ETA VTA

ETA VTA Returns?

2007-10-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

I really should start posting here again. It was cowardly of me to stop. Maybe next week...we'll see.

What The Hell Happened To...Last Night's Post

2007-01-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

Last night I was busy working away on three different posts, one for Down With Pants!, one for ETA VTA and one for The Sports Logo Pundit. This is pretty typical for me, I usually start a post and then drift off and work on a post for the other blog and go back and forth as things come to me. Unfortunately, I rarely save or backup my work and until last night, it has never been a problem.

But at about 11:30, with all three posts more than 2/3 done, there was a massive power surge that knocked out my computer, my DSL line and my TV and made the lights in the house go crazy bright. It scared the crap out of me because it reminded me of what our landlord described could happen with all of the old, ungrounded wiring that runs through our apartment and I thought that everything was going to be completely messed up.

And the reason for this power surge? A damned drunk driver. Some jackass crashed his car into a pole knocking power out to over 2,650 people in the area and caused the surge that temporarily knocked out the power in my apartment. Most everybody had their power back on only hours after the crash, but some were without until noon today and it forced Ventura College to cancel all of their morning classes.

There have been reports of damaged appliances from the surge leading to commenters on the Ventura County Star website to charge that the drunk driver story is a cover up since Southern California Edison isn't responsible for damages caused by a third party. This isn't the first time that we have had power surges or lost power this week and some people think that something fishy is going on. Personally, as much as I like a conspiracy theory, I can't believe that the utility company would go to that great of lengths to not pay damages from a power surge.

Luckily, everything in my apartment came back on within a few minutes and nothing was damaged. The only messed up thing to come out of it was that I lost all of the work that I had done on my blogs that night. Maybe Southern California Edison is trying to cover up their vicious personal attack on me.

RATM To Reunite At Coachella

2007-01-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

Originally posted over at my other blog, Down With Pants!, this kind of qualifies as local news since many Venturans will be heading to Coachella themselves or are trying to make the decision whether or not to go...

What the hell happened to Rage Against The Machine? Actually, it's a question that I lamented back in November, a lament that apparently didn't fall on deaf ears.

Thankfully and excitingly enough, Zach de la Rocha and Tom Morrello have patched up their relationship enough to reunite Rage Against The Machine and headline The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, April 27-29. Which day Rage is going to play was not announced.

I've never been to Coachella: the desert heat, ridiculously priced tickets and general malaise have kept me far away. But a Rage reunion is nearly enough to motivate me to go this year even though the other headliners include Red Hot Chili Peppers (yawn) and Bjork (huh?). Other bands scheduled to play include Sonic Youth, The Roots, Willie Nelson, The Decemberists and Crowded House.

Rage Against The Machine's energy and message is exactly what has been missing from mainstream radio for the nearly seven years that they have been broken up. Even though meat heads and frat boys throughout the land "Raged" whenever they got the chance despite the fact that they were "The Machine", the politics were at least put on the table for everyone to consider. No other band right now, or since, has had such a radical viewpoint reach so many people.

One of the most amazing things about this war is that there has been no strong, truly dissenting voice coming from the arts and music communities. Sure, there have been a lot of calculated songs and announcements, but typically they have reeked of glossy public relations campaigns rather than true dissent or they have come from the fading hippie set that nobody will listen to anymore.

Whether or not this one concert will bring these guys back together to make some serious lefty music again is yet to be seen, but you can't deny the importance of Zach and Tom putting aside their differences to play at least one show together. Hopefully, that energy, combined with everything that is currently going down, will fire these two up again and get them creating that hardcore, politically charged music that they were once known for.

Like I said before, If there was ever a time for Rage Against The Machine, it's now.

UPDATE: The full lineup was released on Monday and Rage is playing on Sunday the 29th. Music snobs everywhere are wetting themselves over this lineup (but are pissed about the RHCP and Rage as headliners) and they should be wetting themselves, it is pretty incredible.

As Seen On TV

2007-01-21T01:20:00.000-08:00

Keep up the good work CAPS-TV channel 6! You mean to tell me that there isn't anybody who works there that flips the channels and notices that the computer has gone kaput?

ETA VTA Suggests: Weekend Edition

2007-01-19T22:30:00.000-08:00

Architexture Salon's Fashion Show - Sunday @ 6:oo PM - Paddy's: Apparently it's fashion week in Ventura. I'll be celebrating by wearing t-shirts and jeans! I'm so fashionable. For the rest of you hipsters, head on down to Paddy's to see this show featuring Ventura stores and designers like Wild Planet, Sassy Sally, Ciao Bella, Camouflage, Soul Tonic and Diva. They are going to have belly dancers and burlesque dancers and door prizes, pretty sweet! Tickets are $10 and proceeds go to AIDS Project Ventura.

College Basketball - Saturday - Everywhere: There are so many games being played in the greater Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles area, it's ridiculous. Too bad all of them are basically at the same time. The in county highlight is Ventura College against arch-rival Moorpark, which should be a knockdown, drag out fight. Here is but a partial list of the games being played sorted by distance from Ventura...

