Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Day 2: Scientology, sex and bongs
(This was written by Lyndal but Blogger logged her out)
(I am writing this partly from notes I wrote in my written journal because I can't remember this morning)
Happy Inauguration Day!
The official swearing in of the new president was on at 9am EST. We woke up at 10:15am when endlessmike called us, oops.
Shara needed morning carbs and a cup of tea, so I had to go downstairs to the coffee shop in the hotel because there is no kettle in the room, only a coffee maker. Shara actually wanted to buy a kettle so we asked Casey in Indiana who started talking about needing a hotplate? So he is weird, Americans don't understand tea.
Anway I went and bought a toasted bagel and had a mug filled with hot water, I had no idea who and when you tip people so for the $2.70 bagel I tipped $1 because that was what I had in my hand then Webber lol'd at me so we had to check with Kat and that was the wrong thing to do.
Shara had vegemite on her bagel, which was apparently also the wrong thing to do. Also butter in America is white.
Kristen suggested we could head to Hollywood via the Metro subway, Kristen gave us the impression that the Metro is for bums and lesser hobos who cannot afford a car so we were expecting to be shivved on the train but it turns out the subway is far cleaner than any CityRail station in Sydney. Also there are no actual ticket gates so we could've gotten away with not purchasing any tickets (but we ended up buying 2 single tickets each and then realising the tickets were only valid for an hour after purchase, $1.25 per ticket).
Hollywood was....okay.
Lots of old buildings, oh and so many Scientology buildings!! We first walked to the L. Ron Hubbard Life Museum, it was on the map at the Metro which showed all these really important buildings like the Police station and a hospital and nothing else of note. At the museum Shara took a photo of Webber and I in front of a bust of L. Ron Hubbard, while Shara was changing the lens Webber took photos of quotes by Nicole Kidman and Kate Cebrano and the dude at the desk asked where we were from, I was amazed he didn't try and test our thetans.
Then we passed a shop that only sold Dianetics in multiple languages, and a woman came out and tried to rope us in.
Thirdly we came up to a museum that appeared to have an exhibition called 'Psychiatry: An Industry of Death' but turns out that is the name of the whole place! It's made by the Citizens Commision on Human Rights which is just owned by Scientology anyway.
Went to a Jack in the Box, review later.
Popped by a "drug store", this was a bizarre experience because there was a massive range of brands and products for each ailment. Sorry America, but you don't need 40 different types of paracetamol/Tylenol. Also YOU SHOULDN'T SELL BEER AND WINE IN A PHARMACY. EVER.
Oh shit! I had to come back and say bong shops a-plenty on Hollywood Blvd! There were some amazing ones like a 6 foot perspex bong you would need to stand on a ladder to use.
Anyway Hollywood was weird and we were tired so we just went back to the hotel and dicked around until endlessmike met us after work and we went for Korean at Tofu House.
We had never ordered the crazy stuff we were served, which included a whole cooked fish, but full review later!
(I am writing this partly from notes I wrote in my written journal because I can't remember this morning)
Happy Inauguration Day!
The official swearing in of the new president was on at 9am EST. We woke up at 10:15am when endlessmike called us, oops.
Shara needed morning carbs and a cup of tea, so I had to go downstairs to the coffee shop in the hotel because there is no kettle in the room, only a coffee maker. Shara actually wanted to buy a kettle so we asked Casey in Indiana who started talking about needing a hotplate? So he is weird, Americans don't understand tea.
Anway I went and bought a toasted bagel and had a mug filled with hot water, I had no idea who and when you tip people so for the $2.70 bagel I tipped $1 because that was what I had in my hand then Webber lol'd at me so we had to check with Kat and that was the wrong thing to do.
Shara had vegemite on her bagel, which was apparently also the wrong thing to do. Also butter in America is white.
Kristen suggested we could head to Hollywood via the Metro subway, Kristen gave us the impression that the Metro is for bums and lesser hobos who cannot afford a car so we were expecting to be shivved on the train but it turns out the subway is far cleaner than any CityRail station in Sydney. Also there are no actual ticket gates so we could've gotten away with not purchasing any tickets (but we ended up buying 2 single tickets each and then realising the tickets were only valid for an hour after purchase, $1.25 per ticket).
Hollywood was....okay.
