TGIS (Thank God It’s Sunday)

Summer television used to be full of reruns, game shows and reality TV, now it is the Mecca of entertainment. Thank you True Blood, Mad Men, and Entourage. I am now a permanent part of my couch/futon on Sunday evenings. Sunday hasn't been this intriguing since the glory days of The Sopranos and Sex and the City.

Let’s recap.

True Blood

As many of you already know, I am a vampire enthusiast. I love True Blood. I have read all 9 Sookie Stackhouse books (reading # 10 right now). It’s the one show that actually is more inventive and entertaining than the books. This is a statement that I rarely make, being an avid reader and a true believer, that books trump movies/TV shows all the time. Although they have changed key parts in the book and accelerated some of the storylines, I am still pleased.

The decision to keep Lafayette alive, invent teenage vamp, Jessica, and add Sam's white trash family, improved the quality and fun of the show. I have one major complaint. It is TOO BLOODY. A little gore is expected and I do love those Ann Rice vampire tears, but come on. Vampires are not that messy. They enjoy drinking blood and would NEVER waste a drop. You would never see a vampire walk into a room with a face covered in blood. That being said, I hope the action and the storylines continue to surprise me this season.

Mad Men

Don Draper has come back in style for season four. He is now a single man struggling to get some lovin in the back of a cab with his blind date. Luckily for Don, he still has his hooker to slap him around on Thanksgiving. The show seems to have taken a turn back to the office, where we love Don the most. Although his little agency lacks a 2^nd floor he still has balls of steel. The way he kicked those clients out of his tableless conference room, when they refused to take a risk was classic. I know many a modern day ad man/woman, who would love to kick some prude-like clients to the curb.

Tonight’s opening scene was brilliantly written. I loved the fact that a one-legged guy from Ad Age interviewed Don. Betty continues to be a bad mother, despite being married to an old mamma’s boy. When did this even happen? Was the ink dry on her divorce? Why are they still living in Don’s house, while he is forced to live in some dingy apartment? Peggy has a new haircut and a fresh rebellious side. Pete is still smarmy and Roger remains king of the one-liners. It looks like it’s going to be a delicious season, even if Don Draper has to shine his own shoes.

Entourage

Entourage is in its 6^th season and to be completely honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to this one. I must say I am pleasantly surprised so far. I loved the show for the first two seasons but by the end of last season, I was finding the show tiresome. How much longer can we live vicariously through Vince and company? When you have seen one Hollywood party, it feels like you have seen them all.

Vince as a character has started to bore me. I may also be a little bias because the actor that plays him had a complicated friendship with one of my best friends. Prejudices aside, his character still runs a little b-flat these days. Refreshingly, this season has a wider focus. Between Turtle’s new business, Eric’s branching out to clients outside of the Vince Universe, and Ari being Ari, the series has taken a turn towards the funny again. With the spotlight shifting from Vince to his crew the series has a new life to it. I almost forgot to mention my all time favorite storyline, Drama coming to the realization that he is funny. Bravo Boys, Bravo.

Tales from a Marina Cafe

Squat & Gobble

2263 Chestnut Street (The Marina)

Tuesday 7/13/10 2-3 pm

Notes:

I set out to hoodmapp The Grove, notebook in hand but as I walk down Chestnut Street, I am overpowered by the smell of bacon. As I look up at the sign, I chuckle. Squat & Gobble had officially got my attention.

As I walk in and scan the room, guys in argyle sweaters and attractive girls with colorful tank tops surrounded me. The shoe apparel of choice seems to be flip-flops. I step up to the counter and order a side of extra crispy bacon and an ice tea.

Two college age girls sit across from me eating matching salads. They both are wearing colorful tank tops, one purple, one pink, and Diesel jeans.

I check in on foursquare and take note that Hank L. is the mayor here. I laugh as I spot him at the corner table. He is doing a bang-up job.

The matching salad girls talk about their boys. Purple tank top states loudly, “ I was like if he doesn’t want to make the time for me then, NEXT”! Pink tank top nods her head in agreement as she takes a huge bite of her Mexican Chicken Salad.

I pause and smile. Simple Minds, “Don’t You Forget About me,” the theme song from The Breakfast Club is playing. I think about John Hughes.

Three stereotypical Marina boys sit at the center table. They are wearing button-up shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. All three still have their sunglasses on even though the lighting in the café is dim. They are talking loudly about last night’s adventure. They seem fuzzy on some of the key details.

