That's So LA!

Raw Goodness For Less

thatssola — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:15:44 +0000

Phoenix and I are always in dire need of sushi and there’s only one place in LA where we always go to because we know we’ll leave happy. It’s not because their food is heavenly, although it’s good enough, but because an order only costs $2.75. From your usual California and Spicy Tuna Rolls to Soft Shell Crab Rolls, each plate only costs $2.75 and they usually come in 4 or 8 pieces. Phoenix accidentally found this place after he was about to spend a whole month’s paycheck on sushi at another restaurant across the street. Thank goodness he has amazing vision or else he would’ve died from hunger that month and we would never have had all those great times at Sushi Mac. They have two locations on the west side and one in the valley. I highly recommend this place for someone who’s low in cash but still wants to enjoy all that raw goodness.

Cheers!
M

P.S.
We have a lot of plans that are coming to life for this blog in February so stay tuned.

Girls Gone Wild: The Naked Truth

thatssola — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:06:14 +0000

Happy New Year Meloves! I hope you had a wild night of booze, sex and whatnot. If you’re still underaged, you just imagined I said that. Lay off your lil’ brother’s cough syrup, I tell ya. Remember Jamie-Lynn! Anyways, let’s get down to business.

Now I’m sure a lot of you morally upright folks have, at some point, seen one of those late nite ads promoting the tragic Joe Francis’ (Is he still alive? Or is he just pulling an Abe Vigoda on us?) Girls Gone Wild franchise. You must at least admit to that! You know, those videos of people in clubs screaming to the camera in unprecedented euphoria, or so it appears. I think we’re supposed to believe that they pick up random hot chicks from such club parties and that the chicks are total neophytes who by virtue (ha!) of their alcohol intoxication, are persuaded to surrender their treasures to the camera. After all, there’s nothing hotter than corrupting the innocent, is there? ( Barely Legal, Dirty Debutantes, Young, Dumb and Full of _____. Need I really go on?) But of course we all know better, don’t we? There’s one thing I didn’t know about though and I’m gonna ~~bitch~~ talk about it here. Upon seeing the promo clips, one would also get the impression that the screaming folks in them are ALL IN ON THE FUN. That they actually get to see all the nakey fun go down. Not!

My brother managed to procure tickets from an “organiser” to the GGW New Years Eve soiree. One would think his life had just peaked! So when the clock struck 10, off we drove to Shag Nightclub on Cahuenga (Yes my British mates! It’s really called SHAG!). After a few minutes of driving around for a parking spot, we gave up and decided on a nearby valet parking facility which, after having parked the car ourselves, charged us $20 (I know!). We then walked towards the club and with a little help from my bro’s friends, ~~cut people off~~ sneaked ourselves into the long queue. We got in a little past 11 and immediately searched the room with our eager eyes for the girls who were supposed to “go wild” but found none. Undeterred, we got drinks from the bar, danced a little and waited. As the clocked ticked closer to 12, the crowd’s excitement rose as people somehow half-expected the “wild girls” to make a grand entrance of some kind. It DIDN’T happen. We got bored, gave up on the thought, just hit the dance-floor and tried to ~~whore ourselves out~~ work our charm on all sorts of ahem… ~~ugly girls~~ girls with unprepossessing features.

Apparently, the picture above is the most flattering taken of them LOL.

“We are beautiful, No matter what they say.”

And as we gyrated and danced our sluttiest moves, a Michael Jackson nose-sporting girl, who didn’t look pretty enough for an “entertaintment career” in Vegas, materialised with a cameraman hot on her trail. She slithered hither and thither for the camera and after a minute or two, took off again. She was probably worried her imaginary fans would recognise her and cause pandemonium. Poor thing! I bet you my life earnings ($10) she was supposed to be the girl they will randomly pick up and coerce into flaunting her bits on camera. The ~~douchebag~~ cameraman returned after a while and kept on filming throughout the night. He was especially attentive whenever the DJ announced the time to tell the crowd that 2008 is drawing nearer and the screams were louder (just perfect for that new GGW DVD). It’s not hard to imagine that with a little editing, they could and most probably would make the crowd look as if they were excited over some non-existent hot chicks instead of the the new year.

