The door opened, the reindeer bell sounded, a one finger raise, the head nod, the pass by and then an eye lock staredown from unknown girl.  The face of every girl I've ever known raced through my mind.  All this in a matter of 10 seconds on the way to my seat at the counter at Kappo Honda, just trying to get some bacon wrapped glazed gobo with yakitori and mixed tempura.   

As I pulled out my chair to sit, it hit me.  All I could think was, "Oh no! That's a girl from one of those online sites that winked at or messaged me while I hit the ignore.  WEIRD.  Angelina and Billy Bob weird.  I know it, I'm pretty sure she knows it."  One empty seat seperates us at the yakitori bar. 

Awkwardness is my speciality.  I sip my hot tea, open up my magazine and chuckle to myself for the next 45 ticks of the clock.   

George Harrison's muse - turned around and almost hit the sitar - house in LA - going shooting with my co-workers - everyone in LA is so fake and is a waitress hoping to become an actress even though they'll never be one - can't stand those people - yeah, yeah - I'm all about - I totally know what you're talking about - Vegas feels dirty - my friend grew up in Vegas and the Strip is all they had - can you believe if that was where you had to live - yeah, yeah, totally...

It was a first date, the one I never had to go on.  Beyond obvious because the skinny, white guy with protruding alien forehead (with bushy brown eyebrows to match) was saying all these bold statements and she, Asian, big faced and curvy (would be the exaggeratingly nice way of saying it), was matching his bold statements with impressive definitive ones of her own.  Impressing each other it was not.  What it was was two people saying to each other, "We are on a first date/meet and greet and I don't care what gets said or if we don't go out again, what's most important is to show you that I can hold a damn impressive conversation on a first date."   

I wasn't on a first date, but it was like I was God, sitting on a floating pillow above them, watching it all unfold.  How would it feel to be on a date, knowing that the stranger sitting next to you is someone you also wanted to date?   Talk loud, on the off chance that the other guy can hear you too and wonder if he wants you. 

Of course it could've been all imagination.  I mean, I've never seen or talked to the girl, so how would I know that was her of all the hundreds of online profiles?  My mind loves to run wild.  Nevertheless, it made for an entertaining, unintentionally evesdropped evening. 

The next day I signed into my online dating account.  Clicked to "viewed your profile" history.  Crap, she checked my profile again... yesterday.  It was her.   Sometimes life gives you a table and a chair and you have to sit in it. 

Amy Winehouse already emailed to wish me a Happy Birthday!  Now I know it's gonna be a good day.   

Chateaux Lounge - Grand Opening Party (January 28, 2010)

I don't know the owner.  I don't know the DJ, the bartender or the waitress, but I got invited this "hip" new Orange County lounge's grand opening.  Free drinks, free food, and I get to invite my friends?  Not bad for a Thursday night. 

How do you make a free party a nightmare?  I get there at 6:45 p.m. with two girls (it started at 6:00 p.m., was still pretty empty inside) and the guy in charge of the red carpet line says, "Sorry sir, but we actually aren't allowing people in with jeans on."  WTF?  I had checked the invite and told him, "It didn't say no jeans, otherwise I wouldn't have gone home and changed to comfortable clothes (I had on a white button shirt and dressy casual shoes)."   He wasn't an asshole about it, just asked if I could comeback in dress pants.  There was no one in line.  It just sounded like they didn't know WTF they were doing and my guess is that after 30 minutes someone decided, "No jeans."   

It's ridiculous but laughable.  I don't live that far so I tell the girls to inside first and I go home and change.  I check the invite and it says, "After work or dressy casual attire."  In SoCal, everyone wears jeans to clubs.  I planned the night for my friends, so I wasn't gonna bail. 

I drive back 30 minutes later, bluff the parking attendant and tell him I already paid the $5 parking, since I was made to go back to change (the first time I snuck in the back entrance to the lot and didn't pay).  I get to the door, the door man sees me (there's still no one in line), recognizes me, says thanks, and hands me four drink tickets instead of two.   At least he was cool about that.  I don't think he made the jean rule, I think someone else switched it up on him and he had to follow rules. 

