word of the day...

OHANA- basically family in Hawaiian. I'm heading to HNL in a few weeks and I want to get into that island mode. This morning,I had breakfast with my cousin who lives in LA. I grew up in Seattle, WA and she grew up in Honolulu. Plus, she's seven years younger than yours truly. Therefore, I really don't know her that well. Just the few hours I spent with my cousin and her friend today, I felt closer to her. It's all about OHANA. And OHANA doesn't need to be with blood relatives- it's anyone you want to share that OHANA with- that sense of family...

having a private cable car ride...

Many times when I take the cable car @ about midnight, I am the only customer aboard. It's like having your own private cable car. It was cold this evening, but the ride was just lovely. I got off @ Clay and Jones and walked past the newly revamped Le Club. They were having a private function. Apparently, you have to make an appointment to go to Le Club. I saw a local news personality walk into the club. I don't watch local news, therefore I don't know his name. And I'm not going to do any research to find out... I know the dude is half Japanese. The one thing about the guy is he's tall- about 6'3-6'4. You never know what your going to see @ night after you get off of a private cable car ride... Oh, and I got the card from the lady you call to make an appointment...

baron davis...

He worked out @ my club on Thursday night. He's a big dude. I was expecting him to be shorter. I talked to him briefly about Sundance. He produced the doc MADE IN AMERICA directed by the acclaimed Stacy Peralta(RIDING GIANTS). MADE IN AMERICA premiered @ Sundance. The doc examines the Crips and Bloods. I asked Baron if the doc will be showing @ any upcoming film festivals and he told me that it's been sold for theatrical release. I want to check it out! Like many young dudes, he was wearing a Pittburgh Pirates cap that is black with a red brim.

getting snubbed...

On my way to the club, I saw a barfly in front of Neiman Marcus. She's in her late forties to early fifties. She's very secretive about her age, but she has a son around thirty. She looks okay for her age, but her main selling point is her rack. I once saw her in a bikini getting a tan @ Huntington Park which is across from the Huntington Hotel, which is a block from my pad. Her body was pretty loose in many places, but her breasts are amazing! I said "hello" to her, but she snubbed me. I'm a sensitive dude- too sensitive in some people's view. Next time I see the wench around town, I'm definitely going to ignore her. FYI, her name is the same as the actress who starred opposite Pierce Brosnan in the remake of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR and they're probably the same age...

word of the day...#2...

HALITOSIS- simply stated bad breath. Let me backtrack a bit to my post "life is too short to beat around the bush" - dated Monday, February, 11, 2008. I didn't tell the whole story. The number one reason I wrote her an e-mail stating I didn't want to get together is because she's a fucking flake. The number two reason is she had horrible HALITOSIS the night I ran into her @ Waterbar. My friend Javier O. will attest to that fact... Actually she kind of looks like the chick in the picture...

my last few moments @ perbacco...

You probably need to read the previous post to fully understand this entry. Last night, on my way from the Waterbar via the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, I thought I'd stop by to see a friend who said he was having dinner there. Also, I was going to say hey to a bartender friend of mine who I've raved about on yelp and in a previous post on this blog. All this came to a thud! The idiot who I got into an altercation with nearly three weeks earlier @ Kokkari was there. I immediately went up to him and asked him to step outside with me. You see, this idiot got in my face @ Kokkari and instigated this mess. Again, his bark is worse than his bite. He's a coward. Well, just like my previous adventure @ Kokkari, the bartender came outside to calm matters down. And this bartender once quoted to me, "you'd probably like the guy, if this mess with ____ didn't happen." No fucking way! The idiot is a kind of guy and you look @ him and you know he's an asshole! And the owner came outside to talk with me. I assured him I would never set foot in his restaurant again. The old dude was a calming influence. I respect him for that... Unfuckingbelievable! Meeting a chick, who quite frankly is a "butter face," affected my world to a point where I no longer frequent Kokkari and I will not go to Perbacco anymore and from the aftermath- I lost more than a few dear friends in the process. Shit, I should have gone to a prostitute...

kokkari...

