New Thing Weekend Recap 09/15

It wasn’t a great weekend for New Things.

I shimmied over to Burbank and checked out The Blue Room (#6) - which seems like a decent neighborhood bar - and Inkwell Tavern (#7), which is a fairly generic Valley bar. I moseyed over to Pink Diamonds (#8), a newer strip club that replaced the old Deja Vu but it was as underwhelming as most Deja Vus are. They did sell beer after 2am so if you want some late night suds and watch scantily clad ladies sitting around checking their phones, then maybe you’ll be into it.
On Sunday, I checked out Sunday Social (#9), a house music event at The Treehouse in Chinatown. The Treehouse is an underrated venue and my buddy pointed out that it was great to be at a place where there was music and dancing but you could still hear the person you were talking to and speak in a normal voice. There’s nothing special about Sunday Sessions but if you’re looking to get out of the house and sway to some music for a bit (or get down if you have the energy at the end of the weekend), there are worse options.

New Things #4 & 5: Going Back to Cahuenga

When I first moved to LA, I lived in Hollywood. It was the heyday of the Sunset Strip but I always felt more comfortable at Goldfingers, Star Shoes, or hanging out on Cahuenga. I believe the only bars still around from back then are Hotel Cafe, Burgundy Room, and The Room. Everything else has changed over multiple times but one of the newbies is a sports bar so my neverending search to find a great LA sports bar continued to The Palm and the Pine.

Nothing says LA Sports Bar scene like a place claiming to be “the original sports club since 2024.” The Palm and the Pine is kind of an unwieldy name and I’m not sure if a tennis themed bar is the best way to go in kind of a trashy stretch of Hollywood. Still, the bar has a good set-up with a lot of TVs and they are able to have live music after the games, which is a must. One problem LA sports bars have is that most of the games are over around 10 or 11, which means people are packing up for what should be prime time at a bar. On the food front, the wings were good not great, the fries almost tasted fishy (which was odd since they don’t have fish and chips on the menu) and the Old Man Mendo gripe is that the bar is filled with stools as opposed to seats with backs on them. The beer selection is fine.
If The Palm & The Pine can establish themselves as a sports bar with live music post-game, I think it has a chance to survive but, as of now, it doesn’t seem to have found its niche. (I’m also a bit biased here because Piano Bar was one of my favorite spots in Hollywood and they’ve never really replaced it.)

After The Palm and the Pine, I tried to go to Status Restaurant & Lounge - which is located where the old Velvet Margarita used to be - but sadly, they don’t have a liquor license so I couldn’t get my one drink to count it as a New Thing.

I bounced down instead to Tribute Bar which commits one of the major sins of LA bars - which do relatively small places make large bars in the center of the space. The worst offender of this is in DTLA - the NoyPitz - although they aren’t to blame. The people who took over the big space before them decided to plop in a huge bar and it’s never made much sense to me. Those owners wanted to create a space on one side of the bar that was VIP but there was nothing VIP about the bar and it screwed up the entire feng shui in order to create table service nobody wanted.

As for Tribute, it just seemed like a generic bar. And listen, not every bar has to have a theme but I feel like this Cahuenga corridor can’t be cheap and if you’re going to stay busy enough to make rent, you need some sort of draw.

Recxpectations: Lurker

Lurker almost feels like a companion piece to The Weeknd’s “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” It’s another movie in which an obsessed fan goes to great lengths to stay in the orbit of their favorite artist. Lurker focuses more on the obsessed fan than the artist. It’s yet another movie that I’d recommend avoiding the trailer because it gives away most of this slow burn movie.

EXPECT: to feel uncomfortable
I didn’t care for Lurker but it did successfully capture the vibe of discomfort. The film is a slow burn and the lead is clearly a bit off from the very jump so it’s less like watching someone’s slow descent into madness as it is watching a crazy person do their thing. If you enjoy films that are slow and make you squirm in your seat because you see what’s happening a mile away, this movie could be for you.