I get inside, am handed a glass of champagne and I see a few guys with jeans on.  I sit down at the couch my friends have procured and Sam says with a smirk, "Hey, there are people in here with jeans.  Haha..."  

Free Belvedre Martinis (Apple, Cranberry, Peach, Pear) or wine with your free drink tickets.  There were some BBQ wings and some mini lamb chops for food, at least that was all that was left by the time I was there.  

The place was crawling with high end OC cougars!  It was definitely a Newport Beach/Costa Mesa crowd.  Not too many Asians.   The restaurant lounge looks very nice inside.  Each section of the place was a little different but fit in the same theme.  We were considering leaving, but then at 8:30 p.m. we started dancing, had loads of fun and ended up staying until 10:30 p.m.  Hip-hop, Dance and 80's were on the ones and twos.   

Cousin Dede

Me & Chanrith

Sam getting Grandma Cougar attacked...  dude, she looks old! 

Kelly & Me

I'm Cougar Certified!

When we left the party, I got my Cougar Certification from Housewives of Orange County's Alexis Bellino!  Husband Jim, Alexis, and Me.  Though not my type of look, she looks hot in person, way better than she does in this picture.   

Classic Howie in fearless celeb picture mode didn't know who the heck she was!  I've never seen one episode of Housewives of OC (thank God!), but Chanrith was the one who identified her.  All I knew was that this lady was standing next to me at the bar earlier in the night.  

I ask her for a picture.  She says sure.  Hubbie Jim backs off.  

• Me: Hey, you gotta be in the pic too!
• Hubbie Jim: You sure?
• Me:  Totally... C'mon!
• Hubbie Jim (half joking, half serious):  Well, supposedly I am the jealous possesive husband.  Okay, then, hahaha. 

Later I find out from the girls that watch the show that he's super controlling!  Haha.  I guess he wasn't joking.  Good thing I asked him to be in the pic.  Now if it was Jessica Alba, I would've said, "Hey Cash, can you take couple of steps to the right?  Just me and Jess in this one."

Cousin Dede @ Irvine Improv - February 23, 2010

My cousin Denise Shue got to perform at the Improv last week!  It was her first time on such a big stage.  I'm proud of her. 

My friend from junior high, Lizzie visited from Washington DC over Chinese New Year's.  We've known each other over 20 years! 

I took her to Urth Cafe (the West Hollywood one is good for celeb spotting, we went to the Santa Monica one).  She remarked how everyone looked like they were dress so casual, but they weren't... "It looks totally trendy and hip, I could never keep up!"   That's what happens to people when they've been on the east coast for the past 10 years.  SoCal is all about looking casual, cool, like it's no effort, but it's a little more than that.  She must've missed the Los Angeles jean revolution of the past 7 years.  East Coasters always look more professional, but us Angelenos have this cool thing down, right? 

85 Degrees Bakery - Sweet Bread

Everyone already has heard way too much about this place, but this Saturday was the first time I've seen this sweet bread.  OMG, it's crack cocaine!  Toasted crunchy on the outside, fluffy and buttery on the inside, glazed with the slightest hint of lemon butter as a finisher, then sprinkled with powdered sugar.  $1.50 each, if you are lucky enough to find it on the shelf (if you've never been, the favorites always get snatched up in 10 minutes and then you have to wait two hours for them to make a new batch of what you just missed). 

Haven Gastropub

I finally tried Haven on lunch break last week... so good.  It's a British style pub in the Orange Circle that serves beer and... what else?  Pub food!   Debating between the truffle mac 'n cheese or the burger, I went with the burger, well done. 

Crisp, juicy patty, arugula, roasted red peppers, onions, and fries with homemade ketchup.  Next time I hafta try their desserts.  Candied Bacon Ice Cream...  Guinness Chocolate Cake (Guinness Cake, Guinness Ice Cream, with Irish Cream & Jameson Sauce)... How did I resist it all last time? 

Mr. Packing Police says, "Bunny Sex Is Not Allowed In Cubicals!"

This week we had to let go two employees for some email violation.  Not sure the exact details, but it wasn't for stealing client info, I think it was more along the lines of forwarding offensive jokes or an email trail of inappropriate comments on race, supervisors, etc.  They were two ladies in their 50s, one had been with the company for seven years, another 15. 

