Thursday, April 27, 2006

Weekend stuff (already)

The Bananas (and me and Mrs. Chooch) are setting off for a socal bananextravaganza tomorrow morning. Check their myspace page if you are in the L.A. area or would like to drive down. It will be fun! Back in town, there are various goings-on. I won't be in tomorrow, so I'll write about them now

The Notorious Bettie Page opens at the Crest. I tried in vain to get naked screen grabs from the internet because my impression from reading reviews is that seeing Gretchen Mol naked is the only reason to see the movie. Amazingly, the internet did not satisfy me this time, so I may have to go see this movie. Also, the Kabinet is playing a Buster Keaton movie this sunday at eight (25th st. between Q and R).

The Alkali Flats have a show tomorrow night. Details, anyone? Somehow I manage to miss all of their shows, which sucks.

There is a KDVS show which sounds like it's going to be very cool, and I'm bummed I'm missing it. Here's a press release on it.

Alright folks, I've got a big show happening this Saturday, April 29th. The Magic Carpathians Project from Poland just played the Terrastock 6 festival in Providence, and they're headed to Davis this Saturday. Please come out to this show at the DOV. We've got to show the Polish underground our support.
We've got two shows happening:

at 5pm sharp, ends at 7pm sharpThe return of the Bomb Shelter, 720 Anderson Rd. in Davis. Donation$-walk around the sideyard and find the hole in the ground. I'll be draining the water from this space tomorrow afternoon. fun fun
The Magic Carpathians Project (Poland)Mason Jones (SF; Charnel music)Living Breathing Music (local; weird forest records)

the same lineup will be playing at the DOV, starting at 9pm$5 cover, all ages
for fans of eastern european folk explorations, non- "western" folk traditions, Diamanda Galas, Iva Bittova, freaky Finnish "folk", entrancing psychedelia......
The Magic Carpathians Project were established in 1998 by Anna Nacher and Marek Styczynski. Mournful vocals, eerie woodwinds, hypnotic drones, primal rythms, noise collages, rich sonic tapestries. Singer/guitarist Anna Nacher with a voice that soars like Renate Knaupt, whispers like Gilli Smyth, or screams like Lydia Lunch. The Magic Carpathians Project's music is usually described as skilful improvisation built around the patterns of traditional music of Central and Eastern Europe, with blend of jazz and/or folk idioms. Nacher's exceptional vocal abilities are often compared to the likes of Diamanda Galas, Iva Bittova or Renate Knaupt. Her specific vocal expression is built on techniques of singing developed across Central Asia and Eastern Europe. On the other hand she's capable of creating the intimate atmosphere with her pop and folk-influenced songs. Styczynski and Nacher use the wide array of ethnic instruments of Asia and Europe, with the most specific ones coming from traditional Carpathian mountain culture. Performing also as a duo, Nacher and Styczynski occasionally are accompanied by a number of guest musicians, enhancing the sonic spectrum of their music with didgeridoo, bass guitar, tabla or electric guitar.

That sounds so interesting! D.P. should go as I know he loves the didgeridoo. But anyone who is even slightly claustrophobic should NOT go to the bomb shelter show.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

blah blah blah

Oh Kings, Kings, Kings. You tried, but you choked in the end. So frustrating. Miller is such a lump on the court. We kept joking about how stoked and relieved he looked as soon as he got taken out of the game. He turned into the biggest cheerleader, maybe that should be his new position. It was fun to watch Kevin Martin and Abdur-Rahim but it was sad to hear the TNT people mangle his name. What did they call him? It was like "Abdul Shareef" or something. And what did they call Garcia? Scott knows what I'm talking about.

Here's a rad thing that Ebert wrote on the Long Goodbye. Seriously, if you like Werner Herzog at all read that New Yorker article. Herzog is in the midst of shooting his first Hollywood-financed movie, starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn(?)I never ever would have thought that he would be in a Herzog movie but I love Zahn so I'm stoked. The movie has been financed by these shady, low budget types and one of the producers tried to get Werner to watch an action movie starring the Rock to give him an idea of what he wants the movie to be like. The crew is a pro crew instead of who Herzog usually uses and they are openly defying his orders and sabotaging the shoot because they think he's an idiot. They have been secretly shooting footage on second cameras because Werner refuses to use them. They hide the second camera under a banana leaf. They have shot all this second unit stuff unbeknownst to Herzog and he's going to throw it all out. Highly entertaining.

I have to reconsider my assessment of Taste of Thai. I know I said I liked it more than Chada Thai but I'm going to have to say that they're both good. Last night we got pork larb (larb!) and asked for it hot (one under "thai hot") and hoo boy was it hot but fucking good! Larb is a kind of salad where you put the ground pork and herbs and spices onto cabbage leaves and eat them. Then we got a dish I've had there before which is mostly fried red snapper and Japanese eggplant. It's really good. Big hunks of fried white fish (I am wondering whether it really is snapper) and tender, flavorful eggplant.

also funny


Peep Off 2006, Etc 061
Originally uploaded by munianotdeep.

these are chris o.'s pictures, here they are:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/muniakidd76/135119300/

Should leon be worried?


Peep Off 2006, Etc 058
Originally uploaded by munianotdeep.

I hope it doesn't bug anyone that I blogged this picture, but it's funny and the look on Jana's face is classic!

