Mountain Brew Tasting

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Tuesday night, Izzy & I had a sexy date night dinner at the restaurant Anzu at the Hotel Nikko downtown. A few months ago, Izzy entered an Instagram contest while we were there for a happy hour… and won us a certificate for dinner for two… and we finally cashed it in. Check out her Instagram for pictures… but basically, they have a good raw bar where we got some sushi rolls, thinly cut Wagyu beef that we cooked by searing on a hot stone, a few craft brews, some sake, some cheesecake… and even without the certificate, it really didn’t cost us a grip… and the service was amazing & friendly. Check them out… even if just for their Happy Hour from 3 PM to 6 PM.

 

Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day & the start of March Madness… but I worked like a grown up… but then there was a meeting with the San Francisco Homebrewers Guild where we started setting up the schedule for the remainder of the year, as well as help orient the new leadership with their job duties. As the former Outreach Chair (and current Board Member), I helped the new Outreach Chair & Membership Chair with their duties… everybody shared beer, ate pizza, and set a pretty good schedule for events, competitions, picnics, classes & all the other things for the rest of 2016… with many more certainly on the way. It should be another great year for this institution… and I’ll be sure to keep you posted with some of the finer things as long as I’m with the guild.

 

This weekend, Izzy & I also finally kegged our Pale Ale made with our Homegrown Galena Hops…

 

… as well as kegged our mysterious Mountain Brew, which is a Pale Ale made with Mountain Dew.

 

 

Now for the weekly update of the Everything I Learned From Movies Podast!!!

 

Episode #3 is landing at eilfm.podbean.com soon and the movie featured is a St. Patrick’s Day classic – “Leprechaun in Da Hood” which is the 5^th installment of the Leprechaun series, released in 2000, and starring the talents of Warwick Davis as the titular character, Ice T as Mack Daddy & Coolio as himself. Brief summary: Three young rappers led by their charismatic frontman Postmaster P (yup, it’s one of those) try to get even with a pimp (take a guess who plays him)… they accidentally unleash a mystical creature who goes on a killing spree. Sounds intriguing, yes? Well… it’s definitely memorable… you’ll just have to listen to the podcast to find out how.

 

Also, we’ve received a few comments & suggestions on the EILFM website, Facebook Page and Twitter… but we could always use more… and you want to get a shout out on the podcast, right? So do us both a favor, listen, and let us know what you think. Do you have a suggestion for a new movie you want us to check out because you have no time (or need) to watch it yourself? Perhaps a classic from your childhood that you know is bad? How about a loopy theory about a movie that we’ve already shared? Do you hate our intro music? Have intro music to share yourself? Let us know! Until then, also have a great weekend everybody!!! Be safe out there…

Nightcrawlers, Dolphins & Other Zoo Critters

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

This last weekend was pretty chill… Saturday we didn’t do much of anything… it was certainly a long-awaited day of rest. So during that day, we watched a movie called “Day of the Dolphin” that based on the IMDb synopsis, I didn’t believe could really exist, even in the 70’s. Basically, a marine biologist has spent years teaching dolphins to talk… like… speak English… and understand it, not just mimic it. Okay, that could be a real-life documentary. Then one day, the dolphins are stolen (fin-napped?) and are involved in a plot to assassinate the President of the United States. Go ahead & read that last line again. Ridiculous, yes? Now… what if I told you that it had TWO Academy Award winning actors in it… IN THEIR PRIME!!! Yes, George C. Scott is the biologist! Three years removed from “Patton” glory! Paul Sorvino is in it too (and the late great Edward Hermann as a youngster). Not only that… this movie was nominated for two Academy Awards!!! Yes, it was for original score & sound… but still. Anyway, I enjoyed this movie… but it’s not nearly the action thriller that you think it is. Run time is about 100 minutes… I’d say that easier the first 75-80 minutes is them basically playing with dolphins and adding some plot about being able to make them speak English, which makes sense… but I mean, the only thing separating this from a well-shot documentary for the most part is Paul Sorvino’s occasionally menacing stares & pretty plastic corporate types towards the last ten minutes or so of this portion. After that though, the last twenty minutes goes pretty quickly & finally gets some action… and leads to probably the most ridiculously awesome six-seconds in cinema history, which I officially made my first (and probably last) Vine entry. That’s right… this movie made me take to social media! If you like dolphins, check it out instead of “Zeus & Roxanne” or “Flipper” or some other stupid sh*t like that… go with assassination attempts over… I don’t know, sexual tension? Is that what’s in that Guttenberg movie?

