Taj Mahal: revisited

THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE "REAL" TAJ MAHAL IN INDIA, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE "TRUMP" TAJ MAHAL IN ATLANTIC CITY. THE OUT-DATED RESORT AND CASINO SEEMED TO BE UNDER MAJOR RENOVATIONS. LAST TIME I WAS IN ALTLANTIC CITY WAS FOR THE HOT 97 CELEBRITY POKER TOURNAMENT. (SEE BLOG: GG DIDDY) THIS TRIP HOWEVER WAS A BUSINESS VENTURE CENTERED AROUND THE "U.S. FOODS" FOOD SHOW, ALSO HOSTED BY TRUMP TAJ MAHAL.


UPON ARRIVING AT THE HOTEL, THERE WAS AN ENORMOUS LINE FOR CHECK-IN, WHICH CAUSED MY COUSIN PAUL AND I TO BE LATE TO THE INITIAL COCKTAIL RECEPTION. WE DIDNT MIND THAT WE MISSED ALL THE FOOD, BECAUSE WE RECIEVED A FREE UPGRADE TO A PRESIDENTIAL SUITE. AND PLUS, THERE WAS STILL 45 MINUTES LEFT AT THE OPEN BAR. AFTER GETTING SETTLED IN THE ROOM, WE MADE OUR WAY TO THE CASINO. I FLUCTUATED MY CHIP STACK AT THE ROULETTE TABLE UNTIL I DECIDED TO WALK AWAY EVEN MONEY. THEN WE MADE OUR WAY TO 3 CARD POKER. I PLAYED ONE HAND FOR AROUND 45 BUCKS AND I SPIKED TWO JACKS AS MY HOLE CARDS. ANYONE WHO KNOWS 3 CARD POKER KNOWS THAT ALL THE DEALER NEEDS TO QUALIFY IS A MEASLEY Q HIGH, SO WHEN I SAW HER LONE ACE APPEAR, I INSTANTLY KNEW I WAS A WINNER. SO WE WALKED. PAUL AND I THEN MADE OUR WAY TO THE $15 MINIIMUM BLACK-JACK TABLE, AND CONSOLIDATED OUR MONEY. A FRIEND OF OURS FROM THE INDUSTRY "MISCHA" FOUND US AT THE TABLE AND BROUGHT OVER A LOVELY IRISH LADY WHO NEVER PLAYED CARDS FOR MONEY. WE EXPLAINED TO HER "THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN, IS TO JUMP RIGHT INTO THE FIRE." THE TABLE WAS HOT! FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR STRAIGHT, IT SEEMED LIKE EVERYONE AT THE TABLE WAS WINNING AND CHEERING. WE TRIPPLED OUR MONEY, AND THEN I DRAGGED PAUL TO THE REAL POKER ROOM. I PLAYED TWO HANDS, AND WON THEM BOTH. THE FIRST HAND I WAS DEALT, REALLY GOT ME GOING!

I RAISED IN MIDDLE POSITION WITH Ad-6d, AND THE TWO BLINDS CALLED. I WAS ACTING OBNOXIOUS AS USUAL TRYING TO GET UNDER MY OPPONENTS SKIN. I MADE SOME SORT OF COMMENT TO THE LITTLE BLIND, "YOUR GOING TO CALL MY RAISE KNOWING YOUR OUT OF POSITION...?" AND THEN I ROLLED MY EYES TO PAUL, WHO WAS SITTING NEXT TO ME OBSERVING. THE FLOP CAME OUT: 2-7-8 RAINBOW. THE LITTLE BLIND BET THE POT, THE BIG BLIND FOLDED, AND I THOUGHT. AND THOUGHT. I KINDA FELT I WAS BEAT, BUT I WANTED TO FIND A REASON TO RAISE, ANY REASON. I COULDNT FIND ONE. AFTER ABOUT A MINUTE, I MADE EYE CONTACT WITH HIM, AND MY PLAN WAS TO ASK HIM MY USUAL QUESTION "DO YOU WANT ME TO CALL" HE SHIFTED HIS MOUTH AND SAID "I DONT THINK SO" FROM THAT VERY INSTANT, I SENSED WEAKNESS, AND BEFORE THOSE WORDS WERE FINISHED RESONATING ON HIS TONGUE, ALL MY CHIPS WERE IN THE POT. HE HESITATED, AND SAID "WHAT YOU GOT, JACKS?" AND THEN HE FOLDED. I TOLD HIM HE COULD PICK ONE OF MY CARDS, AND I WOULD SHOW. OF COARSE I SHOWED THE ACE.

