Gore-Al and other oddities

What I wanted to do/still need to do this summer (note that being marked out doesn't mean that I won't be doing it again this summer):
Go horseback riding.
Go swimming.
Go out of town. - This weekend!
Go to King's Island.
Go canoeing.
Go to as many Riverscape, Fraze, and Yellow Springs festivals as possible. - One out of three so far.
Get renovations done around the apartment. - nearing completion.
Get a dog. - Will have to wait until I move.
Do the 100 pushup challenge. - In process, on week 2 of 6.

Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet.

Oh look, Alex is linking to more Watchmen stuff. The Comedian's Sidearms and Rorschach's Grappling Gun/Mask Prop Replicas. I don't like it that the grappling gun is permenantly attached to the base, but otherwise - gonna need $600.

Saving this link for a listen later, but it sounds promising. Police Shame Pranksters On YouTube.

Did you know that 83% of past terrorist groups weren't stopped by military might or total annihilation, but instead through government negotiation and local policing?

What the hell is this? Looks like a fat, wingless griffin. And if it's 'shopped, it's a good one.

I have a love-hate relationship with lawns in general. But if I owned my own home, I would seriously consider doing something like this (although I'd have to save at least some grassy areas for picnics and general grass frolicing). Kill Your lawn Flickr set.

For you photogs out there - how to shoot with available light.

Did you know you can use Bengay on a mosquito bite to make the itch go away? I didn't.

Oh this is cool - Portrait of Woman Revealed Beneath Van Gogh Painting.

In the handy online conversion tools bin: VidtoMP3 - converts online video clips to mp3's.

I've always been fascinated by the Antikythera Mechanism, and it looks like they've discovered some new functions. Nothing Earth-shattering, but cool anyway. But let's get real - we all know it's really a part from a Steampunk battlemech.

Thank you, American public. They gave you exactly what you wanted. This is your fault.

OK ok ok at least one (more) Watchman link - post-panel press interview with Zack Snyder, Dave Gibbons, and the cast.

zombie santa and other oddities

I purposefully took the summer off from the stage: it's been four years (really? four years?) since I've not had to worry about line memorization or character development or lack of sleep and actually had time to enjoy the summer. So, that's what I'm trying to do.

Plus, it's helpful having the extra time to spend with mom (who has been back in the hospital the last few weeks and for the forseeable future).

But, anyway: stuff!

One of the things I gave up theatre this summer for (and which I need many more of): backyard BBQ's.

This robot that loves hugs is cute and all, but am I the only one that envisioned the unholy spawn that would result of it pairing with the face-recognition spider-bot? I imagine the child, all metal and wide, blinking eyes, recognizing my face and wanting to hug it with eight mechanical spider-appendages.

Of course, everyone has seen the cop sidelining the Critical Mass rider in NY.

6 technologies that don't know they are dead. I'd rather not see #6 go away anytime soon - mostly because I won't get a paycheck if they go poof - but realistically? It's inevitable. And good if they do.

Doing my best to be one of the 14%.

Cool in a quirky way, but are most robbers literate enough to even know what Pandora's Box is?

This place needs to be a real store.

Now you can finish your Dawn of the Dead diorama with Zombie Santa and Zombie Crazy Street Person.

It was nice and romantic, yeah, but could it have ended any other way? (taking bets on how long it takes for this to become a romantic comedy, but with the Hollywood ending treatment)
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I finally saw The Dark Knight over the weekend. Loved it. Loved seeing the Watchmen trailer on the big screen just a little bit more.

TR2N

Longer post later, but I wanted to get this up before Disney pulls it.

Tr2n teaser trailer (that would be Tron 2 ... as in the sequel to Tron ... as in Jeff Bridges is in it).

Crappy cell phone recording at Comic-Con.

Watchmen Watch - 7/24

• BREAKING: My Chemical Romance To Perform Bob Dylan Cover In ...
• Watchmen: Getting Inside the Owl Ship!
• On deciding whether to watch Watchmen
• 'Watchmen,' 'Terminator: Salvation,' or 'The Spirit': You may ...
• Watchmen Trailer Aims for the Faithful (Verdict: Bullseye!)
• Watchmen trailer analysis

dude and other oddities

Seems to be a cannabis-heavy day for some reason.

In the 1960s, retired US Army colonel James S. Ketchum led efforts to develop a nonlethal incapacitating agent as a weapon for a "war without death." Along with LSD, they experimented with synthetic cannabis, apparently similar in effect to hash oil but much stronger. Alternet published a great profile of Ketchum who paints a vivid picture of those strange daze with the Us Army Chemical Corp.

Medical Marijuana and Minors. Reason TV has a story about Owen Beck, a 17-year-old high school kid from California who got bone cancer and had to get his leg amputated. The medicine Owen was taking was making him very sick and and lost a lot of weight, so his parents decided to try medical marijuana. The marijuana greatly helped Owen, easing his pain and nausea.
The owner of the dispensary, Charlie Lynch, often gave the marijuana to Owen without charging his parents. But the local Sheriff (who doesn't like the fact that medical marijuana is legal in his town and the state of California) called the DEA. They raided the dispensary and arrested Lynch. He's now under house arrest, attached to an extension cord for 2 hours a day, and is facing 100 years in prison.

Seriously. Why is marijuana illegal?

I don't smoke it, but come on. I'm just trying to understand the mindset of those that rationalize it.

On the other hand - don't do hallucinogens, else you'll start seeing dead rubber ducks in your bath.

Kind of a cool text art toy - Wordle

Curse of the Crying Boy and other oddities

Did you know that walking directions are now available on Google maps? And I love the Warning that comes along with it.

I noticed that the Google vehicles canvassed my city and now have the entire thing available for Street Viewing. Including my residence. Wish I could say I was outside and doing something noteworthy when the pic was snapped but ...

‘The Curse of the Crying Boy’ appeared out of the blue one morning in 1985. The Sun, at that time the most popular tabloid newspaper in the English-speaking world, published on page 13 of its 4 September edition a story headlined: “Blazing Curse of the Crying Boy”. It told how Ron and May Hall blamed a cheap painting of a toddler with tears rolling down his face for a fire which gutted their terraced council home in Rotherham, a mining town in South Yorkshire. The blaze broke out in a chip-pan in the kitchen of their home of 27 years and spread rapidly. But although the downstairs rooms of the house were badly damaged, the framed print of the Crying Boy escaped unscathed. It continued to hang there, surrounded by a scene of devastation.

Graphic of the Day: Romancing the highways - A Half Century History of US Transit Funding. Ahhh government funding based on myths.

Track Your Spending. Or Not. I'm more in the Not category.

7 Beauty Secrets That Cost Almost Nothing. Posted mostly because I'm a big fan of #1.

Some amazing sculptures created from old typewriters. Which reminded me of my probably already done idea to make small robots out of pieces of junk.

In WHAT? I'm Shocked I Tell You news: Coffee drinking, smoking common among AA members.

Watchmen Watch - 7/23

• 'Watchmen' games a go
• Warner Bros is Banking Hard on Watchmen
• Impressions on the "Watchmen" trailer from a non-fanboy
• Mason Auto Repair Watchmen t-shirt
• Snyder Reveals Hendrix, Dylan, Other Tracks in ‘Watchmen,’ No Smashing Pumpkins

Watchmen 7/22

• Smashing Pumpkins Song Given Boost By 'watchmen' Trailer
• Watchmen's Ozymandias "braces" for Comic Con
• New Watchmen Motion Comic Free for 2 Weeks
• Moviegoers get wound up over ‘Watchmen’

bird is thinking about pooping on that illegally-parked car to the

bird is thinking about pooping on that illegally-parked car to the right, but deer is just interested in lunch
Originally uploaded by roujo

I'm always on the lookout for easy, one-click optimization of my computers, and this one looks pretty snazzy. Might have to download it and give it a whirl.

Oh right i forgot. Those high gas prices? All Obama's fault.

You don't happen to live in one of the U.S.'s top ten least walkable cities, do you? (Jacksonville, Nashville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Okalhoma City, Memphis, Kansas City, Fort Worth, El Paso, and Mesa - I'm looking at you)

The paintings of Fred Einaudi - freaky and gorgeous.

The Karmasheetra. Not really for kids.

Bad news for Canis lupus - grey wolves are back on the endangered list.

In Alex Really Should Eat More Of These Green Leafy Things news: A handy list of fresh fruits and vegetables - by the month.