The only TRUE STAR of the night… Now must I really explain myself? LOL

I have basically figured out how the whole GGW video-making process works. First, they hire a bunch of aspiring porn-stars, film them in some cheap motel in Alabama, get a group of dimwitted idiots (yours truly included) in a club by handing out “free” tickets that supposedly would have cost $100 otherwise, film them going mental, take to the editing room and then snip snip snip.. BAM! A new video is born. It’s brilliant, really! Imagine the $$$$ they save on production. They never have to pay EXTRAS. The extras come on their own volition. Actors charge legit producers anywhere from $10-$30/hour for extra work, some even much more. There must have been between 80-100 people at this particular event. You do the math.

So I guess what I’m really trying to say is that the next time you see one of those ads on TV again, don’t be too hard on yourself and think those guys are having a much better time than you. Au contraire, you should congratulate yourself for being smart enough as to not let yourself be duped into appearing in them and made to look excited over the wrong thing.

P.S. I do realise that this is such a long post for such a trivial matter. I mean, I haven’t exactly proposed anything on how to alleviate the political instability in Pakistan or Kenya, have I? I guess we’ll just have to save that for another day. But for the meantime, thanks for sticking with me!

I hope 2008 treats all of you even better than 2007 has!

xoxo

Phoenix

Phoenix’s Bulalo Sundays

thatssola — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:38:57 +0000

Every Sunday, almost without fail, I drive to Karihang Pinoy, a Filipino eatery on Edgemont and Santa Monica, for my weekly Bulalo fix. Bulalo, for those of you not in the know, is among the most popular Filipino dishes. It is essentially a Filipino-style beef and vegetable stew and is very simple to make, according to those who know how to make it of course LOL. I can’t cook to save my life so I leave it to the experts. I am yet to learn how to fry an egg without breaking the yolk and how to cook rice (and I’m fudging Asian! Am I not just pathetic?). Ahhhh I’m getting sidetracked! What I’m driving at is that I’m hopelessly HOOKED on the stuff. It started 2 years ago when I was living in New York. I used to take the subway from Harlem all the way to Queens for it, a good 35 to 40mins commute. It’s terrible because it’s apparently really fatty and cholesterol-rich. It’s also eaten with rice so it’s not good for those of you who think carbs are the edible reincarnations of Satan. The good thing is that they only serve it on Sundays at Karihang Pinoy, so it’s only a once-a-week indulgence and people could feel less guilty. The place is small and only seats 25-30 people at a time so a lot of people get their food to-go. It has that small-town Mom & Pop’s feel which is so hard to find in a big city like LA nowadays. Everyone knows and addresses the staff by their first names and vice-versa. In keeping with Filipino values, the staff makes you feel welcome instantly whatever your background is, Filipino or not. And in a way that is just as Filipino, they could neglect you and keep you waiting without so much as a “Hi” when it’s busy (they expect you to understand). So don’t expect Ritz-Carlton service, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. The price is beyond affordable. I paid $6 for a full plate of steamed rice, 1/2 serving of Bulalo, and 1/2 serving of chicken yesterday. Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff. Below are pictures I took for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Yes! The queue is always this long, if not worse.

And now….. the pReeeecious.

If you are at all curious about what goes into this savoury dish and how to make it, click here.

After eating, I remembered that I was running dangerously low on gas so I filled up at Valero on Western and Melrose. They’re supposed to be among the cheapest in LA. I don’t know know ’bout you but this to me is a looooooong way from cheap.

It hurts. It really does. But I better stop b*tching before the government decides to attack another oil-rich country in my behalf. I surely don’t want that on my conscience! Venezuela, anyone? LOL

xoxo

Phoenix

Sprinkles That Melt In Your Mouth

thatssola — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 01:01:49 +0000

I found myself wandering around the streets of Beverly Hills earlier after a painful trip to my cosmetologist. Hey, we all need pampering once in a while. Whilst wandering I passed by Sprinkles Cupcakes and internally debated for a good minute whether or not I should stand in a 5-mile long line to get my hands and mouth on some of those heavenly Sprinkles. I simply could not resist as I saw some people by the window looking like they had just won a million dollars after they took a bite. A few even tried oh so hard to shove a whole piece into their mouths. Sounds gross but it’s that good. I also thought to myself that the last time I had it, I had one too many drinks to fully relish one of life’s greatest pleasures. So here I am having my first one for the hour and making my laptop one big chocolate-y mess. Yum!!! For those of you who have not tried these cupcakes yet, better get off your ass and grab some.

