Now, what if I were to tell you that there is a new custom service in as Vegas that offers a silvery, shiny bus with tastefully-appointed leather couches cruising the Strip from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. every weekend (starting 4/14/12) solely to cure your hangover in a mere 45 minutes?
What if I added that this service can be provided to you in the (supposed) privacy of your room from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday?
What's the treatment, you ask suspiciously. An "actual doctor" will hang a bag of hydration fluid (probably Ringer's) with liquid vitamins, anti-nausea and anti inflamation drugs and 45 minutes later (presumably the length of time it takes for the bag to empty) you'll be just as right as rain and all ready to go right out and do it again!
That there are three levels of treatment:
Salvation - anti-nausea, anti-inflammation meds, vitamins and hydration. $150 per person.
Redemption: hydration only. $90 per person
In-Room VIP Treatment: Two bags of fluid, $500 for the first patient, $375 for each additional person.
You'd probably say I was nuts and based solely on the above, I would agree. There's only so much "stuff" that can be made up.
But: go to HeavenlyHangover.com. The above is all sadly true. I'm sure the casinos love it; The police? Probably not so much. I think the HeavenlyHangover people's slogan should be: "Proudly making one alcoholic at a time."
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
More People Outside Than In
There were more people out on the street that runs along the ocean than there were inside at the jazz club -- only 25 or 30 of us that Easter Sunday afternoon.
And, of that number, only one crazy one. But this time (ha!) he went for Richie and not me, hurray!
All of the club musicians know that they've got a good shot at performing at these events so a lot of them show up. Yesterday we had a plethora of pianists, three of them, in fact. Two of them are perfectly sane, the third is as crazy as betting a NASCAR race.
It's the same dude that approached me last month with his "drawings." You may recall "A Field of Snow" which was a blank, white space with a frame, of sorts, drawn around it. For a man of his age, probably mid-50s, one might be forgiven for thinking that the artist was perhaps not giving us his very best...
He is short, about 5 ft. 4 in. with a girth that has to be easily 5 ft. 8 in. A small man to begin with, today his feet, in faded-looking canvas slippers, look as tiny as a four year old's. He cannot button his much-washed khaki pants, so he uses a sturdy-looking leather belt to hold them up. He was wearing a grey-ish white t-shirt with a peach-colored short -sleeved dress shirt over it, unbuttoned. It trailed behind him like a sail as he moved about the room.
This time, he sidled up to Richie and began telling him the story of Moses! On Easter Sunday!
More unnervingly, he does not walk up to a person, say "Hello," or, in fact make any sort of conversational gambit (as more normal people do) as a preface to whatever he wants to talk about.
"There was this river, see, and this woman put a basket in it and stood, watching the basket drift away and ..." A few sentences later - he'd gotten to another woman pulling the basket out of the river -- the band started up with a howl of cornet and thunder of drums. He looked at the band, clearly offended at being interrupted, and drifted away in disgust, shirt tails billowing out behind him like the wake of an ocean liner. He never came back to our table and for that, I can only be profoundly grateful.
Next month's event will feature Jazz America, a group of high school students, who are learning this kind of music (Dixieland) and who perform it very well indeed. The second Sunday in May for your calendar. But I would remind you that we've already heard most of the story of Moses...
And, of that number, only one crazy one. But this time (ha!) he went for Richie and not me, hurray!
All of the club musicians know that they've got a good shot at performing at these events so a lot of them show up. Yesterday we had a plethora of pianists, three of them, in fact. Two of them are perfectly sane, the third is as crazy as betting a NASCAR race.
It's the same dude that approached me last month with his "drawings." You may recall "A Field of Snow" which was a blank, white space with a frame, of sorts, drawn around it. For a man of his age, probably mid-50s, one might be forgiven for thinking that the artist was perhaps not giving us his very best...
He is short, about 5 ft. 4 in. with a girth that has to be easily 5 ft. 8 in. A small man to begin with, today his feet, in faded-looking canvas slippers, look as tiny as a four year old's. He cannot button his much-washed khaki pants, so he uses a sturdy-looking leather belt to hold them up. He was wearing a grey-ish white t-shirt with a peach-colored short -sleeved dress shirt over it, unbuttoned. It trailed behind him like a sail as he moved about the room.
