tampa yankees...

Yesterday, I specifically went to the Tampa to purchase an official Tampa Yankee cap @ George Steinbrenner Field and there wasn't any close to my size. I have a huge noggin...

I ended up buying a NY Yankees cap that was marked down from $41 to $18 that has a patch that signifies the inaugural season @ the new Yankee Stadium.

The shop @ the stadium doesn't have hardly any Tampa Yankees gear, it's dominated by New York Yankees shit.

Tampa is the spring training home of the New York Yankees and there is probably more Yankee fans in the area as opposed to Tampa Bay Rays' fans...

five guys...

A burger chain that is very good.

I went to a store in Tampa on Sunday.

Their fresh cut fries are fantastic! But beware when you buy the cajun version, the fries can be pretty spicy. And don't order a large portion- it's too fucking big...

A regular burger comes with two patties and can be garnished with mushrooms, green pepper, jalapeno peppers, and A1 sauce among their choices...

And while waiting for your order, you can nosh on peanuts.

robin meade is hot...

Man, that HLN chick is attractive...

I don't even care what comes out of her mouth... Actually I do.

She's 40...

toilet seat covers...

I've been to two public restrooms in the Tampa area and one was a high end hotel and both places didn't provide toilet seat covers...

What the fuck?

steak 'n shake...

A Midwest chain that has three stores in the Tampa area.

The joint has great shakes- I had a creamsicle shake.

The steak is hamburger and very reasonably priced.

Service @ Steak 'n Shake is excellent.

the venue...

A venue with a tapas, sushi, and martini bar.

2675 Ulmerton Road in St. Petersburg. Florida that is...

This place was full of beautiful ladies on a Saturday night.

The above pic is of the sushi bar- Takara.

frenchy's rockaway grill...

Love their grouper sandwich! Located in Clearwater on the beach...

The she crab soup is very good.

And there are three other Frenchy's in Clearwater.

The people watching can be excellente...

rodie's...

A nice breakfast joint in Tarpon Springs. Located @ 1097 S Pinellas Ave.

I especially like their breakfast sausage patties pair with two soft poached eggs and French toast.

I like how they ask you if you want your eggs runny, soft, medium, etc...

an american airlines magazine...

An article about food related movies caught my attention and then lost me when the writer wrote EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN revolved around a Japanese man and his three daughters.

Obviously the Father isn't Japanese... He's Taiwanese.

Whoever edited the piece is an idiot!

first class...

The first class in AA sucks on a short trip...

Virgin America is superior.

la carreta restaurant @ miami international...

Waiting for my flight to Tampa...

Noshed on a tasty Cuban sandwich paired with a cerveza from the Dominican Republic- Presidente. A pilsener.

american airlines flight 442 to miami...

I've been spoiled by flying first class, but I have a decent aisle seat in the exit row. Seat 20B.

It's on the bulkhead, therefore the legroom isn't that spacious. Row 21 has on the sides has ample legroom.

BTW, the plane is a 767.

Hopefully, no one sits to my left on the window...

Row 17 is like having a private area...

costco on 10th and harrison...

Not a pleasant shopping experience...

I'm used to Hawaii Kai and Almaden...

amber india sf...

Trying their lunch buffet for the second time.

It's better, because the food is fresh.

The last time I went just before closing and they were out of shit and the shit they did have was past its expiration date.

gianna michaels...

She's not my favorite porn star, but Gianna once worked @ Dick's Drive In in Seattle which is my favorite hamburger joint around...

A few years ago, I saw Gianna filming @ Pike Place Market. She's a big girl...

Man, I crave a Dick's Deluxe, fries with tartar sauce, and a strawberry shake...

I'm sure Gianna craves Dick's too...

fruition...

A young man who works @ my club used the word on his facebook page. I've always loved the word, therefore FRUITION will be my word of the day...

FRUITION- the point @ which a plan or project is realized. It also means the state or action of producing fruit.

The late Ted Kennedy's dream of becoming President never came into FRUITION mainly because of the Chappaquiddick incident...

ted kennedy...

