Tag: nightlife

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Catching Celebrity Autobiography

Cringy

RE Mike shot us some tix to go see this Broadway show called Celebrity Autobiography, the other day.

Him: I heard it’s funny.
Me: Sweeeeet – Sat at 5PM works for us. You going?
Him: Let me check – I might go with you but [the wife and kid] are in Florida.

Sara loved the last three things that he sent us to – a private party, The Heart of Rock and Roll, and Once Upon a One More Time – so she was def up to see this one as well.

Me: You wanna go? From RE Mike, of course.
Her: Ooooooh! Fun!

The premise is clever; essentially, celebrities read excerpts of autobiographies from other celebrities – and most are pretty cringe.

I went mainly to see Eric McCormack from Will & Grace (he lived on my block so I have a story about him that I’ll tell you about one day), who’s the last person in the pic below, and Tony Shalhoub from Wings and Monk – two shows that I’ve seen pretty much every episode of, back in the day.

That first guy – Mario Cantone – was hilarious, as was Mikey Day from SNL.

Ralph Macchio was also there, as well as Nia Vardalos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding – she was also hilarious.

The others were good, but they were the stars of the show, in my opinion.
Having said that, the show was 90 minutes, and I definitely feel that it coulda been a faster, more interesting 60-minute show.

If nuthin else, I don’t think celebrities with no writing chops – at all – should hold themselves out to be authors. The poetry of Matthew McConaughey, the love story of Kenny Loggings, and the musings of Khloé Kardashian were particularly funny/cringy.

Then again, maybe in a few decades, people might find this blog and find everything I write cringy.

In any case, while I’m not sure I woulda seen it but for RE Mike sending us the tix, it was a nice change from our usual.

Afterward, we stepped out into the warm spring evening.

Her: It’s supposed to be the hottest summer on record this summer.
Me: No!
Her: (nodding) Yup.
Me: (shaking head) Why do you gotta ruin everything? (grumble)

Oddly, thinking about celebrities and their hidden talents – or lack thereof – got me to thinking about Scarlett Johansson’s song Relator, which was a song that I heard from a magazine I used to read to find new music – waaaaay before Spotify – called Paste Magazine.

I liked it before I found out it was her singing.

Here it is if you’ve never heard it before.

Location: midtown with the kid and his friends, looking for a kitchen and a party
Mood: heated already
Music: life’s for us to talk about (Spotify)
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An impromptu mid-weeknight out

…with hand-pulled noodles

Both boys needed a haircut, and Sara was hankering for some noodles the other day.

Me: Wait, they have tomorrow off right?
Her: Yup.
Me: You wanna just head down to Chinatown and we’ll let both boys get a haircut and you can have your hand pulled noodles?
Her: Sure!

I gave her some hand-pulled noodles a while back and she’s been enjoying them ever since.

She’s been wanting to go to this hole-in-the-wall joint in the video above for a while now and the weather was just beautiful so off we went.

In that video, the chef’s making a buncha different kinds of hand-pulled noodles, two of which we had below.

The knife-cut noodles at the end are probably the coolest in my book.

But first, the boys had to get their hair cut.

They each picked out their own style and showed it to the aunties.

After they finished, we just turned the corner and we were there. We grabbed some seats outside for food.

Normally, I hate eating outside – mainly because it’s usually in some shed on the street which is inherently dangerous, and pretty uncomfortable to boot.

But Doyers Street – which I should tell you about onea these days – is closed to cars now, so it’s a lot nicer an experience.

I accidentally ordered the wrong dish for Sara, which worked out fine because I could then indulge in my inner fatty-fat-fat.

The below pic is of the thicker, flatter hand-pulled noodles that are hand-ripped as well. That’s the kind I like the best.

I think, scientifically, carbs don’t impact the body if you eat them because you ordered the wrong food.

That’s what I tell myself, anywho.

The bowl below is of the thinner long-pulled and hand-cut noodles varity.

Me: Why are you cutting the noodles?!
Her: They’re so long!
Me: They’re supposed to be so long!

