Friday, August 31, 2012
Big Pimpin', North Korea Style
In the reclusive Communist nation, the ladies prefer army fatigues to bikinis, but they still flock to their celebrities. There's definitely a slo-mo music video here, and as the headline suggests, it was Jay-Z that was going through my head. What other song might have this KJU shot as part of its music video?
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sad State of Six Man
Yes, I know this post is over 3 weeks late. Perhaps it's because this year's tournament was overshadowed by the Olympics. Perhaps because the tournament was on a Tuesday. Or perhaps it was because one of the greatest summer traditions in the South Bay was embarrassingly dull this year. The courts weren't filled, the sand seemed empty, and most of the spectators did so from the pier or boardwalk above. The normally packed bars were completely empty. If I owned any of the establishments down there, I would certainly be upset that my biggest weekend of the year just got sacked. Instead, now they must settle for a droll Tuesday crowd that won't bring in even 25% of last year's business. Vendors outnumbered spectators, and only true volleyball die-hards had any enthusiasm for the event. Even the costumes suffered. But at least Richard Jefferson was there to make a celebrity appearance (and to play, as he does every year), thus saving the event from complete disaster. Here's to hoping that Manhattan Beach returns to its senses and brings back the event in epic form next year.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Spinning the News
We all know that Faux News (I'm sorry, Fox News) is expert at winding up the political dreidel to attack, derride, and degrade those who do not share their views. Funny, I thought that the news was simply supposed to contain a factual digest of current events; you know, the who, what, when, where, why, and sentence. Unfortunately, journalistic embellishment through adjectives constantly skews the what, and the why and sentence of the news is rarely more than an opinion column.
And not to defend Fox news at all, but there are many outlets that wind the dreidel in the opposite direction and spin it just as aggressively. Check out this photo of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Now, I don't agree with many of her positions, but I'm willing to hear them and give them a fair review. And if it was my job to report the facts, I would most certainly do so with every effort made at standing the dreidel on its point. And if I was a news photographer snapping hundreds of shots at a press conference, I certainly would choose a different shot than this if I was attempting to remain objective...
Apparently media objectivity is an impracticable concept, save in the press box at a sporting event, where cheering is still symbolically not allowed.
And not to defend Fox news at all, but there are many outlets that wind the dreidel in the opposite direction and spin it just as aggressively. Check out this photo of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Now, I don't agree with many of her positions, but I'm willing to hear them and give them a fair review. And if it was my job to report the facts, I would most certainly do so with every effort made at standing the dreidel on its point. And if I was a news photographer snapping hundreds of shots at a press conference, I certainly would choose a different shot than this if I was attempting to remain objective...
Apparently media objectivity is an impracticable concept, save in the press box at a sporting event, where cheering is still symbolically not allowed.
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Hospitality?
Perhaps 30 has already turned me into an old, griping geezer, but I've noticed a sad trend lately. Since the month prior to my nuptials last year, I've had the opportunity to visit and stay at hotels in Las Vegas, San Diego, SLO, Surf City, Long Beach, Buellton (CA), Costa Rica, Fulton (IL), and Chicago; 14 different hotels in all (which I was not really aware of prior to writing this; my eyes just dish-panned). No, I do not travel for work, and only one location (3 hotels) was for the honeymoon; my point being that I've stayed in 2-4 star hotels and not just the high or low-end places.
The disappointing trend I've noticed is in the Hospitality industry's increasing lack of knowledge of what their purpose is. I understand that they are running a for-profit business, and I have zero qualms with that. My issue is as follows:
When was the last time you opened a Webster's dictionary? Thought so. Dictionary.com defines hospitality as "the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way." Many of my experiences have been left short of that definition.
But I don't want to drag down the good places, so I will say that my stay at all three hotels in Costa Rica was beyond expectation when it comes to hospitality, the Embassy Suites is a brand exception to the rule, so the SLO and El Segundo (tomorrow night's hotel; now we're at 15) are also exempt from my consumer dissatisfaction. The Best Western Plus in Downtown Long Beach is solid as well, though pricey for what it is, and the Comfort Inn in Fulton showed some true Midwestern hospitality.
My poor experiences were at two Hard Rocks two Hyatts a Marriott, and a boutique hotel in Chicago. Mistake number one for a couple of these hotels (Huntington Beach Hyatt, $39; Hard Rock San Diego, $39; Sutton Place Hotel Chicago, $55, and probably the same at Hyatt Chicago, but we didn't have a car at that point) is that they charge for parking. Look, the typical guest staying at any of those places in between the parentheses isn't really bargain-hunting, so if the price of everyone's room went up by $20 per night, I'm guessing the folks that didn't drive wouldn't even notice that they were subsidizing those that drove. Wouldn't that be the friendly and generous thing to do, rather than profiteer from parking?
