More movie quotes!
1. You can trouble me for a warm glass of shut-the-hell-up! Now you will go to sleep! Or I will put you to sleep. Check out my name tag. You're in my world now, grandma!
2. Unleash the awesome!
3. Oswald was a fag.
4. YEAH! Oh yes, yeah. I'm insensitive! I'm a very insensitive man! Stop you're job, look at the insensitive man!
5. It's Enrico Palazzo!
6. Oh my God! Oh my God! My twin brother has been shot! I think it was an Asian gang or something... There was this guy, he looked Asian... and he was speaking another language, I'm pretty sure it was... Asian.
7. Stop eating my sesame cakes!
8. I have a tiny penis, it's pathetic.
9. Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.
10. Me so horny, me so stupid!
11. I now pronounce you man and man. You may now kiss the man.
12. Lieutenant Dan, ice cream!
13. They're already here! You're next!
14. One girl, I drove through three states wearing her head as a hat.
15. First we crack the shell, then we crack the nuts inside!
16. Would you like to buy a monkey?
17. Kick his ass, Sea Bass!
18. I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
19. I have a mole?!
20. No one makes me bleed my own blood!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Cage Watch
There's something I have to admit. For years, I was a closet Nicolas Cage fan. I used to make fun of him, particularly his role in "The Rock," which is one of my favorite movies. It's not so much that he's a bad actor, because he's not, but it's largely because of his acting decisions. And the commentary he provided on "The Rock." For years I ridiculed him, but I must openly admit that I, MidnightHunnyRun, am a Cage-a-phile.
My life's goal is to watch every movie he's ever made—and there's a lot. To date, he's performed in 59 movies, with another four currently finishing up production. Out of those 59, I've watched 38. So, in what is my continuing year-long Cage-a-thon, I'll be keeping count on my blog of what new Nicolas Cage movie is in my DVD player. Here's today's Cage Watch movie, followed by a list of all the other Cage movies I've seen. And lest anybody tell me about Cage-flix, I already know about it, but have already manually added every remaining Cage movie to my queue. God bless that man.
Cage Movie #38: National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Kick-Ass (2010)
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call of New Orleans (2009)
G-Force (2009)
Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
Next (2007)
Grindhouse (2007)
Ghost Rider (2007)
The Wicker Man (2006)
The Ant Bully (2006)
The Weather Man (2005)
Lord of War (2005)
National Treasure (2004)
Matchstick Men (2003)
Adaptation (2002)
Sonny (2002)
Windtalkers (2002)
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
The Family Man (2000)
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
8MM (1999)
City of Angels (1998)
Face/Off (1997)
Con Air (1997)
The Rock (1996)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Kiss of Death (1995)
It Could Happen to You (1994)
Guarding Tess (1994)
Red Rock West (1993)
Wild at Heart (1990)
Moonstruck (1987)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Birdy (1984)
Rumble Fish (1983)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Hoagies & Wings
When I started working at company B many years ago, I would take Venice to work and would pass "Hoagies & Wings, Grand Opening," everyday. Well, about a couple months into their "Grand Opening," I finally got around to trying them. At this point, I liked wings a lot, but hadn't really hunted for good ones. I considered chicken wings a great delicacy, owing to their high skin to meat ratio.
I didn't get too many wings that first time, perhaps about sixteen, and I probably split them between hot and suicide. I was really into spicy foods, still am, but those wings were perhaps the second hottest things I had ever eaten (next to a sole dragon chili I had eaten years before). It was a good, clean hot, owing to copious amounts of chili oil added to the hot sauce. I've since had suicide wings at many other wings joints, including the famous Anchor Bar, but Hoagies & Wings suicide wings are still a notch above on the Scoville scale.
I started going there fairly often, perhaps once or twice a month, to the point that the three founders, a Harvard law grad and two Le Cordon Bleu Culinary grads, knew me by my brother's name, the name I usually gave to restaurants for seating and pick-up orders. Lucky for me, they eventually opened up a second location, two blocks away from my office. They would go on to open another by my friends' place (which is now gone, unfortunately), and another near my house (which is even more unfortunately gone). All in all, they at one time had six different locations, but are now down to two. But that shouldn't be a slight on their cooking prowess.