This time, he sidled up to Richie and began telling him the story of Moses! On Easter Sunday!
More unnervingly, he does not walk up to a person, say "Hello," or, in fact make any sort of conversational gambit (as more normal people do) as a preface to whatever he wants to talk about.
"There was this river, see, and this woman put a basket in it and stood, watching the basket drift away and ..." A few sentences later - he'd gotten to another woman pulling the basket out of the river -- the band started up with a howl of cornet and thunder of drums. He looked at the band, clearly offended at being interrupted, and drifted away in disgust, shirt tails billowing out behind him like the wake of an ocean liner. He never came back to our table and for that, I can only be profoundly grateful.
Next month's event will feature Jazz America, a group of high school students, who are learning this kind of music (Dixieland) and who perform it very well indeed. The second Sunday in May for your calendar. But I would remind you that we've already heard most of the story of Moses...
Sunday, April 8, 2012
What Adventures Await?
Today is the South Bay New Orleans Jazz Club monthly meeting. These have proved to be fruitful sources for funny stories so will see what can be gleaned today.
Meantime, this worked out well...Richie brought home a pound of good-sized shrimp, so I steamed them in water with Old Bay seasoning and a splash of vinegar and served them peel and eat style. I made a Szechuan aioli as the dipping sauce. "Szechuan aioli" is fancy for: Szechuan sauce and mayonnaise. Sounds a great deal fancier than it is which is key to eating quickly and well. No fuss, no muss.
Meantime, this worked out well...Richie brought home a pound of good-sized shrimp, so I steamed them in water with Old Bay seasoning and a splash of vinegar and served them peel and eat style. I made a Szechuan aioli as the dipping sauce. "Szechuan aioli" is fancy for: Szechuan sauce and mayonnaise. Sounds a great deal fancier than it is which is key to eating quickly and well. No fuss, no muss.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Germans Invent Symbolic Bunny for Easter
In 13th century pre-Christian Germany, many of the people worshipped individual gods and goddesses. The goddess of spring and fertility was "Eostra" and her symbol was a rabbit, due to their speedy reproduction abilities.
If you observe Easter or Passover, best wishes for a joyful, wonderful celebration.
If you observe Easter or Passover, best wishes for a joyful, wonderful celebration.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Wal-Marts of Japan (But Better Dressed)
My friend Olga told me about a wonderful new store her daughter-in-law had found. What made it great? Almost everything in it was for sale for $1.50! That's certainly upscale from the 99 Cent Store or the 88 Cents Store I saw on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City!
Yesterday we went for a look-see ourselves. When we got there, to my joy, we found a Marukai right next door! They share a building wall they're so close.
I googled Daiso and found that it is a major chain in Japan. Daiso "wants to help customers find surprises and fun." To that end, there are 2,570 stores in Japan plus another 563 more in 4 countries. As of March, 2010, sales totaled $341.4 billion (billion.)
There's a big "Grand Opening!" sign out front and the cashier said they've been open four weeks. There's a wide variety of items -- thong sandals in plastic to what looked like chenille (but they were $3) men's shirts, ties, dishes, kitchen gadgets and more, much more. Richie bought suction cups (they always come down,) a clip-to-the-book LED reading light (useful on rainy days down in the gym garage,) a sports sunglasses case and a little miniature car -- all for $1.50 each.
Marukai has a great Website - marukai.com - done in Japanese cartoon style. A lot of the site is in Japanese, but I did read they are going to have a "mini mini beauty convention" in the Gardena store soon. In a cartoon strip, a boy wants to make curry for his friend. The four panels show how to do it and it was quite cute.
I love seeing all sorts of packaged foods, labeled in Japanese only, and trying to figure out what the hell is inside the package. I did recognize one thing though and snapped a bag right up. Gyoza shrimp potstickers. Four of five of them make a very good, quick lunch and I love trying a different sauce on each one of them.
If you want to have a great Japanese shopping tour with lots of local color, don't bother with a plane to Tokyo - just drive to:
Daiso, 3842 Sepulvea, Torrance, 90505 424-237-2388
Marukai, 3832 Sepulveda, Torrance, 90505 30-375-4900
Yesterday we went for a look-see ourselves. When we got there, to my joy, we found a Marukai right next door! They share a building wall they're so close.
