Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Saying goodbye to old friends


It's always sad when someone close to you moves away. As recently I had to say goodbye to a friend of 13 years who moved back to Europe. I am not sure if he will ever come back to live, or merely visit periodically as that is all still up in the air. Luckily I am in Europe every summer so I can always visit him and his brother in Berlin come summertime. It's just that we had a ritual of going movie hoping at least every other week, and now that will come to an end. As it's not as fun to movie-hop alone. Actually it's kind of sad. But I imagine I will still do it, as I have done it alone in the past. Though the next time that I plan to go out is around the 14th of January because of time, scheduling, work and money.






All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Haven't been a lot of updates in awhile because I've been busy. Finished school last week. Did better in my Flash Animation classes than I thought. Final grades haven't been posted yet. Got a Christmas job at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Can't wait to quit. I have never worked in such an unsafe place in my life. So many counter productive policies in place. I cannot believe no one's been killed by falling stock. I'll try to get pictures if I can. Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Things overheard in Los Angeles late at night: A black man with 2 pittbulls complained that people in LA steal cell phones to sell for drug money. That's scandalous! As he gingerly fingered his glass crack or meth pipe.
Halloween: I just witnessed two pitbull puppies kill someone's pet bunny at an all night donut shop in Hollywood. What a way to end my Halloween festivities. Oh, and I also saw a very drunk girl, who was exposing her tits moments before, fall off a railing backwards onto the concrete below, on her head No one called an ambulance, but later I saw her walking around as if nothing was wrong. Guess drunk people are lucky when it comes to accidents and falls.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Movie Hopping


Not a very good month or past couple of weeks for movies or movie hopping...At least so far as some good films comes out towards the end of September. Still these past few weeks I've seen seen The Other Guys (Which I found funny as hell), Going the Distance (Not as good as I hoped, though for you ladies Justin shows his extremely white ass), Eat, Pray & Love (Which I couldn't relate to, as I am not a woman in my 40's who is unfulfilled in anyway), Resident 3D: Afterlife (Which I though was pointless in terms of the story of the 3D, as there was no reason for that), & lastly the film Takers (Which actually just made me angry because of all the stupid characters in it acting stupidly). I Also saw a test screening of Sucker Punch, based on a Graphic Novel I've never seen. Which doesn't matter as the film sucked, really, really sucked! I mean no one should go see this film!


Saturday, September 11, 2010

Cell Phone Update Number 9

Cell Phone Update: It's been a really long time since I personally updated my Blog. I have been away in Europe for the past 2 months, and only recently got back. This summer was not the most fun trip to Europe I've ever taken, and it definitely was one of the more costly trips ( more on that later) but it's always nice to see my friends. I had a blast at Roskilde, the weather was great,

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Crawfish or Shrimp Etouffee







Ingredients



6 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 1/2 cups fish or shrimp stock
1 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 pounds crawfish tails, with the fat
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Cooked white rice, for serving
Directions
In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and whisk in flour to combine well. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until roux is a peanut butter color.

Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme and cook until vegetables are soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, salt, red pepper, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.

Skim surface, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add crawfish tails and fat, lemon juice, green onions, and parsley and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining butter and stir to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve over hot rice.






Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Crawfish Gumbo






All recipes are a composite of recipes found online, in various cookbooks, from family, friends and dishes/creations I have tried myself.

The Holy Trinity in case you didn't know is: Celery, Green bell pepper, and onion. Sometimes it is celery, carrots, and onion ( This is more French and I prefer it personally).

I have no idea what the Creole side of y family used in their Gumbo spices, but most creole or Cajun seasoning include Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Oregano, Basil, Cayenne Powder, White Pepper, and Black Pepper.



Ingredients:


•1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
•1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
•1 cup diced Onions
•1/2 cup sliced Celery
•1/4 cup diced Green Bell Pepper
•2 Garlic Cloves, minced
•Kosher Salt
•13 oz. Okra (cleaned)
•2 tbsp. White Vinegar
•4 cups Crawfish Stock
•2 cups Dark Beer
•3 tsp. Cajun Seasoning (cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, white pepper, paprika, oregano, basil)

•2 Bay Leaves
•1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme
•1/4 tsp. Dried Sage
•14.5 oz. Tomatoes, diced
•8 oz. Andouille Sausage, sliced
•1 tbsp. Hot Sauce (your favorite, vinegar-based hot sauce)
•1 lb. 4.5oz Crawfish Tail Meat (4.5 cups); Or about 9 lbs full Crawfish.
Dressing:

•1/4 cup sliced Scallion Greens
•1/4 cup chopped Parsley Leaves
•1 tsp. FilĂ© Powder
•1 tsp. Cajun Seasoning
•1 lemon worth of Lemon Juice
Instructions

1.In a heavy-bottom dutch oven, over low heat, combine oil and flour. Stir continuously for about 30-40 minutes until a milk-chocolate color is achieved.

2.Add celery, bell pepper/carrots, onion, garlic, and a good pinch of salt to cover. Continue stirring to coat vegetables evenly. Cook until roux becomes dark (like coffee) and vegetables are soft.

3.While trinity is softening, saute okra in vinegar in a pan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously and cook until okra starts to stick and vinegar is gone. Add to roux mixture.

4.Add the stock, beer, bay leaves, seasoning, thyme and sage. Raise heat to medium low, stir to combine, and let cook for 30 minutes.

5.Add tomatoes, sausage, and hot sauce. Stir again and continue cooking another 30 minutes.

6.Turn off heat, stir in crawfish tail meat, let stand 5 minutes, then serve hot!

7.To make the dressing: combine equal parts scallion and parsley, season with seasoning and file powder, combine with lemon juice.

8.Serve over steamed white rice or dirty rice, and dress with the scallion/parsley mixture.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Test screenings: I don't go to nearly as many test screenings as I use to, but this past week I went to 3. And all of them were pretty good, which is also pretty rare. I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the Next Three Days, and The Fighter. Scott Pilgrim was by far the best one of the bunch, and the least traditional. Based on a series of black and white graphic novels stars Michael Cera, pretty much doing what he does in every film. Though slightly diff

Friday, May 21, 2010

GLEE: Live at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Univesal Studios. Started off the day at School, then came to Universal to kill some time and take some pictures. Ended up getting into Universal studios for free. Saw the semi new Simpsons ride which was really the only thing I wanted to see. Took a lot of pictures, had over priced mac and cheese at The Hard Rock Cafe, and yogurt at yogurtland. Now I'm waiting for Glee to start. They had some weird warm up dance t

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Movie Hopping



Movie Hopping: Robin Hood, Just Wright and Nightmare on Elm Street this weekend. Robin Hood featured some really nice sets, as well as costume design and a very talented cast. Though the film doesn't have any real highs or lows in terms of dialogue, acting or much anything for that matter. In fact I found my mind wandering a lot during the film, especially when the characters were talking. Just Wright was fine for what it was, a nice piece of romantic fluff. Nothing special and the kind of cinematic fair one sees on a transatlantic flight. Lots of old white people in the audience which seemed odd, but I guess they like Queen Latifa or something. Nightmare on Elm Street was nowhere near as good as it could pr should have been. Any film that features dreams made flesh should be visually amazing! Especially with today's technology, but Nightmare was just so so. I wasn't afraid and it wasn't funny like the original series of films were. Plus I didn't like the way the new Freddy Kreuger looked, and the new actor is a lot shorter than the original actor as well. Overall it should have been much better than it was, and this is coming from someone who is not a horror fan at all!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Immigration: Why it's such a hot button topic



These two pictures are of an illegal immigrant repeatedly seen in my neighborhood who is constantly high or drunk out of his mind, staggering around ( in traffic) asking people for money in Spanish. A prime example of the kind of illegal immigrant who needs to be returned to their own country post-haste!





