I’ll admit it, I don’t. Sure, I spend 5-10 minutes a day in prayer, but a lot of that time, there’s a radio going on in the background or a cell phone that’s ringing incessantly. There’s almost always something that distracts me from my silence and my quiet time.

But, I’m gonna commit to change that. I’m gonna try to spend 15 minutes a day silent. No tv, no radio, no cellphones, no iTunes. Just sit and be still.

Because – to paraphrase Pastor Marc Driscoll of Mars Hill Church – maybe its in the silence that God is waiting for me to hear Him.

Hold me to it, please. Keep me accountable.

Have a great day!

• One of the greatest things about NYC is that each little borough has its own feel and flavor.  From the upscaleness of Central Park, to the chaos of Times Square, and the alt-vibe of Greenwich Village and Soho, I love ‘em all.
• Anyone’s first time trip to NYC should include a stop at the World Trade Center site.  We must never, ever forget the brave people lost on that day.
• What exactly makes bagels better in New York?  We stopped by Daniel’s Bagels on 3rd Avenue for breakfast Saturday morning.  Dee-li-cious.
• The musical Avenue Q is like Sesame Street on crack.  Puppets swearing and makin’ love…hysterical!  I’m really not sure how Jim Henson’s estate never sued over this. 

Trekkie Monster

• Standing on a street in Chinatown is like standing on a street in China itself.  The sights, the sounds, the smells literally can transport you there.  And the food.  Best Chinese food ever.
• My favorite building in the world is the Flatiron Building (yes, I have a favorite building).  For whatever reason, I just think its incredibly cool looking.

Me & the Flatiron

• And one of my other favorite buildings is Grand Central Station.  Its a wonderful place to sit and just peoplewatch.

Grand Central Station = People Watching Central

• Didn’t get a chance to run Central Park this time around.  Besides, it was too cold.  Still, we enjoyed walking around it.  Couldn’t bring ourselves to take a carriage ride though.  The horses looked miserable.
• One year, I’d like to take a walking tour of all the gorgeous churches in the city.  They’re simply amazing.

Reverence

• There’s a good bit of buzz around the Yankees’ and Mets’ new stadiums.  Regarding the former, I wonder if they’ll call it “The House that Jeter Built”.  On the latter, I think that CitiField is a great name, even if it cost a lot to license it.

And one final thought on our journey last week.  Who da thought there’d be more snow on the ground in Atlanta than in New York on the day we returned.  Landing in a blizzard is always, always fun.

Peace.

“You can’t pray to get an acting job or a nomination or an award, because other actors need those things too and you can’t expect God to play favorites.  What you do pray for are the important things, like the health and safety of your loved ones, or for God to intervene in some of the really awful things going on in this world.”

Any guesses?

I know its a Hallmark holiday, but any day I get cupcakes is fine by me.  Thanks honey!

Married life has been great, which is why its been awhile since I’ve blogged about another “10 Things”:

• The Braves might sign Ken Griffey Jr?  Count me in for a couple more games at Turner Field.
• Hey Chris Brown.  Please let me share something with you that I learned from my dad.  You don’t hit girls.  Ever.
• So when its all said & done, how is the United States going to repay China for all the money they’ve lent us?  Can we give them California?
• Even before you saw her, didn’t you just know that the “Octuplet Mom” would look crazy?  Fourteen kids and no job: now that’s a winning strategy.

Koo koo for Coco Puffs

• You can take the animal out of the wild, but you can’t take the wild out of the animal.  Chimpanzees are not pets, people.
• I can’t believe that Target had St. Patrick’s Day stuff out the day after Valentine’s Day.  Let’s just get things out of the way and put out the Christmas gear already.
• Former Michigan starting quarterback Steven Threet decided to transfer from my alma mater this week.  With not one, but two, spread offense quarterbacks enrolling, I guess he just saw the handwriting on the wall.  Good luck to you, young man.
• To quote Charles Schultz:  “Happiness is a warm puppy.”

