This is my site where I can rant and espouse all kinds of wisdom (read crap) that no-one will read.... No, really, occasionally I have something interesting to say, but enough self-deprecating humor (hey, if I can't make fun of myself, how do you expect me to make fun of you...?). My name is Jim Goodman (my business cards said James B. Goodman) and I've been lucky enough to have some really cool experiences. My father was involved in a venue when I was a child, my mother is cool and loved music (don't forget that Ph.D. in strategy and economics), so I got to go to a lot of great concerts at a really early age (and be a fly on the wall at cool business things). After college, I worked at Ticketmaster for a number of years and I co-founded Ticketmaster.com (Ticketmaster was a dream job). Had a short stint at The Disney Company (that was a nightmare, same year as Ovitz, but man did I learn a lot), later spending some time on tour, blah, blah, blah... Then a very early employee at what is now Ticketmaster's largest competitor, Tickets.com (more great stories from that, an internet start-up that came out of Bill Gross's Idealab! during the bubble). Of course there is more detail on the "about" page, but you get the idea, I not only have things to write about, but I obviously have an opinion.... So read about what I type about, covering some of my interests from travel and wine to ticketing.

Last night, my girlfriend Michelle and I had the opportunity to have a fantastic meal. See, I am in this kind of "wine fraternity" and members are responsible throughout the year for chairing dinners. I am co-chairing one in January, the theme is Spanish (dinners often follow a theme, be-it tastes such as "Spanish" or a wine maker is brought in, blah blah blah....) so we have been having meals at Spanish themed/style restaurants as we narrow down our choices and work with the chef on a menu and wine pairings. Last night's meal was at Bazaar, the restaurant by Jose Andreas in Los Angeles.

First let me say that it's a great space. Large, lots of tables and activity with dining areas off from the central bar. It has some noise, but isn't that the case with all trendy restaurants these days, yet here you can still here your date talk :-). We also got to take a look at the SAAM room, which they have for private parties. That was the opposite of the main areas, being quiet and subdued with natural tones and wood paneling, etc.

Before I get to the menu, I should say it's the folks made last nights meal. By that I mean that the food was great, but the staff made it phenomenal. Their attention to detail in every aspect was nothing if not superb. The sommeliers helped us with our wines and gave us some suggestions for our dinner (and I look forward to more help... I need a white to start with), the chef paid a visit and discussed the menu... even Jose Andreas was in the house and cooking too, wearing his whites. Everyone spent a considerable amount of time wanting to know more of what we wanted/needed/were interested in for our wine group dinner, all the while making sure that this experience was fantastic....

Well they did their jobs :-)!! I haven't taken the time to see what of this is actually on the menu and what was done for us and the tasting menu, here it is in all it's glory, but please understand that these short descriptions just don't do the items justice, I was trying to write and not be rude at the table...

1. Artichoke chips
2. White asparagus with yogurt and olive
3. Lox and cream cheese - a small cone with herb cream cheese in the bottom with salmon roe on top
4. Watermelon with tomato caviar (the heart of the tomato)
5. Bun with caviar and lemon foam
6. Philly cheesesteak
7. Brussel sprouts
8. Caprese - the mozzarella was liquid and sphere-ized. think a balloon of mozzarella filled with liquid mozz. :-)... and even the tiny little tomatoes had been blanched and skinned so that they melted in your mouth for this great burst of flavor. Yum!
9. Shrimp cocktail - I am not a big fan of seafood, but I'd order this again in heartbeat. This would make me eat shrimp regularly... It had just a hint of heat with some garlic and a pepper on top.
10. Calamari - in ink...
11. Tuna civiche
12. Roasted red pepper
13. Chicken with dates and mustard
14. Steak with pepper confit
15. Wild mushrooms and rice
16. Lamb with mushrooms and potato
17. Cauliflower couscous
18. Pork Sausage with white beans
19. Nitro coconut
20. Hot chocolate mouse
21. Chocolate chip cookies

And that was the food.... We had to wash it all down, so this is what we drank.

• 2007 Bodegas Los Bermejos Lanzarote Diego Sec
• 2006 Mas Doix Priorat Salanques
• 2004 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero
• 2005 Bodegas Pintia (Vega-Sicilia) Toro Pintia
• 2004 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero AAlto
• One more for desert, but i can't find it anywhere... a sweet white desert wine from Bodegas Los Bermejos as well.

This was a really fabulous meal, I can't express that enough. Folks should make this a regular stop for a quick nosh or the extravaganza that was our meal. We sat down at 6:30 and left at almost midnight, and it was worth every minute!

So we all know that I got a ticket the other day crossing the street in downtown LA. today I called to try to resolve/pay the fine. I went through the automated phone system and the one online and it had no record of me or the citation (I guess that's good), so I opted to wait on hold for half an hour to speak with an operator.

When I got an operator, she said that she had no record of it and that it would take up to 21 days for my citation to be in the system. But what about traveling for the holidays, etc.? I told her that I won't be around then and I'd like to resolve this sooner. Again, she said that she had no proof of the ticket (citation #0578636) but I told her I did, it was in my hand.

When I asked her for her name, she said, and I quote, "Now you are just playing games sir. You signed the ticket saying you would appear, so you have to. Goodbye" and hung up on me....

So here's the question... should I go downtown to the courthouse and pay/resolve the citation, whether or not it's in the system? And if it's not in the system for 21 days, half of the time that I am allowed to get this resolved, and I try to resolve it but they have no record of the ticket, what's next? If i am going out of town yet they can't process the citation 'cause of their system, why should I be penalized for their incompetence?

As a former software guy, you have got to be kidding that citations don't show up in the system for 21 days... What is the officer doing and why does it take 3 weeks for me to be able to give the city of LA money...?