Lately immigration has become a serious hot-button issue with the general public, especially after the recent bill regarding immigration was passed in Arizona. Where upon any police officer or city official could simply walk up to anyone they found to be even remotely non-American looking and ask to see documentation that they are indeed legal citizens. SOmething that has the community screening racism and racial profiling, especially so here in Southern California. Mainly because So Cal has such a large number of Hispanics residing here ( legally and illegally) compared to other parts of the United States.


Now for me the issue is pretty cut and dry. If you are living in the US without proper documentation you are a criminal, pure and simple-nothing more! People tend to lose sight of the fact that all illegal residents in the US, aside from those who have legitimately asked for asylum or officially applied for residency, are criminals! To live, work, and/or reside here in the US without the proper documentation is illegal and a criminal act. End of story! Though I will admit that if you have been here for a really long time, let's say longer than you were in your own country of origin, you are pretty much a US citizen in my book. But there has to be a line drawn. We cannot just let everyone who wants to come ive in the US live in the US. All countries, states, cities, towns, villages, township or what have you, have a limit to the number of people they can realistically support. California reached that limit a long time, and cannot absorb the influx of illegals that continuously flood our borders. It's simply not possible, nor is it realistic. So my solution would be to grant citizenship to all law abiding immigrants who have been here and can prove they have been here for let's say the past 10 years, and then kick out every single person who hasn't. Even people who missed the 10 year mark by a day or something, as there has to be a cut off point.


Not everyone is going to be happy with this decision, but the truth is they don't have to be. They are here illegally, they get absolutely no say in weather they get to stay or not. It is as simple as that! It shouldn't even be a debate as we are talking about criminals being allowed to reside here illegally. Think of it this way, would you ever allow someone who snuck into your backyard when you weren't looking to live there for the rest of their lives? Or to set up a tent, use your land, eat your food, drink your water and have several children on your property without ever paying you a dime of rent? I don't think so, so why should California or any otehr state do the same?


Now technically I am 1st generation French and American. Making me the son of an immigrant, but my mother came to this country legally. She is highly educated, gainfully employed and never caused a day of trouble in her life. She is also more well versed in the English language and usage than most naturally born Americans. How many immigrants can boast the same? In fact a huge number of illegals who have been granted green cards still do not speak English to this day, which is another part of the problem. I think people would be less concerned with the influx of immigrants if they actually spoke the language or were making an actual effort to learn the language, but the truth is they are not. In fact they don't actually need to here in California because we have so many businesses that cater to the Hispanic community, that you could get without knowing a word of English here. Which personally I am against, for my philosophy is that you need to speak the official language of the place you have chosen to live. regardless of whether it be legally or illegally. You made a choice to be there, so you need to speak the language. Which is why I speak German. I chose to live in Austria for 3 years, and I needed to speak the language as a result.


Sunday, April 11, 2010

Unfortunately not a good week for films this week. Date Night was just so so, despite the fact Tina Fey & Steve Carole are both very funny people. Then there's After.Life w/Christina Ricci & Justice Long. Both of whom I normally like, but in this film they both play whiney little yuppies. So much so, that you don't care about either of them. The only good part of the film is that Christina Ricci shows her tits, unless it's all body doubles & movie magic.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Move to Europe: Part I











In the year 2000 I decided that I wanted to live and work in Europe for at least one year. I had been meaning to do it for quite some time but never really found the time, money or motivation to move there. Since moving to Europe is not exactly something that is easily done, but I was determined to live in a foreign country at least once in my life. Especially as I was getting any younger and I didn't want to be one of those people who died regretting having never seen Paris. I had already graduated from CSUN and was working as a web designer, film critic, as well as at Sears ( For medical and dental insurance mainly), and I just felt it was time to act upon my dream.



Luckily for me I met two guys from Austria, who were living in my apartment complex at the time. I mentioned how I wanted to live in Europe but I wasn't sure where or how I would manage it, and one of them suggested that I move to Innsbruck, Austria. Initially I was thinking of living in Switzerland since I had been there several times and knew the most people there, but they are not officially part of the EU. So I would not be able to legally work or reside there for more than 3 months at a time. While Austria is a full member of the EU, and my duel citizenship would allow me to work and legally reside there for as long as I wanted to.



The plan was one of my Austrian friends would secure me a job in Innsbruck at the local Irish pub ( My first time working in a Pub, but sadly not my last), and later on after I moved there he would help me find an apartment. Since at the time I only knew a few German words and how to ask "Wo ist?" So after everything was supposedly arranged for me in Innsbruck, I put all of my stuff into storage, donated my car to the Red Cross and moved out of my apartment. Arriving first in Munich on the 31st of July 2001, and then journeying to Bludenz, Austria. Where I stayed with my friend for a few days, before group of us went to Ibiza for a mini vacation. Since only two out of the 5 of us spoke English fluently, the trip wasn't all that it could have been for me. And I quickly realized that Austrian people can be somewhat stubborn in the sense that they don't like to do non-Austrian or non-German things, such as eating or trying new things. If I had known what I was in for ahead of time, I think I would have gone and done my own thing. As I wanted to see all the clubs and hear all the music that a party Island like Ibiza had to offer, while my friends tried to find rock bars and only ate at Burger King...Which I found to be somewhat strange.



After my mini vacation it was time to move to Innsbruck, Austria and start work at Limmerick Bill's Irish Pub. A place I thought had a job waiting for me, but in reality there was no such thing. It seems that my friend asked a former manager about hiring me, and in fact did not even have the authority to hire anyone. Luckily because I am so big and because I am from California. I was actually hired on the spot and proceeded to work there fro almost 2 years. Though not continuously, as it seems almost everyone is fired during the summer time as Limmerick Bill's is mainly a winter bar. Luckily for me an Austrian friend had arrange a summer job teaching English at a summer camp to her Irish boyfriend, and I was also able to work there as well. In fact I kept that same summer job for the next 5 years,even after I returned home to the US. Which allowed me a lot more freedom in my travels, as my room and board were covered for 5 weeks each summer, and I also made 1,000 Euros on top of that. The only downside is that the owner of the camp became increasingly cheaper and cheaper as time went on, and hired certain individuals who should never have been allowed around kids. Several of them also were incredibly lazy and one of them was even somewhat racist, which is something Austrians don't need any help in being ( but I digress as that could be another essay in itself).