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

stuff to read

OK, I'm out but please if you like to read about things AND stuff then get the april 24th new yorker or borrow if from me. It has lots of good stuff, including this GREAT article on Werner Herzog with all kinds of amazing quotes that I frustratingly cannot link because they just took down that issue on their website. Also there is a Donner party article that mentions the sutter fort connection. Also, read the article on Phillip Roth in today's New York Times. He is the best and most depressing as he reminds us that it's not just our families that will die as we age, our friends will die, too. Cheery but glad to hear that his health is improved.

No more four eyes xmas show?


NOOOOO!!!!!!!

here's another one


DSCF0926
Originally uploaded by soda72.

that decider sign is funny

you won't see this in the Bee


DSCF0940
Originally uploaded by soda72.

Hey, it's fun searching flickr for Sacramento tags and seeing what comes up. Here's a protest against the prez in West Sac.

beanie as a peep


2006_04_24_baby_dressed_as_peep
Originally uploaded by prettyoctopussy.

peep banner photo


2006_04_24_peep_banner
Originally uploaded by prettyoctopussy.

vientianne!!

It's funny, but writing this blog I feel this pressure to eat at new restaurants rather than old favorites. But most of the new places that are opening are pricy and I can't afford to eat at restaurants like that very often. I'm really starting to notice that my higher rent is cutting into my disposable income (Duh, of course it is, I didn't get a raise, but somehow I thought the money would just stretch. At least Prez Bush has got my back with the gas prices. I'm sure they'll be dropping any day now). In short, no new reviews in a while. Sorry. But I hit up an old favorite again last night. Vientianne. So fucking good. And it was 12 bucks each with drinks and leftovers (why did we leave those leftovers, guys? was I drunk? I know it wasn't much but I could be eating it right now). We got the stuffed chicken wings (a must, indescribably good), green curry (so spicy!) and squid salad. This is the best incarnation of the standard Thai squid salad that I've had. The squid was warm and tender. It lovingly caressed my throat on the way down. OK, that's going too far, but it did have an amazingly flavorful dressing. And guess what? The dining room was almost completely empty, as usual. Remember folks, this family is hitting the road back to Laos in summer 2007, so you better get your ass over there.

Mike Dunne wrote a good review of Celestins. It almost makes me want to give that place another try, after that chicken skin gumbo incident. Despite the fact that he says the food has gone downhill, he made some of it sound intriguing. But at 17 bucks for an entree there are other places I would rather eat. The other Bee food writer also wrote a review of another chain restaurant, although he seems apologetic about it in the opening paragraph. How about just don't do it?***I misunderstood what the dude was saying about chains. Oops. It's not a chain.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Theeee Billy Childish Report

Report from Gbomb. Too bad bloggers going to go down in about four minutes.

CHILDISH REPORT
I wouldn’t have gone out on Sunday night for anyone less than a Childish, a Fulks or maybe Donovan, so I was really glad that he gave such a great performance. The poetry was great, very Childish: anecdotal, informal and british-y. I really liked it, but I realized after about 10 poems that if I didn’t sit down that I may end up being known as the girl who fainted at the Childish poetry reading, so I went and sat in a booth. He only read for 10 or 15 minutes more and then he got up with a full band. His wife played bass and sang and Naz from the Mummies played the drums. Billy did some acapella numbers and they did some kind of straight forward r&b stuff and then did old a lot of Americana. There were a couple of spirituals I recognized, a Leadbelly song and probably other covers that I am too hip to recognize. When Billy’s wife (who I am sure has a name, maybe “Bringer of the Black Volvo”) sang her voice was Appalachian and haunting. She definitely had a Hazel Dickens tone. It was beautiful and had that sweet jolie lead* twang. They also laughed a lot together and were seemingly having a great time. It was fun to watch. The last song brought it all back home by having a rollicking traditional Headcoats sound. I was satisfied.
IRONSIDES REPORTI sat on the floor of Old Ironsides which I do now. My new rule for that is that on days I consume peeps and have a god knows how many bottles of Shaw hangover I can sit on the goddamn floor of goddamn Old Ironsides, okay? So if you see me doing that, it’s a special occasion to be sure, so let it go. There was also this weird security thing. They seem to be so obsessed with that little curtained off area in the back right of the main room. Someone came by to check no one was in there and then it was guarded for the rest of the night. Maybe there was gold in there or maybe a bunch of 30-something aging former punks are more likely to raid the kitchen than Thunderfinger fans. Go figger.

fucking hell

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Beer's books!

The sacbee did a big feature on it today. The article gives maybe a bit too much space to the coffee selection and doesn't even mention until the end that it's a wifi hot spot! Cute picture of Bill, though.

wedding review

Jeez-I reallyreallyreally need to get some work done, but I also want to blog about the lovely wedding. I have finally been within the inner sanctum of the Sacramento Masonic society. I could feel the power coursing through the building. The scent of generations of secret blood rituals was hanging in the air. There was a painting of beardless Abe Lincoln whose piercing eyes seemed to follow you wherever you went. There was a secret elevator that was "out of order". There was a fireplace that so obviously had a secret panel that would send you spinning into another room but we ran out of time and couldn't figure out how to set it off. I am currently in fear for my life because I may have possibly uh, borrowed a few hangers on my way out. Special hangers that were for the hanging of secret robes, no doubt. I also may have run back to smiller's house barefoot, while he ran backwards to the cheers of some ladies outside p.f. changs as JBiz careened his bike about the sidewalk. There may have been a folk jam in smiller's room until four. I'm pretty sure I slept through most of that. It's all a little fuzzy. Anyway, the wedding. There was some pretty off the hook garage rock fashion busted. Hopefully some flickr person will post some pictures because mine were taken with a disposable camera. As the guests filed in smiller wondered aloud what the most garage rock moment of the night would be and his query was answered early when the bride and groom took their first kiss as man and wife to the strains of "louie, louie" and Charles lamented that omf had beaten him to it. The only way that Charles can top it at his wedding is to have either the Kingsmen or Black Flag actually play Louie Louie, preferably both at the same time. Mike Farell arrived late and we speculated on what he might wear. I pictured him in a turban, riding a magic carpet into the room while soloing on guitar. He wore lederhosen, so I wasn't that far off the mark. He and Tatiana had coordinating Bavarian outfits and Daisy Spot performed a set as a duo. Dave "smith" performed the ceremony and the vows were quite touching punctuated with bursts of laughter because it's funny when Dave tries to say anything straight. The wedding started at three and quite a few people left by, I don't know, eight? nine? But there was a core group left until probably midnight. I am always one of the last to leave any wedding. Why leave before the keg runs out? To sum it up, great wedding, super fun and I wish OMF and Liv all the best!!!!

I skipped the Peep Off, which is pretty normal for me, I've only been to one or two of them ever. How was it? Who won? What about the Poop off? Who won that? How was Billy Childish? I did make it to the Kabinet to see the Peckinpah movie which was very fun. The movie was rad and it was set in Mexico which was an extra bonus to assuage my intense desire to get south of the border as soon as I can possibly go back. The only yucky part was that normal Peckinpah scene where a woman is raped or almost raped but she kinda gets into it. I hate that, but it was brief an in Alfredo Garcia it's only an attempted rape.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Rose on tour

Rose Melberg's tour got a write-up in Pitchfork today, including a listing of the date in Sac.

Good news for mike c.

Me and Brew just got r. kels tickets. We will probably be waayyy behind you. We are in nosebleed second balcony.

show too

Oh yeah, and tonight there are shows at fools and the twins are having a birthday party at fox and goose. Check undietacos for the details.

And today, Tower opens the Aniston movie that looks dumb but at least has Keener in it and the Crest opens Sophie Scholl a Holocaust movie in which Roberto Begnini does not star (hence, not uplifting or wacky).

peep it, peeps

Because I am so dumb with directions (ask anyone, I'm terrible) I googlemapped that carwash tomorrow and it turns out that you can just take 99 south to the 47th ave east exit. How easy is that? You have no excuse to not go tomorrow, unless you are one of the two people who are getting married. I will let you two off the hook. And bring some books! Remember, it's 5601 47th ave. Then, you can just go a few blocks further down 47th ave. turn left on stockton, and soon you will be at Alonzo's. I recommend the chilaquiles. Maybe tomorrow I will try the pozole. People come in with big pots and buy a whole pot of it to take home. It must be good.

Sunday is the peep-off at Dave's. Starts at two (read: three) at Dave's place on 19th and Capitol. One time I made a peep diorama of the Kings with a peep Gerald Wallace dunking. Or did I just help someone else make that diorama? Memory fuzzy. Then later on sunday the Kabinet is playing that Sam Peckinpah movie. You see why I never make it, J.? I can't promise with a straight face that I will be at the peep-off swillling beer starting at three and then get my shit sober enough to come to the Kabinet. But I'll try!

Thursday, April 20, 2006

sac bee puff piece for mikuni

The Bee never gets sick of hyping the Mikuni empire. C'mon, are we supposed to believe this guy really didn't wear shoes to school for a year? Yeah, right.

Here's a thing about the guy that's going to open Tex Wasabi's, by Arden Mall. I guess I thought that sign on the closed down building was a joke or something cuz the name was so dumb.

Davis, I hardly knew ye

I wanted to ride bikes because of the spectacular weather yesterday so I overcame my fear and loathing of Davis and smiller and I took our bikes on the train and went to Davis yesterday for a taste of their storied bike trails. We were not disappointed. We rode all over on the trails around (I think it's called) Covell park. We saw tons of birds and squirrels and dogs, etc., and there were dog statues (such as a dog riding a bike) and some giant dominoes. There were tons of ponds and other cool things to look at. We rode to Sudwerk and had some really tasty brau (I got a 1 liter radler, which is 80%lager and 20% lemonade). The waitress gave us the stinkeye when we only ordered beer and sides of their warm German potato salad, but anyone who has eaten there knows that that's just about the only thing worth ordering, so save the stinkeye for your bathroom mirror, lady. Then, lunch at Plutos, some thrift scoring, and some more biking in the arboretum area, where the trails are not as long but are even more fun to ride on. I have a newfound appreciation for Davis. I wish Davis and Sac could somehow be merged into one smaller city.

The oysters from Taylors were delicious and highly affordable. After that we had dinner at Aioli and it knocked my socks off. For seven bucks, their salad with tuna, beets, potatoes, and hard boiled egg is a great deal. It's big and totally delicious. I had that and a bowl of white bean, chard, chorizo soup, along with the complimentary bread and garlicky white bean dip and was overly full. Aioli doesn't seem to have the buzz it once did but I always enjoy my visits there.

Later that night I adjourned to the Mercantile for a meeting with the legendary Stephen Glass, who may be bringing his campaign of lies and slander to the Sacramento area sometime in the future. The Mercantile is a pretty good bar as bars go. The jukebox rules! Nonstop Janet Jackson, Xtina, and George Michael.