Moorpark College @ Ventura College - men at 5:30, women follow - One heck of a rivalry. Go Pirates!
Cuesta College @ Oxnard College - men at 5:30, women follow - Oxnard just won it's first game of the season, thanks to a forfeit.
Occidental College @ California Lutheran - women at 5:00, men follow - the CLU men scored an amazing 129 points last Saturday.
South Dakota State @ Cal State Northridge - men at 2:00 on Sunday - CSUN is frustrating. Good sometimes, terrible others. Which team will show up against the 4-13 South Dakota State team.
Hope International University @ Westmont College - women at 5:30, men follow
Cal Poly @ UCSB - men at 7:00 - UCSB is tied for second in the Big West.
Arizona @ UCLA - men at 1:00 - Watch it at Rookees because the game is sold out and tickets are going for ungodly prices.
Arizona State @ USC - men at 5:00 - USC is red hot right now and ASU stinks. Should be a gloatable game for all of you USC homers.
Pepperdine @ Loyola Marymount - women at 4:30, men at 7:30 - Neither men's teams are very good especially with LMU's Brandon Worthy out for the season and Pepperdine's best player Michael Gerrity transferring to Charlotte. But it's a rivalry game that I attended last year and it was a blast.

Winterfest All-Breed Dog Show - Sat. and Sun. - 7:00 Am to 7:00 PM - VC Fairgrounds: Dog shows are so hot right now! Come for the poodles, stay for the Bernese Mountain Dogs. Admission is free, parking at the fairgrounds costs $5.

Sexual Jedi @ Billy O's and Gypsy @ Wine Lovers - Saturday Night: I know nothing about either of these bands other than Sexual Jedi is a great name for a band and that Gypsy is described as "hot female pop rock", which sounds good to me if it indeed is true.

ETA VTA Suggests: Film Edition

2007-01-17T23:59:00.000-08:00

Caddyshack - Thursday @ 7:30 PM - Regency Buenaventura: I'm not sure what I need to say about Caddyshack. It's only the funniest sports movie...ever. Slap Shot comes close but even the Hanson Brothers can't compare to Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield.

Army of Darkness - Saturday @ 11:59 PM - Westlake Village Twin: I haven't been to a midnight show in Westlake yet, but I'm sure that it is an interesting crowd. I might have to check it out for Insomniac Cinema's showing of Army of Darkness. It's like a trifecta of Bruce Campbell around my house lately: I'm in the middle of reading his autobiography If Chins Could Kill, he is staring in the best commercials currently airing, and now Army of Darkness is showing at midnight. If you can stand driving to Westlake and lounging around with rich nerds, you are in for a treat.

Pan's Labyrinth - click here for showtimes - Century Downtown: Admittedly, A little more highbrow than Caddyshack or Army of Darkness. Pan's Labyrinth is everything that critics have been saying about it and more. This movie has been in my thoughts ever since we drove to Westlake a couple weeks ago to see it and now that it has finally come to Ventura (it started last Friday) you too can get blown away by this film without venturing up the grade. I'll openly admit that I'm awful at describing why I liked a film other than "it's funny", so I won't even try, but I can tell you that everyday a new thought about this movie jumps into my head and makes me feel even stronger about how incredible a film it is.

The RC Surfrider

2007-01-16T23:59:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I spotted this father and son playing with their really cool remote controlled surfer...

I'm not a big fan of remote controlled anythings, but this thing is pretty sweet. It rides waves in, jumps waves on the way back out, rights itself when it gets dumped and has a really long range helping it get to the big waves farther out.

I was hoping that a Ventura company made this item, but unfortunately, RC Surfrider is based in Huntington Beach (no surprise there). Has anybody ever seen these for sale in Ventura?

ETA VTA MySpace Friends: Floater Six

2007-01-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

I got a message from ETA VTA MySpace Friend Six on Friday with a couple of quick questions...

"Can you suggest blog topics?" - Yes, most definitely. It would be a big help.

"If so, then I would suggest that someone come out and review the band Floater Six this Saturday at San Souci!" - Whoops! Saturday? I missed the show, I was in the Bay Area watching my Washington Huskies (lost, ugh) and Gonzaga Bulldogs (win, woo hoo!) basketball teams and visiting my brother. Currently there isn't anybody else to send to do reviews - we are a one man operation of love - so no, I can't send anybody out, sorry.

Unfortunately, I didn't even get Six's message in time to let you all know about their show. But I would be glad to give Floater Six a quick plug for some of their upcoming shows just for being an ETA VTA friend...

Next Show: January 26th - The Double Down Saloon - Las Vegas
Next California Show: February 3rd - Velvet Jones - Santa Barbara
Next Ventura Show: February 24th - Billy O's

If you would like to be our friend and enjoy all the benefits of said friendship, please visit our page on MySpace today.

