Posted by andrew at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Comes out tomorrow. Is there anyone who thinks this movie will be anything less than the biggest dog of the year (if not the decade)?

Posted by andrew at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My brother is coming into town tonight (he's on the red eye now from DC), and we're heading up to Tahoe for the weekend. It should be great. The snow's been falling all week with promise of more in the next three days. I haven't skied with Brian in about 2 years. He came to visit the trailer park when I was living in Vail. We had some bad weather, some rain. We also had some snow and one absolutely brilliant day.

Anyway, we're heading up to South Lake. Going to ski at Heavenly where I trying to make my season pass pay off. The season is almost over and I've only been there 3 days. With 2 more days this weekend and maybe one more next weekend, it'll be worthwhile. After that I don't think I'll get much chance to get up to Tahoe because my brother, his friend Cara and my buddy Russell are headed to Whistler in two weeks!

Posted by andrew at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't go into the city all that often. It's even rarely that I go in midweek. But I signed up for a marketing class with Berekeley Extension that started last night in downtown SF at 6:30. And when I have to go into the city, I don't want to fight traffic. I take BART. It's quick. It's convenient. It's cheap (cheaper than the toll, gas & pakring). But only when it's working. And it wasn't working last night.

I left work about 5:30. I wanted to have enough time to get into city, figure out where the buidling was and grab some dinner before class. I thought I had it all figured out. It get walk into the class until 7:30. Just an hour late for my first day of class.

I drove to the West Oakland BART. Parked. I had a ticket already, so I just went through the gate, up the escalator and onto the train, which was just sitting on the track. I thought, how lucky, there's a train here. I'll be in the city in the few minutes. I was kicking myself for not remembering to bring my ipod, but it was short ride. I'd be there in about 5 minutes.

Then the announcements started. First it was that there was a computer problem and the train was delayed 20 minutes. Then 25 mintues. Then 30 minutes. All the time, I'm thinking, fuck, I'm stuck here, but what am I going to do? I'm not going to drive into the city. I can still make it to class on time if the train leaves at 6:20, so I just stuck it out. Most people did. They didn't have any other choice.

Then another announcement, 40 minute delay. Then a few minutes someone came on the PA and said they had the problem fixed and that the train would be leaving in 5-10 minutes. A few minutes another announcement saying there was a 45 minute delay. Then they said the computer was fixed and the train would be leaving momentarily. Then it was 50 minute delay. Then an hour. We're they fucking with us? What a joke. I just couldn't take it anymore. At 6:30, the moment my class started, I left BART, got in my car and went over the bridge.

Traffic wasn't so bad, I was in the city in 20 minutes, but I had no idea where to park. I drove around for at least half an hour, first trying to locate the building and then trying to find a parking garage nearby. It was madening. FIghting traffic, not finding a place to park, having no dinner.I wanted to kill someone by the time I finally found a place to park and walked into class. The prof made a joke at my expense, which I clearly was not in the mood for, and then asked me if I was a BART victim. Clearly I wasn't the only one.

When public transportation works, it the greatest thing. But when it doesn't, it's absolutely infuriating.

Posted by andrew at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's rare that I find myself sgreeing even a little bit with the likes of Pat Buchanan, but in some respects in in the same camp with him when it comes to immigration, at least a little immigration.

Let me pregace this by saying that I think immigration is the backbone of this country. My dad's parents arrived here from Eastern Europe in the 30s and my mom's grandparents arrived from Soviet Union around the turn of the century. If it wasn't for immigration I, and likely anyone reading this wouldn't be here. Immigration from all corners of the world must continue. We need the smartest and most ambitious students to come to our universities. We need hard working people to pick our fruit and labor in our fields. And we need people to work across the country as nurses, doctors, and almost every high tech field you can imagine. But all these people need to and will come to this country legally.

The United States is a country of laws. When laws are broken and there's no enforcement, it undermines the rule of law. Illegal immigration unmines the rule of law and needs to be stopped. If that was the only reason, we would have or should have enough of an impetus to stop it. But it's also a huge security. We have no control over our border. We don't know who is coming across. And if we're really at war, it's an asymmetric war and the way anyone is going to attack the US is by coming here illegally across the Mexican border. It's just insane that 5 years on from 911 this issue is still plaguing us.

So what have got to do?

1) We need to shut down the border. Plain and simple. If we can't stop people from coming into our country, if we can't know who or what is coming across, what is the point of even having a border? What's the point?