I googled Daiso and found that it is a major chain in Japan. Daiso "wants to help customers find surprises and fun." To that end, there are 2,570 stores in Japan plus another 563 more in 4 countries. As of March, 2010, sales totaled $341.4 billion (billion.)
There's a big "Grand Opening!" sign out front and the cashier said they've been open four weeks. There's a wide variety of items -- thong sandals in plastic to what looked like chenille (but they were $3) men's shirts, ties, dishes, kitchen gadgets and more, much more. Richie bought suction cups (they always come down,) a clip-to-the-book LED reading light (useful on rainy days down in the gym garage,) a sports sunglasses case and a little miniature car -- all for $1.50 each.
Marukai has a great Website - marukai.com - done in Japanese cartoon style. A lot of the site is in Japanese, but I did read they are going to have a "mini mini beauty convention" in the Gardena store soon. In a cartoon strip, a boy wants to make curry for his friend. The four panels show how to do it and it was quite cute.
I love seeing all sorts of packaged foods, labeled in Japanese only, and trying to figure out what the hell is inside the package. I did recognize one thing though and snapped a bag right up. Gyoza shrimp potstickers. Four of five of them make a very good, quick lunch and I love trying a different sauce on each one of them.
If you want to have a great Japanese shopping tour with lots of local color, don't bother with a plane to Tokyo - just drive to:
Daiso, 3842 Sepulvea, Torrance, 90505 424-237-2388
Marukai, 3832 Sepulveda, Torrance, 90505 30-375-4900
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
In the Nick of Time
Look at the left rim of the nest; you should see a beak. Then look at the top right-hand side of the nest to see the other beak.Sunday Richie came in from the backyard all excited. "We've got a hummingbird nest!" I was comfortable, didn't feel like trudging down the back stairs and out into the yard. Yesterday I did go and sure enough -- there they were.
This morning, he came back in after changing litter boxes and said, "They're gone -- I checked around on the ground, but they weren't there." None of the neighborhood cats (or our own) got them as the nest was well hidden. At cat eye level, they could not have seen it.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Potpourri
It Really Works!
A friend sent an e that said to take your car keys to bed with you. If you hear burglar noises in the night, hit the Panic button for your car -- it will start beeping and scare the burglar away.
I was extremely dubious about this because the sound would have to go through house walls, but when I tried it, it worked! On the other hand, we'd just come from Toyota where my clicker had gotten a new battery... Test it for yourself.
Would You Want This Woman Teaching Your Child?
The World Wide Recipes book, compiled by high school Home Ec teachers, offers this punch.
BEACH PARTY PUNCH
1 cup Amaretto liqueur
1 cup Southern Comfort
1 cup vodka
1 cup peach schnapps
4 1/2 cups orange juice
4 1/2 cups pineapple juice
Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl, stir and add crushed ice. I would add "And have a dentist on stand-by."
A Good Sandwich
I was hungry but too lazy to cook up some bacon. So I substituted black pepper salami on a sliced, toasted chunk of baguette with red onion and pickled jalapenos -- excellent! Brushing your teeth after dining is recommended.
A friend sent an e that said to take your car keys to bed with you. If you hear burglar noises in the night, hit the Panic button for your car -- it will start beeping and scare the burglar away.
I was extremely dubious about this because the sound would have to go through house walls, but when I tried it, it worked! On the other hand, we'd just come from Toyota where my clicker had gotten a new battery... Test it for yourself.
Would You Want This Woman Teaching Your Child?
The World Wide Recipes book, compiled by high school Home Ec teachers, offers this punch.
BEACH PARTY PUNCH
1 cup Amaretto liqueur
1 cup Southern Comfort
1 cup vodka
1 cup peach schnapps
4 1/2 cups orange juice
4 1/2 cups pineapple juice
Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl, stir and add crushed ice. I would add "And have a dentist on stand-by."
A Good Sandwich
I was hungry but too lazy to cook up some bacon. So I substituted black pepper salami on a sliced, toasted chunk of baguette with red onion and pickled jalapenos -- excellent! Brushing your teeth after dining is recommended.
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