I went to help the IT guys pack up the cubes (my first time doing pack up duty) and holy smazzizle, this one lady had so much crap.  I opened the top shelf in her cube space and it was a frickin' bunny farm! 

There were about 50 bunnies all lined up.  Some standing, some sitting.  Stuffed, ceramic, plaster, wooden, glass, candle...  The shelf is four feet long and almost a foot and half deep.   It's a big shelf.  I thought I had a lot of stuff, but if you takeaway my Lakers cookie jar, all my stuff could fit in one box.  I just have cans of Chinese tea, food containers, food and candy, and a stack of pictures.  I wrapped all her ceramic bunnies in paper before boxing. 

The lady was also big so she brought her own big padded rolling chair from home.  It took three carts to wheel all her stuff down, about nine big boxes full.  Thank God she drove her van to work that day .  

Her real work only required a few binders of reference info on her desk and the rest was done online and mostly paperless.   The rest of her workspace she packed with food, bunnies, a million pictures and picture frames, licensing material from 20 years ago, a big fleece bunny blanket, 20 boxes of girl scout cookies.  I can see someone who has an office having a few boxes of stuff, having to pack up all their awards and reference books on the bookshelf, but a customer service rep?  

Anyhow, make it easy on yourself.  Check your cube today and clump all your personal items together in a couple of places.  Make sure all of it can fit in a couple of boxes.  I know you're not going to get fired or laid off, but save us packing police some work. 

Who Rules? 

I was explaining to my friend that one thing I think is wrong with society now (at least in the US), is that male/female roles are no longer defined.  As I went on to explain, instead hearing my opinion, she started defending everything, almost taking it as a personal attack.  She's my good friend, known her for 23 years, but it was weird.  I wasn't trying to convince her, I was just saying, this is what I think. 

"I like cheeseburgers with grilled onions." 

I'm not trying to convince you to eat cheeseburgers with grilled onions, I'm only telling you that I like them that way. 

Alas, talking about feminism and womanly powers can always be sore subject.  She went farther and dug into all the years of sexism and oppression.   I said, "Whoa, I fully understand that background, but that's not my point." 

What I was saying to her...

There are lots of things about religions that people have beef with, but one thing I agree with is how Christianity sets up the roles.  Part of the problem in America is that a man's and woman's roles are less defined.  The sexual revolution, the feminist movement, etc. have all brought about good things... like women having the opportunity to get equal education, almost equal pay, women being able to have careers and being independent.  I'm not against that.  But what I do think is that maybe, just maybe, some women miss the point.   I think that we don't always know what we need.  Like... maybe women want a man who can lead even if they don't know it.   

In Christianity, it is stated that a women should submit to her husband but I think that gets played out in the wrong way.  Yes, it says that, but it at the same time it says, "Husbands listen to your wives."  That means that all decisions for the family need to be made with consultation and consideration for all involved.  My friend got stuck on the word submit and went off on that.  If you've been fed years of the Bible, you know the context it's in.  It's like when a family decides to move.  Your father probably consulted your mom, and then one day he called you all into a room or said at the dinner table, "Kids, we are moving."  New job, bigger house, smaller house, etc., maybe your mom didn't want to move, but she went with it because she trusted your father's judgement. 

I said, "I think men should lead their families."  I don't mean that women can't.  I don't think all men are adequately equipped to lead and those that aren't shouldn't.  But society nowadays has blurred the lines so much, I feel that's part of why so many marriages are falling apart.  There are more divorces, more confused bi/gay kids, more single parent families... 

