dream story

I felt like that cover story about biking in the SNR was my dream story. It was not sidetracked by the endless circular argument about cyclists breaking traffic rules. I always say - build the infrastructure and people will not break the rules. The article starts with Jim Brown, director of the Sacramento Area Bike Association trying to get to the Amtrak station. It even mentions that he, an avid (if not rabid) cyclist feels forced to ride on the sidewalk at times.

This is timely for me because I took the train to Davis today for the first time in a long time because of Fix50. I ride about 25 blocks down 5 and the train station might as well be surrounded in barbed wire for that last little jog. If you can picture F street where you cross the street to where it ends, I really felt like I might get hit because I was going straight on a green and I feared that the giant truck crowding me might assume I was going right and hit me, since most people on that ride don't use their turn signal. Then, the endless construction has blocked the safe side route through the parking lot and up that little alley, so I have to ride on the sidewalk up to the station, and then cross that busy street with no light or stopsign (and a crosswalk that every car ignores). Not to mention the irritating walk to the train. Took about 25 minutes for a 25 block ride. Granted I bike hella slow.

Then, I arrive in Davis and the campus is seriously like Amsterdam at certain times of the day. So cool. And they have copious functional bike locks, rather than decorative, or the kind on the side of the R street corridor where you can only lock your front tire. Those are your 2 choices right there - a giant stupid bike-shaped one where two bikes can fit, or locking your front tire. The best choice is a traffic sign right. Last night at Lowbrau I did the usual lock it to the fence. I'm stoked that they are going to take over a couple of parking spots for bikes soon.

Monday night is such a great night to hang at Lowbrau. Not too crowded and they tap special brews. Last night they had 2 tart Zymatore beers that were both delicious. Did NOT dig the snotty bartender, though.

Marley on 4/20

Pretty excited for the Halloween show! I have multiple tambourine injuries (blisters, bruises). I shotgunned for the first time at practice, but it was a refreshe, not a beer.

Nar really burned the house down at Old I. It was great.

I heard Marley practiced on the streets of SF on 4/20? Is this rumor true?

Kanye wishes

I think it's funny that in 2 Kanye West songs, one pre and one post-Kim, he mentions that after years together he deserves a ménage a trois. I'm thinking there's a 50/50 chance Kim is not down with that. She is super nasty for sure, but I don't think there has ever been the slightest mention that she is into the ladies.

Wow, speaking of infidelity, I just started season 6 of Mad Men to get ready to watch 7 and jeez the cheating is just rampant. I won't say who! I know it has been but now it's more depressing than ever. 

Heckarap tonight! I am positive it is going to be popping off because of a couple of birthdays in the house. However, some people have kind of wrested control over the schedule and it's a little unsettling. I know it will be fun regardless and this will be the only time that will happen. I get way less nervous now about djing.

Nar on Friday! Monumental. Both bass players (not at the same time)! Old Ironsides.

narnarnanrarnarnarnarnnarnrn

A lengthy NYtimes Mag piece about the Mikkeller bros

Take a look at today's foodways. I posted a good interview with Sac Beer Week dude Dan Scott.

Have you guys ever looked at Garfield without Garfield? It's insane.

Heckarap tomorrow! Pretty excited. Nar on Friday night.

I'll get between those staves

I didn't go see 3-6 Mafia but I did go to Lowbrau and have one of these. Man, this beer is spectacular. It smells just like Consecration to me and tastes like a Russian River brew, too. It's only 8% ABV, rad. Too bad it's insanely rare.  wa wah

Does anyone know why the Bee and SNR have ads that say the Tower has a documentary about Jodorowsky's Dune that started on April 11th when it isn't actually playing there? This went on for at least a couple of days.

still hamstering

Happy Monday! I am trying to muster up the energy tonight to go see 3-6 Mafia, but I don't know when the last time I got 8 hours of sleep was. I stayed up late Friday and Saturday and then had to get up for B52s practice both days. By the way we are ripping it up to the trillionth degree squared. Not calling out any other bands. I view the Halloween show as a collaboration and scene love-fest not a competition.

Stop reading here if you are really bored of reading about the ongoing debate over our SNR IPA tasting panel or if you have no idea what I'm talking about. I keep hearing a few negative comments and there may be a rebuttal column in a local beer publication so I just keep hamster-wheeling about it.

A real sticking point is one single comment that a beer had a "butterscotch nose" in the positive side of the notes. Some people are searching for a reason to discredit the integrity of the whole panel because this can be a characteristic of diacetyl, an organic compound that can be a natural byproduct of brewing, and which is sometimes felt to be desirable in English pale ales, but in other styles is often considered a flaw.

I admit I had to look up what diacetyl is when I heard this rebuttal. I tend to evaluate beers as a gestalt, both because my palate is not exquisitely sensitive and also because that level of beer nerd-ery bores me. I can pick out an ester aroma and I hate it. I can sure detect a hop smell (which about 2/3rds of these IPAs did not have). I hate a buttery chardonnay and now I know that this is probably because of diacetyl.

There are debates on beer advocate about diacetyl sometimes with some raters noting it in beers where others don't, or some noting it as pleasant, even in an IPA. OK, just rando beer raters, but surely some of them are credible.

On to another point of mine: this column is viewed as a slap in the face to "supporting the scene". Ay yi yi.

When the music scene in Sac was smaller, people were supposed to support the scene in all writing - even bad or mediocre bands. All hell broke loose when Christian Kiefer criticized a few bands in the SNR. Now everyone just writes positively for the most part (including me) so most of the writing gets little notice.

We're supposed to support the art scene, and since it's still pretty small that's remained the party line. Maybe that is part of the reason it's stayed small. How can someone stand out if it's all good?

Some mild criticism of the theater scene seems to be acceptable, although I don't think anyone ever gets a really poor rating. I don't know if I've ever seen the Shakespeare barfing icon or whatever denotes zero stars in the News and Review.

Harsh criticism of movies is OK cuz they're not local.

Critics are supposed to support the restaurant scene, with no humorous snark or sarcasm ever. BAR gets raked over the coals for this sometimes. The restaurant scene is exploding, so now people are getting used to real criticism. It will take time.

