Not a Perfect Procedure

So nice, what they do together in your mouth

2010-09-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Been doing the waking-up-early-for-work thing quite a bit lately; and it's really been cutting into my drinking time. My increased climbing schedule puts a damper on things too. Frig. To clarify: knowing that I need to wake up early the next day or that I've stayed at the climbing gym 'til 10pm puts a damper on my enthusiasm for putting back a few on a random night.

That said, I still indulge in the old favorites and some new niceties -- of the beer persuasion -- on occasion. And, well, I haven't forgotten how to mix up a good drink.. it's just that I do it a lot less often then I used to.

In any case, I got to flex my, um, mixology muscles for a few friends at a zucchini-and-basil-themed dinner last weekend. So, may I present to you, so easy, so nice, the Basil Caipirinha:

Muddle 6 lime quarters with 4t table sugar and ~3t julienne'd basil leaves. Add 2 dashes of orange bitters and 4 to 6oz of cachaça or a superlight rum; shake vigorously over ice. And voila!

Makes two drinks! (And as such, make sure that each glass has 3 lime quarters, equal amounts of both ice and basil pieces.) Garnish with a long piece of sugarcane, if you got it. With the strong lime flavor and gratuitous rum use, the drink is vaguely "tropical" and therefore "summery".. but, really, make it any time you, ah, feel it.

~~

And while I'm in the tippling mood, let me divulge another one of my favorites.. The Last Word. It's as-easy or easier to make as the previous cocktail: equal parts gin, lime juice, Maraschino liqueur, and green Chartreuse; shake over ice and strain into some sort of glass -- like the venerable martini or old-fashioned glasses. If I'm indulging at home (vs. a friend's place), I'll pour this delicious concoction into a pair of perfectly-proportioned cordial glasses.

If you're wondering about how much of each liquor to use, give 1oz of each a go; but if you're really thirsty or wanting to make 2 cute little drinks, just put a shot -- in the US, this means 1.5oz -- of each into the mix.

The result is something both herbally and sweet/sour.. in the best possible liquid incantations of those words. I'm not sure what alchemy goes into shaking three liquors -- that are strongly and uniquely flavored on their own -- with a bit of lime juice to make something so tangy and delicious.

What I'm saying is that even if you don't like any of the four ingredients on their own, you gotta try what they do together in your, um, mouth. Hmm.. ignore that last sentence if it reminds you of the text on the back of a DVD case you would find *behind* the curtains at your local video store. Otherwise, drink on!

Hotwell mix: Dang-a-lang-a-lang

2010-08-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know. This is going to be totally out-of-character. But!

Please allow me to indulge -- for this one mix anyway -- in a minor obsession of 90's/00's male-vocal'd R&B and Neo-Soul. So, if you can (and you really *must*), turn the lights down low, pop in these jamz, and see what happens..

01. Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love video
02. Keith Sweat - Nobody video
03. Blackstreet - Before I Let You Go video
04. R. Kelly - Bump N' Grind (Old School Mix) blog
05. Tyrese - How You Gonna Act Like That video
06. Bobby Brown - Roni video
07. Jodeci - Come and Talk To Me video
08. Mint Condition - Breakin' My Heart video
09. Hi-Five - I Like the Way video
10. Jaheim - Put That Woman First video
11. Mario - Let Me Love You video
12. Robin Thicke - Would That Make U Love Me
13. Trey Songz - Can't Help But Wait video
14. Ne-Yo - Because of You video
15. Usher - You Got It Bad video
16. Prince - Call My Name video

If you play this for/on your next date and things start, um, flowing (as freaky as you wanna be), well.. don't say I didn't warn you. And, as always, if you'd like me to mail you a physical copy -- the CD is not dead!, nor is getting something nice in the mail -- let me know.

~~

By the way, how many Hotwell mixes do you own?

Hotwell Mix: All That New Art (that I've been talking about)

2010-04-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

So this latest mix turned out a little less dancey than I had intentioned at first. But, really.. I'm not sure why I think I'm going to end up with a mix of bangers or of dirtydancers when my general listening taste leans towards shimmery French disco house; ha! Still, it's great music for the background of a party or for the middle of a great roadtrip. See for yourselves..

01. Ghosthustler - Someone Else's Ride blog
02. MONARCHY - Gold in the Fire blog
03. Boy Crisis - Fountain of Youth video
04. Miami Horror - Sometimes video
05. Prince- I Would Die 4 U video
06. Rihanna- Rude Boy (Cosmic Dawn Remix) video
07. Kris Menace & The Dream - Walking on Lightning (U-Tern Blend) blog
08. Tommy Sparks - Miracle (Grum Remix) blog
09. Erik Hassle - Don't Bring Flowers (Plugs Remix) blog
10. Donkeyboy - Stereolife myspace
11. VISITOR - Los Feeling (Rough Mix) blog
12. Van She - (Don't Fear) The Reaper blog
13. Deep Dish (Featuring Stevie Nicks) - Dreams video
14. Queen - Radio Ga Ga video
15. Chromeo - I Can't Tell You Why blog
16. Shout Out Louds - Fall Hard (Passion Pit's Summertime Radio Remix) blog
17. Bill Murray - More Than This wiki!

Enjoy!; and, as always, salud! If you'd like me to mail you a homemade copy, let me know. I'm starting to crank out a few in the ol' homeofficefactory (which means that I'm cutting up old cardboard boxes to make CD mailers and drawring badly on blank CDs with a black Sharpie). ;)

~~~~~

ps. I still love Lost in Translation; it's true!

Treasure blown in by the Country Breeze

2010-01-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

As a general rule, I love beer. And I'm a big fan of cocktails.

Ignoring the range of options within those large categories for a moment, I've vacillated between the two ever since I started drinking "regularly" in my mid-20's (before that, I was something of a teetotaler.. of the non-preachy kind, of course). ;)

And so, for the past couple of months, I've definitely found myself in the beer-loving camp, having a single 12oz or 22oz bottle, say, a couple times a week with dinner or shortly thereafter. Think: Red Rocket Ale from Bear Republic Brewing or Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout from North Coast Brewing. Think: delish (if you think in words so fey; haha).

But recently, I've had the excuse to break out the ol' cocktail shakers (which, as it so happens, spent their previous lives as Bubbies Sauerkraut jars before finding themselves as implements of my home bar shaketastic effervesce). And while I mostly stuck to some old favorites, like The Aviation -- with an exceedingly *light* touch of crème de violette -- and the Vesper (certainly, monsieur), I threw a few new ones in the mix, so to speak. My guests were game.

The surprise winner -- and it "wins", insofar that it will make regular appearances in my cocktail lineup from here-on-out -- of this informal contest-that-wasn't-really-a-contest was a simple, sweet delight called the Country Breeze, a lovely mix of apple juice, gin, and crème de cassis:

2 1/2 oz. Apple Juice
1 3/4 oz. Gin (works well with a London Dry)
1/2 oz. Creme de Cassis (French, all the way!)

Play with the ingredients a bit, but the ratio above made a lovely nightcap. Crank up the gin if you want something with more bite; or let the apple juice flow more freely if you'd like something lighter in body. No matter how you make it, pour over ice and and add garnish of sliced apples and/or blackberries, if available.

(Liquid) treasures abound; there is always something new to learn! Salud!

The mini-explosion continues; carts and trucks, oh my!

2009-05-07T00:39:00.000-07:00

Now that we're past a few days of rain, it's time to get your food-cart on! And you're in luck, because they are out. in. force. I know in places like New York, this is nothing new -- there, they even have food cart awards.. the Vendys! -- but it is notable here in San Francisco, where we've had a dirth of carts until fairly recently.

I'm mean, you've always been able to find a taco truck. And then there's the Tamale Lady, who, while not in a truck/cart, serves the same purpose (though perhaps with drunker clientele). Then the Bacon Dog Cart started showing up in the Mission..

And, recently, there's been a mini-explosion of "high-end" carts showing up around town over the past couple of months (well, mostly in the Mission). Yeah, you may have heard of -- or have seen -- the Magic Curry Kart, the Crème Brûlée Cart, or the Amuse Bouche Cart (which seem to be traveling together these days) in Dolores Park, or somewhere along 24th Street..

But we ain't done yet. In the next week or two, another will roam:

Chez Spencer chef takes French food to the streets

Yes, I'll take my skate braised with capers or frog's legs with curry on the street, where it belongs. haha. Oh -- you'll find this new cart/truck, "Spencer on the Go", in SOMA, near Terroir Natural Wine Merchant & Bar, spreading the foodie wealth outside of the Mission a bit; good show!

Library fines magically transform into burritos

2009-04-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, you done wrong. Lost book(s). And that cool National Geographic DVD is nowhere to be found. At this point, you've probably amassed fines for more than $10.

Right? If so, you're effectively banned from (borrowing from) the library. Forever. (Or -- ahem -- until you cough up the bucks.)

~~~~

Not so fast!

The San Francisco Public Library just announced an "Overdue Fine Amnesty for Returned Materials", from May 3rd - May 16th. What this means is that you can return any overdue materials that you have at home during this two week period and not incur any library fines on them. Pretty cool; the last time they did this was 2001!

(Note that this amnesty does not erase any existing balance at the library, that is, for books/DVDs/etc. that you've borrowed+returned *before* the Amnesty period.)

In any case, I happen to have a couple of overdue DVDs in my possession -- "Being John Malkovich" and "Downfall" -- so this event comes at a great time.. basically saving me a burrito's worth of coin (and I'll potentially be able to add some extra avocado; green salsa please).

How many burritos will the Fine Amnesty save you? Find out the conditions/details at the SF Public Library's website.

Awkward, indeed.

2009-04-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

Now I'm not saying this site is safe-for-work, but I *am* saying it's funny-fodder-for-a-slow-Saturday-night.. it's the Awkward Boners blog; check it!

File under "comedy"?

Well, at the least, I can say, "we've all been there" -- at least to the guys -- but, shizz, do have you had it captured on camera (or video)? haha. I feel like this sort of thing was more of an issue in high school? Or maybe in high school it was more a topic of conversation?

Maybe it was because I wore more sweatpants back then?

Anyhoo.. do you have a memorable awkward boner story? Write about that shizz in the comments; get it off your chest, score some karma points. And if you have a picture, well, you know where to go..

~~

Thanks to Thrillist New York for, um, pointing the way (to the site).

I'm interested in a strawberry fight

2009-03-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

You know what would be awesome?

Having a dj at my next party.

Hmm.. but given space and noise-level restrictions at the ol' apartment, that's probably not going to happen. (Sad, I know.)

All is not lost, though; what would be second-tier-awesome is to get my hands on a projector and throw this video of Adrian Lux mixing his Vanity Fair #2 mixtape up on my living room wall. I'd be cool; a so-fresh dj in my house for the greatest hour ever; people would talk (in a good way). haha.

Adrian Lux - live mix of Vanity Fair #2
http://www.discobelle.net/2009/03/14/adrian-lux-vanity-fair-2-mixtape-video/ (video)

The video is courtesy of the show "Svartklubb" on Swedish cable channel Z-TV (which I found through the Discobelle blog, purveyor of all things Swedish-music.. really, purveyors of good music all over the world!). I hope they keep up taping/posting these mix sessions; I dig something about the setup, so simple and cute; I dig the black background and the Hackers graphics (I love that movie, by the way). ;)

~~~

But yeah.. when's this Adrian Lux fellow coming to tour in the US? I'm interested in a bikeride and a strawberry fight (video); it's been awhile.

Hotel options I could get down wit'

2009-03-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

My parents are coming through San Francisco next month and, as a good son, I'm doing a little research for them on where they should stay here in the city. They've made several pilgrimages to SF over the years, and have been guests at a wide variety of places, including various Holiday Inns on one end and smaller European-style bed and breakfast's like the Red Vic and the Hayes Valley Inn on the other. (I try to steer them towards some of the local flavor contained in the latter choices.)

They've enjoyed all these places, even with their quirks (or perhaps because of them); who doesn't get a kick out of the many young mid-western punk panhandlers in the Upper Haight? That said, my mom requested recommendations for something more, um, familiar (and with an elevator) this time around; so in that vein, I've been looking at straight-up, modern, city hotels.. while still trying to given them a unique SF experience.

In the course of the research, I came across an article on "The Coolest Hotel Designs in California", as chosen by California Home + Design magazine. In fact, a couple of the hotels I was looking at for my parents are actually on this top-10 list: Good Hotel and Hotel Frank; and rooms in either can be had for about $100. Cool stuff.

Here's the full tenner:

1. Good Hotel in San Francisco
2. Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles
3. Custom Hotel in Los Angeles
4. Hotel Frank in San Francisco
5. Viceroy in Palm Springs
6. Ivy Hotel in San Diego
7. Thompson Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills
8. The Standard Hotel in Los Angeles
9. The Parker Palm Springs in Palm Springs
10. Hotel Tomo in San Francisco

Yeah, so given that this list covers the whole of California, it's got *my* imagination going to maybe do some hotel-exploration myself (with at least one other partner-in-crime, natch); and the ones down in Palm Springs are especially appealing to me. You see, I could always -- always -- use a nice cocktail-by-the-pool after a few days of hard climbing and camping in nearby Joshua Tree National Park. haha. And beyond the two hotels mentioned above, a commenter on the original article says to check out the Ace Hotel as well.. and from their website, I think that's another solid option I could get down wit'.

To the desert! In style!

Ready To Be Strepped?

2009-03-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

I skipped the December "cycle", but I'm back with a new mix for the Spring edition of my mix-CD-by-mail club. Let's call this one "Strep Out Onto (the Dancefloor)".

Tracklist:

01. If I Know You - The Presets (video)
02. Shooting Stars - Bag Raiders (blog)
03. Little Bit (AutoErotique Bootleg Remix) - Lykke Li (blog)
04. Strawberry (Kocky & Trash Remix) - Adrian Lux (blog)
05. The Electric Road - Morgan Page vs. Lifelike (blog)
06. Dawn of the Dead (Station X Remix) - Does It Offend You, Yeah? (blog)
07. Black History Month (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix) - DFA 1979 (blog)
08. Anything, Anything - Dramarama (video)
09. Ceremony - New Order (video)
10. Heartbreaker - Metronomy (blog)
11. Kelly (Lifelike Remix) - Van She (blog)
12. Kilometer (Moulinex Remix) - Sebastien Tellier (blog)
13. Let's Call It Off (Girl Talk Remix) - Peter Bjorn & John
14. We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart (video)
15. Hold Me (Breakbot Remix) - Pacific! (blog)
16. Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson (video)
17. Goodbye Horses - Q Lazzarus (blog)
18. Iran So Far - Andy Samberg & Adam Levine (video) **

** This last track doesn't fit on the CD, so it's an, um, web-only bonus. That's probably for the best because the video brings those love-lorn lyrics to life! Besides, the laugh-track embedded in the song makes a lot more sense that way. haha.

~~~~~~

Into the mail with you!

If you're interested in a copy, let me know.

Run straight down to the SFMOMA for Dystopia

2009-03-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

The SFMOMA's next film series, "The Future of the Past: Utopia/Dystopia, 1965-1984", starts TODAY and runs Thursdays and Saturdays through April 25th.

Mar 7th @ 1pm: Westworld, 1973 (video)
Mar 7th @ 3pm: Logan's Run, 1976 (video)
Mar 12th @ 7pm: Logan's Run, 1976 (video)
Mar 21st @ 1pm: Soylent Green, 1973 (video)
Mar 21st @ 3pm: A Clockwork Orange, 1972 (video)
Mar 26th @ 7pm: A Clockwork Orange, 1972 (video)
Apr 2nd @ 7pm: Fantastic Planet, 1973 (video)
Apr 4th @ 3pm: Fantastic Planet, 1973 (video)
Apr 9th @ 7pm: Stalker, 1979 (video)
Apr 11th @ 1pm: Stalker, 1979 (video)
Apr 16th @ 7pm: Alphaville, 1965 (video)
Apr 18th @ 1pm: Sleeper, 1973 (video)
Apr 18th @ 3pm: Fahrenheit 451, 1966 (video)
Apr 23rd @ 7pm: Fahrenheit 451, 1966 (video)
Apr 25th @ 1pm: Alphaville, 1965
Apr 25th @ 3pm: 1984, 1984 (video)

While I have heard of most of these movies (and their place in pop culture), I've really only seen one: A Clockwork Orange.

A Clockwork Orange. Wow. I've got a weird association with that movie from high school: whenever I was hanging with a certain group of friends we'd start watching that movie only to get through the first half hour or something.. at which point our attention would turn towards more pressing matters like stealing lawn ornaments or driving around in circles while yelling random shizz out the car windows all night. We had our priorities. ahem.

Yeah, so, I assumed the whole movie was about chronicling the misadventures, ultraviolence and all, of Alex -- "Your Humble Narrator" -- and his crew. Little did I know, at the time, that it wasn't a futuristic snuff film, that it would, instead, be posing questions about, for example, the nature of man's free-will and the need to balance individual freedoms versus social stability (and if that needs to be the zero-sum game it's so often portrayed as). I don't think I was ready to tackle those subjects in high school anyway; hmm.. maybe that's why we never got past the first third of the film?

In any case, I'm planning on checking out at least one of these films, with "Stalker" at the top of the list. But depending on how my schedule shakes out over the next couple of weeks, I may try for "Sleeper", "1984", or -- yes, I could use a refresher on it -- "A Clockwork Orange" too (especially given a personal appreciation for language -- in many forms -- developed over the past couple of years).

~~~

Whoa! "Westworld" is about to start! Run straight down to the SFMOMA; you've got 10 minutes..

Ten until The Twelves

2009-03-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

I'm definitely a big fan of The Twelves; you may know this.. I've mentioned them a few times, for example, here and here. I even flew over to NYC last December to see them live at the Famous Friends 1st Anniversary party (and get wasted on Red Bull and vodkas -- whoa!, flashback -- hey.. it wasn't my idea initially, but I bought into it very quickly). Let me just say that you should ask for the "big cup" when ordering drinks at Club Europa. haha.

In any case, they be back on tour in US; and I'm seeing them again, this time in San Francisco. You should too.

> The Twelves at 103 Harriet; doors at 9pm.
> http://www.blasthaus.com/calendar.html#twelves

The show was announced after I had posted my last concert list; place The Twelves between Cut Copy and Simian Mobile Disco, date-wise.

Mar 12th: Cut Copy @ The Fillmore
Mar 14th: The Twelves @ 103 Harriet
Mar 15th: Simian Mobile Disco @ Mezzanine

As for what-we're-in-store-for -- if I, ahem, remember correctly -- The Twelves live show had a few more bangers than I was expecting at the time, given the spacey Fred-Falke-esque remixes I had heard from them up until then. But the opening dj's had gotten everyone in good spirits and into the groove. And anyways.. I can definitely get into a night of bangers in and of themselves.. especially when there is some disco-ee-electro-shizz thrown in there for good measure. These guys can mix!

~~~~~

ps. Tickets for Devendra Banhart (video) at The Independent go on sale this Sunday at 10am PST; show is on April 14th.

Your new single speed is $252, today only!

2009-02-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to replace my commuter roadbike* -- an old Cinelli from the mid-80's -- for probably about a year now.

I mean, it's been a great workhorse over the years (especially in the days when I was Caltraining it down to Mountain View and then riding over to Santa Clara for work most of the workweek), but the frame has always been *slightly* too small for me.. and, well, it just never fit 100%. We even had a little tiff back in July -- and this was the final straw with respect to me riding this bike regularly -- involving an attempted sprint through a SOMA traffic light, a rear derailleur failure, and, ultimately, a trip to the emergency room for my first real stitches. (Oddly enough, no actual crash happened; I stayed on my bike through the whole episode and, in fact, rode most of the way to the hospital. Can you guess what happened?)

Yeah.. so I've had my eye out for a well-fitting road or cyclocross bike ever since; I've even considered getting a single-speed (with a freewheel, thank you very much). I know, me getting over my aversion to the too-cool(-but-usually-not-deservedly-so) style of the single-speed here in the city: whoa! And, haha.

Admittedly, I haven't really tried too hard to make a purchase because I still have two *other* bikes.. bikes which basically fit most of my two-wheeled needs these days: a dusted-up-but-so-solid citybike (i.e. one I can feel ok about locking up around town), and a great 2006 Giant TCR C1 roadbike for my long(ish) rides (and very occasional race) up in the Marin "countryside".

But today; today, I came across a deal-almost-too-good-to-pass-up at performancebike.com:

Scattante Emerald City Single Speed Road Bike
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?sku=26052

Right now, it's on sale for $280; and with a today-only 10% discount, this bike is $252.. down from an original price of $599. For real. (By the way, Scattante is the house brand of Performance Bike, not some fancy Italian shizz.)

I've tried to do a little online research to see what folks' thought of it, but I didn't really come up with too much. The Bikes for the Rest of Us blog wrote a post about it, but didn't *review* it. And the Blog Snob NYC railed on the whole Performance Bike "Courier Series" (of which the Emerald City is a part), but, again, didn't say too much about the actual bike itself. I'm just looking for some comments in the way of its comfort or speed or durability.. or just it's general utility/value.

Man, it's $252.

So cheap. And Performance Bike has a pretty good return policy. In fact, I just chatted with customer service and if I need to switch the bike for a different frame size there's no restocking fee; you just take it to the store and do an exchange, even if you've ordered the bike online (they may not have a replacement bike in-store, but in this case, you just have to wait for them to order it).

I'm on the fence; my main concern is that if I'm going to get another bike, I should get something more versatile (read: more gears!) for any future long commutes, cyclocross or touring opportunities.. or whatever. More gears = peace of mind? Yeah, but, that said, I'd have to drop at least $800 for something decent in one of those categories.

In any case, I have until midnight to decide (at least if I want to take advantage of today's extra 10% off online coupon).. so, on the off chance that anyone has any knowledge/experience on the Emerald City here, let me know asap!

~~~~

* That's not me in the picture. ;0

Ура! for Spilled Pants

2009-02-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

Looks like you're talking to a college dropout. (Yeah -- another one.)

Last week, I dropped the Russian Culture class (en anglais) I was taking at CCSF; I had missed two weeks in a row due to some work commitments and just wasn't interested enough in the subject to bust my ass to catch up. I mean, the class -- while taught by an awesome teacher -- was always just a stand-in for my desire to take a Russian *language* class this semester (i.e. one that was, sadly, not offered on the night school schedule).

In any case, I made a deal with myself to spend this newly-freed time in the week studying Russian again. So, I've been going back to my old Russian textbooks (with online videos), my ripped Russian CDs on the ol' iPod, my memories of Чебурашка, and otherwise trying to surround myself with the language.

Beyond those more, um, scholarly methods, I lucked out this past week and happened across a music blog written in both English and Russian; so, I can study *while* still deep in the blogosphere, searching for new shizz:

Spilled Pants.
http://myspilledpants.blogspot.com/

Even if you have no interest in the русский язык, this site posts some great (dancey) stuff on a fairly regular basis; and his Blogroll is handy: see the latest updates from Discobelle, Trash Menagerie, and other like-minded blogs, all in one place.

Ура!

If you're going to do chicken soup, do it with dumplings

2009-02-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

Cabbage.

Like the actual, wrinkly-round, vegetable. (Nevermind any other uses of the term.) For the past couple of weeks, I've been getting heads of cabbage in my CSA box.. and, well, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I've let a couple go to waste.

One of the things I like about getting the CSA box is that I'll receive fruits and vegetables that I normally wouldn't buy myself (in addition to many that I would).. and this becomes a forcing function to get out of my culinary comfortzone, to discover new recipes or cooking techniques. But my ambition waned with this cabbage business..

Weird, because I'm generally a fan of the stuff; I really love good sauerkraut. Right out of the jar.

In any case -- as luck would have it -- I stumbled upon an awesome chicken soup recipe (with chive dumplings!) at chow.com earlier this week; it was part of their "Cooking with Winter Ingredients" feature, which included, among many other fruits and veggies, the venerable cabbage. I modified the recipe slightly to amp up the vegetables and reduce the chicken a little bit; here's my version of "Easy Chicken and Chive-Dumpling Soup":

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VEGGIE1
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, small dice
3 medium celery stalks, small dice
6 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2t crushed red pepper
salt and pepper

CHICKEN
8c low-sodium chicken broth
2t poultry seasoning
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

DUMPLING
2c all-purpose flour
1/3c fresh chives, thinly sliced
1T kosher salt
2T baking powder
2/3c 2% milk
1/3c crème fraîche
3T unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

VEGGIE2
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 large head savoy cabbage, large dice (about 6 cups)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Heat oil in a large, shallow pot over medium-high heat (I used a cast-iron dutch oven). When oil shimmers, add all the VEGGIE1 ingredients and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

2. Add CHICKEN ingredients and bring to a boil.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, chives, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl to break up any lumps. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the DUMPLING ingredients: milk, crème fraîche, and butter. Once combined, add these wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until dough just comes together (it will be very thick).

4. When chicken is cooked through (it will be firm and opaque), add VEGGIE2 ingredients, reduce heat to medium low, and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

5. Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough at a time into the soup and repeat until all dough has been used. Cover and cook until dumplings are fluffy and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

(Find the original version of the recipe here.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soup came out really well; the dumplings make it hardy and memorable. And I definitely recommend making it on a chilly, rainy, or otherwise inclement night because it's going to hit the spot on multiple levels. If you can, share it with friends (although the only downside to that idea is that you probably won't have any leftovers). haha.

My experience.. Monday night, found this recipe online, made a few calls, sent a few txt's; and Tuesday night, I had 10 SF peeps in my kitchen, um, chowing down. I can assure you: it wasn't my company that they were after.. it was the free soup. Apparently, the economy *is* that bad after all! ;)

Weather the storm with soup; I'll join you.

The only threat I see..

2009-02-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

It's been 30 years since the Islamic Revolution when, in 1979, Iran transformed itself from a constitutional monarchy into an Islamic republic. While I know very little about the event and its long aftermath (still ongoing), it's pretty straightforward to discern that there have been many successes (ex. education and health care) and failures (ex. religious/political oppression and the economy) along the path to yesterday's rally in Tehran celebrating its anniversary.

It's been 30 years of cold-to-very-cold relations between Iran and the US; the countries have been headbutting most recently over the funding of terrorist organizations (ex. Hezbollah) as well as the development of a (civilian-only?) nuclear program.. nevermind last week's satellite launch. But with a new US administration in place (Obama! et. al.), there is potential for a subtle warming. Long overdue.

In a televised address, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "promised that if the United States was truly serious about changing the countries’ relations, then Iran was ready to respond in kind." Read more at the NYTimes..

Iran Offers ‘Dialogue With Respect’ With U.S.
By Nazila Fathi
Published: February 10, 2009

Who knows what will come of this sort of nice-talk (on both sides). But certainly we got to start somewhere..

