Friday, November 30, 2007

Digitizing Our Family History

Lately I've been on this kick about preserving our old family photos and slides by scanning them into reproduceable digital files that can be easily shared between family members on the Internet. A couple of weeks ago, we purchased a dual-sided scanner that can scan photos or slides, and over Thanksgiving we brought home the slides that were in my dad's closet. Although it's an ongoing project, I thought I'd share my Top 10 favorite photo scans thus far.


James on a horse in Mexico. (08/1973)
James on a horse in Mexico. (08/1973)

10. James on a horse in Mexico. This slide was taken during our family trip to Mexico in the summer of 1973. I'm pretty sure it was taken on my Uncle Tomas' farm in Totatiche, Jalisco. I love the expression on my face, as well as the pistol that I'm pulling out of my holster. Take note of my huaraches, Mexican sandals that are made with soles from recycled tires.


Tina in Yosemite. (08/1971)
Tina in Yosemite. (08/1971)

9. Tina in Yosemite. This slide of my mom, taken on our 1971 trip to Yosemite, intrigues me. It makes me wonder what was going on in her mind at the time. Love the glasses and her wind-blown hair.


Robert and his fro. (1978)
Robert and his fro. (1978)

8. Robert on the eve of his Junior Prom. What's not to love about this slide? The lapels. The ruffles. The fro. Who wouldn't kill for that burgundy tuxedo with piping today? Nothing says 1978 better!


Tina and Robert in front of "It's a Smal World."  (08/1968)
Tina and Robert in front of "It's a Smal World." (08/1968)

7. Tina & Robert at It's a Small World. This slide of my mom and my brother, on their first trip to Disneyland in 1968 is a classic. I also love the lady on the side with the matching shoes, purse and eyeglasses.


Ruben & Tina in Mexico City. (1960)
Ruben & Tina in Mexico City. (1960)

6. Ruben & Tina in Mexico City. This is one of the few slides taken of my parents together before any of the kids were born. It was in Mexico City during a trip the same year they got married. In the background is the Torre Latinoamericana, which was the tallest skyscraper in Latin America at the time.


Tina and Robert in front of Mt. Shasta. (07/1962)
Tina and Robert in front of Mt. Shasta. (07/1962)

5. Tina holding Robert at Mt. Shasta. This stunning slide was taken en route to the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. I don't know if they intentionally wore clothing to match the color of the sky, but I doubt it.


Relatives somewhere in Mexico. (1960)
Relatives somewhere in Mexico. (1960)

4. Relatives in Mexico 1960. I don't exactly know who everyone in this slide is, but I was stunned by the dramatic lighting and clouds, as well as the work truck in the background. This picture looks more like the 1930s dust bowl than the Mexico in 1960, like something that could have been taken by depression-era photographer Dorothea Lange, not my dad.


Ruben in his army photo. (1958)
Ruben in his army photo. (1958)

3. Ruben's Army Photo. This is proably the best portrait I have of my Dad. Taken at age 24 during his two-year stint in the U.S. Army, it shows a youthful side of my dad that I rarely see.


Tina, Ruben, James & Robert celebrate Christmas in Chicago. (12/1971)
Tina, Ruben, James & Robert celebrate Christmas in Chicago. (12/1971)

2. Christmas in Chicago. Believe it or not, we have very few pictures of everyone in my immediate family all in one shot. Usually it's one of the parents that's taking the photo. This photo is one rare exception.


Tina. (04/1954)
Tina. (04/1954)

1. Tina in Chicago. I love this photo of my mom taken in Chicago in 1971. It was taken in the old neighborhood they called "The Bush" due to its heavy shrubbery. From what I remember, she's posing with the new car that one of my uncles had just purchased.