Before...
Having been to Anchor Bar, I can't say that Hoagies & Wings offers the most authentic Buffalo wing experience, but they're pretty good, and much closer in proximity than Anchor Bar. Their wings are meaty, moist, and flavorful. Like any good chicken wings, they take a good fifteen minutes to cook. They're pretty liberal with their hot sauce, which has a decent spiciness even at just the hot level, which is my preferred as suicide tends to blow all taste out of the water after the eight wing or so.
...After.
My usual meal is about twenty wings split between hot and garlic parmesan (they offer over a dozen flavor combinations), a large fries, and a large Coke. The most wings I've ever had there is thirty. It's not a cheap meal (at least for me), as it runs about $25 for all that, but it's worth it. It sure beats booking a flight out to Buffalo, although if I want to get a beef on weck, I guess I don't have much choice.
Some other notes about Hoagies & Wings:
- 7 out of 7 on my mess-o-meter. I defy someone to make it through the meal without getting messy.
- 0-10 out of 10 on my spice-o-meter. Garlic parmesan is a 0, hot is only about a 6, and suicide is definitely a 10 or more.
- 11 out of 11 on my wing scale. It goes up to 11.
Hoagies & Wings
1544 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 360-4800
14552 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
(818) 789-4600
I didn't get too many wings that first time, perhaps about sixteen, and I probably split them between hot and suicide. I was really into spicy foods, still am, but those wings were perhaps the second hottest things I had ever eaten (next to a sole dragon chili I had eaten years before). It was a good, clean hot, owing to copious amounts of chili oil added to the hot sauce. I've since had suicide wings at many other wings joints, including the famous Anchor Bar, but Hoagies & Wings suicide wings are still a notch above on the Scoville scale.
I started going there fairly often, perhaps once or twice a month, to the point that the three founders, a Harvard law grad and two Le Cordon Bleu Culinary grads, knew me by my brother's name, the name I usually gave to restaurants for seating and pick-up orders. Lucky for me, they eventually opened up a second location, two blocks away from my office. They would go on to open another by my friends' place (which is now gone, unfortunately), and another near my house (which is even more unfortunately gone). All in all, they at one time had six different locations, but are now down to two. But that shouldn't be a slight on their cooking prowess.
Before...
Having been to Anchor Bar, I can't say that Hoagies & Wings offers the most authentic Buffalo wing experience, but they're pretty good, and much closer in proximity than Anchor Bar. Their wings are meaty, moist, and flavorful. Like any good chicken wings, they take a good fifteen minutes to cook. They're pretty liberal with their hot sauce, which has a decent spiciness even at just the hot level, which is my preferred as suicide tends to blow all taste out of the water after the eight wing or so.
...After.
My usual meal is about twenty wings split between hot and garlic parmesan (they offer over a dozen flavor combinations), a large fries, and a large Coke. The most wings I've ever had there is thirty. It's not a cheap meal (at least for me), as it runs about $25 for all that, but it's worth it. It sure beats booking a flight out to Buffalo, although if I want to get a beef on weck, I guess I don't have much choice.
Some other notes about Hoagies & Wings:
- 7 out of 7 on my mess-o-meter. I defy someone to make it through the meal without getting messy.
- 0-10 out of 10 on my spice-o-meter. Garlic parmesan is a 0, hot is only about a 6, and suicide is definitely a 10 or more.
- 11 out of 11 on my wing scale. It goes up to 11.
Hoagies & Wings
1544 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 360-4800
14552 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
(818) 789-4600
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Cool Dudes of History - Emperor Joshua Norton I
In lieu of the fact that "Time Train" is on hiatus, I'm starting a new feature called "Cool Dudes of History," highlighting great figures in the annals of history. I should note that this blog is mostly true, in that 50.1% of everything I write in this blog is true. "Cool Dudes of History" falls into that 0.1%. Not all of these figures show up in history books, but they should be remembered nonetheless.
