BOXED IN

You may have noticed that there have been no updates lately.  This is why:

I've been packing up the apartment to move into our new (and first!) place which we purchased this month.

Once these are unpacked the updates willstart flowing again.

MY WIFE IS COMING HOME THIS WEEKEND

See you all next week.

GOIN' TO (The) TOWN

It used to be that when Ben Affleck was in a movie it was a sign for me to find out what else what playing.  Then in 2007 he directed Gone Baby Gone which in my opinion was a pretty damn good movie. Say what you will but Affleck knows Boston and he knows the people in that city even better. 

On September 17 he's back as star and director of THE TOWN.  I have to say after seeing the trailer I now want to see a movie with Ben Affleck in it.  He may just be on to something with this Boston thing.

QUITE A JOURNEY SO FAR...

I normally wait until I've finished a book before sharing my thoughts on it but THE ROAD by Cormack McCarthy is worthy of an exception.

McCarthy is a master of prose with a writing style that is unseen anywhere else. The story of a father and son's journey through a post-apocalyptic America, the author transports you to their world.  Incredible descriptions set in a mood you can feel right along with the characters.  It has been intense through the first 109 pages and should only get better.

And no, I never saw the movie.

VENERABLE EXPENDABLES? (WARNING: SPOILERS!)

As someone who grew up in the eighties, it was a foregone conclusion that I was going to see THE EXPENDABLES .

Was it a good movie?  Not too bad.  It definitely had its moments (Terry Crews blasting the hallway clean!).  Sadly, it didn't provide the nostalgia that I was hoping for.  It was good to see all these guys together but it would have been even better to see them play off some puns or situations based on their old films.  Why not a Stallone-Lundgren fight scene?  Why not have Mickey Rourke come out of retirement, join the mission then sacrifice himself to save the girl and thus give meaning to his speech early in the film? 

I wondered if the problem was that I'd been spoiled with the sophistication of films like The Bourne Trilogy or the Daniel Craig James Bond movies.   I discounted that theory since I believe the point of this movie was to get a bunch of stars from the eighties, mix them up with current stars and make an eighties style shoot-everyone/blow-everything-up romp.  That goal was met because if I was watching THE EXPENDABLES in 1987 I would have thought this to be a very good film for the genre and I would have enjoyed it tremendously.

The problem is that it's 2010.  It was a nice eighties twist to have Lundgren alive and back with the team in the end.  And you really can't go wrong with Eric Roberts as the bad guy.  That said, would it have been too much to ask Stallone to pick up that 50-Caliber machine gun one more time and waste that army to kingdom come?

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO

Went to Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles this Saturday to check out the Nisei Week festival, an annual celebration of Japanese-American culture.

Big Steel Temple.  Red Steel Temple.

A good crowd.

Tanabata Festival.

Traditional dance

The Japanese have always been very fashion forward...

What's a festival without the food?

Sushi of course.

Don't worry, this is just the display.  They'll grill a fresh one for you.

Soft cakes.

Maybe next year.

Treats for the dyslexic.  This was actually a coffee and beverage stand.

Did you think that was bad?  Perhaps my mouth can be washed with this:

Natue's best.

GETTING OLD: "YOU LOOK F_ _ _ _ _G STUPID"

"I used to go to nightclubs like the Hacienda in Manchester in the eighties, when the rave scene was kicking off, and you'd see people who were like forty there and you'd just think, You look fucking stupid.  I guess we've had our go at being the epicenter of youth culture, and it's now time to leave it to the kids."

- Noel Gallagher of Oasis

While not quite there yet, I'm certainly closer to forty than I used to be.  That's why I found this quote from Mr. Gallagher more interesting than I would have ten years ago.  There are certain things that I really shouldn't (can't?) do anymore.

Take for instance, sneakers.  I used to be what is called a sneakerhead.  I owned more Air Jordans, Nikes and other sneakers than I'd care to remember.  Or at this point, wear.

Here's a pair I bought for a ridiculous not-to-be-repeated price and actually wore back in 1997:

This is the Nike Air Foamposite One.  It was one of the most technologically advanced sneakers for it's time and as the name suggests was made out of a polyurethane-foam type material.  It was actually very comfortable and, at the time, I thought looked really cool. 

I was in my very early twenties in 1997.  Now, should (could?) a forty year-old man wear this?  Some would say that regardless of age you should wear whatever you want and not care what other people think or say. 

I don't care what other people think or say but I do know what would be going through my mind if I saw a forty year-old man wearing these: You look fucking stupid.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't think getting old sucks.  In fact, I enjoy the transition and evolution that my tastes continually undergo.

Last week I bought these sneakers for the completely palatable price of $38.00:

This is the Gourmet Quattro B which I got on sale, down from $98.00.  They are made of ballistic nylon mesh with suede accents on the sides, memory foam insoles and crepe rubber outsoles.  In my opinion, very classic and stylish.  A bit more appropriate for this old man don't you think?

Or no?  Still too young a style you say?  Perhaps.

But for $38.00 I'm confident I at least won't be accused of actually being fucking stupid.  It's just my way of leaving it to the kids.

THE OC: AS NOT SEEN ON TV

Took a little drive on Saturday to SAN CLEMENTE, a small beach community in Orange County about 80 miles south of Los Angeles.  It was a bit overcast in the morning but the sun broke through in the afternoon.  Nice place.  Especially for surfers and birds.

San Clemente: Find a good spot and enjoy your day.

