Farmer's Market

To Alexis's incomparable delight, Duma came to LA for a visit. My planned breakfast spot, Hugo's, had a 30 minute wait, so we ventured to the Melrose Farmer's Market to make our own breakfast. Here are Duma and Alexis buying blood oranges.



These strawberries were as sweet as they were red.



Red, white and PURPLE potatoes.

Friday Night Sushi

As I have mentioned, the weekly routine is Friday night tennis with Jason and for the past few weeks, with the extra bonus of Alexis while she is on the West Coast. We are both getting pretty good at tennis, even through all the laughing we do at each other's moves. Last week, ZERO balls over the fence!

Off the courts, Alexis and I had a competition in the car to see who could find a close sushi spot fastest using her iPhone and my car's navigation. Alexis won by a landslide because the iPhone gives reviews and info, while my car simply lists nearby sushi spots. Yet another reason to get an iPhone.

If there was any doubt about our selection, the awning at Kikokawa said "natural and organic" sushi, so we were sold. Although the magical and unique aspect of this sushi spot is its live food, we ordered more standard items. Here's chef and owner, Satoshi, firing up our yellowtail and jalepeno.



For me, what really makes this a stand-out spot is the quality of the food. The ginger is picked in-house. The wasabi is made in front of your eyes. And the fish was sublime. I'm also a sucker for creativity and silliness. Check out our Dragon Roll. Love the edamame eyes!

More Music

Ever wonder what music is popular around the world? Here are the top 5 albums in the UK, France and Spain with links a popular song on each album. And you can even compare them with the US chart too, also below. Sade is killing it! I would have added Japan, but Kumi Koda and Kaela Kimura (who? who?) both have two albums in the top 4 slots. Stars have been added to my faves, but my ultimate #1 song is at the bottom.

United Kingdom
1. Alicia Keys -- The Element of Freedom -- Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart
2. Andre Rieu -- Forever Vienna -- Violin song not actually on this album
3. Paolo Nutini -- Sunny Side Up -- Candy **
4. Sade -- Soldier of Love -- Soldier of Love **
5. Lady Gaga -- The Fame -- Bad Romance

France
1. Sade -- Soldier of Love -- Skin
2. Massive Attack -- Heligoland -- Paradise Circus **
3. The Black Eyed Peas -- The E.N.D. -- Imma Be
4. Lady Gaga -- The Fame -- Poker Face
5. Various Artist -- Mozart L'Opera Rock -- Medley

Spain
1. Sade -- Soldier of Love -- The Moon and the Sky
2. Alejandro Sanz -- Paradiso Express -- Looking for Paradise
3. Estopa -- X Anniversarivm -- Tu Calorro
4. Nick Jonas & The Administration -- Who I Am -- Who I Am
5. David Bisbal -- Sin Mirar Atras -- who?

United States
1. Sade -- Solder of Love -- In Another Time **
2. Lady Antebellum -- Need You Now -- Need You Now **
3. Jaheim -- Another Round -- Ain't Leavin Without You
4. Lil Wayne -- Rebirth -- Knockout
5. Josh Turner -- Haywire -- Why Don't We Just Dance

And my current make-me-dance and pick-me-up song is: Gorillaz -- Stylo

Martin is One of Us

Saturday night is all or nothing for me. If I am going out, I'm going big. Thus, last night started strong with dinner at Lou's on Vine with Olanna and Anthony. Then we moved on to La Descarga to kick it up Cuban style. Unfortunately, even with the Golden-Ticket-Olanna and our names on the guest list, the doorman, fearful of the fire marshall, informed us of a 2-hour wait. We were unwilling to let this spoil our night, so we joined forces with Steve Asbell and headed up the street to The Bar on Bronson. A comfortable hang, with no pretension and an oddball dj putting out 80's mod music. Anthony shared a piece of bar history too -- before The Bar was renovated from a gritty bar to a little bit less gritty bar, it used to be the writing place for Charles Bukowski. He wrote Barfly based on that very location.



Martinis down the hatch and back we went to La Descarga. The vibe was a Cuban speakeasy -- the hostess showed us the entrance by opening the door to a closet, pushing aside hanging clothes that revealed a secret door into the bar. Exceptionally cool spot, with well-dressed folks wearing Havana-esque outfits and dancing salsa. In the back is a cigar room (again with the Cuban theme), where we ran into the guest of honor, Martin, and his gorgeous girlfriend, Niki.



We were there celebrating Martin receiving his green card after working and living in the US for 11 years. Congratulations and I am so glad you are allowed to stay with us, Martin. The country is better with you in it!



Here's a cute one of Olanna and Anthony.



And another of Niki and me sipping on rum -- a La Decarga specialty.

Animal

In a constant struggle to fulfill my pork fetish, Fairfax's Animal restaurant is a dream come true. As the name implies, the small, simply designed restaurant serves lots of carnivore's favorites.

We tried a smattering of appetizers like carrot salad, baby kale, fried hominy (killer!), barbeque pork belly sandwiches (winner!) and finished up the savories with poutine -- a pile of golden, crisp fries smothered in sharp white cheddar cheese and rich oxtail gravy (heaven!).

The wine menu also has an extensive list of 1/2 bottles -- which works out perfectly if you are with non-drinkers, as I was, or if you want red and your dining companion wants white.

The finale had a scrumptious bacon chocolate crunch bar and donuts. The bar had characteristics from all ends of the spectrum. The texture was the smooth, mousse-like chocolate combined with the crunch of the bar and smokey bacon bits. Plus the mixture of rich sweetness and aggressive saltiness gave it "obsession" status. And you can't go wrong with warm donuts, ever.



Happy diners!