After the 1st year I lived and worked in Innsbruck, I took a late winter, early spring job working in Cala D'or, Mallorca. One of the worst decisions I have ever made in my entire life. Coming from a fairly large town, city and state, I was not use to the kind of scrutiny that goes in some communities or resort vacation spots. As I constantly had people report where I was at all times, what I was doing and who I was wish. To the point that it made me incredibly paranoid and I hate not being able to trust people. A good example of this was when I was accused of giving free alcohol to a friend of mine. You see each month that I worked for Farrah's Disco, I was given 100 Euros in drink tokens to buy whatever I wanted. Said free drinks were only for myself, and not to be shared with friends or anyone. One night I was supposedly observed giving drinks to a friend of mine and later on one of my managers, a skanky little coke addict, accused me of giving away free alcohol. Because of the description given of the friend I was with, I knew the precise time and location of when I was supposedly giving out free drinks. I then informed my manager that if someone is going to spy on me, they might want to at least get their facts correctly. For the beer that I shared with my friend is something that we don't sell at the bar, and I bought it with my own money from the store. And I made it very clear that if someone wants to know what I am doing at any given time, they need to talk to me and not random people who may or may not have observed from hundreds of feet away.





Needless to say because of this, and the fact that I was forbidden to associate with certain people who worked for rival bars or visit rival establishments. I was decided to leave and leave early. Actually I always meant to leave early as I wanted to work as a camp counselor during the summer, as well as attend several summer events I normally went to. Like the Zurich Street Parade and the Frequency Music Festival, which use to take place in Salzburg ( this year 30 seconds to Mars and Muse are playing, along with Die Toten Hosen and Fettes Brot). So I secretly purchased tickets to return to Austria without telling my bosses, and I planned my escape to coincide just after I was last paid. That way I would not be leaving before getting what was owed to me. As I only made 900 Euros before tax, for working from 10pm until 8, 9 or 10am every day but Sunday. I also had to pay for my mildew infested room at the back of the disco, which was too close to my employers for my comfort. As they would often wake me up for no reason to try to get me to hand out fliers along the beach to tourists, but if I did that I would be working close to 20 hours a day. So I usually just found some secluded spot on the beach and passed out in relative safety.






Sunday, April 4, 2010

Last night I had a very bizarre dream. Two actually. The first one took place after some end of the world disaster. There were a lot of people left alive, just not a lot of water. So everyone was constantly searching for and fighting over water. I was in the dream and so was my mother, but neither of us looked like we do in real life. We also lived in some multi balconied apartment complex with a lot of foreigners, which was odd. Since we have never lived

Friday, April 2, 2010

Better Homes & Gardens: Hamburger Pie





All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!






Ingredients


1 recipe Mashed Potatoes or one 24-ounce package refrigerated mashed potatoes
1-1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash black pepper
2-1/2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
1 10.75-ounce can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup shredded process American cheese (2 ounces)


Directions
1. Prepare Mashed Potatoes*, if using; set aside. In a large skillet cook meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Add the salt and pepper. Stir in thawed beans and soup; pour into a greased 2-quart rectangular baking dish or casserole. 2. Spoon Mashed Potatoes in mounds on bean mixture (or, if desired, pipe potatoes using a pastry bag and a large star tip). Sprinkle cheese over the potatoes. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and cheese begins to brown. 3. Makes 6 servings 4. *Three Mashed Potato Options: U 1. Use four servings refrigerated mashed potatoes 2. Prepare 4 servings instant mashed potatoes according to package directions, except reserve the mil. Add egg and seaon to taste with salt and pepper. Add enough



Tuesday, March 30, 2010

General Tso's Chicken



All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!




INGREDIENTS:



Vegetable oil, for deep frying
4 boneless chicken breasts (you can use dark meat)
3 eggs
2 ts cayenne pepper
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 2 TB cornstarch
1 – 1 ½ cups of panko crumbs

Sauce:
1 large orange, zested
1 ¼ cups orange juice (with pulp is best)
½ cup dark brown sugar
3-4 TB plum sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 ts hot pepper flakes
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 – 2 TB cornstarch

1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
¼ - ½ cup of sweet & spicy pecans (I found at Trader Joe’s)

In a large pot/wok, pour a bottle of vegetable oil/sunflower/canola oil to fill about 1/3 of your pot full. Heat the pot over medium heat until oil reaches 350 degrees F ( use a thrmonato if you have one, but be careful not to bur yourself)
Cut chicken into smaller pieces as desired.
In a large bowl, whisk Eggs, Cayenne Pepper, Salt & Black Pepper, & then set aside for later. In another large bowl mix Flour, Cornstarch, Salt & Pepper, & also set aside for later.
In a medium bowl put the panko crumbs in ( These can be hard to find, so try an Asian store).
Dip the chicken into the mixture in batches, first in the egg mixture you set aside, & then into the flour mixture & shake to coat ( remember the ol' Shake & bake meals your mom use to make with the spices and teh plastic baggie?). Then coat in the panko crumbs, making sure to thoroughly coat them. Place on a try in preparation for frying ( not the funnest or most healthy part of the recipe).
Prepare sauce in a large sauté pan, melt 6 TB of butter, then add orange zest, orange juice, dark brown sugar, hot pepper flakes & Worcestershire. Stir everything, bring to a boil, reduce heat & add 3-4 TB of plum sauce, bring to a boil again & add the cornstarch. Stir thoroughly , and make sure the cornstarch dissolves. Simmer a few minutes or longer till it's thickened appropriately. Add the last 2 TB of butter, stir until it's all melted.

Place chicken in hot oil, enjoy being burned and fry everything until it's golden brown & crispy ( Depending on how you like it, as I amnot a huge fan of extra crispy). Transfer the now fried/battered chicken anotehr plate and cover with paper towels to absorb some of the excess greese ( this is not healthy at all so you want to get as much of it as possible).

Add the cooked chicken to the sauté pan with the sauce & mix until everything is evenly coated. Then add red pepper strips & pecans, mix everything again and serve with white sticky rice ( I am horrible at making rice so I always use instant, but I am sure youc an do better). Enjoy!





Friday, March 19, 2010

God Ambushed



I just got God Ambushed...again! Well, maybe not entirely, as I cut him off early this time. I was leaving Target and a man in a Sears Auto uniform asked me if I knew who so John Newton was. A (former) Slave owner who apparently wrote Amazing Grace. He then proceeded to tell me how this man took stock of his life as a slave trader and decided to repent for his actions, at which point I interrupted and asked if there was a point to this story and if it was about God or religion. It obviously was and so I cut him off. Telling him not to waste my time. He then started to say something about how this man freed the slaves or some such nonsense and I really laid it into him. Telling him that I do not bother him in his every day life, so why should he bother me. I am all for religious freedom and whatnot, but don't fucking bother me! Keep your shit to yourself and leave me out of it.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

I am currently waiting in line to attend the Paley Fest GLEE panel in Beverly Hills. It's the earliest I have ever shown up, and I am the farthest I have ever been. The line seems to be made up of mostly women, somewhat overweight (but who isn't nowadays in the US?), and quite a few Asians. I don't have the best seats for this, but I think I can bluff my way to better ones. We will see. Pictures will be up Sunday or Tuesday because of my class schedule.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

I actually overheard this on the bus while coming back from a Paley Center Event. A very drunk Mexican was loudly telling his companion that his wife wants him to be psychologically evaluated. She apparently thinks he's crazy. From his drunken demeaner, I would guess that maybe he's Bi-Polar or at least manic. Either way he is going to spend 72 hours in a mental health facility. Though what he really needs seems to be a good drug & alcohol counselor.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

no one. This sort of thing sends the wrong message, and unfortunately because the Oscars are broadcast worldwide, the entire world sees this message. That only black people have an interest or shoule have an intin black movies or white people in white films and so on. It's simply not true and Hollywood would be wise to realize this. A good movie is simply a good movie, and people regardless or race or color will acknowledge this fact and act accordingly.
Watching the Academy Awards and the guy who won for the Best Adapted screenplay for Precious gave a horrible speech. It was unwatchable, even though it was barely a minute long. Plus after he won the kept show the faces of all the black actors around him, people who had nothing to do with the film at all. They only showed them because of the color of their skin, which I take personal offense to. Show everyone regardless of the color of their skin or show

Friday, March 5, 2010

Alice in Wonderland unfortunately wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. I didn't laugh once, nor did I find the story interesting at all. The only thing good about it was seeing all the various character from the book, live onscreen. So visually speaking it was amazing. Alas there isn't a hint of an interesting story, which really is a shame. There is so much they could have done with the story and all the rich characters. Such a shame really.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Jonses: Are they real?