~~~~

In any case, the lightening tone (too hopeful?) of Iran-US relations has put the country back on my radar for, um, vacation travel.. potentially later this year, or, more likely, next. (Traveling through Iran initially came up in discussions with a travel buddy during my sabbatical planning in 2007; we went to Russia and the lovely Kyrgyzstan instead.)

In an effort to bolster my general knowledge about traveling in the country -- I really know zero about Iran -- I borrowed the new Lonely Planet (5th Ed.) from the library last week; and I'm starting to ask friends/acquaintances if they have any contacts or advice. Plus -- conveniently enough -- Iran borders a couple of other cool places on my ol' international to-do list: Azerbaijan and Armenia.. so I could potentially knock off a couple (with the addition of Грузия, natch) on one big trip.

Wait. Wait.. wait! Stop the presses..

Who am I kidding?; this is the real reason why I want to go to Iran..

Iran So Far (video)
(An SNL Digital Short)

From Andy; to Mr. Ahmadinejad: "You can deny the Holocaust all you want, but you can't deny that there's something between us." Oh man.. hahaha.

~~~~

This may all end up being an exercise in daydreaming, but we'll see. I've been known to make shizz like this happen on occasion. ;) I mean, southwestern Russia and the Caucuses are still the tops on my international travel list, but Iran is a rising star (with respect to sparking my imagination). So, if you *do* have any experience with the country, especially in the northwest -- say, Tabriz, Rasht, or the surrounding areas -- let me know. Ultimately, though, I'm open to it all; any and all advice is welcome. ;)

Got 2 B Down

2009-02-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Keepin' this short-and-sweet..

I got tickets for a few of these shows already, but if you're interested and any of them, let me know; I'd be down:

Feb 6th: Matthew Dear @ Mighty
Feb 7th: Tim Sweeney + Mike Simonetti @ Paradise Lounge
Feb 15th: Lykke Li @ The Fillmore
Feb 17th: Post Ventura @ Cafe du Nord
Feb 21st: Unicrons launch party @ Mezzanine
Feb 25th: Stephen Malkmus (solo) @ GAMH
Mar 1st: Veil Veil Vanish @ Bottom of the Hill
Mar 12th: Cut Copy @ The Fillmore
Mar 15th: Simian Mobile Disco @ Mezzanine
Mar 19th: MSTRKRFT@ The Independent
Mar 26th: Tricky @ Mezzanine
Mar 28th: Pelican @ Slims
Apr 15th: Crookers + the Bloody Beetroots @ Mezzanine
Apr 16th: The Presets @ Mezzanine

Are you down?

Drink some cherry wine!

2009-01-31T00:04:00.000-08:00

I did some massive archiving/cleaningup of my laptop harddrive last week, mostly a ton of music to an external drive (or deleting the unlucky altogether). And before I knew it, I had kept only a few selected CDs and mixtapes downloaded over the past year or two; hundreds of others bit the dust..

So this was the elite.

Among those left digitally-intact on the ol' laptop was the "We Are the Future Mix", by Futurecop; I had found it back in July on the everspring-of-dopeness that is the Disco Dust blog. (I need to dig through those archives for my next mix! Soon!)

"We Are the Future" starts with the warbled piano (piano?) of "Borderline" by Madonna. And that pretty much sets the stage for this epic-80's-lovefest. C'mon.. one of the middle tracks is "Hungry Eyes"?!

I mean, none of the songs are going to blow your mind; they are all familiar (to most), yet slightly obscure (for anyone in their, ahem, early 30's or younger, anyway). In fact, it sounds like the whole thing could have been mixed by your buddy-with-the-turntables playing at your houseparty. Maybe that's the appeal?

Yeah -- this mix would be awesome at your next houseparty.

No crazy technical whizz-bang; but after a few listens, you come to realize that this simplicity fits with the vibe of the songs themselves (i.e. songs from a "simpler time"). And, somehow, the whole is so much more than its FM-lite constituents..

In short, it's not brain (um, ear?) food, but it's totally fun; here's the tracklist:

1. Madonna – Borderline
2. Cameo – Word Up (video)
3. Phil Collins – Sussudio
4. Belinda Carlisle - We Want The Same Thing
5. Janet Jackson – Principle Pleasure (video)
6. Jermaine Stewart – We Don't Have To Take Clothes Off (video)
7. Futurecop! – Tonight's Hero
8. Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes (video)
9. Bruce Hornsby – The Long Race
10. Kenny Loggins – St Elmo's Fire
11. Robert Tepper – No Easy Way Out
12. Simple Minds – Don't you (Forget About Me)
13. Futurecop! – Transformers
14. Robbie Robb – In Time (Futurecop! Edit)

And the funnest -- the funnest! (funniest?) -- part of all comes in at minute 11:55.. Jermaine Stewart lets us know that he's not a piece of meat on "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off". A little bit silly, yes; but it's oh-so-catchy.

Drink some cherry wine! Check the video here. (video)

I've basically been playing it non-stop for the past two weeks. Really! Yeah, so, beyond any hipsterbusiness I download from the music blogs over the next couple of months, this song is definitely going on the next mix. I gotta. haha.

~~~~

Branching off, you'll find a couple remakes (tributes?) of "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" on youtube; most are crap, but I actually like this poprock version by Lil' Chris:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGVqEDk9YpE (video)

I mean, his voice is a little too young and emo (for lack of a better word) and the production is a little too "clean" for my tastes, but I can get beyond those things. To start, I love the na-na-na part of the chorus up front, and, besides, the filled-out band sound (guitars, drums, etc.) really works. Overall, this version makes for a totally different vibe, but still captures the essence of the original for a new audience. Naiveté is universal! haha.

Oh -- one last Jermaine Stewart-related thing.. do not adjust your television set (um, computer screen) for this last video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGVqEDk9YpE (video)

There is no irony in its creation or delivery; it's just a totally tripped-out piece of work (in the best way possible.) hahahah.

Huh.. I think it *does* have artistic merit, regardless of the director's (danceyman's?) intention. At the least, it could (should!) be employed as a wonderful hypnosis device; add some research-grade ecstasy, and let the healing begin! Amen! And hallelujah. haha.

Yeah -- we gotta get this thing into the MOMA (SF or NYC); if I'm not mistaken, I think they're trying to bolster their respective video art collections. This shizz is gold.. nice one, Christopher Reynolds (i.e. the young man *feeling* the music in that last video); I'm willing to share any tribute payment MOMA bestows on me for such a quality submission. ;)

Watch out for flying spoons, at Humphry Slocombe

2009-01-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

When I was younger, I didn't like cake. Yeah: a kid that didn't like cake! Whaa?

Even at my elementary school birthday parties -- wow: I can still remember the feel, the snap, of the cheap stretchy string that held cone birthday hats on our heads, the same cheap stretchy string that could also be used to launch various projectiles at a younger brother or sister -- yeah, my mom would get me an ice cream cake from the local Carvel, black cookie crumbs sometimes pressed into the sides. The spread also included sickly-sweet sherbert from Pathmark, served directly out of their clear plastic containers.

No cake.

While I've grown, over the years, to like a selected variety of cakey things -- give me ginger or carrot or lemon anything -- I've never lost that love affair with ice cream. In high school, I used to eat it by the half-gallon (rocky road, natch). Whew! But cut to 2009; and while I'm still into the stuff, I indulge in MUCH smaller quantities, refined quantities.

I got my latest fix just last week at Humphry Slocombe, a new, innovative ice cream shop in the Mission. Folks on yelp, on chowhound, on dailycandy -- not to mention in the local print -- are writing up a storm about it. Have you been? Have you been? Have you been?

Humphry Slocombe is the buzz of the town, it seems.

And, I think, with good reason.

First, you gotta check out the list of flavors that they have made or will make. At any given time, they will be selling maybe 12 or so of them (which seems to be the limit of the freezer in the front), with some favorites always on-the-ready and a rotating cast of, um, creamy-dreaminess(-and-sometimes-whimsiness).

I'm looking at you, foie gras, and, you, Andante chevre + strawberry jam.

On my particular visit, I got to sample quite a few of the offerings (the scooper seems to be patient enough to allow you to sample pretty much as many as you want -- on a quiet night, anyway): the Guiness gingerbread, the Valrhona fudgesicle, the Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee, the balsamic caramel, the olive oil, and the Secret Breakfast.

Without getting into individual reviews, my lasting impression is that the ice cream of Jake Godby -- owner/chef of Humphry Slocombe -- really embodied the ingredients. And given their high quality, this makes for a wonderful experience for the palate. Tummy too.

Now, I'm not saying that you'll like all the flavors -- for example, the balsamic caramel wasn't for me (I'm not a fan of vinegar tang in general) -- but you're going to really like something. Even for the ones that aren't totally up your alley, you're going to appreciate the flavors on an academic level (well, maybe if you're like me and occasionally dabble in foodie-dom); you'll say, "I've never had this flavor of icecream before"; or, "this flavor has never been captured in icecream so well". Word.

Well, like I said, I ain't the first one to say it, but here goes: check this place out! Humphry Slocombe, on the west side of Harrison St., a tad north of 24th Street (map).

You'll see a few tables outside.

You might even see me there, Secret Breakfast in hand.. er, dish. One warning though: if I'm wearing a cone birthday hat with one of those elastic string things, watch out for flying spoons. Whap!

Fluo Kids: keep the pics coming; music too

2009-01-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

Since when do I wax French? Since never.

(Waxing French *people* is another matter.) Damn girl, I will s’il vous plaît. For reals. Wait!; I mean..

Nevermind; yes, I should save any discussion of waxing *anything* for a future post.. probably in the less-titillating context of endurance sports (ex. biking or swimming).

Ahem; where was I?

~~~~~~~

My lack of Francotextual knowledge doesn't stop me from getting off on the dancey track postings at the Fluo Kids music blog. It's straight dope, through and through, and that sort of thing pretty much translates in any language. In fact, they've been one of my go-to's for new-new music for the past year or so. (Sorry to keep it a secret for so long.) haha.

And with the emergence of the Diamond Street radio show this past September -- produced by some of the contributors to the Fluo Kids blog -- I really can't keep it to myself anymore, at least not in good conscience.

Already, they've got five episodes out and available for download; listen now! Find them at Fluo Kids, of course, or, more directly, at their myspace page.

Episodes seem to come out every 2-4 weeks.

Ah yes -- let me note that even as the blog commentary and radioshow is in the French (95% of it, anyway), most of the music is in English. For example, check the track list for the most recent episode (Saison 1, Episode 5):

Kleerup - Until We Bleed (feat. Lykke Li)
Happy Burger - Pizza All Around
Cheap Time - Glitter And Gold
Miami Horror - Don't Be On With Her
Del Shannon - Gemini (Pilooski edit)
Flight - Crackerjack Woman
Clinton Sparks - Still Got It 4 Cheap (feat. The Clipse & Pharrell)
Jay Z - Brooklyn Go Hard (feat. Santogold)
Dj Mujava - Township Funk (Radioclit remix)
A1 Bassline - Girl Thing
Octet - Euros Vs. Dollars (Pilooski edit)
Hot Chip - Touch Too Much (Fake Blood remix)
Tommie Sparks - Im A Rope (Yuksek remix)
Brodinski - Oblivion (Noob remix)
Digitalism - Home Zone (Proxy remix)
Meterhead - Biggie Dance (inst.)
Jesse Rose - Forget My Name (feat. Hot Chip)
Santogold - Say A ha (Phones remix)

In short, I gotta add these guys to the "Aural Delites" link listing over on the side there. That's it!; gotta keep my own shizz fresh, right?

And speaking of fresh, did you check out the pictures that the Fluo Kids post with each blog entry?.. snapshots of goodlooking young women frolicking in fields or rocking-out in clubs or whatever; the occasional racy photo doesn't hurt either. Do they take those themselves? If you read French and can find that out on their site, please let me know! haha.

For me -- and maybe this is because I can't read the postings -- the pictures became one of the main attractions; they allowed the blog to stand out among a cast of hundreds out there on the 'net. "Oh yeah -- Fluo Kids is the French music blog with the (tasteful) pics of hot chicks on it." To be honest, I think that was the only reason why I started going there regularly at first. haha. But now, it's straight-up for the music -- especially the Diamond Street entries.

That said, keep the pics coming. ;)

Sparks, I hardly knew ye

2008-12-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

Consider this your (semi-)advanced warning..

It's time to stock up.

When Miller Brewing bought Sparks from McKenzie River Corp. back in 2006, you knew that it was only a matter of time before the formula was changed. Cost reduction is king in any economic environment (a non-planned one, anyway), and when established products are brought into the fold of another corporation (especially a larger one), they must be transmuted to use a common ingredient set, which is presumably already being bought in bulk-bulk-bulk. Or, you could imagine formulas being tweaked based on "market research".. but, again, any formula change is most likely a matter of making an established (but, presumably, beloved) product cheaper to manufacture..

And I'm all about doing things more efficiently! Waste not, want not, and all that. However, the product usually suffers because the philosophical essence of the original is usually lost in the journey from acquisition down towards the bottom line.

But I've digressed a bit..

Um, yeah: stock up on yer Sparks! You see, MillerCoors is reformulating it en-totál due to massive legal headaches all across the country. Huh? Not the type of headache you associate with Sparks? Well, about 30 US State Attorney Generals have sued MillerCoors over the past couple of years to, basically, take Sparks off the market. Yeah, so the change is not exactly due to cost-savings -- sorry about that earlier discussion/digression; how did I get started on that?

In any case, the states have argued that Sparks is an "alcopop" that targets underage youth in its marketing.. and, besides, mixing your uppers and downers in a given night is a bad idea. humph. I don't agree on either of those points; if anything -- *anything* -- I would sue based on the taste alone. And I'd make Smirnoff Ice a defendant as well, while we're at it. haha.

Well, the upshot is that you'll still find "Sparks" on the shelves; however, as I alluded to before, it will be reborn in a much different incarnation. Packaging too?; I don't know. The Washington Business Journal reports that MillerCoors will "voluntarily reformulate its Sparks beverage to remove caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng from the product."

What? That makes no sense. How is this new product -- Sparks in name only -- still going to be the somehow-charming, jacked-up hangover machine we're all grown to, um, tolerate? In any case, read the details here:

Maryland part of deal with MillerCoors to reformulate Sparks
by Rich Rovito @ the Washington Business Journal

Again, I was never a huge fan of any of the varieties of Sparks ("blue", "black", or the original "orange"), but I do appreciate that there is a time for such indulgence and, therefore, a place on the shelf, so to speak. And perhaps my brain and liver are celebrating this news -- that is, the news of Sparks' demise, and, consequently, the news that I will never be able to succumb to its temptation ever again -- but my heart is a little sad..

So, is seems, my only option is to to drown this sorrow in a vat of Redbull and vodka.. which, you know.. doesn't sound so bad. Salud!

Ladytron for me; The Virgins for you?

2008-12-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

You got lucky.

I mean, if you missed their opening spot on the Black Kids tour through San Francisco back in October, The Virgins are back, playing at the venerable Popscene for their Holiday Gala 2008. TONIGHT!

The Virgins at myspace

They've got a sound where The Strokes comparisons are inevitable (and I think that's mostly a good thing), but to mix it up for the here-and-now, The Virgins have thrown the occasional disco-y beat or Clash-y guitar syncopation behind most of their tracks. And these are also good things; their shizz is catchy, while still being fresh and a little raw (more on that later)..

I also appreciate that a few songs -- including their huge hit, Rich Girls (video) -- emanate a bluesy-sexuality, a la The Rolling Stones.. and, luckily, the lead singer has the looks to make it all work. haha. Ah -- just a heads-up that the Rich Girls video is semi-safe-for-work, given that some scenes contain a model gettin' down to her skivies. ;)

So, with all that said, let me submit that this is the last time you'll see them at a venue so small.. unless you're deep in certain artscenes of the LES -- their home-hood -- where you might still see them play at a party/gallery once they're back from touring. Yeah, they seem to be getting more and more air/face-time on the radio, on the TV, over the past couple of months, so I'm only expecting a good 2009 for these guys.

To be honest, part of that (predicted) success is due to the "slickness" of their self-titled debut album on Atlantic records. The label/studio really got to them, and not in a particular good way for my tastes. That is, they didn't capture the "freshness" and "rawness" I mentioned earlier; they didn't capture that sound that I heard when I first caught a couple of tracks off their original, self-recorded EP (after a friend told me about them this past January).

No matter.. whatever they want to do professionally is fine by me. I'm not asking you to buy their album. But you *should* see them rock-out live -- hear their music the way it was meant to be heard -- in that hot, sweaty, 18+ box of musical taste: Popscene, tonite; doors at 9:30pm, so it's gonna be a late night of getting your dance-on!

~~~~~~~~

By the way, I would totally join you tonight at Popscene, but I already have tickets to the Ladytron DJ set featuring Reuben Wu at Mighty (playing with San Francisco's own Sleazemore). Maybe I'll see you there?

The show is presented by the good folks at Blasthaus; check out more from them here.

We'll make it happen in the 'Loin

2008-10-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

You know, I'm usually pretty wary of lists trying to tell you about the "best food and drinks" in any city, or the best of anything, really.. and especially if it's a city of any significant size or density. Like San Francisco. But the folks over at chow.com have recently -- well, recently, when I first noted the article a month and a half ago -- offered up such a list for our fair city.

At least they acknowledge that the act of compiling such a list is "a bold statement"; and so by qualifying it as such, I feel better about the whole endeavor. haha. So, check it:

Grit and Grub in SF's Tenderloin
http://www.chow.com/stories/11247

And you know what? Part of the reason that this article caught my interest (and why I can't refute too much of its contents) is that I can't really say much about the Tenderloin; I just don't have intimate knowledge of the neighborhood. I mean, over my years here in San Francisco, I've really just fluttered through those roughshod downtown streets for the occasional drink, the occasional show, or the occasional meal; I've really only concentrated my (social) affections, for better or worse (but mostly for the better), on The Mission, SOMA, The Lower Haight, and, more recently, on Hayes Valley, Divis Corridor, and parts of Civic Center.

In any case, I keep *meaning* to explore the Tenderloin a bit more (I think I say that about a lot of spots about town), but in the weeks since this article was published, I still haven't visited any of the places on the list.. and these are places that I actually *want* to check out, like Turtle Tower Restaurant (for the pho ga, natch) and Fish & Farm (maybe just for the delicious-looking/sounding desserts and cocktails). What's up with gittin'er done?

Let me just say that the next person to suggest that we do something -- at least of a non-sexual and/or non-drug nature, other traditional vices of the area (although there is a time a place for, um, most things; haha) -- in the Tenderloin, well, we'll make it happen (it takes two to tango, kid). No questions asked.

'Loin, activate!

I remember the sounds of Souvlaki washing over me

2008-10-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

Not sure what-the-hey, but one of my posts got lost in the digital shuffle a couple of weeks ago and dropped off the blog. So, if you were looking for The Twelves Became Sixteen download or tracklist at http://notaperfectprocedure.blogspot.com/2008/09/twelves-became-sixteen.html and got a "Page not found" error from blogger, I apologize.

I've reposted it, basically good-as-new, at:

http://notaperfectprocedure.blogspot.com/2008/09/twelves-became-sixteen_05.html

Yeah, so, if this new page evaporates, well, that would be silly. Silly, I say!

~~~~~~

In other music news, a friend pointed me to Discodust's coverage of Memory Cassette, a project putting out some quality bedroom-disco-electronica.. yes, recursive reverb, lovely buzz, and breathy vocals in full effect. The overall vibe of the music brings back memories of my obsession back in the day for those heavy-hitters of the shoegaze scene, Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine (and, later, the Lost in Translation soundtrack). Yes, there is that element here; and it's good stuff.

In any case, check out the Disco Dust blog and download some tracks here.

Yes, I think this just might be inspiration/fodder for the next mix..

Askin' fo' tha Jams -- rhetorically, natch

2008-09-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Back from a daytrip to Mt. Diablo, drinking some tea (more on that later), and planning the upcoming (social) week; why not tune the ol' tube to MTV Jams?

Good question, huh?

I think I'm going to be asking it -- rhetorically, natch -- a lot more often.

You see, I *happened* upon this blast-from-the-past while dialing down, down.. down low on the Comcast television guide tonight; and I ended up at the "MTVJ" channel. Who knew there was such a channel? It's classic MTV -- music videos all day, all the time: "The words and sounds of music's brightest stars mesh with flashy images in a block of videos." True 'dat.

In any case, here's just a small sample of what's going down on MTVJ on your average Sunday night; judge fo'yoself:

Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Girls Ain't Nothin But Trouble (video)

Fergie feat. Ludacris - Glamorous (video)

Sheila E - Glamorous Life (video)

T.I. - Whatever You Like (video)

Notorious B.I.G. - One More Chance (video)

T.I. - What Up, What's Haapin' (video)

Q-Tip - Gettin Up (video)

De La Soul - Breakadawn (video)

Kanye West - Homecoming (video)

While it still ain't my toptop music genre (damn you Frenchelectrohouse!!), for sure, I've been listening to a lot more hiphop and R&B (video) lately; and, so, if you want to hang -- um, intellectronically -- with me you need to be versed in the ways of the (MTV) Jams. ;)

Jams!

So much more than gore and fantasy and folkart

2008-09-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

If you "go out" in NYC, no doubt you've heard of Santos Party House (formerly-known-as-and-perhaps-soon-to-swing-back-into Santa's Party House); no doubt you've even gone to check out a cool mix of live acts and djs; and to get your dance on.

Hmm.. Did you know that Andrew WK is one of Santos' four owners? Probably; you did. Ok. But could you name any of the other owners?

Does it matter? Well, not really. haha. But sometimes these sorts of little facts help establish a rapport with certain groups of people. Yeah, no matter what circle(s) you roll in, you're sorta expected to know who's who in the scene (whether we're talking about NYC clubs or SF non-profits).

In any case, SF and NYC cross paths once again..

You see, tomorrow night, the Jack Hanley Gallery, located on the northern-most (and up-coming-est) stretch of Valencia Street, is opening its doors from 6pm - 9pm to present to you, the public, the latest works from Spencer Sweeney, NYC-based (visual and performance) artist -- and co-owner of Santos.

(For your future reference -- and name-dropping pleasure -- the full list of owners of Santos Party House follows: Spencer Sweeney, Andrew WK, Larry Golden, and Ron Castellano.)

Spencer Sweeney @ Jack Hanley Gallery
September 20th - October 25th, 2008

Admittedly, I'm planning on stopping by somewhat for the scene (although why else go to any art opening?; the opening event is not a particularly good time to go to have an intimate dialog with the art itself). That said, the swirl of colors, and mix of (sloppy) geometry and modern-symbols-rendered-in-a-primitive-fashion, found in the pieces that I've seen online seem up my alley.

The work recalls Philip Guston and Basquiat, it recalls some Paul Klee and early Jackson Pollack in my mind. (ahem) I know the use of such HUGE artistic icons in my comparison betrays my lack of art knowledge; and I somewhat-apologize for their use. But, whatever; it's all I got off the top of my head. ;) Check the Jack Hanley site for his latest work, or, get your google on!

Besides, this Sweeney fellow seems like an interesting character. And Jack Hanley usually provides free beer at these sorts of shindigs.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, alright, so now that I've whetted you appetite for the visual scene here in SF, what else to do? Well, I think we're all in luck because this Fall is starting off with a bang..

Two artists of the (local) "Beautiful Losers" collective have shows up right now in the city. And while I'm NOT a fan of most "street art" -- to put a really generic term that covers what these guys do/make -- Shepard Fairey and Barry McGee have created iconic bodies of work, have created a signature style that you will surely recognize, even if you didn't know the artists' names. Check it (now, in a gallery setting):

Shepard Fairey @ White Walls Gallery
September 13th - October 4th, 2008

Barry McGee aka Twist, aka Ray Fong, and, now, aka Lydia Fong @ Ratio3 Gallery
September 15th - October 18th, 2008

Read about + see more of the work of Fairey and "Fong" here and here, respectively.

~~~~~~~~~~

And, well, this last bit is just a tease -- because we all just missed this show at Park Life, over in the Inner Richmond -- but, man, be on the lookout for more work by 22-year-old Matthew Palladino.

He captures gore and fantasy and folkart, wrapped up in tiger stripes and gang colors. In short, it's pretty cool.

Music across the gamut, huh?

2008-09-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

Whew! Stockmarket crash be damned (for now)!

I bought a few concert tickets earlier today (what else is this paper money good for anyway?); check this:

September 19th: Danger + Spitzer @ Mezzanine
October 13th: The Black Kids + The Virgins @ GAMH
October 30th: SOULWAX + 2MANY DJS @ Mezzanine
November 1st: Lykke Li + Friendly Fires @ The Independent

I, of course, recommend all of the above shows (and if you want to join me, let me know!). And here are a couple more that I'm-interested-in-but-can't-go-to-for-one-reason-or-another:

September 18th: Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ GAMH
September 19th: Sugar and Gold @ Cafe du Nord
September 19th: Veil Veil Vanish @ The Hemlock Tavern
November 6th: Electric Six + Local H @ GAMH
November 11th: Vic Chestnut + Elf Power @ Bottom of the Hill
November 29th: Palms @ Cafe du Nord
November 29th: Blowoff, hosted & DJ'd by Bob Mould & Rich Morel

Music across the gamut, huh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news... sexual orientation be damned, I, *ahem*, happened upon a few gay bars in the Castro tonight -- the reasoning is quite straight-forward if you'd like to know -- but shizz if they don't have INSANE drink specials on a Monday night. Oh yeah, I'm filing this alcoholic-information away for future reference... for those times when, on the first day of the (proper) workweek, you want a drink or two (or six) and Tuesday seems soooooooooo far away; Tuesday, what? In short, hit the Midnight Sun; damn yo, 2 for 1 all day. For reals...

Don't be scared by the freedom (of granola)!

