USA! USA! USA!

Heckasac will be heckaback on July 5th!

Once again I'm busy but maybe I'll have time later to post. I am frazzled because I have to try to leave work a little early to go on the Worlds Biggest Camping Trip (TM) after work. Most of the population of the Sac area is going with me, so you are probably in the same state of mind as I am.

Goddamn! I can't even get a second to post without someone coming by to bug me. If you're not going camping this weekend my advice to you is to get stoned and watch Kate Bush videos. You won't be sorry.

Here's the post for the Kabinet movie that's this saturday, 8pm

Sunday, July 2ndJean Luc Godard’sLA CHINOISE(France, 1967)Made the same year as his classic WEEK-END, screening at this year’s Sacramento French Film Festival, LA CHINOISE provides a bridge between his earlier more populist work and the polemics of the late 60s/early 70s. Jean-Pierre Leaud is one of a group of revolutionary students trying to come to terms with their political beliefs – and each other in a film that channels the frustrations, and presages the events, of May ’68.

corey hart makes some money for a change

Not to detract from the Kabinet post (I'll repost it tomorrow), but has anyone else heard the kinda dumb new E-40 song "stunna glasses at night". Yes, it features a chorus from the Corey Hart song "sunglasses at night" but sung by a different dude. This website has an mp3 and says that another Bay Area rapper has a song using that sample right now.

Sub Shack tonight + Kabinet schedule for July

I will probably not make it out the the Shack tonight due to extreme mental exhaustion and dehydration (just like a celebrity!) but if you are inclined to go the cuisine is going to be Mexican. Fifteen bucks all you can eat, dessert included and cheap wine or beer.

The new schedule for the Kabinet is out! That's weird, I was just discussing Bob Le Flambeur with BR last night because he was saying that there was a crappy remake that came out somewhat recently with Nolte. Here's the sched:

Hi folks,

As we did last year, we’re paying tribute to Sacramento’s French Film Festival by presenting three French classics. Kabinet will be closed for two weeks while the SFFF unspools at the Crest Theatre…)

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Sunday, July 2nd

Jean Luc Godard’s
LA CHINOISE
(France, 1967)

Made the same year as his classic WEEK-END, screening at this year’s Sacramento French Film Festival, LA CHINOISE provides a bridge between his earlier more populist work and the polemics of the late 60s/early 70s. Jean-Pierre Leaud is one of a group of revolutionary students trying to come to terms with their political beliefs – and each other in a film that channels the frustrations, and presages the events, of May ’68.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sunday July 9th

Jean-Pierre Melville’s
BOB LE FLAMBEUR
(France, 1955)

Melville’s rarely-screened ARMY OF SHADOWS just received its first U.S. release (more than 35 years late) so it seems more than appropriate to celebrate one of the “godfathers” of the French New Wave with a screening of his finest film. With “Bob the Gambler,” he takes the familiar story of an aging gangster staging one last heist and employs it to eulogize a fading way of life. With stunning scenes of Montmartre at night and deadpan narration by Melville himself, this is a must-see.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sunday, July 16th & Sunday, July 22nd

Kabinet will be closed. Please enjoy the Sacramento French Film Festival at the Crest Theatre!!!

- - - - - - - - - -

Sunday, July 29th

Jacques Rivette’s
CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING
(France, 1973)

Please don’t let the three-and-a-quarter hour running time scare you off: time flies when you’re having this much fun! And this madcap, everything-plus-the-kitchen sink fantasy is one of the most sprightly and delightfully goofy films ever made. A librarian with an interest in the occult and a nightclub magicienne strike up a friendship and discover a strange mansion where a tale of murder plays out over and over, day after day, until the duo can solve the mystery. Rivette evokes Henry James, Alice in Wonderland, To Catch a Thief, and dozens of other cinematic and literary touchpoints, but CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING is nothing if not original – and rarely screened to boot. So don’t miss this chance to see what critic David Thompson called “the most important film since CITIZEN KANE!”

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Thanks!
J.

http://www.kabinet.org

I'm really excited about the French Film Festival. They always have great movies. This year it's on the weekend of July 15th. They posted the schedule for it. And Strangers with candy opens that same weekend!

quick post

I wasn't even going to do a post because I have work to do, but I was so stoked on everybodys comments while I was gone that I want to. I think this blog works better when I'm not around.

I didn't go to that show at on the y last night, but smiller did and he absolutely raved about Fuckwolfeyeshamburgergetonthegroundandrollaround. J.K. he thought they sucked but he liked the other two bands, a band called Yikes and JP's band.

June's blew my mind and filled me up to the point of no return. Whatever that means. You citizens of Sac who can get to Junes sometime between the highly inconvenient hours of 8am and 2pm and who would like to just eat one meal to fill you up all day, go to Junes as soon as possible! I am now All About Japantown and will be making a tshirt that says that soon. Speaking of tshirts, OK I already told this at the bbq last night so just skim if you were there, but yesterday I saw a somewhat tweaky guy on a BMX bike who had the look of someone who would ask you for spare change or a cigarette but he had on a homemade tshirt that in giant lettering said "NO SPARE CHANGE, NO SPARE CIGARETTES". Everyone has a thing, and this was that guys thing I guess.

KW reviews the Pakistani restaurant that is now in the space of Bravo (RIP Bravo and RIP piano playing guy at Bravo). I hope to go there soon.