Afterwards, we took a nice (loooong) walk to the west side and hopped the train home.

The weather was just perfect.

Me: These kinda nights are my fave.
Her: Because they’re spontaenous?
Me: Yeah. I think these impromptu things we do are the most fun.
Her: Agreed.
Me: I hope the kids remember these things. I’m hoping I’m giving them some nice memories to look back on.

Not the place we went to but another famous Chinatown hand-pulled noodle joint.

I think that’s why I miss my dad so much.

Because he used to do alla these small but really meaningful things for me.

And they inspire me to want the same for his grandson that he never really got to know.

I know that I’ll never have those experiences again. But they live on in my head.

Ah, shit.

I did it again.

Location: the kid’s new middle school, hoping I made the right decision
Mood: sigh
Music: It’s my feeling we’ll win in the end (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Canada Pt 3 – Red nights, Second Brekkies, and Home

Guess I live here now

The next day, Sara had arranged a full day to celebrate both of our birthdays since it was kinda the midway point between both of ours.

To this end, we started off with a brunch with bottomless cocktails at the steakhouse on the ship.

She even booked the nicest table at the rear overlooking the ocean – the view was gorgeous.

The view of the water was nice too.

I may have had a bit too much to drink.

Me: I almost dropped my room key into the urinal. BUT, my lightning fast 52-year-old reflexes caught it!
Her: (rolls eyes) You’re like a week from 53. Can you imagine the conversation with the ship staff if you didn’t catch it?
Me: If I didn’t catch it, I wasn’t gonna fish it out. I’d just be, “Welp, I guess I live here now.”

We had such a good meal that we ended up going back there again for dinner where I had lamb chops, a filet, flank steak, and a ton of sides.

This is the before shot.

This was the after.

Her: I can’t believe you ate all that.
Me: OMG, that was a lot even for me.

We had to walk it off so we went around the ship checking out various events and such.

Later on that night was Virgin’s Red Night, which is their big shindig and the entire ship is in red.

Sara even got her face done by some people on the ship.

It was a pretty fun night with copious amounts of alcohol.

The next day, the weather was finally warm(ish) enough for us to kinda go out onto the balcony…

…and do some general stupid human tricks.

But it was also cold enough that we were pretty much the only people dumb enough to be outside at all.

This is us on The Net, which is essentially netting a few stories over the water – it woulda been super cool in the Caribbean.

We are freezing in the video below.

That night, we had our final dinner on the ship, which was at their Mexican restaurant…

…and Sara had ordered another meal with unlimited drinks.

Sara: (to waitress) But no mezcal.
Me: Or tequila.
Sara: Definitely not. Just put in rum instead.
Waitress: OK, not a problem!

We ate until I couldn’t move.

But Sara had one last surprise, which was a cake for the two of us.

The next morning, we got up and I had my last first brekkie of salmon and avocados…

…and my last second brekkie of an acai bowl.

After that, our trip to Bermuda Canada was done.

Me: OK, so it wasn’t a Caribbean vacation, but it was still nice and the ship was gorgeous.
Her: True. And I think it’s the best food I’ve ever had on a ship.
Me: Agreed – and we had each other, so that made it great and I had a good time.
Her: (laughing) OK.

Location: yesterday, all over Queens and Brooklyn – Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Brooklyn Manor, Cypress Hills, etc.
Mood: busy, busy, bzzz, bzzz, bzzz
Music: lost within the darkness, but then I found her (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Canada Pt 1 – PJs, casinos, and molecular gastronomy

Slay the day

Our first day on the ship was pretty uneventful.

We got to our cabin – which was pretty gorgeous – and unpacked.

Even though it was closer to her birthday than mine, Sara surprised me with a bottle of champagne in the room.

Me: OMG, you’re the best!
Her: I’ve got a few more surprises for you as well.
Me: Someone’s getting lucky tonight…
Her: (laughs)

One more really annoying thing was that we were gonna save some money and just have a window insteada a balcony since it was just the two of us, but we decided that, since it was our birthdays, we’d splurge on the balcony.

