"People on 'ludes should not drive..."
Jeff Spicoli, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
"Whoa, canine cologne!" Grandpa Fred.
"Oooh…no more yanky my wanky. The Donger need food!!!" Long Duk Dong, 16 CANDLES
"His name is Blane? Oh! That's a major appliance, that's not a name!"
Duckie, PRETTY IN PINK
Last night he carved my favorite "True Blood" vampire on a pumpkin for me!
This shit is going on our fkg porch tonight along with TC's Spider Pumpkin and Bert's Howling Wolves pumpkin (those pictures to be posted later)! Check at the end of this post for all three pumpkins together!
Here's the hawt photo from which the design was based (this is Season 2 Eric, not Season 1 where he wears that fugly bobbed pageboy wig)
This Eric Northman stencil is courtesy of one half of the fab duo that makes up the blog "Camp Blood". These are two guys with a penchant for comics and horror movies.They are also frequent commentators on the podcast "Loving True Blood in Dallas" (check Dallas's blog here). Andy Swist has other "True Blood" themed stencils like Lafayette (yaysss!), Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton (boo).
As promised, here are our three pumpkins...
Carvings courtesy of Bert (Eric Northman and the howling wolves) and TC (black widow spider). The wolf in the middle used to have sharp teeth but they kind of disintegrated (it was carved a day and a half before Halloween). Lots of detail in that one. I loved my Eric pumpkin! So fkg rad!
TC's dance company had a costume party recently and in addition to tons of food, there were also cool costumes worn by both the kids (younger and teens) and the parents (us). Before we left, I took a photo of TC in her costume. For her school, everyone dresses up as a literary character. Last year, she went as Katara from "Avatar - The Last Airbender" (see that costume here). This year, she chose Annabeth Chase, the female demi-god from Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. She is a strong and independent character and can kick major ass!!! Great choice TC!
Plus, it was the easiest costume ever! I bought the orange shirt at Michaels for $3.99 (it's really big on her because it's an Adult S), the NYC cap from Wal-Mart for $7 and the Iron-on transfers for $6 (3 sheets in the package). Bert downloaded the "Camp Half-Blood Logo and Pegasus" for the shirt design. Bert found a wanna be knife at K-Mart for $2.00 Annabeth's hat makes her "invisible". One of her props is a "bronze celestial dagger" but this knife will have to do. As for pants, Annabeth wears jeans. Easy!The only thing TC didn't want to do was wear a blond wig (thank goodness!). By the way, Annabeth wouldn't really post with her dagger that way.
A depiction of Annabeth Chase (from wikipedia's entry)
So hey, I decided to resurrect my "Joe Elliott" outfit from the "Photograph" video (he is the lead singer of Def Leppard). I didn't wear the white bandanna around me neck or the red legwarmers or white shoes. I felt this was close enough and I knew that no one at the building would even know who I was. Which they didn't. Sigh. They just thought I was a "British" rocker.
The breakdown: Vintage Union Jack Muscle Shirt bought in 1983 for $15 (after begging my mom to buy it for me). Red wristband from Hot Topic $3. TC's black studded cuff $3 (Target!) and stretchy metal belt from Express $20 (I've worn this belt with other outfits so it's not just for this get up). Black Converse One Stars (child's size 6 = women's 8) $20 at Target!. Skinny black jeans are mine and were bought at the juniors section at Nordstrom - Brass Plum.
Here's the real Joe Elliott back in the 80's. Of course, I think I look waaay better than that! Ha ha!
Bert wore his Michael Meyers costume from last year. Unbeknownst to Bert, another guy wore a similar outfit. This guy always does something scary every year. This year, he was the dude from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", Leatherface. The lights in the building were turned off with only the strobe light, signalling his impending appearance. All of a sudden, we heard the RRRRRRRR of the chainsaw and a wierd smell filled the air as he stalked the interior in a menacing way, scaring a few of the younger kids. It was so funny that their outfits were so similar! I think it's funny how Bert is so much darker than that mask!
Here's me and Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. He has a red one too, but got the new yellow shirt this year.
I thought these costumes were awesome. These are my my cousin's kids. One of them (my godson actually) went as Russell, the little boy from "Up". The older nephew went as Ash from Pokemon (he is a college graduate!). The youngest, my neice went as Hello Kitty.
My nephew worked so hard to get his costume just right. He made the sash and the badges himself with felt. He also had a pot hanging from the backpack (instead of a trumpet). Everyone loved it!!!!
This was one of the few images I could find of Hello Kitty with the red dress.
And here is Ash Ketchum - the boy who tries to train and catch all of the Pocket Monsters (Pokemon). My nephew also had the "ball" (held in his left hand). In the picture below, Ash is shown with Pikachu in his left hand.
Now one of the BEST Costumes of the night was this guy who went as Antoine Dodson, of the "Bed Intruder Interview" video.
Here's the real Antoine Dodson..."Obvioussssly!"
He came in struttring his stuff and waving his rolled up paper in the air. The older teenagers were howling with laughter while the younger kids were wondering what was so funny. Capt. Kirk showed me the video on his iPhone. I felt like I lived in a cave because I didn't know about this dude who apparently has his own website now after the video went viral and two white guys made his interview into a song which is now available on iTunes. .
Here's the original video along with the song which manipulated his video with auto-tune. "Hide yo kids, hide yo wife!". Just goes to show you that anyone can get famous for anything nowadays. The song starts at 1:36...
Other cool costumes were a couple who dressed up as babies, complete with terry cloth diapers. One kid made her own costume - she was a robot (cardboard box and all), while one boy went as a Knight character from a video game, "Castle Crusaders", complete with hand made paper mache helmet (cushioned with foam inside), a few cats, several "nerds", and a few kids whose mom sewed stuffed spikes onto their hoodies so they would look like dinosaurs. The hood had eyes and fake teeth. Very creative.
Along with the costumes was a boatload of food - cheese for nachos, pizzas for the kids, spring rolls, and bread sticks (under the foil). This was early in the evening, later on, the table was filled with potluck donations...
There was creamy penne pasta with bacon, buffalo chicken wings, fried shrimp, tofu with sliced pig ears (I tried one and did NOT like it - the texture was too soft!), two kinds of pancit (bihon and luglug), two kinds of fried rice, regular rice, green salad, pork ribs adobo, chicken arroz caldo...
One of the mom's brought in her signature dessert - chocolate swirl brownies. Our table immediately hijacked one tray while I took a corner!
Another person brought in dipped jumbo marshmallows - I liked the chocolate dipped ones with crushed pretzels which was nice because it was salty and sweet. I'm thinking of making this for a future holiday party...seems easy enough.
Someone came in late and we noticed that there was a flurry of activity at the table. WTH? Turns out that person brought in what they jokingly referred to as "The Time Bomb". Hands were grabbing bits and pieces everywhere! I'm lucky to have even gotten a clear shot.
Take a good look - FRIED CHICKEN SKINS! Complete with vinegar soy sauce dip.
Only at a Filipino party!
As a palate cleanser, it's the return of "Music Listography - Your Life in Playlists". This is the 3rd installment. This awesome birthday gift was courtesy of TORC.
Today's topic, "List your Favorite Songs from the Movies"
OMFG, where do I begin?
From "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (One of the greatest teen films ever made!)
"Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Brown
SCENE - When Stacy and Ron the Stereo salesman have sex in the baseball dugout at "The Point". This song is possibly one of my top faves of all time. I also like the remake by Phantom Planet which was featured in the teen parody movie,"Not Another Teen Movie". To add more unwanted trivia to your already addled brains, the lead singer of Phantom Planet had a bit part in "Donnie Darko" as one of Seth Rogen's prep school friends (yes, THE Seth Rogen before he got all famous).
"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin
SCENE - Right after Damone gives his advice to Mark Ratner, "When it comes to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of "Led Zeppelin IV". The scene cuts to the Rat in his station wagon blasting this song. What's funny about this is that people think this is a mistake since "Kashmir" IS NOT even from this album; it's supposed to seem that the Rat is such a loser that he plays the WRONG album. Also, Cameron Crowe (who penned the novel) was a teen wunderkind, traveling with with bands such as Led Zeppelin as a young Rolling Stone reporter. Led Zeppelin was notorious for NOT releasing any of their songs for film usage but this was one of the songs they allowed Crowe to use for his film.
"Moving in Stereo" by The Cars
SCENE - The song playing in the background while Brad Hamilton spies on Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates). Yes, this is the infamous pool scene in which Linda is wearing the fabled "red bikini". If you are over the age of 30 and breathing, you should know this film. If not, then where the fk have you been, you Luddites! This pool scene was later spoofed by the band Fountains of Wayne using Rod Stewart's hot MILFY ex-wife, Rachel Hunter in the video, "Stacy's Mom" (YouTube that one; it's pretty funny).
From "Say Anthing"
"One Big Rush" by Joe Satriani from "Say Anything"
SCENE - Lloyd Dobler trying kick boxing and getting his ass kicked by Don "the Dragon" Wilson. Joe Satriani had just released "Surfing with the Alien" in 1987 and was really big. I was totally into Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson (the holy trinity of kick ass guitarists; each with their own unique style and sound). This was the perfect song for that scene.
"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel from "Say Anything"
SCENE - Lloyd Dobler in long trenchcoat outside his girlfriend's house with arms raised holding a boombox. So romantic...I think every girl back in 1989 wanted their boyfriend to do this. Ha ha, this puppet parody hit the nail on the head down to the "Clash" t-shirt!
From "16 Candles"
"Little Bitch" by The Specials (here's an obscure one!)
SCENE - Where Farmer Ted tries to talk to Samantha Baker and her friends while sitting on the bleachers and you can hear this catchy ska song in the background...
"True" by Spandau Ballet
SCENE - Samantha Baker fantasizes about Jake Ryan while watching him dance with Caroline. "Huh huh huh huh, huh! I know...this...much...is...True!" (sing in an anguished voice). This song also made a memorable appearance in 1996's "The Wedding Singer" towards the end when Steve Buscemi's character is crooning the now classic 80's love song to Robbie and Julia (Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore's characters).
From "Crybaby"
"Doin' Time for Being Young" - sung in reality by a dude named James Intveldt but performed and lip synced impressively by Johnny Depp!!!!
SCENE - When Crybaby is dancing in jail with the inmates a la the Elvis "Jail House Rock" sequence. Holy hell, Johnny Depp was (and still is) HAWT!!!
From "Donnie Darko"
"The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen
SCENE - The opening sequence with Jake Gyllenhaal's character riding a bike down a mountain. In the director's cut, the original song is the equally haunting, "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS
From "Pretty in Pink"
"Thieves Like Us" (instrumental version) by New Order
SCENE - I believe this song is the montage where she is making her prom dress. I'll have to check my dvd again because unfortunately, this movie is not yet available on iTunes. Damn them! But yeah, this is a great version of "Thieves Like Us".
From "Remember Me"
"Andvari" by Sigur Ros
SCENE - The love scene between Tyler and Ally (RPattz and Emily de Ravin). Too bad it was only PG-13! It's really a very pretty song even though I can't understand what the dude's singing (it's in Icelandic).
From "Shawn of the Dead"
"Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen
SCENE - This has got to be one of THE BEST uses of a Queen song EVER! It's towards the end where Shawn and his friends are holed up in the local pub, the Winchester. A zombie breaks in and tries to attack them and they start to attack him while this song is being played on the jukebox! Hilarious times to be had by all!
Honorable Mentions:
"Wild Sex in the Working Class" by Oingo Boingo (from "16 Candles)
"Sandy" by John Travolta (from "Grease") - totally cheesy!
"Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega (from "Pretty in Pink")
"Bring on the Dancing Horses" by Echo and the Bunnymen (also from "Pretty in Pink")
"Oh Yeah" by Yellow (from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off")
"Are You Ready for the Sex Girls" by the Gleaming Spires (from "Revenge of the Nerds")
"You Took My Heart and You Tore it Apart (So F--k You) by Harry Nillson (from "Private School" which also starred the babelicious Phoebe Cates)
"Que Sera Sera" by Sly and the Family Stone (from "Heathers")
"Here's to Love (Down with Love) performed by Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger (from "Down with Love")
And there's tons more songs but those are the first few I can think of! You can tell I'm a child of the 80's! (Actually I was a teen, but you know wut I mean, eh!)
So dear readers, what are your favorite songs from the movies and why?
A few days ago, our department went to a district meeting which was off campus. On the way back to work, we went to lunch at Marie Callender's in downtown Chula Vista. This is right next to the Red Lobster and located near the corner of "F" St. and 3rd Ave (hey, there's no "F Street Bookstore" here - that's near K-Mart near L and 3rd, ha ha!). Seriously, I haven't been here in a decade. This is where the department took me for my "baby" shower party. I was seven months along and felt as huge as a house. I remember eating the Mushroom Stroganoff too, but I digress...
We also met up with a former co-worker who retired last year. She's the one who hired Trio Los Ticos (the trio from Romesco's in Bonita) to play at her retirement party. It was really nice hearing beautiful boleros ("Sabor a Mi" was one of them)...wait, at her party, not at Marie Callender's!
I didn't really want to have anything too heavy...
Althbough this Marie's Perfect Pie Trio looked good ($8.99 for pot pie plus salad plus a slice of dessert pie), I wanted something else. Hmmm...
So I pussed out and got a half sandwich (ham with cheese which was $1.00 extra, fk!) with salad (instead of soup). I chose to have the salad without dressing because the only choice was balsamic which I hate. There were also mandarin oranges (from a can I'm sure), dried cranberries and candied nutz. I liked both items and it was enough to tide me over until later that night.
About that special Marie's Trio, not to worry because the co-workers pretty much got one or the other. The lone male co-worker got the Shepherd's Pie with garden salad. The Shepherd's Pie had pot roast/beef stew with a scoop of mashed potatoes and melted cheese on top. It looked good but I don't like mushy food.
Our former co-worker got the Chicken Pot Pie with Caesar salad...I'd probably eat this because the pot pie has a nice crust on top. In fact, I would probably just eat the crust and not the mushy soft chicken stew inside. Don't get me wrong - both pot pies smelled so good! I'd eat them if I was in the mood.
Now onto dessert, here's the "Razzleberry" (Raspberry) pie...
One of my co-workers let me have her pie slice since she is watching her diet. She let me pick the flavor, so I chose blueberry (seen below) . I liked these (most likely environmentally unfriendly) to-go pie containers. I ate a tiny bit of the crust but saved about 98% of it for TC.
The lone male co-worker got the Banana Cream Pie...mmmm!
Across the street (on the NW corner of 3rd and "F") used to be a Mexican restaurant called "La Fonda Roberto's". Now it's some religious reading room. But when it was La Fonda's, my friends and I used to like going there back in college. They had a lunch buffet and the stuff they served was not your typical Mexican food. Tatonka and I had lunch there before and I remember enjoying the unusual dishes they had (one had walnuts in a white sauce).
So, I scored with a free slice of pie which had great crust. They are having a sale on their whole pies too, $6.99 but I didn't get one. I really should be cutting back on sweets anyways, otherwise my workouts are going to be wasted.
Last weekend after watching the PASACAT 40th Anniversary Extravaganza at the Lyceum, we went out for something to eat which was, in this rare instance, fast food - Carl's Jr (the Broadway and H Street location in VCV, that's "Varrio Chula Vista" in gangbangin' lingo!)