Click here to see James' ongoing collection of vintage photos and slides,

Sunday, November 25, 2007

All We Need is a Caterpillar and a Hookah

I think this has to qualify as possibly the most boring blog entry in the entire James & Tim Blog (and believe me, there's quite a big pool of boring ones to choose from). But after debating it, I decided what the heck, why not write about the largest mushroom to have ever grown on our front lawn?

This giant mushroom magically appeared on our lawn. (11/25/2007)
This giant mushroom magically appeared on our lawn. (11/25/2007)

This baby was discovered not by us, but by the plumber who had to come and clear the tree roots out of our main line (long story). He said we had a gigantic mushroom growing on our front lawn. And sure enough, we did.

Measures almost five inches in diameter. (11/25/2007)
Measures almost five inches in diameter. (11/25/2007)

We get mushrooms on the lawn every once in a while, but this is the biggest one I've seen. Yep, exciting lives we have here.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Mexican Breakfast of Champions

On our last morning in the Bay Area, we met my cousin Michele, her partner Lisa, and their daughter Liele for breakfast. Our dining destination was La Perla, home of what is arguably the best Mexican breakfast in the Bay Area.

Michele, Liele & Lisa. (11/24/2007)
Michele, Liele & Lisa. (11/24/2007)

I'm not kidding, it's that good. In particular, their hand-made corn tortillas are the best I've ever had. Normally I'm a flour tortilla guy, but the corn tortillas at La Perla are the one exception.

La Perla in South San Francisco. (11/24/2007)
La Perla in South San Francisco. (11/24/2007)

It was nice seeing them, especially Liele, since we hadn't seen them in several months. I also got to see my cousin Ralphie, Michele's brother, for a bit (although he was unable to join us for breakfast).

The menu for the best Mexican breakfast in town. (11/24/2007)
The menu for the best Mexican breakfast in town. (11/24/2007)

The only disappointment was that when we got there, the pozole wasn't yet ready (only available on weekends by the way). For those not in the know, pozole is a soup often eaten at breakfast made with corn hominy, pork, cabbage and oregano, and it's soooooooo good. But my second choice, the machaca (beef cooked with eggs, onions and chili peppers), wasn't bad either.

Liele gives Uncle Tim a belated birthday present. (11/24/2007)
Liele gives Uncle Tim a belated birthday present. (11/24/2007)

Meanwhile Tim enjoyed his chilaquiles con huevos revueltos, which is a dish made from tortilla chips simmered in sauce with cheese and a side of scrambled eggs. Although unlike the last time we went there, Tim asked them to make it a little less spicy than usual, which allowed him to enjoy it more this time.

James & Tim Get Published on Wikipedia

If our buddy Tom can boast about having his photo being published on Schmap, then I suppose it opens the doors for us to brag about how one of our photos was chosen to be published on Wikipedia. For the handful of people who don't know what Wikipedia is, it's a free online encyclopedia and also the largest general reference work currently available on the Internet.

Our photo is the #2 position on The Hat's Wikipedia entry.
Our photo is the #2 position on The Hat's Wikipedia entry.

The published photo is of a neon sign in front of The Hat, a southern California fast-food restaurant specializing in pastrami sandwiches. The photo, which I snapped at the Lake Forest location, can be currently seen in the #2 position of The Hat's Wikipedia article.

This all started when we were contacted by a fella named Bruce, who had seen the pic on our Flickr Page. He asked if we would like to donate the photo to the Wikipedia article. Why not, we thought. So we did.

Here's the the photo that got published. (12/2006)
Here's the photo that got published. (12/2006)

It's not the first time one of our photos had a claim to fame. Click here to read about the time one of our photos were reproduced on publicly-displayed artwork at Disney's California Adventure theme park, or the time, or click here to read about when several of our photos were reproduced for public artwork at Disneyland itself. Yet despite those earlier instances, this is still fun!

One last thing: If you were wondering why I even took the photo, it was for our blog entry about my first time eating at The Hat. click here to read the original post.

