Wednesday, May 31, 2006

McDonald's Asian Delight

Their new Asian salad is prett damn good. Try it! here

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Christina in This Month's GQ

Sexy as ever my girl is on the cover. I haven't read the article yet, but I'm sure it's chock-full of X-tina greatness.



Pictures courtesy of GorillaMask

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Do Waiters Always Have To Swear So Much?

From the Onion by Edgar LeBlanc:

Is it me, or has the restaurant industry really started to slide in professionalism? I go out to a classy place, order a nice little steak, give the waitress a couple of slaps on the ass to get her moving, and all of a sudden I'm an f–ing a–hole and a motherf–ing jerk who should go to hell. Is this what I'm paying good money for?

Has our culture sunk so low that profanity has replaced common courtesy in dining out?

I'd like to shrug it off, but it's so prevalent these days I just can't ignore it.

I love to eat out. It relaxes me to look over the menu for an hour, hour and a half, asking specific, pointed questions about every ingredient of every dish. I feel discerning when sending back bottle after bottle of wine, spitting out my merlot in disgust, only to settle on the first one they brought to the table and ask why they bothered with that other swill in the first place. It's all part of the fine-dining experience.

What I don't like is the trend of waitresses talking like longshoremen, usually about a half hour into my meal. I snap my fingers, whistle as loud as I can, or, if that doesn't work, shout "Yo!" a dozen or so times just to get a properly folded napkin, and, once again, the cursing begins.

The thing that gets me is that they always start off sweet as pie, like you knew them your whole life. Greeting me warmly, asking if I would like a drink, what have you. But soon enough they stop chuckling at my witty remarks about their cleavage. They no longer smile when I keep asking them if they think it's funny that "faggot" means "cigarette" in Australia. And if they're black, forget about it! It's as if those people never heard a joke in their life.

Look, I can see a little foul language maybe at a Wendy's, but I hold a restaurant with real plants to a higher standard. When I express my displeasure with a dish by slowly letting it all fall out of my mouth into a large chewed-up mass on the table, I expect a little understanding and humility, not huffing and puffing and remarks about my questionable parentage.

I understand they're only human, and humans, especially women, make mistakes. But you know what? They have no right to take their personal hang-ups out on me. As professionals, and more important, in the name of common courtesy, they should leave their anger behind those swinging doors—and I tell them that.

You'd think a little reality check would put things in perspective for them, but no: When the main course arrives, they slam the plates down on my table and hot-foot it back to the kitchen. Then I have to go back to the kitchen myself to point out the five things I already found wrong with my entrée.

Then, invariably, their managers, the ones who are supposed to be setting an example, threaten to ban me with a profanity or two thrown in for good measure. It's unbelievable! I didn't make the mistake. I try to break the ice with a lighthearted quip, such as "Maybe a butter knife up your ass would change your mind. You're probably used to having things in there anyway."

But even these efforts at communication on my part are rarely successful. Apparently, in today's world, a civil tongue has gone the same way as respect for the customer.


Fuck guest service! haha


Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Really Quick Movie Review: Million Dollar Baby

I meant to watch it before. Someone told me a whole bunch of spoilers so I thought it wouldn't be good anymore. But I watched it anyways. I think I enjoyed it more cause I knew what everything was leading up to. It's REALLY good! After you watch it I'll tell you more. A

Friday, May 12, 2006

Quick Movie Review: Mission Impossible III

"There's an explosive in your head, " bad guy, Owen Davian says at the opening scene. From that point, I was sucked in to Ethan Hunt's world. At first I thought it would be hard to forget that Tom Cruise is starring in the movie. After seeing him overexposed in the press, flying airplanes, and chattin with Kanye West after pulling up in a semi-truck in Times Square, I thought it would be impossible to focus on the character and not see Tom. But the guy is a believable enough actor that you forget and just accept him as the role he's playing.


I knew Philip Seymour Hoffman would do fine as a bad guy. I don't think anyone that has seen Punch-Drunk Love would doubt that he could be a bad-ass. I would even say that he was crazier in the latter.


Yes, the movie is filled with slick graphics and explosions. Yes, it seems weird that an agent would go to those lengths to retrieve a device that he knows nothing about. What do you expect? What else do want from a popcorn summer hit like that? It delivers exactly what it says it will. B+

Reviews
Trailer

Monday, May 01, 2006

You Gotta Hear This: Tally Hall

The latest band in my You Gotta Hear This series is a cool-ass Michigan quintet. I first heard them on the O.C., but apparently they've been around for years. Their newest album, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Room, has been on constant rotation on my i dizzle.

"Good Day", is a tight-ass intro track. It has a funky beat, and it's really catchy. A great thing about the band is that they aren't one-sided or predictable. Every song sounds totally unique and unlike the others. "Haiku," is one of my favs. Really cool, low-key, real tight. Spring and a Storm has a cool bit where kids talk to Mr. Moon. Just one neg though, some of the songs start out weak. But the good thing is, if you make it into 30 seconds of any song, you won't be able to turn it off. Especially "Greener," it starts weak, but it gets real tight.

It's an awesome album. Highly recommend. Enjoy!


Tally Hall's Myspace