  

Next up was “Nightcrawler” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Paxton & Rene Russo and from wrtier-director Dan Gilroy (directorial debut but wrote “Real Steel” & “Bourne Legacy” among others). The story is centered around Lewis Bloom (Gyllenhall) who is a desperate guy trying to find work in Los Angeles & get money through just about any means possible… but he’s very driven & self-taught through the internet and other mediums. One night, he’s wandering around and stumbles upon the world of seedy crime journalism when a camera crew (led by Bill Paxton) catches some of violent & primally stimulating underbelly of the news… and he wants in. So he starts learning what he can, convincing others to join him in his quest, and eventually become quite the devious individual… even going to the point of interfering with crime scenes and ‘framing the shots’ of victims before the police get there… and it only goes downhill from there. Personally, I thought the movie was f**king great. Gyllenhaal plays a genuinely creepy, unemotional dead-eyed individual with occasional bursts of rage but always contemplating the next move… eternally driven to one goal no matter who or what is in his way… and the worst part is that he’s actually pretty successful at it in this movie… and there’s really no reason why he shouldn’t be. I would highly recommend going to check it out… but be warned, there’s some violence… and language… and it’s just a pretty intense movie… but well worth it. Even Izzy liked it in spite of the gore. Check it out now!

 

Sunday, we drove out to San Jose for a little pre-St. Patty’s day party with Izzy’s buddy Bob Burgers… and he’s just a nice, cool dude. I really like him. Basically we had plenty of food, beer & entertainment (mostly conversation and DDDR – Drunken Dance Dance Revolution) but yeah, good times had by all… no real pictures to share though… sorry, but good fun.

 

Tuesday night was St. Patrick’s Day but after work was our monthly meeting with the San Francisco Homebrewers Guild. We’ve been growing at an INCREDIBLE pace this past year (since I took over as Outreach Chair, patting myself on the back) so now we’ve had space concerns with our wonderful arrangement at Anchor Brewing… so we had to start ID’ing people to make sure that they’re really members of the guild as opposed to friends of friends of friends of members just showing up to get free drinks & not even pay attention to our speakers (happened a few times). It went fantastic this time around though… and still a pretty packed house, which is great! We announced our winners for our Irish Red or Irish Dry Stout competition (I was not among them) but we had over 50 entries, which for this size of a competition is pretty amazing!

 

Saturday, Izzy & I headed over to the San Francisco Zoo… because we're awesome... here are some pictures...

...and also, as promised, here are some pictures from our walking around this past week...

 

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

LISTEN!!! Do You Smell Something?

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

It's been a busy busy few weeks... as made obvious by my lack of communication via this blog. Let's see... well, work is... working... lots & lots... and we now have a new system to deal with... and we'll slowly but surely implimenting it... and of course I'm the head on it so... yeah, gonna get paid lots of overtime & may be able to go on vacation... I don't know, eventually? Perhaps if they decide to hire somebody to help out next year but that'd probably be the earliest for that farfetched scenario. Oh well... on to the rest of my life...

St Patrick's Day was pretty amazing. I met up with Batgirl, Izzy & some of their friends and we did some bar hopping around the Financial District. I started at House of Shields, then we went over to Elephant & Castle... and then we kinda set up camp at Cafe Prague for a few hours where we not only had the bar pretty much to ourself... but the managers kept bringing us out food & giving us free beverages in giant glasses... and yeah, the music was from an iPod so we pretty much shut that place down... and then somebody started ordering shots of whiskey... and that's pretty much all I remember from the night... yeah, there were a few of these beers before hand...

