Tommy Lane's Blog

Are You Sitting Comfortably - Moody Blues - Love This

Moody Blues - Are You Sitting Comfortably (1970)

From the Mall to Gran Torino - What a trip!

I walk through the mall a lot because its only a couple of blocks from my house and it's on the way to the subway. Plus there are stores I like to go to all the time in there. There are a couple of kiosks in there where "Dead Sea Salt" Products are sold.  The people who work there, usually pretty girls, often come up to me and ask "Sir, can I ask you a question?" Since I let one of them demonstrate their product on me once last summer by rubbing this salt and water on my hands, its a product I know I am not interested in. They do go through employees. Probably because its a tough to sell the product and there is a lot of rejection involved. 

Now, I can understand when new people ask me that question when I pass by, but when the same people ask me, I think, either they have short memories or they just don't want to give up.

Tonight, I walked by and a new girl asked me, "Can I ask you a question?" I said, "I know what you're going to ask, I've done the demo before and I'm not interested, thanks." Then she said,"Oh, I just wanted to take a picture with you." (I had my Canon EOS 50D camera around my neck). I told her, "I'm in a hurry, I have a movie to catch," which was true. Then she said, "What do you use on your eyes?" They sell a facial product for eyes, too. I said, "Nothing," My eyes are fine the way they are." "Yes, you have beautiful eyes, a beautiful blue," she said. I didn't stick around long enough to tell her that my eyes are GREEN. They'll say anything to make a sale. hehe.

"Gran Torino" is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I highly recommend it. It was well acted, with bits of humor laced within a serious framework of dialogue. By the end of the movie, I was floored. I sat in my seat, in silence, still processing what I had just seen. It had me laughing and it had me shedding a tear or two. It's one of Clint Eastwood's best performances and best directing jobs of his career. I salute him.

The Corrs and Clint

I am listening to The Corrs. I forgot how much I enjoy their music. The first time I ever heard of them was when they appeared on Saturday Night Live in early 2000's. When I heard they were playing at the Roseland Ball Room in NYC, a few days later on St. Patrick's Day, appropriate because of their Irishness, I promptly got a ticket and attended one of the best concerts I'd ever experienced in my life. They are very talented; a family of 3 very pretty sisters and their brother. I love the way they mix Celtic with rock music

Today, I think I'm going to see Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood. You really can't go wrong with Clint.

Lunch, Dinner and Movies

I walked over to Whole Foods today to pick up some scones, cookies and a few other odds and ends. While I was there I decided to order some lunch from the counter instead of getting it from the salad/food bar where you pay by weight. At the deli counter, I got a really thick veggie patty, seitan chimichurri and some kind of stuffed baked tofu dish. I got it all for $7.99 and it was both filling and delicious. I'm going to go there more often for the veggie patty, buy a bagel or two and make a sandwich out of that thing. Looking for ways to spend less money on good food. This was one way I found, today.

Last night I went to meet a Thai girl I know at a restaurant. She works there. I haven't seen her in a while because she was in Thailand for a year and a half. She had a present that she wanted to give me; something from Thailand. After I finished my meal, she said, "Tom, this meal is on me. I paid for it already." How could I say no, so I accepted it and left a tip for the other waitresses. We talked for about an hour, then I left. Since I was just a couple of blocks away from the Kips Bay movie theater, I decided to see "The Curious Life of Benjamin Buttons" which was excellent. Brad Pitt should be nominated for an Academy Award, in my opinion for his role as Benjamin Buttons, a man who aged backwards. Very interesting and well acted movie. A real heart string puller. I highly recommend it to those who have not seen it yet.

There are a few much talked about movies that I plan on seeing in the near future. They are: Gran Torino, with Clint Eastwood; Doubt, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep; Slumdog MIllionaire; and The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke and the lovely Marisa Tomei.

A Rare Survey - What I Did in 2008

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? 

I took a bus to Montreal, Canada in the summer. I took my Brompton folding bike with me and rode all over that city. I had a blast.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 
I never make New Year's resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 
A few friends at work gave birth.

4. Did anyone close to you die? 
No, thank God.

5. What countries did you visit? 
Canada.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? 
A bigger place to live and a higher salary.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 
None, really.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 
Passing Emergency Action Plan Director test for work. (tough test)

9. What was your biggest failure? 
I don't consider that I failed in anything in 2008.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? 
No, just the usual allergies and sinus problems.

