01-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

There's a small list of events that I've always wanted to attend and thanks to the Purple and Yellow, I can now cross the Sundance Film Festival off of my list.

Things came together pretty late in the game and I wasn't sure if I was going to get lodging right in Park City, let alone tickets to any screenings of the 125+ films. Thanks to some last minute luck, I ended up getting a better than decent room in a lodge in town.

After we (O came along for the ride) checked in early Monday morning, we headed into town to get acclimated, pick up tickets to a few parties and see if we couldn't snag some more screening tickets (we only had 1 pair upon arrival and ended up seeing 5 films by the time we left). I know I've been complaining about the weather out there, but damn, it was f'ing cold! Right around or below 1 F in the evening and in the mid-to-low teens during the day with a touch of sunshine depending on which side of Main Street you were. No fewer than 5 layers required at all time including my Everest-ready parka!

I was surprised by all the friendly people we met. I guess I assumed that because half of LA comes to Sundance, they'd be bringing the attitude, too. Not the case (well, except for the clown at the deli, but he got his due in the end). Some of the evening events were a great chance to meet some new biz contacts and incredibly creative/talented folks in and around the independent film world. Yep, you're right ... I have no idea what *I* was doing there, but quickly forgot about that once we spotted Heather Graham on the first night! Nice. Very nice. There was definitely your fair share of hangers on and the requisite LA-based struggling writer/director/actor combo (shout out to Molly and August!), which only added to my overall entertainment quotient.

I expected the festival to be a logistical nightmare, but was super impressed by how well everything was organized ... from the screenings to the shuttle buses to the ticket sales. 50,000+ people descend on Park City for 10 days every January and the town does a great job of welcoming them ... and their wallets. Outside of the festival, Park City remains a popular desination for skiers. The cost of living is pretty high (higher than nearby Salt Lake at least), so the town's businesses do ok for themselves, but there definitely are groups of locals who are being pushed outside of town as each year goes on.

The festival programmers receive thousands and thousands of entries every year and only select about 125 movies to show during the 10 day festival. I think that many folks (myself included) think that each of those films is going to be amazing in some way, shape or form, but that's definitely not the case. It was great to hear everyone's opinions about all of the movies and trust me when I say that *everyone* certainly had one. There's no wrong or right opinion/review and that was one of the great things about meeting new people out there - you got to hear varying points of view/analysis. Here are the films that I had a chance to check out:

Ezra (1 star; out of 4)

Adrift in Manhattan (1.5-2 stars)

A Very British Gangster (3 stars)

Never and Forever (2.5 stars)

Trade (4 stars)

Trade is the only one from the list that I know has been picked up for distribution. In fact, it was lucky enough to have secured a distribution deal before the festival. O said it was one of the top 10 most disturbing films he's ever seen and I don't think he's far off with that statement. It's definitely worth seeing when it hits your local art house theater, but be forewarned that this is very far from a romantic comedy (actually, there were maybe 3-4 comedies that I saw in the guide; the rest were dramas and documentaries). People who weren't at this year's festival are going to be luckier than in years past in that a large number of the 2007 festival movies have been picked up for distro. Keep your eyes peeled for some of these names over the next 12-18 months. Variety did a good job of covering the festival if you're interested in digging a bit deeper.

It's pretty clear that the festival has changed quite a bit over the past 4-5 or so years. You can see that from the amount of mainstream media that now descends upon Park City to cover the festival, as well as talking to people who have been attending for years. It's become glitzier and a bit more commercial in a few ways, but once you're sitting in a packed theater that's roiled with anticipation and the director comes out to announce his or her film and then the credits start rolling, you're quickly reminded of why everyone is really there. I can't wait to go back next year. I'd love to make an annual event out of it and combine it with some skiing.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

2007-01-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

The 2006-07 TV season got off to a pretty strong start as far as I'm concerned. The biggest trend that continues to invade our living room is the one hour drama. The incredible success of Lost has everyone scrambling to come up with their own copycat show. There are very few comedies that sit in the weekly top 10-15 shows and the ones that are up there continue to confound me (Two Men, etc). In any case, here's my top 10 for 2006 (note that this also includes spring and summer):

Friday Night Lights (it's NOT all about football; trust me)
Arrested Development (good bye, Busty. we hardly knew ye)
Rescue Me (best combo of comedy & drama, not to mention kick ass music)
Entourage (how can you not watch if you're a guy? it's our dream and they're living it)
The Office (took me awhile to come around, but easily the best comedy on tv today)
Scrubs (lost some of its initial luster and might be on its way out)
West Wing (after a few down seasons, NBC took the show out with a bang)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (everyone can relate to Larry's misanthropic ways)
The Sopranos (johnny-cakes)
Lost (i've got a love-hate relationship with the castaways, but hear that spring 07 is going to be huge!)

Best reality show: The Real World - Denver (I've now seen every season save for Chicago and was close to a boycott after last season's disaster, but this cast has given the show its needed shot in the arm)

Runner up Reality Show: Laguna Beach - Spring (I heart LC)

Biggest disappointment: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (I still watch every episode because it's an Aaron Sorkin show, but I think I'm not alone in expecting a LOT more out of him, especially after a few off years with West Wing)

Bring it Back: The Nine was cancelled after a handful of shows were aired, but apparently, ABC hasn't completely pulled the plug on the show. They've shot their initial order and are now hoping to air the remaining shows in the spring. I invested myself in the initial shows and hope we get to see some closure, at the very least. It's got potential, but I think that this is one of the shows that suffered from the glut of one hour dramas. The networks can't expect the public to commit to so many weekly serials, especially with the growing risk of having them cancelled at a moment's notice.

Hurry Up, Already: The Sopranos is probably the most anticipated show for spring 07. Looks like the show is finally going to end after this mini-season. It's lost a lot of viewers because of all of the hiatuses it's chosen to take, but it's still considered by many to be one of the most important (and compelling) shows of the past 10 years.

Watching the Detectives

2007-01-21T10:57:00.000-08:00

The number of visits to the movie theater in 2006 decreased dramatically compared to years past. Not until the end of the year were there too many movies that really drew me to the theater. It doesn't help that - in what's quickly becoming the rule - the studios are releasing all the Oscar hopefuls in December, which leaves little to no time to watch and review before 2007 begins. All that said - and as pathetic as it sounds - I was only able to come up with 4 that I really enjoyed in 2006 (not including 206 flicks that I'm watching in January/February):

The worst movie of the year was The Last Kiss. Zach, what's happened to you?! Mandy made you soft! I'm planning to see Babel over the next few weeks, as well as Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima. I can't bring myself to see Dreamgirls because it's a musical and the last time I gave a musical (Chicago) a "chance", I almost shot myself in the theater. Little Children reminds me of In the Bedroom's chances years ago. It got similar buzz (same director, Todd Field), but was largely shut out on Oscar night if I remember correctly. I enjoyed Little Miss Sunshine, but not as much as other people did. There were some parts of the movie that seemed "borrowed". Sure, not every movie is going to be 100% unique, but I guess I expected a bit more from it given that it's an independent film. In any case, I'd probably put it in a top 10 slot. Finally saw The Queen last week and enjoyed it. The acting was special and the premise compelling. I'm still searching for info on what source material was used for the movie because I have no idea how they had all that insider access to the royal family.

Bonfire of the Vanities

2006-04-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Do You Tube?

2006-04-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Been experiencing a bit of a Men at Work phase as of late. KFOG played an acoustic version of "Who Can it be Now" a few weeks ago on Acoustic Sunset, but it's nowhere to be found (Limewire included). So, if anyone comes across it, please send my way. Also, thanks to O, you've gotta check out this choice clip from season 2/espidode 1 of Scrubs with Colin Hay (former Men at Work frontman) doing an "Overkill" montage.

Identity Production

2006-03-30T13:35:00.000-08:00

There's been lots of buzz flying around lately re: MySpace and more generally, the concept of online social communities. Some members of the mainstream media have attemped to coin many of the users of these sites as "The MySpace Generation" just as easily as they threw out terms such as Gen X and Gen Y. Not so fast, my fine feathered lefty friends! This isn't just about some slacker-filled generation that still lives with their parents at age 28 ... this is a truly significant shift in social life, the likes of which we haven't seen in ages.

Regardless of what most of you think, I'm not rocking a MySpace page. Not yet, that is. I met a bunch of the site's employees a few weeks back and it's all true, they are hipper than hip can be. Painfully hip. Yes, even the bidness folks. It was laughable. Think LA meets start-up meets hippest brand currently online meets rich little punks with insatiable egos. It. Was. Awesome.

This essay by danah boyd (she refuses to capitalize her name appropriately, oddly enough) is not only the best piece I've read on the MySpace Generation, but is also one of the better essays I've read in general in a lonng time. While danah is an academic, her writing style is very down to earth. She uses terms and concepts which are simple and not littered with high-brow garbage (for example, her examination of *cultural currency* is very thoughtful, yet basic. She frames these ideas up well in the context of the online social space).

danah's thesis is this: "To an outsider, Friendster and MySpace seem identical. But they are far from that. They are rooted in different cultural practices and values. People use them differently and they relate to them differently. If you want to understand the differences, you need to understand the history, the decisions that were made, and how these decisions affected practice."

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Also, (and no comments on the born-on date of this clip, please) this season of SNL has spawned a few interesting digital video clips (you've all seen Lazy Sunday by now and if you haven't, you are forever banished from visiting this site again!). Anyway, this clip (Always Be Cobbling) with Alec Baldwin is genius, especially if you are a fan of Glengarry Glen Ross.

Self Storage

2006-03-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Evil 1-2 Punch

2006-03-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

By the end of the month, the curtain will have fallen on The West Wing, arguably one of the best television dramas of the past 7+ years. As most fans will tell you, the past 3 years have been less than stellar and have led to a thrashing in the ratings. The timing of this slide coupled with co-creator Aaron Sorkin's departure is probably not entirely coincidental. The current season, however, is flashing some signs of brilliance from the show's early years. About 80% of this season's content is focused on a tightly-contested Presidential election - the 2 candidates being Alan Alda (R-CA) and Jimmy Smits (D-TX). The focus on the race has injected both new blood and story lines into the mix. The campaign story arc is not just about the headline-grabbing events, but a riveting deep dive into the hectic, behind the scenes, daily minutae that made The West Wing such a compelling show when it first aired back in 1999. It remains to be seen how many loose ends will be tied up for the remaining viewer base over the next few weeks, but you'll be glad to know that Josh and Donna are finally hooking up. I think that it was below Sorkin (and most of the viewer base) to move the show in a more "soapy" direction. It was always billed as one of the "smarter" shows on television and I think they'd much rather see it rest in piece than morphed into something that it never was or never should be, at least.

The good news for Sorkin fans is that he's got a new drama airing in the fall tentatively titled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip with a fairly sizable ensemble cast including Matthew Perry and Amanda Peet. I've seen the script for the pilot and I can easily say that it's going to be one of, if not the best dramas on the fall schedule. It's vintage Sorkin ... a behind the scenes look at a fictional late night sketch comedy show (think: SNL).

Today's terrible news is that Arrested Development has finally/officially been put to rest. After months of rumors, including a 2 season commitment from Showtime and a 1 season commitment from ABC, the shows creators finally decided to call it quits. Sounds like they weren't willing to continue to put the creative effort forth that the show ultimately requires. A sad ending for a 2-time Emmy winner. Long live the Bluth family (on DVD)!

Let Me Think About It

2006-03-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

Yea, yea, I know it's been almost 6 months since my last post, but I've been too busy with my Yelp, MySpace, Facebook, Friendster and Y! 360 pages. Anyway, I'm back for some not-so-quick bites.

After what seemed like an interminable 2 yr wait, The Sopranos is finally back. Sunday nights are once again Sunday nights. There was a pretty steep drop off in ratings compared to the last season premiere, but that's to be expected especially with the almost 2 yr hiatus and the availability of on-demand programming. The critics are also quick to point out that Sunday nights are now filled with soapy episodes of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. Not sure I agree, though, that there's much crossover between DH and The Sopranos audiences, but perhaps that's just me being optimistic/wishful.

In any event, L started a debate late last week that Lost is starting to "bug" him. You can't just throw out a comment like that and expect it to go away like a fart in the wind.

J weighed in with "I wholly disagree with L. The Sopranos last coupla episodes were great, but I feel they are trying to be too cute. Lost, at least, gives you something to hang your hat on. The Sopranos spend too much time building up. I think this sums it up... When we were watching Lost, when I fast forwarded through the commercials, I was surprised and bummed that the end was coming up so fast. When I was watching The Sopranos, I had to check to see how much left was left in the episode cuz it seemed to drag."

As much as I've gotten into Lost over the past 3 months, I'm afraid that I'll have to side with L on this one. After seeing this week's episode, they're just using soap opera tactics at this point and stringing us along. Last season offered up a lot more plot development/revelation than this year ... so far, that is. Could be the writers having brain farts or could be just the nature of basic tv drama. There have been flashes of writing brilliance for sure, but it's tapered off just a bit.

Speaking of brilliant writing, The Sopranos is king of that court. They might not hit you over the head with the underlying themes, but I think there's more depth here ... the dream episode last week being case in point. I don't think we can expect every episode to be like the first one, where there was a ton of hard hitting action, but it's still smarter TV.

Of course, the debate wouldn't have been complete without what it all comes down to:

"Carmela, Janice and Dr. Melfi vs. Freckles, Claire and Sun. Enough said. Any show that has Aida Turturro getting it bent over a couch will loose to Kate tongueing some dude down and then shooting him."

So, I officially hate Apple, Incorporated. I'm now on my 5th iPod. Yes, 1-2-3-4-5. Mind you , I didn't pay for any of them, but that's not the point. Starting with the first one (11 months after purchase), I've encountered problems including, but not limited to super short batter life, hard drive melts and firmware errors. They've been close to "winning" on many occasion, where I've almost just thrown my hands up in frustration and bought the iPod video. The "Genius Bar", as they ironically call it at your friendly local Apple Store, attempts to fix/troubleshoot the issue and then issues you a new (where new = refurb) iPod (same model; sigh). It's a racket! Pitch perfect brand building that will no doubt be the subject of many a biz school case study ... but what should really be *studied* is the actual product! Anywayz.

What a season for Carolina basketball. After losing their top 7 scorers, not one "expert" picked them to finish higher than 7th in the ACC. So much for the experts. The Heels finished up the season 2nd in the league and 11th in the nation. Given the fact that they have the top incoming recruiting class in the country combined with the 4+ starting freshman they had this past season, it wouldn't surprise any hoop fan if they appear at the top of the 2006-07 pre-season national polls. Arguably the biggest win of the season came in Durham on the Dookie's Senior Night ... last game of the season. The late season stretch solidified Williams as coach of the year and Hansborough as rookie of the year. Amazing what little to no expectations will do to a team, especially from a school that isn't used to being in that position. Sadly, they lost to George Mason in the 2nd round of the NCAAs. The good news is that Mason is now in the Final Four. Yep, the first 11 seed to ever make the Final Four. Unreal. An incredibly athletic, confident, scrappy team that seems all too comfortable wearing Cinderella's slipper in late March.

TomKat visited our offices this past Tuesday. Yep, Tom Cruise. Katie Holmes. A very pregnant Katie Holmes. Tom's visit was part of our Influential Speaker Series, which has included folks like Tom Brokaw, Ahhhnold and Thomas Friedman. Go ahead and argue/laugh at the merits of Cruise being *influential*, but really, who gives a fuck if he is or isn't. It was pretty damn cool seeing him on campus ... arguably, the biggest star in the world. He flew in on his vintage P51 jet ... 1.5 hrs late. The ruckus he created was ridiculous and, in what was most likely a slow news week, well-covered by the likes of CNN, Inside Edition, ET and pretty much every other gossip blog you can think of. Seems like a slew of girls forgot that they were actually in the "workplace" ... the unprofessionalism was mindboggling. Unfortunately, that was the main clip picked up by the news outlets. Nope, no mention of any Scientology bidness, but he did poke fun of the himself/the Oprah incident by hopping up and down on the couch after being asked about Katie and his impending role of father. Millions in lost productivity that day, for sure, but this is the kinda cool shit that makes our place of employment an ok place to spend your waking hours from time to time. Things did take an irrelevant and surreal turn as our CEO and Tom started talking about the days when they used to vacation together on a yacht in the Mediterranean. How's that for *influential*? Uh-huh.

Ila turned one last month. Scary how fast the last year has passed us by. There's something new everyday ... hard to keep up these days. Apparently, she's fallen in love with the pool ... can't get enough of it ... can't leave her alone for a second or else she's diving in the deep end. We're talkin 2024 Summer Olympics. Not such a big fan of the sand at the beach yet, though. She doesn't know what to do with it, which might be a sign of her developing some early signs of her mother's anal retentiveness. Ila should be out here next month ... stay tuned.

Saw Jeff Tweedy last month at The Fillmore sans the rest of the Wilco crew. Acoustic show. Incredibly engaging, smart, demanding and funny. Between the years and years of touring, band drame and rehab, Tweedy's got tons of stories that could fill albums for years to come. Wilco is without a doubt my favorite band today and has been since I saw them in Berkelely in June 2005. I've made this plea before, but here it is again ... if you don't already know their music, let me know and I'll burn you a CD.

Just heard an acoustic version of "Who Can it be Now?" on KFOG's Acoustic Sunset. If anyone comes across this MP3, please send my way, por favor.

I know it was you comma Santa Monica comma you broke my heart.

And in closing, a big west coast shout out to Shalel Lounge on the Upper Vest! Bring the magic!

Sulfur

2005-11-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, so everyone loves a good cover song, especially one that's completely out of left field and just wreaks of camp. So, we present to you Nickel Creek's cover of Britney's Toxic! Yes, that's not a misprint. The alt/bluegrass band was at the Cleveland House of Blues last week and laid down one of the best covers I've heard in awhile. Here's the video, too.

A Little Slice of Heaven

2005-11-08T23:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick (unofficial) top 10 from the trip, in no specific order:

4 hours at Lucy's on Friday afternoon
Amanda, our Holiday Inn "Experience Specialist"
Classic case of overpursue!
Pink during pre-game in the Rams Club lot
Did I mention overpursue?
Sunrise Biscuits (post-sulfur)
Happy new year!?
Lawrence the cab driver
Henderson Street wings
Thursday night in DC :)

After almost 10 years, I finally made it down to Chapel Hill this past weekend … and was far from disappointed. Here are some pics from the weekend. The town hasn't really changed that much since my last visit, let alone when I lived there in the early 80s. Don't get me wrong - that's a good thing. It's maintained all the charm that makes it such a special place. So, although I had bought the BC v. UNC tickets several months ago, it wasn't until Wednesday night that I realized we were flying into Homecoming Weekend!! Total dumb luck! The weather couldn't have been any better … high 70s throughout the weekend.