Cheers!
M

Photo cred: Sprinkles

Phoenix: Where’s mine?!!! Didn’t you promise to get me one? You know I’m poor and could only have Sprinkles on Xmas? Oh what cruel world we live in.

Censorship, Benazir Bhutto blah blah…

thatssola — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:06:28 +0000

Just want to update you guys on some stuff that went down this week.

We’ve been averaging 33 views per day! YAY! I know it’s not much but hey, it’s a start. Whoever you guys are, we thank you for taking the time to check us out. We invite you to participate by sounding off with your comments when there are actually enough entries to comment on lols. This is your site as much as it is ours and we would really like to get to know you too.

We also experienced our very first censorship issue. M and I had to take down our last post featuring ahem.. ‘the girl with the cool jacket’. Apparently, her boyfriend (NOT pictured above lol) who I talked about in the entry was none too pleased about his honeykins getting featured. Methinks the poopster wants to keep the poor girl all to himself. Or maybe he was still pissed that I was exceptionally rude to him (albeit unintentionally!). I already very publicly apologised! Geez, what more could people want?!

And finally, unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere, in which case you probably would have still heard about it LOL, Benazir Bhutto, the first woman ever to be elected prime minister in a Moslem state, was assassinated. It’s tragic I know. I was planning to write a little tribute to her but got discouraged when I came across an article written by her very OWN NIECE who, in my humble opinion, not only is the future of Pakistani politics, but is also incredibly hot! Her name is Fatima Bhutto and let’s just say she isn’t her fallen aunt’s biggest fan. To say she has reasons would be doing her a massive injustice, if not the understatement of the century.

Click here to read the article the little hot stuff wrote for LA Times and find out why she wasn’t too friendly with auntie.

Fascinating, isn’t it? Way better than anything the best Hollywood soap opera writer can conceive, don’t you think?

xoxo

Phoenix

Saving LA Fashion…One piggy bank at a time.

thatssola — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:20:02 +0000

M and I, for lack of better things to do on a dull Sunday afternoon, decided to scour Melrose Avenue for stylish peeps who could perhaps tell us a thing or two about how to put together a stand-out look without having to dig deep into our already overstretched pockets. Have you ever been to Melrose on a Sunday? It’s as alive as that goldfish you forgot to feed for two weeks. Maybe it has to do with the holidays but the point of the matter is, it was dead boring. M and I stood on a corner for what seemed like forever, waiting on a couple of guys who obliged to have their pictures taken but must have met an untimely death somewhere and failed to return. Luckily for us, Mike and Claire, a cute couple and far more interesting subjects than the previous ones who ahem… expired (bless their souls!), came our way. Aren’t they as cute as a button?

On her: red jacket fr. Stussy Sale $20, black tunic fr. Target $30, black leggings fr. Target $5, black flats fr. “little boutique in Balboa Island” $15, sunglasses fr. Deelux, $7

On him: black cardigans fr. American Apparel $30, shirt fr. H&M $10, tie fr. Urban Outfitters $10, skinny jeans fr. BVCA Factory $30, Brutes fr. Nike $70, sunglasses fr. Deelux, $7

Hit or miss? What do you think?

xoxo

Phoenix

P.S.
We do light clothes in December in LA. Are you jealous? -M

JUNO is Numero Uno!

thatssola — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 12:16:48 +0000

Rating: 4 out of 5 Popcorns

M and I went to see Juno last night at the Arclight on Sunset. And let me just say, it didn’t disappoint a tad bit. This is one of those rare instances when it really is OK to believe the hype! Canadian actress Ellen Page is refreshingly delightful as the 16yr old accidental and unwilling mother-to-be Juno. Another Canadian export Michael Cera, though not as omnipresent in the movie as he was in the box office smash Superbad, delivers in the few scenes he does appear. We didn’t and will never expect less! The movie thrives on awkward moments that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes oh so human it’s painfully touching. The ending scene alone with the young couple singing to each other is already worth the $14 admission. I don’t wanna talk about it too much and spoil it for you. Let’s just say we now have a few more reasons to thank Canada for!

xoxo

Phoenix