Speaking of RIP, something is up at Taka's. I guess it is closed due to a dispute with the owner? This came out of the blue and I'm really bummed because I just started eating there recently and it's a quick walk from my house. So is Kamon, but I don't like Kamon that much. This sucks.

they should be committed, alright

Yes, I am blogging on my day off. Just because I care about my readers and I want you all to know that the ten dollar tasting at 58 degrees tonight from 5-7 is zinfandels. There, now you all have plans for tonight and you can thank me for it. We went there last night for a glass and Lisa D. let us tast a moscato d'asti that's called bug juice which is a very refreshing and slightly fizzy dessert wine that I would definitely recommend to beat the heat. She also took us back to see the reserve room and wine lockers (both rooms were very cool and smelled great, like fresh-cut wood). We also got to see the members lounge and Doug and Jackie Christie were up on some program on the flatscreen looking fully insane. I think they wrote a book called "doug and jackie christie committed" or something but I can't find any info on it. Here's a link to an old nytimes article about their, um, unique relationship.

I ate at Ricksha last night and it was surprisingly great, well most of it. Damn, now I used one of the only adjectives I possess to describe it and I'll have to haul out the thesaurus for the midtown monthly article. Today I'm eating at June's for the very first time, which is a special day in any girls life.

meet and greet the heat

I have tomorrow off. There's a Tetuzi Akiyama show at Fool's tonight. This guy is an improvising blues country guitarist from Japan? Hmm...don't know what to say about that. There is an interesting show at on the y tomorrow. Well, I'm really just going because smiller thinks it will be good and I trust him, I don't know much about it.

I'm eating at Ricksha tonight because I'm writing a thing about Japantown for the midtown/downtown monthly. I haven't been there in forever!

So Luna's has started having noise shows now? That's really weird.

Any reports on the Four Eyes show? I wanted to go but I am all about trying to Beat the Heat and that would be more like Meet the Heat! Har!

Morning downer

So in addition to the increase in violent crime Sac has experienced in the last year, the heat seems to be spurring a mini-crime wave. Five people have been shot in sac since saturday. Here's the sad story of the guy in Valley Hi. I can't find the article right now but the sheriff had a good quote where he downplayed the surge in violence by pointing out that it's usually gang members that are killed. Not this time, but usually. Way to justify it.

SRD meeting tonight, same time and place.

just because

I've been meaning to post this picture of Ian McKellan for a while just because it's awesome

everybody loves a good shvitz

The community garden benefit was interesting and kinda fun. It really had the feel of something that would warrant a page in Sacramento magazine, but it was for a good cause so that was OK. Robbie Fong dressed like a total D and schmoozed the crowd. Baby Grand looked really picturesque against the high-school gym-type background. I got a free one week pass to the Capital Athletic Club, which seems pretty fancy, and I plan to take advantage of it. I wonder if the sauna is included? Nothing like a good schvitz on a hundred degree day. I ate something that didn't agree with me (I'll spare you the repulsive and shocking details), but there was so much different food it was hard to tell what the culprit was. Did anyone else feel sick? I'm sure it wasn't the gallons of wine that I drank that night.

I went to a most exciting supermarket this weekend, thanks to a tip from Natalie. It's in West Sacramento, in the same strip mall that the new Goodwill is in . It's called Europa foods (3049 west capitol, right off the freeway). It is basically a Russian (in the sense of former USSR) market. The exciting thing is it has a full service deli with all kinds of cheeses and meats and caviar and such. Me and Scott picked up many varieties of Baltika beer, dark German bread that was still warm, Bulgarian salami and pickles (delish), German bologna (spongy and gross), crazy white Moiva caviar, water from Belarus, and Russian cheese. Oh yeah, and an electric green tarragon soda that I still haven't opened. They had tons of crazy sodas, one of which contained St. John's wort and eucalyptus oil!

Batman at the Kabinet was really good last night. That movie is really funny, mostly because of the brilliance of Adam West and the ham-handed double entendres. And, contrary to previous reports, it was comfortably cool inside. J. said that he has the schedule for next month worked out so I'll post it as soon as I get it from him.

nananananananana Batman!

Oops, I just caught that I posted the wrong day for the Kabinet movie. It's SUNDAY at eight, as usual. Batman movie.

I am becoming increasingly intrigued by this Fremont Community Gardens fundraiser event. Does anyone know when it starts and ends and whether discount tickets can still be purchased today and until when. More info, anyone?

a reminder...

This is the last night of the Daniel Johnston movies, and 830 (or 820) is the last showing.

Also, the Sub Shack is having their dinner/wine thing tonight. Don't know what's on the menu. He's done BBQ the last two weeks.

is it friday yet?

Just as an early reminder and because everybody's working for the weekend, the Bike Kitchen opening is this saturday, Baby Grand is playing at the wine tasting/food event to raise money for the Fremont Community Garden. Kabinet is playing the old Batman movie this saturday at eight.

Don't laugh at me, but I went into that store Beyond Gotham that's right by 58 (you know the one with all the Von Dutch stuff) because I had spied that they have a wall of jewelry. They actually have some pretty cool earrings and their selection is giant. The earrings seemed to be in the10-20 dollar range and I got a large dangly pair. Of earrings.

day off

What a day off I had! Morning coffee and chilling at Temple, delicious lunch at La Bonne Soupe, and snacks and a rose (I don't know how to do an accent mark on here) tasting at 58 degrees. I checked out the wine shop and it has tons of under ten dollar bottles of wine. The wine tasting was 10 bucks for 6 pretty generous tastes and we sat and drank and snacked for almost two hours just on that ten bucks. Then I bought my favorite bottle at a discount (cuz I paid for the tasting) for less than eight bucks. That place is cool.