Keep in mind that this only refers to on-the-record criticism. All critics, people in the industry, and serious fans all criticize, talk shit, and gossip like mad but will never go on record as doing so.

I chalk this up to growing pains. There is no room for mediocre or bad beers locally anymore. I stand by all our letter grades. I will openly say that I will give the Rubicon IPA a C- or D+ and most beer nerds if they were being honest would, too. I say the HopSac and River City also earned their Fs.  I think the top 3 (1 Berryessa 2 Bikedog 3 Track 7) are exactly right and I was chuffed that I rated them that way in a blind tasting.

don't let smiller see this bucket hat - it was for sale at the show

There's a fun dance party at Witch Room tonight and also Paul from !!!s band got added. He is a really cool guy (and known Deadhead to boot) so they should be good. I am going to a play first so I may miss him. Dead h8ters I'm sure his band doesn't sound like them and side note don't drink your h8terade because it might be laced with acid.

First b-52s practice this weekend and I am excited/trepidatious. Is that a word? If not a word, a feeling.

I had a hilarious experience sneaking in to schoolboy q at assembly. I actually had passes but I didn't want to wait in the giant slow moving line. I was with a certain person who knew of certain underground access. After various fits and starts, the funniest of which was that we thought we had gotten in but we were actually in the karaoke bar next door, we ended up backstage and couldn't figure out how to get down for a minute. I was petrified we would accidentally end up on stage. We finally exited stage left and we were in.  He was pretty amazing but probably still not my jam.  About half the dudes there were wearing bucket hats. This is kinda funny because if I am going to see someone who wears a particular accessory I would not make sure to wear this accessory.

Barber Bros

There are a lot of Barbered Bros around now. I'm not using Bros necessarily as a pejorative, but it's alliterative and catchy. I can only hope the term does catch on. I was pointing it out to WB at Lowbrau and we agreed he is going to have to start some intensive barbering to fit in. He's been living in the wilderness where there are no barbers. Right now there are about 2 barbershops on every block and he was saying that perhaps he would visit all of them, getting his hair cut shorter every time.

I actually think the picture above might be really old?

I think the barbering looks very sharp, although is being taken almost to fascism in some cases. The head fascism is sometimes countered confusingly by things like 90s shirts, but most often is paired with head-to-to J. Crew or some other store I don't know about. Red Wings, docksiders, you know the drill. SF and other big cities have lots of stores with this kind of sharp, expensive clothing but to my knowledge Sac does not. Smiller and I went to one in London with some lovely men's clothes but it would have been thousands upon thousands for even a few outfits.

I mostly see these men at Lowbrau and wonder where the heck they are the rest of the time. I love Lowbrau and they cause me no problems.

Also, the beards are holding on pretty well, so the extreme barbering is often balanced out by beards. Barber on the top, beard on the bottom is kind of the new mullet. Mustaches on their own don't seem that big and definitely not waxed ones. That guy I saw with a gun at E-40 had a waxed curlicue one, which I probably mentioned, but he looked more like a Gangs Of New York wanna-be gangster than a J. Crew Barber Bro.

I think men's fashion is in a more interesting phase than women's right now. Pretty bored with the short shorts (I know, I know, no dudes agree). Crop tops are going right now which can be cute.  Maybe part of it is because most of the young lady's fashion looks very cheap and the  men's looks very expensive. Don't get me wrong, I totally buy the cheap stuff and my most recent shopping occurred at forever 21, but that stuff looks poorly contructed with cheap material, which it is.

daydrinking

Had a fun bout of light daydrinking on Sunday and a fantastic Mikkeller with brett on draft at Lowbrau. We had a dog with us and turns out Block currently won't do a charcuterie board for outside but the guys up front wrapped up some meat and pate and cheese for us and I bought crackers and cornichons and voila! There was also a Berryessa golden ale and even though it was Berryessa I just don't like that style. The yeast is gross to me, and it probably had a high ABV I am guessing. Oh and a warm pretzel with the cheese sauce that was perfect.

Boy is Sac into Sunday daydrinking! So many buzzed folks at Lowbrau and saw a guy staggering down the street at like 2.

I did my drinking on Sunday cuz I stayed very sober for the Buff $lut dance party to DJ. I was so flattered to be asked and it was a lot of fun although many people stayed on the patio and didn't come on the dance floor or watch MOM, which was surprising. I went right after MOM and it was pretty funny because she had just peed on the floor and sponged the host down with blood so they had to rope off the whole front part. Funny because I didn't have to clean it up, although I did clean the blood off Sergio.

I felt very pro to DJ with a Bay Area dude who was soooooo nice. The local guys who went first vibed me out cuz I guess I'm not pro enough, ha ha. One of them didn't even say hi and later wastedly said I looked like Drew Carey, although in fairness I had just claimed that Drew Carey was my dad (not worth explaining). Whatevs, I don't care to be pro. I made people dance more than they did and that's all I care about. I did a warm up set too because they eschewed playing until more people were there. I just want to enjoy the music so I was happy to spin for a few peeps who were stoked early in the night.

People enjoyed the e-40 wine although I personally would not touch the mangoscato at 18% alcohol. Fuck no!

album nostalgia

OK, so album covers that scared the crap out of me. There are many many many more. I think quite a few of them were designed by Hipgnosis. The top four were for sure

 



Jesus Christ, horrifying

This Led Zep one is more subtly scary and in an awesome way. It's like some 2001 obelisk shit. What is the object? Why is this creepily perfect family staring at it?

This one I was fascinated with in a pervy way cuz of how far down the jumpsuit goes.

So amazing

Love this one.  In the album there is a order form for a teacher of this that must be the best tshirt ever. Thin 70s girl tee.

Fuccckkk! This one is from a Breughel painting called "the triumph of death" and it is about the black plague. So intricate that I stared at it FOREVER!

This is another hipgnosis one that isn't creepy but tells an awesome story that I would muse on. Obviously an executive breaking up with his mistress. My dad loves 10cc.

And of course ANYTHING to do with Pink Floyd The Wall was the scariest.

