REST IN PEACE - YUSEF LATEEF

I heard the news yesterday that jazz legend Yusef Lateef had passed away. Now I have always been a big fan of Yusef and have a whole lot of his recording in my library. One of the unique things about Yusef is that he not only played tenor sax and flute but also played the very difficult oboe. A triple threat musician who in my opinion never got the true recognition he deserved as a musician.   Yusef even had a brief stint with Cannonball Adderly and luckily several of these recording are available. Farewell brother Yusef, you will be missed. Not hip to Yusef Lateef. Here is one of his many great recording from the Eastern sounds cd titled Love Theme from Spartacus with Yusef on oboe. Enjoy!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK - MORNING SUNRISE

Now while most of you are tucked in bed sleeping like little babies SAXOMAN is on the road driving to work. Getting out of my car this morning I couldn't help but notice the sunrise and the beautiful color of the sky. I then pulled out my iPhone and snapped a photo to share with you all. Enjoy!

SAXOMAN VISITS KRUSTYLAND

OK, now technically not Krustyland but The Simpsons Ride at Universal City. SAXOMAN decided to call in sick to work for a day (Owww, my tummy hurts HAHA!) to spend the day with the wife and some visitors from out of the country. Now it has been many years since I went to Universal Studios and recall only the shark from Jaws as one of the few attractions way back then. So as we went in the park the first stop of course was the Simpson's Ride. HAHA!  Being a huge Simpson's fan it was my duty to check it out right? Now I  figured it might be a tame ride made for kids but noooo……this was one wild ride where you were assaulted with the sights and sounds as you tried to escape from Sideshow Bob. We even got sucked into a giant radioactive Maggie who thought we were a pacifier and spit us out! Yuck! Water (spit?) flew on us from the giant Maggie. Now when we were done with the ride and we decided to go again! What? What a blast as all my favorite Simpson characters were represented. Outside was Moe's tavern and the Kwik-E-Mart as well.  Too cool……Now while we were there we also rode the Transformers 3D ride (twice), the Mummy ride, a haunted house (noooo…..let me out of here!) and many other great rides. A fun filled day as I miraculously made a recovery from my "illness" to go back to work the next day. HAHA!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - BRUCE LEE

This weeks DVD Pick of the Week is the recent Bruce Lee release of Enter the Dragon. Now this is the 40th Anniversary Edition of this classic martial arts film and is also the Blu Ray version. Now it's hard to believe that it's been 40 years since this film first came out as I recall seeing this in the theaters way, way back in the day. Now this wasn't the first Kung Fu movie I saw but it was definitely one of the earliest that I went to check out. This dvd is packed with a slew of goodies (see photo) and this is the best version of this movie to date and you will not be disappointed! Check it out and add it to your library. SAXOMAN recommended!

SAXOMAN RUNS A MARATHON……IN SPAIN - WHAT?

Yes, you read right. SAXOMAN ran a marathon! Now when SAXOMAN was on his recent vacation in Spain he also ran a marathon in the city of San Sebastian. Yep, I kid you not. SAXO is becoming quite the athlete lately. Now technically they don't do a full marathon in this race so it was a half marathon which is 13.1 miles (only). Now it was a cold, windy day with a chance of showers. With about 28,000 runners this was one big race. As SAXOMAN took off the showers started coming down. Instead of the people groaning and complaining they raised their arms and cheered. Now luckily the rain didn't last too long and it was a little sporadic after that. This race also had many hills as well so that made it a little harder but SAXO persevered. Now at one point I asked the person next to us if the ambulance behind me wanted to pass, no they always do that for the runners in last he said. What? I'm in last? I decide to start picking up the pace and slowly passed the many runners that started out too fast. HAHA! Eat my dust chumps! Now one thing about this race was that the whole town comes out to cheer you on, bad weather and all. With your name on your bib with your number the crowd cheered your name as you ran by. "Come on SAXOMAN, you can do it! Keep going, you're doing great!" were some of the many cheers I heard as I ran by and tipped my lucky Dodger hat to the appreciative crowd. Their enthusiasm really help to keep me going. Several people set up vans along the route and blasted music. Hmmm….there's a guy dressed like a pirate and waving a big pirate flag. Ok…. Now as I neared the finish (or so I thought at the time) the theme of Rocky was blasting. Now being a huge fan of all the Rocky movies this really pumped me up and drove me harder as I neared the finish line. I crossed the finish line to a cheering crowd with a respectable time for a first time marathon runner. What's up next for SAXOMAN? Many more adventures to come so stay tuned!

SAXOMAN - THE TRAVELING MAN (PART 2)

Yes my many readers, as promised SAXOMAN once again took off for another well deserved vacation (What? Again?) Yep this time SAXOMAN and the wife took off for a brief 10 day trip to Spain. Now I must say that I sampled as many as the different foods and wines as I could and had a great time doing it. Soaking in all of the local sites SAXOMAN was thoroughly impressed with the overall experience of Spain. Now this impressive photo that I took is of the well known Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Designed by Frank Gehry you can see the distinct style as well as the similarities to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles which was also designed by Mr. Gehry. A great trip with many adventures and photos to come. Now just so you know this is only Part 2 of the Traveling Man because SAXOMAN is off on another adventure in late December! What? Is SAXOMAN rich or something? Does he have a full time job? What's going on? No, SAXO is not rich and holds down a full time job like the majority of the world. Stay tuned for more exotic adventures in the life of SAXOMAN…..

