Our Color Purple Thanksgiving

They say 2008 was the year of change. So after nearly 39 years of group Thanksgiving gatherings at the homes of family or friends, Tim and I decided to make a change this year and spend Thanksgiving dinner at Orange Hill Restaurant.


The view when we arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. (11/27/2008)

A couple of reasons prompted this. First, we've never had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant before, and it sounded kind of fun (especially at Orange Hill Restaurant that we love anyway). Second, my whole family was in Chicago for Thanksgiving this year. Third, we had tickets that night to see The Color Purple stage musical at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

We didn't intentionally buy show tickets on Thanksgiving. In fact, I wouldn't have thought they would even perform a show on Thanksgiving. But this year we subscribed to the series and selected Thursday nights as our show night. When we received our tickets, we actually called the box office to make sure there wasn't a mistake (there wasn't).


The view when we left Thanksgiving dinner. (11/27/2008)

We had dinner before the show, arriving at 4:30 p.m. We strategically selected that time because we knew the view would be daylight when we arrived, we'd watch the sunset while we ate, and it would be night when we left. That way we could see the amazing view in all the major stages (the view, and the food, were amazing).

The show was great too. I don't know if it was the best show I'd ever seen, or even in my top 10, but I still enjoyed it very much. The woman who played the lead part of Celie, Jeannette Bayardelle, was great. And being the American Idol nut that I am, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that LaToya London, one of the powerhouse divas of Season 3, was playing the part of Celie's sister Nettie (LaToya London's Idol performance of "All By Myself" still gives me chills when I think about it).


We spent Thanksgiving night seeing The Color Purple. (11/27/2008)

The most standout performance, however, was by Felicia P. Fields, who played the unstoppable Sofia (the role Oprah Winfrey played in the 1985 film). Fields was reprising the role she originated on Broadway, and she was incredible. I especially liked her song, "Hell, No!" The audience went wild when she sang it.

Altogether, it was a very pleasant way to spend the day. In fact, if you ask me if I would have done Thanksgiving any different this year, I'd say: "Hell, No!" :)

How to Open a Pomegranate Without the Mess

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the seasonal availability of one of my favorite treats: Pomegranates. For some people, this season is all about pumpkin pie. But for me, it's those ruby-red bundles of goodness made by Mother Nature herself. So today, I'm using our blog to actually write about something useful: How to open a pomegranate without the mess.


Step 0: Start with a pomegranate. (11/11/2008)

I've seen various methods of opening a pomegranate, many of which I find needlessly messy. So here is my mess-free, stress-free way of opening pomegranates. First, you'll need a pomegranate. I buy mine at Costco. POM brand are the best, in my humble opinion.


Step 1: Slice off the top. (11/11/2008)

Step 1: Using a paring knife, slice off the top, or crown. In some of the other methods I've seen, they cut off the crown deeper into the fruit, exposing the arils and making a big juicy mess. Totally unnecessary, I say. I prefer to cut off a thin portion without exposing the interior fruit.


Step 2: Make a center cut and score. (11/11/2008)

Step 2: Stick the knife about a quarter-inch into the core, making a small incision. Then, gently, use your knife to score the outside skin in the same direction of the cut in the core.


Step 3: Repeat in opposite direction. (11/11/2008)

Step 3: Repeat Step 2, but this time go in the opposite direction. If you did this correctly, you'll notice the center core will have a "+" or "x" depending on the angle in which you hold it.


Step 4: After scoring it, gently pry it open. (11/11/2008)

Step 4: After cutting the core and scoring the outside skin, gently begin to pry it open. Be sure not to squeeze the fruit while doing this, or you'll crush the arils inside and again, make a big juicy mess.


Step 5: Open until it splits. (11/11/2008)

Step 5: Keep prying the pomegranate open until it splits in half. Be on the lookout for any arils that fall out. As you've no doubt heard, pomegranate juice causes permanent stains, so be sure to avoid wearing white while doing this.


Step 6: Split again and then eat the tasty arils. (11/11/2008)

Step 6: Take the two halves and split them again along the scoring lines you made. You should end up with four large sections that now make it much easier to pick out the tasty little arils. Some people prefer to do this in a bin of water, since the arils sink while the membrane lining floats. But I find it just as easy to do this dry. Enjoy!

