richard gere's birthday...

Gere turns 61 today.

I first became familar with Gere in the disturbing LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR.

My favorite Richard Gere film is AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN.

borders near at&t park...

Closing on October 16.

Of course, Amazon and iPads have contributed to the demise of this particular store, but the location doesn't get enough traffic when baseball season is over.

japan wins little league world series...

4-1 over the feisty team from Waipio, Hawaii...

team japan little league world series...

LLWS International Championship against Chinese Taipei.

Japan wins 3-2!

Bottom of the 7th inning!

Hopefully they play Hawaii in the Finals...

andres torres...

When I hear or read his name it reminds me of a boxer...

The surprising Giants outfielder is second in the National League with 41 doubles.

He was like the 5th or 6th outfielder on the Giants last season...

He strikes out too much and hits into way too many double plays, but Torres has become an elite player for the G-Men...

Torres has the ability to play all 3 outfield positions. And the kid has pop. He has an outside chance to hit 20 HR with 70 RBI in the leadoff spot.

The guy can play and has come into his own in his 30's. A true late bloomer in baseball...

kurt suzuki...

He's batting .238 now. In his last ten games he has two hits. He's lost 14 points in his batting average since August 15th. The kid needs to sit down a game or two and evaluate his approach to batting...

When he first entered the big leagues, he stood too far away from the plate, making him susceptible to outside pitching. He's remedied that situation.

Now, he most always takes the first pitch. If it's a damn strike, he's already in a 0-1 hole.

And his swing is much too long for a player of his size. He's listed @ 6'0, but he appears to be about 5'10 @ best.

The A's recently signed Suzuki to a long term contract. I hope he isn't putting too much pressure on himself to live up to his contract.

And I want to go even further regarding his batting slump. On July 28, less than one month ago, Kurt was hitting .267. That's nearly a 30 point drop.

I pull for Kurt Suzuki, but he really needs to work on his hitting or he may drift into oblivion...

word of the day: schlep...

SCHLEP: to carry or to lug. I SCHLEPPED my bag around the Strip on Wednesday and the damn thing is heavy is hell...

To move slowly, awkwardly, or tediously.

And I use it in this manner- It was a schlep walking from Planet Hollywood to the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace...

free wifi @ mccarran...

They've had it for awhile, but it does make things much easier...

I've spent so many hours waiting for flights @ this airport it's almost like my second home...

Therefore, I have to have wifi...

airport shuttles to mcarran airport...

My flight leaves @ 9:20pm and the company I'm using is picking me up @ 6:10pm. Over 3 hours before my flight departs to SFO.

3 hours is excessive. 2 is more like it.

This is usually the case- the longer one is @ an airport- the more opportunity to waste dough on overpriced food and drink...

I prepaid for my shuttle. Dumb move...

Should have taken a cab...

today's birthdays...

Mine was yesterday...

Sean Connery 80

Blake Lively 23

Claudia Schiffer 40

Gene Simmons 61

megan cavanaugh...

Her picture in today's SF Examiner looked really familiar to me...

The Palo Alto- based actress is performing in the short run of Menopause The Musical @ the Herbst Theatre in the City.

Cavanaugh played Marla Hooch in A LEAGUE OF HER OWN. Marla is the player who could hit a ton, but her looks didn't fit into the pretty girls of the women's league...

I really enjoy reading the free Examiner...

another phenomenal day in the city...

I'm happy to be in my cool apartment after walking about 5 miles in the heat...

Tried to go to two different restaurants, but both were closed- my dumb luck and my fault for not checking the hours on the internet...

Ended up noshing on a chicken bao, an unagi onigiri, and some unspecified russian pastry with cheese and raisins washed down with a Hawaiian Sun Passion-Orange drink- my favorite...

So I had chinese, Japanese, and russian cuisine. Not to mention a drink from HNL.

I'm lucky to live in San Francisco...

I wonder what type of food I'm going to eat next?

what a beautiful day in the city...