2) We need to enforce laws against hiring illegal aliens. If we enforce the laws and the penalities are stiff, there will be no work to draw people to risk their lives to come here.

3) We need to do everything we can to improve the Mexican economy

4) We need to face the fact that we have something like 12 million illegal immigrants here now. These people have broken the law and they are criminals. They might have families here. They might be working essential jobs. They might be obeying the laws and paying taxes. But they are criminals. However, we're not going to round them up and send them home. It would cost billions and billions of dollars. We need to find a way to bring these people into society, but make them pay a price that a) they can live with and b) that we can live with.

5) We need to have an immigration policy that is not odds with the needs of the economy.

I don't claim to have all the answers. I don't even know if these 5 things will have any effect. But we have to do something because the status quo is patently unacceptable.

Posted by andrew at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What do these numbers have in common?

Those are the seeds of the Final Four teams left in the NCAA Tourney (UCLA, Florida, LSU & George Mason). I haven't checked it out, but I bet if you went through every tournament and looked at the seeds of the Final Four teams, none of them would even come close to adding up to 20, which is this year's astounding total. You might have a few in the teens (1986 when #11 seed LSU made it comes to mind), but most would be in single digits, and low single digits at that. What's more remarkable is that there a lot of talk before the event began that this was the year that finally a 4 number one seeds would make it through. Could the experts have been more wrong?

This has been one of the most amazing tournaments. Honestly I can't remember a tourney with more close games, more buzzer beaters. More shocking upsets. It's been incredible. Of course, it has a lot to do with the unexpected (for me) run that UCLA has been on. But even more remarkable is the unpredicatable run of George Mason. I missed their fist game against Michigan State and the Sweet 16 mathup against Witchita State, but I did the see the games versus North Carolina in the second round and the latest beat down of heavy favorites Connevticut. It's beyond surprising. It's un-fucking-beleivable to see these guys. They are playing out of their skulls. So much fun to watch. And if they win it all, it will be the most incredible thing. Probably not going to happen, but I'd rather see them win than have UCLA win another title. GO GEORGE MASON!

Now if UCLA wins, you certainly won't hear me complaining. However, if LSU beats the Bruins and Florida takes care of GMU (probably), I doubt I'll even watch the finals. What could be more boring that watch two teams from the SEC battle it out for the National Championship? Boring! Boring! Boring! So go Bruins and go Patriots. Hopefully at least one of them will be in the finals.

Posted by andrew at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm still in shock--that was one of the ugliest games I have ever seen--but UCLA has done it, they have shut down heavily favored number one seed Memphis and have squeaked by into the Final Four. Let me say that again. UCLA is in the Final Four!

How the hell did this happen? I still don't know. I mean, UCLA had a decent season. They won the PAC-10 regular season title. They won the conference tourney. They only lost a handful of games (including one earlier in the season to Memphis) due to their stiffling D, very uncharacterstic of past UCLA teams, but a highly welcome development. But this is the same team that couldn't score a field goal in the first 9 minutes against Gonzaga and somehow managed to score the last 11 points of the game.

I don't think this team deserves it, but there it is. They are in. They are two solid games away from a National Title. Could it happen?

Posted by andrew at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Could there be anything finer than floating alone at sunset in an Olympic-sized pool heated by geothermal power to a 101 degrees? Probably. Definitely. But it was pretty damn good and I highly recommend it if you get a chance.

Posted by andrew at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Austin is a great town and one the best things about it is the food. So many great restaurants into packed into this tiny town. How can you go wrong with a city that has a Waffle House on the road into town from the airport? I barely scratched the surface of the restaurant scene, but here's where I ate in my five days in Austin:

Guera's Taco Bar
I'm a bit of a snob about Mexican food, since we have it so good here in California. But I would love to have a Guera's on every corner in every city. The place is just great. I sat at the taco bar while a woman hand made tortillas on a flat top grill and I stuffed my face with tamales, tacos, a chicken mole burrito, guacamole, beans and washed it down with several top shelf margaritas. Incredible. This place is a must stop for anyone traveling through Austin.