I had a few points that I didn't get the chance to define to her:

• In religion and life, the two are intermingled.  You want someone to lead, spiritually, physically, emotionally.  If you don't believe in any religion, then having a spiritual leader for the family won't matter to you.  I understand that.  
• I was trying to explain that sometimes we don't know what we want and maybe most women would like a strong, capable man leading their family, but they just don't know that or don't want to admit it.  That really got my friend going too.  My point is not that girls are ignorant and men should lead, it's that sometimes we don't know what we need.  I don't want to marry my mom, but as much as I hate it, I probably need some nagging once in awhile and when my future wife wife does it, she'll probably push me towards doing greater things.
• Yes women and gays were oppressed throughout history.  Sure some people are born gay... but I suspect a good number of people weren't born gay... they turned gay.  This is a whole 'nother bag of worms I don't want to get into right now.  She said, "See!  All the oppressed people get to be their true selves now, that's why the divorce rates are up and gay numbers are up."   I think the numbers would go up, but more than 50% of people divorce?  That's such a ridiculously high number. 
• Society is better when there are defined roles.  Whether it's matriarchal or patriarchal, either can work.  I've been to villages in China where women have the final say on everything and it works.  America's problem is that we say we want everything equal, except that mucks up the family model.

I feel that a family can work either way, with either the female or male as the leader.  Are men supposed to be leaders because of history, or is it because we are wired that way?  When a woman submits,  I don't mean their men dominate them, I don't mean that women serve their man's every need.  My friend says, "You compromise."  I said, "What if their is no compromise and you agree that there is disagreement, then what?"  Or does it depend on this situation?  If it's something to do with the baby, I might disagree, but I'll defer to my wife's decision, she's the leader in that category.   

I imagine this whole debate sounds a little sexist, but I'm not the type that wants to dominate my wife, nor do I want a pushover.  I just think nowadays sometimes we might not know what we want because the world around us is feeding us mixed messages and confusing us. 

What about dating? 

All women want to be chased.  Why?  Because they want a man to take control of his emotions, to know what he wants, to know that it's she that he wants.   Women then have the right to refusal.  What if tradition was the opposite, that women need to pursue while men wait it out?  Oh yeah, they already have that show, they call it "the Bachelor."  

Part of me wishes I went to Vassar College, a formerly all female school where the rate is now 60/40, girls over guys.  It's the guys who get asked out every night of the week.    That's one role reversal I could handle. 

1. Girls, how much do you want your men to lead?  Guys, how much do you want your wife to follow your lead?  Or do you prefer that the women lead the family? 
2. Are increasingly undefined/blurred male/female roles a main cause of divorce or is it something else?  (Let's exclude cheating, it's just given that there are going to be divorces from cheating) 
3. Are male/female roles even pertinent in today's society? 

P.S.  This whole conversation started because my friend was talking about her sister, who married a guy who was more passive, but now a few years into it it's becoming more of an issue because she's the breadwinner and he's the stay at home dad that mismanaged their investments.  Now he actually has to go out and find a job, a low paying one, just to help support.  She wishes he would have more drive and initiative.  

Paparazzi Shot of the Week

I think I'll start a paparazzi "shot of the week" column.  I don't see people every week or every month, but when I do I'll just post the entry with that title. 

Went to Lakers vs. Celtics game yesterday. 

Sitting in front of my section was Donnie Wahlberg.  Here's a picture of Ludacris.  Also in that corner was Usher Raymond, but I didn't get a pic of him.  I'm trying to figure out who the big guy in the white is.  He's at every game, in the corner, courtside and he knows all the rappers and R&B guys.  Others spotted... James Earl Jones, Larry David, and the regulars... Khloe Kardashian, Frank Robinson, Denzel Washington, and of course Jack. 

Shot of the Day

... goes to wife beater Chris Brown.  Bringin' back that 1990 style... Raiders hat, denim shirt, and diamond chain w/ earrings to match.   For much of the game he sat in the corner texting. 

My Toyota Recall 

I drive a 2007 Toyota Camry SE.  Let me detail all the repairs that I've had since I've bought the car... 

10k miles or less:

Driver's side chair squeaks because of loose bolts - Under warranty. 

Rear shock/strut bolt rattle because padding between washer and bolt was insufficient - Under warranty. 

28k miles or less:

Occasional rattle in my roof  - No fix, dealer unable to replicate. 

38k miles:

Rattle in my roof is more regular - Dealer wouldn't fix because out of warranty (36k mile warranty).  Currently the rattle occurs every time I hit a major bump or if the car does a dip coming off a driveway.  Sounds like it's a loose metal bar that wasn't screwed down properly.  Doesn't affect performance of anything, sunroof works fine.  Dealer offered to fix for $500 (not worth it in my opinion, item not repaired).

