Mario Lopez

Chicago Sexbox blogged about this a while back, but I was reminded this morning how cute Mario Lopez is. I was waiting for the Oscars to be announced and Saved by the Bell was on and the scen I saw had Mario in a wrestling outfit. And he looked super fucking hot. I sort of got a semi.

Are there nekkid pics of him anywhere? I wanna see his butt and his schlonger.

Grade: B (Not an A cuz he was too young for me to be turned in Saved by the Bell probably.)

Crash

I finally watched this movie just in time for the Oscar nominees to be announced. I really liked it, but didn't totally love it. A great beautiful story, I thought. But, it was also just so many coincidences. And what was the point? It was a bit preachy and there were a few too many things that turned out OK in the end. And it narrowed in on all these very blatant scense of racism, when I think that most racism is a little more under the surface than that. Great performances, but this concept has been done in LA before by Robert Altman. I loves me an ensemble cast movie, though.

I had avoided this movie because everyone commented on how depressing it is. And it is a lot to swallow, but not the punch in the gut that I thought I would get. I thought I had to be prepared to watch it and ready to deal with how I felt after, but that didn't really happen for me with this.

Grade: B

Oscar Nominees Announced

Well, I did really really well in my predictions. I would also just like to tell Chargenda reader, Beth, to eat me. She commented on how off my predictions were. I did awesome! 88% right in the major eight catagories! My comments with the predicted winner in italics:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
MUNICH
I can't believe that Walk the Line didn't make it! It won the Globe and was my favorite movie of the year. This is the biggest upset for me.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
MUNICH
I got this catagory right on, but I would have liked to have been surprised and seen Woody Allan in here, because I have a newfound interest in the guy after seeing Match Point.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE
I didn't have Keira down here, even as my runner-up, so that was a shocker. I hope that Reese doesn't lose steam because of Walk the Line being snubbed for Best Pic.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
I got this one totally correct as well and was glad that Russell Crowe didn't show up here. Props to me for predicting Terrence Howard!

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Sad to see Maria Bello not make it, but thrilled to see Amy Adams, even thought I haven't seen the movie. I hear that McDormand is just blah here.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
I got Hurt right, which was me going out on a limb. Woo hoo! This catagory was up in the air so I am thrilled that I got it all right!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH
Walk the Line got screwed again. So sad.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA
I didn't predict Syriana, but glad to see Cinderella Man get snubbed.

I really like all the nominees this year and am more into it this year.

SAG(gy boobs) Award

I didn't get a chance to watch the SAG awards last night, but they went as expected.

But, Tuesday is the big day when they announce the Oscar nominees. I can't wait! I will have reactions in the morning.

Sharon Stone is awesome and sad all at once.

Grade: B

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

I know this place is a chain but they are always so good and have the best steaks I have ever had. I went to the one in Orlando with co-workers and loved it. We had some bottles of expensive champagne, some wine, some steaks, so sides.

Been to one? You won't be let down.

Grade: A

Disney Contemporary Resort

A photo will come soon, but right now there is a problem.

So, I am back from Disney and I have like 1,000 things to say, but will start with the hotel.

This is the oldest Disney hotel and when I got there half the rooms were updated and the other half were all old-timey. I got a new room. It was amazing. I loved the design and the big huge flat square sinks and everything about it. The same guy who did W hotel rooms did these. And the old rooms were crap. They looked like tinker bell threw up everywhere in bright primary colors. The rest of the hotel was full of kids, bad food and "cast members" telling me to have a magical day.

Disney is so gross. Look for more from me on this place.