2008-09-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a five-day climbing trip with some friends in Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite National Park), and one of the things that sustained me -- nutritionally, that is -- was a boatload of homemade granola. In fact, I've been making my own granola the past couple of months... almost exclusively for overnight climbing trips, but I do have it in mind to make it more often, to have it jar'd up and ready-to-eat whenever.

While the ingredients of a specific "granola" can vary widely, it most certainly includes a base of (whole) rolled oats, nuts, and dried fruit, which is then sweetened, oiled, spiced, and baked at a low temperature. Yeah -- so a search for "granola recipe" on google yields a multitude of results (owing to, again, its loose definition).

Don't be scared by the freedom!

Here, my advice is the same as for cooking/baking other things: start with some old, trusted stand-bys as a source of inspiration; then, once you've (hopefully) had some successes (or near-successes), start playing around with ingredients and ratios. So, as I have for other endeavors-in-the-kitchen, I turned to Alton Brown and Ina Garten, but also liked some of the ideas from Kathy Nicol's "Heathy Habits" blog.

Without further ado, check my granola recipe:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DRY
4c whole rolled oats
1c roasted and lightly salted whole almonds
1c roasted and lightly salted broken cashews
1T sesame seeds
1T flax seeds
2t ground Saigon cinnamon
1t ground ginger
1/4t ground cayenne pepper
1/2t salt

WET
1/4c brown sugar
1/4c vegetable oil
3/8c maple syrup (grade B)
1t vanilla extract

FRUIT
1c golden raisins
1c dried cranberries

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Preheat your oven to 250° F.

2. Mix the DRY ingredients in a large mixing bowl and the WET ones in a medium-sized bowl.

3. Add the WET ingredients to the DRY ones (i.e. into the large mixing bowl) and combine evenly. Note that the amount of WET ingredients is relatively "light" compared to other granola recipes, but it will coat all the DRY ingredients with some careful mixing.

4. Dump the moistened oat/nut mixture onto a rimmed cookie sheet (or half-sheet pan), spread it around to the edges, and bake for 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 20 minutes, stirring the mixture around the pan every 15-16 minutes to make sure it all bakes evenly. Note that for pans with a tiny rim, this can be a challenge, so stir carefully to avoid granola falling everywhere!

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool. Mix in the FRUIT ingredients and you're ready to rock some deliciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you store your granola in an airtight container, it should last a couple of weeks... which is why it's been good to bring on camping trips. But, as I implied before, it's good to have around the house for mixing in yogurt, snacking on its own, or -- and this is something I haven't tried yet -- baking with it.

Let me know if you give this recipe a go... or, change up the nut or fruit options, change up the spicing! It's really hard to go wrong. And share it with the rest of us. ;)

The Twelves Became Sixteen

2008-09-05T02:26:00.001-07:00

This new Hotwell mix -- by yours truly -- is a collection of some really fresh, really fun music; it's the sort of music that I've listening to a lot lately. May I present, "The Twelves Became Sixteen"; download it here.

Note: Download taken down; let me know if you want it!

Tracklist:

01. Electric Feel - MGMT (video)
02. A Sudden Rush - Erlend Øye (video)
03. Somebody, Somewhere (Lifelike Remix) - Cazals (blog)
04. Works for Me - The Twelves (blog)
05. Ambient Room (SymbolOne Remix) - DVAS (blog)
06. Icarus (Lifelike Remix) - Ledge (blog)
07. Epic Last Song (Lifelike Remix) - Does It Offend You, Yeah? (blog)
08. Nightdrive With You (GRUM's New Wave Remix) - Anoraak (blog)
09. This Boy's In Love (Lifelike Remix) - The Presets (blog)
10. Sometimes (Computer Club Edit) - Les Rhythmes Digitales (blog)
11. Countdown (Designer Drugs Remix) - Jupiter One (blog)
12. I'm Good I'm Gone (Fred Falke Remix) - Lykke Li (blog)
13. I'm Not Gonna Teach Your BF How to Dance (The Twelves Remix) - Black Kids (blog)
14. Colours (Fred Falke Remix) - Hot Chip (blog)
15. Walking on a Dream - Empire of the Sun (video)
16. Hold On - Wilson Phillips (video)

The working title of this mix was "Cage Redux" -- because I wanted to base the overall vibe/sound around the Fred Falke Remix of Golden Cage (a song featured in my last mix)..

You'll note, though, that I didn't leave Golden Cage on the final mix. But no matter for the end-product.. that ethereal Frenchhouse vibe, embodied by producers like Falke, Lifelike and The Twelves, is well represented. *Very* well represented. Yeah, so let me know what you think; and believe that this aural device is eminently-danceable (so get on and dance!).

In any case, I need to mail this mix out to the ol' "mix CD club" tomorrow.. a few days late -- yeah, we have deadlines! -- so hopefully it makes it over to the, um, Ohio headquarters in time to be included in the next cycle. People gotta hear this!! haha.

Also, if you're interested in your own, physical, copy, let me know and I'll see what I can do..

~~~~~~~

ps. I'll fill out links to some of the songs above over the weekend!

It's getting hot in herre; or is it me?

2008-08-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah -- I can't deny it: I'm goofing off tonight (and totally chillin' in my room, weekend-style, interleaving music searches with random videos on youtube.

Ok, ok.. you're asking: what's in it for me (this "goofing off" by this blog kid)? Well, the benefit of my low-keyness for you -- for you! -- is that I've dug up Tiga's version of "Hot In Herre" (video). Turn that BASS up!

And, besides any low-frequency delight this track embodies, the video reminds me of the power of puppets!! (even as my most recent *real* exposure is via "The Long Christmas Ride Home", performed at The Magic Theater in 2006). But also -- and more specifically (and yeah!) -- dog puppets are universally funny/cool. haha.

In any case, if you haven't seen the original of "Hot in Herre" (by Nelly), check it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Also: I was a fan of Stone Brewing's 11th Anniversary Ale when it first came out, but this Black Imperial IPA still rocks today, a year later. And I think I've got two or three more bombers stashed in the apartment somewhere. Ohhhh -- the power of planning ahead!

Hmmm.. I think I'm overdue for an update to my "Top XX Beers", huh?

The Twelves, you never heard it so good

2008-08-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

Oh, The Twelves done put out an awesome mixtape this past week; check the tracklist:

01. Zeigeist - Humanitarianism (The Twelves Replay)
02. Radiohead - Reckoner (The Twelves Replay)
03. Mirwais - Naive Song
04. Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit
05. David E. Sugar - To Yourself
06. The Virgins - Rich Girls (The Twelves Replay)
07. Daft Punk - Voyager
08. Jupiter - CHIP
09. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal (The Twelves Replay)
10. Metronomy - Heartbreaker
11. The Twelves - Works for Me (The Twelves Replay)
12. Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance (The Twelves Replay)

Yeah -- I know what you're thinking: besides Daft Punk, you might not think these other groups are really up my alley. I know; I know. That said, The Twelves have put a great beat behind each track, really threading everything together in a rich, um, tapestry of aural delight. So -- chill, a'ight? ;)

The fabulous package of music, for sure, advances an agenda of mellowdanceyvibe around the house (my house); and, as such, becomes -- or, rather, I imagine it would become -- good background music for all manner of party (including a bit of close-close dancing s'il vous plait). Or whatever. The bottom line is that this mix of "The Twelves Replays" fits my spot-measured aesthetic -- go ahead: take the measurements! -- in the here-and-now. Oh yeah.. I'm gonna rip a track or two of this into my next homemade mix (due for my mix CD club by this weekend -- stay tuned for more info on that in a future post!).

Whoa -- but hey, regardless of my musical-leanings electronique the past couple of years, I *have* been indulging in a little bit of my indie rock roots lately. (By the way, don't tell me that the term "indie rock" is vague.. I know; and I would say to suspend those suspicions and read on..).

Most recently, I've been listening to the new Of Montreal and MGMT albums, "Skeletal Lamping" and "Oracular Spectacular", respectively. And, further.. shizz.. do Dinosaur Jr., Dramarama (video), or any of 'dem oldschool indie rock bands ever, truly, go out of style?

At this point, if you're wondering if I'm "getting soft" in my musical tastes, don't worry!; I can still get down to a good set of bangers. Yeah, so if you want to test that, to rock it late-night, bring it. ;) In the meantime, you can't get this, The Twelves Episode II mixtape, on fast enough.. download it at the kickass Discodust blog; press "play"; and then "repeat".

Please press.
Please press repeat;
Please press on;
And repeat.

Maybe it's time to try another cask ale

2008-08-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today, William Brand's "What's on Tap" beer blog threw out a last minute heads-up that tonight is Anderson Valley Brewing Night at Toronado; it starts at 6pm.

What this means is that they are tapping the first keg of their Winter Solstice spiced Christmas ale for 2008. They will also be pouring many other beers from the always-quality Anderson Valley lineup, including one I've never heard of: a Deep Enders Dark Porter. I've been drinking a lot of dark porters/stouts lately (mostly of the Imperial variety) so this porter is calling out to me.. although it's going to be on cask, which is an old-school finishing/delivery method that I haven't really developed a taste for (yet?). We'll see..

In any case, find more details for tonight's event over at What's On Tap, but the bottom line is that if you're thirsty tonight, Toronado will be a good place to be. No special cover; just pay for your beers (natch).

I'm going to walk by after my Russian class tonight and if it's not too crowded (around 10:30pm), I'll probably give that porter-on-cask a go..

Oh, and if you're not familiar with Anderson Valley Brewing, they are a solid Northern Californian brewer, most famous for their Boont Amber Ale. And, as I've mentioned before, they throw one hell of a beerfest every year -- put it on your calendars for 2009!

~~~~~~~~

By the way, Toronado has special beer nights all the time -- mostly in this same format (i.e. no cover, just lots of beers from a particular brewery available -- usually along with the brewers themselves), although occasionally they have a formal tasting in Toronado's back room. Check their calendar for updates, but here are the next couple of events:

September 16th: Lagunitas Night
September 17th: Elysian Brewery Bay Area Kick Off Party!

Nelly: you know it's the right thing to do.

2008-08-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah.. you know, and I know (even though it was just officially announced today): "MEZZANINE and Ankh Marketing present"..

Um, Nelly, at Mezzanine on September 13th.

Want to go?

Doors at 9am; the shizz is $40 for General Admission (GA), or $55 for tha' VIP (which, at this point, I admit: I'm not sure what "VIP" means in terms of experience, but, still: I'm interested in it, given the high price for GA anyway).

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (here), but I'm out of town for the weekend (doing that climbing thing); if tickets aren't sold out come Monday, I'm going to buy a pair.. and convince someone that gettin' silly to some pophop on a rad Saturday night is the right thing to do.

You know it's the right thing to do.

Oh.. plus free movie night is back at The Independent this Monday night with Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Check it; if we're lucky, there will be some way to incorporate a bit of the Wilson Phillips (video) in this sequel.. just like in the original, for reals (video). Ah.. to dream!

All things licorice, and drink-worthy

2008-07-30T01:36:00.000-07:00

I'm out of vodka!
Repeat: I'm out of vodka!

And this happens just when I bought some deliciously-red-colored Bloody Mary mix yesterday (I know, I know -- I should make my own "mix" from scratch, but I couldn't resist this "natural" version, in a bottle so shapely). Yeah, so now what am I gonna do wit'it?

Well, first, I should, um, clarify the situation.. I've started off with a bit of hyperbole (for dramatic effect). Alas! Alack! Whew?! ;)

Where was I? For sure.. before everyone gets all up in a tizzy, I *should* add that the realdeal is that I don't have any more *unflavored* vodka in the house. You see, the other day I applied my last half-liter of clear niceness to a(nother) noble infusion experiment.. so let me ask you:

Do you like the aroma, the slickness, or, dare I say, the *stimulation* of whole star anise?

I do. Yikes!

Hmm.. although, I don't have any particular mixed drink in mind for the licorice elixir (which will be ready, I'm thinking, by the weekend). But I think it might be tasty to have, simply: over rocks. How can I be so sure (of future enjoyment)? Let me count the ways:

1. While not my usual "go to" drink, I *do* have a fondness for a nice lowball glass of decent vodka over ice when I'm in the right mood and/or company.

2. I like me some anise flavor in general; in fact, one of my top choices for cocktails-made-at-home right now: Redbull and absinthe (6 parts of the former to 1 part of the latter, over lots of ice).

Two reasons are enough for me! Bring on the drink! haha.

Ah, speaking of absinthe - it would have been more timely to mention this a few weeks ago - but that purveyor-of-cool-events (delivered right to your inbox, natch), Flavorpill, recently put up a nice mini-site dedicated to the Green Fairy (as absinthe may be more poetically known); check it here. There, you'll find an abbreviated history of how this particular liquor came to be such a seductress, along with a couple of fancy cocktail recipes -- including their "Summer 2008 Signature Cocktail", the Flavorpill Orange Fresh.

In any case, as I sorta hinted at, I meant to post this Flavorpill+absinthe business a few weeks ago because those guys were sponsoring a few parties earlier this month with free Orange Fresh tastings at madhip places like Santos Party House in NYC and Mezzanine in SF; and, from what I hear, there was some maddancy music to be had too. But, c'est la vie. If you didn't know, now you know..

And knowing is half the battle (video). So get yourself a bottle and start makin' up for lost time! ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, and if you have any good ideas for my anise-infused vodka, let me know!

Models in the middle of the street, bludgeoned

2008-07-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

I've never been there, but, it seems, the Catharine Clark Gallery is calling me from its location down in SOMA (on Minna Street, near 3rd Street). Noone is literally calling me, of course. ;) But I just found out about a Timothy Cummings exhibit that opened there the other day; and I'm a fan of the guy's ghostly and iconographic work.

I first happened upon Mr. Cummings - that is, his paintings - at the Boomerang "screening & exhibition" a few months ago at John's Hayes Valley Market Gallery; and, there, I was enamored with his "androgynous subjects" and their "dark and brooding gazes"; I said as such at the time.

Since then, I found out that Timothy Cummings has been represented by the Catherine Clark Gallery since 1994 (though he's shown at many other galleries since then, like the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in NYC), so my attendance there is way overdue; this current show will be up until August 23rd so I've got a few weeks. Yeah, if you head over their yourself, I'd like to hear what you think of his pieces..

But in the meantime, find out a little more about the man; I found this interview at, um, Queerty..

The Totally Frightful Issue: Timothy Cummings
Interview with Andrew Belonsky
Published: Oct 20, 2006

Andrew Belonsky: There was a show at SITE Santa Fe a few years ago – I think it may have just been called “The Grotesque” – which was interesting to me not only because of the art, but because [it seems] the idea of “the grotesque” has reached new levels…

Timothy Cummings: I’ve always been inspired by [the grotesque]. I’ve always been sort of hot for gory fashion ads. Now it’s the norm. It’s not even an [issue]: of course the new ad campaign’s going to be your jeans and a couple hot models lying in the middle of the street, bludgeoned. It’s hot. I love it.

True that. haha.

A nice way to start off the Fall

2008-07-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok.. just one more:

What's that about more Australians in the States? Yeah, you heard right, music scene darlings (and, um, nu-ravers.. only when the remixers get ahold of them, methinks), The Midnight Juggernauts, are playing at 103 Harriet Street (San Francisco) on Friday, September 12th.

But that's not all.. LCD Soundsystem and DFA founder, The Juan Maclean will also be there -- with his touring band; I'm curious how their live sound compares to the purely electronic sound of the albums. The little cherry on top is that the boys of Digitalism will be dj'ing around the night as well.

A nice way to start off the Fall season, huh?

VERY LIMITED $20 introductory advance tickets onsale now, here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps. I looked up 103 Harriet Street - I've never been there - and I *think* it's another name for former epic party venue 1015 Folsom. If anyone can confirm and/or correct, drop it in the comments. Thanks!

These dates need legwork

2008-07-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

These things seem to come in cycles, but a lot of live music is flying across my radar right now, so many djs and bands (and, at times, bands-as-djs) will be rocking - so to speak - through San Francisco over the next couple of months. For example, earlier today - yes, today!, although earlier, so you may already know this fine news - Cut Copy and The Presets announced their next North American tour:

SAT 9/13 - Monolith Festival - Denver, CO
MON 9/15 - The Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
TUES 9/16 - Fine Line Music Cafe- Minneaplis, MN
WED 9/17 - Metro - Chicago, IL
FRI 9/19 - Sound Academy - Toronto, Ontario
SAT 9/20 - Club Soda - Montreal, Quebec
SUN 9/21 - Webster Hall - New York City, NY
MON 9/22 - Webster Hall - New York City, NY
TUE 9/23 - Paradise - Boston, MA
THURS 9/25 - The Trocadero Theater - Philadelphia, PA
FRI 9/26 - 9:30 Club - Washington D.C.
SAT 9/27 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
MON 9/29 - Emo's Alternative Lounge - Austin, TX
TUES 9/30 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
FRI 10/3 - The Glass House - Pomona, CA
SUN 10/5 - Mezzanine - San Francisco, CA
TUES 10/7 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
WED 10/8 - Showbox At The Market - Seattle, WA
THURS 10/9 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, B.C.

I saw Cut Copy (and Simian Mobile Disco) at Mezzanine last time they came through town, and it was, for sure, the top show that I've seen this year. The short version of the "why" is that I love their last album, "In Ghost Colours", on its own - I will play it in all sorts of moods, from gettin'-ready-to-go-out to atmospherizizin'-the-kitchen-while-cookin'.. but seeing them live brought the music another level (yes, a totalcheese description, I know); still, the lights were a'strobin' and the bodies a'throbbin' (in a good way - ha!). The real kicker is that I went with a few folks that were also into the music from the get-go; a little preparty at my apartment got the night starts and we rocked it through 'til the lights came on. Too cool.

In any case, I'll almost definitely see them again, especially as they are coming 'round with The Presets - the *other* Austrailian in-fashiony-dancily group that's been getting a lot of great press (and remix treatment).

Yeah, so on October 5th, Cut Copy and crew will be back at Mezzanine.. but as you can see above, that's just one stop on a great big US tour.. so maybe this shebang be a good excuse to get to travelin'. I mean, September *is* a nice time to visit the city (NYC). We'll see; if you're interested in going to any of those shows, let me know. ;)

In other concert news, I mentioned earlier that Sam Sparro will be coming to town in order to blue-eye-electro-neo-soul us at The Independent on September 9th; are you ready? Yes, since then, ticket went on sale; and I bought mines; you should too. It's gonna be a superfun sing-along sort of show. And I'm really looking forward to it..

Speaking of sing-alongs, the 2008 season of Midnight Mass (hosted by Peaches Christ) has been going for a few weeks now.. and this full weekend calendar of midnight movies has, so far, included gems like Showgirls and Barbarella. But I think the real gold is still to, um, come..

This Saturday, for example, find exploitation of all stripes in the cult-classic, Starrbooty; apparently, Starrbooty producer, writer, and star, RuPaul Charles will be at the theater live and in-person (in drag or not?)! Mid-August, indulge in your horror fantasies via a weekend of Nightmare on Elm Street(s): the crowd pleasing original and the third one, set 6 years later (and featuring quite a few later-to-be-well-known actors). I hear there is supposed to be some sort of "wet section" in the audience, but I have no clue what that means; I'd just remind you to bring a hanky (good advice, regardless, given the track record of these Midnight Mass folks). ;)

But as far as I'm concerned, the piece d'resistance of the summer will be a showing of the sing-along version of Purple Rain, playing both August 1st and August 2nd.. at midnight, natch. I caught Purple Rain last time it came to town a few years ago, and I really didn't know what I was in for. I mean, I liked Prince and all (and still do - even moreso), but I didn't realize at the time that some people *live* Prince. For reals. haha. And that's awesome for an event like this; it's all part of the spectacle to dress up (if you feel like it), to sing-along (if you feel like it), and maybe come to the theater with a few drinks in you (*not* if you feel like it; you have to do this). haha. Like I said (or implied), the scene is very silly, but very fun; Prince sorta call out for the "right crowd" for this sort of thing. And when the Purple One and crew start breaking into song during the movie, ignore any ruffley shirts on the screen for a few minutes (if you can!) and just keep following that bouncing ball..

Whew!

Where was I?

Alright, let me just drop a few other music dates on you; and I'll let you do the legwork yourself. ;)

July 25th: Does It Offend You Yeah? + Steed Lord @ 330 Ritch
July 25th: The Black Ghosts @ The Independent
July 26th: Starrbooty (film) @ The Clay Theater
July 29th: Chromeo @ The Fillmore
July 30th: Joy Division double-feature (films) @ 330 Ritch
August 1st: Purple Rain (film/sing-along)@ The Clay Theater
August 2nd: Purple Rain (film/sing-along)@ The Clay Theater
September 5th: Lebowskifest + Extra Action Marching Band @ Mezzanine
September 9th: Sam Sparro @ The Independent
October 5th: Cut Copy + The Presets @ Mezzanine

Good advice at any age

2008-07-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

Now that the Olympics is almost here, I've been seeing quite a few articles pop up in the media focusing on the larger percentage of "older" athletes competing this year.. those in their 40's and above (and even some in their 60's). For example, the Beijing Olympics-themed blog of the NYTimes posted a nice (and short) blog entry on the subject:

The Starting Line: At the Olympics, Age Is Just a Number
By Jeff Z. Klein
July 14, 2008, 2:22 pm

One quote that stuck out for me came from Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic; he explained why so many older athletes are doing so well at the Olympic level:

The message that these people tell us, whether it's Gordie Howe, George Foreman, Dara Torres or any of these people, is that if people become obsessed with what they can't do as they age, well then they won't do it. These individuals are more interested with what they can do.

Of course, the Olympics, in many respects is still a "young person's game" and these 40+ athletes mentioned in the article make up a small percentage of the overall field, but, still, the take-away from this article is clear.. focusing more on what you can do (versus what you *think* you can't, physically or otherwise) is pretty good advice at any age..

Let's all get down like the BBC!

2008-07-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

Just found out yesterday that Sam Sparro is *finally* coming to San Francisco. He performs at The Independent on September 9th. He's not posted on The Independent's website just yet (or at Sam Sparro's myspace page, for that matter), but I'm guessing it's just a matter of time since..

Tickets go on sale this Sunday at 10am PST; get yourself some. Should be a great electro-soul show with mad sing-a-longs; for reals. haha.

In other (personal) music news, I looked up the True Pseudo guys who rock the first track ("Freakin Me Out") of the "12:02 Mix" from the After Midnight DJs.. just like I said I would. And all I got to say is that if they come to San Francisco, here, they gonna rock the house; and more tix I'll be a-buyin'. Yeah, I'm up for the challenge of convincing a friend to indulge in a(nother) random concert that I'm excited about (even as they have no clue what they're getting themselves into). ;)

For sure, my favorite True Pseudo tune is the aforementioned "Freakin Me Out" - I'm picturing the whole place blowin' up when that one drops on the dancefloor - but most of their tracks are pretty good (ex. "Eltone") and will keep butts shakin'; they have a good overall aesthetic (so I would trust their DJ selections too).

Finally, let me just mention that I've been playing the DJ Kicks mix from Erlend Øye (of Kings of Convenience and The Whitest Boy Alive fame) almost non-stop the past week. I mean, it was released in 2004, but, hey, you can't catch all the good music the first time around, right?; the CD surfaced in my life a few weeks ago when I was searching for all things Alan Braxe and Fred Falke. Check this tracklist:

1. So Weit Wie Noch Nie - Jürgen Paape
2. Sheltered Life / Fine Day (A Capella) - Erlend Øye
3. Drop (Kings of Convenience Remix) - Cornelius
4. If I Ever Feel Better - Phoenix
5. Radio Jolly / Prego Amore (A Capella) - Jollymusic
6. Rubicon - Alan Braxe & Fred Falke
7. 2D2F - Avenue D
8. I Need Your Love - The Rapture
9. Lattialla Taas / Venus (A Capella) (Bananarama cover) - Uusi Fantasia
10. 2 After 909 / Intergalactic Autobahn (A Capella) - Justus Köhncke
11. The Black Keys Work (DJ-Kicks) - Erlend Øye
12. Airraid - Jackmate
13. Poor Leno (Silicone Soul's Hypno House Dub) / There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (A Capella) (The Smiths cover) - Röyksopp
14. Metal Chix / Always on My Mind (A Capella) (Brenda Lee cover) - Skatebård
15. Dexter - Ricardo Villalobos
16. Winning A Battle, Losing The War - Minizza
17. Lullaby / A Place In My Heart (A Capella) - Morgan Geist

Part of the appeal is that Mr. Øye actually (re)records vocals for some of the songs he's mixing (ex. "I Need Your Love" or "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"), blurring the line between straight DJ and more traditional musical performance. Cool stuff.

Ok, ok.. one more thing:

Speaking of albums I missed, have you heard "Sexuality" from Sébastien Tellier yet? I've basically been trading off the DJ Kicks album with this one the past week or so. It was released earlier this year (at the end of February); and it lives up to its suggestive name.. the music is dripping with sensuality and, well, sex. The music is richly-layered synthesizer pop that, um, comes in measured and languid waves - produced by none other than Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (of Daft Punk) - overlaid with Mr. Tellier's smooth Gainsbourg-esque vocals.. perfect for lazing around in bed (or whatevering in bed). Track 5 ("Pomme") goes as far as using some female sounds of pleasure as a layer of subtle percussion - if I may be so bold as to identify the use as percussion at all - behind the up-front bouncy bass beat. Whew!

Yeah, check some of the tracks here (at The Yellow Stereo blog), or find a full album review at the BBC (who knew the BBC liked to get down?). Let's all get down like the BBC!

Don't just take my word for it

2008-07-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

I've been cooking/baking quite a bit lately - ahem, mostly for myself.. though last night a friend got the full dinner treatment, homemade walnut bread (warm and fresh and crackly!) and all. So, given that most of these simple kitchen endeavors resolve around the fresh ingredients that I'm receiving in my weekly "CSA box", I've found myself explaining, "what, exactly, is this CSA thing?"; in fact, I've had to do so a few times in the past couple of weeks.

These people obviously don't read my blog. ahem. CSA = Community-Supported Agriculture, and it is, essentially, a farm business model that allows folks to buy "shares" of a harvest at the start of the season (although many farms allow one to pay monthly, and some allow members to join on a rolling basis). In this way, a farm has a guaranteed source of income upfront (vs. the ongoing threat of customer capriciousness when selling at, say, a farmer's market), and shareholders get weekly deliveries of the seasonal harvest.

