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

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)

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

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!

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

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.

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

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'

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!