Do something nice for someone for a change

Patrone's kids (kinda like Bebe's kids) are having a car wash to raise money for the prom. Here's the deets:


Genesis High School Car Wash
This Saturday (4/22) from 9 to 4
$5/car, $10/SUV
5601 47th Ave. (just west of Stockton Blvd.)

This fundraiser is to help my kids afford their prom. Most of the kids are very low income. If you can make it out to this, that would be great! If you would just like to make a donation, please email me at jason_patrone@hotmail.com. Also, I'm always looking for spare books to add to our classroom library.

Maybe I will go on saturday before the wedding and use it as an excuse to eat breakfast at Alonzo's!!

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

back on thursday

I'm off tomorrow so I'll post on thursday!

Osteria

Has anyone eaten at Osteria in Davis? I always thought it was Macaroni Grill-style from how it looks on the outside but the website is hella fancy. They give you a free glass of prosecco with your bread! That rules. I ended up looking at this cuz I remembered that their other restaurant that's in Sac (Il Posto) has fresh pasta, which may make in the only place downtown to have all fresh pasta. However I don't think Il Posto gives you the prosecco.

are we next?

Holy fucking shit! (swiped from the chick list) and no whining about logging into the nytimes. Go to this site, here's a password.

orval love

Leon, check this out. I have to try a bottle of this stuff. I know they have it at the Nugget.

Esquire review

Mike C. had said something about watching for stars at the Crest on monday, and this is what he was cryptically referring to. Heyamoto did some pretty straight reporting on this, although she did include a quote from possibly the biggest dork in the known universe, a guy who, in referring to Arnie bringing Angela Bassett to the capital, said, "Arnold got his groove back by inviting Stella,". Niiiiiice.

I had a nice dinner at Esquire last night that was paid for by an anonymous donor. Excellent house-smoked salmon appetizer (although the toast points were unpleasantly crunchy and mouth-hurty). A couple of tiny oysters on the half shell (I like their policy of charging 2.25 per oyster so even if only one person wants them they can afford to order them) that whetted my appetite for more (I'm getting some from Taylors tonight and I have a bottle of cheapo Trader Joes muscadet to wash them down). I got the halibut special, which was served over a delicious mix of curried creme fraiche, cous cous and mache. The halibut itself was a wee bit dry. Smiller got a pan fried sole with mashed potatoes, which was pretty standard fried fish but hit the spot. The wine list by the glass is unexciting and the whites are too chardonnay heavy, but what's new. They do have some affordable glasses that are just a bit over five bucks, so that's nice, and it's cool that they offer so many half bottles. Mark S. Allen was there looking a bit manorexic and tanorexic. I wouldn't eat at this place on my own dime cuz it's just too expensive for what you get, but I think pretty much everyone who eats there is rich so they don't care. I still haven't had any steak which I suspect might be their specialty, but I'm not a steak eater.

I think it's weird that Ernestos is closing down their S street location and moving to where Andiamos is now. Why fuck with a goldmine? I wonder if they're going to do a redesign so that they can have outdoor seating, because I think people like the outdoor seating at Ernestos a lot in the warm weather. No matter what, you know that they are going to drop a ton on decorating the place.

They're discussing me over at Kev's blog again. I'd like to say that for the record, I don't know anyone named Kendra and my name's not Becka. It's Becky. I get that it's probably short for Beckasac but I'm clearing that up cuz I'm not too fond of Becka. Here's the link to Kendra's quote, which Kev didn't link to. Back to our regularly scheduled shameless spreading of gossip.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Pope Brian Peppers

My hits are up to about 150 over the normal amount for a day, all for people searching for Brian Peppers. But not just any Brian Peppers. They're looking for Brian Peppers as Pope John Paul, which was in a link in the comments. What is going on?

bonus pictures




Here's two random bonus pictures that I stole from the same place I stole Dave's picture from (I expect to hear from their lawyers soon). That's a groom-to-be up top. He looks a little nervous. Al looks captainly as usual. Welcome back Al! I hear you've caught unicorn fever from seeing those unicorn tapestries at the cloisters. I went to the doctor when I had it and he prescribed a viewing of the heartbreaking cartoon, the Last Unicorn.

"Archbishop" "Dave" "Smith"


On the occasion of "Dave" "Smith" starting his new job as manager of T Theater I took the opportunity to interview him. Dave's accomplishments and adventures are many and I asked him about a few of them. He's had a few brushes with fame among them being the founder of the worlds first peep-eating contest (which is going on this weekend) (oops, now that I read what he wrote I see it's not the first but it is probably the longest-running and most famous) and being in No Kill I, a Star Trek band that was featured in Trekkies 2 (and which is light-years better than Warp 11, the town's other big (psuedo)Star Trek band. He also recently rode his motorcycle around the perimeter of some small country, or maybe the state of Delaware, big deal. Psyche! It was Australia. He has charmed many ladies throughout the U.S. and Canada including myself at one time but luckily nothing ever came of that. Wait, maybe I should cut that out. I'm not flirting I swear.

Where were you born?

Sacramento

How long have you lived in Sac? Where else have you lived? Any plans to move why or why not?

My whole life. I spent a year in Chicago after high school and I'vebeen on again/off again with SF and Oakland. There's not much to do in Sac, so I'd move to SF. After a while, I'd go crazy from The Thronging Masses and because I like owning old cars and bikes. So back to Sac, then go crazy because there's nothing much to do here.I almost moved to Athens, Georgia when I was 20 and I regret not doing that. I might move to the South somewhere at sometime. I used to talk about moving to Memphis with Tristan. Not permanently, just over a summer but we never did that.