Of course, there are drawbacks: a late frost could destroy a delicate crop of tomatoes and members would get nothing for the week (well, at least: no tomatoes). And you are otherwise at the mercy of the seasons in terms of what grows when.. for example, you are not likely to receive blueberries in January if you live anywhere in the US (and you are not likely to receive blueberries at all if you live in Northern CA). Still, I'm a fan insofar that the CSA program allows me to support local agriculture, for one, and two, it challenges me to expand the breadth of my cooking skills. There is a forcing function in finding new recipes that incorporate some of the ingredients that I normally wouldn't automatically pick up at the supermarket by myself (ex. acorn squash, green beans); I hate throwing out food.

In short, I think the pros far outweigh the cons for my lifestyle/interests right now. Yeah, and if I really want something not in season and not local (ex. bananas, at least until they go extinct), I still make my way over to the supermarket. ;)

Well, as fortune would have it, you don't have to take my word for it with respect to all this CSA business.. the NYTimes posted an short article today talking about how this food distribution model came to be in the United State and what sorts of folks indulge in them today (and why):

Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms
By Susan Saulny
Published: July 10, 2008

I don't think the article is going to answer all your questions on how a CSA works - that is, how you, how you! can get ahold of fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables (or local, grass fed beef for that matter) - but it *could* very well whet your appetite to find out more. If so, I'd recommend making your next stop Local Harvest, a popular CSA (and farmer's market) online clearinghouse.

But regardless of all this CSA talk, I hope you're eating and drinking well in general, (among other active pursuits); summer is upon us!

It's true: Everybody Likes Sandwiches

2008-06-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

For a few weeks in May/June, I got sacks of deep-red cherries in my weekly CSA box. And given that I don't really like eating them "fresh" - sacrilege, I know - I had looked around for some recipes to bake them into something delicious.

While some cherries were used to, um, spice up pancakes (using my own recipe as the base), I put others to good use in a tasty little muffin recipe I found at the Everybody Likes Sandwiches blog. In fact, I made the latest batch (and last, perhaps, for the season) of "very cherry whole wheat muffins" last night**.

Let me first say that the use of pastry flour is key to a good texture (especially given that these treats are 100% whole wheat). And if you want to add more than the 1 cup of pitted and chopped cherries called for, I ain't gonna stop you.

Also in this latest batch, I did fool around with adding some chopped almonds (~1/3c) and the remains of a bag of dark chocolate chips (~1/4c) to the batter.. and, you know what?.. I didn't think they really contributed in a meaningful way to the original recipe (they didn't *take* anything away either - how you gonna argue with chocolate anything?). But, you see, these muffins are so delicately sweetened (that is to say: not much) and the consistency already slightly dense, that I don't think they can really handle the in-your-face-ness of the chocolate or the extra bulk of the almonds. But that was just my opinion; I fully advocate any-and-all experimentation in your own kitchen! (Let me know how it goes, s'il vous plait.)

In any case, it was really fortuitous to find this *particular* cherry recipe because it led me to look around Everybody Loves Sandwiches, a blog full of simple, great recipes.. from "chipotle shrimp" to "eggplant involtini" (and some sweets too!); check the archives. Just when I was wondering what to do with this week's batch of green beans from the CSA, I found a post for "green beans & tofu in a thai coconut sauce" (and the secret of great tofu). Pretty good timing, huh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** If you're looking to sample the goods (a reasonable request in a normal kitchen.. where the cook isn't a voracious eater), I'm semi-ashamed to admit that I already ate 10 of the 12; and I wouldn't hold out hold that the last two pieces of cherry goodness will hold out after, say, 10am tomorrow morning! ;)

Get your Great American Beer (Fest)

2008-06-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tickets for the 2008 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) go on sale to the general public tomorrow, July 1st; they be $50 each (and well worth it).

In case you're not in-the-know, the GABF is one of the largest (maybe *the* largest?) beer festivals in the United States; last year, 408 American brewers poured who-knows-how-much delicious beer for a welcoming crowd of almost 50,000 people. And it will sell out (again) this year..

The festival runs October 9th - 11th, and is housed at the Denver Convention Center. If you've gone to other beer festivals (in smaller settings), you might not know where to start when you walk into this HUGE convention hall filled with hundreds of tables of people pouring beer, and thousands of people walking around with, um, pretzel necklaces.. these salty accessories are more a disaster avoidance tactic than fashion. haha.

Ideally, you'll go with someone that knows a little bit about the wide variety of beer being made right now by American brewers (or be that expert yourself).. but, at the least, go with an open set of tastebuds, a camera (to capture the fun), and a small notepad (because, at best, you *might* remember the names of a handful of beers - good or bad - on your own). Know that you won't like every beer that crosses your lips, but you will find some ones that you do.. and some ones that will surprise you with grapefruit, scotch, watermelon, or tobacco flavors (within a framework of delicious malts and hops, of course).

Drink plenty of water!

I can see the vibe being a little "clinical" for folks that love more intimate venues (or outdoor ones, for that matter). Still, it's hard not to recommend the GABF simply for its size, and, well, it *is* one of the 1000 places to see in the US (and Canada) before you die. ;)

Even though my brother doesn't live in Denver anymore (I've only gone to the GABF with him), I still might make it out this year. So, if you're interested, let me know (especially if you want to combine it into a hiking/climbing AND beer drinking trip)!

Would you dance with me at 12:02?

2008-06-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

While Discodust is still my main go-to music blog - for its consistency and conciseness - I've been checking out many other ones in my extended bookmark collection this past week. Among the many singular gems that I've found (maybe to-be-featured in an upcoming personal mix), there were a few full-on mixes that were pretty dope as well.

For example, the guys at the Missingtoof blog posted this kickass "12:02 Mix" from LA-based DJs, After Midnight:

1. True Pseudo - Freakin’ Me Out
2. New Young Pony Club - The Bomb (Villains Xplosive Mix)
3. Death From Above 1979 - Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Edition)
4. Cryptonites - I Can’t Give You Up (Kill The Noise Remix)
5. Villains - Rock It
6. Chromeo - Needy Girl (Vandalism Mix)
7. Atlantic Connection - Rocksteady (LA Riots Shake it All Night Remix)
8. Surkin - White Knight Two
9. Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix)
10. LA Riots - If I Could (feat. Jadis)
11. Apollo 440 - Dude Descending a Staircase (feat. The Beatnuts)
12. The Black Ghosts - Any Way (Fake Blood Mix)
13. The Frail - Addiction (After Midnight Remix)
14. Codebreaker - Exiled (Miami Horror Remix)
15. Michael Jackson - Thriller (Laidback Luke Remix)
16. Basement Jaxx - Where’s Your Head At? (2008 Robbie Riviera Mix)
17. The Count & Sinden - Beeper (feat. Kid Sister) (A-Trak Remix)
18. Kaysh - Drug Induced Sex (Kid Dub Loves Kinky Sex Mix)
19. After Midnight vs. True Pseudo - Roshambo (Original Mix)
20. Klaas - The Way (Klaas Hype Mix)
21. Edison Gem - Things Change (Villains Remix)
22. Orbital - Halcyon & On & On (Original Mix)

Goddamn.. it just starts off so awesome; I need to look up these True Pseudo guys! And then they throw down tracks from all the of-the-moment remixers like Vandalism and LA Riots.. real party selections. Basically, the first 25 minutes are incredible.

Hmm.. although the mix does lose me a little bit at track 11; it definitely changes vibe, which is totally cool.. it's just not totally up my alley. Yeah, it gets a little Miami-y or something; does that make sense? haha. From that point onwards, the only track that stands out for me is the Klaas Hype Mix of "The Way", which kicks in (way-late) for one last bit of rockin' before an 8 minute Ibiza-style cool-down (like, huh?).

Overall, this mix will bring you through quite a range of music/vibes.. like I said, the first 25 minutes will get you going on the dancefloor; and if you're already there, the rest of the mix will keep you there (although maybe not bring you out there on its own). This first introduction to After Midnight was, like I said, a highlight of the past month of mixes. Yeah, so if they ever come up to San Francisco, I'll definitely be checking them out! Read more (and download the mix in its 320kbps glory) straight-up at the source, Missingtoof.

On a related note, the guys at Missingtoof are San Francisco-area DJs/promoters (with some ties to LA) that put on a bunch of well-known parties here (and there); check their blog for all the info.

Drive this dino-beat just a little bit harder

2008-06-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

I've got some long-overdue posts in the works.. but in the meantime, let me expose you to some prehistoric-electro silliness (via Manalogue); straight BC stuff. Really! Check this video from the maybe-faux (but definitely dinosaur-obsessed) band Triceratron:

Iguanodon Automaton (video)

Even though some of the lyrics are a stretch rhymewise (not that that ever stopped ODB or Kool Keith from doing' their thang), I can totally hear the chorus goin' out straight-party-style on a we-up-fo'-anything-style dancefloor:

It's time to get down like a Cro-magnon,
screwin' up your dome like a mobile phone.
It's time to get down like a Cro-magnon,
a steel-plated cranium will protect the radiation.

hahaha.. you just gotta watch the video.

I seriously would love to hear one of the pros give this song a good scrubbing, fill it out will a little dub here and there, drive its beat just a little bit harder.. oh man, it'd be awesome to hear a remix of this 16-bit thumper in a mixtape sometime.

Yeah, so while I admit it *is* definitely more-than-novelty on it's own, with some tweaking it could be a full-on banger-in-the-works. Maybe. hahaha.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps. Manalogue is an awesome! music blog, based out of Toronto.

Alan Braxe gets a little more Lifelike

2008-06-12T00:07:00.000-07:00

The last concert that I hit up this year - Cut Copy and Simian Mobile Disco @ Mezzanine - was awesome on so many levels.. there was, of course, the music: both of those groups put out some of my favorite albums in recent memory. But the show really stands out in my mind because it was the first concert that I've gone to in a while where the people that I went with were waaay into the band (i.e. not just me).. bubbling with enthusiasm pre-show (having a drink or two - or, um, four or more, at my place), and ready to rock out - let's also say, ready to "get dancey" - from the start.

You see, I like to see a lot of live music and, therefore, I'm usually, *ahem*, dragging a friend to some random event featuring Frenchhouse-this or indierockfeedback-that, dj's and/or bands that they've never heard of.. so they need to get over the hump of discovery (no matter how much they may trust my judgment) before they get to the hands-in-the-airing (or, depending on the scene, the involuntary-air-guitar) part of the night.

Don't get me wrong: that sort of thing is totally cool with me; I love introducing people to new music - in general, via conversation or CD or whatever.. but especially when it's live. And, so, I'm *still* going to be calling up my friends periodically to try to entice them with tickets to some hipster shizz..

But all that said.. when everyone is into the music and excited for the aural/experiential possibilities from the get-go, it can make for a pretty fun night. In fact, this Friday - THIS FRIDAY - I'm gearing up for another night of rocking out at Mezzanine.

Did you hear?

Producer/remixer extraordinaire, Alan Braxe, is dj'ing at Mezzanine! Yes, Monsieur Braxe is a giant of French house and currently an "in-demand remixer"; but you may know him via the 1998 release, "Music Sounds Better With You" (video), which he and Thomas Bangalter (of Daft Punk fame) put out under the name "Stardust". And blog-badasses, Lifelike open! (Those Lifelike guys - I just became familiar with them myself - are some of the best new remixers out there right now, and have an aesthetic similar to some of Braxe's work; it'll be a perfect match.)

SO cool.
SO cool!

Even cooler that I'm again going with some friends that know-what-they're-in-for: the freshest in dancey music, mind-altering lights, and, um, gettin' sweaty in a packed house. What can I say?; it's my cup-of-tea. Note that doors open at 10pm, so you're guaranteed a late night.

If you're interested in such things, tickets are still available; this flier tells you how; and at $10+fees, they be cheap. Use the money you've saved to buy me a lovely gin cocktail at the show. ;) See you then!

You never knew me to be a runner

2008-06-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

These days, I dedicate a lot of time to climbing and cycling (when I'm not doing some silly hike in the desert).. but if you knew me back in the day, you'd know that I used to be 110%-and-then-some about running (even doing the mile and steeplechase in college - poorly, I might add; haha).

But injuries, on-and-off since those college days, have kept me from doing any significant mileage/training in years; I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I need to keep it low-key if I want to maintain injury-free(-ish) legs, and, ultimately, maintain some sanity through (other) sport/activity. ;) That said, I do get out for a run every once in a while..

In fact, while visiting my brother this past weekend, I taped up my slightly sore right foot (the usual; it's an area that has given me trouble in the past) and ran my first race in a looong time - the Wissahickon 10k Trail Classic - in a great park just north of Philadelphia. It was some good bonding time, I think. ;)

Oh man, but even as I was treating the endeavor as a running "event" in my head (vs. a "race"), it was more physically demanding that you might think - with 90+ degree weather, and tons of offroad hills, it was a HOT and HUMID event to say the least; it was a buttkicker. On a side note.. for non-runners, you might think my mental designation of this being an "event" versus a "race" is just a matter of semantics, but, well, I'll just say that it's *not* and that, admittedly, it's an ego-thing that signals a difference in both intention-of-effort and expectation-for-outcome (i.e. it lowers them).

In any case, I think the wicked conditions helped me in the overall placing (34th out of 400-some) insofar that I'm not in particularly good running shape and therefore couldn't blaze a fast 10k on the roads, but the madhills and heat took their effect on everyone.. but I think they affected me less so. Physically, the hills gave a chance for some of my, um, beefy biking muscles to help out; and, mentally, my lack of specific goals let me just run and not worry about how the heat was lowering my time.. as it might with others worried about maintaining their usual pace.

Yeah, it was a good time overall (even if my thighs are still madsore today). And if you had any doubt to the quality of the event, let me say that one of the post-race foods was boxes and boxes of local pizza (in addition to the more-typical bananas and oranges and stuff). I'm glad I was in a place - mentally and physically - to enjoy 'dem slices!

Packing Peanuts Go Crazy

2008-05-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Man, I've been listening to A LOT of music lately.. all (ok, mostly) in the name of finishing a mix CD inspired by the Fred Falke remix of Golden Cage; I've said as much before. And, it's finally done! Well, I've got a bit of work to do with respect to the actual, um, CD production (i.e. burning, drawing out the CD art and tracklists, some minor packaging), but the search for songs and work of organizing them is over. Whew!

Most of the links in the tracklist below are to blog posts where you can download the song (and read a little about how hype they are - haha); but if I could find them, I linked to its music video instead (but given the fact that most of the tracks are hot off the digital presses, I couldn't find too many videos). Check it:

"Packing Peanuts Go Crazy"

01. Fool for Love (SebastiAn Remix) - Das Pop (blog)
02. Our Time - Ocelot (blog)
03. 5 Feet of Snow (Miami Horror Remix) - The Dirty Secrets (blog)
04. Ask the DJ (Ocelot Express 4 Hour Remix) - Mr. Hudson (blog)
05. Bizarre Love Triangle - Computer Club (blog)
06. Bonafied Lovin' - Chromeo (video)
07. Pogo - Digitalism (video)
08. Out There on the Ice - Cut Copy (blog)
09. I Can Cook (Miami Horror Remix) - Grafton Primary (blog)
10. Lights and Music (Moulinex Remix) - Cut Copy (blog)
11. I Want Your Soul - Armand Van Helden (video)
12. Det Snurrar I Min Skalle - Familijen (video)
13. Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) - The Whitest Boy Alive (blog)
14. In Love with You (Alan Braxe Remix) - The Paradise (blog)
15. Digital Love - Wonky Pop Allstars (blog)

Let me know what you think. In my *ahem* humble opinion, it's a great way to start your night: a few bangers that slowly work themselves (and you too - you're along for the ride) into pure aural ecstasy, so dancey. haha.

Yeah, so, turn it up!; and onwards to the weekend!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps. If you do end up with one of my homemade CDs in your hands, you'll note some of the songs are *slightly* different than the original mp3s you might have downloaded somewhere; I've been known to cut a few superfluous beats, most likely because of a too-long intro or outro.

It's a strange world, isn't it?

2008-05-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

After a long Memorial Day weekend of being sporty during the day (with the wounds to prove it), and a homebody at night (every night), I'm left wondering, "I don't know if you're a detective or a pervert."

In any case (who am I to judge?), I finally had my first proper introduction to the distinctive (and, in some circles, revered) works of director David Lynch. You see, on a quiet Sunday night, a reel of Blue Velvet was unfurled before me (um, via Comcast On-Demand); and I figured a viewing of this cult classic was long overdue. My quiet nights of odd Lynchian design continued Monday, when characters, Wild at Heart, blazed a cross-country trail in a single-minded groove filled with deeply-connected sex and dusty violence. Ah yes, I was reminded that my livingroom couch is no convertible.

Regardless, even from my stationary position, I could view and evaluate these culturally foreign times and places, full of individuals that know nothing but wicked interaction. Scene after scene, Mr. Lynch crafted a violent - in every sense of the word - world of mystery and noir, exposing a bit of the unglamorous (and, further, seedy) underside in even the most mundane of American towns; with respect to the big city, don't even get him started. And you know what?; even as I'm not offended by the occasional graphic nature of the films, his subjects and methods weren't for me.

I mean, I can theoretically appreciate the place of these movies in the pantheon of great films, as they provided example for innovative storytelling technique and helped to break down barriers (with respect to what can/should be considered "appropriate" content in mainstream movies). But in terms of overall enjoyment (via either the viscerals of the characters/stories themselves, or via a more academic analysis of film technique), I just couldn't get into either one.

That said, I put "Inland Empire" on my SF library request list, so I haven't given up just yet; I, at least, want to be able to have a set of reference points when people start talking about Polish-prostitute-this and bugs-under-the-perfectly-manicured-lawn-that. In the meantime, maybe I'll read a few reviews in order to equip me with some analysis/insight from folks more learned than me in the ways of movie-making; my impression is that some of the passion for David Lynch is in an appreciation for his attention to details. "It's a strange world, isn't it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In semi-related news, I've talked about the free movie nights at The Independent before, so let me just say that they-be-back the first two weeks of June:

June 2nd: Rambo
June 9th: Semi-Pro

While I won't be in San Francisco for either of those dates, I think if you had any inclination to see either of these live-action cartoons, The Independent - and, more specifically, watching them while drinking at The Independent - is your best bet for smoothing over any qualms you may have with dumb-ass things like plausible plot or cogent dialog; the drunken group mentality really works for this sort of thing.

Whoa.. I hope that last paragraph doesn't come off as me being uptight. I've had my share of Mad Dog movie nights - as some of my friends would call the smuggling-in of MD20/20 into the movie theater to aid in our viewing of a film with questionable artistic value - over the years; for sure, there is a time and a place for everything. haha.

A gentle enticement back towards Moscow

2008-05-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

While their new bag policy is getting all the press this week, American Airlines just sent out the word today that they are starting service from several US cities into Moscow on June 2, 2008. And as an introductory gesture, they are hooking up the adventurous traveler with 10,000 bonus miles and 25% percent off "normal" round-trip fares, which translates to something like $467 from NYC and $582 from SF ("Additional restrictions, taxes and fees apply", natch).

Check the website for the details, but "tickets must be purchased 7 days prior to departure or within 3 days of making reservations, whichever comes first, but no later than 11:59 p.m. (CT) June 20, 2008", "sale fares are valid for outbound travel June 2 through September 4, 2008.", and "all travel must be complete by March 4, 2009."

As I've mentioned before - probably en vivo - I wanted to head back to Russia and/or its neighbors early this coming Fall. But, now, with me doing a bunch of climbing lately (and getting a little taste of it outdoors), I've had my sights reset on more local destinations, including those in Utah, Colorado and California.

That said, it's hard to totally ignore this fare sale.. and it comes just when I received an offer yesterday to meet a friend in Japan - he's going to be there working at a museum for a few weeks in August. (In fact, one of my envisioned Russian adventures had me in Eastern Russia - maybe around Lake Baikal (Байкал) or Kamchatka (Камчатка) - then meeting our other friends *living* in Japan, on the way home).

We'll see; I need to think more about this; anyone interested?

I'm ready for more input now

2008-05-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

My manager had our team read "StrengthsFinder 2.0" (best-selling management/self-improvement book) this week and take its associated online assessment test. Apparently, one of the higher-ups at the company has bought into the general philosophy of the book, which is to focus on developing your strengths instead of fighting the uphill battle of improving your weaknesses (this has the implicit maxim that you will end up working with others with strengths that complement your own). And, so, our group is the first of many that will go through the process..

I made some time today, did the required deed(s), and received a report proclaiming "my top 5 strengths/talents", in order:

1. Input - craving to know, collect, and archive information
2. Relator - enjoy close/deep relationships with others
3. Individualization - intrigued with unique qualities of others
4. Learner - great desire to learn and continuously improve
5. Analytical - searches for reasons/causes and identify patterns

The full report is about 10 pages of content that expounds on each talent with a set of "Personalized Strength Insights", which basically means that it takes into account all your other quiz-determined talents when it frames and provides commentary on the current one. Plus, it provides some short real-life anecdotes from other folks who fall into the same categories as you, which brings some "life" into the report (i.e. making it easier to relate to this personality assessment business). Finally - and this is where this book/system *might* have some value - it provides quite a few action items to reinforce your best qualities.

Yes, self-reflection is generally good.. but only if it leads to action for improvement!

Of course, you could get this information from other books, personality tests, and other self-assessment systems (and so I'm not going to be evangelicalizing this one in particular), but I can at least say that this method is relatively painless in that you only have to give it about an hour or two of investment up front (not counting your follow-up action items). And, for the most part, it seems to be pretty spot-on.. inasmuch as these general personality tests can be.

This coming week, my coworkers and I are getting together to discuss our individual results and see if we can use the information improve our execution environment (i.e. who does what, and how) and general team dynamics. Again, it's this type of *action* that - who knows - might make this diversion all worthwhile.

If the session with my work teammates, um, blows my mind, I'll probably write a follow-up; probably. haha. In the meantime, if you'd like to see my full report (pdf, natch), let me know; we'll learn a thing or two together.

Do you dare tempt the gods of grammar?

2008-05-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

The comma splice, so *wicked* we find thee referenced, here, today, (free and clear) within this bit of non-fiction; and, furthermore, I'm sure we'll find it a tool *of* the wicked, forever.

According to a recent post on the media-phenom "Stuff White People Like" blog - I know you've all been there - white people love grammar; and in making the case, the author alleges:

When asking someone about their biggest annoyances in life, you might expect responses like "hunger," "being poor," or "getting shot." If you ask a white person, the most common response will likely be “people who use 'their' when they mean 'there.' Maybe comma splices, I’m not sure but it’s definitely one of the two.

True? Well, it's as true as anything else he's written on the blog; winkity-wink, and hahaha. But I need to confess (video) that I had to look up the definition of "comma splice" to even attempt to appreciate what I was guessing was an ironic reference (per the usual mode of operation on the WWPL site) to some semi-arcane rule of sentence construction. A quick google search verified that it was such a thing, indeed, and, further, it is a real no-no for the educated writer.

With respect to proper usage (and we'll see that *there is* such a thing) of this normally-frowned-upon exposition, Lynne Truss, self-styled grammar stickler extraordinaire and author of the bestselling "Eats, Shoots & Leaves", observes:

...so many highly respected writers observe the splice comma that a rather unfair rule emerges on this one: only do it if you're famous... Done knowingly by an established writer, the comma splice is effective, poetic, dashing. Done equally knowingly by people who are not published writers, it can look weak or presumptuous. Done ignorantly by ignorant people, it is awful.

While I'm going to be a little lazy now and not actually go through old blog posts to find an example, but I *know* that I employ the comma splice on occasion. And given that I'm not an established writer, I guess that sort of thing makes me look a little presumptuous to the person who would pick it up (and give a shit). Oh well - these things happen. ;)

Part of the appeal is that it *is* a disreputable technique.

There is something to be said for bending a set of rules - in this case, ones of grammar - in a knowing way so that you may convey meaning beyond a simple, first-level presentation of data. Sure, you've chosen a sequence of words, each with individual symbolism, but you can (and have to) organize them in such a way to provide secondary and tertiary information to the reader/listener (even as most of the time this is an unconscious process); keep in mind that the "information" we're talking about might have nothing to do with the strict meaning of the sentence, but it could have everything to do with making/continuing a connection via, for example, a certain turn of phrase that you both are familiar with.

So, you can willfully manipulate convention - here, in the very construction of your sentence - in order to provide deeper meaning and/or make a deeper connection with the audience. Everyone does it, even when they don't know they're doing it; but if you *are* aware of the phenomena, it can be very satisfying to tap into this human instinct. Layers upon layers upon abstract layers: who doesn't like to solve a puzzle?; and such complexity in the here-and-now keeps us coming back for more, without having the immediate need for reincarnation. Umm.. yeah. haha.

In other news - stumbled upon during c-splice research - "enormity" is not a synonym for "enormousness". Again, from wikipedia:

* Disputed usage: The enormity of the elephant astounded me.
* Traditional usage: The enormity of Stalin's purges astounds me.

For this, I only have one thought: Elephants and Stalins are astounding. And I bid you пока; a new week is upon us!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps. If you find a comma splice in one of my past posts, let me know - put it in the comments - and I'll send you a homemade postcard collage; I make such things on occasion (including tonight). Do you dare?

Falke's Golden Cage getting right to the beats

2008-05-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Looks like I won't be the first one - as (personally) planned - to include the Fred Falke remix of Golden Cage (by The Whitest Boy Alive) on a blog-posted, so-so-fresh mixtape of dancey music. But was the ambition *really* there to make that happen (given that I've been majorly distracted lately by the call of my road bike and the climbing gym)?; probably not. ;)

In any case, it *was* just a matter of time before Golden Cage started showing up in mixes, live or otherwise, because it's one of the best songs of the year; in fact, I can say that it's *my* favorite right now (continuing the sentiment first expressed 2 months ago)! Actually, I heard it playing at the Cut Copy + Simian Mobile Disco show at Mezzanine a few weeks back - so awesome, by the way - and I remember telling my concert cohorts oh-my-god-I-love-this-song-I'm-totally-putting-it-into-my-next-Hotwell-mix (as if I was some sort of actual DJ, and they really cared for my "creative output"). haha. Yeah, that was totally the drinks talking.. although I really *do* have one of my little mix CDs planned for realization in the not-too-distant future. ;)

In any case, I downloaded Stockholm Syndrome's contribution to Disco Belle's Mixin' It Up series late Friday night while doing some massive catch-up on the music blogs, and just got to listenin' to it today. And beyond Golden Cage, it's pretty badass in general (in a subdued disco-y and house-y sort of way), with nods to both polyester classics and French butt-movers. The Stockholm Syndrome Remix of New Song (by Howard Jones) is another standout (which I'm hearing now for the first time - a good find!).