Hot enough for ya? This weather is INSANE.

I've had two reports now about the nastiness of Tortugas, the torta place that's adjacent to Zocalo and owned by the Ernastos/Zocalo people. Smiller got a terrible torta there with the greasiest bread ever, Natalie and Jay got uberbland burritos there. I tabledived (punk!) the butt of Jay's chicken burrito and it was indeed tasteless.

otherwise known as weird beard

NYTimes weighs in on freak folk. I'm going to see Feathers in July in Big Sur. I'm excited! I just hope the guy in it is not wearing his hair in a bun when I see him. I really can't handle a man with his hair in a bun.

crazy ass videos

The Pitchfork 100 Awesome videos is decidedly blowing my mind, on this most untypical day in which I can watch videos at work. There are so many good ones. I started with the Hasselhoff and from there I have seen Kate Bush do cartwheels, the Juvenile video for "ha" which is the first time I saw Juvey and I have loved him ever since, a video for Galang that reminded me why I liked M.I.A. before she stopped giving dumb interviews to Glamour and Elle, the dirty version of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood "Relax" video, and well, I'm just going to go back to watching but this is very exciting. This is why I've been saying that people (with more time on their hands than me) need to do youtube blogs in which they link the best stuff. When I do have time to watch videos my mind goes blanks and I just start searching for Luba.

And be sure to check the Kidzbop video at 2:37. You'll see.

who'd ya rather

They're playing bump it or dump it over at the Barnseyard and Huey Lewis got resoundingly bumped. As it should be. Perhaps I should start playing "who'd ya rather" in this space to spice things up. Now I can't remember the one I came up with the other night, it was Courtney Love and somebody else. But I just kept having to make the other person grosser and grosser cuz no one would choose Courtney Love. How about Courtney love or Pink?

Heyamoto reviewed the Bolt. I'm reading it and thinking "not so bad, not so bad" and then I froze on this sentence, "Though patrons said they were pleased with the new look, we didn't actually have any basis for comparing The Bolt old and new, as we are, you know, a girl person and had never been there before." Ay chihuahua! Hey, she hasn't actually reviewed the Park Downtown place, has she? I don't know anyone that's been to the nightclub so I'd be interested to see what Martha and Joan say.

So many babies

I'm being pressured to post by a certain bored reader.

Go see that Daniel Johnston movie at the Crest! It's so good. It's entertaining, it's a great introduction to his music if you don't know it (which I didn't) and if you already like him it will make you admire him even more. I never knew he was such a good artist. It is also is a fascinating glimspe into the scene in Austin in the late 80's/early 90's.

I finally got to eat out on the patio at Aioli. It's spectacular! What a great place to share a meal with friends, and the check was quite reasonable even with wine. Then we headed to the Distillery where we saw a baby triple bill the Baby Geniuses and Baby Grand and Leon's Baby (making a special remote appearance from Niki's Womb-sorry Niki it might be a shock to you to see your womb mentioned in this space-but what can I say? Nice womb).

Sunday I hit up the farmar (that's what we regulars call the farmer's market) which did not disappoint. Super spicy arugula and old-fashioned hotdogs for me.

I don't know of a whole lot going on this week. There's another SRD meeting tomorrow. Same time, same place.

FF ON FA

Fiery Furnaces on Fresh Air this morning according to Dave. Incomplete sentence. Tired. Catch it right now or download it after noon. Also lately I have discovered the show spinning on air from the NY NPR station, WNYC. It's a music show in which people play in the studio and he interviews them. He has some great guests and it's all archived.

this picture is so cool

Jay in a bitchin suit
Originally uploaded by katymonster.

also stolen from katy. hey, whaddya want, i don't have a camera!

have a good weekend. hope you do some fun crap. don't forget that jay howell art show at fool's, too.

two old timey Chris'

two old timey Chris'
Originally uploaded by katymonster.

This is from Katy's photos. Someone should fix the red eye with photoshop cuz this shot is priceless.

weekend happenings

The Fiery Furnaces were so, so good. They still haven't dropped their relentless, medleyized style, but they don't have a keyboard this time and Eleanor and Matt both play guitars so it's more rockin. They both seemed to be in a great mood and exhibited a wry sense of humor. They don't have the Keith Moon drummer anymore which is nice, because he was entertaining to watch but was really distracting from the charisma of these talented siblings. I'm going to say it: best sibling hair ever.

Stuff to do:

Alkali Flats tonight in Davis. Why oh why does it have to be Davis?! Here's a press release from Tim:

If there exists a small town that is the complete opposite of Mina Nevada,it would have to be Davis, California. Being a band that enjoys catering to the extremes, The Alkali Flats, one week fresh from Mina, will find us in Davis tonight at the Delta Of Venus. The show starts early - around 7:30.We'll be playing with that yodelling madman, the great Toshio - the Japanese Jimmy Rodgers - who is always a blast. They have good Jamaican food andtasty 9 percent Belgian Beers that make crazy sounds come from Keith's steel guitar after he has a few. It'll be a good time, even if no one dances like Dale.

See you there!
Tim

Tim is going to have a busy weekend because Baby Grand is playing tomorrow at the Distillery with Dear Nora and The Geniuses (is it no longer called Einstein and the geniuses?).

