Bargain Biatch

Movie Review Treat Yourself to Traitor

Well, I’m a day late with the Friday movie review (and everything else) because I got last minute tickets to the US Open…for free!!. Great day, great tennis and Traitor was a great movie. It’s one of the best non-superhero movies I’ve seen this year which might not seem like a such a big endorsement since nearly every movie has been about some action figure come to life. But Traitor would be a fantastic movie for any year, and particularly profound during today’s climate of fear fueled by the threat of terrorism and our ineffective and racist homeland security… hey let’s build a big fence around the US and randomly check peoples’ backpacks. Traitor is based on a story by Steve Martin, yes that Steve Martin and is a realistic, taunt, though provoking twisty thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don Cheadle gives an incredible performance as Samir Horn, a Sudanese-born, Chicago-raised devout Muslim who winds up in the middle of a terror plot aimed at Americas’ heartland. And it’s hard to say more since to much detail would spoil the intricate plot.

Rubbers For $29? I Don't Think So

 

Just a quick update on the last ipost and I swear, this will be the last mention about my new iphone (this week).  Here's $30 worth of accessories from Amazon vendor HD Accessory. At the Apple store they wanted $30 just for the red rubber cover.  No Thanks.   And got my first bill from AT&T and it was $13 less than I had been paying.  Win Win!!

No That’s Not Dog On the Menu

It’s official. The Party’s over, the fat lady is singing and the gymnast are eating again as 2 weeks of the good, bad and sometimes ugly in sports comes to a close. Bah bye China.  But if you want to stretch out your Olympic experience and your dining dollar, embrace your own little corner of the far east and pay a visit to Chinatown. In general Chinese food is cheap, (really how expensive are noodles?) and can be pretty good. But beyond the ubiquitous take-out spots that are about as authentic as the tiny baby Chinese gymnasts claiming to be 16 yrs old, buying fresh food in Chinatown is a gourmet bargain. Every city has a least one Chinatown but I think most non-Asian people don’t dare cross the border for fear they’ll get violently ill by mistakenly eating some poisonous blowfish. Or the outdated stereotype that "housepet" is a diet staple. Also the very loud, crowded, smelly experience is a bit off-putting to people used to shopping at Dean and Deluca. But it’s worth it to press past, ignore the chaos and people who don’t understand the concept of personal space and score great bargains on fish and produce.

Movie Review: Starting Out In The Evening

Too much beach volleyball, I think I actually have sand in my underwear. I’m exhausted and suffering from Olympic Fatigue and needed a bargain movie break so resurrected my Netflix Queue and went for a Critics Pick called "Starting Out In the Evening". Also recommended by my sister who swore that I wouldn’t throw up in my mouth by the old man young woman thing that I despise. It’s my movie pet peeve and makes my skin crawl when I see some 100 year old man’s bony liver spotted hand lecherously caressing the smooth flesh of a 20 something actress. ICK!

Robbed at the ATM.

That’s right ROBBED because as far as I’m concerned every time you pay a fee (up to $3.00) to access your own money it’s a stick up. I know this isn’t headline news but it still amazes me how many people waste money because they can’t stick to a budget. Last week a friend was visiting and stopped at my neighborhood Bodega to grab some cash at the ATM. I almost slapped her, in fact, I think I did. Has she learned nothing from me? Besides the fact that the store always smells like cat pee, which frankly I don’t mind and anyway the guys are nice, I thought she was crazy to fork over 2 bucks to get money. 

For Sale By Owner: Save Money by Selling Your Own Home

Uh Oh! I’m feeling twitchy and might have a slip and take another hit from the Real Estate crack pipe! Pray for me. I’m not really thinking about selling my home but if a was, I’d try to do it myself and keep that 6% commission in my own damn pocket. Or more likely blow it on fancy kitchen appliances, a new bike, that 44inch flat screen, lots of spa services… Oh, Sorry, back to reality and the money that I don’t have. Anyway, I would at least consider the idea of selling my coop sans broker since it worked for the last 2 people in my building who put their place on the market. They ran an ad, had a few open houses and both sold in under 2 months, one for just below asking price and the other a bit above. When I sold my last apartment 7 years ago it was kind of an impulsive move and I didn’t use a broker, just placed an ad in the NY times and it sold in 30 days. But times were different (better) back then and I was too naïve to know that what I did was an inadvisable crapshoot. So I ran the whole FSBO idea by my broker friend who should have cursed me out since it would mean a big fat goose egg in commission for him but he said I could do it and gave me some tips.

Brideshead Revisited Revisited

One of my favorite movies The Age Of Innocence was on again so I watched it again to wallow in the mannered, repressed unrequited love that the aloof British do so well. This whet my appetite for the new big screen version of the BBC classic Brideshead Revisited. Based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945  novel, it’s a tumultuous, vaguely gay story of the wealthy Flyte family, brother, sister iron maiden mom (the most excellent Emma Thompson), rogue dad (oily Michael Gambon). Add to the mix a working class young man and his intimate, sometimes sexual relationship with brother and sister. But it’s a lot more than that, it’s about religion, the strangle hold of the catholic church, England on the precipice of change just before World War II and oh right, a whole lot of drinking.

DIY Pampering, At Home Manicure

Just Say NO!!!!

Yes money is tight but Dahling you still have to look good.

Glancing down at the keyboard, I can't imagine who's "man hands" are typing away on this blog… ack! Mine. Time for a little P.M. (Personal Maintenance) but don’t have the cash or the time to kick back at the salon while the smiling manicurist massages my palms and insults me in Korean. Save your money for an extra cocktail and do your own nails. It won’t be exactly like the salon but you can make it work in a pinch, particularly if you go for a natural style. And News Flash, my sistas I’m talkin to you: "PIMP MY NAILS" is NOT at a new reality TV Show. Your nails are not mud flaps so scrape off the decals and cut those damn claws.

Staycation My Ass: Travel Internationally and Get Two-fer

 

I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland so a few years ago I decided to plan a trip. Naturally when I looked for airfares I went directly to Iceland Air and found out that they go to a lot of place besides Iceland, Who Knew? I found out that I could fly from New York on Iceland Air to another European destination and have a stopover in Iceland for up to 7 days. Yes Please! Sign me up for some Double Travel Happiness. So I looked into other countries that were not too far away from Iceland and came up with Denmark. Never been there so I booked a trip on Iceland Air, which was very reasonable, (around $500) to Copenhagen with a stop off in Reykjavik. Both places were amazing and couldn’t be more different. This year my mom any I are going to visit friends in Dubai (on mom’s frequent flier miles). We couldn’t get a flight on Swiss Air which she took the last time she visited so the travel agent suggested Air Egypt who shared reciprocity with United and where she had racked up a bazillion miles. YIPEEEEE, we’re flying on Air Egypt and have arranged a 6 day stop over/second vacation in Cairo and Alexandria before going to Dubai.

Da da da da da da da da BATMAN! Well Really Dark Knight but whatever.

Loved the first/last movie, Batman Begins with Christian Bale so was really looking forward to this one. Then got kinda turned off with all the hype about Heath Ledger and how he deserves an Oscar (maybe) and that his portrayal of the Joker was a window into his tortured soul and the inner and demons that ultimately led to his death. Umm No, it’s called ACTING!. That what actors do. Don’t forget he was also nominated for playing a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain and no one said he had a secret desire to Fuck Jake Gyllenhaal, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Anyway, back to the movie which was good, but too long, over 2 ½ hrs, and didn’t have enough naked Christian Bale.