Loved the Ummagumma cover because of the house of mirrors endless aspect. You know that that was probably done with exacto knives and glue. All these years later I notice how weird it is that the album in the picture is Gigi

Another cool Hipgnosis/10cc cover. I had my dad explain the bends to me because of this.

Loved this one, loved the terrible song "Dreamer".
Makes me sad that kids don't have this now because it really made my imagination run wild. I'm sure they have other things like that, but it was such a window into the adult world but in a way that was just scary enough to be fascinating. It wasn't nightmare scary like horror movies or anything.

And of course, MC Ham's aunt and uncle were responsible for some good 80s metal ones (which my dad didn't listen to) like the quiet riot mask and the Van Halen angel with the cigarette.

The dad in Sound of Music? Yipes.

Since after 10 years I often have the vague feeling that I have written most posts/made most jokes before, perhaps I have done so here, but for your amusement I present SOME of my copious childhood crushes (Skipper just reminded me of Hogan's Heroes, which made me think of my Bob Crane crush):

Bob Crane in HH
Cartoon Superman in Superfriends (this was probably my first - at like 4, I'm glad it didn't warp me forever)
Christopher Reeves as Superman
Han Solo (hardly treading new territory here)
Greatest American Hero
Gopher on Loveboat
Hawkeye on MASH (this one is still going)
Andy Griffith
Christopher Plummer in Sound of Music
Dick Van Dyke
Kirk, obvs, Spock too (but never McCoy)
Barney Miller

It's weird but I can't think of any PBS ones despite how much I watched it. Started looking at a couple sesame street videos and how rad is this one? Indelibly etched in my memory.



I'm sure I will remember more crushes throughout the day. What about yours? Jack Tripper may have been in there but I think he was too much of a fool. Can you tell how much frigging TV I watched? In my tweens in the summer I would watch TV like 10 hours a day. Pretty sad.

rant, reconsidered

Wrote a real rant this morning about SNR Beer report card criticism and then thought twice and took it down. I cooled off and also considered the feedback I've gotten that is reasonable. Got some encouragement from a couple of brewers who were happy or didn't care (which is a ok with me!). I'm just speaking for myself, not the other people involved. None of whom I'm sure care as much as me.

A couple of really good posts on foodways right now. I'm stoked that people are stoked on the food diary thing. It's fun.



Good shows coming up: Nar on the 18th first of all. 2014 THIS FRIDAY at Café Colonial. Schoolboy Q, 3 6 Mafia (but without Juicy J, which is really not the same), GZA, Julieta Venegas. She's rad. Ty Dolla $ign might be good. I haven't heard him except for one song and he looks creepy.

weekend grub

I tested my lifelong assertion that I am not allergic to poison oak by falling in a patch of it at Big Sur. Just bit it off the trail. I was happy that all the German hikers seemed to have missed that, or they just weren't concerned with helping me. Not to slander the Germans, who I'm sure are very polite. I scratched myself up and fell right on top of the plants. I was very surprised that it took about 4 days to start showing up. Question: once you get the oil on you how do you spread it? I have it mostly on my leg, but also on my neck and I don't think any touched my neck. But I didn't start scratching until 4 days  later. It doesn't seem to be spreading any more. Also, weirdly part of my leg where it's worst went numb for a day. I didn't read about that symptom online but am not paranoid enough to think it was anything other than poison oak. And now that I'm "sensitized" to it what does that mean?

 

I was lucky enough to be invited by Amber Stott to moderate a Q and A session for a short documentary film about sea urchins with the director and star. I think it went really well, especially because I know how it is to feel trapped at a film Q & A. Although the film was only 18 minutes long so that doesn't really apply. The director, Alex Finden is very talented (and looked about 22) and the star was a real character. He's 70 and has been diving for sea urchin for 50 years. I would link to it but you need a vimeo sign in from him because he's taking it around to film festivals. I got to try Billy Ngo's famous uni panna cotta (made famous by BAR in his awesome review) and I have to say it was too rich for me. I can't imagine eating a bigger portion. Uni walks the line between beautiful and gross for me, if that makes sense, and I prefer just one bit of perfectly firm nigiri. Even by the second huge bit of nigiri I feel like I'm not sure I want more. The first bit can be absolutely perfect though.

 

I learned a lot about sea urchin. I learned that it starts out really soft but then they firm it up with alum phosphate. They can live about 30 years but become mature at I think he said 2 or 3 (might have been six or 7). The Italians prefer it right out of the shell. In San Diego you can eat it that way at the farmer's market or just right on the dock. The stuff from SD is considered some of the finest in the world because they feed on 5 kinds of kelp (according to the diver) and there is definitely a terroir based on what they eat and probably the salinity, etc., just like oysters. The fisherman bagged on the nor cal stuff of course but the director said he tried it for the first time at Kru on Friday and thought it was fine. Such a fun time!

 

It reminded LM and I of the article in Lucky Peach about the Korean female shellfish divers and how they are aging out with no young people to take their place. Coincidentally the NYTimes wrote an article about them the same day. Wow, did they go to complete paywall? I haven't looked at it much lately but you used to get 20 free articles, so I can't link it.

 

Am I alone in never getting through a Lucky Peach. I love the idea of it but I kind of find it a chore to read. Some of that is jealousy, I admit.

 

More pics after the jump!

funny

Dude, my mom is so funny. She just got an unattractive foster dog so she did this to it.

I just got to use the snotty "let me google that for you" link on foodways. I really amused myself. People are right that I should include addresses (I keep forgetting) but still there is this thing called google...

Just got back from Big Sur. It was amazing. Lots of whales, although I missed a breach-fest that everyone else saw. Unfortunately, since it is a stupid idea to use your phone as a camera when you have no reception and nowhere to plug it in I have like zero pictures. Fortunately due to the lack of phone access I was able to not fuck with my phone and my mind is at peace. At least for a little while.

happy stupidest holiday!

That's actually sad about L'Wren Scott. I can say from having seen some of her (tiny of course) dresses on the hangar that they were very pretty, and poor Mick Jagger. I always thought it was kinda nice that even though she was still way younger than him at least she was in her 40s and not 20s. They looked cool together. I was going to link to the story but blogger isn't letting me link.