Well, that was a HUGE waste of money as there was no chance we could be out on it for any meaningful amount of time as it was freezing out there.

Anywho, getting back to our first night, we went to the Korean restaurant on the ship and had a feast.

While there, we crossed under the Verrazzano Bridge, which some non-natives asked if it was the Brooklyn Bridge.

Both Sara and I had been on a significant number of ships already but I gotta say that Virgin probably had the best food either of us had ever had.

But more on that later.

We finished off the night at the nightclub there for a pajama party – where everyone was dressed in PJs.

We were pretty entertained.

As we were walking around…

Him: I know you! Where do I know you?
Sara: Do you watch a lotta YouTube?
Him: Yes?
Me: Do you watch Scenic Fights?
Him: YES! Logan!

It’s wild to meet a fan ON a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic.

Not a bad way to start the vacation.

The next day, woke up at six AM and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I decided to hit up the gym.

Because the only other guy there was using the upper body weights, I decided to not skip leg day and focus on that.

When I went back to the cabin Sara was awake, so I brought her a cup of coffee.

We went to get brekkie where I ate my weight in avocados and salmon.

Me: If we’re not gonna go to Bermuda, I’m gonna make back alla our money in food.
Her: Sounds reasonable.
Me: It’s the Chinese way.

After brekkie, we explored the ship for the rest of the day.

We overhead one very sweet couple talk to the staff about how unfortunate it was that we were heading to Canada because they had flown from Canada to head to NYC to sail to Bermuda.

Instead, they flew from Canada to NYC only to sail BACK to Canada, to sail back to NYC, to fly back to Cananda.

Her: They were so nice!
Me: I know! Can you imagine buying plane tickets to Miami, renting a hotel room, boarding a ship, only to sail back to NYC, sail back to Miami, just to fly back to NYC? I woulda lost my mind.

Because Sara is a sucker for a trivia games, we ended up competing in one.

Outta maybe 60 teams, we were part of the four team finalists.

We woulda been the winners but, for the question: “What was the most popular social platform of 2009?”

We choose Facebook insteada MySpace and we had to do the runoff, which had a Wayne Gretzey question as the tiebreaker – we got that question completely wrong.

That was fine, though.

We had a cocktail party to attend…

…before headed to a dinner at their experimental molecular gastronomy restaurant, The Test Kitchen, which Steel woulda loved.

The food was very Wylie Dufresne-esque – both delicious and very, very cool.

We headed back to our cabin fairly early, but Sara wanted to grab a drink.

I figured that, since I’d have to break my intermittent fasting early the next morning, it wouldn’t matter if I had an afterhours drink, so I joined her.

Her: Actually, I want to try going to casino.
Me: Well, I know little to nuthin about gambling but let’s go.

So, that’s what we did.

There were a lotta technical issues – and some personnel ones as well with an extremely rude casino worker – but the casino manager was just great and comped us two drinks, which definitely made things much better.

Me: How much did you put in?
Her: $25? We can’t get it back, so we’ll have to use it all.
Me: OK, let’s go.

She did amazingly well – we ended up making back everything she spent and then some, plus the free drinks.

Me: I don’t want you to think this is how it usually goes.
Her: Beginner’s luck!

So, in our night out on the ship, we ended up making a few bucks.

We went to get some empty carbs to celebrate.

The next day, we were gonna be in Canada.

It wasn’t a sunny beach, but maybe – in light of our time in the casino – our luck was gonna turn?

Narrator: It was not.

Location: urgent care, waiting for an x-ray machine tech to show up
Mood: back-to-the-grind
Music: I’m easy come, easy go, little high, little low (Spotify)
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An unexpected night out

I’m such a fickle Finny

RE Mike: Hey, where are you guys tonight? There’s a Chinese New Year Party [right near you].
Me: We just ate but is that [our mutual friend that I did work for]?
Him: Yup. Sick house. Come.

A while ago, right before COVID, I did some legal work for a fella around the way.