Grade: C-

My final Oscar nominee picks

Best Picture
1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Walk the Line
3. Good Night and Good Luck
4. Crash
5. Capote
Runner-Up: Munich

Best Director
1. Ang Lee – Brokeback Mountain
2. George Clooney – Good Night, and Good Luck
3. Bennet Miller – Capote
4. Paul Haggis – Crash
5. Steven Spielberg – Munich
Runner up: David Cronenberg – A History of Violence

Best Actor
1. Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
2. Joaquin Phoenix – Walk the Line
3. Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain
4. David Strathairn – Good Night, and Good Luck
5. Terrence Howard – Hustle & Flow
Runner-up: Jeff Daniels – The Squid and the Whale

Best Actress
1. Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line
2. Felicity Huffman – Transamerica
3. Judi Dench – Mrs. Henderson Presents
4. Charlize Theron – North County
5. Joan Allen – The Upside of Anger
Runner-up: Zhang Ziyi – Memoirs of a Geisha

Supporting Actor
1. George Clooney - Syriana
2. Paul Giametti – Cinderella Man
3. Matt Dillon – Crash
4. Jake Gyllenhall – Brokeback Mountain
5. William Hurt – A History of Violence
Runner-up: Terrence Howard - Crash

Supporting Actress
1. Michelle Williams – Brokeback Mountain
2. Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
3. Maria Bello – A History of Violence
4. Catherine Keener – Capote
5. Amy Adams – Junebug

Runner Up: Frances McDormand – North Country

Best Original Screenplay
1. Crash
2. Good Night, and Good Luck
3. Match Point
4. The Squid and the Whale
5. Cinderella Man
Runner up: The Three Buriels of Melquiades Estrada

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Capote
3. Walk the Line
4. The Constant Gardener
5. A History of Violence
Runner up: Munich

Meeting more bloggers

I was at the bar last night and looked across the bar and saw this guy who I thought maybe just maybe was Chicago Sexbox, whose blog I read regularly. And I was drunk enough that I didn't care if I was wrong. And it was him!

So, I meet yet another blogger whose site I read. And for those of you who read his blog, I totally got to see his new undies that he blogged about.

I totally can't remember what his real name is though. What is it?

Nice to meet you, Chicago Sexbox!

Grade: A

Match Point

I really don't like Woody Allan movies that much at all. So, even though I kept hearing that this movie was one of his best, I still expected to not be a big fan of it. I loved it. A lot!

I had no idea what the story line was. And it starts to feel like a Woody Allan movie and quickly becomes a totally different story. Scarlett Johansson is great as the American actress who the British tennis coach, a very hot Jonathan Rhy-Meyer, falls for, despite the fact that she is engaged to his girlfriends brother.

And then everything gets all crazy and messed up toward the end. It's an amazing twist and I have a new found respect for Woody Allan. I have avoided his movies like the plague and think I need to go back now and check some of them out that I haven't seen.

I have a hunch that this isn't going to get much attention Oscar time, but I really wish that it would.

Grade: A-

Capote

I love when I go into a movie have sort of low expectations and end up being blown away. I saw two amazing movies this weekend that I had just a minor interest in seeing.

I went to see Capote because I knew that Phillip Seymour Hoffman had gotten raves and I thought that the movie was just going to be all about his performance It was so much more than that! The movie is the story of the years he spent writing In Cold Blood, but it chronicles his time in Kansas and deals with the relationship he builds with one of the murderers, who he relates to deeply, but is also using to write his novel. Catherine Keener plays Harper Lee, his friend, and is wonderful. The issues addressed in this movie, the acting, the directing, the screenplay, the whole thing was just wonderful to me. I spent the whoe rest of the day thinking about this movie, and that's what I like a good movie to do to me.

I seriously kept putting this movie off because I expected it to be lame and dull, but now it is at the top of my list for the best of 2005.

Grade: A

Project Runway

I had to get caught up on Project Runway last night because I missed it for my birthday the week before that.

As for the first episode, it was so bittersweet, because I was so glad to see Marla's sorry ass go, but sad to see Diana leave, but still knew it was coming some time soon.

