Yesterday I was cleaning and of course I found a bunch of things still brand new in the box I purchased and never used or even opened. So I thought perfect items to list on ebay.I had purchased a wireless mouse for my dad and he decided he didn’t want it. I should have returned it right then and there but it got lost in the house and only discovered 6 months later. I listed it at 10:00am and by lunch it was sold. Either I got lucky or I priced it to low but it’s shipped and done and I got a little wasted money back. Yay! Now I have to list the other items.
This past Saturday Dan and I went to the New England Aquarium in Boston. It is the home to over 30,000 fish and other aquatic creatures representing 750 different species. They have everything from harbor seals and 3 kinds of penguins to sea turtles and leafy sea dragons. The aquarium’s centerpiece is a 200,000 gallon Giant Ocean Tank. It is a 4 story cylinder with a spiral ramp encircling it for people to view the tank from every angle and every level. The queen of the tank is an 80 year old sea turtle named Myrtle. Sadly the tank has a parasite they are treating and as a result the Ray’s and Sharks were on vacation.
They are apparently negatively affected by the treatment to kill the parasite. Each level of the aquarium also features smaller tanks hosting a variety of exotic fish and other crazy creatures. They had everything from Blue frogs to piranha and everything in between. In addition to the main exhibits they also have a new Touch Tank. It is the largest shark and ray touch tank on the east coast. It was definitely cool to actually get to touch a sting ray while is glides effortlessly around the new Trust Family Touch Tank. It was so smooth and soft not at all what I expected.
We also decided to catch IMAX’s Born to Be Wild 3D at the Simons IMAX Theatre. See the separate blog entry for that.
The day was so beautiful and we had a blast at the aquarium and the IMAX that we decided to grab a bite to eat at Faneuil Hall. We both got a phili cheese steak and took a seat out doors to catch some street performers. Of course I got asked to participate by this crazy Australian covered in tattoos and who likes to juggle chain saws from atop a large poll. It was interesting and I managed to catch the beginning of his act on video before being called to participate. We also saw the 2008 YoYo world champion knock a quarter from a volunteer’s ear with a spinning yoyo. It was a great day and there isn’t anything I would have changed.
Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is the 'mechanic'. He is an elite hit man with a unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets and making their death seem accidental or something other then what it really is, an assassination. It's a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment from everyone, and Bishop is the best in the business.
The movie opens to Bishop drowning a drug cartel boss while arm guards are nearby without even the slightest disruption. When the victim is discovered floating in the pool Bishop sneaks out and the mission is complete and no one knows he was there.
His handler is his mentor and close friend Harry McKenna(Donald Sutherland) who he is debriefed back home and receives payment for services rendered. They bond over cheap coffee and Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) who Harry can’t seem to help keep his life on track.
Returning to his house he checks craigslist for his next contract, only to learn that Harry is the next target. Having to be sure there isn’t a mistake he contacts Dean(Tony Goldwyn) Harry’s partner and Bishop is told that Harry betrayed them during an operation in South Africa for $20M and is a threat to everyone. They also choose Bishop because of the relationship and that only he could get to him without being noticed. He completes his job making it look like a carjacking gone wrong.
Bishop becomes the only friend to Steve who is morning his father’s loss, wants vengeance and wants to learn to be a mechanic. Bishop trains Steve and teaches him the ropes and shows him how it’s done. Bishop takes out an arms dealer and makes it look like auto-erotic affixation. Then when Steve is ready Bishop gives him his first job. The target is Burke (Jeff Chase) a rival mechanic who has a fondness for young boys and small dogs. Steve doesn’t follow the plan and finds himself in a fight for his life with a much larger and more skilled assassin.
Dean is disappointed with Bishops use of Steve but gives him his next job. This one is much more dangerous and involves assassinating the leader of a cult like church (John McConnell). Their plan is to give him Adrenaline to simulate a heart attack but their plan hits a snag when they realize that the pastor is being drugged with ketamine and would inhibit the adrenaline’s effectiveness. They improvise and suffocate the pastor. As Bishop and Steve wait in the walls of the apartment for a clean get away they are discovered and there is a shootout with the guards. To avoid capture they leave separately.
Bishop discovers that it was Dean that has betrayed Harry and that Dean had gotten rid of Harry because Harry was getting close to discovering the truth when he meets one of those thought to be killed in South Africa at the airport.
Realizing that Harry was murdered at his own hands, Bishop is anything but detached. Angry that he was tricked into killing his friend his next assignment is his own and he wants those responsible dead.