Wings Pizza N Things - Camarillo

2007-01-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

I have had serious hankering for a big ole slice of thin, floppy, New York style pepperoni pizza that has been that they toss in the oven for a couple minutes after you order and you have to fold it over on itself to eat. Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately, I haven't found a good place in the area to find a nice slice like this. I know some people swear by Tony's Pizzaria, but after a particularly bad experience there, I won't ever be back. Sadly, Sbarro in the mall is the only other option I have found so far.

I thought maybe I had found a place while trying to think of something for lunch the other day. On their website, Wings Pizza N Things in Camarillo promotes their New York style pizza, so I headed out in search of a solid two slices lunch special.

I knew I was in trouble when at 12:15 on a Wednesday there wasn't a soul in the joint and there wasn't a lunch special anywhere to be found. But I pushed on and ordered a medium, New York style pizza with pepperoni and pineapple.

20 minutes later, my pizza finally arrived and it wasn't good. A thick layer of coagulated, fake looking cheese coated the spongy, chewy, bland crust. A smattering of pepperoni laid on top of the cheese like a shirt on an ice rink and the pineapple was dried out and flavorless. I love pizza, even bad pizza, but this I was barely able to stomach (it didn't even reheat well today).

The only good thing about Wings Pizza N Things is their pinball machine. Even though it is WWF themed, it is one of the funnest pinball machines I've played. In the unimaginable amount of time that it took to cook my crappy pizza pie, I played two games. You get five balls for 50 cents and if you screw up and miss a ball, you almost always get a second chance. That's how a pinball machine should be.

Unless you love yourself a killer pinball machine, Wings Pizza N Things should be avoided at all costs. I do love a good pinball machine and it might be enough to lure me back. Please God, let me find a better restaurant with WWF Royal Rumble pinball.

Three Chains That Ventura Needs

2007-01-10T23:58:00.000-08:00

Here are three chain restaurants/stores that need to open their doors in Ventura...soon. The first two are available in Los Angeles right now while the third one's closest location is in Tempe. Man I wish I had me some money to sink into a franchise...

Famima!! - Best damn convenience store ever. Incredible sushi, of all things.

Pinkberry - I could go for a fruity pebble, coconut, blackberry frozen yogurt right now.

Cereality - If I would have know about Cereality, I would have gone to Arizona State.

VC Basketball - Wednesday Night

2007-01-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is Basketball Night in Ventura. You get two games for the price of one over at Ventura College when the Pirate men and women take on the Allan Hancock College Bulldogs. Danny Tavares and the 16-4 men's squad tip off against the 7-13 Bulldogs at 5:30 and the Veronica Williams led, fifth ranked, 16-5 women follow.

I feel like I need to say this as many times as possible because I would love to see the gym full every single night. In a city where cheap, family entertainment is scarce, Ventura College basketball is the best entertainment value in the entire city. Both the men and the women are incredibly gifted teams with exciting players and I have a hard time believing that you won't get your moneys worth if you go to a game.

And if you aren't interested in the basketball, go for the cheerleading squad. They are always an adventure in themselves.

Ventura Hooters

2007-01-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

I was checking the ETA VTA stats the other day and found out that we are now number two on Google when you search for Hooters Ventura. How proud I am of my little blog. However, since there isn't a Hooters in Ventura, it isn't a very difficult thing to accomplish.

"So what's number one" you ask. Well, I have been debating whether or not I should even tell you for fear of turning this into a men's magazine of sorts. Since I am married and I like to have a wide range of people reading my blogs and I don't want to be labeled as a booby obsessed meat head, I try not to post nearly naked pictures of anybody on them.

But then again, the fact is that some of you may know this person and would want to know about these pictures, just like I wanted to see the Playboy pictures of one of my classmates, so I have decided to inform you about Aimee, the Ventura native turned Colorado Springs Hooters waitress who was featured in the 2006 Hooters Calendar...

See all of the pictures by clicking here, here, here and here.

Now that I think about it, this probably isn't news around here. I'm sure there are locals taking it off all the time. In my hometown, everybody would be freaking out.

Exercising Shouldn't Give You Cancer

2007-01-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy weekend and nothing in Ventura has really caught my attention to drop everything and blog about so instead I bring you an old post from my other blog, DOWN WITH PANTS!. Can anybody explain to me this phenomenon...

Almost every single day I see a guy riding his bicycle, smoking on a cigarette. That is not a good look and it seems very counter-productive.

There is one Mexican gangsta looking guy I see two or three times a week riding his beach cruiser. I've seen a NASCAR kind of guy on a mountain bike a couple of times with his flannel and his mustache flapping in the wind. I've seen a total douchebag dude with no shirt, shorts and flip-flops riding a little tiny BMX. There is another 300 pound guy I see occasionally riding a 20 year-old ten speed that looks like it is going to buckle under the weight. And there are more. Many, many more.

I have found one common denominator. Mustaches. Virtually every guy I have seen smoking and riding his bike has had a mustache. I don't know what to make of that, other than all of these guys seem like trash. Trash smoke, trash have mustaches, and trash are forced to ride their bikes occasionally if the car is up on blocks in the driveway.