Habana Calle 6
This place was so good, I came back twice for lunch. I love Cuban sandwiches and Habana Calle 6 had the best I ever tasted. Roasted pork, mustard and pickles. What could be better? Ok, so it's hardly Kosher, but who gives a shit when lunch tastes this good? As good as the Cubano was, it paled next to the , the best I have ever tasted (including, as hard as it to believe, my own). They also have a little bar tucked away downstairs that I'm going to check out the next time I'm in town, which I hope is soon.

Kyoto
Sushi in Austin? Well, yes. This wasn't my first choice. I tried to get into Kenici, which you should visit just to see the hostess (en fuego). But the wait was 45 minutes for the sushi bar so I needed a second option. Kyoto was closest place. It was pretty damn good albeit a little expensive, but I guess that's expected when you're eating raw fresh fish in the middle of Texas. Miso was good. Unagi was top notch. Caterpillar roll was beyond belief. The only real drawback was that they didn't have large Sapporo's

County Line
Creme de la creme of southern barbeque. Come with a strong appetite because the portions are, well, obese-sized. Gotta love the "how to speak like a cowboy" lessons being piped into the restromoms and the turtles swimming in the pond out back.

Las Manitas Avenue Cafe
Very simple place right on Congress Avenue just a few blocks from the bridge. Great, teasty Mexican breakasts.

Iron Cactus
Ok, so the food at Iron Cactus is not all that fantastic. It's ok, but I'm sure there are a dozen Tex-Mex places around town that have better fare. But what Iron Cactus has is a great location on 6th street, a beautiful deck on the second floor which is the place to be when it's 75 degrees and sunny outside and absolutely killer margaritas.

Posted by andrew at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are living in Austin. How cool is that?

Posted by andrew at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been posting so many shots of Fil (she's very photogenic) and have been neglecting Makelani, my male cat, so here goes.

Posted by andrew at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Headed to Texas for the annual SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin. I'm pretty excited I've never been to Austin before, I've heard great things and I haven't seen my good friend EM Stock since she moved her in 2001 after we were both layed off from Electronic Arts. Seeing olds friends. Traveling to new places. Learning new stuff. It's all good,

Posted by andrew at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is there any other kind these days? No sooner has Sports Illustrated posted an excerpt from a book that has damming evidence (like we needed it) that Barry Bonds was on the juice than the slugger came out and denied it. Just wait for the tests, he says. As if tests that can so easily be beaten by professional cheaters like Bonds mean anything.

Personally I didn't need proof that Bonds was using steroids. I saw it with my own eyes. The whole time this was going down in the late 90s, I was living in Burlingame where Bonds was working out in with trainer and drug pusher Greg Anderson. I once saw him during lunch at Le Boulangerie in San Carlos. The guy was massive. This was not the skinny kid that I had seen playing centerfield for Arizona State way back when. You can't get that big without some kind of chemical assistance. No way.

But there is (allegedly) proof not only that Bonds did steroids but that he perjured himself in front of the grand jury during the Balco investigation. It's sad. It really is. Bonds is one of the greatest players in the game. He didn't need to use steroids. He was on his way to the Hall of Fame. But he supersized ego couldn't or wouldn't let him play clean. He needed HGH and the cream and clear and god knows what other stimulants to recover quicker, get jacked up for games and launch home runs at a rate faster than anyone else in the history of the game to feel good about himself.

I was listening on the radio this morning to two San Francisco apologists, comedian Will Durst and Mayor Willie Brown. Both acted as if this was no big deal. The Mayor said that Bonds is not a role model, that professional athletes are not role models and shouldn't be? Was he serious? No matter how great you are as parent, kids are going to develop heroes on their own. The media presents overpaid, juiced athletes as heroes and then politicos like Brown say they aren't. There's a disconnect there. Then Durst started talking about how it wasn't fair to Bonds because all the players in the league are juiced up. The everybody's doing it so no one's at fault rule. He pointed to the pitchers that Bonds faces. He pointed to Marvin Benard. Marvin Benard? Marvin Benard is a lifetime .270 hitter with fewer career home runs (54) than Bonds hit in the 2001 season. No one is interested in Marvin Benard.

Unlike Bonds, Marvin Benard has never perjured himself in front of Grand Jury. Never. Not once. Barry Bonds, if the allegations are true, is a felon. What is baseball going to do about it? We'll see. They are usually slow to act in these matters. Personally I think there needs to be a massive investigation. I know the Giants knew what was going on. But they did nothing. Why? Because Bonds was carrying water for a shitty team that needed to draw fans to its new downtown ballpark. They got some truly great years out of Bonds. The stands were packed. They made it to the World Series. They got everything they wanted but a championship.