You guys, Im pretty frustrated with foodways. No one but me and MH are posting. I am imprudent to air this here but I have already talked myself blue to the peeps that can do something about it. We are all busy people. I guess too busy.  I had two good posts I could have done over the weekend but I am just not motivated to shoulder all of it. I'll work on them some time today. I should focus on a long feature for edible probably. I haven't done one of those in like a year. Not a long one.

Wow, Saturday in Midtown. Tried to go to Lowbrau at 530. Nuh uh, not happenin' Then over to sidetraxx which was pretty deserted. I love sidetraxx. The balcony is the best people watching. And boy was it entertaining to watch costumed people stumble their way around at 6pm. We saw a woman just dressed as where's waldo. No green. We saw a bunch of brides. We talked to 2 and they said they were the "brides of march" wah-wah. still fun to watch but agro vibe. last night I was riding home at 830, and again, stumblers, including a guy on 21st walking in the bike lane and trying to hitchhike. cops were right there and I tried to tell them because it seemed like he might get hit and they said they were already on their way to a call. saw lots of fighting and barefoot ladies walking with their highheels. ridic.

I ain't never scared

Have you checked out nextdoor.com? the neighborhood news site? It seems pretty cool and useful. I posted about that 24th and g robbery last week and today the police posted on there that they had arrested 4 suspects in 2 different robberies in the area.

OMG Heckarap was seriously off the chain. It was just magic. Everyone was so psyched! Clyde did a good set and was talking us up bigtime. The best part is trading off songs with Mike C. It's hard holding it down all by yourself so I like the tradeoff bit at the end.  Songs that I killed with: Crack by 2 Chainz, Karate Chop by Future and Never Scared by Bone Crusher. After I saw the reaction to Never Scared I saw that crunk was in order and played Move Bitch which also was a hit. Pretty much the crowd was open to whatever. Thizzle Dance killed of course.

 It was gratifying to see that people like the classic and the new. They prefer a mix, as do I. I am looking forward to the next one on April 17th, but also just savoring how fun that was and appreciating it.  Trying to be in the moment, for once.

what did you do?

Had a perfect Sac day on Saturday. Went out walking to meet Ryan and Rodney about Foodways stuff. Met at the new Insight. Nice, although I paid 3.25 for iced tea in a small glass with no refill??

Then ran into Matt S. and had lunch at Estelle's. It was an insane croque monsieur that was broiled with the mayo on the outside. Next time I will just ask for a regular one if they can do that. It was still tasty, it's just hard to eat a sandwich with mayo on the outside. I think that's why it usually goes inside.

Then we walked down to the convention center to look at the costumes and ran into Matt M., who was able to tell me what all the nerds were dressed as.

Then later Mark K. celebrated his 40th at a party right near my house. Who doesn't love a party near their house.

Also, hot city German sour night on Friday was really fun. It's really cool that the beer scene is at a point where you could have a night this specific. Standouts were the quince goze and the Freigeist/Jester King collabo Sauer Power. After that, tank house, where I had two tumblers of the High West "Campfire" whiskey, which is scotch-like and smoky (without the scotch medicinal quality) and then to Larry's dance night, which is super fun. Friday dance party! Perfect.

I guess my whole weekend was super sac cuz I walked to the other Insight, passing the nerds again and then walking by Capitol Beer Fest on the Capitol Mall (it was massive). Then I ran into KRA and had a great talk about Michael Haneke, and then later to a delicious meal at Ryu Jin. Even at 830 it was packed with a short waiting list. Love that place. I got the spicy map tofu ramen. There were some Japanese kids there with absurd tshirts "keep rocking and love punk" in the "keep calm and carry on" design.

What did you do? Any beer week events?

Shatner

Did you know that Shatner is going to be at this weekends Comic-Con? And that for 250 bucks you can meet Liam Hemsworth and Stan Lee? Instead, what I will do is observe the fashion outside. Free!

Scott wanted me to post a picture of this because he's sad I don't post pictures like this but instead put them on fb. I actually don't put them on fb any more but sometimes on Foodways I guess. Regardless we drank this Beautification and this beer is truly closest that America comes to Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen. Reminds me the most of DF. We drank it and I was eating some manchego and I instantly had a sense memory of hanging in Belgium. I wasn't even consciously evaluating it as something akin to a Euro beer. I wish it was possible to get Russian River sours.

Right side of the 'Traxx

I am FINALLY off after hours call, so I can drinkdrinkdrink of the sweet beer nectar tonight. Very excited to go to the Bike Dog tap takeover at Magpie. Two of my favorite things combined into one!

Thursday is a stellar beer week event in Roseville if you can find a DD: Northwest brewers night including Heater Allen and Logsdon kegs. Friday Hot City Pizza is having sour night. Man, I wish I was drinking a Bike Dog IPA right now but at least I will be in about 6 hours.

I took a peek at Witch Room and I'm stoked. I feel like bands I know had just really come around to Bows as a venue a few months before it's closed so everyone is beyond happy to have it back.

Also, Larry's DJ night at Sidetraxx is now every Friday. Finally, a dance night that those of us with 9-5 jobs can go to without being absolutely useless at work the next day. I like Sidetraxx. The patios rule, and the dance floor is well-situated. And they have a drink with gummy bears in it.

yay!

OMG after over 10 years I just paid off my student loans! This should have been done a long time ago but I made about the dumbest decisions you can make regarding loans. I took out a shit-ton of loans even though my school was cheap and didn't work that much. But I did have fun and also all I could do was work in a movie theater so I didn't have a lot of choice there.

The really dumb decisions was choosing the lowest payment plan because I didn't even realize I was paying pretty much only interest for years. This is why there should be some financial counseling during the loan giving out and paying-back process. I know I was an adult but nobody helped me out with any of this! And my parents certainly weren't the ones to talk to. One short discussion and someone to ask questions would have helped me a lot.

But I was lucky enough that my degree 100% has helped me in my career. Actually, part of this was luck and part of this was a conscious decision to study something not that fun so that I would be marketable. I'm not judging anyone else's degree choice here.  You never know where life will take you.

It feels really great to be done.