It was 10:30 pm and we were pretty damn hungry. The show started at 7 but we all had late lunches earlier that day. TC was off doing a performance and I was at Miramar College for the 3rd "Filipinos in San Diego" book signing (I met Councilman Todd Gloria!), to be blogged about later. Plus I took some gnarly photos of my friend's balut. Yumm-may!
I was already thinking of where to eat during the last half of the dance performance. This one couple had a real brat of a daughter. She was kinda obese, looked to be about 3 or 4 and was being "hand fed" by her parents who looked like they didn't give a shit about what she was doing. She threw tantrums and whined and screamed until she got her way. People were looking at them like, "Hey, shut your kid up!" and all. They let her walk around and chew her food and eat and play on the fkg floor. I'm sorry, but that's just shitty and lazy child management/parenting skills. I don't believe in giving in to tantrums (thank goodness TC rarely did that to us; she knew we were no-nonsense types and were both consistent). I don't believe in kids walking around and eating either. Hhey, now, that's just an invitation to choke and it's poor manners in my opinions. You know I think, well, they should just sit their asses down and eat properly not like an unleashed animal. Kids shouldn't be hand fed either unless they are physically unable to. Handicapped? Quadriplegic? Armless? Then, yes, hand feed your kid. A restaurant is not a fkg playground either. Be my guest if you want to play and lie down on the filthy floor.
And now let me tell you how I REALLY FEEL!....wait, I just did! My rant against brats and lazy parents is now over.
TC got the kid's meal/cheeseburger/fries with some dragon toy. A toy she will probably never play with from a movie she's never watched.
Bert got the "Carl's Catch" which was a Fish Sandwich. He thought it was pretty good ("tasty"); the sauce was tartar. (There is a line in the Simpsons where Montgomery Burns mutters, "Let the fools have their...tar-tar sauce....then he laughs evilly; that's what I think of whenever tartar sauce is mentioned)
I got the Happy Star without pickles. Sorry for the crappy photo, eh. The first few bites were good because it was warm, but after a few minutes, it got cold and tasteless fast. I must remember this next time (if there IS a next time). It's like not learning the first time that something isn't that good, but I wanted the plainest thing they had. Everything else had cheese or peppers or bacon in it.
On another note, I wore my Kenneth Cole Reaction boots that night. Despite their fierce cockroach killing appearance, they are quite comfortable to walk in. My feet or toes aren't pinched at all. The heel is about 3", so it's not that tall. I have other shoes that are 4" to 4 1/2" (a few 5" with a slight platform) high. But with the rain and cold lately, it's now boot wearing weather.
Since it was kinda late, the guy didn't bother giving Bert a number for our table. I totally forgot about those (ha ha! 69 dude!). It's been awhile since I'd been to a Carl's. In the early 80's, I used to think they had really good fries because they were thick and crinkle cut. Then they changed it. Now they are regular looking shoestring fries and don't seem as good. If I had to pick which fast food place has the best fries, I'd choose McD's (classic) and Rally's (Rally's are seasoned).
Since I'm on a fast food post here, I've never eaten at Del Taco or Arby's. I just might try it since I have coupons...Bert likes the Arby's beef sandwiches. There's an Arby's by the Eastlake Vons. Any recommendations on eats from those two joints?
I'm pretty fortunate that my kid is not picky. She is willing to try almost anything and counts Ethiopian food as one of her favorite cuisines. During our break, we vowed to try something different each and every day. Today, we attempted to go to Dumpling Inn but the parking lot was full. It was also difficult trying to get out to make a left, so I made a right so I could make a U-turn back onto Convoy. We double backed down Convoy into this strip mall to try to go to Wa Dining Okan, where Bert and I had our anniversary dinner.
It's right next to Nijiya Market and Asie Salon and Spa.
I'd been wanting to try this place after reading reviews from other folks' blogs. Oh, and remember this, they only accept CASH during lunch. Luck must have been on our side because their prices were slightly slashed due to their 1 year anniversary. This week the basic set was only $5...