It pains me to admit this, but I was really disappointed in the pre-game tailgate scene (or lack thereof). Sports Illustrated declared Chapel Hill the "best college football tailgating town" back in the late 80s. Definitely not the case anymore. By a long shot. The last time UNC won the ACC championship was during the Dick Crum era in the 80s, I think, and apart from Mack Brown getting the program back into the top 5 in 1996-97, the Heels have never been back in the national football spotlight. Plus, nobody will argue the fact that Carolina is first and foremost a basketball school. End of discussion. Anyway, there are a few parking lots around Kenan Stadium, which are pretty much reserved for Rams Club members (big $ donors to the Carolina athletic programs), but those lots only lend more credence to the "wine and cheese" moniker that UNC fans were pegged with in the 90s. After searching around for too long for a good spot, we ended up pre-gaming in one of the Rams Club lots like a bunch of party crashers.

The game was a complete shocker. After getting pummeled by VaTech, I thought BC would sail in and kick Carolina's ass all the way to Durham. The Heels ran back the opening kick-off 90 yards for a TD that got the game off to a quick start. BC's first drive was scary. It had blowout written all over it. UNC's line was incredibly undermatched and overwhelmed. BC has the biggest line in the ACC and during that drive, it was pretty obvious they were going to take advantage of the mismatch and steamroll the Heels for the next 4 quarters. To the dismay of I'd guess most fans, the Heels held on for a huge 16-14 upset win and pretty much obliterated the Eagles' BCS hopes (if VaTech hadn't already done that the week before) in the process.

Kenan Stadium - nestled in the pine tree woods right behind the Bell Tower - is even more gorgeous than I remember it to be. They added a whole mess of seats in one of the end zones, which makes it a more intimate experience, and attached it to the new football center. Still kinda bummed that the crowd wasn't into it, especially given the magnitude of the win, but still a memorable experience!

Gettin Jiggly With It

2005-10-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Not sure exactly how much free time Elizabeth Kickok has these days, but it sure seems like a lot! Check out these slides that she made of "San Francisco in Jello".

Baby Ila in Mexico

2005-10-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Think A Man Would Know

2005-10-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

As Gawker.com has already reported this morning, I’m blogging today from the horizontal position. No you crazy sickos … I threw my back out over the weekend and finally decided to take a sick day, although that hasn’t stopped the barrage of work-related calls this morning. There’s no such thing as a sick day at our offices – it’s just harder for people to get in touch with you. Gotta love it. Anyway, let’s just say I’ve got a ton of free time today to spew worthless crap, so settle in for some randomness … Snikes style.

After seeing Ben Taylor open for Tracy Chapman a few weeks back (10/13 blog), I got another chance to see him perform over the weekend. I won tickets through KFOG’s weekly email rag. It was a private concert for about 40-50 folks at the Hard Rock Café. I was under the impression that the HRC was no longer in bidness in SF, but I guess they reopened down on Pier 39 a few years ago. Shows you how often I or anyone else I know makes it down that way. Anyhoo, the show was obviously more intimate than when he played the Fillmore. He opened up the hour long set with 4 acoustic songs, including Nothing I Can Do, which didn’t leave many dry eyes (including (sap) mine) in the house. The song is about his mother, Carly Simon, and “how she still thinks of him as baggage”. One of the most emotionally wrenching songs I’ve come across in a long time. (Download it from iTunes and thank me later. While you’re at it, grab Island, prolly his most well known song, which is from his first album) Seeing yesterday's show inspired me to pick up my guitar again, do some more writing and get some damn lessons. Just need to find a teacher who isn't a flake. Taylor offered up a little background for almost every song he played, which really added to the intimate vibe. The play list included tunes about his ex-girlfriends, his famous father and mother, a best friend who’s serving time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and an appreciation for the success that he’s achieved so far. There’s still time to catch him if you’re local. He’s playing another small gig at Sweetwater tonight, the hippie Marin joint up in Mill Valley.

Classroom Buddies started up again last week. I’ve got a class of 20 first graders in Sunnyvale this year and the same fun/young teacher, yet again. I’m hoping to spend time with them once every other week, at the very least. First graders are the perfect class. Super warm and affectionate, anxious to learn, high energy, polite and most importantly, they haven’t developed attitudes just yet. After spending a few hours with the class, it’s pretty easy to tell who’s going to be a problem child and who’s going to be an honor roll student. There are also way too many sad stories from what the teacher tells me … from a handful of welfare students to malnourished kids to parents who are running from the law. The teacher’s job does not end at the 2:20 bell … it’s only just begun. She plays many roles, some which are more important than just teaching them about math and science. I’ve got incredible respect for her and would count myself lucky if I can make even one ounce of a difference in some of these kids’ lives.

Some interesting articles in Sunday’s New York Times.

First, I’m sure many of us, Jewish or not, can relate to “My Big Fat 80s Bar Mitzvah” . A bunch of New Yorkers got together and published a web site and book which organizes old school photos, centerpieces, commemorative souvenirs and videos of their friends’ (and now strangers, too)bar and bat mitzvahs. It’s far more than just a chance to look back at the age old rite of passage. It’s more akin to “a sociological history”. How and why did this religious experience turn into what it did and how that ultimate experience tied into the overall generational point in time (i.e. 80s excess, etc). To all of us who attended the tens of bar mitzvahs, it was an elaborate event, but we didn’t (and still probably haven’t) analyze it much more than “wait, he hooked up with her!?!”

After the Poker craze that grew to epic proportions over the past 2 years, TV execs have been killing themselves to figure out the next big thing that has similar potential. Turns out, they’ve got just the thing. Actually, we can’t give them full credit. As is the case with many a successful television show as of late, we’re borrowing a page from the Brits’ playbook. Yep, darts ! ESPN is putting the finishing touches on a World Series of Darts series that will air some time in 2006 and they’re convinced there’s a huge market for it. They’re right. There are millions of darts players throughout the US, but not one official league … for amateurs or pros, for that matter. I think the most exciting part of the series is going to be the players. From what I’ve seen thru the Brit leagues, these guys are some of the most colorful characters you’ve ever come across. As the article puts it, “These guys have lived life and they look like it”.

If anyone’s looking to invest in some Caribbean island real estate and is looking for a partner (or someone to accompany them on an early retirement dream), I’m in! After reading about Vieques (6 miles off of Puerto Rico), I’m convinced that the author is right … this is the next big vacation place. It’s not commercially rundown and has done a fine job, if not unintentionally given its admittedly lazy inhabitants, of maintaining its local flavor. The cost of living is still very manageable and the land is a plenty. Doesn’t sound like there’s much to do apart from experiencing the land, some biking and of course, sitting your ass on the beach. Sounds like my kind of digs. I’m guessing it’s probably akin to what Turks and Caicos was about 20-25 years ago (which now appears to be one of the biggest hot spots).

Ok, enough about The Grey Lady for today! So, t-minus 2 weeks to Chapel Hill!!! The way things are looking right now, Carolina has a small prayer of matching up to BC. Somehow they pulled out a 7-5 (yeah, that’s not a baseball score) win over UVa on Saturday. You just can’t get a good read on this year’s squad. BC had a bye week and is traveling to big bad Blacksburg for a Thursday night contest vs. the Hokies. This is their season right here. This will make the difference between BCS consideration and another shitty holiday bowl. If they lose, god help the Heels when I’m down in NC!

And finally … not sure how long it will take for San Francisco to see this trend, but from all accounts, it sounds like Chinese food is making a quiet comeback and will be back on the dining scene in 2006 in many urban areas. The early 90s saw the beginning of the dominance of the “other” Asian cuisines – Japanese, most notably, followed by Thai and Vietnamese. Chinese was really the first Asian cuisine to find its way into the homes of Americans (going back to the California Gold Rush) and it took many different incarnations over the years. I think American diners naturally grew sick of it and sought out more exotic, unique fare (or what they thought was that at the time). So, not only is it coming back next year (it’s already started in NYC), it’s coming back on a more sophisticated (read: expensive) plate. I’m trying not to be cynical (or city snob), but I’m guessing that expensive Chinese food seems to infer “fusion” and I think most of us are pretty much over the whole fusion trend, which has worn out its lonnng welcome.

If I can get my back in working order, we've got a good week lined up including visits from Sharp and Mattis later in the week. Stay tuned.

Note: Hopefully, we’ll get the Guest Column feature back up and running soon. God knows, we need a little bit of spice here at Snikes.com.

Movie Picks

2005-10-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

Capote- Arguably Philip Seymour Hoffman's best performance to date. In 1959 novelist Truman Capote (Hoffman) travels with childhood friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) to Kansas to write an article about the Clutter family murders. The article eventually morphed into In Cold Blood.

Where the Truth Lies - Vince Collins (Colin Firth) and Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) were the hottest showbiz act of the 1950s, but were ruined when a young woman was found dead in their suite. Fifteen years later, a journalist convinces her publisher to offer Vince a million dollars for the untold story of that fateful night.

The Squid and the Whale - In 1986 Brooklyn, Walt Berkman (Jesse Eisenberg of Roger Dodger) is coming of age in his chaotic home. Both his father (Jeff Daniels), a once-successful novelist, and his mother (Laura Linney) have taken lovers and are rapidly heading for divorce. So it's up to Walt and his younger brother to grapple with what has become of their family.

Separate Lies - Stockbroker James Manning (Tom Wilkinson) thinks that he has the ideal marriage, but then his wife Anne (Emily Watson) meets the charming and enigmatic Bill Bule (Rupert Everett) and they embark on a passionate affair. After Bill and Anne are implicated in the accidental death of a local man, James puts aside his feelings of betrayal and resolves to protect her from the investigation.

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You are

2005-10-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

No fewer than 4 friends have admitted to me over the past month that they do in fact watch MTV's quasi-reality show, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Another friend told me that it's the only show they watch. It's like everyone's dirty secret that they won't reveal when asked what Season Passes are on their TiVo. After watching 4-5 episodes, I think I can see why, but that doesn't mean I haven't added it to *my* Season Pass list. Laguna Beach is head and shoulders above the same network's incredibly tired The Real World series, especially with this season's lame Austin cast. MTV has to put that show out of its misery soon and just move on already. Oh, and for those that are wondering about the integrity of LB and the liberal use of the term "reality show", here are all of your answers (and then some ).

Under Your Charms

2005-10-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

I’m sure this is blasphemy to many of you, but I can’t imagine why – after this past Saturday’s slate of epic college football games – anyone would rather spend their weekend watching pro football. It’s incredibly rare, save for maybe a January playoff weekend, that the NFL matches the week in/week out excitement of college football. There were no fewer than 6 incredible I-can’t-believe-what’s-happening finishes that transpired on our college campuses over the course of 7-8 hours on Saturday afternoon. The marquee game - Notre Dame v. USC in South Bend - turned out to be even greater than the hype that preceded it. Not to mention Michigan’s stunning last second touchdown over Penn State or Wisconsin’s unfathomable comeback and last second TD at Minnesota. Sports fans everywhere were treated to a day that they will likely never forget. (And yes, I did pass up a day trip to Healdsburg, but the wine and Indian Summer will be there for me next weekend, I’m sure.)

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I finally went to see 24 Hours on Craigslist at the Red Vic on Saturday night and it was well worth the wait. It’s been making its way through the smaller festival circuit for over a year now and has finally made its way back home. The documentary focuses on a day in the life of CL - specifically, the lives of several eccentric Bay Area folks who use the cultish website for everything from personal ads to selling / buying merchandise to finding jobs. It’s the characters and their bizarre/funny searches that make the movie so intriguing. It'll be out on DVD in the early spring so throw it on your queue now.

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After 16 years of what I’ve now come to accept as typical San Francisco-style politics, the re-designed / re-built deYoung Museum finally opened its doors to the public on Saturday morning. Thanks to the spendy gala opening party on Friday night, the museum was able to stay open all weekend (yep, you could visit it Saturday night at 3am) … gratis. There were performances on almost every hour all weekend long, including some well known local DJs late Saturday night. A few of us went over to the park to see if we could get in, but the line snaked down MLK Dr. for what seemed to be no less than 7 city blocks. Friends had waited 2+ hrs and ended up leaving frustrated at 1:30am with absolutely no hope of seeing the main entrance, let alone the performance. Regardless of the lines, GG Park was hopping! There was the quintessential SF sense of community and that’s what had everyone pumped, I think. Apart from Bay to Breakers, I’ve never seen that many people and cars in the park, especially at night. It seemed as if everyone from SF in their 20s and 30s was at the park at some point that night. I think the city is dying for cool events like this, especially after hours. In any event, many critics are already proclaiming the building to be an architectural icon which will serve as the symbol of a rebirth of sorts of the city.

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Ok, so who else saw that Sunday’s NY Times had a piece – below the fold, but still - on drinking games and how marketers are jumping into the fray with things such as tournaments and a myriad of products and accessories. Who knew that “Beirut” would make such a splash (sorry, couldn’t help that one)? Not that I’m averse to reading these article, but The Times continues to surprise me with their content as of late. Last time I checked, it’s not summer anymore guys.

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There are a handful of epic weather days in SF each year which I’ll write about here ad nausea (so quit ya bitchin’) and Sunday was one of them. High 70s and not a cloud in the sky. Yep, this is our summer! After meandering around the deYoung grounds a bit (still unbelievably crowded. People stampeded when they hear the word *free* … even if it was followed by the word *beating*.) and checking out the turtles catching some rays over at Stowe Lake, we headed over to Medjool’s rooftop for a stunning view of the city and the rising full (almost) moon at dusk. Great Sunday evening scene. What a way to wind down the weekend.

So, Joel landed up in SF (for work) Monday night and is going to be here for the next few days. We went over to Azul for a benefit that a friend had organized and then down to the Mission to Medjool for dinner. Yep, I know, two nights in a row. I’m not going to be able to stop myself - especially while this weather lasts - from abusing that place!

Crossroads

2005-10-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to hear that Tracy Chapman still tours, so when she scheduled a show at The Fillmore, I jumped all over it. The show, which was last Sunday night, sold out pretty quickly, which I also did not expect. Turns out she’s from the Bay Area, so I guess it makes sense.

There was no announced opening act, but a few days before the show, it was announced that Ben Taylor was going to warm up the crowd. Ben is a spitting image of his father – both voice, looks and demeanor. I had been tracking his whereabouts for a few years in hopes of a Bay Area performance, but all I got was a county fair somewhere south of SF. Uhh, no. The only other appearance I’ve seen of his was a recent TV gig he did prior to the US Open finals last month. He sang America The Beautiful with his Dad. Powerful stuff. Anyhow, his Fillmore set was awesome, but ended up being a huge tease. He played 5 acoustic songs which were funny, emotional, honest and simple. The crowd was mesmerized … you could hear a pin drop in the theater. Way more fans came early for Ben Taylor than I imagined. It’s nice to know that he’s got a solid/growing little following 3,000 miles away from his roots.

Tracy Chapman came out about an hour later. Her set was pretty much what I expected. Mellow singer songwriter stuff with a few up-tempo tunes thrown in so the crowd didn’t go home wanting to kill themselves. She played a good sampling of her body of work that pleased all contingents, I’m sure – from Talking About A Revolution to This Time to her new release, Change. (btw, I can’t listen to her album Crossroads without it reminding me of my trip to Vietnam in 2004. A hotel I was staying at played that CD incessantly while I was hiding out from the angry remnants of a typhoon. It’s still one of if not my favorite Tracy Chapman album) Not only was the size of the crowd surprising, but the make-up was, too. I’m not great at estimating crowd sizes, but I’d say at least 60% of the crowd was gay, if not more. When I mentioned that fact to a friend the next day, they looked at me like I was stoopid. Am I the only one that didn’t know that Tracy Chapman is gay? The rest of the crowd was pretty much couples. Nothing better than watching couples make out to Tracy Chapman tunes. Good times. At any rate, Chapman has aged really well and has some pretty features. She is endearingly shy and a little geeky, but still managed to banter and connect with her adoring crowd. I'm drawing a blank right now, but she did some really cool covers including 2 Dylan tunes and one that Ben Taylor joined her to perform.

Next show is Jamiroquai in early-November.

Atonement

2005-10-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this funny ad on this, the day of atonement for my friends of *the* tribe. To borrow a line, y'all are gonna party like it's 5699 tonight at break-fast. Sinners ... on your mark, get set, go!

80 Degrees and the Snow's a Plenty

2005-09-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Let's Hug it Out, Bitch

2005-09-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

Mandy Moore is in rehab!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure most of you are skeptical, but apparently her publicist issued a statement confirming the rumors. Personally, I think that Turtle is responsible for this bombshell. She secretly approached him while she was back together with Vince. Turtle's dealer is/was Saigon. Say good bye to your record deal, Saigon. Ok, I watch too much TV. Sometimes. I know.

Someone's Got Some 'Splainin To Do ...

2005-09-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Kate Moss has apparently checked into some rehab farm in Phoenix. That's not the point, though. The point is that the article takes pains to point out that Moss snorted at least 5 lines over the course of 45 minutes. Are they implying that this is a lot or that it wasn't enough to warrant all this worlwide attention? While coke does appear to be the party drug of choice over the past few years, it might be a little presumptious of the AP to expect their readers to understand that point. Any of my LA friends care to enlighten us commoners?

Ila and I Take Manhattan!

2005-09-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

City Updates

2005-09-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's only taken 2 years, but with the opening of the new Central Freeway ramp, this weekend marks the end of navigating those pesky SoMa streets. The actual idea has been about 15-16 yrs in the making -- post-Loma Prieta quake -- and is supposed to be a model for highways throughout the country.

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Here's an update on plans for the Pacific Heights ski jump that was recently "postponed". Sounds like it might happen in late-September.

Err, come again?

2005-09-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen or heard this clip yet, please sit down. During NBC's Friday night Katrina telethon, Kanye West took it upon himself to ignore the pre-approved script and wax un-poetic re: his thoughts on Dubya. NBC then went ahead and cut Kanye's clip from the West Coast feed. So, the debate has been raging for days on who was in the wrong - Kanye, NBC or both parties. Yesss, Kanye, you're right, the President of the United States of America does not care about black people. Thank you very much for enlightening us. Regardless of my political affiliations (or lack thereof), after hearing the clip, I've gone from being *really* excited to hear Kanye's new album to *not interested*, at best. Kanye, you were on the cover of Time magazine last week; you've got a huge/rapidly growing fan base, most of which is white. You know this. Why antagonize folks when you're just about to blow up? Also, aren't Katrina telethons supposed to be about bringing folks together, not fanning the flames of an already incendiary situation?