The Crest is on a roll right now. It's playing two movies that I want to see! That is unprecedented in a year of crap movies. The Proposition (screenplay by Nick Cave) is still playing and the Devil and Daniel Johnston opens today. Tower is playing a Prairie Home Companion and An Inconvenient Truth. Now you KNOW I love Altman, but I won't be seeing this movie. Before you judge, I would like to ask how many of you saw a little movie that came out in '03 called the Company, starring Neve motherfucking Campbell? Well I did and unless you suffered through that experience also then please don't judge me. If he makes a movie about Click and Clack the Car Talk Brothers, I'll be first in line.

Erik from Baby Grand sent out this item about a fundraiser that's happening next week (the same day as the Bike Kitchen opening I think) Sorry for the spacing but I don't have time to fix it right now.

Hello!
We need your help! The new community garden in Downtown Sacramento formerly known as the Mandella Garden is short of funding to complete the project. Located at 14th and Q Streets, the ADA accessible organic Fremont Community Garden needs to raise $40,000 to finish the proposed project. Can we get your help in raising funds for this?Here's how you can help! Buy a ticket or two to our Wine Tasting and Silent Auction scheduled for June 24th at the Capital Athletic Club. Tell your friends and invite them as well. Tickets are $25 (All but $5 is tax deductible) in advance or $35 the day of and are available at the CADA office on 14th and P Streets or call Evan Smestad at 549 4291 or email: evansmestad@hotmail.com for more information.

Live performance by Baby Grand and the Master of Ceremonies will be Vice Mayor Rob Fong.We will have 9 wineries/distributors providing UNLIMITED TASTINGS:

Grgich Hills Cellar, NapaMichael David, LodiEmmolo Family Winery, RutherfordArbios Cellars, Santa RosaWilson Vineyards, ClarksburgWofford Acres Vineyards, El DoradoEpic Wines, Santa CruzHenry Wine Group, BeniciaYoungs Estate GroupLocal restaurants providing food:Rio City CafAioliInk.Taqueria JaliscoLa Trattoria BohemiaFreeport BakeryTinys Wine Bar (Coming Soon to 14th and R)Wonderful local artists providing auction items:Kira StewartLynne CunninghamGustavo ReynosoArdis BowSuzanne MurrayKate AndersonJane BlackPatris MillerSusan SilvesterSharon ZacheryJudith MonroeGina LeytonAllison JohnsonChuck MoodyMarie Therese BrownScott PalmerMichael DeSantisSandy DelehantyRaffle and Other Auction items include:4 RiverCats Tickets Behind Home Plate, Tour behind the Scenes and the privilege to Throw Out the First Pitch!A NEW! TFR-USA Moped Up To 150 MPG valued at $1,000!!Wine Country Limo Tour to Amador County valued over $500!2 Spa Packages worth over $300 each!Delta River Cruise to/from Sacramento San Francisco and return on Train including lunch worth $300$225 gift cert at A S Cycles for a Motorcycle Safety Course$100 Two Person Wine Tasting at The Supper Club.$150 Gift cert at Cline Cellars in Sonoma$100 Gift cert for a 4 person tasting and food pairing at J Vineyards in Russian River (Healdsburg)Overnight stay at the Downtown Sacramento Sheraton Hotel2 cooking classes at the Natural Foods Co-op.Trader Joes Gift Bag valued at $502 Nugget Gift Bags$25 Gift Cards at Safeway$20 Gift Card at the Fox & GooseIl Fornaio Gift CertificateBottles of Wine And More.

pork three way!

KW wrote a very favorable review of Mulvaney's B&L is this weeks SNR. She got the same asparagus appetizer that we did, which was the bomb. The gooey egg really makes it stand out from the crowd of asparagus that restaurants serve this time of year. This review makes me want to go back. I'd like to try the pork three ways, but I'd have to split it with somebody.

58 degrees

Me and smiller are going to see the Fiery Furnaces at the Fillmore tonight! I'm going to be soooooo tired at work tomorrow. I guess they've been playing two hour sets lately. I'm really excited.

We checked out 58 degrees last night. We sauntered over there after nine and got a seat out on the patio, which is really nice. The weather was totally perfect and 18th street gets minimal traffic at that time. The only distraction was this table of dudes that was having a dick size contest. You know, guys that are "friends" but their convo consists of bragging about the size of their house, their boat, how many chicks they've bagged, and mentioning how often they eat at Ruth Chris and generally just competing to see which one can sound like the biggest knob. We perused the wine list, ordered a glass of red and a glass of white (a french sauv blanc and a glass of chianti), and also ordered the charcuterie plate and the house bruschetta. Both plates of food were very good. The charcuterie came with two types of preserved meats and some strong and tasty parmesan slices. It also came with some rather blah artichoke hearts and the bread was a bit soft and characterless, and there wasn't quite enough of it. The house bruschetta had a strong cilantro flavor and a bit of a vinegary bite, and came with a tastier bread. Later we finished up with a glass of viognier (also french) and a glass of spanish wine of a type that I'd never heard of (it's a blend of granacha and carinena I guess?). Wine is so crazy! We were tripping on the fact that even though both of our glasses simply stemmed from grapes, my white tasted so much like a Belgian beer with an aftertaste of cotton candy and scott's red tasted and smelled strongly like tobacco (the good kind of smell of an unsmoked cigarette). We sat there for about two hours without feeling rushed or hassled at all. The posted hours said that they close at 10 on monday-thursday but people were still arriving when we left at 1045. It was nice to see people having fun out that late on a weekday.