Dr. Horrible didn't kill stephenson ... or did he?

stephenson
Originally uploaded by roujo

Remember - only ONE DAY LEFT to be able to view - online - for free - all three acts of Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog (starring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day & Nathan Fillion and directed by and co-written by Joss Whedon).

sleep eternal

sleep eternal
Originally uploaded by roujo

MORTAL COMBAT DUN DUN DUN DUN - Gmail vs. Outlook. I happen to use both - downloading my Gmail messages into Outlook. So I'm not sure where that puts me in the vs. battle.

Surprisingly (or perhaps not), California uses more gasoline and diesel than China.

It's a good question - how DO we warn future generations about radioactive waste?

I've been spending money like Bill Gates the last month or two, so I could use a few of these kinds of weekends.

Photographers - beware the big man with a gun.

Who watches the watchmen?

We do.

HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion

In a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right, the Department of Health and Human Services Monday released a proposal that allows any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception. In order to do this, the Department is attempting to redefine many forms of contraception, the birth control 40% of Americans use, as abortion. Doing so protects extremists under the Weldon and Church amendments. Those laws prohibit federal grant recipients from requiring employees to help provide or refer for abortion services. The "Definitions" section of the HHS proposal states,

Abortion: An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. There are two commonly held views on the question of when a pregnancy begins. Some consider a pregnancy to begin at conception (that is, the fertilization of the egg by the sperm), while others consider it to begin with implantation (when the embryo implants in the lining of the uterus). A 2001 Zogby International American Values poll revealed that 49% of Americans believe that human life begins at conception. Presumably many who hold this belief think that any action that destroys human life after conception is the termination of a pregnancy, and so would be included in their definition of the term "abortion." Those who believe pregnancy begins at implantation believe the term "abortion" only includes the destruction of a human being after it has implanted in the lining of the uterus.

The proposal continues,

Both definitions of pregnancy inform medical practice. Some medical authorities, like the American Medical Association and the British Medical Association, have defined the term "established pregnancy" as occurring after implantation. Other medical authorities present different definitions. Stedman's Medical Dictionary, for example, defines pregnancy as "[t]he state of a female after conception and until the termination of the gestation." Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines pregnancy, in relevant part, as "the condition of having a developing embryo or fetus in the body, after union of an oocyte and spermatozoon.

Up until now, the federal government followed the definition of pregnancy accepted by the American Medical Association and our nation's pregnancy experts, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which is: pregnancy begins at implantation. With this proposal, however, HHS is dismissing medical experts and opting instead to accept a definition of pregnancy based on polling data. It now claims that pregnancy begins at some biologically unknowable moment (there's no test to determine if a woman's egg has been fertilized). Under these new standards there would be no way for a woman to prove she's not pregnant. Thus, any woman could be denied contraception under HHS' new science.

Article continues here.

Originally heard about here.

29 - I've never been offered the role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire

A local actor/director (who is currently in rehearsals with me for Amy's View) told me yesterday that if he is chosen as the director for Streetcar, he would seriously consider me for the role of Stanley.

But he'd want me to bulk up a bit.

Time to invest in some free-weights.

(pspsps this is Monday's experience and yes I know I've been working a day behind)

28 - I've never seen The Bourne Supremacy

It wasn't as good as Identity, and I hope Ultimatum (the DVD for which I already have in my possession, waiting to be viewed) makes up for it.

And I'm still steamed that they whacked his GF.

(ps this is Sunday's experience)

27 - I've never joined the US Campaign for Burma

We are asking for your urgent help, again. We need to send a strong message to China. We are running out of time before a massive wave of disease rushes over the surivors of the Burma cyclone.

We are in a very unusual situation -- the world is trying to rush aid to the Burmese people hit by the Cyclone but the regime is refusing all support, leaving hundreds of thousands in imminent danger of disease and death.

We are hearing repeated, urgent cries from inside Burma pleading with caring countries to ignore Burma's military regime and send immediate aid to the Burmese people. Burmese Buddhist monks, student leaders, and others, yesterday issued a public appeal for countries to stop waiting for permission from the Burmese military regime and immediately dispatch relief.

The United Nations Security Council has the power to authorize the provision of aid even if the Burmese regime resists -- this would permit countries to deliver aid directly to the Burmese people. Tragically, China is blocking this effort at the UN.