I have lived many different places, all trashy in their own way. But I have never seen this many people smoking while riding their bikes. It's an epidemic down here that constantly amazes me. I hope to start documenting this phenomenon, I've got my camera ready.

P.S...Since I wrote this early last year I have seen more and more guys like this with the best being the guy on a razor scooter puffing away. Ventura is a strange place sometimes.

24-Hour Food In Ventura?

2007-01-03T23:26:00.000-08:00

Does anybody know of a good place to get some late-night grub around Ventura? We have had the occasion lately to eat at 1:00 AM or later and have yet to find anywhere appetizing to eat. The only options that I know of that are open that late, other than some of the bars, are Carrows down on Harbor, In-And-Out and the weird 24-hour donut place on Telegraph. Even Taco Bell, the ultimate 2:00 AM snack, closes early for some reason. Any suggestions?

I Can Finally Relax About My Evening Commute

2007-01-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

From today's Ventura County Star article 101 Bridge Work 91% Complete (registration required)...

"Drivers frustrated by the closure of the ramp to northbound 101 from Oxnard Boulevard shouldn't expect it to open until the project is finished because it doesn't meet Caltrans' specifications, said Jason Samonte, traffic engineer for the city of Oxnard.

'The ramp is done,' he said.

But something was overlooked in the design. The problem, he said, 'is that until you have the middle bridge completed there's not enough room for a merge lane so that's why it can't be opened yet.'"

I limp by that stupid, closed on-ramp every single day on my way home from work and think to myself that there is only one way for the traffic leading to the Santa Clara River Bridge to get worse: open that on-ramp. I always expect to turn on KCLU and hear that traffic is backed up to Calabasas because they opened the on-ramp and - surprise, surprise - somebody didn't bother to yield and now four cars are wedged tight between the retaining walls of the bridge.

So reading this is a huge relief. I still think it's a crummy location for an on-ramp but at least CalTrans has done something right by putting the kibosh on that ramp. Way to finally exceed admittedly low expectations CalTrans!

ETA VTA on MySpace

2007-01-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't, how you say, "pimped" it yet, but ETA VTA now has a home on MySpace. Check out the uber-basic template and add yourself to all the other way cool Venturans by visiting www.myspace.com/etavta. Cheers to the Ventura County Fusion Soccer Club for being ETA VTA's FFF (first friend forever!).

Happy New Year Ventura!

2007-01-01T00:17:00.000-08:00

Judging from all the fireworks outside and the police sirens blaring every fifteen minutes, Ventura is busy ringing in the New Year in style. Let me be the first to wish all of Ventura one big Happy New Year! Don't overcrowd the emergency room, please.

Can I also say how much it stinks that Los Angeles doesn't have a big celebration that the local stations cover. Instead we had to watch the Times Square ball drop for the second time tonight. Even Seattle blows up the Space Needle every New Year's Eve for us to watch. It just seemed very strange to not have a local affiliate giving us the countdown.

Road Trip - The Galen Center at USC

2006-12-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

The ETA VTA crew took a quick road trip down to Los Angeles Thursday night all in the name of Washington Husky basketball. My Dawgs faced off against the University of Southern California Trojans in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

After years and years of playing at The Sports Arena, one of the biggest dumps that I have ever set foot into, USC finally has it's own facility to showcase it's forgotten men's basketball team. Welcome to the Galen Center...

First of all, the Galen Center is about as easy to get to as any arena I have ever been. Get off the 110 at Exposition Park, go straight through the light and make a right into the $7 parking garage and you are less than a block away from the doors and the beautiful brickwork resembling all the sports that will be played in the new arena (pictured above).

Unfortunately, the Galen Center isn't even close to being finished. The only things that are finished are the outside facade, the majority of the seating bowl and the court (above). Because it isn't finished, everything looks utilitarian and bland. Lots of exposed concrete, duct work, no directional signs anywhere and virtually no decoration make the arena seem uninviting and cold.

Above is the one concession stand I found that was open. Either none of the others have been completed or they chose not to open them. Either way, the one they opened was crowded, slow, relatively expensive and didn't offer anything particularly unique or interesting. Other than basic cleanliness, I didn't see much of an improvement over the Sports Arena's concession stands.

But since the Galen Center is unfinished, it's hard to get a good idea of what it eventually will look like or how it will run. Judging by the few decorations and embellishments that have already been installed, there is hope for it to be a warmer, more inviting facility. The lamps pictured above were really unique and gave the area that they were featured a nice, warm, loungy feel. If they can replicate that throughout the rest of the arena, then they will have something.

One huge improvement over the Sports Arena is the sound system, lighting and scoreboard which are all finished and featured prominently. In fact, I think the technology has gone to their head. College basketball shouldn't need a flashy light show and NBA like introductions (above).

