Haines His Way

So far tonight I have answered the phone 3 times (there were 7 new calls on the phone when I got home from work).  It was the ACLU doing a fundraiser (stupid timing) Friends of the Earth endorsing John Edwards, and the Richardson campaign calling to see if I was still with them. I told them if he needs me to be viable I'll do it, but I'm not sure if I really will

Back from a meeting.  Food had been brought in from Artie's Deli.  The blintzes were especially dazzling.

But then, for the trip home, it was coooooold.

I'm watching "The Making of Sweeney Todd" the movie on HBO

Good Evening!

I'm back from dinner with my friend, Michael.  -Not that Michael.  He was interested in checking out Koreatown, so we headed on down to 32nd Street.  I had been wanting to head back to Restaurant Forte Baden Baden for a while, so I took him there.  It's a Korean hof, and they specialize in beer and fried chicken.  Yes, I had had fried chicken yesterday at Fred and Skip's place, but this is a different type of fried chicken.    They deep-fry rotisserie chickens!

We splurged, and got a large serving (a whole bird).  It comes with some deep-fried garlic cloves, and french fries or onions rings, along with a small side of chunks of pickled daikon radish - all for $18.95!  -We went ahead and got 1/2 fries, 1/2 onion rings.  (Next time, we'll just stick to the the fries.)  It was quite a good meal, and Michael was "thankful" that I had shown him another "food find".

After leaving the restaurant, we popped in across the street to check out the Korean supermarket, Hah Na Reum*, as well as Koryodang*, the Korean bakery and cafe.

Then it was over to Macy's... Michael had never been down to The Cellar, and did not realize that there was a restaurant in the store.  While browsing, we came across a whole slew of Christmas candy and other treats on clearance - 70% off!  I was tempted to by some Frangos, but, thankfully, resisted.

Oh, and before dinner, we stopped into the new location of Kinokuniya*, the Japanese bookstore.  They're in the process of closing down the location at Rockefeller Center, but this new location which right across from Bryant Park, is up and running, and very "open".  The selection of Japanese books, magazines, craft materials and stationery is still amazing, and they now have a small cafe on the second floor.

*You may need Korean and Japanese language support for these sites to load properly.  

I picked up a copy of January's issue of "Vanity Fair" for my reading material on the plane yesterday morning, and actually ended up reading it basically from cover to cover during the flight.  The cover story on Katherine Heigl is quite good, and the accompanying photos are stunning and glamorous.  And there's also a nice feature on Angie Dickinson.  And...

This month's Vanities column had me literally laughing out loud.  In the Alternate-Reality Gift Guide, there's a great "review" of "The Criterion Collection release of "High School Musical: The Box Set".

A serendipitous pas de deux at a New Year's Eve ski-trip karaoke contest ignites an inextinguishable romance between a coach's wayward son (the irrepressible Zac Efron) and a bewitching transfer student (the incandescent Vanessa Hudgens)...

A textbook on the art of filmmaking, the High School Musica box set brings together, for the first time, Kenny Ortega's groundbreaking original with his trailblazing sequel.  These landmark documents overflow with  breathtaking mise-en-scene and trenchant social commentary --collectively forming a daringly anarchic meditation on life, love, high school, musicals and the Cold War.

And among the Special Features:

-Audio commentary from the Disney Channel Marketing team.

-A lock of Zac Efron's hair.

Plus - An essay by Peter Bogdanovich.

My heart wasn't really into watching more ROB & BIG when I went back down, so I watched the first three BONES episodes from Season 2. Much better entertainment undoubtedly.

I watched some of the bonus features, too. Some deleted scenes (Rob goes to an acupuncturist to ease the pain in a strained ankle). A tribute to their latest addition to the family - a mini-horse. A tribute to Big's crazy uncle. Sheesh!

The second was a much more intriguing case but there wasn't much courtroom material. Roache was in a lot of the episode but not in court. That was shaking up the old routine, too.

PROJECT RUNWAY SPOILER
















Watching them make clothes out of Hershey's stuff, I really got a craving for chocolate, but as luck had it, the only chocolate in the house was the Godiva that Larry brought yesterday.  

You're welcome, DR FJL.


*Oh, and since I didn't have any chocolate, I went ahead and had ice cream instead.  

Guess I'll write for a bit now and then head down for bed.

Good night!

I made stir fry for dinner

My Grandmother Read murder at Hollywood High and Loved it! She said she wants to go with me to eat at Mel's Diner now because she hasn't had it in ages.

But Ron, you just flew from there!

Home is where my HDTV and DVDs are!