Friday, November 23, 2007

So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour 2007

There are practically no reality shows that I watch with absolute glee anymore. Survivor got tired five seasons ago. American Idol? The thrill is gone, baby. Even the crown jewel of reality TV, The Amazing Race, isn't as exciting to me as it once was. But there is one reality show that still makes me wag my tail like an overly-eager young puppy. It's So You Think You Can Dance.

We caught the live show at Oakland's Oracle Arena. (11/23/2007)
We caught the live show at Oakland's Oracle Arena. (11/23/2007)

I don't know what it is about that show. Everytime it comes on, I turn into an 11-year-old girl, gushing with over-the-top enthusiasm when I see my favorite dancers. Of course I still love the show despite the fact that I can't stand Cat Deeley, the toothy teabag that hosts. Naturally, the day tickets for the 2007 live tour went on sale, I bought two tickets for the Oakland performance when I knew we'd be in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving.

The show was at the Oracle Arena, formerly known as Oakland Arena (same place I saw The Cure in 1987 and a Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament in 1991 with Tom and Doris). I was glad to be back for the So You Think You Can Dance live tour, which, like the TV show, was off the hook! Seriously! I enjoyed it even more than last year's tour. Mos def!

We had 8th row seats! (11/23/2007)
We had 8th row seats! (11/23/2007)

The cast re-performed all the most memorable duos from this season, beginning with Neil and b-girl Sara's electrifying disco routine set to "Knock on Wood." This was the dance that won Neil praise for that high backflip in which he spread his legs mid-air. And sure enough the audience went crazy when he did it during the live show.

They did quite a few Mia Michaels routines, like the amazing number she choreographed for Lacey & Kameron to "Dancing" by Elisa, a favorite from early in the season. Or the Sabra & Dominic performance to the Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You." (Yes, the barefoot routine for which Dominic shaved his toes). Just the song alone gets me teary. Add the amazing choreography and pass me the Kleenex!

Lacey & Neil's contemporary routine in Manchester. Photo by Toastiness. (10/04/2007)
Lacey & Neil's contemporary routine in Manchester. Photo by Toastiness. (10/04/2007)

Of course the Mia Michaels routines would not be complete without the inspiring piece that she choreographed for Lacey and Neil in tribute to Mia's late father. The one with the flowers and white clothes, set to Billy Porter's "Time." They also included the Two Princes number that Mia Michaels choreographed for Danny and Neil. My favorite Mia Michaels routine, however, was the was the haunting black-mask group number to Imogean Heap's "The Moment I Said It," which really showcases the incredible Danny at his best.

The Broadway-stylings of Tyce Diorio were also represented. His numbers included my not-so-favorite number by Shauna and Kameron to "Ease on Down the Road" from The Wiz (originally performed on the show by Shauna and early cast-off Jimmy). But they did make up for it by including two of Tyce Diorio's better numbers: "The Lioness Hunt" from The Lion King and the Top 4 dance to Liza Minnelli's "Mein Herr" from the film Cabaret. (For some reason Lauren substituted for Lacey on this one, surprisingly since Lacey was there).

The Tyce Diorio-choreographed 'Cabaret' number from Hartford. Photo by Toastiness. (09/23/2007)
The Tyce Diorio-choreographed 'Cabaret' number from Hartford. Photo by Toastiness. (09/23/2007)

Naturally, the show also featured numbers from Wade Robson, who is always the most innovative choreographer (Charitably, I'm choosing to forget that craptastic little foxes number he choreographed for Lacey and Sabra in the final show). Robson's numbers included that fun pop jazz routine featuring Jesus and Sara, set to "Cabaret Hoover" from the Triplets of Belleville. Another favorite was the hummingbird/flower jazz number he choreographed for Hok and Jamie set to "Chariman's Dance" from the film Memoirs of a Geisha.

My favorite Wade Robson routine was the jazz number that Neil & Lauren did with the good vs. evil storyline, where Neil played the devil. Set to Roisin Murphy's "Night of the Dancing Flame," this number had me on the edge of my seat. I also loved the swamp-like group dance Robson choreographed to Tom Waits.