45k miles: 

Oil spurts everywhere out of my engine.  I refill all the oil and it does no good.  Oil leaks out and theres a little tinging sound from the engine.  Later I find out that's what they call "pinging."  Covered under powertrain warranty, dealer says they'll fix.  They order the part and get the wrong part.  Then they get the part they need but find they need more parts.  Each part order takes about 7-10 days to get the parts.  The $30 worth of parts is on national backorder.  I do some research and find out it's a known "oil tube" leak from the VVT-i line that affects RAV-4's and Avalon and Camry V6 engines.  Some owners report smoking engines/burning smells from the oil leaks.  Someone jokes that you should just keep driving it so the engine dies, which would force them to install a new engine. 

I find the TSB (Toyota Service Bulletin) online posted in a forum.  TSB's are fixit instructions for the mechanic.  That means it's known issue that Toyota is keeping hush-hush.  They provide me a free rental car for over month and the bill comes out to about $1200, all billed to Toyota, charged at the daily rate.  I get my car back and they did a wash, interior detail, engine steam clean and me and my friend examine the engine.  They resealed the engine.  That means they had to clean up some major mess. 

46,500 miles:

Power steering locks while making a normal right turn with my friends in the car on July 4.  I have to jerk the wheel hard to the left to unjam the steering so that we don't hit the curb.  I find my steering is fine, but the steering wheel doesn't return all the way to 12 o'clock after some right turns, instead stopping at 2 o'clock.  I take it to dealer again and they can't replicate. 

57k miles: 

I take my dealer this week to get my recall fixes.  Service manager says, "You have the trifecta!"  That means I need the brake pedal adjustment, they need to mod my floor/floor mat, and they sneak in a VVT-i update.  I later check the VVT-i update and it says hose replacement (same hose that caused my engine to furiously spurt oil).  Funny how now they decide to make this a recall item when people were reporting this years ago. 

I have them check the steering issue and dealer tells me I need a new rack and pinion because there's a hard spot which is causing the stick.  I say, "This is covered under warranty, right?"  He says, "Do you have extended warranty?  Because I don't think powertrain warranty covers rack and pinion."  He quotes me a price... $1400 (includes labor).  I look up the price online and it looks about right (online sites say anywhere from $1100-1800 for the fix).  The steering issue isn't unbearable, just a minor annoyance.  I will wait this out and fix when it's absolutely needed.

Dealer also lets me know that one of my bearings is rattling so he ordered a new bearing for me (covered under powertrain warranty). 

Does This Sound Like Quality?

My car is almost 4 years old.  I bought a first generation of the new Camry so there were gonna be some small annoyances like little rattles.  A fairly new car shouldn't have issues with it's power steering locking up nor should any car have oil shooting puddles out of it's engine.  Add that the dealer didn't want to fix my roof rattle because it was finally reproduceable in the shop 2k or 3k after warranty expires, I would think twice about buying a Toyota. 

Toyotas are smooth driving cars, probably one of the smoothest on the road for it's price range.  I like the interior panel, dash, console set up.  There are enough cup holders, plugs are easily accessible, enough room to put your keys, glasses and some gum.  Toyota's problem is that because they knew their cars drove smooth, they figured people would and should automatically translate that to reliablity, blaming chance instead of their own car.  They are slow to acknowledge and comp fixes on cars because they are cocky... Why?  Because their cars are built that good.  Now that all this news is coming out and America is conducting a full witchhunt, they decided to make all the little fixes official "recall" items even though they still can't pinpoint the problem of the big complaint... the acceleration issue.   They will announce as many recall items as they can... get all the bad news out there now, let the stock take the full hit, which will allow them to bottom out and work back up from there.

Toyota's cockiness is visible for all to see.   They had a slow response to this issue, when it was already making major news a year ago.  Even my oil tube issue should've been made a mandatory fix years ago.  The head of Toyota is reluctant to show his face at the February 24 congressional hearing (I think he will show, after seeing the public backlash at his commenting that he probably wouldn't show).   What else would you expect?  A delayed knee jerk reaction, just like everything else to this point.  