Lots of old buildings, oh and so many Scientology buildings!! We first walked to the L. Ron Hubbard Life Museum, it was on the map at the Metro which showed all these really important buildings like the Police station and a hospital and nothing else of note. At the museum Shara took a photo of Webber and I in front of a bust of L. Ron Hubbard, while Shara was changing the lens Webber took photos of quotes by Nicole Kidman and Kate Cebrano and the dude at the desk asked where we were from, I was amazed he didn't try and test our thetans.
Thirdly we came up to a museum that appeared to have an exhibition called 'Psychiatry: An Industry of Death' but turns out that is the name of the whole place! It's made by the Citizens Commision on Human Rights which is just owned by Scientology anyway.
Went to a Jack in the Box, review later.
Popped by a "drug store", this was a bizarre experience because there was a massive range of brands and products for each ailment. Sorry America, but you don't need 40 different types of paracetamol/Tylenol. Also YOU SHOULDN'T SELL BEER AND WINE IN A PHARMACY. EVER.
Oh shit! I had to come back and say bong shops a-plenty on Hollywood Blvd! There were some amazing ones like a 6 foot perspex bong you would need to stand on a ladder to use.
Anyway Hollywood was weird and we were tired so we just went back to the hotel and dicked around until endlessmike met us after work and we went for Korean at Tofu House.
We had never ordered the crazy stuff we were served, which included a whole cooked fish, but full review later!
We have just switched channels and there is an amazing looking court show called 'Eye for an Eye' and the judge has a BASEBALL BAT OF JUSTICE, omg!
At the end of the meal Shara suggested I check out the toilets and they didn't disappoint! They were decorated in all green and had automatic soap dispenser, water and paper towel. Also, mouthwash dispenser!!
Anyway at the end of the meal Alicia joined us, and we piled into her dad's massive truck (you could fit approx. 10 dead bodies in there, however it's up for debate) and headed up to the observatory which was totally rad. Here is Alicia's truck with me being sexy for scale:
We saw a coyote! The view of the city was beautiful.
At the end of the meal Shara suggested I check out the toilets and they didn't disappoint! They were decorated in all green and had automatic soap dispenser, water and paper towel. Also, mouthwash dispenser!!
Anyway at the end of the meal Alicia joined us, and we piled into her dad's massive truck (you could fit approx. 10 dead bodies in there, however it's up for debate) and headed up to the observatory which was totally rad. Here is Alicia's truck with me being sexy for scale:
We saw a coyote! The view of the city was beautiful.
The building was great too.
Also we saw a Tesla coil in action, and met Einstein
And just to prove we met these 2 ladies here is a photo of us with Alicia that endlessmike took!
Also we saw a Tesla coil in action, and met Einstein
And just to prove we met these 2 ladies here is a photo of us with Alicia that endlessmike took!
Next up Alicia drove us to Jon's supermarket where we found amazing things like Kookies cereal but we couldn't find pulpy orange juice that came in a container less than 2L. We bought more drinks for review, including Mexican Coke that we hope will be more similar to Australian.
I needed to buy a glue stick for my journal, but Alicia and endlessmike advised me I would need to go to a pharmacy for this. OF COURSE. Also you can buy $480 tequila at the supermarket.
BLUE RASPBERRY
COOKIE CEREAL (note multiple brands)
PARFAIT IN A TUB
HUGE TIN OF NESQUIK
Before finishing for the night we went to Pink's hot dog stand where Alicia waited in line for about 15min for a guacamole dog which Shara ate half of.
Now it is somehow 2am and we gotta sleep! Tomorrow is art museums, hell yea!
I needed to buy a glue stick for my journal, but Alicia and endlessmike advised me I would need to go to a pharmacy for this. OF COURSE. Also you can buy $480 tequila at the supermarket.
BLUE RASPBERRY
COOKIE CEREAL (note multiple brands)
PARFAIT IN A TUB
HUGE TIN OF NESQUIKBefore finishing for the night we went to Pink's hot dog stand where Alicia waited in line for about 15min for a guacamole dog which Shara ate half of.
Now it is somehow 2am and we gotta sleep! Tomorrow is art museums, hell yea!