Welcome to Mee-ami

2005-09-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

After several years of barely watchable Video Music Award shows, MTV finally managed to turn things around with this year’s Miami-based spectacle. I can’t say for sure, but the show’s live performances seemed to be at least 90% hip hop. Speaking of which, my favorite stat of the moment (thanks, Time magazine) is that 70% of the hip hop audience is white. No idea how they measure that, but it’s just ripe for some sociological analysis. In any event, I guess it now makes perfect sense why the show’s roster of live acts was skewed that heavily. Can anyone tell me why Suge Knight is still alive? I mean, the guy is sitting in the VIP section of some chi-chi South Beach club and some guy walks right up to him in front of god knows how many members of his ready-to-pounce entourage and countless other rap impresarios and shoots him in the leg. Read that again. Yes, his leg! So many people want the guy dead, yet he continues to survive both in and out of the Big House. I’m sensing a war of Biggie/Tupac proportions. Anyway, here are a few thoughts from the show:

Best performance by 2 living legends and 1 dead one: Diddy, Biggie and Snoop Dogg

Most, ahem, saucy performance (and biggest comeback of the year): Mariah Carey

Most uncomfortable moment: Jeremy Pivens’ prison-related jokes aimed at his co-presenter, Lil’ Kim. If the look on Kim’s face didn’t say it all, the MTV cameras perfectly captured the “Who the fuck is this cracker making fun of our girl” look on the faces of Kim’s entourage. Bueller?

Most anticipated performance which barely met, but definitely did not exceed expectations: Kanye West featuring Jaime Foxx.

Most revealing outfit: Eva Longoria. Apparently, Eva had to be aggressively coaxed into wearing that little napkin of an outfit. Huh? Has anyone seen what she parades around in on Sunday nights? Desperately seeking a stylist, I hope.

Worst outfit: Jessica Simpson. In a very competitive category, Simpson once again reminded us that she is in fact, white trash. Who wears shorts to an awards show?

Best dressed: Jessica Alba and Kanye West. Jessica wore a simple black dress that didn’t say, “Hey world, check out my Albas!” It was as traditional as one could get for the VMAs. All class, Jessica, all class. Oh, and I forgive you for having to read that terrible joke off the teleprompter. The fact that Kanye was the best dressed shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone by now. My runner-up favorite fact of the moment is that Kanye is not from the hood and was never at any point in his life shot at. He grew up in a nice area of Chicago. Raised by his mother who chairs the English department at a local university and his father, who is a marriage counselor (and former Black Panther). Music label executives took a few years to warm up to the idea of Kanye making the transition from producer to performer. Hell, they did have a valid concern after all. Marketing a Polo-outfitted, suburban Chicago-living black man to the hip-hop masses? Umm, yeah.

Performance that left me wanting more: Tego Calderon. One of 3 Reggaeton stars that Fat Joe introduced. Calderon was on stage for about 30 seconds. Tops. Tight beats, but throw me some more love.

Performer that makes me feel like Claire’s boyfriend, Ted, in SFU: Kelly Clarkson. I’ve already said more than I should have.

Bulging Belly

2005-09-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

If you think you're a halfway decent restaurant critic and you live in SF or Chi-town, look no further than local cable. This new show will allow any Joe Schmo food lover to go on air and debate the merits of a restaurant with complete strangers. Great concept that will give the public a different, more relatable take on the sometimes overwhelming/snooty world of dining out.

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Thirteen percent of the female students at Timken Senior High School in Ohio are pregnant. Yes, that's 64 prego students (and almost half off my graduating class size). Good lord!! What's floating in the water in Canton?!? Stoopid pills?

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I'm down in LA this week and weekend for some work and mostly play. Sharp's getting hitched tomorrow afternoon, so we have the whole crew in town. A super fun week so far with the work crew of past and present. Thursday morning felt like waking up after a night of raging at the annual sales conference (worse, actually). Luckily our first meeting wasn't until noon. Speaking of which ... we met with an Auction company that's run by a bunch of Russians. Their CEO looks, talks and dresses like Elisabeth Shue's (Sera) pimp in Leaving Las Vegas. More importantly, his Director of Marketing & PR is a former playmate. Let me spell that out again for those who missed it ... p-l-a-y-m-a-t-e. No way I'm puting her name down here, but ping me if you want her name. An internet image search will quickly show you why this trip has already paid off in spades.

After meeting up with some old friends for tea on Melrose, I ate at this fun tapas joint called Cobras & Matadors last night with Rob and a few of his friends. Cool place in West Hollywood that I'd totally recommend if you're ever down this way. Nice to see people showing up for dinner at 10:45pm on a weeknight. Not a shot in hell you'd see that scene played out up in SF. Grrr.

Spent this morning checking out our new campus in Santa Monica and meeting some of the new team (essentially, all of our entertainment, news and information-related properties are now housed down in SM) that's assembled down here. It's the old MGM complex, where Lutz used to hob nob with the stars. Great space. 10 mins from the beach. True California living. If you know anything about me, you know exactly what I'm thinking. While I've fallen in love with the Bay Area lifestyle, I can never get enough of the SoCal vibe!

Rich Girl

2005-08-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

During the past month, I've been polling as many friends as possible re: the legendary 80s pop duo Hall & Oates. When asked if they appreciate and/or remember the well-coifed band, without fail, anyone under 30 has stared at me as if I just told them that I'm the new president of the Kelly Clarkson fan club. I walked into Fly Bar a few months ago and did a double take when I heard H&O Greatest Hits playing instead of the usual ambient lounge music they tend to spin late night. I walked over to the bar to order up a few drinks ... glanced around me at the other patrons and noticed that everyone had a huge grin on their faces. Not that I'm-drunk-and-I-love-everyone face, but the this-music-brings-back-such-vivid-back-in-the-day-memories face. A priceless moment that I wish I could have bottled up. H&O is one of those bands that reminds me of our time in Chapel Hill. Michael McDonald/The Doobie Brothers is another one on that list. Needless to say, I went home and downloaded the entire album that night. Later that weekend, while I was in Montreal, I got a late night voicemail from Bill which was unintelligible at first, but turned out to be a jukebox somewhere on the Cape playing She's Gone. Genius!

Note: After I posted the above, Rad (29 yrs old, which goes against my test results) emailed me this: "So now I know that you are my brother ... we were driving back from VT yesterday and was listening to a radio station that was playing a song that took me back to Chapel Hill …. was getting all nostalgic in my head and thought – I need to go home and get this album that has all their bext stuff…..Hall and Oates!" Niiiiiiiiiiiice!!!

The Wild, Wild West

2005-08-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

India has cows strolling the streets; New York has rats darting in and out of traffic; and San Francisco has Ostriches crossing the bridges.

Chicken of the Sea

2005-08-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the tuna tartare recipe I've been shooting my mouth off about. Try it once and you will no doubt thank me (and no longer have to hear me talk about it).

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

2005-08-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Chuck Klosterman was in town this past Monday to promote his newest book, Killing Yourself to Live, which I plowed through earlier this summer. Klosterman is a pop culture writer for Spin, Esquire, Rolling Stone, NYT, etc. His earlier works include Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, which is next on my list.

Killing Yourself is based on a 3 week cross country road trip that Klosterman embarked upon for a Spin magazine article. The idea was to visit the spots where various well-known musicians met their death (i.e. Kurt Cobain, members of the Allman Brothers Band and Lynard Skynard, etc.). Klosterman tries to explore why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing (Jeff Buckley is one example that immediately comes to mind. Elvis is arguably another.) The author uses these little visits to create a prism from which a wild spectrum of pop culture musings are spewed forth.

In person, Klosterman is geky, spindly and wildly animated … hands flailing about wildly. He’s incredibly witty, but sometimes only because he’s stating the obvious, which can be funny in and of itself. During the Q&A after the reading, a young woman asked Klosterman what he’s reading (because she really liked his diction). Great question. If you care, he’s currently in the middle of Under the Banner of Heaven (Krakauer) and some Phillip K. Dick sci-fi book, among others. Anyway, if you’re a pop culture fan or even an ardent reader of The Sports Guy, you’ll really dig this read.

Bay Area Blowhard

2005-08-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

(from today's Gawker)

It’s Day Two of Sean Penn’s week-long hostage situation over at the San Francisco Chronicle, during which the hyperbolic actor has forced the newspaper’s poor editors to run his reports from time spent in Iran. But it’s worth the effort, because you can trust Sean Penn to put on his Ernie Pyle costume and tell us what we really need to know. Brace yourself for the intensity:

We were sitting in Nayeb restaurant in central Tehran. I’d been holding a piss through the hours of prayer service. So after I ordered my lunch, I excused myself to the men’s room. “Men’s” was written in Farsi above, and “Manly” in English below. I stepped into the water closet, grateful to just have to piss. If I’d had more serious business there, it would’ve been a squat job with no hook for one’s jacket. Now, that would’ve been manly.

Exhale. It’s as if Ernest Hemingway made sweet, sweet love to Jeff Spicoli before our very eyes.

Sean Penn in Iran [SFC]

Real Men of Genius

2005-08-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

There isn't a more brilliant radio/tv campaign than Bud Light's "Real Men of Genius" spots. Never ever gets old! Some goodies (among a sea of brilliance):

-> Mr. 80 SPF Wearer ("... if the sun fails to go down, you'll be ready; if you're wearing 30 SPF, you might as well be wearing cooking oil ... ")

-> Mr. Jean Shorts Inventor ("... casual enough for a bbq, formal enough for a family reunion ... jorts ...")

-> Mr. Tiny Thong Bikini Wearer ("... hey, check out the wolly mammoth in the rubber band ...")

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This is not a joke. They are going to build a ski jump up the street from my place in August. 12,000 cu. ft. of snow ... all for Jonny Moseley. "We want to show San Francisco as an exciting place to visit, as opposed to a place with a lot of homeless". Uhh, yeah. (and leave it to the Hindus to try to ruin all the fun)

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

2005-08-03T23:27:00.000-07:00

One of the bigger food trends in San Francisco over the past 12 months is (wait for it ... wait for it) pizza. Yeah, I know ... how can pizza be trendy? If you live in SF, you'd know that one of the bigger voids over the years has been a complete lack of good, non-chain pizza (that you didn't have to cross the Bay Bridge to enjoy). So, maybe this isn't a trend, per se, but merely restauranteurs waking up to the fact that this is potentially one of the very few slam dunks on the SF restaurant scene. High demand with a comparatively low overhead. Genius.

Armed with my new superhero pills, I've been slowly eating my way through many of the new - and not so new - pizza joints in town. Granted, these aren't your typical NYC slice-slinging store fronts (which btw, are still untouchable) ... they are a little more cafe-like. Each creates its own unique, intimate vibe. Most joints are leaning towards thin crust, but there's also a handful of deep dish for those Chicago-style faithful. Not counting Amici's and Pizza Inferno, I've tried A16, Little Star, Pizetta 211, Zachary's, Pauline's ... and earlier tonight, Pizzeria Delfina.

Pizzeria Delfina is by far the best of the lot. Perfect sized crust, which isn't too chewy or too crispy. Just the right amount of sauce. I didn't get to taste all of the different pies, but I could see that they didn't overload the pizzas with too much of each topping. Last night, I tried the Napoletana (if you don't like salty toppings, stay away from this one) which was topped with tomato, anchovies, capers, hot peppers, olives and oregano. Ridiculously good! It's a tiny, bright space that has approx. 8 counter seats and 16 table seats (indoors and sidewalk). Delfina-esque service. No reservations and an already rabid fan base.

Before experiencing Pizzeria Delfina, Little Star was top o' the list (and still might be, depending on what kind of experience I'm looking for that night). It's a dark hipster joint over in the Western Addition. (This critic puts it perfectly: The Western Addition is the new Mission, apparently, and that means it's ready for a restaurant with a jukebox that sounds like a rock critic's iPod and a bar that serves Pabst Blue Ribbon in cans. I am fine with all these things – I even like PBR, perhaps because I don't like beer much – but there's a thin line between cool and trying too hard, and listing the contents of your jukebox on your Web site, as Little Star does, is maybe on the nether side.) Anyhow, they've got both thin-crust and deep-dish. And while I'm not a huge deep-dish fan, this place has given me a newfound appreciation for it. Their sauce is chunky and totally fresh and the crust is all sorts of good.

That Bastard Mark Twain Was Right!

2005-08-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

After inhaling a late-morning breakfast at Home Plate - where we ran into a McEnroe-esque O.J. - Cory, Cerne and I headed up to Marin for the afternoon. The drive was just what the doctor ordered - about 45 minutes of winding two lane country roads that took us through Ross, Fairfax, Olema and other picturesque Marin villages. Horses, cows, state parks, small country stores, B&Bs. While there are definitely lush areas up in Marin, this particular drive had lots of "brown". Not sure if that's due to the season/high temps up north or if that's just a perennial Bay Area feature. I notice lots of brown conditions if I commute on 280, but again, not sure if that's just time of the year or what. Anyway, the temperatures fluctuated every few miles ... from 60 up to 87 degrees and back. We finally settled on Tomales Bay State Park, where it was only about 65 or so with pure sunshine. There are a bunch of different coves that people seem to refer to as beaches. The benefit of being on the bay side is that you're sheltered from the crazy fog and wind coming off of the Pacific this time of the year. As soon as we said that, we looked up and saw the fog begin to roll in. All good, though, as we'd already gotten about 2 hours of R&R in on the "beach" by then. I think we were back in the city by 5-ish.

After a great meal at Chez Snikes on Saturday night, I was looking forward to continuing the streak Sunday night, but this time down on the BBQ. After wolfing down some leftovers, I threw some salmon burgers on the bah-bee, but was super pissed off because the wind and fog made it feel as if I was attempting to cook outdoors in freakin Jersey in November. After a perfectly restful and happy Sunday afternoon, depression set in! I think this is the first time in almost 5 years that the SF summer is really getting to me. Anytime the temps hit 75+ish in SF during June/July, there's wild dancing in the streets. Crazy, indeed.

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Ila attended her first movie this morning. Pretty cool concept, eh? 5+ months old and she's already a critic! She slept through all but the last 10 minutes of Must Love Dogs. That - in a nutshell - was her review ... snooooze-fest! Well, at least we can be sure that she's not going to dig the Chick-Flick genre when she gets older. That's my girl!

Iron-Crazy!

2005-08-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

It's been about a week since I returned from seeing the Ironman qualifier in Lake Placid. It's difficult to wrap the entire Iron-fan experience into a nice package with a tidy bow on top. Everyone should experience seeing this event at least once in their lifetime. 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2 mi run. Yep, that's 140.6 grueling miles in one day. No joke.

Paul, Joel, K-Ron, Burnser and I showed up in LP late Saturday afternoon just in time to surprise Kev before the big pre-race dinner. Lisa chose a great resto right on the lake and we essentially took over the joint for a few hours. I'd venture a guess that we had the largest Iron-fan crew up there ... well over 20 people. Although he was happy to see everyone, I could tell Kev was nervous and not really "present", per se. If you were just about to voluntarily put your body through 140+ miles of pure hell, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be thinking about anything else, either. We left him around 7pm, at which point we went to sample some local LP nightlife while Kev went to stare at his motel ceiling for the next 8 hours.

After a 5:30am wake-up call, we made our way down to the starting line on the shore of the lake. That provided me with one of the weekend's top 2 images ... steam hovering above the lake, making only the mountain tops visible. What a way to start the morning! We managed to see Kev briefly before he joined the parade to the swim start. Seemed in good spirits, but who wouldn't be after downing 2 Buttermilk Eggos top o' the mornin!?! After getting clocked in the chin underwater a few times, he came out of the water a few minutes after the hour mark, at which point we sprinted to see him hit the bike for the first 56 mi. loop. Yes, 56 miles.

We headed into town to grab some grub/coffee and just relax until he came back from the first loop. Farls looked good coming through town and even managed to catch Paul and Burnser asleep at the wheel. Good work, guys. After seeing him come through on the second loop, we cruised over to the other side of the Olympic Oval to see him get off the bike and embark on the run. He was in 15th f'ing place (in his age group - arguably the most competitive) after the bike, which would have given him a Kona spot. God knows I would have needed an ambulance at that point, but Ford was all business.

The next 3+ hours were going to be the most important of the day, if not the year. A bunch of us made our way down to River Road - out by the old Olympic Ski Jump - to lend Kev all the support we could muster up for the excrutiatingly lonely marathon. The run course is a 13.1 mi loop, so if you plan everything out well enough, you can see your athlete 4 times over the course of the 3 hrs, which we did. I can't say that we got much of a reaction from him (even K-Ron flashing him and Paulie mooning him didn't work), but we chalked it up to being in the zone. We hustled back into town to see Farls cross the finish line 10.5 hours after wearily wading into the lake at 7am. You could cut the collective emotion at the finish line with a butter knife. "Kevin Farley ... YOU are an Ironman!"

We couldn't be prouder of Farley. His incredibly high level of dedication, sacrifice, mental toughness, drive, competitiveness and sheer will is mind blowing and admirable. We should all be so lucky to have half of that mix. On top of all that, and perhaps most impressive, Kev still manages to maintain a positive outlook day in and day out and never loses sight of the most important aspects of his life. I asked him a few days after the race if he was finding it difficult, after returning to NYC, to tell friends, acquaintances and colleagues that he didn't grab a Kona spot. He replied, "No, not at all. That's just the risk one takes when you choose to share your goals and dreams with the world". That's just one example of the solid perspective that he maintains, even days after the race. Thanks for sharing your dreams with us, Kev ... you da man!

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PS - After decompressing around the finish line and grabbing some pizza in town, a small handful of folks made it back to the finish line around 10pm. Each year, hundreds of people come back to the finish line for the last 2 hours of the race (the race shuts down at midnight) to frantically cheer on the last remaining competitors that are willing themselves to the finish line. The scene is unreal! Apart from a few flood lights, it's pitch dark. The bleachers were packed - standing room only - with people dancing, singing, yelling and cheering on the remaining athletes. A DJ is spinning crazy music and the Iron-MC (who does each of the 12 qualifiers every year) is announcing everyone as they enter the Olympic Oval and generally encouraging the crowd to go nuts! As the stragglers enter the oval, they grab their kids/babies and wives/husbands to join them for the last 100 yard dash. Seeing them cross the finish line together is one of the more emotional parts of the day to which no picture or blog entry could ever do justice.

