Teller Talked! (#14)
Not only did I have a wonderful time at San Diego Comic Con this year, but I was able to cross off a list item! Specifically, #14 on my 101 list - see Penn & Teller.
They had a panel on Thursday right after the con at the Hilton Bayfront called "Penn + Teller: 35 Years of Magic & BS!" My friends Gary and Rick accompanied me (later joined by Brandon). By the time we arrived at the hotel, there was a really long line that went downstairs, outside, back upstairs, and into the hallway. We decided to take our chances anyway. They ended up cutting the line off about 30 people behind us and letting us go in after it started in pairs. So we got in and it was awesome!
I really enjoyed hearing them speak about how they started their act over three decades ago and telling stories of their random encounters since. They were both very intelligent, articulate, and entertaining.
After the panel, Rick and I waited in the lobby for the rest of our group which was apparently waiting outside the hotel for us. After a few minutes, Penn and Teller came out to the lobby to meet and greet their fans, so we decided to join in the meeting and greeting as well. They were both extremely nice and took time to meet every waiting fan, shake hands, sign whatever they had, and pose for pictures. As you can see, Penn was standing in front of some badly lit corporate art, making the resulting pictures kind of dark, but you get the point.
Observing The Observatory (#101)
Griffith Observatory
A couple weeks ago we spent a lovely afternoon at the Griffith Observatory with our friends. It was awesome! We estimated that our visit might take an hour or so and we ended up staying for three. There were so many fun exhibits like the Foucault Pendulum, touchable meteorites, and a place to check your weight on each planet in our solar system.
A highlight of the visit was the film hosted by Leonard Nimoy in The Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater. It's informative, hilarious, and highly worth watching. It's only about 24 minutes long and free, so check it out if you go.
Griffith Observatory
We tried the butternut squash soup in the Cafe at the End of the Universe (operated by Wolfgang Puck) which was excellent, but avoid the brownie! Weird texture and too bitter without enough sugar. It was a beautiful day in L.A. (although a bit smoggy), so we ate outside with a beautiful view of the Hollywood sign, downtown, and part of Griffith Park. It was so nice outside I ended up getting quite a sunburn on my arms!
My advice for people wanting to visit the observatory:
- Go on a weekday if possible.
- Arrive as early as possible (for parking and to avoid crowds).
- Plan at least a few hours to see everything.
- The cafe was alright, but choices were very limited. Bring a lunch or check Yelp to find a tasty nearby treat.
- Don't miss the film in The Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater.
- Don't forget your camera because the views are spectacular!
And with that, I can cross #101 off of my 101 list.
Recipe Organization (#98)
I've been playing around with different methods of organizing my recipes over the years and I've come to the conclusion that none of them work for me. At least not on their own. I've finally settled on what I think is the best solution for me - digital (mostly).
I started with my decade old laptop that I was saving because although it couldn't handle video or much beyond basic web surfing anymore, I knew I would have a use for it someday. Little did it know, that day had come!
George helped me mount in on the kitchen wall with a small rack from Lowe's that I believe was intended for shoes. I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure the hardware cost less than $5. Adding a wireless network adapter connected me to the internet and the rest of the computers in the house. I finished off my kitchen computer project by mapping my recipe folder from my regular computer and putting all of my favorite recipe bookmarks in Firefox.
Voila! Now I have access to all of my scanned recipes not to mention everything the web has to offer me. Of course it's nice to be able to turn on Pandora while I'm cooking, too. My new kitchen computer is far enough away from my stove and prep areas that I don't think it will suffer any collateral damage, but that is something to think about if pursuing a similar project.
I still have the original paper copies of most of my recipes which I use from time to time, but most of them are spotted with sauce, crusty with peanut butter, or blurry from water drips. I'm glad I scanned and saved them for endless digital use before their paper versions fall apart and become illegible. So I finally feel that I have found a good solution for my recipe organization and can cross #98 off of my 101 list.
Watching The Kings In Style (#72)
Not only did I just cross #72 off my 101 list, but I did it with style! George and I went to the Kings vs Coyotes game last night at Staples Center along with our friends Ben and Pete. We were lucky enough to get to use the CBS suite thanks to working with KROQ. It totally rocked! The view was awesome and the complimentary food was surprisingly delicious. Oh and the Kings won 3-2! It took an eight round shootout, but hey, a win is a win and a fun time was had by all.