But in the end, once the game tips off it's all about how well you can see the game and the atmosphere in the arena and this is where the Galen Center excels. I know it's a cliche, but there isn't a bad seat in the entire place and the sight lines are nearly perfect. It's a very loud arena amplifying a small crowd to near deafening levels. Except for the fact that it was an extremely late arriving crowd, the atmosphere at the end of the game was electric. If USC can keep winning and draw some fans the atmosphere is going to be rough on visiting teams.

Overall, the Galen Center is a massive improvement over the abysmal Sports Arena but is still a work in progress and right now isn't particularly impressive. If they ever finish up construction, the Galen Center is going to be a jewel and just one more thing that USC fans will never shut up about.

By the way, it pains me to report this because I hate USC with a passion, but that atmosphere was rough on my Huskies and they lost 86-79 in double overtime.

The Surfing Reindeer of Pacific View Mall

2006-12-27T23:39:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that I live less than a mile away from Pacific View Mall, I didn't once set foot in the mall during the pre-Christmas shopping season. So until a fluke cancellation of my regular Wednesday night pickup basketball game in El Rio resulted in a quick trip to Bath and Body Works and Hot Dog on a Stick with my wife, I never had the opportunity to check out their holiday decorations this year.

Now, I really like the kitschy surfer motif that they do in there with the Santa in a Hawaiian shirt and the beach ball ornament decorations, but I wasn't quite prepared for these gigantic wreaths hanging in the middle of the mall...

Yes, that is a reindeer. And yes, he is surfing. Not only that, but his head swivels back and forth periodically helping make these decorations...

Creepy
Tacky
Creepy
Ugly
Creepy

...in that order. I have a bad feeling that combined with the howling wind that is blowing through my apartment, that reindeer is going to haunt my dreams tonight.

ETA VTA Favorites - La Trattoria

2006-12-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

The art of the chicken parm. In my opinion, it's what separates the average Italian restaurants from the great Italian restaurants.

Our favorite chicken parm resided in Cleveland at Frank & Pauly's. It was perfect: pounded to a nice, flat, tender slab with a super tasty parmesan breadcrumb crust, topped with a nice piece of cheese and their delicious sauce. It was heavenly and a reason in itself to travel to Cleveland.

Since moving away from Ohio, we have ordered chicken parm at nearly every Italian restaurant that we have eaten at, hoping and praying that we can find a West Coast substitute for Frank & Pauly's. There have been a few restaurants that have come close, but most miss the most important aspect of the dish: the pounding of the chicken to that previously mentioned tender slab. It doesn't matter what else you do to the chicken, if you haven't tenderized it, it isn't good.

So the pounding sound coming from the kitchen was music to our ears the first time we ordered chicken parm at Ventura's midtown Italian gem, La Trattoria. It's the closest we have come to Frank & Pauly's and is one of the best down home Italian restaurants that we have come across.

Not only is the chicken parm exactly how we like it, but the lasagna is also delicious. Their sauce is fresh and hearty but not too heavy and doesn't overpower the cheese and pasta like so many lasagnas. The soups and salads that are served with the meals are nice and fresh and the fried mozzarella is outstanding putting the focus on the cheese rather than the breading.

Admittedly, we enjoy these dishes so much, they are the only ones we have ever ordered at La Trattoria, so I can't speak for anything else, but they look equally as delicious when they are delivered to other patrons.

La Trattoria isn't very fancy or comfortable and isn't much to look at, but the simple neighborhood vibe makes up for it by adding a lot of charm to this little hole in the wall. Add that to the great lasagna and the near perfect chicken parm and it's easy to see why La Trattoria is an ETA VTA Favorite and hopefully will become one of yours.

What: La Trattoria Italian Restaurant
Where: 2404 E. Main St, Ventura
How Much: $8-$15 for an entree. Dinner for two with an appetizer and a glass of chianti typically costs around $45.

ETA VTA Suggests

2006-12-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

JUDY'S SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS - Tonight @ 8:00 - 451 Media: The final performance in one of the most fun Christmas pageants ever to grace a Ventura stage. I hope it becomes a Transport Theater holiday tradition. Click here to read my review.

BORAT - Showtimes - Buenaventura 6: My personal pick for funniest movie of the year (barely beating out Jackass 2, it was a weak year for normal comedies) finally comes to the cheap theater. Take in a $2 matinee and laugh yourself silly not only at Borat and his journeys through America, but also at the sheltered teenagers who started freaking out in the first five minutes when they saw him in his underpants. I've never heard so many "Oh. My. Gawd."s before.

VENTURA AREA THEATRESPORTS - Tonight @ 8:00 - Livery Theater: Our pick for the evening since we've done the other two options and we've never been to the Livery for Theatersports. Tonight is a Team Match featuring the locals and members of the Los Angeles chapter.

Rookees

2006-12-21T22:59:00.000-08:00

Despite my earlier recommendation of The Big Lebowski and the fact that I wore my Achiever t-shirt today in preparation, I didn't end up going to the movie tonight. Instead I got an invitation to watch my home state Gonzaga Bulldogs battle Dick Vitale's Duke Blue Devils. Needing a little bit of social interaction and the opporunity to yell at the TV, I chose college basketball over The Jesus.