Will you help us by sending an urgent email to China's Ambassador to the UN? It is unconcsionable that China would continue to block desperately needed humanitarian assistance.

Please email China's UN ambassador NOW! Or, read more details below.

Aung Din, Jeremy Woodrum, Jennifer Quigley, Thelma Young

===========================
More Information

The situation in Burma is extremly grave. Eight days after the Cyclone struck Burma and up to 100,000 have been killed, Burma's military regime is still refusing adequate international aid. Dr. Chris Beyrer, an reknown doctor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, yesterday said that tens of thousands of more people are at immediate risk of death from hunger, lack of adequate water, and disease. A great deal of aid is literally sitting at the airport in Rangoon, because the military regime won't allow the U.N. and others to distribute the aid.

The United States and the rest of the world have essentially offered a Tsunami-style response to the Cyclone, yet the regime -- and their ally at the UN Security Council, China -- is blocking the aid. The United States has several C-130 transports planes ready to deliver aid inside Burma, and is also ready with assistance from 23 helicopters -- all this is being refused, with the exception of one single C-130 transport aircraft. We believe the regime approved this single flight in order to give the appearance of accepting aid when the vast majority is still being refused.

The world can not wait any longer for permission from Burma's military leader Than Shwe -- this is a man that has already recruited up to 70,000 child soldiers, destroyed 3,200 ethnic minority villages, and tortured to death many, many human rights activists.

We ask you to email the Chinese UN Ambassador, because under this extraordinary circumstance, while we do support countries entering Burma to provide aid without the approval of Burmese regime approval or UN approval - UN approval would still be the best way . It is especially imperative that aid reach the Irrawaddy Delta region -- helicopters, ships, and all other manner of supplies should be dispatched immediately to help the Burmese people.

Support 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma.

26 - I've never chainsawed a group of zombies in Dead Rising

Welcome to Willamette.

Frank West is a freelance photojournalist on the hunt for the scoop of a lifetime. He travels to a small suburban town in pursuit of a hot lead, only to find that it's been overrun with zombies. What a way to start an assignment. Frank heads for the local shopping mall, assuming that he'll be safe there, but the zombies have taken over the place. Now it's up to you to help Frank survive this onslaught of the undead, using everything you can find in the mall to help fight off the bloodthirsty mob and search for the truth behind this horrendous epidemic. With an open, free environment, you'll be able to explore plenty of areas both inside and outside the mall. Zombies come in never-ending waves, so be prepared to use the endless supply of vehicles, makeshift weapons and more against these former humans. A real-time system means that key events happen at certain times, so you need to pay attention. You can even use Frank's photojournalistic skills to capture the mayhem on film for posterity — if anyone is left, that is.

Photography AND zombies? It's a Christmas miracle.

25 - I've never not posted a new experience since starting this experiment

I knew I could use this as a freebie, so I'm taking it now.

Although, posting about it invalidates it, doesn't it?

Very few hours in the day left over to do something new. Granted, I did do a couple of things today that I've never done before. I've never bought and assembled a $40 entertainment center. I've never blocked Act IV of Amy's View. I've never watched The Matrix on my new HDTV. I've never faxed severance information to AT&T.

But were any of them particularly noteworthy? Nah, not really.

But they're there. And little new things can be just as new as big new things, right?

I'll just keep telling myself that.

24 - I've never assisted in a birthday silly string gang assault on a fellow co-worker

She ended up looking like a multi-colored Swamp Thing.

23 - I've never eaten a mideast feast from Trader Joe's

This was originally going to be yesterday's new experience ... right up until the roofed groundhog was discovered.

And it's a good thing, too, because work + rehearsal leaves very little time left in a day to come up with something I've never done before.

And the feast? It wasn't bad. Falafel is always better fresh, but it had a good flavor. Hummus? Not as good as my own. The tabbouleh had way too much parsley. Overall, though, it was a nice, tasty and inexpensive meal.

22 - I've never seen a woodchuck on a roof

I just stood there and wondered "how in the hell did that bugger get up there?"

And he seemed to wonder the same thing.

21 - I've never bought an LCD HDTV

It isn't the biggest (but not the smallest either) or the best (but not the worst). And it sucks watching crappy antenna-fueled broadcast tv through an HD tv. But now I'm covered for Feb. of 2009.

I think eight years since my last new tv was long enough to wait.

