Star Sighting at Sawtelle Kitchen on Saturday Night

Had dinner at Sawtelle kitchen Saturday night. Sitting right next to me was Julian Schnabel and his wife. He was nominated this year for Best Director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Also, i'm not 100% sure if it was Aaron Eckhart or not, but there was someone who looked just like him 2 tables away.

Remove your name from pesky marketers lists

Remove your name from the marketing list such as catalog and credit card offers by going thru the link below.

http://www.dmachoice.org/index.php

Click on the "remove my name from those lists". Although Social Security Number is requested on the application, it is not required. Only list your name and address.

Oahu's Cheap Eats - Some Listed by the LA Times

1. Nico's Pier 38, 1133 N. Nimitz Highway, Honolulu; (808) 540-1377, www.nicospier38.com. Fresh Fish. $7-10 Plate includes fish, rice and organic salad
2. Uncle's Fish Market and Grill, 1135 N. Nimitz Highway, Honolulu; (808) 275-0063, www.unclesfishmarket.com. $6-16. More types of fish, plus pastas, salads, deli foods, sandwiches, burgers and chicken
3. Helena's Hawaiian Foods, 1240 N. School St., Honolulu; (808) 845-8044. Taste kalua pig ($2.90), poi ($2.25), squid luau ($3.15) and fried butterfish collar ($3.95). $2-15
4. Mei Sum Dim Sum, 65 N. Pauahi St., Honolulu; (808) 531-3268. Chinatown $2-3
5. Little Village, 1113 Smith St., Honolulu; (808) 545-3008, www.littlevillagehawaii.com. The menu lists more than 100 items, with most dishes priced at about $7.50.
6. House Without a Key at the Halekulani, 2199 Kalia Road; (808) 923-2311, www.halekulani.com. Have a seat and order a glass of wine ($7.50) and appetizers, or perhaps a Caesar salad ($10), spaghetti ($12) or dessert ($7.50), and watch Miller wow the audience. She's accompanied by various groups playing traditional Hawaiian music.

Aretha Franklin at Nokia - Valentine's Day

Enjoyable concert. She sang for about 1.5 hours. Sounded great but had some problems hitting very high notes. She had a whole orchestra ensemble playing with her. She loves Pink's hot dogs apparently.

Heart attack warning signs - cdc

Heart attack warning signs can include one or more of the following five symptoms: shortness of breath; pain or discomfort in the chest; discomfort in the arms or shoulder; a feeling of weakness or lightheadedness; and discomfort in the jaw, neck or back.

Chest pain is the most common symptom. Women are more likely than men to experience some of the other symptoms, particularly shortness of breath and back or jaw pain, according to the American Heart Association.

Fool's Gold - The Movie

I gave this movie the benefit of the doubt despite the terrible reviews. This movie was just as bad as the reviews stated. Hardly any funny parts, just a chuckle here and there. I wouldn't even recommend it as a rental. Matthew McConaughey and kate hudson's chemistry was not as good as their previous movie together, "how to lose a guy in 10 days". story had potential, but some parts were too ridiculous to take seriously. too bad.

USPS First Class Stamp Increases to $0.42 on May 12

Price goes up to $0.42 from $0.41. You can still buy the forever stamps for $0.41 and use them after the rate increase.

San Antonio Winery

Had lunch at San Antonio Winery for a friends get together. i believe its the only los angeles winery. Prices aren't that cheap but food is ok. Sandwiches were $10-12, pasta plates $10-15 and tbone steak ($28). Large portions. Tried the calamari sandwich and sausage pasta, both tasty. Hard to find location near the major UPS hub in downtown los angeles - Main and Lamar street.

LA Times Ramen Restaurant Recommendations - Food Section

Santouka: Despite their pedestrian locations in Mitsuwa Marketplace food courts, these restaurants are hands-down the best in Southern California, Wong says. "That's right. The best noodler in town is roughly the Japanese equivalent of a Panda Express or an Orange Julius," he writes on his website. "Rich and luscious, Santouka's Asahikawa-style tonkotsu shio broth is the reigning champion of world-class ramen in Los Angeles." 3760 S. Centinela Ave., Los Angeles, (310) 398-2113; 665 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa, (714) 434-1101; 21515 S. Western Ave., Torrance, (310) 212-1101.

Daikokuya: Though this Little Tokyo standard is a favorite among Internet foodies, Wong demurs. "It is a decent place," he says, "but I have to say it's also the most over-hyped place in L.A. You have to wait for hours to get in, and it's just not that great." 327 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, (213) 626-1680.