It was COVID and my brain was still a mess from: COVID, Alison, my dad, and a buncha other things during that time so that whole time is super fuzzy.

This past weekend was the first in over two months where Sara and I had absolutely nuthin planned for the whole weekend.

Was just gonna sit around and just read. It was gonna be glorious.

That is, until RE Mike gave me a ring outta the blue and told me that our mutual friend was having a party and we should swing by.

While I really just wanted to stay home, this guy put millions – legit millions – into converting a multi-family townhouse into a single family one with a swimming pool in the basement, a garage, and an elevator – just a few blocks south of me.

When I last saw it, it was a shell, so I wanted to see what it looked like completed.

Me: Shoot, we just ate! Would love to come just to say hi and check out but we can’t stay long. Would that be ok? We’d bring a bottle of wine or something.
Him: Yes.

So, off we went.

The place was…gorgeous.

And the food was amazeballs.

But, we literally just ate.

Ended up chatting with a buncha lawyers that went to the same high school that I did – and pretty much everyone I spoke to went to an Ivy League.

Met this one guy who was a doctor, competed as a fencer and wrestler for Yale and – even at 70 – still competed.

Me: That’s wild, man.
Him: I’m still pretty fast so I thought, “why not?”
Me: Working out, it’s the fountain of youth.

It’s true, I thought he was in his early 60s, and he thought I was in my 30s.

Afterwards, RE Mike, my friends around the way, and I all walked home.

Soon, it was just Sara and me.

Me: That was nice – it’s nice having these unexpected nights out.
Her: Yes. I was just telling someone that we live such an interesting life.
Me: True. Although there’s a lot to be said about just staying home and doing nuthin.
Her: Oh, you’re such a fickle Finny, Logan Lo.

Location: Home all day. Glorious.
Mood: busy
Music: It’s time to light the fuse again (Spotify)
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The annual college bday party 2026

It’s worth it, though

Me: I think this is the fourth year you’re coming with me for this dinner?
Her: Yup! The first was just a few weeks after our first date.

It was a pretty full weekend as I had to shoot for Scenic Fights both Saturday and Sunday; we have a new guy we added to roster, along with a special guest.

That’s them above.

I was chosen to work with them because they were both weapons specialists.

Both were very nice and knowledgeable fellas – really looking forward to having you all see the videos.

Now, the second day of shooting, I’d forgotten to bring peanut butter with me to eat so I picked some up across the street.
While I was in the kitchen, the studio manager told me that he liked my machete trainer.

Him: I have a real one, you know?
Me: Oh, that’s a good thing to keep in the house as a self-defense tool.
Him: Home? No, here. Here.

And he pulled out this really snaggle-toothed one.

That’s a tool that’s seen some stories, man.

Right after the Saturday shoot, though, I shoved some fried fowl into my face, rushed home, changed, and grabbed Sara.

We both headed downtown to meet up with my college friends for our annual birthday with Gar and Cappy at a restaurant called Essex.

Sara ate something off the day before and I was pretty beat from the shoot that day, plus it was all the way downtown, but it’s always a good time with them so off we went.

There were so many of us that we were all crammed together, which was annoying.

But it meant that we could all talk.

An old friend, John – whom I’ve not seen since this entry – was there and sat next to me so it was nice to be able to catch up.

Him: (to Sara) You married him?
Me: Best decision of her life!
Her: (shrugging) Eh.

Do you remember how I told you that Ricky always tells waitstaff that it’s Gar’s birthday every single time we’re out?

Well, the waitstaff brought out sparklers out for Cappy and Gar to celebrate earlier in the night…

Me: Well, it’s *actually* his birthday, what are you gonna do now?
Him: I told the waitress to bring another sparkler for him.

And she did.

Me: (to Ricky) You know, one day he’s gonna snap and stab you in the eye.
Him: (shrugging) I know. It’s worth it, though.
Me: Clearly.

