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.