Who else out there drives a Toyota/Scion/Lexus?  Any issues with your car?

Operation:  Boob Reduction 

Boobs, boobs, boobs.  My friend went under the knife last week and got hers chopped down/reduced/smaller whatever you want to call it.   Everyone seems to want bigger or perkier boobs, but I now know one person who wanted the opposite.  

My friend isn't chunky, curvy or big boned.  She's a slender 5'7" girl with boobs that are probably "D" or "DD" size (Just a guess, I never checked the tag or came close to that).  She's very pretty and under 25 years of age.  Some people would die for that kind of set up. 

I haven't seen her since the surgery, she's out of commission for a week or so.  I don't know what she went down to.  If you could choose, what would be the perfect size for you to wear around?  B?  B+?  C?  Other?  She texted and told me after she got it done.  I know she had thought about it before but I didn't think she would actually do it.  Now she should be able to do things like jog! 

I remember talking about breast surgery with one of my girl friends.  Most girls have flashed a thought of a lift or an increase even if they don't need it, but reduction?  My girl friend said, "I think the reduction would be tough, it's so much more invasive and leaves way more scars.  If your friend is thinking about it, tell her to check out pictures of people who have done it, or tell her to ask past patients if they recommend it." 

Breast implants can leave scars, but usually you just get one set of scars right?  Either under the armpit, under the breast, through the stomach/belly button area, or through the nipple right?   In reduction I think they have to cut you up everywhere.  There's usually a big line scar down that cuts on top of or below your nipple, then they might have to go into your armpit and do some lift and or cut through there to reduce the excess skin, then they might also have to cut under the breast to remove skin there too.  

Personally, I don't care what size a person's breasts are.  Sure it would be nice to have some padding there, but if she's small, she's small.  If she's big, she's big.  If she's too big and she's having back pain, shoulder pain and headaches, I might not love the scarring, but I'd want her to be less burdened.  Then on the other hand, there are some people that want the biggest breasts in the world.  We all know how that works, there's no stopping them.

My female cousin used to always say to me, "Anything more than a handful is a waste."  They should put that in fortune cookies.  Then at least everyone at the table would get one.   

1. At what point/size would breasts be too big and too much hassle? 
2. What if you had no back pain and they were just big?   The doctor tells you will have very visible scarring if you go through with it... what is worse, being a little big, or having major scarring?  Would scarring deter you from getting reduction surgery?   

There Isn't Always Time For Goodbyes

There are only a few people that have known us our whole lives.  This weekend was all about that. 

On Tuesday my next door neighbor died.  He had weak lungs from smoking years ago, got work done on them last year, and told me he could feel the increased power and capacity in his lungs.  Then for the past couple of months had been in the hospital.  There are two families that have been on our street since the houses were built.  Ours and his. 

I'm not sure how old he was, 60 something, maybe 70.  Ehhh, it's just a neighbor.  How many of us know our neighbors?  But if you think about it, how many people have known you your whole life?  As you get older, that number dwindles.  Everyday he said "Good Morning" and "Hi" when he saw me go in and out of my car.  When I was a kid, I would swim in his backyard and watch him light the street on fire every 4th of July.  How many people say "Hi" to you everyday with a smile?  His funeral was Saturday.   

I didn't and couldn't attend the funeral and that really burned in me.  We traveled up to San Jose this weekend for my grandmother's 90th birthday party.  I haven't seen my grandma in years and she's starting to forget things, but she still remembers me and she kept on smiling when she saw me.  The first thing she said in Mandarin was, "You've gotten fatter (Ni pang la ee dian)." 

We booked a private room at Dynasty Seafood in Cupertino and the meal was beyond superb.  Dynasty Seafood is this huge Chinese restaurant that probably can hold 1,000 people.  One of the ladies in our party said she had been to three dinners in the past three weeks there celebrating New Year's and the food quality was the best on our night, which is saying a lot because that restaurant is perfect every night.  I was the third youngest person in the room.  The crowd was old.  When the dinner ended, I walked Grandma out and stood and held her hand for five minutes as she waited for my cousin to bring the car around. 

