I Devour LA, Part 3

I started out the day at Tropical, once again, though I skipped the guava cheese pie and just went straight up mango shake and coffee. Once again, delish!

I've really been haunted by a salad craving the last couple of days. Got a recommendation and drove out to Tender Greens in Culver City. It was a bit of a schlep, but check out my grilled chicken cobb salad! It was pretty amazing, and I wanted to eat everything on the menu.



This thing totally filled me up for the rest of the day, and shockingly it was the last thing I ate. No dinner, no late night munchies, no nothing. Very unlike me. Of course, happy hour was the exception. Got together with Bill and Abby at their favorite margarita joint. I went old school w/ a straight up margarita at first, but then succumbed to peer pressure and ordered a frozen strawberry version next. In a word: awesome.



Here we are, enjoying our cocktails.



The night ended at the old LA Forum. If you squint real hard, you might see Weezer in this photo.

I Devour LA, Part 2

My first full day in LA starts with a bang. I have 2 favorite breakfasts, one on the East Coast (Middle Eastern eggs and coffee at Cafe Mogador, NYC) and one on the West. (Needless to say, when in DC I just make breakfast at home. No point going out.) I am completely obsessed with Cafe Tropical, and my first visit of the trip did not disappoint! Behold:



That there is a fresh mango shake, and a slice of guava cheese pie. Not shown: the best cup of coffee I've had in at least a year.

Here's a closer look at that guava cheese pie. Indescribably delicious.



Later I rented a car and spent the day getting lost in LA. It was fun to explore the city myself, as opposed to being schlepped around by friends as I usually do. I got a nice feel for the city, being out there alone.

Stopped off at a scenic overlook along Mulholland Drive. Here's the view:



All that driving got me hungry, so I swung by the Farmer's Market for a nice outdoor lunch. At the time, I thought I was going to the Phillies/Dodgers game, so figured I'd eat light. The tickets wound up falling through at the last minute, but this was still a pleasant lunch on the lighter side: turkey, cheese and tomato crepe. And it was totally gorgeous outside.



Got lazy and just ordered some takeout for dinner, to accompany the Phils.

More good eats to come...

I Devour LA, Part 1

Twenty minutes after touching down in Long Beach, I found myself standing in line for what I hope to be the first of many Mexican delicacies. A dude out on the sidewalk was frying up what appeared to be intestine tacos...so my gringo friend and I decided to play it safe and order from the regular menu inside. One carnitas burrito with everything, coming right up!



Doesn't look like much, but it was loaded with yummy grilled pork, and amazing feta-like Mexican cheese. Though I do love my cheddar and sour cream, this was a nice authentic change of pace.

Here's Petey the cat attempting to take a sip of my Brisk. Petey has been all up in my grill piece for 2 days now. I am not cut out for cat ownership.

A Poll For My 3 Readers

I knew there'd come a point where I'd regret not writing more often, cultivating a readership, etc.. And here it is. My last post inspired an interesting little mini-debate that I've still got on the brain. I'd really love to know what people think about this issue. So, my 3 readers, please comment!

Essentially, the question is this: is it wrong (or racist, or etc.) to make a generalization about a specific ethnic/racial/etc. group of people if the generalization isn't a negative one?

For example, if someone were to say, "The Jews are smart," am I supposed to be offended by this? (I'm not).

Or, if I were to say, "Girls are pretty." Is that bad/sexist?

In other words, does racism/etc. imply negativity. Or is it the act of generalization itself that we are supposed to avoid.

I admit I'm somewhat torn. Weigh in!

Notes From My MRI

I celebrated the start of a wonderful new work week by having my head examined. Literally. In a seemingly never-ending quest to figure out why my ears have been ringing for the past 4 years, I subjected myself to an invigorating brain scan Monday afternoon. First, I couldn't have any coffee or food beforehand (unless I wanted to get up super early, at like 9am or some shit. No thanks.). Second, it was way out in Maryland someplace, requiring a schlep out across dreaded New York Avenue and beyond. And third, I wasn't sure if you are allowed to wear contacts to an MRI, so I donned glasses, which always makes me feel all weird and out of it for some reason.

Anyway, like a mole I appeared blinking into the bright lights of the MRI waiting room. And from there, let the observations begin!

1. [removed by PC Police]

2. I don't think the dude that guides you through an MRI procedure should be wearing high-top sneakers. Makes me nervous.

3. Me: "I wasn't sure if I could wear contacts or not." MRI dude: "Unless they're made of steel, you can." Touche.

4. When they ask if you want a blanket, say yes. It's freezing in that tube!

5. Did you know an MRI is so loud you have to wear earplugs? It's true. And as a regular wearer of earplugs, I was quite impressed by the selection. Asked the MRI dude where he got them and he looked at me like I was crazy.

6. If you can forget that you're basically lying in a coffin, an MRI can be quite relaxing! For the first ten seconds or so, I felt really claustrophobic, then got really really relaxed by repeating the following mantra: "people are at work right now. people are at work right now. people are at work right now." Ah, MRI. It's all relative.

7. In this day and age, can't they put Wifi up in the MRI tube somehow? You mean they're looking at my brain but can't figure out how to let me read about the Phillies at the same time? C'mon.