I woke up the next morning in my bed... and Izzy was there... so apparently they did a good job of getting me home... despite being covered in bruises & scratches (some I have literally no idea where they could've come from) but yeah... good times. Maybe you can help... where would one get this kind of injury? A boot? It was located on my ribs under my shoulder blade...

Again, during the week it was basically more work... and when I would get home, I was pretty much sick because of work (coworkers have the cold going around constantly) so I played a few new video games like "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood", "Batman: Arkham City" and one of my all time favorites redone for PS3... "TECMO SUPER BOWL!!!" That's right, the classic from 1991 with Randall Cunningham as the QB of the Eagles, sorry Philadelphia squad because the NFL is no longer a part of the franchise. It's pretty cool... but yeah, more nostalgia appeal than gameplay. Oh... and Brotherhood is awesome (can't wait for AC3 which will be set during the American Revolution) and Arkham City I'm only a few missions in but still the usual Batman awesomeness.

Friday night, I met up with a few coworkers including Bubbles & we went to Pandora Karaoke in the Tenderloin (corner of Crack & Cocaine). It was a great time with some coworkers that I never get to hang out with... especially outside of work. Not trying to brag... but they were incredibly impressed with my vocal skills... and it covered everything from Snoop Dogg to Bee Gees to Coolio to Spice Girls. It also doubles as a nice sushi bar... and plenty of drinks were had... but not whiskey shots... so I made it through just fine. We even made our way to a place called Swig where they have bacon wrapped hot dogs sold by street vendors... delicious.

Saturday it basically rained all day so I met up with Izzy for the evening & we had dinner at her place and watched "The Ghost & the Darkness" and "Ghostbusters." We know how to have a good time.

So yeah... that's pretty much caught you up on my life. Not a whole lot of major news... but yeah, I've kinda got a girlfriend... for the first time in... many years.

900 Rounds & Counting

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well, another milestone… as this is the 900th entry into this ridiculous blog. Sigh… imagine if I had focused my energy into something meaningful instead of this… where could I be now? Oh well. Enough of that. Let’s see… last I left was on St Patty’s Day… and Bubbles, her roommates & I had a few pre-drinks and went to The Final Final for some good time having. Not much to say about that… other than I apparently had a pretty good time & spilled a little of my beer on Bubbles handing her mine (fumble!!!) so that I could go get a last round, but that was as good a sign as any that we were good, since we had work in the morning.

Friday morning, wasn’t feeling so hot. Go figure! Still I got up, took a shower & a few advil, got dressed, rode the bus to work, had a little oatmeal… and then just before work started, it hit me. Uh-oh! I discreetly found an unused restroom with nobody around, purged a little, cleaned up & went to work as if nothing happened. The best part is… the only reason anybody knows about this… is because I’m willing to confess to it. Nobody was the wiser… and it’s probably a good thing, because I think it was more of a headache thing than an alcohol thing… but you know how it is, morning after St Patty’s Day, new employee, strapping young buck, people would get the wrong idea about my professionalism… and I expect them to get to know me personally before that becomes an issue. Anyway, not much after that. Went to bed a little early because… well, you just heard. Also, Bubbles was having “cramps” and my new roommates were getting all moved in, so I thought I’d try to help out Nurse and… we’ll call her Pixie get moved into their places… but they had friends help them out too, so I just kinda said howdy & offered but was shut down. One of Pixie’s friends chatted with me for a second because I was watching “The Critic” on the big screen… and she also seems to know that’s one of the greatest shows ever made. I made no move… but one thing I’ve noticed… is my new roommates seem pretty nice (even though we haven’t talked much) and they have some pretty cute friends. I’ll keep you posted when we have our Housewarming Party (and I can hopefully Christen my bed in the new apartment).