11. What was the best thing you bought? 
Mac Pro, Macbook Pro and Canon EOS 50D.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? 
My niece won an honorary Emmy for a song of hers that was used on the Simpsons.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? 
Two women I know had appalling behavior but didn't get depressed over it. 

14. Where did most of your money go? 
Food and technology.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 
Going to Canada. Hearing from friends I lost contact with years ago.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? 
A number of Beatles songs played at a Fab Faux concert; My Sweet Lord and He Said, She Said, stand out the most from that show.

17. Compared to this time last year, you are: 
About the same except one year older. :)

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? 
Exercising. Traveling. Visiting family.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? 
Procrastinating.

20. How will you be spending New Years? 
I'm staying home and relaxing tonight. Might watch "Vantage Point". Tomorrow I'm going to visit a friend I haven't seen in over a year.

21. What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2008? 
I don't embarrass easily. I take things in stride.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008? 
No, I didn't fall in love, but I love......

23. How many one-night stands? 
None, really. 

24. What was your favorite TV program? 
Dexter, The Shield, Californication

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? 
I don't hate people. I just don't associate with people who are bad company for me.

26. What was the best book you read? 
The book I enjoyed the most in 2008 was "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick (great science fiction writer)

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? 
Meet Glen Campbell 2008. He's old, but he's still great.

28. What did you want and get? 
Mac Pro, Macbook Pro, Canon 50D, iphone

29. What did you want and not get? 
N/A

30. What was your favorite film of this year? 
Michael Clayton is one of them. The Decalogue series by Kieslowski is another.

31. What did you do on your birthday?
I went to someone else's birthday party.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? 
Better health; allergy free existence. 

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? 
Always the same; classic.

34. What kept you sane? 
God

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? 
Don't know. 

36. What political issue stirred you the most? 

37. Who did you miss? 
My Dad, Paulette, family.

38. Who was the best new person you met? 
Met quite a few; all standouts in their own way.

 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. 
When things appear to be going well, watch out.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 
Please don't wake me, Please don't shake me, Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping.  

Chickpea Hummus Plate

Lunch from Chickpea

This is what I had for lunch today. Inexpensive and tasty. Also it is conveniently located across the street.

Internet Presence

When googling my name, Tommy Lane, especially when you put the two together; a priest, an actor, a wrestler and yours truly come up on the first page. It seems my name is more popular than I realized. People have always told me that its a great stage name. I don't think my parents planned that, but nevertheless, that's the way it sounds. I was simply named after my paternal grandfather.

I have had this vox account for over two years now. I have rarely used it because I have a Live Journal account that I use instead. I was intending to switch over to this at one point but my home was really Live Journal. Since there is a plug in that allows me to write in vox and have it post automatically in Live Journal, I'm going to start writing in vox more often. That means that not only will my flickr page, website page, and  youtube page show up in google but now my vox journal page will show up, too. That and $2.00 will get me on the subway.

I hope I can become a little more creative with my entries. I want to post more pictures, more information and may even start doing video at some point. 

Since I like being knowledgeable about nutrition, among other things, I ordered this book that a friend of mine told me about yesterday. It's not usually in stores. I guess its not that popular with most people, so the book stores don't keep them in stock. It does however have great reviews and ratings by those who have read and reviewed it. There is a website where you can buy it, but I just special ordered it from Barnes and Noble. When it comes in, they'll call me and I'll go pick it up. It gives me a chance to use that $25.00 B&N gift certificate that I was given last week from a friend., 

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted

T. Colin Campbell

Merry Christmas

I'm not taking the time to do anything today. I'm just thankful to have a day off to rest. I actually got a call from the office today asking me to come in tonight to work. Of course, I said NO. I could have worked my regular shift but I decided to take the holiday off which I am entitled to do. It would have been overtime pay, of course, but I needed a break.

I appreciate Christmas, but in general, I don't like holidays where everything shuts down. I like the hustle and bustle of the city; being able to walk into stores to shop, restaurants to eat, trains and buses not running on holiday schedules. I don't feel like going through the hassle of waiting for trains to visit my immediate family members and their families only to have to do the same waiting and hassling to get back home. If I didn't have to work tomorrow, I would go through the trouble. 

