Tuesday, June 28, 2005


Finally got to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It is a funny and entertaining movie. My favorite parts are when they are arguing about who did what and all the lies that had developed during their marriage. One of the cool action scenes is when they are driving on the freeway in a minivan and trying to get away from three BMWs. The scene shows the versatility of the van which I'm sure will have an increase in sales after this movie. LOL!
Angelina looks pretty hot and who wouldn't want a kitchen like hers? Guns and knives hidden under your oven?




Sunday, June 26, 2005


I saw Batman Begins yesterday and I was engaged the whole time. Sometimes when I'm watching a movie, if something slow and uninteresting is on screen, I'll tune out. For example, the silly and contrived love story in the recent Star Wars trilogy. With Batman, I was worried I'd miss something if I didn't pay attention. Viewers have a better understanding of where the "Bat" comes from and why he's the way he is.

I thought Christian Bale was perfect for the role. At least he'll have a steady income for two or three more movies. Hopefully, the studio won't screw this version up like they did after the 1989 and 1992 versions with Michael Keaton.

Speaking of Keaton, I thought he could have made a cameo appearance as Bruce Wayne's father, and it would have been cool considering Linus Roache and Keaton look similar. But then again, maybe since it is the beginning of a new era for the franchise, it would be better if nothing is mentioned of the previous movies. But I did hear a small rumor that Michelle Pfeiffer was going to supply a voice only cameo in the second installment. Maybe they could get Halle Berry to be Catwoman again, wouldn't that be like nails on a chalkboard!

There was a small representation of my Asian brothers, however, we are either villains, ninjas, or mountain people. Although, there was one Asian police officer who had a small speaking part. I thought Ken Watanabe was wasted in a role any other Asian could have played. I thought he would have been better in the Liam Neeson role because there is a reference that he was Ra's Al Ghul. But if memory serves me right, Ghul is resurrected from the dead at some point.

I only had one problem with the movie, at one point Bale Image Hosted by ImageShack.us was trying to act like this tough angry guy, but it just didn't seem real. My other two problems were unrelated to the movie. Some fat headed guy had to sit right in front of me, even after his wife told him to move down one, but he said no. What an ASS! The other problem was the blond hootch that had to sit right next to me. Out of all the seats in the theater these two people had to near me and annoy me. Well, luckily I usually plan for this sort of thing, and was able to move on the other side of the row. That is one of things I hate about going to the movies, dealing with inconsiderate and stupid people.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Oh to be 21 again! I had the pleasure of hanging out with a newly crowned 21 year old on Friday night. But I'm not sure she had as much fun as she wanted because she was with a group of older people. Granted, we could still cut-a-rug if we wanted to, but her aunt wanted her to see some of the dives of San Diego. We started at the Turf Club for dinner which is always a fun place. People order steak, chicken, or seafood, and the novelty is that you have to grill it yourself. One problem is that the grill can get very crowded, and another is that when you're done, you end up smelling like a grill. The signature drinks are large and potent. This hip and trendy little place attracts all walks of life. It's usually an interesting mix of people.

We then proceeded to the Red Fox Room. A dive restaurant/bar that also has its fill of ecletic people. The food isn't bad. The novelty here is the old piano player and I believe there still is a mic that can be passed around, but it ain't no karaoke. This evening he also had a trumpet player with him. Our youngin didn't seem to care about the Red Fox, perhaps it was a little too, I don't know, old? mature?

We then journey to the Jewel Box, a place that has been known to be frequented by the acting society of San Diego. It's a great place to grab a drink and play pool. Our youngin perk up a little more at this dive spot, probably due to the pool table and that she could actually do something else than listen to us oldies talking about the good old dull days. LOL! The highlight of the evening was the fact that we got rock star parking right in front. I even made an illegal u-turn and unbeknownst to me, a cop car was coming up behind me. He did slow down and look, but didn't do anything. Maybe he didn't see me or maybe it pays to drive a 4-door incognito car.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

I had the opportunity to see a Padres game at the new Petco Park in San Diego. What a great stadium! But the best part was the price and seating.