GLASSES - IS IT TIME?

Now maybe I have been putting this off for a while. Who knows? All i know is that small type is no longer as easy to read as it once was in my younger days. I find liner notes on cd's to be really tough on the eyes unless it is bathed in light. Now maybe I'm just vain or what but I think for the most part my eyes are still in pretty decent shape. Maybe I can hold out a little longer? Maybe…. Now what if I get glasses? Will people call me Einstein or Braniac or even worse four eyes? Will people assume I know the square root of an isosceles triangle because I'm wearing glasses? Hmmm…..will my boss think I'm now more intelligent? HAHA! Who knows. All i can say is stay tuned to see what happens in the life of SAXOMAN.

DONE BEING THE DJ

Yes you heard right SAXOMAN is done being the DJ. That's it, no more! I am done! Now there's nothing that happened recently that made me come to this decision but is just something I've been thinking about for a while. Now I must admit that I used to take great joy in creating the music mix for one of my many parties. I would painstakingly pick out music for my "pre-party mix", meaning something lively as people are coming in and saying hello to everyone. This would go on for a few hours and then I would kick it into high gear with my "party mix" which would last for several hours and get people up and dancing. You had to balance it out - for example you couldn't put two merengue songs side by side as people would be exhausted so you had to mix it up a bit. I would then slow it down as people are leaving and have my post-party mix when people could unwind from the party and just relax and talk. So what's the problem? Well no matter what I would play someone would always come up and ask me to play something else. Can you play something a little faster? a little more danceable? A little slower? a little louder? etc…etc…. Huh? Now I would never think of asking someone to change the music at one of their parties but I guess some people have no problem doing this. So these requests completely disrupt the flow of what I had put together music wise and is really irritating. So no more……I'm done. If you're over my house I'll just play whatever I want and no requests (sorry) and don't ask me to provide music for your party because I will politely decline (sorry). You are on your own so good luck with your limited music collections. OUT...

WINO PARK - HUH?

Well since I recently blogged about Jim the Wino it also got me to thinking about the park known as Wino Park. Located in Pasadena, CA the official name of this park is Central Park but to me and my friends, it will always be known as Wino Park to us. Now I'm not sure how it originally got it's name but that's just what everyone called this park. I didn't even know until many years later that this park had an official name. You mean it's not called Wino Park I wondered? I remember many late nights as my friends and I would cruise by this park late at night on our way somewhere you could always see guys lying under the trees passed out. Now I guess as a kid I didn't realize that maybe the people there were homeless. My assumption was that they were all winos and were just passed out from too much Thunderbird, Red Mountain or Mad Dog wine. I dunno….Now one thing I notice as I sometimes cruise past this park for an early Saturday run is that there are still people sleeping under the trees. Oh well, Wino Park lives on!

LUBRICATING JELLY - UH OH……..

Now the other day I had a doctors appointment. As I was patiently waiting in the room I noticed a tube of lubricating jelly. Oh oh…..I thought. Being the clever guy that I am I immediately took a photo of this tube. I mean how could I not right? Now I knew (hoped?) that this tube of jelly wasn't for me cuz that could only mean big trouble. No, I am happy to say that this tube was probably for the person before me. Oh well……better him than me. HAHA!

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - DENNIS BROWN

This weeks long overdue Reggae CD Pick of the Week is my man Dennis Brown with the cd titled Visions. Recorded way back in 1976 this shows a young Dennis as he start to come into his own as one of the premiere reggae singers. Known as the Crown Prince of Reggae, Dennis is one of my favorite reggae singers and I have not gone wrong with any of the Dennis cd's that I have purchased. This was a recent addition to the SAXOMAN library and has gotten plenty of play in my car during my daily commute. Not hip to Dennis? Here's a song from this cd titled Stay at Home. Check it out and hip up!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE

It's been a pretty slow period for some decent Asian cinema lately. I've seen some really dopey movies such as Andy Lau as a secret agent and a Japanese dog movie that didn't have English sub-titles. Oh well…..Anyway, with that being said my coveted DVD Pick of the Week is Young Detective Dee - Rise of the Sea Dragon. Now this is by no means a great movie and it was a little ridiculous in some parts. This was still a movie that I was thoroughly entertained by. This movie was even in 3D (hmmm….that's why it was a little blurry) and featured extensive CG effects. Hey, I even made the wife watch this with me. HAHA! Here's the trailer for this fine piece of cinema. Check it out!

TRICK OR TREAT - CLUNK!