Wooing Chelsea

2005-07-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or is homeboy overpaying for Chelsea?

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Speaking of scary, this is definitely going to leave a mark. Reminds me of Greg Lougainis' Olympic mis-step. If this had happened on the concrete platform ... game over!

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Paulie, now you can let your belt do all the talking. That's the next big urban trend ... "Mute Dating".

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Admittedly, I'm a city snob ... and I carry the title proudly. As is the case with many of us, it's hard to turn down an opportunity to hop on an anti-tourist tirade.

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Sign that the whole Lance wristband fad is officially out of control: (overheard on a flight out of LGA)

Man: What's that black band on your wrist for? Everyone has those things now. Is it like Kabbalah? Or to cure cancer?

Woman: It's a hairband.

Mile High Club

2005-07-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Walk, don't run to your friendly neighborhood mass transit stop!

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If you're free this week and interested in checking out some local up and coming filmmakers, swing by the Roxie to see the 48 Hour Film Project. From the project site: Filmmaking teams make a movie from scratch in only one weekend! Less than two days later, the short films have their premiere at major local theaters in front of packed audiences. In each of the cities on the 48 Hour Film Project tour, teams then compete to be named the "Best Film" for that city. Of those, one special film will win the prestigious "Best 48 Hour Film of the Year." Here are a bunch of trailers for Oren and Lainne's entry, "Main Cabin".

Coffee is for Closers

2005-07-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

What did *you* drive to the cube farm today?

What does it take to work here at Yahoo?

Don't forget to feed me, too!

Jenny and Danica - together at last. Who said we don't need an ESPN channel devoted exclusively to these extremely, ahem, talented women?

And finally, the SG's quote of the day ... "You're not going to play for me if you don't put out." -- Mets manager Willie Randolph

Ear Muffs

2005-07-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a quality comedy this weekend at your local multiplex, look no further. This flick is already getting huge Oscar buzz. Sniko money back guarantee.

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Off to Vancouver later this afternoon for the weekend. Of course, the only two days this week and next that are forecasted for rain are the TWO F'ING DAYS THAT I'LL BE THERE! Some of you know my travel nightmare stories before leaving for Vietnam and India over the past few years. Figured I'd have learned my lesson by now? Nope. I'm driving down to work this morning and about 5 miles from work (45 mile commute) I remember that I probably need a, umm, passport and green card to get in and out of the country. Details, people, details. So, I'm going to be at work for about 2 hrs, drive another 45 miles back home for the documents, turn around and then drive right back down to the airport. Genius!

Baby Ila Chillin Poolside

2005-07-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Can't Make This Stuff Up

2005-07-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

All true conversations overheard in New York City. Brings true meaning to fly on the wall. And check out their sister site for the cube farmers out there.

Paradise Found

2005-07-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

Mission Accomplished! After an almost 5 year search, I finally found the best hamburger in SF last night. Let's be clear ... it wasn't *my* find, per se. Others have raved about it in here and there, but I've never paid those opinions much heed. So, the place is called Taylor's Automatic Refresher. It's located at the Ferry Building. Apparently, Taylor's set-up shop up in St. Helena 55 years ago and has since built quite a cult following among Wine Country locals. I ordered up a Bacon Burger. It comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles & their secret sauce (similar to that of In n' Out) on a toasted Sciambro egg bun. Hard to believe, I know, but I could have easily put down two of those bad boys. Next time I'm all over the sweet potato fries, but alas, they were out of those last night. Next on the burger trail are Moose's in North Beach and Brazen Head in Cow Hollow, although the bar has now been set incredibly high.

Links o' the Day

2005-07-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

This "Free Lindsay" site just says it all. Oh, the horror!

You know I'm a slut for racist humor. Not sure if this is taking it too far, but who's watchin?

This device (Slingbox) sounds like it might be too good to be true. Mossberg reviewed it in this week's WSJ and it's being released at Best Buy this weekend. $250 flat fee. No monthly fees. It redirects, or “placeshifts,” the TV signal from your cable box, satellite receiver, or digital video recorder (TiVo) to your computer or laptop of choice, no matter your location — so long as you have a high-speed Internet connection. So, you're sitting in your office on some brutal conference call and want to watch the Yankees game ... fire up the laptop and it will pick up your home TV signal. Ultimately, I think, you will also be able to stream your MP3s (the ones that are being played through your TiVo) to your work or vacation place or wherever you are. Endless possibilities. The Slingbox is taking DVR technology a few extra steps and now appears to be the "killer app" for how people interact with the boob toob.

Exactly what do you want me to be?

2005-06-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

I went to see Wilco perform this past Saturday at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. I've never seen them perform live before, but have heard good things about their shows. In any event, I went in with medium expectations. I forgot how much fun it is to see a show at the Greek. I saw Jack Johnson there in 2002 on a sunny late-October Sunday afternoon and haven't been back since. It's a super old outdoor amphitheater nestled up in the hills of Cal's campus. Wilco didn't go on until about 8:15pm, so we were treated to a great sunset which gave way to a clear night sky filled with tons of stars and a little sliver of the moon. Vintage Bay Area night. Jeff Tweedy was an incredibly engaging frontman. It's rare these days - at least in my experience - that bands have anything to say to the crowd apart from the generic "It's great to be back in San Francisco" and "I'd like to introduce the band". Tweedy was pretty damn comical and had some great observations about the crowd, the area and so forth. He was commenting on how Berkeley hippies aren't as friendly as they once were. Him and his wife were walking on Telegraph Ave. before the show and the first hippie they saw had a sign around his neck that read, "Fuck you, give me a dollar!". Yep, that's Berkeley for you these days, I guess. Classy bastion of liberalism at its finest. Anyhow, back to the action. The band played a lonnng show. 2.5 hrs, I think, including 2 lengthy encores climaxing with the crowd favorite "Heavy Metal Drummer". Here's a link to that evening's set list. They sounded really, really tight. Probably one of those nights where they could do no wrong ... or perhaps the fact that they've been playing together for years :) While the range that they exhibit appears to be an amalgamation of that of several bands, the overall music that they generate is still incredibly unique and exciting. Simply put, it was just a great rock n' roll show. (Btw, big ups to the "driver" for getting us home in one piece. Aww yeah!)

Kids & Booze

2005-05-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

According to a recent study, San Francisco has the smallest share of children under the age of 18 of any major U.S. city -14.5% (roughly 110k). Even the gays have a stronger toe hold in the city at 20%! Prohibitively high family housing costs and a rapidly decaying public school system are tops on the list of causes. Believe it or not, even NYC has a higher proportion of children (24%).

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Not-so-happy happy hour in the UK. Brits revolt (and spend more time at the dentist)!

Doodlebug, Butterfly and Ladybug

2005-05-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last month I mentioned the rumors of Digable Planets embarking on a reunion tour. Didn't think they'd make it up to NorCal and if they did, my guess would have been Oak-town, not SF. Anyhow, they released their full summer schedule and they're playing not one, but TWO shows in SF in mid to late June at DNA Lounge and The Independent.

Tragic

2005-05-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

I know that the Olsen twins have had their fair share of publicity - mostly unwelcome - ever since they decided to take Manhattan, but you've gotta admit that their (i.e. Mary Kate) paparazzi pictures we're treated to these days have reached absolutely stomach-churning proportions. She looks like a combination of the wicked witch and one of the munchkins! That's hot.

Speaking of paparazzi pictures ... by now, everyone is well aware of my infatuation with Lindsay Lohan. Red hair, freckles, curves ... she's not not hot. She decided to dye her hair blonde a few months back. Not a fan, but I chalked it up to doing it for a new role or something. A few weeks ago, the gossip blogs started publishing new pictures of Lohan. I paid them little attention since I didn't think the pics could be anything more than a hoax and nobody was writing much about them. Wrong on both accounts. In sum, not only was she blonde, but she appeared to have shedded about 9 gazillion pounds ... the aggregate weight of the country of Ethiopia. All that's left of her is some saggy-ass pale skin and hooker-white blonde hair. I heard that her hosting gig on SNL this past weekend was just an unmitigated disaster. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember such a dramatic, overnight fall from grace.

Man, Beast or Machine

2005-05-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Could anyone be stoopid enough to actually bet on the midgets? In any event, I would have made the short trip to Cambodia when I was in 'nam if I knew about said event. I'd PPV this in a heartbeat!

". . . beautiful and stoned."

2005-05-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

What an amazing last few weeks it's been here in SF on the pop culture tip ... for me, at least. It started off with Josh Rouse at Bimbos followed a few days later by Steve Almond's reading and signing at The Booksmith and then all of this ....

Last Saturday, Thievery Corporation played a last minute show at The Fillmore - a block from my crib. They were originally scheduled to play at The Warfield on Sunday night, but I thought I'd see Better than Ezra, instead. When I heard TC had added a 2nd show, I figured I had to go see them. They've been a favorite of mine over the past few years. It's difficult to categorize them - they don't fit into one specific genre. Downtempo lounge music is probably the closest bucket you can place them in, but even that isn't accurate, especially after seeing them live. The label on their most recent album - The Cosmic Game - sums it up fairly well, "A kaleidescopic swirl of psychedelia, dub, indian, brazilian, rock, easy-listening and other worldly influences". Other stand out albums by TC include The Richest Man in Babylon and The Mirror Conspiracy. Conspiracy includes Lebanese Blonde, which I think Zach Braff included on the Garden State soundtrack and is one of the more mainstream TC tunes. If you haven't heard much of TC, let me know and I'll burn you a mix. Anyhoo, given all the solid shows I've seen out here, I've pretty much given up on keeping an official list of the cream of the crop. Regardless, I can easily say (and yep, I know I'm prone to a certain level of exaggeration from time to time) that this was the *best* live show I've seen in at least 5 years. At the core of Thivery Corporation are 2 DJs. They had 6 bandmates with them and another 6 vocalists. Each vocalist rotated in for each song. 4 sexy French and Brazilian women shakin their thang (oh ... and 2 French doods) and delivering sultry, smoky-voiced vocals that had the crowd mesmerized for 2 straight hours. The mind-altering sounds kept the audience's energy level super high throughout the night. Each song just got better and better. I caught many people (including myself) turning to their friends with this look of utter disbelief of how amazingly everything was coming together. Pure bliss! I walked out with a huge smile that I couldn't wipe off my face for a few days ... well, at least until I walked back into Cellblock One on Monday morning.

Last night started out with a quick dinner over at Ino Sushi in Japantown. This narrow, sparesely decorated restaurant run by an elderly/very friendly Japanese couple has been around for years. It seats about 9 at the bar and the same # at a few tables. It's all about the nigiri at Ino. If you're into the Super Godzilla Rainbow Spider Dragon roll scene, this isn't the sushi joint for you. This place has crazy fresh fish. Tried some Aji (Spanish Mackerel) for the first time, as well as some Hirame, Hamachi, Toro and Sake. Every single piece of flavorful nigiri was melt-in-your mouth awesome. Nobu is the only place I've ever been treated to better Toro. Anyhow, Ino quickly received the *top* billing on my SF sushi list - without any debate.

After falling in love with Ino, it was off to see the new flick Crash, which was just released (wide) last week. It cost roughly $7.5mm to produce and had already grossed $9.1mm over its first 3 days. Paul Haggis co-wrote and directed the film. Haggis is most well-know for penning Million Dollar Baby last year. He first made his name writing for the hit TV drama Thirtysomething back in the 80s. Anyhow, the movie is quickly picking up critical acclaim in addition to powerful audience word of mouth ... and now I can see why. It's got my *movie of the year* vote so far (yes, I know it's only May). The ensemble cast includes Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Jennifer Esposito, Thandie Newton, Ludacris, Brendan Fraser and many, many others. Crash is a drama about race relations in Los Angeles. It borrows its style from Magnolia, among others, in that weaves many stories into one 36 hour narrative with Cheadle's character eventually providing the glue which binds all the stories together. The acting and cinematography are simply stellar. The film can get a bit preachy, but the subject of race relations is one that, while perhaps not on the current national list of talking points, will continue to play a supporting role as long as our generation lives. So in that vein, the subject matter might get old to some, but a fresh, well-done take on it is always welcome in my mind. The movie drew me in almost immediately and threw me around on a roller coaster of emotions that looped in ideas of class, race and culture. I'm having trouble putting all my feelings about the movie into words, but I thought that the critic Lisa Schwarzbaum summed it up perfectly, "The stunning, must-see drama Crash is proof that words have not lost the ability to shock in our anesthetized society. I can't remember the last time I have felt so galvanized, disturbed, and moved by full sentences, unadorned by gratuitous profanity, flying out of the mouths of screen characters as ordinary as you or me or the guy idling at the next traffic light on an average day in Los Angeles at Christmastime."

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Next week: Madeleine Peyroux at the Palace of Fine Arts (SF Jazz Festival), followed by The KFOG Kaboom with The Wallflowers playing under the Bay Bridge (with SF's biggest fireworks display of the year).

Best Of ...

2005-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

SF Weekly just released their annual Best of list. Great job with most of their selections, including many that aren't selected by the traditional best-of lists.

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This site appears to be the definitive source for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy auido clips. A few favorites in a sea of genius:

Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd): "I know what you're asking yourself. And the answer is yes. I have a nickname for my penis. It's called the octagon. But I aslo nicknamed my testis. My left one is James Westfall and my right one is Dr. Kenneth Noiswater. You ladies play your cards right, you just might get to meet the whole gang."

Brick Tamland (Steve Carell): "I'm Brick Tamland. People seem to like me because I am polite, and I'm rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks."

Champ Kind (David Koechner): "I'm all about having fun. You know, get a couple of cocktails in me, start a fire in someone's kitchen, maybe go to Sea World, take my pants off."

Ron: "Hope I'm not disturbing you, but, uh, I saw you from across the party, and, uh, I don't usually do this, but I felt compelled to tell you something. You have an absolutely breathtaking heinie. I mean, that thing is good. I want to be friends with it."

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Sounds like Tara "Oops, I didn't even know my nipple was exposed for a good 2 minutes. I mean, my boob job did pretty much numb any feeling I had there, anyway" Reid is the new Wild On host. Some might big shoes (or should we say bikinis) to fill, Tara. Somewhere Jules Asner is spinning in her grave.

The Ephemeral City?

2005-05-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

One of the Chronicle's op-ed columnists wrote a piece - riddled with generalizations - earlier this week which characterizes San Francisco as a 'theme park for restaurants' and is the playground of the nomadic rich and restless leeches living off them. Perhaps San Francisco *is* an ephemeral city, but as John King's response points out, the tradional urban area has definitely taken on a new role, one that is constantly changing. For that reason alone, it's almost unfair to compare SF to other big US cities. Admittedly, SF is not a big city in the traditional sense. It's population is in the neighborhood of 700,000 and slowly shrinking. That said, it still does a bang-up job of combining a myriad of urban lifestyle choices with a small town vibe to create a unique, breathtakingly beautiful city that does not purport to be something that it is not. Joel Kotkin says that, "No longer populated mainly by middle class families and a diverse set of industries, it is dominated by a wealthy elite, part-time sojourners, hordes of tourists and those that serve them". Somebody please explain to me how that is any different from life in Manhattan. Uh-huh, that's what I thought. The fact that cities *evolve* is what makes them attractive. What causes them to evolve? Socio-economic trends. We've all heard - ad-nauseam, in fact - how the dot com boom changed this city. Sure, it left many long lasting effects - both positive and negative - but that's why people enjoy city life. It changes with the times and is constantly offering up new cutting-edge experiences. This Kotkin guy just sounds like a grump, if you ask me.

2005-05-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Looks like the Upper Vvvvvest Side needs some infrastructure improvements. Doesn't help the 2012 campaign, now does it, Mayor Bloomberg?

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Cougar hunting is going mainstream! VH1 is developing a reality show based on the concept. ABC News is covering this shit. Huh?!? Here's UrbanCougar.com's Cougar of the Month. The rare sabre-toothed's quotes are classic!

Mash-Ups

2005-05-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

There's this DJ, Ben Gill, that's been getting a bit of lip service lately here in SF for his part in the mash-up trend (i.e. jamming together two or more tracks that either sound very similar or are wildly different). Check out this mash-up of Led Zeppelin and Snoop Doggy Dog --> Led Snoopelin. Here's another sick mash-up of Green Day and Oasis --> Boulevard of Broken Songs. Too many other great ones to list out separately, but check out this link for Party Ben's most popular ones.

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A little slice of history Upper West Side (1800s) for you NYC'ers. Yes, cows used to roam the Upper Vest before John and Yoko fertilized Strawberry Fields.

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Interview with Todd Solondz (of Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness fame) about his most recent film, Palindromes. I saw him at the SF International Film Festival a few weeks back where he surprised the audience with a post-screening guest appearance/Q&A.

New Fatboy Slim Video

2005-05-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

MTV has agreed to air the full-length video (see it here) only after 9pm; the video has racial and violent undertones, as it tells the story of a day in the life of an American racist and how his racism, ultimately, kills him.

According to Baily, the campaign has sparked comments from a number of minority group organizations, saying the video is exploiting racial issues to simply promote Fatboy Slim and it mocks the sensitive issue of racism. All advertising exploits something, right? Besides, the guy gets his due in the end. (adrants.com)

Teaser with Paris Hilton.

Full video

" ... but I climbed that bitch!"

2005-05-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

Joel’s post-race account of his first St. Croix Half-Ironman Triathlon

So the week leading up to the event we had great weather! It was in the 80s, sunny and very warm. The weather was deceivingly warm. Sitting on the beach under an umbrella there was a cool breeze that kept you pretty cool, but on the roads the sun was very oppressive and the air was humid. Regardless, I made sure that I was sufficiently hydrated by drinking A LOT of Gatorade/water. I would say I went through at least 3-4 Nalgenes of my water/Gatorade mix a day. Along with water at meals. Also, while sitting on the beach I would snack on pretzels and baked potato chips all day. I generally sat under the umbrella while sitting on the beach so not to dry me out, while drinking my share of fluids and snacking through out the day.

Thursday and Friday night, we had big ol’ pasta dinners along with snacking on carbs all day. So, I felt sufficiently carbed. I had a few low impact workouts during the week to get used to the terrain but nothing too taxing. I didn't wander over to The Beast but I got a good sense of what the bike had to offer by doing a few 30-45 minute bike rides around the island.

