Ben and John and India Sweets and Spices

Friday, the 27th-Today we met up with Ben and his boyfriend John at a place called India Sweets and Spices. Ben's moved to Philly to go to rabbinical school, but John is in Brooklyn. Poor Ben. I got two vegetarian dishes that I assume had no wheat in it. I asked the proprietor if it had wheat in it. She said, "It's all vegetarian." I asked again, a little louder, this time, maybe she didn't hear me? She gave me the same answer. I asked again, in the vain hope that she would know what i was talking about. Alas, it was not to be. Sigh. I just ate what I hoped was wheat free and avoided the rest. Almost the same thing happened when I tried to order dessert. This time I POINTED to the item I wanted and it took THREE tries before she gave me what I wanted. Sighing, I paid for all three desserts and shared it with the gang. But, seriously, I POINTED! How could a pointed finger be miscontrued? Or maybe the lady was pulling a fast one on me. In any case, the desserts were great. Then, we hung out with Mo at her place. The three guys got together and mounted a gigantic mirror for Maurissa in her entry. It looked great. She's going to put a pink feather boa around it. Daryl left to go to work, Ben and John left to see Brokeback Mountain, and Mo asked to be left alone so that she could prep for her show later that evening. So I hung out with Megan, Maurissa's roommate, and her crowd. It was a fun group and there was an incredibly happy baby there, easily entertained by a little stuffed monkey. The baby's father made some guacamole that was lovely, since, by that time, I was starving, not having had anything wheat-free to eat for a long time. In retrospect, I should have gotten six desserts instead of three. Mo finished her prep and while we chatted with Megan's friends, we ate tons of corn chips and guacamole and drank water out of cups that reminded me of Weeble-Wobbles. They looked like they'd fall over, but they never did. Nice. Then, Mo gave me a ride home and I finally had something to eat.

Jill and Matt

Sunday, the 15th-Today our good friends Jill and Matt came by from the East Bay. They're both looking to move here and frankly I'd love it if they did. Jill is a former co-worker and she's a great writer. Unfortunately, these days, writer don't really make that much so she's still trying to get the cash to move down here. She just bought a car and unfortunately it's not working and she got into huge debt buying it in the first place. So it's going to take her a bit. She wants to go back to school down here and I really hope she gets a job soon because she's really cool and it'd be fun to have her around. So if anyone knows anyone who needs a good worker in LA, let me know and I'll pass it on to her.

Try some Yak!

Saturday, the 14th-Daryl and I went out to dinner with Mo and Josh, her old friend from Indiana. We went to the Kathmandu Cafe on Venice and it was terrific. You can get yak there. And they had the best tea. I'm definitely going there again, so if people come and visit and are interested in yak, let me know. (Yes, yes, they also have vegetarian alternatives, but seriously people how cool is it to find out what a yak tastes like? In North America of all places. This is the meat that gets people up Everest. I so totally want to know what it tastes like.) Josh told us about his travels. He did the vagabond thing when he was younger and went to all sorts of places including India where he had to share a room and a bed with a guy and a rat! He and the guy were freezing and they both thought about cuddling for warmth, but both were afraid of being thought of as gay. (Although, as soon as the rat appeared I have a feeling that they didn't get much sleep later that night.) They had a good laugh over that the next morning. But I'm telling you it doesn't really sell India to me. Although I hear you can get silk there for really cheap.

KING KONG and ANNE sittin' in a tree.....