Location: Trapped at home by the snow
Mood: cozy
Music: I could change my life to better suit your mood (Spotify)
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New Year’s in Chinatown (2X)

Papery/Paper/Plastic

Me: Can’t believe that the kid’s going to college in just seven years or so.
Her: You’ll be 60 then.
Me: Whoa! (thinking) Man, I look amazing!
Her: Eh, your face is getting a little papery.
Me: …
Her: What? It’s true! (laughing) You and your ego…
Me: …
Her: Happy New Year?

Sara and I had to run down to Chinatown twice in a week because it was Lunar New Year.

The first time around, it was Sara, her kid, and me. We went on New Year’s itself.

It’s been at least 30 years since the last time I was here for Lunar New Year.

We didn’t actually go for the festivities – that’s too much chaos for us – but we did see the aftermath, which was just as interesting.

Sara and her kid marveled at the sheer amount of debris left over the festivities.

There was so much that the street sweeper got clogged.

For serious.

Me: Look at all the plastic, this terrible.
Her: They should do something about it.
Me: It used to be a lotta paper. Now it’s all plastic.

I mean, we ended up going to another classic dive called Big Wong, which had a 45-minute wait, the longest I’d ever waited to get into a dive, ever.

But, man, was it worth it.

We both tried some new food – and her kid really liked all the new food as well.

Then, a few days later, we had to head down there again because I forgot to grab something the last time we were down there.

This time, it was just the Sara and me.

We ended up going to the House of Joy.

Me: This is one of the few classic Chinese banquet restaurants left.
Her: It’s so cute!
Me: A lotta Chinatown used to be like this. The last time I was here was for [my college buddy’s] parent’s funeral. So, this is a much better reason to be here.

We went at a really off time, so it was just us and a handful of other patrons.

Me: OMG, I haven’t had this in years!
Her: Oranges?
Me: Well, back when I was a kid, after a meal, the waitstaff would bring out sliced oranges and fortune cookies just like this. Man, I can’t remember the last time I had this…

Stuff like this makes me wish I brought the kid.

I’ll have to do it when he’s back.

Location: home, watching this insane snow come down
Mood: exhausted
Music: No one on the corner has swagger like us (Spotify)
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She’s on to my tricks

A week of guests, food, and shows

Sara and I spent New Year’s Eve at home, watching television.

Actually, let’s back up a bit.

A few days before NYE, the Pittsburg Radiologist stopped by, so we went out for a drink at my usual dive bar…

…but the waitress was overwhelmed and being a pill, so we left to get food and drinks a few doors down at my fave Chinese spot.

Him: Have you ever been to Times Square for New Year’s Eve?
Me: God no, that’s strictly for tourists. I don’t even like being there on regular days.

Then, the day before NYE, our friend Amanda – whose home we stayed at in Vienna – came round.

So, we took her out to eat at an Italian joint near our pad.

The food was great. And, as much as I wanted the pasta, I stuck to my usual burger and swapped the fries for spinach.

Sara: It’s the holidays, have the fries.
Me: With the amount of bread I’ve been eating lately? No way.

Amanda’s the type of friend I like to go out to eat with in that she always tries to pay, which is in contrast to some people we know that simply never even offer.

Her: I wanted to take you two out to celebrate your marriage!
Sara: Too late!

But we went to our local upscale Irish pub for drinks afterward, and she grabbed the check before I could.

Amanda: I’m on to your, “I need to make a phone call,” tricks, Logan!
Me: (laughing) Fair…

The main pic of this entry is the two of them cracking up over Amanda’s dating life – and Sara’s and mine prior to meeting – which is something for another entry.

Because we had gone out so often this week, Sara and I didn’t feel the need to head out again for NYE.

Ergo, we stayed home watching shows, which is also another entry since I so rarely watch television or anything like that.

If you’ve not seen The Terminal List or Slow Horses, both are worth a watch.

After NYE, my son and hers came back home so Sara’s sister and family swung by for hot pot and to drop off gifts.

We were so busy that I forgot to take any pics, but it was fun and looked something like this.

All-in-all, it was a good way to ring out the old year and ring in the new one.

Here’s hoping that 2026 is a good one.