Sometimes as I'm sitting in traffic my mind will start to wander and think about all kinds of things. Now as Halloween approaches I remembered what it was like to go Trick or Treating as a kid. We would knock on the door anxiously awaiting candy and yell out Trick or Treat! One thing I remember was as we stood there with our pillowcases open waiting for our candy you would then hear CLUNK! What the? What the hell was that? What type of candy goes CLUNK? As we peered into our pillowcases there it was. A big apple! What? Yep, I kid you not. An apple? Now I'm not sure why anyone would give you an apple but I guess they were just trying to give us a healthy alternative. I dunno…..all I know is we just wanted some candy. An apple? Jeez…..gimme a break!

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…..US3?

So whatever happened to US3? Now I remember about 20 years ago they hit the scene by sampling some good old Bluenote jazz while blending hip-hop and rap. I personally thought it was a good combination that really worked but their first album was really the only album the stuck to this format. For some reason they tried to change their identity after the success of their debut album. Anyway, not hip to US3? Here's one of their first hits titled Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia). Check it out!

JIM THE WINO

After high school I spent some time doing a whole lot of nothing. I would hang out in the park with my buddies doing nothing but hanging out and drinking beer. Now one guy that used to frequent the park was a guy known as Jim the Wino. Now we didn't really know too much about Jim but usually he would show up in the afternoon with his bottle of Thunderbird wine in a paper bag. Now I don't know if any of you have ever tried Thunderbird but it is one of the cheapest wines out there and also one of the most horrible tasting wines you have ever tasted. Gross! Sometimes Jim would gross us all out by removing his dentures (Ugh!) but usually he would just sit there amused by our stories and nonsense. I'm not sure what made me think of Jim the Wino because it had been many, many years since I had thought about him. Anyway, I'm sure by now Jim has probably passed on but he was a harmless guy that just enjoyed his wine. Oh well…..

SAXOMAN - THE TRAVELING MAN (PART 1)

Yep SAXOMAN has once again been the traveling man. Recently SAXO and the wife headed off to Cancun (actually Playa del Carmen) for some well deserved rest and relaxation. Now I can honestly say that I spent a good amount of my time swimming, eating, drinking and just plain relaxing. Although there were many activities at the resort we were staying at, I decided to skip them and just work on my tan HAHA! Now I can say the wife was very active doing water aerobics, zumba classes and learning how to fold towels so they looked like swans (what?) Now why we were there we decided to see some of the local sites. I guess I couldn't lay around for a whole week although the thought did cross my mind. Here's a photo of one of the very popular ruins Chichen Nitza that we checked out one day. I'm told at one time you could climb to the top of these ruins but I guess too many knuckled tourists would hurt themselves or have problems getting down, Oh well, now you can only look. Now why is this only Part 1 of the traveling man post? Well SAXOMAN has two more upcoming trips so stay tuned!

A TRIPLE HEADER - HUH?

Now I don't think I've blogged about this before but sometimes I lose track with over 620 blog posts to date. Anyway, one day when I was about 11 or 12 years old, two friends of mine and myself needed to go somewhere. What was the problem? Well we only had one bike (my beloved purple Stingray). Anyway, we decided to ride three on a bike. What? No problem, as we had done this before. Basically the bigger, stronger kid did the pedaling while one kid sat on the back seat with the other kid on the handlebars. Now this particular day I was sitting on the handlebars and we were all loaded up and ready to take off. We started from my front yard and went down the small hill in my yard. Then all of a sudden BAM, FLIP, CRASH, OUCH! What happened? We all went sprawling to the sidewalk after suffering a terrible tumble. It appears when we went down the small hill we went straight into the sprinkler hole and the bike and all of us flipped right over and landed on the hard cement. A real triple header HAHA! Man, that hurt! We all laid there for a good while before we finally got up and dusted ourselves off. Now I don't remember if we ended up trying to all get back on the bike or just decided to walk. I'm not really sure but what a disaster.

FAREWELL......BREAKING BAD

Yes, it's true. My favorite TV show Breaking Bad has come to an end after only five seasons. No, the show wasn't cancelled or anything crazy like that. It was just the way to go out on top. For those that don't know, Breaking Bad is tops on my list for recommended viewing and is SAXOMAN recommended to all my many readers. A few weeks ago the final episode aired and I must say it was very we'll done with Walter White tying up all loose ends. The finale was viewed by over 10 million people and Breaking Bad recently won the Emmy for Best Drama. A well written, well acted drama about High School chemistry teacher Walter White who finds he has terminal cancer. In order to provide for his family in the future he turns to cooking crystal meth. The series unfolds as Walt slowly evolves into a ruthless drug lord. All I can say for this show and the finale is Bravo! A superb way to end the series with no open ended questions. I will sure miss the fact that there will never be another episode to watch although I recently heard someone offered 75 million dollars if they would write three more episodes. I really don't see this happening as the ending was truly the ending. What's next? Well there is the Blu-Ray box set coming out soon. HAHA! Farewell Breaking Bad, you will be missed!