Was I your favorite roommate ever?

Yes, you were. (aw shucks, ed., not not Ed Hunter, that stands for editor comment)It's still funny that you didn't notice that I was almost as embarrassed as you when I walked when while Charles was uhh... trimming your hedges.

Places you've worked in sac

Rectory for Jesuit priests; Taco Bell; Kinkos; Honeybaked Hams whereI'd slap hams; Sprint where I'd stuff bills and add Bazooka Joe comics(and porn ads to bills going to Utah); The State which I hated even though the pay was great -- so I quit; anthropology museum which I really liked; UC Davis monkey lab (fez division) which was a lot of fun; The'Net which is Good and Evil; car mechanic (I'm no good at that but it was neat); installing fiber optic cables; sanding wood for Tim White (man, that sounds dirty); and probably some others I can't think ofright now.

Best monkey masturbating story. Is is better than the story of the monkey that was in serious trouble because it had jacked off too much and the jizz crystallized inside its dick and blocked up its urinary tract?

There was one monkey who masturbated all the friggin' time. It's probably doing it right now. There's a bit more than 4,800 monkeys atUC Davis. None that I know of were euthanized for jizz crystallization, but I'm not Chief Monkey Euthanizer.UC Davis really tries not to kill monkeys which most people don't think is true. To put it in a money situation, monkeys cost a lot of money so they don't want to kill them. Plus, monkeys are neat and it would hurt a lot of employees if they tested monkeys by seeing how long they can live off only Marshmallow Peeps. I remember one monkey was euthanized because it got it's arm caught in a cage and the bloodflow was cut off. They were worried that if they cut off the arm that PETA would complain that we were cutting off monkey arms. So sadly,the monkey got croaked. Chalk up another one to PETA and bureaucrats that have no common sense.I'm not saying animal experimentation is always great, but even stuff like Band-Aids need to be tested on flesh. And monkey flesh is awfully close to human flesh. Only Soylent Green is people. Soylent Red is chimps.As an aside, humans have more hair than chimps. Only it's not as dark (unless you're Pot-o-Grease )

Do you hate davis as much as I do?

I hate Elk Grove more. People can't drive and they really show thatoff crossing the Yolo Causeway. Fuck-wads.

Favorite neighborhood in sac and what neighborhoods you have lived in. What houses and roommates if you care to reminisce. I know I spelled it wrong.

I like the Southside Park area where I lived at 6th and T (the southside's the best you can all take the rest-ed.). Hmmm....I've liked most places I've lived at in The Grid. 20th and I was fun. 16th and P wasn't so great but I learned that I don't like living alone.The porch I have now is one of the best porches in Midtown. It's at 19th and Capitol. This used to be a much better area, but the new restaurants are slowly destroying the neighborhood. Gentrification.Blah, blah, gentri-blah.

favorite sac bar and/or restaurant

The Flame Club when it was a dive before it became a hipster bar. Lil Joes before they remodeled. Capitol Park Cafe is pretty good. I like dives. I've heard of a secret dive bar that I want to try, but I ain't saying where it is. Damn kids destroying the beauty of the Flame. (the flame has always been a dump and it will always be a dump-ed.)

bands you've been in?

Doppler Affect, Octogod, No Kill I, Milhouse, Thrillhouse, and random Loft Halloween bands. Is that it? (that's all? ed.)

tell me a story about charles. In other words, talk about charles

Charles told me he was going to walk from Sacramento to San Francisco. I should ditch work for a few days and walk down there with him.Only he's too chicken to do it and I'm too out of shape to do it.

remember the time no kill I set off fireworks in the press club? That was scary I thought we were all going to die.

Yes. I always thought I'd die before 30 which led to me doing a bunch of crazy things. I've got an older cousin with MS who is trapped in a wheelchair. My fambly has some brains in it and I grew up bothered that I'm okay and she's not. Stephen Hawking had an illness but he had some "normal" time. She never had a chance and I wish I could share my memories with hers. I've had dreams where one day she's fine and she wants to re-live my life when I was in my 20s and it's hard to keep up. I've already done that once which was plenty. Doing it again seems forced but I do anyway. Anyway, that's way more info than anyone needed to know.I think any time left after 30 is the Bonus Round. I'm 36 and I'm not that good at video games, so I expect to die at any time. It casts an unusual zen-like perspective on life. It's funny when I talk to people that assume that Life Doesn't Change and I'm supposed to "Be"like how I was in the 1990s.At some point in the next few hours or weeks, I'll be digging mygrandfather's grave at the fambly graveyard in the Appalachians. Sorry if I'm a little morose. Now's a good time to talk about Peeps

when was the first peep off? How did you get the idea? Good peep off story? Remember how one year after the peep off I tried to fight you?

The first Peep Off was in uh.. I don't know. 1998, maybe. That's my guess. One day at The 'Net Lurch was seeing how many Peeps he could fit into his mouth. Fairly early days of the internet so I looked up Peeps (back when hotbot.com was the google of the day). I heard about a Peep Off that Jack Eidsness does that said, "Ask if you have anyquestions". So I asked. Jack told me, "You're doing the Peep Off in Sacramento". So I do

What is the secret to your success with women?

