64

Paul McCartney turned 64 today. The former Beatle wrote a song for his father when he was 16. He didn't end up recording it until he was 24. Here it is:

The Beatles - When I'm Sixty-Four.mp3

sister

Today was my sister's birthday. As a present, I got her tickets to tomorrow's Jamie Cullum concert at the Paramount Theater. We also had dinner at Boulevard in San Francisco. But before all this, this morning I went to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. It's a seasonal market that is held every weekend from spring to fall at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I normally wouldn't go to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. The cost of the produce there is rather prohibitive for my budget. Also, it's in the middle of San Francisco and very far from my home in the suburbs. I only go as a treat and mostly to browse around. This weekend I went because Anthony Bourdain, a NYC chef and a personal hero of mine, was doing a book signing at the Sur La Table. I didn't get to talk to him at all. I basically got up there, handed him my book, said hello, he signed it, posed for one pic and then shook I his hand goodbye. But I did pick up some nice Rainier cherries and some blood oranges at the Market.









Boulevard was great. My mom, my sis, my brother and I split two appetizers to start. One was a soft shell crab that came with a corn relish, aioli and a crab-stuffed, fried tomato. The second was a pan-roasted squab that came with a short rib-stuffed cipollini onion and some seared foie gras. Both appetizers were very tasty and well seasoned. I took the pan-roasted duck breast for my entree and it was terrific. The breast was done to medium rare, sliced and placed onto a bed of risotto. They then drizzled a sauce made from cherries around it. The risotto was nice and rich and I was pleasantly surprised by the crunchy pieces of nuts sprinkled into it. The duck breast was very tender and succulent and the sweet cherry sauce complemented the salty sear on the duck perfectly. I took a meyer lemon cheesecake brulee atop a blueberry buckle crust for my dessert. It was basically a blueberry buckle (kind of like a cobbler) used as a crust for a lemony cheesecake layer with sugar burnt on top like a brulee. It was tasty and the slight tang of the lemon complemented the sweet buckle underneath it. It's very strange that I don't have pics because for a nice meal like this I usually like to take pics course by course. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that everything was spectacular.

new

So I like the idea of Free Music Fridays and I'm stealing it from Manta. I may not post music every Friday but I'll try. This week only three tracks. They're all new though. The first is a new Track from Outkast. It's a track from their next album, the soundtrack to their upcoming film, Idlewild. It's called The Mighty O.

Outkast-The Mighty O.mp3


The next two tracks are from Dashboard Confessional. The first is the single, Don't Wait, from their upcoming album, Dusk and Summer. The second is a cover of an Eighties song, In a Big Country. Enjoy!


Dashboard Confessional - Don't Wait.mp3

Dashboard Confessional - In a Big Country

1993

Stole this meme from The Sheriff over on Myspace.com. I thought it was fun and It got me thinking about how much has changed from those high school days.

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.


1. Who was your best friend?
Robert- We "broke-up" over a girl in high school (stupid, I know). Haven't really talked to him since.

2. What sports did you play?
None.

4. It's Friday night, where were you at?
Probably at home hanging with my family or maybe playing D&D with some friends.

5. Were you a party animal?
Not really.

6. Were you considered a flirt?
I was so clueless about such things that when a girl actually flirted with me ONCE I couldn't take the hint. Finally, she got bored and left.

7. Ever skip school?
Yes, a couple of times. Only as a senior. Once on ditch day and a couple of times to hang out in the city (San Francisco).

8. Ever smoke?
The only cigarette I ever smoked was in college and it never took. I smoked out once in college too and that didn't take either.

9. Were you a nerd?
Yeppers

10. Did you get suspended/expelled?
Nope. Detention once.

11. Can you sing the Alma Mater?
I don't think we had one. If so, then no.

12. Who was your favorite teacher?
Mr. Petty. Ironically, one of the toughest teachers I had. He made us do 20 minute oral presentations each semester. We were only allowed one 3x5 index card for notes.

13. Favorite class?
Cooking

14. What was your school's full name?
Westmoor High School

15. School mascot?
Rams

16. Did you go to Prom?
Yes, my group of friends all went together and it was fun. Until I was consoling a friend near the end because he was fighting with his girl.

17. If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Maybe. So many different choices. I definitely would've been more outgoing.