After such a cold winter-we deserve some summer weather... It's almost too hot for me. Luckily, my apartment is nice and cool...

Can't wait for the Giants game @ AT&T Park this evening against the Reds- hopefully, the fog won't roll in and make it painfully cold...

jon charles...

Happy Birthday to a great hair stylist! To a fantastic horse handicapper. To my high school and grade school friend. To the only white boy on our high school basketball team. To a big basketball fan. Have a wonderful birthday!

preseason nfl football...

Means absolutely nothing...

Just puts money into the NFL owner's pockets.

I could see two games, but four games is excessive and prices aren't any cheaper for exhibition games. Why pay full price for a half ass product?

I've done spring training baseball in the Tampa area before-it was fun and the prices are less for exhibition baseball played in minor league stadiums.

I have no desire to watch the Niners play the Vikings @ decrepit Candlestick Park in a no nothing game and I definitely won't watch it on television...

The only thing worth watching regarding exhibition football is HARD KNOCKS on HBO...

the tillman story...

I'm really looking forward to seeing the doc on Pat Tillman. Tillman went to the same high school in San Jose(Leland) as my niece and nephew. The football field @ Leland High School is named after Pat Tillman.

Last January during Sundance, I met the husband of the line producer of THE TILLMAN STORY and he said he was going to get me tickets to see the doc @ the Park City Library. The guy never came through. It somewhat disappointed me, but it wasn't the first time someone in that industry didn't come through for me. Years ago, I gave away my tickets(my cost about $70 for two tickets) to a film to a producer and he assured he was going to give me tix to his film and sure enough, he didn't come through. C'est la vie...

I hope THE TILLMAN STORY doesn't disappoint me...

I do remember watching the memorial @ my sis' place in San Jose and thinking, why in the hell is John McCain doing there, he must be thinking about running for president?

And why in the fuck wasn't it first released in the Bay Area?

diner...

A favorite film of mine. Watching it on DVD.

Mickey Rourke doesn't look like the same person.

All these guys look so young. Then again, the film is 28 years old...

Great cast- Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, and Michael Tucker.

DINER really put director Barry Levinson on the map.

sideways japanese version...

Rented the film to watch on my MacBook.

Read some background on the film and Paul Giamatti was offered a small role in the movie. He turned it down and criticized the Japanese actor cast in his original part as a strange little troll...

Giamatti, son of the late baseball commissioner who banned Pete Rose from baseball is about 5'8 @ best. A little troll in my book who takes himself too seriously...

Instead of Santa Barbera, the film takes place in Napa Valley. Stag's Leap is one of the wineries featured in this SIDEWAYS.

The Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi featured in BABEL has a supporting role. Kikuchi was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for BABEL. She reminds me of golfer Michelle Wie...

The Japanese actors don't speak English well enough to sell that the've been living in the States for a long period of time...

And the two male leads aren't very good looking... Although original leads- Giamatti has a face only a mother would love and Thomas Haden Church isn't what I'd categorize as classically handsome.

The other female lead is Kyoka Suzuki and she's pretty in my book.

SIDEWAYS(2009 ) is beautifully filmed using Napa Valley as its canvas. Overall, it's an entertaining film that isn't anywhere as good as the original.

I was impressed that the budget for the movie was only $3M. Whereas the original was made for $16M and grossed $109M.

And another thing- merlot isn't trashed in this version. It's Pinot Noir vs Cabernet Sauvignon.

little star pizzeria...

On 846 Divisadero.

Excellent deep dish/Chicago style pizza. Note: this style of pizza takes about 25 minutes.

We went @ a good time. When you order an appetizer(I think it's before 6pm?), you get your pizza for half price. We had the Little Star- spinach blended with ricotta and feta, mushrooms, and garlic; less the onions. On half the pie we had pepperoni.

The app we had was the garlic bread- warm sourdough served with a blend of butter & extra virgin olive oil and a bulb of roasted garlic. It was very nice...

