nice shirt

I'm stealing a couple of pictures from the Bows blog.  I'm serious, you should be checking it out.

 This one illustrates how each member of Wet Illustrated looked like he had been styled for an Urban Outfitters catalog. I don't mean that as a dis, they were stylish.

cool picture of Calvin.

could have talked all night

I like how lively the comments have been lately.  Here's a post on a vintage website featuring RC.  It's charming

 Masullo last night! Interviewing a local lady businesslady for MidMo who is super interesting!  I only hope I can capture her flava (cringe) in the profile.  I got an hour of tape from her and we really could have talked for a lot longer.  Is this arugula salad the best or what?  It is so huge for 5 bucks.

 What this pizza called?  I forget?

I got the pie with botarga.  I had never tried botarga so I knew for sure it would be my choice.  It was a little concentrated burst of fish and salt.

good discussion

Anybody listen to Talk of the Nation today?  It's not online yet, but it was a discussion of police tactics.  A cop who was chief of police in Seattle during the WTO protests called the pepper spraying at UC Davis the most egregious misconduct during a protest that he had seen in his 34 years as a cop.  He seems like a cool dude, for a pig, I mean.  He said he thought teargassing the WTO protesters was a horrible mistake.  It was refreshing to hear a public figure admit a mistake wholeheartedly.  That never seems to happen anymore. Katehi, I'm looking at you.  Anyway it was a good discussion and maybe worth listening to online.

This is awesome!  I love this hippy aspect.  The geodesic dome is a nice touch:

Outside on the UC Davis quad, about 80 tents were set up with Tibetan prayer flags strung between lampposts. Teach-ins were being held on the sidewalk and under a tarp-covered geodesic dome.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/29/4085704/protesters-disrupt-university.html#ixzz1f8NIZL50

so that's what it is: a liberty walk

Huh, interesting.  I'm glad Miley weighed in.

So do you guys know about the MidMo Christmas party?  It's this Saturday, it starts at 6pm, it's at Luigi's.  It is child friendly, there will be free pizza and really good raffle prizes (as usual).  The Best Christmas Ever Band will be performing!!!  Please bring a new, unwrapped toy for a kid.

hello "readers"

Hello people who still check this blog (aka Scott Miller). How's it going?  Are you "glad" to be back to work?  Thanksgiving photo post after the jump

Appetite Enhancement

I finally got to experience what all the kids have been talking about: a hangover.  J.K., though it's kind of true (that Flying Dog porter at Bows is strong, but good), no I'm talking about karaoke at Old I on Tuesdays.  It was fun and I haven't been at Old I in forever.  I didn't get to sing (Kokomo) which I'm actually kind of glad about.  Who knows if I would have tried to bust some dance moves or something.  The Touchez/Wet Illustrated/Nacho Biznass show was fun.  Wet Illustrated were cute.  They all looked like they had been individually styled for an Urban Outfitters catalog.

Tomorrow is the Appetite Enhancement Ride.  It starts at the Towe Ford Museum at 9.  Larry is DJing as usual.  Will it rain this year?

Happy Thanksgiving! God bless us, every one.

Calvin pissing on Pike

 I stole these from VM's facebook.  I thought the rally was a good thing.  Of course the outrage against the pepper-spraying is warranted.  I wish I saw more activism and outrage about fee hikes and tuition increases.  And cops who make $114,000.

Tonight! Nacho Business, Wet Illustrated and Touchez at Bows!  Bows is such a rad place to see a show.  I love it.  And they start pretty close to ontime, folks.

oh, shit, whoopi's pissed

chants I can get behind, chants I can't get behind

Yipes.  Going to the UCD rally today on the urging of my union.  I hope I don't get billy clubbed or pepper sprayed.  We'll see what it's like.  Sometimes I get embarrassed when I'm forced to chant.  I mean, I'm a Sacramentan, so I love chants, such as: best summer ever, talk about charles, etc.  But I don't like chants I can't get behind.