Now, it's time to get controversial and do some bashing... I had an altercation with an idiot there almost three weeks ago. I had never met the guy in my life. I've only heard of him. The idiot was with his colleague. On my way out, I went up to his colleague challenging him how tall he claimed to be. In retrospect, that was a mistake. I should have left the joint without making contact with his colleague. His colleague had talked to me a couple times @ Perbacco offering to buy me a drink on one occasion and then defending himself because I called him a midget(to make it easier, I'll refer to him as the midget from now on) in an e-mail I sent to the idiot's girlfriend while under the influence. For anybody who will listen- do not drunk e-mail, it can be worse than drunk dialing! It's worse than drunk dialing, people can forward e-mails to each other! I was sitting down @ the bar @ Perbacco when the midget offered to buy me a drink(BTW, I refused the drink), he looked like a midget to me. Some guys have that midget persona and they're 5'10. Let me preface, that I had never met the midget before he offered to buy me a drink. The trouble making girlfriend of the idiot(who's married), let the midget read a drunk e-mail I sent her. The premise of that e-mail is that she shouldn't waste her time with a married dude. That's how I hooked up with her in the first place, she was mad and disenchanted with her married boyfriend and needed the company of a real man-actually, she probably was drunk... This will pass, but I regret ever going to her apartment. From her wrath, I will no longer frequent Kokkari and Perbacco.

Anyway, getting back to the story @ Kokkari, while I was talking in jest to the midget, the idiot gets in my face and spews profanity and calls me something that I won't reveal, but it really pissed me off. I ignored him @ first, waving to the bartender that this guy is messing with me. BTW, the bartender is evidently a good friend of the idiot, but this bartender has always been first rate to me. I just had enough of the idiot's bullshit so I just said, "let's go outside!" I was ready to kick some ass! Like most idiots, he's all talk, no action. So I went outside and the bartender also came outside to try to cool me down. Again, he's a class individual. Then all of a sudden, this newly minted manager, who for some reason has a problem with me, storms outside and says that I should take a two-three week break from the place. He's like the lowest guy on the manager totem pole talking shit to me. It came out of the left field and he sided with the idiot without knowing any facts. Let me reiterate, the idiot first got into my face, I was ignoring him. Then I said to the idiot, "I'm not talking to you." Actually, the newly minted manager even pissed me off more than the idiot. Let me give you some background- I'm known as the candyman @ Kokkari, many times I would bring in candy(chocolates, sweets, not drugs) for the staff. I got along with most everyone there from the bus people to the servers to the bartenders to the management. I would bring in gifts to the bartenders for being so kind to me. I would give gifts to the staff... Kokkari was like home to me... Okay, the new minted manager was a server before and for the last year he's been giving me attitude. I really think he was jealous. But it is really simple, some people I just don't get along with in this world. It could be a chemical thing, it could be just about anything? That's life...

That fucking evening was Murphy's Law tenfold... Last night, I went into Kokkari wanting to talk to the newly minted manager. The manager on duty who I've known for about 7 or 8 years shook my hand, but I felt something amiss? I felt like I was no longer welcome @ the place. Well, that's how it goes? They're a team and they have to stick together. I frequented the joint for about nine years. It really is a shame...

And this all started from meeting this woman @ Kokkari the night Barry Bonds played his last game. A month or so later I saw her talking to a buddy of mine @ Kokkari and I ended up with her. A huge mistake! No more Kokkari for NY... But you know what, I don't really give a fuck!

word of the day...

PUPUS- appetizers in Hawaiian. I'm sure most people know what PUPUS mean, but I need to get into that Hawaii mode, because I'm headed there next month... Back in the day, Korean bars used to serve some ONO PUPUS. You know what, I'm going to start using PUPUS as code for women. Like, where can I get some good PUPUS in HNL? Meaning where can I meet chicks in Honolulu? Honestly, @ some places I'd rather have PUPUS than their main courses.

stella artois...

It's not my favorite beer, but I drink it when other choices @ a bar aren't to my liking... You know why? Stella Artois is an advocate of independent film. Each year @ Sundance, SA has a tent where they serve free beer and pupus. @ the wine experience each evening @ the Filmmakers Lodge, they serve Stella. I'd rather have a Stella, than a mediocre glass of wine. That's why I drink Stella and for some reason, it fucks me up... I'm @ my club writing this post on my second Stella and I'm feeling no pain...

roots...