My "success" ended with having my heart ripped out by a red-headed girl. I think she's the same girl that toys with Charlie Brown. You'll have to ask Mike R Mike for her name. I've posted ads on the internet trying to find some girl dumb enough to ride a motorcycle across other continents. Just like any other Internet loser, there walks me. That's a lost cause so I'm letting those expire

Anything interesting happen to you as a result of being in trekkies 2? Ever get recognized, fan letters, etc? Your fave thing about being in that movie?

I've never been recognized in person from Trekkies 2. I've been recognized a few times from people who say, "Aren't you the idiot riding an old kid's bike around the world". Yes I am, and I'm proud of the 1965 Ducati 250cc -- it's a tiny Eye-talian bike.I get emails from Trekkies 2 fans sometimes. My favorite was from aguy who wanted advice on decorating his apartment like mine. He really liked all the random crap on my walls. Since I assume 99% ofyour readers haven't seen or heard of Trekkies 2, my walls were covered with random stuff I'd find outside. Usually notes from crazy people. I love crazy people notes.My favorite thing about the movie was ditching out on Denise "TashaYar" Crosby to drink beers in the van, and that the sound guys also did "Bubba Ho-tep"which is one of my all-time favorite movies. If I like it, that means Heckasac doesn't (he's right, I walked out on that one-ed.). Oh, and Roger Nygaaaaard squishing my hand when I shaked hands with him. He does that to everyone -- guy and girl.

what's up with your goth roommate? I heard she's weird? Does your other roommate ever talk about anything but bikes?

I only live with GG (Goth Girl). She's weird, but hey, aren't all goths? I used to live with Skipper who's a great roommate. He got accepted to grad school at the last minute so there wasn't much hope for a roommate. First problem, they have to be willing to live with me. That'd be an expectation that I'm crazy 100% of the time -- when I read most of the time. Try explaining that on the roommate search on craigslist.The Bike Messenger moved upstairs with some chick. I might need a new roommate soon. Any interest anyone? All the popcorn you can eat!>

your favorite sacramento band ever and/or now and favorite or memorable show

Tales of Terror probably. I'm no good with "favorites" (this is a dumb question and I need to stop asking it-ed.). One of my favorite shows was No Kill I playing with the Registrators (from Japan) at the Loft. They are my favorite band I've ever played a show with. They were staying at the hotel behind Club 400 (strip clubthat later became the Blue Lamp for you non-Sacto folks). I spent the night hanging out in the hotel parking lot talking with the Registrators (who got bored and went back inside) and some speed freak carnies working the mall. It pissed off Dawna D, my girlfriend at the time, that I wouldn't come inside or leave -- I wanted to hear crazy carnie stories.If I remember correctly: DOA, Tales of Terror, Circle Jerks and maybe the Authorities or Hot Spit Dancers played at one show at the Crest. I'm guessing I'm adding a couple shows into one magical show. Maybe it was Social Distortion when they were still supporting Mommys Little Monster. That was back when all those bands were still great,exciting and new. Circle Jerks were doing the tour for the"Wonderful" LP but it wasn't out yet. They came out in monk robes. The live songs were great but didn't translate well to the LP.

why are you banned from old i?

No Kill I made them a lot of money without ever getting paid by themand I asked for our money. Not much. Just a couple hundred bucks. Itwas a series of really funny phone calls that I wish I taped. I was told by Kim that she was working out something with the sound guy. I chipped a mic with my witty rejoinders and we paid for a replacement without getting the old mic back. Basically, I'm banned for having a big mouth. That was pretty bad when I was in my 20s. Kim was happy after the show until people told her what Iwas saying. I've heard that if you google "Kim Kanelos" you get "My name is Kim Kanelos and I'm a big fat fucking cunt" on a nokilli.comsite. I should try that and let you know. Hold on... No, that'snot quite true. I'll let people google it to see what shows.I'm surprised I don't show up when you google "big fat fucking bastard".

Dave thought it wouldn't be prudent to give out any corporate secrets such as the ingredients of superkist 2 or who is the worst employee at T theater, so that's it. Thanks Dave!!

amateur band night

OK, so in a bit today I will post my first interview in a really long time, and it's with a sacramento institution, Dave "the archbishop" "smith".

As for this weekend, the fools show on friday was fun. Lyme Regis played first and they struggled to overcome the echo for the first couple of songs but then the rest of the set sounded really good. Then, that Phil Spector band played and they were all cute little teens with lots of hair and the bass player's rocker dad was the singer. The novelty that they were so young sustained my attention (and they were pretty easy on the eyes which didn't hurt), but they played too loud and their songs all sounded similar. I'm sure their next band will be better. I'd never seen the mothballs before and they were really entertaining and it was fun to yell "meatballs" at them in that way that they say meatballs in the meatballs theme song. You know what I mean. The Bananas took the stage quite late (after midnight) and I can confidently say that that is the most I have ever seen them fuck around during a set, and that is saying a lot. This was partially because Marie broke a string. I wished that I had a timer so that I could do some fucking around/playing statistics. Nevertheless they were cracking everyone up the whole time. But this kind of behavior is why they will never be a pro band and will never make it big. Headscratchingly, I heard their show the next night in the mission was packed and off the hook (including a cracked cymbal stand from too many kids piling on the stage). They must not care about whether a band is professional in the Bay Area.

Saturday I went to see Lonesome Jim at Tower. I sampled some coffeworks coffee and it was delicious! Lonesome Jim was directed by Steve Buscemi and I did not enjoy it as much as the first movie he directed, Trees Lounge. Casey Affleck played the lead rather than Buscemi (who is not in the movie at all) and Casey Affleck is no Steve Buscemi. He's no Ben Affleck, for that matter. Hell, he's no Marc Antony.