Now, on to the event! For the 6:30am start we had to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 4:00am to load the bikes and drive the 20 minutes up to the start. Not quite what I expected but it was fine. Woke up around 3:30am, had a coupla Eggos with peanut butter and some Gatorade. We got to the transition area by 5:00am and before setting up, I had a peanut butter sandwich while sipping on my Gatorade/water mix. 2 bathroom trips later, we had a roughly 200 meter swim to the island cay where the swim starts. A nice little warm up before the staggered 800 person start!

A nice little rain down pour preceded the start and by 6:37am the 30-35 age group was off! The ocean was extremely choppy and managed my way to the middle of the pack by the first buoy. It was kind of a mess as there was sooo many people vying for the inside part of the buoy while trying to site over the waves. After settling in a bit, I found the feet of somebody that was prolly the same speed as me and was swimming straight, so I decided to let this guy pull me in and have a nice leisurely swim. By the end of the swim, I felt great! The guy pulled my all the way to the end and I felt fresh and ready to go. I got outta the water after a 43 minute swim and off to T1.

After getting outta the water and looked at my watch, I was kinda bummed at a slow swim. But after talking with some folks after the race, it appeared that everybody had a tough and longer swim. So the fact I got outta the water feeling good, my 43 minute swim didn't seem so bad. It actually turned out to mid pack for the age group, so I was happy with it. Anyway, I got to my transition area, threw on my heart rate monitor, fumbled with my race shirt a bit and threw some pretzels and salt tabs in my shirt. Put on my shoes and helmet and headed for the street. The first lap through the middle part of the island was as expected, hill after hill. But the legs felt great and the sun hadn't quite fully risen yet so I wasn't overheating.

About half an hour into the bike, I reached for my salt tablets to preempt any cramps, but noticed they fell out of my shirt. I hadn't really trained that much using salt tablets so I didn't mind that much. My nutrition felt good at that point, so it didn't bother me. As I approached the base of The Beast (a 7/10 mile long hill with an 18% grade), the road started feeling rough. I looked at my rear tire and noticed it was flat! Trying not to get too frustrated, I pulled over and proceeded to change my tire. Changing a flat during training or in your garage is a lot easier than changing a tire during a race. Watching all these people pass you gets the heart going a little faster and you’re more prone to fumbling with the tire. I settled myself down and changed the flat. My CO2 cartridge seemed flakey and wasn't fully filling my tire so I started getting frustrated again. I figured I’d fill it up enough to get up The Beast and hopefully find somebody with another CO2 or at least ride it for another 30 miles! Anyway, I filled it prolly 3/4 full and headed up The Beast. At this point I said to myself, "There is no way I am getting off this bike during this climb. I am out of inner tubes and CO2s. If I flat out again, I am cooked for the day, so I gotta at least climb The Beast". At this point, the sun had made it out and was shining hard and heavy on The Beast. The Beast was as advertised, TOUGH! But I climbed that bitch! There were prolly 10-15 people I passed that were walking it, and only another girl that climbed it with me. At one point, she was on my wheel and asked me if she would get busted for drafting. At like a 15 rpm cadence, we both got a chuckle out of it.

After The Beast is a nice long descent with several sharp turns. Since my rear tire wasn't fully inflated I took the turns a little gingerly hoping the rear tire won't slip out. After about 10 or 15 minutes of riding I noticed the tire was loosing air. 2 minutes later it was flat again. Thanks for coming.

I was sitting at a highway intersection with a flat tire and no inner-tubes or CO2s left. There was highway patrol controlling traffic and they called in the pick up wagon. A few expletives later, I take off my helmet and watch all the riders past. There were definitely some friendly riders asking me if I was alright or if I needed anything but after explaining to them I was outta inner-tubes and CO2s, nobody was willing to part with their extras. Roughly 25 minutes later a pick up truck rolls up and proceeds to change my tire. "Mortimer, We're back!" My day wasn't over just yet! As I try to change my mindset from disappointment to the realization that I have another few hours of race to go, I remember that since the first flat, I haven't put a thing in my mouth. F!

In the last hour or so, I changed a flat, climbed The Beast and sun bathed on the side of the road while not eating or drinking a thing! Oh well, let's see what happens. I tried to supplement that loss by drinking lots of fluids and eating pretzels. Man, those salt tablets would have been nice...

For the next 30 minutes or so, I seemed to feel okay but my shorts looked like I dipped them in powdered sugar and my arms were caked in salt. Not a good sign. Good thing the course was still hilly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. With about 15 miles to go on the bike, I felt my quads starting to cramp. F! There were some still some steep hills to climb and with cramped legs, this last leg of the bike is gonna be long.

After 4 hours on/off the bike I get to T2. Not feeling so great I decide to see if my legs are up for the run. I tell Karen I'll do the first loop of the run and see how I feel.

Man it was hot on the run! The quad cramps turned into hamstring cramps and after an hour and fifteen minutes of run/walk in the sun and hills and a total race time of 6+ hours, I decided to pack it in. I was supposed to be done with the entire race around this time but I had 6 miles left on the run and nothing left in the legs.

All in all, I felt alright about the race. I am bummed I have a big'ol DNF by my name again but I definitely learned a lot from it. I am looking forward to Columbia in a coupla weeks and potentially another half at the end of the season. My biggest worry of this race was cramping and it happened. I am certain that the hour of dealing with flats contributed to the cramping, but I still don't know for certain if it would have happened anyway. I am pretty sure my nutrition was good up until the flats, but I know I wasn't prepared for that heat.

Anyway, it was fun and I am looking forward to getting better at this sport!

Joelio

Bubble Toes

2005-05-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Last week's Josh Rouse show was only the start to an amazing summer of music that will be hitting San Francisco. Better than Ezra this Sunday at Slim's, Coldplay this Wednesday night at The Fillmore (a 1,500 person venue), Wilco at The Greek in Berkeley in mid-June, Fountain of Wayne - acoustic - later this month, Madeleine Peyroux at the SF Jazz Fest in late-May, The Black Crowes (5 straight shows) at The Fillmore, Jack Johnson at The Greek in August ... the list goes on and on. I'm pissed that I missed Glen Phillips (former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket) at Slim's a few weeks back. If you're in LA later this week, he's opening for Aimee Mann.

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This was the last weekend of the Tahoe season for most cabins, including ours. Sad to see the season come to an end, but I think most of us got our fill of snow. Expected Tahoe City to be much more livelier and crowded, but it was pretty much tumbleweed city all weekend. Didn't stop a few of us from enjoying the fresh air, patches of sunshine and several warm adult beverages by the lake ... until the skies opened up late Saturday. Can't say I'm going to miss the actual cabin, though. The set-up - as some of you have already heard me bitch about - was less than ideal. The woman who owns the house (and her live-in boyfriend) actually lived there throughout the season. Made for some uncomfortable situations. Never really felt 100% at-home, per se. Anyhow, will definitely be looking for a more *traditional* situation next year. Still trying to figure out if I'm up for renting a place this summer and what time of the season would be best. Rented the last week of August in 2004 and the weather had pretty much turned *right* before we got there. A bit too chilly for my blood.

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Finally saw Napoleon Dynamite over the weekend. As expected, I was pretty underwhelmed, especially after all the "Oh my god! You haven't seen it yet! It's sooooo funny!" word of mouth I was catching. Yes, Napoleon's character was quirky/off-beat and had some funny mannerisms, but the idea of a socially awkward, geeky adolescent who struggles through school as a freak is so incredibly trite at this point that it's so hard to illustrate it in a fresh, intelligent way.

Also saw the Enron documentary, which I definitely recommend checking out. The flick gives the viewer great insight (more so than the mainstream media) into what specifically brought Enron to its knees and the characters that were responsible for it. The funniest "character" was Lou Pi. This guy divorced his wife (and 2 kids) cashed out $270mm of Enron stock and lives among his various houses in Hawaii, New Mexico, Colorado, etc with his new wife, one of the strippers he met at the local Houston club where he used to spend most of his free time. Gotta read this article to get the full flavor.

“I can still hear them laughing …”

2005-04-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Sharp

I heard a review of Low’s latest album on the radio last week. At first I thought it was a new band with a similar name, but the reviewer’s reference to their Duluth roots triggered a flood of flashbacks. Was this the Low of 1994?

Before a phony sheen of sophistication overtook my sense of taste, I listened to lots of new bands, none in flannel plaid, but lots of new bands. That summer, I was slowly crawling into a post-Pink Floyd era, splitting my time between Willie Dixon, Dark Side of the Moon and the Wallflowers’ early riffs. Riveted by slow grooves that fueled - or played off - imaginative inhalations, I was continually drawn to purveyors of deep mellowness from new aspirants like Mazzy Star to the reliable Lou Reed.

One night in during the summer of 1994, while sitting on the roof of Rappel’s home, he played for me a new record he had just found. There was nothing slower, nor more subtle. Their voices sounded almost angelic, yet still so garage. Perfect for a quiet summer night outdoors. The first song on the record, Words, opens with a lethargic, naked bass line and builds up to the haunting chorus, “I can still hear them laughing…”

I quickly went to find this band’s record and was pleased to discover their sparse debut album slotted right behind Lou Reed at the record store. I bought Low’s I Could Live In Hope and quickly handed it to my mom, who was waiting in the car (as I was quite precocious then, I needed her to approve all my purchases…just kidding). She glanced over the album cover, which features an emaciated child scribbling at a desk in a barren room.

She reacted quickly with a spark, “Oh, that’s so sweet of you!” she exclaimed.
“What?”
“It is so touching of you to support them,” she paused, perplexing me further. “This is the album to benefit the children refugees from the war in Bosnia!”
“No, mom. No, it can’t be. It’s this slow-rock trio… I think they’re from Minnesota. I heard it at Rappel’s house,” I retorted, almost angrily.
“Oh, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I think it is so thoughtful of you to support the refugee efforts. I saw this advertised on t.v –“

Later that day I listened to the album on my goofy, over-sized headphones and looked through the slim liner notes, which only contained a picture of the band’s shoes and an exhortation to listeners, “We encourage correspondence!” So I did the unthinkable: I wrote them a hand-written note to share my mom’s amusing, confounding observations about their album cover and ask when they were playing in the area.

To my great shock, I received a response - written in all capital letters - within two weeks. They said they laughed a lot at the interpretation of the photo and that they would like to meet me at a show nearby happening later that month. Rappel wasn’t free on the night of their gig, so I took another friend, Knorps, who had never heard Low’s album but was curious. They were playing at the Empty Bottle, which was then situated on a desolate block on the edge of Chicago’s Cabrini Green public housing complex (since then, most of Cabrini Green has been torn down).

With my name on the guest list, Knorps was impressed – until the music started. He had never heard anything so slow and couldn’t understand why everyone sat down on the dirty floor of the bar to look up with frozen fixation. I told him they were on acid and were covering early Motley Crue numbers, albeit a bit off tempo. The choral vocal harmonies, clean guitars and jazz-brush drums of Al, Mimi and John waltzed us through their orchestral set of northern Minnesota classics, such as, You Are My Sunshine. Their music was beautifully sad, not profoundly epigrammatic, nor with the maudlin, self-serving suicide-pity that bored me about too many bands in those Cobain days.

After they finished, we chatted with the band briefly and left the bar, our pulses drained by their agonizingly sluggish pace of their set. The symphony leaves me exhilarated and massage parlor wave music puts me to sleep, but Low’s slow groove had a unique impact that night: they smoothed out the edges and put a Midwestern face to the bombing of Bosnia. Somehow that show stands out amidst so many great music nights I’ve enjoyed since: meeting the Counting Crows in Boston just as their trajectory began, seeing the Samples do their tenth anniversary show at the Wetlands all acoustic because the power went out, or savoring the sweat in front row seats at a stunning Cinderella concert two years ago – and leaving with one of Tom Keifer’s precious guitar picks….all those shows are memorable, but I attended none clutching a hand-written invitation from the band.

Since that night, Low has released seven more albums, including their most recent, The Great Destroyer. What will Mom think of this album cover?

The Nanny

2005-04-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

All of you have seen this clip 10x already, but thought I'd throw it up anyway. It never gets old. Tiger Woods hitting one of - if not the - greatest chip shots in golf history. Final round of The Masters. If you're a golf fan, this is one of the shots that will be forever etched in your memory right there along with Larry Mize's crazy 140 ft. chip-in on the 2nd playoff hole back in the 1987, striped purple shirt and all. Anyway, not sure if Tiger is actually "back" as the experts have been blabbering. The rest of the season is still ahead of us. Funny how they've been blaming his less-than-stellar past few years on the Swedish nanny that he married last year. We should all be so un-lucky.

2005-04-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Billy Zabka lives! "How about you, hero ... had enough?"

****************

This is why Morley thinks she is still single. Can't say I blame her. If anyone hasn't been "down the shore", this pretty much sums it up. Not a terribly compelling PR campaign, eh? Spoda!

(Links courtesy of The SG's Intern Contest)

My Life in Heavy Metal

2005-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Going to see Josh Rouse tomorrow night ... at Bimbo's 365 Club, nonetheless!!! By far one of the coolest, most intimate places to see live music in SF. Saw Norah Jones, Pete Yorn, St. Germain and Guster there, among others. All shows that I'll never forget. Amy Correia is opening - supposed to have some sweet tunes, herself. In any event, if you haven't already heard it, check out Rouse's new album on iTunes. It's called Nashville. Full of fun, simple lyrics and some really cool ballads.

************

If anyone is going to be in Manhattan this weekend and looking to hone their photography skills, this might be just the gig you were looking for: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/crg/69527855.html

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Steve Almond is coming to the Bay Area this week!! For those of you who don't know, Almond is an author who is now also an English professor at BC. My guess is that his classes are among the most sought-after at BC. After reading some of his stuff, you'll quickly understand why. Spending some time on his site is a must. He's got random facts from his current book tour, a monthly tip sheet of cool, new music and links to his articles, essays and short stories. If you're looking for one solid recommendation, then check out My Life in Heavy Metal, first. It's a short story compilation that will take you no time to plow through. The traditional subject matter of love and loss is at times both funny and sad (mostly laugh out loud funny) and at most times, perverse. Here is one excerpt from one of my favorite short stories in Heavy Metal, "How to Love a Republican":

"There are so many competing interests on the human heart. For those of us truly terrified of death, intent on leaving some kind of mark, ploughing through our impatient twenties with an agenda, there are moments when chemistry—the chemistry between bodies, the chemistry of connection—seems no more than a sentimental figment. And then something happens, you meet a woman and you can't stop looking at her mouth. Everything she does, every word and gesture, stirs inside you, strikes the happy gong. The way she throws herself into a fresh field of snow. The delicacy of her sneezes, like a candle being snuffed. The sugary sting of whiskey on her tongue. Chemistry in its sensual aspects. Chemistry the ultimate single-issue voter."

************

What else? Oh, finally started Accupuncture treatments after all of that tawk tawkin. The "doctor" is Chinese and is supposed to be the best in the city. Practitioners of Eastern Medicine - and I found this out only after my first visit - aren't much for bed side manners and all that let's-make-the-patient-comfortable kinda stuff. I walked in for my first appointment, sat down at Dr. Kang's desk, gave him the sordid history of my back problems, watched him scribble down something in Chinese and then he proclaims, "Ok, we do accupuncture". Yeah, no shit. After being asked to lie face down and, ahem, loosen my pants, he proceeds to stick 6 needles into my lower back. Just when I thought that was done and I could just sit there with the needles for a bit, out of nowhere my body begins to twitch involuntarily. Apparently, he had hooked up the needles to a low-voltage electrical current, which was now circulating through my lower back. Good times. As I wince, he finally asks, "Oh, this your first time?". I nod. He giggles. Not with me, but at me. Anyhow, whatever he did was some pretty good stuff. For 2 weeks, I felt nothing. Now granted, an electrical surge through anyone's body might have this kind of effect, but being in the state of desparation that I am as it relates to Sniko-back, I decided to go back for round 2 of the Kool-Aid. Same deal, except this time there happened to be a med student that hooked up the electrical current to my needles who was fluent in English. Asked her a few questions, but there's not much to really talk about. Cut and dry. Either it helps or it doesn't. If it does, you don't come back. If it does not, you come back for more Dr. Kang!

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad . . .

2005-04-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, been way too long, folks. Sorry bout that. The Man's been keepin me down ... and unfortunately out of trouble, for the most part. The last few weeks have brought the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for the Carolina faithful. In a run eerily similar to that of the '93 championship team, Roy Williams and the Tar Heels brought the glory back to Chapel Hill with a great win over Illinois. I'll never forget where I was and who I was with that night, much like the '82 and '93 wins, but this one most of all. It took them a year to buy into Roy's system (i.e. the concept of team, family, trust, run n 'gun) and when they finally did, it paid off in spades. Gone were the days of Rashad McCants and Jackie Manuel trying to make good on their own separate agendas. Dean Smith never intended for the Carolina system to allow such antics and ultimately, the players realized that they had to change if they wanted to win. That's all behind us now. Today we got the news that the top 7 leading scorers on the 2005 championship team will be leaving for the NBA. There is only one kid left on the 2006 roster who started *one* game in 2004-05 (and only because Felton was suspended for that game). Safe to say that this will be the biggest dismantling of a major college basketball program - ever. Many of the players will be accused - unfairly - of deserting their team, but I can't imagine many others not doing the same thing. The guys are securing a financial safety net for the rest of their lives and for that of their families'. They didn't grow up like many products of suburbia did with "aspirations" of working for The Man, white picket fence and 2.5. They grew up with probably only one dream - playing in the NBA. Come mid-June, their wish will come true. (Btw, going down to Chapel Hill in early November for the Carolina-BC football game and can already smell the pine cones. I promise this is the last UNC post you'll have to see until then.)

8:37pm est

2005-04-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Those 3 numbers are all I've been thinking about this week. How can I be expected to work when 8:37pm is right around the corner? The culmination of an incredible 5-year soap opera starring one of college sports' most storied athletic programs. The sub-plots couldn't be scripted any better. The much heralded trifecta of juniors who have been through what they never imagined they'd have to endure in Chapel Hill. Good ol' Roy coming home to bring the team back to the promise land, but standing firmly on the precipice of perhaps being labeled "the best coach to never have won the big one". McCants' mother's dire health. Former UNC Assistant Coach Wojcik now happily sitting on the Michigan State bench. There are many other heartwarming stories. Some might say that it's just media hype/filler for the week leading up to the games and that is all doesn't matter. They're wrong. Dead wrong. For 2 hours tomorrow evening, it will all matter. The adversity and drama have made the team that much stronger and given them that much more drive with which to go out and show the world that they have not - contrary to popular belief - taken their overwhelming talents for granted this season. Regardless of what happens at 8:37pm, the Heels are having fun again. The glory days are back on Franklin Street.