Wade Robson's swamp routine in Bridgeport. Photo by Toastiness. (10/02/2007)
Wade Robson's swamp routine in Bridgeport. Photo by Toastiness. (10/02/2007)

My favorite dances are the ones choreographed by hip-hop legend Shane Sparks. His numbers included the Matrix-themed routine set to Ciara's "Get Up" from the Step Up soundtrack. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to see that Lauren was replaced by Sara. That is until I saw that Lauren and Pasha came out immediately after to do the Shane Sparks-created transformers routine to Pitbull's "Fuego," which was some mad crunk.

Another Shane Sparks highlight: The Dominic & Sabra number set to Ne-Yo's "Make it Work," which rocks my world every time I see it. It was the one for which contemporary dancer (and Season 3 winner) learned some break moves. I get chills every time I see Dominic lift Sabra during that long embrace.

Dominic & Sabra's 'Make it Work' in Boston. Photo by Toastiness. (09/22/2007)
Dominic & Sabra's 'Make it Work' in Boston. Photo by Toastiness. (09/22/2007)

Lest I forget, they did several great ballroom numbers too, like the Danny & Jamie jive to Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend," or the Danny & Anya foxtrot set to Brian Evans' "It Had to Be You." Neil and Sabra re-created their Paso Doble, complete with that last move where Neil lifts Sabra above his head, and then she slides down his entire body while holding her pose. Amazing.

In one of my favorite moments from the audition stage of the show, Pasha and Anya re-performed their hot, hot, hot samba audition set to "Magic Carpet Ride" by Mighty Dub Katz. Talk about having two tickets on the Hot Tamale Train! (you have to have watched the show to get that reference).

Sabra & Pasha's quickstep at the Portland show. Photo by Toastiness. (10/03/2007).
Sabra & Pasha's quickstep at the Portland show. Photo by Toastiness. (10/03/2007).

In addition, Pasha & Sabra did the quickstep routine to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's "Mr. Pinstripe Suit." In a side note, Pasha actually wore a pinstripe suit that highlighted his perfectly round ass (not that we didn't notice it in every other costume Pasha wore). :)

I was thrilled to see them cover two out of three of my all-time-favorite ballroom numbers: 1) Pasha & Sara's west coast swing to Fat Boy Slim's "The Rockafeller Skank" (choreographed by the Season 2 winner Benji Schwimmer), and, 2) Danny & Lacey's samba to Club des Belugas' "Hip Hip Chin Chin" that was choreographed by Season 2 Russian hottie Dmitry Chaplin.

Performing 'You Can't Stop the Beat' from Hairspray. (11/23/2007)
Performing 'You Can't Stop the Beat' from Hairspray. (11/23/2007)

The only ballroom number that they didn't perform that I wanted them to was Danny and Sara's amazing tango set to Gotan Project's remix of Sarah Vaughan's "Whatever Lola Wants." It was the dance where Sara did that incredible pretzel like-move through Danny's arms.

Other memorable moments included the Mandy Moore-choregraphed business lunch jazz dance to Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams" — the one with the table and Neil's famous gymnastic plange that makes the girls scream (and me, for that matter). Another highlight: an awesome break-dance smackdown featuring all three breakers, Dominic, Hok and Sara.

The full ensemble at curtain call. (11/23/2007)
The full ensemble at curtain call. (11/23/2007)

Scattered in between the couple dances and group numbers, all the Top 10 dancers performed a solo (except for Lacey for some reason). The entire group re-convened at the end to perform "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray, which was a fitting closer to an amazing night.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving 2007

I don't know how your Thanksgiving started. But ours started at 3:00 a.m. when our alarm went off. The reason we got up at that ungodly hour was to avoid what would surely have been bumper-to-bumper traffic on Wednesday night.