There is a film coming out pretty soon called The Joneses, as in "Keeping up with the Joneses." The film stars David Ducovny, and Demi Moore. It is apparently about the perfect family called, you guessed it, The Joneses . Whose only job it seems is get the people around them interested in their lifestyle...or more aptly, the products of their lifestyle. Such as the very latest in high tech shoes, golf equipment, clothing, gourmet frozen food, stylish furniture, sports cars, hair care products and anything else they happen to be promoting. Which is pretty much anything under the sun. As this make believe "perfect" family is nothing more than a selling tool used by big business to sell products to an unsuspecting public. Everything about the Joneses is designed to do nothing more than sell whatever their bosses wish them to sell, by selling everyone on the notion that if you want to be a perfect family too, all you have to do is own everything they on.


Which any realistic or marginally self aware person knows is absolutely false, but the concept does beg the question. "Are there actual fake spokes families out there, created by big business in order to sell the pubic more stuff? I certainly wouldn't put it past a lot of corporations out there, especially the cigarette companies. For I have personally witnessed while living in Europe super hot young girls hired to sell cigarettes, as well as the idea that smoking is sexy and you can actually get a girl as hot as me if you smoke too. So it's not really that far of a stretch to believe that some company out there has indeed hired the perfect family, purely just to sell their various consumer wares.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Tortilla Soup






All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!




INGREDIENTS:

1 dried Pasilla chile
2 T vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 garlic cloves, peeled
15 oz diced fire roasted tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth
1/2 t dried epazote
kosher salt/Regular Salt
1 lb boneless chicken, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 c spinach leaves, roughly torn
grated cheese, something that melts well like cheddar or Monterey Jack (Mexican Blend cheese will do as well)
corn tortilla chips

Toast the chile over an open flame or in a hot pan until it starts to release its aroma. Let cool & then remove the stem & seeds. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion & garlic. Cook until the onion starts turning light brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a blender. Add the toasted chile & diced tomatoes including the juice. Process until smooth.

Reheat the soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the sauce from the blender & cook while stirring until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken broth & epazote. Reduce the heat to a simmer & let cook for 15 minutes. Add salt as needed.
Add the chicken & cook through, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the spinach until wilted.





Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tiger Woods & the Adventures of his amazing Putter!



I really have no interest in Golf whatsoever and would go as far as to say I cannot stand the sport in general. I find the whole thing drawn out and incredibly boring to watch; something that only old people or business men trying to make a deal play. As such I have never followed Tiger Wood's career with any real interest, nor cared what he does on or off the Golf course. Personally I don't think he sounds strange, didn't mix very well and looks weird as hell to me! Which is why I find it especially annoying now, that Tiger Woods is absolutely everywhere you look! From magazines covers to tell all books, to television shows and radio, everyone and their mother seems to want to know what is going on with him, his (soon to be ex) wife, his kids, his endorsement deals and so on. And it's all utter nonsense and a waste of everyone's time. We all have better things to do and think about then where Tiger Woods likes to stick his Gold Clubs! Plus people initially watched Tiger Woods because he is (apparently) an excellent golfer, and not because of the escapades in his personal or private life. But now that it has come to light what a complete sex freak he is, everyone wants a piece of him now and it's ridiculous!


Who cares how many women he's stuck his putter into, as it doesn't change the fact that he is an amazing athlete. Though truthfully I do not really consider Golf a true sport mind you, since all you do is walk around and hit a ball with a stick like a monkey. But still he is genuinely acknowledged to be the best at what he does, that should be the only thing people should concern themselves with. Not his infidelities and all the women that he has apparently had sex with! Which is not to say I am defending him in anyway! For I sincerely think that anyone, man or woman who cheats on their respective mates is a complete and total scumbag! But the fact of the matter is that Tiger Woods is famous and celebrated because of his prowess in Golf and not his prowess in bed. It's that simple and people seem to forget that. If he wants to run around like a Man-Whore sticking his penis into anything with a pulse, then by all means let him run around and make a fool of himself. Impregnate more and more women as well as get himself a venereal disease, which I am surprised has not actually happened yet. Well the pregnancy thing has actually happened at least twice, but we haven't heard of him coming down with VD yet ( Though you never know, as he could simply have taken care of that on the sly). Regardless the guy's still a total scumbag, but he is a talented scumbag. As such people should either continue to enjoy his work as a golfer, or abandon ship altogether because of his numerous infidelities. Either way I just don't want to have to hear about him anymore!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Dream a Little Dream: Part 5



This morning I woke and remembered most of the dream I had last night, which in itself was somewhat odd. I haven't dreamed as much as I use to in awhile, now have I been able to recall them accurately. But last night I dreamed about being in a house, taking Japanese lessons from the teacher I just had this past semester. Apparently the classes were taught my my professor's house, which I'm sure looks nothing like my former teacher's actual house ( I have never seen my teacher's house). In this dream an old co worker of mine named Travis was having the usual problems with his girlfriend, another person whom I have never met and do not know what she even looks like. But she was in the dream just like he was, which was odd since I almost never dream about people I actually know. Plus there is not really a valid reason why I should have reamed about this person as I have not seen or heard from them in several years. The only thing I can think of is the fact that I was just in New Orleans and met a lot of Southern people there, and the person I dreamed about is originally from the South as well. So maybe that is why. Either way there was a lot of dialogue in my dream, but of course I can't remember most of it. I do know that Travis was sleeping in my professor's house, possibly on the sly which wold be very strange in real life. He was also having problems with his girlfriend and I was offering advice, which seemed to upset him. And that is about all she wrote in terms of what I can meaningfully recall. Just more random weirdness.


Saturday, February 20, 2010

Shrimp Po Boy






All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!




INGREDIENTS:




SHRIMP:

1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons creole seasoning
1 3/4 lbs peeled fresh shrimp
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2-1 cup vegetable oil
4 French rolls, split
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup shredded lettuce

CREOLE SAUCE:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 green onions, diced
1 tbp creole seasoning
hot sauce (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Creole sauce:.
Stir together mayonnaide, green onions and creole seasoning; cover and chill (makes about 1/2 cup).

REMOULADE SAUCE:

4 ounces mayonnaise
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 tablespoon pickled relish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons lemon juice

SHRIMP:

Combine flour & creole seasoning ( Remember you can use Zatarans or whatever they sell at your local store). Dip shrimp in egg and dredge into the flour mixture.
Pour about 2 inches of Oil into a Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat.
Fry shrimp in batches for 1-2 minutes or until golden ( you can just spot this visuaully). Spread cut sides of rolls with butter and place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 450 for 5 minutes, spread with creole sauce or remoulade.
Place lettuce and shrimp on bottom halves of rolls and sprinkle with hot sauce if desired ( I am not a huge fan of hot sauce) top with roll top.