Speaking of chanting, on Friday, one of the bands that played at Bows and Arrows (Lichen) wanted us to chant both "smash the patriarchy" and "fuck the pigs".  I said "fuck the pigs" really quietly.  I depend on cops to protect me from serial killers, etc., so I didn't want that on record.  MOM was great that night, and so was Calvin Johnson.  It really warmed my cockles to see a nice-sized crowd, sitting attentively, NOT texting, not on their fucking iphones, just sitting and listening to Calvin talk and play.  I didn't know that was possible anymore.  I remember a few years back, when texting and camera phones and everything were just starting to become really prevalent, going to a Bananas show (at Kimos) and I could not fucking believe how many of the kids were spending all their time taking shitty pictures and video that they were probably not going to do anything with rather than just watching the band.  It was insane.  People seem to have chilled with that a bit, probably when they realized that the sound and picture is so crappy from a loud rock show.

did you

Did you know both of the stars of the new Whit Stillman movie are from Sac and went to St. Francis? Did you? Did you?  Greta Gerwig and Analeigh Tipton.  She's the woman on the right.

so jealous

Man, I must admit that I'm a bit jealous of the Bows and Arrows blog these days.  It's really turning out some great content.  There's this post, which contains interviews with Calvin Johnson and MOM and serves to advertise their show tonight featuring both performers.  I'm so there.  Calvin gives a nice shoutout to the Bananas, among other local bands.

Then there's this post, which has an interview with Touchez.  Their show, with Wet Illustrated and Nacho Business is on Tuesday the 22nd.  So fun!  Bows Blog has been updating a lot, so check out the link at right.

Soo.....Michele Hebert's Living Library Q and A is this Sunday at Time Tested, 7 pm.  I'll be her interlocutor.  I just love using that word, although I don't know how to pronounce it.  You'll get to hear about Michele's perspective on wine, and you'll get to taste some wine at the end and we'll all talk about it.  You can ask her questions after.

DC report (with Ganglians)

Back from DC!  What a cool town.  I love a city that's sensibly laid out on a grid and has a good metro.  I always knew my cardinal directions and how to get places.  That alone will make me love a place.  Add to that that it's a very social town and people love to go out and looovvve to drink (is this making me sound like an alkie? too bad) and I'm sold.

 The metro stations have nice design.  Kinda brutalist.  I don't know what I'm talking about when I say that.  That's never stopped me before.  More pictures after the jump.

remote post

Remote posting from DC! Courtesy of a coworkers laptop.

How bummed was I to arrive at the Sac airport at 6 am anticipating some Old Soul coffee only to wind up at the jank Terminal A and have to drink Starbucks?  So bummed.

 Last night I spent hours and wayyyy too much money at this bar, Churchkey (I accidentally ordered a 25 dollar calvados but then I got it taken off my bill.  It's a long story and I feel guilty, big surprise).  It's a craft beer bar with a cool selection.  They seem to specialize in gruit and gose, which are primitive beer styles that don't use hops (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).  They had a Bahnhof gose on draft!  Above is a gruit from Finland.  Churchkey also seems to specialize in Scandinavian brews, which is intriguing, but they are very expensive.

 This morning I hit up a farmer's market in Dupont Circle.  The eastern part of the U.S. really has us beat on apples, but that's about it.  Well, maybe culture.  Apples and culture.  fffff

 Crab cake for breakfast? Yes.

 Filter brews coffee by the cup, it's also right off Dupont circle.   I got a Peruvian cup.  And the little alternative weekly has a listing for...what's this?  Ganglians! I'm stoked to go on Tuesday night.

 crazy metro station

Nerds as far as the eye can see at the neuroscience meeting, which is the real reason I'm here.

best things

Best things in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls so far:

-Les Blank was a cameraman on Easy Rider
-Peter Fonda may have banged Karen Black and Toni Basil (who was in Easy Rider) at the same time (probably a lie)
-Warren Beatty in general, just existing
-Dennis Hopper tries to pull a knife on Rip Torn (who was cast to play the Nicholson character) and this exchange (after Rip Torn has already disarmed Hopper once):
Hopper: I've got a buck knife, you wanna have a knife fight?
Torn: I'll wait for you in the street.  Bring your guns.  Bring your knives.  Bring your pals, and we'll find out in about three seconds who the punk is.
-the number of joints Nicholson is constantly smoking

Boom da da da. Let the boys be boys.

Boom! New header! That's all I got. Except love in my heart.  For Chris Rock.  Was that WTF podcast with him good or what?  Best part: Chris Rock, his wife, Woody Allen and Soon Yi having dinner together in Rome.