Bishop races home and calls Steve only to find that Steve has also ambushed at Bishops house. Bishop walks him through his killing the ambushers using a gun hidden in the sofa. Once Bishop arrives he instructs Steve to gather supplies. Steve finds his father’s gun and realizes that it was Bishop who killed his father and not a carjacker. After working together to kill Dean They stop to get gas and Bishops sees that Steve has his father’s gun. Steve pumps the gas but adjusts the nozzle to pour gas all over the ground instead of in the tank. He shoots the tank blows up the truck and the gas station.
Steve returns to Bishops house and plays a record on the turntable and then decides to takes his vintage 1966 Jaguar E-type for a ride. He sees a note on the passenger seat which he reads “Steve, if your reading this then you’re dead”. Steve laughs and moments later the car explodes killing him. At the same time the record player finished playing and activates a trip wire that blows up the house. Back at the gas Station the surveillance camera reveals that Bishop had gotten out of the Truck just before it exploded, saving himself. We end the movie with Bishop getting in another truck that he has stashed and drives away.
Born into a life of excess Playboy heir Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) becomes the new publisher of Los Angeles' "The Daily Sentinel" after the sudden death of his strict father as a result of a suspected bee sting. Faced with expectations of greatness and a life of failure Britt’s depression leaves him with no friends. He bonds with Kato (Jay Chou), an employee of his fathers who was tasked with making coffee and repairing the fleet of cars including the Black Beauty. Kato and Britt commiserate about the elder Reid’s harsh ways and together lash out towards a man they equally hated but hardly knew by desecrating a statue erected in his honor. While committing this crime Britt encounters real criminals jumping local citizens. Wanting to help he intercedes only to be chased and ultimately rescued by Kato a Kung Fu master.
Feeling good about their good deed and feeling power for the first time decide to hatch a new career fighting crime as the masked superhero "The Green Hornet". Unable and not smart enough to know what to do they listen to Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz) for ideas of what she believes would be the Green Hornet’s next steps. They take on the local crime authority Benjamin Chudnofsky ( Christoph Waltz) and unknowingly discover that Britt’s father wasn’t a bad man and in reality was killed by a corrupt D.A. named Frank Scanlon (David Harbour) who was in cahoots with the villains. Capturing D.A. Scanlon’s confession on a USB drive they fight for their lives and for what’s right ending in a crazy fight scene that leaves the office of “The Daily Sentinel” destroyed and D.A. Scanlon and Ben Chudnofsky dead.
Their escape is not completely smooth, Britt had been shot and is unable to go to the hospital without arousing suspicion, so they head to Lenore's home. After beating and pepper-spraying them, Lenore learns their identities and tries to help remove the bullet, but without proper equipment Britt is wary of the procedure. Together, the three of them hatch a plan.Britt holds a press conference to tell everyone that the Green Hornet did all this
The next day, Britt Reid holds a press conference, claiming that the criminal Green Hornet had caused all the mayhem and destroyed the office in his successful attempt to take Scalon's life. Black Beauty suddenly bursts into the area and a masked Kato announces that the Green Hornet sends the Reid family his regards, before shooting Britt and fleeing the scene. Lenore accompanies Britt to the hospital to treat his bullet wound, while a police car chases after the Green Hornet's infamous black car. Kato's latest innovation is revealled as the car switches to a white colour to throw off police suspicion, before returning to a black colour once the police car passed.
Sometime later, Britt, in his Green Hornet outfit, arrives at Kato's house saying that they have a secret mission and that everything before was total crap, and that this mission was all that mattered.
The mission: reattaching the head to the statue of James Reid.
Having been to several of NYC’s 5 Napkin Burger locations and making a point to go every time I hit the Big Apple I was excited to see my favorite burger joint coming to Boston. For my inaugural visit I choose to take my friend Dan for his birthday along with 4 other friends. Having never been to the Boston location I will admit that I was nervous and hoped everyone would like it as much as I enjoy the NYC locations.
When we arrived I immediately recognized the décor in a super sized way. It is significantly larger then my location of choice in Hell’s Kitchen. The open floor plan and large windows really give this space a bright and airy feeling. Meat hooks hanging from the ceiling, retro light bulbs, butcher-themed chalkboard drawings gave the environment a unique personality of a butcher shop but kept it warm and intimate.