PBR or Pabst Blue Ribbon is regularly $2.25 a can and it's $1.25 for their happy hour that ends @ 6:30pm. PBR is shitty beer, but does the trick.

Loved Little Star Pizzeria and I'll definitely be back. I like Patxi's a bit more, but not much more...

cackle of rads...

A tweet by the dangerous "feminist" from Wasilla. What the fuck is a cackle of rads?

Cackle- the raucous clucking cry of a bird such as a hen or goose. A harsh laugh resembling such a cry.

Was the idiot half-term lame duck governor cackling as she tweeted such a mess?

the expendables...

Stallone is 64 years old and the guy is shredded. Obviously, he puts hours in the gym, but his body is also steroid/hgh enhanced.

However, Sly's face looks as if it has had way too many plastic surgeries. I had a hard time looking @ his mug on on screen. And his hair is pitch black.

I didn't take the film seriously and that's how one needs to view THE EXPENDABLES directed, co-written, and starring Sylvester Stallone.

I've heard of Jason Statham, yet I haven't seen any of his movies. He's okay, however I don't really see anything special about the guy. To me, he's a bald guy with a british accent. Oh, I saw him in THE ITALIAN JOB and COLLATERAL- don't remember him...

Jet Li is a great fighter- his english is horrible! I think Stallone needed to put subtitles up when Li speaks.

Dolph Lundgren. Said to have a masters degree in chemical engineering and is a 3rd degree black belt in karate.

It's hard for me to believe Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts are siblings.

Randy Couture's cauliflower ears should be the example for not wrestling or getting involved in mma...

Charisma Carpenter- love her first name. I've always liked her. She didn't have a big enough role... Excellent Playboy pictorial in 2004.

Terry Crews- steroids... Ex-NFL player.

Mickey Rourke- he doesn't look like the same actor from BODY HEAT and DINER. His face is harder to look @ than Stallone's. I do believe Rourke should have won the Oscar for THE WRESTLER over Sean Penn in MILK.

THE EXPENDABLES- glad I saw it. It was like watching a cartoon...

kathie lee and frank gifford...

Both have birthdays today. Kathie Lee is 57 and the ex-football star is 80. It's unreal that they share the same birthday 23 years apart...

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones also share a birthday- September 25. 25 years apart. Supposedly, Zeta-Jones is 40 going on 41. I thinks she's about 45.

There's a rumor that's she's 50...

san jose jazz festival...

This past weekend...

Went on Sunday to watch a tribute to the late great Grover Washington Jr.. The leader of the band sounded nothing like Grover- actually his sax playing was fair @ best...

Luckily, sax players Ronnie Laws and Tom Scott were special guests. Without those two- the tribute would have been horrible...

Tower of Power also played on Sunday. Don't understand why TOP plays @ a jazz fest? Saw them earlier in the summer @ the San Mateo County Fair.
They're good, but Tower of Power doesn't play enough of their hits. Don't think I'll make a concerted effort to see them again...

But all and all, the SJ Jazz Fest was a great way to spend a weekend in the South Bay...

dina lohan...

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word of the day: entitlement...

ENTITLEMENT: having the right to something. As I said in a previous post, the idiot mayor of San Francisco feels he has that sense of ENTITLEMENT by not tipping his bartender after getting free drinks.

He also thought he was entitled to become the governor of California because a bodybuilder turned horrible acting action star became governor... How many governors in the US can't even pronounce the name of the state they govern correctly?

Now, the shitty mayor is running for Lieutenant Governor of Cali, because he knew he couldn't compete against Jerry Brown...

And another point about the terrible mayor of SF- he's deluded enough to think he could be President of the the United States...

ENTITLEMENT comes into play when certain celebrities make all kind of demands to appear on a show like American Idol. Which in this particular case makes this person a diva. ENTITLEMENT and diva like behavior go hand and hand...

andris biedrins...

I have mixed feelings about recent reports of his displeasure with the Warriors...