Ruhstaller event

I can't go, but there's a Ruhstaller event next Tuesday at Mulvaney's.  You can try this revived historical brewery's beers and eat snack prepared by Mulvaney.  It's only 22 bucks!  Here's the event page.  Here's a description of the beers:
Ruhstaller "1881" California Red Ale: made with a rare 100% California Select Two-Row Barley
Ruhstaller Hop Sac '11: a Small Batch, Fresh-Hopped Ale using Marty and Claudia Kuchinski's  Clear Lake, CA estate grown Centennial and Ivanhoe hops

close harmonies

Are you coming to the Verge holiday party?  It's on Thursday.  You can play mini golf with the holes created by local artists including Nathan Cordero, Amanda Cook, and Liv Moe, drink Ruhstaller beer from the new local brewery, and hit up some food trucks.  It goes 6-10pm.  And the next day is a holiday! Should be a rager.  If you still want to party after, you could go to Leap In The Dark with DJs Mike C., Hailey Bop and Tim Mantranga.  I wish I had that kind of partying stamina.

Verge also has a new Kickstarter campaign.  Check out the video here.

On Friday, there's a Dreamdate show at Luigis.  They played here recently, but the kind of big news for that show is that the Moore Brothers are playing.  They never play Sac.
I know some of you like close harmonies.  You will like the Moore Brothers.

I'm not sure this link will work, but I'll try.  It's the facebook event page for the Living Library with MidMo wine writer Michele Hebert.  Please RSVP?

get it together, Grange

 Nacho Business!  The King Tuff show was the best show of the year.  Well, for me it ties for best so far with Sonny and the Sunsets in LA.  I really wish Sonny and the Sunsets would play here.

Fuuuuuuuccckkk! Have you ever gotten the French Dip at Sam's Hof Brau?  I thought I loved the Hof Brau but the French Dip brought it to a new level.  My early new year's resolution is to eat there once a month.

This picture is a representation of what it feels like to stay in a penthouse at the Citizen.  Rich people really do have more fun, it's just like I suspected.  The penthouse lounge was a sea of champagne on ice and self-satisfied laughter.

A family member of a friend generously offered to take me and a group out to dinner at the Grange and I had one of the weirdest dinners ever.  The food was fine, but the service was insanely disorganized.  Our server would abandon us for long periods, including to the point where we were stacking dirty dishes onto our menus, which had never been taken away.  Then, when it came time to bring dishes out, 5 people would bring them over at once.  So our table would either be swarmed or abandoned.  I had a dish of Anson Mills grits fritters (they had me at Anson Mills) covered in barbecue sauce (which was not a good touch) and my silverware  never got swapped out so I just had to use my sauce-covered silverware for my other dishes.  We managed to order cocktails initially, but then after we drank them our cups sat empty and no one asked if we wanted to order wine or any other drinks.  I know this all sounds like spoiled complaining but those prices are HIGH!  Grange needs to GET IT TOGETHER.

King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff!

King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff! King Tuff!

See you at the pre-party (Davis Beer Shoppe)

hear ye

Listen up!  NM wrote an important story about the retaaahhhded single bottle law on the grid.  I salute him for navigating the morass.  I tried to do it years ago and my reportial skills were decidedly not up to the task.

I thought my 15 Minutes would make it in this week but not yet, I guess.

Also important:  Michele Hebert is going to do the Living Library talk at Time Tested Books on November 20th, I think at 7pm?  I will be her interlocutor.  She will talk about her views on wine, and some interesting history.  I think we're gonna have a small tasting at the end.  Spoiler alert!

profanity

Don't forget King Tuff at the Davis Bike Collective on Friday night.   Fuck, this song is good.

To follow up their highly reasonable prix fixe dinner, Ella Restaurant is now offering copper pot dinners for two, twenty bucks a person.  Their first week, which is right now is this fucking chicken pot pie above.  Holy crap, look at that thing.

apeshit

Guys, do you ever just wake up and feel like you're a loser?  Wait, that's not a cue to tell me I'm not a loser.  But it's not not a cue to tell me I'm not a loser.

Did you see the movie Love and Other Drugs?  It has the most embarrassing first scene ever and probably gave me the worst second-hand embarrassment throughout of any movie ever.  But what about Anne Hathaway's tits?  Two nips up! (JK)

King Tuff Friday in Davis!!! Do you think he'll make it this time?  He better or I will go apeshit.