God rest his soul...

The last Kennedy brother is no longer with us.

My youth is now gone...

travis ishikawa's 3 run blast wins it for the g-men...

We really needed the win over Arizona...

And I'm happy for Travis. His playing time has been limited after the Giants picked up Garko- who I have no faith in...

From the look of his outfit in the above pic- young Travis needs a stylist...

ny back in sf...

Man, it sure is nice to have slept in my bed for only the second time in nearly two weeks...

roy's station...

A very fine coffee shop in San Jose's J-Town.

Located next to Gombei in an old gas station.

The owner has eight kids and the joint is dog friendly.

The al fresco seating is very nice...

charisma...

One of my favorite songs of all time Tom Browne...

Listening to this tune while taking Caltrain from the City to San Jose...

And I'm going to listen to it again...

I wrote this post one week ago...

lauren weedman...

She was on the most recent episode of HUNG on HBO.

Lauren was a correspondent on THE DAILY SHOW.

She plays horny Patty in HUNG in which she says, "Let's fuck" about a million times. Magic words to men...

I've really grown to like HUNG after finding it nearly unwatchable after viewing the first episode.

dancing with the stars season 9...

Why is that fucking moron Tom DeLay on the show? I don't get it?

He's paired with the part Filipina Bay Area product Cheryl Burke.

My prediction he'll be gone by week 2.

That idiot DeLay is lucky to be paired with Burke. It will save him from getting eliminated first...

kid actors...

I'm a big fan of ENTOURAGE, but why did the creator Doug Ellin cast his real life son as Ari Gold's fictional son in the series? The kid is a horrible actor!

I'm watching THE FAMILY MAN starring Nic Cage and the young actress who plays his daughter is excellent.

Another case of terrible child acting- SEX AND THE CITY. The actress who plays Charlotte's chinese daughter is terrible!

You can't get away with having a lousy kid actor in a production. It sticks out like a sore thumb...

Pictured is one of the greatest kid actors of all-time Ron Howard as "Opie" in THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.

don't like the smell of garlic in the morning...

My sis lives in the Almaden area of San Jose and many times you can smell garlic from Gilroy which is about 30 miles away.

This morning I took the dogs out to do their business and the stench of garlic permeated the area- not a good thing...

gary sheffield...

Apparently the Mets put him on waivers earlier in the month and my San Francisco Giants claimed the head case. However, the Mets pulled Sheffield back from waivers.

Just think, the Giants could have had the 40 year old to put some pop into the lineup.

He's batting .285 with 10 homers, 43 runs, and 43 RBI in limited action.

I wanted the G-Man to sign Sheffield before the season.

Gary Sheffield has 509 career home runs which is 24th all-time. A .292 career batting average and nearly 2700 career hits. Plus he's number 24 all-time with 1676 RBI. Those look like Hall of Fame numbers.

24 is a great number for the Giants- "The Say Hey Kid."

the sure thing...

A 1985 film starring John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga. It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I remember liking it...

The above poster is featured in the film and of course, it's prominently showcased @ Mr. Bing's in the City... What a coincidence?

Mr. Bing's version is made of bamboo.

in like flint...

To me, it's a saying that means you're sitting pretty like having a bunch of chicks. Derived from the film "In Like Flint" 1967 starring James Coburn.

The Flint series is similar to Bond in a cheesy way and very similar to the Matt Helm series starring Dean Martin.

NY was "in like Flint" last Saturday...

rob corddry...

You probably don't know his name, but he's a comedic actor who's been in "What Happens in Vegas" and "The Heartbreak Kid." He played the sidekick to Ashton Kutcher in the Vegas film and Ben Stiller's best friend in the remake of the original Charles Grodin vehicle.

I first became aware of Corddry when he was featured in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as Larry's friend the sex offender.

asses in the lockerroom...

Why are old fuckers asses so flat and ugly? Not that I choose to look @ old men butts...

Sometimes in the lockerroom they stare you right into the face. I hate it. It ruins my mood for the rest of the day...

mccarran airport in vegas...