Drake wuz robbed

The best part of the Drake interview in Rolling Stone was when he said he modeled his stage show on James Turrell's art. Having seen his show I see it. I agree that it's lame he got taken off the cover for PS Hoffmann. I fully agree addition is a disease of course and have seen it ravage loved ones. HOWEVER when you have 3 kids, have known the pleasures of sobriety for 20 years, and have every resource in the world to get yourself to rehab...I'm gonna say dude went out like a selfish chump. I can't believe it wasn't suicide given the amount of toxins in his system.

I watched Fish Tank last night to finally give Fassbender a chance to not be creepy in a movie and then the movie got super creepy and disturbing. The director, Andrea Arnold, is quite intriguing and I want to watch her other movies, besides Wuthering Heights which I kind of have no interest in as a book or movie. Fassbender says she works without a script and that she discovered the teen star of Fish Tank because she was yelling at her boyfriend at a tube station. This actress is a scrapper and very raw. I recommend it if you can stomach the disturbing stuff (not in a violent way but in a sexual way). Sounds like the director had a hardscrabble upbringing herself and that she draws from it for Fish Tank.

well hello

Heyyyyyy girl! I know you aren't all girls, I just wanted to say that.

Bok Kai tomorrow! I always look forward to it. It's the only small-town parade in my life. One a year is pretty much enough. Let's hope the Clampers class it up with their outhouse-on-wheels and that the Shriner's don't kill anyone while they terrifyingly careen around in their tiny cars.

Tasting panel

I am very proud to finally be part of a cover story in the News and Review along with DB and NM! I am happy that NM asked me. The coolest thing we did is a blind tasting panel on Sacramento area IPAs. I can't find it linked online. You should pick up a copy of this ish, anyway. It's really good.

The tasting panel was really fun. Everyone agreed about 90% of the time on the grades which I think lends a ton of credibility. Plus, it was good to finally print honest criticism of some local beers. Not in the spirit of tearing anyone down but in the spirit of spurring on quality. And also some of these places get a ton of press while everyone who writes and discusses privately talks about how some the beers are terrible. For instance, Ruhstaller's Hop Sac got a unanimous F grading. My tasting notes were that it tasted like battery acid. This beer has gotten written up a million times for using local hops and is expensive. I've heard about numerous people pouring bottles of this down the drain. I think a bottle is ten bucks. They can't coast on hype and PR alone! Well, maybe they can.

How wonderful that Berryessa was the top, with Bikedog in second (I actually rated it first) and Track 7 3rd. Smiller had a pint of Track 7 the other day and it was delicious. Even more so than the growler for the tasting panel, which was not as carbonated and cold. Greatly improved and that's awesome. I like going out there so now I can get really good beer, too.

Normcore?

This is so meta I can barely even follow it but I like it.  "Everything's unique that it's not unique anymore. Especially in New York". Basically just a continuation of 90s rehashing but less flamboyant.

memorable meal

Dudes, I had the BEST meal at Magpie last night. We took smiller's mom there for her birthday. We often go to Waterboy for special occasions, and I will always love it but I realized that the food at Magpie was even better. We had: the mussels with fennel and thyme (always reliably delicious), grilled bread with olive tapenade, their classic polenta. For our entrees they split the chicken for two which, again, is reliably incredible. I had the ling cod special with a marinade that had a perfect hint of sweetness and a smattering of super earthy-tasting pea shoots. Scott had a hearty, saucy dish of corned pork that feel apart with tenderness. We ended with a quartered carrot ginger ice cream sandwich, with ice cream from Gunther's no less! The service was attentive and the pace was nicely slow, rivaling that of a fine dining place. The server put a candle in the sandwich. It was a special night.  The atmosphere makes it casual but everything else would not have been out of place in a white tablecloth joint. I really need to eat there more and get that chicken for two again soon. They confit the legs separately from the breast, which probably accounts for the juiciness of the breast.

"El Chapo" Guzman

Hmm...just got my blog stats for last week and my hits are way down. Guess that explains the not much commenting. Maybe everyone stopped tuning in during my repeat navel gazing about my writing or lack thereof. I don't think I will be engaging in that any time soon. It was nice to hear from the chef at block last night that he liked it. That alleviated my anxiety and he high fived me when I told him it got 1700 page views, partially cuz of haters. We did another preview of Blackbird and one of another place is coming up soon so stay tuned.

Why do people have to set classic plays in another time period? I saw a post-apocalyptic Macbeth that was a real stinker recently, and now Big Idea theater, which I really like, is staging The Merry Wives (another Shakespeare play - I've not heard of it) in the old west. It's just a distraction! Even setting it just in modern times would be better IMHO.

Have you guys hear about "El Chapo" Guzman getting arrested in Mazatlan. It's so fucked and I'm so scared for Maz. Their tourism was up over 10% this year after years of tourists and cruise ships staying away, mostly because of one Canadian tourist who got shot in the leg. The dude said he would go back even. Believe me, despite the drug violence NO tourists are involved. You would read about it. Doesn't mean it's not scary at times, and no one wants to be scared on vacation. To boot, it's Carnival in Maz this week (second biggest in the world). Great timing Mexican government.

Anyway, it's just another example of the government not caring about the people. They know it could bring more violence and jockeying for position between the cult-like and quasi-religious Knight of Templar (Michoacán) and the absolutely psychotic actions of the Zetas (Northeast). They are the ones who do that decapitating Breaking Bad-type shit for the most part, and they started it.

The governments response to the possibility of more warring is to say that they are going to strike harder than ever. I hate this. I am worried for my mom and her adopted hometown. People practically starve when the tourism goes away. Some of her neighbors can't afford school supplies or meals during the day. She tries to give them what she can.

My mom is really excited about Carnival. She signed her last email to me "love you and party on". I guess loving to party runs in the family. I inherited the party gene.

Outkast relevant?

Interesting post on "we eat so many shrimp" blog about the legacy of Outkast. Outkast are going the festival route this summer and there was a lot of talk about how young kids are like "who the hell is that?" and that they are ignorant. I agree with this post that they don't get played any more and that they pretty much never get shout-outs in modern songs that I've heard unlike the constant shout outs and homages that, for instance, Drake gives to old Cash Money. Makes sense cuz he's on it! 2 Chainz gives overt homage to "back that azz up" on "used to" and the boys even cameo in it. I've mixed this song into the Juvenile track to greate effect. Well as much as I can mix anything.

