Topic: CWK, F&F, Lakers, Movies

*Things at work have died down a bit so I feel like I can have a life again :) Yay.

*I went to see the Cold War Kids at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown LA about two weeks ago. It is amazing to see how far that band has come. I remember seeing them in some tiny hole place and now they are selling out the Orpheum Theatre and Drew Barrymore and Justin Long are their fans. That was my celeb sighting for the night.

*I went and saw Fast & Furious last Friday for kicks. The hilarious part is I have seen The Fast and The Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious in the theater and part 3 on the airplane ride home. Ha Ha. It made sense I see the last one considering I saw the others. I have to say it was pretty entertaining but I expected NOTHING so yea. It was good for laughs and I have to support the Asians (Justin Lin directed the movie).


*So at work they had a lottery for the Lakers vs. Nuggest game last Thursday and a bunch of my coworkers won. One of them ended up giving me a ticket so I got to catch a free Laker game almost courtside. Although I stopped liking basketball years ago and I really do not like the Lakers it was fun just to be there. Oh and there is this player on the Denver Nuggets team who needs to be put down, what a d-bag.

*I am seeing the Cure in like 4 days and you think I would be more excited but I guess it has not really hit me yet. I do love them EVER so much so I'm sure once I'm in Vegas it will really set it. AHHHHHHH!!!

*34. Duplicity Dir: Tony Gilroy 2.5 stars
35. Flash Point (Dou Fo Sin) Dir: Wilson Yip 3.5 stars
36. Roman Holiday Dir: William Wyler 4 stars

Topic: Movies

*28. Bedrooms and Hallways Dir: Rose Troche 2.8 stars
29. Painted Skin (Wa Pei) Dir: Gordon Chan 3 stars
30. Tell No One (Ne Le Dis a Peronne) Dir: Guillaume Canet 4 stars
31. Bringing Up Baby Dir: Howard Hawks 2.7 stars
32. All About Eve Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz 5 stars
33. Fast & Furious Dir: Justin Lin 3 stars

(R) BoHo on Sunset Grade: B
Today, after shopping at Amoeba, I crossed the street and came across a new gastropub that has opened on Sunset. It literally just opened, this past Thursday, and the name stands for Bohemian Hollywood. More of a pub than a restaurant, one side of the menu is a beer list, and the other has scant offerings, mostly small plates. There’s also a wine list, but I didn’t try any. As for the vibe, it’s furnished kind of like an Anthropologie store, lots of mismatched pieces and a homey feel. The place is OK, and it’s a nice alternative to the fast food places in the area, but since it’s Hollywood, be prepared to pay a little more. More info on LA Times.

(M) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart S/T Grade: B+
New Wave told me I would like this band, who’ve I heard of via Pitchfork but never got around to listening to. I streamed the album, and admittedly, quite enjoyed it. Though the songs obviously lift from many predecessors (Field Mice come to my mind, but there are many others), the tracks are enjoyable and not simply rehashes. Or as the Pitchfork review states: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart simply made a slyly confident debut that mixes sparkling melodies with an undercurrent of sad bastard mopery, and you’re just being a dick if you think the past has some kind of patent on that. Whoa. Strong words. The band is on at Spaceland April 1 if anyone wants to check them out...

Funny news of the day: A few celebrities are auctioning off their underwear for a charity in the U.K., as reported by the NME. Ha ha. People will sell anything these days.

Topic: Movies

*My friend Jen sent me this list of 100 Movies to See Before You Die. I've seen 46 out of the 100. I NEED to watch more movies!! How many have you guys seen?

Topic: Drinking, TV,

*On St. Patty's Day, my friend Eric, Darth, Pigern and I went to Bodega in Pasadena for their $3 Guinness special. It was relatively quiet around the Paseo area given it was a drinking holiday. I guess since it was a Tuesday and the economic times people were not interesting in coming out. Oh well. Eric, Darth and I had a good time drinking it up :)

*Can't say I have been doing much else but drinking. Last week I had at least 6 Guinness that is like one per day. Yum Yum.


*I am bummed I was not able to sign up on my friend Jim's NCAA blog bracket but for some reason the page never loaded for me. Grrr. Oh well. I'll just watch how Obama is doing.


*Did you guys happen to catch this on the Simpsons last night? Freaking funny.


*Oh and BSG came to end on Friday :( ... (sniff) What an amazing show. Although I must admit that series finale was nothing to write home about. It was enjoyable but not amazing.


*So more than a month ago, Darth and I got an apartment together. It has been interesting to say the least. The biggest issue is furnishing the place which has really been hurting my pocketbook :( The other issue has been the setting up the cable TV. Apparently the building we are in only allows us to use Dish Network which sucks because I much rather have Charter or Direct TV but go figure. (sigh) On the plus side, I now have DVR and I am not going to lie I am going to use that thing like mad. Ha ha. Oh and now I have a desire for a bigger TV. Dang it.

Topic: Philppe's, Dodger Stadium

*I went to Philippe's today for the first time which is pretty sad for me considering it is suppose to be an Angeleno classic. The beef dip sandwich was mighty tasty and with the spicy mustard sauce even better :) I doubt I will make trips out there often but if I am around Chinatown I might swing by.


*Walked around Dodger stadium for a bit today. Honestly Dodger stadium is a very cool place and definitely a special part of Los Angeles. Even though we (the Dodgers) are not going to do well this season I am looking forward to some Dodger games and Dodger dogs.

*Oh and I can't wait for the Gold Line extension of the Metro to open up in East Los Angeles. I will ride that to get to Dodger games and into LA.

*I decided since no one is really writing on this page anymore to remove everyone. If you are interested in coming back let me know but otherwise it is just me and Pigern. I am not even sure anyone reads this page anymore ... heck I don't even have time to write on it.

