Am too tired from the weekend,

to cook anything up today.

Today's Song: How To Save A Life, The Fray.

* RETRACTION *

In May, I stated that the faux-hawk was dead.

I was wrong. To wit, David Beckham photographed yesterday:



Sorry.

Pop!

Strangely satisfying. Manic mode is the best. Thanks aunt.

Last night, I saw the World Series of Pop Culture on Vh1. I hadn't seen it before. First, I was surprised (not really) about how many answers I knew; second, I was depressed by the looks of the contestants. They looked like they'd been sitting in front of a television set since kindergarten. So what does that say about me? Oi.

On that note, vt started me watching Project Runway this season. I think the producers are keeping Angela on the show because she is controversial. I wonder who is getting kicked off the show next week?

Today's Song: Internet Relationships (Are Not Real Relationships), MC Lars

The Original Flat

One short block from Oxford Street, two from Bond Street tube, around the corner from Selfridges, next door to Wagamama, and a quick walk to Hyde Park.

sigh

Some Shakins

Radiohead. I have no connection with this band, but I feel I need to due to cultural pressure. Their songs aren't available on iTunes. I don't know why. The only Radiohead song I have on my iPod is "Idiotechque". Any other recommendations?

I have a new grown-up bedroom set. I can't believe how it transformed the look of my room and, I hope, my attitude about my flat in general. I moved it in and set it up last night. While my power was out. The power was out in the Avenues for at least 6 hours. The Avenues were completely black. Aesthetically it was pleasing, practically, however, it was a pain in the ass.

Speaking of power outtage, I never cease to amaze myself with my stupidity. Without power, it's like a rediscovery of all things electric for me. "The cable is out?! Does the water work? The refrigerator is off? No computer? I'll just plug in a fan." Dip shit.

Is it possible to be a half size in belts? Mens' belts come in standard even sizes: 30", 32", etc. My pants are generally loose, so I require a belt. However, I am finding that my belt is either too loose or too tight with my pants. It's like a need a hole in between the existing holes. I need to hear that someone else has this problem.

When I bought my MINI a few years ago, without exception when I drove by another MINI on the road, the other driver would wave. At first it was unnerving, but then got used to it. I have noticed though that the new wave of MINI owners do not wave. In fact, they appear to be quite bitchy and well, smug. They belong in PT Cruisers, I think.

I can't believe Lance Bass and Haylie Duff are dating.

Todays Song: Publish My Love, Rogue Wave (my song); Two of Hearts, Stacy Q (Einstein's song)

Prego!

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful. You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

I think these quizzes are bullshit, but kind of fun nonetheless. My answers were all over the board. I attribute my Italian-ness to my two food choices. Post your inner-European in the comments.

Be advised: Those are not my legs in the photo. Nice boots though. Probably Italian.

Running From the Past

I spent most of the 90's running with a Sony Walkman strapped around my waist. The neoprene carrier looked like a bad belt, but it held the Walkman pretty well. All of my Walkmans were cassette tape players. I never upgraded to the cd player. And I preferred to run to tapes rather than radio, so I couldn't use the arm band that held the much smaller fm only Walkmans. Between 1993 and 2000, I went through probably 4 Walkmans and 6 neoprene belts. I cannot even guess how many running tapes I made. But there were many. I still have most of them, but haven't listened to them in years - who listens to tapes anymore?! In 2000, I moved up to a Sony mini-disc player, and that was replaced in 2004 by an iPod mini. And now it is time to upgrade to this. To look at that, and then remember my Walkman, neoprene belt, and mix tapes - well, I can now picture myself telling "old timer" stories. "When I started running, we didn't have shoes. We ran barefoot. And music? You were lucky if you could sing a song to yourself while you ran. The wind was always blowing, skies were snowing . . . " You get the idea. I never imagined back then that my shoes, Ironman watch, clothes, and music player would eventually be interconnected. Wow.

As for this? I don't understand. At. All.

New feature is "Song of the Day." Today's Song: Roam, B-52's.