Thanksgiving courtesy of Whole Foods Market. (11/22/07)
Thanksgiving courtesy of Whole Foods Market. (11/22/07)

Tim took the first driving shift, while I slept. Then after refueling somewhere near Mendota, I took the wheel while Tim slept.

Miguel Angel celebrated his first Thanksgiving. (11/22/07)
Miguel Angel celebrated his first Thanksgiving. (11/22/07)

We got to San Ramon around 8:30 a.m. We had some breakfast (our family doesn't have Thanksgiving dinner until it's actually dinner time, around 6:00 pm) and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with the kids, watching Ratatouille, etc. We also managed to sneak in a quick nap.

Ruben carves the turkey. (11/22/07)
Ruben carves the turkey. (11/22/07)

Since we didn't feel like spending half the day cooking, we opted to order our Thanksgiving dinner from Whole Foods Market. It was a little pricey, but well worth it when you consider that my stepmom has a three-year-old and a five-month-old to take care of. (The eight-year-old, the thirty-eight-year-old and the forty-six-year old — aka Anna, James and Robert — were capable of entertaining themselves, as were Tim and my Dad).

Anna and John Paul. (11/22/07)
Anna and John Paul. (11/22/07)

As everyone else probably does, we ate too much. We were hardly hungry for the pumpkin pie. But I'm sure we'll get around to it tomorrow.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Kelly Clarkson at Universal

Kelly Clarkson once again made another Southern California concert appearance. And once again, Tim and I were there. This time the locale was the Gibson Amphitheatre located within Universal Studios Hollywood. And as always, Kelly delivered a great performance.

We enjoyed the Kelly Clarkson show at Universal's Gibson Amphitheatre. (11/18/2007)
We enjoyed the Kelly Clarkson show at Universal's Gibson Amphitheatre. (11/18/2007)

This was Kelly's re-scheduled Southern California appearance. Initially she was supposed to appear at the 18,000-seat Honda Center back in July, when she attempted a nationwide arena tour. But as I wrote last June, that tour was abruptly canceled.

So Kelly, after five months and a new management team (led by the husband of Reba McEntire), is now back on tour. This time, however, she's playing smaller venues, like the 6,000-seat Gibson Amphitheatre, which until recently was more commonly known as the Universal Amphitheatre.

Kelly Clarkson during the acoustic set of her show. (11/18/2007)
Kelly Clarkson during the acoustic set of her show. (11/18/2007)

Although not nearly as close to our house as Honda Center is, Gibson Amphitheatre is a great venue for concerts (I've seen such acts there as Indigo Girls, Donna Summer, Ana Gabriel, Shirley Bassey, Lyle Lovett, and last-year's So You Think You Can Dance tour). There really isn't a bad seat in the place, and the acoustics are great.

Kelly performed all her hits, as well as several songs from her newest album, My December. For that reason, I don't know that it was my favorite Kelly concert, since I'm not as familiar with the new album as the others, but it was still great. The only song we thought was a little half-assed was Miss Independent. Apart from that, however, she committed to her songs.

There have been Kelly concerts that I enjoyed more, like the 2005 show at Bren Events Center, or the show I saw during the 2006 Addicted tour. But really any show with Kelly Clarkson is well worth the price of admission.

Kelly's opening act was John McLaughlin. (11/18/2007)
Kelly's opening act was John McLaughlin. (11/18/2007)

Oh, I almost forgot. I gotta give a shout-out to John McLaughlin, the opening act whom we enjoyed very much. It's not too often you see a singer/songwriter at a keyboard. His music was awesome. Reminded me a little of Ben Folds. I hadn't heard of him before, but I'm probably going to check iTunes for some of his stuff.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

In keeping with tradition, Tim and I went to see the latest Cirque du Soleil production to come to town, Corteo. Running through December 23 at the Orange County Fairgrounds, Corteo is actually set around a funeral, but in a carnival atmosphere.

