ella's...

On California and Presidio. Ella's makes the best chicken hash! It's phenomenal! I get the dish with poached eggs and their fantastic biscuit.

I must say that having breakfast @ Ella's is definitely a favorite of mine and I don't go there enough.

The coffee @ Ella's is fair @ best, therefore in the future I might just opt for fresh OJ...

embracing making the postseason...

The Cincinnati Reds are in the postseason for the 1st time in 15 years...

It's hard for me to believe that the former Big Red Machine have been shut out of the playoffs for so many years...

a beautiful day in the city...

After some scorching weather- today is simply wonderful...

christie brinkley...

56 years old. She looks incredible! This is a picture taken today.

Christie won HBA Global's Positively Beautiful Award for her support of the Smile Train charity which helps kids with unrepaired cleft lifts and palates who don't have the means to change their appearance the opportunity to have a new smile.

dancing with the stars...

Quite frankly, the name of the show doesn't make sense to me? Bristol Palin a star- give me a fucking break! And she can't dance. The judges are giving her a pass. And I love how her hideous mother was booed when they were setting up an interview with vanilla host Tom Bergeron. They weren't booing Jennifer Grey's score of 24- the highest of the night. If that shitty dancer Michael Bolton stays on the show, it will be a travesty of justice... He's fucking horrible!

wall street: money never sleeps...

I enjoyed the film, but I was expecting a bit more...

Michael Douglas wasn't in the film enough and was more of a peripheral character. Shia LaBeouf is very good in the lead role. I'm not sold on Carey Mulligan who plays Gordon Gekko's daughter and is LaBeouf's girlfriend in the film and in real life...

Josh Brolin has become one of the great actors in American Cinema.

Director Oliver Stone wrote and directed the original WALL STREET and I believe if he wrote the sequel, instead of just directed it- I would have enjoyed the film more.

Frank Langella is always good in a small role.

I had an opportunity to watch the red carpet in New York @ the Ziegfeld Theatre last Monday and saw most of the stars of the film.

Charlie Sheen who played Bud Fox in the original had a cameo role and I really wanted to see more of Sheen/Fox.

braylon edwards...

He had a hell of a game for the Jets after sitting out the 1st quarter of the Sunday night game in their win over the Dolphins.

Braylon was charged with DWI after apparently double fisting drinks @ a poker tournament in Manhattan on Monday night. In New York, it's called driving while intoxicated- in Cali it's called DUI- driving under the influence.

Jets owner Woody Johnson made a great point that the NFL offers car service free of charge to players who need a ride home after imbibing in too much alcohol.

Johnson lost his daughter to alcohol and drug abuse a few years ago.

jack lalanne...

Tomorrow, he's turning 96. He's an inspiration to me. I know his grand-nephew Chris Lalanne who's runs a successful workout facility in the City.

the original soupman al yeganeh...

Reopened on 55th and 8th. Excellent Manhattan Clam Chowder! $8. Served with bread and a mini banana.

Yeganeh was parodied in SEINFELD as the Soup Nazi- no soup for you...

The Original Soupman is now a chain.

don nelson...

I'm happy he's finally out as the Warriors coach.

We'll see how Keith Smart does...

sobaya...

One of my favorites restaurants in New York. Their cold udon is exceptional! The texture makes the udon noodles excellent.

moma...

Simply a phenomenal museum...

chris carter of the oakland a's...

0-27 in 9 games.

Carter has yet to get his first major league hit.

I've followed Carter's minor league career from the Advanced A Stockton Ports to the Sacramento Rivercats.

michael vick...

I'm happy he's starting for Philly on Sunday... Vick is definitely better than Kolb.

new york...

I'm on a Virgin America flight from SFO-JFK. It was delayed a couple of hours and I probably won't arrive in New York until 1 or 2am.

119 million...

That's how much that pig Meg Whitman has spent to fund her race for governor. I've said it before- it's an obscene amount. Money that could have been spent on creating jobs in California by starting a new corporation.

Her voting record in her own words- atrocious. She's trying to buy an election and throughout the years, she has been a very nonchalant voter.

Bill Clinton has endorsed Jerry Brown and her campaign has continued to air an ad that has been deemed to be incorrect which has an 18 year old clip of Clinton accusing Brown of raising taxes while he was governor of California. Even Clinton has admitted his accusations were unfounded.

ines sainz...

Sainz, a reporter for TV Azteca in Mexico has been embroiled in a controversy revolving the New York Jets stars of the recent HBO HARD KNOCKS.

I don't know what happened, but I do believe reporters whether they are male or female shouldn't be allowed in the locker room. Interview the players in the media room. There should be some semblance of privacy for players. And make sure the players are clothed when they are interviewed.

The Jets are on the radar of Mexican television because quarterback Mark Sanchez is of Mexican descent and he can conduct interviews in Spanish.

