Topic: Various, movies

*Yikes the blog is coming to a slow death. I only blogged once in July :( sad stuff. July was a good and bad month - the good I got to see Tori Amos; the bad getting my 401K matching cut and getting mugged/robbed in Pasadena. (sigh)

*Apparently they are closing the Chalet, this ski lodge looking bar in Eagle Rock, to make it into an English pub. Darth, Pigern and I went the last weekend it was open and I guess I do not like vodka martinis much (all I wanted was the olives) because I got trashed. It was barf heaven for me. Darth was quite not impressed :)


*Been going to a few Dodger games. Too bad they are struggling and having a tough time. Only 46 more games and the regular season is over but I am wondering how far the Dodgers can go.


*Last Saturday I went to the Huntington Library with Pigern and a few of her buddies. I have not been there in ages so it was nice to walk around the gardens. The Chinese garden they created is pretty good. I mean not like the ones in China but you know it is decent.

*That same Saturday I went to the Ice House in Pasadena for my friend's surprise birthday party. It was my first time at a comedy club and I thought it was pretty good though I doubt I would go again. Our comedian was Bret Ernst and he had all of us laughing pretty hard.

*I'm pretty behind in my movies. To give you an idea around this same time in 2008 and 2007 I was already in the high 70's so I am about 20 behind :P
49. Gary Gardens Dir: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer 3 stars
50. Blazing Saddles Dir: Mel Brooks 3.5 stars
51. Teen Wolf Dir: Rod Daniel 2.8 stars
52. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Dir: David Yates 3.5 stars
53. Charlie Wilson's War Dir: Mike Nichols 3 stars
54. Taken Dir: Pierre Morel 4 stars
55. 500 Days of Summer Dir: Marc Webb 3.3 stars
56. I Love You, Man Dir: John Hamburg 3.3 stars
57. Jezebel Dir: William Wyler 3.8 stars
58. Now, Voyager Dir: Irving Rapper 4.5 stars

Gigantic (Matt Aselton, 2008) Grade: C-
It’s really my fault for volunteering to watch this indie film for work; after all, it stars Zooey Deschanel. But then again, she did Yes Man, so Zooey does not necessarily a good film make. Gigantic is all over the place. I was hoping for a cute, solid indie rom-com, but there are all these other strange elements (a murderous homeless man? Paul Dano’s desire to adopt a Chinese baby?!) that never make sense. By the end, I was wondering if I just didn’t get it. Nope, Rotten Tomatoes had a 38% rating. Ugh. Zooey is still cute though.

Topic: MJ Memorial

*During the weekend Darth and I tried to get tickets to the MJ Public Memorial Service at Staples Center but I was informed on Sunday the following:

Thank you for your registration.

Sorry, we regret to inform you that your registration to attend the Public Memorial Service for Michael Jackson was not selected.

Hundreds of thousands registered, but only a few can be in attendance.


*So instead Darth and I decided to go check out Staples today and sign the boards they set up. Oh and shout out to Leobarda and David for holding out spot for a bit :) Here are some photos:

Topic: TV, CD

*On Friday, Darth and I went to a Dodger game. It was fun and we won so even better. Now we are 48-28 with Manny set to come back in a few days. The only bummer part was we left the game after it ended to beat the traffic instead of staying to watch the fireworks show ... which ended up being a tribute to MJ. Dang it.

*Say hello to our new TV. Oh how I love you new TV in all your awesomeness :)


*I spent most of Sat. night and all Sunday going through my cds and organizing them. I realized I use to buy a lot of junk cds ... a lot. I also realized my music taste is all over the place. I have quite a few cds I need to get rid of now and I doubt Amoeba would take them all.

*I hate writing thank you cards.

Topic: R.I.P. Michael Jackson 6.25.09

*I was at work when I learned Michael Jackson had passed away. Darth had sent me an email saying "omg Michael .... sad" so I went to the net and CNN reported he was being sent to the hospital however when I went to TMZ it stated in big words Michael Jackson dies. The odd part was no other new source was confirming this and I was not going to take a gossip rag site to be official news. After about 20 mins the L.A. Times reported it and it just broke. Apparently the news of his death slowed the Internet down to a crawl as people were just flooding the sties.

I am a fan of Michael Jackson and acknowledge he is hugely talented but deeply flawed. It makes you wonder though if he was that messed up on his own or did the wealth, fame and unhealthy surroundings lead to his tainted personal life. Regardless he is a mega talented singer, dancer and artist and will be missed by so many.




This quote was in regard to Elvis from the movie Forrest Gump but can be applied to the King of Pop - "Some years later, that handsome young man who they called “The King”, well, he sang too many songs, had himself a heart attack or something. Must be hard being the king..."

*R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. They always say celebrities die in threes.

*In light of the sad news, I went out to Rowland Heights to meet Hedwig for some grub. First was Banana Bay for some yummy Thai food. We tried this green papaya salad her friend recommended but both agreed it was just okay. Then we went to Class 302. It was my first time and def. not my last. The place is set up like a classroom where your table is a school desk, the food comes in small tin like containers and there is a giant chalkboard. The item they are best known for is their shaved snow, basically frozen milk shaved down, served with mango or strawberry. Hedwig got that and I opted for the old school shaved ice with tons of stuff in it like red bean, grass jelly and boba.

Topic: Dodgers, movies

*Darth and I took advantage of the free parking offer last Wednesday for Dodger games. It was cool even though we lost ... booo. But hey to date the Dodgers are 46-24 with 92 games left to play and Manny coming back in July. Go Dodgers!!

*43. Wuthering Heights Dir: Coky Giedroyc 3.3 stars
44. 27 Dresses Dir: Anne Fletcher 2 stars
45. Hangover Dir: Todd Phillips 3.7 stars
46. The Proposal Dir: Anne Fletcher 3.3 stars
47. The Jane Austen Book Club Dir: Robin Swicord 2.8 stars
48. The Sting Dir: George Roy Hill 5 stars

Topic: Lakers, True Blood, A Camp

*On Sat. Darth and I had to go to three gatherings. It was a bit nuts. The first was a birthday party at On the Waterfrontcafe in Venice Beach. I hardly ever have to drive on the 10 W past the 405 ... it was strange. Then it was off to an engagement party with cool Filipinos. They have some yummy cakes and pastries. Next was a luau for a graduation. The hostess (the grads mom) hired Polynesian dancers to perform and it was pretty entertaining.

*On Sunday the Lakers became 2009 NBA champs and got their rings. Kobe pretended to be husband and dad of the year with his family and he finally got that victory without Shaq, which he wanted so badly. Too bad stupid people decided to set things on fire near downtown LA / Staples. Classic. But the overall best part has to be we are having a freaking parade on Wednesday which will cost the LA city $2 million dollars. Apparently the Lakers are footing the bill for $1mil and the other $1 million was going to be paid by us taxpayers but has not been covered by private donations aka rich people.

*True Blood came back on Sunday finally. It was a pretty good ep setting things up for the season. The funny part is the main characters Sookie and Bill are not even as interesting as the side characters like Tyra, Sam and Jason. I fraking love Sam and he is smoking hot.


*Saw A Camp last night and Nina Persson is very impressive live. Her voice is like an angel. Oh and I didn't know her husband is in the band with her. Although it would have been nice if it was a Cardigans show because A Camp stuff is just alright.


*Does anyone still use their Myspace account?

Topic: Art Walk, True Blood, whining

*Last night I went to Downtown LA Art Walk held every second Thursday of the month. I only went because a friend of a friend was having an exhibit there, not sure if I would ever go otherwise. I was impressed with how many people were out and about. It was nice to see Downtown "trying" to shed off the decay that plagued that area. On the plus side I did get to check out a few bars and I'm always down for that.

*Seriously can we just give Kobe that dang ring and end the NBA finals already. I am very tired of all the Lakers talk and fans and fake fans and everything. I know I am a bad Angeleno for this but my goodness.


*True Blood comes back this Sunday. Freaking Hot!! I have to give HBO credit. They really put some money behind the ad campaign for this show.


*The whole getting hitched, moving out, preparing my own food makes me feel old and grown up. The realization that I can not do my 150 plus movie watching a year anymore is sinking in and I am not going to lie it is bumming me out a bit. I know the change is good and growing up is good (I guess) but dang ... I'm sure I sound like a big baby now who wants its rattle (and lolly). Wah wah!! I just thought I could ease into this whole thing by getting a condo maybe, live on my own for bit then I guess get hitched and do the whole "married" life. At the same time I thought I would be advanced in my career and now I'll be lucky if I am not laid off anytime soon. Oh well.

Topic: M.I.A, Wolf

*Wow this blog was close to death. Sorry about that. Well one of the main reasons for the lack of posts was I got hitched at the end of May. All the work and time that goes into planning an event like that is insane. I can not say it was worth it but I will say my parents seemed really happy that day which was cool. I have tons of pictures from the whole thing that I will put up in another posting.

*I went and saw Patrick Wolf at the Roxy last night. That man is FAB-u-lous. He is so awesome and talented. I wish I brought my camera so I could have photos to share but alas no.


*If you want a laugh check out this clip of Mark-Paul Gosselaar on Jimmy Fallon from Monday night. I have to give it to Mark-Paul ... he looked the same from his days of Saved By The Bell.


*I am tired of moving stuff and having the rooms all messy. Oh well. I need to get back on my movie watching schedule especially since regular TV is on hiatus. I will post some movies I have seen soon but it will be a short list.

Topic: Doyers, SSPU, Bruce Lee, movies

*Sorry for the lack of post but been busy with stuff and honestly haven't really been doing anything all that interesting. :)

*So the Dodgers won 13 games at home last night and then news breaks this morning that Manny Ramirez did drugs and will be suspended for 50 games. I guess it is like they say ... it is just Manny being Manny. (sigh) So sad.


*I saw the Silversun Pickups at the Echoplex last Thurs. for the Pablove Foundation benefit show. The event was to raise money and awareness regarding children's cancer. A great cause and I got to see Shirley Manson (Garbage) who introduced the band. The Silversun Pickups played a great set and really rocked it. They are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands.

*Last Sat. I went to Unique LA to support my friend's booth and to check out all the random stuff there. It was a cool set up. There is another one coming up in December and I might go and catch that one as well. Oh, and they had free Pabst Blue Ribbon beer so not too bad.

*The History Channel will be airing this documentary on Bruce Lee and how he changed the world on May 10th. It looks kick arse!


*Only a few more weeks and 24, Lost and Castle will end. Then what will I get to watch?? (sigh) I could try the summer movies but nothing is jumping out at me. Most likely I will go see Star Trek but I know it will be some glossy, commerical version, not to say Star Trek was every that good to begin with but you know ... why mess with a classic.

*37. Blowup Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni 3 stars
38. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Dir: Leonard Nimoy 3 stars
39. Lost In Austen Dir: Dan Zeff 3 stars (I wanted to like this more but they tainted some pure Austen things. I'm amazed they are making a full length movie of this coming out in 2011, okay not that amazed more disturbed.)
40. Galaxy Quest Dir: Dean Parisot 4.4 stars
41. Little Dorrit Dir: Dearbhla Walsh and Adam Smith 4 stars
42. M Dir: Fritz Lang 4.5 stars

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY ROBERT :)
Although it would be nice if you cut your hair I still adore you!!

Topic: Hoooottttt

*Why is it so freaking hot??!! Ugh gross.

Topic: The Cure, Susan Boyle

*I got back from Vegas tonight. It was a fun trip and the Cure was good but sometimes it is hard being a Cure fan. I think I've just seen them so many times I have gotten pretty spoiled. Ha ha. I am slightly bummed I am going to miss them in Coachella but not bummed about the standing all day and 100 degree temp in Indio.



*I can't stop watching this clip of Susan Boyle from Britains Got Talent. I think part of it is because I love that song from Les Miserables and another part is because she is such an underdog type. She seems sassy!


*I've been trying to do the whole Twitter thing but I'm not really sure what its functions really are. I mean you can't comment on someone's Twitter posting so I guess it is just to follow people but why would anyone need to follow their firends much less a celeb that much ... well unless you were Susan Boyle. I would follow her .. ha ha.

Topic: Stamps, The Cure

*Cool Simpsons stamps are coming out but bummer prices are going up to $0.44 cents.

*So I go on Facebook maybe once or twice a day but man some people are always on there updating stuff over and over. I find it a bit disturbing to say the least.

*I'm getting pretty pumped about see the Cure in Vegas!! AAAHHHHAAAAHHHH!!!!

Happy Easter!
HE has risen. HE has risen indeed.