OC/LA Weekend 2

I spent another weekend in Southern California. Highlights included a day at the beach, dinner at Cheesecake Factory, a visits to Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza and unusually good dinner at the PF Changs. I suspect the latter had to do with "free pour" drinks from a great bartender. I ordered a vodka martini on the rocks for my date. I watched the bartender fill a 10 ounce glass with ice and then pour Ketel One over the ice. Voila - dinner was served.

In the womens' shoe department at the South Coast Nordstrom, I snapped this picture of a 3 year old boy trying on a pair of shoes. First his mother tried on a pair of shoes and walked over to look in the mirror, then the boy waddled over, got in front of her and admired himself. The shoes were thongs with clear straps and a glittered red heart in the middle and glittered red sole.






At the Barneys outlet, a woman asked the retail clerk whether a particular purse was leather. The retail clerk said, "I don't think it is leather." "Must be plastic then," she said. "Weellllllll, not plastic, vinyl," the clerk corrected. "Tomato tomato potato potato," I said.

It has come to my attention that some of my readers are not familiar with American Apparel. I love the brand. Check it out here.

I haven't spent a day at a pool in nearly three weeks. There's a problem there.

On these hot days, may I recommend a venti iced lighly sweetened Passion tea? Everyone I offered it to this weekend loved it. Also, I find that a venti iced americano is just as good, if not better, than a grande nonfat extra foam latte in the summer months.

There's A Port on a Western Bay

I went to Port O Call last night. For most of my twenties, I loathed Port O Call. I thought it a terrible place. But the past couple of years, I've come to appreciate the place. It's more than just a "meat market." The jukebox can't be beat, the Golden Tee Live is awesome, and last night they offered $1 drafts and karaoke with a live band. AND there was a group of scrapbookers (in town for a Stampin' Up convention) in attendance, so that was nice.

Here are some picture highlights from last nights visit.

There were plenty of hot sluts to be had:



But strangely enough, they all wanted to get on this guy. I guess it was because he was working the pink mock-turtleneck with short sleeves pretty damn hard.



That is one hot look. Seriously though, mock mock - who's there - me and my pink short-sleeved mock turtleneck!

Shame On You.

You know the "Shame on You!" "Labor Dispute!" people? They stand outside offices with a big sign that bears the aforementioned language together with a company's name on it? Well, they've been in front of my building for, oh, at least a month. I don't know what the company did to give rise to the labor dispute, but I am amazed at the persistence of these people. They are up and at it everyday by 8:30am and they stand in front of the building with their giant sign until the close of business. Every. Day. Except weekends, of course. I thought this was a local Utah labor group that came up with this idea - I've seen signs in front of several businesses in downtown SLC. However, I actually saw similar demonstrations - with the same signs - in California. It reminded me of the time I was walking to court a few years ago and a man approached me with an empty gas can claiming he needed money to buy gas so that he could get back on the road toward Idaho or Nevada or something. I kept on walking. But then the next day, another man came up to me on the street - also with a gas can - and piched the same line. I wondered if there is a panhandler's newsletter or forum where they offer new techniques to obtain money. For example, "Bill W. from Atlanta suggests carrying around a basket of laundry and requesting money to use a nearby laundromat. He reports that he's brought in up to $55 per day with that scheme."

Also, have you seen the new McDonalds' billboards advertising McDonalds as: "The After After Party". I suppose McDonalds lost some of its late-night drunkard marketing share to Taco Bell and it is nice to see them getting back in the game. Now, if only they delivered - they could capture some of the pizza share.

My Name is Justin, And I Am Addicted to the Sun.

Hi Justin.

In April I went to Hawaii. After that, I had weekends at various pools. Then a trip to Las Vegas. Then a trip to Cancun. Then a trip to Laguna Beach. That's alot of sun exposure. And apparently my skin is too brown. I know this because today at lunch, I ran into three different people I know, and each one commented on my skin color. That tells me I've hit George Hamilton territory. I know that isn't good.