We started off our meals with a round of drinks. The drink menu includes 100 international wines, 50 beers, 40 bourbons and a series of specialty cocktails. Dan and Brandon ordered the 16oz Alagash “White” $7.50, while others like me decided to try one of the many specialty cocktails. I tried the Blood Orange Martini made with beefeater Gin, Aperol, Blood Orange Puree, Lemon, Thyme and Simple Syrup $11.00 and Eric and Roy tried the Citrus Cooler made with veev, finlandia grapefruit vodka, smashed ruby red grapefruit and orange $11.50
For our entrée’s there was a mix of options. Brandon and I both got the Ahi Tuna Burger marinated in ginger, scallions and soy with a wasabi mayo and tempura fried onion rings nicely packaged in a sesame egg roll $14.95. Dan tried the original Five Napkin Burger for which the place was named. It was prepared with 10 ounces of fresh ground chuck, cooked to temperature and topped with caramelized onions, rosemary aioli and Gruyere cheese. Dan made a mess with this juicy over-sized burger $13.95. Eric stuck with a non-burger choice and had the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with its hot sauce, creamy Roquefort dressing, tomato and bacon $12.50. We shared a few sides. The Tater Tots were really delicious crunchy, crispy and filled with creamy, smooth butter and chive mashed potatoes. $4.25 and the Tuscan Fries were tasty and seasoned with parmesan cheese and rosemary.
I have to say I was not even the slightest bit disappointed and only heard praise from my fellow dinner mates. We certainly left full and happy after a great meal. The wait staff was attentive and on the top of their game. No one had an empty drink and the food was presented quickly and with a smile.
First signs of life in my vegetable garden the summer squash are starting to find their way and I have some green leaves coming from my tomato and basil plants. Let’s see what I end up with.
(37) Watch 26 Movies (12/26) (38) Visit 10 Festivals
Movie: Going Down in LA-LA Land
Rating:3-Stars
This past weekend Roy and I decided to check out the Boston LGBT Film Festival. Roy picked the Northeast debut of Casper Andreas’s Going Down in LA-LA Land. The movie is a romantic comedy adapted from the hysterical novel by the same name written by
Andy Zeffer.
Going Down in La-La Land is a candid, sexy, outrageously funny look at what an aspiring actor can - and will - do to make it in Hollywood! Young, buff, and beautiful, Adam (Matthew Ludwinski) arrives from New York with dreams of becoming a star. He moves in with his zealous and zany friend Candy(Allison Lane) who, between auditions, spends her time at the gym, shopping, and looking for a wealthy man. Adam gets off to a rocky start, struggling with money and an insufferable job answering phones. A new gig in film production looks promising, but Adam soon finds himself dealing with Nick(Casper Andreas) and other down-and-out directors, washed-up starlets, closeted celebrities, and drug addicts, as he starts to lose himself in a seamy underworld of gay porn and prostitution.
The movie was a perfect fit for a GLBT Film Festival and it was enjoyable to discover that the two guys who sat next to us were the book’s author and the film’s director.
The weather might not indicate that summer has arrived but for me when Ronnie’s in Auburn opens and is serving their famous Lobster Rolls it’s here. Last night I had my first lobster roll of the season. Ronnie’s lobster roll is perfect.It’s buttery toasted hot dog roll just complements the mayo and lobster chunks perfectly. Ronnie’s doesn’t add fillers to your sandwich just pure tasty lobster. Nothing in the area beats what they offer.
Starving and tired of the chain restaurants Dan and I decided to go to Big Fresh Café. Dan has been here before and had spoken highly about the food but I had never been. Given that I am in the middle of my second attempt at p90x. I wanted something healthy and this place delivered. The Big Fresh concept is eating organic food made fresh with an emphasis on buying from local farms.The menu is a mix of Asian and Middle Eastern, and while that may seem an odd combination it works and tastes great!
We both choose the Mediterranean Chicken Plate $9.25 which included Chicken tossed with a Moroccan tagine sauce, and was served with hummus, tahini, homemade picalilli, spicy harif & pitabread. The chicken was sliced thin to shorten the cook time and sautéed in a skillet with the sauce. The hummus was exceptional and clearly made fresh and served as a bowl for the tahini. The homemade piccalilli was very good but I am not a hugh fan of anything pickled. The spicy harif lived up to its name. Just a little bit lit my mouth on fire. It was a nice burn and definitely added a jolt to an already tasty meal.
There was no soda but they had a fresh selection of gourmet tea and a great selection of bottled juice drinks to choose from. I will definitely be going back.
