Journey to Club 33: Part 1

A few years ago my now wife, then girlfriend, and myself were able to experience something very magical. We were able to dine at Club 33. For those of you not in the know Club 33 is a secret and ultra exclusive restaurant inside of Disneyland Park. The idea for the club came about during the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York City. Walt was hired to put together some attractions for a few of the pavilions and noticed that many of the companies had exclusive VIP lounges set up in their pavilions. Walt decided he wanted to build a VIP lounge in Disneyland to entertain executives and visiting dignitaries. Thus Club 33 was born. Walt and his wife Lillian Disney went to New Orleans to go shopping for antiques for the club. But sadly, Walt died before the club was able to open. Instead of the club becoming a lounge for VIPs, it became an ultra exclusive club with membership open to the general public ( If you have $12,000-$15,000 a year and can wait for 10-20 years to become a member). The club is located in New Orleans Square at 33 Royal Street.

This small plaque adorns the door to get into the club.

My wife and I had been yearning to visit and dine here for years before we were finally able to. Only members of the club can let you in or make reservations to eat there. There are only 457 members of the club so finding a member is like finding a needle in a stack of other needles. For us, getting into the club was nothing more than a pipe dream. Every time we would pass by the door we would dream about what was inside. Then one fateful day, something incredibly magical happened that would allow us to realize our dream beyond our wildest imagination.
At this point in time my wife was working at a restaurant. She didn't normally work on Friday's at that point in time, but for some reason was working that day. She also was not cashiering that day but was hostessing instead. A customer came in wearing a shirt with a small Club 33 insignia embroidered on it. My wife sat him at a table and unlike what she would normally do, small talk with the customers, she engaged the gentleman in a conversation about his shirt. She told him she liked his shirt and his response was one of surprise, he was shocked that she knew what that was. She informed him that she did know what Club 33 was, due to the fact that she and her boyfriend were HUGE DISNEY NERDS!!! She told him that we had always dreamed of being able to go. He then told my wife that she was in luck as he enjoys making dreams come true.  He asked her to sit down at his table and slid a piece of paper across the table to her and asked her to write down her name. He then took out his cellphone and made the call. He gave the receptionist his member number and asked my wife to write down her phone number. He then asked what day would work best? My wife couldn't believe what was happening and just said "whenever is fine." He hung up the phone and told her he had just called and made a reservation for us at Club 33 for lunch. But there were two conditions; the first being that we pay our bill and please not charge it to his tab (He had done this before and the people had charged it to his account, what kind of a-hole does that!?) The second was that she not tell me and make it a surprise. My wifes excitement level skyrocketed. This was unbelievable, so many things had to happen to make this possible. She worked on a day that she normally didn't, at a station that she normally didn't, and engaged a customer more than she usally did. In the end she couldn't keep it a secret from me, the whole situation was so crazy that she had to tell me.

Part II Coming Soon! Here is a picture to tantalize you:

Nom Nom Nom: Jasons' gameday salsa

It has been a week since my last blog. I blogged a few times about food last month (places to eat and foods I like to buy), but ocassionally I do make food for myself so without further ado here is my recipe for delicious semi-homemade salsa:

Ingredients:
1-14.5oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatos
1- 4oz. can of fire roasted green diced green chiles
2- cloves of garlic
1/8 of a sweet yellow onion
1- bunch of cilantro
1- lime
1- jalapeno
salt
pepper
sugar

1.) Combine tomatos and green chilis in a bowl
2.) Add the juice of 1/2 of a lime
3.) Mince the onion and garlic and add to mixture
4.) Remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno (if you want the salsa to be hot, leave some of the seeds)
5.) Dice the jalapeno and add to the salsa
6.) Add 1 tablespoon of minced cilantro (You're almost done!)
7) Finally, add 1/4 teaspoon sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

Allow the flavors to marry for at least 4-6 hours before using. You can also add a few extra sprigs of cilantro before serving if you would like. Enjoy! Below is a photo of the end result. It is super delicious!