These were all things I used to rationalize the purchase.

Thanks, federal tax return.

20 - I've never had two World of Warcraft toons at 50th level or higher

A dubious distinction to be certain, but since I had designated yesterday to be "WoW Day", there really wasn't anything else going on.

I now have two characters at 50th or higher - my 67th hunter, and now my 50th warlock (seen here racing across Tanaris on her demonic felsteed).

19 - I've never seen Iron Man

I had a feeling that Robert Downey would do a fantastic job as Tony Stark since the casting was first announced, and I was pleased to see that my initial feeling was dead-on. He made this film.

A bit less actual superheroing in the film than I hoped, but as an origin story it delivered in spades.

X-2 is still my all-time favorite, but IM was at least as good as Spiderman 2, if not a bit better.

It'll be interesting to see where they go in the future with this franchise (especially considering the level of epic they hinted at in the bonus scene after the credits).

18 - I've never seen the 2007 remake of Sleuth

I almost had the opportunity to be in the original stage version of Sleuth a few years back, playing the character of Milo Tundle (who Jude Law plays in the recent film and Michael Caine played in the original film). But the production fell through and I never heard anything about it since.

What did I think of the film? Inventive. Challenging. Interesting at times, puzzling at others.

But I guess that makes some kind of sense in a film about puzzles and games.

17 - I've never read A Light In The Attic by Shel Silverstein

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my toys to break.
So none of the other kids can use 'em...
Amen.

That's my favorite so far.

I think I'm going to use a few of these for 365 inspiration.

16 - I've never done a headstand while singing the Oscar Mayer song

Ever have a day when you needed to do something silly and nonsensical for a 365 New Experiences blog project?

What? No?

15 - I've never donated to Autism Speaks

This is Robbie.

He is creative and bright and warm and he has autism.

He, along with his mother and many many friends, are taking part in Walk Now for Autism at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Trisha has a goal of $2000. I donated. You should too.

14 - I've never watched the first three seasons of The Office

It took four months, but I finally got through The Office DVDs that I received for Christmas.

13 - I've never been cast as Dominic Tyghe in Amy's View

The callbacks on Saturday morning went quite well (after Tuesday's auditions), and the director offered me the role immediately afterwards.

I haven't done a show at the Guild in a year. I've missed working in that space.

12 - I've never seen so many daffodils in one yard

Several new experiences yesterday. I had never ridden my bike back in the Oakwood suburbs, and then continued the ride a bit further to eat at a BW3's.

But this yard. Crikey. The houses are all pretty big back there but this one particular house had a huge wooded yard with thousands and thousands of daffodils (and tulips).

11 - I've never seen Spamalot! (or any show at the Schuster Center)

And now my touring broadway musical bubble has been burst thanks to Mrs. Piper (who had an extra ticket and asked me to go).

It was a fun evening at the theatre. Still wish I could have seen the original cast, but I'll take what I can get.

I couldn't help but wonder how my work as an actor has skewed my perception of seeing live theatre vs. someone who has never set foot on a stage.

10 - I've never played Psychonauts

Not entirely surprising since I do most of my gaming on my PC, but when I saw it in the used game bin at Blockbuster for $9.99 (and remembered the good things I had read about it). Well. Had to grab it.

One good thing about not owning a 360 - tons of cheap-ass original XBox games to buy.

9 - I've never auditioned for (or read) Amy's View by David Hare

I had decided originally that I wasn't going to audition for Amy's View.

The role of Dominic - the role I would shoot for - starts off about fifteen years too young for me. And he's described as incredibly attractive.

I am neither fifteen years younger or incredibly attractive.

But I can act, a bit. And fate, in her curious way, saw to it that I attended the second night of auditions at the Guild.

We'll know by Friday.

8 - I've never ridden down to the river with a bag full of bread to feed to the geese

I've ridden down to the river.

I've fed bread to geese.

I've never done one specifically to do the other.

So there I sat. Along the water, in a pow-wow with four geese and Mr. and Mrs. Duck who thought they were geese (or perhaps the geese thought they were ducks). We broke bread and talked about god.

7 - I've never read Y: The Last Man

I fell out of the whole comic book thing years and years ago. Not that I still don't enjoy them. Far from it. But when I collected, I collected. And I didn't want to keep spending that kind of money every two weeks.