Sunday, February 14, 2010

Let's see, New Orleans is not what I thought it would be but it's still dirty fun. I found 20 bucks in the street, sn drinks are free for me. I normally find money, so that is nothing special. It just makes the evening more special. My entire life I have found money, in the streets. Clubs or in bars, pretty much without fail. It's my nice little super power. That an attracting perverts it seems, which is also not sot so bad at times. More on this topic la

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Right now there is a somewhat elderly man yelling at a woman whom I can only assume is his wife. He is screaming at the top of lungs that she is stupid, lazy and fat. Apparently she didn't clean the bathroom or something to his liking. From their uerbal exchange I can assume that he may even beat her. If the yelling continues I will have to call the front desk or something. Just another fine example of marriage & another reason 4 me 2 never get married.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Waiting list to get divorced?



While flipping through channels here in my Hotel room in New Orleans, I came across a program focusing on divorce in the US (or possibly just the States of Louisiana). Apparently there is someone (or some group) out there trying to get a bill passed that would make it necessary for couples who wish to get divorced to wait 2 years before they could actually be granted a divorce. Even in cases where the divorce is as trouble free as a divorce could possibly be. Which to me is just insane, forcing people to stay married who don't want to be married is almost criminal and in some cases potentially deadly! Plus the bill is disguising itself as a way for tax payers to save money, which I don't actually see as happening. Divorces actually generate money for the state, rather than cost money as a whole. With attorney fees, court fees, paperwork filing fees and so on. Hence it's no wonder that the supporters of such a bill real motivations are religiously based.

Rain Rain Go Away




Currently I am New Orleans, very, very close to the French Quarter and it is raining almost non stop! My first time in the Big Easy and it is a cold wet mess! Almost no one was out and about last night in the French Quarter and I saw absolutely nothing in terms of the drunken behavior New Orleans is famous for! I was most upset and hope it was just because Thursday is typically a slow night, although it is a few days before the actual Mardi Gras, so one never knows. Either way while my hotel is rather nice, and the free breakfast is an added bonus, I do not want to be stuck in my room all week long! I came here for the New Orleans culture, food, music, night life, and most of all drunken nudity! Which I do not think I will see if it is too cold to get naked in the first place! Hopefully since tonight is Friday there will actually be something worth seeing going on. I will keep everyone informed.


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Mardi Gras in New Orleans



As you read this I will be New Orleans for Mardi Gras for the very first time! I am so excited and really looking forward to experiencing everything that Mardi Gras and the French Quarter has to offer! Like the food, music and of course naked-drunk debauchery! I just have to watch how drunk I get or else I could end up on some dubious web site or worse!

Arrived safely in New Orleans after 2 short connecting flights, both rather boring & filled to the brim with travelers anxious 4 the revelry of Mardi Gras. Now I'm stuck waiting 4 a few hours until I can take a bus 2 my hotel in the French Quarter. It was almost $40 cheaper than a taxi or airport shuttle. Money better spent on food or drink, rather than a ride across town. Tomorrow will b spent exploring town, sightseeing, taking pictures & eating as much

DARE



Recently I saw the indie film DARE, which I have to admit I rather enjoyed, though the film was not your traditional Hollywood fare. One of the main reasons why I enjoyed it so much, as it's not what you expect to see when you usually go to the movies. So in other words it was rather refreshing, as indie films usually have to rely more on actual acting and story, rather than Hollywood movie magic and flash in the pants movie stars.






What a wonderful way to start off my trip. I got up very early today just so I could run some last minute errands, mail a mistaken double order back to Amazon.com and have something to eat. All before my 2:30 Flight to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. But as I paid for a mailer at the 99 cents store, I noticed I didn't havd my ID on me. So I went all the way home only to discover that my ID was in another part of my wallet. Now I'm running around trying to do

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Movie Hopping: Tooth Fairy-interesting to see the inner workings of the Tooth Fairy relm, a Single Man beautifully shot, well acted but with superflous imagery, didn't really go anywhere and depressing, It's complicated, funnier than I assumed it would be, could relate to it as a child of divorce mysele, and lastly from Luc Besson, From Paris with Love-90 minutes of pure mindless entertainment yet still entertaining. Usually don't sit through 4 movies in

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

SAW: Torture Porn?



I found the first SAW film featuring the Jigsaw killer to be rather interesting, or at least I liked the initial idea behind the film(s). That the Jigsaw Killer wasn't exactly a murderer in the traditional sense of the word. He specifically choose his victims based on decisions they made themselves and their respective immoral behavior. Usually said behavior didn't just affect them, but other innocent people around them as well. Such as a lawyer who doesn't care if their clients are innocent or guilty and just wants to make a quick buck, or an insensitive Doctor who doesn't see his patients as people anymore, thus affecting their quality of care. Hence the Jigsaw Killer gave his victims a chance at redemption by giving them a choice between realizing their mistakes and accepting the consequences for their actions, or failing and thus dying a gruesome death.


Though in later films (A new one comes out every Halloween time each year) the Jigsaw Killer seemed to pick people who hadn't actually done anything all that bad. Or at least not anything worthy of being ripped asunder by metal blades or having spikes driven through their skulls. yet that is exactly what has been happening the more recent films, people are being killed for the smallest of infractions or personality defects. Which I think makes the entire SAW genre of films nothing more than torture porn. A worrying trend on movie making that has gained more popularity in recent times. For while there is nothing wrong in a good horror film, even a particularly bloody one. But films bathed in bloody gore for the sake of bloody gore are just a little too much for my taste.






Sunday, January 31, 2010

Movie Hopping: Lovely Bones & When in Rome

Went Movie Hopping yesterday and saw two films, which is actually one less than I normally opt to see. Especially at the prices theatres charge nowadays. The first film I saw was When in Rome, which while not horrible was not all that good. Despite the fact that it stars Kristne Bell, whom I love from her good ol' Veronica Mars days. The film was obviously edited and re-cut more than once, as the sudden changes in characters behavior and the general theme or pacing of the movie was apparent.


The next film I saw was The Lovely Bones, a much darker theatrical fare by far.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Pee Wee Herman Live at Club Nokia



UPDATE: Get the $20 RUSH tickets to this event if you can. The theatre wasn't even full when I saw the show, and there were plenty of good seats left. So getting the last minute and much cheaper RUSH tickets is definitely a good idea!


In just a few short hours I will be seeing Pee Wee Herman live at Club Nokia! It should be an interesting night! I have made it a point to try to see and do more things in the Los Angeles area, as I have been living her for over 10 years now. I use to go out and do something in the city every weekend, but now I am lucky if I get out once or twice a month. Hence I am trying to see as many things as possible, and to get back into the whole Los Angeles entertainment scene as it were. Since Los Angeles has a lot to offer if you only take the time to look.


I would post pictures, but apparently there is no photography allowed at the show. Which is why I really need to invest in a cell phone that has a decent camera attached. More info about the show to follow and more post coming this weekend.

This is utter nonsense!