SKIP - SKIP - SKIP

I was listening to the radio the other day and heard the song Ooh Child by The Five Stairsteps. Now this song made me remember an incident many, many years ago when this song first came out. I went to my local record store (Canterbury Records in Pasadena) and picked up the 45 single of this song. I think I rode my bike to get there but not really sure. Anyway, I get home anxiously awaiting to listen to my new purchase and instead I hear SKIP - SKIP - SKIP. Yep, you guessed it. The record was skipping all over the place. Jeez.....so I believe I rode all the way back and they gave my another replacement record. So I get home and again SKIP - SKIP - SKIP. Auuuuggghhh! What's going on? I complained to my Dad cuz I didn't know what to do. So he drives my down there and they put the record on and it plays perfect. The guy at the store tells my Dad it must be the needle of the turntable. Oh great! So my Dad wasn't too happy that he had to buy a new needle for my turntable and he wasn't shy about let me know of his unhappiness. I go home and put the new needle on and then put on the record. Here we go......nice smooth, mellow soul music but then SKIP - SKIP - SKIP. What the???? I changed the needle, changed the record and it still skips! So there I was. A new needle, a new record and it still skips. There the record sat unplayed for many, many years until I finally got rid of it. I don't think I ever bought a replacement for this record. Oh well......Anyway, now I know many of you have heard this song many times but have you ever seen the group performing it? Well here are The Five Stairsteps singing OOH CHILD.

HUMP DAY - HAHA

One commercial that is currently playing is about a camel walking around an office asking people what day it is. I don't know but I really find this commercial funny for some reason (at least to me). Everyone tries to ignore the camel until....well just check it out for yourself. Hump Day! HAHA!

DRIVE THRU KNUCKLEHEADS

Now I don't know what it is but whenever I go through a Drive Thru for food I always end up behind a Drive Thru Knucklehead. Huh? OK, I'm talking about people who appear to have never seen the menu in front of their face. They sit there and stare,,,,and stare......and then proceed to ask a series of dumb questions. Can I get that without this? Can you add this? are there any coupons?.....and on and on it goes.....All the while I'm sitting in my car fuming and losing my patience as I know exactly what I want and could have already ordered and paid and been on my way. But no........there I sit waiting and waiting for someone who can't make a simple decision. Jeez....what's a guy to do.

MAN WITH 134 POUND SCROTUM - WHAT?

Yep, you read right. A man with 134 pound scrotum! What? Yep, I kid you not. Now I saw this the other night while I was flipping through the channels. Of course this caught my eye and being the curious guy I am I just had to check it out. And there it was......a man with a huge scrotum that could barely walk. Huh ? How did this happen? Did they grow? What do you do? Chop them off? OUCH! I saw he was trying raise money for something. I dunno, all I know is I didn't watch this for very long as it made my own testies feel slightly inadequate. HAHA! Oh boy, what's a guy gonna do.

HOT - HOT - HOT (ENOUGH ALREADY)

The past two weeks have been brutally hot! Enough with this heat already! Every single day has been over 100 degrees or close to it. Driving home from work Friday it was 104 the entire way home! What?  

Driving home another day it was 102 all the way home. At lunch time it is about 100 degrees so there is no way SAXOMAN can take his lunch time siesta. No way! I'd be cooked like a lobster. Now although I complain about the heat I am fortunate in that I don't have to work outdoors in the heat. I see construction workers and gardeners and really feel for how bad they have it in this heat. I went out for a while today and it was actually a little bit cooler today. Only 95 degrees today. Jeez.....enough already please!

FAREWELL MY BELOVED DODGER HAT

Well I think the time has come to finally bid a fond farewell to my beloved Dodger hat. Now although the one pictured here is not my actual hat I can assure you that my hat is very, very worn out. Now it's kind of odd that I have worn my Dodger hat for so many years when I am really more of a Laker fan than a Dodger fan. Oh well, either way I gotta represent L.A. Now I'm really not sure how many years I've had this hat but I'm guessing about 15 years at least. This hat has hiked through the Inka Trail in Peru, been all over the Northern part of Thailand, seen both coasts of Costa Rica, been worn on many early morning jogs, and many, many other adventures in the life of SAXOMAN. Now I'm not quite ready to throw my hat away as I can still wear it when I'm jogging right? It's just that my hat is probably not good for anything else. So what did SAXO do? Well I went out today and picked up a brand new Dodger hat. Yep, I kid you not, Very nice indeed and I am happy to say that my head hasn't grown a bit since the last purchase. Yep, a perfect fit on my perfectly shaped cranium HAHA! Now I did not leave the stickers on the hat like many do (why?) and I did not buy it so that it fits over my ears (what?) and I can also tell you that I am not going to keep the bill perfectly flat like many people do nowadays for some odd reason. No my bill will be slightly curved like the photo and the hat slightly cocked to the left (ace deuce style) and pushed back. Yeah, a new Dodger hat! SAXOMAN is stylin'!