Topic: Movies, TV

*25. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Dir: Leonard Nimoy 3.5 stars
26. The Wings of the Dove Dir: Iain Softley 4.1 stars
27. Let the Right One In (Lat den ratte komma in) Dir: Toma Alfredson 3.7 stars
I can't believe they are remaking Let the Right One In (2010). Good gosh.

*I know I know I should be glad I have a job given these bleak economic times but man ... (sigh) some days are rough.

*Since I haven't been home much I am not plowing through movies :( but I am still watching as much TV as I can :). I watched the new show Castle on ABC only because Nathan Fillon is in it and I dig him. It is a bit on the cheesey side and could be better but I'll stick with it.

24 has been MIND BLOWING good (sniff) we'll miss you Bill B. I pretty much stopped watching How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang but I will try to catch up. Life is not as good as I remember it to be but I'll still watch. Lost is getting harder and harder to watch because it is getting sillier and lamer but the ep from last week was good cause it was all Sawyer :) HOT!! Battlestar Galactica has been AMAZING and so sad that next week it will be the end. It seems wrong that one of the smartest shows on TV is coming to an end ... what a shame. Ha ha I guess that is enough of my TV talk.

*In regards to movies in the theaters the only one I'm interested in watching is Watchmen even though everyone I know who has seen tell me it was too long and not great.

*I feel like there have not been a lot of good music or shows lately but finally some good stuff is coming out. The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album It's Blitz is pretty good. I am digging that as well as the new Franz Ferdinand which is odd because I did not like their earlier work. Oh and Nina Persson from The Cardigans side project A Camp is good stuff. The only shows I have lined up for sure now are The Cure at the Pearl in Vegas (I HEART THEM), Silversun Pickups at the Glasshouse and I want to check out Fever Ray when they hit up the El Rey. I bought tickets to see Depeche Mode at the Hollywood Bowl but now I might not go. The ticket was $175 bucks face value before all the crazy service fees. That is INSANE. Anyways NIN is coming back into town and I much rather see them :) Oh Trent (sigh).

Topic: Movies, Sactown

*21. Wonder Woman Dir: Lauren Montgomery 4 stars
22. The Double Life of Veronique (Double vie de Veronique, La) Dir: Krzysztof Kieslowski 4 stars
23. The Return of the Native Dir: Jack Gold 2 stars
24. Ed Wood Dir: Tim Burton 4.1 stars

*Sorry for the lack of updates. Seriously work has been a nightmare :( I have not been up to too much lately besides working and working. I did get the stomach flu last week and now I have a cold. (sigh) Oh well.

*Last weekend, I went up to Sacramento to visit a good friend. Sactown is a cool place but I am not sure I would want to live there. I took Southwest Airlines to get up north and I guess because the flights are often so short the staff likes to make witty and dry jokes while doing the in flight safety stuff. That was pretty entertaining.

*While in Sactown I watched a bit of tv and was exposed to dvr type tv. I can see why people love it so much. I'm too cheap and still live at home to install this stuff but once I move out I think dvr is the way to go. You can tape all the shows you want and just watch it when you want. I know, I know this has been around for years now but again ... I was too cheap and still live at home to really get on it. Ha ha.

If Robert Smith and Thom Yorke went head to head, I'd put my money on Robert, just cos of his size.

Topic: Oscars, DM

*The Oscars were tonight where we stroke the egos of movie stars. Most of the winners were pretty by the book with no real surprises. I thought maybe Mickey Rourke would get Best Actor for the Wrestler but I guess the Academy was worried about what he would say in his speech. I was happy Kate Winslet won, she is the best and I know some (sorry Cup) did not think Slumdog Millionaire was anything special but I was glad it won Best Picture. Oh and Hugh Jackman did fine job hosting (and was easy on the eyes) and it was cute when Anne Hathway went on stage with him to sing.



*Depech Mode is coming back to town in August. I am not a huge fan of them but they are pretty good live, might check them out in Vegas.

*How is it already the end of February? (sigh)

Topic: Movies

*18. Step Brothers Dir: Adam McKay 1.5 stars
19. The Importance of Being Earnest Dir: Anthony Asquith 3 stars
20. Emma Dir: Douglas McGrath 4 stars

A coworker sent me this so-called Oscar leak. Not sure how true this is, but I'd be sad if Waltz With Bashir doesn't win Best Foreign. Oh well.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Topic: Movies

*15. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Dir: Peter Sollett 2.7 stars
16. Australia Dir: Baz Luhrmann 3.5 stars
17. Frost/Nixon Dir: Ron Howard 4 stars

Topic: Movies, running, rain

*Went to a wedding on Saturday and I have to say of the weddings I have been to (and it is quite a few) I have never been to one where the bride and groom and family and friends were all so happy about occasion. It was very sweet.

*I am really digging the rain and like everyone says ... we need it.

*I went to my third Firecracker 5K run on Sunday. It was drizzling a bit but that didn't stop all the runners who came out. I ranked 667 out of 1766 for 5k runners, which is not too bad but I want to improve my time for next year. The hills around Dodger stadium are a pain though. Ha ha.

*13. The Wackness Dir: Jonathan Levine 3 stars
14. The Lady Vanishes Dir: Alfred Hitchcock 4.8 stars

Already 9 days into the month and I need to watch more movies.

Topic: Movies

*11. Vicky Cristina Barcelona Dir: Woody Allen 3.5 stars (the extra 0.5 for scenes of Barcelona and Penelope Cruz)
12. Frozen River Dir: Courtney Hunt 3 stars

Well last month I saw 10 movies. At this rate I can do about 120 for the year.