Biedrins said he felt disrespected when lame duck head coach Don Nelson suggested he try shooting free-throws underhanded. Wilt Chamberlain did it. And one of the best free-throw shooters of all-time Rick Barry shot his free throws underhanded... Well, Andris shot 16% from the charity lane last season. Andris needs to take any suggestion... I'm someone who's an excellent free-throw shooter, therefore I don't understand how a kid like Biedrins who makes 9 million a year and plays basketball for a profession can't fucking shoot free-throws. It's ridiculous!

Then the kid talks shit about his teammates- that's fucking horrible... Honestly, I frequent a restaurant that Biedrins hangs out in and he's been talking bad about his teammates for awhile. This was inside info until he opened the can of worms by relaying it into the press...

The guy needs to be traded. He's virtually useless on the offensive end unless he has a clear cut dunk. He doesn't want to get fouled because he can't hit a fucking free-throw...

I remember seeing this kid as a 17 year old playing in the Long Beach Summer Pro League. He was extremely raw and his conditioning was suspect. Hell, Biedrins is still raw talent wise...

And I'll never forget when Biedrins was drafted by the Warriors, he cried like a baby...

Anyway, I have mixed feelings because from my sources @ the restaurant say he's seemingly a good kid. The young man can put away the alcohol. He didn't know how to tip until they taught him how to tip. The idiot SF mayor who also frequents the joint, knows how to tip, but doesn't. He gets free drinks and doesn't tip his bartender. I've seen it on more than a few occasions- up close and personal. Meaning, I was sitting next to him. I know the bartender @ this establishment quite well and it's a recurring problem... He has that sense of entitlement...

Bye bye Biedrins...

aubrey huff...

The guy has been a pleasant surprise for the Giants. When I first heard of the signing in the off season, I for one didn't like it, but as I've said before, Aubrey Huff has become the heart and soul of the G-Men...

However, when Huff is in right field, he has a tendency to try to make plays that the center fielder, as the captain of the outfield is entitled to call him off. I've seen this too many times as of late, when Huff basically runs into the center fielder on a fly ball to right center. It has happened with Torres in center on Monday and today it happened with Rowand.

Aubrey, right field is tough enough to play in AT&T Park- let the center fielder do his job...

running into someone...

Actually, I wish I didn't recognize the guy...

I was having a late lunch @ the Nordstrom Cafe and this guy sits a couple seats to my right. I thought nothing of it, then I realized it's a dude I knew from a restaurant I used to frequent.

He asked me if I still go to the said restaurant and I said I hadn't been there for nearly 3 years. He asks why. And I told him that I had a hassle with someone @ the joint over some woman...

I gave out too much info and said that this coward is married and the girl was this idiots girlfriend.

To make a long story short, the guy asks if his name is such and such. Hell, I didn't know the morons name... I said, I don't know.

Then, he asks me if the punk was in a certain profession and ethnicity. I'm thinking, I think so. And if his girlfriend's name is ____? Quite frankly, it's been about three years and I don't remember her name...

Well, it turns out that the imbecile does business with this guy and they run in the same circle.

It's a can of worms, I really didn't need to open again...

If I run into the guy again, I'm going to ignore him...

ryan matsuoka...

This evening, I'm going down to Kezar Pavilion to view game two of the best of three finals in the SF Pro-Am Summer Basketball League. A kid named Ryan Matsuoka who's going to be a senior @ UC Santa Cruz is on the SF City roster. SF City is playing Dream Team who won the first game 93-90.

I don't know whether Matsuoka will be on the bench or if he'll even play?

I did some research on the 6'3 player from Cupertino. He was leading scorer for the Banana Slugs @ 14.2 ppg as a junior. Matsuoka was also 1st team All-Independent Division III. He was also COSIDA Academic All-District First-Team. The kid averaged 18.6 ppg as a soph...

I do plan on viewing a UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs game this season. Don't think he'll be the next Jeremy Lin, but nonetheless I'm looking forward to seeing his game...

more on don wakamatsu...