Not the book by the late Alex Haley that turned into a miniseries, but the Roots Store in Park City, Utah... I've been a Roots fan since its inception in 1973. For the past 12 years, the Roots Store in PC has been my favorite place to shop in Utah... What I'm so happy about is the return of my black leather backpack. I've had it about five years or so and the seams started coming apart and the zipper handle broke off. It's basically normal wear and tear for a leather bag. I recently found out that Roots bags have a lifetime guarantee. Meaning they fix their bags for free. So, last month while I was @ the Sundance Film Festival, I dropped off my well worn black leather backpack @ the Roots Store- the staff was exceptionally kind and helpful...

Well, it took about a month, but I got my bag back and it looks great! Thanks Roots! I wish there was a store in the Bay Area... I know there's one in Beverly Hills, but I get to Park City more than I get to SoCal.

word of the day...

SAKE- my soul drink... Everyone knows what SAKE is, but most everyone who isn't Japanese pronounces it incorrectly. It's not saki. It's pronounced SA-KAY. Actually, most people in Japan call SAKE- nihonshu. NIHONSHU basically means Japanese rice wine. I love SAKE or NIHONSHU, but I have a hell of a time remembering what the hell I drank. It's not like wine where I know the name of the grapes and many of the wineries. Andrea L. my new friend on yelp knows her SAKE and she has inspired me to learn. Hell, she knows SAKE 100X better than yours truly... I going to give a plug to SAKE NOMI in Seattle. I met Taiko Stroud back in September while I was wandering aimlessly around Pioneer Square in Seattle. I happened upon SAKE NOMI and Taiko was very helpful in teaching me about SAKE, which unfortunately went right through my thick skull... NOMI- means to drink. sakenomi.us

my evening @ perbacco...

I hadn't been to the joint in about three weeks. I was avoiding the place because of certain individuals who frequent Perbacco who aren't my favorite people in the world. Luckily, they weren't present this past evening- it made my night...

The star of the show is Scott Wolf, my favorite Korean bartender on this planet! Actually, he's probably the only Korean bartender I know... If you don't know the guy, please go to Perbacco and meet the dude! He's one of the cockiest guys I've ever met, but the cockiness isn't in bad taste. The guy is a great bartender and he knows his food. His suggestions are always spot on... Tell Scotty that Norman sent you in. I believe he works Tuesday-Thursday nights...

Tonight, I had AGNOLOTTI DAL PLIN FILLED WITH ROASTED VITELLONE AND SAVOY CABBAGE/SUGO D'ARROSTO. FYI, vitellone is veal. Man, that pasta was tasty! And you gotta have the breadsticks with your pasta. Perbacco's breadsticks are incredible!

My dessert was FAB(fair @ best) in my view. CAMPARI PANNA COTTA BLOOD ORANGE GELATINA/ COCOA SAUCE. The finish had a slightly bitter Campari flavor with a hint of blood orange. I'm just not into Campari.

The ladies who sat to my right had a very nice dessert and par for the course, I don't remember the name of it. Rest assured it wasn't tiramisu...

I want to say it was a pleasure meeting Beatrice from Italy and Katherine/Kate from Brooklyn. I apologize if I spelled their names incorrectly. They were fun to hang out with!

BTW, Scott first suggested the dessert that the ladies had, but I ordered his second choice so we could share... There's nothing like sharing a dessert with two beautiful ladies...

yao ming...

I'm saddened that he's out for the season, but that's better for the Warriors. Life is tough... If you haven't seen it, definitely view THE YEAR OF YAO. I saw it @ a film festival more than few years ago and security was so tight, that they had metal detectors for the screening. They didn't want anyone making a bootleg copy of it.

I hate to say it, but Yao is injury prone. This is the third season in a row he's gone out with an injury.

The worst thing is, Yao is probably going to miss the Beijing Olympics. I feel for the big guy...

Now, the Warriors need to beat my hapless hometown Sonics @ home this evening. And the Rockets need to start losing...

yamashiro restaurant...

