SEPARATED AT BIRTH

I know, it's an insult to the beloved "CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON" but I just couldn't help myself.

Enjoy.

OPEN YOUR GOLDEN GATE

As much As I love New York City, even I am hard-pressed to come up with a sight there as beautiful as this shot I took yesterday.

THAT'S AMORE

Anytime someone goes on and on about how great something is, chances are it's gonna suck (the great BRUXELLES pomme frites debacle of 1996 comes to mind). In this case, however, the recommendation was spot on.

My Sunday dinner this week was had at Little Star Pizza, Divisidero Street location. They have a second location on Valencia and 15th, although some die-hards refuse to accept any other location than the one on 'Divis'.

I call those people losers.

Anyway, we started off with two appetizers, the Caprese Salad (picture directly above) and the garlic bread (just above that one). Although the salad was fairly standard, it was the garlic bread that was a standout for me. The bread was served warm along with super soft butter and baked garlic, each on the side. You spread the butter and the garlic yourself (as little or as much as you like), making for a divine marriage.

The pizza arrived and the real treat begins. The crust was perfectly baked and seemed to snap with every bite (hard to do as pizza tends to get a bit soggy after sitting out for a while). Our pie was topped with Salami, Sausage, Pepperoni, Green Peppers and Pepperoncinis. It was a sodium lover's delight and I'm going to have to ride the eliptycal for a month to work this off but it was totally worth it.

Fast and friendly service along with a great atmosphere (those who are sensitive to noise should heed the warning that it is quite loud here), make this little gem in the "NOPA" area of SF a must for pizza lovers.

GOSSIP GIRL

hearsay rule n. the basic rule that testimony or documents which quote persons not in court are not admissible. Because the person who supposedly knew the facts is not in court to state his/her exact words, the trier of fact cannot judge the demeanor and credibility of the alleged first-hand witness, and the other party's lawyer cannot cross-examine (ask questions of) him or her. However, as significant as the hearsay rule itself are the exceptions to the rule which allow hearsay testimony such as: a) a statement by the opposing party in the lawsuit which is inconsistent with what he/she has said in court (called an "admission against interest"); b) business entries made in the regular course of business, when a qualified witness can identify the records and tell how they were kept; c) official government records which can be shown to be properly kept; d) a writing about an event made close to the time it occurred, which may be used during trial to refresh a witness' memory about the event; e) a "learned treatise" which means historical works, scientific books, published art works, maps and charts; f) judgments in other cases; g) a spontaneous excited or startled utterance ("oh, God, the bus hit the little girl"); h) contemporaneous statement which explains the meaning of conduct if the conduct was ambiguous; i) a statement which explains a person's state of mind at the time of an event; j) a statement which explains a person's future intentions ("I plan to....") if that person's state of mind is in question; k) prior testimony, such as in deposition (taken under oath outside of court), or at a hearing, if the witness is not available (including being dead); l) a declaration by the opposing party in the lawsuit which was contrary to his/her best interest if the party is not available at trial (this differs from an admission against interest which is admissible in trial if it differs from testimony at trial); m) a dying declaration by a person believing he/she is dying; n) a statement made about one's mental set, feeling, pain or health, if the person is not available---most often applied if the declarant is dead ("my back hurts horribly," and then dies); o) a statement about one's own will when the person is not available; p) other exceptions based on a judge's discretion that the hearsay testimony in the circumstances must be reliable.

What happened today was bullshit and that's all i'm going to say on the subject.

"CAN I GET A PRICE CHECK ON THE MILD FLU-LIKE SYMPTOM?"

A few years ago, stores like RITE-AID, CVS and others, began opening low-cost retail health care centers, much to the chagrin of doctors who claimed that customers would receive substandard care and diagnosis.

Turns out they were wrong.

According to a recent study, there was no difference in the quality offered to patients visiting these retail clinics, physician offices and urgent care centers. Even more interesting, retail clinics did slightly better than hospital emergency rooms, said the researchers, who published their findings in two papers this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Could be an interesting side issue in the current health-care reform debate.

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING

Even if I hadn't been at the World Trade Center on that day, I would still be disgusted by this.

At first, the World Wildlife Fund denied having any part in the conception and approval of this advertisement. They have since backed of their initial stance and are now taking responsibility for their role in this ridiculously thoughtless campaign.

It's completely unbelievable that anyone involved thought this would be acceptable and I don't think I'll be sending WWF anymore checks.



(special thanks to todays pooper-scooper ryan m, editor in chief of www.itsanocean.com)

I MISS YOU, OLD FRIEND

When my friend, Darren James, was returning to Southern California to finish up his BA, we went out for a farewell breakfast. Afterwards, I walked him back to his apartment, where we hugged and said our goodbyes. The minute I turned to walk away, a feeling swept over me that had never happened before or since.

I knew that I was going to never see him again.

We lost contact in the early '90's and when the internet came to be, I would occasionally do a search. His name is fairly common and I wouldn't really find anything. Then, in December of last year, he popped into my head, so I did a Google search and this time added the city where he was from and got a hit. My excitement was immediately crushed when the hit I got was his online obituary. A picture on the obituary confirmed that it was him. He had died on September 3, 2006.

When my grandmother passed away, I didn't cry. When I finally made it home from the World Trade Center on 9/11/01, I didn't cry. But when I found that Darren had died, I spent some time face down in a pillow that weekend.

Darren was a HUGE Frank Sinatra fan, and he turned me onto him as well. While at Bally's in Reno, he got to light Sinatra's cigarette while he was performing on stage To commemorate it, I gave Darren a vintage photograph of Sinatra for his birthday that year. Darren told me of another time he ran on stage during a SoftCell concert in London and kissed lead singer Marc Almond.

He was the first (and only) person I ever saw who ordered melted cheddar cheese on a slice of apple pie (which kinda grossed me out at the time), and sometimes we would climb onto his yellow Vespa scooter and ride over to Zim's on Van Ness for a late night Zim Burger.

I'm so glad I got to tell him that I was a better person having known him.

Darren, you are so fondly remembered and so missed.

MY GOD, THEY'LL JUST LET ANYONE IN HERE, THESE DAYS

It's been a year since they changed their policy and I'm still not happy about it.

Club 21, the former speakeasy and Manhattan dining institution, abandoned its tie requirement at dinner last September, although you will still have to wear a jacket. It was in a bid to become more competitive with other area restaurants that didn't have the same dress code requirements.

“Etiquette is on a downward spiral, and politeness is disappearing,” said one local restaurateur when notified of this change. “I will miss the tie policy at ‘21.’ It held up an example of what etiquette could be.”

I couldn't agree more. They might as well just slap a couple of Golden Arches decals on the windows and call it a day.

KISS HER GRITS

I once saw Polly "Flo" Holliday at the Union Square Farmers Market in Manhattan. She looked at me just as the register on my face showed that I knew who she was (my eyes kinda bugged a bit and my mouth  opened). She shot me an instant (and icy) look that said "If you say anything, I'm going to shove this stalk of Bok Choy straight up your ass."

I averted my eyes, dropped my head in shame, and walked away.

I WONDER IF THAT LIPSTICK IS REVLON'S "CHERRIES IN THE SNOW"

I came across my old copy of SEX by Madonna recently. Some of the pictures really are very nice and this one, by far, is my favorite. There is something so playful and tender about it.

It makes for a VERY sexy photo.