There are many factors in Wak's firing, but I truly believe the horrible GM for the Mariners Jack Zduriencik was the genesis of most of the problems.

The idiot made bonehead transactions after Wakamatsu led the Mariners to a winning record last season after several seasons of losing ball...

Re-signing Ken Griffey Jr. to another season. The guy was through last year and from all the newspapers accounts I've read, in the incident where Griffey was allegedly asleep in the dugout when Wak wanted him to pinch hit- Griffey blamed Wakamatsu for leaking the info to the media. Now, Griffey denies it. However, it seems very strange that Griffey quit the team in the middle of the season...

Chone Figgins. What a fucking head case! Up until this year, I hadn't heard any negative things about him... But now, he'll be forever linked to the demise of Wakamatsu.

Milton Bradley- enough said... Once a head case, always a head case. Why did that moron Jack Z. even consider signing Bradley when he's caused nothing but problems everywhere he's played...

I really think the Mariners need to clean house. Fire Jack Z.. Hire Kim Ng, who they should have hired in the first place. Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and President Chuck Armstrong should also be replaced by Nintendo...

Man, it's frustrating being a Mariners fan...

don wakamatsu...

It was inevitable due to the piss poor record of the Mariners, but Hayward's own Don Wakamatsu was fired as manager of the Seattle Mariners.

The well publicized incident with overpaid head case Chone Figgins was the beginning of the end of Wakamatsu's tenure with the Mariners after posting a promising record last season...

The ex- Rangers and A's bench coach shouldn't have trouble finding employment. Wakamatsu would be a good replacement for Bob Geren the current manager of the A's...

However, overrated Oakland GM Billy Beane loves Geren and his sub .500 managerial record...

san francisco wine market...

It's a great way to spend an hour or so on Sunday tasting wine. All you need to do is buy a reusable $20 SF Wine Market bag(holds 6 bottles) @ the tasting which is most Sundays from 1-4pm and you can taste wines for free as long as you bring your reusable bag. Best deal around. You can taste wine nearly every Sunday until October. I bought my bag about three months ago and I've frequented the tasting about 5 or 6 times.

On holiday weekends, the SF Wine Market isn't open and I'm a little pissed that food is no longer served @ the Wine Market. I guess the nearby restaurants complained which is a bunch of bullshit. Come on, wine tasting and food go hand and hand...

Plus, this market will generate business for the restaurant around the area. Wine drinkers want to eat after tasting wine...

The SF Wine Market gives a wine lover an opportunity to try different wineries and an opportunity to meet winemakers, owners, etc...

Del Monte Square @ the Cannery...

patxi's chicago pizza...

It's pronounced pah-cheese...

I had excellent service @ the Marina location @ the bar. On Fillmore near Lombard.

The Chicago style pizza is very good. The pie takes about 30 minutes.

I checked in via Foursquare and received a free soda @ Patxi's. A one dollar Pabst Blue Ribbon was also offered via Foursquare for checking into the site...

PBR or Pabst Blue Ribbons are regularly only $2 a can @ Patxi's... Such a deal...

Apparently, they have an excellent Happy Hour 3-6 on weekdays...

My server gave me an inside tip about eating the leftover crust with honey. I tried it and it was tasty. But, be sure to wipe off any excess tomato sauce. It's like having dessert without paying any extra money.

I'm still partial to Zachary's in Oakland for a Chicago style pie, but Patxi's is closer and more convenient...

another blind post...

Once again, I went to one of my spots and ran into someone I didn't want to run into to.

In this case, it's better, because the person doesn't work @ the joint...

I went to this place to meet a friend of mine.

I ignored the _____ and had a wonderful time catching up with my friend...

By the way, my friend and the ____ are females...

a blind post...

In December of 2008, I met a young lady @ the bar of the club I was a member of. And on that night I met her, I stupidly took her to Vegas. I had a comped room @ the Wynn.