THE RUNNING MAN - PART 3

Now when I run I probably look a lot like Homer in this photo. I see a lot of other (younger) runners that never seem to get tired and routinely run like 20 miles. Jeez....gimme a break! Now one of the things I forgot to mention in my previous Running Man posts was the accessories you need to buy once you become a "running man". You need to get special running shoes which I can tell you aren't cheap, special socks to run in so you don't get blisters, You need the special light weight running shorts (I was wearing my baggy basketball shorts for quite a while), the hydration belt so you can stay hydrated as you run, the energy blasts you need to drink or eat while you're running to keep your energy up (although I can say it doesn't help my lack of energy). And on and on it goes......HAHA. Now I've seen some runners with the super huge and expensive GPS watches that calculate everything as well as fancy compression socks that are supposed to do something (I guess). SAXOMAN is not at that level yet but give me time, We shall see......

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - IP MAN THE FINAL FIGHT

This weeks coveted DVD Pick of the Week is IP Man, The Final Fight, starring Anthony Wong. This movie carries on in the tradition of the previous IP Man movies which I'm sure you've all seen right? What? You know.... IP Man 1 and 2 with Donny Yen as well as the prequel. Right? OK anyway, this deals with Master IP Man in his later years as he continues the tradition of teaching Wing Chun to a select few dedicated students. And who was Master IP's most famous student? Why the legendary Bruce Lee of course! What? Yep, I kid you not. Anyway, I had been looking for this movie for a while and just recently picked it up, I watched it last night and it is now my DVD pick to share with all of you. Not hip to IP Man? Check out the trailer for this fine piece of cinema,

KOREAN BBQ TACOS AND BURRITOS - HUH?

Yep, you heard right. Korean barbecue tacos and burritos. My oh my! Now where did SAXOMAN experience these tasty meals? Why the Kogi Korean BBQ Food Truck that was recently in my area. Now I have to say that the two spicy BBQ pork tacos that I ordered were really tasty although a little small for my man size appetite so I ordered a short rib burrito to top it off and fill my belly. Mmmmm good! I can say that the food trucks have really stepped up their game and are now putting out some really good food. This is one of the many shortcuts for food trucks I have on my phone to see if they are close by. Kogi - check it out!

THE RUNNING MAN - PART 2

Now when I originally started running the wife wanted me    to get a shirt from the running club we are running with which has the club's logo. Now I didn't really feel like I was a member of this club as I had just started running with them so I didn't really want to get a shirt. The more I thought about it though I figured if I dropped dead with a heart attack someone from the club would at least recognize me as a fellow runner and stop and offer some assistance. This was my logic anyway plus I also just felt a need to use this photo of Homer having a heart attack. HAHA!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - KENNY BURRELL AND COLEMAN HAWKINS

This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week is a recent addition to the SAXOMAN library. A great recording by guitarist Kenny Burrell which features the great Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax. I picked this up on my last visit to Amoeba and have been giving it many repeat plays in my car. Real smooth, tasteful guitar work by Kenny Burrell as always who has played with just about everyone in the business and is still going strong and teaching jazz at UCLA. Also featuring Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax, what more could a jazz lover need? Anyway, a great recording that you are sure to enjoy and SAXOMAN recommended. Here is a nice bluesy cut from this cd. Check it out!

SAXOMAN THE RUNNING MAN - WHAT?

Yep, believe it or not SAXOMAN is now the running man! What? Yep, the wife finally convinced SAXO to get off of the sofa and go join her running in the morning. I think the wife's exact words were for me  to "get off my lazy ass". HAHA! Now I must admit that when I went to run with the group I couldn't understand why these people were all so cheerful so early in the morning. All I wanted to do is go back to my bed and sleep a little longer. Anyway, little by little I started to run further and further each week. I am now up to running 10 miles so watch out! Now I must say that having young, tight bodied athletic girls running in front of me may have helped my motivation just a little bit. It could also have been the many young athletic girls in skin tight exercise clothes bending over and stretching in provocative poses. HAHA! Anyway, all I can tell you that SAXOMAN is now quite the runner and the running man!

SHE CHEWED WHAT? PART 2

Just when we thought that our cat was done chewing on things we have had a few more incidents. What? Yep, our beloved little cat has recently chewed my brother-in-laws laptop charger. What? More chewing! Yep, I kid you not. On top of this she then followed up by chewing the cord on his phone charger too. What? Now I don't know what it is with this cat of mine but she constantly needs to bite or chew on something, usually my hand, fingers or feet. I dunno......maybe she has a constant teething issue or something. I just don't know what I'm going to do with this darn cat.

DVD (BLU RAY) PICK OF THE WEEK - LONE WOLF AND CUB THE COMPLETE SET

What? A DVD Blu Ray Pick of the Week? Yep, it's true. So with that being said this weeks coveted DVD Pick of the Week is my also my first Blu Ray Pick. This weeks recommended viewing is Lone Wolf and Cub The Complete Set. Now this is a two disc set but contains all six of the Lone Wolf and Cub movies. These used to be sold individually but are now all together in this set and in the best quality these gems have ever been released in. A real deal and I think I only paid about $28 for this set. Made in the early 70's this classic Japanese tale shows the story of father and son (both of few words) as they travel and fight challenges wherever they go. Might be a little bloody for some not for me and hey, I'm a squeamish guy right? HAHA! Anyway, check out these six movies that I thoroughly enjoyed.

SHE WEIGHS HOW MUCH? WHAT?

Recently the wife and I took our cat to have her annual shots. One of the first things we have to do when we arrive at the vet is first weigh the cat. We put her on the scale and it came up at a whopping 18 pounds! What? My wife and I looked at each other. How much did she weigh the last time we brought her? 15 pounds was the reply. What? Now this didn't make sense. We've had our cat on a diet eating lo-cal food and she gains 3 pounds? I just don't get it. Maybe she has found a stash at a neighbors house or something. I dunno.....anyway we are back on another diet plan so stay tuned!

SHE CHEWED WHAT? AGAIN?

Now I'm not sure if I have blogged about this as I tend to forget sometimes all the rambling I do. I remembered something my cat did recently so thought I would share. My cat that loves to bite also likes to chew on things. Kind of like a dog I guess. One day the wife called my very upset. It seems her laptop wasn't working and the cause? A power cord that had been chewed right through! What? I tried my best to calm the wife and promised to bring another adapter home. So I bring one home and all is well until.......What? Yep, you guessed it! The very next day the wife called again as our wonderful cat had chewed through this cord too! What? Again! Now ever since the wife has had to put your cords up and away so they won't be chewed through. So end of story right? Well I'm sorry to say that one day my wife's Tivo wasn't working. She then spent several hours the next day on the phone trying to troubleshoot this problem with tech. support. Hmmm....what could be wrong the tech wondered. Let's try one more thing. Check the cord from the....What???? Yep, you guessed it! Chewed right through. Boy oh boy.....the wife was furious and banished the cat outdoors (for the day at least). Anyway, we resolved this issue with another cord and are hoping this is the end of this. We shall see.......

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - GREGORY ISAACS

This weeks long overdue Reggae CD Pick of the Week is from my man Gregory Isaacs with the cd titled My Number Ones. Now I've been a fan of Gregory for some time and have always liked his smooth "lovers rock" sound. I recently pick up this cd on one of my many excursions for cd's and as with most of Gregory's cd's this one is another winner. Not hip to Gregory Isaacs? Here's the title track from this cd. Check it out!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - SAVING GENERAL YANG

This weeks coveted DVD Pick of the Week is Saving General Yang. A recent release based on the true story of the Yang clan. A large production with epic battles and a good storyline. Now I have seen this with a variety of covers including the one shown here. I must say I've seen some pretty dopey Asian movies lately as well as one that was painfully slow (The Last Supper - Yawn!). This is one of the better movies I have seen lately and am thereby giving it my pick of the week. A story of bravery and family loyalty it's a must see. Here's the trailer for this fine piece of cinema. Check it out!

FAREWELL MY BELOVED TOTE BAG

It is a sad day for SAXOMAN. I feel that I must finally have to say farewell to my beloved tote bag. As you can see it is finally wearing out. Now I can tell you that this tote bag has been my faithful companion for many, many years. It has been with me to countless swap meets for cd and dvd shopping. It has been with me on many trips to Amoeba for many cd/dvd shopping sprees. fFor those that have seen me you know it has been my constant companion. Now? It is finally time to wish my tote bag a fond farewell as it is no longer usable. With a heavy heart and tears in my eyes I am finally going to have to get rid of this. Now the wife did get SAXOMAN a brand new tote bag for his recent birthday. It is a little smaller so let's see how it works. You know I need room for my many purchase, haha!

ONE MINUTE GREEN CARDS?

Now SAXOMAN and the wife were over by McArthur Park the other day at Langer's (see previous blog post) After the filling meal we decided to walk around to help settle our full bellies. Now I can honestly say that I felt like I was in Central America (not that there's anything wrong with that) as I saw Pupusarias, religious zealots, signs offering exorcisms, lady's cooking from a shopping cart and many more interesting sights. One of the signs that caught my eye was the one here that I took a photo of. Now I've known people that have waited for years to get a green card but this sign here advertised a green card in just one minute! What? Yep, I kid you not. Now I remember a while back watching 20/20 or 60 Minutes or one of those shows and this area around McArthur Park was to place to go for a fake ID (Drivers License, Social Security Card, etc...) Now I happened to see this actually go down while I was there. Yep, I saw someone getting a brand new social Security card. My oh my....... Now I guess If I ever need to go underground and change my identity this will be the place to go. I'll just have to come up with some interesting new name to go by. Hmmmm......what should this be? haha!