Saturday was a dreadfully rainy day. Probably the worst since I moved here… so I basically ran a few errands in the morning, then did some laundry & cleaning while watching more of “The Critic.” I also did a little bit of cooking, because I had time & patience / boredom, so I’m going to try to get more into it… but the thing is, I like spices & meats in my meals… and charring caramelized mammal flesh can live a bit of a lingering smell in the kitchen… and then I have to hear about it from the roommates… but hey, we’ll get used to it… and it’ll force me to cook & eat a little better anyway. I’m all about trying new things (not just addresses either). Anyway, this weekend it was stuff like chicken fried rice & eggplant parmesan (just to see if I could). They turned out pretty well if I say so myself. Also, my friends Jackie D & Filly in Philly & the Big Easy respectively may have found new places to live, so good for them. In family drama news, my brother’s apartment’s almost finished… but he still takes time out of his busy day of… whatever he does to berate my mother & tell her that she’s never going to see the grandkids again… even after all she’s done for him, because he decided to do something stupid to her in a fit of rage… but hey, he’s got to get a job soon… so joke’s on him. Bubbles was still not feeling well, so I took her over some movies so she could rest & be entertained at the same time… and then I decided to just chill at home too… because I’m lame & have no friends. Okay, that’s only half true. It was still pouring outside… and seriously, where was I going to go? A bar? Didn’t need that. A club? Not in a dancing mood… especially by myself. Yeah, I know… gotta get out there more… but hey, it was raining… and I did hang with my new roommates a little.

I also watched “Cyrus” starring John C Reilly, Marisa Tomei & Jonah Hill. Basically it’s the story of a guy (Reilly) who is having a bit of a midlife crisis. He’s been obsessing a little about his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) for about seven years, but she’s getting married… and she wants him to get out there & meet somebody. At a party, in walks a lovely woman (Tomei) who finds Cyrus’ honesty & perspective on life fascinating (this is where I cough bullsh*t) and so they hook up, a few times, but then he notices she’s acting kind of shady… so he stalks her & follows her back to her place… where he meets her 22-year old son Cyrus (Hill) who seems a little touched in the head & needy of his mother. Well, one thing leads to another… and he basically finds that her son is trying to cockblock him… and doing a pretty good job. Will Love prevail? Or the son win? Who knows? I actually really liked this movie… but yeah, it’s like most indie comedies, where it starts out really good & funny… but then gets real. The good thing is… it’s funny for the first 2/3… and Marisa Tomei is still hot throughout its entirety. So I say give it a chance.

Sunday, the rain broke, so I went for a little stroll around the Presidio… and about the time I got to Starbucks, the rain came again… so I chilled there sipping a Caramel Apple Spice & just… I don’t know… thinking? The usual, trying to figure out what to do here & how to get established & grow as a person, what to do with my day, week, month, etc. Going over all the family stuff, the work stuff, the friend stuff, the me stuff, the world stuff, all that craziness… but I was surprisingly chipper about it given what I just typed out. After about a half hour, the rain broke, the sun came out, rainbows & all that jazz, so I went for a walk back home… and then decided to take a stroll down Lovers Lane (alone) and check that out… which was pretty nice… enjoy…

Inspiration Point - About a 3-4 minute walk from my apartment

I did a few more strolls throughout the day when the weather was good… but yeah, didn’t really do much else aside from that. I know, lame once again… but it was restful… and I kinda needed it after the past few months. So then I watched a movie that I hadn’t seen before… and this may shock a lot of you… but that movie was “When Harry Met Sally” starring Billy Crystal & Meg Ryan. Yes, the classic romantic comedy about acquaintances who become friends over random star-crossings and then possibly something more… I had never seen it… but felt like I’ve been there a few times. Anyway, Harry (Crystal) hitches a ride with his girlfriend’s friend Sally (Ryan) to NYC after graduation, they chat along the way, Harry makes a pass & gets turned down. It happens, they go their separate ways. Five years later, they meet up again by chance on an airplane. Harry’s engaged, Sally’s dating this guy. They chat, they go their separate ways. Five years later, they meet up again. Harry’s divorced & Sally’s recently single… so now they become friends… but can men & women REALLY ever be friends? Or is it just men putting up with women’s crap because we want to have sex with them? Or vice versa? Is there always that lingering attraction that at least one party involved wants? The answer is yes… but hey, watch the movie… and then discuss it… and then make out & have lots of incredible sex… or be incredibly disappointed. The point is that you tried. Wait, did I give away the ending? No. You’ve all seen it. You’re probably not even reading this… but yeah, I really liked this movie… and now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to being a cynical douche like Harry because apparently that’s the kind of guy that gets laid.

