Gessel On…

…this and that.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Chevy Malibu LT

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This was a much better rental car than I expected.  it was really kind of fun.  Fast, powerful, and surprisingly solid.  It has those paddle shifter things on the steering wheel and the were kind of fun - with a 6 speed automatic transmission.  It’s too bad I couldn’t find anyplace to drive it fast.
It was also very quiet and had a pretty nice stereo.  Really, an unexpectedly good car.
posted at 12:00:13 more on... Positive, photo, rental cars, reviews  

Saturday, October 11, 2008

New UAL Pods

I got a chance to experience the new UAL business class pods on a UAL international flight routed from Zurich through San Francisco to Sidney. As it is one of the first six 767’s out of about 100 with the new Panasonic seat pods, a system-trained UAL employee was on board to answer questions. My observations are:

new pod screens.jpg

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posted at 01:00:38 more on... Positive, photo, planes, reviews  

Friday, October 10, 2008

funniest news podcast in the world.

BBC Newsquiz is hilarious. I think it is my new favorite podcast.

posted at 17:00:08 more on... Positive, reviews  

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Religulous Politics

The state of mind in the US is very sad, more so than typical. While there seems to a continuous and ongoing degradation of discourse, I’ve never before seen politics and statesmanship so irredeemably reduced to the level of a religious war.

Sadly… embarrassingly, it is not a phenomenon consigned to the usual right wing fundamentalist morons that dominate the airwaves with their punditry and inanity; rather the left too seems to have taken up the banner of unthinking allegiance.


Having just seen Bill Mahr’s Religulous (”lig” rhymes with “midge”) in Toronto, the idiocy of “faith” is fresh in my mind. Not that I’ve ever doubted that “faith” is the sad abandonment of reason, but Bill’s entertaining movie makes amusing and thoughtful light of the many entertaining flavors of absurd that are the world’s religions.

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posted at 18:26:19 more on... Positive, photo, politics, reviews   Geotag Icon Map It

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Supper club diva

Dinner with Chris and Mona.

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We ate dinner at the Supperclub in San Francisco.  The food was good - a prefix menu in normal and food-challenged versions.  During the meal the staff provides entertainment, such as this lovely opera star.
We were there on a night when a company had a special event in the main room so us regular diners were consigned to the smaller private room.
One reclines on bedding to eat, which is fine, though the provided table spaces are not sufficient for the plates and the resulting arrangements are a bit clumsy.
The food was excellent and I’d go back on a normal night.
posted at 21:00:30 more on... Positive, map, photo, restaurants, reviews   Geotag Icon Map It

Monday, September 8, 2008

Lucien

“The best new restaurant” in Toronto.
And, indeed, very good.

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posted at 17:00:32 more on... Positive, SRL, funny, map, places, restaurants, reviews   Geotag Icon Map It

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Last Command (& Alloy Orchestra)

http://original.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=71358&articleTypeId=0

The Last Command is the 1928 silent movie staring Emil Jannings as the Grand Duke of the Tsar’s army and tells the story of his last battle, his capture, escape, and eventual demise in Hollywood as an extra in a film close to his own life.

It is the best silent movie I’ve seen - I genuinely enjoyed it, and I rarely connect to older films, let alone silent ones.

Part of the magic was the performance of the Alloy Orchestra - they are really exceptional and it was a treat to hear their score.

posted at 15:40:48 more on... Positive, films, photo, reviews  

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