DON’T EXPECT: any heroes
Another reason that Lurker wasn’t for me is that I tend not to watch films or shows in which everyone’s kind of a jerk or full of it. Sometimes, lauded shows like “White Lotus” don’t work for me because of it; I see enough of horrible people in the real world, I don’t need to invite them into my life via entertainment as well. With Lurker, nobody is really a great person; everyone is deeply self-centered in their own way.

EXPECT: a film as self-centered as the main characters
Somewhat ironically, this movie is, itself, obsessed with the two leads. We don’t really learn about anyone else. There are some storylines involving tertiary characters that arise and then are pushed aside. The BS that everyone floats about how amazing the art is in the film (none of it is all that inspiring) isn’t really investigated. I honestly have no idea what the time frame of the movie was. The film gets lose in the relationship between the star and the stalker and, for me, didn’t really have much to say even about that.

I might be harsh on this one but, at the very least, I think it’s best to go in with low expectations. If it works for you, all the better!

Recxpectations: Caught Stealing

I started reading “Caught Stealing” (New Thing #2) after I heard that Darren Aronofsky was going to adapt it into a film but I only made it maybe a quarter or third of the way through before I found it to be fairly generic and I decided to just wait for the film.

DON’T EXPECT: a Guy Ritchie movie
The trailer make the movie seems like it’s Aronofsky making a Guy Ritchie movie - a crime caper filled with comical characters - but it isn’t an ensemble piece like Ritchie’s films usually are. This film is focused on Austin Butler’s character as he finds himself stuck in over his head in a kind of wrong place, wrong time situation. I can’t remember if there’s a single scene that doesn’t include Butler’s character. The film does have some comedic moments but it also doesn’t have the rakish charm that Guy Ritchie’s crime capers usually have.

EXPECT: a generic crime thriller
In the 80s or 90s, I don’t think Caught Stealing would have made much noise because there’s nothing about it that stands out. The thing going for the film is that they don’t make many movies like this anymore so what is generic for someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s might seem fresh for younger audiences. Still, this is a film that, for me, didn’t really have any standout moments or characters.

EXPECT: a love letter to NYC
Matthew Libatique’s cinematography is, as usual, great and there are some shots that seem to capture the Lower East Side in all of it’s 90’s era “glory”. I wouldn’t say that New York is a character in the film but the film does seem to go out of its way to hit up different parts of the city to show off as much as possible.

DON’T EXPECT: a smart movie
This is definitely a turn your brain off and go along for the ride type flick. There’s a little bit of cat and mouse but not that much and it’s never really about characters outdoing one another. This is more of a film about a guy stuck in a downward spiral.

DON’T EXPECT: much depth in the characters
Austin Butler’s character is a former baseball phenom who lost it all in a car accident and… that’s basically his entire character. Everyone else is pretty much one-dimensional. The script has a few nods towards trying to have some emotional growth but it’s not very successful at it and wisely doesn’t spend much time on it. The movie is under two hours and focusing on keeping the pace going was probably the wise decision.

In the end, I have this movie ranked 23rd, right above another NY-based film Highest 2 Lowest. I liked Caught Stealing more but Austin Butler is no Denzel Washington. Butler has movie star looks but he hasn’t found the role to really push him over the top. Obviously, Elvis was his breakout, and he showed me something in Eddington, but he seems to lack an edginess - in fact, that’s basically mentioned in Caught Stealing as he plays a small town California kid who lives in New York.

DTLA Sports Bar & Grill

2025 might be cursed when it comes to my attempts at trying to do 500 New Things. I got sick at the beginning of the year, which derailed my first attempt. I started working on a new show that was a bit of a mess which ate up my time (and sanity) for the second attempt. And now, with my new version, the 2nd new thing I attempted turned out to not be new at all.