Hun-day
All television ads in America fit into one of these categories:
1. Prescription medication
2. Fast food
3. Movies
4. Cars
1. Prescription medication
2. Fast food
3. Movies
4. Cars
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Soda Review: Day 2
Dasani Water (with "minerals")
I bought this partly because I really needed to drink something that didn't have sugar in it, and partly because I really needed to poo at the place we bought this from and I assume since you have to ask to go to the toilet at all fast food joints that is so they can tell you to buy something or get out? Anyway I am reviewing this because according to the label this is not just water, it is water that they added salt and a bunch of other shit to. For "flavor". The Coca Cola Company, ladies and gentlemen. Anyway this tasted the same as tap water so I would give it three stars (the star rating chilled tap water gets), but I took off a star because I am creeped out that they ADDED SALT TO BOTTLED WATER IN ORDER TO MAKE IT MORE APPETISING TO AMERICANS. Oh ps this bottle of water cost more than any soda on their menu.Rating: 2 stars
Contains HFCS? Not according to the label but if they add salt to their water WHO KNOWS???
Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino
Lyndal bought this at the supermarket last night.I am a huge fan of the coffee drinks in a can you can get from Asian grocery shops, like Mr. Brown, that are cold, milky, sugary coffee. This is how I tend to drink coffee anyway, so this thing looked great, but it didn't fail to meet America sweetness standards.
I couldn't finish it, even after trying to drink it in 2 sittings, this was far sweeter than any Asian coffee drink.
Rating: 2 stars
Contains HFCS? No
Jack In The Box Pomegranate Berry Smoothie
We made Lyndal get this because we thought it looked pretty interesting, and the most refreshing on the menu. It was pretty scary. It was way too sweet, like if you got a boost juice and then added seven tablespoons of sugar. I couldn't really taste the pomegranate either, it was mostly just berry. Reasonably refreshing though, if way too sweet.Rating: 3 stars
Contains HFCS? Probably
Jack In The Box Chocolate Shake (with Whip)
After the success of yesterday's shake we thought we would see if this one was as good. I didn't like it quite as much as the Fatburger shake, but it still delivered the goods in a way that Australian shakes cannot. Still really chocolatey and thick. This one had whip on top though, which was totally crazy. I don't eat cream anyway but according to Shara and Lyndal this was mock cream, which is just butter and sugar. There was also a huge amount of it. They ate it but weren't happy about the situation. If we were to order any more shakes on this trip it would definitely be sans cream. The drink you see in the picture was a large, which we could not finish between the two of us. I felt sick for a reasonable time period afterwards. Great shake though.Rating: 4 stars
Contains HFCS? Probably
Here is Lyndal with some drinks:
Movie Review
When we hopped on the plane I accidentally excited Webber by saying the in-flight entertainment might contain Mario Bros because the controller was set out like a NES controller (and I had played it on a Singapore Airlines flight in 2000).
Sadly, the best on offer was Solitaire.
Anyway I scrolled through the video channel until I came to a film with a small dog on pillow in fancy outfits and knew it could only be one thing – BEVERLY HILLS CHUHUAHUA. I immediately notified Webber who passed the message to Shara and we settled in for 91 minutes of talking dog fun (along with the woman sitting in front of me).
We all thought the film was going to be equally about the rich dog (voiced by Drew Barrymore) and the urban dog (voiced by George Lopez, who I found out later was born and raised in the US and changed his name to sound more Hispanic), but it mainly focussed on Chloe the white chihuahua who is treated like a spoiled child by her owner, a rich spinster aunt.
When the aunt goes away she leaves her irresponsible, party-girl niece to look after Chloe – that’s when the trouble begins!
Chloe gets taken to Mexico on holiday, but escapes the hotel and gets caught up in a dog fighting ring and/or racket and the niece must find her. A key part of the film and character development is that Chloe starts her journey with 4 booties on and she loses them during key moments, such as getting dirty in a puddle and getting swindled at the market.
Chloe befriends an ex-police dog, he was fired because he lost his sense of smell, who helps her on her journey. The most touching moment of the film is when Chloe sheds her 4th an final bootie on a train crossing the border to the US with ‘Hero’ by Enrique Iglesias, realising she can live as a normal dog (sorry, SPOILER ALERT). It should be noted the soundtrack is amazing and I am buying it for Webber for his birthday.
Occasionally the George Lopez dog is featured with award-winning lines such as “We’re Mexi-cans, not Mexi-can’ts!” and “I’m gonna get all kinds of Mexican on you!”.
This film was enjoyably racist.
Ironic Star Rating: 4 (Shara gave it 0)
Sadly, the best on offer was Solitaire.
Anyway I scrolled through the video channel until I came to a film with a small dog on pillow in fancy outfits and knew it could only be one thing – BEVERLY HILLS CHUHUAHUA. I immediately notified Webber who passed the message to Shara and we settled in for 91 minutes of talking dog fun (along with the woman sitting in front of me).
