Welcome Home, Shoko!

Today I go and pick up Shoko at the airport. She is coming in from Japan where she stayed with family for two weeks.

It's a beautiful day in Dallas for the return - blue skies, high of 65F, no wind, color in the leaves that are still on the trees. A beautiful fall day.

So.. welcome home Shoko. I'm glad your back!

The Best Of "This And That"

Our show may be ending but now it is time to relive the best parts of "This And That (w/ Jeff And Pat)". This is the first of three CD-sized shows that include songs, goofs, comedy bits, bloopers and previously unreleased material. And just in time for Christmas. If you enjoy the show, you will love revisiting the magic. If you are new to the show, this is a great way to get up to speed on what made This And That one of the most successful of the early amateur podcasts.

Link to show and free download: This And That (w/ Jeff and Pat)

Thanksgiving Day

I wrote this song last year for Thanksgiving. It's not my best work but hey, it's kind of fun. Rock and Roll! And how many Thanksgiving songs do you know of?

Thanksgiving Day (2:36)

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Cool Gym?

I thought I would post another shot from our Arkansas trip a couple of weeks ago. I just really like this picture. It is the old gym from one of the original bathhouses in Hot Springs. Can't you just see some old-timers punching a bag and saying things like "you sissies, with your spin classes and fancy-pants aerobics, make me wanna puke. Now go ahead, hit me in the stomach...". Click the pic for a larger version...

Living In A Documentary World

This from Madonna on CNN.com.

But on her new CD, the former Material Girl expresses disillusionment with celebrity. On the song "How High," she wonders how much fame is enough -- and what it's all worth in the end. And her new documentary, "I'm Going To Tell You a Secret," which premiered on MTV last month, shows a Madonna more interested in her family life and the lives of her dancers and friends than in living in front of the cameras.

She needs to produce a documentary where she lives in front of the cameras to show the world she doesn't want to live in front of the cameras. Hmmm....

Weekend Wrapup

An opera, a play, dim sum, a good steak restaurant and a great movie. Yes, we celebrated Shoko's last weekend before her 2 1/2 week trip to Japan in 'style'.

On Friday night we went to the Dallas Opera's season opener - the duo 'Cavalleria' and 'Pagliacci'. These two operas are almost always shown together. I had never heard Cavalleria and was struck by how beautiful the music and the overture and intermezzo were. Both were very intense marked by extreme displays of romance, jealousy and betrayal (hey - it IS opera). I should not have eaten so heavily before (the opera has a pre-opera buffet) as it made my blood want to focus on digesting my meal vs. enjoying the festivities.

On Saturday, we went to Al Biernat's - this is the restaurant that Carol recommended in the last podcast. Shoko helped a friend of her's move and her friend rewarded her with a gift certificate that helped us with the meal at this very nice restaurant. Shoko had a petite filet and I had a prime rib. The restaurant made two mistakes in my mind. The first is pretty basic for a steak restaurant. Shoko ordered medium-rare and recieved her meat cooked medium. No blood. I can understand mistakes are made sometimes, but it seems like a steak restaurant should know better than to overcook. Err on the side of undercooking. Ah well. They also did not offer us a knife or to check the middle of the steak and ask us for approval. Pretty low-rent really. Also my prime rib was very good. The problem is that it was big enough for a family of four. Literaly - no kidding. Why would anybody want a steak this big? The answer is that nobody does but this way allows them to charge more for it. I'm a huge eater and LOVE a big steak but this an unreasonable size. I percieved it as a cheap way to sell 'more' steak per diner. The prime rib that we had in Arkansas last week was better than this one for less than half the price. All in all, we both greatly preferred Nick and Sam's for steak in Dallas over Al Biernat's.

After dinner we went to the Undermain Theatre to see a play called "Margo Veil". The Undermain is a smaller, more soho-ish type of theater and the play and actors were absolutely excellent. I like the smaller venues since they are much more intimate. The play was funny and trippy with an overall-theme of film noir parody.

On Sunday we had dim sum at Maxim's. Our first choice, Kirin Court had too long of a wait during peak time (noon) of about 50 minutes. At Maxim's the wait was only about 5 minutes - just enough for me to park the car. We had a great meal even if the variety seems to be somewhat lacking. Separately both Shoko and I have eaten at Maxim's many times before. Neither of us have been to Kirin Court, so it is something that we will look forward to trying out (friends have recommended it to us) when she gets back to town.