Other issues with a number of these hotels were related to the way the staff interacted with the guests. At the Hyatt in Chicago, the employees at the front desk were not empowered to do anything to help the frustrated guests that were trying to check into their rooms at 4pm (which were supposed to be ready by 3pm), only to be told that the room was not yet ready. To Hyatt's credit, when I sent them a rather terse email about the situation, they were highly apologetic and are sending a $50 gift card, but the point is that someone at the scene should be able to help diffuse the situation, because a number of the other guests decided to dictate their emails directly to the staff in the lobby.
Beyond a lack of employee empowerment, the Hard Rock brand embodies an attitude that does not have the word hospitality in its vocabulary. For the prices that the place charges, you would think that they would treat their guests well. However, in Las Vegas, when you stay in the poolside villa for 3 nights, that will only get you two, that's 2, admission wristbands for their "rehab" pool party. When you have two other rooms in addition to the villa in the hotel, and you ask if they can be next to each other, they look at you as if you're speaking a foreign language. On top of that, the minimalist look inside the rooms is designed to make it look nice, but the quality of the fixtures and furnishings did not warrant anywhere near their nightly rate. As for San Diego, the $39 per night parking, the fact that they pay more attention to the incoming clubbers and pool-partiers than hotel guests says it all. When you stay at the Hard Rock, you aren't staying for hospitality at all, I've learned. Just for the party, and you should feel lucky to be a part of it.
Finally, and backing up the parking issue, why has the hospitality industry become as a-la-carte as the airline industry-- but only in the nicer hotels? It seems counter-intuitive that of all the hotels that I've stayed at stateside in the past year-plus, the only one that provided a free hot breakfast, free parking, a free wi-fi connection, and a flat screen, not to mention a working ice machine on our floor, was the Comfort Inn in Fulton, IL. Yes I paid $100/night to stay there but hey, inflation's a bitch, right? So when I pay more, but a supposedly nicer place has an old-school TV, a broken ice machine, no ice machine on my floor, a $50+ per night parking tab, charges $15/day for wi-fi access, or can't provide compensation of some sort (heck,a free couple of drinks at the bar is an easy way to chill out upset customers), it really makes me wonder if the hospitality industry feels any obligation to be hospitable anymore.
But I don't want to drag down the good places, so I will say that my stay at all three hotels in Costa Rica was beyond expectation when it comes to hospitality, the Embassy Suites is a brand exception to the rule, so the SLO and El Segundo (tomorrow night's hotel; now we're at 15) are also exempt from my consumer dissatisfaction. The Best Western Plus in Downtown Long Beach is solid as well, though pricey for what it is, and the Comfort Inn in Fulton showed some true Midwestern hospitality.
My poor experiences were at two Hard Rocks two Hyatts a Marriott, and a boutique hotel in Chicago. Mistake number one for a couple of these hotels (Huntington Beach Hyatt, $39; Hard Rock San Diego, $39; Sutton Place Hotel Chicago, $55, and probably the same at Hyatt Chicago, but we didn't have a car at that point) is that they charge for parking. Look, the typical guest staying at any of those places in between the parentheses isn't really bargain-hunting, so if the price of everyone's room went up by $20 per night, I'm guessing the folks that didn't drive wouldn't even notice that they were subsidizing those that drove. Wouldn't that be the friendly and generous thing to do, rather than profiteer from parking?
Other issues with a number of these hotels were related to the way the staff interacted with the guests. At the Hyatt in Chicago, the employees at the front desk were not empowered to do anything to help the frustrated guests that were trying to check into their rooms at 4pm (which were supposed to be ready by 3pm), only to be told that the room was not yet ready. To Hyatt's credit, when I sent them a rather terse email about the situation, they were highly apologetic and are sending a $50 gift card, but the point is that someone at the scene should be able to help diffuse the situation, because a number of the other guests decided to dictate their emails directly to the staff in the lobby.
Beyond a lack of employee empowerment, the Hard Rock brand embodies an attitude that does not have the word hospitality in its vocabulary. For the prices that the place charges, you would think that they would treat their guests well. However, in Las Vegas, when you stay in the poolside villa for 3 nights, that will only get you two, that's 2, admission wristbands for their "rehab" pool party. When you have two other rooms in addition to the villa in the hotel, and you ask if they can be next to each other, they look at you as if you're speaking a foreign language. On top of that, the minimalist look inside the rooms is designed to make it look nice, but the quality of the fixtures and furnishings did not warrant anywhere near their nightly rate. As for San Diego, the $39 per night parking, the fact that they pay more attention to the incoming clubbers and pool-partiers than hotel guests says it all. When you stay at the Hard Rock, you aren't staying for hospitality at all, I've learned. Just for the party, and you should feel lucky to be a part of it.