We all thought the film was going to be equally about the rich dog (voiced by Drew Barrymore) and the urban dog (voiced by George Lopez, who I found out later was born and raised in the US and changed his name to sound more Hispanic), but it mainly focussed on Chloe the white chihuahua who is treated like a spoiled child by her owner, a rich spinster aunt.
When the aunt goes away she leaves her irresponsible, party-girl niece to look after Chloe – that’s when the trouble begins!
Chloe gets taken to Mexico on holiday, but escapes the hotel and gets caught up in a dog fighting ring and/or racket and the niece must find her. A key part of the film and character development is that Chloe starts her journey with 4 booties on and she loses them during key moments, such as getting dirty in a puddle and getting swindled at the market.
Chloe befriends an ex-police dog, he was fired because he lost his sense of smell, who helps her on her journey. The most touching moment of the film is when Chloe sheds her 4th an final bootie on a train crossing the border to the US with ‘Hero’ by Enrique Iglesias, realising she can live as a normal dog (sorry, SPOILER ALERT). It should be noted the soundtrack is amazing and I am buying it for Webber for his birthday.
Occasionally the George Lopez dog is featured with award-winning lines such as “We’re Mexi-cans, not Mexi-can’ts!” and “I’m gonna get all kinds of Mexican on you!”.
This film was enjoyably racist.
Ironic Star Rating: 4 (Shara gave it 0)
Food Review: Day 1
Doritos: Spicy Nacho
I fuckin love Doritos, but I haven't really enjoyed them in Australia for a little while because there is only one good flavour (Nacho Cheese). America has rekindled my love for Doritos via the Spicy Nacho. The Dorito base tastes pretty much the same as the Australian version, but the flavour is great. Just hot enough to be tasty, without being so hot that it is uncomfortable to eat without a drink (I am pretty wussy when it comes to spicyness). Lyndal said they were okay but she would not buy them again. Lyndal is weird though. Recommended.Rating: 4 stars
Contains MSG? Yes (also HFCS)
Ruffles: Sour Cream and Onion
Message to American chip makers: if you change the flavour to "Sour Cream and Chives" it sounds fancier and you can charge more. Shara was real excited about Ruffles because apparently you used to be able to get them in Australia but now you cannot. I was ambivalent about them because they seemed no different from Smiths/Bluebird chips in Australia/New Zealand. I was right. They were a pleasing size and had a good crunch I guess, but they just taste like regular potato chips. A solid chip, but nothing worth coming to America for. However I did like that they are "ruffled" (sounds cute), and also the packet opened really pleasingly, like it was really easy to open and gave way perfectly in the middle with no rips. Doesn't that packet look like it's out of the chip ad? For that I gave it an extra star.Rating: 3 stars
Contains MSG? Yes
Cheetos: Flaming Hot
I haven't eaten these yet but Kat told me about them and I am real excited. When I eat Hot Cheetos I get crazy!!!! Review forthcoming whenever I finish these other chips and get hungry.
Fatburger: Hot Wings
No picture sorry
Ten wings for $5, which was way too much food to eat. These were pretty tasty, but were a little bit hot for me to handle. I got through seven of them but had to stop because my mouth was too hot but all the drinks we had were gross. Shara tried one but didn't really like it. The wings were covered in hot sauce and they also gave me a gigantic sachet of ranch dressing to go with it. I threw that out. I want to give these 3.5 stars but I don't want to get too granulated with my ratings so this gets a four.
Rating: 4 stars
Contains MSG? Probably
Fatburger: Fat Burger
No picture sorry
Shara had this. She said it was okay. She didn't really like the bun, it was just too stale. She is real tired so she can't be more specific than that.
Rating: 2 stars
Contains MSG? Unknown
Fatburger: Turkey Burger
No picture sorry
Lyndal got this.
What up Lyndal here, I ordered the turkey burger (sandwich?) with cheese and 'everything' which turned out to mean with weird gherkin/pickle stuff that I just scraped off.
The bun was an unsettling dark brown colour, possibly just coloured with molasses because it didn't taste any different to a normal white bun. The meat patty also didn't taste much different to a beef patty, but certainly not like a chicken burger.
Rating: 2 stars
Contains MSG? Unknown
Fatburger: Chips
No picture sorry
They have regular french fries at Fatburger and also chunky Anglo-style chips. The chunky ones are huge and are far superior. Really good. The thin ones were soggy and dull.
Rating: 4 stars for chunky, 2 stars for thin
Contains MSG? Probably
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)