I'm fairly certain that Sainz wasn't in the locker room to interview recently signed holdout cornerback Darrelle Revis...

niners...

I'm glad I didn't go to my hometown to see the 49ers get their asses kicked by Seattle...

the tillman story...

I finally got a chance to view the doc about Pat Tillman and I was impressed...

I learned friendly fire is also called fratricide.

But think about, how could fire be friendly when one is killed by it? It's not friendly, it may have been accidental, but certainly not friendly. The word fratricide makes more sense to me...

Dannie Tillman, Pat's mother really put tremendous effort into finding out what really happened to her son in Afghanistan. She's one hell of a mother! To this day, there are still too many questions to be answered...

I have grown to respect Pat Tillman Sr.. I wasn't sold on the guy before I viewed the doc, but now I have more of an understanding why he reacted to his son's death in such a manner...

I'm glad John McCain wasn't featured in the doc. When I watched Tillman's memorial in San Jose @ my sis' house in Almaden in 2004, I questioned why was he there?

One thing I noticed when Arizona State University retired Tillman's #42 @ Sun Devil Stadium, one of the ASU's cheerleaders had a pot belly. Something crazy to remember in a serious doc, but nonetheless something that stood out in my mind...

Great doc and I highly recommend it...

carlos pena...

The ex-A and the current first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays is batting .202 with 26 HR and 78 RBI.

He's on the verge of hitting under .200 for the season which is also known as the Mendoza Line after the light hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza. In 1980, Mendoza hit .198 with over 400 AB for the Seattle Mariners. Mendoza finished his career with a .215 average.

Pena has 288 career home runs and he's drove in over 100 runs in the previous three seasons. His career batting average is .242.

Carlos needs to improve his batting average if the Rays have any chance to overtake the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

john lindsey...

His name is similar to the late former New York mayor John Lindsay.

Lindsey led the Pacific Coast League in batting this season with a .353 average. He was hovering in the .370 range for awhile. Lindsey also hit 25 HR with 97 RBI.

He has 219 career minor league home runs.

Lindsey was recently called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers and will soon make his MLB debut @ 33 years old after being in the minor leagues for 16 years.

I hope John Lindsey gets a hit in first major league @ bat, which should come any day now...

Update: Lindsey didn't get a hit in his first major league @ bat.

machete...

What an over the top trippy film...

alison waite on the 702 scene...

The Playmate Miss May 2006 hosts a show that is shown in hotel rooms in Vegas giving tips about the happenings around town and I've must have watched the show 50 times...

hideki matsui...

The Yankees replaced the 2009 MVP of the World Series with Nick Johnson, who's been injured most of the season. Overrated Nick Johnson is batting .167 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. His 2010 salary $5.5 million.

Hideki Matsui BA .264 18 HR 74 RBI. $6 million 2010 salary with the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.

With 25 games left in the season- you have to think, what the hell were the Yankees thinking? Plus, Matsui has played 17 games in left field after playing zero games in the field last season. I've also heard he was willing to play first base to be more versatile...

The Yankees picked up Lance Berkman from Houston to DH and he's batting .235 with zero HR and 4 RBI since being traded...

I wonder where Matsui is going to play next season?

juan uribe...

Just hit a huge 2-run homer in the top of the 7th for the Giants against the Dodgers in LA. The Giants are winning 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th inning.

In Uribe's 10th season in the major leagues, he just topped his career high in RBI with 75 and has 19 home runs with an outside chance to top his best season of 23 in 2004. Also, his previous career high for RBI was in 2004.

Uribe doesn't walk much, but his 40 thus far this year is the most in in his career.

sue bird...

I'm only watching the end of game 2 of the WNBA Western Conference Finals because I no longer have cable.

The Seattle Storm/Bing(their uniforms say Bing on the front)just beat Phoenix to advance to the Championship Series.

Sue Bird hits a clutch 3-pointer with less than 3 seconds in the game to win the game.

I find Sue Bird very attractive... And she's a hell of a ball player...

I know Seattle center Aussie Lauren Jackson has posed nude in an Australian photo mag called Black+White.

mark prior...

I'm pleased to see that Prior has signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers after striking out 22 batters in 11 innings for the Orange County Flyers in the independent Golden Baseball League.

Mark Prior hasn't pitched in the majors since 2006 and is a few days from his 30th birthday.

He will join AAA Oklahoma City who won the American Southern division of the PCL. Prior may have an opportunity to pitch in the playoffs. The American Southern division winner will play Oklahoma City and right now it appears to be the Iowa Cubs managed by Hall of Famer and perhaps next seasons skipper of the Chicago Cubs- Ryne Sandberg.

He's no longer a starter and pitched in one inning stints for the Flyers. Prior could be on Texas' roster before the end of the month, but wouldn't be eligible for the major league playoffs unless he replaced another pitcher due to injury.