Sorry Folks, I Couldn't Help It

         Today was the first day in a month that I didn't have to blog and I woke up with my head full of blog ideas. I have been trying to occupy my brain with distractions (hulu, netflix, facebook, and Twitter) but I can't shake the compulsion to blog. It doesn't help that I have the day off and hours of time to kill while my wife is away at work. So here comes a random blog!
        Last night, in my sleep, I kicked my pregnant wife in the belly. Probably the worst thing I could have done but because I startled our little fetus he was thrashing around like he was in a mosh pit at a metal show. I was finally able to feel a strong kick. It is the craziest feeling to experience and here's why; I was able to help in creating this person. That is absolutely insane! In the words of Dave Chappelle, "You used to live in my balls man!"
        *Sorry for saying the b- word mom, I know you don't like me using poop mouth words like that.*
         So, after a month straight of blogging, here I am blogging again, which is completely ridiculous, right? I do intend on continuing to blog on a semi-frequent basis. Maybe I will continue to blog weakly weekly.
          Thanks for wasting your time to read this. I appreciate it. I don't have any pictures to go along with this blog post so enjoy a photo of my cat, Louie! (I'm totally an old cat lady)
        

BAJL Day 31: This Is The End: My Top 5 Disneyland Attractions

             Today is the final day of my Blog All January Long challenge. I have succeeded and am proud of that. I want to thank all of you who read my blog, whether it was everyday, once, or sporadically throughout the month. I would like to give an even bigger thank you to those of you who re-posted my blog and/or left me comments. I tried the best that I could to respond to your comments as quickly as possible. I was hoping that this challenge would make me a better writer but sadly it has not. My writing is still ripe with incorrectly spelled words, poorly composed sentences, and paragraphs that lead nowhere. So thank you all for putting up with my terrible writing to enjoy the content that was at its heart. I am going to end my month of blogging with a list, in no particular order, of my favorite attractions at Disneyland. Here we go!

• The Mark Twain Riverboat- This attraction was running on opening day of Disneyland back in 1955. I love this attraction so much. It was the first steam powered paddle wheeled boat built in America since 1900. My favorite part about the Mark Twain is sitting on the bow of the ship and just relaxing, watching the crowds walk by, and enjoying the scenery around the Rivers Of America. You truly feel like you are being taken back in time. Plus, there is never a line for this one so just walk on and enjoy a leisurely ride aboard the "Grand Steamer, Mark Twain".

• The Haunted Mansion- As my fandom for Disneyland has grown so has my affinity for The Haunted Mansion. This attraction has, by far, the most devoted fans of any theme park attraction. I think the reason that this attraction is so unusual is that it was the first one built after Walt Disney died. As a result, the attraction went through many stages of development with storyline changes, character changes, and the argument of scary V. silly. This attraction is one of the most rumor filled as well, with stories ranging from real ghosts being inside to characters in the attraction being removed after only being there for a few days as they were far too frightening to witness. In the 44 years that this attraction has been open effects have come and gone including, but not limited to, cast members wearing costumes and jumping out of hiding places to scare guests, as well as a completely alternate storyline (focusing on an old sea captain) that is still visible throughout the mansion. For all these reasons and more I have fallen in love with The Haunted Mansion.

• Splash Mountain- I don't get to ride this attraction as much as I would like to but it still has a very special place in my heart. There is a certain nostalgia to this attraction as I was tricked into riding this as a child and for many years after I was terrified to go on it again. I think one of the reasons I enjoy this attraction so much is in part due to the music which is infectious to say the least. Every time I ride it with my wife we just bop our heads side to side and sing all the words. The other thing I like about this attraction besides the drops which are SO MUCH FUN is the fact that almost all of the animatronics used are from America Sings (an old attraction that has been extinct since before I was born). I never got to see America Sings but at least I can enjoy looking at the animatronics used in a classic attraction from the past.

 

• Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room-opened in 1963 this was the first attraction to feature audio animatronics (AA's as they are known in the fan community). The show, lasting approximately 15 minutes features birds, flowers, and tiki gods singing songs. My wife and I know the words to all of these songs as well and sing along with the entire show. Once again, this is an attraction that never has a wait and is a perfect escape from the summer heat. To maximize your enjoyment, grab a Dole Whip (pineapple soft-serve) before you enter and let the tropical sights, sounds, and tastes sweep you away.