Sunday, the 8th-We finally went to see KING KONG. It was a feast for all of the people who like spectacle. How does Naomi Watts make me believe that she's in love with a huge ape? With her gigantic blue eyes, that's how. I cannot tell you how many close-ups this lady has had where her eyes are welling up with tears, but, no-not yet, haven't let one of them drop. When Carl Denham says that she's the saddest girl he knows, he's not kidding, and it's not just that she's just lost her job and all of her friends and is starving, just you wait until you see what happens to her after she gets on that ship to Skull Island, brilliantly rendered in CG, complete with beautiful CG fog. It's not for nothing that this movie cost so much. They had to create an ISLAND in a computer, folks. Once you get over the ridiculousness of the story, you get a series of thrills from seeing the natives of Skull Island, ruthlessly killing the film crew, for no apparent reason. And if that's not enough, the survivors from the first attack go BACK to the island to rescue Anne (Naomi Watts) who has been strung up to, er, "entertain" Kong, the giant ape. It's like watching a horror film starlet back into a room with an axe-wielding maniac looming up behind her, but in this case it's A HERD OF DINOSAURS. And, not to be outdone, there's a fight between Kong and not just one, T-Rex, but THREE, all trying to snap poor Anne up into their jaws. There are some really cool silent moments when Anne and Kong's eyes lovingly meet. And we're there with them, enjoying the quiet, when all of a sudden we get an aural whiplash, which smashes us into the next attack begins from dinosaurs or machine guns. It's a strange movie which is made all the stranger having Jack Black NOT acting like he's on crack. That's one of the reasons I watch a Jack Black movie. I want to see him go crazy. Instead, I get to see Naomi Watts do all sorts of vaudevillian dance moves---for her very life. I am not kidding. She does a good job, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying it's odd to see someone literally dancing to survive. My favorite moment in the movie is when Kong gives her a little laugh when she does something she likes and a huffy sigh when she doesn't. Everyone's a critic. But I guess when you're an ape as big as a house you're allowed to have an opinion.

Oh, and did anyone notice that Colin Hanks and Jack Black had previously been in ORANGE COUNTY? Was anyone else waiting for Jack Black to run around that ship in his underwear? And did anyone notice that the guy who played the captain of the ship had previously been in the movie THE PIANIST with Adrian Brody, as the Nazi who hid him. But this time he just stuck him in a cage. Oh, but he did save his life, again.

Disneyland 2006

Sunday, the 1st-Today Daryl and I went to Disneyland with Mike and Sonia and Maurissa. Sonia had never been to Disneyland before yesterday when she and Mike went together. It rained pretty hard right when they were in the middle of a roller coaster ride. They said it was like being in a washing machine. Today, on the other hand, was a nice day to begin with but then it got rainy around 2p, right when we were having lunch. It wasn't a huge downpour, just an annoying drip, so it was much more bearable than the previous day, when the all of the shops ran out of rain ponchos. In fact, we did just fine with our water resistant clothes and umbrellas. It was nice to just go to all of our favorite rides and not have to bother with the ones that bored us, especially the ones that had huge lines. Space Mountain was the first choice for many and I got a lovely picture to prove it. (They did this ride twice, it was so good.) We also loved the Haunted Mansion with the decorations from the Nightmare Before Christmas. While you're waiting in line, they have signs with the lyrics for Christmas songs changed to fit the macabre theme. Jack Skellington welcomes you in through the gates and Oogy Boogy appears as a topiary in the garden. And it's even better on the inside. I recommend seeing this display if you can. I believe they set it up around the holiday season and it's well worth the wait in line. (Daryl has better pictures of the decorations on his blog, so check over there if you'd like to see them.) We also found the It's a Small World Ride to be a lot more bearable around the holidays because instead of singing just one song they sing two songs over and over again, It's a Small World After All and Jingle Bells (although apparently the mermaids sing a slightly different version-yes, this ride has MERMAIDS.) It's a little bit surprising to see the veiled harem girls singing and dancing to a Christmas song, but the holiday decorations are so vast and lavish it goes by too quickly to really stick in your brain. While we waited for Maurissa to get her raincoat, we explored the candy store at Pooh Corner and boy, do they have some serious candy there. I got a caramel apple with almonds and I couldn't finish it. My first bite was all caramel and nuts. It served as my dinner. Maurissa took a while and when she finally arrived she told us she couldn't find the car and after walking up and down the parking lot a few times decided to chuck it and come back to us. Too bad she didn't take her phone with her because both Daryl and Sonia remembered exactly where the car was. Mike and Sonia took the opportunity to take pictures with Pooh and his friends. We actually saw Piglet this time! He was so cute! He even gave directions to a lady who asked where the bathrooms were. It was adorable. No, really. We went on the Indiana Jones ride and this time I closed my eyes when the blowdarts shot out so I could enjoy the ride fully since the last time I was on this ride something got in my eye from the air shooting out and I missed the majority of the sights after that. This time I looked around for Hidden Mickeys but didn't find a one-or at least not one I'm convinced was really a Hidden Mickey. Although we did show the others the obscenity (if you look at just the right angle) of one of the statues in the park. Then everyone stopped for ice cream, except for me and I got my quarter eaten by a fortune teller. Gypped! We drove back home in a sensory daze and collapsed into bed.