am currently in talks to bring this baby home to papa. i mean, who doesn't love ernie?
the cat likes to hang out with his best friend bert and play with rubber duckies in the bath.
so cute!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
sesame street - ernie full body puppet
am currently in talks to bring this baby home to papa. i mean, who doesn't love ernie?
the cat likes to hang out with his best friend bert and play with rubber duckies in the bath.
so cute!
Monday, August 29, 2011
fantasy football 2011
got dragged into yet another year of fantasy football, as i received not one, but TWO invites last week to take part. this past weekend was the 1st draft (the 2nd is coming in a week's time) and minutes prior i learned i was picking #1.
as it's a snake draft and being that there's 10 teams, i picked #1 in the first round, then #10 in the second (or #20 overall), so a lot of times you're forced into taking players ahead of where they project, because it's a long wait (19 picks) before i choose again.
that being said, i had 3 minutes to choose my #1 overall pick, so i narrowed it down to: QB michael vick, RB arian foster or RB adrian peterson. since vick would be hard-pressed to repeat last year's performance, and seeing how the vikes still don't have a QB (the corpse otherwise known as donovan mcnabb), i went with foster. here's how my squad ended up in order of round taken:
1. RB arian foster
2. WR hakeem nicks
3. WR greg jennings
4. TE antonio gates
5. QB matt schaub
6. RB knowshon moreno
7. WR stevie johnson
8. QB matthew stafford
9. RB daniel thomas (seeing as how i'm a dolfan)
10. RB joseph addai
11. D/ST chicago
12. WR pierre garcon
13. K neil rackers
14. RB jacquizz rodgers
15. WR eric decker
wish me luck!
as it's a snake draft and being that there's 10 teams, i picked #1 in the first round, then #10 in the second (or #20 overall), so a lot of times you're forced into taking players ahead of where they project, because it's a long wait (19 picks) before i choose again.
that being said, i had 3 minutes to choose my #1 overall pick, so i narrowed it down to: QB michael vick, RB arian foster or RB adrian peterson. since vick would be hard-pressed to repeat last year's performance, and seeing how the vikes still don't have a QB (the corpse otherwise known as donovan mcnabb), i went with foster. here's how my squad ended up in order of round taken:
1. RB arian foster
2. WR hakeem nicks
3. WR greg jennings
4. TE antonio gates
5. QB matt schaub
6. RB knowshon moreno
7. WR stevie johnson
8. QB matthew stafford
9. RB daniel thomas (seeing as how i'm a dolfan)
10. RB joseph addai
11. D/ST chicago
12. WR pierre garcon
13. K neil rackers
14. RB jacquizz rodgers
15. WR eric decker
wish me luck!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
stay - hotel des arts
this past weekend heidi sprung for a trip up to SF to surprise my parents in conjunction with my birthday. we flew up on friday night, stayed at the doubletree near the SFO airport, then barged in saturday at noon with the good news. luckily they were home; otherwise, it could have been one long afternoon...
since outside lands was going on all weekend at golden gate park, hotel rooms in the city came at a premium. fortunately, a room opened up at the hotel des arts, a boutique hotel unique in that each room is painted by a different emerging artist. i've had my eye on this place for a few years and was excited to finally check it out.
when you book a room there, one can list their top artist choices and they do their best to accommodate each request. i went with damon soule, eric orr and kate durkin in that order - the shepard fairey suite was taken - and they came thru with room 206 (damon soule). a brief look inside our room:
and a few snaps of the hotel, including the colorful courtyard directly outside our window, accessible by simply stepping out:
i loved the fact that there's art everywhere you look (lobby, staircase, hallways, etc.), and most if not all is up for sale. plus, the hotel is centrally located - mere steps away from union square, chinatown and the financial district.
hotel des arts
447 bush st.
san francisco, CA 94108
http://www.sfhoteldesarts.com/
since outside lands was going on all weekend at golden gate park, hotel rooms in the city came at a premium. fortunately, a room opened up at the hotel des arts, a boutique hotel unique in that each room is painted by a different emerging artist. i've had my eye on this place for a few years and was excited to finally check it out.
when you book a room there, one can list their top artist choices and they do their best to accommodate each request. i went with damon soule, eric orr and kate durkin in that order - the shepard fairey suite was taken - and they came thru with room 206 (damon soule). a brief look inside our room:
and a few snaps of the hotel, including the colorful courtyard directly outside our window, accessible by simply stepping out:
i loved the fact that there's art everywhere you look (lobby, staircase, hallways, etc.), and most if not all is up for sale. plus, the hotel is centrally located - mere steps away from union square, chinatown and the financial district.
hotel des arts
447 bush st.
san francisco, CA 94108
http://www.sfhoteldesarts.com/
Thursday, August 4, 2011
lykke li - greek theatre
received a nice surprise from heidi on wednesday, as she took me to the lykke li concert at the greek theatre! i had seen the sultry swede twice in concert prior to wednesday night - introduced first at the hollywood forever cemetery (thanks becky!) and the second at the wiltern - but this was her largest socal venue yet.
her set lasted about 80 minutes and li performed a handful of hits from her debut album "youth novels," along with every track from her follow-up album "wounded rhymes." some highlights included the mystical "i follow rivers," the crowd pleaser "little bit," a tender cover of burt bacharach's "please stay," and a soulful, touching rendition of "silent my song."
li commands the stage using no theatrics, elaborate dance numbers or multiple wardrobe changes - but rather with a feral, feline movement to go along with a mesmerizing grip on her audience. a two song encore consisted of "possibility" and "unrequited love."
Monday, August 1, 2011
new wheels
i've been throwin around the possibility of getting a two-wheeler these past few years, but never quite got serious enough. but with the advent of gas costing four bucks a gallon - not to mention the weather, the proximity to work and the relative flatness of socal - i finally decided to pull the trigger.
enter the globe roll 2, engineered by specialized. first spotted in a mag, the visual appeal was undeniable, but the pricetag was a bit high for my liking. plus, it's a single gear bike - with a flip flop hub to turn fixie - so i wasn't entirely sold on the concept. but after a bit of tubthumping, i came around on the refreshing simplicity of it all (who needs 27 speeds in LA?) and fell in love with its clean, classic frame.
so initially i set out to get the roll 1 - same body frame but with lesser parts (crank, rims, pedals & bearings). long story short, i found a brand new 2 for less than the sale price of a 1, so i rolled the dice - in fjord blue no less - sight unseen. i picked it up on saturday morning and it's flat out gorgeous. only problem will be keeping it clean...
enter the globe roll 2, engineered by specialized. first spotted in a mag, the visual appeal was undeniable, but the pricetag was a bit high for my liking. plus, it's a single gear bike - with a flip flop hub to turn fixie - so i wasn't entirely sold on the concept. but after a bit of tubthumping, i came around on the refreshing simplicity of it all (who needs 27 speeds in LA?) and fell in love with its clean, classic frame.
so initially i set out to get the roll 1 - same body frame but with lesser parts (crank, rims, pedals & bearings). long story short, i found a brand new 2 for less than the sale price of a 1, so i rolled the dice - in fjord blue no less - sight unseen. i picked it up on saturday morning and it's flat out gorgeous. only problem will be keeping it clean...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
eats - mesa grill caesars palace
we chose to descend upon bobby flay's mesa grill for lunch on monday for two reasons: 1. the menu is much more affordable, and 2. saturday and sunday have separate brunch menus. now i've been a pretty big fan of flay's food since his time on the food network as well as his stints on the original 'iron chef' (who can forget about his taunting of morimoto by jumping atop the cutting board), but i haven't always been a big fan of his personality.
early on he came off as kind of a smug, smart-alecky know-it-all, but over time i've relaxed my views and came to appreciate where he's coming from. it takes a bigger man to take on a show like "throwdown with bobby flay," where basically he's stepping out of his comfort zone and into a boxing ring where he's the overwhelming underdog.
part of my attraction to his food is his bold take on southwestern cuisine, using a bevy of spices, chilies and peppers to go along with a colorful palette of greens, oranges and yellows in his food. which brings us to mesa grill, where i flubbed my opportunity to try in NYC a few years back. redemption came calling at its caesars palace location...
our lunch order consisted of the following:
* blue corn pancake w/barbecued duck, habanero chile & star anise sauce (out of this world)
* tuna nachos w/mango habanero hot sauce & avocado crema (could have eaten for days)
* new mexican spiced pork tenderloin sandwich w/grilled red onion, arugula, ancho chile mayo & southwestern fries (both cold & hot)
* grilled swordfish club w/bacon, avocado, tomato, arugula, chipotle aioli & southwestern fries (never seen swordfish so thin & delicate)
turns out we saved the best meal of the trip for last, so we all left as happy campers...
mesa grill las vegas
caesars palace
3570 las vegas blvd.