I know it's blurry...but hey, we saved $3.00 on 2 sets today! We also orderd two different entrees to go with our sets.
TC loved it here - we were one of the few non-Japanese in there. We got to sit up at the bar and we were digging the cute waitresses' supercool one-shouldered diagonal aprons. Kinda like Wilma Flintstone! You can't really see the apron well here though. Another waitress had on a dark grey one - I want one of those!
The basic set comes with a bowl of rice and soup, along with a trio of "tapas" (kind of wierd how they use a Spanish word there) - beans, potatoes and squash, and a small side of pickled vegetables.
Of course, the basic set wasn't going to be enough, so we each ordered a different weekly entree. TC ordered the Chicken Karage with spicy sesame sauce (it really wasn't that spicy).
while I ordered the Grilled Salmon with pumpkin (kabocha squash) with yuzu mustard. It was topped with a mushroom and a grilled green pepper (I want to say it's a Shiso pepper, but I am not sure). The pumpkin had a really nice sweet glaze and the salmon was excellent. I kind of wished it was a bigger piece.
The entrees were on special - The chicken was $3.50 (instead of $5) and the salmon was $4 (instead of $5.50) - in all, we saved $6 (entrees and sets), so that was pretty good! I'm glad we were able to get a seat here because I was afraid they'd be too crowded. The portions were just right, maybe a bit more than what TC actually could finish, but I thought it was perfect.
Who else ate here for lunch?
Cathy from Mmm-Yoso went here back in July
Kirbie and her BF from Kirbie's Cravings also visited in August
and the ever thorough Dennis of A Radiused Corner went here at least twice for lunch (there's a dinner post in there somewhere): Post 1, Post 2, and Post 3
Dessert would be next door at Sage French Bakery, but first, we made a quickstop to Nijiya for some snacks to take home.
Anyone of you guys that live in the South Bay and are familiar with the western half of Chula Vista might have seen this sign located on the corner of Palomar and 3rd...(it's right across from Gunco Ramen/Kanpai, El Dorado Mexican restaurant, and slightly north of Seafood City)...it never fails to make me laugh and unleash my inner Beavis and Butthead.
After TC and I had lunch at Dona's (that's how it's spelled on their sign but their receipt reads as "Donna's") and picked up paletas at Oasis, we headed home. In doing so, we took the scenic route and lo and behold, the sign was calling out to me. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, we always laugh at this sign but have never tried donuts here. Today may as well be the day."
It's your basic no frills donut shop; KD's was manned by a really nice Asian lady the day of our visit. Since Bert was gone in Texas, we only ordered a half dozen (which cost almost as much as a dozen). I didn't think we could finish a dozen by ourselves. I'm not much of a donut person but sigh, the things I do for the blog...ha ha.
I'm instantly reminded of my parents' family room, with the 70's wood paneling and such (although they don't hang completed puzzles).
This was part of the sugared twist I got...It tasted okay, but not spectacular.
Here are the rest of the donuts at home. You can see some of the vintage plates with either turned over crystal cups or candle sticks as makeshift cakestands. Earlier that month, I went on a thrift store shopping spree and bought up a bunch of plates, candlesticks, and glasses to hoard for future gifts (Christmas,birthdays, Seceretary's week, etc).
Here's another view of the donuts but this time, in a plastic container. I bought two twists (the sugar and chocolat), a chocolate old fashioned, a buttermilk bar, a coconut cake donut and one with Sprinkles that we nicknamed "Lardboy" (after the donut mascot in "The Simpsons", except the real lardboy donut would be pink). They may look good, but they really didn't taste all that good. The chocolate was really thin and tasted artificial. In fact, the chocolate melted easily and slid off the donut, making it look like a disgusting greasy mess. I regretted buying these and ended up tossing most of them.
Sorry KD's Nuts, I don't think I'll be coming back here again...