Finally, and backing up the parking issue, why has the hospitality industry become as a-la-carte as the airline industry-- but only in the nicer hotels? It seems counter-intuitive that of all the hotels that I've stayed at stateside in the past year-plus, the only one that provided a free hot breakfast, free parking, a free wi-fi connection, and a flat screen, not to mention a working ice machine on our floor, was the Comfort Inn in Fulton, IL. Yes I paid $100/night to stay there but hey, inflation's a bitch, right? So when I pay more, but a supposedly nicer place has an old-school TV, a broken ice machine, no ice machine on my floor, a $50+ per night parking tab, charges $15/day for wi-fi access, or can't provide compensation of some sort (heck,a free couple of drinks at the bar is an easy way to chill out upset customers), it really makes me wonder if the hospitality industry feels any obligation to be hospitable anymore.
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Chicago from an Angeleno's Perspective
We spent the past week touring the Midwest, primarily in Chicago, but with stops in Fulton along the Mississippi, and Notre Dame.
...and no Midwest experience could possibly be complete without a trip to Notre Dame to visit the beautiful, historic campus, and of course get a glimpse of "Touchdown Jesus!"
But eventually one's time with the rental car must come to an end, so on Tuesday we returned our little Rav-4 to O'Hare and trained-it back to the city and our hotel. The abundance and convenience of the light rail system makes this Angeleno jealous and wondering what it would be like in LA if they never got rid of the red cars...heck, we're just re-doing them as Metro lines, anyway, and a proposal to bring them back to downtown is slated to be on the ballot in November.
Aside from the plethora of public transit, Chicago has a great amount of free activities that the tourist can engage in, so as to keep some extra cash in the pocketbook for a couple of nice nights out. The Lincoln Park Conservatory and Zoo are excellent free attractions, just north of downtown and a walk down Armitage past a unique neighborhood with historic architecture and tons of little boutiques, about 5 blocks from a Red Line stop. It's a bit of a walk, especially when it's hot and humid, but it was good for my fat ass to get out and move around, and it'll be good for yours, too.
A Trip to the Chicago Federal Reserve and the Money Museum is also free, and it's a quick walk from Willis Tower, so it's a great little piggy-back activity. Plus, you can get your picture taken with a million dollars, so why not stop by and learn a little something? We were also able to check out a free Jazz concert on the lawn at the Shedd Aquarium, followed up by fireworks over Lake Michigan.
Definitely check out a barbecue place, a real Irish Pub, a traditional Chicago-style pizza spot, a Chicago-style tavern, an Original Pancake House, and grab a quick lunch with a sandwich at Jimmy John's (better than Subway, and a great value alternative if you don't like it "Mike's Way"). Chicago has great food!
We also went to the Speakeasy dinner show at Tommy Gun's Garage. The wait staff are the acting talent, and they put on one hell of an entertaining show! It is on the South Side, but by South Side, I mean Cermak west of Chinatown, so it's the equivalent of J-Town or around 9th and Grand. The neighborhood has undergone some major revitalization, there's a teacher's academy on Cermak, and the road has been re-paved and re-lit. Nice and safe walk from the Garage to the train, making for a fun night and convenient to not have to designate a driver (or a cab).
Chicago is a great city for an Angeleno or anyone to visit and explore, and there are plenty of things to do!
Fulton is a charming riverside Midwestern Dutch town, complete with an authentic, working Dutch windmill...and thy're pretty proud about it!
...and no Midwest experience could possibly be complete without a trip to Notre Dame to visit the beautiful, historic campus, and of course get a glimpse of "Touchdown Jesus!"
But eventually one's time with the rental car must come to an end, so on Tuesday we returned our little Rav-4 to O'Hare and trained-it back to the city and our hotel. The abundance and convenience of the light rail system makes this Angeleno jealous and wondering what it would be like in LA if they never got rid of the red cars...heck, we're just re-doing them as Metro lines, anyway, and a proposal to bring them back to downtown is slated to be on the ballot in November.
Aside from the plethora of public transit, Chicago has a great amount of free activities that the tourist can engage in, so as to keep some extra cash in the pocketbook for a couple of nice nights out. The Lincoln Park Conservatory and Zoo are excellent free attractions, just north of downtown and a walk down Armitage past a unique neighborhood with historic architecture and tons of little boutiques, about 5 blocks from a Red Line stop. It's a bit of a walk, especially when it's hot and humid, but it was good for my fat ass to get out and move around, and it'll be good for yours, too.
A Trip to the Chicago Federal Reserve and the Money Museum is also free, and it's a quick walk from Willis Tower, so it's a great little piggy-back activity. Plus, you can get your picture taken with a million dollars, so why not stop by and learn a little something? We were also able to check out a free Jazz concert on the lawn at the Shedd Aquarium, followed up by fireworks over Lake Michigan.
Definitely check out a barbecue place, a real Irish Pub, a traditional Chicago-style pizza spot, a Chicago-style tavern, an Original Pancake House, and grab a quick lunch with a sandwich at Jimmy John's (better than Subway, and a great value alternative if you don't like it "Mike's Way"). Chicago has great food!
Chicago is a great city for an Angeleno or anyone to visit and explore, and there are plenty of things to do!
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