Sparks, I hardly knew ye

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?

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!

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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

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

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!

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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

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

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.

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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.

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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?

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?

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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)!

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:

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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

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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.

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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. ;)