Finally, we went to see the movie "Pride and Prejudice". I thought this was marvelous. It felt like an instant classic. Of course I am prejudiced in that I loved the book and the book IS a classic. The sets, cinemetography, scenery, the attention to detail and of course the story made this movie a pure joy to watch. Watching the intricate dynamics of all the parties as they dance and clash at the two balls are worth the price of admission alone. Bring a sweetheart!

Shoko's Hot Springs Highlights

Submitted by Shoko

Fell in love with Hot Springs, AR

Our entire experience in Hot Springs was magnificent - strolling along the row of exotic-looking bathhouses, immersing our bodies in nostalgic spas, and indulging ourselves in the local cuisine. Prior to visiting, Jeff and I thought that it was just a tiny small town located in a National Park in Arkansas. Despite our small expectations, we fell in love with the town.

Marveling at the no-longer used bathhouses on the main street, we speculated that the city could facilitate their tourism by utilizing those fancy but empty buildings. For instance, some of the unused bathhouses could be renovated as swimming pools filled with abundant hot spring water. That wouldn't be bad. Refurbishing some bathhouses for families might be appealing – the current bathhouses are strictly separate men and women (no unisex=no fun). Moreover, the city may want to start selling original Hot Springs souvenir products. Yeah - Jeff's favorite will be 'Born to be wild in Hot Springs' leather jackets!

Experiencing a hot spring was our primary purpose of our visit. Entering the Majestic Hotel, we felt as if we slipped back in time to the '40s or '50s. As I stepped into the woman’s spa, a lady warmly smiled and led me to a little compartment divided with three orange colored marble walls and a white curtain in which a big old-fashioned bath tub was being filled with fresh hot spring water. A faucet handle, a water feed line, and every little thing was classic. While relaxing in the huge bathtub, I almost drowned. I had to hold my body in the whirlpool bath by grabbing side edges of the tub. I love to take a hot bath! The lady gently rubbed my back and legs with a loofah mitt as if being in heaven.

The most serendipitous find was the prime rib we tasted at the BrickHouse Grill. The restaurant per se was quite casual, although the service was not good at all. They were just understaffed. They had told us to need to wait for a table for 40 minutes, so we went out for a short walk. As we came back to the restaurant in 30 minutes, we found that they had crossed out our name from a waiting list and made us stand in line for another 10 minutes. We were cool as cucumbers since a little bird told us beforehand that situation could happen. The bird strongly recommended the prime rib and he was absolutely right. It was the best rib we have ever had. A week later, just imagining the dish now still makes my mouth water. Jeff called me dorky, but I couldn't help myself to capture the image with my camera. At the end of the day, we forgave their bad service for the sake of the outstanding steak.

Jeff and I are willing to volunteer as self-paid tour directors of the city when retiring. As rewards, we want to swim in a hot spring water swimming pool, to relish a free full spa treatment every day, and to get a feast of the prime rib at least weekly. We'll feel like a million dollar. Anybody wants to join us?

Armistice / Veterans Day

Here's an email from my dad this morning. It sums up my feelings pretty well as well.

Veterans Day, or as I remember it, Armistice Day, is upon us. The older I get, the more respect I have for the guys and gals who actually went to war throughout our country's history. But at the same time I have less and less respect for those who put them at war, especially when the war really didn't have hardly anything to do with defending our country. I'm an internationalist at trying to live and trade with foreign countries, but am becoming more of an isolationist at using our military might to solve, change, or otherwise dictate what happens in other countries. It seems to be arrogance on our part. We're so great, so lets forcibly export that greatness to others. Anyway, that's why I'm blue on this Armistice Day.

Hot Springs, AR mini-break

Last weekend Shoko and I took a three-day weekend mini-break to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We had great fall weather, terrific food and just an overall superb time. Pictured above (photo by Shoko) is one of the eight historic bathhouses on "Bathhouse Row" in downtown. This one is no longer operational.

More on the trip later this week.

Halloween Candy Gets Me A Second Time

Last night, I pulled a crown out of my teeth for the second time in a week. The culprit the first time was the candy "Now And Later". This time it was the much softer candy "Bit'A Honey". The dentist will not be able to see me until Wednesday so I have to chew carefully until then.

No more candy for me until next year.

Christmas Lights Already?

So I am doing my typical morning commute through Highland Park (an expensive area that highlights Christmas lights during the seasons) when what do I see but a large track with a crane working on the very tall tree on Armstrong.

Sure enough, another truck was full of rolls of Christmas lights. Clearly this was a major industrial application but it's only November 3. Very strange. I wonder when they will actually start lighting it up...