I Am Your Host. Your....Ghost Host.

This past weekend, Melissa and I decided it would be fun to have some friends over for the 4th of July. We invited a bunch of people, and pretty much all of them came. Now, we've had people over before for movie nights or dinners, but never more than 2 or 3 at a time. 8 people (plus the two of us) came by on Saturday. All of us crammed into our little living room of our little 1 bedroom apartment. Everything that could be a chair became one. But it was a ton of fun. I think everyone had a good time (at least, I hope they did).

A few thoughts on hosting: When having a holiday get together, most people would theme their party around the specific holiday. Melissa and I think outside the box (I literally almost typed "outside the bun"- thanks Taco Bell). Fireworks and patriotism? Try Rock Band and American Idol Karaoke! I bet our neighbors just love us now. This actually seemed to be a big hit, especially the karaoke. Of course, we're all artsy/performy-type people, so it makes sense. I must humbly say that I rocked out Billie Jean (during a round where we were selecting songs at random- even the PS3 knew to pay tribute to Michael). The only thing close to fireworks we had was watching the Capitol 4th and NYC fireworks on an HDTV. Once CBS's non-HD broadcast with Neil Diamond came on, things were pretty much over (Party Tip- if you want to clear a room, put on video of Neil Diamond. Melissa and I were by ourselves within 10 minutes).

The thing is, I missed a lot of the fun. I was out on our porch, grilling burgers, sausages, and veggie skewers. I learned over the course of the evening that my tiny camping grill is ill-suited to serve this many people. There were about 3 square inches that were consistently hot, and parts of the grill I could have kept my hand on they were so cold. Grilling that much food took far too long, and I'm still not happy with the way a lot of it turned out (especially the veggies). Still, people seemed to like it. I got many compliments on my burgers (which were hastily thrown together at the last minute) and my pepper and onion chili relish (which had the honor of being the first thing I cooked in my new pans, which I love).

All in all, I think it was a successful afternoon/evening. Spending time with friends is always a joy, and to be surrounded by so many really made me feel loved. Still, I think I'll let someone else do the planning and hosting for the next couple of turns.

Cheers,

Eli

Too Many Cooks

So, as you can see, I wasted no time in getting a new set of pots and pans. I wasn't in any real rush, but I got way too good of a deal on this set on a closeout at Macys.com and couldn't resist. It was already almost 70% marked down from original price, plus they were offering an additional 20% off of the closeout price. I think it's because Cuisinart updated this set to include a lid for the fry pan and take away the steamer insert. I'd rather have the steamer insert, anyway. Unfortunately, due to the way my menu for the week is planned, I won't really get to play with my new toys until Friday.

Amazingly, I ordered this set on Sunday, paid for the cheapest shipping available and it got here yesterday. This is just one of the perks of living in Los Angeles. So many companies have shipping centers here that orders arrive way ahead of schedule (though, unfortunately, I have not found this to be the case with Amazon). Last week I ordered a pair of bluetooth headphones for my iPhone on a Tuesday morning and they came on Wednesday with basic shipping. If I order cables from monoprice.com, they almost always arrive next day. Now if only Apple would start building their computers here instead of in Hong Kong...

Now, to play a bit of catch up, I am sad to report that my meeting with agency went well, but not well enough. I'm back to square one on that front. Chin up, keep writing, and all that.

Also, I'm not sure if you may have heard this, but apparently Michael Jackson died last week. At first, I traded tasteless jokes with friends (my normal response to almost everything), but after thinking about his childhood and the life he led, it made me said. Not said that he died, but sad about the way he lived. I think Mike put it best - The guy was a musical genius, but like many geniuses, he went totally insane. I enjoyed watching all of his classic videos on VH1 this weekend and remembering the music I loved. But, in a sense, the Michael Jackson I loved died somewhere around 1995, so the memorials just feel redundant somehow. Still, maybe no jokes right now.

Cheers,

Eli

...Ok, one joke. In the Tonight Show-style: "Michael Jackson died last week after suffering a heart attack. As a response, Weird Al Yankovic died after suffering a grilled cheese sandwich attack." Not great, but the concept makes me giggle.

Pots and Pans

Hello everyone. I had a great weekend this past weekend. Melissa and I went to Disneyland with both Mike and Bailee AND Mike and Shannon. It was an absolutely delightful time. I was concerned that having two Mikes in the group would be confusing, but it really wasn't (Mike Smith adopted the nickname Captain Space Beard early in the day, so that helped). We go to Disney a lot, but this was easily one of our best trips.

