Archive | June, 2006

I’m Really Losing It

15 Jun

So the weirdest thing has happened to me.

Last Thursday night, after foraging through my kitchen for something to eat (I still hadn’t gone shopping after my vacation), I settled on some Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. And because sometimes I do stupid things, I sat on the couch and ate about half a strip of ’em.

Maybe 10 cookies total.

Well, the very next morning, my pants didn’t fit. I mean, they were too big. It was really odd. Not that they were obscenely big or anything, but for the first time in I don’t know how long I really needed to wear a belt. Continue reading →

House Is Not a Home

12 Jun

To put it in the most simple way, here’s what’s wrong with The Lake House:
1. It makes no sense; how can things that happen in 2004 not affect what happens in 2006?
2. Keanu Reeves can’t act, but even worse, he can’t read a letter
3. Although it’s not overly long (108 minutes), it feels long
4. It makes no sense
5. Keanu and Sandra Bullock have no connection, other than they have to get together by movie’s end
6. When they do get together, it’s absolutely nauseating
7. It’s stupid
… oh, and did I mention the movie makes no sense?

And also, alright, so they’re “sending” each other letters through this one mailbox. Well, what happens when they get actual mail? Does it get delivered in 2004 or 2006? And when the mailman shows up, if he sees a letter meant for one or the other, does he mail it?

There. I’ve just saved you $10. If you want to see a decent movie where the two romantic leads don’t share much screen time, rent Sleepless in Seattle. And of course, if you want to see these two together in a good movie, rent Speed. I’m giving The Lake House a C–.

ps: It’s a shame the movie’s so bad. When I interviewed Shohreh Aghdashloo for Continental, she had such nice things to say about it (not that any of that made it into my article).

A Real Show Man

12 Jun

The Tony Awards were handed out last night, and for the fourth year in a row, Continental has proven to be a positive jinx. What I mean is, whatever we’ve had on the cover of our May issue has won. In 2003, it was Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won best actress for Hairspray. In 2004, it was Idina Menzel, who won best actress for Wicked. Last year, it was Spamalot, which won best musical. And this year, it was LaChanze, who won best actress for The Color Purple. The cooler part, at least for me, is that I interviewed Idina Menzel and LaChanze thinking both would be a front-runner for the award. I also interviewed Sutton Foster, who was nominated last year and this year (though she didn’t win either year), and suggested profiling Winokur back in 2003. So, because my Tony prognostication skills are apparently quite good, I just thought I’d gloat for a minute on here. Congrats, LaChanze!

Pass This Bar

11 Jun

I’ll keep this one short. Keeping Up with the Steins begins with a hysterically over-the-top Titanic-themed Bar Mitzvah that takes place aboard a cruise ship and actually features the guest-of-honor yelling out, “I’m king of the Torah!” But that’s the high point. Soon after, the movie becomes a better-than-average movie-with-a-message, perfect for Hebrew school viewing. For mainstream audiences, much less non-Jewish ones, I don’t think the movie’s all that great or worth seeing. Jeremy Piven does his Jeremy Piven thing, but he’s more enjoyable on Entourage. So, Steins gets a C+ from me.

At Least I Got an Umbrella

11 Jun

umbrellaI’m happy to report that my 10-year reunion has come and passed.

And while I only went to the barbecue on Saturday afternoon (which was moved indoors because of the weather), that was clearly enough. Continue reading →

California Dreamin’

8 Jun

As promised, here’s a link to all my photos from my trip to Los Angeles last week (minus a handful that were deemed “unworthy of public viewing”). There are two separate photo albums, and each one covers two days (it’s easy to switch from one to the other, just click on “Browse all albums (2)” and then scroll down.) Be sure to read my captions for explanations of what everything (and who everybody) is.

If you want some context, here’s my recap of Friday, my recap of Saturday, my recap of Sunday, and my recap of Monday.

And fyi, unlike those used with the daily recaps, the photo above is actually one of mine.

Some Birthdays Are Happier Than Others

7 Jun

Today is my 32nd birthday (as if I hadn’t mentioned it before) and I hope the day goes better for me than it did for Michael James Emanuel Jr. You see, for his sixth birthday, Michael’s family left him behind at Chuck E. Cheese and didn’t even realize it until the next day. I’m not sure how a six-year-old boy gets left behind on the day of his birthday party, but, well, happy birthday to you, Michael. I hope you got to play a few extra games of Skee Ball and earned some cool prizes. Just remember, it could have been worse: you could have been left in a hot car with the windows up, or in a locked freezer.