Biking in the Newport Back Bay

We were pretty busy last weekend, so we didn't get much of a chance to go biking. But this weekend was a different story. This morning we joined our friend Sean in doing a ride around the Newport Back Bay, the inland delta in Newport Beach.


James and Sean biking on the Newport Back Bay. (11/01/2008)

We did the full loop. It was tiring. But gorgeous! I especially liked riding around some of the residential areas at the top of the course. I saw the next house we want to buy. We just have to save up a couple of million first.

The only thing more beautiful than the ride were the breakfast plates we got at Shamrock Bar & Grill. After a couple of Bloody Marys, we ordered the Irish Breakfast: Two eggs any style, bangers, rashers, O'Brian potatoes, light and dark pudding (which is actually sausage) and Irish brown bread. What a treat.

May the Force be With You This Halloween

I think one of my favorite workdays of the year is Halloween. In the words of Angela Chase, from my favorite TV shows of the '90s, My So-Called Life, Halloween is "the one chance all year to be someone else."


James as Anakin Skywalker. (10/31/2008)

So how was I going to follow up my stints as Coffee Matey and Fidel Castro? Well it turns out the Force was with me when Tom loaned me his Anakin Skywalker costume.


The real Anakin Skywalker

I have to say, the costume doesn't look bad when Tom wears it. But me? The moment I slipped on the tunic and robe, and grabbed the lightsaber, I looked Jedi-tastic!


Enhanced version of James as Anakin Skywalker. (10/31/2008)

As always, I knocked everyone's socks off at the office where we had our annual Halloween pot luck. Even our graphic artist got in on the fun and used Photoshop to enhance the realism of the costume.


All the costumed people at work. (10/31/2008)

I also wore the costume while handing out candy to the 30 or so kids that stopped by. I had cool moment when a kid dressed as Luke stopped by the door. After I gave him some candy, I said, "May the Force be with you." And just as I was closing the door, I heard him say, "May the Force be with you" back. A true moment of Star Wars geekdom!


Just the guys. (10/31/2008)

On a final note, I gotta give mad props to Christine for making such a bad-ass costume. I keep joking around that I've been bragging to everyone that I made it myself, but in reality I've been giving her all the credit. Much Force, she has in her sewing abilities!

In Praise of Wiechec's Lounge

Tim and I have been visiting Buffalo, New York every few years to visit Tim's Grandma Helen and other relatives. Since our first trip in 2000, we routinely schedule one night to have dinner at Wiechec's Lounge, a neighborhood tavern owned by Grandma Helen's brother Hank and operated by two of her nephews. Although this time we were in town for Grandma Helen's funeral, I'm sure she would have been disappointed if we didn't make it to Wiechec's during this trip.


Wiechec's Lounge, Buffalo, NY. (10/09/2008)

It was no problem for me, because I love the place. Not fancy by any means, Wiechec's is the kind of place where you can still get hot wings on Monday nights for the eat-in special price of 35 cents a piece (where else can you get a dozen wings for $4.20). It's a place that still does the Friday night fish fry, a popular dinner event in the Northeast, particularly in cities with large Polish/Catholic populations.

Entering the doors, you have no idea what decade you're in. The interior has elements from seemingly every decade from the last 50 years. Imagine dark-paneled walls and red vinyl booths. Two large, corner-mounted TVs (not widescreen). Banquet tables and chairs in the back dining room. Add a few neon beer signs throughout, and you pretty much get the picture.


Wings and a Genee Beer. (10/09/2008)

Wiechec's is really a celebration of all things Buffalo. It simply oozes the very character of the Rust Belt. It's unpretentious, and teaming with honest, working class folks who simply want good food and drink at decent prices while watching the ball game.

At Wiechec's, they serve coffee, not lattes. Beer, not microbrews. Fish and chips, not panko-encrusted sea bass with taro chips. And they would probably laugh you out the door if you asked if their cooking oil is trans fat free.


Tim's extended family at Wiechec's. (01/28/2000)

Inside its storied walls, you can feel the very history of Buffalo. It summarizes everything from the city's economic prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s, to the economic downturns of subsequent decades after the demise of the steel mills. You can practically imagine the patrons' glee when the Buffalo Bills made it to the Super Bowl four times in the early 1990s, as well as the eventual heartbreak when the Bills lost each of those games.

Most of the time, when people go to Buffalo, they check out the Anchor Bar, which has the distinction of being the inventor of Buffalo Wings (by the way, nobody calls them "Buffalo Wings" in Buffalo ... it's just "Wings.") From what I understand, however, the only people who go to the Anchor Bar are tourists. If you want to find real locals, you'll find them at Wiechec's.