Honestly, this week hasn’t had a whole lot to it. It’s has been very rainy. I haven’t done a whole lot after work because… well, I’ve been busy outside of my f**king mind, then I just want to get home, relax & listen to the rain on the window as opposed to standing in it getting soaked. Been hanging out a little bit with the roommate Pixie… but really just her & her friend watched a few episodes of Futurama… and then we watched the pilot of “My So-Called Life” starring Claire Danes & Jared Leto back in the early nineties. Favorite part was when the ladies asked me “So… did people really dress like that… with the plaid over bikini tops or whatever that is?” Because I was apparently in 7th grade when this show came out, I was obviously the expert. “Well… there was a lot of plaid… but I thought it was just because I lived in a hick part of town…” and they found that pretty amusing, “but don’t worry… it’ll be back in fashion again before you know it. That twenty year cycle’s about due.”

Oh, I also saved a guy from serious injury yesterday. I was walking to work, in the rain, came to a corner, and it’s basically instinct for me to look four times before crossing a road, especially in bad weather. I’ve been on too many car hoods as a courtesy clerk at a supermarket. Anyway, pretty busy intersection, I noticed the gentleman in front of me stepping off the sidewalk into the intersection because he had the “green man” signal… but there was a douche in a BMW blowing through the red light. So I reached out, grabbed him by the collar of his coat, & pulled him back to the curb. Go-go-gadget arms!!! He was a little startled at first, until the passing car splashed him. The driver was on a cell phone, made a little wave to us like “Excuse me! Sorry!” and kept driving like nothing. The guy that I had saved pulled his headphones out & said a quick, “Thanks man!” So you know how I responded, “No need to thank me, just pay it forward” and we walked across the street & went our separate ways after that. Not a huge story by any means… but hey, it’s a lot better than “So I saw this guy get rolled up on the hood of a Beemer this morning. Leg was broken in 3 places, four broken ribs, punctured lung… and the guy who hit him committed suicide out of grief, compounded with his wife who’s divorcing him on the phone due to financial troubles.” See, I saved somebody. Maybe two somebodys. Better story.

Over this week, I saw “Due Date” starring Robert Downey & Zach Galifinakis. The story is a comedy from director Todd Phillips (“Old School”) and about a man (Downey) whose wife (Michelle Monaghan) is about to have a baby in LA while he’s across the country in Atlanta. Well, due to serious misunderstandings, he’s put on the no-fly list, so now he has to drive cross-country with the guy who got him on the list inadvertently (Galifanikas). Basically, it’s your standard tale of kinda-selfish guy & eccentric well-meaning imbecile Odd Couple kind of story… to an absurd level. It does have a little bit of heart though… and a cameo by Jamie Foxx… and a few REALLY funny parts, so I say give it a shot. I enjoyed it.

Next up was “Unstoppable” starring Denzel Washington & Chris Pine. It’s from director Tony Scott (“Last Boy Scout”, “True Romance” & the like) so you know there’s a lot of explosions & action. Based on a true story about a runaway train in rural Pennsylvania, it’s about two guys that try to run it down at 70 MPH to save the day… if they can make it… or if they can make it out alive themselves. Basically that is the story… but they throw in the whole backstories of the main characters which is okay… but yeah, it’s really one of those really basic movies where there’s good guys, bad guys, people in danger, heroism, tales of redemption, all that stuff that you’d expect in a Tony Scott movie. It was okay, but not fantastic.