Check the tracklist:

01. D-Train - Music
02. Jermaine Jackson – Come To Me
03. Chic – I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)
04. Daft Punk – Face To Face
05. The Believers - Who Dares To Believe In Me?
06. Seven Grand Housing Authority – The Question
07. Howard Jones – New Song (Stockholm Syndrome Remix)
08. The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
09. Chromeo – Needy Girl (Lifelike Remix)
10. Coach House Rhythm Section – Timewarp
11. Fragmenté – I See You
12. Metropolis – Metropolis
13. Stockholm Syndrome - Quadrophonia
14. RAW - Asuca
15. Stockholm Syndrome – Make You Whole (Stockholm Syndrome Dub)
16. Armand Van Helden – I Want Your Soul (Fake Blood Remix)
17. Lil’ Mo Yin Yang – Reach
18. Kraak & Smaak – Squeeze Me
19. The System – You’re In My System
20. The Black Ghosts – Let’s Get Physical
21. Black Kids - Dance With You (The Twelves Remix)
22. Boys Noize – Oh! (A-Trak Remix)
23. Stockholm Syndrome - DJ’s Take Control
24. Estelle feat. Kanye West – American Boy (Stockholm Syndrome Dub)
25. The Black Ghosts – Any Way (Fake Blood Remix)

They certainly did some diggin' through their crates to put this one together! And if you're interested in downloading it, head on over to the original Disco Belle post; there, you'll also find commentary from the guys of Stockholm Syndrome on how/why each track came to be (in this mix). Interesting background, for sure, but I'd just say to quickly peruse the text and get right to the beats..

Art with bicoastal connections

2008-05-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

For all my yap-yap about exhibit-this and postmodern-that, I am totally, and completely, not part of any sort of "art scene" here in San Francisco (or anywhere, for that matter - haha). That said, I do have more than just a superficial interest in and appreciation for artistic endeavors of many stripes; in fact, I've written a few blog posts on the subject (labeled with "art").

But recently, it occurred to me that I've been focusing almost exclusively on big names showing at established museums or galleries, folks like Anselm Kiefer and Jeff Koons, and places like SFMOMA and the Met, respectively. And that's all well and good, for sure; I'll continue to indulge in those cultural touchstones of the craft because, well, number one: they are pleasing on a pure aesthetic level, and two: their wide recognition means they are part of a shared public consciousness that I'd like to be able to recall and submit at cocktail parties (and have someone else know what I'm talking about). haha.

Ok, ok..

Still, as I've implied, it's crossed my mind that I "need" to hit up smaller galleries, especially local ones.. to simply show up and take my chances on lesser-known artists, to meet some interesting folks with some of these similar interests (and, therefore, by necessity, to get over any hesitance about not fitting into a scene). On a side note, I find it funny that I'm much more comfortable showing up at, say, a NYC gallery opening than a San Francisco one (and I've been to many more in the former than in the latter) because, I think, that the NYC scene is so far from my normal reality that the whole endeavor becomes, almost, a slightly-abstracted performance, one where I've let go of any presumptions about who am I or who I need to be in that particular time and place; yeah, I think when I'm traveling, in general, I've got a "vacation mentality" going on. And que será será! haha.

But I digress..

This weekend, it seems, is a great time to get into "art" in San Francisco. You see, you'll have an opportunity on both Friday *and* Saturday to attend opening receptions for fresh new work at two different, and well-known, Mission district galleries, Ratio 3 and Jack Hanley. (Relating back to some of my comments above, both of these galleries have strong ties to NYC, so maybe such a bi-coastal relationship will put me at ease.. haha.)

First up, the Ratio 3 gallery is hosting Ryan McGinley's first "West Coast debut solo exhibition":

Ryan McGinley: Spring and By Summer Fall
May 9 - July 21, 2008
Opening: Friday May 9 (6–8pm)

From looking at some of his photography from the show online, they seem to be from the same stock as those featured in his last solo show, "I Know Where the Summer Goes", which just closed at Team Gallery in NYC. And I think this is a good thing.. Mr. McGinley's photography is well received (he's had many a'solo the world over, including being the youngest to show at The Whitney); there is a simple and nostalgic vibrancy to his work. I'm definitely going to this one.. although it should be noted that I can't imagine this being anything but a mobscene, given the artist involved and the fact that word is out. Part of the fun, I suppose. ;)

And if you haven't got your fill of the visual and the visceral yet, the Jack Hanley gallery is hosting an opening reception for New Zealand artist Saskia Leek on the very next night:

Saskia Leek: Thick Air Method
May 10 - 31, 2008
Opening: Saturday May 10 (6-9pm)

I, admittedly, know less about Ms. Leek and her pastel, angular paintings, but from what I've seen recently, I think it will be worth it to check out live. Regardless, Jack Hanley is known for its well-curated shows, so you can show up based on the gallery's reputation alone.. most people do just that. And if you're lucky, they'll have some free beer. ;)