My favorite is Wiechec's pierogi's. (01/28/2000)

I've sampled quite a bit of their food over the years. And although the wings and fried fish are fantastic, my favorite are their pierogis, semi-circular pasta dumplings filled with things like potatoes and cabbage. I remember Grandma Helen saying that the pierogi plate has three pierogis. "Just three?" I asked. Well I changed my tune when I saw how big these pierogis were!

After Grandma Helen's interment, a gaggle of Tim's relatives headed to Wiechec's for lunch before our flight home. They weren't doing pierogis at that time, but I did order some wings, which I accompanied with a Genee Beer (Grandma Helen's favorite beer). I hope that brought a smile to her face in heaven.


The fish fry at Wiechec's is amazing. (01/28/2000)

Wiechec's Lounge is located at 1748 Clinton St, Buffalo, NY 14206. (716) 823-2828.

Traveling Down to Travel Town

One of the great things about living in Southern California is that it's hard to run out of first times. You know, the first time at the Hollywood Bowl, or your first time at the La Brea Tar Pits, etc. Despite living in Southern California for over 16 years, we managed to find another Southern California first: Our first time at Travel Town.


Welcome to Travel Town. (09/19/2008)

Described as a "railroad petting zoo," Travel Town is an indoor and outdoor museum dedicated to the history of transportation from the 1880s to the 1930s. The museum's roots date back to the 1940s when the steam locomotive era was drawing to a close. Railroad companies were looking to scrap their old engines. That's when a few City of Los Angeles employees began contacting the companies to see if they would be willing to donate the old engines to a transport museum.


Some of the trains at the Travel Town museum. (09/19/2008)

One thing led to another, and Travel Town officially opened to the public in 1952. In addition to the large train engines in the outdoor section of the park, Travel Town also has an indoor section featuring a variety of old cars and trucks. In addition, the museum still operates a miniature train the circles the museum grounds.


Chia and Solar on the Travel Town train. (09/19/2008)

What's funny is that we didn't even intend to go to Travel Town that day. It just turned out that we had several hours to kill after our Warner Brothers Studio Tour and our planned excursion to the Griffith Observatory. So how do you kill a couple of hours? We decided to check out Travel Town.


An unusual instruction on this train. (09/19/2008)

Now that I've been to Travel Town, I can't honestly say it's a thrill-a-minute kind of place. In fact, the grounds were practically dead that day (albeit, it was a weekday; maybe weekends are different). In fact, it almost seemed abandoned. But if you're a railroad enthusiast, I could imagine it would be awesome. I don't know if we'll go back anytime soon, but I am glad we checked it out at least once.


Chia and Tim aboard one of the Travel Town trains. (09/19/2008)

Travel Town is located within Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The museum is Open daily, except Christmas. Free admission.

My Dad's Photography Gets Published

Last year, in an effort to digitally preserve the Kodachrome slides in storage at our family's homes, we purchased a dual-bed scanner. I scanned some slides and uploaded them to Flickr. A couple of weeks later, I got an e-mail from an author interested in using a couple of slides for a book about the history of snapshot photography in America. One thing led to another, and now four of my dad's photos can now be seen in Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America.


Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America. (09/18/2008)

My copy of the 240-page, hardcover book arrived today, and it's gorgeous! The book tells the story of America through snapshots taken by amateur photographers from the 1890s through the early 1970s. My dad's photos appear in the chapter about Kodachrome slides.


The pages with my dad's snapshots. (09/18/2008)

According to the year printed on the slides, the photos were taken in 1962. The photo subjects were my cousins Albert, Lupe, David and Pete, who at the time, were living in Davenport, near Santa Cruz. You can check out the full slide set here.


Alberto. (03/1962)

When I first scanned these slides, I remember finding it funny to see pictures of my cousins so young. I remember them being much older than me (David, the baby in the picture, was seven years older than me and used to tease me a lot as a kid). Lupe, the girl in the photo, had kids who were not too much younger than me. I don't think I ever met Pete, because he died in an accident before I was born, or shortly thereafter.


Lupe. (03/1962)

Those pictures of them look great in print. The authors — Michael Williams, Richard Cahan and Nicholas Osborn — kindly sent signed copies of the book to both my dad, and to my cousins' mom, my Aunt Amelia. My dad was delighted to receive it, and so was my aunt.