This weeks episode was pretty fun, but they seemed to show their outfits in progress even less than they usually do, so I felt a bit confused about who was going to have a good outfit and who was going to have a horrible outfit. In the end we saw Emmett get the boot, which was also coming soon. There are a few more poeple to get rid of but I can't wait til the competition gets really tough and some of the my favs are duking it out.

Oh, and Santino's outfits get more and more stupid every week. I can't believe he didn't go with the outfit that was covered in stupid shit all over the back. Who would skate in that? He is such a jerk and so cocky and so gross. I wanted to puke when he was walking around in just a towel.

Oh, for the record, I still miss you Raymundo, and am still waiting for you to reply to my e-mail so we can set up a time for you to get did in the butt.

But, the still show still rocks in my opinion.

Grade: B+

Disney World

Not to sound like too much of a Debbie Downer (remember where she was in that skit?) but I have to go to Disney World for six days next week. Yuck.

Our Annual Meeting is being held at a hotel there, and I will be running around super busy and not have anyone there to hang with really. I mean, I know Disney is supposed to be fun, but the whole place just gives me the creeps.

I suppose the warm weather will be nice. Oh, and I likely won't find a way to blog for about 6 days, which truly sucks.

Grade: D-

Topolobampo

I had what was one of the most amazing meals of my entire life last night. My friend James took me to Topolobampo for a birthday dinner, and it was a nearly pitch-perfect meal. Rick Bayless owns this place and I have wanted to have dinner here since the day I arrived in Chicago. And James and I went all out!

The dining room is really amazing. You first walk through the more traditional Mexican restaurant, Frontera Grill, with lots of Mexican folk art on the walls and an incredible aroma filling the air of tortillas cooking and Mexican spices and corn and other Mexican yumminess. Then the Topolo dining room is a step up from the first place, with the same Mexican theme, but a tad more refined.

Let me run down what we had:
- We started out with drinks. I had their house margarita, which was really delicious and one of the best, but I sort of wished I had tried one that was a bit more unique. James had their margarita called a firecracker with tamarind and chili pepper in it. This was spicy and sweet and seriously one of the best drinks I have ever tasted.
- They bring out a complimentary thing of guacamole and this guac is creamy and spicy and full of flavor. It is served with cucumbur and radishes on the side, and I loved it.
- We had two ceviches. One with oysters, shrimp and halibut in a tomatoe tobasco sort of sauce, and the other with shrimp, calimari, avocado and bitter organges in a sweeter sauce. These were both stunning and complimented each other well. Not to mention amazing presentation.
- My entree was lamb sliced and served with a rich and sweet mole. It was smokey and spicy and sweet and rich all at once. The meat was served on top of perfectly done spinach and with a mushroom chocolate tamale that rocked my world.
- James had lobster. He has never in his life had lobster but gave it a try and it was cracked open, topped with bread crumb stuff and served with a butternut squash sauce. The best lobster I have tasted in my life.
We both had glasses of wine that were matched to our entrees and my zinfandel was a pretty basic one, but worked magic with the mole sauce as a combo.

Thanks James for this amazing time at this amazing restaurant that I can't wait to go back to ASAP! This is one of the best in Chicago, and I am thrilled I finally made it there.

Grade: A+

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin is really amazing in Walk the Line and I was thrilled to see him win the Globe last night. He was amazing, and I haven't seen Capote, but I am so in love with this movie that I want it to do well.

But, goodness, he seemed sort of messed up to me. I mean, is he on something? I hadn't heard the story about him asking if there were spiders on his head in some interview til last night. What's up with that?

Grade: A for his performance, D for being crazy

84% Correct

I did pretty good, I got 11 of the 13 catagories correct for the Globes last night. That is 84% correct. Not too shabby!

I thought the show was pretty good, not tons of surprises, but I was super happy for Rachel Weisz. And Geena Davis had a great speech.

Grade: B+

Drunken falling strippers

On Saturday I ended up watching the strippers at the Cocktail for a few hours. And there were only three doing the rotation, but one of them was realy cute, and after I talked to him, I found out he was real drunk. He said he had about 5 long islands already, and they were large glasses of them.