Well, that's my last name. YAMA means mountain in Japanese and SHIRO which most people know as white, but in my last name's character it means castle. So my last name is Mountain Castle... Just like the famous restaurant in LA...

BTW, you can google my name-you won't find shit other then when I was trying to be main stream back in the day and I was on the board of directors of JCCCNC and to my dismay, my high school shows the date when I graduated. There is actually a mistake in the years I attended... And some lousy Bay Breakers times I ran. Plus, some of my Vegas reviews.

You know, I've never been to YAMASHIRO in LA. I keep meaning to go, but I end up @ Roscoe's Chicken n' Waffles or Spago or Pinks or Morton's or Tommy's Burger or Sushi Roku or... you know what I mean...

People ask me if my family or if yours truly runs the joint- no... I wish. I live in the City, therefore I don't get that question posed too often. The last time was @ Kokkari and this chick comes up to me and asks me what my name is? I said, "Norman." Then she asked what my last name is? I told her and the other broads(I'm using that word in honor of Lucky, I haven't used that word for years)in her group asked me if I owned Yamashiro. I bullshitted and said yes. I told them I'll take care of them next time they're in LA. Hell, they were drunk anyway...

andrea lowell...

She's my newest friend on yelp. Man, this girl loves Asian food and especially sushi. I'm familiar with her from Playboy's Cyber Club. Yes, I'm a member and have been for several years. I'm grandfathered in @ a very good rate. Andrea was on the Surreal Life. And she has an Asian boyfriend. Andrea should go to Japan to eat sushi and I bet she'd never come back to the States. I only wish I was twenty years younger... Nah, I am what I am...an old fart!

word of the day...

OKANE- which is money in Japanese. Pronounced oh-kah-neigh. OKANE- that's what I need more of...

word of the day...

MAHALO- Thank you in Hawaiian. To the two or three people who read my blog- MAHALO! Actually, I'm overstating my readership. I know of one person who reads nynotes... MAHALO and you know who you are...

darren mcfadden...

He ran a 4.33 forty in regular tennis shoes @ the NFL Combine. Imagine what he would have ran in real track shoes? Definitely a sub 4.3 forty. The guys agent is Mike Conley who's a former Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump and McFadden has worked with Michael Johnson, another Olympic gold medalist who ran that amazing 19.32 in the 200 meters @ the Atlanta Olympics.

I have to say that he's one of the best football players I've ever seen. And I've seen many in my time... Hell, the guy played quarterback, running back, and receiver @ Arkansas.

Now, I hear he's a head case. He's had two arrests for fighting and one was just last month. There are also two different chicks who are expecting his baby. I hope he isn't another Pacman in the making?

I like McFadden better than Minnesota's Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson... Then again, I liked CAL's Marshawn Lynch better than Peterson last year, but that was Bay Area Bias...

allen rossum...

I'm definitely not a Niners fan, but if the rumors are true and they've signed the return specialist- it's a very good acquisition. Now, San Francisco needs to obtain a legitimate impact number one receiver. The 29th pick in the 1st round won't get it done. I would trade up and try to draft DeSean Jackson from CAL. He seems like a perfect fit for Mike Martz's offense. Jackson is fast, but he weighs less than 170 pounds. However, he could be an impact player in the League...

pitch meeting...

I just happened upon the appointment piece of paper for an informal meeting with representatives of HBO. BTW, I also went to two meetings with the Sundance Institute. I was amazed that three filmmakers that had films in the current festival were @ the same table as yours truly. I won't name names to protect the innocent and I haven't seen their work, therefore I won't plug their film. The moral of this story is that independent filmmakers are always looking for money... FYI, I attended on a fact finding mission and didn't pitch anything...

300th review on yelp...

I've actually done 300, but I've deleted more than a few. And I'll probably delete more in the future. I've only been a yelper since November of last year and I could have over a thousand right now if I wanted to. I'm more than likely twenty years older than the average yelper, therefore I have so much more life experience and I'm single without kids, thus I have more opportunities to experience different restaurants, locales, etc... What will be my 300th review?

word of the day...