I wish Mark Prior well. I always enjoy a comeback story...

san diego padres...

They may be in the midst of a 9-game losing streak, but they're still 2 games up on my San Francisco Giants...

The G-Men have picked up only 4 1/2 games since the Padres cold streak which started on August 26.

San Diego also needs to keep an eye on the Rockies with ex-A and AL batting leader Carlos Gonzalez proving to baseball experts that Billy Beane is an idiot for trading him...

The upcoming 4 games series @ home starting Sept. 9 vs my Giants will be crucial for the Pads. San Diego has owned San Francisco this season- winning about 90% of their games...

Honestly, I'm not confident my Giants have the goods to make the playoffs, especially with the problems with our starting pitching, specifically Zito and Sanchez since Lincecum had a great outing last week against Colorado. And our hitting is suspect. Philly seems to be on the verge of closing out the wild-card or the NL East. Then we may be battling the Atlanta Braves...

I expected a swoon by the Padres, but I also expected San Francisco to overtake San Diego when this happened. We'll just have to see...

jim thome...

He just passed Mark McGwire with two home runs on Saturday to reach 9th place in the all-time home run list with 584. Next up is Frank Robinson with 586.

The 40 year old Thome has an outside chance of catching Sammy Sosa who has 609 career dingers. That will put him @ #7 all-time. Alex Rodriguez has 604 career home runs and will more than likely pass Sosa and Ken Griffey who has 630 next season which will put him @ #5.

I think of Jim Thome and I almost can't believe he's so high on the all-time home run list...

tipping before tax or after tax...

I had chicken & waffles @ Gussie's on Eddy near Fillmore a couple of months ago and on the receipt it gives you options on gratuity. And those tipping options are before tax.

I'm sure most servers will want you to tip after tax and @ those restaurants that add the SF Health tax on your bill after that added expense too...

Tax in San Francisco is 9.5% therefore if you double the tax 19% is more than a fair tip...

I usually tip a bit more if I don't have a beverage...

tutto in bellagio...

Throughout the years, I've enjoyed shopping @ this shop in Bellagio which is across from the elevators that go up to the hotel rooms. Unfortunately, I've only stayed @ Bellagio once since it opened in October of 1998.

This past trip, I bought some red reading glasses and to my dismay the temples of the glasses are white with red polka dots and with a heart on each side. And I still bought the reading glasses. I'm using them right now as I write this post. Sooner or later, I'll paint the side of the glasses...

And I'm writing this entry to remind me that Las Vegas has 8.1% sales tax and to remember the name of the store...

aja vu...

Just saw Aja Vu who play Steely Dan music @ the Courthouse Square in Redwood City. The lead singer Jim Starr has a great voice!

In the all the years I've lived in the Bay Area, I've never been to the Courthouse Square area in Redwood City. It's actually kind of nice, but since there is a movie theater adjacent to the square, there are a bunch of kids who hang out there on a Friday night. Therefore, I didn't get a good feel for the area...

Aja Vu instrumentals are fantastic, especially their horn section...

I hope to see them again @ Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, CA(near Sacramento) on Friday September 10th...

meg whitman...

That pig has spent $104 million of her own money in her race for governor. Come on, that's fucking ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. And she's dead even with Jerry Brown...

There really should be limits on campaign spending. Whitman could have started another company and provided Californians with jobs, instead of wasting an obscene amount of dough to get elected as governor of Cali...

I use craigslist over eBay because I don't care for Whitman... I don't care if she's no longer involved with the company...

freddy sanchez...

2nd baseman for the San Francisco Giants.

On August 11, Sanchez was batting .255 and I like many others were starting to give up on the guy and now he's hitting .292. A 37 point improvement in about 3 weeks. Unbelievable!

I just hope he keeps it up...

Freddy did win the NL Batting Title in 2006 with a .344 average. However, he's only hit .300 one other time which was in 2007.

His defense has been excellent...

niners...

I still think the preseason means nothing, but being undefeated in exhibition games is a good way to start the regular season in Seattle next week for San Francisco.

There is some concern about Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree getting into an altercation in practice on Wednesday, but both players can be categorized as head cases in one way or another.

This is the year for the 49ers to make the playoff- nothing less will be acceptable...

I hope to see a game or two @ decrepit Candlestick Park this season...

carlos gonzalez...

The ex-A is approaching superstar status with Colorado.

Overrated Billy Beane was astute to trade for Gonzalez, but very stupid for keeping perpetually injured Ryan Sweeney and getting rid of Gonzalez.

That's why Oakland is a sub-.500 ball club...

michael douglas...

It's unfortunate to read that he has Stage 4 throat cancer...

The sequel to WALL STREET is opening this month.

I wish Michael Douglas well...