Here and There Blog

And you were all expecting a beer!  Not during a work meeting! 

I admit the pictures on a BB are not as good as a camera but the blue baseball hat on the left is Leo DiCaprio. More exciting was that we followed Hef''s limo into the valet lot and got out of our car right behind Hef and the girls. It was pretty much a who's who in the crowd last night.  We sat next to Pat O'Brien and his girlfriend but he was still looking like a sex addict so I didn't deem him worthy of a photo even though he was right there. Best looking of the night was Sylvester Stallone.

Ameoba and I got together on Sunday and went to his neighborhood bar and grill - the Blue Dog. You can find good food here and a unique selection of beer.  Sometimes though, you take your chances with adventure beer as the one on the left was green apple flavored!

Family friendly, kid direct hit, cute dragons, Vikings, what's not to like?  How To Train Your Dragon was one that I put off seeing until I gave in and decided to see why this movie has such staying power. Dragon centers around Hiccup, a young boy/would be dragon slayer and his inability to do so which leads to an accidental hit, leading to an unexpected friendship with a dragon. The story has been told many a time, misfit boy wanting to find his place and get the cool girl (and his father) to notice his existence. Dragon tells the story in a fun manner even if we adults know how it will end. The children under age 6 seemed unsure and had to check in with their parents to make sure everything was okay so caution if you have a small child who lives the movie. As dragons attack the Viking town and the Vikings hunt for the dragon's nest, the kids take their turn in dragon fighting training all while Hiccup befriends Toothless, and they learn to trust each other. Mayhem brea...

Next up as in next month that is. The hotel reservation is made for Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon depending on your mood.  I could leave in a few weeks or in June but unless a tsunami hits, I'll be either loving or complaining about the next trip. Or both. Technology blues have hit. I upgraded Blogger to a beta publisher and lost my feed to Facebook. Maybe I'll give a dedicated effort to take care of this on Saturday, along with the photos I still have to send to Porini Camp in Kenya that I promised them last month.  Hmm. I clicked on test link and stopped Explorer for a moment.  Not good. This weekend is all about no rain, the beach, the spa, and maybe a movie. 5 more hours of Thursday work and then TGIF. Time to return to work.

Friday was teacher appreciation night so Mrs. OB scored on 1/2 price tickets to the game and free baseball caps! With the OB team in place, it was time to find some beer.  Below, the Diamondbacks and Padres warm up for what was going to be a boring game. Run to the Padres store!  I want to run to the beer! Found the beer but I really look like a Nascar groupie. Better ditch the coat! Much better! Now I look ready for baseball! First Friday home game and only 26K people in attendance and it was fireworks night. Not a good start to the season. Padres ended up winning in the bottom of the 9th. 3 hours, 20 minute game. What a relief they won and we didn't get extra innings!

Kick-Ass is comic book action and violence that probably reads better than it works on the big screen. I can see the appeal for this movie in the 13-18 guy set and fans of the comic book. Being neither, I could only watch the movie and take it for what it is. The trailer would have you believe that it's cute kids dressing up as super heros and kicking the ass of bullys. Not even close. This is a geek guy movie with teenage lust, comics, really rich bad guys who are stupid enough to be beaten by a few people in costume, one being 11 years old. Improbable and silly, the movie is okay but fun enough in parts that it will generate a fan base. Our teen geek, Dave, is on a quest to not be bullied. Hey Dave, if you get robbed in the same parking lot each week, stop going in that parking lot. Throw out logic and go with the ride and eventually the wanna-be super heroes will have intersecting paths. A lot is going on. Dave's hero scuba suit leads him to getting his ass kicked and ...

With the volcano ash, Iceland is all the news on the radio. But besides the volcano, the financial crisis and the not easy to get to factor, Iceland has some great buzz on the web. My favorite is the Twitter feed (thisisiceland) where we have first person tweets from the island. The person that came up with that campaign should win an award! Of course I want to go to Iceland and now but that trip will have to wait. If you're in the mood to play around with Iceland the Title link above will get you to the various social media sites.

Joan Jett kicks ass in her first band - The Runaways . The movie follows the early years of how The Runaways came to be the first big all female rock band, the drama, and the eventual demise of the young rockers. Not for the prude or faint of heart, this movie's opening sequence is unexpected and sets up the tone for the rest of the movie. Teenage tough rocker girls who live the 70's life of sex, drugs, and rock, it is not sweet but very much raw and in your face. Which makes me wonder, how did anyone survive the 70's? But, I digress. Kristen Stewart transformed herself as Joan Jett . No sign of Twilight Bella existed, Stewart made me believe she was Joan. Dakota Fanning was good as Cherie Currie and while sometimes I saw Dakota, other times I was impressed at the role she took on. By the way, if you watch this movie and are thinking "those girls are too young to do that" then this movie is not for you. Who will like this movie? Anyone who was a teenage boy or g...

Being the equal opportunity local brewery people that we are, this Friday night's dinner was at Stone Bistro in Escondido. I love how it is light enough to be outside for dinner. When we left, the sky was dark and the frogs were all sounding away in the pond below the seating area. Hey, the beer was good too!

Oh Oatmeal Stout! You are so best when unexpected! The 10th tap remained past March and into April where Ms.Kitty and I could enjoy the best of Carlsbad beer!

California style seems to have morphed into British Pub style for a relaxed dinner with friends/family/who ever is around and is in the mood for fun! This year it was at The Olde Ship in Santa Ana. Seated are Homer, me, Brian and Kathy. Cheers!

Good, odd, and bad to report on COTT . The good is that it is much better than the original. The good is if you set your expectations really low then you'll like it better than you thought. And if you see it in 2D, you won't be distracted by bad 3D. Odd - most of men of Argos looked like Klingons minus the horseshoe crater on the head. For a moment I thought we were on Kronos instead of ancient Greece. Some of the creatures were a mix of Lord of the Rings and Attack of the Clones big, bad, ugly bugs. Some of the elements were from The Mummy. Bad - it really is a plodding story no matter how many action sequences happen. Some the of Klingons look so much alike that you forget who is who and really don't care when they die. There's only one female kick-ass lead. I did like that the story of Perseus and the plot line did not follow the original story. The characters had different interactions and story arcs. I liked that visually there was always something to look ...

9:00 am, before the crowds. Surf is flat and ocean is empty. Perfect for working out!

Woo-hoo! Not only is it a 3 day but it is Spring Cleaning time from 2008! I'm a bit late but at least I have the right season for cleaning out junk. The box of misc triplicate cables is going, the dozens of food jars are clean and in the recycle bin and the yard waste people even came by today. If anyone knows where I can buy replacement wheels for outdoor trashcans, let me know! Movies, meals, concert, and Easter this weekend, should be fun!