I think I wrote a little blurb about Brittany Murphy and her untimely death awhile ago, and how I really wasn't all that surprised to hear of her passing. For awhile now there have been weird stories and rumors circulating surrounding her and her equally bizarre behavior around Hollywood. So hearing that she died because of a mixture of stress, emotional/mental issues, drugs and whatnot, was really not unexpected at all. What is somewhat shocking now is hearing that her apparently equally demented husband, Simon Monjack, is claiming that Warner Bros pictures is responsible for the death of his wife and he plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the company.


Mr.Monjack claims that Brittany Murphy was devastated after reportedly losing a role in the sequel to "Happy Feet." Which I had actually forgotten that she had a role in. Monjack believes that losing the movie caused Murphy to have a heart attack. WTF?! Seriously, she was so distraught over not getting a speaking role in an animated film that she had a heart attack? Who does that and if even if she had a heart attack because she was disappointed, how is that Warner brothers fault? Plus I don't think you could even prove that the new actually caused the heart attack. Which was drug related by the way! Healthy young adults do not have heart attacks out of the blue without either a n undiagnosed problem or some some of drug issue. I hope this case is bounced out of court and the idiot Monjack is forced to pay all the associated legal fees tied to this nonsense and then some!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Junk Postings



Just so everyone knows, if you are a legitimate reader and wish to post feedback, then by all means please do so. But today I found some comments made by people who only wanted to post links to their dubious business ventures or scam offers. I will delete every single posting of such a nature, so please do not waste my time or yours. This site is for fun and entertainment value, and not for anyone to hock their voodoo wares as it were. Please keep this in mind for the future.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Late Night Wars



I guess because of all that has been going on in the late night wars, I am definitely with team CoCo. Though if you ask me the whole thing is rather silly. Right from the get go people knew that having the Jay Leno show at 10pm was going to be a failure as well as cost hundreds if not thousands of jobs in the entertainment industry by removing all the 10pm shows from the line up. And personally I prefer to see a good drama, cop or otherwise at 10pm rather than Jay Leno being insincere to his guests. Which for the most part have not really been all that interesting, but I am not exactly in the Jay Leno's shows core demographic as he tends to skew a little bit older nowadays than Conan does. Whom I frankly find more entertaining to begin with, as I like his more dark sense of humor or bite if you will when compared to Leno mostly vanilla act.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Hell Freezes Over


I have actually read the below article before, but my understanding is that a student in Norway or somewhere in Scnadinavia who wrote this, and it might have been a lot longer and more in depth than this is in it's current incarnation.


The following is an actual question given on a University chemistry final exam.

The answer by one student was so “profound” that the professor shared it with colleagues via the Internet, which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law that gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that, if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell.

Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell. Because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay constant, the volume of Hell must expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Sandra during my freshman year, that “it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is endothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is extinct…leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being - which explains why, last night, Sandra kept shouting “Oh God!”

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY “A”.

Legion






This film unfortunately was crap, even if I didn't pay to see it, it was still a piece of crap! Initially I really liked the film and the whole Angels vs. humans general theme of the movie, but it just couldn't live up to the hype. The first half of the film was interesting as they start to set up the film, delve into the various characters and set up to the film's basic premise. But pretty much as soon as the actual Angel(s) shows up, the film just becomes a disaster! There is not enough character development to make you really care about anyone in the film, and the film's savior, former Angel Michael played by Paul Betthany is just not as interesting as he could have been.


There has been numerous films about Angels and almost none of them make the whole religious mythology of angels interesting, or as interesting as they could be. The only film to come even remotely close is the film The Prophecy starring Christopher Walken. The Angeles in this film are boring and one dimensional at best, their look also leaves something to be desired as well. As they look almost exactly like the Hawk Men from the old campy Flash Gordan movie from the 70's.

Test Screening: Beastly



Yesterday I attended a test screening of a film that I really had no interest in seeing, especially given the subject matter. The film was called Beastly and it is based on a series of young adult/made for teenagers books of the same name by Alex Finn. The story centers around a popular high school senior named Kyle at an elite and prestigious college preparatory school and how through his superficiality, cruel behavior and superior attitude, he is cursed by a witch to be as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. Only to be free of his curse if he can find at least one person to utter the words, I love you within a year lest his curse becomes permanent. Hence this film is obviously an updated and reworked version of Beauty and the Beast, replete with a catchy soundtrack filled with all the latest song from pop culture. The films stars Alex Pettyfer as Kyle and the Beast, Vanessa Hudgens as his would be love interest and Savior, Mary-Kate Olsen as the witch who curses the Beast, and Neil Patrick Harris as Kyle's blind tutor Will.


The film as a whole was much better than I expected it to be and I rather enjoyed it. The make up for the beast and his overall look were really well done. Though this film is definitely made for little girls, and anyone who is male or over the age of 18 is not really going to enjoy themselves as much as they could. I think I would have enjoyed it more if wasn't made by CBS films, whom I didn't even know were even in the business of making Theatrical films. Which is probably why the film looked and felt like the film was a made for Lifetime Television or some sort of straight to DVD fare. Though the music they used was substantially better than what is usually featured on anything shown on television, most likely because of the exorbitant licensing fees for such songs. Still the film noticeably lacked all the qualities that would have distinguished itself as a real theatrical production. In fact it was my understanding that Beastly was going to be an actual television series and not an actual movie. Though I am not sure how they would have Neil Patrick Harris on both series at the same time, especially since his character in this is only a slightly watered down version of Barney from How I met you Mother fame.


I hardly ever check my emails associated with this account and only recently thus noticed that CBS has emailed me asking me not to comment on their film since it was a test screening and not the finished product. Seeing as I have not posted any copyrighted material, nor signed an actual release stating that I would never discuss the film. I legally do not have to comply with their wishes, and since my review is not actually negative, I do not see any reason why I should have to take down my posting in the first place. Sorry CBS, but I actually haven't broken any laws. Plus you would think that you'd like all the publicity you can get for your films, online or otherwise?

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Cell Phone Update: Number 8



While waiting for the bus today I had the pleasure of listen to two fine upstanding examples of the very best that humanity has to offer. In this case an elderly Asian man talking about the quality of food in prison, and a whithered Hispanic woman who apparently also did a little bit of jail time and is now nursing a severely injured leg. From her mainly complaints I was able to determine that she was repeatedly stabbed by an ex boyfriend, dealer or some other low-life scumbag she associated with. Normally I would have not concerned myself with the rambles of people I considered to be social pariah, but these two society outcast were talking so loud that it was impossible for me to read my book in peace or ignore them. Making me wonder why anyone would choose to have such a conversation in public is beyond me. Some people I will just never understand.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Fringe

Not too long ago I attended an event at the Paley Center that featured almost the entire cast from Fox's Sci Fi FRINGE TV show. We were shown an episode of the series, followed by a discussion panel, questions and answer session and treated to a little bit of an autograph and photo op at the end. The entire cast was very entertaining and quite funny, especially Joshua Jackson whom is quite well known for his sense of humor both on and off set.





For those of you who do not follow the show, it is about an FBI agent Olivia Dunham who has been paired with a very eccentric and possibly insane scientist Walter Bishop and his some equally brilliant if not somewhat directionless son. Peter Bishop. As they investigate unexplained phenomena, and what is referred to as fringe science. real mad scientist sort of stuff, illegal experiments, psychic phenomena and much more.