Other than that, like I said, just really busy & exhausted, and a little frustrated with my problems with Capital One not being able to just do simple procedures because they don’t understand the words coming out of my mouth. F**k outsourcing! Oooh… but another good thing is that I might have a hookup for WonderCon next weekend. What’s WonderCon, you ask? Well, it’s basically ComicCon… but in San Francisco, so I can nerd out with the likes of comic book geeks, even though I won’t be dressing up or anything, it should be an amazing geeks-perience. Anyway, more on that when / if it happens. Happy 900th entry everybody!!!

Patrick - Saint of Green Bagels

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY!!! Well, yet again it has been a while. Just been hella busy with roommate interviews, social activities, errands, trips to exotic locations, natural disasters, and the like. Let’s see, last I left off was Monday I think… so about a week ago. We had some more roommate interviews… and long boring & slightly frustrating story short, we have a new roommate… with paperwork signed & she moved in over the weekend. We interviewed four people (including one incredibly energetic girl who was my favorite) on Tuesday, but basically just ended up offering the room like “First one to sign a check & start the paperwork, gets the room” so the student sleeping on a friend’s couch was the first… but she seems okay in the four minutes that I spent chatting with her thus far. I’ll keep you posted. I don’t even have a nickname for her yet… that’s how little we’ve met.

Thursday night, Jackie D, Carmen & I went out to dinner at Pasquale’s near Carmen’s new apartment. We had a fun dinner, just the three of us, some fine Italian food, a bottle of wine & good times. We filled each other in on events like Jackie D’s move to Philly, Carmen’s new apartment, my ongoing roommate search & how it was frustrating me because I was thoroughly convinced that Tracy was trying to sabotage it by being genuinely creepy & pointing out ever flaw in a horrible manner… but yeah, mostly just laughs & then we hung out at Carmen’s place for a bit.

So… later on that night, I got a text message around midnight from my Wingman saying, “Not sure if you’re up but Japan just got seriously pimp handed by Mother Nature! DAMN!!!” of course this was in regards to the 8.9 earthquake that everybody’s talking about on the news. As details started coming in, there was talk of a tsunami… and then it hit me… I live on the coast now. Of course the news reported it with tsunamis being ten meter high waves traveling hundreds of miles an hour and destroying everything in its path… but after my initial thought of “What did that Christmas time tsunami in Indonesia do the West Coast of the US? Nothing, right?” then I thought… “Well damn, should I be packing up Gretchen, waking up the roommates & heading for Tahoe?” I mean… it was around 1 AM when I went to fill up Gretchen’s tank just in case (and I was going on a road trip the next day) but the more I thought about it, the more I thought that it would be best for me to stick around. I was in a fairly safe situation anyway, being on the backside of the first MAJOR hill on the coast, but I also have a 4WD vehicle to help get people out if they’re trapped, I’m prepared for such things, and you know me… I just want to be a hero deep down. So the next morning, after getting a few hours of sleep, I went about the day as usual. Told Jackie D about the tsunami as we drove to work, fielded text messages from friends & family as they awoke to the news, but nothing really happened along the coast other than a few boats in Santa Cruz got knocked around apparently. However, it is a tragedy in Japan. Please give donations to help them out… or Godzilla will be a REALITY!!!

The thing that really struck me about the whole incident… was how little I thought about material things when there was an impeding threat. A giant wave could’ve been heading out to wipe out the Bay Area… and maybe the state of California… but the things that were rushing through my head wasn’t “Oh my gosh, I’m going to die… and all of my stuff is going to be underwater.” I was taking a quick inventory of what I really care about. “Let’s see, Bubbles is in Utah so she’s safe. If I head for Tahoe, I’m going to tell my roommates to see if they want to ride… but Brutis has to come with me otherwise Bubbles will literally kill me… and then we’ll have to swing by Carmen’s because she doesn’t have a car… do I have water? Grab a few things from the pantry… med kit… flashlight batteries are charged… got the scotch brite pads so we can start a fire if needed… I’m already packed for clothes… would the bridge be the best way? Definitely. Should I call my mom to let her know that I’m fine? My dad? Should I wait until morning or I’m safe? I don’t want them to worry…” You know, stuff like that. I was even trying to figure out a good way to get Bubbles’ roommates in the Jeep if needs be (even though they all have their own cars). I don’t know, just makes you kind of think about what’s really important to you. Again, if you get the chance, help out Japan. Obviously the community here in San Francisco is affected by it, lots of friends & family across the ocean… and our hearts go out to them.