• People Watching- this may not be an attraction but is by far my favorite thing to do in the park. Just sitting on a park bench and making catty comments about other people as they walk by will do so much for your self-esteem. You may not be as handsome as Brad Pitt but at least you didn't show up to Disneyland in a Snuggie (I have actually seen this). Besides the fashion faux pas and just good old fashioned uggos (ugly people) for you to judge you will also see cute couples, adorable families, and some of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. This is the way Disneyland was meant to be enjoyed, do not rush, sit back, relax, and take it all in.

Check out this adorable old couple! I want Alex and I to be just like this.


          Well that is it folks! Hope you enjoyed reading my blog. I will continue to blog sporadically from here on out so PLEASE continue to check my blog for updates. Feel free to add me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @ReelBigDork. Thanks again and have a very magical day!

BAJL Day 30: Nom!Nom!Nom! Top 5 Favorite Foods

         As I have mentioned earlier, I am a fan of food. I like to eat delicious foods and try out new things. I even enjoy watching cooking shows on the Food Network. So today I am going to list out my top 5 favorite foods, in no particular order.
         1.) Bagels- I love them toasted, untoasted, with schmear, without schmear, and even used as buns to make bagel sandwiches. My favorite bagel sandwich is from Einstein's Bagels and had eggs, cheese, mushrooms, and asparagus. It was absolutely delicious.

         2.) Pizza- I have not had a pizza that I didn't like. The best pizza I have ever had was at Alcatraz Brewing Company, located at The Block in Orange. Besides the crust, white sauce, and cheese, the pizza was topped with Portobello mushrooms, carmelized onions and garlic, and sprinkled with truffle salt. Sadly, this pie is no longer on their menu. :(

         3.) Sliders- Little bite size burgers that are packed with flavor and strange ingredients. The best slider I have ever had is the Vietnamese Pork Slider from The Burnt Truck. This little food grenade contains Vietnamese spiced pulled pork, a carrot and radish slaw, a slice of a jalapeno, a slice of cucumber, and some kind of creamy garlic-mayo sauce. Besides that, the truck also has a traditional burger slider topped with a quail egg. The creaminess from the egg yolk really brings something to this burger bite and is far better tasting than the traditional slider without it.

                                                  The Vietnames Pork slider is on the left
          4.) Salads- Despite what you may think I do enjoy my veggies. My favorite way to eat my veggies is in salad form as I do enjoy them raw. My favorite salad is the Greek Salad from Paradise Garden Grill at Disney California Adventure Park. The salad contains romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, red onion, pepperoncinis, cucumbers, feta cheese, and comes with a warm piece of pita bread. Just thinking about this salad is making me crave one.

          5.) Chinese Take-Out - This a new one as I never wanted to eat Chinese food as a kid. I guess it really isn't Chinese food as all, since the only kind I love is Panda Express. Specifically, the sweetfire and orange chicken with chow mein from Panda Express. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost everyday.

          Honorable mentions on this list include doughnuts, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and hot pretzels with cheese. What are your favorite foods? Let me know by leaving a comment on this blog or the link which brought you to this blog. Happy Munching!

BAJL Day 29: Sorry George Lucas

Just a funny photo

             Today I am going to blog about a scene from the Star Wars saga that has always bothered me. Below is the scene, it is from the battle on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.

             If you didn't catch it Luke says that the AT-AT's armor is too strong for blaster fire. But when they use the tow cable and trip up the AT-AT that is somehow supposed to make the armor invalid? How does that make any sense at all?
             Don't get me wrong I love the Star Wars movies (original trilogy only!), but this is by far the most ridiculous oversight in the films. That is until Lucas changed the force from an energy force that binds all living creatures, to nothing more than a blood disease.
             My apologies for this being such a short blog. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the time to write a longer blog.

BAJL Day 28: Ska Is Not Dead!