2005-03-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

Paris was kind enough to share her secrets with me last time I was in Manhattan. Don't say I never did anything for you.

http://members.fortunecity.com/g1g3m/ParisHiltonPhoneBook.htm

Swoon Unit

2005-03-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

I keep playing your part
But it’s not my scene
Want this plot to twist
I’ve had enough mystery
You keep building it up
But then you’re shooting me down
But I’m already down
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting

Well if I was in your position
I’d put down all my ammunition
I’d wonder why it had taken me so long
But lord knows that I’m not you
And if I was I wouldn’t be so cruel
Because waiting
Ain’t so easy to do
Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?
Must I always be playing, playing your fool?

-- JJ 2005

Better Late Than Never

2005-03-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

My iPod was recently the lucky recipient of roughly 2,000 free songs, the majority of which are hip-hop. We're talkin both old school and new beats. Eazy-E to Big Pun to The Roots. I'm gonna go out on a limb and tell y'all that Jurassic 5's "Power in Numbers" is easily one of the top 10 hip-hop albums I've ever heard (Granted, it came out in 2002, but who's keeping track). The sound is totally unique and transcends many different genres of hip-hop. While it's got a little sumthin-sumthin for everyone, it's roots are firmly planted in old school. Nelly Furtado and Big Daddy Kane even make appearances on a few tracks. This album will put a smile on your face - I guarantee it or your money back! It's got fun beats, smart lyrics and a vibe that makes you want to listen to it over and over again (I listened to it 3x in a row when I first came across it on my playlist).

Speaking of fun, smart and unique, all of youz need to dust off Digable Planet's "Reachin" if you have it in your stash. Jazz hip hop at its finest. By the by, it looks like they're embarking on a reunion tour begining later this Spring.

Has “Sex and the City” Wreaked Havoc on the Female Psyche?

2005-03-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

By Jason Fender

“Sex and the City” wrapped up its final season last year, but its deleterious impact lingers through endless HBO reruns and DVD sales. SATC seriously reinvented the singles’ dating scene. And the result isn’t positive, especially if you are a guy .

The SATC narrative has rendered the modern male a one-dimensional personality incapable of nuance, depth, or mystery. Whatever happened to the brooding mystique made popular by all of those Johnny Depp roles? The collective female consciousness is forever changed. If you are a man who doesn’t fit a basic archetype made popular by Carrie and the gang, the woman will have difficulty understanding you. She may be unable to process your complexities. She will likely not date you.

I don’t lay the blame entirely on SATC. But SATC creator Darren Star bears significant responsibility for creating one dimensional archetypes in such early Fox classics “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place.” But today these 90’s teen/twenty something dramas appear a bit cartoonish in their flat, stereotypical caricatures. Like the Spin Doctors, 90210’s rude and
beachy Steve Sanders character just doesn’t hold up.

The creators of the “Real World” probably should be stoned for plying us with the Pedro & Puck dichotomy, and the ironically challenged Eric Nies male template. However, “Sex and the City” is so damn dangerous and relevant to the female soul right now that is deserves closer study.

SATC has relegated male identity to such simple archetypes as Mr. Big, Skipper, the cute bartender with an alliterative name, and the religious Jew. These simplified personas are no longer restricted to premium cable fiction. These SATC one-dimensional male personas have created a predictable lens through which real women understand men and dating. I thought that by the time women had reached their twenties, the pernicious remnants of the Sweet Valley High literary franchise would have evaporated. But no way. Savvy HBO executives cashed in on continuing the one-dimensional male personality with SATC. And HBO cast the former star of “Square Pegs” to lead the female narrative. Television programming brilliance, unless you
are a guy of course.

The problem is that SATC male characters have created a male model persona that millions of dudes are now compared with. This has its advantages to hook up if you resemble a pee-happy political paramour or a jittery jazz chap. If a guy can slink into one of these archetypes, he is in like Flynn unless of course he wants a relationship. If a dude wants more than just sex, it helps to morph into a thoughtful, if not morally rigid furniture designer ala Aidan Shaw’s SATC character. Or even better embrace clever one-liners and the sensitive soul of a dreamy writer like Carrie’s Jack Berger. [But only if you eventually plan to abscond late night leaving only a Post-it note for posterity.]

For a show that has won countless Emmys and critical acclaim, SATC’s male characterization is no more sophisticated than a trite network sitcom. I would be willing to put up Ray Barone from “Everybody Loves Raymond” against SATC’s Mr. Big anytime to see who is the bigger stereotypical male archetype. Ray Barone is a predictable and doofish Long Islander with a
nice looking family. Mr. Big is a nice looking bloke with a clichéd Manhattan appreciation for Armani suits, jazz, and finance. One is refined and hip if he embraces the SATC urban schematic. Would a guy get a second date if he trotted out that he TiVos “Everybody Love Raymond?”

The most disturbing aspect of the “Sex and the City” phenomenon is that its loyal female viewers identify so closely with the characters. On countless occasions, I have had frightening exchanges with otherwise smart and beautiful women where they compares themselves to Carrie, Samantha or one of the other female leads. The ease with which this real comparison to televised fiction rolls off the tongue in casual conversation is remarkable.
Does this mean that whatever happens to the show’s characters directly affects them? If Carrie moves to Paris, will a Carrie-phile seek international adventure in consistent identification with her “character?” On an optimistic note, SATC might actually inspire philanthropy; Samantha’s
work for breast cancer survivors might actually rally real life volunteerism in the show’s mortal followers. That is if she identifies with Samantha.

“Sex and the City” is a just a show. But I try and spin the program‘s success into delusional sociological relevance. Perhaps, SATC is just revenge for the objectification of women via the “male gaze” that has dominated visual narrative. SATC is dishing it back at the patriarchy by
providing one-dimensional male archetypes to be consumed by a long dormant, yet voracious female appetite. I doubt this was the motive behind creating this series, but it makes the show’s popularity a bit more palatable.

I fear that SATC’s unipersonal approach will become so central to dating life that I’ll need a singular persona just to make conversation with whomever I am dating or attempting to date. Being interesting has been replaced by being identifiable. The persona I adopt depends on who I am dating. Is she a Miranda or a Charlotte? But that might be easier for us guys. For a gender that embraces Vin Diesel and FHM magazine, we are a simple lot. The creators of “Sex and the City” might have tapped into something after all.

Ok, ladies ... everyone calm down and take a deep breath. If you feel that you are *indeed* Carrie re-incarnated and have a bone to pick with Jason, he can be reached at freetvfeedback@yahoo.com

Goin’ to Carolina in My Mind

2005-03-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

My first memory of attending a college basketball game was Duke vs. North Carolina. Cameron Indoor Stadium. March 1981. These were the days well before Duke had anything resembling a dynasty. Cameron was just a quaint old gymnasium where subdued Dook coeds and locals from the Research Triangle Park area came together to see their team get beat on a pretty regular basis.

I remember sitting up in the rafters in the sweltering heat that is Cameron, not yet totally understanding all the rules and intricacies of the sport, but knowing that I was there to root for Carolina and to hate Duke more than anything in the world. The game was competitive – nothing at all like the drubbing that Carolina regularly served up on the Blue Devils back in the day. Duke’s star point guard at the time was Gene Banks. I’ll never forget his larger than life afro. I think I still have an autographed copy of a Gene Banks picture in a box somewhere. With one second remaining in regulation, Banks nailed a turnaround jumper to force overtime, in which Duke would eventually prevail 66-65. An immediate sense of shock and numbness made its way down the length of my body as the Duke student body spilled out on to the court. I remember my Dad (and one of his friends that was with us) rushing us back to the car to beat the traffic getting out of the campus and back to Chapel Hill in time for dinner. The only thing I remember about that run/walk back to the car was the disappointment, anger and ensuing tears that streamed down my cheeks. It was the first time that I cried over a sporting event rather than being punished by my parents and I didn’t fully understand why. The basketball gods were cruel that day. It wasn’t supposed to go down that way. Carolina would go on to win the National Championship the following year with a young 18-year old by the name of Michael Jordan.

The Duke-Carolina games have since turned into the biggest rivalry in not only college basketball, but arguably the sporting world. Year in and year out – regardless of the caliber of each team - the rivalry continues to produce epic battles that never fail to amaze. If you’ve never lived in ACC country, it’s unlikely that you could ever fully comprehend the significance of these games.

Yesterday – the final Sunday of the regular season college basketball season - the basketball gods were smiling down upon the sunny Carolina Blue skies of Chapel Hill. Come to think of it, they were grinning from cheek to cheek. After one of the most shocking days of the season (#1, #3, #7 all lost within hours of each other), Carolina and Duke took to the hardwood of the Dean Dome in front of the largest Chapel Hill crowd ever – 22,125.

After the now traditional “Jump Around” tip-off music, Duke started to drain 3-pointers like nobody’s business. The Tar Heels worked through their now familiar early game jitters and ended up taking a 6 point lead into the locker room. With about 13 minutes left in the 2nd half, the Heels were up by 7 – a lead which quickly disappeared into a 9 point Duke lead with just under 3 minutes left to play. I would be lying to you if I told you that I wasn’t ready to pack it in right then and there and start thinking ahead to next week’s ACC Tournament. I would be lying to you if I told you that I didn’t doubt the big game abilities of this year’s nationally-ranked #2 Carolina team.

Duke did not score one more point during the rest of the game. Big stops, forced turnovers, huge rebounds, 3-point plays. Roy telling his team in the huddle, “Believe, believe!”. The seniors remembered 8-20 two years ago. They ain’t goin out like that! It was not part of the script. What was part of the script was 11 straight unanswered points. May outmuscles the entire Duke team for a 3-point play in what will forever be known as (arguably) the biggest performance ever by a Tar Heel big man. Forced turnover. Another tussle at center court. Somehow, Freshman Marvin Williams grabs Felton’s missed free throw attempt after the ensuing Rugby scrum and banks in a fade away. He’s fouled. The stadium is so loud, the crowd doesn’t even know that he’s going to the line. The Dean Dome is literally shaking. People are hugging and high-fiving perfect strangers. Pure jubilation. Marvin sinks it. Duke has the ball with 16 seconds and misses 2 or 3 great looks that I’m sure half of the crowd expected would go in. May grabs the last rebound in disbelief and the mass of humanity formerly known as “Wine and Cheese” empties out on to the court to bask in the glow of the best game they’ve ever seen and carry their heroes on their shoulders.

The day wasn’t over just yet. The Senior Day Festivities were just beginning and what a way to send them on their way. This was how our cherished Seniors should always get to say good-bye to Chapel Hill. "I'd like to thank the coaching staff for helping me find myself," Jackie Manuel says in front of the still strong, now silent crowd. Roy breaks down. Sean breaks down. Not a dry eye in the house. Sometimes there are perfect days. And on this beautiful March southern evening, the Basketball Gods agreed that this is how it was all supposed to end.

I now know exactly why I sobbed back in March of 1981.

A Boca Raton Oscar Night

2005-03-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

By Lori "Gizzy" Reales

I made the decision to stay in Boca Raton with my parents Carole and Lloyd - “Lloyd all Null and Void” - this Magical Oscar Night 2005. I have missed out on the East Coast Oscar gatherings for three years now and darn it if I wasn’t going to make my own party. It began with a Champagne Sunday Brunch in which Lloyd and I drank a few too many glasses of champagne. We ended up in the back seat laughing as Carole drove us home like the chauffeur. I guess I should have remembered that this is the Oscars, not the Golden Globes. But the images of Winona Ryder chugging wine, chasing after the “garcons” as she stood by Matt Damon’s side when he was nominated for the Talented Mr. Ripley is burned in my memory. It entices me to follow my misguided inclinations and pretend like it’s the Golden Globes for any awards involving a statue.

Perhaps my delayed hang-over explains why the next leg of our Oscar Sunday extravaganza was rather anti-climactic. We went to see the 3:40 showing of The Aviator so I could be fully knowledgeable of all Oscar nominated movies before casting any opinions. I did see all of the major nominations minus Vera Drake. The Aviator was as I had predicted - excruciatingly long. The most entertaining part of the Boca Raton Muvico experience was watching a cat fight between two 70 year old women who wouldn’t move over to allow a couple to sit together. I spent most of the three hours looking at my watch and keeping Carole in check as she was falling asleep every 20 minutes and making her Mr. Snuffalapacus noises. By this point, the plans of getting my dad a rented tuxedo and mom a boa and tiara for the official Stafford Oscar party were out the window. We barely made it home in time to catch the pre-show.

If I could have any job in the world, I would be a singer. Anyone who has seen me karaoke knows there’s not a chance in hell that will ever happen. Second runner-up is a movie critic. A girl can dream. Lala’s definition of a good movie is 1. It makes me laugh my bootie off. This takes care of the Dodgeballs, Tommy Boy’s and Sixteen Candle’s of this world. No, Gedde Watanabe, is not Oscar material. But, where would we be without the line “No more yanky my wanky, the Donger need food!” 2. It moves me and makes me think about my life and the world around me in a different way. Examples of this are Lost In Translation, Braveheart, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Life is Beautiful. They are emotional, poignant and changed my paradigm of the world, or at least for the couple of days after I saw them. Granted this is all a matter of opinion, but just want you to know where I’m coming from.

With that said, the Oscars have always intrigued me in their decisions. I have a deep-rooted fear that the big Hollywood Movie that makes me feel empty will prevail and the true winners, the fearless producers, writers and directors will be left in the dust. Such was my fear this year with The Aviator. Hotel Rwanda, Finding Neverland, Sideways, Ray were all very unique and dynamic movies. Regardless of merit, the winners do come down to major campaigning as I’ve heard from a friend who is a member of the Academy. The Hollywood Reporter, which is owned by my employer, kicks butt with advertising around this time of year. My disillusionment emerged when Gwenny Paltrow won for Shakespeare in Love over Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth. “Is there any justice in this world?”, I cried over my Cosmo. Well, luckily, the Academy redeemed itself when Hillary Swank won for Boys Don’t Cry and I have a new found respect since then. Although I didn’t care for The Aviator, Cate was the only winner that I agreed with. As my husband says, “Its all about redemption!”

Anyone who knows what a sap I am can predict what my favorite movie was this year. Nothing has moved me like Million Dollar Baby since Shirley MacLaine was begging for her cancer-stricken daughter, Debra Winger, to get her morphine in Terms of Endearment. There is one scene in particular that spoke to me. I will refrain from saying anything more for those who have not seen it. But, I will say I embarrassed my husband with my overwhelming emotion and grunts. As a result, the best picture, best director, best supporting actor and best actress were completely appropriate in my mind. I loved Morgan Friedman’s speech, classy and simple. This movie was “Mo Cuishle” of the year.

The speech of the night goes to Jamie Foxx, who completely deserved the Best Actor award for Ray. This just in…..There is a little somethin’ somethin’ going on between Oprah and Jamie Foxx. There was an Oscars wrap-up show today and they hugged A LOT. The kind of hugs you have in 8th grade when you’re dancing to Crazy For You by Madonna and you just can’t let go. A Fondling Hug I call it. Stay tuned.

How upset must Michael Moore have been that he received absolutely no recognition for Farenheit 9/11?!? All because he was pompous enough to really believe that he should get Best Picture. Its called a documentary, Michael. But I do say that everything happens for a reason. One very well deserved award was Eternal Sunshine for best Original Screenplay. I love any movie about fate and the twisted way that this is revealed by Charlie Kauffman is brilliant. He also made me actually tolerate Jim Carey. On the other hand, how House of Flying Daggers didn’t get best cinematography is beyond me. While I felt it was lacking compared to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, it was worth seeing just for another compelling girl power movie. Mostly the cinematography was just breath-taking. Foiled!

Lastly, I will say that I was very disappointed with Chris Rock as the host. I adore Billy Crystal and Steve Martin. I’ve always been fond of the satires of the Best Movie category and find them to be the most entertaining. If I was old enough to remember, I would say that Johnny Carson was my favorite just from the tribute to him. Also, what was up with the stars emerging out of the audience to present random awards like Best Animated Short. Was that to save time? I thought there was going to be smoke and “Xanadu” was going to come on at any minute.

After staying up until well after 12:00am and waking up at 4:30am to fly back to California, it was a memorable Oscars 2005! Until I can finagle my way into being a member, my voice will not be heard and it’s out of my hands. The Academy is like the all-knowing Confucius of the movie world. It is what it is. But, in the end, movies are an escape for everyone and a very subjective experience based on our own memories and experiences. So, as we go into the theatres to laugh until we almost pee our pants, explore twisted relationships, get scared from psychotic movies and cry like a man watching Rudy, have fun and enjoy the ride! And if its really bad, just close your eyes and pretend like you’re watching Basic Instinct for the 300th time, little boys!

When she's not busy stalking John Hughes and his family, Lori can be contacted at loristafford96@yahoo.com.

Baby Ila

2005-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

Around 5:10am est this morning, after about 10 hours of labor, Rad gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She shot into the world weighing in at about 6lbs.3oz. Apparently she came equipped with a Mehra nose (poor thing) and already has more hair than she'll ever need. Apart from a little bit of crying in her first few minutes of life, she's chilling out now … busy taking in the sights and sounds of glorious Spanish Harlem and stealing the hearts of the doctors and nurses.

My niece's name is Ila. Supposed to be pronounced "eee-lah", although our guess is that most will pronounce it "eye-lah" … or for you gangstahs out there, "illlll-uh". Word.

So, the original due date was roughly March 4, but Rad got the a bad case of the flu Monday night, which led to wild fluctuations in the baby's heart rate and several harrowing moments yesterday afternoon. After all that craziness settled down (and a c-section was averted), the doctors basically told Rad that she wasn't going anywhere until the baby popped out, which turned out to be ohh … about 12 hours later.

Anyhow, Rad still has a rather high temperature and is going to be up at Columbia for a few more days, but all is good. When I spoke to her this morning, she said "it was the coolest experience ever … the baby just kinda slithered it's way out!!!" :) Drugs can make anything "cool", I suppose.

Check out the pictures under the links to the right.

Ballads in the Buff

2005-02-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

02-09 / 13:56 PST BERLIN, Conn. (AP)

After a yearlong fight with the town, a bar is going ahead with a plan to have patrons belt out ballads in the buff. On Saturday night, the Berlin Station Cafe is scheduled to hold its controversial "Naked Karaoke" event.