So, I stopped.

And the stories have continued on without my faithful readership. Picking them back up would be like watching season one of Lost, and then not watching it again until season four.

The best I can do now is check the occasional synopsis online about the stories I followed back in the day and pick up the occasional graphic novel or collection.

Y: The Last Man came very highly recommended and it the first two editions were well worth the purchase. And of course, now I want to go buy the entire series.

6 - I've never had my medicine cards read

Accomplice: Mrs. Piper

Although I've read tarot cards many many times and have several decks, I've never had anyone do a reading for me.

According to the Medicine Deck, I have:

Spider medicine in the East
Antelope medicine in the South
Coyote medicine in the West
Bat medicine in the North
Raven medicine Above
Ant medicine below
Rabbit medicine within
And Horse medicine on my Right.

5 - I've never eaten alone at Café Boulevard (and ordered the mushroom risotto)

I really didn't want to sit at home tonight.

I go out alone. A lot.

Dinner on the patio at Café Boulevard and an accidental order of mushroom risotto (I thought it was something other than what it was) which was actually pretty good.

Birthweek continues.

4 - I've never been to the Great Serpent Mound on my birthday (or ever, really)

Accomplice: Mrs. Piper

For the uninitiated, the Great Serpent Mound is a 1,330-foot-long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio.

There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't have went before now. I'm insanely curious about ancient cultures and civilizations, of mysteries of the past, and I live less than two hours away.

They say it resembles a snake eating an egg, but I think it looks like a gigantic sperm.

(hastily-done panoramic photo-stitch from the observation tower below)

3 - I've never tipped 100%

The blurriness was a result of quickly trying to snap the photo before the server came walking back, looking at me oddly while I try to explain why I was taking a photo of the check.

Accomplice: None
Belly: Full of black & tan, portabella sandwich and fries.

2 - I've never seen Battlestar Galactica

Accomplice: Mrs. Piper

I'm a bit of a geek.

In some ways. If a chart was made, I would score pretty high on the D&D/gaming/sci-fi side of the scale, but also score high on the bathing, see the sun, and knowing the touch of a woman side of the scale. Granted, they were all Asian prostitutes, but that's not the point.

Balance in all things.

I haven't had cable TV in eight years, so the whole Battlestar Galactica phenom had passed me by. Until today, I had never seen a single episode. I've heard tidbits and plot points and changes from the original here and there (and it seemed universally praised), but that was the extent of it.

But - although I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of the original series - the remake always sounded like something that I would also get into.

So tonight, I rented the initial miniseries and took it over to a friend's house to check out (who had also never seen it).

I was pretty much hooked ten minutes into it. After three hours? Yeah, definitely going to rent the rest of the series.

They did a fantastic job with it. If only all remakes could be this good.

1 - I've never eaten at a Cheesecake Factory

The original plan for Day One was to meet up with a friend from Cincinnati and attend beginner ballroom dance lessons (I've taken latin, ballet, and modern in the past but never ballroom). But, something came up and she wasn't able to do it.

Shift to Plan B.

And I didn't have a Plan B.

Readers of my blog, to the rescue. One person suggested eating at a restaurant that I had never been to before but always wanted to try. And as it just so happened, a Cheesecake Factory had opened near my apartment late last year. It seemed like everyone I knew and everyone that they knew, in some sick cheesecake spiral of addiction, had eaten there at least four thousand times. A week.

I had some serious catching up to do.

A call to another friend to find a dining partner ended with an answering machine message, so I was going to have to eat solo - or was I?

Enter Kim W. (who directed me in Barefoot in the Park and The Eight), who coincidentally called while I was on my way to the ol' CF. And she just so happened to be free for dinner.

Long story short - I got my CF on. The menu has ads in it. Ads. And it weighs a quarter-ton.

What to drink ... hmm ...
A Platinum Mojito? With rum and more rum? Oh, sure.

Rum will henceforth be known as happy juice.
We ordered. Kim got a salad and cold tuna thing. And garlic noodles and stuff for me (yes, I'm a vegetarian who sometimes eats seafood).

And for pre-dessert? Tres Leches Cheesecake.

I say pre-dessert because the real treat was waiting outside when we left.

Opinion of Cheesecake Factory? One enthusiastic thumbs up and one successful new experience. Thanks to Kim W. for accompanying me.