In any case, I'll be out of town Saturday, so I'll miss this second bit of fun; but if any of you do check it out, let me know. (And if you'd like to see the McGinley show Friday night, let me know and we can coordinate.) Until then!

~~~~~~~~~

Aah.. in the meantime, I can't resist saying one thing about a biggie: Mr. Koons currently has three of his bombastic sculptures up on the roof of the Met, showing through October 26, 2008. Whether you find his work charming or juvenile (or charmingly juvenile), the Met's rooftop garden should be a nice place to have a martini on a warm summer night in the city; the Met's martini bar is open 5:30–8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Word.

Boonville Beer Festival delicious this Saturday

2008-05-06T00:39:00.000-07:00

Wow.. I can't believe this fell off my radar, but I just read that the annual Boonville Beer Festival is THIS SATURDAY. Too bad on the timing - I have a few other commitments this weekend - because it was really fun to go last year (my first and only time so far).

It's a straight-up beautiful day of all-you-can-drink delicious local California brews in a boisterous outdoor festival atmosphere. I've been to other brewfests before (including the mothership GABF in Denver), and Boonville's just left me with such a great impression of the microbrew scene in general. Simply, a great time with good peeps. Hedonist Beer Jive agrees (and provides some great reasons why BBF is hard to top).

In any case, if you have a chance, I highly recommend making it out to Boonville this weekend, a scant 2.5 hours north of San Francisco, especially if we continue this nice weather trend. You'll find yourself in an atmosphere where it's easy to get a little boisterous, and maybe little sloppy (but in a very good way). haha. Yeah, so on that note, be sure to arrange for a designated driver, or just plan to stay the night; there are plenty of hotels and B&B's in the area.. you can even camp right at the festival grounds for the ultimate in convenience (though I'll say nothing on the comfort of that option).

And remember, there is only one rule: DON'T drop your glass!

Ready to superimpose your lips on mine?

2008-05-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

Man, I love the syncro-vox interviews on Late Night with Conan O'Brien!

Over the weekend, I caught the latest one - with firebrand and, I use the term loosely, media darling (one we love to hate), Jeremiah Wright - on hulu.com; it was originally aired on April 30, 2008 (but now find it on-demand, natch). And as far as I'm concerned, Conan and his crew need to do more of these sketches, these fake celebrity interviews, of which I've apparently only seen just a handful, because wikipedia mentions no less than 12 different ones out there, from Tom Cruise and Donald Trump to Martha Stewart and Hillary Clinton.

Wait, hold up a sec..

For those of you not familiar with syncro-vox, it is filming method that superimposes real talking lips onto a static photograph or cartoon (positioning the lips so that it looks as if the person/animal/whatever is doing the talking). But nevermind the technicals; all we need to know is that its results are totally silly and totally hilarious, especially in the hands of madwitty comedians like Robert Smigel and Brian Stack, who handle the syncro-vox "impersonations" on Conan.

So, without further ado, check the Reverend Jeremiah Wright on Conan now (video).. as, um, interpreted by Mr. Smigel. Awesome.

I've tried looking up some other clips on hulu.com and youtube.com, but I could only find a couple featuring (our governor), Arnold Schwarzenegger. The first (video) is "Arnold" role playing every cast member from Friends (much to Conan's chagrin, but to the audience's delight), and the second (video) is Arnold meeting "Arnold", followed by Arnold syncro-vox'ing Conan live. Huh? Just watch, and you'll see what I mean; the tables will have turned!

In any case, I wish I could find more clips, so if you have any links/leads, let me know! In the meantime, good evening!.. and goddamn you (all to hell) (video)! And Fievel Goes West!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the way, in other contexts, syncro-vox can look pretty dark and creepy. For this, let me submit Captain Fathom (video), low budget cartoonage from the 60's, as my evidence. Makes me feel all swarthy just looking at it.. haha.

Rediscover the traditional foods of America

2008-05-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried making squirrel stew?

No?

Waiting for the right recipe?

Well, your wait is over, my friends; let me point you to Gary Paul Nabhan's new must-read, "Renewing America’s Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent’s Most Endangered Foods", which compiles and chronicles the long-and-getting-longer list of traditional foods (i.e. plants + animals) at risk of becoming extinct here in the US. In doing so, he follows the following philosophy:

"If we save a vegetable but we don’t save the recipes and the farmers don't benefit because no one eats it, then we haven’t done our work."

In other words, he knows we can't mandate that farmers grow certain crops or raise certain animals from the top-down, simply for the sake of them being museum pieces (even as it *would* good for overall genetic diversity); farmers still need to make a living, so how would we fund this work? As such, Mr. Nabhan takes the bottom-up approach, stirring demand for heirloom varieties of traditional American foods, such as Chickasaw plum and free-range American bison, by working with organizations like Slow Food and the Chefs Collaborative to educate, first, "foodies", and, now, slowly, a broader public audience (like myself).

In any case, I found this book through an article in The NYTimes (big surprise, huh?):

An Unlikely Way to Save a Species: Serve It for Dinner
By Kim Severson
Published: April 30, 2008

While the book focuses on the stories of 93 ingredients, Mr. Nabhan's full list is actually over a thousand, organized into 13 culinary regions; the NYTimes created a wonderful interactive map of the system here.

For sure, check it. The map makes me hungry in every sense of the word; it makes me want to travel 'cross the country, sampling a bit of food (eat!) and a bit of air (breathe!) from here and a bit from there. And if you have the chance, find your local farmer's market and buy what's fresh and interesting; or see what heirloom goodies are on the menus of your local restaurants.

Perhaps, here, you can follow the old advice (challenge?) to an almost-literal degree: put your money where you mouth is.. because your loudest vote - even in a big election year like this one - is always done with your dollars. And if you end up rustlin' up the ingredients for a big ol' pot of Kentucky burgoo, let me know; I'll swing on over, mind open, spoon in hand, and tastebuds ready for action.

Implications of my grammatical construction

2008-05-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

As I alluded to in a previous post, my work was sending me to Beijing to present a few days of training to our colleagues in Asia; some of my US-based coworkers and I have been developing a ton of new material over the past couple of quarters. In fact, I was supposed to leave tomorrow!

And as the grammatical construction of the above sentences is implying - "was" this, and "was" that - my trip, as of this morning, is canceled. Really, what the f'?!

It's funny, I've been so blasé about the prospect of this Asian junket, even as I bought the plane tickets (about a month ago), been visiting the Chinese Consulate here in San Francisco, and doing final preparations with the training material. I think this odd attitude was a result of the combination of things being so well for me here at home - climbing and cycling, meeting new people and rockin' mad concerts, etc. - and the fact that China has never really been high on my travel radar for some reason. Well, at least, I haven't been interested in the major east coast cities of China, like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou; however, I do have some passing interest in some of the "wild west", like hiking in the Tien Shan mountains or taking photographs of the oilfields around Korla. But those latter musings are not really here, nor there (for now).

In any case, the short version is that I've been, of course, ready to go from a personal and professional standpoint, but not really "excited" about going. But it still feels weird (i.e. not cool) to have the official word that I *can't* go. You see, after a month of efforts, I couldn't get a Chinese visa in time for the trip.

I'm not interested in laying out the entire timeline of snafus, but suffice to say that it's rooted in mad bureaucracy and unfortunate coincidences. In fact, as of yesterday, I finally have all the necessary paperwork (err, well, I think I do - they changed the rules on me for business visas mid-process the other week), but the Chinese visa office is closed until Monday for a Chinese holiday. Go figure.

Yeah, so, if everything went perfect at the Consulate, I *could* - theoretically, anyway - get 1-day turnaround on my visa application and be in Beijing 5:20AM Wednesday morning.. which *is* in time for 3 solid days of work (vs. the originally-planned 5), but my manager deemed this alternative too much of a risk, given my trackrecord with the Consulate thus far. Instead, my other coworker on the trip (there were two of us) is going to do all the training by herself.. yikes!, for her; it'll be pretty stressful.

It's fine that it worked out this way, of course, but too bad; it's been a (medium/minor) bummer on my morning. For now, maybe I can shake off the bad taste in my mouth from this experience, read up a little more about the country, and make my way over there one of these days, for work or otherwise. In the meantime, I'll have to find my Gold Tips closer to home.

In a capacity of praise, scorn, or, preferably, debate

2008-04-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

One of my old roommates - Joe Felice - has been ramping up his own personal channel on YouTube the past couple of months, posting regular videos featuring his always-sharp political analysis; his delivery is full of wit and energy.. and even if you don't agree with him 100% - or don't even think you're into "politics" - he draws you in with on-point observations and enthusiasm.. and a flair for the, um, zany (in a good way!); you'll see what I mean:

Mostly Politics, by Joe Felice
http://youtube.com/JoeFelice

In a similar vein, Joe entered a contest a few weeks ago to be able to cover either the Republican or Democratic National Convention as part of the Broadcasting arm of Project Breakout. There, he posted a video explaining why he was interested in the opportunity, along with some clips from his YouTube channel.

I checked it out..

And you know what - and maybe this is because I know him personally and can't disambiguate those personal feelings; I am human after all (video) - I think Joe is the best of the bunch. I mean, there are a couple of other folks that are ok (although a little too "jokey" for my tastes; they be Daily Show wannabes), but I really, truly, believe Joe is the best political pundit in the contest.

No doubt.

So, without further ado, it's the final week of the Project Breakout competition and, in fact, Joe is one of the top contenders. As such, it's *now* that the votes really count.. so if you have a few minutes, check out his page below and make a few clicks to send Joe to either of the Conventions this summer. He really was born to do this, to be a fresh-faced and crazy-haired political pundit..

Here are some words from the man himself:

My final entry in the convention competition is up and I would deeply, madly, turgidly appreciate your vote in the final week of this endless frigging marathon to the prize (a paid trip to cover one of the political conventions and $2500).

I hope some folks will watch the new video too because it's a good summary of what I've been up to, including my appearance on Al Jazeera last week, and the recent video that got me a shout-out in the official YouTube blog, as well as the old tape of when NPR read my letter.

To watch and vote you just go to this link:
http://broadcasting.projectbreakout.com/media_page/entry_id/197

That's my page. Sign in at the very top (or register as a user if it's your first time). Click the big red vote button 15 times in a row, once a day if possible, until Sunday. Phew! And that will really be the end, win or lose.

I know it sounds like a (minor) hassle, but I've done the clickity-click-deed every day to help get Joe through this last push; once you've signed up, it literally takes less than a minute to vote for him. If you can, do it daily until the contest ends on Sunday (but even if you check it out just one day, the help is appreciated).

In short, Joe brings an erudite spice that would rock the the RNC or DNC. Let's send him there!

And let me know if you have any questions or comments on this whole thing. Or contact Joe directly through his YouTube channel; he would love to hear from you in any capacity of praise, scorn, or, preferably, debate. Word is up!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps. A little more about Mr. Felice: "I have political experience at Dean for America (Iowa Field Staff) and Music for America (San Francisco nonprofit). Now I work a desk job in the entertainment business in NYC (Eric's note: Joe does some pretty cool stuff - involving fresh and still-evolving copyright law - with some pretty big entities in the music industry). Politics aside, my other favorite things are Scrabble, road trips in the desert, and running the lights at local rock shows."

Sparks occasions, few and far between

2008-04-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I had a few friends in town a few weekends ago and, among many other things (some mundane, some decadent), I remember a brief conversation about the "black" Sparks, specifically, and how it compared to the other two varieties - the original "orange" and the diet "blue". In short, my friends were of the opinion that the black Sparks tasted the best of the lot, a designation that, in this case, is not only relative, but, really, not saying much. haha. At the time, I had never tried anything but the OG (i.e. orange), so I didn't have much to add besides, um, sparking the topic to begin with and asking some clarifying follow-up (not to mention some reminiscing about other past Sparks experiences).

Wait.. have you ever tried Sparks? Do you know what I'm talking about?

If not, Sparks was one of the first self-contained caffeinated alcohol beverages that broke though to mass market.. or, at least, to cult status. Wikipedia says a bit more here.

On a pure taste level, I am totally *not* a fan. haha. That said, I *am* a fan of uppers when I'm wanting to maintain a full night of rockin' out, and enjoy the theoretical underpinnings of doing so.. further, I'm glad somebody went out and took the essence of "Red Bull and vodka" - that's really the OG of this whole (legal) scene - and put it in a gaudy, and convenient-for-on-the-go, aluminum package. I just wish they didn't make it taste like s***. haha.

In any case, such nights are few and far between, but I've certainly had a few fueled by Sparks (especially when the aforementioned friends are in town).. I remember one distinctly where I was up for two days straight because I couldn't fall asleep, given the levels of caffeine consumed.. all.. night.. long. Yeah, that sort of thing can be good or bad, depending on who else is along for the ride, and your capacity for latelatelate night silliness; you take your chances. ;)

My most recent experience with the stuff was fairly recent, this past Thursday, in fact, before the Ghostland Observatory concert at Mezzanine. You see, I was a little bit early for meeting a friend out in front of the venue - I was the man with the tickets-in-hand - and decided to step into one of them lovely all-night convenience stores on 6th St. for some liquid refreshment to help me pass the time. I surveyed the refrigerated scene and, ultimately, I couldn't say no to the black battery pack that is "Sparks Plus", at 7% alcohol and "more caffeine".

I could use a little more pep, I said to myself.

And you know what?; it *was* better than the orange Sparks.. and still, it sucked. haha. I mean, I'm sure I'll indulge again in the future - I never say never - but it just tastes so artificial and sickly-sweet. I'd rather make my own vodka/gin mix with Red Bull, Amp or Vitamin Energy filling out a glass over ice; I'm a much bigger fan of those flavors. And that's not even getting to the already-opened-and-done-been-indulged-in bottle of Kubler absinthe I've got sitting in my "special" liquor cabinet; that's a whole 'nother experience right there..

Or, I don't know.. maybe next time I'm looking for that certain sort of hyped-up buzz, I'll try some "Cocaine" instead. You guys have any experience in that?

Interested in personal musical selectionals

2008-04-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

Just back from a weekend climbing trip to Pinnacles (maybe to be discussed in a future post), and my calendar says that - ooh yeah! - it's time for more live music this week.

First up, I *might* be recruited into going to back to Popscene this Thursday - so soon, I know - to see Scottsman wunderkinder Calvin Harris do his R&B-influenced dance electro act before he goes on to play Coachella Saturday. While his music doesn't blow me away - it's not quite "full" enough for me - I think it'd be fun to see live; in fact, I think it'd be more than acceptable (video).

On a more definite and must-see note, I've got tickets for the Cut Copy / Simian Mobile Disco (SMD) show this Saturday at Mezzanine; this thing is madsoldout.. and with good reason. Cut Copy is one of the most underrated groups putting out bright, guitar-driven new wave dance music (live and direct from Australia); their latest album "In Ghost Colours" has really grown on me; I play it all the time, sometimes in the background and sometimes when I'm getting psyched-up to go out (it's that versatile). Check out some of their new tracks on their myspace page.

And as for SMD, well, they've been crazyprolific this past year, releasing an awesome buzzing dance album called "Attack Decay Sustain Release", DJing 'round the clubs, and doing some great remixing/producing this way and that. Yeah, these guys have been on heavy rotation everywhere - mix CDs galore - especially via the singles (and various mixes of) "Hustler" (video) and "It's the Beat" (video). If you haven't heard the album in its entirety, get thee to Aquarius Records or Amoeba and give it a go!

This last opportunity just came across my desk late this past week. It seems The Bloody Beatroots are back in SF - remember I saw them at Popscene a few weeks ago? - and playing a DJ set with the LA Riots at Rickshaw Stop a week from Tuesday (i.e. the 29th). The show is FREE with rsvp (because it's part of a small, 4-city tour sponsored by Scion - the car folks). Yeah, so I've already mentioned that I loved seeing The Bloody Beatroots throw down their crazy Italian bangers, so I'll leave it at that..

But the LA Riots should also bring a great party; I've been looking out for these guys to come up to San Francisco ever since I started hearing about them (and checking out their work) on Discobelle and Disco Dust (and other in-the-know Internet peeps). These guys are best know for their remix work for such heavy-hitters like Justice and Kylie Minogue, but they throw down at the clubs pretty regularly (as far as I can tell). Check out one of their many mixtapes online to get a feel for their rockin' - rockin' in the freshdancebangers sense of the word, of course - aesthetic. I say yes! to their selection of Das Pop, MSTRKRFT and Count & Sinden; the LA Riots should be very proud. haha.

In any case, I haven't really put the word out on this one yet, but if anyone is interested, let me know; I can pretty easily be mobilized. Just note that this shizz is on a schoolnight, so be prepared to limp into work Wednesday morning. ;)

Movies by the truckload, some free

2008-04-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

What are *you* doing on Monday night?

Well, it's been a few weeks since the last one, but *this* Monday night is movie night at The Independent, and that beloved "indie" exercise in quirk (and sass!), Juno, is on the bill.

You see, The Independent (concert venue) runs a free movie night on any Monday that they don't have a show scheduled. And they just posted movies for the next two weeks (godbless 'em):

April 21st: Juno
April 28th: No Country for Old Men

Not too shabby, huh? I'm on the fence for Juno, but I'll make it out for No Country, for sure.

By the way, there is a "two drink minimum" for the show, but noone really checks (not that it would ever be a problem, beer by the pint or pitcher). ;) And they usually have free popcorn, which is a nice touch for making it "homey" (well, as much as a medium-sized concert venue in SF will ever been homey).

Doors open at 7:30pm, show at 8pm; and I'd recommend getting there on the early side if you want a good seat. I've certainly been there when it's very chill, seats no problem, but I've also been there when it was standing room only (most people made do by finding some sort of non-chair seating in various nooks and crannies).

Oh, and out of a somewhat unfortunate coincidence, the Red Vic Movie House is showing Juno on the 21st as well (and also on the 22nd). Even if you catch the free showing at The Independent, definitely give the Vic some love; they are an awesome arthouse institution here in SF, always with a top-notch lineup of films. In fact, I caught Persepolis there earlier this week with a friend and plan on going to see The Big Lebowski tonight. I don't really smoke (green or otherwise), but I can appreciate that they have an annual Lebowski showing around the date of 4/20. Too silly, but oh-so-appropriate. haha.

What doesn't happen when you're drunk?

2008-04-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

File this under "que será será":

Drunk Russian sleeps off knifing
by BBC News
Published: April 17th, 2008

So, some guy does some drinking with one of his coworkers "at the office"; that is, they are drinking *at* their workplace (but after work). They apparently have an argument over the course of the night and one of them stabs the other in the back with a 6" blade..

But the guy who was stabbed passes out drunk at some point - before or after the wound: who knows? - and wakes up in the morning, takes the bus home, eats some колбасы, and crashes for another few hours before his wife wakes him up.. because the knife is STILL IN HIS BACK (and he doesn't even know it)!

Wow.

The amazing part is not that he's still alive - no real damage was done - but that he basically blows the whole thing off. He quote at the end is awesome, not a care in the world:

"We were drinking and what doesn't happen when you're drunk?"

Man, where does this guy party? Although.. now that I think about it, I'm up for a lot of things, but I'm not really up for being stabbed - in general, but definitely not when I'm out and about, tossing back a few. But, to each their own, I guess. haha.

New pages for my wonderful little book

2008-04-17T00:54:00.000-07:00

Man, my passport looks a mess.

I picked it up this afternoon from the US Passport Agency here in San Francisco; I needed to get new pages added in order to get a Chinese visa for an upcoming work trip. Crazy fast turnaround: I dropped it off this morning (along with an $60 expedite fee, which I'm *ahem* putting on my expense report).

The passport folks threaded in 24 fancy new pages in the middle of my passport book - which is all well and good - but they totally don't match: these high tech sheets are new and crisp, for one (my passport has taken a lot of abuse over the years and the condition of the old pages tell that story well), and two, they are of a slightly different size than the old passport pages (slightly taller, and narrower), so they peak out the top a little as if to explicitly proclaim their superiority.

And you know what, they actually *are* a bit superior to the old-style pages. Each two-page spread is a little advertisement for classic American iconography, eagles lording over rugged mountains (bison too), cowboys running longhorn cattle ragged, and all. The limited use of color and anti-copy protection patterns put a less-than-subtle haze between the action and the viewer, making these (potentially) syrupy scenes palatable. In other words, I find the American icons' delivery somewhat subversive via the medium, even if that wasn't the intent (of course it *wasn't* the intent!). And so I say: kudos to the passport people! haha.

Beyond the pics, the new pages display some patriotic quotes; luckily, most have meaning beyond a strict patriotic interpretation. And, so, I'm sure I'll find myself meditating on the meaning of lines such of these, next time I'm traveling out of country (and sans other reading materials):

"Democracy is based on the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." -- Harry Emerson Fosdick

And,

"We live in a world that is lit by lightening. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures and transcends time." -- Ronald Reagan

In any case, yeah, it's nice to look through the ol' passport every once in awhile; each stamp - or even just the feel of the well-worn cover - sparks the memory, trips both (insanely) lovely and (insanely) mundane rotate again to the conscious surface (where else can I remember?). And I smile.

What a wonderful little book (looks aren't everything); I'm glad we'll be together awhile longer..

In the Realms of the Palmsonntag

2008-04-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you in the NYC area, outsider artist extraordinaire, Henry Darger, is risen (again)! A new show of his work opened today, posthumously, of course, at the American Folk Art Museum:

Dargerism: Contemporary Artists and Henry Darger

"The American Folk Art Museum is home to the single largest repository of works by one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century, Henry Darger (1892 - 1973), who created nearly three hundred watercolor and collage paintings to illustrate his epic masterpiece, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in what is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, which encompasses more than fifteen thousand pages."

Who knew?

This particular exhibit incorporates works from about a dozen contemporary artists who have made reference to Darger's naked-child-filled (and dreamycreepy) fantasy world of Abbiennia, to the creation of new worlds through shear force of the individual mind (of which we only glimpse timeslices through the artists' work). I wonder if all these artists made the conscious decision to echo some of the themes in Darger's work (life?), or if it was just coincidence? No matter, really (for a causal artfan - like myself). Outside of this show, Henry Darger has certainly been an explicit touchstone for many a creative folk; check out some of the pop culture references listed at his Wikipedia site: Natalie Merchant, Neil Gaiman and Sufjan Stevens, represent!

The general format of the show reminds me of the "Picasso and American Art" exhibit at the SFMOMA, early in 2007. I remember going to it with a friend and we both thought - I think we both thought this; maybe it was just me? - that it was a bit cold and clinical. That is, I found it super-interesting to see American art reflecting various Picasso works (in many a genre) over this huge time span - decades of Picasso production! - but the layout of the rooms at the SFMOMA left me without any emotional reaction to the art itself. In short, I found the curation lacking.

But getting back to the Henry Darger show at the American Folk Art Museum, I hold out hope for better selection and arrangement, and do want to check it out en vivo. In fact, I've wanted to see more of his work ever since I saw the 2004 documentary "In the Realms of the Unreal", which gave a glimpse of this odd man, his odd life and his odd obsessions. And since the show is up until September 21st, there's a pretty good chance I'll be able to make it happen (if I remember); I do my fair share of hanging in the Big City each year.

In other art-happening-in-notSF news, Anselm Kiefer has an installation called Palmsonntag up at the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles (in conjunction with a gallery showing of Kiefer's paintings, sculpture and collage at Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills). This too, I'd love to check out.

You see, my favorite show (ever!) at the SFMOMA since I started going regularly (say, 2004) has been "Anselm Kiefer: Heaven and Earth"; it was up late 2006.. (although I did enjoy the pomp and spectacle of the "Matthew Barney: Drawing Restraint" show too, also in 2006). Large scale works of (only semi-imagined) dystopian landscapes, crawling with unnatural biological vibration in a framework of environmental regularity: they crush my soul.. yet still, I would step right inside any one of them if I could. Like many people, I have an unnatural attraction to Kiefer's hypnotic paintings (truly - you can fall into them), which I guess is why he is one of the most well-known German artists alive today (internationally, speaking, that is).

Yeah, so.. two shows far away from me; but I thought my friends farther afield would like to know. If you do check either of them out, I'd love to hear your take. And if you don't (due to distance or desire or whatever), you've still got a few new arty things to say at your next cocktail party (yo). So, you're welcome either way. ;)

Music for days, new and used and mixtified

2008-04-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

While I'm *actually* listening to the wind rustle the tall trees in my neighbor's backyard - a gentle sound occasionally punctuated by the rr-buzz of a powersaw or the k-thapp of a hammer employed somewhere in the neighborhood - I could be drowning out all those external sounds with the help of my laptop. You see, over the past couple of days, I've brought a mad amount of new music into the house and haven't really dug into it yet.

This haul comes in three batches, the first of which is a bunch of dancey blog downloads.. and since I haven't really listened to them yet, I can't really comment (and steer you down the path of up-to-the-minute bliss). For now, just check out the links under "Aural Delites", and get these beats direct from the, um, horse's electronic mouth (note to horses: you might better be served by carrying a USB flashdrive here in the 2008). Carry on!

My commentary only starts with this second batch, five physical CDs I brought back from a work trip to the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina this past week.

1. NEW: Body Language Vol. 6 by Junior Boys
2. NEW: Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique
3. USED: Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F♯A♯∞
4. USED: Godspeed You! Black Emperor [sic] - Yanqui U.X.O.
5. USED: Lansing-Dreiden - The Incomplete Triangle

I love Godspeed You! Black Emperor [sic]; I've mentioned this before, for sure. And, so, I couldn't resist buying up CD Alley's selection of used GY!BE albums (CD Alley is an awesome gem of a music shop in Chapel Hill, NC; and I always make it a point to go there whenever I'm in the area). Having the physical CDs in this case is a special treat because GY!BE CD cases + liner notes contain lovely artwork and ramblings supplemental to the music. I highly recommend all of GY!BE's work - and CD2 of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, in particular (a CD I already have); listen in a time of quiet reflection (or if you want to get there). If you see them - or any of their related projects - back on tour, let me know!

After satisfying that small indulgence, consumer bloodlust sank in and I searched the rest of the tightly-packed store; I was going to buy more music.. I mean, I download so many mp3s from a variety of sources (some more legitimate than others), so I do cleanse my conscience from time to time at great local shops like this one (including my hometown slice, Aquarius Records).

Next up, Lansing-Dreiden is a group that you love or hate.. or love to hate. I think more people would enjoy the music if they didn't know about their backstory: they sell themselves as a nameless, faceless, art collective that mixes their buzzing pop sound with a bit from other genres, including 70's glam or crushing metal - sounds good so far - but they also add a whole lotta ostentation (which you figure out when you start reading their liner notes or any other of their printed manifestos.. or attend any of their art shows).

I don't know.. even after seeing their West Coast debut - Myth By Method - at New Langton Arts last year, I can separate out the high-falutin' attitudes from their audio projects. In short, I like their stuff, but won't overly gush over it; it's good to play in the background. The irony is that me "separating out" anything from their body of work is antithesis to the holistic image that they have been trying to cultivate, but, well, what you gonna do? ;)

What I really would like to tell you about is the Body Language mix series. Just out of luck - and faith in the Junior Boys - I grabbed its latest installment (Vol. 6) from CD Alley's just-in selection of new CDs without ever hearing about it before; in fact, I hadn't even heard of any of the songs in the mix.. and only had heard of a handful of the artists involved. Still, I *had* heard about Junior Boys' selector skillz, and a knew of their general aesthetic so - again, I was on a spree - I threw it down in the pile. Buying a CD without having heard it before is such an old-school concept in an age of instant-access media, huh?

Well, the Boys lived up to their reputation; I've been pretty much playing it every day since I got back to town (when I'm not rock climbing at Mt. Diablo State Park or cycling around Nicasio Reservoir over the kickass weekend). Each of the tracks has an underlying structure composed of the brand of warm minimal techno that the Junior Boys themselves are known to produce, but any given track could be influenced by disco, house, or electro - and come from some of the top names (I later find out) in the biz (name check, for example: Matthew Dear, Prins Thomas Miks, Todd Terje); they make great beats. It's definitely some soundtrack for your next afterparty where you're still wanting to get your seductive dance-on (without diving into the cliché of Al Greene or Cafe del Mar). ha! It's got me wondering what's going on with the five prior Body Language releases..

In any case, before I dive into the third batch of music, check the last CD I picked up on my trip to Chapel Hill: the new full-length from Ghostland Observatory, Robotique Mystique. I've mentioned these guys a few times before, so let me just say that I've seen them twice now, en vivo, and I couldn't *not* get this album, if only because seeing their name reminds me of their rocking liveshow. In fact, I'm seeing them again this Thursday at Mezzanine with a friend, so I should use my new CD to study up on some lyrics right now (as if you need to *really* know the lyrics to enjoy the sonic swagger of Ghostland Observatory). All I know is that I'm ready to get my sweat on. ;)

Whew!

I guess this brings me to the last bit here, where I found a nice surprise on a Saturday morning: multiple mix CDs, homemade and musically diverse in my mailbox; it seemed to be the time of the year to reap the mix-CD-by-mail bounty that I done sowed at the end of February. I noticed that the mixes are definitely more "indie rock" heavy than I typically listen to these days - same as in the last mix CD "cycle" - but I guess part of the charm of this friendly (and friend-of-friendly) program is that I have a chance to listen to things that aren't on my usual laser-focused radar. So, King of Prussia and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, here I come! Or, rather, they come to me! It's a good system. haha.

So that's that.

As a bonus, let me direct you to the new Sam Sparro music video for "Black and Gold" - in case you missed its debut last month. I like (video). But maybe that's because I do love me some post-production gold dust à la Chromeo's Needy Girl video? I can say that that's certainly part of the appeal (ha!), but "Black and Gold" - as a song - has been one of my favorites from Mr. Sparro since even before the single was officially released last year. So, I say to you: enjoy it now!

Visiting the Gold Tips motherland

2008-04-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Let me sing you - if you could get me singing anything while I'm NOT in the shower - the praises of the Yunnan Gold Tips. This type of tea is the basis for the hot honey wine in my cup, lightly steaming, as we speak (write). It's total cheese (I know, I know), but I'm breathing in the malty aroma, and, in doing so, I breathe in a bit of smooth contentment. (CUT! - this commercial is a wrap!)

It's sorta making it hard for me to work. haha.

My taste for (the preparation of) loose leaf tea comes and goes; certainly for the past couple of months I've been a straight-up teabagger (um.. yeah), but I was inspired last week.. I *had* to break out my little tote of Ito-En teas from their dark hiding place - one of the many stashes of loose-leaf tea in my apartment - and indulge in some of this quality China snuff.

I mean, I brought so much tea back from my summer travels.. beyond this Ito-En shizz (acquired from their flagship store), I gots greens and blacks from Russia, from Kyrgyzstan.. Rainbow Grocery too! My Beehouse has been awaiting for me to fill it with more than just Honey Ginseng Green from Republic of Tea or the "new" Black Pearl pyramid tea bags from Lipton.

It's been waiting until this week, that is. My snooty little teapot got what it's been asking for; I'm glad to be an enabler. And, as I alluded to above, my favorite taste thus far has been the Yunnan Gold Tips from Ito-En; their look sets them apart from other black teas, but, once prepared, you can't beat the smell of that sweet, sweet, liqueur.

Ah, this reminds me.. I need to totally bring back mad amounts of tea - Gold Tips or otherwise - when I go to Beijing for a work trip this coming month. I'll, basically, be in the motherland! ;)

Redux: Gently fold WET2 into WET1 and add to DRY0

2008-03-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I tweaked my pancake recipe for (my) apparently-evolving tastes; the short version is that it includes more liquid, which really lightens and fluffifies these (nominally breakfast, but really - for anytime) treats.

Check it:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DRY0 ingredients:
1c whole wheat flour
2T Spiru-tein Vanilla protein powder
1/2t grated orange or lemon peel
2t ground cinnamon
1/2t allspice
1/4t nutmeg
1/2t salt
1/4t baking soda
1 1/4t baking powder
optional: 2T brown sugar or other "dry" sweetener

WET1 ingredients:
1/2c plain lowfat yogurt
2c vanilla soymilk
1T olive oil
2 eggs

WET2 ingredients:
optional: 1 1/2c fresh blackberries
optional: (any manner of fruit/nuts/etc.)
optional: 2T honey or other "wet" sweetener

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Mix together the DRY0 ingredients in a medium-to-large-sized bowl. (This is the bowl that the full batter will end up in.)

2. Whisk the WET1 ingredients vigorously in another bowl and gently fold in those from WET2 (if using).

3. Add the contents of the WET bowl to DRY0 and, again, fold everything together GENTLY; do not overmix (it's better to have a few lumps than to overmix - if you do overmix, you'll end up with dense pancakes). Also note that depending on the juiciness of your berries or whatever in WET2, you may need adjust the amount of soymilk in the batter to get a nice, pourable consistency.

4. Butter up a medium-hot cast iron skillet or stovetop griddle and cook up some deliciousness. Note that I'd err on the side of using lower heat and cooking the pancakes a little longer (versus high heat, which carries the potential of the outside of the pancakes being done before the inside solidifies up). Look for bubbles forming on the top of your pancakes and the edges firming a little before flipping; if you haven't made too many pancakes before - or at least not with this batter - it might take you a few tries to get a feel for when to flip.. it's all part of the "jungle knowledge" of cooking. ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This recipe will make 8-10, slim, 7 inch pancakes.. which sounds like quite a party, for brunch or beyond. Top them with maple syrup, crème fraîche, yogurt, more of the optional WET2 ingredients (ex. blackberries), or some combo of these and enjoy (duh).

By the way, adding sweetener into DRY0 or WET2 is really a matter of taste, and may be a function of how sugared your other ingredients are. For example, you may be using unsweetened soy milk, or your berries might be a little more tart than you may like; in these cases, a little added sugar (or equivalent, maybe some honey or maple syrup?) may be in order.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ps. Find my original recipe here, if you like a thicker and more hardy pancake (but that would make you a ruffian).

I'm a thirsty boy, you know?

