A New Yorker in Southern Los Angeles.

Wow.

Wow.

I had the best time of my life. I went to the beach I went to a club called Elevate that was awesome. I had delicious food everyday that I was there including In -N- Out -- twice.

I have so much to tell about he trip, from the time I boarded the plane this trip was on like donkey kong. We flew Virgin America and get this, it was called "Runway Angel" because there was a Victoria Secret show on that plane. It was like a lounge in the plane. Very posh. You had a TV touch screen which allowed you to watch live TV, movies, listen to music, watch music videos, play games or chat with others. You could also communicate with the staff from there.

100 Push Ups Challenge: Day 1 - Start

Well I have 2 people that have agreed to do this. Several that said they would try and others that laughed at the prospect.

Today we start. Hopefully you've done your initial test and figure out what level you are in preparation of being awesome and fit.

I'm a level 3, partially by choice because I could have kept going up to level 4 like my roommate did, but I don't want to start out biting off more than I cared to chew.

Lets keep it going guys, every Monday we'll check back here to comment on our progress and status. Let's not give up!

JK, GMan, and Emma let's get it started in here.

Ready.... set... begin!

People, I'm so flipping busy...

:/ <-- Meh Face

I work all day everyday, unless I leave my house then I'm not able to work because I'm not at my laptop which means I'm not able to say Hi to my blogosphere friends when I'm not working. I have read all of your blogs BTW, Alice is getting a new development on her site, tiedtogether had a guest blogger, Angela called boy but he didn't call back, Susel is now a US citizen, Miss Em is battling the Pope, Marianne is writing stories of how she met the colonel and I am serving as Chief Editor, and.... and that's all I can recall from bare memory with out scrolling through. I'm just saying I haven't had the chance to comment on your blogs, which is sad face :(

I did see the Dark Knight last knight. It was an incredible detective/suspense/thriller. It didn't feel like a comic book movie at all. It felt like Seven (Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman) or Heat. The detective just so happened to have a lot of cool gadgets and dressed like a bat and the villain just so happened to be a guy dressed in scary clown make-up and was a murderous psycho with no fear, no conscience, no remorse and at one point we're convinced he is unstoppable. Great movie, definitely an award winning film with, award winning performances. RIP Heath Ledger, of all the performances to go out on, this was it. Go see it. All of you.
AND 100 push-ups challenge is coming Monday. Remember that tiedtogetherwithasmile is going to be doing it alongside the non-lazy people. Scratch that. Reverse it. K good. Looking forward to it!

I'll be going to Los Angeles soon...

That undoubtedly means one thing - copious intake of In-N-Out Burgers. If you haven't tasted these iconic burgers and fries or worse yet, haven't heard of them, then what you don't know is hurting you. In-N-Out may be the best darn burger and fries available in the U.S. of A., maybe anywhere. If you happen to be in California, Nevada or Arizona then locate the nearest one and make a mad dash that way. You deserve it.

I will be staying at the Westin Bonaventure located right at the center of Down Town Los Angeles, CA. There in the heart of the business district 4 interconnecting glass towers of some 50+ floors stands high one of the most recognized and filmed hotels in California. And at $150 night it's a steal. You get some of the best panoramic views of the bustling city, the best bedding money can buy, and best bathroom amenities available. One whole wall is a floor to ceiling window. The king sized bed, adorned with 250ct thread sheets and goose down pillows and comforters, takes up most of the bedroom, but not uncomfortably so. Once you're done basking in the glory of your fit-for-a-king room, make it out to the center of the hotel. The sun will be shining in from the glass ceiling some 20 more stories above. As you look out across the enclosed opening in between all 4 towers you see exercise machines on individual floating balconies. A revolving lounge. Little stores and shops littered throughout this little city inside of a city. Feeling like a swim? Take a ride up to the 30th floor or so and it takes you to the heated rooftop swimming pool that overlooks Los Angeles. Did I mention they have intense water art complete with waterfalls and spitting dolphin statues downstairs in the lobby? This place is fantastic.

We will be taking a tour of Paramount Studios. Big hopes to see a movie being filmed. We will drive around the area near the studio to see Rodeo Dr, Melrose Ave, the Hollywood walk of fame and the Hollywood sign. Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach amd maybe Huntington Beach. We also plan on going to a club or two out there and eating some of the delicious food, besides I-N-O.

Any readers have ideas of some the happening places in Los Angeles for some 20 something hipsters? (What the heck is a hipster? Not a hipster) We like to dance to house music and we like great food and are willing to pay for it.