I've spent many, many hours @ McCarran and one thing good about this airport- it has free wifi. SFO should follow suit.

tom jones...

Went to see him @ the MGM Grand on Friday night. Sat in the second row right smack dab in the middle. The 69 year old Jones puts on a great show!

terry fator...

I'm @ his show. He's fucking phenomenal!

more the buffet @ luxor...

The corn beef hash is excellent...

I may have did something stupid by paying $29.99 to be able eat all day @ this joint...

Meaning breakfast, lunch, and dinner...

As many times as you want.

I think I made a mistake...

robin meade...

I'm on a treadmill watching HLN Morning Express with Robin Meade listening to the Crusaders on my iPhone @ the Bathhouse in The Hotel Mandalay Bay.

RM is fine...

The workout facility is actually called The Gym next to The Bathhouse @ The Hotel Mandalay Bay...

elks club...

Located in the Kensington Park Hotel on Post.

Great historic space!

I love the bar area!

The weight room and cardio area are servicable.

I want to thank my friend Roberta for giving me a tour.

$9.53...

That's my balance on Google AdSense...

Wow!

You see, you can really make money blogging...

buy a newspaper...

I used to physically read 2-3 papers a day.

Now, I rarely buy one.

Holding a newspaper in my hand and reading it with a cup a java has been one of the pleasures in my life...

Now, dailys are going out of business left and right. People don't read newspapers, especially the young ones.

I promise myself to read an actual newspaper everyday for the rest of my life...

It's such a good feeling...

friendship...

I'm a type of person that doesn't have too many close friends...

I have many friends, but making that evolution to the next level is difficult...

However, even if people aren't close friends, I would still do nearly anything for them...

I try to be a man of my word. Sometimes it can be a hassle, but when I follow through on things, it feels good...

Also, making the transition from an acquaintance to a friend can be tough...

I write this post to remind myself that I need to make a sacrifice to take care of a close friend...

farmerbrown...

Located on @ the foot of Mason where Turk and Market meet.

Had their all you can eat Sunday brunch for $15. I went to try the fried chicken. It was fair @ best, nothing memorable. The chicken wasn't seasoned enough. The biscuits and gravy were lukewarm, as were the scrambled eggs- not a good thing.

Coffee is two bucks, which is a good deal and they give you a pot.

Service is sketchy.

Don't think I'll be back, even if the price is right...

My friend Hugh from the club doesn't like farmerbrown one bit. And he knows soul food...

minor league teams playing in a major league venue...

A friend of mine was @ Fenway today to see the AA and AAA affiliates of the Boston Red Sox play in a double header. The Sox were in Yankee Stadium losing again to the Bronx Bombers. Portland is the AA team and Pawtucket is their AAA affiliate. I think it's great to give the minor leaguers a chance to play in historic Fenway Park, because some will make "The Show" but most won't...

The Portland Sea Dogs beat the Bowie Baysox 3-2. And the Pawtucket Red Sox lost to the Norfolk Tides 7-3. Bowie and Norfolk are the AA and AAA teams of the Baltimore Orioles.

The Giants should follow suit and have the high single A San Jose Giants and AAA Fresno play in AT&T Park when the Giants are away. The AA Connecticut Defenders are too far away.

virgin america day @ at&t park...

Virgin America the official airline of our San Francisco Giants gave out 2 for 1 coupons @ the game on Saturday afternoon for travel from 08/09/09 to 11/11/09. Blackout dates are 09/04/09 and 09/07/09. Tickets must be bought by 11:59pm Pacific Time on 08/29/09.

The Giants won 4-2 over the Reds. Barry Zito improved his record to 8-10. Eugenio Velez hit another home run after hitting a rocket on Friday night. Velez's dinger on Saturday was in Barry Bonds territory- deep right center. Bengie Molina also hit another home run after hitting one on Friday.

This was a great win after the heartbreaking loss to the Reds on Friday night prohibiting Tim Lincecum from winning his 13th game.