I went to go give the guy a buck, and he lifted his leg to put it on my shoulder and basically shove his junk into my face. But, he didn't make it all the way there. He totally stumbled and fell on his ass, and nearly fell off the stage. Poor guy. It was really super funny, and embarassing for him. I didnt' know what to do that the point with the dollar. I mean, do you still give it to him, or just walk away as the staff are helping him to his feet? I just quickly tucked the buck in his grundies and sat down.

Oh, and this porn star, Matthew Rush, will be stripping at the Lucky Horseshoe on Thursday night. He is way too beefy for me, and I have seen him strip when I was in Dalla before, but whatever, sounds like good times. Wanna go?

Grade: C (I get sad when I see a fallen stripper)

The Bagel

Why do I get such a kick out of photos of people holding huge food?

Anyway, I had dinner all by myself at The Bagel last night. This lakeview restauarant started out in Skokie and has deli/diner food with a Jewish twist. It's really good from what I have been there there before and for some reason it isn't ever that busy there. But, I really love the cabbage borscht soup, which is cabbage cooked in a sort of sweet and sour broth. It is a huge menu, so there is lots I want to try. Last night I had a bowl of the soup and a salad sample plate with a scoop of salmon salad and a scoop of egg salad. Every table gets a basket of bread and a bowl full of yummy pickle spears.

Check them out online at www.bagelrestaurant.com.

Grade: B+

Golden Globe Picks

Tonight is the Golden Globes! The precurson to the Oscars, and I predict Brokeback to run away with about 5 awards and set itself up to be frontrunner going into Oscar night.

Here are my picks in the movie catagories:

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Brokeback Mountain

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Walk the Line

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
Possible Upset: Maria Bello (A History of Violence)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Possible Upset: Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
Possible Upset: Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale)

BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Possible Upset: George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Possible Upset: Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Possible Upset and my personal fav: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
This is three-way race and anyone of these boring choices could win: George Clooney (Syriana) or Matt Dillon (Crash). This category sucks this year.

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain)
Could also win: George Clooney & Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Paradise Now - Palestine
Could also win: Tsotsi - South Africa

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
"A Love That Will Never Grow Old" (Brokeback Mountain)
Or we could see some love for Dolly: "Travelin' Thru" (Transamerica)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain)
Could just as easily win: John Williams (Memoirs of a Geisha)

My birthday party

I spent yesterday recovering from my bithday excursion. It was a blast. About 20-25 friends came out and I would estimate that each of them bought me a drink at some point, so some of the evening is a blur.

We took over the Lucky Horseshoe and the super cute bartender there told me that two dancers had called in and quit that day, so there were just three strippers to choose from, none of them cute skinny brown boys, so that was sad for me. But, we still had fun with them, I gave them some dollars, good times were had. We left went to Spin for dollar drinks, then to Hydrate where I danced and Taj Mahal, the drag queen, gave me a shot and told me happy birthday at the drag night she was hosting.


And then other stuff happened, but I don't remember....

Thanks for a great birthday everyone!

Overall birthday: A
Friends: A
Strippers: C
Hangover: D

King Kong

Peter Jackson proved that he is more than capable of putting together a kick-ass movie, and King Kong is more proof of this. The movie looks great. Amazing special effects, interesting story, great editing with the action sequences. But, something just sort of fell a bit flat with this for me. The flow of the whole story was a little off. I felt like I was on that ship to Skull Island forever, and that I was on the damn island even longer. Every single action sequence on the island was thrilling, but by the time they finally left, I was exhausted!

This movie is great, but not as penetrating (hehe) as the Lord of the Rings triliogy to me or as sweeping a story.

The cast is pretty good, with Jack Black being as over the top as he should have been, despite some negative reviews I read. Adrien Brody was a bit bland. But Naomi Watts is stunning, and that scream alone should win her some awards!

