Still a Toddlin’ Town

16 Jul

Went back to Chicago this weekend for Andrew and Fun Summer Rachel’s wedding. As always, a good time was had; Chicago is truly — say it with me — my kind of town. Here are a few tidbits from the weekend:

They did: The wedding itself was great. Very nice venue. An awesome band had me up and dancing all night. Andrew sang “Some Kind of Wonderful” (and he was good). Sat with all of Andrew’s doctor friends from Boston — it was just like old times when I was the only non-doctor in the room. Wine was tasty. Bride was beautiful. Good to see the boys from the bachelor party again. The couple was so so happy. And I had a blast.

Swingtown in Chi-Town: After the wedding and the after-party, Robin and I hung out at the bar at the Four Seasons with members of Steve Miller’s band. Yes, the Steve Miller Band. We talked for a bit with his manager and met one of his guitarists, but the man himself was MIA. Apparently, Steve “doesn’t do the ‘hang out thing’ anymore,” his manager told us. So I replied that he must just “Take the Money and Run.” And we went back and forth with similar references. On the way out, I seized an opportunity. Knowing I’d likely never again have the opportunity to hang out with the Steve Miller Band or their manager, I asked the manager what “the pompatus of love” is. His reply? “Hell if I know. Steve just likes to make stuff up.” And there you have it. (Incidentally, Robin got to hang out with Joe Cocker earlier in the day on Saturday. Apparently, the Four Seasons chain is quite popular among touring singers.)

Back to the Bean: I just can’t help it sometimes. Like a moth to a flame, I’m drawn to the same places over and over when I visit. In Los Angeles, it’s the Getty Center. In Chicago, it’s Cloud Gate, aka the Bean, which I think I’ve now taken every conceivable picture of. I just think it’s so cool. But considering this was the first time I’d been to Chicago in warm weather (the other times were in October and November), I felt compelled to revisit some sites I’d seen on previous trips, like Buckingham Fountain (which was going at full blast) and Navy Pier. And yes, I took a ton of pictures at all three of these places. Actually, the ones at Navy Pier are pretty cool because I went up in the Ferris Wheel and the view was real nice.

Good food, bad food: Another trip to Chicago and again I didn’t eat at Ed Debevic’s. (Most would say that’s a good thing, though.) Instead, on Saturday I went with Samara to Giordano’s for lunch for some Chicago-style stuffed pizza. Yum. So good, but so so filling. One slice was enough. And that one slice sat in my stomach for most of the day. Ugh. On the other hand, I tried the new SoBe Coolatta from Dunkin’ Donuts this weekend. In addition to the sugar in the coolatta itself, now it has an extra kick. And, it tastes good. So … I’ll be needing one of those Monday morning.

Anyway, it was a great weekend. If you want to live vicariously, here are my pictures.

Can’t Say It, Can’t ‘Spray It

12 Jul

I saw a really fun movie Thursday night, but I was asked to hold off on publishing a review until next week. So, don’t consider this post an official “review.” I can’t even mention the film by name. But this movie — I’ll call it Airsprayhay so you’ll never figure out what I’m talking about — is totally bright and colorful and fun and perfect for the summer. AND, I am totally and completely in love with Amanda Bynes now — even more than I was. The girl is totally adorable in this movie, with her sunkissed tanned skin and cute cluelessness and upbeat teenage playfulness. How many times did I turn to Farrah and say, “I love that girl.” (And yes, Amanda is legal.) But alright, I’ve probably said too much already. More on this film when my thoughts have a chance to gel.

Early Bird

11 Jul

Since I’m sort of in wedding mode as I gear up for Andrew and Rachel‘s big day this weekend (got my tux ready, my hair cleaned up, gift purchased, etc.), I found this story pretty amusing.

Seems a guy named Dave Barclay was so happy and excited about his friend’s upcoming nuptials that he barely paid attention and flew all the way over to England a full year too early.

You’d think the fact that he hadn’t yet received an invitation or anything would have tipped him off to the fact that he was ahead of schedule. Continue reading →

Super Funny

10 Jul

My dear friends, if you’re looking for ’80s nostalgia this summer, forget that silly Transformers movie.

Instead, the real whiff of the past comes from Superbad, a little sleeper film in the spirit of Porky’s, Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead, and The Last American Virgin that you’re gonna want to see multiple times and will be quoting lines from for months to come.

McLovin’ is truly in da house. Continue reading →

Not the Best

9 Jul

The Improper Bostonian has done it yet again. In their new “Best of Boston” issue, they’ve gone and chosen The Cactus Club as the best margarita. I’ve been to the Cactus Club a few times, usually because I want to see for myself what all the fuss is about year after year. And every single time — every single time — I leave disappointed. It’s not just that the margaritas themselves aren’t great, it’s that they’re served in pint glasses, like a beer. What kind of margarita is that?? In past years that was partly why they awarded it best margarita. But lest you think my beef is all about the glasses, it’s not. These just aren’t good drinks. They’re bland and basic, and they taste like they’re made from a mix and dosed out in bulk. And it couldn’t be any more obvious that the only reason why Cactus Club is chosen for this “honor” year after year is because they’re a loyal advertiser — that, or because their Web site URL is actually BestMargaritas.com.

For my money, the best margs in town are at Border Cafe in Harvard Square. They’re far more flavorful, much more intoxicating, and (shocker) they’re actually served in margarita glasses. I wish the folks at the Improper would venture outside their “pay for play” bubble one year and give them a shot.

Catching Up

9 Jul

After a few days off, here are a few quick items that weren’t significant enough for posts of their own:

Real estate porn: I’m starting to really enjoy this whole buying real estate thing. Every Sunday I try to hit up a few open houses to see what’s out there, and it’s fun to see the nice kitchens and views and cleaned up bathrooms and stuff. Equally fun (though also frustrating) is seeing the places that sound nice and are photographed well, but in actuality are dumps. Who are they kidding?? And then there are the places I walk into off the street because there’s an “open house” sign out front, only to find it’s way out of my price range. Ha! Either way, it’s all good and worth seeing just for comparison. And one day, one of these nice kitchens will be mine. Then, I suppose, I’ll have to cook. But first things first.

All junk: I’d like to spend, like, two minutes in the mind of a spammer. What good is it to send out all your messages for discounted software and “enhancement” drugs and all that other crap on a holiday weekend, when it’ll just get lost amongst all the other junk emails of the sort? I got close to 100 of these messages in my work email box between Friday and Monday morning. And I moved them all into the trash.

In their place: I’m so far away from being married that sometimes I can only look at my married or engaged friends and laugh at some of the things they do. Like when my engaged friends register for “silly” stuff I know they’ll never use. For example, one of my friends registered for, like, 20 bjillion placemats. And not just the same kind, but, like, six of one kind, a dozen of another, and 15 of another. How many times has this couple eaten dinner together at home recently? Let’s just say that everytime I call them at 5:00 (the time they say they’re eating dinner) they’re not home. And I know this friend will enjoy that I’m making fun of him publicly. Still, I look forward to the day when he tells me the dinner placemats actually got used.

No Dice: Halfway through the season and I’m still not impressed with Dice-K. He lost again on Sunday. Six runs and 10 hits in five innings. That’s no ace. As for the whole team, I’ll worry about them when the second place team (be it Toronto or the Yankees) make it within five games. Until then, much as I’d rather they be dominating everyone, I can’t get upset that they lost the series this weekend. The season’s on cruise control.

Wild thing: I’m really looking forward to the movie adaptation of Into the Wild, which is a book I’ve actually read. Granted, it was a few years ago, but I remember really liking it, and the film’s trailer looks really promising. Speaking of which, I expect to have finished Cabin Pressure by week’s end (only 25 pages to go). That’ll be the second book I’ve read in three months. (That’s right, two books in three months. Go me!) Next on the reading list: The Year of Living Biblically, by A.J. Jacobs. It’s not out till October, but A.J. himself sent me an advance copy (with a personal note and everything) because I interviewed him a few years back to promote his last book. Yaaaaaay, A.J.!

Hello, "Philadelphia"

3 Jul

For your listening pleasure on this July 4th (or whenever you happen to be reading), the new single from Peter Cincotti, “Goodbye Philadelphia.” Seems that with his new album, East of Angel Town, Peter’s developed a little edge and a harder sound than the one he had on his last album, On the Moon, which was largely a jazz album, sort of in the style of Michael Bublé (except that Peter also plays piano). I’m really digging the new sound, and am looking forward to the rest of Angel Town, which is out on August 17. “Goodbye Philadelphia” is a nice pop song, with Peter in good voice, and it’s got some patriotic themes, so I figured it’d be appropriate for today. If you like it, buy the EP on iTunes. Enjoy, and Happy 4th!

I’m a Swinger

2 Jul

Sometime around when I turned 30, I made a commitment to myself that each year for my birthday I’d do something wild and crazy that would push my limits and remind myself that I’m not as much of a wimp as I thought I was.

At 30, that was skydiving.

At 31, I went surfing.

And at 32, I decided to take a trapeze lesson.

One year later (yes, I was a little delayed), I finally got around to taking the lesson. On Saturday, Pyles and I signed up for a class at Jordan’s Furniture in Reading, where Trapeze School New York has a whole operation set up. Continue reading →

Say What?

2 Jul

One thing I hated about the movie Fever Pitch was how utterly unrealistic I thought the Drew Barrymore character was. How could it be possible, I wondered, that a person living in Boston was that clueless about the Red Sox, and baseball in general? Isn’t it, like, a mandatory part of your citizenship in this city that you have to be a baseball fan? Or at the very least, how could you avoid it, what with the incessant press coverage of the Sox and the way the city seems to be totally devoted to the sport during the season. So imagine my surprise when, on my way home on the T this evening, a fellow passenger started to engage the driver in conversation.

I tried not to eavesdrop — really, I did — but she was right behind me, and certain things she said and questions she asked stood out. For example, “I haven’t been paying attention. How are the Red Sox doing this season?” “I heard they’re playing the same team tonight that beat them yesterday.” “A series is three or four games? Why do they play so many?” “What’s the team from Texas called?” I thought she might have been kidding, but no. She was genuinely clueless about the whole thing. It was as if she was talking about something that some people do, like a movie that those kids are all talking about, or the cult tv show that she’s heard is good, or something that happens in a foreign country that hasn’t yet reached the States.

I swear, I’ve never heard someone talk like that about baseball in Boston. I knew people like Jimmy Fallon’s character actually existed, but now I guess I’ll have to look at Drew’s character in a new light.

Meet My Roommate, Nosferatu

2 Jul

Forget all that crap about wanting to stay in Coolidge Corner when I finally do buy a condo.

I’ve just put down a bid for this cozy place in Romania.

Now, some may say I’m a bit batty for doing so, but I hear the nightlife is great here.

Apparently the place really comes alive when the sun goes down.

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