2008-03-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

You ever looking for a smooth-as-silk (and hot) kick-in-the-pants? Well, I can help you out (more than ever before) because, as of this past weekend, I've upgraded the coffee-making possibilities at my apartment. And my stable of caffeine-deprived Rodys have never been happier (or more polka-dotted, or delightfully puffy).

You see, a friend just returned from some fun in Milan and was kind enough - so kind; she's awesome! - to bring back a totally sweet stainless steel moka pot for me. It's straight-up Italian shizz, so shiny and in a shape so-lovely. Word.

And while I've used a couple of these gurgling devices over the past year or two at friends' places, this is *my* first - I hear you always remember your first - and I'm looking forward to giving it a go soon; this weekend.. at the latest, I swear. Yes, in fact, the gift included some fine coffee - the funkystuff is ORO, yo - so I'm good to go (and go and go). Still, I'd like to get my own coffee grinder in the not-too-distant future because the local beans here in the Bay Area are tops - or so that's the word on the street. ;)

Speaking of tasty drinks, I ordered up - and promptly downed - one of the best cocktails I've had in a long time this past Saturday, courtesy of Huckleberry Bar in Brooklyn. It was called a "Francois Hannibal d'Estrees" and was made with all manner of herbal infusions (alcohol-based, natch): Boodles Gin, Carpano Antica Formula, Yellow Chartreuse, and Lillet (Blanc?).

Yeah, it's quite an ingredient list, but somehow everything came together, and it was a good way to start the, um, inebriated part of the evening - at 11:30pm or so (hey, I only rolled into town at like 9:30pm and we were going until the latelate).

One (mean) drink, and dancing soon followed; I mean, disco-y beats were being played for Chrissake!.. real disco, even (and without a hint of irony)! What you gonna do in a situation like that? Oh, and if you don't immediately see the space for dancing, you can make space; Huckleberry Bar seems good like that.

By the way, the Francois Hannibal d'Estrees is just the tip of the iceberg with respect to the tasty cocktail selection at this place.. they've got an incredibly well-stocked bar, with madselect whiskeys and tequilas and more. In addition, the food menu looks pretty awesome; I'd go back just to try a few things off that, actually.. but, still, I'm not gonna say no to *something* to drink with the meal if I do end up back there again. I'm a thirsty boy, you know?

Get creative, counter-intuitively

2008-03-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

I'm in Boston - well, closer to Worcester, actually - this week for some work-related training and, in referring to some new technology (UEFI) being better then some old technology (BIOS), one of the instructors said:

"You could never innovate (with the old technology) because you didn’t know what the bounds of compatibility were."

Specifically, he was referring to the fact that the old technology did not have very many industry-wide rules about how an engineer was actually supposed to build the system - a system that needed to interact with many others. And this meant that most designers were afraid to go outside the bounds of legacy implementations because they did not want to be incompatible with everyone else's.

I mean, you'd think that such an open system would be filled with all sorts of creative whimsy, but that certainly did not pan out here; inertia took over and basically the same computer code was being used over and over (and over - decadesworth). Pretty counter-intuitive, huh? That's not to say the opposite - total micromanagement - leads to good design or seamless collaboration (quite the opposite.. another discussion altogether), but, still, one could better say that a proper framework and set of agreements up front might be a better approach to "free your team's thinking".

And that is exactly what Stanford professor and Aspen Institute consultant, Chip and Dan Heath, respectively, argue in their book "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die". While I, *ahem*, haven't read the book, they did write about this particular topic in a Fast Company article a few months ago:

Get Back In The Box
By Dan Heath and Chip Heath
Published December 2007

The authors mention a few specific instances of when and where a "well-constructed box can help people generate new ideas", but I liked this one the best:

"Improv actors are taught to be specific," (Keith Sawyer, author of the insightful book 'Group Genius') says. "Rather than say, 'Look out, it's a gun!' you should say, 'Look out, it's the new ZX-23 laser kill device!' Instead of asking, 'What’s your problem?' say, 'Don’t tell me you're still pissed off about that time I dropped your necklace in the toilet.'" The paradox is that while specificity narrows the number of paths that the improv could take, it makes it easier for the other actors to come up with the next riff."

It seems most minds work best when there are agreed-upon reference points to jump off of. Interesting observation, for sure. And so next time you're having trouble being creative - and this is a process that may happen subconsciously for some - try being more specific in your questions. For example, instead of asking, "How can we improve our business in 2008?", try, "How can improve the customer experience?; how can we provide everything the customer would need to be successful before they have to ask for it (and therefore improve our business in 2008)". There are certainly other ways to ask those more specific questions, but I think you get the idea (or at least you will after reading the article).

The approach seems to be all about demystifying complex systems and asking people to make smaller mental leaps towards solutions. In any case, it may not be the right course of action *every* time, it's nice to have these new options in your mental toolbox.

On a related note, the NYTimes published an article last month on some of the, again, counter-intuitive, reasoning that goes into making decisions; some research concluded that "people are willing to pay a price to avoid the emotion of loss". So, people try to keep as many options open as possible - where removing options from the table seems like a "loss" - even if the very act of keeping all the (sometimes conflicting) options open means a decline in the overall quality of life or work, or both. Read on:

The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors
By John Tierney
Published: February 26, 2008

Both articles are worthwhile reads, maybe for debate over this Easter weekend?

Let me sweat all over your Beetroots

2008-03-14T01:45:00.000-07:00

It had been a little while, but I got totally sweaty - (ahem) on the dancefloor, yo - tonight. And I like that sort of thing. Word is totally up!

You see, I made good on going to the first stop on my "aurally respectable" concert schedule and hit up Popscene (for the first time in years) to see The Bloody Beetroots throw down some ravey bangers. I was psyched that a friend took a chance on my music-blog-fueled taste - maybe she could see the stars in my eyes - when I said that "we should definitely see these guys".

And we did; we rocked it for a few hours, pumping-arms-in-the-air and all (when the time was well and good, and totally appropriate-for-the-moment, because that's how we do things). I mean, jeez, Big Stereo compared these guys to heavy hitters like MSTRKRFT and Steve Aoki, so how could you *not* bring that sort of party.

Somewhere in there I was also taught some new dance moves that I may-or-may-not have to do in the future.. but it's nice to know I'm prepared. Tinydance, anyone?

Whew. But yeah, 330 Ritch - the venue where they hold the long-running, so-fresh-music-bringing, 18+ allowing (drink *before* you come, ladies/gents!), Thursday night danceoff that is Popscene - was massively redone from last time I was there; they've opened up the side room a bit more, and added a second bar over that way. Still a great space, but that new stuff needs a little more "living in" to fit in with the rest of the place.

In any case, you're there for the music (or maybe you're there for the scene), and when it gets going and the bodies fill up the dancefloor, you're basically focused on one thing.. well, two things, if you find yourself mesmerized by the weird old videos they constantly play on the side wall.. ok, ok, maybe three things if you're also there to makeout with somebody. Wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah, you're there to dance. And, really, you're not going to let a little sweat stop you. Are you? haha.

All hail The Bloody Beetroots. They're not for everybody, but they should be.

The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial

2008-03-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

Oh wowy, I've been reading a ton of 'dem music blogs lately (check the "Aural Delites" links for a few of my favorites), catching up on the latest names and beats and all of that; I've been downloading a bunch of great stuff, new and old.. so you may see a new mixtape or two in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, check these notable folks:

1. Ocelot - "All the fun of trance, without all that trance"
2. Herr Styler - Fun, dancey mixes, but *almost* a bit too euro
3. Dmitry Fyodorov - Dark breakbeat/house bangers from Russia
4. Alan Braxe - French-housey remixer with great pop sensibilities

BONUS: Everyone's favorite Norwegian, Erlend Øye, is releasing a new single - Golden Cage - from his Whitest Boy Alive project on the 17th. The original version is nice, but the Fred Falke Remix will get you movin'! Sonic wonderment!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a related note, I've got a few concerts on my radar; early Spring in San Francisco seems to be bursting with sensory possibility. In fact, I've already got tickets for most of these shows.. I mean, how we gonna talk about *listening* to music without also talkin' 'bout *experiencing* some music? Has your calendar ever been so, um, aurally respectable?:

Mar 13th: The Bloody Beetroots @ Popscene
Mar 15th: Boys Noize @ Fat City
Mar 18th: The Black Ghosts @ Mezzanine
Mar 27th: Justice @ The Concourse
Apr 17th: Ghostland Observatory @ Mezzanine
Apr 26th: Simian Mobile Disco and Cut Copy @ Mezzanine

Wanna go?

Looking to get Gunky next weekend

2008-03-12T01:25:00.000-07:00

I've been going out of town a lot the past couple of weeks - for both work and holiday. All good stuff. And I'll be continuing the habit this coming week on a work trip to Boston.

Afterwards, the plan is to drive down to NYC for the weekend, meet a friend of mine, and do some climbing just north of the city at The Gunks; I have been wanting to get more outdoor climbing under my belt and the opportunity seems perfect (if the weather is good enough, that is).

We discussed the logistics for this adventure (and will probably come down to some last minute decisions) and I suggested that we camp near The Gunks Friday night, climb all day on Saturday, then drive back into NYC Saturday night; I'll fly back to SF Sunday afternoon. Sounds good, but - man-o-man - I'll have to bring a tent, sleeping bags, headlamps, etc. - the whole 9 yards of gear, so to speak - just for ONE night of early (early!) spring camping on the East Coast (plus mine and my friend's climbing gear). Still, even though it seems a little silly, I said: "what the hell"; I'm willing to haul that garbage out from San Francisco and do it up in comfortable(ish) outdoor style.

But my friend reminds me - did I mention this is a guy I met at BOSS last May? - that "wtf [sic] do we camping gear for? didn't [sic] we drop a crap load of money last year to learn how to handle ourselves w/o such pansy creature comforts?" True 'dat.

But he also goes on to say, "sleeping bags are nice".

And I couldn't agree more. haha. That is, it's nice to know that I can - physically and mentally - handle myself in a survival situation with minimal gear (think: no sleeping bag, no tent, no backpack, no food), but I will be the first one to tell you that I still prefer the option of using straightforward, good-quality, modern gear, given the choice. No doubt. (And, like, duh.)

Mind you, *my* version of camping - 0 degree down bag et. al. - is still another person's worst nightmare of sleeping on the ground, eating minimally, and hiking mad distances, but, shoot, I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, the rest of the time I'm in my most preferred environment - well-stocked fridge and hot shower close at hand - so I'm willing to rough it every once in a while. ;)

In any case, I might get a chance to do some outdoor climbing *this* weekend, much closer to home at Mount St. Helena, but here, too, we're still at the mercy of the weather, chance of rain in the forecast and all. She's the boss! And if it's a no-go, there *is* always the gym (at least until the big one hits and our indoors become our outdoors).

Keeping the tradition of mutual trust, and head-splitting

2008-03-04T23:58:00.000-08:00

Unless you specifically pay attention to this sort of thing, I think the presidential election in Russia this past Monday (or Sunday, here in the US) flew under much of the international radar. As expected, Дмитри Медведев (Dmitry Medvedev) - hand-chosen by Владимир Путин (Vladimir Putin) - won easily, with 70% of the vote.

The news comes with mixed reviews at home (Russia) and abroad (mostly US and Western Europe). In fact, The Economist - in this past week's issue - questioned the real impact of Vladimir Putin's iron-fisted policies.. which are slated to continue under Menvedev. The short version is that Putin came to power at just the right time for an economic boom, given three factors: "a revival of private initiative, oil prices that have risen fourfold during his presidency and macroeconomic stability." And so, his crippling of the democratic process and human rights abuses - both in the name of "stability" and "nationalism" - have little to do the country's current success. Read on:

Smoke and mirrors
From The Economist print edition
February 28th, 2008

That said, I can only imagine that the average Russian will be happy with the consistency of power (and therefore still able to ignore the ugly underside of political business). The NYTimes puts it nicely:

"Most Russians do not love Mr. Putin per se, but they love Mr. Putin’s Russia. They love being middle class. They love planning for the future. It is no comfort to the politically persecuted, but average wages in Russia are leaping 10 percent a year, in real terms."

(full article here)

And you know what, that just makes sense. I think it's hard sometimes to understand that day-to-day issues - putting food on the table and making mortgage payments - are common concerns for everyone around the world; it's easy to be an outsider and criticize another society's whole system of governance (especially when you don't plan on improving the situation yourself, and there are no unpleasant consequences for offering your unsolicited opinion). It's the same story for other folks talking about the US and its problems, without acknowledging its successes. I'm just saying that we all got some things we do right and some things we do wrong in our respective societies; and there's always room for improvement.

That will be an especially important lesson for Russia's next president (and our own, for that matter) to keep in mind during the next couple of years. Those who question the government in public and practice civil dissent seem to be in the minority right now, given the aforementioned awesome increases in the average person's personal wealth (not to mention the chances for harsh penalties). But if oil prices flatten out and the economic engine at home loses a little steam, there will be more and more people who will join the internal/external cries for better individual rights, checks on government, and so forth.

Regardless, it seems to be exciting times for the country, and George Bush and I wish Medvedev the best.

Get your art on, for free

2008-03-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

Get your art on; many big art museums here in San Francisco sponsor free admission on the first Tuesday of each month. Today is such a day, as March is upon us!

What you think of one of these?:

- Asian Art Museum (map)

- Cartoon Art Museum (map)

- de Young Museum (map)

- Legion of Honor (map)

- Museum of Craft and Folk Art (map)

- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (map)

- Yerba Buena Center Galleries (map)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonus; the flowers be free too:

- Conservatory of Flowers (map)

Why don't you smell them?

Find yourself some Entertainment

2008-03-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty hectic day, huh? That's ok; your respite from reality has arrived and is ready for your viewing pleasure (if you are ready to receive it).

Free up 40 or so minutes of quiet time, time to breathe and to reflect, time to indulge in a bit of camp insanity - "camp" in the John Waters sense of the word - called "A Family Finds Entertainment" (2004), a piece of video art by Ryan Trecatin. If you can't make it over to Saatchi Gallery or the 12th Annual SF Underground Film Festival (in 2005) to see it live, check the viewing on YouTube, broken into five parts:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y5AxLiUqC8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN4Kk42eOVk
Part 3: (broken; if you have the hookup, let me know)
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObcDCDDJN8k
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPwbkjwIsGw

What to think; what to think?

"I'm not sixteen anymore, but I feel like I'm 5, with sunglasses on."

I'm not sure myself yet. haha. But for some reason I want to watch it again; my first viewing - after getting over the fact that I wasn't following a/the storyline - was, basically, me indulging in Mr. Trecatin's cut-up and drugged-out world in somewhat of a meditative state.. just taking in the sounds and the sights as-they-were, and letting my subconscious mind make all the decisions with respect to my likes/dislikes/whatevers. At the least, I can say that approach felt more comfortable; there was no pressure to "understand".

Yeah, so given that I could not derive a traditional linear story out of the flickering images and buzzsaw audio (although I'm not saying there *is* a traditional linear story to be found there, even with translation), I read some text by critics more in-the-know than me to help explain the goin's-on.

First up, Cool Hunting gives it to us quick and dirty, identifying "nods to Jack Smith and very early John Waters", and then Film Brats fills in a lot of the behind-the-scenes details, including an interview with the artist himself about his overall creative process. The Saatchi gallery finally spills the beans and says that "A Family Finds Entertainment" "chronicles the story of mixed up teenager Skippy and his adventures in 'coming out'". I bet someone told them that because the scene is abstract, indeed.

In any case, Ryan Trecartin has done a few other pieces of sculptural and installation work since his 2004 debut, but my impression is that he is still most well known for his video art. In fact, the NYTimes invoked his latest "sensationally anarchic video", "I-Be Area" (2007), in an article earlier this year that discussed a resurgence of video art:

Video Art Thinks Big: That’s Showbiz
By Holland Cotter
Published: January 6, 2008

Attentions to and definitions of these art things - things of meaning or not? - ebb and flow over the years (and we seem to be in a period of, um, openness to flow), but besides that bit of human tendency towards the novel-yet-familiar, we've never had easier access to the medium, with video-on-demand enabled via highspeed internet, powerful portable viewing devices and other such technologic fun. Given these conditions, has video's time come?; and will it find a solid audience - and advocates - in the established art community?

But, really, it's been a long day, so pay no mind to those whirling questions of society. For now, my advice would be to simply get yourself a Family and find yourself some Entertainment. A friend of mine was so kind to set me down this path at the start of this past week and now I'd like to shared the mind-altering wealth with all of you. Salud!

Goodbye civil strife, into a neat little bundle

2008-02-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

Just to "tie up" some of my posts on Kenya over the past couple of months - as much as one can tie up civil strife/violence in a neat little bundle of online text - let me point you to yesterday's announcement on the power sharing agreement between the current President (Mwai Kibaki) and the opposition leader (Raila Odinga):

Kenya Rivals Sign Power-Sharing Deal
By REUTERS (posted on the NYTimes)
Published: February 28, 2008

Kenya rivals agree to share power
By BBC News
Published: February 28, 2008

The agreement - in basic terms and, for now, in theory - sets the stage for an overhaul of the current government structure (based upon Kenya's 45 year old constitution). In fact, the constitution will actually have to be modified in order to effect yesterday's deal into law, a process that will begin this coming Thursday (and hopefully acted upon as soon as possible, thereafter) when parliament reconvenes. On a side note, doesn't it seem remarkable that the constitution of the United States has been going strong for over 220 years (with the occasional hiccup, of course)?

In any case, the biggest change in the Kenyan system seems to be that the main opposition leader will assume the position of Prime Minister (a newly created post), but there are myriad details to be worked out - including exactly how much power the Prime Minister has in the overall government; Kenya's political parties will also be jostling for new deputy prime minister and other cabinet positions.

Uncertainty of execution aside, the agreement is certainly a step forward (back) towards societal stability. And - again, according to the Western media sources that I've tapped for information about the situation - the average Kenyan person welcomes the potential to get their lives back to normal (even as some happiness is tempered with skepticism). In fact, hopefully the country takes this opportunity to improve the overall infrastructure of government and society at large; it's a time when people are ready and open to change, and they've got support and attention from the international community. For sure, it's still a long road, but a worthy one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a related note, my sister decided to come home to the US around the start of this month, just two weeks after she was officially discharged from the Peace Corps. She found it impossible to get back to her village in the Western portion of the country, given the levels for violence at the time. So, in-person goodbyes with the people she lived and worked with the past year and a half were never said, and I can only imagine that added to the surreal nature of her Kenyan experience.

Makin' It With a Lady

2008-02-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I was inspired - after stumbling upon Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" video on youtube - to put together a new mix with only women artists. And so, I've slowly been collecting a big fat folder of music, old and new, to make that, um, dream a reality.

But it was only today that I *finally* finished it!

While I've been known to put a mix CD or two together each year for a random selection of friends for no-particular-reason (besides that I like you guys), I recently was recruited into an, um, trading-mix-CDs-by-mail club. Hmm.. that sounds a little dorky when I write it out like that. haha. No matter; the March 1st deadline for the club's Spring cycle was fast approaching and it provided me with the impetus to go and organize the mass amounts of music that I've got saved up for just this purpose.

So, without further ado, may I present:

Makin' It With a Lady

01. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado (video)
02. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna (video)
03. Glamorous Life - Sheila E (video)
04. I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Whitney Houston (video)
05. How Will I Know - Whitney Houston (video)
06. Tell It to My Heart - Taylor Dayne (video)
07. Let The Music Play - Shannon (video)
08. Let's Make Love (Rappinhood Remix) - Cansei de Ser Sexy (blog)
09. Silent Night - Karin Strom (video)
10. 1234 (VanShe Technologic Remix) - Feist (blog)
11. Embrace - PNAU featuring Ladyhawke (blog)
12. Bossy (Braxe & Falke Remix) - Kelis ft Too Short (blog)
13. Love & War (LA Riots Remix) - Photek (blog)
14. Do It Well - Jennifer Lopez (video)
15. Emotions - Mariah Carey (video)
16. Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper (video)
17. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper (video)
18. Gatekeeper (Pocketknife's Faded Beach Towel Remix) - Feist (blog)

While I wish I could have linked to music videos for all of the tracks above, real ones don't exist for most of the remixes right now (goofball-created photo montages on YouTube with the remix playing in the background don't count in my book).. so for those entries, I linked to blog posts where you can download the songs on mp3. But if you're really interested in 100% visuals, go to YouTube and you'll be able to find most of the original versions, keeping in mind that the remixes are a lot more "dancey".

You know I wouldn't have it any other way. ;)

That said, some of the original songs are pretty cool too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE 030208: Long story, but I had to remake the CD; in the process, Shannon left and Sophie Ellis Bextor took her place - but at track #5 (shifting a few tracks down). Murder, I say!

Makin' It With a Lady

01. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado (video)
02. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna (video)
03. Glamorous Life - Sheila E (video)
04. I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Whitney Houston (video)
05. Murder on the Dancefloor - Sophie Ellis Bextor (video)
06. How Will I Know - Whitney Houston (video)
07. Tell It to My Heart - Taylor Dayne (video)
08. Let's Make Love (Rappinhood Remix) - Cansei de Ser Sexy (blog)
09. Silent Night - Karin Strom (video)
10. 1234 (VanShe Technologic Remix) - Feist (blog)
11. Embrace - PNAU featuring Ladyhawke (blog)
12. Bossy (Braxe & Falke Remix) - Kelis ft Too Short (blog)
13. Love & War (LA Riots Remix) - Photek (blog)
14. Do It Well - Jennifer Lopez (video)
15. Emotions - Mariah Carey (video)
16. Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper (video)
17. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper (video)
18. Gatekeeper (Pocketknife's Faded Beach Towel Remix) - Feist (blog)

It was time for a diet

2008-02-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

Now I know I've always said I try to limit the amount of "gear" I have around, but every once in awhile I feel the pull of possibility and excitement through consumerism. haha. Yeah, so I upgraded a key piece of my racing bike today - the first time since I bought it mid-2006 - and I'm psyched to take it for a spin tomorrow to really give it a go.

You see, Performance Bike is having a sale (aren't they always?) on components and I couldn't resist the double-digit discount on some of their high-end offerings. So, I said to myself, why not go big and replace my crankset?

I replaced my crankset.

For some reason, the Performance Bike website doesn't show the discount for the model that I bought - the SRAM Force HCT Crankset w/ GXP Team Bottom Bracket - but when all was said and done (including a 10% SF Bike Coalition discount) it was 35% off the original price at the store downtown.. which still ends up being of lot of money, but, well, I'm amortizing the cost in my head from 2006 onwards. My corporate accountant would be proud.

And how can you put a price on shaving half a pound off your ride? ;) See you on the road!

Beer by BART

2008-02-26T00:35:00.000-08:00

While I certainly have my list of favorite beer places here in San Francisco (which I frequent, um, frequently), the Beer by BART website gives me reason to expand my drinking grounds and explore craft breweries and pubs all over the Bay Area:

Beer by BART (http://beerbybart.com/)

The site provides a list of great beer places near BART stations, along with directions to and some brief notes about each destination. You'll also find a simple icon system that quickly lets you know how far you'll need to walk (or bus) to quench your thirst.

While Beer by BART definitely leaves some room for improvement in terms of user interface and layout, it's helpful enough to get you inspired to hunt some tasty new brews; I'm glad I came across it. And if you're looking for a travel partner (on ye olde public transportation), let me know!

Pictures flipped on a kaleidoscopic axis

2008-02-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

About a week and a half ago (on the 16th), a Gilbert and George retrospective opened to the public at the de Young, its first stop on American soil. And since I had nothing in particular to do on that sunny Saturday morning, I walked from my apartment (after a blueberry pancake breakfast - look for a new recipe in a future post!), through the Park and over to the museum, to check out the works of these self-proclaimed "living sculptures".

Yes, the artists refer to *themselves* as "living sculptures" - more on that later - but the most notable works at this particular exhibition are very large-scale installations of their manipulated photography, sexually-charged pictures - these guys never shied away from a little nudity - flipped this way and that along many a kaleidoscopic axis; the colors seem to have been dragged through a bright, wet circus. The exhibition has its own website here, where you may check out a selection of the featured work.

Whether you like what you see online (or in print for that matter), those tiny mediums do not do the real installations justice. I'll admit that I'd never been a huge fan of Gilbert and George, but seeing these works live, taking up full, massive walls, was a sight to behold; most of the work is on the order of 10x13 feet and echoed large, vaguely religious icons (if your religious icons are also vaguely political and vaguely homosexual). haha.

Back to the living statue reference, the last room of the exhibit does have some paraphernalia from some of Gilbert and George's performance art over the years (a medium in which they initially made their names). For example, in one piece, Gilbert and George invited selected members of the art community to watch them eat a full, multi-course dinner as if there was no such audience; that was that. They would also extend their "act" - in explanation, anyway - to everything they do, from waking up and dressing to interacting in any public forum.

In this way, I suppose I saw a Gilbert and George original piece of performance art when the two gentlemen - live!, and in their requisite matching suits - walked through the exhibit (past me and others) at the de Young, casually chatting to themselves. I should say that I don't think the act was planned, part of a talk or "appearance" or anything; they didn't even seem to look up at the art (but I guess they are pretty familiar with their own work). Still, it was good timing on my part because it added a nice little gold star to the afternoon. It was especially funny because they use their own image in many of the works, so it was like they popped right off the wall (and became 20 years older, in some cases). Cool stuff.

By the way, the retrospective was curated by the folks at the Tate Modern in London, who posted a few short films of Gilbert and George talking about the exhibit itself, but also about their artistic process. Interesting stuff for those who want to learn more.

Green pass turned to orange pass

2008-02-19T01:24:00.000-08:00

I think I get to sit at the "big table" at my climbing gym now.

Earlier tonight - after a good day of watching Tour de California action and drinking Russian River brews in Santa Rosa - I *ahem* drove (the rental car from our daytime adventures) over to Mission Cliffs and took their lead climbing test; a friend was gracious enough to meet up with me and be my partner (since the test is two parts: first, you lead climb a gym-rated 10b route while your partner belays you, and then you do the belaying for your partner). I passed on my first try, which, um, rocks!

For those of you not familiar withclimbing terminology, "lead climbing" is when, as a climber, you bring your rope up with you and clip it into anchor points for safety along the way (vs. the more beginner friendly toproping, where the rope is pre-set at a big anchor point at the top of the climb). Check out a few nice, clear, stick-figure diagrams of what I'm talking about at this site.

If you really want to get into the details, lead climbing is further split up into two main sub-categories: "sport climbing" and "traditional climbing" (aka "trad"). The first implies that the aforementioned anchor points are already set into the climbing wall; this is what would be offered at an indoor gym (as well as a few well-known outdoor spots). Trad is more complicated, requiring that you bring up these anchors - more generally known as "protection" - and set them into the rock as you go up.

Passing the lead test at Mission Cliffs basically allows me to do the sport climbing routes in any of the Touchstone climbing gyms here in the Bay Area. And while I definitely need lots more practice, it's also a small indicator that I have an idea of what I am doing; I got some positive feedback from the staff at the gym.

It's like a whole new area of the gym is opened up to me now - physically and mentally. haha. For whatever reason, even though I've improved my toprope climbing a lot over the past couple of months - completing a few 5.12's even (again, gym ratings!) - I was always under the impression that you don't really get the full respect of the gym regulars unless you can do some lead climbing. But I know that idea was *mostly* in my head. ;)

Still, I'm psyched about having veritable free reign of everything in the gym! So now that I got a few more skillz under my belt - sport climbing represent - the only things that will hold me back are my fitness or lack of determination (or injuries) And I like having that sort of control; control that was enabled and engaged when I traded in my old green toprope belay card tonight for a brand new orange one (for lead belay). I should have done it a long time ago..

I'm 60.4% pure.. or 60.4% not pure?

2008-02-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

Wow. Not sure how I, um, came across it again, but it seems the The Purity Test will never die. There are several places on the web with multitude versions of it, but the "500 Question Unisex, Omnisexual Purity Test" at www.puritytest.net is pretty much the standard.

In fact, my curiosity overrode my better judgment and I went ahead and took it other day (for shits and giggles).. and was a little disappointed. Yeah, I remember it being cooler back when I was in high school. haha. Some of the questions are repeated, and some just don't seem to be relevant or, at least, interesting to me now. But I guess one's perspective on life changes ten years on.. like, duh.

That said, just seeing the test again sparked memories of some formidable times growing up in Rhode Island (for high school). Endurance sports and girls and "possibility for adventure" (of any sort) were all just starting to enter into my worldview; definitely a pivotal era for me. If you were around then, let's get together and talk about Code Purple, horsenoises, and/or The Baker, ok? Oh man, totally silly and totally goodtimes. hahahaha..

In any case, for the record, I'm 60.4% pure (or is that 60.4% not pure?). Regardless, yeah - I admit - I need to get out more. haha. So, what's *your* score?

Breathe in the Disco Dust

2008-02-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

When I'm looking for fresh music, the Disco Belle and Big Stereo blogs never fail me. But it's nice to have new options, to have more eyes and ears out there on the scene (it's small, but it's big, you know?).. so, lucky for me I got a great tip from a friend a couple of months ago that led me to:

Disco Dust! (http://discodust.blogspot.com/).

It's consistent enough and non-overlappy enough (with other blogs) that it's now part of my regular music hunt roundup. In fact, I even just put a link to it on the "Aural Delites" sidebar menu for easy access. Check it out for yourself; it's full of those dancey rock bangers that I'm always babbling about; download a few and maybe we can have a conversation..

If you're not sure where to start, might I recommend:

1. Shazam - Pool Party (Feb. 13, 2008)
2. Pnau feat. Ladyhawk - Embrace (Jan. 31, 2008)
3. Das Pop - Fool for Love (Sebastian Remix) (Oct. 29, 2007)
4. Futurecop! - Transformers (Oct. 16, 2007)

Long live Hedonist Beer Jive

2008-02-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

As of about a week ago, the man behind the Hedonist Beer Jive blog is going to - in his own words - "take a breather from beer writing and from the beer world in general for a short while". Well, that's a bit of a bummer for me because I always enjoyed his posts, especially since I could follow all the local SF references (beyond the great info on beer in general, from reviews to news to travelogues).

That said, I can totally understand wanting to wrap up a project like that for a while (he does say "I’ll come back"), or even just wrap it up altogether. Sometimes these things become more of a chore than a pure joy; even if you still *want* to continue, you might have other higher-priority calls on your time, at least temporarily.

And even though I've never met the man, I've already given him a toast (or two) for the entertaining work he's put out over the years on his beer blog. Long live the Hedonist Beer Jive! On that note, I'll leave the link up on the right under "Social Lubricants", given that there are plenty of posts in the archive I still need to read, gems to discover..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One last beer note: The new seasonal from Sierra Nevada Brewing is pretty good; it's (somewhat confusingly) called an "ESB", which stands for - in their case only - "Early Spring Beer". Yeah, "ESB" usually stands for "Extra Special Bitter" and is a style of beer that is a little more hoppy than your average pale ale, but still usually balanced with some toasty, and sweet, malts; the alcohol is usually slightly higher as well. Check out a more thorough description at Beer Advocate).

In any case, the beer geeks at Beer Advocate have overlooked the awkward naming and seem to like it too. Nicely balanced; the hops are there, but not overpowering, and what makes it truly refreshing is this undercurrent of a very subtle sweetness. Per many of the review comments, it really *would* be a great session beer if it didn't weigh in at 5.8% abv.. although at this point in my drinking career, my liver can handle a few no problem. I mean, you should see the beer in my house; most of it is *at least* 6%, if not hovering around 10% abv.. and it's all oh-so-tasty! ;)

The bottom line is to check out Sierra's new seasonal "ESB", especially if you live in CA and are able to find it at every supermarket and corner store at a pretty good price. In fact, I picked up a 12 pack for $12 the other day; these days, I'm psyched to pick up dollar bottles of quality beer (and I'll be even more psyched if I can continue to do so as the hop storage runs into course over the next year or so).

Carrots at every course, at every meal

2008-02-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

So, I put those dee-lish carrots from my CSA to work and made a big batch of Ginger-Carrot soup over the weekend. It's funny, I like raw carrots well enough (but not overly so), and cooked carrots are just ok..

But a Ginger Carrot soup really hits the spot; it's one of my favorite soups, actually. Whoa! And now that I think about it, that ginger-carrot-orange combination does me right at *all* dinner courses: I did say "Let them eat Carrot-orange Cake" just a few months ago. haha. In any case, I've made a few versions of the soup over the years and have honed in on this recipe as my favorite:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLEND
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
3/8 cup minced fresh ginger (peeled)
3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
4 cups sliced peeled carrots (about 1 1/2 pounds)

SWIRL
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

GARNISH
salt + pepper to taste (a MUST!)
1/4 cup Toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
1/4 cup matchstick-size strips peeled carrot (optional)
1 tablespoon matchstick-size strips peeled fresh ginger (optional)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Heat both oils in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat; add the onion and ginger and sauté until the onion pieces are translucent (about 5 minutes).

2. Add the chicken stock and sliced carrots. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender (about 30 minutes - but will depend on the size of your carrot pieces).