IT WILL HAVE BEEN A LONG, LONELY, LONELY, LONELY, LONELY TIME

Another exciting thing I did this past weekend was to take a short walk to the local watch repair store and have a new battery replaced in an old watch of mine.  The people at the store were very nice and installed the battery very quickly.  Upon payment, I was presented with the following card:

Similar to the car wash or yogurt stamp card concept, if I buy six batteries I get the seventh one for free.

By my estimation I should be able to take advantage of this in about twenty years.  I may have to put this card in our safety deposit box so I don't miss out.  I look forward to coming back to the store for my free battery in 2030.

A GREAT RETURN

There wasn't much going on this past weekend so I made another trip to the library on Saturday and borrowed another book.  Since I read The Tipping Point in four days I wanted to get something that would last me a little longer (a thicker book).  I chose the autobiography of one of my favorite athletes of all time, ANDRE AGASSI.

Known for his once long flowing hair, flamboyant outfits and short marriage to Brooke Shields, Agassi was possibly the greatest returner in tennis history and ultimately retired in 2006 as one of the all-time greats.

This was a great book.  Too great in fact that I read it in three days.  So much for longevity.

I did learn quite a few things about Agassi:

- He beat the football great Jim Brown in straight sets at a local club when he was nine years old.  Agassi's father won $500 from Brown on the match.

- He started losing his hair at seventeen and actually wore a hairpiece for most of his early matches.

- He never really wanted to marry Brooke Shields.

- He went through depression and used crystal meth for a while.

- The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education has raised $75 million to provide education for disadvantaged youth.

- He HATES tennis.

The book is also full of anecdotes from childhood to adulthood and introspective details from many of his matches.  A very easy read about a very interesting life.

A GOOD TIP

This past Sunday I went to a place long forgotten in this age of Kindle and iPads: The Library.

I was thinking that instead of accumulating books that I would eventually "get to", it was better to borrow a book and in essence be forced to read it in an allotted amount of time.  It's also absolutely free so even if the book turned out to be terrible I could just close it and bring it right back where it came from.  We should all have a library card.

My first borrowed book...

The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell is a psychological and social study of how change happens due to ideas and behavior acting like epidemics.  It's an easy read and not very long at under 300 pages.  Interesting stuff.  Available to borrow for free at your local library.

FLOWERS FOR MY LOVE...

 

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME...

Last night I went with some friends to the Dodgers game against the hated San Francisco Giants.  It was a beautiful evening and the weather was great.

The Giants got an early leg up on the Dodgers...

And the Dodgers tried to fight back with a homerun from Rafael Furcal...

Furcal actually hit his home run during this at-bat.  Sadly, it wasn't enough as the Dodgers lost 5-2.  This was not an unexpected result since the Dodgers WILL NEVER WIN ANYTHING as long as they are owned by Frank McCourt.  Do us Dodger fans a favor and sell the team Frank.

Fortunately for us, the evening wasn't a total loss as we were graced by the presence of the legendary JACKIE ROBINSON who just seems to get better with age...

FELIZ NAVIDAD... IN JULY

This past Saturday evening I joined my family at a little hole in the wall restaurant for dinner.  Take a wild guess on what type of cuisine we had.

We started off with sangria...

And followed it up with some tapas...

 

And finished it off with a big paella...

The food was good and I enjoyed it even though the restaurant had mixed martial arts on the TV the entire time.  This was an intriguing choice for ambience.  Must be a Spanish thing.

I also noticed the tablecloth that the restaurant was using on our table...

 

Yes, that would be a snowman, a candle, a stocking, a Christmas tree and Santa Claus.  In July.  It was ONE HUNDRED DEGREES outside.

And how about Santa's new look with the sunglasses and the dark beard?  Those Spaniards sure are a stylish bunch.

A FINE INVESTMENT

Proving that consistency is not always a good thing, it was again a sizzling 100 degrees out this Saturday.  I decided to stay cool and went to what my wife and I refer to as the "Cheapo" theater.  Others may know it as a second-run movie house.

Unlike someone I know who could afford to spend $20.00 to see the excellent INCEPTION, I decided to go down a more frugal route.  For the staggering fee of $2.00 I spent almost two and a half hours watching the excellent Swedish film THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO...

Based on the novel by the late Stieg Larsson, the film is entirely in Swedish with English subtitles and was shot in Stockholm and other parts of Sweden (in keeping with the Swedish theme).  A suspenseful murder mystery, it flowed very nicely and was quite unpredictable.  And yes, there was a reference to meatballs in the movie.  However, there was no mention of IKEA whatsoever.

It will be out on DVD soon and is worth checking out.

FARMING IT OUT

On another blisteringly hot evening, I took a little trip to the neighborhood Farmer's market.

Since it was right around dinner time, I picked up a grilled corn on the cob while I decided what to have for my main meal.

After much thought and consideration I ended up with a tri-tip sandwich hot off the grill.

Though I did not eat all of the bread, the beef was nice and tender and made for an enjoyable meal.  That said, I should have put a little more mustard on it. 

In honor of my wife, I topped the evening off by taking a quick stroll to Menchie's, one of those self-serve, pay by the weight yogurt places.

 I did a little cappuccino and vanilla mixture and topped it off with some chopped almonds.

This picture was taken after I had sampled the concoction.  Overall, it was pretty tasty and a place that the wife and I will surely be visiting upon her return.


This evening however, I enjoyed my yogurt with a new (extremely large) friend I made at Menchie's...