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As you can see from the ticket, it only cost $5 for a park pass. This means you can sit on a grassy knoll adjacent to the stadium and watch the game on a large screen, but you can also walk around the stadium. We met some friends that were visiting from back east, who use to live in San Diego, and had gone to a game the night before and gave us the low down. There is a restaurant, more like a bar, on the 5th floor of the stadium, and if you sign up for either the first half or second half of the game, you can sit out on their balcony, which is what we did. Visually, it was a perfect spot for watching the game. The nice thing was that you can angle the chairs and weren't sitting really close to anyone else. Also, the bathrooms were very close and there was a server to bring you drinks.

My only complaint is that the food and drinks are really expensive. For example, our draft beer was $7.75 a glass. A mesquite grilled chicken breast sandwich was $6.50, without any bar-b-que sauce. That was the biggest disappointment.
I had to slap a little mustard on it. Down near the park area, there was a bar-b-que beef sandwich that included chips, but that was $8.50, and if you wanted coleslaw or beans, it was $2 extra. Also, roasted peanuts were $4.50 a bag! I thought the 1/2 pound slugger hotdog was a bargain at $6.50, at least I felt like I was getting a meal. But still hungry, I venture off into the Mercado which is just a fancy word for food court.

I was surprised to find a Rubio's and Anthony's Seafood Grotto Express. There was also a fancy dessert cart and a peanut vender that sold cashews, macadamias, and cinnamon glazed almonds that tasted more like coconut. There is also a huge sports store, but the prices were strange: $46.40 for a pair of Padres swim shorts, $5.57 for a small souvenir bat. I felt like I was in a high end Walmart. Overall, I spent $39.50 on food. Sure glad I'm not a heavy beer drinker or it would have been more.

Towards the end of the game, the people were beginning to get really ugly. These girls were flicking peanut shells off the balcony, and finally one of them spilt a beer. The girls left, but when security came up, they asked the guys that were with them to leave. Of course, since the guys had been drinking they started to protest. One guy butted his head against the security guard who proceeded to grab the guy by the throat. We started hearing "assault, assault" but there was a supervisor watching the whole thing and saw the head butt. It was when they were in the restaurant that the same guy got violent and they had to handcuff him. It was all very exciting because I was getting bored with the game. The Padres were down by 2 and it was the bottom of the 8th and it didn't look like they were going to win.

Parking downtown was at a premium. I suggest getting there early enough to get a street spot at least 5 blocks from the stadium. We waited almost a half hour trying to get out of the parking structure. The cost was $10, but some lots closer to the stadium wanted $17 and even $20 bucks a spot. Overall, it was a fun experience.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Well, I made it home. My only regret is that I didn't bring back any egg rolls from King Egg Roll. This place is an institution that has been around for years, yet I only discovered it two years ago. Everytime I'm in San Jose, I stop in and get food to go. The place reminds me of a hole in the wall in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Another ritual stop is Gombei in Japantown. The food is still cheap and we were lucky to be waited on by a new transplant from Japan. She was friendly and smiled a lot, not like the bitter old Japanese ladies that still work there. But the idea is to "get'em in, get'em out" mentality of dining. We kinda got the evil eye as we sat and talked while two tables had come and gone .

Believe it or not, I also saw The Perfect Man while I was up there. My niece is a big fan of Hilary Duff and she wanted to see it. It wasn't a bad movie, a little predictable, but I felt it was a good family movie. There were references to some 80s bands that had me, and most of the parents in the theater, laughing.

Monday, June 20, 2005

The weekend went by quickly. It didn't rain at the graduation, but it was windy. It brought back memories of my own high school graduation. That feeling of it all finally being over and the uncertainty of the future, wondering if you'd still see your friends. There are a handful that I keep in close contact with, even one that I've known since 4th grade but seldom get to see.

However, we finally got together on Saturday. We decided to meet at the Condor, which use to be a big time strip club but not so long ago, was renovated into a hip bar and lounge. I highly recommend their signature cocktail, Bombed On Broadway. It's a great start to any evening. They have other fun drinks as well. Check out their drink menu.

The only problem was that we didn't know that the North Beach Festival was going on that weekend and parking was a bitch. After driving around for half an hour, I just pulled into the first parking garage I saw. It was in Nob Hill, home of the Mark Hopkins Hotel and also the Fairmont, the back drop of that "great" tv series,
Hotel, starring Mr. Barbara Streisand.

