"Much Ado About Nothing",HBDB; 07.17.11

Shakespeare by the Sea is one of my favorite LA summertime events.  I look forward to it every time.  The group provides free plays at public parks all around LA.  I started getting into it about 5 years ago.  So far, I have seen "Othello", "Midsummer Night's Dream", "Twelfth Night", "Julius Caesar", and Friday night, we have seen "King Lear".  They are also doing Much Ado About Nothing", but I've already seen it last year by another group.  We may still check it out, but we'll see.  Friday night they had it at Polliwog Park, a dog-friendly park in the city of Manhattan Beach.  It's a large, 18-acre park with gazebos, a basketball court, a pool, a disc golf course, a botanical garden, an ampitheatre (where the play took place), and a huge pond.  The address is 1601 Manhattan Beach Blvd., just take the Rosecrans exit off of the 405 freeway, and make a left on Aviation, and left on Manhattan Beach Blvd.  SBTS is an outdoor event, so dogs are allowed.  Just be sure that they are trained to sit still and be quiet for other's enjoyment consideration.  Being a young dog, we can't fully depend on Tico to do just that for the entire show, so we leave him home for these things for the time being.

Shakespeare by the Sea, or SBTS, take donations.  Their actors get paid through these donations, and their program declared that it cost about $7K for each night that they perform, and they will be performing 41 times this summer all over LA.  Their main place is at Point Fermin in San Pedro, but I've seen them perform in Torrance, South Pasadena, and of course, Manhattan Beach.  They also perform down to Laguna Niguel, Altadena, and Whittier, among the 20+ places they go to.       

Friday, I put together what I can find around the kitchen; 4 Guilliano's bread rolls with ham cold cut, and leftover Genoa salami from Guilliano's, and mayo, mustard and spinach for fillers.  I also made a rotini pasta with leftover italian sausage with leftover sundried-tomato cream sauce.  And with a white merlot I purchased from Sutter's Winery in Temecula, as well as a bunch of apricot slices, we had a nice spread to enjoy the play with.  The park has a public restroom a few yards to the right of the ampitheatre.  Parking is all over, we found one just across the street from the park.

B in the red shirt!

We have a case of the lazy Saturdays.  It's carmaggedon weekend, where the 405, one of LA's busiest freeways are going to be shut down, between the 10 and the 101 freeways.  This is a major LA artery; so it will not be pretty to get stuck from the after effect of getting this freeway shut down.  Some of our friends found this as a great excuse to get out of town and take a mini-vacation, but alas, we don't gots no money.  So the boys and I just did some minor yardwork around the house for the most part on Saturday.  Tico was exhausted hanging out in the backyard helping us clean up.



But it's "Office Space" night at the Outdoor Cinema Food Fest (OCFF).  This time, they held it at Grand Hope Park in Downtown LA, right next to FIDM, the fashion school.  While OCFF is dog-friendly, Grand Hope Park is not.  There are ample street parking, but we managed to get a flat parking for $5 a block north of the park.  Porta-potties are not my favorite restroom things, but you gots to do what you gots to do.  B went all out tonight and brought real wine glasses, forks, plates, brought the chicken pasta with the 20-pound-heavy casserole dish, and we even had greens with anchovies and olive oil for sides.  We found a great spot behind the lawn area, and set up our dishes on the cement divider, propped up our chairs, and we were good to go.  I was counting on at least a reliable dessert truck, but no bueno.  They had Buttermilk Truck, which did have the red velvet pancake bites for $5 that did satisfy my sweet tooth craving.  We did not have time to buy wine and got a Heineken instead, but I just realized that the Ralph's and Panini Cafe are just across the street from this place.  Since you can eat al fresco, food trucks, are dog-friendly.  Where they are currently located at, is another story.      

Heineken on a wine glass - so klassy!

Downtown LA Skyline

Grand Hope Park's Clock Tower

Milton and Lumbergh!

Where's my slinging frisbee?