La Favorita

Here's a rad article on La Fiesta/La Favorita. It's an amazing success story, and it has a Lincoln connection. It sounds like Jose Cortez went to Lincoln High around the same time I did. He was probably class of '91. The only Cortez I remember is Ingacio "Nacho" Cortez. I bet that's his little brother. Last time I was at La Favorita I noticed that they are now bottling their own hot sauce in Guadalajara, where they're from.

news

A picture of One Night Stand, the band in Mina that the Flats shared a bill with.

I've been apprised of a couple of events. One is an art opening at Fool's Foundation this saturday, with Jay Howell and "crack baby" among others.

Also, the opening of the Bike Kitchen is still a ways away, but it seems like a really cool thing. Here's a press release from the website:

Community based bicycle shop opens in Sacramento.The Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen and its all-volunteer staff invites the public to tour the shop facility, learn how to get involved, listen to live music and enjoy healthy snacks. The Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen is a non-profit, community-centered organization focused on teaching bicycle safety, bicycle maintenance and repair, and promoting bicycle culture. Our aim is to empower the community and provide very low-cost alternative transportation for individualsthroughout Sacramento.Who: Sacramento Bicycle KitchenWhat: Grand Opening CelebrationWhen: Saturday, June 24th, 2006 from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PMWhere: Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen / Brickhouse Art gallery 2837 36th Street, Suite #1 Sacramento, CA 95817As Sacramento's only non-profit volunteer bicycle shop, the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen fills a niche by providing bicycle safety education (through Safer Cycling Sacramento), drop-in bicycle repair and maintenance, and an open atmosphere that nourishes Sacramento's growing bicycle culture. We are a group of cyclists who are enthusiastic and passionate about giving backand improving Sacramento, one bicycle at a time.With gasoline prices on the rise and air quality on the decline, the bicycle remains one of the most efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation choices. Community members may use the tools and expertise of the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen (SBK) to affordably repair their own bikes, or build-a-bike from one of the many donated frames and parts available.

Membership is encouraged and the public can join on a month-to-month basis or pay a nominal annual membership fee; all proceeds go towards maintaining the shop. All SBK members will have the opportunity to build-a-bike of their choosing and learn how to keep their bicycle running smoothly year-round.A shop schedule including hours of operation, classes, and special events can be found at the SBK's website: www.sacbikekitchen.org . The website also includesphotos, and a forum where members and the public can discuss bicycle repair, commuting by bike, and local bicycle-related events.

SRD haps

The SRD meeting was productive. Here are some things that came up.

-OK, one, can someone post a definite way that people can join the yahoo group? There seems to be some confusion.

-Charter was voted on. Looks good and just needs to be copy edited. We were laughing about the fact that OMF used the work "foster" twice in the short document.

-Working on the website is next

-We decided on August for a media blitz and possible benefit/awareness raising show.

-We're meeting again in one week, same time and place.

-We had a couple of new people who were really knowledgeable and helpful, one of whom volunteered to write a preliminary letter to the owner of the Firestone building to see if he is open to community input. The Bee had a little mention of it .

-I volunteered to write a letter to the Sac Bee ombudsman bitching about how they don't have a regular reporter on the devlopment/architecture beat. I'll post it on the group when I get around to writing it (hopefully friday)

the sweetbread barrier has been breached

I never got to properly post about our spectacular dinner at mason's last week because of stupid blogger, and now the time has kind of passed, but I'd like to say thanks a bunch to our friends that work there for the special treatment which made us feel like VIPs and also to mention that I finally got sweetbreads and they were the bomb! They were not gross at all, even though I was fully aware that they were a thymus gland or pancreas. The texture was the best part, slightly mealy (in a good way) and soft on the inside and pleasantly crispy on the outside, served with a sweet sauce and morel mushrooms. The duck was unbelievable. It was two cuts, a succelent roasted breast and a crispy leg confit, which tasted and had a texture just like carnitas! My arctic char came on a bed of mushroom oyster risotto. The tiny bits of oysters had such a strong flavor that it was like tiny oyster bombs were going off in your mouth. Everything was so good! My only complaint is that five or six of the dishes on the menu contained applewood smoked bacon. That is too much! I think of bacon as a cheat that lazy chefs sometimes overuse. I'm guilty of this myself (hello, bacon fat cookies?) but I am not a chef. We also got a bottle of chenin blanc from Ehrhart Estates in Clarksburg and this is the new variety of wine that I am in love with. The Bogle one is really good too.

Speaking of wine (and do I ever speak or anything else?), 58 degrees and holding is having a sauvignon blanc tasting tomorrow from 5-7 for ten bucks. That might be a good excuse for me to try it out.

And most importantly-congratulations to Michele on taking her wine mastery test in NY!!! I know you will pass with flying colors.

how's this for a new city slogan?

Sacramento: we're slightly safer than Oakland.

SRD MEETING TONIGHT!

I hope all involved don't mind if I blog my three favorite Poinsettia pictures(taken by Erik and Anna). I guess I could ask first but I really need something for a lazy post because I have a silly amount of work to do.

The look on Guphy's face there is so awesome and captures the mood perfectly.

5000 fingers of dr. t.

I just had to write this night time post to let you know that you really missed out by not going to see the 5000 fingers of Dr. T. at the Kabinet on sunday. That movie rules. One of the best parts for me was the three little boys that were there (who totally hogged the couch I normally sit on, by the way) who were trying to be all modern and cynical about it but who totally got caught up in it by the end. It was so cute. Kabinet is skipping a week, but they will be back on June 25th with the Batman movie,the one from the TV show.