Grade: B

Sargento's Cheese Dips

As a little kid I used to love those cheese and cracker packages that came with crackers and that little stick to spread with. Well, this is the same as that for grown ups! You can get either pretzels and chips with cheese, and they are pretty yummy.

As a kid I used to either use all my cheese on like two crackers and then not even bother with the other crackers, or I would eat the crackers with a teeny bit so that I could just dip my finger in the cheese and eat that off my dirty little kid finger. But, they give you plenty of fake tasting cheese in each packet. And they cost about $1.50 each, perfect for a broke-ass like me!

Grade: B- (I was eating one as I wrote this and I just ran out of cheese but stil have pretzels left. damn!)

My birthday wish

When I blow out my candles on the cake I am having in the office at 3 today with cowokers my wish is going to be that everyone who reads Chargenda tell 3 friends about this blog. Send an e-mail, tell them in person, or sit them down in front of the computer and make them log on.

I put a counter on here on January 6th and have had 163 visitors since then. Not bad, but as you can tell by my well-written and edited blog entries, I am for perfection.

Grade: B

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday today! I have no shame. I want the world to know.

I got into work today and had a big coffee cake and a realy funny anti-Bush card from my boss on my desk. That was super sweet of him. And got like 4 cards in the mail last night and a few calls and e-mails and stuff already. I can feel the love!

And I have tomorrow off. This is already a really great b-day and it isn't even noon! And later I will see strippers, they won't look anything like this beefy man above, but I will take a skinny little stripper any day over a beefy one!

Grade: A

Chicken Adobo

My new man made some chicken adobo last night. It has been about a year and a half since I have had this delicious filipino dish. I haven't ever made it, but I know that there is just like soy and vinegar and some other stuff that you simmer chicken or some other meat in, but it is delicious. He fried his chicken first, so it is fattier than I thought it would be.

I suggest everyone out there get a filipino boyfriend so you too can have some home-cooked adobo.

Grade: A

Gift Cards galore!

I got a late Christmas card in the mail at work today from the design firm that I contract with. And it was loaded with gift cards!

It contained:
- A 25 dollar Starbucks card
- A 50 dollar American Express Gift Card
- A 25 dollar Borders gift card
- A 25 dollar iTunes gift card

Wow!

Grade: A

Spooning

I love to spoon. Some people can't really sleep while they spoon, but I can. And this weekend I spooned and got tons of sleep.

Seriously, on Friday and Saturday nights I slept about 12 hours each night. It was crazy, but it felt great!

Grade: A

Leslie and the Ly's concert

This show rocked so hard last night. I hugged Leslie and tried to get a picture with her but the camera's battery was low. I spilled beer on her too when I hugged her and rested my head on her supple bossom.

Seriosly, she is so insane and hilarious. She sang her songs and these crazy videos and images appeared in the background on a white screen, one was just videos of first aid educational videos. And she named a couple of gem sweaters from the audience.

Thanks to Devin for taking me! Great b-day gift!

Grade: A+

Duke's Bar and Grille

On Friday I checked out this new burger place. All I knew was that they have like 30 different kinds of burgers on the menu. And after reading Amanda's blog entry on burgers, I had a craving.

Dukes, at 2616 N. Clark, gave me one of the best burgers I have ever had! I had a Greek burger with feta, kalamata olives, red onion and cucumbers on it, and it was cooked to perfection. I want another one right now! Jhun, the guy I am dating, had one with mozzarella, balsamic vinegar and stuff, don't remember what all was on his, but it was great too.

I had a couple of good martinis there as well. And I think that a burger and a martini make a near perfect dinner. I can't wait to go back. I love this place!

Grade: A

Birthday cards

I have never been one to be shy about promoting my own birthday. If you drop your card in the mail today to me then I should get it just in time for the big day!