It's a hard weekend when you have to choose between celebrating two people that have known and taken care of you your whole life and you can't spend time with both, even when one dies.  It's not a matter of who's more important, sometimes you just can't be two places at once, no matter how hard you try. 

I miss reading blogs at work.   It used to help bring perspective to my day, either by bringing up thought provoking questions or just reminding me that there are fun and interesting things going on everywhere else outside of my cube.  If I respond during the day, I'm probably on my Droid. 

My department moved last week and I got put in a corner window cube.  About 1 in 4 people that have stopped by have remarked, "Wow, nice window cube!"  These are temp cubes while my office is doing a downsizing of the cubes on the other floor, I doubt my corner cube will last.  When we move in six months, they'll put in me in a closet.  It's alright, but it's not a big deal to me, there's nothing cool to see outside of my office, just a traffic light.  No stores, no people walking.  Who cares about a window cube.  10k more would be nicer.   

Movie Reviews

Priceless - Wow, I was totally surprised by this one.  I watched two man whore movies in the past week and this one was a gem.  A French rom-com that has charm, beautiful hotels, clothing, and scenery (French Riviera).  And one Audrey Tautou, she looked so cute and hot that I wanted to reach through my screen.  If you didn't think she was the next Audrey Hepburn before, you will now.   Watch this with your girl... she'll love it!

Spread - The other man whore movie I saw.  Anne Heche boob shot didn't turn me on, but the Ashton Kutcher going doggystyle sure did!  Just kidding.  This movie doesn't really have anything significant about it other than it being filmed at a nice house in LA and at a couple of sweet clubs.  I found it mindlessly entertaining.  Redbox rental approved!

Hurt Locker - So far my vote for Best Picture.  A story about IED techs in the military and the risks they face in the Middle East.  If I was a high school teacher and was teaching history, I'd show this movie.  (Darn, can't!  Rated R)

Avatar - Loved the 3D effects, story left more to be desired.  Last 40 minutes dragged a little. 

Prom Night (1980 version) - God, this movie sucked.   

The Other Man - This movie seemed off.  Liam Neeson and Antonio Banderas, something just didn't quite click.  The point is... your woman just might have a fantasy about getting with the apartment maintenance man in another country.  Or maybe the point is, you need engage your woman and let her know that she's still your beautiful woman and the charm of your life, or she'll seek that affirmation elsewhere. 

The Dead Girl - Eerie watching Brittany Murphy in this one.  The whole movie is pretty dark, but well made. 

Up In the Air - Very timely story about corporate downsizing in America.  George Clooney plays the outsourced downsizer who comes in to give a company's employees the severence package news.  This movie had my attention throughout.   The young girl that plays the new program implementer looks and acts like the internal auditors in my company.  East Coast or Mid-Westish, young and full of knowledge, comes in with guns blazing but has no idea how our business is run.  

Broken Embraces - Pedro Almovodar movie starring Penelope Cruz.  Worth watching, but I wasn't as impressed as the other reviews for it were.  Everything just doesn't fit smoothly enough to be a great film, but it's numerous oddities make it somewhat charming. 

Lorna's Silence - Bleak movie that is masterful in leaving you with that bleak feel that the character feels but not an enjoyable film to watch.  Critics loved it, me not so much.

Old School - Yeah, I'm behind on my movies.  So fun to watch. 

Catch Me If You Can - I told you I was behind on my movies!  Leo's character sounds like something I would do... for the fun of it. 

Adventureland - A coming of age story where Jesse Eisenberg is a new college grad that seems like he's playing Michael Cera, except Michael Cera isn't in this movie.  Kristen Stewart is the love interest, but then so is the scorching Margarita Levieva.  For all of those awkward dorks out there like me... we have hope!  I loved this movie. 

Battlestar Galactica (Seasons 1 & 2) - I'm behind on my TV shows too.  I know sci fi sounds nerdy, but this is one deep show.  It's character and principle driven.  It makes you question religion and spirituality and love. I think if any of you start watching it, you'd get sucked in (yes, girls too).  Guest appearances by Xena and Dana Delaney along with all their regular cast eye candy...    I think it's probably one of the best shows ever made and I don't say that lightly.