Anyway, once we checked into the Wynn Casino, we went down to the poker room(I gave her gambling money). We sat @ the same table and after about ten minutes of play she wins a big pot. Then she subsequently gathers her chips and leaves the table.

I was stunned! I take this ____ to LV and she takes off on me. Man, that pissed me off!!! And I don't see her in the room until several hours later. Obviously, I didn't get laid... Quite frankly, I wasn't expecting to get laid, I just wanted to hang out and this fucking _____ takes off on me! Fuck!

I did make sure she returned to San Francisco safely, but after that incident I've never talked to her again. I saw her @ the club many times, yet I pretended she didn't exist...

She's a bartender and I make sure not to frequent any bars she works @...

However, last night I went to one of my regular spots to say hey to my friends who work there. I actually know the GM pretty well. The fucking ___ now works @ this joint. Fuck!

I was on my 15th day of no alcohol and I fell off of the wagon because of the above incident... Yes, that's weak...

A typical day in the life of NY...

kim ng assistant gm of the dodgers...

She was an Assistant General Manager of the Yankees...

She should have been the GM of the Dodgers... Instead she accepted basically a lateral move to LA.

The Seattle Mariners had an opportunity to make her their GM. They are now floundering under the idiot they hired...

This young Asian American women deserves an opportunity to be a GM of a Major League team...

I'm not a fan of Brian Sabean GM of the Giants, but Sabean and manager Bruce Boche have had a renaissance this season... Ng would have been a perfect fit for San Francisco.

Ms. Ng has paid her dues...

I can see her returning to New York to become GM of the Mets... Current Mets GM Omar Minaya most blow dodge... He's terrible!

hyatt regency embarcadero bathrooms...

The doors to the stalls are only about 5ft high enabling anyone of average height or higher the opportunity to peer down on you- potentially an uncomfortable and embarrassing situation...

That's why I try to avoid using the facilities @ the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero...

charlie st. cloud...

Film starring Zach Efron.

I've only seen the kid in one other film- 17 AGAIN and he really does have star quality. I'm not into remakes, but he would have been great in the remake of FOOTLOOSE, but Efron dropped out of the film to make CHARLIE ST. CLOUD. Now, an unknown actor is starring in the Kevin Bacon character. I definitely won't see the remake...

Efron has charisma and he's not bad looking- the latter statement is probably an understatement...

I found the film to be poorly written and the casting questionable. The kid actor who played his brother wasn't likable in my opinion. The female lead(Amanda Crew) is somewhat of an unknown entity, good looking, but she didn't have much presence...

Kim Basinger plays his mother in a very small role. Ray Liotta portrays the paramedic in more or less a cameo role.

The guy who starred in THE TAO OF STEVE- Donal Logue has aged and lost a ton of weight. He's also in a basic throwaway part.

Augustus Prew who portrays Efron's coworker @ the cemetery had his moments and has a little Russell Brand in him. Let me reiterate, a little Russell Brand...

I don't like how they tried to portray Massachusetts and it was obviously filmed in British Columbia. I'm familiar with the area they filmed in because I'm from Seattle Washington and many times I've ridden a ferry from Seattle to Victoria, BC and saw the wondrous beauty of the area...

Zac Efron needs to find a project that will take him to the next level. CHARLIE ST. CLOUD wasn't the right film...

debra saunders of the sf chronicle...

I try never to read any column or article written by that person, because I can't stand the _____!!!!!

For some reason, she was allowed to write her opinion about the overturning of Prop 8.

This is how stupid the ___ is, she writes, "Will advocates use the schools to promote same-sex marriages with young kids? These aren't unreasonable questions?" Her previous question is something regarding judges, the Boy Scouts, and gays and I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. She's a fucking idiot!

This moron poses the ideal that legalizing same-sex marriage could lead to the legalization of polygamy? What the fuck?

She also mentions that Judge Walker is gay- which I didn't know. Other articles I've read did not...