Or if you are in Chicago come to the trashiest birthday party ever, next Wednesday, January 11th at the Lucky Horseshoe. At least 25 of us should be there taking the place over and making the three creepy old men who are there watching the sometimes creepy strippers nervous. Should be good times!

Oh, and I am turning 28, so damn old.

Grade: A

Fag Frat

This is some group of gay boys in Chicago that consider themselves a "frat." It seems to be a bunch of twinky boys who have parties and are part of what they consider to be some exclusvie club. So, I visited the site recently, www.fagfrat.org, to find out more about this bunch of boys. Fortunately, it looks like they are indeed mostly younger college-aged guys, but some of them are in their mid to late twenties. Guys, college is over, you don't need to be part of a "frat" anymore. And plus, last time I checked the frat boys I know of don't really like fags, so why do you want to be part of that?

For some reason, this group bugs the piss out of me, but I have to admit a few of the gusy I saw in their photo album were totally cute.

Grade: C-

Poppers

I bought poppers for the first time in my life. I have used them a couple of times here and there, and they were good times, but had never actually bought my own bottle before.

For those of you who don't know, poppers are used during sex, it is a bottle of chemicals that you sniff and it messes you up for like 2 minutes, but makes you feel super duper great and sex feels awesome. And it also relaxes muscles in your body for like a bit, making it much easier to take it up the butt. On the downside, you can just tell it is killing like millions of little brain cells every time you do it. So, I just need to make sure it do it here and there and not all the time.

Grade: B

Guadalupe on PR

Why do they have these people who obviously suck really hard who stay on the show? Guadalupe wasn't the best, but surely wasn't the worst designer.

Marla should have been gone weeks ago. She sucks so hard and copied the damn dress.

Oh, and I still miss you Raymundo!

Grade: C

Jon Stewart as Oscar Host

This just in: Jon Stewart is set to host this year's Oscars!

Brilliant!

With the buzz behind the gay-themed Brokeback and the politically charged Good Night, and Good Luck as well as several other films that have some political slant to them, it should be a very interesting year. And the guy is just hilarious. I am thrilled about this!

Grade: A

Leslie and the Ly's in Chicago!

She is coming here on Sunday, January 8th! To a place called the Beat Kitchen. I don't know what that is, but I am super psyched and Devin got me a ticket. Come if you are in Chicago. She rawks so hard!

Grade: A+ (Don't let me down Leslie...)

Chicken Hut

This little place on the corner of Belmont and Broadway is real good. I had it over a year ago, but hadn't touched the place for a while since then. They grill whole chickens on the grill and serve it with your basic sides and a tasty salsa type sauce.

The flavor really reminds me of YaYa's chicken. No, not the ANTM Ya Ya silly! But, the Ya Ya's that you find in Michigan.

And this chicken is dirt cheap, too! 8 pieces with 3 pieces of pita bread, and two large sides cost 13 bucks last night and fed three of us with plenty of leftovers.

Grade: A

Blonde Highlights

Just before Christmas I got some blonde highlights in my hair. Charlie, my hairdresser, told me they would be "really subtle." Never trust anyone named Charlie.

They weren't subtle, but they don't look nasty either. I was reminded about this when Ryan laughed at mine during lunch today. I for sure look faggy with them, but I have gotten used to them and think they are cute.

What do you think if you have seen them?

Grade: B

New Year's Eve 2005

I had my worst New Year's Eve ever! I swear I felt like I was in some f'd up episode of Jerry Springer. I dont' wanna give it all away because it was way embarassing, but let me just give you a glimpse at one moment:

Picture some trashy little fag outside the door of the apartment I was at that night. He has just been kicked out and is banging on the door and screaming with some boxes of his stuff next to him. A couple of neighbors have opened their doors telling him to shut up. And he yells over and over again "Now your new boyfriends knows what whore you are!"

So, that was just one of the highlights. It was a truly awful New Year's Eve. But everything is pretty much resolved now...I think...

Grade: D (At least I can laugh about it a bit)