The bar has been under fire ever since co-owner Marty St. Pierre put up a fake sign advertising the event as a joke more than a year ago. The establishment's neighbors called Town Hall to complain, and St. Pierre was told he could face fines or arrest if he operated the naked musical performance without a permit.

But St. Pierre's business partner David Koskoff, who is also an attorney, sued the town in March, claiming that the ordinance was illegal, and the owners won their lawsuit.

"Now we're just fulfilling," St. Pierre said. "It's a completely voluntary activity. It's not like I'm paying people to do karaoke with clothing optional."

St. Pierre said 120 people have signed up for "Naked Karaoke" on Saturday night, but he is unsure of how many people will actually show up and bare all.

Ad Bowl 2005

2005-02-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

Everybody else is doing it, why can’t I?

I used to be an advertising writer. On Super Bowl Sunday I would gather with colleagues from the ad agency to watch the game, which for that crowd meant the ads. As opposed to most Super Bowl parties, the merrymaking and party chatter happened during the crucial moments of the game, while the commercials were a study in professional concentration. So with that attempt to convince you just how legit I am in masterfully deconstructing essentially meaningless ads, I offer you my take:

Ford – Mustang and Ford Trucks
The Mustang ad had product-appropriate dark edge; the guy froze to death driving the convertible in winter. Clever in the way it recalls the Cohen brothers’ Fargo. Male fans of the Cohen brothers, no doubt a slightly upscale, desirable target demographic, will pat themselves on the back for getting that fairly obvious allusion. A pretty creative idea, basically that this car is so much fun you’ll drive it to death. Good old death, an advertising staple. Better buy one before you die. Score: Niiiice, 7/10

The Mustang ad is a huge improvement over the embarrassing Ford Trucks spot. Supposedly a leather-bound biker gang (not of the SF variety) is going to be scared off by a row of Ford Trucks. That’s the idea. The tag “We make you tough” is really quite misguided, Ford. Based on this ad, what would I have to believe to buy your truck? That I am a total pussy and therefore I need to buy your truck to make me tough and protect me from Mr. Meaniepants psycho-killer? Totally true for most of your target market, of course, but honesty is anathema to advertising. Did David Olgilvy say that?

Oh and as far as I am concerned, if it’s a fight between suburban office jockeys in their suped-up small-cock compensator pickups and a bloodthirsty road warrior biker gang, I’ll take the biker gang. Score: Horseshit, 2/10

Bud Light – Skydiver
The ridiculously enthusiastic and very Caucasian dude at the beginning who does the hang loose fingers before jumping out of the plane was hilarious in a sort of Jackass/Dumb and Dumber kinda way. Gotta say I was surprised by the pilot jumping out. Then again I can be pretty thick. Overall, this was quick, funny, totally absurd, a bit obvious. In other words, perfect. Not sure it was Super Bowl caliber, but it handily beat the other Bud Light spots in terms of surprise. Score: Niiiice, 7/10

Diet Pepsi – P. Diddy and Carson Daly
It’s lost on anyone not raised on MTV (the old and the Amish). Pretty lame that some creative team was given a huge bucket of money and all they could think of was a rehash of Puff’s celebrated arrival to the MTV Awards show last year. I hate that I know this. And yeah, even if its wink-wink, we’re poking fun of Carson Daly, its still Carson Daly. Score: Pretty gay, 3/10

Fed Ex – Burt Reynolds and the Bear
All I can say is could have been advertising brilliance. Fed Ex is so a part of our vocabulary they don’t have to waste time telling us what they do. And the very act of the pop culture universe creating a Burt Reynolds is hilarious. But a self-reflexive ad about making an ad is disappointing in the way that all those pornos about making pornos are disappointing. Give me un-ironic, unabashed character, and lots of fucking, you know? Score: Nice try, 6/10

Bud Light – Cedric on the Beach
Sucks. Sorry folks. The joke that a guy would rather have a BBQ and a dog than listen to the bitches a-bitchin’ is just lame as hell. What a waste of a budget. Score: Gay, 3/10

GoDaddy.com – Busty model, fusty panel
Funny enough send up of last year’s J. Jackson wardrobe scandal, and good god the busty yummyness of the woman. That combo of comedy and beautiful bountiful boobs popping out of shirts is just unbeatable sexy fun. Not sure that GoDaddy’s business was well communicated, unlike Fed Ex they must tell us something about themselves. That’s okay, the easily remembered URL was there. No doubt Go Daddy wagered that many will follow the obvious “what does Go Daddy do, anyway?” with a visit to the site. She’s not there, and I miss her. Score: Bodacious, 8/10

Diet Pepsi – The Male Strut
With an obvious but nevertheless excellent choice of music for the classic male strut, this commercial put out the sex vibe right from the start. Art historians will ponder – is he walking on the way to get laid, or is this a post-coital victory march? For most men, there is no difference. And then, like a fairy magically appearing, its America’s favorite fag, Carson Kressley from Queer Eye! A sudden laugh releases all the sexual tension of the preceding images of women lustily but discreetly glancing at the guy (I think Enrique Iglesias?) Some of the male laughs in the room lingered a bit too long, though. Again, Diet Pepsi clearly doesn’t give a shit about the old and the Amish, so lets all share a collective nationwide laugh about guys checking out other guys asses. Homosexuals are funny! Score: Funny, but dudes I’m definitely not gay, 7/10

Quiznos – Baby talking with the model
Just disgusting. The Look Who’s Talking franchise squeezed the talking baby idea to death, and put a do not resuscitate sticker on it. Please abide. Quiznos, first you you’re your sandwich shop with singing vermin, and now you sell it with some weird looking baby who likes like he just ate an inkwell? WTF, are you on crack? (Cool!). Score: Dogshit 2/10

Amerquiest – Liquor Store Robbery and Killing the Cat
Best ones of the day, hands down. Average guy innocently talking on his cell phone in a liquor store is talking about how the other person on the phone is getting robbed. The Asian store owners, thinking they are being robbed, retaliate. These were funny in a way that other violent ads have not been (see the resoundingly unfunny Washington Mutual ads where an office worker beats himself up). And who hasn’t had the fantasy of offing the girlfriend’s cat? That thing gets more attention than you do, playa. Best part of these ads is that they’re selling a mortgage broker. Who cares if it had nothing to do with mortgages? They’re following Geico in making personality ads for industries that lack personality (insurance, mortgages). Jesus I watch too much TV. Score: Kick ass, 9/10

MBNA – Rugby with Gladys Knight
Sucks. This one was the worst of the lot. This was a confusing, terribly executed, incongruous piece of garbage. Affinity marketing is a great idea. Just ask any marketers who use NASCAR in their branding. But “If you’re into it, we’re into it?” That’s like saying if you think it’s cool so do we, because we’re total chumps. Want to join us? I hope people cancel their MBNA cards right now. And where were the Pipps? Score: Total Dog shit, 1/10. (No offense to the grande dame Gladys Knight, of course. A lady’s gotta make a buck.)

Subway – Two Dudes in Car
Hurray, more jokes about homophobia! This one featured cops pulling up on two guys in a car eating Subway. I mean seriously folks. Wouldn’t it be better if the guys in the car had been gay, and they were wearing cop outfits, and they were actually butt fucking, AND one of them was Jared? Score: Pretty much gay as hell, 3/10

Diana Perl – with Fridge, Ditka, McMahon, and Rodman
This ad featured irrelevant, has-been Chicago athletes. Not too much of a national draw here, except as fodder for ridicule. Is that what you want associated with your brand? And what the hell are they selling? Tiles? Bathtubs? Who knows. At least Fridge isn’t knocking over liquor stores for Ho-Hos. What a worthless piece of advertising. Oh by the way, I’m from Chicago. Score: Genius, 11/10

Charles McCarthy can be contacted at charlesg3@hotmail.com to discuss advertising, Chicago and his favorite episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Not-So-Super

2005-02-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Page Six is reporting that Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb are both going to attend summer school and are allegedly majoring in "How to manage the game clock when your team has possession of the football, is down 10 points and there are roughly 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl (tm)". New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck. New England sports teams suck.

The Story of the Film So Far

2005-02-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

In which I detail the sorts of facts and anecdotes you'll need to successfully negotiate conversational exchanges with Eagles fans

Among the many leading indicators of my increasingly unhealthful obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles (a.k.a My Most Favorite Entertainment Property or Brand) is the fact that I am currently 2-for-2 for the week in viewing ESPN2's Cold Pizza and, perhaps even more distressingly, I have actually found myself agreeing with commentator/ blathermonkey Skip Bayless. Though I am a loyal ESPN consumer, I've long eschewed Cold Pizza as the sort of crap that even I'm above; it reeks of ESPN's ill-fated attempts to broaden its audience by co-opting traditionally successful program formats (Beg, Borrow, and Deal, we're looking in your direction), in this case, the network morning show. More importantly, I had long since assigned Skip Bayless to the "enemies" column in my list of TV blathermonkeys (also in said column, Merril Hoge, Cris Collinsworth, and Peter King), since it seemed he'd been on crusade to slander the good name of Eagles wideout Terrell Owens.

But not this week. This week, Cold Pizza and Skip Bayless are my friends. Not only do I get fresh Eagles TV content from at 8 am each morning to complement my internet consumption, but erstwhile enemy Skip Bayless actually thinks the Birds can win!

(Guess what! I think the Eagles can win too!)

You might know an Eagles fan. You might not. These people (we) have a problem. I have a problem. I can't explain this problem (that's for another time; mostly it's too nuanced, and ties into the city of Philadelphia's inferiority complex in re: the rest of the Northeast Corridor), but I can at least give you a vocabulary to understand it. Should you encounter a Birds' fan at your Super Bowl party on Sunday, here are some quick tips for sounding fluent in the past 20 years of Birds history:

(1) 610 WIP: so you know how you sometimes hear how sports-talk radio is a really crass and abrasive format, peopled mainly by blowhards and lunatics from the fringe of society who are just looking for a soapbox to rechannel their frustrations? Right. So that's how it works in 99 percent of America. And then, in Philly, you have WIP, which is just like all the others, only about 600 times worse. Nobody -- not the hosts, not the callers -- is particularly knowledgeable about what they're discussing. Shouting is the preferred mode of conversation. It's insanely repetitive (six out of ten calls begin with "That last caller stole my thunder"), and yet it's also insanely popular and influential. The former mayor (and current governor) was a regular caller. They've organized large-scale rallies. And they hold a competitive eating contest every year (see below) that draws nearly 20,000 spectators. And it doesn't make anyone any less psychotic about the Birds. They talk about football, a lot, in MARCH. I mean, I'd use the word "demagoguery" if they weren't just talking about a football team; I don't know if that makes it better or worse.

(2) Legendary Coach #1: Dick Vermeil: though he quit coaching the Eagles over 20 years ago and never actually WON the Super Bowl, this dude's face is STILL on billboards in Philly. STILL. Something to do with bringing a winner back to Philly after decades of futility or something. And he cried a lot (the press called it "wearing his heart on his sleeve"). I'd like to pretend that I would have thought that he was a sissy for all the crying if I was sentient at the time (I was like five). I really would. But I know I would have eaten it up like everyone else, due to the fact that HE GOT THE EAGLES TO THE SUPER BOWL.

(3) "For who; for what?": after short-arming a pass (that means he was going to catch the ball but decided against it cause he was afraid) in the 1995 season opener, the recently (and expensively) acquired RB Ricky Watters asked reporters, "For who; for what?" in the post-game press conference. Right. This did NOT go over well. It crystallized for everyone that Birds fans -- though they might get pissed off if you lose -- fundamentally want to know that at least you tried. Half-assing it, even once, earns you scorn. Forever. We want you to prove that you're willing to suffer too. If I saw Ricky Watters TOMORROW, "For who; for what" would be the first thing out of my mouth. This is also why Todd Pinkston could catch 3 TDs on Sunday and still get shipped out of town in a month.

(4) Names that make us cringe: want to make an Eagles supporter spit up their cheesesteak? Drop any of these three names on them and see how they react. Feel free to do so in the context of sentences like, "Gee, that (player/ top-ten draft pick/ coach) was really a great (idea/ decision/ leader) for you guys!" Said names are: Antone, Mamula, Kotite. Try it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

(5) Legendary Coach #2: there was no better coaching fit in the history of professional sports than Buddy Ryan and the Eagles. I repeat: there was no better coaching fit in the history of professional sports than Buddy Ryan and the Eagles. Buddy's "philosophy" was that he'd spend all of his time, effort, and money on his defense (the candy-ass offense was free to do as it pleased), and would try to win games by physically abusing the other team. SEE: body bag game against Washington, Monday night game in Houston, and reports that he put bounties -- actual dollars -- on opposing players. Even when the Eagles didn't win, you could count on them to hurt someone. His face isn't on billboards, but it should be -- the guy is still the stuff of legends in that town (though he's been all but blackballed by the league, owing in no small part to him physically assaulting a fellow assistant coach in Houston). And rightfully so: no one tapped into the bloodlust underlying Philly's passion for football like Buddy. I hope they gave him a Super Bowl ticket. I really do.

(6) The Vet: right, so most football fans with some knowledge of NFL arcana can spin you some yarns about Veterans' Stadium, former home of the Eagles and Phillies: they had a judge at the stadium for Eagles home games, they called off a preseason game in 2001 because the field was in such terrible condition, it was infested with rats, the fans cheered Michael Irvin's career-ending injury, blah blah blah. Sure, it's all true. And don't think for a moment that every Eagles fan didn't absolutely delight and revel in the ugliness of that building and its inhabitants. If anything, the 700 level (home of the rowdiest fans) might have been a little too impressed by its own myth. But whatever. Opposing teams and fans were scared of the Vet. And we freakin loved it.

(7) Wing Bowl: only in Philadelphia can you have a competitive eating contest at 6 am and have 18,000 people show up. I speak, of course, of the Wing Bowl. Go ahead, click on the link. Go on. Don't be shy. This is the 13th edition of the Wing Bowl, traditionally held the Friday before the Super Bowl. They hold it at the Wachovia Center (where the Sixers and Flyers play). The folks at WIP started it, but now it's grown into something much bigger. And much scarier. They even have a separate competition for "wingettes" -- and official odds (for amusement only) if you're into that sort of thing.

And other things you can bring up to seem like you understand the Eagles: Ray Rhodes comparing a home loss to "having someone break into your house and rape your family"; Randall Cunningham wearing two different colored shoes during a game; Randall Cunningham wearing a t-shirt that said "Dangerously Committed"; "That Guy In France" Vs. "Prince Jeffrey"; Andre "Dirty" Waters; the virtues of kelly green vs. midnight green; that the 1991 Eagles defense was among the best ever.

Like I said, I think the Eagles can win too.

ThatKidInTheCorner was thrilled to have a guest column on snikes.com this week, just so he could tell more people about how the Eagles were going to win the Super Bowl. ThatKid sporadically blogs about non-Eagles-related topics at www.thatkidinthecorner.com. You can e-mail him at thatkid@thatkidinthecorner.com. "Fly Eagles Fly" (the Eagles fight song) is his ringtone.

Vitamin C

2005-01-31T19:59:00.000-08:00

Went to see Douglas Coupland speak over the weekend. A fellow Canuck (is that how you spell it?), Coupland is the dude who coined the term "Generation X" back in the early 90s. He's written roughly 10 books - Eleanor Rigby is the one he's currently pitching - and is a frequent columnist in many a highbrow magazine. He ambled up to the mic a little late (and in what appeared to be a coke/codeine-assisted haze) carrying a bag of twinkies, ho-ho's, etc. which he used as prizes in a warm-the-audience-up Simpson's trivia contest. The highlight of the evening was his reading of 6 love letters to Ronald McDonald. Can't say that I was totally compelled to go out and buy one of his books, but his random segue-filled style (and the female Coupland groupies) made for great entertainment.

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By the by, is there a doctor in the house? This new pain I've recently begun to experience is excruciating. 3 appointments so far and still no remedy. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Per our old friend Roddy Piper, just when you think you know all the answers, somebody changes the questions (yes, the last line was lifted from today's SG column, but I couldn't resist).

*********

Finally saw Hotel Rwanda. A career performance out of Don Cheadle (a far cry from Boogie Night's Buck Swope) that should finally - and deservedly - get him over the leading-man hump. Very heavy movie that attempts to show the world what happened to 1 million Rwandans ten years ago as it stood by watching. The film is rated PG-13. It is about genocide. You know, people, umm, dying and what not. So you can see what my complaint is going to be. How can you make a movie about genocide that's PG-13?!? That was the major disconnect in the movie. I walked out of the theater never feeling or more importantly seeing the full-brunt of what happened. Somebody told me it was the producers' intention to focus the film on Cheadle's character/story and not on the bloodshed. If you're going to make a movie like this (essentially one shot at telling the world the story), I'd think you wouldn't pull any punches. I guess that's why I wasn't in Utah collecting my indie lifetime achievement award last week.

"Drop it Like it's Hot"

2005-01-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

Ahh, the melodious, mostly eloquent words of Snoop Doggy Dogg. Anyways, sounds like Rad's bun, which looks more like a pillow-like prop from an not-so-well-funded B-movie, is coming out of the oven somewhat earlier than expected. Is it just me or am I sensing a theme with the whole "earlier than expected" vibe and the aforementioned older/younger sister? Original due date: March 4th-ish. Revised due date: February 23-ish. The beginning of March usually brings with it a decent-sized snow storm (I remember being in college and our "Spring" break usually coinciding with damn-our-flights-back-from-Florida-might-be-cancelled-type storm) and I suggested to her that it might be cool if my niece (yep, a 95% probability) were born in the middle of a crazy beautiful Manhattan snow storm. Do not suggest such things to anxious, expectant mothers. Bad uncle, bad. Btw, any name suggestions? This is a democracy, after all. $3.25 per suggestion, which will be deposited directly into the spoil-the-niece fund. $3.25 ... the cost of one cup of coffee a day, according to Sally Struthers' updated stats.

Inaugural Guest Column

2005-01-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

The other day, I came up with what I thought was a great idea… baked potato chips. They wouldn’t be oily and greasy like what we’re used to. They’d be baked, crispy, and delicious. Having realized that baked potato chips have already been invented (and after hours spent surfing porn and midget dating sites), I came up with what to date has been my best idea of 2005: I told my friend, Nick Mehra, who recently started his own blog that he should have a friend write a guest column every week in his blog. Nick thought it was a great idea. People would laugh! People would cry! It would be much better than “Cats”! And to thank me, guess who gets to write his very first guest column? Yep – you guessed it. Actually, Johnny Carson was first asked to write the guest column but he took the easy way out. So as I sit here waiting for my new 4’2” lover to email me her naughty fantasies, I present you all with my gift to Nick – his very first blog entry written by a friend.