But that's not why I'm here. Melissa and I, after much convincing from friends and co-workers, started watching Top Chef Masters, which has led us to try and catch up on Top Chef, the proper one. It's fantastic. I'm usually not one for reality shows, but I like that this competition is between people who are already professionals and are really good at what they do. Plus, you know it's cooking, so Chef Eli loves it. It has really rekindled my love of cooking, and my desire to learn how to do it better. I'm in awe of these people's ability to create meals without following recipes, and I'm determined to learn how to do it myself. Which is where you come in.

Loyal readers, my mishmash of pots and pans is starting to show its age. I have a lot of non-stick coated aluminum stuff that's served it's purpose and I'm ready to upgrade. Not long ago, a friend of Melissa's gave us her old Circulon fry pans. These, which were old when we got them, still hold up and release food better than any other pan I own. When our wok started sticking and the non-stick coating flaking off last week, we bought a Circulon wok to replace it. So far, so good. But what about the rest of my pots and pans?

I'm having a hard time deciding between hard anodized aluminum and stainless steel (with an aluminum or copper core). Right now, I'm leaning towards the anodized, since that's what Circulon is and I've had a good experience with it. However, hard anodized still has a non-stick coating that can come off, and I'm concerned about the possibility of toxins. Plus, stainless steel is durable and looks so classy. So what do you think? I'm hoping there are readers out there with more experience in this than I (Dale, if you're still reading, Mike says I should be looking at you). So should I go stainless or hard anodized? I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

Cheers,

Eli

p.s.- I know cast iron is great, and every time I try to have this conversation someone thinks they need to tell me this. I just don't have the patience to season it or take care of it. I may buy a cast iron skillet at some point, but that's not my focus right now.

A Little Braggery

So, those of you who have read this blog for a long time (I know there's a couple of you) or at least gone spelunking through the archives knows that I love crosswords. Recently, a company introduced an iPhone app that provides the NY Times crossword for $10 a year. The regular web version costs $40 a year. I know a good deal when I see one, so I snapped it up. Now, it's not the best interface for solving, so my times aren't as good as when I do them by hand or online, but I'm still a pretty fast solver. In fact...

Oh yeah, I should mention that I'm SilentDante (it's an old video game handle that's stuck with me since high school). And that's a list of top solvers since the app was released. So, yeah, I'm pretty proud of that.

Speaking of my iPhone, the new OS version 3.0 was released yesterday and I love it. My phone seems to respond faster, I love the new search function as an app launcher, and I can't wait to see what programs developers come up with for the new features (I'm especially anxious for a good GPS software...hopefully not too expensively).

One app that already is using the new stuff is MLB.com At Bat, which was pretty much my favorite app already. It allows you to follow any baseball game live with Game Tracker, plus listen to either the Home or Away team's live radio broadcast. Pretty sweet, right? Well, starting yesterday, they're also streaming live VIDEO of two games every day. I tried it at lunch, and these are real screenshots of the Cubs' thrilling come from behind victory:

That's insane! Those are from a video on my phone! Granted, I was on a Wifi connection, but over the 3G cell network it was still quite watchable. I'm telling you, we're just a flying car away from living in the future.

Before I go, I also want to bring up Peggle. This is a (seemingly) simple little puzzle game where you shoot a ball at colored pegs to make them disappear. I had heard for a long time that this was an addictive game (gamers liken it to crack), so when the iPhone version was on sale for $0.99 I picked it up. It's fantastic. The cheesy animal "Peggle Masters," the graphics, the Ode to Joy when you clear a level...hard to put down. It makes time pass on the bus more quickly than anything else I've tried. It's basically available for every computer known to man, so check it out.

Cheers,

Eli

When You've Got Worries All the Noise And The Hurry Seems to Help, I Know

That could win the prize for longest blog title so far. But how do you write a post about downtown without referencing Petula Clark? You don't. So I did.

First up, my apologies. The agency meeting yesterday (I think it went well, details soon if I'm right about that) has basically taken up all my free time as I made sure my scripts and pitches were as polished and impressive as could be. Plus, I've been super busy at my real job, so no time to throw up a quick post.

Anyway, two weekends ago, Melissa and I decided to hang out in downtown LA. I had served jury duty there and was surprised by how much I liked it. Join me on my tour, won't you?