Holiday shopping, though, is for the birds. I left three store lines yesterday because they were just too long. You could see that the cashiers couldn't wait to get out of there. One line I stayed on, shut down when I was the next one to check out because the girl had to change the print out tape. Instead of asking me to wait while she did that, (I'd already been waiting a while to get to her), she shut down and told me to go on the only other line which was incredibly long. I put back my would be purchases and left.

At Whole Foods yesterday, I picked up the baked goods that I wanted and went to pay for them where I've paid many times before; at the customer service desk. In the past, they said they will let you pay for bakery goods there. I stood online, watched 3 people before me pay for their merchandise, then the cashier says to me, "are you returning something?" I said, "No, I just want to pay for these bakery items." She said, "you have to go on the regular line for that," the length which I couldn't see because it was in the back. After I got back there, I saw how backed up the line was and couldn't wait so I brought the baked goods back to the customer service counter and left them there.  I told the girl that I couldn't wait on that long line. 

If you're going to have rules, maintain them at all times, not just when you feel like it.

I'm a pretty patient individual, but that was ridiculous. Thank goodness for online shopping and gift certificates. No more holiday shopping for me. :P

Saturday Night Wedding

A month ago, my friend Mairim asked me to go to a wedding with her on Saturday night, 7/21. I'm so glad I went. It was a blast. I had a ball. The only person I knew there was Mairim. She picked me up with a couple that I didn't know but we became fast friends. It turns out that he does lighting for a lot of television shows in Hollywood. His wife works in costume/make up. Two very nice people.

The wedding was held in a Jewish Synagogue in Great Neck, Long Island. This was the second Jewish wedding I've ever attended. The other one was about 20 years ago. I had a blast at that one, too, when my friends, Stacy and Perry got married. That wedding was very similar.

At 7:30pm was the cocktail hour. At 8:30 was the wedding ceremony which was very nice. The rabbi who performed the wedding knew both the groom and bride since they were children so he was very comfortable with them which made it possible for him to relate stories of their growing up. The rabbi could be a showman. His dialogue was laced with humor in the vein of a standup comic but at the same time was reverent and respectful which of course is what you'd expect.

After the ceremony, there was a buffet and hor d'erves were served. Drinks, of course, were flowing abundantly. I don't drink alcohol but I had plenty of seltzer w/orange slices. My drinking days are long over.

With all the food being served throughout the night, it's hard to believe that people are still hungry enough to eat the main course which was served at midnight. Mairim is a vegan and since she  is a good friend of the bride and is also her boss at work, there was food without dairy products that were available for her and me. I had something they called Rollatini and it was delicious. They brought out some nice desserts that I ate too. Those were also dairy free which was great since I'm allergic to diary products.

The music was provided by a band that was probably the best wedding band I've ever seen or heard; really tight and talented. Each band member could stand on his/her own. They played non stop from the time the Main Reception Room opened until the affair was over at 2am. I talked to the singer whose name is Scout and he told me that they are part of a music company called Hank Lane Music that has  been in business for over 30 years providing entertainment for all kinds of events. They were top notch. Check out their website if you feel so inclined.

At my designated table, I was sitting next to a woman named Lisa who had a Nikon D200 camera with her. She wasn't the official photographer, but she does weddings on the side like I sometimes do. We had great conversation about the business and equipment. She was very nice. I knew she was serious about photography when I saw the light diffuser on her flash.

I went to the wedding knowing only one person but by the time I left I had made about 20 new friends. You know, I was almost going to say no because Saturday nights I usually just like to relax because I have busy Saturday mornings/afternoons. I'm so glad I went. I got home around 2:45am.

I brought my Canon G3 instead of the DSLR. I should have brought a flash to put in the hot shoe but I didn't feel like carrying it so some pics are a little darker than they should be, but here are a few photos from that night:

Zumi, Lisa, Mairim:

Eric and Stephanie:
This is the couple that I rode with to the wedding. Actually, Mairim didn't want to drive, so Eric was driving when they picked me up. I drove on the way back, well, at least to my place which was on the way back to the city where they were going. They live in Hollywood; she's originally from NYC and he's from Boston. They met while they were working on a movie, I think. They're really nice people.

Mairim:

The Bride and Groom:

The Band:

Each band member was very talented. The black guy was the main singer. His name is Scout. He could sing anything. The girl had a great, soulful voice, too, and the harmonies from all of them were tight.

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