las vegas, NV 89109
http://www.mesagrill.com/las-vegas-restaurant/index.php
early on he came off as kind of a smug, smart-alecky know-it-all, but over time i've relaxed my views and came to appreciate where he's coming from. it takes a bigger man to take on a show like "throwdown with bobby flay," where basically he's stepping out of his comfort zone and into a boxing ring where he's the overwhelming underdog.
part of my attraction to his food is his bold take on southwestern cuisine, using a bevy of spices, chilies and peppers to go along with a colorful palette of greens, oranges and yellows in his food. which brings us to mesa grill, where i flubbed my opportunity to try in NYC a few years back. redemption came calling at its caesars palace location...
our lunch order consisted of the following:
* blue corn pancake w/barbecued duck, habanero chile & star anise sauce (out of this world)
* tuna nachos w/mango habanero hot sauce & avocado crema (could have eaten for days)
* new mexican spiced pork tenderloin sandwich w/grilled red onion, arugula, ancho chile mayo & southwestern fries (both cold & hot)
* grilled swordfish club w/bacon, avocado, tomato, arugula, chipotle aioli & southwestern fries (never seen swordfish so thin & delicate)
turns out we saved the best meal of the trip for last, so we all left as happy campers...
mesa grill las vegas
caesars palace
3570 las vegas blvd.
las vegas, NV 89109
http://www.mesagrill.com/las-vegas-restaurant/index.php
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
eats - todd english p.u.b.
friday night had us dining at todd english P.U.B., located on the first floor of city center and a stone's throw from aria. english is a renowned chef and four-time james beard award winner - not to mention 'top chef' guest - so we were eager to try his contemporary take on the traditional pub.
with over 36 beers on tap (including two on cask), a lively bar and dining room area, and a menu deriving from the grill, carvery and raw bar, there is plenty to keep one entertained. i opted for the squatters hop rising (9% abv) and the west coast burger - a moist yet meaty turkey burger w/turkey bacon, sunflower sprouts, honey mustard, slaw, avocado & scrumptious fatty fries to go with it.
todd english P.U.B.
3720 las vegas blvd. S
las vegas, NV 89158
http://www.toddenglishpub.com/
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
vegas trip - part ii
some snaps/notes from city center:
* it's home to aria resort & casino, mandarin oriental (bottom right above), vdara hotel & spa, veer towers and crystals retail & entertainment center (top two above)
some snaps/notes from luxor:
* despite temps in the 100s, we somehow never made it to the pool
* no frig in the room, so we resorted to cheap leaky coolers to store drinks (#failure)
* hit the cable TV jackpot with 'the shawshank redemption' and 'hoop dreams' on at the same time
some snaps/notes from the MGM grand:
* home to joel robuchon, dubbed 'the chef of the century'
* also home to the lion habitat (here's to leos everywhere!)
* it's home to aria resort & casino, mandarin oriental (bottom right above), vdara hotel & spa, veer towers and crystals retail & entertainment center (top two above)
some snaps/notes from luxor:
* despite temps in the 100s, we somehow never made it to the pool
* no frig in the room, so we resorted to cheap leaky coolers to store drinks (#failure)
* hit the cable TV jackpot with 'the shawshank redemption' and 'hoop dreams' on at the same time
some snaps/notes from the MGM grand:
* home to joel robuchon, dubbed 'the chef of the century'
* also home to the lion habitat (here's to leos everywhere!)
Monday, July 25, 2011
vegas trip - part i
kyle, nestor and i chose to descend upon las vegas, NV as a sort of mini-UCLA reunion, so we were all able to sneak away from our better halves and enjoy a trip down memory lane in the stifling desert heat. since temps hovered between 102-106, we spent a bulk of our time perusing the different hotel/casinos during our trip:
some snaps/notes from caesars palace:
* bears great LB dick butkus happened to be signing autographs
* finally tried the frozen hot chocolate at serendipity, as i missed out in NYC
* nike town was under construction and re-opens this wednesday
some snaps/notes from bellagio:
* jean philippe patisserie boasts the largest chocolate fountain in the world (above right)
* the glass flower structure in the lobby might be my favorite thing to see in vegas
some snaps/notes from caesars palace:
* bears great LB dick butkus happened to be signing autographs
* finally tried the frozen hot chocolate at serendipity, as i missed out in NYC
* nike town was under construction and re-opens this wednesday
some snaps/notes from bellagio:
* jean philippe patisserie boasts the largest chocolate fountain in the world (above right)
* the glass flower structure in the lobby might be my favorite thing to see in vegas
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