18. What do you remember most about graduation?
Nothing really.

19. Favorite memory of your Senior Year?
Magic Mountain during Grad Night and the ride home. The company on the ride home alone was worth the drama that day.

20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall?
What's a senior wall?

21. Did you have a job your senior year?
Nah.

22. Where did you go most often for lunch?
I worked in the cafeteria during lunchtimes so I got a free lunch there every day.

23. What did you do after graduation?
We had a dance on a boat. Went with friends.

24. Did you have a bf/gf?
HAHAHAHHAHAH..... no.

25. When did you graduate?
1993. Geez, I'm old!

So since there are only three people I know that read this blog that have blogs, Manta, Andy, and Rekkid.... you're it!

wants

So I was looking in MySpace and I saw this this. It's a bulletin that someone posted regarding "What MOST females want." I just want everyone's opinion here. Is there really something to this? Are any of them bogus? if so, which ones? Are any of them true? if so, which ones? Help a guy out. Not that I'd be using them any time soon...

What MOST females want

1. Leave her cute text messages.

2.Kiss her in front of your friends.

3.Trust her over everyone else.

4.Tell her she looks beautiful.

5.Look her in the eye when you talk to her.

6.Tell her stupid jokes to make her laugh.

7.Let her mess with your hair.

8.Mess with HER hair.

9.Just walk around with her.

10.Include her in most things you do.

11.Surprise her with flowers or a small gift everyonce in awhile.

12.When she crys do whatever to make her smile.

13.Forgive her for her mistakes.

14.Look at her like she's the only girl you see.

15.Tickle her even if she says stop.

16.Hold her hand even when you are around your friends.

17.When she starts swearing at you tell her you love her.

18.Let her fall asleep in your arms.

19.Get her mad, then kiss her

20.Tease her and let her tease you back.

21.Stay up with her all night when she's sick.

22.Watch her favorite movie.

23.**KISS HER FOREHEAD**

24.Give her the world.

25.Write her letters.

26.Let her wear your clothes.

27.When she's sad, hang out with her.

28.Let her know she is important.

29.Let her take all the photos of you she wants.

30.***KISS HER IN THE RAIN***

31. *** KISS HER NECK***

32.When she's sick bring her flowers or a card to make her feel better... even though it's not medicine it really does make her feel better.

33.And when you fall in love with her, tell her.

34.And when you do tell her... Love her like you never loved before.

raiders

So I have a bit of a confession, I've never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, at least in it's entirety. I've caught glimpses and seen fragments here and there while flipping up and down the channels. Nope, never seen it. That is until last night.

On Friday afternoon, I was sitting down with Brett during his break and taking a cursory glance at the paper. He spotted a picture in the paper (same af the one one the left) and asked me what the "Raiders" picture was about. I read a bit of the copy and the caption and told him that the Castro Theatre was running Raiders of the Lost Ark because of the 25th anniversary of the film. His eyes lit up and, with the mention of me never having seen the movie, he decided we should go. I agreed and it was set for the the next evening.

All in all it was quite an great evening. I knew exactly what we seeing because I'd seen bits and pieces of it on TV all these years. I got there at 8:30 PM for a 9:20 PM show. I bought my ticket, walked across the street for a slice of pizza and a coke, and then got in line. Brett and his friend, Aaron, got there a little later and we stood around and talked a bit. The Castro had gotten a hold of new 35mm print for this run and, according to the theater owner, it was an original print with no added CGI and other "special edition" crap. We watched the 7:00PM show getting out and marveled at all the people that brought their kids to see this classic that was probably part of their own childhood. We watched as a new crop of wide-eyed, curious kids shuffled out into the night air talking about the cool movie they'd just seen. One kid was leaving sporting a leather jacket and talking about Indy. His father was ecstatically talking to him and commenting about how he and Indy had "matching" jackets and now he just needed the fedora.

The Castro is a historic old theater. I'd been there once before for a San Francisco International Film Festival Event. At that time I wasn't privy to seeing the organ at work. There is a pipe organ in the theatre and an organist plays before the movie. It was awesome and everyone cheered as he went into the Indiana Jones theme.

The movie was great and holds up very well after 25 years . The effects were kind of hokey but it is a 25 year old film. The action was great and Marion is as beautiful as ever (man, I love freckles). Indy rocks and now I probably have to go watch Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade. Maybe for next weekend.