Le-rooz-ya-la

• Man, I could use a Chick-Fil-a milkshake about now.  Better go workout instead.
• The Fine Brothers are geniuses.  Absolute geniuses…

That’s all for now.  Have a great week everyone!

Both feature your standard fare of Americanized Mexican food, combination lunch specials, festive atmospheres, large adult-oriented beverages, and endless baskets of tortilla chips.  Both also feature their loyalists, customers who swear by one over the other as the King of Mexican in town.

Now ever since I can remember, I’ve been an El Azteca man.  I was introduced to it (and a rather immense Texas Margarita) by my old roommate Jimbo several years ago.  I’ve spent many a warm summer’s eve on their deck, sucking down cheese dip and a 32-ounce Dos Equis’.  However, of late, I’ve had several Taxco fanatics insist that I give their place a try.  “Its so much better,” they’ll say.  “You don’t know what you’re missing”,  a common theme.  So last Saturday night, the missus and I trekked to Taxco to give it a try.  And, to give ourselves a clean comparison, we rolled into El Azteca on Thursday.

(Brief aside:  I have no idea how neither of us are 300 pounds either.  It’s either clean living in other aspects of our lives or the early morning workouts that are keeping us svelte.)

Here’s my comparison of the two contenders on several key attributes:

Chips & Salsa:  Its chips.  Its salsa.  Its not actually served in Mexico, but who cares?  To me, El Azteca’s chips seemed a little more flavorful and its salsa a little hardier.  Taxco’s salsa was a tad watery.  Winner: El Azteca.

Cheese Dip:  Is there nothing better than melted cheese?  Add a few jalapenos and its like heaven in a bowl.  El Azteca’s version was as basic (and delicious) as they come.  Taxco’s had a sweet little aftertaste.  I have to admit, I kinda liked it.  Winner: Taxco.

Texas Margarita:  What makes a Margarita Texas-style?  A splash of Cointreau and/or Orange Juice, so I’m told.  El Azteca’s Texas Margarita was a treat, a perfect blend of tequila and other liqueurs.  The Taxco edition, a little heavy on the tequila.  Winner: El Azteca.

Beer Selection:  Any place that serves a 32-ounce beer is fine by me.  For Mexican fare, Dos Equis Amber is best IMHO.  Just don’t drink and drive people; actually know your limits (they’re about a third of what you think they are).  Winner: Push.

Tamales:  I love me a good tamale.  For dinner, I think they should be made of pork.  I could not get this at Taxco.  I could get this at El Azteca.  Winner:  El Azteca.

Mmmm...pork tamales

Service:  Both places had friendly and courteous wait staffs.  However, the speed of service at El Azteca is always absolutely amazing.  You could literally be in and out of there in 20 minutes.  Or you could linger for hours.  I’ve done both.  Winner: El Azteca.

Atmosphere:  Taxco’s a little smaller than El Azteca, giving it a more intimate (and genuinely Mexican) feel.  El Azteca nearly always has a fiesta-atmosphere, with a mariache band often playing on the weekend; its loud and boisterous.  Winner: Push (depends entirely on your mood, I suppose).

Prices:  Having dinner for two?  You’ll get out of either place under $30.  Winner: Push.

As far as the great Sandy Springs Mexican restaurant debate goes, El Azteca remains the champion in my book.  I’m not opposed to a visit to Taxco now and then, mind you.  But if I’m selecting the place, I’m going OTP rather than ITP.

Here’s how its done.  You’ll need:

• Any type of crusty bread or rolls
• Trader Joe’s Mixed Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta
• Sliced Genoa Salami
• Sliced Provolone Cheese
• Sliced Ham
• Trader Joe’s Olive Bruschetta

Ingredients

Slice the bread (duh).

Spread some of the Vegetable Bruschetta on the lower half.

Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta, meet crusty bread

Layer salami, provolone & ham over the Bruschetta.

Layering meats & cheeses

Add Olive Bruschetta to top half of bread.