North Beach is a trip. Where else in the world can you find very chic and hip restaurants and lounges sitting next to strip clubs and adult book stores? We went to this hole in the wall Italian restaurant called Tomaso's and since we had to wait twenty minutes for our table, we wandered next door because according to their marque, they had "the nastiest videos in San Francisco." I wouldn't say they were nasty, but very raunchy, disturbing, and scary. We were laughing the whole time we were in there.

We ended the evening sitting in front of Caffe Greco, sipping coffee and sharing a chocolate cake. It was a great spot to watch the various people walking along Columbus Avenue. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, friendly even. Every so often, an odd person would walk by which only added to the atmosphere. We would have stayed longer and into the wee hours of the morning, but I had to drive back to Santa Cruz.

Friday, June 17, 2005

It is raining up here. I hope the graduation doesn't get rained out. Last night my high school friends and I felt like we were in high school again. We met up at CB Hannegan's in Los Gatos, and drank and caught up with each other's lives. We made some revelations, which were surprising, like the fact that I almost didn't graduate because I failed American government. We compared the sexual activity of ourselves in school then and compared it to what is going on in the schools now, and they were a little shocked that it is happening in middle schools. I felt a little bad because they all had to work today, but true to form, we did hit the Carrows in Saratoga. It's not the Denny's on Capital and Berryessa(our last stop on many nights out, drunk or sober)but it was close enough. I couldn't believe they stayed out until 2. The highlight of the night was when I went to use the restroom before we left. This restaurant/bar draws a very diverse crowd, but the later it gets, the younger the bar crowd is. When I walked up the stairs, one of the employees asked to see my ID. I said, "Are you serious?" and he's like "Yeah, I am." Well, it shocked the hell out of him. I think I'll go take a nap. It's the very thing that keeps me looking so young....LOL!

Thursday, June 16, 2005

I'm in San Jose right now. I flew up for my nephew's graduation. People up here drive like idiots. They either drive too fast or too slow. Most have no idea that other people are on the road. I hate to say this, but a majority of these drivers are Asian. So I feel like other people might think that I drive just like them. My niece's cat is psycho. One moment she attacks my leg, the next she wants me to pet her.

Hertz gave me a Toyota Matrix. It's a fun car to drive, but it reminds me of a small station wagon. It's brand new too. There was only 36 miles on the odometer. I was hoping to get the cool agent, so I could talk her into giving me a Mustang convertible. They have the new ones already.

Well, I'm going to meet up with some high school friends. Class of 19**. It's amazing that we still look so good while some of the rest of our class have aged immensely. I'm probably going to hit San Francisco while I'm up here...you know...visit some of my peeps. It's suppose to rain, and wouldn't you know it, I left my jacket in sunny socal.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Has anyone seen the latest promotion ads for Ah-nold? I cannot help but laugh every time he says, "Helping to rebuild Cauliforn-yah." His acting is so bad it makes some of movies look good, for example Eraser. I caught a showing on TBS and I thought he played his character well. What is missing in his ads are sincerity, empathy, and overall concern for the people. Even the bit players nod blankly at him when he talks about "re-fourmm." I think he comes off a little arrogant and cocky.

If you watch his ads today and compare them to some of his films, his acting wasn't bad, with the exception of Jingle All the Way, The Last Action Hero, and Kindergarten Cop. Some of my favorite movies include Total Recall, where he gets his ass kicked by Sharon Stone; the Terminator series; and this one:
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But who's lying now? He has pissed off a lot of people, especially the California Teachers Association because of this:

"You borrowed $2 billion from the education budget and refused to pay it back," Liane Cismowski, a former Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year who is also National Board certified, says in the spot. "Now, you want taxpayers to pay $80 million for a special election that gives you more power to cut school funding without consulting anyone else."

He also wants to change the new teacher tenure to five years from two in order to attract more qualified teachers.If little Johnny can't read or write it's the teacher's fault. When was the last time someone really exposed who little Johnny really is? I can tell you, he's a little smart-ass, disrespectful, troublemaking little piece of shit. Granted, there are some bad teachers out there. Just look at the ones that have been doing it for years. Some of them are so jaded, they lack passion for their subject area.