BELOW IS A PICTURE OF PAUL, MISCHA, AND THE "LUCK OF THE IRISH LADY" AT THE BLACK-JACK TABLE. BTW- BIG UPS TO PAUL WHO SWEET TALKED THE WOMAN INTO GIVING US THE LARGER ROOM!

BTW: THE IRISH WOMAN STARTED WITH $15 DOLLARS IN CHIPS, AND WALKED OFF WITH OVER $200

THE KEY OF LIFE

THE KEY OF LIFE IS A TONE,
OR A SOUND. IT HAS NO BEGINING
AND NO END. IT IS ALWAYS THERE.

AN EASY WAY TO HEAR IT, IS TO HUM.

* * *

A SILENT CAB RIDE ON FRIDAY NIGHT
LEAD ME TO THIS CONCLUSION. AFTER
AN IMPROMPTU VOCAL JAM BETWEEN JESSE
AND I, IT CAME TO ME. THE JAM SLOWLY
ENDED IN A DEEP HUMM, THE "OM" SOUND
APPEARED.

HUMMING OR CHANTING HAS BEEN USED IN
MANY ANCIENT CULTURES TO ACCESS HIGHER
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS. A MODERN
INTERPRETATION OF THIS RITUAL CAN HELP
REUNITE BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT.

MOTTY

LOS ANGELES

"IM GOING GOING, BACK TO BACK, TO CALI CALI" BIGGIE SMALLS SAID IT PERFECT "CALI, A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT"
IM A BIG FAN OF THE CHANGING SEASONS, AND THE EAST COAST IN GENERAL, SO I DON'T PLAN TO MOVE ANYTIME SOON. "MOTTY" (RYAN) IS CURRENTLY SPORTING A MULLET, AND A SEEMINGLY POSITIVE ATTITUDE. "HOW CAN YOU BE IN A BAD MOOD ON A DAY LIKE THIS?"he said. MY FRIEND RYAN MOVED OUT TO L.A. LAST SUMMER, AND WE HAVE NOT KEPT IN TOUCH AS MUCH AS I WOULD HAVE HOPED. AFTER GETTING OFF THE PHONE WITH HIM JUST NOW, A SMILE IS STILL RESONATES ON MY FACE AS I ENVISION THE DETAILS OF OUR CONVERSATION. ONE TOPIC WE TOUCHED UPON WAS CURRENT HIP HOP LYRICS. THE SONG "THIS IS WHY IM HOT" WAS DISCUSSED, PARTICULARLY THE LINES; "I GIVE THEM BLACK TRAIN, I TELL THEM ALL ABOARD, WE ROLL TO THE STUDIO, THEY SAY THEY LIKE HOW I RECORD" IM NOT EVEN SURE WHO SINGS THAT SONG... ANYONE? ANOTHER UP AND COMING SOULFUL HIP HOP GROUP IS CALLED "UGK" IM NOT SURE WHAT IT STANDS FOR BUT THEY HAVE A GREAT TRACK CALLED "STOP-AND-GO"

* * *

TOMORROW IS MY FATHERS 58TH BIRTHDAY. (MARCH 23RD) WE CELEBRATED LAST NIGHT BY GOING TO OUR FAMILY FAVORITE RESTAURANT "SCALINATELLA" THE FOOD WAS GREAT, PARTICULARLY THE LINGUINE WITH LOBSTER RAGU. AT ONE POINT DURING THE MEAL DON CHEETLE AND ADAM SANDLER WALKED IN WITHOUT A RESERVATION, AND THE OWNER CLEARED AN AREA FOR THEM TO EAT. TODAY IS THE RELEASE OF THE NEW ADAM SANDLER MOVIE, ONCE AGAIN, IM NOT SURE OF THE TITLE. ANYONE?

* * *

-THE PICTURE ABOVE, IS THE VIEW OUT OF MOTTY'S OFFICE WINDOW


THIS IS MOTT

-FOR SOME REASON THERE THE LINK FOR COMMENTS IS DISABLED. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT, PLEASE USE THE PREVIOUS BLOG, THANKS... MANAGMENT

my morning bracket

Ok, Its official. The band finally manned up and bought a brand new van! Im not sure right now of the exact make and model, but I will make sure to get back to you.

BTW: I have recently seen the band My Morning Jacket perform. They dont do anything for me.

Other news: UNLV just beat Wisconson to advance to the Sweet 16.

The JANGO Fest

Breaking story: The pet-mobile turned out to be a Lemon, and Ryan Neuberger returned the bus to the owner for a full refund.