I do all the things: I wear hats. I slather on sunscreen (30spf on my face, and 8spf everywhere else). Okay, I guess those are the only things I do. I do not stay out of the sun during peak hours nor do I sit in shade. I also don't necessarily wear "cover up" clothing. So I guess that isn't good either.

The thing is when I look in the mirror I don't see a problem. Which reminds me of a poster I saw when I was in high school about eating disorders. Someone created a picture of Princess Diana looking in a mirror and seeing a morbidly obese person reflected. I thought that quite funny at the time. But I guess maybe I have that problem with respect to sun exposure.

So I'm admitting my problem. Now I need to find a support group.

However, I will point out that there are many studies that show sun exposure elevates mood. So maybe I am addicted to the elevated mood.

Irregardless, I am looking forward to flying back down to the OC again this weekend. Old habits die hard.

I Miss California.

I've only been back from California for a few hours and already I miss it. I had a great time. For those interested in Trip Details, please see below:

Souvenirs: John Varvatos Jack Purcell's, Carthusia Io Capri, Italian toothpaste, Kiehls products, swimsuit and shorts from Zara, Debbie Does Dallas iron-on t-shirt, Eggling, swaying flower cube, Oliver Peeples spectacles, Molton Brown shampoo, Acqua di Parma Colonia Assolou. EDIT: Shirt photo:



Restaurants visited: In N Out (3 meals); Z Tejas (Z Stick Rita illegal in Utah); Wahoo's; Daily Grill; Cheesecake Factory; The Loft at the Montage Resort; lobby bar at Ritz Carlton Laguna Nigel. EDIT: Taking time to smell the lillies at Ritz Carlton (there were at least a dozen bouquets like this one):



Celebrity Sightings: Two. Marcia Cross at Beverly Hills Hotel and the woman [EDIT: Embeth Davitz] that played Mark Darcy's "Natasha" in Bridget Jones' Diary at the Montage.

Number of times I nearly died while body surfing at Crescent Bay in the biggest waves I've ever encountered: 4!

Number of hours spent driving in the scorching So Cal sun with the convertible top down: 36.

Number of hours spent driving with the top up: 45 minutes.

Finally, I think I am a new master of the So. California freeways. I went from Long Beach Airport to Ontario Airport to Laguna to Newport Beach to Costa Mesa back to Ontario over to Hollywood and Beverly Hills and back down to long beach like a seasoned California commuter. Having a convertible helped. Also, a glove box full of quarters also helped - the toll roads were the way to go.

California Here We Come . . .

Right Back Where We Started From . . . California . . .

This afternoon I fly down to Newport to hang out with Kirsten, Sandy, Seth, Summer, Ryan, Julie, but sadly not the recently deceased Marissa. Actually, I'm attending the Bar Convention. Attorneys, not booze. Though the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I'll be gone the rest of the week. My mind is already on vacation. So I will leave you with some pictures.

This first picture I took at Pat O'Brien's in Cancun. Pat O'Brien's is a legendary New Orleans bar. Home of the Hurricane. I've had a hurricane at the New Orleans location, the Orlando location, and the Cancun location. At the Cancun shop, they had a three-foot tall hurricane display. I couldn't help but wonder how many drunk tourists actually took a sip from it. I didn't; I'm sure it is just colored water. It does look dee-lish-us though, doesn't it:



This second picture is rather embarrassing. It was taken on the Fourth of July at a parade in Kaysville, Utah. At this parade, the people on the floats throw candy at the spectators (generally salt water taffy), but one float went above and beyond and threw stuffed animals, dvds, toys, shirts, and the like. Here I am fighting with kids - yes, kids - to get that crap. Mind you, it wasn't for myself, but for my little friends Ava and Jenna. Unfortunately, you will see, that no other adult is helping their kids. No they let the kids fight it out with the other kids. I was oblivious to my adulthood and got right smack dab in the middle of the kids and caught whatever I could. In hindsight, perhaps it was a little insensitive of me. Irregardless, Ava and Jenna had bags full of candy and toys at the end. And I'm sure the little boys next to me didn't fare too badly either - even without the benefit of my superior eye/hand coordination.