While weighing the pitiful sports bar options of Ventura we remembered that Rookees recently opened downtown. Ever since their cool new neon sign appeared we have been curious to see what this mysterious space would eventually become. We knew it would be a sports bar, and a big one at that, but we were unprepared to find a chic sports lounge that's more ESPNZone than Benchwarmers, which is both good and bad.

The Good: Rookees is one big, dark room without any obstacles and virtually nothing to distract you from watching the big game other than the waitresses and bartenders. Because of this, Rookees is going to be a great place with great energy to watch events like the SuperBowl, March Madness or, well, just about anything else.

There are a ton of big HDTVs spaced evenly throughout the room featuring a wide assortment of events. No matter where you sit, you are able to watch any game currently being aired. Tonight we had the Gonzaga/Duke game on the TV in front of us, the Packers/Vikings to our right and the BYU/Oregon game to our left and all three were easy to see without straining or squinting. Add in TVs in the bathroom and your viewing needs are satisfied and then some.

The bar is full service with a long list of fancy mixed drinks and martinis and whatnot plus quite a few tasty beers on tap. The food was good, we had the Mac & Cheese and a Meat Lovers Pizza. Neither item was anything special, but it wasn't bad either and I would order both again.

The Bad: When I first arrived, one of the TV's in our area was off, another was on a skateboarding show and the other was showing the football game. Getting them to switch the channel to the Zags game was a chore in itself. First the waitress told me that once the channels were set, they couldn't be changed. When I asked if she knew if the game would be on one of the TVs in the bar, she replied that she didn't know anything about sports. Finally, after asking my waitress, a hostess, a bartender, a manager and yet another manager (possibly the owner), they managed to find the correct channel and got our game up on the big screen.

It seems that they haven't figured out how to run their DirecTV service yet because not only did it take ten minutes for them to figure out how to get our game up, the other games being aired had their problems. The feed of the Packers/Vikings game cut out for a couple minutes during a crucial fourth quarter drive. People started to get pissed, chanting erupted, and a "don't make me go to Cronies" was yelled. Not a good thing to happen at a new sports bar with a bunch of first timers in attendance.

About the food, like I said before, nothing was particularly special. It's standard sports bar fare with a jacked up price to fit the atmosphere. Again, it was decent, but not unique in any way and ultimately disappointing for a brand new restaurant trying to make it's mark.

Also, When asked what beers they had on tap, our waitress sighed and rolled her eyes. This happened not once, or twice, or even three times, but as other people in our group slowly filtered in, she rolled her eyes at us four different times. The beers are not listed on their drink menu so asking what they had on tap is a natural question and not one that should be treated with contempt by the waitstaff.

I don't know if Rookees is consciously trying to fill the Hooters void in Ventura, but it's obvious that the waitresses were not hired because of their customer service skills or sports knowledge. I guess our waitresses' short skirt and Ugg Boots should have tipped me off to that fact.

Overall: Rookees is a good concept and fills a serious need in this city, but right now, the execution is a little bit off. If they can get the kinks ironed out, Rookees is going to be one of my favorite bars and should become a destination for Ventura sports fans, dirty old men and other assorted meat heads.

Attention All Ventura County Achievers

2006-12-21T00:55:00.000-08:00

THE BIG LEBOWSKI - Tonight at 7:30 PM - Buenaventura 6!!! Insomniac Cinema brings the goods tonight with ETA VTA's all-time favorite movie, the Coen Brothers classic The Big Lebowski. If you ever see a Volkswagen Jetta rolling around with a sticker that reads "Careful, man there's a beverage here...", honk and wave and I'll probably give you a funny look until I remember this post. Seriously though, if you have never seen The Big Lebowski, where have you been? Get your butt down to the Buenaventura 6 and see the movie that has spawned Star Trek like conventions and as much audience participation as Rocky Horror.

Happy Chanuka Chabad

2006-12-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

My mood was lightened quite a bit during my morning commute when stuck in traffic I ended up behind this minivan.

Free Tree!

2006-12-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

If anybody wants to save a little money this Christmas season and doesn't mind a used Christmas tree, my weird downstairs neighbor has already taken down her decorations and taken her tree out to the dumpster. Our trash pickup is on Wednesday so you'd better act quick!

UPDATE: Here's a pic of the still available free tree. It's actually a pretty nice one...

Judy's Scary Little Christmas

2006-12-17T22:44:00.000-08:00

I enter all community theater productions with great trepidation. In the past I have been treated to some interesting and fun theater experiences at small theaters in small towns (Urinetown in Simi Valley earlier this year) but I have also struggled through hours of pain at some particularly dreadful shows (a neutered version of The Fantasticks in Bainbridge Island, Washington and an Irving Berlin review at the Pewter Plough Playhouse in Cambria stand out the most in my mind). My wife loves to take chances on shows while I usually think that the reward isn't worth the risk of the show being absolutely dreadful.

