Some Love for My Pop Star Friend Davis Fetter

Wanted to give a quick shout out to my old friend Davis Fetter who has recently released a brand new single and video. Davis is a Southern California native with whom I became acquainted with when I did a story about Peter Murphy and his band was the opening act. We immediately hit it off and our love of music and mutual interest in guitar made for some great conversations as well as me doing some interviews with him. He is a great young kid for whom I wish a ton of success for in today's Justin Bieber-ish musical landscape. For this tune in particular, Davis manages to somehow conjure some visions of Buddy Holly over a tight hard driving, straight forward riff that reminds me of the some of the Damned's earlier work for some crazy reason. You can watch the video here....
All of his work in available on iTunes as well. Go check it out and tell him Hipcheck sent you. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/born-single/id590849627

Some Southern California Pictures

Had some fun taking the family down to San Diego county and given the recent weather made for some fun picture opportunities. Mission San Luis Rey as well as the citites of Ensinitas and Cardif By the Sea are two of the coolest little beach cities you will ever find. We also really enjoyed the gardens at the Self Realization Temple. So peaceful and beautiful...with the lovely view it made for some wonderful photo ops with the recent weather we have been having.

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Feel free to follow me on Instagram! You never know what assorted goodies I will be sporadically posting!

Lord Stanley Pays a Visit

No secret my love of the Los Angeles Kings. Me and Kings color commentator Jim Fox have had many a wine based discussion and I know many people within the Los Angeles Kings organization. And fine people they are....each and every one of them!

Baguala Malbec 2008 Review and other thoughts

I would trade a case of this for 1/2 a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar.

Had a few moments and have been meaning to update ye old blog and finally got the inspiration to get back on that horse after experiencing what could quite possibly be the worst red wine I've ever had.

Back story, I always hear people pitching Malbec but I have yet to have one that knocked my socks off. Heck, I have yet to have one I actually enjoyed. At this point I am not sure there is an actual quality Malbec that exists. I have tried some of the better Malbec brands and still come away thinking it was nothing to write home about or even considering buying a bottle. I would rather buy a bottle of 2 buck chuck and know it will at least be drinkable for the price then roll the dice on any Malbec...especially after purchasing a bottle of 2008 Baguala Malbec.

Now at $5 bucks it wasn't like I was throwing down a lot of dough but sometimes the sub $5 wine can find the occasional drinkable gem. Unfortunately, the 2008 Baguala Malbec was not one of them. It had a nose like wet grass and cat pee.....if the grass was wet from nothing but cat pee and stored in a small igloo cooler and set inside the attic of a house in Vegas and left to ferment.

Call me a masochist for even carrying on past the nose but I hate to see a bottle go to waste. Initial drink was like an antiseptic bomb, if pressed I would say it tastes a bit like blood, rubbing alcohol, and wheat grass. Remember the episode of Man vs Wild where Bear Grylls  gets water by cutting open the stomach of a dead camel, removing the hay from it's stomach, and squeezing out the water to drink? That certainly the impression I got. At this point the Baguala made the Benefactor Cellars wine look Silver Oak.

I even let it sit for a couple of hours hoping that maybe it would open up and somehow turn into something magical to no avail. Using the 2 Buck Chuck scale this one was not even close. I would not take a case of this wine if someone paid me. Whats sad is I had a glass of Tobin James merlot the other day that was fantastic across the board. I am sure a bottle of that could be found in the $10 to $15 range. And it was not even close. My Disgust and search for a drinkable Malbec continues. Much like the Yeti or the Loch Ness Monster, Im not actually sure one exists.

Big Time Thumbs Down. Who knows though....maybe it would pair well to cleanse the palette for those participating in the Taco Bell taste test?

Disney Sea Pics....

Some pictures from Tokyo Sea...

The Raging Spirit Roller Coaster

The Japanese Version of Tower of Terror.

The Mediterranean Village

Outside Aquatopia

Tokyo Disney Day 1

Having growing up in Orange County, I would venture to say I have probably been to Disneyland well over 100 times. I am used to the best routes to get from point A to point B and consider myself somewhat of an expert on the rides of yesteryear no longer in existence and what Disneyland was back in late 70s until now. So it was with great exuberance I was once again able to attend both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea recently and this time take some notes about both parks and some of the differences and subtle nuances that distinguish both parks and more importantly, the entire experience itself.

 Located about 30 minutes away via a train ride from Tokyo Station, one of the world's busiest train depots, the Tokyo Disney resort is officially located in the city of Maihama in the Chiba Prefecture. What marks the Japanese Disney Experience from the one more accustomed to by visitors to our local park is the complete user friendly set up and lay out of the complex. Immediately leaving the train, you check in at the official Vacation Welcome Center where you can not only purchase your tickets for the parks, but also check into your hotel room provided you booked at one of the 6 on site hotels. The welcome center handled it all giving us our entry passes for the parks, the keys to our room, passes for the Disney Train line, and best of all allowing us to check in all of our luggage.