Listening to Speakerboxx/Love Below you realize how uneven it is and how it could have easily been one album. Didn't Pitchfork rate it the best album of the year one year? Bullshit. Big Boi still sounds relevant, however, and his solo stuff is underrated.

that said, they were hugely important to me at the time and I saw them open for lauryn hill before they blew up.

Speaking of, Heckarap tonight and maybe I will play this song. I did once and it killed as far as I remember. Things always get a little fuzzy when I'm djing. I get nervous and drink too much, plus I'm at the press for like 5 hours. DJ Swiftumz is guesting with deep Bay Area cuts.

day off!

Nothing better than a weekday off where it's beautiful outside and you pack a ton of fun into the day. 8 hours when I could have been mostly sitting on my ass doing paperwork or whatevs and instead I had lunch at Magpie with Charles, walked to the mall and got some awesome lipstick, met Scott at Lowbrau where we unexpectedly ran into friends and chilled for hours. I had a Faction Pale, a Mikkeller chipotle porter (the spice seems to have mellowed out but it's still delicious) and then David Steinberg started going off creating cocktails for us. It was fun to give feedback since he was either making them up on the spot or making ones that he has been working on for Block. One of mine had Averna and bourbon and something else I don't remember. Or maybe that was it. If I wrote that on Foodways someone would say I was a total idiot and I'm like tell me something I don't know, bub. VA had something that had Violette in it that was this awesome grey color.

I got a taste of Rhum Agricole (the clear kind) for the first time. What an interesting, complex spirit. We also looked up presidential trivia as it related to drinking in tribute to President's Day. I ate the duck fat fries AGAIN. Fun!

Tet! Tet! Tet!

I forgot my wallet at Lowbrau if that tells you what kind of night it was (fun). We had an SNR thing (this story is going to be AWESOME!) that went from 6-830, I bought a 23 dollar bottle of Logsdon Kriek (worth it) and then I was ready to bounce, but  then somehow I kept not bouncing and different people kept showing up and then I finally ordered food at like 1030 and at some point I left my wallet under a table inside. I'm pretty sure I'll get it back. If not my compulsive splitting up of shit in my wallet since I got robbed would mean I lost around 70 bucks and my ID, but I still have my atm and credit card. Hope it turns up.

Don't forget the Tet festival this weekend. Deets on foodways and I hope you are checking foodways. We've had good weeks the last couple of weeks. It's just gonna get better. We are really trying to recruit new writers.

mea culpa for rumor spreading

Have you ever been to Cuffs? It has a nice mix of vintage and new stuff. I got a button up new that I LOVE. Short sleeve, grey, tiny white polka dots. They are having a sale and here are a couple of cute things. Both of these would mostly be good for palm springs. I may have to buy the bottom one and just wear it to non-special events.

 

More importantly, I have a bit of a mea culpa or a setting the record straight-type situation. I met in a small group with a lieutenant in the sac pd, and one who is in charge of nighttime dispatch on weekends and other nights. She came to talk about the crimes. Some facts: 1) the talk of the rape and the beating are the same incident, not 2 separate ones The dispatch log bears this out

 

2)This is treading on dicey territory, but let's just say the rape  investigation is ongoing. It may not pan out. Which is a weird thing to say, but it seems to be a statement on solid ground.

 

I hope this does not fuel the rumor mill.

 

So basically what it comes down to is the purse snatching where the assailant pepper sprayed the woman, which was right by my house. Really bad and this scares me, but it's not something that would really cause an outcry as a (hopefully) isolated incident.

 

Even better, she showed us actual statistics on the crimes in the midtown/downtown area over the last couple of years and every category of crime is down. She said that sacpd took that rash of robberies and shooting in late 2012 very seriously and created an extra team of cops that patrols at night around the area, sometimes undercover.

 

The streetlight thing is a city issue, so some of us in the neighborhood may try to pursue that. She highly recommends motion-detector floodlights. Of course this only addresses burglary, which is not my big concern.

 

As far as walking alone  at night, the police advice is always to view the situation as a criminal would, so there really isn't an argument that a woman alone at night isn't  more vulnerable. That doesn't mean an individual woman can't choose to assess her risks (which these statistics help with) and make her own choices. Most activities carry some risk (skiing, climbing a ladder, driving), so one can take measures to minimize but each person decides their acceptable level. I say this as a safety professional.

 

My plan is to alter a bit, and keep my exercise walking separate (and early) from my getting somewhere  needs. I plan to ride my bike more to destinations and walk less. As the days get longer I will walk more places. I already sometimes walk somewhere early and then if I stay out late take a cab home. Now that bows is closed I have lost my favorite place to walk anyways.

liquid swords

Wow, GZA Liquid Swords. Bought it on iTunes today. Used to be on constant rotation along with (ha) Dr. Octagon. It makes me think of JB, is that a false memory? I even got into watching kung fu movies for a bit like that classic series Lone Wolf and Cub. Think I'm gonna mix in a mini set of East Coast into Heckarap on Wednesday.  We got guest DJ Swiftumz for some DEEP ASS Bay Area cuts. Looks like our March night might have guest DJ Tyler Pop straight outta Berlin.

wu tan clan ain't nothing to eff with

NH told me that Wu Tang holds up and boy does it. Unlike anything on, say, No Limit. I will listen to Liquid Swords soon too. I loved that record so much! It's so rad that they took inspiration in numerology and martial arts and shit. it's so much more creative than just rapping about money and hating on women. and the coherence of the production, too. maybe there IS some good east coast rap.

that artmix prom thing is Thursday with best summer ever band. that sounds rad but I have an SNR beerweek story thing. the one time this week I have something planned, figures.

larry now has Friday night at sidetraxxxx and it's really fun. I sure like going out on a Friday as opposed to a sunday and I love sidetraxx. check it out.;

fun facts

Super good stuff from The Big Payback, the book about the business of hip hop:

Ice T rolling up in the back of a Rolls Royce to a music convention where there were tons of protestors, including lots of cops from Texas, rolling down the window and flipping them the bird. Then driving away.