My favorite story:
The story of how I met Nick. In the summer of 2001, I traveled to Beijing, China in an attempt to revive my fledgling business – sales of Chinese knit fabrics and robes to celebrities. I was desperate, and my meeting with Wing Lu at the south corner of the Great Wall was my only hope to keep my business alive. Our meeting quickly went sour, and before I knew it, I was thrown in to a police car and read what I can only assume were my Miranda Rights in Chinese. The drive to the police station was terrifying. When we weren’t getting in to one of our three accidents, it appeared as though the driver cop had a need to keep the left turn blinker on for the duration of our trip. They threw me in a small cell with only an Indian guy and a pigeon named Koko to keep me company. I soon learned that the Indian guy’s name was Nick. Early one morning, the cold, crisp air made me hyperventilate uncontrollably. Nick, fearing that I was choking, quickly rushed behind me and performed the Heimlich maneuver. I passed out and did not awake for five days. It was that position – Nick gripping me tightly from behind – that helped me get through many a grueling night. Finally, I decided that our only hope for freedom was to attach a message to Koko’s leg and to set him free. I scribbled a small note in blood, attached it to Koko, and sent him out the window. Minutes later, Koko was shot dead and eaten by a starving, peasant family. For the next two years, Nick and I passed the time by telling each other jokes, stories, and reciting our favorite lines from “The Facts of Life”. It was the day that Nick professed his love for Tutti that we made a startling realization… the cell door was unlocked, and had been for the duration of our stay in the prison. Nick and I made it back to mainland, where we nursed to health by seven beautiful masseuses, who offered us their services for thirty days straight, at no price to us. Today, Nick and I are still great friends. We often talk about our struggles in Chinese prison and about how much we miss Koko.

My 4 favorite comedians – see them at a comedy club near you:
Robert Schimmel (http://www.robertschimmel.com/)
Dane Cook (http://www.danecook.com/)
Mitch Hedberg (http://www.mitchhedberg.net/)
Oren Katzeff (http://katzeff.com/oren)

Thank you for reading some thoughts from my warped mind. Please check my website for updates on when my next comedy performance is. Also feel free to email me at oren@helpusmakeourmovie.com.

Delete Your Cookies!

2005-01-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

So, I received a call earlier today from a certain unnamed male friend in Manhattan. The conversation started with an ominous, “Have I got a story for you!”. Is it wrong that I immediately assumed that his well-documented commitment issues had once again brought relations with his new lady friend to a screeching halt? Ok, don’t answer that. Thankfully, I was quickly proven wrong.

Said lady friend spent the night at his apartment last night. It’s not unusual for her to wake up when he is already on his way to work. This morning, she had to use his personal computer (yes, I know … this is the point in the story where you can write the ending yourself) for some job searching. She couldn’t find the site she visited 2 nights before and went to the history folder to find it. Not only did she find the job site she was looking for, but she found a few, ahem, other sites. Turns out unnamed male friend from Manhattan had recently visited several “celebrity skin” sites. In his defense, this was all in good fun, of course, and not because of any weird paparazzi porn-like.

No “I miss you, honey, when are you coming home?” phone calls or emails during the work day. He gets home and still nothing. Odd. Finally, he receives a call from her with the all-too-familiar, “I have something serious to talk to you about. I need to see you in person immediately.” Utilizing his strong negotiation skills, he gets lady friend to spill the beans over the phone. You can be sure that he threw certain friends under the bus on this one (and which one of you wouldn’t have done the same thing). “Well, umm, uhhh, Bob has been sending me these emails and what do you expect me to do, *not* click on what he sends me!?”. This was not the time to be throwing out the “Who in the hell do you think you are snooping around my private shit!?” counter-argument. Didn’t stop him from using it, though.

The funniest part about the whole incident is that he is one of the most paranoid people I know and about 9 months ago, he actually asked me how to delete cookies and turn off the auto-complete function in the search box because he was having some company over that night.
Anyway, lesson of the week: delete cookies and history folders every night. It should be part of your preparing for bed routine. Brush teeth, lock door, delete cookies, go to bed.

Foiled!

2005-01-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Got some time to spare today? That's what I thought. So, think of a sitcom. Now, pick a character. Ok, go ahead and click on this link and see if you can't fool this dood. Curses!

Dutch Oven

2005-01-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

Today, MSN dissected the top 10 shortest celebrity marriages ever. One - and only - one stands out:

Ernest Borgnine & Ethel Merman
Married: June 26, 1964
Split after 32 days
The coupling of thrice-wed Broadway belter Ethel Merman and twice-wed Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine is one of the kookiest in Hollywood history. The unlikely duo's knot began unraveling on their honeymoon, when, according to Borgnine, he garnered the lion's share of fan attention, which left Merman seething. "By the time we got home, it was hell on earth," he recalled in 2001. "And after 32 days I said to her, 'Madam, bye.'" But things weren't exactly coming up roses for the Merm: she was allegedly subjected to the silent and deadly "Dutch Oven," which involved Borgnine releasing toxic fumes in bed while trapping her under the sheets. Merman, who never again married, devoted a chapter of her autobiography to the Borgnine marriage: It consisted of one blank page.

Epic Conditions

2005-01-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

Squaw said it perfectly on their website: "We are experiencing *legendary* conditions". The Lake Tahoe-area has received about 20 feet of snow over the past 2 weeks and it's still coming down. The Sierras haven't seen a storm like this in almost 90 years, let alone this early in the ski season. This past weekend was the first official weekend for our cabin. After endless debate, everyone got up safe and sound with no major road delays. If I had left an hour later than I had, I would still be sitting on 80 east. Once we were up there, the continually falling snow created a super peaceful vibe. That and the fact that we had the whole town to ourselves made for a chill time. Visibility up on the trails was a different story. Squaw, Northstar and Alpine reported anywhere between 70-80 mph winds at times forcing them to close most, if not all, of their upper mountain lifts. I was in the thick of 100% whiteout conditions on 267 leaving Northstar giving me an inkling of what it's like in those 50 car pile-ups you read about on the news from time to time. Without a doubt, the scariest driving conditions I've ever experienced. Heading back up this coming Friday night with Kevin and Lisa for what should be even better conditions.

2004 Movie List

2005-01-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Movies of 2004:
(1) Garden State -> As soon as I left my seat at the theater, I began to talk ad nauseum about my favorite film of the year to anyone who was kind/dumb enough to give me the time of day . It affected me on so many different levels and so it goes without saying that it's easily my top 1 and 2 favorite movie of the year. Granted, the movie wasn't the most original. It borrowed bits and pieces from other well-known coming of age flicks such as The Graduate, but still managed to roll them up into a story that all of us could relate to in one simple way or another. It's about going back to the place you grew up and realizing that you don't quite feel like you are "home" anymore. It dawns on you that you're developing your own identity and sense of place. A new adventure has begun - destination unknown. The perfectly chosen, killer soundtrack was a character in and of itself -- icing on the cake. The music takes you on a well-staged up and down ride that forces you to feel each of Large's emotions.

(2) P.S. -> Laura Linney plays a lonely Columbia University admissions officer who meets a graudate student applicant whom she thinks might be her first love, re-incarnated. Not nearly as hokie as it sounds. What if you had the chance to get answers to questions that have lingered for years and experience, once again, what falling in love for the first time feels like? Yep, that's what I thought.

(3) The Door in the Floor -> Kim Bassinger and Jeff Bridges star in this melodramatic movie adapted from John Irving's 'A Widow for One Year' about a marriage that is strained by tragedy. The audience can't help but feel badly for each one of the characters, all of whom seem to live complicated lives that only get more complicated as they begin to interact with each other. If you're an Irving fan, this has all the touchstone elements that make him one of the best American writers. If you're a Bridges fan, it's one of his best turns in recent memory. I realize this isn't a feel-good review that's going to get you to throw this on your NetFlix Queue right away, but trust me ... it's worth checking out!

(4) Friday Night Lights -> I've seen my share of sports flicks and this was definitely one of the most poignant ones ever made. A story about a football team in a small Texas town that spotlights race, class/economic status. Interesting characters, awesome cinematography (gritty documentary-style, almost s.soderberg-style-like) and most importantly, it wasn't your formulaic hollywood screenplay, right down to the ending. Peter Berg didn't bastardize what is considered to be one of the better sports books ever written.

(5) Mean Girls -> Tiny Fey wrote an amazingly vivid and accurate screenplay about social cliques in high school which one can draw parallels with to other important stages of life. I'll spare you my infatuation with the lovely Lindsay Lohan, which you've all heard before. Genius.

Honorable Mention:
(6) Spanglish -> I want to own a restaurant, too.

(7) Maria Full of Grace -> These girls will do anything to escape the hell that is their life, but quickly realize that the other side isn't all roses.

(8) Before Sunset -> Perfectly played 2 hour conversation. Not as good as 'Before Sunrise', but a damn good sequel, nonetheless.

(9) Step into Liquid -> If you've never surfed, this will make you want to quit your job, buy a new board and surf the world.

(10) Born Rich -> Life is tough at the top. Real tough.

Most Overrated:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -> A great dramatic turn by Jim Carrey, but it lost my attention at its mid-point.

2004-12-13T23:23:00.000-08:00

Top 5 highlights, in no specific order, from Saturday's shinnydig:

(1) Sparky Santa!
(2) 5 minute pop-in just to say, "Don't be such a girrrl, Orrren!"
(3) Why does she insist on looking at my ass? I'm still searching for it myself.
(4) Who's holding court? What's wrong with this picture?
(5) Sistahs, Will ... they're all sistahs.

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So, The Donger wants me to come to Vietnam to visit her Father so he can give us his blessing. Yes, *that* blessing. Is it too late to cancel my New Year's Eve Plans?

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Whooze yo' daddy? Not Steinbrenner, I guess. "When we return, Pedro is heading to Queens, in ... the most shocking off-season ever".

2004-12-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

Seems like this blog business is what all the kids are ga-ga about these days, so thought it would be fun if we gave it a whirl. 31 is the new 18, after all, no?

Perhaps a new way to keep in touch, share pictures, continue to mock and entertain each other and if you so wish, say hi to my new friend Lindsay.

Would be cool if a few of you got one up and running, too, unless you're Paul and have severe ADD in which case, you didn't make it to this part of the inaugural blog.

Oh, and if you're crafty enough to figure out that this little blogger is run by G, save the, ahem, Yahoo bashing for someone else (we're workin on it, sigh).

'Nam Part Deux

2004-11-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

A little break in the action, so buckle up for a little flavah ...

My last night in Hanoi was spent at Hua So, a restaurant operated by disadvantaged Vietnamese youth. There is a local non-profit organization that gives these young folks top notch training with the hopes that they will be able to get excited about a profession and go out and do something with their lives and for their large families from the villages outside town. Needless to say, it wasn't about the food. The restaurant was located in some double secret back alley that took me ages to find, but was well worth the hunt. It was an outdoor rest. that had all the charm and ambience of colonial Vietnam. Felt like I was living "The Quiet American".

I flew into Da Nang and had a 45 minute ride into the small town of Hoi An. This region has a ton of war-related history as it served as one of the larger bases during both the American (first landing area back in '66) and French Wars. Took a 2 hour walk about the old town section of Hoi An, which is incredibly quaint and chill. Cobblestone streets that are closed to traffic. The area is a haven for artists, so there are galleries and workshops in addition to about 100+ tailor shops that can make anything you want in less than a day for prices that you would be lucky to find at WalMart. There is also a huge market that is just a carnival for the senses. Gets crackin well before dawn and sells the most fresh (everything). The entire town runs along the Hoi An River, along which you will find tons of farmers growing sweet potato, rice, radish, you name it. It has a heavy Chinese i! nfluence since it was they who originally came to teach the Viet. here how to trade.

On the way to the hotel, I stopped at lantern factory -- factory being the operative term here. It was really a family farm home amid the paddies with a slew of workers in the garage cranking out about 1000 lanterns a day - from scratch. After talking to the family and learning about their lives, they allowed me to make my own lantern. I'll keep my day job, if I still have it when I get back, that is.

I got to the hotel (in the beach town of Cam An) pretty early and was greeted by what I believe were the remnants of a class 4 typhoon that had hit the Philipines pretty damn hard. I saw waves and wind the likes of which Florida sees every year. All I could do was laugh. Luckily, the hotel was really nice and had enough to keep me busy for the first 2 days. The staff were all very inquisitive, as was I. One of the dudes at the pool started to sing "Hotel California" every time I walked by. He'd be a hit at the karaoke joints back home. Memo to self: fire travel agent upon return to US. How he could suggest a trip to the most beautiful beach in 'nam during what the locals call the "rainy season" is beyond me. He's off the Mehra payroll. What a tease to be there and not be able to chill on the beach for hours at a stretch with cold beers.

The 3rd and final day in the Central Region carried with it several experiences which I will never forget. It started with a one-on-one cooking class which entailed an early morning trip to the market(which I mentioned earlier) with the chef after which I learned how to make 5 Vietnamese dishes (regional specialities), all of which fit my 20 minutes or less attention span threshold.

During lunch, one of the waitresses came over asked me the usual questions and came back 5 minutes later discreetly writing her phone number on my hand asking me out for dinner and drinks later that night. Dong is her name (no, not *the* Donger, Lori). So, I meet her at the village post office in the pouring rain and she drives up on her moped. Says she wants to introduce me to her family and hopes that I am not "afraid". It was a treat to finally get to ride one of the crazy mopeds and better yet as a passenger. It was an even bigger treat to get to meet a local family. The scenery on the ride over to their house was out of a dream. Pitch dark; clandestine vibe; wind and rain thrasing about your face. We arrived at her village and her family greeted me with huge smiles, some tea, but not one lick on English. The granny was the best! Exactly what you would imagine a 95-year old Asian gr! anny to look like. A very modest house fronted by a small retail counter with cigarettes, soda and the like.

After her family laughed at me for an hour or so, we went out to dinner in the old town with her brother and friend to a cool backpacker joint called Before and After. Met some folks from back home and enjoyed a few Thanksgiving cocktails. Really lucked out with this specific night as it was the one night of the lunar calendar month that they shut down all lights in the streets and only super colorful silk lanterns light the tight, labyrinth-like roads. It's a big festival around the full moon, I believe. Later, everyone goes to the riverside and lays their lanterns into the water which makes for a totally awesome nightime vibe and a cool ride home. On the way back to the hotel, Dong says, "you come back next year and me wedding you". I told her of the rigorous Sniko-Screening Process. She says, "me love you lonnng time, mistah neck". Ok, I made that last line up, but I had to use it somewhere (Ore! n, this place is just ripe for material, btw, if SF ever runs dry).

Earlier that day, around sunset, I rode My Darling for 5 minutes. My Darling, you sickos, is a 33-year old, 5 ton female Elephant who roams the grounds at the beach hotel. Really mellow animal. Just insane to see one of those bad boys up close and personal. The size of her dumps would obliterate a small town.

I arrived in humid 33 degree C Saigon early this morning and have seen most of the major sites here already. The war-related stuff I've seen is something that will take me a long time to digest and regurgitate. Heavy. Am meeting up with a bunch of local people (friends of nyc friends) for dinner tonight. Heading down to the Mekong Delta tomorrow morning for a few days, which will be a welcome respite from the hustle bustle of Saigon.

Greetings from Vietnam

2004-11-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

Let's get right down to it.

Sitting here in the French Quarter of Hanoi on an incredibly beautiful Monday afternoon. Just ate some street food called Bon Ba (noodles with beef and stuff) and was laughed out of the joint for trying to pay for my meal with 1/10th the actual cost. The currency here is a bit pesky. Too many zeros. It's called Dong. I try to be generous with my Dong.

So, I've turned my hotel upside down and there is absolutely no sign of any POWs. I'll soldier on when I arrive in Saigon, but it's not looking good, I'm afraid.

I spent yesterday checking out the countryside southwest of Hanoi ... the little villages and miles and miles of farmland. Took an hour row boat ride down the Perfume River to a trailhead in the Pagoda Mountains. Hiked about 5 miles out and back to the Perfume Pagoda. Insanely steep climb that I almost begged off at least twice. Well worth the climb once I got to the top, of course. Several villagers along the hike offering cold drinks, trinkets, etc. On the way down, I stopped for some fresh Sugar Cane juice that 3 little sisters (like 10-12 yrs old) were making fresh. Sadly, they only eat 2 meals a day, so our tip made their day, it seemed.

Hanoi is awesome. Small city of 4 mm people. Small tree lined streets. Little store fronts that go on and on and on. People are taxed according to the width of their entrances, so the houses are called tunnel houses ... super skinny and very tall. The Old Quarter is by far my favorite part of town. It's incredibly tough to put into to words. Imagine being on a carnival ride (like 'the mixer') ... you enter and your heart starts beating quickly, you start sweating, mopeds, bikes and cyclos going every which way possible, people hawking their food, drink, goods, services left and right. After you get lost amid the labyrinth for what can be hours, you get spit out and you have no idea what hit you. Insane. Really. The pictures I'll share later will give you some sense, but nearly enough.

My first dinner in town was at this joint called Cha Ca, at the suggestion of my friend Jean in NYC. They serve only one dish - Cha Ca. It's fried fish served piping in this clay pot over a fire with noodles, greens, peanuts and other stuff I can't name. They just bring it out for each person and game on. After 5 minutes of trying to figure out how and where to get seated, the Don sat me next to, by far, the hottest girl in the joint. Some blonde brit from London. Chatted for the entire meal, but it was high humor. The food was so hot it kept spurting hot as hell oil onto my skin, at which point I would react by either spilling my beer, spitting out my food or jumping out of my chair. Walked out dirty as hell, but laughing so hard. I'm 31 and I still can't handle myself in the presence of a gorgeous woman. I love it.

Just came back from checking out HoChiMinh's mausoleum. Heading out to see the French Quarter as well as the ol "Hanoi Hilton", where McCain, among others spent years of pure hell as POWs. 75% of the population here in Nam is b/w 18-30. Random.

Oh and I almost forgot, the traffic here is sick. Thousands of mopeds, bikes and cyclos ... throw in some cars here and there. Traffic never stops ... continous flow. Crossing the street is putting your life in total danger. You take a deep breath, step out and walk slowly. The minute you hesitate or stop, it's game over. Crazy adrenaline rush.

Off to Hoi An tomorrow. Stay tuned.