$1000 Comb

Last night, I accompanied Arnold to a $1000 per person fund raiser for Congressman Brad Sherman. The gathering took place at the stunning home of Irving and Shelli Azoff in Beverly Hills. Congressman Sherman amusingly opened his remarks saying that he lived in the best named town in the USA, Sherman Oaks. He then thanked guests like Neil Diamond and the Eagles (clients of Mr. Azoff's) for attending and took some pretty heated questioning about better legislation prohibiting illegal downloads. After some socializing and snacks, Arnold and I received a special gift when exiting.

Detour Torture

A stretch of Mulholland Drive between Bowmont Drive and Skyline Drive are closed. Rain washed away part of the road surface, leaving behind a 35-foot deep sinkhole.

The road was damaged during this month's storms, and authorities said conditions could get worse. The road will be closed indefinitely in both directions.

Public Works Department officials said they need about $600,000 in emergency funds to repair the damage.

So now my easy breezy 6 minute drive to/from work turned into 35 traffic-filled minutes. Humpf.

3/3/09 LOTUS NOTE: The city has approved the cost of repairs and construction began today. Hooray! Should be repaired in 6 weeks, which is glorious news compared to the doom and gloom of "closed indefinitely" from two weeks ago.

Fryman Canyon

You can only hike Runyon Canyon so many times before a need for variety pops up. Plus, can you really call walking on pavement a hike? Also off Mulholland, but even closer to my home, is Fryman Canyon Park. With its streams, challenging terrain, and inability to wheel a stroller on the path, it is a completely a different experience to Runyon. Plus, the trail is deep in the woods, so the temperature is much cooler on this hike -- which can be helpful when the California sun is strongest.



Granted, there's no view of the Hollywood Sign, and instead of Los Angeles skyline, you see the Valley. Nonetheless, still beautiful.



What Fryman can't offer is the active social scene that includes seeing the total bliss on so many doggies faces. Runyon, I'll see you soon!

Year Of The Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year! And to all my fellow Tigers, this one is going to be fantastic.



To celebrate, Olanna and I went to the Ahmanson Theater to see the Beijing Dance Academy perform. The first act was "Lotus Flowers in June" full of bright colored costumes with extra fabric to give the illusion of petals.

The picture below is "Waist Dancing of the Chu Women." The dancers bent backwards so low that the feathers of their hats practically touched the audience. Olanna and I both want those hats sooooo baaaaaad.



Here is the "Singing While Treading" dance. The graceful girls sang and danced to the rhythm of foot treading, a popular form of dance in ancient China. The dance form was lost in areas dominated by Han nationality but it still can be found in some dances in remote areas where ethnic minorities live today.



This highlight is "Emperor Qin Shihuang Calls on Troops." The original idea of this dance comes from the terra-cotta warriors of Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C) unearthed in Xi’an, China, which are regarded as one of the ten wonders in the world. It immerses classical Chinese dance techniques with powerful rhythm in Jiangzhou drums. The simple image of Qin warriors represents the heroic bravery of Chinese warriors.

It won first prize of Beijing Dance Competition; gold medalist of choreography and the silver medal for performance at the First CCTV Dance Competition.



And lastly, two very joyful audience members right before heading to Chinatown for a big New Year's feast!

NYers decend upon LA!

Jessi, Creighton and Josh came through LA on the tail end of a business trip in Palm Springs, so what uniquely LA event could I put together? Something that they can't do anywhere else? Bowling, of course!

Awesome photo courtesy of Chris Janney.


Jessi doing her "I may rock at bowling, but I'm doing my funky dance."


Martin and I dazzled by his pink ball.


Chris, Josh and Creighton full of smiles.


Jason nails a strike.


Anthony and Olanna


Creighton and Jackie chillin' heavy


Wind-blown look


The joyful group. (Alexis hates the camera, but she's a good sport for being in the group shot!)

Love the seals!

Visiting Ano during elephant seals mating season is a must-do, so although I have been before, each visit is just as breath taking and awe-filled. Here are thousands of blubbery seals making their low-pitched roaring noises and moving with a floppy slither. The scene is mainly males looking for mates and the mommies nursing their pups. So special. Plus, the elephant seal spends only 20% of its life on land, while in water for the remaining time, so it is a rarity to catch them at this moment.



Here is the beautiful Bawarshi family -- Becky, Bella and Ranger Ziad



And me creeping terrifyingly close to the seals. That smile is hiding panic and the feeling of, "hurry up and take the picture!"



Here's a seal we walked past while Becky and Bella remained a little more distant. The massive 16 foot, 6,000 lb beast had his eye on us the whole time. As if two puny humans pose some threat?!

Images from Santa Cruz

I love Becky's house. Mainly because Becky and Bella are there. But these are some good reasons too.

The mind wanders. . .

Life is glorious. I try to live in the moment and get the most out of every day. Life can also be frustrating when you are unjustly criticized or you feel unappreciated. I was having precisely one of those grinding moments when this came across my desk the today.



Some pretty fantastic ideas popped into my head. What could I do with a large stack of cash? A lavish year-long trip to South America. The initial capital for a start-up business that sells chic clothes, bakes delectable sweets and gives hair blow-outs. Buying a plot of land to grow vegetables. A wild shopping spree where I could finally have a suit made of diamonds sewn with gold thread. A killer party for all my closies. Better yet, building a new school in Haiti. Or just having daily massages for life. Oh my mind was on over-drive. . .Then again, a 10+ year career is not worth losing for some recklessness with stolen money. Oh and the guilt! But it certainly was fun to think about!

C'mon Already!

I saw this on Michael Feola's Facebook page and couldn't agree more!



And check out this video that Robert Fox worked on with hopes to expand awareness of an unjust situation: