SHAKE THAT THING

Old school, baby.

FLASHDRIVE PARADISE

Start your nerdy Christmas shopping early with these obscure (who makes these?) flash drives that work for all occasions. Especially if you’re hungry.

Many more where that came from

ORIGINAL VIDEO / “DOWN THE HATCH”

You’ve never seen discarded takes from a Taco Bell commercial audition quite like this. There are small pleasures in working advertising sometimes. Found these today going through casting. Actors will do just about anything for a job. Anything.

A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU ALL…

364 days out of the year, you can celebrate it. Sounds good to me.

100 THINGS THAT MAKE L.A. GREAT…

Thanks Caroline on Crack, this really is an awesome (and delicious) list of where to go and what to eat and drink in Lala land.

1) Cocktail punch at the Radio Room in the Edison

2) Chili dog from Pink’s

3) Rattlesnake and rabbit with jalapeno at Wurstkuche

4) Korean short ribs taco from Kogi BBQ taco truck

5) Great Los Angeles Walk

6) Ajo Garlic Ramen at Ramenya

7) Sour Kraut Cocktail from Copa d’Oro

8) Red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles

9) Singing Elvis at Palms Thai

10) Churro from churro cart at Disneyland

11) Junk food dessert platter at Simon LA

12) Dessert tasting menu at Providence

13) Classic martini at Musso & Frank Grill

14) Roasted bone marrow at Church & State

15) Pedal boat at Echo Park Lake

16) Bowling and $4 cocktails at Shatto 39 Lanes

17) Kobe-style beef at Park’s BBQ

18) Mulholland Drive from 405 to 101

19) Medicina Latina at Malo

20) Father’s Office burger

21) Maple bacon doughnut at Nickel Diner

22) Mashti Malone’s lavender ice cream

23) Red Line Metro barhop

24) Live music at Spaceland

25) Magic Mojito at Bar Centro at the Bazaar by Jose Andres

26) Wine tour through San Antonio Winery

27) Sample everything at Scoops ice cream

28) Bike from Santa Monica to Hermosa Beach and back

29) Mochi from Mikawaya Little Tokyo

30) Broiled San Francisco stuffed French toast at Starling Diner

31) Mojito sampler jelly shots at Bar Nineteen12

32) High Tea at Royal/T

33) Pimp your own burger at the Counter in Santa Monica

34) Carne asada burrito from Tacos Tumbras A Tomas at Grand Central Market

35) Diddy Riese Chocolate Chip Cookies

36) Ride the mechanical bull at Saddle Ranch and have a premium SR AMF

37) Greyhound Proper at Hungry Cat

38) Blue cheese fries at Pete’s Cafe and Bar

39) L.A. Conservancy’s Historic Core walking tour

40) 21+ screenings at the ArcLight

41) Secret beef feast at Totoraku

42) Moonlight Rollerway

43) Bartender’s Choice at Comme Ca

44) Tomato, mozzarella, sausage, salami, bacon & guanciale pizza at Pizzeria Mozza

45) Ride the Pacific Ferris Wheel at Santa Monica Pier

46) Late-night Danger dogs

47) Bet on a horse at Santa Anita racetrack

48) Loco Moco (foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger) at Animal

49) Blood & Sand cocktail at Tiki Ti

50) Tea and a stroll through Huntington Gardens

51) Drive Sunset Boulevard from Echo Park to PCH in a convertible

52) Double chocolate croissant pudding with Jack Daniels sauce at Milk

53) Hike from Fern Dell Drive to Mt. Hollywood, stopping at Griffith Observatory

54) Meatball sandwich from Bay Cities Deli

55) Scorpion cocktail at Hop Louie

56) Magic Castle

57) Scoe’s No. 2 at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles

58) L.A. Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats

59) Philippe’s French Dip with hot mustard

60) Dim sum at Empress Pavilion in Chinatown

61) Remember the Maine at the Varnish

62) Omakase dinner at Urasawa

63) LA Phil concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall

64) Pool party at Standard Rooftop Bar

65) Quarter chicken with side of garlic sauce at Zankou Chicken

66) Goddess spa treatment at Olympic Spa

67) Vodbox at Nic’s Martini Lounge

68) Turkey dinner at Clifton’s Cafeteria, don’t forget the green jello

69) Los Angeles Marathon

70) Marty & Elayne at Dresden Room

71) Coleslaw and sourdough toast at Original Pantry

72) Real Black Dahlia Tour by Esotouric

73) Ninotchka at Bar Lubitsch

74) Stay in a bungalow at Chateau Marmont

75) Auntie Em’s Market dinner

76) Sunday wine tastings at Silverlake Wine

77) Grilled cheese night at Campanile

78) Power lunch at the Polo Lounge

79) Cadillac Margarita at El Cholo

80) Courtside at a Lakers game

81) Angel City Derby Girls Tournament

82) Box seats at Hollywood Bowl summer concert

83) Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium

84) Ride the Good Year blimp

85) Sip mojitos poolside at the Hotel Roosevelt’s Tropicana Bar

86) Ringside at Lucha VaVoom

87) Summer movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

88) History Walk from Mission San Gabriel to Olvera Street

89) Taro ice cream at Fosselman’s

90) Galco’s Soda Pop Shop

91) Apricot & Honey 75 at the Penthouse during sunset

92) Angel City Drive-In

93) Downtown Art Walk

94) Bonfire at Dockweiler Beach

95) Bingo at Hamburger Mary’s

96) Karaoke at Brass Monkey

97) Yee-Mee-Lu “blue drink” at Good Luck Bar

98) Sunset dinner and horseback riding with Sunset Ranch

99) American Food & Wine Festival

100) Hike to the top of Sandstone Peak and sign the register

Caroline’s blog page

SO BAD IT’S GOOD…AEROSMITH VIDEO EDITION

From 1990, this sort-of western features the guys behind a wire screen at a saloon where everyone fights in slow motion. And there’s a weird guy dancing around by himself playing accordion. Classic.

A Poem For A Late Funeral

YOU REALIZE

after seeing a
movie about roller derby girls
alone on a Monday night
that you may be wasting
your entire life doing
whatever it is you are
doing every day.

The police car
followed you down three whole
streets, a sleek painted shark
sliding around corners as
you nervously eyed them
in the mirror, heart chug-
chug-chugging.

You patiently,
painfully, waited for those lights
to come on, whirling like drops
of popsicle juice, but when you
turned another useless corner just
to see if they were still following
you, you saw they were gone

it’s just you
on a green-lawned, palm-treed
lane you have never seen before.
It’s midnight and you realize you
are probably wasting your life
by pleasing yourself the way
you do, sitting there,

those sweet tarts
melting effortlessly in your mouth
as people study for the bar exam
or master that Bach concerto or
repair an uncorked heart valve,
or shoot an insurgent.

It’s true! they
gave Ed Allen Poe a proper funeral
today in Baltimore. The desert sky
applauded his well-used days by turning
black. Tonight, we will have a storm.

MAKE IT RAIN…

If I had my own orchestra and enough microphones…I would do this all the time.

YOU KNOW YOU’RE FROM PHILLY IF…

While researching Philadelphia accents and customs for a Taco Bell campaign I was working on, we stumbled upon this from the blog Philly Future. Pretty funny.

You Know You’re From Philly If:

You punctuate every sentence with, “You know” at least twice.
You realize that your favorite dessert is “wooder ice”.
“Youse guys” is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.
You know how to spell AND pronounce Narberth, Bryn Mawr, Bryn Athyn, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, Conshohocken, and Monongahela.
You pronounce ACME “ACK-A-ME”.
You think that $2,500 a year for insurance on a 1977 Toyota Corolla is a bargain.
You call sprinkles on top of your ice cream cone “jimmies”.
You don’t think Wawa sounds funny.
You don’t go to the beach in New Jersey; you go “down the shore” (or, if you’re really from Philly, you go daunashoore). And, to be honest, we all know that the shore is the only good thing about Jersey.
You know where to find the Rocky statue.
You can make a cheese steak and you’ve never been taught.
You went to see the Liberty Bell for a class trip every, single year.
You know what and where “Boathouse Row” is.
You will buy a pretzel from anyone, anywhere without even thinking of where it was – or where his hands have been.
You don’t know what a sub is, but you think they are trying to describe an imitation hoagie.
You go to The Gallery or South Street in the summer time just to chill.
You refer to something as “a whole nother,” as in “That’s a whole nother issue.”
You can eat cold pizza (even for breakfast) and everyone you know does the same.
You know the difference between a cheese steak and a pizza steak, and know that you can’t get a really good one outside Philly.
You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.
You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.
You know what a “Mummer” is, and are disappointed if you can’t catch at least highlights of the parade.
You still keep kitty litter, starting fluid, de-icer, or a snowbrush in your trunk, even if you live in the South.
You know how to respond to the questions “Djeetyet?” and “Wid o widout?”
You say things like, “Outen the lights,” “I’m calling off today,” and “They’re calling for snow.”
You know that Yuengling is pronounced “Ying-ling,” and believe that it really is a premium beer.
So, for awla youse who don’t know about Philly, come on ova. We’ll pick you up at da Airport, jump on da Schuylkill (Skoo-kull), or maybe craws da Benny to go to Lantic Ciddy. We can catch an Iggles game and have some wooder ice, if ya want. And we’ll be shoore to take lotsa pitchers cuz Philly is bee-yood-ee-ful! So whaddaya figger? Wen youse comin’?

Philly Future Blog

GOLFER VS. ALLIGATOR…AND THE WINNER IS?

For some reason this makes me smile. From THE SPORTING NEWS:

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — Part of a man’s arm was bitten off by an alligator as he leaned to retrieve his golf ball at a private South Carolina course, officials said Friday.

The man, in his 70s, was bitten by a 10-foot alligator on Thursday afternoon at Ocean Creek Golf Course in Beaufort County. His name has not been released.

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