* * *

Im just a little upset right now. Its hard to believe, considering that my extended weekend trip to Florida was extremely successful. The Langerado festival has become a must, on my list of things to do. Especially now, because my favorite band to see live, will presumably be invited back. After a spectacular "noon" performance of The Heavy Pets, we found ourselves yet again in "Festi-mode" There were a ton of new faces in the crowd, and it was a very feel good set of music. The songs of the set were Precious Minds, and Sopresatta. It took place in the "Swamp Tent" located directly near the entrance to the festival.
* * *
I returned home last night, when I walked in my apartment I got the "Three Little Bears Syndrome" "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" "Who has been eating my poarage?" "Who flooded my apartment!?!" Apparently, over the weekend a pipe located behind my toilet had burst, leaving 5' of water in the apartment. The Worst! By the time I returned home, maintenance had cleaned up the water and disconnected my appliances. I was just planning to write about the magical weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, not about this crap... I usually try to keep negativity out of the blog. Hey, thats a good idea. Maybe Ill write about all the bad things that happened on the trip.

* * *

The flying experiences were overwhelmingly negative. I might have overreacted, but I was very unhappy with the service on the both the trip down and back. For some reason I had a lot of trouble receiving a beverage during the service portion of the flights. When I asked for a "club soda" Twice, I unpleasantly sent back a can of Coke, only to be neglected the right to receive another drink. I began to fidget in my seat, only to stand up; walk to the rear of the plane, and demand a bottle of water. When I asked the steward for the water, It was clear that the crew had been talking about me, and pegged me as "the disgruntled traveler of the day" So when he said to me "You were very rude to the young lady sir" I burned a stone look into his eyes and said "I just need a bottle of water" In addition, on the flight down, I was sitting in the window seat located directly in front of the emergency exit row, so my seat was unable to recline.

* * *

E-dog and I introduced Jesse to "Bonzo Ball" on Saturday night. Jesse bought a small blow up ball in Walgreen's and we played a wall game. (Similar to wall ball, but the ball has to bounce before hitting the wall) Our playing field was conveniently located between one of the hottest restaurants in So. Florida, and the Dive bar where the Pets were playing their second night of music. I lost... But I demand a rematch, there were a lot of beautiful women passing by, so I was very distracted. I also lost in the Soccer style shootout the next morning. This took place in front of E-dogs condo in Boca. We used the same ball, with the garage being the goal. Final score: Jesse: 4 Adam: 3


* * *
BTW: Before the concerts, a friend of mine know as "EARTHCORN" wished me a safe trip text message. In it, he misspelled Lango, "for Langerado" and wrote JANGO> From there on, I refferd to the festival only as The JANGO Fest. Not to be confused with bounty hunter "JENGO FETT". Father/clone of "Bobba Fett" featured below. "STAR WARS"

THE PET-MOBILE

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T ALREADY KNOW. THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE NEW AND IMPROVED TOUR BUS FOR THE HEAVY PETS. "VALERIE" MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE, WAS THE BLACK VAN THAT THE BAND USED ON THEIR FIRST EVER NORTHEAST TOUR. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE THICK ORANGE SHAG CARPETING THAT LINED THE ENTIRE VAN. (A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR VALERIE) BELOW IS A PICTURE OF JEFF WITH VALERIE "PITCHING THE BARB ON TO THE TRACTOR"

OTHER NEWS:

THE HEAVY PETS RECENTLY WON THE SONIC BIDS CONTEST, WHICH ENTITLES THEM TO OFFICIALLY OPEN THE LANGERADO MUSIC FESTIVAL. -PRETTY BIG DEAL-

"THE WET BAG THEORY"

THIS PAST FRIDAY I DECIDED TO GO UP TO VERMONT. JORDAN AND I WERE PLANNING TO MEET UP THERE, THE LAST STEP WAS TO MUSCLE OUT THE TIRESOME AP RE-WORK COMMUTE. THE LONG WEEK IN GENERAL HAD LEFT ME EXHAUSTED TO BEGIN WITH, SO MY SUBCONSCIOUS KEPT REPEATING "ONCE YOU GET UP THERE ADAM, IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE RIDE. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE JORDAN BROUGHT WHAT I LIKE TO CALL A "HANDLE" OF HARIBO GUMMY BEARS, STRAIGHT FROM GERMANY.

ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER WE GOT THERE, FIRE BLAZING, WE NOTICED THE CONDO WAS STILL RATHER COLD. WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT "THERE WAS NO HEAT!" THE PLAN WAS TO CALL MAINTENANCE IN THE MORNING, AFTER TOUGHING OUT THE NIGHT AROUND THE FIRE.

THE AMOUNT OF SNOW COMING DOWN THE NEXT DAY WAS TREACHEROUS, AND THE OVERALL CONDITIONS SO EXTREME, WE DECIDED TO SPEND THE DAY INDOORS, HOPING TO RIDE SUNDAY.