How the RZA negotiated one of the best record deals in history, which gave the right for all the members to put out solo records on whatever label they wanted. Also, the fact that they made all the money from their products including Wu Wear stores (which I forgot about!)

Puffy in general. Starting out at like 17. I mean, what do you expect when he got his name from  having a Puffed-up personality? Didn't know that he was regarded by many street artists as representing a bad/glossy trend in hip hop, which has turned out to be more than a trend. Suge Night made some crack at the Source Awards about how you wouldn't see him dancing around in a video.

The beef between Tupac and Biggie seems to be due to a misunderstanding where Tupac was shot in a building where Biggie and Puffy were recording and concluded Biggie was behind it.

Most record executives and magazine editors (including Source and Vibe) were white, and mostly Jewish. Not saying this is good, it's just a fact. But many of them really, really championed rap and unfortunately had more clout to do so.

avoiding writing by writing

Ugh, I have to work sick today! That has rarely ever happened to me because usually I could move things around easily in my old job.

I was looking at the reddit thread about the rash of gnarly crimes around my house (right about the late time I was getting dropped off by a friend at my house a woman was being raped in the bushes one block away) and I also saw a thread about my block butcher bar post on foodways. I was stoked to see it linked and discussed but the only comments are super negative. I guess if you don't know me or my writing or the tone we are going for with foodways that would be your first reaction. also if you are a dork that is into reddit.

but, fair enough. if you have ever written jokes you know that it is very difficult to tell if a joke is funny when you write it. and I know that some of mine are definitely groaners, which maybe I should take out. And I never get edited as far as jokes. But I'm not gonna change and I guess it's better to be talked about than not talked about. Ryan and Rodney want me involved and we started the website together so I gotta stay true to myself and our vision.

But the thing that bugs me is that the three discussions I've seen lately about my writing(2 on fb and one on reddit) I've been accused of not knowing what I'm talking about. I can say that after ten years of writing about food that a lot of the time (not all! I cop to my flaws!) that I fucking know what I'm talking about! I don't know how you prove that to people. and one of course was about writing about rap, which I also know a lot about (at least the rap from late 90s/early 2000s).

I am wrestling with the urge to answer back right now but I will sit on the comment a few hours and maybe not post it. You can't get the last word and as long as I stay off local media I probably won't even hear it, although NM did text a screenshot of it to me last night. A comment where someone said I was probably a tattooed douche from Roseville.

I am not fishing for any praise, cereal. I get a lot of positive reinforcement, too.  I am just voicing my struggle to not feed the trolls and attempt to get an even thicker skin. And also avoiding the piece I need to write for news and review right fucking now.

Also I should keep in mind that people also trolled the thread started by the guy who trying to warn people that his friend had been beaten up in my neighborhood so grain of salt.

here's one of the non-troll comments, which makes me sad. there is also another one about how a guy who lives in oak park and works near barwest has seen exponentially more violence in midtown

"Yeah, I moved up here from Oakland and everyone I meet here is all "don't you feel safer here?"; hell no, I've seen stupider shit in Midtown than I ever did in Oakland (with the exception of the ass who shot at me while trying to run me over because he didn't think cyclists should be on the road)."

CoHoHoPhoBro

I know you guys are reading, but you are being very quiet. shhhh....

The Barnseyard is back! But different! But better? DB and MC have launched an exciting new movie blog that's going to be really interactive. They are starting their screening series with three different Antonioni movies, which is three Antonioni movies too many. Just watch half of one and you will get the gist. The post on the history of the e street film society is really funny.

I am feeling sick and thought pho sounded good but I am in (fucking) Davis so where to go? The CoHo offers horrible pho, kind of a CoHoHoPho situation if you will. I recently noticed that there is a Pho King 4 in Davis. It could have been there forever for all I know - I just assume all food in Davis is terrible so I don't pay much attention. But I love Pho King 2 in Sac and perhaps it is related?

I walked over there and got seated upstairs in a disgusting carpeted dining room. I get a large pho, which was really a medium as the sizes go small large extra large. I got the steak (note I did not say "rare steak", which is not on offer and the steak is a million miles from rare when it arrives) and brisket. I would not risk getting tendon at an unfamiliar place.

There was a meager plate of thai basil and a few bean sprouts to accompany the pho, the broth of which mostly tasted like salt. The noodles were fine. The meat was brown and meat-ish flavored. I put a bunch of cock sauce in it and it was passable but I won't be eating there again. If it is related to Pho King 2 it is clearly falling prey to the flavor vortex under the causeway that pulls all the goodness out of food.

I'm curious to know what DB thinks of Kiss Me Stupid, the Billy Wilder movie. Dean Martin is pretty funny in it (his toast: drink up and be somebody) but I read that it was supposed to be made with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon instead of Kim Novak and Ray Winston. Ray Winston really kind of ruins the movie. Anyone else seen it?

do it!

Mother last night was great. I had the nutburger, which is really similar to the sunflower one. Heaven, since I rarely make it to the Sunflower. I also had the okra snack, which is awesome, and the deep fried  mushrooms, which taste and feel like oysters. Can't wait till they get beer! Then we finished it off with those motherfucking cookies of my dreams.

Don't forget the Tet festival this weekend! I hope the food is good, but if not you could always browse around and then go eat somewhere around there. Perfect time to go to the banh xeo place way south cuz you will be out of the intense zone. Try the baby clam dish I MEAN IT.

nachos

And just like that my feelings about writing take a turn! I had the most inspirational night last night at Lowbrau. I met Ryan D. and Juli B. about the website and to shoot some stuff and do some interviews there (watch for a 2 part post this week and next week that is going to rule). I am very excited about some goings-on.

Juli writes for the SNR and now Edible and now Foodways (I hope) and she is a really awesome young woman. Smart as a whip. Ryan, is well Ryan (j.k. Ryan!) Then after some great brews and cocktails (nice gin cocktail whipped up for us and then a Faction Triple IPA) and snacks, Phil and Marilyn Eisenberg show up and inspire me again to hopefully be like them when I am their age. Always exploring and excited about something, not to mention cute as a button. They were excited about Yang's Noodles and said a Chinese friend took them. They said it was exactly like eating in China. They also love Mother and have been going all the time.