3. Working in batches, puree mixture in a blender or food processor. Pureeing hot liquids in a blender is always an, um, recipe for a mess in the kitchen, but chow.com has a tip here you might want to try to avoid massive spillage. You could also use an immersion blender if you have one, but I think they have their own challenges in terms of splatter and - more importantly - getting a consistent puree. But, in short, use what ya got!

4. Return pureed soup to saucepan and mix in the orange juice, then the coconut milk. Cook over low heat 5 minutes (until warmed through) and then mix in ground cinnamon.

5. The soup at this point definitely needs some salt and pepper; how much is up to you (or your guests). In fact, you might want to ladle the soup into bowls now and let your guests decide how much they want to put in themselves. But if you're going to add some into the big batch itself, I'd say start with 1/2 teaspoon and go from there (you'll probably want more, but start slow because you can always put more in, but you can't take it out!).

6. If it's not already there, ladle soup into bowls and top with any combination of the toasted coconut flakes, carrot or ginger strips under the GARNISH list. Give your guests the option of more salt and pepper, and you should be good to go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the future, I'll probably fool around with adding some more spices, something to play off the coconut milk like curry powder or star anise or something. Maybe even add more coconut milk, or a bit of crème fraîche. If you have any ideas (or want to roll up them sleeves and cook with me), let me know..

Let me tell you about my new carrots

2008-01-26T02:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming, but I picked up my first CSA box earlier this week.. the first of many. And so, it seems, I'm guaranteed an, um, afternoon delight on Wednesdays, veggies and fruits - oh my! CSA, you ask? (Or was that afternoon delight?)

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and for a cityfolk like me, it's the closest thing I'll get to having a crazybig garden myself to provide fresh fruits and veggies all year 'round. I basically bought a "share" of a local farm's harvest and, as such, they will deliver a seasonal selection of goodies weekly to a neighborhood drop-off point a few blocks from my apartment. Pretty cool, huh?

And even though we're in the middle of winter - typically the worst selection of the year - the box is pretty good.. it's filled with apples and grapefruit and spinach and some other good things. California, yes! And now, late at night, I'm thinking about the last few carrots that wait for me for tomorrow. Yes, it's the carrots - the best I've had in ages (and I don't care if part of it is placebo effect) - that confirmed that this was the right CSA (Terra Firma), at the right time (regardless of season). If this first box is any indication, then we, my friend, are on our way (to tastyland)..

In fact, I've already seen the bounty coming at more harvest-friendly times of the year - via some friends who hooked up with this CSA ages ago - and I know that the mid-January selection is just the tip of the iceberg. Yeah, so lots to look forward to like asparagus, snap peas, and strawberries; I can't wait for the season to develop! Signing up was long overdue; and what better excuse to explore some new recipes - and have friends over - than having fresh, organic, local produce show up, basically, at your door? Eat well!

Death, by arrow or otherwise

2008-01-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

Killed by an arrow?

Man, that idea is so foreign to me - death, by arrow or otherwise, is inconceivable for the young in America - but apparently it's all the rage in Kenya. Of course, I say that with the blackest of humor possible (puns notwithstanding), but the NYTimes mentioned today reported that there is renewed and vigorous enthic fighting in Nakuru, one of the biggest towns in the troubled Rift Valley. And gangs of young people are walking around with clubs and machetes and bows and arrows, attacking people from rival groups at will; people are being maimed and killed, homes and shops destroyed:

Kenyan Gangs Clash in New Trouble Spot
By Jeffrey Gettleman
Published: January 26, 2008

And you read these sorts of accounts of far-off lands by Western journalists - mostly good folks trying to present the situation accurately - and you can't help but wonder if this article presents a proper version of "reality" (nebulous in definition itself, sometimes, I know). I mean, I'm sure there is plenty of fighting in Nakuru (and other Kenyan towns), and machetes are out in full and horrifying force, so what I really mean to say is that I question the commentary around these sorts of episodes: the "whys" around the political unrest, ethnic tensions and eruptions of violence. Yeah, and now that I say that "out loud", I realize that I will never know "the truth"..

In any case, as you may have heard, my sister was discharged from the Peace Corps last week, but she's back in Kenya (from Tanzania), sticking around with a few friends in Mombasa indefinitely until she figures out what she wants to do next. Hopefully, she'll be able to get back to her town in Western Kenya to continue some work on her own, or, at least, to tie up some loose ends before moving on (eventually back to the US after some traveling), which would imply that there was major progress in the political situation in the capital, and that violence had mostly subsided.

Chocolate delivers, rain or shine

2008-01-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

When the weather is cold and wet - and one is invited to a dinner party on such a Thursday night - a young man's fancy turns to baking (if he's an, um, fancyman, that is). Of course, chocolate is always in fashion, rain or shine, so yesterday I broke out a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I had saved away a few months ago.

I found it on SFGate.com (here), but the recipe is originally from "Demolition Desserts" by Elizabeth Falkner (of Citizen Cake fame), a book that takes some familiar desserts and reformulates them into almost unfamiliar - but still very much delicious (or moreso) - formats. Some of the recipes, in fact, could be classified more as "projects" than simple baking in terms of the effort required to pull them off, but if you're going for pizazz, you can't really go wrong with what she suggests.

That said, there are very doable recipes for folks with less time to invest but still want to impress your friends. Ms. Falkner's Chocolate² Chip Espresso Cookies fit the bill nicely; the recipe follows (with my own baking notes):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SIFT:
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely ground espresso-roast coffee beans

BASE:
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 1/4 ounces) firmly packed dark brown sugar

ADD1:
1 (1 1/2 ounces) large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

ADD2:
1 1/3 cups (8 ounces) semisweet, milk, or white chocolate chips, or a combination

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the SIFT ingredients

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and brown and granulated sugars (thge BASE ingredients) until smooth but not overmixed using a wooden spoon.

3. Add the ADD1 ingredients to the large bowl and stir just until combined.

4. Add the SIFT ingredients to the butter mixture in two additions, stirring gently after each addition just until combined. When I added the SIFT ingredients, the dough was crazy crumbly and was not really coming together into a smooth, whole, dough. In fact, I rechecked the recipe several times because I thought I left out some milk or eggs or something else that would bind everything together. But no; the ingredients listed above are all you need. So, at this point, I just got into the bowl with my hands and everything came together just fine into a thick, chocolaty, dough.

5. Add the chocolate chips and stir - or, as I did, use your hands - just until evenly distributed throughout the dough. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6. In the meantime, position the racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.

7. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and scoop up 1-inch balls of dough for full-size cookies or 1/2-inch balls for mini cookies with a spoon or mini scoop. Set the large scoops 2 inches apart or the small scoops 1 inch apart on the prepared pans. Yesterday, I actually made 2-inch balls of dough (and patted them down on the cookie sheet because I was in a hurry to get these guys in the oven - I was late for dinner!

8. Bake the mini cookies for about 5 minutes and the full-size cookies for about 8 minutes, and then rotate the pans and bake both sizes for another 3 minutes, or until they are puffed and still look a little wet in the center. Transfer to racks and let cool. For the 2-inch versions that I made, I baked them according to the directions for the "full-size" cookies, which left them with a *very* fudgey consistency.. I did not hear any complaints!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container, but they will be at their most tender the day you bake them. The recipe makes about 4 dozen full-size cookies, 8 dozen mini cookies, or - as I found out - about 2 dozen mega cookies (2-inchers). No matter the size, these cookies are pretty awesome.. and will get you buzzed on all sorts of levels: you'll find sugar, chocolate, and coffee, in each delectable bite. It seems, for these cookies at least, size doesn't matter (except when it does), so eat up!

Long lost Mr. Fischer

2008-01-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

You know, I really don't even know that much about Bobby Fischer beyond the major bullet points of his life:

- Youngest international grandmaster of chess
- First American-born world champion.. and Cold War hero
- Erratic and often anti-American or anti-semitic behavior
- Arrest in Japan + amnesty in Iceland

And, now, he is dead:

Bobby Fischer, Chess Master, Dies at 64
By Bruce Weber
Published: January 18, 2008

Man, I haven't really thought about chess in a while, but when I was a wee lad, I used to play quite a bit, at home and at school (pretty cool, huh?). haha. Even then, you knew the name Bobby Fischer, a chess icon always more legend than man.. and even moreso now, in death.

In any case, the NYTimes obituary (not to mention the wikipedia article I linked to at the top) provides a brief, but eloquent, version of his life, and gives a feel for the conditions under which he invigorated the "sport" of chess back in the 70's. Every cause, of course, needs a large personality - ideally, a handsome and charismatic icon - to spark the imagination of players old and new. For chess, Bobby Fischer was it (as far as I can tell; I certainly do not roll with any chess circles anymore). And maybe he will be again..

We'll see if his, um, grand accomplishments on the chess board overshadow his (many) transgressions in the "real world". I assume that they will; history is usually very forgiving in that way.

In the meantime, I have it in mind now to read / listen / watch more about this enigmatic genius, and, perhaps more interesting, about the political backdrop around many of his most high-profile matches. To that end, the book "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" and the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" come to mind, and since the SF Public Library seems to have both, I can satisfy these intellectual cravings fairly easily and on the cheap.

But you know I'm a fan of "doing", so let me throw out there that I have a couple of chessboards here at my apartment, so if I can round up a player - any takers? - we can dust those off and have ourselves a go. Bring over a 40, and we'll pour a lil' out in honor of the great minds that came before us. And then, of course, I'll break out The Abyss, allowing us to continue our match into tastier territory..

Unstructured or not

2008-01-17T19:13:00.000-08:00

Well, my sister's time in Kenya was officially called to a close on Tuesday - at least from the Peace Corps perspective. In her own words..

They're having us all take Interruption of Service and flying us from Dar (Tanzania) to the States beginning on Sat!!! Got this tonight and we're all full of emotions that are very hard to describe. They're asking us to give them one month to figure out stuff here in Kenya. so I'm Done, for the most part..

(since my sister's Peace Corps service was done in August anyway)

The news is very hard to take for myself and mentally I don't know where I am with this whole situation. I left thinking I would go back home to Matayos and continue the life I made for myself for the next few months; obviously, that's not going to happen.

As I mentioned earlier, my sister was evacuated - via motorcycle, then car - from her village, Matayos, about two weeks ago due to the violence that erupted over disputed presidential elections.

In fact, the NYTimes reported yesterday (with updates today) on new protests and killings in Kisumu (the closest city to where my sister was stationed), as well as in other large cities like Nairobi and Mombasa. The article itself is a little all-over-the-place, touching on a lot of subjects related to the current violence and potential for continued political and civil unrest, but not really getting into any details on any one aspect. In other words, it's not a good article to "start on", but if you've already been following the action, it does provide a little view into the latest scene. Check it:

Protests Bring New Violence in Kenya
By Jeffrey Gettleman
Published: January 17, 2008

And the BBC fills in a little more:

'Seven dead' in Kenyan protests
BBC News, January 17th, 2008

In any case, I read these stories with a bit of amazement (and a grain of salt); I really don't have any practical experience to call upon when I try to empathize with any of the players involved, from native Africans - especially from the native African perspective! - to international workers (ex. from NGO's, foreign governments and so forth).

You see, I've never lived in a place with such a level of uncertainty with respect to its everyday societal constructions.. from transportation infrastructure to general rule of law (including the expectation to NOT be hacked with a machete). These types of things should just "be", right? I, of course, say that with a wink-wink and a nudge-nudge: these things are *hardly* simple in their implementation, maintenance, and, later, evolution with the times. But that fact is easy to forget because while they are all intrinsically complex systems - built layer by layer, and tweaked infinitely (and, many times, slowly) - they can have a seemingly-simple interface.. as least when viewed by a given individual.

In any case, I'll let the news speak for itself.. before I get too off track and start philosophizzizing without hard data to back me up. Besides, as I write, more updates are pouring in, BBC-style:

Kenya 'turned into killing field'
BBC News, January 17th, 2008

Alas, the who's-at-fault-hype coming from both sides, it seems, is strong (and conflicting). But that is the way of the world, unstructured or not..

UPDATE: My sister will be discharged from the Peace Corps on January 19th, but will be sticking around Africa until at least the end of February; there are belongings to collect and goodbyes to be said.

Can I be a pleasure (to read)?

2008-01-15T23:15:00.000-08:00

It's January, just past the holidays (and some buffer), and minds-in-the-(want-to)-know turn towards another season of school; for these folks, seasons are measured in neatly-packaged semesters. And, for me, that means CCSF is back in session - this week, in fact - and tonight I've begun a new little branch of academic endeavors. You see, I've started a weekly Short Story class, which makes me - officially - something of a writer. Well, at least, that's what I'll tell chicks at parties (and we'll keep the part about it being a night class at CCSF our little secret). ;)

Actually, I *am* excited to see how things work out at school.. on several levels. Remember that I have no formal English education beyond high school - writing or literature or otherwise - so I'm first looking to baseline my current level of comprehension and aptitude for the discipline. That is, can I write something that other people find stimulating and/or entertaining; can I be a pleasure (to read)? Beyond that sort of raw feedback, it is good to know that I have time set aside each week for writing (not to mention for doing background reading assignments). One of the main benefits of paying for a class such as this is that you have submitted yourself to a structure of discipline.. and you don't want to waste your money. Here, now, there are appointments to keep and concrete assignments to deliver. Yes, sir! Yes, ma'am! And all of that.

I'll be posting everything I'm up to for this class here on the blog, and comments are welcome; comments are always welcome, in fact. I won't be offended if you think something "isn't working". Well, I'll, at least, *act* like I'm not offended and listen intently as you apply your harsh worldview to my work. Oh, I thank you; I thank you for your valuable opinion! Deep in my heart, however, I know that Morrissey understands me and my artistic vision; he understands me, complete and whole. (So screw you.) haha.

In any case, the short version of why I'm taking the class is that I'm hoping to be inspired - in a get-off-my-ass sort of way (versus a hippy-dippy, great idea from heaven sort of way) - to develop of few nascent writing projects rolling around in my head (details to follow; stay tuned). So, when such a project, however small, gets going - and you have a critical audience in the mix - the desire to NOT FAIL in front of your peers (whatever that means in this case) is strong. At the least, I know I can apply some of the writing/brainstorming/organizing techniques to some of my deliverables at work (training presentations, application notes, and so forth).. although, really, what fun is that when, there, I'm writing about computer chips?

Hey, but if this class-as-inspiration thing works out, maybe I'll sign up for an art course next semester. You see, I also need a kick in the butt to get my mind wrapped around that amorphous tattoo that I keep talking and talking about (yet, somehow, never actually get); it's been years since I first had an, um, inkling of this (permanently) marked desire.

Still, I need to be focused on the present: I have an short story assignment due this coming week and, besides, tomorrow I make the journey back to the CCSF Noe Valley campus for my other linguistic love: Русский язык. In Russian class, my goals are much lower (with respect to effecting nuances of communication), but no less noble. I want to know how *you're* doing all over the world (and we'll start with those of you in Russia and its sphere of influence). Пока!

Better late than never, SF Sketchfest

2008-01-14T14:43:00.000-08:00

The 7th annual San Francisco Sketchfest just started this past weekend; it runs from now through the 27th of January. That's right, a comedy festival right here in our great city, running for weeks on end.. and I've still never been to a showing!

Not until this *coming* Sunday, anyway..

This year's awesome lineup has finally gotten me off my ass. I mean, the folks that put on the SF Sketchfest have grown the event to be a premier venue for both up-and-comers and those from the "established comedy underground", folks like Brent Weinbach, Brian Posehn, Tim and Eric, the Upright Citizens Brigade (A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T.) and a reunited Kids in the Hall. And this list is just the tip of the iceberg; scores of others are also performing.

Yeah, so I bought tickets to a show this coming Sunday at Mezzanine:

Jon Benjamin and Eugene Mirman's Fresh Faces of Comedy
Featuring Bob Odenkirk, Tim and Eric, and Michael Showalter

There are a couple other shows I thought about going to (ex. anything with Mr. Weinbach), but given some schedule clashes (CCSF night classes start this week), I was limited in my options. That said, the Fresh Faces of Comedy show was at the top of my list anyway. Yeah, I'm not sure what to expect from the guys behind Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, but it's sure to be at least pleasantly askew, if not a full on bad makeup and pursed lip comedy trainwreck (in a good way - haha). And, of course, Bob Odenkirk and Michael Showalter are proven laughologists..

In any case, if you're into slightly-skewed comedy, I'd say to get on some tickets (check the SF Sketchfest schedule); shows are happening everyday and at venues all over the city. Some of the big name events (like A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T.) have sold out already, but there are still plenty of laughs to be had. I'm pretty sure that if you go with an open mind - and maybe have a drink or two while you're there - you can't really go wrong; laugh therapy does a body good.

A Cornell, a Cummings, and a Newsom

2008-01-10T23:04:00.000-08:00

It seems it's been a week for art.

Last Saturday, I *finally* got to check out the Joseph Cornell exhibit at the SFMOMA; good thing we made it happen this past weekend, because it closed the very next day. This retrospective was the last show in the current crop of exhibitions that I needed to check out; I had already seen the biggies of Olafur Eliasson and Jeff Wall at least twice, each. And it's odd I left Mr. Cornell to the last minute here because when I first saw a photo of his dreamy box construction, Untitled (Tilly Losch), I knew I would be into his stuff. His work is enchanting on many levels.

Actually, the curators amassed and displayed over 200 of Cornell's works, and this massive sum tired me out pretty quickly, even if most of them are physically very small; I was, therefore, only really able to give my full attention to the first couple of rooms. In that sense, I should have gone to see the show weeks ago, which would have given me time to return and return again, to tackle the pleasurable - if daunting - task of giving each thoughtful object its due. You see, his work is so detailed, so created (crafted?) from a myriad of everyday objects, that you can't help but be drawn into each piece's secretlife; and there, your mind - at least your subconscious mind - can be easily overwhelmed by such surroundings. What treasure to be found in each nook and cranny! Each piece demands a storytelling (are you man/woman enough?); and whimsy is encouraged.

On Tuesday night, I met a friend at John's Hayes Valley Market, that sometimes art gallery at the corner of Hayes and Laguna, for a group art show called Boomerang. In fact, we went there specifically for the opening reception and film screening; several films - 2 silent and 2 talkies, all reel-to-reel media - were part of the eclectic mix of works. Overall, it looked like a good crew in attendance, and I was glad that I made time to check out this gallery; I've walked by it so many times! As for the art, like most group shows (at least here in San Francisco), it was a mixed bag.. but curated tighter than most.

Two artists jumped out at me. The first, well.. I actually didn't catch their name (and so, I need to go back this weekend). But look for the colorful "X" and "V" drawings, framed and hung on the right wall as you walk in the entrance to the gallery. However, I was *really* enamored with the acrylic stylings of Timothy Cummings; he submitted a good 10 pieces to the show - most being around 10" x 12" and painted on paper or wood.

He framed his androgynous subjects icongraphicly, and captured them with dark and brooding gazes inspired in color and form by the Old Masters; the results were, in all cases, haunting (and I couldn't help but be mesmerized). Without a doubt, a rich and personal mythology simmered beneath the surface of each painting. I'll have to do more research on this talented - and self-taught - artist.

The very next night - last night - I bussed it over to the de Young Museum with a lovely date for SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's inauguration party.. such a random invite, but a most welcome one, indeed. Actually, I should clarify that *I* was a "+1", making me the tag along - I'd like to think "arm candy" - for the event (hey, I rocked some kickass silver cuff links for the occasion). haha. Not exactly a scene I usually roll with, but, that said, I certainly like to indulge in the trappings of all walks of life when I get the chance. And SF politics + free food + open bars + circus? + samba! + galleries all to yourself (and your date) = a pretty cool evening. Did I mention the open bars?

If you have access to Facebook, there are a couple of pretty good pictures posted of the event linked to my name. All I'll say right now is that you simply have to stand next to Mr. Newsom - and an arm around his back doesn't hurt - to find yourself with a fine tan; the pictures of this (former) whiteboy don't lie. Viva San Francisco! (And if you don't have access to Facebook and want to see the pics, let me know and we can hook it up.)

Fighting for your ears' attention

2008-01-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

My work is done after - simply - making you aware of their existence, by advancing this music above and beyond the usual clutter that fights for your ears' attention; I'll let the work of these artists speak for itself:

1. MCMXLV - Dinosaur Jr. meets Joy Division?
Next SF show: January 10th @ The Red Devil Lounge

2. Rykarda Parasol - Gothic, sultry, piano rock
Next SF show: January 25th @ Cafe du Nord

3. Love Grenades - Seductress dancepop
Next SF show: NONE; catch them in Los Angeles on February 15th

And, by the good grace (and taste) of some of my friends - one old and one new; both super cute - I submit two more fun entries for your consideration:

4. The Virgins - Garagey Britpop w/ some whiteboy funk
Next SF show: NONE; catch them on their East Coast/ Midwest tour in Jan/Feb

5. The Dodos - Countryfied folkrock with a side of psych
Next SF show: February 28th @ Cafe du Nord

What I would suggest is to listen to a few tunes from each of these groups on myspace (which is where the links above will land you) and write your own one-liner description; I know you can conjure up something better than my weak offerings of "Garagey Britpop w/ some whiteboy funk" or "Countryfied folkrock with a side of psych". ;) Do it for yourself, of course - it's a great exercise in learning the language of the musicsnob - but if you're feeling randy, put your wonderful works of art in the comments. For some inspiration, check out the album descriptions from the crew at Aquarius Records; those guys and gals are truly the masters of such aural (and encyclopedic) industry.

And on a note more grounded in the visceral - let's DO the music instead of writing about it - if you're interested in going to any of the shows I mentioned above, let me know..

Hope too late for the 600 already dead

2008-01-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

"The only way to restore the Kenyan people's rights and confidence in the (social and political) system is that the political leaders have to stop the violence, because innocent people are dying." - Jendayi Frazer, the top US official for Africa.

True that.

And, so, it seems like (minor) progress is being made in Kenya to address the stalemate between the presidential contenders and their supporters as they try to resolve questions around "fair elections" (amid a backdrop of ethnic tensions). The sitting president, Mwai Kibaki, has invited the main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, to participate in face-to-face talks in order to discuss the disputed election results. While the exact goals of the meeting seems to be a little vague, the gesture is enough that violence seems to have, um, died down a little over the past day or two. Read more, courtesy of the BBC:

Kenya leader invites foe to talks
BBC News, January 7th, 2007

For those of you that have asked about my sister Megan, she's been fine, spending this past weekend in Kampala, Uganda with another Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV) from Kenya. The two of them will be flying out to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania tomorrow for the next two weeks; we'll see where she goes from there. Megan is itching to get back "home" - to Matayos - but seeing her current day-to-day living in unfamiliar places as an opportunity to explore new territory.. physically and emotionally.

Back to thinking about the country (née, the world) at large, I'd like to have faith in the triumph of reason and order over chaos (the second law of thermodynamics notwithstanding); and everyone displaced will be able to go home and work towards a more stable existence, now and into the future.

As I've mentioned before, I really don't have any background in African politics, but I am willing to listen to folks who do and would like to tell me about it - in whatever way that means, given your personal expertise; it's a big continent.

UPDATE: Easy come; easy go. No talks for now:

Kenya Opposition Leader Rejects Talks
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 8, 2008

Putin as objet d'affection

2008-01-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

A few days ago a friend brought me the 2007 Person of the Year issue of Time magazine. Normally, I wouldn't be very interested in their choice (or reading Time magazine in general, for that matter), but it just so happened that this year's Person of the Year is Russia's current president, Владимир Путин (Vladimir Putin); my friend knew I'd be into *that* (due to the random interest in Russia and the Russian language that I've been cultivating this year).

In any case, they actually do have a few interesting articles on, or related to, Putin.. however, the one that I was looking the most forward to was the least satisfying: a (much) abridged interview with the man himself at his Moscow dacha. You see, they basically cut a 3.5 hour dinner down to a page and a quarter of snappy one-line answers to some potentially in-depth questions. Admittedly, it's hard to tell the extent of the wordtrim because Putin *is* known for being to-the-point (to put it, um, diplomatically), but, still, each answer really does *feel* so incomplete; and to me, it became a tease. For example:

Americans wonder why the recent Russian elections could not have been more open and why, for example, Garry Kasparov was put in jail.

Why did Mr. Kasparov, when arrested, speak out in English rather than Russian? When a politician works the crowd of other nations rather than the Russian nation, it tells you something.

And:

Do you think there was a missed opportunity after 9/11 for the U.S. and Russia to work more closely on the anti-terrorism front because of Iraq?

We could have acted in a more coordinated and therefore more efficient way. That is true. But cooperation between our secret services is happening and is achieving results.

I guess if I want some unadulterated Putin, I should join the local chapter of the VV Fan Club.. although I'm guessing that the closest chapter is in that funky "land-locked" island of Russianess among the Baltic countries: Kaliningrad. More seriously, I *am* trying to track down any of their paraphernalia; I've seen some pictures of some pretty cool tshirts, flags and posters. And any help is appreciated if you know where I can get them here in the US (throw any info into the comments).

In any case, beyond the interview, the other articles in the issue fared much better. Specifically, I enjoyed one journalist's chronicle of contemporary Russian life during a recent journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg; he took a route first described by Aleksandr Radishchev in "A Journey from Petersburg to Moscow", written in 1790. As you can imagine, many things have changed, but even more notable are the things that haven't (or, perhaps, changed at some point and then regressed); religion and militancy forever. The article is really an attempt to distill a set of disparate stories into a theory about the current "condition of the country". And, at a first pass, it's a good start; still, its essence is very tip-of-the-iceberg, given the size and complexity of our objet d'affection.

But see everything I've been talking about here; see it for yourself: Time's Person of the Year, 2007.

They are counting on your arrival

2008-01-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

What an odd turn of events in Kenya over the past couple of days! But maybe I say that because I really don't know that much about Kenyan culture - or any African culture, really; maybe this was all to be expected. It seems the country has devolved into a bit of chaos, with old ethnic rivalries springing into modern-day violence..

Kenyan Riot Police Turn Back Rallying Protesters
By Jeffrey Gettleman
Published: January 4, 2008

The *extremely* short version is that many people, including some independent observers, are questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election results from a few days prior. The existing president has unequivocally declared victory with 52% of the vote, and, in fact, has already sworn himself in for this next term (hasty, indeed!); on top of that, he refuses to negotiate with the opposition in any capacity.

You might think that that this sort of situation would be manageable in a civilized manner, but add in tribal allegiances (something I have no internal notion of), under-developed social infrastructure, and general trappings of a poor nation (even if it is one of the most successful in Africa), and you start to approach an understanding of how a society with a veneer of stability can so quickly fall from such grace. But, still, yeah, you can only just *start* to approach such terrible understandings..

Continue your contemporary Kenyan education with another article from the NYTimes, written by the same journalist:

Kenya, Known for Its Stability, Topples Into Post-Election Chaos
By Jeffrey Gettleman
Published: January 3, 2008

Again, start your journey here in newspapers like the NYTimes and in general Western media, but take it all with a grain of salt. One of the main ideas that I came away with after reading "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families" last month is that, like I mentioned before *for myself*, many international players who have a hand in the African condition (governments - continental and beyond, NGOs, foreign industry, journalists, general travelers) do not know the history of the people that they are observing and/or interacting with; they can hardly tell who is who sometimes. In other words, when they are giving commentary, passing judgments, or making decisions related to the African world, they are doing so with assumptions about "how people/societies work" that many times do not hold true there for one reason or another. And, hence, the place sometimes seems to be random and doomed to its failure after failure after failure.. even to people who should "know better".

In any case, the subject of "how to help Africa" - whatever that means - is a HUGE subject in itself and beyond the scope of this entry.

Admittedly, I would have probably glossed over these articles on "Kenya's problems", except for the fact that my sister has been living there for the past year and a half (in a village called Matayos, near Busia), working for the Peace Corps. In the weeks leading up to the election she had mentioned to us folks back home that there would be some precautions related to the election time, mostly in the form of travel restrictions. But I don't think that anyone imagined the scale of violence that has erupted.. although, again, it's hard to tell the true scope of the violence without being there first hand.

However, she did send an email yesterday describing a fairly dramatic evacuation out of Kenya:

"Hey all!!! Here's the update. Yesterday, the 2nd of Jan, another PCV and I were moved into Uganda. Peace Corps called me in the morning, then my supervisor came with his motorcycle to come pick me (first time I left my compound in a week and as we were just going there were fire burns in the roads and rocks for road blocks (hoolagans from diff places are stopping vehicles and making people speak their mother tongue and if they're kikuyu they're killing them):also, there's NO public vehicles running)) and brought me to Busia to this volunteers house. (Also, there's NO petrol/gas so it was a good thing I left when I did because his motorcycle was on LOW). Got to her house, and the Father from the Catholic Church, where she stays, took us across the border in his car where we met with 2 Uganda PCV's who live on the busia side of Uganda and we came up to Tororo, UG(27km from Busia, UG) for safety. TODAY: 13 PVCs in Kisumu are supposed to be leaving with the CDC via police escort and coming to meet us. We may stay here for another night or two or go to Kampala... we will have to wait and see. KNOW that I'm safe and thinking of everyone back in the States. It's quite surreal... Take care. Miss you, Love, Megan"

So, my sister is safe and sound, and just waiting in Uganda for things to cool out, hoping to return to her village in Kenya sooner rather than later. Luckily, Megan can roll with the punches, so I know she's been keeping high spirits throughout this unplanned adventure.

At this point, all I can say is that I hope for the violence to stop and some sort of reconciliation process to begin - within the national government, within local communities, and within each individual.. intellectually, spiritually or otherwise. And to all of you on that delicate, and sometimes terrible, journey - especially those in positions of power and influence: Godspeed. The path to peaceful resolution might be long, but your first steps must start now; the lives of a lot of people, in Kenya and beyond, are counting on your arrival.

Submit yourself to a broken logic

2007-12-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

I've taken my fair share of flights over the years - mostly in the US, but also in Europe and western/central Asia (think: Russia and its friends) - and even though I've never been the most comfortable on a planes in general, I've gotten on every single flight I've scheduled for myself, regardless of the weather, the airline, or any other "environmental" factor. But a Practical Traveler article in the NYTimes today got me thinking that maybe I should be paying more attention:

Does Low Cost Mean High Risk?
By Joshua Kurlantzick
Published: December 23, 2007

It explains the explosive growth of the low-cost airline industry in Asia, and how it's been a boon to business and the burgeoning middle class.. but it draws particular attention to the somewhat-shoddy safety record that has developed recently. It seems regulators can't keep up with the need for oversight, given that cutting corners is the (stereotypical) hallmark of emerging Asian ventures; initial capital is low, pilots can be under-experienced, equipment can be poorly maintained.. in fact, planes have been known to disappear, um, while in-flight. Quotes like this abound: "Currently, the European Union bans every Indonesian carrier." Of course, problems are not limited to Asia, but it certainly gets it's fair share of press coverage, given its emergence as a powerful economic force over the past decade or so.

It's funny, I read this just as I've never been more comfortable with the whole process of flying, enhanced security and all. That is, I literally go into a Zen-like frame of mind even as I'm heading to the airport, which continues until I've arrived at my final destination (even without, ahem, jokester friends hooking me up with large doses of anti-anxiety medication - as has been known to happen). Long lines?; whatever. Need extra screening?; whatever. Missed flight; whatever. Crying babies on the plane? whatever. Obviously I don't prefer these things, but for the most part they don't bother me anymore; they are all automatically filed under the "things I can't control" folder in my brain.

In any case, I'll keep the information in the article in the back of my mind next time I fly on an airline I'm not familiar with, especially if it's in Asia. But still, I see myself following my usual plans of "choose whatever flight makes the most sense from a timing+cost point of view" and not from a safety point of view. Does that sound stupid, given some of the statistics that the article drops on us? I think not, given that the real chance of an air catastrophe happening is still much less than that of an automobile accident.

Plus, when I travel, my "when in Rome" instinct kicks up a notch or two, riding packed local buses, front seating it in taxis sans-seatbelt, and so forth. I'll admit, part of that is a desire for a subconscious thrill, via total submission to fate. And somehow it seems to me - especially when I'm out of the country - that I've escaped from the trappings of "real life"; how can anything bad *really* happen when I'm on holiday? Of course, that's just my mind playing tricks on me, but, given that fact that nothing bad has happened so far, them's is sweet tricks indeed. How's that for broken logic? Knock on wood, for sure and forever; knock on wood..