Siam

Way back last week I ate at Siam but I couldn't review it because of blogger. Siam is the place on J and 37th where the KFC used to be. KW reviewed it awhile ago. On her recommendation we started with the miang kum. This is a deconstructed salad that you assemble. I have had a similar version at Pattaya, and Siam's had a clumsier execution, but was tasty nonetheless and I would order it again. You take a spinach leaf, load it up (as much as you can load up a spinach leaf, Pattaya uses a sturdier green) with dried shrimp (which smells exactly like ass, yum) chunks of ginger, onion, and peanut (all of which were should have been cut into smaller pieces), toasted coconut, some kind of tangy sauce and then try to shovel it in quick before it all drops. I'm not making it sound appetizing but it is! And fun to eat! Like ass! Sorry I'm gross. Then we got the thai basil (or chili basil, I can't remember what the dish was called) with chicken. This was fucking great and greasy as hell. I swear that it was pork or they somehow got the chicken to seem exactly like ground pork. Jews and Muslims, beware. The other thing we got was a noodle dish with crab. The flavor on this was just OK, way too sweet for my taste. It was an enjoyable dinner but there are so many Thai restaurants in downtown Sac that it's hard to find a reason to visit this one over any other. If you're sick of Amarin, Chada and Taste of Thai, or if you are hanging out at the Christian Science room trying to pick up chicks and get hungry, then go to Siam.

Now lets talk about the problem with Andy Nyugens. I have heard some horror stories lately about the service and have experienced a few of my own. Why oh why can't they get it together? AND I heard that they stopped serving beer now. That sucks. That said, I ate there last week and got the cold noodle salad with fake meat and dried spring rolls and it was scrump. So I keep going back despite the hassle. From now on I'll just sneak in my own flask.

I also ate at Jarritos for the first time in like six months and I love how it is always the same and always the bomb and that my dinner always costs four dollars. I can't eat there that often because it isn't on my diet plan but I will always have a soft spot for it.

I still need to write about my amazing dinner at Masons last week. Like you care! If you're reading as I'm posting you're probably hungry so maybe you do.

KHWG!

Ok, blogger seems to sort of be working. A Vashti Bunyan contoversy a la the R. Kelly debacle seems to be brewing down in the comments. At least I don't have to try to defend her for peeing on minors. By the way, I listened to Kelly's Chocolate Factory front to back this weekend and it reminded me again what a classic album it is and topped off my gas tank of R. Kelly love. Hey that's a bad metaphor that could be a song lyric, which reminds me of a song I heard on Fallon's finest country music station, KHWG. It was by Tom T. Hall and it's called "old dogs, and children and watermelon wine". It's nuts.

We left early friday morning for the Poinsettia extravaganza. It was hot dusty fun and I complained through 90% of it, as is my way. I consider complaining to be a competitive sport (this is how I was raised) and I excel at it. Poinsettia offered a plethora of complaining possibilities. I couldn't sleep, I wasn't about to crap with so many people around, my fingers swelled, my nose hurt from the dry air, you get the idea. The formal dinner was a delicious feast. After a false start the Alkali Flats ripped Mina, Nevada (pop, 261) a new one, and on their 125 year anniversary, no less (Minas, not the Alkali Flats). I really hope someone puts some pictures up on the internet real soon. I can't wait to see the ones from Mina. Of course, the Flats had some competition from the other band sharing the bill, One Night Stand, the worlds most incompetent cover band. No offense to the Four Eyes, but at many times during the night while I was standing in back of the bar drinking whiskey and marvelling at how bad they were fucking up yet another solo, I would close my eyes and pretend that it was the Four Eyes Christmas show and it worked perfectly. The highlights were when they played a lyrically incorrect version of "teen spirit" and when they played DW's request of Bad to the Bone. Also when they fucked up the solo in Don't Fear the Reaper so badly that they just gave up and stopped playing. I could go on but you had to be there I guess.

blogger sucks it

I have no faith whatsoever that this will post but I'll try. Blogger was broken from wednesday on last week. It was really annoying. Then on friday I went camping at Poinsettia. I tried to post from there but the camp internet was down when a desert squirrel chewed through the cord. I'll use this as a test post.

more wining

Eric Asimov talks about the maligning of cali chardonnays and mentions some good ones. I wrote them down so I could see if I could find any. He also mentions a Russian River winery, Porter Creek, and says they have a good chard and some other good wine. At the end of the post he asks for suggestions about other good Russian River wines. He says it's really hard to get Porter Creek wines where he is. Even though we miss out on the Euro wine selection, we're lucky in this area to be near so many interesting wine-producing regions.

crazy show

Vashti Bunyan is playing the great american music hall in september. Tix on sale now.

boring post

I have to go do a bunch of "field work" today. I don't have nothin to write nohow. I continued my quest for the pilates body last night with the "piloga" class at Healthy Habits. It kicked my ass but it was fun. I'm going to Masons tonight and I can't wait! That's it around here.

This is the second time recently that I've heard that now that the home buying market is cooling that rents will increase. This is based on the supposition that people who would have bought will now be renting. But haven't they already been renting? I'm confused. Hopefully my landlord will not read this article.

Heyamoto alert. She loves lipstick. She seems to have cut out that end feature with the cutesy "martha says" "joan says" schtick.

only dogs pe pe here!

Juniorquenchfan is a Sacramentan who just moved to Liberia. He is also just generally interesting and funny and capable of composing colorful phrases comparing the sizes of lizards and pickles. Check out his blog here!

