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NYC Details!
May 27. After a smooth and uneventful flight I met up with Mondo at JFK. We got on the Super shuttle around 5:00 pm and the driver and pax were so confused and traffic was so bad it was almost two hours before we reached our hotel. I just had to think of it as a city tour, even though we passed some of the same sites several times! That poor driver, his boss kept yelling at him over the speaker and most of the pax didn't speak English.
Arrival at the Leo House was a nice surprise. As some of you know, this is a less than traditional hotel. It used to be a Catholic Convent that is now a travel hotel run under the direction of the nuns. The building is old and the paint is fading and cracked but the hotel is clean and safe. There's a breakfast buffet option for an additional $6.00 (no tax, no tip) that's pretty good. I would stay here again.
Once settled in, it was time to explore. We walked downtown to The Slaughtered Lamb Pub for dinner. Ba...
I've discovered BloggerBot! If I do this right, I'll have NYC photos next week.
This was the week that TiVo couldn't phone home! Nothing is worse than disappointing your TiVo! It turns out that TiVo didn't like sharing power with other appliances on the new surge protector. After many reboots and reconnects, TiVo at last connected with the server and I have data again! I was so worried I had to call TMBG Dial-A-Song just to cheer myself up. (718-387-6962 - Long distance NY) ((Often busy))
I thought I'd have an easy work day after the Phoenix trip but somehow I still worked! Oh well, 2 more days to go.
The French Fry strike has ended! I went to the German restaurant today with Mondo and Ms. Kitty and the call of the fry was to much to resist - along with the carrot cake and burger. I'll eat healthy tomorrow.
Today's movie fest was all over the place. Ginger Snaps and most of Ginger Snaps 2, (female werewolf) Whale Rider, and Shakespeare Wallah - the first ever Merchant/Ivory team movie.
Wine of the day - Benziger Chardonnay from Sonoma.
After the Phoenix run I don't plan on driving much at all this week. Only 3 more days until NYC!
So here I am once again spending the night in Palm Desert. I thought this would be a hotel free month but I was wrong. Very wrong. I'm headed off to Phoenix for a new restaurant opening this weekend. So I could either flip channels and surf the web or actually do something. Normally I choose to stay put but the lure of Shrek 2 was too much to ignore.
Thank-you DreamWorks for making a sequel that's an original, thoughtful and fun movie that's not a shallow retread of the first! I think this will be the summer hit because it has universal humor and appeal. I laughed all the way through the movie and appreciated both the In Your Face and Subtle humor. I know that everyone who saw the original will go see this and for those of you (and you know who you are) that are still Shrek holdouts just go see it and do a double feature! My prediction is this is the biggest box office hit of the summer.
As I write this, the trailer for the second biggest hit of the summer, H...
Angel finale: I liked everything but the end. I'm glad Anne was brought back for a moment with Gunn, and Lindsay got what he deserved. This was one of the few episodes where Lorne did something besides drink. I had no sorrow for Wes and it's probably because he's been such a mess the last two years that I stopped caring. Connor didn't irritate me. Harmony happily moves on in a funny moment.
Thanks DS9 for providing pizza and beer (and chips!)
Only 6 more hours to the series finale of Angel. I hope we get a great episode to go out with. Hard to believe this is the end of the Buffyverse.
My irriatation with the airlines continues. Today United majorly increased all of its fares on their web site but United fares dropped on Expedia. Luckily I was able to book a Nashville trip that dropped by $100 on Expedia. London prices rose $200 overnight as did Hawaii. If you're looking to travel this summer, check all sites several times a day.
Let me just add a shout out to Mr. Cool who's in Costa Rica this week!
Sunday was a busy day! It was family fix up the electrical outlets in my house day and they did a great job. I actually have light switches that work at last! The Home Depot run also netted more lava rock for the front area and a new toilet seat cover downstairs. 5 hours later after a home extravaganza we all went to Karl Stauss for lunch. (Oatmeal Stout)
If you get a chance to see "Robot Stories," go for it! It's on a limited release tour and the director and producer have been attending some of the screenings. I just saw this movie today and was really impressed by the film. It's four stories, centered around everyday life and how robots may or may not play a role.
What if before you could have a child or adopt, you had to live with a robot simulation that recorded all your interaction and was downloaded and reviewed by a panel? What if we had the ability to download our consciousness into a computer to continue extistence after our body dies and what if it was illegal NOT to do so? What will happen when AI enters the workplace?