Barneys Warehouse Sale Santa Monica

I stopped by the semi annual barneys sale at barkar hangar yesterday afteroon (going on until 2/19). they had tons of stuff (more than past season sales)and the selection was much better. racks of designer shoes ($100-400), boots and clothes (lots of denim priced from $60-$149, average about $100) and some handbags ($100-300). prices still high but marked down from original overpriced prices. i'm not surprised by the better selection of clothing and shoes, especially with the economy slowing, also probably more competition too. cute franco sarto boots i saw were marked down from $900 to $345 - more than 50% off , now that's a discount but still very expensive. i've seen franco sarto shoes and boots at loehmanns never showing more than $300 original price. of course, i didn't get them. i wanted to look around more, but the selection became too overwhelming after a while and very crowded, so i left shortly after. i purchased just 1 item - a pair of 7 for all mankind gray corduroys ($49) that i had bought and returned on sale at the barney's in beverly hills (sale price was $99)- the original price was $198. they also had swimsuits but were so expensive - i never heard of a swimsuit costing $800 and marked down to $129. the designs were cute but i would never spend that much.

Garmin 360 Nuvi

I finally got navigation system. Online costco had it for $249 - total with tax and shipping came out to $280. This nav system is small, light and very portable. It also has bluetooth. i'm not too sure if i'll be keeping this and have to test it out a bit more. I could not understand why the satellite could not detect me in a couple of instances. It was because i didn't have the antenna up. duh. on another occasion, it got stuck and i had to reset it. i'm somewhat indifferent so far. bluetooth function is nice especially with the new ca law going in to effect this summer. sounds ok and speakerphone is loud enough. restaurant lists restaurants closest to your current location (you know nothing else except the type of food it is), unless you know of any in particular that you can type in and sometimes it takes a while to find it on the system.

Update as of 2/29/08-I returned this item. Bluetooth was splotchy and people on the other end always complained of bad phone connection. I imagine this has something to do with where the GPS is placed in your car and where the speaker is located. I went to hawaii big island and tested it out. right out of the airport, i tested it to find the nearest costco which is less than 5 miles away from the Kona airport. it only listed all the costco's except the one nearest. I was disappointed. I know that costco has been there for more than 8 years, so why was it inaccurate? of course, if you were unfamiliar with an area, you put all your trust in the gps and assume it will direct you the best route to where you want to go.

Morman beliefs - 60 Minutes story (Gordon Hinkley - President recently died)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Founded 1820. No polygamy ever since Utah became a state 100 years ago. No premarital sex, no caffeine, no smoking, no drinking. God and Jesus appeared in NY state before a 14 year old farm boy, Joseph Smith, and told him to start the Morman Church. Premarital sex forbidden. lots of rules. Read scripture daily, etc. They wear sacred undergarments from protection from harm. Cotton undershirts with undershorts that reach to their knees. Bill Marriot claims he was on boat fire accident and his pants below his knees where the undergarment didn't cover caught on fire and burned, so the sacred undergarment did protect him.

Mitt Romney, Bill Marriot (founder of Mariott) and Senior US Senator, Oren Hatch all are Morman.

Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken

Don't be fooled by the title of the restaurant-sounds delicious, but not so good. 2nd time trying this restaurant. Deep fried, golden chicken looks good but so bland, served with honey (literally) on the side. Breast meat was rubbery. Thigh and leg were moist, like any other thigh / leg, but so bland and really greasy. Where was all the flavor? Needed salt or something. Too bad, so much potential. Biscuit was good, fries were not.

Tender Greens in Culver City

I happened to be walking by Tender Greens and noticed a line (right next to ford's filling station which i hear is good). Very popular restaurant. Casual. I decided to try it. Simple menu of salads and 4 different sandwiches (flatiron, chicken, ahi tuna and oxnard vegetables). 2 choices of soup (chicken with lemon thyme and roasted tomato). $10 for salad and sandwich. I ordered the flatiron sandwich and caesar salad for $10. Cold day, so i felt like having a chicken soup for $4. So I spent a total of $15.14 including tax, not that cheap for fast food. Ordered it to go. The service was as bad as the food. You have to first order by the entrance door and then walk thru to the other side to pay for the food and pick up. The flat iron steak was so plain and dry and had some gristle that i had to spit out- it had too much roasted bell pepper that was overwhelming with hardly and aioli. They just dumped the sandwich in the middle of the salad (already tossed with dressing). The caesar salad had hardly any sauce and was bland. It certainly was not a caesar salad. Was that real parmesan cheese on the salad? No, I don't think so. Why did they call their restaurant Tender Greens? Is their specialty salad or something? Soup was mostly broth and hardly any chicken or vegetables and by the way, I didn't taste any lemon thyme which was in the title of the chicken soup. I could have just bought a can of swanson's chicken broth and made a better soup for a lot less money. I didn't get why this restaurant was so popular. I will not go there ever again. My money could be better spent elsewhere.