GOHAN- Japanese for cooked rice. Pronounced go-hon. Hon like Hondo. John Havlicek's nickname. Or han like Han's Hibachi- a korean restaurant in the City that makes good chicken. Uncooked rice is OKOME. Since it isn't the word of the day, I won't tell you how to pronounce it... I could say impress your server @ a Japanese restaurant and ask them for more GOHAN, but more than likely you won't need any more and they might not even understand you... And that joint could be like Sushi Man and charge you extra for GOHAN...

mick lasalle...

Quite frankly, I've never been much of a fan of this idiot.. Now, I found out the San Francisco Chronicle's main movie critic hasn't seen two of my favorite films of all-time BLADE RUNNER and AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER until just recently. Not to mention TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

The latter three films aren't on my top movie list, however I can't believe he's never seen the above films until recently and I bet there's more. He's a movie reviewer for christ's sakes! LaSalle is a fucking joke! It's akin to a NFL writer admitting that he has never seen footage of Jim Brown.

I've never seen ET, but who gives a fuck! I'm not a movie critic...

troy vincent...

The former NFL cornerback is now the president of the NFL Players Association is quoted as saying that the NFL doesn't have a problem with HGH. That's really a bunch of bullshit, considering there isn't a reliable test for HGH. Vincent sounds as clueless as NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw. New England's Rodney Harrison is suspended for a banned substance which any idiot could figure out was HGH and returns after four games like nothing happened. If a player of the same magnitude received a similar suspension in Major League Baseball, it would definitely be big news and the player probably would never ever be able to live it down... I still can't get over Shawne Merriman getting suspended for steroids in the 2006 season and he was still allowed to be in the Pro Bowl? Pacman Jones is no saint, but he gets suspended for a year for stupid behavior off the field in which as far as I know, he hasn't been convicted of any crime. He deserves the suspension, but Harrison and Merriman can use illegal drugs that are banned by the NFL and get off with only a four game suspension and come back like nothing happened... Where's the justice? They should have been suspended for @ least eight games or a whole season.

kosuke fukudome...

I'm looking forward to seeing how well the Cubs' new right fielder from Japan will do? I almost made a prediction that the Cubbies would make the World Series, then I looked @ their roster and I don't believe they have a strong enough starting rotation and the Cubs don't have a legitimate starting center-fielder and catcher. I still don't understand why the Giants don't pursue Japanese stars like Fukudome? It puzzles the hell out of me...

gung hay fat choy...

It seems like a given that it will rain the day of the Chinese New Year Parade in the City.

janny hu...

She's the Warrior's beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. On SF Gate, after she wrote an article that was so thin and shitty that the subject matter escapes me, I wrote a comment questioning her knowledge of the NBA and whether she was qualified to be the beat writer for the Chron. I did not use any profanity disparaging this joke of a sports writer. Just because I was critical of this young lady, my comment was expunged in a matter of hours. I will never read an article again by this incompetent. It's not a gender thing. Nancy Gay of the Chron is very good and knows the NFL. And Susan Slusser does a great job covering the Oakland A's/Rivercats. I've seen so many comments on SF Gate that are just horrible and they aren't deleted, but my comment is removed because some watchdog on SF Gate feels protective of an amateurish sports writer. The Warriors deserve a better beat writer...

word of the day...

OISHI- Japanese for tasty, delicious. That unagi was OISHI. It's pronounced- oy-she. Pretty simple. A masculine way to say OISHI is UMAI. Pronounced- ooh-my. Man, that fried chicken was UMAI... Impress people when you go out for sushi. When you order a nice piece of toro- tell the sushi man it was OISHI...

warriors lose to the hawks...

How in the fuck did that happen? Is Andris Biedrins that important? A home loss to Atlanta is really devastating in the competitive West. And I can't believe that Houston has won 11 in a row with such a shitty point in Rafer "skip to my lou" Alston. He's the worst fucking starting point guard in the Association! I know there's a lot of games left, but if they lose to Seattle on Tuesday, it's basically over- mark my words... But, the W's won't to lose to the ersatz Oklahoma City Supersonics... I didn't see the game, but it appears that Brandan Wright had a good game. Yahoo Sports in their box scores have a plus/minus thing going. Brandan Wright was plus 8 - whatever the fuck that means? Nelson needs to give Patrick O'Bryant a shot while Biedrins is out.
Hell, Nelson should give Marco Bellinelli some PT? I know Stephen Jackson was also out, but didn't they beat the Celtics without him the other night? The loss of Biedrins will really hurt the Warriors...

word of the day...