Since the traffic did not turn out as bad as we thought Saturday, the next day we ran out to Huntington Beach Dog Beach for some fun in the sun once again.  Tico was entertained with his frisbee, and the other dogs wanted to play with him and his 'ball'.  B is still weary about Tico always getting into people's water, blankets, and area; so we always want to keep an eye out on Tico every single time.  

"Ticomom, we need to talk about your TPS reports"

"Dude, not interested in 40 subscriptions to Cat Fancy Magazine"

We also stopped by Five Guys burger, since it's in the way.  We have one at a mall closer to our house, but we hardly go there for shopping, so this is fairly convenient for us.  Five Guys does great marketing, and in due time, it will surpass In-N-Out, if not already done so, in popularity in SoCal.  The place has an outdoor patio to tie your dog to the other side of the fence. 

This was a fairly mellow weekend for me and the boys.  We did not do much of a chore work, and we entertained ourselves with the usual Netflix' offering of 'Ice Road Truckers', 'Gone With The Wind', and even the latest release 'The Fighter' is on.  Everybody and their cousins went to see 'Harry Potter' this weekend, but B refused to pay $12-$15 a pop to sit and watch movies unless they have decent reviews first.  Which is why we rely on the solid filmmaking of old-time feel-good movies of the 90's and earlier.  For $11-$16 a month with Netflix, it's not a bad deal.

And yes, Netflix is raising its rates.  Didn't you get the memo?   

"Dude, where's my car?" Rodeo Drive Car Show, Beverly Hills; 06.19.11



This was parked on the street, and not part of the show.  The driver posted a 'For Sale' sign for $9K, a 1954 car. 



The Rodeo Drive Concourse D'Elegance is a car show held on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.  The show is about Italian cars, and the main show is the 125 vintage Italian cars spread around the blocked Rodeo Drive.  There were other cars, new and old; such as Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Lamborghinis and Ferrari's.  There were also Porsche and some American Classic, B hoped there were Audi's, and alas, there were a couple.  This is apparently an annual Father's Day event, which was held from 10am to 4pm.  There's a public parking on Santa Monica Blvd., but it's full.  We love BH on Sundays, because parking is free all over.  Too bad there's really no reason for us to be around here most of the time.  The dogs are out and about today to enjoy nice leather seats too.

Fiat also signed up people to drive their little cars, it would be cool, but we have Tico with us today.  We love cars, and we love beautiful cars.  Vintage cars, are the best.  We have seen a 1954 Fiat with pedals that are the size of a dollar.  And nothing else on the dashboard but the odometer.  No radio, no CD/tape player, no A/C, no cup holder, nothing.  And it seats 2, and it's the size of a refrigerator. 

What is up with bulldogs and their love for spreading their legs like that?

His and her Lamborghini, anyone?

Reminds me of Mr. Bean's car...

This car reminds me of Mr. Bean's car episodes...imagine driving around the English countryside with this car, bumping off other cars on the hillside, hitting posts, and walking away from the scene of the accident as if nothing happened...

What a handsome photo!

Bugatti

B trying to get Tico to sit down for photo-op

Simply the best

Ok, this is likely the closest we'll ever get near these cars, but man, they are beautiful.  Sleek curves, shiny hood, nice threading on the leather seats, and consoles are clean and classic, and the wheels, rims and tires are an artwork.  And the car emblems, what a beaut.

B and I went to Outdoor Cinema Food Fest last night Saturday, where they featured the movie "Old School" with Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson.  It was a silly movie, but we enjoyed it.  This one was held in Exposition Park, near USC.  The movie started at 8:30 pm, right after a band called Helen Earth Band.  The food trucks on this night was meh.  But I chose Canter's food truck, which is from the same restaurant of the same name in Beverly Hills on Fairfax.  I had a Pastrami sandwich, Ruben style.  B had a couple of sliders that took an hour, so he had a half of my sandwich which was filling.  I never seem to think that long lines meant good food, so the sliders were, in my opinion, not worth it.  I think we got it from some burger food truck.  My sandwich from Canter's, on the other hand, was filling enough that I was full at half a sandwich, and it also came with a cup of coleslaw and a whole pickle.   B, unsatisfied with his two sliders, ate my remaining half sandwich and pickles.  To concentrate on plays/movies, B and I don't take Tico to these places, but dogs are allowed on most outdoor LA events.