One of the things about the show that I have latched onto is the whole alternate universe thing. As several of the main characters are aware of an alternate reality and a few of them have even freely traveled there. In fact Doctor Walter Bishop even went so far as to kidnap his deceased son from the alternate reality, just so he would continue to have a son in his reality. Something that has some very intriguing storyline aspects that has not really been dealt with as of yet. We just know for the time being that in Universe A Peter Bishop died at a very young age of a typical child hood illness ( measles of something to that effect), and that his father Walters traveled to another alternate Universe/reality to get his son back. So far no one other than Walter knows his son is not actually his original son, so some characters are starting to suspect something.



Monday, January 18, 2010

Transformers 3






Michael Bay recently issued some info about the 3rd Transformers movie which will begin pre-production in May 2010. Stating that the next film will have less Robots or Transformers in it than the 2nd movie did...Now forgive me if I am wrong, but isn't the film called Transformers for a reason? The giant Robots are actually the main reason why people go to see such films, and having less of what the film is supposed to be all about just doesn't make sense. Which makes me feel that the 3rd film will be even worse than the 2nd one and that will make a lot of fans, including me, very, very unhappy!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

The SoCal-NoCall Bullet Train



Eventually when the Los Angeles to Bay Area Bullet train is up and running, I can foresee huge loss for several airlines, especially Southwest. That is if the new Bullet train is actually cheaper than flying, and I assume it will be. Plus it is supposed to be only about 3 hours in terms of travel time, which is actually comparable to flying from LAX to SF or Oakland if you think about it. Especially when you factor in the hour at least you'll need to arrive by at the airport before hand, checking in your baggage, waiting in line to board and oh so lovely security checks. Then there is the additional time spent waiting to reclaim your bags once the plane has departed, while on the new SoCal-NoCal Bullet Train you can keep your bags with you, unless you are traveling with a huge entourage or something. Though all of this speculation is moot as it will be years and billions of dollars before the the train is even up and running, and pretty much anything can happen by this time.

Godless Heathens in Haiti



I am a little upset by the news coverage of the recent distaster in Haiti, especially by the clips that various news stations have chosen to repeatedly show on air. Mainly images depicting the surviving Haitians doing what can only be described as chanting or trance like behavior, as I think it sends the wrong message. A lot of people, mostly ignorant or racist people, will see this and think that Haiti is a nation full of voodoo worshiping Godless Heathens! Especially after Pat Robertson said that the Earthquake was directly related to a pact the Haitians made with the devil to escape the rule of the French! Can you believe this kind of insane nonsense!? The problem is a lot of people will believe this bullshit, and coupled with images of the chanting Haitians it is only going to be strengthened which I think is very detrimental to any possible future donations.

Movie Hopping: Book of Eli & Youth in Revolt



On a side note, this totally sucks! I had just finished typing up my review for Book of Eli and Youth in Revolt, when blogspot said there was some sort of problem and my reviews disappeared. So now I will be attempting to re-write the entire thing from memory and it will naturally not be the same which is very, very annoying!


This past Saturday was my semi weekly movie hopping day where I saw Youth in Revolt, Book of Eli and a little less than an hour of Sherlock Holmes ( My second time seeing the film). Mainly to kill time in between the first two films because they had different starting times. The first film I saw was Youth in Revolt which was really, really funny, with some clever lines of dialogue and some unique visual tricks. I especially liked the animated or claymation bumper scenes as they really added something different to the film and gave it an overall unique presentation or vibe if you will. The film stars Michael Cera as a completely lovesick virgin going through extreme measures to win the love of one seemingly unobtainable girl. Going so far as to create an alternate personality who is vastly different from his film's character, and indeed vastly different from the majority of characters Michael Cera has previously portrayed in many of his film. Something which actually helped make this film more than just a typical Michael Cera film and can only do the actor some good. For I feel that playing the same types of characters, similar to the one he originated on Arrested Development will only harm his career or at least lead to more and more stereotyping in terms of future film roles. I especially liked the animated or claymation bumper scenes as that really added something different to the film and gave it an overall unique presentation or vibe if you will.


The next film I saw was Book of Eli, staring Denzel Washington as a lone man on a mission wandering the world after a devastating nuclear attack/event. Supposedly charged by God with the purpose of delivering a sacred book unto those who truly need and deserve it. Along the way Denzel Washington's character meets numerous souls, both good and bad, some of whom want the book for their own nefarious purposes and others who will unknowingly be touched by it. The book in question naturally being the Holy Bible, giving the film an overall religious slant or vibe to it. Though luckily the film itself is very well done and entertaining, and doesn't feel at all preachy or like a 2 hour sermon. It actually had some rather nice things to say in regards to faith which I do not feel you have to be religious to understand or benefit from. There is especially a very nice Aha moment at the end in regards to the power of faith that I think makes the film worth seeing, if only for that, but it is still a good film nonetheless. Despite the fact that I was initially reminding of the much more depressing film, The Road, as they both have similar looks and themes, but luckily Book of Eli is nowhere near as depressing. Even though both films feature images of a post nuclear world, and the completely desolate and hopeless remaining humans without much of anything in terms of survival including the ability to read. Another reason why the sacred Book Eli is protecting is even more valuable now in the films trying times.


I think I liked what I originally wrote better, as it seemed to flow a lot better than this rewritten post. Sorry about that, I will take better steps next time to preserve what I have been writing as I write it.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Cell Phone Updates: Number 7



Movie Reviews: Youth in Revolt, Book of Eli. Airport security and the new body scanner controversy. Situation in Haiti and the way they are being presented in the News as Godless heathens. Increasing amount of world disasters, possibly linked to global warming. Costco sells gas now apparently. Upcoming Paley Center Television Panel events. Working out/running and that runner's high. Upcoming Mardi Gras and Europe trip. More Recipes. Economic state of the world, social programs causing more harm than good? Late night television wars and misplaced importance considering state of the world and international events currently unfolding.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Test Screening: Husk



For quite awhile now, Hollywood has been engaging in what is known in the business as Test Screenings. This is when a hired market research company rents a local movie theatre, solicits a key demographic audience to show them a television show, movie or trailer, in order to gage their responses to what they see on the big screen. And then (hopefully) improve the final product by making changes based on comments and/or suggestions from said test audiences. This is done by filling out a somewhat lengthy questionnaire at the end of the film and sometimes participating in a smaller discussion panel, which used to be a paid experiences. Though now that there are so many budget cuts, even in the entertainment industry, they will only offer free movie passes if even that.


I use to go to these test screenings on a weekly basis if not more, but lately I just haven't been feeling it and have not bothered to attend. Despite the fact that I am on several mailing and call lists and am invited to at least one screening per week. Hence last night marked the first test screening that I have been to in a very, very long time. For like I said I simply got tired of waiting in long lines just to get in, and then having to be searched for secret recording devices before I was finally admitted to the thdatre. In fact the only reasons I even went in the first place is because I have not been in quite awhile, and the screening was being held by a new or relatively unknown testing company. Hence I thought I would see how they are compared to NRG, Janet Dublin and the Screening Exchange, the three major test Screening companies here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately the Horror film they screened was really not all that good. Not in the sense of production values, set or anything like that, but as a whole I thought the horror film Husk was just so so. Although in all fairness I am not really a horror fan. Plus I am personally tire of seeing the dumb white suburban kids repeatedly making stupid decisions that inevitably lead to their certain and gruesome deaths! Like wandering around alone in a deserted dark house where they know the scarecrow killers have been to seen or going back for obviously dead friends instead of making a break for it. Plus the soon-to-be-victims in this Horror film supposedly cannot escape because they are surrounded by a corn field filled with killer Scarecrows. Yet no one thinks of setting the corn field on fire?! Even if they are not able to burn all of the killer scarecrows to death, the subsequent fire should be more than enough to get the attention of local law enforcement officers and/or the fire department. All of whom could provide a very convenient decoy allowing the hapless victims to escape while the civil servants are killed in their steed. Alas this is a horror film and intelligence is not a prerequisite for any of the characters therein.