The head case writes 52% of California voters voted for Prop 8. I'm wondering how many of those 52% thought they were voting for same-sex marriages when they voted yes on Prop 8. We'll never know...

overturning of prop 8...

I'm happy that the proposition banning same-sex marriages in the state in which I reside has been overturned... This happened in a San Francisco courtroom on Wednesday.

We all know that marriage is a crap shoot and there's a good chance that it will fail...
That's one reason I support gay marriages. Give all couples who want to get married, the chance to be successful or the chance to fail...

I must really give props to Chief U.S District Judge Vaughn Walker for overturning Proposition 8. Walker is quoted as saying, "Prop 8 continued the long history of discrimination against gays and lesbians." And Walker ruled that Prop 8 was based on "moral disapproval."

But, the fight isn't over yet... Walker has issued a temporary stay on Prop 8 during the appeals process to decide whether to he wants to suspend his ruling. Meaning gays and lesbians can't run down to City Hall and get married today. Hopefully, they will able to sooner than later...

First the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco and then to the Supreme Court.

traveling...

The only foreign countries I've traveled to are Japan, Canada, and Mexico and two of those countries share a border with the US...

I've been to Hawaii 50 plus times because I have family there and my parents retired in Honolulu. I actually lived in Honolulu for about four years total.

I've been to Vegas over 50 times. Been to Salt Lake/Park City, Utah about 25 times.

Traveled to New York 6 times. Been to the Tampa Bay area about 5 times.

I was born and raised in Seattle, but I don't return to my hometown enough...

Never been to Europe. I've never been to South America. I've never been to Australia.

What I see is that I'm a creature of habit and I go to the same places over and over again. This must change. Life is too short.

London, England and Paris, France are on my radar sometime in the near future...

However, I'm lucky to have been where I've been...

dinner for schmucks...

To me, Steve Carell is hit or miss. I liked him in THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN(2005)which actually put him on the map and his small role in ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY(2004). His other work- not so much.

However, he was fantastic in DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS...

I've followed Paul Rudd's career since CLUELESS(1995). Carell and Rudd have great chemistry together. Rudd was also in THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and ANCHORMAN.

In a minor role Zach Galifianakis is very good. THE HANGOVER(2009) was Galifianakis' breakthrough part...

I didn't even recognize the cat from HBO's FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Jemaine Clement.

The actress who played Rudd's girlfriend had a small role in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. She's attractive, however I thought they could have cast someone with more name recognition. And quite frankly, Stephanie Szostak's acting is fair @ best...

Ron Livingston has been in two films I've really liked SWINGERS(1996) and OFFICE SPACE(1999). He played an unlikeable character in THE COOLER(2003) and played Jack Berger in SEX AND THE CITY mostly in 2003. Livingston's movie career seems to have stalled as of late... We'll see if this film and the upcoming GOING THE DISTANCE will jump start his career.

Anyway, great cast. I could write about a few more cast members, but I won't...

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS, a very funny film that surprised the heck out of me...

keith aki...

A good friend of mine who I haven't seen for nearly a year. I wrote about this before, but his five year old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia on her birthday. I called him when I heard the terrible news several months later. The cat never called me back, however I ran into him @ AT&T Park last evening...

Apparently, she's doing well- which makes me very happy and his wife secured employment @ Kaiser which surely makes taking care of his daughter's health care more manageable.

I guess the moral of this story is to cherish life. It really saddens me when a child gets ill...

Have a healthy day...

unbelievable...

This is the story. The other day I contacted Jason Gee to ask when Scooter, a bartender @ Mr. Bing's was coming back from Asia(China and Thailand). Jason said later that evening. That's a coincidence...

A few days pass and last night I'm walking on Folsom near 3rd and I see someone that looks familiar- it's Michael "Scooter" Chan having a cigarette in front of a Thai restaurant. I think that's fucking unreal... I haven't seen the cat for four months, I inquire about him a few days earlier and "boom!" he appears before my eyes...

In life, stuff like that happens all the time...