It's somewhat crazy to move to Liberia, but it's even crazier to commute there, as this west sac resident does. I'm sure he and JC will meet each other at some point and can discuss their love of Whiteys jolly kone.

second try to post

I do not trust blogger as far as I can throw it today, but I'll try.

Thanks for the speculation on the meaning of the cryptic parrot reference. You guys were cracking me up.

How did I miss that there's an Aioli in Davis? I guess I'm not missing much if the menu's identical. Their food and wine is so great! I'm glad they're prospering. I like the review, too.

I went to Bogle on saturday and had a great time. They give free tastes there. They have way more wines than I thought, at least 10 at every time and sometimes more. I tried their chenin blanc for the first time and bought a bottle, although their chardonnay (their number 2 seller) is kinda barfy. That's a technical wine term. But (here comes the cop out) I don't want to give away too much because I'm writing about it for midtown monthly. You can pick up a copy of this months issue with my stuff in it (and other good stuff) in the newstand outside tower books. I made the recipe for the cucumber salad that the chef for La Bonne Soupe contributed and it was great and a snap to make. I plan to make the other two soon.

I have a hunch that the Kabinet had a pretty good crowd last night. Did anyone reading this go to the screening of Yellow Submarine? I really want to see the 5000 fingers of Dr. T, which sounds crazy. I'll be returning from Poinsettia that day, so I may be unable to make it.

I checked out Whole Foods for the first time ever on friday night. It is overwhelmingly large. I bought a ton of wine, checked out the cheese but didn't buy, and got some wild salmon that knocked my socks off. It was fun for some variety, but overall I prefer the manageable size of Taylors because I can just pop in and pop out. But they do have some wine I haven't seen anywhere else in sac, and I've heard that people that know their cheese think they are the best.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot that I saw/heard countryish guy Robbie Fulks for the first time at a rad late house show on saturday. I had a lot of fun. He seems like a great guy AND I got to pet a soft puppy and smoke weed while I watched him and you caint do that at the most venues.

i wanna post but...

bloggers all fucked

i don't get the parrot thing

this one is very interesting but I haven't the heart to crack on it.

lates!

once again, not the right picture

Man, this guy has a HUGE noggin. And his hobby is pornography, apparently. What about this brain twister "if you need a massage, I would love to cuddle". So where am I supposed to get the massage?

sfw, i swear!

Unless you are posting in casual encounters, you might want to try to find some photos to post that are not of you beating off in front of the computer. Maybe.

what about a super soaker?

This one is pretty normal except for one tiny thing. Can you find it? I bet you can.

now the cracks on the men seeking women

This one is appealing except he spells Hugh wrong. I could never date a man who did that. It gives a glimpse into who is renting those luxury lofts we keep hearing so much about.

The guy on the right is pretty foxy but I don't really like hairy dudes. Or guys that eat cat poo.

On the scale of perversions, the foot fetish is very minor and inoffensive, but if Dan Savage were writing this he would definitely tell this guy that he is going to strike out with this ad. Why would any woman agree to this? Women don't have foot fetishes. He needs to either get a girlfriend and ask her or pay someone to do this.

My deep dark hobby is collecting beanie babies. Even though they now have no value. I just think they're cute.

Is this guy just looking for a lady with a pool? Oh well, he gets bonus points for incorporating a Kink's song into his post.

See this guy offers to pay. He's been around the block a few times.

no, thank YOU

the return of friday craigslist cracks

I'm getting next-to-no feedback from everyone and I feel all alone out here. So to amuse myself I will return to the posts that you love to hate, the craigslists cracks. I hardly ever read craigslist anymore so they've tapered off. And no complaining about the links being taken down. The pleasure of the craigslists cracks is fleeting.

Are you SURE this is why your friend called you a tool? I'm not.

This fishnets coffee house girl thing has been going on for weeks. This poor girl. She has an army of stalkers all effusing about how sexy she is in the internet. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound half bad.

This lady is lucky that her wallet is all he took. This one's not funny, it's to teach you a life lesson. Stop being such a drunk. Yes, you.

This person has been to too many ren fairs. That is a lazy joke. Craigslist cracks is dumb, tho write it still I do.

working in a coffee shop in the age of craislist must really suck. this one is gross. i bet she has no idea who wrote this.

is this a new slang compliment? girl, you SIMPLE hot. on that note, has anyone ever heard anyone actually use the term "chillaxin"? I read in good housekeeping yesterday that it's hot teen slang.

and FINALLY in a sea of mis-filed posts, "jokes" and creepy stalkers, a real missed connection. The title is descriptive enough so she might know who he's talking about, they actually talked, he didn't write anything gross, and there is a reason for him to post it because he probably doesn't know that, for example, she works at Starbucks so that if he wanted to talk to her all he has to do it go by there. Bravo!

jerper

Want to see a picture of Jerry Perry in high school? It's in the Bee today so I'm not allowed to post it, but read this article and scroll down to see it. Rob Fongs is a good one. Wonder who he's listening to. Not me, that's for sure.

i give up

depressing

stupid blogger

fucking piece of shit blogger. It's only letting me post 50% of my snide comments.

You guys should really be making an effort to make it out to the sub shack on thursday nights. They do a tasty all-you-can-eat feast for 15 bucks and they have a great wine and beer selection. It starts at 7:00 and we didn't leave until about 11:30. The owner is the best and he got us pretty drunk. Their pours are huge. I am going to write about it for midtown monthly so I won't give too much away. Oh yeah, and they serve breakfast seven days now, which is huge because anyone who loves sub shack knows what a drag it is to head down there on a sunday and discover they're closed.