A girl enters. She looks like a young Kate Moss. The three Marina boys watch her strut to the counter. They whisper and laugh. I am glad I can’t hear what they are saying.

David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” is playing in the background.

An attractive athletic guy enters. Mid 30’s, skinny jeans, black t-shirt. He walks over towards Kate. He kisses her on the forehead. The three Marina boys turn back to their breakfast disappointed.

“Ohhh, wham bam thank you maam!”

The guy in the red hoodie next to me sits hunched over his Mac. He is working hard-core. Ear phones on, pen in mouth, typing away madly. His food sits next to him untouched. Looks like he is writing some kind of article. Papers spread wildly across the table. I imagine he is some kind of literary genius. Suddenly I feel like Bridget Jones. Could do worse. I love her.

Music changes. It’s Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf,” I love this place. I suddenly wonder what it’s like to smell like you sound?

As I scope out the place, I realize this is more of a social scene than work type place. The only two serious laptopers are red hoodie guy and a young blonde woman on the opposite side of the café. It’s like a type off or something. Every other table is full of two or more friends. I am the only solo person without a computer. Secretly observing them all. I suddenly feel kinda creepy.

Four college frat boy types rush past me. BU hats, khaki shorts, flip-flops. Am I the only person in this café besides the staff wearing sneakers? Must I be haunted by Boston everywhere I go? They order breakfast then thankfully head towards the garden patio.

Kate Moss gets up to go to the bathroom. The Boston boys swoon.

Madonna’s, “Who’s that girl,” starts playing. I marvel at the fact that the music playing in the café seems to be syncing up to what is going on around me. My timer goes off. My meter has run out. I leave a tip on the table and make a note to come back again for the music. The sunlight blinds me as I open the door to the café and wander out to the busy street.

Please check out our Hoodmapped blog to read more interesting café observations. If you would like to come and play with us please let me know. http://hoodmapped.com/

All About Me.mov

The 'Miami Thrice" is a lame name

Dear LeBron,

It has taken me nearly a day to recover from your BIG decision. I am obviously disappointed in your choice and the fact that you probably didn’t receive my first letter. Even though you claim your choice was based on winning, I still think it was wrong. I am however interested to see how it plays out in the coming season.

The biggest question I have is who is going to be the first to compromise? Who is going to give up shots? Wade or LeBron? As I stated in my last blog, Bosh complements either player. He is not the problem. The battle of the Miami egos will be an epic one. Everyone is “friends” now and eager to rule the East (which is kinda an easy task) but wait till these two rock stars are forced to take less shots and share the ball. Will these egomaniacs be satisfied with only 20 pts or less a night? Wade stated that they are "arguably the best trio ever to play the game of basketball.” I believe that to be a bit of an overstatement.

Btw LeBron, I found your hour special to be BORING! It would have been more entertaining if it had been more reality TV and less cheesy horror film. Not a nail biter at all. We all knew it was going to be Miami but hoped for a surprise ending anyway.

Check out this link to an article explaining why Miami will not win a ring. I am not sure I agree on NEVER but I liked the reasoning behind it.
 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/417883-miami-thrice-will-never-win-a-ring

NBA Reality TV - Starring LeBron James

As a self-proclaimed NBA fanatic, I have been pondering this LeBron situation since the announcement at the beginning of the week. Why would ESPN give King James a whole hour show, when all he really needs is a 15-minute press conference? What makes LeBron more newsworthy than Kobe or Michael? How many rings does he have?

Don’t get me wrong, I love LeBron as a player and recognize his GREATNESS but this whole social media circus; surrounding his decision has left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. With today’s social media outlets leaks and rumors are easily spread. Yesterday alone there were many confirmations from “credible” sources that LeBron was going to the Knicks and to Miami. My brother figured the reason he is making his statement from Greenwich, was that it was close to the Garden. I was thinking that if he were in fact leaving Cleveland, it would be a great idea not to be home, when the world finds out. While writing this blog post I did a Twitter search for LeBron. In the last 10 minutes, there have been 1,855 tweets. As an Egomaniac I know that he is relishing all this attention.

I wonder how this reality show will play out. Will they wait till the last minute like Dancing With the Stars or American Idol? At 5 till will they announce, “We will be right back with LeBron’s decision," and then cut to a LeBron commercial. Will he come back wearing the jersey of choice? I hope not but if he reveals his decision in the first 10 minutes, what will the rest of the program focus on?