Getting back to Virgin America. I love flying this airline. Their first class is fantastic!

cincinnati reds...

The 2009 team is far from the Big Red Machine(Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Davey Concepcion, Ken Griffey Sr., George Foster, Cesar Geronimo, and Lee May)from the late sixties to mid-seventies. I didn't even need to do research to rattle off those names. I was a fan...

Pitching Friday night against the Giants on Jon Miller bobblehead day is 23 year old Homer Bailey with a 2-3 record and a 7.06 ERA. He'll have a tough task against Tim Lincecum...

Third baseman Scott Rolen is a recent acquisition from Toronto.

Joey Votto 1B seems to be the only Red who's having a good year. 17 home runs with a .328 batting average.

Second baseman Brandon Phillips has decent numbers- 16 dingers, 69 RBI, and 18 stolen bases. He's batting .267, about average for his career, which isn't good...

Other starters should be:

C- Ryan Hanigan
SS- Alex Gonzalez batting under the Mendoza line(under .200).
LF- Lance Nix
CF- Willy Taveras
RF- Wladimir Balentien formerly of the Seattle Mariners.

Jonny Gomes who was born in the City may get a start in the outfield. He attended Santa Rosa JC.

The above pic has from left to right- Tony Perez who played 3B and 1B, catcher Johnny Bench, manager Sparky Anderson, 2B Joe Morgan, and outfielder Pete Rose. Rose was primarily a right fielder during his Big Red Machine days.

kara tsuboi...

I think I might have seen her on television or on the internet when she worked for CNET? I'm not certain...

Anyway, she works during the A's game and does promos like giving away roundtrip Amtrak fare to Sacramento plus tickets to the A's AAA affiliate the Rivercats. BTW, Raley Field is a great venue to watch baseball. The view of the Tower Bridge @ nighttime can be outstanding! You can actually take the train to the game and it's within walking distance to the stadium.

Honestly, many of the people who do promos @ professional games are simply horrible...

This Kara Tsuboi has that something, something... She has charisma.

I may be bias since she's half Japanese...

On Thursday, during the famous Root Beer Float Day I talked to Ms. Tsuboi for about thirty seconds. I asked her if she was half Japanese. That's about all I could mutter between sips of my orange float. I switched up. My first one was root beer and then I went for the creamsicle version.

Go to an A's game. August 16 is 1929 retro jersey giveaway for the first 10K fans. Tickets can be had for $9.29 plaza outfield and $19.29 for lower box. The players will also be wearing retro unis. Promotion code is 1929.

You see, I wouldn't have known about this promotion without the good work of Kara Tsuboi...

la pinata in alameda...

This Alameda location is on Park and Santa Clara.

Since a buddy of mine lives and works in Alameda, I have passed by this joint many times and I have always wanted to try it. I finally did...

And I wasn't disappointed. This place is very good.

I had a half order of chicken enchiladas 7.99. Rolled corn tortilla, topped with homemade red enchilada sauce & cheese. The sauce is very tasty. The rice & refried beans bean are excellent.

The salsa is outstanding @ La Pinata.

I'm a big eater and the half order was more than enough. Of course, we loaded up on chips and salsa.

Next time I'm going to try the tortilla soup, it looked fabulous!

La Pinata has a lively bar scene @ night and have an extensive tequila selection.

a blind post about a certain italian restaurant in the city...

Apparently, waiters or to be more politically correct- food servers can make a $100K waiting tables.

However, this story is about a waiter @ this particular restaurant who worked there for over a decade and was stealing from the joint left and right.

He would steal a bottle of expensive wine every night hiding it in his 49ers jacket. This idiot made a special pocket in his jacket to hide the wine.

What makes matters worse he tried to sell the expensive wine to a cop who frequents the restaurant. How stupid can you be?

The guy makes over a hundred grand waiting tables and he still needs to steal from the joint that feeds him. What a fucking loser!

The above pic is from the great italian restaurant themed film- "The Big Night" starring Stanley Tucci(who also co-directed the film with Campbell Scott) and Tony Shalhoub(Monk). In the background is singer Marc Anthony.