But on a much happier note … did I mention that today is my birthday? And did I mention it’s one of my favorite days of the year? Oh, and if I forgot to say something earlier, it’s my birthday today. Thirty-two. That’s right, all day long I’ll be celebrating my 32nd birthday. So yeah, happy birthday to me. Woo-hoo!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

6 Jun

It’s chilly (high 50s) and rainy, the Yankees have now beaten the Red Sox two nights in a row, the post office didn’t actually hold my mail while I was away, there’s almost no food in my kitchen, and I have to go to work in the morning — without an umbrella. This can mean only one thing: vacation is now officially over.

Just wanted to close the loop on my travel journal and let you know my flight home was more enjoyable and more comfortable than the flight out to L.A. was. I actually slept for a chunk of it and managed to read an entire (double) issue of Entertainment Weekly. Stopped at Noah’s for a bagel on the way to LAX … and that was basically all the excitement I have to report for the day — if you don’t count the fact that one of my coworkers was also on the flight coming back from L.A., which was fun.

So, yeah … to quote the Soul II Soul song, “Back to life, back to reality.” Please excuse me if I don’t seem happy about it.

Hollywood Swingin’

6 Jun

You might say I spent my last day in L.A. seeking stars.

Started off by driving down East Altadena Drive to number 1675, to make sure the Walshes’ house was still there. It was, just like I remembered it. (Phew!) Snapped a couple pictures and drove away, so as not to arouse suspicion (there were “neighborhood watch” signs all over).

Then I went to the downtown area to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall (which was still under construction the last time I was here), and find Union Station (which was not what I expected, based on the music videos and films that had been shot there) and City Hall.

After that, I headed on over to Hollywood, to Paramount, to have lunch with Todd (who works there) and our old friend Ross, who was meeting us there.

Then Rebecca (who also works there) gave me a tour of the back lot, pointing out all the historic sets and buildings, and let me pick through her free DVD collection. Suffice it to say, I walked away with six or seven titles, everything from The Naked Gun and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to, ahem, Laguna Beach: Season One. (Hey, it was free!)

And of course, I saw lots of cool stuff on the lot and took lots of pictures.

Oh, and I did have a star sighting: Brandy. (Alright, so maybe it wasn’t Tom or Julia, but it was somebody. And no, I didn’t ask to take her picture; she was there to work.)

Then I drove down Melrose Avenue and decided to head up to Hollywood Boulevard, where I walked around for a bit, checking out (again) the Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, and that general area.

Got into a “thing” with two guys dressed up as Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper in front of the Chinese Theater who didn’t like me taking their picture without giving them a tip; the Storm Trooper actually waved his finger at me from across the street to tell me not to take the picture!

At night, I headed back to Dodger Stadium to watch the Dodgers play the Mets with Todd, Tiffany and Kerri. (The Mets won, 4-1.)

And then, after filling up my car with gas (which cost me $40!!!) I stopped at 21 Choices for some dessert (think Cold Stone Creamery, except with soft-serve yogurt. There are 21 choices of toppings. I had “Kit Kat Cookie” with M&M’s mixed in. Yum). It was a sweet way to end what has been a really relaxing, really fun, and just really great vacation.

It has been four years since I went away anywhere (my 3-day weekend in Chicago doesn’t count), and I guess I just forgot how nice it was to get away and do fun things.

Getting on the plane to come back home is going to be really tough, as is getting up on Wednesday to go to work.

Of course, I do have one thing to look forward to: Wednesday is my birthday! So, although my vacation is over, I am returning to a celebration and am looking forward to being another year older.

A Good Day for Sunscreen

5 Jun

I’ve been staying in Altadena with Todd and Tiffany this weekend (for reference, their place is not too far from 1675 E. Altadena Drive), and I spent yesterday with them. After starting the day sitting around reading The L.A. Times we went to Dish for brunch (where we had one of the most upbeat waiters of all time), and then Todd and I went off to the Huntington to walk around, check out the gardens, and generally just enjoy the near-90 degree and sunny weather. (I’ve been told that the weather wasn’t this nice until just a few days ago, so clearly I timed my trip just right. And yes, I’ve been wearing sunscreen.) The gardens were nice — not soooooo well-maintained, but still worth seeing — and we had a good time. Unfortunately, the thing we really wanted to see — an actual Gutenberg Bible — was off display. But I guess sweating under the hot sun was also fun, and by the time we left, it’s fair to say we both felt sorta beaten down by the heat. Then we drove around Pasadena, got out and walked around Old Pasadena (which is a lot less “old” now than the last time I was here four years ago), and headed home to meet up with Tiffany. Dinner was at Green Street Restaurant, which is right near a Hamburger Hamlet — not to be confused with a Hot Dog Macbeth or Sushi Othello, or even a Deserts All’s Well That Ends Well. (Actually, we almost went to Ruth’s Chris but didn’t, partly so we could stay in shorts.) Anyway, that was the day. Good, low-key, and very hot.

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