Or, at the very least, not a bad one.

Location: earlier today, a church with a million kids playing soccer
Mood: fatigued
Music: Keep your vodka on ice while I disappear (Spotify)
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Harry Potter and the Taiwan Bear

Broadway and Chinatown

Her: I got tickets to see Harry Potter on Broadway!
Me: Oh, nice! Who are you going with?
Her: (puzzled) You?
Me: Oh…

I never read any of the Harry Potter books and only saw the first movie with Sara relatively recently last year with the kids.

It was fine but not really my thing.

When the books first came out, I was dating the Reporter at the time and she was super into it, and I tried reading it a few times but just couldn’t get into it.

So, when Sara told me that she got tickets, I was less than enthused.

Still, Sara was really looking forward to it because the actor (Tom Felton) that played the blond kid Draco Malfoy returned to play the same character as an adult.

So, when the day that the play rolled around, I just shut and up went.

It was snowing like mad when we left.

But it was a quick ride and we were there before we knew it.

She told me it won several awards for its special effects and, I gotta say, I was pretty impressed with the show overall.

It was kinda like a play and a magic show rolled up in one.

The story itself wasn’t bad – at all. But the special effects were really impressive.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Her: So, what did you think?
Me: Honestly? It was pretty good. I’m glad you got the tickets. Thanks!
Her: Sure, thanks for coming.

Afterward, we stepped out to Times Square where I almost lost her as she took a little video.

That’s her in the pink below.

Later on that week, we got a hankering for more Taiwanese food again.

Because the kids were away, we headed to a new – well, new to us – joint downtown called Taiwan Bear House.

It was good but not as good as our usual dive that we loved.

We had decided to do a mini-food crawl so, afterward, we went to get Vietnamese coffee, a bánh mì, and some pho.

The bill was actually cheaper than the listed menu price.

Me: Oh, we got the Chinese discount!
Her: There’s a Chinese discount?
Me: (laughing) Sometimes. This is one of those times.
Her: Sweeeeeet.

We both miss our kids but it’s still nice having some times to ourselves, even if it’s just for a little bit.

Location: Canto in the UWS
Mood: chilly
Music: people need a melody to open their eyes (Spotify)
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All friends are great…

…but your old ones are gold

Her: Logan, congratulations! Are you and Mrs. L free on Dec 13? [We’d] would like to take you out to celebrate.
Me: Hola, and yes, I think so but we’re in Korea ATM and heading to Taiwan tomorrow AM. Back on the 30th. Firm up then?

My friends around the way plus RE Mike and his wife dropped me a line the other day.

I’ve known them all for at least a quarter of a century when they all lived close by.

Said it before that all friends are great, but your old ones are gold.

We actually went to a new Greek restaurant in the neighborhood that I’d not been to yet.

The food was killer and RE Mike, being RE Mike, chatted up the owner, who spent a good deal of time at our table telling us all about everything.

Me: Thanks so much for taking us out, it’s really so nice of you.
Her: We wanted to celebrate you two!
Me: Well, thank you, we’re definitely grateful…and fat.

Later that week, we met up with the ABFF and went to one of her friend’s places for a holiday party.

Someone made some lasagna, which I have a hard time saying no to, and it turned out to be the fella that does The Dad Bod Pod, a podcast that interviews fathers.

Him: Do you want to do an episode?
Me: (shrugging) Sure – I’m not sure what I’d talk about but, I’m game.
Him: OK! You can’t take it back now…

OK, I realize there’s no lasagna in this picture. I forgot to take a picture of it. Just trust me here…

There were a whole buncha kids there and they wanted to head up to the roof so up we went.

The views were pretty killer.

Although I liked one view in particular.

It was a school night, so we ended relatively early.

Like I said, all friends are good, but the old ones are gold.

Firecracker: You have nice friends.
Me: Yeah, I try not to keep the douchebags around.

Location: yet another holiday party, this time with a lava cake
Mood: fat…so fat
Music: I bought a rock, I tied the knot, and I’m making her my wife (Spotify)
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