I originally intended this list item to include taking George to an Ice Dogs game in Long Beach, but sadly, the Ice Dogs are no more. I still wouldn't mind attending another minor league game because the play is usually a little rougher and chance of fights is higher. (Don't pretend like you don't like watching a good fight break out on the ice!) I would also like to check out a non-LA game someday...maybe in Pittsburgh, Chicago, or wait for it...Vancouver (yes, I know I'm crazy, but that would be awesome!). Los Angeles is amazing, but we just don't provide the most enthusiastic crowd.
Pie Time! (#95)
I've always wanted to bake a pie from scratch, but it seemed like a complicated, time consuming undertaking. A couple weeks ago I had a wicked craving for pie, so I decided it was time to cross of #95 on my 101 list.
I didn't have any eggs on hand, so I decided to go for a vegan berry pie with ingredients I had on hand. I looked at dozens of pie crust recipes online and settled on this one (which I can't find the link to again)...
1.5 c flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
.5 c vegetable oil
2 tbls milk (I used Rice Dream)
Mix everything thoroughly; it will be a little crumbly, but trust me, it will work. Press the mixture into a pie tin (or whatever dish you are using) to form a nice solid crust. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Then add your filling.
For the filling I combined frozen mixed berries (thawed) with a little strawberry jam, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon. I topped the whole thing off with the left over crust mix and baked for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
Finally, I added a little freshly made, berry flavored whipped cream and the end result was far tastier than I thought it would be! I generally enjoy a nice flaky, buttery crust, but this was just as good, especially with the sweetness of the berries. You could also easily substitute Splenda to make this a sweet, delicious sugar free dessert. It totally fulfilled my pie craving, so I count this one as a complete success and look forward to more pie making adventures in the near future!
Legoriffic! (#18)
A couple days ago I finally got to take George to Legoland California, thus fulfilling #18 on my 101 list! I hadn't been since 1999 when it opened, so it was cool to visit again 10 years later. Also cool that it was near Halloween so there were Halloween decorations throughout the park adding a little extra Lego fun.
We didn't ride any rides, but spent the day taking pictures and drooling over the amazing creations that surrounded us. We also met up with our friend Gary and visited the Model Shop where he works. It was every Lego fans dream! Bins upon bins of every piece in every color you could want, right there at your fingertips. Definitely one of the coolest jobs I can think of.
With only an hour to spare, we hurried over to the new Sea-Life Aquarium. It was...an aquarium. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I think I was hoping for more Lego creations. There were actually lots of Lego people and things scattered about the place, but somehow it still just felt like an aquarium (and smelled like one, too!). They did have rice pudding in the cafe at the end, so that was a plus.
All in all, a wonderful day at Legoland made extra awesome by hanging out with Gary. Of course, since we didn't ride any rides there, we had to stop by Disneyland on the way home for the Haunted Mansion. Ok, we really stopped there to have dinner with our friends Scott, Kathy, and Lyla, but riding the Haunted Mansion was a bonus.
Check out more pics from Legoland on my Flickr!
Say Cheese! (#86)
I recently conquered #86 on my 101 list - visit a cheese shop. I've been meaning to do this one for quite some time, so it was a very satisfying trip.
It was lunchtime when we walked into the Artisan Cheese shop in Studio City. Once faced with a counter full of delicious and intimidating dairy products, I wasn't sure what direction to go. I opted for a five variety cheese plate and the very nice cheeseman said he could pick the cheeses for me if I wanted. After a brief discussion about my specific cheese likes/dislikes, I went off to find a beverage and settled on a tasty Virgil's Rootbeer. Soda in bottles always tastes better.
Several minutes later, a beautifully arranged cheese plate (or should I say slate) arrived. Cheeseman named and described each variety, but I only caught the pertinent details of each description. My favorite was a creamy cows milk cheese that had the consistency of brie, but a sweeter aftertaste. It paired especially well with the grapes in my opinion.
Second favorite was a firmer cows milk cheese that had a mild, almost nutty flavor. Third was the goats milk cheese, although, like most goats milk cheeses, it was very crumbly and messy for me to eat. The other two cheese were a swiss and a cheddar, both of which I thought were too...sour? I thought they left a bitter aftertaste, but they turned out to be George's favorites, so that worked out well. As you can see, we cleaned our cheese plate including most of the rinds.
This has been one of my favorite list items so far - fun and tasty! Really though, nothing beats a great cheese plate in my opinion. I can't wait for another cheese shop visit in the future!
One Trip, Two List Items (#43 & #92)
Stick It In Your Mouth #4 is up!