Note how those kids don't have a chance of getting that red teddy bear. I was all over it. And it went straight into Ava's bag. She is at the bottom of the picture (wearing my sunglasses, no less).

Random Thoughts . . .

Have you seen the new Vanity Fair cover? I don't buy Hillary Swank as a pin-up girl. And speaking of Hillary, I wish they would disclose exactly which substance Chad Lowe abused. I know it's none of my business, but I would like to know.

I also like Jessica Simpson's new single "A Public Affair." Go ahead and judge me.

Waterparks should be required to have stereo systems blasting 80's and Top 40 music. REQUIRED. Swimming pools too.

I just looked through the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale catalog. I hope you women don't buy into the looks they are showing. It's all Sienna Miller inspired boho crap. No offense.

Today's Song: "Foolish Heart" by Steve Perry.

I watched Cinderella Man last night. I fear that Renee Zellweger, in real life, looks more like her character in that movie than, say, Bridget Jones. I may not be crushing on her anymore. She's all chimpmunk cheeks. And I wonder, did Russell Crowe really not get nominated for an Oscar for Cinderella Man because of the phone throwing incident? (Also, I saw LA Confidential on Sunday - so I guess it is "Russell Crowe Week" at my house.)

I just noticed the 24th of July is a Monday this year. That's good news as I thought it was to be an orphan holiday like the 4th of July.

That's all.

Pool Rules

The pool area at the Cancun resort had some key rules:

First rule:



I was pretty clear on this one.

Second rule:



This one was less clear, but I'm pretty sure I didn't break it.

Third rule:

The ubiquitous "No Running." This one, well, let's just say I had a problem with it and suffered the consequences. See below. The consequences included scraped up face, cut inner lip, and a wheelchair ride to my room. I wasn't happy about the wheelchair and refused to use it. The safety people pleaded, "Senor, please." I wasn't receptive, "I'm not getting in that." Again, the safety people insisted, "But senor, you are eenjured." I stayed strong, "I don't need it, I'm fine." They couldn't be dissuaded, "Seeeennnnnnoooooorrrrrrr, pleeeaaaasssseeeee." I gave in, "Alright fine, but I'm driving."



I went to a pharmacy to get vitamin E and bandaids for my wounds. If you aren't familiar with Mexican pharmacies, they operate a little differently than U.S. pharmacies. Certain medications are available without a prescription. To wit, I requested vitamin E, the pharmacist replied, "Sure, may I offer you some vicodin, percodan, xanax also?" Bienvenido a Mexico, indeed.

Too Hot

too Hot Lady, gotta run for shelter, gotta run for shade.

Note: The link is appropriate for workplace viewing.

Candy for the eyes and ears.

I loved this commercial. I think I need the tv advertised.

For tech-savvy music lovers, this blog is great. You can search for songs you want to download, and the site will direct you to blogs where the songs are posted for download.

And finally, one of my favourite Cancun photographs:

My apologies

for making you look at the foot for nearly two weeks. I should point out that at some point during the flight, the sock came off and he wore his sandals properly. I even took a picture to document the metamorphosis, however I took the picture with my phone and my phone was subsequently lost/stolen in Mexico. So that picture is gone forever. Along with a few other key photographs from my trip to Cancun that were stored in the phone.

My SLVR glory days are temporarily gone and I am back to my v551. Too much tech talk.

I had been so good about not losing things for so long that losing the phone in Mexico was a real heartbreaker.

Lesson learned the hardway: if you leave your phone in a bar in Mexico, you will not see it again. Even if it is only left behind for a few short minutes.

So to recap: Items I have lost within the last two years:

iPod Mini
Teno cuff
Silver and rubber bracelet acquired in Ios, Greece

Actually, I am going to cut this list short because it is so depressing.

Items that were nearly or temporarily lost, but subsequently recovered:

iPod Mini
Sunglasses
Pool chair (inflatable)
Cell phone(s)
Coat(s)

I think I will cut that list short as well because it really isn't making me look any better.

I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July.