Sunday I really really planned on seeing Two Lane Blacktop at the Kabinet. I thought that I would just stop by Mike and Lisa and Mike's party for a little while. But they had kegs and jello shots and I ate too many ribs (best ribs ever) and smoked a Jbone and it just wasn't happening at that point. I swear I will go to the Kabinet every week when it gets warm, I swear!

Friday, April 14, 2006

random picture of mike banana for a friday treat

say what?!?!?!

WTF? R. Kelly is playing in Sac and I didn't hear until just now?! Is anyone going? I want to buy tickets, but they're so freaking expensive. He better not have some kind of mental breakdown during the show.

time bandit

The awesome guy mark who owns the furniture store Time Bandits (which has moved to Oak Park) is profiled on the last page of the SN&R this week.

Gentleman's club history project

I forgot that I have been meaning to do this for a while and wanted to enlist the help of my readers. Friday afternoon is probably a crappy time so I may repost this to start the week. I was interested in starting a historical project to document everyone who has lived in U st (aka the Gentlemans club) and in what order. It is now the longest running house that my friends have lived in and it has gone through many different phases and eras. Maybe smiller can start us off by naming the very first crew. I know Ella found the place. Anyone remember what it first rented for? How about now? Please include pets also where possible. I for one have never lived there although I did get an offer at one time. I was mostly deterred by the temperature extremes.

somethings up...

I am getting multiple hits today for people searching for Brian Peppers. Is her experiencing a resurgence in popularity? Also, someone hit me looking for the peep off. Every time I try to write that I start to write poop off. I know a certain person who could have won any poop off in the land a couple of weeks ago.

do

This is a good Do in Vice. We saw an old guy in the town square in Maz that had the best style, too bad I don't have a digital. He had on some pale blue slip on vans, nice slacks, and a pale blue polo. It also gives some helpful style advice for those over 30. You have to rethink your style a bit once you hit 30. I know I have. I am trying a long hair experiment. I figure I better do it now before it all turns gray. If my hair is like my moms I just have a few more years. I also pretty much stick to my self-imposed no knee sock rule. And I am stocking up on caftans and flowy shirts for my old age.

i'm hungry already

Anyone on here been to Kozen? There is discussion of it on chowhound and it sounds right up my alley. Someone on there was complaining how Mikuni used to be better and that now all the rolls inevitably have tempura shrimp and a mayo sauce on top and basically taste the same. They say Kozen is more traditional. I also want to try Gaylords (the Indian restaurant where Virgas used to be) and of course Birriera Bugambilias, where we were going to eat on the ill-fated night when we went to Nishiki instead. Going to Mexico has merely whetted my appetite for Mexican food rather than made me sick of it.

And slop dawg jr. and other east coast eaters should try to get to Cafe Alsace. Both the nytimes food and wine people are raving about the food and the crazy beer selection. I wish I could go! Airfare is getting so crazy! Someone I know just bought a ticket to Europe for over a thousand bucks.

tonight tonight

I got stuck on the causeway coming home for two and half hours yesterday. Luckily I had a New Yorker in the car so I just turned off the engine and read it and it wasn't so bad. I knew it must have been caused by someone driving like an idiot and indeed it was. Hopefully this jerk learned his lesson. He's lucky he didn't kill someone. Out of the 100 cars or so within my sight line during the whole thing, less than ten people were assy enough to turn around on the freeway and drive off the on ramp (and they all had large trucks or suvs not surprisingly). That was a crazy sight. Another funny thing was this minivan who thought they had the bright idea of using wire cutters to cut the fence between the freeway and the frontage road and drive through. Problem was, they got stuck in the mud trying to do it. Ha ha!

Tonight is an exciting show at Fools Foundation. Is this the first time the Bananas and the Rege have shared a bill? And then tomorrow the 'nanas play at Balazo 18 in SF. Too bad thunderstorms are forecast again, but I guess that's just a given in this area now in these days of global warming.

Sunday the Kabinet is screening Two Lane Blacktop, starring James Taylor and Dennis Miller (psyche, Dennis Wilson. I think I may be able to make it to this after I finish my intense celebration of Jesus' miracle of turning chicken eggs into chocolate eggs. The next two sundays the Kab is playing a Peckinpah movie and then a Buster Keaton movie.

The scuttlebutt I've heard so far is that the Archbishop is doing a bang-up job as GM of the Tower. He has not yet been beaten down by the corporate bureaucracy and is trying to get some shit done around there. I have contacted him today for an interview about his new job and other junk.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

tired, uninspired.

back in sac. uninspired to post, sorry. lots of shows this weekend. bananas in sf tomorrow, undietacos says lyme regis and bananas at fools tomorrow, but that's wrong, right? wait, i'm checking and the bananas sf show is saturday and the fools one is tomorrow? this is the opposite of what i thought. i'm confused.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Mazatlan report

Everyday smiller wakes up, steps out onto our balcony and proclaims that it´s another day in paradise. Mexico (at least the little part of it I´ve seen) is totally the best. For one thing, and those of you who haven´t been might not be ¨in the know¨ (no sabe as they say here), there´s Mexican food everywhere you go! It´s like I can´t feel guilty for eating it because I have no choice! Also, there´s tons of shrimp and fish and nobody gives you chips so you don´t feel as bad as eating regular Mexican food. Anyway, it´s the bomb. There are only two beverage-related drawbacks 1)no strong coffee anywhere, I´ve tried all over town. 2)no wine. It is so hard for me to get drunk on Pacificos (which is manufactured in Mazatlan). I did a scientific experiment where I found out that it takes me four to get seriously buzzed and at that point I am so bloated with beer I don´t want any more. And I don´t like tequila very much. Tonight I´m barhopping, first at this Canadian bar called Canucks (there are tons of Canadians here) cuz my mom is dragging me to open mic night, and then to a bullfighters bar so hopefully I can accomplish some intoxication.