THE SPORTS CENTER IS PERFECT FOR A DAY LIKE THIS, AND HAS PLENTY OF ACTIVITIES TO KEEP TRAVELERS BUSY. EQUIPPED WITH A SMALL GYM AND INDOOR POOL, JORDAN AND I MADE USE OF ALL THE AMENITIES. THE PLAN WAS FOR ME TO WORK OUT ON THE TREADMILL, JORDAN ON THE STATIONARY BIKE, AND THEN SWITCH. HEATHER, THE HEAVY SET WOMAN WHO WORKS THERE WAS VERY HELP FULL BUT AT MOMENTS BORDERLINE AWKWARD. SHE EXPLAINED HOW TO USE THE TELEVISION, AND DURING THE DEMONSTRATION, SHE HIT A BUTTON ON THE SET WHICH SENT THE PICTURE AND SOUND INTO AND ENIGMA BEYOND REPAIR. AT WHICH POINT, SHE OFFERED US AN ARRAY OF VHS MOVIES TO WATCH, MAKING CLEAR TO US THAT "WE ARE NOT TO WATCH ANY MOVIE WITH FOUL LANGUAGE" JORDAN JOKINGLY EXCLAIMED "OK, HOW ABOUT GOODFELLAS"

WE PUT IN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II, AND RAN FOR 40 MINUTES. AFTERWARDS, I WAS STRETCHING ON THE FLOOR WHEN A MAN SUDDENLY WALKED INTO THE SMALL GYM ROOM. FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, THE MAN ENTERED THE GYM AND MADE A B-LINE FOR THE SELECTION OF MAGAZINES (WHICH WAS RIGHT NEAR THE TELEVISION) FOR SOME REASON, JORDAN WAS UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WHEN THE MAN ENTERED THE ROOM, HE HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE NINJA TURTLES MOVIE THAT WAS PLAYING. FULL SPRINT ON THE TREADMILL, MIND YOU, HEADPHONES IN EAR, JORDAN YELLS TO THE GENTLEMAN "ITS THE SECOND ONE!" AS IF TO GIVE THE GUY A HEADS UP THAT, WHAT APPEARED ON THE SCREEN WAS IN FACT THE SECOND NINJA TURTLES MOVIE, "SECRET OF THE OOZE" NOT TO BE MISTAKEN FOR THE FIRST NINJA TURTLES BLOCKBUSTER, OR PERHAPS PREVIEWS FROM THE NEW NINJA TURTLES MOVIE COMING OUT. I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I DON'T THINK THE MAN EVER HAD ANY INTEREST IN THE MOVIE WHATSOEVER... = )

WORKOUT COMPLETED, WE MADE OUR WAY TO THE POOL AREA, THEN TO THE JACUZZI, FOLLOWED BY THE NECESSARY SHOWER/SAUNA. THE SPORTS CENTER CONVENIENTLY PROVIDES TOWELS, LOCKERS, AND PLASTIC BAGS TO PUT YOUR WET CLOTHING, WHICH COMES IN VERY HANDY. AS WE WERE MAKING OUR WAY BACK TO THE CONDO, JORDAN EXPLAINS HOW HE IS MISSING HIS NEW I-POD SHUFFLE;THE ONE HE WAS JUST USING IN THE GYM. WE WERE ABOUT TO GO BACK OUT AND RUN A FEW ERRANDS (SKI RENTALS AND FOOD) SO WE AGREED TO RIDE PAST THE SPORTS CENTER ONCE AGAIN, AND SEARCH FOR THE SLEEK MP3 PLAYER TOGETHER. THE DEVICE WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND, AND THIS IS WHEN I CAME UP WITH THE THEORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. ONE: THAT SOMEONE STOLE IT... AND TWO: JORDAN MISTAKINGLY PUT THE I-POD INTO THE PLASTIC BAG CONTAINING HIS WET SWIMMING TRUNKS. ABOUT 2 HOURS LATER WE RETURNED TO THE CONDO, JORDAN WAS GRATEFUL TO ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF THE I-POD SHUFFLE, WITH A BIG THANKS TO MY "WET BAG THEORY"

BTW: EXPERT DECISION TO SNOWBOARD SUNDAY: 6 INCHES OF FRESH POWDER

CONDITIONS: PARTLY SUNNY WITH SCATTERED FLURRIES, POWDER & PACKED POWDER

THE PICTURE BELOW IS A SHOT I TOOK INSIDE THE SKI/SNOWBOARD RENTAL SHOP. IF YOU LOOK CLOSE YOU WILL REALIZE THAT IT IS A PICTURE OF A MIRROR ON THE BACK OF A DO0R.