 Located directly at the same train stop lies the sprawling shopping complex Ikspiari. Think of this as the Japanese version of Downtown Disney but truth be told it is much more akin to South Coast Plaza given the mall like atmosphere and upscale architecture. Ikspiari is loaded with shops and restaurants to the point where one could probably spend a day taking it all in and proved later to be a wonderful respite.

The entire Tokyo Disney Complex has its own Train Line not too different then the Monorail but serving 4 stops along its route with Tokyo Disney, Disney Sea, the Hotels, and once again back to the Ikspiari and Train Connections. What differs here is that the Disney Train does require the purchase of a ticket to board, so it is not like the Monorail which is free inside the park or getting into the park via the Monorail entrance at Downtown Disney. For all intensive purposes, this train is no different then any other train in Japan other then being totally overhauled into the Disney Theme with Mickey Mouse Shaped Windows, Handles, and on this trip a Toy Story Mania motif that coincided with the ride opening at Disney Sea.

 Departing the train, we made our way into Tokyo Disneyland, and while they have their own version of Main Street, the entire street is covered offering guest a dry experience given the frequent rain of the area. Main Street is also layed out in a cross street type pattern as well that allows for more shops as well as guests having the option to short cut to Tomorrowland or Westernland. Yes, Tokyo Disney simply combines Frontierland and Adventureland into one all encompassing land known as Westernland. The rides themselves each have a few minor differences that were interesting to this longtime Disneyland fan. The Pirates of the Caribbean features only one drop instead of the two we are used to in OC. The Jack Sparrow character in the “Well Dunking” scene is much bigger as well, and while I am not an expert of Johnny Depp would not be surprised if this was actual size. Some other notables come from the Jail scene with additional prisoners in the jail as well as unique dialogue as well as a blast from the past in the Pirates Plunder scene where the Pirates still chase the women and none of them are holding food, just as I remembered the original back in OC before political correctness set in.

The Strawberry and Custard Mickey Waffle....was 400 Yen.

 The Haunted House has some differences as well in the House itself is far larger as the ride itself takes place in the house as opposed to our OC offering that takes place largely underground. Once through the entrance you board your Doom Mobile immediately which means the walk through section with the changing pictures and the moving statues actually takes place as part of the ride. The staring statues also feature some other characters not seen in our version. The jungle cruise is different as well in that there is a cave section with large snakes, a tiger with glowing eyes, and a monkey idol inside. Very reminiscent of the architecture used in the Indiana Jones ride which begs to mention Indiana Jones is located in Disney Sea.

A Disney Themed Japanese Lantern 

There is no Matterhorn ride as well which to some extent robs the park of a Central Location to get your bearings straight. Big Thunder Mountain in Japan is far faster and far better in my opinion, actually having the feel of a legitimate thrill ride as opposed to the relatively tame offering of our park.

This Jungle Cruise Cast Member was Happy To post for us. 

One item of note, the shooting gallery in Japan offers a special prize for those who score a 10 of 10. Score Sheets are printed out after every round and showing the attendant a perfect score card meant getting a Donald Duck Sheriff Badge of which I fortunately was able to win, much to delight of my kids and a round of high fives.

One of the many popcorn stands with assorted flavors.

These are actually vending machines located in tomorrowland.

 One other item me and my family loved were the multiple flavors of Popcorn at the Park. Curry, Milk Tea, Soy Sauce, Chocolate, and Strawberry were just a few of the offerings for unique flavors and at 300 yen it was easy on the pocket book to try them all given 300 yen is close to $3.50 in US money. Japanese Disney also has no tax. As a matter of fact almost all of the single snack items were either 300 or 400 yen. The wife and I commented on how the quality and the price made it far more reasonable then our local park.

The Castle at Night.

After our busy day we made it to the Ikspiari center for our dinner and while I was really wanting a glass of wine and a pizza we thought we would keep it simple and go to the TGI Fridays with the assumption there would be more Kid friendly food. We ordered a few beers, 3 appetizers, 2 kids meals, and split a cobb salad with the bill coming to 80 bucks. They do not tip in Japan so given the amount of food and drink we ordered 80 bucks isn't really that unreasonable. Was cute as well that all the waitresses had American names...our server was Bunny, but we also saw Mary and April working there as well.

If you were the one last guy wondering whether or not the Stones have sold out....this should answer your question as the TGI Fridays in Tokyo was hawking all sorts of Stones menu items.

 All in all a fun day at Tokyo Disney!