One of the most fun things we did was take a ferry to this beach called Isla de Pierda. It was so pretty and we practically had the beach to ourselves. The beach is lined with shack-restaurants selling, guess what!? That´s right, Mexican food. And they have hammocks at the restaurants and tons of super friendly stray beach dogs that come by for pets. The dogs aren´t scabby or mangy like most stray dogs although some of them have pretty saggy teats, if you´ll pardon my saying so. The only people on Isla de Pierda were Mexican kids on spring break, and they were much more charming than American college kids. They´re pretty wholesome for the most part and most of them wear very modest beachwear, boys and girls, so you can imagine my thong really stands out!

Another cool thing we did was go to the Mazatlan Denios, which takes over this whole section of town on sundays. It was like Denios with less good stuff to by but waayyy better food. I had birria de chivo from a cart that was great. But no beer to be had! I got some white Converse knockoffs to further elevate my indie elite status.

So far, best dogs anywhere and great food. We run into my mom everywhere constantly which can be a bit of a shock, especially when we had just smoked some fine Mexican brown weed (OK, it was scored from my mom so I guess it wasn´t that big of a deal). So far, Semana Santa isn´t in effect, but I don´t think it really gets going until after we leave. Oh yeah, and we´re pretty tan. But it´s patchy as fuck. My right arm and ankles should be a golden brown when I get home.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Spring Break!! wooh!!


I'm leaving for the day. I might do a post or two from Mazatlan. Back on 4/13

you're wrong

Here is why you are all wrong about it being the norovirus, the nolovirus, the cholavirus, the chupacabravirus or anything else.

Think about it: OK, you say we got this from a highly contagious virus. So virulent was this virus that we all caught it from our food merely being handled by an unseen dirty person in the kitchen. A person we did not come close to, did not touch, etc. Then WHY did one among us who is married not give it to her husband? WHY did the Armeniac not become sick when he ate after me the next day? In fact, why would it be that not one single other person we know, not our boyfriends, siblings, co-workers, priests, lawyers, milkmen, pets, etc. ever get sick? Six days later and the only people who got sick were the FIVE PEOPLE WHO ATE THE ALBACORE TUNA AND NOT THE TWO WITH US WHO DID NOT!!!!!

Monday, April 03, 2006

Day 4: still sober

So this is what life as a sober person is like. Boring! I was finally able to take down a little caffeine and keep it down so my mood has risen considerably. And I bought a bottle of wine at the Davis co-op even though drinking wine still sounds gnarls to me due to puking so much of it up thursday night. So I'm slowly traveling back to the land of the drunks, my home. Or to make it sound better in case mom is reading, the land of the drinkers. I have shopped at the Davis co-op quite a bit while somehow failing to notice that they have an intriguing wine selection. I re-read that sentence in preparation of posting and cringed inside, but oh well, it IS intriguing, I can't lie. Better than the sac one for sure, which is waayyy too amador county heavy. Speaking of booze, what's the deal with this fernet stuff? A young, in-the-know sac lady told me that it's the big drink in SF and gave me a try (really intense and herb-y tasting and too strong for me, on first taste, anyways) and then Jay Howell posted on the undietacos and said his art show is being sponsored by the stuff. I have been figuring that it's only a matter of time before the young crowd (I won't call them hipsters) gets into like Pernod and Campari and stuff like that. And maybe even absinthe. There was a recent New Yorker article about a guy who is brewing absinthe in France in an ancient factory. He's the only one making the real stuff, but there is also a high-priced market for vintage bottles, some a hundred years old or more! I would link to it but the New Yorker hides their past articles in some secret online cache. I guess calling a cache secret is redundant.

The Four Eyes are on fire, with another show tonight at Junta. With the Megacools and, uh, Jewdriver? Great, a one joke band. I prefer my bands to at least have two jokes.

Fuck you vibrio parahaemolyticus!

Vibrio parahaemolyticus Requires salt for growth. Fish and shellfish Raw and cooked seafood. Diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, headache and fever within 12 to 24 hours. Recontamination of cooked foods or eating raw seafood. No growth below 40o F. Bacteria killed by normal cooking

Worst. Three. Day. Weekend. Ever.

Five of us who ate albacore tuna at Nishiki came down with something, most likely this delightful beast. Interestingly, those who ate the Charlie's BBQ seemed to mostly have the shits, with light vomiting, while those who ate the pepperfin mostly had vomiting and chills, with slight 'rhea. I had a bite of Charlie's with my pepperfin so I got a little from column A, and a lot from column B. So I didn't go to the Four Eyes show. I made a valiant mental effort to talk myself into seeing Thieves Like Us at the Kabinet but had to concede that I was still as weak as a newborn lamb. Food sounds disgusting to me. I haven't had a drop of alcohol or coffee in going on four days. In short, I am an entirely different person. A person who is grumpy and lame. This is supposed to last as much as seven days, but I'm leaving for Mazatlan in two so I can hopefully throw a dose of Montezuma's revenge on top.