             Those of you who know me personally are aware of my obsession with ska music. I first became interested in ska in the mid 90s with the popularity of bands like No Doubt, Save Ferris, Sublime, and Reel Big Fish, and the Aquabats. But as I grew up and that music trend faded, I forgot about it and moved on to liking punk rock bands like AFI, Pennywise, Rancid, and the Dropkick Murphy's ( I still like all of those bands). My affinity for punk rock reached its zenith in high school and I ended up getting a beaten up drum kit which I put in my room and tried to play (I was terrible). In my junior year of high school I joined the marching band (I played the Baritone). Later that year I became friends with a dude named Jesse. Jesse was a huge punk fan like I was but was also really into Reel Big Fish and ska music in general. The fact that I even knew who Reel Big Fish was may have been the reason we started talking and hanging out. He burned me some copies of Reel Big Fish albums and I was re-hooked! Ska was perfect for me because it had the edge of punk that I loved but had horns in it which I could appreciate, as a band geek, and I soon taught myself how to play the trombone and started writing tabs for horn lines that I heard in ska songs. I unsucessfully attempted to form two different bands with my friends, Better Than Usual (Drums) and The Gerbil Squad (Trombone). Soon my love for ska grew out of control and my cd collection became dominated with ska albums.
             For those of you that have read this far and are thinking to yourself "What is ska?" Here is your answer. Ska is a musical genre that was established in Jamaica in the 1950s. Jamaicans were able to listen to American radio being broadcasted from military bases on the island which exposed them to Rythm and Blues music as well as Jazz. Jamaicans combined this with calypso music which they were already listening to on radio stations from Cuba and Miami. Ska was the precursor to reggae and rocksteady music. The genre is characterized by accented by walking bass lines and rythms on the upbeat. Like for instance if you have a 4/4 time signature in a ska song, you would count out the beats as 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and. The "ands" in that example represent the upbeat. So the guitar/organ/piano/horns would play on the "and". Hopefully that made sense. So the music enjoyed much popularity through the late 50s and 60s until the late 60s when reggae became immensely popular. This is known as the first wave of ska. Some of the more popular artists of the first wave include Prince Buster, The Skatalites, and The Wailers.
           The second wave took place in the UK in the 70s with punk rock explosion. This new brand of ska became known as 2-tone as all the bands were mixed race (whites and blacks). The music took its lyrical influence from punk rock with many of the lyrics being of a political nature. Also, the guitar chords had a more aggressive sound (also stemming from punk rock). Ska stood together with punk rock as being completely against racism which was still a fight going on in Britain with apartheid still in full effect in South Africa. The most well known bands of that era were The English Beat, Madness, and The Specials.
          The third wave began in the 80s and has still not disappeared.  The third wave is defined by a stronger combination of ska and punk which is known as ska-punk. Some of the bands which really laid this foundation were The Toasters, Operation Ivy, Fishbone, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Ska punk rejects more of the rythm and blues influences and instead favors fast tempos and guitar distortion. The third wave really rose into prominance during the mid 90s in Orange County. I love listening to first and second wave ska but third wave will always be my favorite. This is a match made in musical heaven as far as I am concerned!
         So now that you have been educated here are my top 5 favorite ska bands ( in no particular order, each with an example for your listening pleasure).

• The Aquabats (old Aquabats)- This band has an AMAZING live show!

• Less Than Jake- One of the best live bands I have ever seen.

• Suburban Legends- A great band to see live. Plus, they cover Disney songs, what more can you want?

• Reel Big Fish- my favorite band of ALL time! If you ever have the chance to see them live you MUST!

                                                              
                                                       A live recording
                                                      

                                                This is to illustrate how insane their shows are.

• Streetlight Manifesto- the richest sounding horn section in ska. This band writes epic songs with some of the most intense horn lines you will ever hear.

         There it is folks! Some honorable mentions on my list would include Save Ferris, Operation Ivy, Oingo Boingo, The English Beat, Goldfinger, Big D and the Kids Table, The Forces of Evil, Jeffries Fan Club, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and No Doubt. Do you remember ska? Any mentions to add on to this list?