So I went into Transport Theater's Saturday night performance of Judy's Scary Little Christmas expecting the worst, as I always do. Luckily and thankfully, I was surprised to see the funniest Christmas show and one of the better small theater productions that I have ever been dragged to.

The story focuses on a 1959 Christmas special hosted by Judy Garland featuring Bing Crosby, Liberace, Ethel Merman and Joan Crawford with walk-ons by Richard Nixon and Lillian Hellman. But nothing goes off as planned and not everything is as it seems. Death himself makes a cameo on the special setting off an existential crisis in the worlds of these deceased celebrities giving the show a wonderful balance of fluff and thoughtfulness.

While the second act makes the show a show, it's the raucous and hilarious musical performances in the first act that are the real reason that you should make it down to 451 Media on the North Ave for one of their final two performances next weekend. While the entire cast does a great job playing real people, a tough task given that these are some very well known celebrites, three performances particularly stood out.

Carolyn Freeman Champ as Ethel Merman tears down the house with the song Mauna Loa Hula Holiday from her album "Ethel Goes Hawaiian". And Jeff Wallach steals the show as Liberace playing him with so much life, managing to stay completely in character, complete with wide grin, the entire time. His performance made me want to see more of Liberace, someone that I have had virtually no interest in before. Finally, the chorus, despite not being the most talented singers and dancers, give everything they have livening up every scene in which they appear. Some of the hardest laughs came while they were on stage because of how much fun they brought to the show.

The only knocks on the show are of no fault of anybody involved with the Ventura production. The second act, as it is written, bogs down a little after such a lively first act. It felt like it was missing a song somewhere in the middle, but like I said before, it makes the show a show and provides some meaning to all of the fluff of the first act, so what can you do?

Also, Transport Theater doesn't have it's own theater, and 451 Media isn't an ideal performance space what with it's temporary seating, bathroom just off of the stage and unrelated art hanging on the walls of the stage, but they made it work as best as they can and I'm confident that with the success of this show, Transport will be able to find a more suitable space in the future.

But those two small problems can't damper the overall fun and excitement that makes Judy's Scary Little Christmas Ventura's can't miss holiday party. To Transport Theater: Can we make this a new holiday tradition please?

What: Judy's Scary Little Christmas
When: Two more performances, December 22nd and the 23rd at 8:00 PM
Where: 451 Media - 1328 North Ventura Ave
Tickets: $18 available by clicking here or call (805) 654-9154

Santa Ana Beats Pirates 82-78 In Overtime

2006-12-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Santa Ana deserved to win because of one player...

Cartier Carter - G - 6'3" - 200 - Fr. - Vista del Lago

I don't think he even played but you have to admit, that is one killer name.

VC Basketball Tonight - Roy Gilmore Invitational

2006-12-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

Three solid days of basketball are on tap over at Ventura College this weekend. The Pirates host the Roy Gilmore Invitational starting on Friday at 1:00 PM when the Compton College Tartars face off against the struggling Hancock College Bulldogs, followed by Mt. San Jacinto and Imperial Valley at 3:00, West LA and the College of the Desert at 5:00 and the day is capped off by a solid, championship quality match up between the Pirates (11-2) and the Santa Ana Dons (10-3).

The tournament continues on Saturday starting at 1:00 PM. The Pirates will play at 7:00 on Saturday ~~if they win Friday night or 3:00 if they lose~~ regardless. The championship game is at 5:00 PM on Sunday afternoon.

If you haven't yet seen Danny Tavares dominate down low and Anthony Pimble jump out of the gym, you owe it to yourself to take in at least one VC game this weekend. It's cheap, it's fun and it's high quality college basketball right here in Ventura. Go Pirates!

ETA VTA Suggests

2006-12-14T00:24:00.000-08:00

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN - Tonight at 7:30 PM - Buenaventura 6: I can't believe it took me until yesterday to realize that Peter Boyle played The Monster in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein, and that was only because I saw a remembrance montage following his passing at the age of 72. Completely by happenstance, tonight the fine folks at Insomniac Cinema are screening Young Frankenstein at the Buenaventura 6. It's a great opportunity to pay your respects to one of the best character actors of our time (no matter what you thought of Everybody Loves Raymond, you have to admit that Boyle was always hilarious) and to see one of the funniest monster movies ever made.

Dear Vons on the Corner of Telephone and Victoria:

2006-12-13T23:54:00.000-08:00

Just because you did some renovations and made your store look nice and pretty like all of the others, don't think for one minute that you are fooling me. Face facts, you're still the dirt Vons. You're still the supermarket where the underage kids with fakies and other assorted dirtbags buy their liquor at all hours of the day. As far as I can tell from the times that I have been in there, 90% of your business is getting Ventura trash drunk. Starbucks isn't going to change that.

My advice: deal with it, embrace it, love it. Just don't try to convince me that you are anything but.

Sincerely,

P.S...Thank you for stocking Reduced Fat Pizza Rolls. They. Are. Awesome. See, I still love you dirt Vons!

Fight! Fight!