I've seen Stanley Tucci in person @ Sundance a couple of times. He's a little dude. And I saw Shalhoub walking up Powell St. in front of the Villa Florence Hotel which houses Kuleto's.

what I learned recently about married women...

Especially if they've been married for a long period of time...

The two I talked with said they needed to be hugged and kissed...

to defriend or not to defriend...

That is the question...

There's a few so-called friends on facebook who I'm considering deleting.

One is someone who I sent a private message to and she has never responded. Don't "friends" respond to each others e-mails? I fucking hate when people don't respond to e-mails- it pisses me off!! FYI, the private message asked her whether we ran into each other in the club a few months ago. I sometimes have difficulty recognizing someone in their street clothes as opposed to workout clothes. No, I wasn't trying to date her...

Another is someone who used to work in the City and has apparently moved away. I rarely go to the business that she used to work @, therefore I really don't feel a connection there.

The question is- what constitutes a facebook friend?

I still haven't figured it out...

I do know that it's easier deciphering whether a dude is a friend, because of that "When Harry Met Sally" thing. Men and women aren't meant to be friends...

I believe men and women can be friends, but from time to time, there can be that sexual tension that can make things complicated...

BTW, "When Harry Met Sally" is 20 years old. Fuck, I'm getting old...

that site who's name starts with a "y"...

It's that fucking review site that censored a review I wrote about Perbacco after the owner who I knew personally complained. I quit the site shortly after that incident and was actually interviewed by a reporter from the Chronicle.

I've been writing reviews on that site with a pseudonym. And this morning, I was about to quit the site. I don't write reviews on a consistent basis and I'm definitely not a fan of the website.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have written any reviews under a pseudonym...

I need to do things I believe in and I don't believe in that fucking site...

I didn't quit the site, because I owe it to the people who I wrote positive reviews for to keep a record of their accomplishments. Unfortunately, some businesses read those reviews like it's the gospel.

To be true to myself, I will never write another review on that site.

Never...

My reviews will be on nynotes... And once and awhile I'll post something on facebook or twitter.

paladar cafe cubano...

I've been there once and I noshed on a cuban sandwich. It was decent. Today, I'm giving it another go, underwritten by one the few readers of this blog...

Located between Bush and Pine.

Didn't know this restaurant had seating downstairs.

I had the Sanchoco Colombiano- Colombian stew. Traditional Colombian beef ribs & chicken stew with potatoes, yuca, plantains & spicy ahogado sauce with white rice. A nice hearty stew that really sticks to your ribs...

posing nude...

There's a young lady who works @ the club where I'm a member and on Monday I found out she's a nude model. That surprised the hell out of me...

I would have never guessed it...

Apparently on her very first modeling assignment several years ago, she was coerced by the photographer into taking nude pictures. @ that time, she had no intention of becoming a nude model.

I'm sure that happens all the time...

I'm very curious about why women pose nude?

Is it primarily for the money?

Are they exhibitionists?

How do they feel about men masturbating to their naked pictures?

I want to know...

I just found out that Playboy now charges wannabe nude models money to audition- anywhere from $19.95 to $59.95.

being a true friend...

As we all know, health is the most important aspect in this life followed closely by family...

Having true friends is third...

I consider myself someone who is a loyal friend, but I have my faults and I've faltered on more than one occasion...

This is no excuse, but I find it difficult to maintain a friendship when my friend lives on the other side of the country even with the availability of e-mail, voice mail, facebook, twitter, skype, etc...

I guess the point is, one must make a concerted effort to maintain a true friendship.

Fuck, life is too short to let true friendships disintegrate...

Now, I have a true friend I must call...

married women...

Last month, I met a couple married women from the left coast. I won't be specific what state they're from. I will say it ain't New York...

It was a beautiful afternoon in the City and I stopped by one of my favorite wine bars to have a few beers. Go figure, I go to a wine bar for beers...

