thegthang simple

travel time

On my way to Vegas in literally 2 minutes.  About fucking time for this trip.  Be back Sunday night for second row seats at the Greek Theater to see Death Cab For Cutie.  I am the shit.

I was walkin' in Memphis, at times with me feet stumbling on Beale

For a good ol' Southern party, I must now recommend Memphis.  The entire area of Downtown Memphis is set up to party, Beale Street in particular.  There is a little of everything for everyone, as the club scene is huge there, as well as bar bars for the drinking kind.  Even the beach flare is present as I saw numerous buckets of alcohol and fruit juice concoctions (usually called "hurricanes" or something like that).  One of the beauties of Beale is that the street is completely closed off, and patrons are free to carry their drinks out of bars and hang out on the street, or take it into anther bar.  Also, on Beale, one can purchase a "Big Ass Beer" (32 oz.) for $5.00, all up and down the street.  Once again, you can bring it with you to the bars.  And all of this with a 5am closing time.

With just this little bit of info, you can see the type of weekend I had.  All Friday, Saturday and Sunday of it.  Perhaps further insight and recommendations to come.

Millenium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles

I had a very busy weekend, concert going and jet-setting about.  As per my previous post, Shannon and I saw Dave Matthews Band both Saturday and Sunday.  We decided to have a vacation in our own city redux in downtown Los Angeles this weekend as well.  We stayed at The Millennium Biltmore Hotel in the heart of downtown LA.  We had a Club Room King on the 11th and top floor of the hotel, steps away from the Presidential Suite.  From the exceptional covered valet welcome to the grand halls this hotel feels of decadence.  Even though the hotel is small in stature (11 floors) compared to many of it's newly built skyscraper counterparts, the interior makes up or it.  The rooms, which are not the run of the mill re-created modernism, boast lavish appointments that help keep the lure of old Hollywood alive.

While not out and about looking for awesome Chinese food in Gardena, Shannon and I spent a lot of time in our room, and at the hotel's Gallery Bar.   The bar is fitted with neo-Italian flair and carvings.  Although the drink prices will dig deep into your pocket, the ambiance is worth it.  There is a solid marble bar to belly up to with some very comfortable bar stools.  If that is not your scene head over to the grand piano and lounge in one of several leather sofas adjacent to plush chairs. 

At the bar Shannon and I became pretty good friends with one of the bartenders (luckily this will greatly benefit us in the future).  He told us the history of the hotel and it's significance on Hollywood.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was created in the hotels Crystal Ballroom in 1927.  The first sketch of the Oscar statuette was drawn on a linen napkin that same night.  For many years the Oscars were held at the Biltmore, seeing stars such as Clark Gable and Shirley Temple walk the red carpet. 

The Biltmore also offers a darker side.  The infamous "Black Dahlia" murder is central to the hotel, as the victim, Elizabeth Short, was last seen alive leaving The Biltmore.  Her body was found three days later in the Crenshaw district of LA.  This murder has gone on to become on of the most studied and investigated murders in American history, and has spawned many dramatic novels.

Throughout the lobbies and grand hallways the hotel is adorned with photos and other pictures of its Hollywood past.  Take a trip to downtown LA and learn a few new things about the history of the city.  From the ease of your hotel room to the elevator a wealth of knowledge and hospitality await you.  I have always been a fan of trendy, flashy hotels catering to my modern wants and needs.  For now I am a convert to the old, elegant style of The Millennium Biltmore.

If you are ever staying at the Biltmore or one of the surrounding downtown hotels, or live in the LA area,  stop in and have a drink in the Gallery Bar.  Look for Oscar (no relation to the statue) behind the bar, he'll treat you great and make you one of the stiffest drinks in LA.  Tip him good, he is truly a great man.

vacation in my own city

I took a mini-vacation over the last 3 days with Shannon right here in LA.  We both took a few mid-week days and escaped from all that surrounds us.  I got us a sweet room at The Standard Downtown and from there we lived it up and pranced around like tourists.  Although I would say this was more of a vacation for me, as both Tuesday and Wednesday nights saw us go to The Henry Fonda Theater to see Billy Corgan perform. 

The Standard is a great hotel and features many amenities favorable to an enjoyable time.  The rooftop bar is one of the cities jems, and overlooks greater downtown L.A.  This is a picture taken during lunch today from the roof.  The night time is the right time to hit up The Standard rooftop, but I actually fell off the vacation track last night and hit up The 3 Clubs (old habits die hard), and luckily saw no-one that I knew.

For this mini-vacation I watched no television nor did I go on the Internet.  I did take phone calls but that is normal anyway.  Also, I did not watch the All Star Game live this year, as I TiVo'd it and just finished watching it.  In L.A. I was able to not hear the outcome before I watched it, real baseball fans are hard to find here. 

I'll be posting some more pictures when I get the time, I'm actually exhausted from this vacation.  So is my damn wallet.  Anyone want to donate?

I'll also update about the Billy Corgan shows, and boy do I got lots to tell.

lost in yonkers

trapped in NY.  weather advisory when it doesn't really seem that bad outside.  of course I'm inside, and have been all day.  after my very disappointing canceled flight to LA, and the "courtesy" of not being informed, then promptly without my consent being put on a "plus 1 night" on Friday.  i gave those fuckers a reason their day sucked.  in the end i guess i win.  i'll now leave on Sunday on a much more agreeable flight, in first class, with no additional charge.  still lost in yonkers though.  maybe i'm lost in queens, lost any which way.

There was Joy for everyone

Christmas time has come and gone, and now a day away from New Years Eve is upon us.  Quite literally there was joy for everyone this Christmas.  I kissed Shannon farewell at the gates of Delta in LA to begin my trek back to NY for the holiday season, where I remain while writing this post.  I am stranded on a dial up connection as is my friend Tim, tis the only drawback of the holiday season. 

This Christmas I received several gifts.  My dad got me a 20 gig iPod with the Monster Mobile car adapter for the wonderful LA traffic.  One of my money gifts was my new hard drive, a Maxtor 250 gig DiamondMax Plus 9 .  I also got some other tech stuff such as an on line adapter for my ps2 (I know it took me forever!), a few games such as GTA San Andreas, Call of Duty..., Def Jam Fight for NY (why?).  I got a few needed mod accessories for my PC, never enough blue LED for my rig!  I also got some sweet clothing necessities from American Eagle as I love their underwear!  I got a few sweet DVDs to add to my collection of screeners, and some other stuff (you get the gist). 

I've yet to do the gift exchange with Shannon, that'll wait til I return to the warmer of coasts, but she will enjoy her gifts, very much so.  Well hopefully this post will upload on this archaic dial up, otherwise I've wasted more time than needed on an update. 

Happy New Year to all, and warmest regards to any involved in the Southern Pacific disaster.