OKOLE- Hawaiian for posterior, ass, butt. Charles Barkley has a big OKOLE. Man, that Vida Guerra has a nice OKOLE! Or such and such is a pain in the OKOLE... Not only am I a breast man, but I'm an OKOLE man like most heterosexual men on this planet...

huskies over the wildcats...

Another big win by my Dawgs that I didn't expect. I'm pissed off because I could have listened to the game on XM Radio. That's why I pay for the service. Go figure, I invested a bunch of bucks in Sirius and lost a bundle and I subscribe to XM. I know I going off on another tangent, but I subscribe to XM from the deal I got @ the All-Star Game Fan Fest last summer. There was a beautiful blonde selling XM and she sold me... I wasn't a hard sell. I really enjoy not listening to commercials.

Back to the game. Franklin HIgh's Venoy Overton led the Huskies with 19 points. Franklin High School has produced Kenny G, Dallas Maverick Jason Terry(who coincidentally went to Arizona), Husky and ex-Patriot/Bengal Corey Dillon, and ex-NFLer Terry Metcalf among others... And I'm keeping my eye on current Franklin Quaker PG Jr. Peyton Siva. My guy feeling that he won't go to UDub. I hope I'm wrong?

I'm just going to say that I just don't understand this team. Hopefully, they'll win @ home against ASU on Saturday and I'll be able to see them in Berkeley next week. Hell, I might go down to farm and check out the Stanford game?

Washington is a bubble NIT team @ best. If they make the Big Dance, I'll be shocked!

nba trade deadline...

The big trade involved the Cavs which traded El Cerrito High's Drew Gooden, ex-Warrior Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, and Cedric Simmons to the Bulls for Ben Wallace and another ex-Warrior Joe Smith. The Cavaliers also got Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from Seattle who received Ira Newble and another ex-Warrior Donyell Marshall from Cleveland. The Cavs also obtain the Bulls 2nd round pick in 2009 and to complete the 11 man, three team trade, the Sonics acquire Adrian Griffin from the Bulls.

This trade immediately benefits the Cleveland giving the Cavs an inside rebounding and defensive presence with Ben Wallace, although Wallace may be on the downside of his career. Joe Smith has surprised me this season and will help Cleveland. I'm not a big Szczerbiak fan, but the guy can shoot the three and open up the court for LeBron. Delonte West will also help the Cavaliers. He's a combo guard who may thrive in Mike Brown's system...

It looks like the Sonics have relegated themselves to moving to Oklahoma City which will sadden me, because I'm from Seattle and the Sonics are the first major professional franchise in the Emerald City. I grew up pulling for Lenny Wilkins and Spencer Haywood. The boy GM of Seattle appears to have opened up a bunch of salary cap room in the future for the Oklahoma City Sonics to build around Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. I will predict that ex-Warrior coach P.J. Carlesimo will not last past next season...

The Bulls didn't improve themselves with the much traveled Gooden and Hughes. I think Chicago just wanted to get rid of Wallace with his large contract and start anew. Gooden does reunite with ex-Kansas teammate Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls were as of last season an up and coming beast in the East and now they're a team without an identity... yet Chicago is only two games out of the playoffs with a 21-32 record.

The Warriors would have the third best record in the East with their 33-21 record, but in reality they are 1/2 game behind Denver for the eighth and final playoff berth. 50 wins may not be enough to get into the playoffs in the West...

word of the day...

GUISE- an external form, appearance, or manner of presentation, typically concealing the true nature of something. Recently, I wrote an e-mail to someone (who will remain nameless and I won't even give a hint what her name is) under the GUISE of an apology, but the true nature of the missive was to determine whether there was any interest on her part and if a mutual acquaintance of ours was making any disparaging comments about yours truly. BTW, the person in the photo has the same name as my e-mail friend... I lied, I had to give a little hint, but if anyone figures out her name, I will be very impressed...

plastic surgery...