Friday, went to work as normal, fielded texts & emails from family & friends, then after a half day, picked up Jackie D & headed for SoCal. The drive was pretty uneventful other than we listened to a lot of music… and we both love love LOVE “The Blueprint” through & through… so that was played a few times. CLASSIC!!! I was also educated a little bit on the likes of Drake, Bruno Mars, Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj & a whole bunch of others that I hadn’t really heard much of before. Yes, I’m that guy. It was about a five hour drive, we checked into the hotel, & had dinner at Farm of Beverly Hills. FYI – The over roasted chicken breast there… absolutely delicious. Go for it. After dinner, we met up with Lilie in Marina del Rey for some salsa dancing at The Warehouse. It was a lot of fun… and it had been a while since I could show off some of the salsa moves. Sigh… like almost a decade now since I was doing it a lot. Sh*t! Time flies…

Blurry Celebrity Sighting - I think it's Billy Baldwin...

That night, after a few drinks, Jackie D & I were just chatting about this and that… and she said something along the lines of “$teve, I gotta tell you something. You’re a different guy when you’re around different people.” “Well yeah… isn’t everybody kinda that way?” “What I mean is… I’ve seen how you are around me… obviously… and we’re cool, laid back, whatever. I’ve hung out with you & Bubbles… and you guys are best friends & all… but you’re also always checking to make sure she’s doing okay & watching over her and all that stuff. Tonight with Lilie, I noticed that when we were talking, she say you out dancing & having a good time… and it was like… she had never seen that side of you before… and when we were chatting out on the deck having drinks, you were a little more… calm & collected. It just might be the way you are… but yeah, it’s just odd because… I don’t know who you are, ya know?” “Wow… I guess you’ve got a point there. Yeah, I do kind of adapt to my audience & environment a lot… but I like to think it’s still me.” “Yeah, I can see that… I don’t know, just something I noticed… and it was a HUGE difference between the personalities or whatever.” She may have a point. I really adapt to the people I’m around. I know with Bubbles, she’s been sick a lot of the times the three of us have hung out. When we were out on the deck, I didn’t need to yell or anything. Jackie D’s a big girl… and I don’t feel like I need to check to see how she’s doing as much as if… I were hanging with Bubbles (because I’ve let her be her… and ended up carrying her home TOO many times) but yeah… am I really being ME? Who is ME? Great thought-provoking question, right? Who are YOU? Do you know the REAL you? Or just the you that you pretend to be for the sake of others? Deep thoughts… by Dr Love…

Saturday, we had some breakfast burgers at Big Dean’s on Santa Monica Beach, then met up with Lilie again to see the Pier, ride the roller coaster, drive out to Beverly Hills to stalk some celebrities, gander along Rodeo Drive, cruise the Sunset Strip, then up to Griffith Observatory for these pictures…

Hollywood Sign & Griffith Observatory

After that was dinner at House of Blues, checking out Mann’s Chinese Theatre & then surprisingly… no clubbing, but instead we headed down to Laguna Niguel for a few bottles of wine & relaxing. Here are some pictures of that too…

Celebrity Sighting #2 - My inspiration Shrek

Celebrity Sighting #3 - The Foxx & Jackie D

(please disregard the Madame Tussaud in the background)

View from room at Laguna Niguel...