Corteo was the 9th Cirque du Soleil production we've seen. (11/09/2007)
Corteo was the 9th Cirque du Soleil production we've seen. (11/09/2007)

It had all the typical Cirque du Soleil type of events — acrobats swinging from giant chandeliers, bouncing beds, cyr wheels, an amazing tightrope walker, teeter borads, aerial stunts, etc. But the most amazing part for us was the Helium Dance, in which a dwarf named Valentyna was tethered to six enormous helium baloons and floated into the audience, bouncing off the hands of the spectators below her.

Watching Valentyna float was a true highlight.
Watching Valentyna float was a true highlight.

Being suspended by helium baloons looked like so much fun — although there isn't enough helium on this planet to lift our big asses in the air! Although it wasn't the best Circue du Soleil production we've ever seen, it was definitely worthwhile. Even if only to watch Valentyna's flight.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Early Thanksgiving in the Desert

We went out to the desert to visit Tim's family again — our first time out there together since April. Although it was an enjoyable weekend, it wasn't exactly newsworthy. The biggest news was the new IHOP that opened up in town.

We went to the new IHOP in town. (11/03/07)
We went to the new IHOP in town. (11/03/07)

This was exciting news for pancake connoisseur Tim, who convinced his family to go there for breakfast (not always an easy prospect since Tim's family usually only eats out on special occasions). As always, Tim was an excellent syrup sommelier, expertly pairing each variety of pancake with a corresponding syrup varietal.

Later that afternoon we had a mini Thanksgiving, since we'll be with my family during the actual Thanksgiving. (Conversely, Tim's family gets us for Christmas — can you think of two better Christmas presents than us?!) :)

Instead of turkey, we had rotisserie chicken, since it was only four of us. But everything else was 100% pure Thanksgiving, from the mashed potatoes and gravy, to Tim's mom's amazing stuffing, which I enjoyed immensely. We'll be back for more at Christmas!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Día de los Muertos 2007

Let me start by saying that for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead in English), which is celebrated each year on November 1-2, I had all sorts of grandiose plans. My intention was to go to the Mexican market, pick up an armload of fresh groceries, and then make the best dang Mexican dinner I could (kind of like we did for Day of the Dead last year).

Our Día de los Muertos offering table. (11/01/07)
Our Día de los Muertos offering table. (11/01/07)

But things didn't exactly go to plan. As it turned out, when I left the office, I found that my car wouldn't start. I had a Day of the Dead Battery it seems. Long story short, it wasn't something a simple jump start would solve, so we ended up calling AAA who towed it to the dealership. By the time Tim picked me up and we got back home, it was almost 9:00 p.m. — way too late to start cooking.

So I did the next best thing. I dug through the pantry, found a box of cake mix and some unopened frosting from when Tim made cookies last year (it still hadn't expired, if you can believe it). So I made Día de los Muertos skull cupcakes!

It wasn't as elaborate as the full Day of the Dead meal that Tom and Christine cooked. But as I like to imagine it, the spirits went to their house for dinner, and then came to our house for dessert.

Our last-minute Day of the Dead cupcakes. (11/01/07)
Our last-minute Day of the Dead cupcakes. (11/01/07)

Sorry Farmer's Daughter Bean (aka Christine). I didn't make the cupcakes from scratch like you do. And they weren't nearly as good as yours. But given the circumstances, they weren't half bad. Besides, it's not like any of our departed loved ones were the Rockefellers or anything. Not a single one of them would have balked at eating cupcakes made from mix.

We also put together a little shrine to honor some of the departed loved ones who continue to live on in our hearts. They included my Mom, Tim's best friend Judi, my Grandma, my aunt Eva, my uncle Raul, and our most recent and still painfull loss, our beloved Simon. We lit some candles and then enjoyed a cupcake while reminiscing about the impact each of them made on our lives. It was a befitting tribute.