We started out at the Civic Center/Music Center. This is where the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum, and Ahmanson Theatre (where we now have season tickets!) are located.

It was neat, but the real highlight was across the street- The Walt Disney Concert Hall.

As weird and cool as it looks on the outside, it's even neater on the inside. And they offer a free, self-guided audio tour narrated by John Lithgow!

You can see me being silly in that first one. That's what I do, I'm silly. One part of the tour leads you into the gardens upstairs. It's truly gorgeous, with some great views of the skyline.

(Melissa can be silly, too). After that, we stopped for lunch at Pastagina, a fast food place that has a patented machine that cooks individual pasta servings in 3 minutes. I want one! Of course, the free gelato offer helped draw us in.

At about that point, I got a little tired of taking my camera out everywhere. We went to the central library (it's the building with the pyramid top in the shot above from the gardens), which had a cool old movie poster section on display. Then I insisted we stop by Angel's Flight:

This funicular railroad was basically built so rich people wouldn't have to climb a hill to go shopping. When working (it's being refurbished), it claims to be the shortest operating railroad in the world. Pretty neat.

From there, we took a train to Union Station. I wish I'd had my camera out, because the central lobby/terminal really still looks like an old train station, the kind you only ever see in movies anymore. I felt like I was on Mad Men or something.

We walked back to the Civic Center area and went home for a bit before heading for the beach. My mom had asked for a picture of the ocean at sunset that she could have enlarged to hang above the fireplace, and this is a sampling of my shots:

We were far enough away from the Santa Monica Pier that it wasn't too crowded and a pod of dolphins (at least six) were playing about 50 feet off the shore. There were also a couple of sailboats not far off that I enjoyed shooting with my telephoto, but those were with my film camera and I haven't scanned them in yet. It was beautiful and peaceful, two things you can rarely say about LA.

I think that most people stop exploring LA not long after they move here (at least, that's the case with most people I know), and it's really a shame. The fact that I can go from the bustling skyscrapers of downtown to the beaches of the Pacific in a matter of minutes astounds me. I hope to find more time to explore soon. Until then,

Cheers,

Eli

p.s.- sorry if the font and formatting look weird here. Not sure what happened.

Quick Update

Hey everybody! I'm putting together a big photo-heavy post about my weekend downtown and at the beach, but in the meantime, just so you know I haven't forgotten you, I wanted to let everyone know how excited I am to learn that Comedy Central has just signed a deal for 26 new Futurama episodes. Nerd gleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Cheers,
Eli

To Pre or Not To Pre

So, the Palm Pre is coming out and it looks like a pretty sweet phone. I like the user interface and would love to see the iPhone adopt some of its features (which it probably will in the forthcoming software update). It would be a much cooler phone if it wasn't locked on to Sprints craptastic network, but for the time being, it is. It looks like it will be the iPhone's first real competitor (sorry Blackberry Storm, you're awful). Would I consider abandoning my iPhone for one? Hell no!

I love my iPhone. Absolutely love it. The internet seems to delight itself in telling me why I shouldn't (they're like that with everything Apple makes), but I just don't see their point. The biggest criticisms- no copy and paste (I've only wanted it once or twice, it's coming in the next software update), no MMS texts (I never text anybody, plus I have full e-mail on my phone), and a crappy camera (I have a real camera, thank you). This phone is so much better than any cell phone I've ever used, it's not even fair to compare them. I love all the functionality that I can add through the app store, and having the full internet in my pocket is awesome. I'm also excited to try out the new GPS apps that will be coming with the new software update.

One other iPhone criticism that keeps coming up in the Palm Pre reviews is the keyboard- Pre has a physical one, the iPhone has an onscreen touchpad. People are saying that this is a huge advantage for the Pre. I fully disagree. I've used Blackberry and Palm keyboards before- they're tiny and hard to use accurately. The iPhone solution isn't perfect, but after about a week of regular use (and with the awesome auto-correct feature's help) I was typing easily. I write e-mails on it, I've written blog posts on it...hell, I do the NY Times crossword on it everyday. I make a few mistakes, but no more than I would on any keyboard that size. I really wonder if the people who complain about the iPhone (and all the other Apple products) have ever actually spent time using them.

I guess I don't really have a point. It's been an uneventful week for the most part, and I just felt like I should post something.

Cheers,
Eli