Sunday, we slept in a bit, had some lunch at Salt Creek Grille, and then drove back for 7 hours. Again, nothing really eventful other than a lot of music and we made fantastic time. Monday, we met up with Carmen after work for some dinner at an Indian restaurant called Musala & that was pretty good times too. Jackie D was leaving the next morning (like 4 AM) for Philly, so yeah, goodbyes were said… but not before we watched an absolutely horrible movie called “MacGruber” starring Will Forte, Kirsten Wiig & Val Kilmer. Now, when I’m watching a movie based on a pretty lame SNL skit, I tend to give it some leeway. It should go without saying… but yeah, this one was pretty bad… and I think killed any future implications that a “MacGyver” movie franchise would be a good idea. Anyway, it’s the story of a legend in the field of espionage named MacGruber (Forte) who is asked to come out of retirement to get back a nuclear missile from the evil mastermind Cunth (Kilmer… and yes, you know it’s pronounced with a silent H throughout the movie). Well, after accidentally exploding his dream team of soldiers, MacGruber must team up with a new recruit (Ryan Phillippe) & the best friend of his murdered wife (Wiig). Basically, there was a lot of incredibly vulgar stuff going on… and I’m about as desensitized as they come… but yeah, it wasn’t really funny… or coherent… and at times, I realize it was purposely so… but it didn’t matter. I didn’t really care for this movie. Bring on “Hot Rod 2” or something…

Monday was back to the usual busyness of business… and it was also the day that Jackie D left for Philly. Also, the newest roommate has moved in… but still haven’t really got a good name for her yet as we haven’t talked much (odd hours & keeps to herself). Soon I’m sure…and basically this week has been busy with work, running errands & then bad weather on top of it all, so not a lot to report on other than a few movies during the late nights… so here we go with those…

First up was “The Presidio” starring Sir Sean Connery, Mark Harmon & a young Meg Ryan. The story is about a murder at… you guessed it… THE Presidio… as in where I live, but back in the 80’s when it was almost exclusively a military base & federal land (still kind of is… but they rent it out). An SFPD detective who used to be a cadet there (Harmon) is brought in to help with the investigation since a car chase led into the city & teams up with his former commanding officer (Connery) to bring the killers to justice. Along the way, the detective meets the hot daughter (Ryan), past issues become prevalent, shots are fired, people are betrayed, people fall in love, you know the routine. Best part about this movie though… was watching the car chase through the Presidio, then into the streets of Pacific Heights, and then through Chinatown and saying out loud “I know that restaurant!!!” or “I just drove that yesterday to go pick up Carmen!” So what if I’m a nerd, it was an okay movie. Then again, Peter Griffin says Mark Harmon is the greatest actor on planet Earth so… who am I to deny him that distinction?

I followed that up with “Saw: The Final Chapter” starring… well, nobody of real relevance except a brief cameo by Cary Elwes (“Robin Hood: Men in Tights”). This is the 7th (and God willing final) installment of the Saw series which has grossed a sh*t ton of money as most half-ass horror movies do. Basically, there’s the Jigsaw killer who puts people in these horrific trap situations with the choice of do some crazy sh*t & get maimed… but survive… or don’t do it & die a horrible death, the choice is yours. The twist in this one… is there’s a Jigsaw survivor who is out promoting his new book about the experience & trying to help those who have been through traumatic situations… but a secret from his past is going to come back & put him through some serious trials… oh and the cops are still trying to find a killer too. Gore, twists & turns, you know the series. My major concern was that… yes, it was made for 3-D, so there was a lot of parts that just seemed REALLY stupid… because you know, in 3-D it’s stuff flying at you… mostly splatter. It was a horror flick. If you like them, check it out.

Last night was “Ong Bak 3” starring Tony Jaa, who before joining a monastery was going to be the future of martial arts movies. Basically it’s a continuation of Ong Bak 2… which is a completely different story from the original Ong Bak… but hey, Ong Bak had recognition because of the amazing athleticism of the star, so they decided to do a period piece with the same name. I am a huge fan of these movies (even though the stories are often a bit to be desired) but the action sequences are amazing. If you like the first two movies… or have seen “The Protector” and it blew your mind, check this movie out… but then again, I’m a bit of a martial arts nerd.

Anyway, that’s enough shorthand of the past week plus… and now I must go to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Have a great night everybody!!! Drive safely (and sober)!!!