My cousin David. (03/1962)

But as much as I was fascinated by seeing our old family slides, I was equally fascinated by many of the other old family photos in the book. For example, I loved the series of photos showing people in front of houses they built to qualify for the Homestead Act, which offered 160 acres of free land to people who lived on the land for five years. The houses are shacks by today's standards, but you can see the pride in their faces.


Pete. (03/1962)

I also loved the amateur photographer in Elgin, Illinois who sought to record the history of the John F. Kennedy assassination by taking at least two dozen color photos of his black & white TV screen as he watched coverage of the days following the shooting. I also had no idea until I received the book that Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr. actually left a snapshot of his family on the surface of the moon during a 1972 lunar landing. Fascinating stuff.


This one of Paul didn't make the book, but I'll still post it here. (03/1962)

If you're interested in getting a copy of this book, you can order it here. If you order it through this alternate site, you'll receive a deluxe edition which will be signed and will include a genuine vintage snapshot considered for the book (the snapshot I received, acccording to the writing on the back, was of Helen & Bob Boehm, of Los Altos, CA, on their 30th wedding anniversary in 1978).


Signed by the authors, complete with an original photo. (09/18/2008)

Congratulations dad on getting published! If you want to see more of my dad's slides, check out the complete collection.

Mountain Bikes ... Meet Mountain

Watch your back Julien Absalon. Yeah, you may have won the gold medal in Men's Mountain Biking in the last two Olympics. But keep your eye on the rear-view-mirror, my friend, because James and Tim just may sneak up on you in London in 2012. That is, now that we're graduates of the REI Outdoor School Introduction to Mountain Biking class.


The REI Outdoor School van. (09/14/2008)

We decided to take this course shortly after buying our mountain bikes last month. We knew we had to unlearn some of our self-taught habits we picked up from riding street bikes as a kid, and learn proper techniques from skilled mountain bikers. Our instructors, Mark and Greg, definitely met that challenge.


Mark explains the finer points of mountain biking. (09/14/2008)

We learned the correct way to mount a bike, the correct starting position, and the correct stopping techniques, including how not to fly over the handlebars when you make a sudden stop. The trick is to stick your butt out (insert joke here). Although these things were all helpful, I think the most illuminating lesson came when they showed us the proper riding position. Low, with your head above your hands. It made a huge difference, and that alone was worth the cost of the class.


James about to depart for our ride. (09/14/2008)

We also learned that our bike saddles were too low. I was worried mine would be too high, but once I learned the proper way to start, it wasn't a problem at all. Best of all was the fact that we finally took our mountain bikes off the paved bike trail and onto the natural terrain they were made for.


Tim before for our ride. (09/14/2008)

The class was held at Malibu Creek State Park near Calabasas, which interestingly enough, sits on land once owned by 20th Century Fox. The studio used the land — then called "Fox Ranch" — as a filming location for dozens of films, including three Tarzan movies, How Green Was My Valley, Viva Zapata, The Defiant Ones, Planet of the Apes and Logan's Run, to name a few. It also incorporates the land that used to be Ronald Reagan's ranch.


Malibu Creek State Park. (09/14/2008)

For the biking portion of the class, we went along what they call Crags Road. It was a great place for biking. The only downer was the heat. It was hot that day! Thankfully we remained fully hydrated with the 2-liter hydration backpacks we purchased at — where else? — REI.


We rode up Crags Road. (09/14/2008)

Out of the 13 people taking the course, only three of us were guys. One of the women was older, probably in her 50s. She was a little chunky, and she rode this old Schwinn mountain bike that didn't even have shocks. It even had a rear basket for storing things. Yet I kid you not when I say this woman kicked all our asses when it came to riding. She was definitely a mind-over-matter type of person.


Mark explains how to ride over obstacles. (09/14/2008)

Most of the other girls were pretty young (I'd say in their 20s) and petite. When we were going over the basics at the beginning of the class, some of them just weren't grasping it. I remember thinking, "Okay, even though I'm a big old fatass, I am still so much more athletic than these amateurs." I actually believed it too ... until we got to the big hill.


Greg demonstrates how to ride over a log. (09/14/2008)

Let's just say that my silent smack-talking came back to haunt me big time. The young girls I was making fun of an hour earlier were climbing up the hill like nobody's business. Meanwhile I was working twice as hard to go half the speed they were. I had to stop twice to take a break. Tim had to stop once himself. But we eventually made it to the top.