I already posted about weekend stuff, don't forget there are movies saturday and sunday at the Kabinet this week. No movies I want to see opened at the Crest and the Tower (and the mainstream movie theaters) once again. Once your movie watching standards are raised by netflix it's hard to lower them again.

now that's petty

I can't believe someone is accusing the Chili Peppers of being unoriginal.

And for those of you who missed it, here's the "fleamail" where flea pours his heart out about the pain of internet downloads.

June Kabinet schedule

The Kabinet has a June movie schedule, but it's not up on line yet, so here it is. I'm stoked on Yellow Submarine. And the 5000 fingers of Dr. T. And I just caught the thing at the end about the saturday screening of Paradise Lost. Does it start at eight?


Sunday, June 4th @ 8pm
YELLOW SUBMARINE
...starring The Beatles!
This was my favorite film as a kid: a psychedelic fantasy that outdid
even THE WIZARD OF OZ both in its mind-blowing imagery and its
incredible soundtrack. Four decades later, the animation still stands
up well, and needless to say, the songs remain timeless. Come see
John, Paul, George, and Ringo take on the Blue Meanies as they play
their hearts out for the soul of Pepperland!!! (And yes, this is the
extended version featuring the "Hey, Bulldog" sequence that was cut
from the initial US release...)
- - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, June 11th
KABINET takes a much needed break!
- - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, June 18th @ 8pm
THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T
Forget Hollywood-born abominations like THE CAT IN THE HAT and THE
GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS. There's only one true live-action
adaptation of Dr, Seuss, and that's the one that Theodore Geisel
himself wrote and art directed. It's a remarkable -- but rarely-seen
-- film about a young boy who doesn't want to practice his piano
lessons, then suddenly finds himself a prisoner of the titular Dr. T,
who kidnaps young children to play cacophonous music on an endless,
winding keyboard -- just one of many examples of Seuss' singular
illustrations come to life. Don't miss this rare screening of a
forgotten childrens' classic...and show your kids the right way to
adapt a Dr. Suess book!
- - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, June 25th @ 8pm
BATMAN!
I confess: last year's BATMAN BEGINS rekindled my adolescent obsession
with the coolest superhero ever. (Well, okay, maybe that obsession
never really died, but nevermind that...) But as much as I love the
whole "Dark Knight" persona, my infatuation with Bruce Wayne's alter
ego began -- like many children of the era -- with the campy BATMAN TV
series that ran in the late 60s, and was endlessly repeated throughout
the next decade. Well, the series was launched with a feature film
that pit Batman and sidekick Robin against a quartet of supervillains
hellbent on taking over the U.N. (For the record, John Bolton sat out
this dastardly plot.) To round out our month of family-friendly films,
Kabinet is positively giddy about showing the 1966 feature film BATMAN
on the big screen! Worth a look if just for the scene in which the
stone-faced Adam West runs up and down a waterfront, desperately trying
to find a spot that isn't occupied by kids, nuns, or ducks, so that he
can divest himself of a smoldering bomb straight out of a Road Runner
cartoon...
- - - - - - - - - -
We do have one other screening in June...but this one is definitely not
for kids. I wish I had heard about it sooner, but I feel that this is
an important event to take part in. This Saturday, June 3rd is a
Worldwide Awareness Day for the West Memphis 3. For those of you
unfamiliar with this case, on June 3rd, 1994, three teenagers were
arrested for the murder of three 8-year old boys in West Memphis,
Arkansas. This story was told in great detail in the documentary
PARADISE LOST, and revisited in the follow-up PARADISE LOT 2 some years
later. I encourage you to visit the website http://www.wm3.org/ for
more details about the crime, and about the three young men who were
convicted on the flimsiest of evidence -- things like Goth clothing,
heavy metal records, and Stephen King novels. All three remain
incarcerated, one on death row.
So this Saturday, June 3rd at 8pm, we'll be screening PARADISE LOST at
HQ. The movie is free, but we'll be taking up a collection to go
towards the West Memphis 3's defense fund. Please put the word out
about this event. I know this is a late notice, but HQ has a good
history of rallying around important causes on a moment's notice. I
hope you'll join us this Saturday...and throughout the month of June.
As always, thanks for supporting Kabinet and HQ!
Take care,
J.

Harry's cafe

A whole lotta stuff is going on this saturday. I am going to Bogle to write about it for that paper, so I am going to miss both the capital public radio record sale and, more importantly, Operation Restore Maximum Freedom III at the Plainfield station. The first one was really fun.

I went with Scott to Harry's Cafe yesterday (2026 16th st, 16th and U). You may have heard about this place because it was closed for a couple of months when Harry burned himself very badly in an accident at the cafe. He is still healing but he's back at the cafe and seems to be in excellent spirits. This place is small and squeaky clean, with a few tables out on busy 16th street. He has Chinese and Vietnamese food and some American dishes. I think he serves breakfast, too. Scott got the rare steak pho and I got a charbroiled chicken and shrimp cold noodle salad, which is the same as the bunh at Pho Bac but Harry's doesn't call it that. I enjoyed my food down to the last morsel. It had a very clean and fresh flavor. The charbroiled shrimp was much sweeter and fresher than what you usually get at Vietnamese places. Delicious! Scott liked his steak pho which was filled with large blankets of steak. This place is a great addition to this neighborhood. This corner is emerging as a tiny, bustling business district, with the addition of the funny cigar store on U st, and with the Taco stand and the Zodiac cafe both doing good business.