This was our visit to Pampas Grill at the Los Angeles Farmer's Market (#92 on my 101 list) for some Brazillian BBQ (#43). The Farmer's Market was awesome and filled with food of every kind. Of course it was also fun to look through the knick knack stores full of things like toys and stickers. Definitely looking forward to another visit!
Art (#71), Puppets (#62), & A Castle (#8)
It's been crazy busy and crazy fun around here ever since San Diego Comic Con. August was filled with out of town guests and September with travel. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
One of the best things about out of town guests is getting to do all the touristy type stuff you never do in your own city. For me, this included finally visiting the Getty (#71 on my 101 list). Really gorgeous gardens and of course, amazing collections of art. Even the architecture of the facility is fascinating not to mention the incredible views! Highly worth the trip if you're in the Los Angeles area.
Next stop on the 101 list was Hearst Castle (#8). I had been once before, but took a different tour this time and feel like I saw a lot more of what the property has to offer. The Neptune Pool was still my favorite, but the 
ornate entryway was amazing as were the dozens of ancient artifacts highlighted in the garden. We stayed to watch the IMAX film which illustrates how the property came to be and a little bit about who the man Randolph Hearst was. If you're going to bother driving the windy coastal road to visit this historic point of interest, you might as well stay for the movie!
To wind up the crazy busy Summer, George and I drove cross country to Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. I affectionately call this trip the September Trip of Awesome! This was our third cross country jaunt together and as always, it was great. We made it to Atlanta in two days and stayed with our awesome new friends John and Brandon who were most excellent hosts!
Dragon Con itself was super fun and insane! Some of the many highlights included the Comics & Pop Art Reception/toy release where we were able to meet and hang out with several October Toys forum members, dinner with friends (hi Roger & Tom!), excessive people/costume watching, and the Mad Scientist's Ball with giant Tesla coils playing music like the Mario Bros. theme and Airwolf. Best of all, we were able to relax and enjoy the company of artists and friends in a very laid back environment. A much more intimate experience than other conventions I've attended.
Finally, before leaving Atlanta, we had to sneak in a visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts (#62). I'm thrilled that we did because although the museum is small in size, the treasures inside were grand! Two rooms of Jim Henson's work included, among other things, Big Bird, a few Fraggles and Doozers, Emmet Otter, Sir Didymus, The Four Guards, one of the door knockers from Labyrinth, Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Rowlf, Ernie, and more.
The regular section of the museum had everything from creepy marionettes to more Henson creations like a full size Skeksis and two Pigs in Space! It was an informative and fun stop filled with interesting visuals and warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside. (I type that with wide, innocent eyes and a small smile.)
After the con, we drove up to New Jersey because...er...we wanted to! First stop was the infamous Dr. Kent's house. After a rather fruitful trip to the local toy shop, House of Fun, we filmed a Toy Break in his awesome toy cave. You think you have an amazing toy collection? You should see his handy work! Oh wait, you can at ToyBreak.com! Big huge thanks to John for taking a Toy Break with us!
Most of the rest of our time in the garden state was spent with our good friends Eric and Laura, talking toy talk and enjoying rice pudding. We also snuck in a visit with Kev and OG from Big Kev's Geek Stuff which included us getting to sit in on episode 162 and being introduced to Rita's Ice Custard Happiness - tasty!
The trek back home was filled with interesting stops including kick ass grilled cheese sandwiches with our friend Chris, a family visit followed by a trip to Toy2R US headquarters, and finally a stop at one of our favorite toy couples Slick & Mrs. McFavorite's house. It was such an amazing trip and our friends are so awesome that I considered just never coming home! I already miss the rainy Fall weather back east and very much look forward to my next visit!
Fangoria (#75)
Fangoria LA 2009
Herschell Gordon Lewis
I was just reviewing my 101 list and noticed that I forgot to cross off #75 - Go to Fangoria. We actually exhibited at the Los Angeles Fangoria back in April and had a blast! It's such a fun, laid back convention that I can't wait to go again.
We had the pleasure of sitting next to Herschell Gordon Lewis most of the weekend and chatting about life and movies. Definitely one of the best neighbors we've had at a convention. Star sightings and Little George pics included Lloyd Kaufman, Fred Williamson, Bill Moseley, a few others I can't remember off the top of my head.
I'm very much looking forward to the next LA Fango show and perhaps one day to check out an east coast Fango and/or Chiller. I hear those are pretty rad from several of my other coast friends. So many conventions, so little time!