For some reason, I happened upon her review of a plastic surgeon on yelp. She goes by bri c. For a moment there, I thought it was a bunch of bullshit(I thought she was a shill for the plastic surgeon), but now I'm a believer... It amazes me that she's so open about the procedures she's had done and apparently she has more in the works in the future. From her pic, I don't think she needs anymore plastic surgery... BTW, she's had her boobs done(ya think?) and a nose job. bri c. is scheduled to have liposuction on her tummy next month. If anyone needs lipo on their stomach, it's me, but I like looking healthy... Yours truly likes to eat and drink too much... And she's had more than one breast augmentation- she went from a 500 cc silicone implant to a 700 cc high profile implant, whatever that means? 700 cc is fucking huge! I wonder how tall she is? Okay, I admit it, I'm obsessed with breasts...

kip pencheff...

He's a friend of mine and he runs Tahoe Gloves. Kip's a big UCLA fan, especially football and basketball. I hadn't seen him in ages. I know he hangs out @ Murphy's Pub on Kearny near Sutter and every time I walk by in the evening, I take a look to see if Kip is there. Then finally on a cold rainy Tuesday night, I peeked into Murphy's and Kip was there. It is always good to see a friend... And let me give plug a for Kip and Tahoe Gloves. His gloves were prominently featured in AMERICAN BEAUTY where Annette Bening wore them while she was shearing her american beauties. AB is currenty on HBO's movie rotation. tahoegloves.com

word of the day...

MISSIVE- a letter, note, message, e-mail, memo, communication. I'm sending a MISSIVE to the GM of my club touting how friendly and positive her new assistant is.

The only other MISSIVE I wrote the GM was a scathing one criticizing among other things her assistant GM who lasted about a minute @ the club. He didn't fit in.

I don't know her well, but I respect her... However, I have a few more MISSIVES to write her...

word of the day...

ONO- It's Hawaiian meaning tasty, delicious. Man, that chicken sandwich I ate @ Petite Deli last week was ONO... You can also use it in this context- Tina from my club is so fucking ONO. Which means she's hot... There is a Tina @ my gym and more than likely she won't read this post. She really is ONO... However, I'm more interested in having another ONO sandwich from Petite Deli...

do you think it's bullshit or not?

I was @ my gym today and I talked to this guy who mentioned I had that Clark Kent look going on, because I was wearing glasses. BTW, I usually wear contacts. The guy said, he also wears contact lenses, but only @ night. I asked him, "why?" And he replied, he sees better with his contacts. Then he tells me a story about an evening when a lady he met @ a bar asked him what was wrong with him? She said, last week she had seen him @ the same bar and smiled, winked, and waved him over to approach her, but apparently this guy didn't see her, because he was wearing his glasses. Well... It turns out the guy had a wonderful evening with this lady thanks to his mother. I asked, "why?" again. Evidently, the guy took her home and things got hot and heavy and he asked(begged) her for sex and she turned him down, due to the fact she didn't shave her legs. The guy responded, I have a fresh razor and shave cream. She replied, I only use one kind of shave cream. Unbelievably, the guy said his mother just sent him a care package and included in the package was that particular brand of shave cream. Therefore, she promptly went into the bathroom to shave her legs and came out wearing only towel... Does this sound like bullshit or not? I should have asked him how much did she cost? When I'm in Vegas, I see many women who smile, wink, and wave me over, but they're working girls...

anthony bourdain...

I love watching NO RESERVATIONS on the Travel Channel! Today, there's a NO RESERVATIONS marathon on the Travel Channel. Hopefully, I'll get my ass out of my apartment before I end up watching Bourdain's show until midnight?

AB is the skinniest chef I've ever seen. I've heard that you should never trust a thin chef? I will say that I don't have a desire to try Les Halles in Manhattan where Bourdain was once the chef.

When he did a show on LA and frequented Roscoe's House of Chicken n' Waffles and said he wasn't thrilled with the combo of chicken and waffles, I thought he was crazy! Man, a fried chicken breast and a couple of waffles @ Roscoe's is one of my favorite meals on this planet!