___
Emperor Joshua Norton I was born Joshua Abraham Norton in England c. 1819. he eventually moved to San Francisco where he made his living as a businessman. After losing his money investing in rice, he left San Francisco only to return years later quite mentally unbalanced. Dissatisfied with the government, he proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States" and later "Protector of Mexico." He took to wearing an old military uniform and issued his own currency which was accepted around the city. At one point, he prevented the outbreak of a riot that could have resulted in injury to the Chinese immigrants he was protecting.
Despite his eccentricity, he was much revered and beloved by San Francisco locals. Though penniless, many fine restaurants opened their doors to him, and he received preferential treatment from many establishments. When he was incarcerated by an unknowing police officer, outraged citizens lobbied successfully for his release. Police Chief Patrick Crowley, in apology, was quoted as saying "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line." Subsequently, police officers would stand and salute Emperor Norton when he passed by.
He was a popular subject of news articles of the day, and was associated with two street dogs, Bummer and Lazarus, who were celebrities in their own right. When his clothes became worn, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors procured him with a suitable replacement.
Despite his mental issues, he was fairly forward thinking. He called for the formation of a League of Nations decades before Woodrow Wilson would push for one following World War I. He also proposed the creation of a bridge and underwater tunnel spanning the bay, which would later be realized with the creation of the Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube.
On January 8, 1880, Emperor Joshua Norton I collapsed on the sidewalk and passed away before help could arrive. San Francisco newspapers the following day featured his death on the front page, under headlines like, "Norton the First, by the grace of God Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life." A lavish funeral was paid for by the Pacific Club, a local businessman's association, and tens of thousands of San Franciscans came out to pay their respects to the fallen emperor.
___
Emperor Joshua Norton I was born Joshua Abraham Norton in England c. 1819. he eventually moved to San Francisco where he made his living as a businessman. After losing his money investing in rice, he left San Francisco only to return years later quite mentally unbalanced. Dissatisfied with the government, he proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States" and later "Protector of Mexico." He took to wearing an old military uniform and issued his own currency which was accepted around the city. At one point, he prevented the outbreak of a riot that could have resulted in injury to the Chinese immigrants he was protecting.
Despite his eccentricity, he was much revered and beloved by San Francisco locals. Though penniless, many fine restaurants opened their doors to him, and he received preferential treatment from many establishments. When he was incarcerated by an unknowing police officer, outraged citizens lobbied successfully for his release. Police Chief Patrick Crowley, in apology, was quoted as saying "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line." Subsequently, police officers would stand and salute Emperor Norton when he passed by.
He was a popular subject of news articles of the day, and was associated with two street dogs, Bummer and Lazarus, who were celebrities in their own right. When his clothes became worn, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors procured him with a suitable replacement.
Despite his mental issues, he was fairly forward thinking. He called for the formation of a League of Nations decades before Woodrow Wilson would push for one following World War I. He also proposed the creation of a bridge and underwater tunnel spanning the bay, which would later be realized with the creation of the Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube.
On January 8, 1880, Emperor Joshua Norton I collapsed on the sidewalk and passed away before help could arrive. San Francisco newspapers the following day featured his death on the front page, under headlines like, "Norton the First, by the grace of God Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life." A lavish funeral was paid for by the Pacific Club, a local businessman's association, and tens of thousands of San Franciscans came out to pay their respects to the fallen emperor.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Celebrity Sightings - Jeffrey Butler
I had to go by Joseph Marcell's character's name from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," since it's doubtful anyone out there would have read the header and gone, "ah, yes, the Joseph Marcell who played Jeffrey Butler."
I happened to see him at Costco once, being very Jeffrey-Butler-like as he shopped for home goods. He wasn't dressed in his butler's uniform, which is perhaps why people weren't rushing him while yelling, "It's Jeffrey Butler!" It was pretty cool to see him though, since he was one of the funnier characters on "The Fresh Prince." I liked the episode where Will tricked him into thinking he won the lottery so he decided to quit only to find out later it was a joke.