I am about to ironically contradict myself and put my two cents in. Here is a letter to LeBron from yours truly.

Dear LeBron,

I know you have had a hard time making your decision. So hard in fact that you need a whole hour of our time to make the grand reveal. Here is what I think you should and shouldn’t do. Btw buddy word spell check hates your name.

No to Chicago buddy. You will have to give up your jersey there and honestly, Jordan is too much to live up to. You are amazing but you are not Michael.

A big fat NO to Miami. It sounds good in theory but you and Wade are not the sharing types. You like to get big points and so does he. Bosh complements you both but you guys are not TEAM players. Look at what happened with the 2003 Lakers all-star team, the year they had Shaq, Kobe, Malone, and Payton. They lost to Detroit.

No to staying in Cleveland. Mostly because if that is your decision, you have wasted our time with all this hype.

Finally a HUGE yes to the Knicks. Yes, I want him to choose the Knicks. As a longtime suffering New Yorker, coming from a family of Knick fans, the idea of King James at MSG is completely appealing. Part of me wants to boycott this self-indulgent media circus but like a horrible train wreck, I just can’t look away.

There have been so many great articles written about this subject in the last few days. Here is a link to one of my favorites.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/sports/09leading.html

Tales from a Haight Cafe...

People’s Café 6/29/10 1-2pm

1419 Haight Street
Notes:

As I enter I feel suddenly relaxed. Warm colors, an open but cozy vibe. I stand in line behind only a few people. Most of the tables are taken. I snap a quick photo making sure not to capture anyone’s face.

An attractive guy behind the counter wearing a bowler hat appears. I order a Philly Cheese Steak and an ice tea.

I grab one of the last available tables. Centrally located but not ideal for people watching.

I scan the room and am pleasantly surprised. I figured the place would be full of dreads and patchouli because of its location but am happy to discover all walks of life.

The tables are glass with coffee beans inside. Clever.

I am sitting next to a group of three young guys. They have known each other for years. They use familiar tones and body language. They even dress alike. Skinny jeans, t-shirts, chucks. They talk about fishing, wake boarding, and how they should quit smoking. The one closest to me smells like cloves. The clove smelling one starts telling a story. It involves the EPIC summer of 97 and Zephyr Cove in South Lake Tahoe. After the 3^rd “dude,” I tune out.

My sandwich arrives and it smells amazing. Full of onions.

The spots along the walls are reserved for the hard-core laptopers. The only places with plugs. Mac’s rule the space. Lined up. Silver-plated glistening in the sun.

The tables in the middle are more social. Lunch dates between friends and colleagues.

To the right a girl in her mid 20’s sits playing with her new iphone. Uggs, blue blazer, she looks like she’d rather be somewhere else.

One of the hard-core laptopers sits frustrated, head in hands. Writer’s block? He stands up, stretches, and orders more coffee.

The man next to him looks exactly like Ray Romano. He types with purpose on his Mac, as if each letter is telling a story.

Some guy is complaining loudly about how he got the wrong sandwich but it didn’t stop him from eating half of it. The attractive barista, (Nathan) isn’t phased. He just smiles and tells the difficult guy he will replace it.

Two young guys enter. More skinny jeans. They look hung over. They order and sit next to me. The EPIC boys have thankfully left. They talk about how great it is to finally be able to order the “hangover special.” I was right. I am curious. I go up to the counter and look around. It doesn’t take long to spot the sign. Hangover Special – 10oz steak & eggs served with hash browns and toast. $10.95

I sit back down and smirk.

Two locals enter. Nathan knows them by name. Tattoos, messenger bags, nose piercings, sunnies clipped to their jeans. They order off the Vegan Menu. They sit directly behind me.

I get up to use the bathroom. It reminds me of CBGB’s. All red with graffiti. Made me feel angry. Too much red.

When I sit back down I discover that the locals behind me are talking about Nazis. Not sure the context. Not sure I want to know.

The lunch rush is over. Can finally hear the music. Distracted by Vampire Weekend’s, “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance.”

I hear Nathan tell someone about the Happy Hour specials from 5-10 pm. Make a note to come back for it.

My phone buzzes. Words with Friends. I am now distracted. I take that as my cue to leave.

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