Still, AB is the man and his show is one of my favorites on television...

not really...

One of my friend's favorite responses. Did you enjoy your top dog? "Not really." He'd even respond in this context- I'd ask him would you hit that? And he'd answer, "not really." Or on our way back to the Bay Area from Sacto, we were listening to an oldies station- if there was a song that I liked and he didn't have it on his iTunes, I'd ask him, "would you put it on your iTunes?' and he'd respond, "not really..."

fab...

When I use FAB, I don't mean fabulous. It's my acronym for "fair @ best." My meal @ Brookfields in Rancho Cordova on Saturday night was FAB...

workout partner...

Right now, the most famous workout partners are Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. And more than likely they're ex-workout partners. Several years ago, I attended a wedding in a tropical locale. I won't be specific to protect the innocent. Actually, I really don't like the motherfucker, but I'll still keep this post blind. I'll never forget this- during the reception, he introduced one of his groomsmen as his workout partner. To this day, I've always found that odd? And there has been questions about his sexuality? The only workout partner I want is some beautiful wahine in the sack...

word of the day...

STELLAR- exceptionally good, outstanding, marvelous, superb, dazzling. In last nights NBA All-Star Game LeBron James put on a "stellar" performance. I was swayed to try Petite Deli in North Beach by all the "stellar" reviews on yelp.

word of the day...

GRATIS- without charge, free, for nothing. Stayed @ the La Quinta Inn in Rancho Cordova, they have a "gratis" continental breakfast in the morning that starts @ 6am to past 9am. And they have "gratis" wifi. Plus, they give out the Sacramento Bee for "gratis" everyday. One other thing, guests of La Quinta in Rancho Cordova can work out for "gratis" @ Powerhouse Gym down the street.

word of the day...

BLAH- dull, bland, unexciting, plain-vanilla. That's the context I'm going to use BLAH. And I must admit this is another word that my friend Allen Nakamura likes to use. We'll go back to Top Dog in Berkeley. Perhaps, he didn't say the hot dog didn't have zing, but he most likely said, his top dog was BLAH...

the bar @ the st. regis san francisco...

It's a new hangout of mine and it's close to my club. The bartenders are stellar! I'm going to give props to Rafael and Darius.
The have given me exquisite service in my visits to the bar. And now a friend of mine who worked @ the now defunct Vino Venue is working behind the bar. His name is David.

Note the five stars in the photo- I gave the bar a five star rating on yelp.com

marc hayashi...

I ran into him @ Caffe Trieste. He's a Japanese-American actor who starred in Wayne Wang's CHAN IS MISSING. Marc is now behind the scenes and quit acting 15 years ago. Let me preface, I have never met him before. I knew the guy looked familiar and I just couldn't place the guy and then my brain started to work and I said, "you're an actor." And he said, "I can't believe you recognize me, I quit acting 15 years ago..."

In our short conversation he said how Asian actors are treated like shit in Hollywood and many of his contemporaries have long left acting and in some cases have opened businesses and restaurants with their acting money. That's if they made any coin acting?

I'm thinking there might be a documentary in this story...

BTW, CHAN IS MISSING is a 1982 film. Look it up on imdb.com

word of the day...

ZING- energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness. strong or piquant flavor. My friend Allen Nakamura uses this word a lot in regards to food and in some cases people... We ate @ Top Dog in Berkeley last week and he said, "the hotdog is just okay, it didn't have that ZING..." It didn't have that ZING because he didn't put that blazing hot russian mustard on his dog...

bai ling...

She was arrested for allegedly shoplifting two celebrity magazines and two packs of batteries totaling $16 @ LAX. I guess she wanted to read about Britney? And I don't think those batteries were for her iPod? I thinking they were for something that starts with a V and ends with an R?

I've seen her in person and that mug shot looks like a totally different being. I swear the chick in the mug shot served me my fried chicken steak @ New Lun Ting Cafe on Jackson in the City on Wednesday night? And she gave me very good service which warranted a 20+ percent gratuity. It's amazing what makeup can do...

ling-bai.blogspot.com

It's worth checking out her blog just to see how she writes... The fact of the matter is that her indiscretion will probably help her career.