While out an about this weekend I ended up at the Christmas Tree Shop. They have a surprizingly interesting selection of things to grow. Everything from strawberries to tomatos to cucumbers and a herb grow kit from Buzzy. I thought this might be just the ticket to finishing Task 53. Lets see what the crop will yeild as the summer goes by. I will keep you updated on the progress as they grow.
Source Code is an action thriller centered on a decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers that he is part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago bound commuter train. In an assignment like no other he has ever known he learns he is part of a secret government experimant called The Source Code. The source code is a program that enables him to relive the last 8 minutes of a passengers life on that train. He can relive those 8 minutes over and over again gathering clues each time until he can solve the mystery of what happened and who is to blame. But time is of the essence when a second more deadly bomb is set to go off in Chicago he must use those 8 minutes to find the Bomb and the Bomber as quickly as he can.
While reliving those 8 minutes over and over again Captain Stevens interacts with all those aboard the train he thinks might be able to help him while pretending to be the teacher whose body he has possessed. He discovers that in reality he died while on a mission in Afghanistan and has been kept “alive” by the government as a new tool in the fight against terror. After solving the mystery and capturing the bomber he begs for a final 8 minutes to save the passengers on the train at least in the parallel universe he is in. He uses those last 8 minutes to say good bye to his father as best he can and fall in love with the girl across the aisle. In order to end the cycle his host body must die. Ultimately he gets a second chance to live after his real life is allowed to end leaving him stuck in a parallel time in someone else’s body.
Dan planned a fun night for me and bowling at the AMF Town and Country Lanes was only part of it. A great group of friends joined in and played 2 rounds of glow in the dark bowling. The night was filled with lots of beer and good times. I lost badly in the first round but managed to squeak out a win in round two. I'll post some video's and pictures tomorrow.
My birthday night celebration started with a great tapas style meal at Ritual in Worcester. With parking a constant problem on Main Street the idea of free valet was a wise choice. The environment was upscale and an eclectic mix of people and decore. It had a great bar in the center of the room and was flanked by generously sized tables. The front windows opened accordian style up to provide a nice airy feel while maintaining the rich and intimate appeal of the darker interior with walls flanked by large wooden doors and greek and indian artifacts.
As a group we decided to order a bunch of tasty appetizers and some great drinks instead of ordering individual entrees. I will review each of the appetizers.
Drinks: In addition to all the appetizers we also had some great drinks.
We all started off with a French 75. It was a mix of Tanqueray Gin, Cointreau, Champagne, Peychaud's Bitters, Orange Bitters, Lemon Juice and a Twist. It was excellent but at $12 it was a bit on the steep side price wise. We also tried the
Blueberry Field. It was a mix between Stoli Bluberi, Triple Sec, Gourmet Basil Syrup, Blueberry puree, White Cranberry Juice. At $9 it was a perfect drink to enjoy. It was ligh but rich tasty and sweet with a little bit of tang. It was definitely my favorite.
Spanakopita: They were light and tasty and not overly seasoned. They were the perfect mix. The ingredients were very fresh and they were cooked until golden brown.
Domaldes: Like the spanakopita the great leaves were very fresh and light the mix of rice to beef was perfect and it literally melted in my mouth. Grape leaves are an acquired taste and were not loved by everyone. However as a person who enjoys them these ranked high.
Chocolate Bacon: This isn't anything I have ever had before. It was interesting and a good plate to share amongst a group of friends. I don't think I would or could have eaten it by myself. It was a very rich chocolate and a perfectly cooked piece of bacon. Definitely an explosion of unique flavors all perfectly matched for a rich tasty treat.
Kobe Sliders: These were by far the best treat of the night.
Each order came with two Kobe Beef Sliders. They were so juicy and tasty that they were a bit messy to eat. The burgers were cooked perfectly to order and the smell was intoxicating. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into them. They were so good everyone had to have one and it resulted in two more orders being placed immediately. The gorgonzola and roasted red peppers complimented the flavors of the beef and the accompanying biscuit bun.
A definite order again appetizer. I can see myself going for just them and a cocktail.
Party of Screwers: This was my least favorite appetizer. They were tasty and well thought out. However, compared to the other rich and tasty appetizers whose portion sizes were significant these were definitely on the small side and left me a little dissappointed.
Truffle Frites: I am a hugh fan of anything truffle oil and had to try the truffle fries. They were very good but as noted by the others a little on the soggy side. I would have liked to have seen them baked and presented on a plate rather then sitting in truffle oil in a basket. With that said they didn't last long and were quickly eaten.