LANGERS - AN L.A. INSTITUTION

The other day SAXOMAN and the wife decided to try Langer's Deli for the very first time. Now I know it's hard to believe that this was the first time I had gone to Langers since it has been there for over 60 years! What? Yep, I kid you not. I think the exact figure is something like 67 years. Now I have heard about Langer's for a while and their world famous No. 19 pastrami sandwich. There is always a line outside but it moves pretty quick. Once inside the wife and I each ordered the No. 19. I saw they also had their own Creme Soda too and it had been years since I've had a creme soda so lemme have one of those too! The pastrami arrived and without a doubt, the best pastrami sandwich I had ever eaten in my life. Nice lean pastrami on rye bread with cole slaw (in the sandwich) and Russian dressing! My oh my! Delicious! Oh yeah, it also comes with a dill pickle wedge on the side. Anyway, the No. 19 is everything advertised. SAXOMAN recommended! Check it out!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - BALLADS BY FOUR

This weeks long overdue Jazz CD Pick of the Week is titled Ballads By Four and refers to four great sax players playing some smooth, sexy ballads. I had seen this cd before and passed on it thinking it may have been a compilation from other releases but I was wrong. So I recently scooped this up for only $5 and what a treat. Featuring four ballads by four great sax players this is a must have for jazz lovers. This cd features Art Pepper, John Klemmer, Johnny Griffin & Joe Henderson. Classics such as Over The Rainbow, God Bless The Child, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Good Morning Heartache. My oh my.....Now I was trying to find an audio clip to share but no such luck. Anyway, all i can say is check it out!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - THE GRANDMASTER

I know it's been a little while since my last DVD pick but a recent visit to Chinatown (what? again?) had me walking away with 5 of the latest in Asian cinema. Now one dvd that I was looking for was The Grandmaster starring my man Tony Leung. Now if you've seen IP Man then you are sure to enjoy this film. Now this was directed by Wong Kar Wai so it may not be everyone's cup of tea since it's a little artsy to some. I personally like the way the slow motion of the rain drops during a fight scene or the snow slowly falling. A little slow in some spots but overall a movie that is SAXOMAN recommended and deserving of my coveted DVD Pick of the Week. Check it out!

SONG OF THE DAY - WAS NOT WAS

I was listening to my iPod while driving home and the song Papa Was a Rolling Stone came on. I hadn't heard this in a while and after it was done I played it again. Now this isn't the version you may be thinking about by the Temptations. This version is by the group Was Not Was. I was a fan of this short lived group that put out two cd's. Now I remember sitting in a pub in Amsterdam drinking a beer and someone put this song on. I thought to myself "Hmmm, they're pretty hip over here". Anyway, check it out and enjoy!

PARKING - TWO PERSPECTIVES

Now the wife and I have two completely different perspectives when it comes to parking. The wife believes in parking as close to our destination as possible. Me? I park away as far as possible to avoid peoples cars and/or shopping carts. The wife believes in waiting for someone to pull out of a parking spot while we hold up traffic just to snag that elusive parking spot. Me? I guess I'm too considerate to make others wait although I must admit it doesn't seem to bother other people who do this. The wife believes in squeezing into a parking spot telling me there's room when the issue of room isn't the problem. It's people who don't care when they open their doors. Now I must admit that I rarely drive my car on the weekends and instead keep it tucked safely in the garage. At work I park at the very last row of a large parking lot and at an angle as well. Gotta keep the car looking good without any dents or dings right? Now I know you may think SAXOMAN is a little odd by doing this but I can tell you that people nowadays just don't seem to have any consideration and won't hesitate to park a shopping cart right near your car or bang your door without any care. Parking? As far away as possible.... HAHA!

SUMMER MOVIES - SO FAR...

Now one of the many things SAXOMAN likes to do is spend an afternoon in the move theaters watching the latest releases. Now usually I tend to miss several of the hottest releases and have to wait until they come out on DVD. Not this year! So far I am up to date with all the latest movies and sometimes enjoy the two-for-one special. What? Now here is SAXOMAN's recommendations for what I've seen so far:

• Iron Man - See it! (if you like the other two Iron Man movies you are sure to like this one as well, I know I did. Lot's of action.
• Fast and Furious 6 - See it! The stunts are bigger and better then ever and a ton of action. A tank? What?
• Star Trek - See it! An action packed movie that even the wife enjoyed.
• Gatsby - Pass, save your money guys. Now although the wife liked it guys, steer clear.
• Hangover III - Pass - A real stinker! I was sadly disappointed in this one after thoroughly enjoying the first two. The funnies part of the movie? During the closing credits when there is actually a hangover scene.

Anyway, SAXO will keep you posted as I see more movies. Hey, where's the Asian cinema reviews? Patience grasshopper, patience......

SUSHI BURRITOS - WHAT?

Yes, believe it or not it's true. Sushi burritos. Who would've thought. Now a while back I was in my customary position of lying on the sofa flipping through the channels and came across the Food Network and they were showing various food trucks. Now one truck that caught my eye was the Sushi Burrito truck, Yep, I kid you not. In L.A. anything goes. Anyway the truck is called Jogasaki and is bright orange with a pic of a samurai man wearing a sombrero! What? Yep, too hip. Anyway SAXOMAN heard the truck was going to be in Little Tokyo on Saturday and being a frequent visitor of Little Tokyo SAXOMAN decided to check it out. On the train ride over I was checking their menu to decide what I would get. Hmmm....so many choices. Now their web site said that they would be there at noon but they were nowhere to be found. SAXO decided to head over to the German place (my last blog post) with the wife and have a large dark German beer to open up our appetites a little more. Anyway, after the beer we walked outside and the truck was just getting ready to open and we were first in line. Oh yeah......Now I can say we ordered a fair amount of food. For my it was the Lobster Burrito with the Salmon Ceviche Taco, What? The wife had the Shrimp Tempura burrito with the Firecracker appetizer. We sat down inside the Angels City Brewery and devoured our meal in a matter of minutes. mmmm, mmmm good! So another SAXOMAN recommendation. Check it out!