Olive Tapenade (tastes better than it looks)

Smush two halves together and tightly wrap with cling wrap…

Wrap once

…then with aluminum foil.

Then twice

Anyone looking for a home in the Grant Park area?  ‘Cause we’ve got one.  Really nice one too.

Here are the details:

• Good Lord, our new President sounds like “The Rock”.  Can you smell what the Commander-in-Chief is cookin’?
• With the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions should take Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith rather than a QB.  Lord knows they can’t develop skill players and there’s no reason for them to ruin either Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez.
• Who da thought that NBC and the NFL would ban a PETA commercial of all things?  Is it really racier than a GoDaddy or a Victoria’s Secret commercial?

• Budget or diet be damned.  Sometimes I just need me some Fellini’s.
• Ya know, I’m typically a dog person.  But my new step-cats are sure darn cute.

• Workin’ on the missus’ townhome, getting ready to sell it.  I forgot how cathartic home repair can be for me.  I swear I’m turning into my father more and more every day.
• Key learning from watching The Biggest Loser for me:  I can yell at my clients.  You go, Jillian and Bob!
• Now that he’s been impeached, can we eliminate Rod Blagojevich from our national consciousness?

• I’m really having a hard time getting excited for the Super Bowl this year.  But I am picking the Steelers to win it because of their defense.
• And finally, a key learning from Buckhead Church’s Balanced sermon this week:  Just because you have an abundance does not mean its all for your consumption.  Be generous.

Time to start the day.  Off to yell at people.  Have a great one!

Which makes him the perfect choice to play former wrestling superstar Randy “The Ram” Robinson in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler.

This film is brutal.  Not in storyline nor in plot.  But the wrestling scenes (and one particular non-wrestling scene) will have you closing your eyes and squirming in your seats.  The things wrestlers do for the entertainment of their audiences borders on sickening.  And I’ve got a really strong stomach.

As indicated above, The Wrestler centers on “Ram” Robinson, 20-years after his prime.  He’s still competing on myriad regional wrestling circuits in New Jersey, trying to eke out a living and keep from being evicted.  Ram’s got an estranged daughter, a bad ticker, and a possible love interest in aging stripper Cassidey/Pam (Marisa Tomei).  Their interplay struck me as one of the movie’s truer pieces.  Both are older players in places where newer, younger, faster, flashier are the order of the day.  They’ve found a sort of sweet solace in each other, even if she doesn’t realize it until later in the film.

Like Doubt, the acting is the main reason to see this movie.  Rourke’s really is impressive as Ram.  If you think about it, he’s really just playing himself – a former star trying to retain his glory days.  And if its true that he did most of his own stunts – good grief, he deserves an Oscar for that alone.  You really believe Tomei as an exotic dancer trying to establish a life outside that world.  There’s also a touching scene between Ram and his daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood (well, at least its touching for awhile).

Also like Doubt, there’s a lot of ambiguity at The Wrestler‘s end.  At least this time around, its pretty clear what’s going to happen…

Ram Robinson wins, of course.  May Mickey Rourke do likewise.

Acting aside though, I really didn’t like this film.  I have no doubt (pun intended) that it makes for a wonderful stage play; the interplay between the characters is wholly believable and credible.  On Broadway (where it won several Tonys), you can focus on this aspect of the work and marvel in the actual acting being done before you.  However, on screen, I guess I just expect more action, more plot.  I focus more on what’s happening rather than who’s doing it.  And, in all honesty, not much is happening in this movie.

One other drawback to Doubt: The Movie:  there’s really no closure.  I hate when filmmakers leave things up in the air or force the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the events in their films.  I guess that just harkens back to my 12-year old self watching The Empire Strikes Back when Boba Fett leaves with Han Solo and Luke just finds out that Darth Vader is his father and then the movie ends.  What do you mean I have to wait three years to find out what happened?  Close things out for me people.

So, if you’re an Oscar fanatic or an acting fan, go see Doubt.  Just don’t expect to be entertained very much.