Anyone heard of Elevate Lounge? It's adjacent to Takami Restaurant. I've been thinking about heading there. There's house music, pretty big dance floor, drinks and ladies. That pretty much covers it right?

Official 100 Push Ups Challenge - to all of you...

Who's with me?

I was reading tiedtogetherwithasmile's blog and ran across this post which said she was doing the 100 push up training program. I dug in a little further and found out it was an awesome way to gain muscle/lose weight in 6 weeks. Now it can easily be done by ones self but it's so much more fun to do with others. So who's with me?

We'll begin together, on Monday July 21st and check back with each other each week. Every person starts at their own level. Oh, whats that? Bad shoulder? Bad wrist? Bad face? Bleh bleh bleh. Run through the easy to read pages and it will tell you how to do this with handicaps and still get the same level of results.

Let's do it! It's 3 days a week for six weeks. Come on, it's free and it's a break from the norm. Plus you'll be in better shape at the end of it. It's a meme of the physical challenge variety. I'm Marc Summers and this is Double Dare (get it, physical challenge, Double Dare? hehe :).

So since it's a meme I tagging people.

1) Miss Em
2) Alice
3) Susel
4) L.C.T.
5) Marianne
6) Emma Jayne
7) Tah-Daaa
8) Jersey

I would say Angela but she writes about the gym and cute boys she finds there all the time.

Awesome and Fantastic people only: ~Click Here~

Boring and lazy people only: ~Click Here~

(I realize this is a long shot, but I'm hoping somebody will do it with me.)

NEWS FLASH: DL The Alchemist for free on iTunes

Yep, that's right. Through the 14th. If you don't know what it is, download it. If you do know what it is, download it. If you don't care what it is download it.


The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho; Read by Jermey Irons
iTunes Download - Approx. 4.25 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Provider: iTunes
FREE: July 8th 2008 -July 14th 2008
An Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago travels from his homeland to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is art eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

....We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Namely my post below since i'm trying to stir up a little bit of discussion before I post Pt. 2.

America the beautiful... the blithering idiots... Pt. 1

...OK not really. Although as evidenced by this video some undoubtedly are. I was highly offended at first glance of this clip. Offended that this was the foreign media portrayal of Americans. Offended that I didn't know, well really know, that when I speak to someone outside this country that they are most likely patronizing me because they feel like I have the IQ of a 6th grader or that I'm a narrow-minded bigot.

I was speaking to a friend from Australia, who had just come in from feeding her pet kangaroo and practicing her boomerang toss, and we were discussing the world view on Americans. I was sharing a story of a guy from Australia who came to the States to visit this American girl whom he had met online a few years ago. Ironically this guy had a huge disdain for Americans and seemed to carry that chip on his shoulder the entire visit. Whenever we engaged in a conversation it always started off cordial but then he always digressed into some tirade of unfounded slandering of America/ns.

I was telling my Aussie friend, while she was wrestling a crocodile into submission, that it seems to be popular among those outside the U.S. to "strongly dislike" Americans. She said that she shares the same school of thought and is on the bandwagon of not thinking much of them. I became passionate in my response to defend my countrymen/women saying, "Not all of us are narrow-minded and lack a perspective limited to the U.S." She thought I must have had that speech rehearsed. She then sent me the following video as an example of why she feels the way she does. Without further ado, here is the video:

Chasers : War on Everything - Americans

I want to hear the thoughts of everyone who watches this. Especially since I have a few readers from other countries. Please note that this post was written tongue-in-cheek. I'm actually quite fond of the person I was talking to about this and we had a very intelligent discussion about it.

Additionally, I sent this video to a list of people from my email contacts. I will post some of their responses to it and my personal take on this subject in a follow-up post.

Please share!! Racist or bigoted responses are not necessary.

Happy 4th of July - I'll be gone this weekend.

I'll be in on the rooftops of Brooklyn watching fireworks, the beach of Jersey shore the next day and then the Pocono mountains. I probably won't get a chance to get on the internet so have a safe and happy 4th those of you who live in the States and those who don't have a good weekend.

Mabuhay! <--(That's Tagolog for Live long or Peace.) The terribly cloudy pics are of last years fireworks seen from the rooftops of Brooklyn.

Captain Caption #1:

Ok guys, here is an attempt to do something fun. I want to have a caption contest. Who can come up with the best caption for this picture? Just a one liner is fine. Whoever wins gets a 1973 Buick Regal engine part. It's mint. If this goes well maybe I'll do one once a month or so? Thoughts?