Now if only I could meet James Avery from the show, then my life would be nearly fulfilled. Uncle Phil and Shredder at the same time? Sounds like a match made in TV heaven.
I happened to see him at Costco once, being very Jeffrey-Butler-like as he shopped for home goods. He wasn't dressed in his butler's uniform, which is perhaps why people weren't rushing him while yelling, "It's Jeffrey Butler!" It was pretty cool to see him though, since he was one of the funnier characters on "The Fresh Prince." I liked the episode where Will tricked him into thinking he won the lottery so he decided to quit only to find out later it was a joke.
Now if only I could meet James Avery from the show, then my life would be nearly fulfilled. Uncle Phil and Shredder at the same time? Sounds like a match made in TV heaven.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Shitty Movie Review - "Congo"
I don't read too many books on account of my being impatient, but I did read "Congo" when I was in high school. It wasn't a great book, but it was an engaging read and I enjoyed it, so naturally I looked forward to seeing the movie. I had read and subsequently watched "Jurassic Park," and was severely disappointed, so I had my reservations about "Congo," but these were quickly blown away once the movie picked up speed. After all, who wouldn't find a movie about a talking gorilla, a Romanian treasure hunter, and a telecommunications officer going to the Congo to find home, King's Solomon's mines, and a fiance/diamond respectively only to be ambushed by killer gray apes (hereafter referred to as "grapes") engaging?
One of the main characters in the novel was a female gorilla named Amy who was trained to communicate using sign language. There was no problem relaying her communications through the written word, but that wouldn't translate so easily to the silver screen where the producers wanted to avoid subtitles. So enter the power glove, a device used to electronically interpret Amy's signing into vocalized speech. The device turned an otherwise interesting portion of the novel into something amazing. Amy (voiced by Shayna Fox) steals the movie whenever she's on screen, with lines like, "Amy ... good ... gorilla. She's quite intelligent, perhaps more so than the other characters, and has an incredibly varied vocabulary. In fact, here's a list of all the vocabulary she uses during the movie.
Amy
good
bad
gorilla
ugly
pretty
lady
hug
mother
want
rain
drop
drink
go away
Not to be outdone by Amy the gorilla is Tim Curry, as Romanian treasure hunter Herkermer Homolka. In what is yet another of his classic characters, Curry continues to defy acting as an art. He again masterfully crafts a foreign accent, Romanian/Irish this time. Like Amy, he, too, steals every scene he is in, so much so that poor Laura Linney and Dylan Walsh can't even compete.
There are several stunning set pieces in the film, but none as spectacular as the climax, which I will try not to spoil. Let's just say it involves lots of people in grape suits flying through the air while lasers, lava, and fireballs are all over the place. Sounds awesome, right? Well, it is.
If none of this is enough to coax you into watching it, then I should mention there's a wee bit of Joe Don Baker, a smidgen of Bruce Campbell, and decent helping of the guy with the Howie Mandel hair from "True Lies." The good one, not the terrorist one. Oh, and Winston Zedmore doing a British accent the whole time.
My shitty movie rating: 9 turds out of 10. Flying/frying apes!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Baked Skirt Steak
Since Dad couldn't make it over for Fathers' Day, we're postponing to a later date. I still had to cook, though, and as we happened to have a nice piece of skirt steak, I decided to do something with that.
It took about two hours to cook it, and at first I was worried that I had overseasoned the meat, but luckily it wasn't too much.
I usually like to eat this dish with rice, so I made some white rice which came out a little mushy. I also steamed some broccoli which came out a little firm, so I guess everything evened out in the end.
It took about two hours to cook it, and at first I was worried that I had overseasoned the meat, but luckily it wasn't too much.
I usually like to eat this dish with rice, so I made some white rice which came out a little mushy. I also steamed some broccoli which came out a little firm, so I guess everything evened out in the end.
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