The film HUSK is apparently feature film version of a previously made short film by the same name and part of some annual Horror Film Fest, most likely 8 Films to Die For. The film is produced by After Dark films, a copmpany that is rather well known for producing (somewhat generic) Horror fair as it were. The film should be out sometime in February or March I believe...or it might just got straight to video, or in this case DVD. There are no well known actors or stars in this film aside from Devon Graye who plays the young Dexter of the show of the same name.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Travel Tip: Number 6



This is not really a very broad travel tip, and so please feel free to ignore it if it doesn't apply directly to you. But recently while I was in Vegas I noticed a few ways you can save a lot of money. First off there is getting from the airport to the hotel or strip. The cheapest way to do this is actually by bus, all of which run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...or at least the ones along the strip do. From the Airport you can take Bus 108 which will take you directly to the Stratosphere Hotel and casino and within walking distance of the Riveria and Circus Circus. Where I happened to stay because it is so cheap! From where the 108 drops you off very close to the main strip, you can then catch the DEUCE Bus which only runs up and down the strip, all day every day. From there you can go directly to any of the major hotels along the strip. The 108 Bus cost $1.75 each way, or $5.00 for a day pass and the Deuce is $3.00 each way or $7.00 for a day pass. Thus you can spend a maximum of $4.75 to get to anywhere on the strip from the airport, which is much cheaper than a taxi or any of the hotel shuttles. Plus it only takes 20 to 30 minutes, which is not bad all, even including waiting time for the buses.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Coconut Ginger Teriyaki Beef






All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!





INGREDIENTS:


1-2 pounds Lean Beef ( could be Pork or Chicken as well) cut into strips
1 White or Yellow Onion cut into semi-small pieces or diced
Several stalks of Bok-Choy cut into bite size pieces
1 cup Shredded carrots
1 large or medium Can of Shiitaki Mushrooms
Small piece of fresh Ginger root which will be minced
1 TBS Olive Oil or Chinese Rice Wine
2 TBS Powdered Ginger
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 TBS Soy Sauce
3 TBS Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk


Chop, cut, dice, all the meat and vegetables, then place in a bowl and set aside. In a medium sauce pan or skillet pour in all the liquid ingredients except for the coconut milk. Brown the meat and slowly add seasonings and ginger. After meat is lightly browned add the coconut milk. After roughly 5 minutes add the remaining vegetables, cover and allow to cook for roughly 20 or 30 minutes. Checking to make sure the coconut milk does not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Rice may be added and cooked in the same skillet as well, but you must constantly stir the mixture to make sure it does not burn or stick to the bottom of the skillet. Server over rice or with Won Ton or Miso Soup.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Years Resolutions



2010 New years Resolutions:



1. Eat Healthier

2. Lose Weight

3. Start running/exercising more

4. Work on Artwork/Personal Projects more

5. Do Volunteer work

6. Enter/Win Art Contest

7. Go to Japan for 1st time

8. Go to Mardi Gras for 1st time

9. Learn more Japanese/German/get an A in each class

10. Reduce Stress in life

Monday, January 4, 2010

DOCTOR WHO






Well the final two episodes of Doctor Who staring David Tennant, The End of Time Part I & Part II, have aired and another era has come to an end. I have to admit that I am rather saddened by this fact, as David Tennant was my favorite Doctor aside from Tom Baker. But those episodes are so dated now, that it is really not fair to compare either performances with one another. Especially since I originally started watching Doctor Who in the early 80's when it was primarily shown on PBS on Saturday nights. The very first episode I saw was Ark in Space, featuring giant alien wasps and staring the afore mentioned Tom Baker. Who was at he time thee best Doctor there ever was, for the show at it's level during that time. The show has grown in leaps and bounds since it's original conception and if you tie in all the series, the show has lasted for over 30 years. An impressive fest in and of itself. Though there was a huge gap of more than a decade from the original show which ended in the late 80's and the new continuing series which started anew in the 2000's.




Saturday, January 2, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR






Sorry for the delay in posting everyone Happy New Years Eve and New years Day wishes! I really should have written something in advance for automatic posting like I did for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I simply forgot. Just as I forgot to make an actual New Years Eve graphic! Guess that is just one more thing to add to my New Years List of resolutions...Which incidentally I will be posting later on. Anyway I went to the Gridlock New Years Eve party held on the back lots of Paramount Studios, featuring a bunch of DJs, live bands, partially MC'd by Pamela Anderson and featuring a midnight performance by Adam Lambert. Pamela Anderson showed up just before midnight to do the New Years countdown and then left the stage right afterwards. She was literally there for less than 5 minutes of face time. Though I assume the VIP ticket holders got a much better show and were able to mingle with the guests and her back stage. Regardless I am sure miss Anderson was paid tens of thousands of dollars for very little actual work.





In fact the only person there who really seemed to put out any effort was Adam Lambert, as he was the only performer or presenter of the evening who was on stage for more than 30 minutes. He put on a really good show and I have to admit that I was very impressed with his performance, his energy and his singing. The last time I saw him perform was at the AMAs and his voice was very, very shaky, and I kind of assumed it would be like that during his New Years Eve performance as well. But he nailed every note and I didn't notice any real or obvious mistakes on his part. The only thing that kind of ruined part of his performance for me was some drunk Cholo in the audience directly behind me. Who kept shouting cock sucker and faggot at Adam during his performance. Luckily Adam wasn't able to hear the drunken heckler, but it was still upsetting on several levels. For as a minority myself, someone yelling out Faggot to me is the same as someone yelling out Nigger or spick or chink. It's just offensive and speaks volumes about the person uttering such hateful ignorant words. Plus everyone who was at the Gridlock event paid a minimum of $165 just to be there if not more, so why on earth would someone pay that kind of money for an event were Adam Lambert was actually one of the main reasons to go, just to heckle him while he sang. There were 4 other stages playing music at the event, so this asshole could have gone anywhere else. Yet he chose to see someone perform that he apparently doesn't like because of their sexuality. Behavior or thinking like that just baffles me, especially since the guy yelling Faggot was a minority himself. If I didn't think I would have gotten arrested or kicked out, I would have punched the guy in the face to shut him up. But it wouldn't have proved anything even if I got away with it, stupid people usually remain stupid people all their lives until the day they die. But aside from that, the evening as a whole was rather nice. Though I am not sure I would shell out that kind of money again for such an event. Especially when I found out later that there was a free event in Los Angeles featuring Green Day in concert, that was televised as well. Maybe next year I will attend something like that. Hope evryone had fun and once again HAPPY NEW YEAR!