zack and miri movie

possibly worst movie ever! bad acting, not funny, very cliche and i could not finish watching it after only 15 minutes. i want my $4.99 back that i paid thru on demand cable.

Curry House on Sawtelle/ near Olympic (2nd Floor)

i had only tried the curry house in little tokyo a few times many years ago. i had never been to this west l.a. curry house (on the 2nd floor where the nigiya market mini mall is) and finally decided to try it. i don't like curry too much so whenever i go to a curry specialty place, i usually order something besides the curry. i ordered the seafood spaghetti with tomato sauce ($10.50). it was very good but i noticed that many curry places that serve the japanese spaghetti always overpower the dish with too much garlic.

they are really big on refilling drinks as soon as you take a sip. they have a sign at each table stating that the servers are trained to refill your drink immediately. if you don't want the server asking you to refill your drink, you can put the sign up and they will leave you alone (similar to a brazilian/argentinian all you can eat meat place).

Linen's and Things - Store Closing Sale

Linen's and Things filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy a couple of months ago and is closing most of their stores. i had gone to the one in west l.a. (olympic and sawtelle) when they did the first mark down on the entire store (probably approx. 2 months ago), but it was only 10% off. i actually go to sawtelle to eat a lot and was there again recently when i noticed a guy holding a sign noting that the whole store was now 30-50% off. a good selection was still available. the markdown was mostly 30% off (kitchen electrics was what i mostly was interested in), rather than 50%. don't even think about purchasing an iron at this store - they were all gone except for the rowenta iron/steamer combo ($169). i did not purchase anything since the 30% off did not seem like much me (i still have a 20% off bed, bath and beyond coupon for any one item) and everything is final sale. also, lnt does not except any coupons.

The Dark Night Movie

i saw the 'dark night' opening day at the vista theatre in los feliz. i couldn't wait to see it only because i like christian bale a lot, especially from the first batman which i had not seen since its release. i barely got in after waiting in a line for 20 minutes and had the worst seat in the movie theatre in the front row right side. the story and special effects were good, but i did not like the fact that christian bale had this weird fake voice when he converted from bruce wayne to batman - he sounded like he was mumbling to me and i couldn't tell if it was because of the seats we were sitting in or if it was intentionally supposed to be like that. i had a hard time understanding what little lines he did have in the movie. i certainly did not remember this effect from the first batman. also, some scenes in the movie were not so smooth and cut over too fast to the next scene in which the audience was supposed to pick up what happened. overall, i was disappointed in the movie, especially since it had been hyped up so much. i do have to say that heath ledgers performance was very good. it was also very long, 2.5 hours. geez.

i am so glad that katie holmes was replaced by maggie gyllenhaal. katie holmes was the only part in the first batman movie that was terrible. maggie gyllenhaal actually looked similar to katie holmes in some scenes.

Pay more to park in City of Los Angeles ? - According to KTLA

LA city council voted tuesday to increase parking meter rates and extend hours of operations (previously meters were in operation until 6 pm; new ordinance will be until 8 pm)

hourly rates
up to $1.oo/hour
up to $4.00/hour for high usage areas

ordinances will be effective late august and city wide implementation will take about 90 days.

Easy Bread and Butter Pickle Recipe (sweet pickles)

I think i've finally found a recipe good enough to substitute joan's pickles, through trial and error. it tastes slightly different but very good and it's so easy to make. i don't think i need to buy joan's pickles again because these pickles will be just as good for my macaroni, potato and tuna salads. i think i just have to find something to keep the pickles crisp.

bread and butter pickle recipe
6 sliced pickling cucumbers sliced thin
1 white onion sliced thin
2 tbsp of kosher salt
Fill large bowl with water to top of bowl. Add salt, cucumbers and onions. Refrigerate overnight.

Drain and rinse cucumbers and onions.
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2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 tsp dill (i used mccormick's 'it's a dilly' spice)
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds

heat above ingredients above together and bring to a simmer. pour sauce over cucumbers and onions. then refrigerate. i waited 2 days before i tasted the cucumbers. obviously the longer you wait, the more flavor the cucumbers absorb.

i think this process of pouring the sauce while it's hot over the cucumbers slightly cooked the cucumbers and wilted them, so i'm going to wait until the sauce cools before i pour the sauce over the cucumbers the next time i make this recipe.

i have read that young grape leaves or pickle crisp (calcium chloride) keep the pickles crunchy, but i have no idea where to buy these items.

i know these pickles will last more than 1 week but i'm going to see if it last longer.

Wall - E - The Movie

Wall-E had gotten rave reviews. it was somewhat enjoyable for me but i didn't like it as much as some previous disney/pixar movies. i certainly did not like the underlying message it was trying to teach, especially to children. the characters were not as likeable either. i don't know why it was not playing at the Grove, but i ended up watching it at AMC century city. ticket was $11.50. student discounts only offered on thursdays ($8.50) and matinees for shows before 4 pm i think for $9.50 (not sure on which days specifically).