And then there's Bonds. Perpetually angry. For what? For growing up the privileged son of a major league player? For having all the god given talent anyone could ever want? For nothing really. The guy's got a life most people on the planet would sell their soul for. But Bonds in angry. He's spiteful. He's bitter. He should be a great ambassador and, yes, Mayor Brown, a role model, but instead he's a juiced-up, ass hole who's about the become the center of a media shit storm that's going to ruin his world.

Then we'll see how long he lives. We all know that steroids take a massive toll on the body. Five years from now when Bonds has massive renal failure and is on a kidney transplant list, is anyone going to shed a tear for him? No. It will just be the final sentence in the indictment that his pathetic life.

Posted by andrew at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by andrew at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I saw The Machinist last night. I don't know why this flick hasn't gotten more publicity. It's a remarkable film. Christain Bale stars as Trevor Reznik, the paranoid insomniac, anorexic machinist searching for truth through the haze of his self-inflicted disorientation. His performance is amazing. For one thing, he's in every single scene in the movie. His character is dillusional, often confused, on the brink of collapse, and Bale makes it all so believable, all the more so because Bale, who was famous previously for working out like a machine to develop his body for American Psycho, lost a 1/3 of his body weight for film, from a heathy 180 to a sickly holocaust survivor-like 117. His fauce is beyond gaunt. His rips are protruduing. He looks like something from an anatomy class. Apprently he lost the weight by simply not eating. He continued to lose weight during the 40 days of the shoot, It's hard to believe that anyone would have such a committment to a role that he'd be willing to essentially destroy his body, but that is exactly what Bale has done, and you have to respect him for that.

The Machinist is a throwback, full of homages and allusions to Hitchcock and fits nicely into to the genre of modern Film Noir. It's not shot in black & white, but it as well have been as the colors have all been bleached out of the film and the DP shot it with all sorts of interesting, contrasty shadows. So visually you are transported into the bizarre, disorienting world of Trevor where nothing is as it seems. The score which is haunting and subtle could have been pulled right out of a Hitchcock thriller. Best of all the story is told in a flashback. When we first meet Trevor, he's disposing of a dead body. The narrative leads both the audience and Trevor down the path of understanding what went wrong.

There are a few standout performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh and the Spanish actress Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, but it's worth seeing just for Christian Bale.

If you liked films like Fight Club & Mememto, you will love The Machinist

Posted by andrew at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the funniest things I've ever seen is the "Lazy Sunday" from SNL. Even better is the West Coast repsonse "Lazy Monday" Color Me Mine rap. Hillarious. Hillarious. Hillarious. Probably most people have seen these already. I've known about them for a while, but only getiting around to blogging about them now.

Just as an aside, there's a part in the Color Me Mine vid where the rappers go to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. That store is in Brentwood on San Vicente and Barrington. Prior to being a Coffee Bean, it was Sushi Boy. Before that it was All-American Burger. As in, "You used to work at All-American Burger".

I used to work at All-American Burger. 20 years ago. Damn, that's a long time. Ironically, it was hardly an "All-American" place. At the time, the owner, Amal was from Iran and the chef, Jose, who was American by birth, was born in Rose, Texas, right on the border and didn't speak more than a handful of English words. That left me as the All-American front man.

The food was awesome, still is in the remaining locations. Hickory burgers and Orange Whips. Yum!

Posted by andrew at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Instead of going home and hanging with the cats, which is my usual lunchtime M.O., I went to the gym and took a mid-day yoga class. It was the first yoga class I've had in ages. My muscles are in bad shape yogawise and I need to get started again and this was a perfect start. It was not Astanga, which I normally prefer becuase it's aerobic and challenging. This is was Hatha. It was relaxing. The instructor, Baxter Bell, wasn't a yoga nazi, like so many of the teachers in Astanga. I felt great afterwards.

My gym offers about a dozen or so classes a week. On average this year, I've been taking, well, about zero classes a week. I need to crank that up to 3-4 and see how I feel. I'm going to guess, more relaxed, less stressed and much, much stronger.

Posted by andrew at 01:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We just had a little earthquake here. The place, this building, which is like a warehouse, starting shaking. There was an audible BANG! and the lights were swinging. Nothing damaged and no one hurt, but pretty freaky all the same..

Posted by andrew at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)