Father Sky-Mother Earth…A place to begin your Santa Fe Day Trip

As you know I know live in Albuquerque, NM which is just 45 minutes from Santa Fe. If you haven’t noticed I love living in “God’s Country” and the drive to Santa Fe is always a welcomed experience. I keep telling myself I’m going to take the Rail Runner (the train system…that Cincinnati still can’t grasp) but I get in my car and drive.

I will take the train and write about it here…don’t you worry! Now that I have done my little rant… I’m good to go.

Every single time I arrive in Santa Fe, I have to start my shopping spree and cultural integration with a cup of espresso and conversation with my good friend D.L Valdes.

He will make your trip as memorable as every trip that I have made. I love his art, his music and his espresso.

Watch the video and meet D.L Valdes…artist, musician and barista.

Meet My Cousin Vinny…every Italian has one!

How much more of a cliche’ is this?  My cousin Vinny!

When I was a young kid running around tormenting my elders there was always a cousin that would save me from their wrath. Yes, it was my cousin Vinny.  We called him cousin Vincent.

It was funny because there was a huge gap between the older cousins, Cousin Vincent, Nora and Ricky and the rug rat cousins that I believed were a thorn in their side at social functions.  The older cousins were always cool…they had girlfriends or boyfriends, and they sat with the grown ups.  They just had that sense of coolness that only an eighteen year old or older could have as an 8 year old cousin looked on…wishing…he was cool.

No such luck!  My mother dressed me in plaid on f@#kin’ plaid and double knit slacks…f@#kin’ slacks…WTF.

If you tell anyone I will have to slap the shit out of you!

Watch this video and meet My Cousin Vinny.

Wrestling with the “The Wrestler”…

I just got back from seeing “The Wrestler”, a movie that I was absolutely pumped to see.  I really couldn’t wait to see Mickey Rourke again in a film that could blast him back into the stratosphere.  Make no mistake Mickey Rourke is a great actor that can reach inside and rip your heart out with emotion, then punch you in the face with drama.  I have been rooting for Mickey ever since I read the cover article of a magazine that escapes my memory, a couple of years back.

Mickey’s life paralleled mine in many ways.  A product of the eighties, taking on roles that were totally beneath his abilities, chasing the money, spending the money, not understanding the rage, not understanding the 10 year old child wanting his way, using alcohol to self-medicate, never really understanding that there is a responsibility for fame…and ultimately self-destructing in front of the world (my world was a little smaller then his)

I went into this movie wanting to experience the rawness that everyone was talking about, the Oscar worthy performance, the movie that lived up to the hype…and in all honesty, I was left empty.

I felt like I was constantly waiting for the movie and I felt like the film was a bit haphazard.  I come to find out that it was filmed in that way to make a point but that’s the real problem, it never did.

Mickey Rourke’s performances in most of his scenes were awesome.  You could feel his pain but I think the pain was all to real for this once Hollywood Royalty.  Some of the scenes I thought were worthless like the “fucking in the Women’s bathroom scene” and Marisa Tomei showing us her “tits” through out most of the movie.  A funny thing is I’ve been to Cheeques (the strip club, she works in) and you can’t by law show any sexual skin, i.e nipples, vaginal area  in New Jersey.  Maybe the laws have changed but I still didn’t see any reason except to see them.  The part could have still been “complicated” without the gratuitous “breast” exposure as director Darren Aronofsky stated in an interview for the reason why he picked Tomei for the role.

This movie had everything on the surface I would want in a movie…filmed in NJ, shot at some of the “haunts” of my youth, Mickey Rourke (one of my favorite actors), Marisa Tomei (just plain hot), and a Bruce Springsteen song (…that didn’t play until the end).  I’m still wrestling with “The Wrestler”, I think you should go see it if you haven’t but don’t have expectations for it and you will probabaly come out a bit more satisfied then I was.

Release Date: December 19, 2008
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama And Sports
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Judah Friedlander, Ajay Naidu
Directed By: Darren Aronofsky
Produced By: Vincent Maraval, Agnes Mentre, Jennifer Roth
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: Fox Searchlight

Plot:
Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a 1980s-era pro wrestler, has become a burnt-out shell of his former self. After he has a heart attack during a small-time match, a doctor tells him he could die if he fights again. In an effort to build a new life, Robinson takes a job at a deli, moves in with an aging stripper and tries to build a relationship with her son. But the prospect of a rematch with his old nemesis, the Ayatollah, proves too tempting to resist, even if it means risking his life.

Making Pizza in Rocco’s F@#ked Up World!

There’s been a pizzeria at 678 Shaler Boulevard in my hometown of Ridgefield, NJ ever since I was in grade school. Everyday after school we’d run down and grab the “special” 2 slices and a coke for $1.00 (yea…a dollar!). It was a place that all the neighborhood kids would gather and hang out…sometimes tormenting the owner, Alfredo “Goumba” Morano but always having fun.

23 years ago a friend of mine Richie Sargenti bought the place from “Goumba” and started his career as a “Pizza Man”. Sarge’s Pizza has been a landmark in Ridgefield from the second Richie opened the place. “Sarge” as with lovingly call him always makes you feel like your part of his family…and at one time almost everyone in his family worked there. The stories and good times that come out of Sarge’s Pizza are to numerous to count and leave you always out of breath from laughing so hard.

The aspect of Sarge’s and Richie himself is the generosity and the respect for humanity he has for his customers, the town and community that visit the corner Pizzeria. He’s been a football coach, wrestling coach and a community leader for as long as he has lived here. It has always been an honor to call Richie Sargenti my friend and brother.

Watch this hilarious video of Richie Sargenti teaching Rocco how to make a Pizza.

Sarge’s Pizza
678 Shaler Boulevard
Ridgefield, NJ 07657
Tel: 201-941-5040
Menu | Map

Fun Rocco Fact: Before the property that houses Sarge’s Pizza was a Pizzeria it was a candy store called “Jerry’s” Candy Store where when Rocco was 7 years old his mother caught him stealing a “Ring Pop”