Mike

Almost there

I still need to tweek a few things but my other blog is starting to look like I want it to look.  Remember, I have no freaking idea what I'm doing.

God bless her

When Ms. Hilda, my 88-year old neighbor, learned today that I had recently turned 60 she said, "Keep on keeping on.  That's what I do."

The E*Trade Super Bowl commercial you won't see

10-second Movie Review

If you haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire, go see it.  It's awesome.  Make sure that you stick around for the credits.  Thanks to its Golden Globe wins it has left the art house realm and is playing at many multiplexes.

Have the paparazzi left? Is it safe to come out?

Papa's got a brand new blog

James Brown is rolling over in his grave.

I've started a new blog.  It's about the part of Charleston that I live in, the part that tourists rarely see.

The blog design, at this point, is fairly rough because I don't know what I'm doing.

I'll work on it.

Champ is my Rhinestone Cowboy

Justine bought Champ a collar that's fitting for an Internet Superstar.

Support your local restaurants

If you hadn't noticed, a slew of Charleston restaurants are offering "recession" specials for the month of January (or longer).  Joan and I had dinner tonight at Amuse, a quaint tapas restaurant West of the Ashley.  They've rolled their prices back to what they were when they opened in November 2004.  $5 for most tapas dishes and $5 for most wines by-the-glass.  Check the City Paper's list of current restaurant deals and enjoy at least one night out this month.

It was a foodie December/Christmas/Birthday

I’m trying to catch up on December posts that I never wrote.

Since I was going to be in St. Louis for Christmas I went to New York in early December.  The chef at Gramercy Tavern had been tipped off that Briar, Isaac, and I were coming so he prepared a special dinner for us.  I’ve had lots of great meals but this one is currently #1.  We followed that up with dinner at Babbo.  Including the lunch that Briar and I had at Union Square Cafe in November, we’ve now dined at the top three New York restaurants according to Zagat.  Next up?  4, 5, and 6!

William and Laura treated me to a Christmas Eve dinner at Bacana, a Brazilian churrascaria.  Mmmm, meat on skewers.  Does life get any better?  Keeping with the South American theme we did Peruvian on Boxing Day.  They also gave me Foodie Fight.  I promised to not cheat and read the questions until the family (foodies all) gets together in New York for the wedding.  Check PPV for the SmackDown at Bryant Park!

Allan and Alison gave me a gift certificate from Mackenzie Ltd.  I haven’t used it yet because there are so many things to choose from, but their mac and cheese will be at the top of my order.

Briar and Isaac gave me two wooden cutting boards (you need to know me to know why I like wooden cutting boards) and New York bagels.  I still have one onion and two plain left that I will eat this weekend.

Justine knows how much I love tea made right. She gave me a cordless kettle so that I no longer have to use the microwave.  It's not a foodie thing but she also filled out one of my DVD collections and added two more to my romantic comedy collection. 

Beverly treated me to a fantastic birthday dinner at Four Moons.  And for Christmas she gave me a reason to live longer.  How cool is that?

One bed was too hard, one was too soft, but the last bed was just right