8. What if you're really fat? Can you fit in there?

9. I often read about baseball players having to go get an MRI. How does this work? Do they just dip their ankle (or whatever) into the machine? Is there a different MRI machine for non-head scans? Do they still have to go all the way in the tube to have a shoulder looked at? I need answers.

10. One of the most difficult questions I've ever attempted to answer is: "How did your MRI go?" Since they don't tell you anything when you're done (I guess the doctor will contact me at some point?), this basically amounts to "How did your sit in that chair go?" or "How did standing up go?" Um, it went pretty well, thanks. I lied on my back and waited for it to be over. That's about it. Ultimately kinda boring.

Things I Almost Blogged About

I keep thinking about writing something, then find some reason not to (laziness). But I think just the fact that it occurs to me should count for something. Like, if I was really slacking off, I wouldn't even think about posting. Hmmm. Maybe that's flimsy. But at any rate, here are 10 posts I considered writing over the past 2 weeks before doing something else instead:

1. The All Star Trivia Team - I attended trivia night at an Irish pub (no, really). My teammates were a table full of seemingly intelligent 30 somethings. We got destroyed. In this post, I would have presented my roster for an archetypal All-Star Pub Trivia Team.

2. Special Topics In Calamity Physics - The worst book I've ever read/The straw that finally broke my subscription to Entertainment Weekly's back.

3. Wall-E - I am alway, always underwhelmed by Pixar and Pixar-esque movies (the Incredibles might be in my all-time overrated Top 20). Not this time.

4. Summer in DC - Or, I've been bored before, but not like this.

5. Time to Rock - My old friend Jim brought his electric guitar down for the weekend and we proceeded to rock out in my basement like a couple of 16-year-olds. Except for the back, neck and finger pain.

6. DC United - In which I attend my first-ever professional soccer game and come away absolutely fascinated. American hooliganism. Who knew? Nationalism is totally weird. I had no idea we did that here. Also, a bonus discussion in which I compare attending a sporting event at RFK Stadium to shopping at one of New Jersey's few remaining dirt malls.

7. There Goes the Neighborhood - In which my friend Mark and I become the only regular White players at an all-Black tennis complex.

8. One Man Brand - my short documentary is finally finished and the early reviews are good. Next up: festival applications.

9. The Stella Scooter - In which my lifelong obsession with Vespas takes a major hit as I stumble upon a Stella parked in the neighborhood. Will life ever be the same? Perhaps we will find out tomorrow as I visit the dealership!

10. Mosquito Bait - A photo tour of my mosquito-bite ridden legs. Also, we meet the Old Lady At The Gym who enjoys greeting me with, "How are the legs?"

Don't Believe The (Lack Of) Hype

A rainy Monday evening and I felt like getting out of the house. Took a bus over to the old-school Uptown movie palace for a 7:15 showing of Indiana Jones. I wasn't too excited, had heard nothing but bad things, but I really like seeing big dumb blockbusters at the Uptown—a big giant red room, balcony, only one screen, super loud speakers—and besides, seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark at the movie theater in the Ocean County Mall is one of my Top 3 childhood movie memories of all time, right up there with The Natural (same theater) and that glorious, never to be topped weekend where we saw The Goonies and Back to the Future on successive Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Wow. (Back to the Future is still in my Top 20, if anyone cares.)

So I felt like I owed it to Indy to at least see the new film in a theater. To put myself in the proper perspective, I decided to watch the movie pretending I was 10 years old, i.e., checking my snarky, dismissive adult self at the door. What would it be like to watch this movie as a kid (a kid from the 80s, anyway)? Well, it would be AWESOME!

Maybe Crystal Skull doesn't stack up to the current generation of fantasy blockbusters, but as an old-fashioned thrill ride, I thought it really worked. You've got the iconic lore of Indy himself-the hat, the Ark, the whip, the disconnect between the adventurer and the professor. You've got Russians as bad guys again. You've got motorcycle chases and killer ants. You've got creepy pseudo-historical stuff that makes you want to go back to archeology school. You've got Cate Blanchett sword fighting while standing atop a moving jeep. You've got a greasers vs. squares dustup in a 50s maltshop. You've got Karen Allen re-appearing on-screen as if she just shot her last scene in Raiders 5 minutes ago. You've got aliens. You've got shifty-looking CIA agents and shifty looking KGB agents. You've got Indy as the victim of McCarthyism. You've got double agents. You've got Shia Labouf asking Harrison Ford if he's 80. You've got, above all else, the preposterously awesome Indiana Jones theme music.

Whew. I swear, my ten-year-old self would have worshiped this shit! I'd have been begging my parents to take me to Toys R Us so I could pick up the Mutt action figure with switchblade action and motorcycle. I'd have been dressing my little sister up like an Incan warrior and chasing her up and down the stairs. I'd have been at the library checking out every young adult book I could find on aliens, South America, the Lost City of Gold, the Cold War, the 50s. Man, I'd have been totally freaking out.

As it was, I sat quietly in the theater with a giant goofy smile on my face, actually managing to tap into that sense of wonder that seemed a daily aspect of my childhood but has all but disappeared since. It was so refreshing to take something in without a critical, cynical eye. I think I'll try doing more of it in the future.