Sports bars in LA are somewhat notorious for being not great and, often, short-lived so my interest was piqued when I saw a new sports bar had opened in DTLA. A quick Google search showed that DTLA Sports Bar & Grill was right next to Dames and Games, a strip club / sports bar. Dames and Games basically is two bars - a strip club and then a connected back bar area that I thought maybe they had closed off from the strip club area. I thought that was a curious decision but I decided to check it out for Monday Night Football anyway.

When I arrived at DTLA Sports Bar & Grill, I quickly learned that… it was just Dames & Games. There was nothing different besides new branding on the window but even the awning still says Dames & Games. Apparently, they only open the smaller bar area during the day and then they close it at night and shift everyone over to the main strip club area.

The bar was pretty much dead which means the handful of girls working there are going to be laser focused on trying to chat you up. You pretty much can’t go to Dames if you really want to watch a game because the dancers are going to fight for your attention the whole time. The ladies ended up being nice so it’s not the worst place to go for the Thursday or Monday Night game if you aren’t that interested in the two teams and want an ego boost of pretty, young ladies hitting on you. And if you’re into the Dames more than the Games, dances are $25 for one, $125 for ten minutes (which doesn’t feel like much of a bargain), and $300 for VIP thirty minutes,

Given the dearth of sports bars in LA, I might go back one of these days but I really was hoping for more of a traditional sports bar to call home. I miss having a regular spot to go. Alas, the search will continue.

Twinless

New Thing #1 is the indie movie “Twinless” starring Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney, who also wrote and directed the film. I’m not going to do a Recxpectations for this one because I went into the film almost completely blind - all I knew was that it was about a guy who is struggling to deal with the death of his twin brother - and I think I liked the movie all the more because of it. I’ve since watched the trailer and it does a solid job of not giving anything away but I still would recommend avoiding it and just watching the film with as little info as possible.

I haven’t been a huge fan of the movies that have come out this year but, right now, I have Twinless as my #2 movie of the year, after Companion.

...Before 50

A friend of mine had a goal of Fit Before 50 and with the big 5-0 creeping up on me in 2026, I thought it would be a good time to my own End of 40s To Do list. And what better way to do that than to re-restart the 500 New Things challenge! 2025 had not been a productive year for me so I’m going just going to start things from scratch and name September 7th as the the new beginning, the Fall of the rise, the Fit/Fun/Whatever I think of Before 50 hits in October next year. (Also another friend of me mocked me for my last attempt at 500 New Things crapping out at #2 so I need to redeem myself.)

As for 500 New Things - a fun challenge I’ve tried before - people always ask me What are the rules? Well, it’s literally something I made up so the rules are whatever I want. Or whatever you want if you want to give it a go.
I try not to make it too easy - I can’t just listen to 500 new songs and call it a success - so there needs to be some sort of commitment.
I count visits to new restaurants, new movies, new art exhibits or concerts.
For TV, I have to watch at least 5 episodes of a new show (not a new season of an existing show) for it to count.
Music, I only count concerts, although trying to find new music nowadays is a massive time commitment.
For new bars, I need to have one drink at a bar for it to count. Bar hopping does become a fun and easy way to knock off new things although in LA, more bars are closing than opening of late so the options aren’t as plentiful as when I tried this challenge a while back.
I have some scripts and songs in my head so I’ll count finished first drafts as a new thing. Rewrites don’t count.
Clothes… I don’t usually count except for shoes. I do need to rework my wardrobe - I just poked a whole in a shirt as I was trying to put it on which is neither a good sign for the shirt or my dexterity - but I don’t feel like trying new clothing brands count. Trying new shoe brands, however, is a bit more impactful.

In general, the 500 New Things challenge so the rules don’t really matter that much; just as long as the challenge gets me out and about and trying new things and not allowing myself to settle into a rut.

I’m also going to go for Fit By 50 Challenge. Not just to lose weight but I’ve become embarrassingly weak over the years and I need to get myself into fighting form. Not that I believe in fighting but I’ve had some real battles with bottles and jars of late.

So here’s to new things, better health and fitness, and making the most of the end of my 4th decade on Earth.