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Sad Thoughts: So Long Book Castle Movie World, Burbank, California

Well I suppose this one was inevitable: Book Castle Movie World is closing. The shop has been a fixture of Downtown Burbank for, oh geeze, it has to be 40 or 50 years at least.

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The shop had all the appearances of a film curios shop that might stock or display props, costumes, reproductions, movie posters, screenplays, and other ephemera to tickle a cinephile’s fancy. The shop front had the dilapidated Art Deco look of a repurposed clothing store from the 40’s that had gone long unoccupied until the Movie World tenant moved in. The displays featured faded movie posters for past great films and even the latest and greatest stuff in theaters, all showing an equal amount of fading and weathering.

But the reality inside was somewhat different. Continue reading “Sad Thoughts: So Long Book Castle Movie World, Burbank, California”

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Travel Thoughts: Barley Forge Brewing Co. in Costa Mesa, California

After finishing my tea at Milk & Honey, I wound up over at Barley Forge Brewing Co. across the street for a St. Patrick’s Day Lunch of corned beef, excellent cabbage, mashed potatoes, and some token carrots (no clue why those were there, I hate carrots…). Oh, and also beer.

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My favorite of their in-house craft brews would have to be the ‘Grandpa Tractor.’ It’s light, but not too light, crisp, and refreshing, seriously the only three words that should ever be used to describe beer. One thing I can’t stand about wines and wine tasting are all the metaphors used to describe the stuff. No, beer should be crisp and refreshing. Bam. Done. End of story. It’s harder than you think to find beer like this though. Nowadays, breweries are trying to make their marks by coming up with all kinds of weirdness in beer texture and flavor that I’m not going to get into…including Barley Forge…so all you need to know, is that their Grandpa Tractor is fabulous and doesn’t mess around.

Here is Barley Forge’s Website.

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Movie Thoughts: Red Sparrow was a Slow Burn Espionage Thriller that Deserves More Credit

My mother saw Red Sparrow, and didn’t like it. A lot of critics saw Red Sparrow, and didn’t like it. I saw Red Sparrow, and I liked it. Which means I know more about movies than any of the people mentioned above.

No hear me out for a sec.

Continue reading “Movie Thoughts: Red Sparrow was a Slow Burn Espionage Thriller that Deserves More Credit”

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Car Thoughts: The Aston Martin V550 V8 Vantage – My Grail Car

This post about the mercurial Aston Martin V8 Vantage V550 was originally published on DriveTribe but as is the case with most social media, it has devolved into the sharing of unoriginal, vintage and viral media, so I’ve edited and reposted here.:

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My Journey to See My grail car
James May of The Grand Tour and another deceased pokey motoring show says “never drive your icons,” and i look forward to breaking that rule to drive the coolest f*cking Car Ever made…some other day.

Continue reading “Car Thoughts: The Aston Martin V550 V8 Vantage – My Grail Car”

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Travel Thoughts: Milk & Honey in Costa Mesa, California

I live for small coffee roasters and Milk and Honey in Costa Mesa, California was a nice place to stop and feel serene while I waited for my car to get smogged.

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Of course, I was also sick and so did not get the opportunity to sip coffee there, as I do prefer tea under such conditions, but in spite of that and the malfunctioning industrial ice maker along the wall that I found myself seated at, it was a lovely little experience.

Continue reading “Travel Thoughts: Milk & Honey in Costa Mesa, California”

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Movie Thoughts: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Used the OTHER Harvey Weinstein Tactic

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is not the great movie everyone says it is. It’s not bad by any means, and Sam Rockwell’s acting is superb, but the reason it won the oscars it did were largely due to the OTHER strategy Harvey Weinstein was known for, namely: SHMOOZING. So I would say bravo to Fox Searchlight as they did an AMAZING job of marketing this movie to critics, association members, and festival organizers.

Continue reading “Movie Thoughts: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Used the OTHER Harvey Weinstein Tactic”