Tim on the trail. (09/14/2008)

Despite the ups and downs (literally and figuratively), the class was great, and definitely worth the price. The only thing I wish they spent more time on was proper gearing. They did talk about gears, but I still don't feel as if I've mastered the art of knowing what gear I should be in. But I imagine that will come with more experience.

In the meantime, if you're in the mood to go riding with us, let us know!

Move Over David Hasselhoff

My rise to fame in Germany is continuing at meteoritic speed. Less than a month after one of my photos was published on a German website about celebrity graves, another one of my photos has caught their eye. If this keeps up, I'll be, as Tom put it, "the David Hasselhoff of shutterbugs."


Our photo of the David O. Selznick grave on the website. (09/09/2008)

This time the requested photo was of the grave belonging to David O. Selznick, legendary Hollywood producer of such cinematic classics as Rebecca and Gone With the Wind. I'm not sure why the webmaster passed over my photos of such A-list graves as Clark Gable, Bette Davis or Walt Disney, and opted for the less famous Telly Savalas and the behind-the-scenes movie mogul Selznick. I guess it's kind of like the French and their affinity for Jerry Lewis.


The full-size photo of the David O. Selznick grave. (02/10/2008)

Oh well, either way, I'm happy to contribute. If you care to, check out the Selznick article.

Ich bin ein Berliner!

Our 14-Mile Bike Ride

Okay, I preface this by saying that I'm not going to blog about every bike ride we go on. However, when we do something new and interesting, it's fair game. And today we hit a new milestone — a 14-mile ride!


Amy on our 14-mile bike ride. (09/07/2008)

I realize that for serious bikers, 14 miles ain't diddly squat. There are people who can do 100 miles a day. But for us out-of-shape, 39- and 40-year-olds who are more commonly seen in front of a computer screen, 14 miles is an accomplishment, let me tell ya.


Tim on our 14-mile bike ride. (09/07/2008)

Today we rode the Santa Ana River Bicycle Trail, which begins in Corona in Riverside County and continues 30 miles through Orange County. It ends at the ocean between Huntington and Newport Beach. We didn't make it to the beach today, but we made it seven miles to the 405 freeway before we decided to turn around and begin the return journey.


James on our 14-mile bike ride. (09/07/2008)

Prior to that the best we did was on our local bike trail, which is four miles from beginning to end. Combine that with the one mile we bike from our house to the bike trail entrance, and our best to date was about 10 miles. So this beats our previous record by 40%. Not bad, eh?

A Tribute to Pecos

Some unfortunate news. We learned today that our pals Ryan and Laura had to put their beloved cat Pecos to sleep today. Pecos had been ill with kidney failure and had gotten progressively worse. I know it was very difficult for Ryan and Laura because Pecos was a very special cat to them. He was a special cat to me too, since he once was my cat too.


Pecos. (12/27/2007)

It was 1995 when I decided to get a cat. I had befriended another tenant in the apartment building I lived in at the time. I can't remember her name for the life of me right now, but I do remember that she dated Dwight Yoakam for a while.

Anyway, she had three or four cats, including one that just had a litter of kittens. She invited me to her apartment to play with the kittens, and I couldn't resist taking one home. Only one male and one female were still available. I chose the male because he seemed adventurous, while his sister was much shyer.


Pecos, left, with his big sis Sumatra, right. (11/09/2006)

I had him for a couple of months. As it turned out, however, I wasn't a very good cat papa. I was single and had a job that required long hours. Subsequently, Pecos would be home alone all day. In addition, my job also required travel. During a trip to Dallas that year, I left him at Tom and Christine's so they could cat sit.

When I got back, they had a heart-to-heart with me, letting me know that I wasn't taking very good care of Pecos. He had fleas and worms, and didn't have any other cats or people to play with all day. Ryan and Laura were willing to adopt him, and so they did.


Pecos naps with big sister Sumatra. (11/08/2006)

It was one of those things that turned out to be the best move for everyone. Pecos now had a wonderful home where he was cared for and loved for the rest of his life. He also had a big sister Sumatra to keep him company when Ryan and Laura were at work. And I know Pecos brought a lot of joy and happiness to Ryan and Laura too.

Although Pecos may have had a rough start his first couple of months, he was very much a happy cat until his final days. He will be missed very much.