Happy Valentine's Day

In honor of St. Valentine I thought I would post the best Valentine's Day card I have ever received. Who needs conversation hearts when you have cute bunnies on motorcycles?



Thanks Keith.

I get Lost in my mind

I was discussing the return of Lost this week with my friend Mr. Hardie this morning and he mentioned that he was not very happy with the way the season has progressed so far. He felt that it was moving too slow. This seems to be a common complaint over the last year or so from many different people I have come in contact with regarding Lost. They all love the show but are bothered that they don't get the answers they want right now.

As a result of the conversation, I have spent the last couple of hours thinking about Lost and why I think it is the Best. Show. Ever. I think what it comes down to for me is that I love the character development and pacing of the show. I love how details matter and through the details of the past we can see how Jack or Kate or Sawyer have become who they are today. I love how I can watch an hour long episode and not once feel like I am being rushed.

I have a habit of rushing through every other aspect of my life. I am always looking forward to the next phase of my career or the next personal goal, etc. Rarely do I take the time to step back and examine the series of events that have shaped who I am and taken me to where I am. Watching Lost helps me to remember the importance of doing this. It reminds me of the importance of enjoying the journey of my life. As I write this I am thinking to myself that that last sentence just sounded so cliche and lame. Life is a journey blah blah blah (or Bob Loblaw's Law Blog). But it really is true and Lost helps me remember that.

So that is why I like Lost so much. Not only is it interesting to watch, but it speaks to me on a different, more emotional level. That is why I will continue to enjoy each episode and not worry about getting all the answers right now. I want to enjoy the story for what it is and see where it takes me. I want to be reminded that I need to do that with my life as well. I want to escape from the everyday rush.

PS I also really like the idea of the island and tabula rasa.

Ghost Ride the Whip

Last night my friend over at keithedwardpaugh sent me my new favorite music video via g-chat: Ghost Ride It by Mistah Fab.



Watching this video was definitley the highlight of the day and was a wonderful reminder of the useful term "ghost riding." I had completely forgot about it and immediately decided to start saying it on a more frequent basis.

Today at lunch I had the following conversation with my co-workers:

Ruby: Did you do anything when you got home last night?

Morgan: Ghost rode my whip.

Pause....Pause....Pause.....

Ruby: (in stunned disbelief) What's that? It sounds really dirty.

Leland: I don't know what Ghost Riding is, but I don't like it.

The Coke Side of Life

I think that there are fundamentally two groups of people: those who support Coca Cola and those who support Pepsi. Me, I am a Coke man through and through. Coke locked up my loyalties on a sunny President's Day afternoon in Sin City my freshman year in college when I experienced the greatness that was the Coke Factory with the magical fountains that would shoot the perfectly mixed nectar of the gods across the room to land delicately in my waiting glass.

Super Bowl Sunday reminded me once again of why I am a Coke man when they aired "The Coke Side of Life" ad. I have seen this ad multiple times at movie theaters, but it had been a while since I last saw it because it had been replaced in theaters by the equally enjoyable if not quite as impressive GTA themed advert. I usually don't like to qualifying something with the tag of "my favorite..." or "best...ever..." but I am going to put myself out there and say that this is one of the best ads I have seen in a long, long time. I think my friend over at The Boxpilot would agree. So without further ado, I present "The Coke Side of Life" for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

17th Street Cafe

Thanks to a series of fortuitous events this Friday, I was able to enjoy a completely unexpected dining experience. Booyeah-kai Lemony Snicket. I had originally planned to dine at El Cholo in Santa Monica, however, when I called Friday afternoon to secure a table I was informed that there were no more reservations available. Even though there were no available reservations the hostess assured me that I could arrive at 8:30 and be seated within 20 minutes. I was a little skeptical but really in the mood for some guacamole so I decided to take my chances and arrive with no reservations. So my friend and I roll up to the valet (and no we weren't ridin' dirty although that might have made this story a little more interesting) a little after 8:30 only to find out that there will be a minimum wait of about an hour. Even though I was totally feeling the need for some guacamole, there was no way we were going to be able to wait at least an hour to eat. So my friend and I decided to proceed to the 17th Street Cafe on Montana which was just a few blocks away.

The previous Friday, my friend and I attempted to get some pie at the 17th Street Cafe but arrived as they were closing. At the time the place looked promising and my friend really liked it. Plus, by this time I was pretty hungry so I was looking forward to trying out the new locale. I was so excited I even made a quasi-fool of myself when parking.

So we arrive and put in our name for a table. My name was used because my friend's was too difficult. I don't think the hostess ever won her school spelling bee like I did. Booyeah-kai hostess. So within minutes we were seated at our table which was pleasantly surprising. However, we were seated next to a table of stereotypical sorority girls who must have thought they were bumping and grinding at Hyde by how loud they were talking.

After perusing the menu we ordered the halibut and the balsamic salmon and an order of sweet potato fries. Our server was really struggling though and for some reason forgot to put in the order for the sweet potato fries. I was also worried that she didn't get the balsamic salmon right because we repeated ourselves a few times and she never seemed to acknowledge the order.

Based on the previous paragraphs, one might be thinking that 17th Street Cafe is not a good place to dine. However, this is not the case. The halibut and the balsamic salmon were A-Mazing. It totally exceeded my expectations and really surprised me. My perception may be slightly skewed based on my hunger level at the time but I don't think so. I was totally energized by the end of the meal because it tasted so good.

So to sum up the 17th Street Cafe:

• Reservations needed: No


• Ambiance: Solid but can be a little loud depending on who you are seated next to


• Service: Terrible


• Food: Fantastic
  

I would definitely return to the 17th Street Cafe and I would definitely recommend it to friends. I thought the food was that good.

PS Here is my best Earl Hickey impersonation:

Hibachi at his finest

I have always been fascinated by the lives of professional athletes. They seem to live in a completely different world than I do. I have heard many rumors about what goes on at practices, in hotels, on airplanes with regards to "extra-curricular" competitions and have always wished that I could be a fly on the wall, if you will, to observe these antics. Now thanks to the glorious YouTube I can be that fly.

Here is the situation:

• Gilbert "Hibachi" Arenas vs Deshawn Stevenson after practice in DC
• Hibachi will shoot 100 college distance 3 pointers with one hand
• Stevenson will shoot 100 NBA distance 3 pointers using his normal shooting motion
• The stakes- $20 large

The video is approximately 10 minutes long and very compelling. I don't want to give anything away but the payoff at the end is worth waiting for. Plus the trash talking and the way they mess with each other is hilarious. The victory celebration was especially rewarding. Enjoy and God bless YouTube.



PS Thanks to the douchebags at Deadspin.com for turning me on to this story.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The highlight of my day so far was receiving a nice little email from Barnes & Noble informing me that I could now pre-order the final Harry Potter book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It looks like the book will be released on July 21st.

I am both excited and disappointed at the same time. I am not excited for the possibility of seeing a naked Harry but because it is the next installment in the Harry Potter story. Yet, I am disappointed because it is the final chapter in what has become one of my favorite stories of all time. I like the story so much that I even bought a GIGANTIC poster from the first Harry Potter movie at a charity auction without thinking through the logistics of a) how will I get the poster home when it is too big to fit in my car and b) where will I hang the poster when I do get it home. That is what I get for being such an impulse buyer. Many of you reading this will be happy to know that yes, I do in fact still make many decisions based on emotion.

So it is with bitter-sweet joy that I await Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.