My favorite of the four was The Robot Fixer, where a mother visits her comatose son in the hospital. Through her grief she starts a quest to fix his broken toys - microbots, in the belief that he needs this to heal. It's an extrememly powerful story.
http://www.robotstor...
Gotta say, "Troy" is a likable movie. The story flowed well and only bogged down in a couple of places. At 2:43, it's long but kept my attention on the movie. For you fans of Boromir, he has a strong supporting role. Fans of shirtless men fighting will rejoice because there are lots of buff men throughout the movie. The rest of you, sorry. Even though Brad Pitt as Achilles is the star, Eric Bana as Hector gives the more interesting performance. I'm glad I saw it, but it won't have a lasting impact over time. Seeing Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean just reminded me that it's only a few more long days before ROTK comes out on DVD!
No French Fries today! I saw "Super Size Me" last night and I think I need to go on a total food detox. The movie tracked one man's McDonald's binge for 30 days, where he ate there 3 times a day. He started out thin, healthy and fit, and ended up tired and sick. It's the fries! The movie opens slow, as we watch his three different doctors plus personal trainer do all the medical evaluations.
We see the world of McDonald's through supporters and protester's eyes, and the demographic not surprisingly goes by weight. It was interesting to note that there were only thin people in the audience last night.
We're left to make up our own minds and our own food choices after the movie. After seeing it I urge parents to stop with the Happy Meals for your children. There were just way too many really obese children featured in this movie.
There was a side interview with the son of Robbins, from Baskin-Robbins fame. He is a total health/fitness p...
What is it with the airlines? All I want to do is go visit friends and family for a few dollars! After 3 weeks I finally ended up with the fare and flight I wanted to SLC. Now my task is to find the fare/flight combo to PDX. I will get it eventually - end of rant.
If I did the edit correctly, you can now post to my blog. I'll see if it works and keep it around if all goes well. If it gets out of control, back to the blocking.
Hey - go Padres by the way! They're still hanging in there and playing well.
Today's topic was going to be about TMBG new EP but other things take priority! First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.
Yesterday in OB, Mondo mentioned that there's a lot of beer on this blog. At the time, Ms. Kitty and I were on our third pint of ABA, so I guess it must be true. We spent a fun afternoon discussing the upcoming NYC trip. We've added in The Slaughtered Lamb pub as a meal stop and will go to the opposite high end extreme for another meal. I hope where ever we end up the food and service are worth the price! We also have tickets to Bombay Dreams on Broadway. Just 2.5 weeks away from that trip.
I just saw Van Helsing! I think only 5 of us in the theater got the movie. It's actually pretty funny, the humor is worked in well with the monsters. The lead characters of Dracula and Van Helsing were watchable but the movie belonged to our man Faramir. I also learned there are 2nd 2nd Assistants, not just one per movie but several. Credits were long and we stayed for all of them. Filmed in Prague (just in case you were wondering)
Enjoy the movie and don't take it so seriously. Summer movie season is upon us.
Petco Park is the place to be for Sunday afternoon baseball! I was at the game yesterday (Padres lost to the Mets) and mostly liked the new park. It took 7 innings just to get used to the fact that I was watching the home team. It really felt like an away game with everything at the ballpark being backwards. The trolleys were packed so arrive early and leave late to stay free of sardine syndrome. The game was entertaining enough that I didn't wander the park. Of note, they actually serve Red Hook ESB at the stands so we have a choice other than Bud! Go team! I had a veggie dog at the Friar Frank's stand and didn't try any other food. I'm looking forward to the next game. Go Padres!
LJ and I had a great meal at HRC in La Jolla today. I even splurged and had the brownie hot fudge sundae in honor of my birthday. I also added a new pin to my collection, the Pinata Guitar pin for 2004. Very cool. Now I really need to focus on getting a display board set up for all my pins. Next stop, HRC in NYC where I can finally pick-up that pin after years of waiting! Last time I was there the club was closed for a private party and off limits.
Just returned from Santa Barbara where I missed every dolphin and whale that went by in the ocean! My birthday went by happily and I only had to have one very unexpected round of Happy Birthday sung to me. Stopped at Amoeba's house last night on my way home for a Friday night of movies and beer. All was good. Life is good today at home and I'm off for National Scrapbook Day and later on to the HRC for dinner.