2006-12-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

One day and one post on my personal blog (see below) and ETA VTA has already stirred up some controversy. Thankfully it seems that everybody over at The Ojai Post has taken the post itself in stride and turned out to be really cool and I'm looking forward to reading more about Ojai and using them as a resource for this site of mine.

It also helps that some old Ojai townie (now living in Ventura, and oh so proud are we) freaked out and started calling everybody names taking the focus off of yours truly. One day in business and I helped start a brawl on a blog whose previous post was about the contradiction between a peace trinket being strung on a leather. We are off to one rip-roaring start.

The Funniest Thing In All of Ojai

2006-12-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Originally posted over at Down With Pants! since I didn't want anybody to see it. Well, they did, so now I can repost it here...

I am happy to announce that ETA VTA launched today and I'm really excited to start blogging about my adopted hometown this week. One of the goals of ETA VTA is to be a hub for Ventura County bloggers, so while developing the site, I started surfing around trying to find other VC blogs.

Tonight I stumbled on a site very similar to ETA VTA that focuses on Ojai, the little, rich, hippie/yuppie, community just to the north of us. The Ojai Post is written by a large group of Ojai locals who, to say the least, are, ummm...interesting. The following are actual excerpts from their bios that illustrate what kind of community Ojai is...

"He considers himself a practicing Buddhist and a potential Christian"

"A master communicator, Jason works daily to innovate"

"...is a fire-horse Leo. mother- sister- daughter- partner. poet. aspiring gardener, herbalist, artist, and Buddhist."

"in an early life, Millennium Twain was the father of the US/International Space Station Program. after his discovery of the lissajous electromagnetic structure of the electron he went on to show the complete foundations of adolescent/superficial 'science' (space, time, mass, energy, charge) in the actual complete helicoidal electrodynamic aethereal experience of sacred nature (light, spirit, consciousness, sensation, communication, knowing). he continued on to discover and publish the topology of the proton, and the neutron, and the atomic nucleus ... and to show the ubiquity of superluminal phenomena (including discovery of the toroidal superstars) in the cosmic wilderness.

later he designed the series of X49 scramjet (air-breathing) spaceplanes, and is continuing that trajectory in superluminal starship plans. his greatest insight, gift of our collective ancestry, is his discovery/uncovery/witnessing of the 'Eight Mother Turtles' (or Eight Cosmic Divinities) which make up the hierarchy of the eight 'layers' or inward/outward shells of cosmic structure, enlightenment, life. with his wife Tatsuzawa Megumi, Millennium (raw, vegan, organic, green, probiotic, bicyclist, immortal) listens to our global culture, the growing feminine, the aboriginal wisdom -- and shares what he can in every moment of every day. for our Blue Star arrived / ascended -- the adi shakti, messiah, maitreyah, meschiak, maadi -- a.k.a. global consciousness ..."

"He has lived in Ojai since 1999 and is an active member of the permaculture community."

"He considers himself a multi media artist and a student of gorilla ontology...This experience is just one drop in the metal bucket placed on the floor of my geodesic dome. I have been exploring body sensory awareness for over 11 years. This has cleared away some of the debris or at least enough to allow for a nice place to land when my wings get tired."

"perhaps more importantly evan is an avid student of peace, nonviolence, and democracy, and of the social structures that encourage these things to develop...evan considers himself to be a citizen of the world, and his religion is to do good."

"I opened my colon hydrotherapy practice in the fall of 2003 at Synergistic Health"

These are the community leaders of Ojai for better or for worse. I have no problem with them, I'm a very liberal person myself, I just don't take myself seriously enough to ever write anything like that. I'm not sure that any of them have a sense of humor because if they did, their bios wouldn't be so damn funny.

Welcome To ETA VTA!

2006-12-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first post of Ventura's only blog devoted solely to living in Ventura, California. Entertainment, food, politics, sports and whatever random nonsense that comes to my mind will fill the pages of ETA VTA and I hope that you will come to find it an informative and fun Ventura resource.

So what makes me, a 29 year-old native of Olympia, Washington who only moved to Ventura a year and a half ago and spends most of the time between my mid-town apartment and work in Camarillo qualified to write a blog about Ventura? Nothing really. The only thing that does is the fact that my wife and I know we are only going to live here a few more years so we are trying to squeeze as much of the area in as quick as we can. A lot of people tell us that we have done more in the year and a half that we have lived here than most of them have done their entire life. Whether or not that will translate into something that other Venturans (Venturites? Venturinians? See, I'm highly qualified) are interested in reading about is yet to be seen.

I also hope to make ETA VTA a hub for Ventura County bloggers. I have found a handful of interesting VC blogs, but they are few and far between and difficult to find. I'm hoping that VC bloggers will find their way here, add themselves to my blogroll and start finding other like minded local bloggers. To add your blog, all you have to do is drop me an email and I will happily add you to the list. Because this is still my blog and I hate hardcore political blogs both conservative and liberal, hardcore political blogs will not be added to the list, so don't even bother.

Again, welcome to ETA VTA, I hope you enjoy and please come back again. Spread the word, tell your friends!