The movie cost $10, and if you bring your own food and drinks, that is a great deal.  Unless you're lazy as we are, where we bought our food and drinks on there.  The parking on this place is $10, but we were cheap and decided to drive around and walk for a few hundred feet away at a meter parking (free after 8pm) just outside a new apartment complex.  The movie ended at 10pm.  Make sure to bring thick blankets and low-slung chairs.  It can get cold there, so we brought three pairs of blankets, a handful of sweaters and jackets, and we wore shoes and socks.  We can actually take the train from here, so it is something for us to think about.  We don't like expensive, unnecessary parking fees, so this public transport thing is something to take advantage of.

The OCFF's upcoming movie schedule for the summer are Terminator, The Matrix, Office Space, Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, and The Figt Club to name a few.  The locations for OCFF movies are all over the place.  We've gone to this one last season, as well as the Grand Hope park in downtown LA.  We've also been to the one by Chinatown, where we can see the train on the side.  There are no public restrooms, though.  It's mostly porta-potties, which is not my favorite in the world.   

Cupcakes @ $2 each

"Dude, where's my car?" is a 2000 movie by Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott.  It's a movie about two stoners who woke up and can't find their car the next day.  B and I went out Friday night and met Melissa and her friend Sheri, who is in town visiting her from New Mexico.  We met them at the new Baja Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach, on El Porto.  Sheri's birthday is on June 10, Melissa's will be later this month, so they are celebrating it together.  There's a bunch of us June b-day girls, so this month will be very busy getting together with everyone.  It's been hard getting everyone on a sit-down dinner and talk to them and their significant others on a one-to-one basis, so I look forward to these dinners.

Anyhoo, after a couple of Coronas, and a little dancing on the cramped dance floor, B and I were exhausted.  When we got out, I asked B where's his silver car was, since I don't see it from a distance to where we parked it.  He reminded me that I drove with my black car, so at least we know he'd be driving back home.    

Panchos across from the bar.  Decent food, great dining floor

Streets of El Porto, MB

Speaking of transportations, food trucks are cool.  I like the fact that you can just get in line and order food, and off you go to a bench somewhere and eat.  No need for a table service, no tip necessary, etc.  Food quality wise, for the most part, are so-so.  But today, we lucked out with Vesuvio Food Truck since we got a Penne Pasta with Sausage and Peppers with sides of 2 bread, and two sliders of meat balls and sausage, and a drink, all for under $15.  And they were filling, and very tasty.  And the people behind the truck are nice.  I asked for a dish of water for Tico, and not only the guy gave us one dish full of water once, he actually came out of the truck, walked over to where we were sitting (behind his truck), and asked if we needed more.  He gave us a gallon-full.  We said thanks, and he said "customers with dogs are the best".  Now, that's customer service.  Here's a blip about them on Yelp where they talked about their rice balls.  We ordered more than enough food, so we missed out on that one.  They are, however; possibly going to be on the OCFF's food truck line-ups, so we look forward to going to OCFF again when Vesuvio's one of the food truck choices.  Hopefully next time, we'll be confident enough to bring Tico with us.  We're just not sure about his endurance to sit in one spot quietly for two hours straight.  Because you get to enjoy your food al fresco, food trucks are dog-friendly.

We love cars.  I love cars.  My all-time favorite car was a 13 year old red 1987 Toyota MR2.  That car can go.  I bought it for about $1,300 cash with over 100K miles already in it.  I had fun with that car, for the short time that I had owned it.   Of all the cars I've owned, old and new; the MR2 was by far, the most fun car I've ever had.  I wish I kept it, and tried to restore it.

What a fun car.