Anyway, I stood @ the bar minding my own business and two married women started to engage in idol chit chat with yours truly. I was pleasant and seeing that they had wedding rings on, I didn't even think about that thought. You know what that thought is? The thought is whether I could get laid or not...

One of the ladies had a joint and asked me where a good place to light up is. I don't smoke weed, but I said I'd stand watch for them. What a gentleman I am...

The two married ladies lit up a joint in area where a Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry scene was once shot.

For some reason, I asked these women something to the effect, if they were happy in their marriage, was it difficult to be married so long, and how easy is it being monogamous?

Their response surprised me...

I'm not going to get into specifics, because one of these married woman has become a friend of mine...

I will say that when married women are traveling out of their area code without their husbands- nearly anything can happen...

giants 3 out of 4 against the phillies...

I was @ AT&T Park enjoying the game where the Giants came from behind to beat the hated Philadelphia Phillies 7-3.

Newly acquired Freddie Sanchez had a fine debut @ the plate getting two hits along with two RBI. His fielding @ second is suspect with a throwing error and his range looks limited. However, in the past decade we've had suspect defenders @ second with Jeff Kent and Ray Durham.

Ryan Garko finally got his second hit, yet he's batting only .125 in 16 @ bats with the Giants. His fielding is horrible! The converted catcher is one of the worst fielding first basemen in the major leagues.

Barry Zito gets his 7th win. Zito hasn't given up more than two earned runs in each of his last four starts. If Barry ends up winning about 12 games for the season, the Giants will get into the playoffs.

Eugenio Velez has been on fire since his recall from Fresno. He batted .194 in his first go round this season and has since raised his average to .302. With Schierholtz's injured, Velez has really capitalized on his opportunity.

ray gaspard...

This young man works @ The Press Club as you walk into the joint. BTW, The Press Club is a wine tasting venue where six wineries have their product available for tasting.

Ray is a great face for this business. He's very competent @ his job.

Anyway, Mr. Gaspard is also a rapper. Quite frankly, I'm not a fan of rap, but I'm astute enough to realize he has a real talent, plus he has the look.

If you're interested in sampling his music, you can follow Ray on twitter under the name "AssholeRiz." Don't understand the name, because the kid is such a good guy?

My suggestion is to give The Press Club some business and ask for Ray. If you love hip hop or rap or whatever you call the music- talk to him about it...

diana terranova leaving on a jet plane...

And she doesn't know when she'll be back again... "Leaving on a Jet Plane" was written by the late John Denver.

Catch Diana on Showtime's "Californication" starring David Duchovny. She'll be featured in two episodes in season three which is debuting on September 28th. Unfortunately, I'm not privy to which specific episodes she's featured in.

I'm a HBO guy, but Showtime has started to take the luster away from Home Box Office with shows like "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" starring Edie Falco who of course was Carmella Soprano in one of my favorite shows of all-time.

Plus, I'm a boxing fan and Oaktown's own Andre Ward is a featured boxer on Showbox.

And one more thing, "Inside the NFL" is now on Showtime after being on HBO for over thirty years.

I guess I'll have to start subscribing to Showtime in September...

earth, wind & fire/chicago @ the greek theatre uc berkeley...

On Friday night.

The Greek Theatre is one of my favorite venues to view a concert. I just haven't been there for years...

Earth, Wind & Fire is my favorite group of all-time. And I haven't seen them in concert for many years...

EW&F are celebrating their 40th year together.

Without Maurice White, who hasn't toured with the group for nearly 15 years due to Parkinson's disease, the group really isn't the same. His vocals made songs like "Can't Hide Love" pop.

Lead singer Philip Baily is great with the falsetto based songs, but when he tries to sing Maurice's songs, it doesn't have the same impact...

The combination of Chicago with EW&F made such an entertaining concert. Chicago has a ton of hits and their famous horn section was tight and in sync. Ex-lead singer Peter Cetera is missed, but his replacement is quite competent.

If anyone is in Tahoe this evening, do catch the Earth, Wind & Fire/Chicago concert outdoors @ Harvey's...