Monday, June 13, 2005

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No matter what the verdict is, Jackson's actions are disturbing. He looks like a drag queen that is long past her prime. Whether he's guilty or not, he will still be surrounded by a shroud of speculation. What really went on behind closed doors? If those walls could talk. He could probably use a good therapist to deal with his issues. He now falls under that "double jeopardy" rule, so I guess he's free and clear to have sleepovers still.
There is nothing worse than getting a photo album, via e-mail, about someone's vacation. The most polite thing to do is ask first, or better yet, wait for the person to ask. There is nothing more annoying than to have someone show you pictures of their hotel: the lobby, the room, and even the tile. I mean, really, who gives a shit. What really annoys me are pictures of Hawaii. I've been to the islands many times. I have a lot, and I mean, A LOT of relatives that live over there and that I sometimes stay with. When I'm there, I see the real Hawaii, not some haole (used here as a derogatory slang for stupid white tourist) version of what they think Hawaii is.

Real Hawaiian luaus do not look like the ones shown on the Travel Channel. You know the ones, some haole woman in her neatly pressed Hawaiian print blouse or dress, wearing a lei, and a plumeria in her hair, visits a "typical" traditional Hawaiian luau. All the family members are wearing Hawaiian prints, some are even matching. There is no clutter in the house or in the yard that it takes place. Everyone is smiling. All the traditional foods are neatly presented on a table with a colorful floral print tablecloth, and elegantly made flower arrangements. With all intents and purposes, it looks like an ad for Hilo Hattie.

But what's missing are the family members who cause trouble. The ones who show up and everyone is talking about. What's also missing is music played by uncles and cousins, and the hulu danced by aunts and cousins. There are no grass skirts or straw hats. What else is missing is the crazy uncle/aunt, who makes everyone laugh. We also say "hello" and "thank you," not "aloha" and "mahalo." What's also missing are the relatives that have too much to drink and get too loud and then are either escorted away or told to shut-up.

Don't get me wrong. Most locals do not hate haoles. But it's just this preconceived notion that the "tourist haoles" have that ruin it for the rest. Televison has completely brainwashed people into thinking that Hawaii is this perfect place and that locals give tourists a bad time. Tourism is their number one source of commerce. I'll never forget this one time I was waiting for my pick-up from the airport. This typical white trash tourist was standing on the curb dancing by himself. He was surrounded by overstuffed luggage. Then his trashy wife came and joined him. They thought they were funny, but they looked really stupid.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Can you believe it's summer? I must be on Hawaiian time because I forgot to do an annivesary mention last month. So it's been a year and a month since the inception of this website. How I miss my old site, God rest its soul. It was so much more brutal and evil. But there was also a softer side, you know, like Sears.

I've been a little more evil in the cruel world. But only for people who deserve it. There are so many self-centered rude people walking amongst us and for all intents and purposes, they should be attacked in some form or another. Here are ten things that some people do that really piss me off:


  1. People who talk on their cell phones while driving. Especially when they make a lane change, but can't see you because they are using their left hand which is blocking their view.
  2. Women who tailgate while talking on their cell phones.
  3. People who block the isles with their carts at Costco, Trader Joe's, Home Depot, and Albertson's.
  4. People who let their children run around the stores.
  5. People who bring their crying babies to the movies.
  6. People who bring their out of control children to a restaurant.
  7. People who hate their life or job, and direct their anger at you.
  8. Self-centered and self-absorbed people who do not have anything to offer or contribute to the world, and make other people's lives miserable.
  9. People who drive really expensive cars and think they're all that, but no matter how nice the car looks, the person driving it is ugly. And if they are not ugly on the outside, they are on the inside, it shows.
  10. Rude and discourteous young people who learn how to act that way from their parents.
Those are pretty much the things I've encountered over this year. Maybe I'll take more biting jabs at the world and the flawed people I encounter. I've eaten a little too much pork lately and it might have something to do with my increased irratability and impatience. I just might need to see my accupuncturist. It has been quite a long time since I last saw him.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Some people in this world are SICK!
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Puppies Found In Washer Up For Adoption

Pups Nicknamed 'Suds,' 'Soapy'


POSTED: 7:08 pm PDT May 31, 2005
UPDATED: 9:01 pm PDT May 31, 2005
Puppies rescued from a washing machine last month are ready for a home, the Escondido Humane Society said Tuesday. Nicknamed "Suds" and "Soapy," the Humane Society said the puppies are lucky to be alive. They were found just before a laundromat customer was about to start washing clothes.

"It's a good thing she looked in the machine rather than just putting her clothes in there," said Staci Fitzgerald, Director of the Escondido Humane Society.The puppies will be ready for adoption next week.

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