GERMAN FOOD IN LITTLE TOKYO?

Yes, believe it or not it's true. Great German food tucked away on a side street in Little Tokyo. Who would have thought? Now the wife and I recently discovered this gem while on one of our many excursions exploring the sights and sounds of Little Tokyo. It seemed like a lot of people were coming in and out of this place so we decided to go in and check it out. Once inside we found they had a wide variety of unique and exotic sausages (Rattlesnake! Alligator! What?) as well as many other delicious and unique sausages. SAXOMAN opted for the Buffalo sausage mixed with Pork and Chipotle sauce. Mmmm...Excellent! The wife was brave and tried the rattlesnake. Excellent! I must say that the Belgium fries are also a real treat as well as all of the many choices of German and Belgium beer on tap. Now the wife and I opted for some great dark German beer to wash down our tasty meal. A great place and SAXOMAN recommended! Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that the name of this place is Wurstkuche and is located on 3rd street in L.A. Check it out!

FREEDOM OF SPEECH? FREEDOM OF THE PRESS? I THINK NOT

Well as expected "the wife" took great offense to my last blog post even though I did not mention the country. So it appears freedom of speech no longer exists. Freedom of the press? A thing of the past. I guess these things do not exist in this household. SAXOMAN has regrettably taken down his last blog post in order to keep peace and tranquility in the household. I  have been neutered, stripped of my dignity and artistic freedom. I have been censored for the first time. Many apologies to my many readers. Jeez......

A BIG BOOB IN MY FACE - WHAT?

A few years back the wife and I took a trip to Costa Rica. One of the things I noticed was that almost all of the women in Costa Rica wore low cut tops and push up type bras. Basically this pushed the boobs up for a better look for all to see. Now I remember riding a bus to the other side of the country and as usual the bus was stuffed with people. So I'm standing up close to the front door of the bus and I notice a lady with very large boobs and the low cut top. She was also holding a baby too. Anyway, I look around at all the people on the bus and glance back at the woman and there it is. A big boob right in my face! What? OK, now maybe not right in my face but as I turned back the lady was breast feeding her kid on the bus. Oh well......

TAKING TO THE GRAVE - HUH?

Now every once in a while the wife will say the most ridiculous things. Recently the wife said "you know, you should think about getting rid of those cd's and dvd's". Dead silence on my end at first. I then gave her the "are you crazy look". i then said "WHAT? Get rid of my cd's? and my dvd's? What? Where did you come up with this nutty idea? I said, NO WAY, I'm taking these to the grave! HAHA!

KICKIN' IT IN K-TOWN - HUH?

Because SAXOMAN is an international guy and a man of the people, I decided to take a trip to Koreatown (otherwise known as K-Town) to check out the action. The wife and I hopped the train and off we went. Due to a slight miscalculation (on m part) we ended up getting off the train a little too soon. So.....we get off at MacArthur Park and lo and behold there is Langer's deli. Hmmm....maybe I should stop in and get one of their world famous pastrami sandwiches also know as the # 19. No, I gotta stay focused. Anyway, we ended up walking a good distance to our lunch destination while passing through several Guatemalan and El Salvadorian neighborhoods. I guess it was a good thing I had that carnitas taco at the grand Central Market. Mmmmm....
Anyway, once we reached our destination the wife and I feasted on Guey Guey, Fried rice with Kimchee and several tasty side dishes. Now I must say we had a great deal of difficulty understanding our waitress but she tried to help with our order. After stuffing my belly we then asked the waitress at the front if the train station was close. With my full belly there is no way I could walk all the way back. The waitress tells me "no, we not closed" Jeez....oh well.....Luckily the train station wasn't too far away so I hit the seat and relaxed all the way home.

$5 BLU-RAY'S? - OH YEAH...

Now I have to admit that I hadn't started converting my dvd collection to blu-ray dvd's. I just didn't buy into the hype and even blogged about it a few years back. Now what recently caught my eye was the release of the new Tarrantino blu-ray of Django Unchained. Now being a big fan of Quentin I was planning on getting this anyway. Now what caught my eye was that Best Buy was offering all of Tarrantino's other movies on blu-ray for only $9. What a deal! So I quickly scooped up several of these for my collection. Now the following week Best Buy offered another deal. Bring in any dvd and get $5 off of any blu-ray dvd. What? So I traded in my regular dvd's of Tarrantino movies and picked up some other choice titles. Now I specifically looked for the movies that were on sale for $10 so with my coupon I could get these for only 5 bucks! Yeah, what a deal! I have quickly added several choice titles to my collection (Scarface, The Departed, Goodfellas, American Gangster, The Dark Knight, etc...) What's next? Well I guess I should get a blu-ray dvd player now. HAHA!