Then we went to 58 degrees to pick up two bottles of wine that the manager there had recommended to us as "Michele wines" which is pretty awesome if you know what that means. I had a weird and not so great flatbread (it was ok, it had a ton of wild mushrooms but didn't cohere as a dish) and a good glass of cab franc.

I also had a perfect Midtown morning the other day. Stoked on Sac right now as long as I block out facts such as the Kings throwing in 500,000 on a 150 MILLION DOLLAR streetcar project. What percentage is that? 3 percent is that right? I am also LOVING how NIMBY east sac is to stop McKinley Village. I hope it works. I could not make it to the meeting.

 On a brighter note, EH made these nachos for superbowl viewing snacks. CH take note.

On that same day, this is what I had for breakfast at Lalo's along with a Mamey liquado. Diet of champions!

more navel gazing

aw man, last night of Bows was EPIC! I miss it already. It was so cool to see OC ride it out with a smile. She knows she's destined for good things.

I stepped down as associate editor of edible. It was a position I created and now I don't imagine anyone else will fill it. (not saying that someone couldn't! just that mags don't need one) There have been a lot of transitions and the new style of workflow isn't working for me. I still want to contribute and I'm not one to burn bridges and I was worried that some of the headbutting was going to do that.

But more than that it reflects a decrease in my passion for writing about food and writing in general. I've been doing this for a long time and I've written about hundreds of places and I've covered all my favorite places pretty extensively. Sure, a new place that I'm excited about opens here and there (like Yang's!) but as I've mentioned before after so many years of not being able to hit up my favorite places I'm pretty excited to just patronize the same handful of my faves. I thoroughly enjoyed Lalo's yesterday but is there a single angle of Lalo's that I and others haven't explored? I would say no. (PS always have to add that I was first on that scene).

Mendick is a good writer and obviously more passionate about exploring "ethnic" stuff than I have been in over a year and his multiracial heritage contributes to the depth of his knowledge as well. His latest missive hurt my tender feelings a bit. I will just be confident and think that when he says "most writers" he is not talking about me. And his point is super well-taken. Although me saying that will maybe hurt other food writer's feelings (those that read). But he is a brash young buck building his name on the tiny scene.

I think trumpeting that Ayah! blog is a little premature but I hope the dude keeps it up. His latest post is on Quan Nem, a place which I also promoted first, which later led to a BAR review. I'm not saying it was a straight line from my writing to his, I think I helped to get it burbling in the zeitgeist. Despite the iron-clad power of the Bee the patrons are still 90% Vietnamese, which I guess is apropos of nothing. Hey that guy says that on the blog, too!

Sorry to make you say "jesus h. Christ becky you are a piece of work" but I am an excellent self-horn-tooter which has worked well for me in my freelancing and my real work. Ya gotta have confidence, and mine has been hard-won over time.

Anyway, thinking a lot about why I write and why it feels forced and has for more time than I realized until recently. One of the things I'm way past deadline for for edible is the back of the house text for the press bistro. I couldn't think of a place to do that with (I did Maalouf's for the last issue) so I settled for a place that is fine, but where I never go, mostly because of the prices. I think it's solid and have had good times there recently. But I have no passion for it so I feel guilty all the time about blowing deadline. Hopefully I will write it this week?

Anyways, sacfoodways is way more my speed and I think last week was not good enough as far as what I contributed and will try to do better this week. I have been working 9 hour days with no breaks at my job.

mother

I was thinking I was dying and I called Scott and we figured out that our new coffee filters caused us to both overdose on caffeine. Seriously! We made coffee at a different time so that's why we had to talk about it on the phone. I was like "I feel insane, my hands are going numb". The filter ran really slow and so my giant cup of chemex light roast coffee has poisoned me and I can't really do my work today. It sucks! My vision looks blurry and shit. Laugh if you must.

 God, that picture above makes me laugh. Their brand is called "If You Care". What kind of passive-aggressive hippy shit it that?!?!

"Oh, what? You bought Mellitta brand filters? I guess you just don't care about Mother Earth, huh"

"You didn't use If You Care Cheesecloth? Why don't you just throw mercury down the sewers because you obviously don't give a shit about anyone except yourself"

 I ate at Mother last night! This was dessert omg. Fucking salted sage brown butter cookies.

We got quite a bit of food for three people as you can see. I especially loved the ricotta dumplings. Great meal and fun, chill experience. I'm stoked they are going to start table service soon

bun b sadness

There are 3 things you can count on: death, taxes, and that my coworkers will want to get burgers when we go out to lunch.

I am about to begin a week of forced sobriety because I will be on-call after hours for a week. Crazy. There is very little chance I will have to do anything but I have to be ready to drive to Davis at any time.

I can't believe that Bun B and Kirko Bangz are playing in the Bay the exact same day I'll be in Big Sur. What are the odds that they would play a huge city on a SUNDAY?!? On Saturday I would have been able to go. Bun B is one of my top five rappers. I kinda wanna cry when I think about this so I will try not to. Of course Big Sur wins out that goes without saying.

I posted about the baconfest judging on SacFoodways.

four eyes show on Saturday at bow. it's their last show. you better go. I am missing both dj mustard and urijah faber's fight to be in attendance. I'm hoping maybe the pourhouse will be playing it. do they even have tvs? it sucks that so many things are on the same night since I have nothing to do all week including Friday. but I can't wait for the four eyes show!!

baconfest

Gucci Mane's Trap God is one of my favorite mixtapes and my favorite thing he's ever put out. It's consistent and not too long. Download it on datpiff if you're interested.

Baconfest judging was way more fun this year as the panel was less bro-ey and more friendly. Fun to hang with Thiemann. Fun to sip the delicious bourbon I brought and see that everyone loved it. I ate a tiny snack beforehand and then 36 courses with bacon and then obviously nothing else the rest of the day. I am so salt-bloated today. Most of the bacon was too salty. The scandal is there were many dishes that I loved, and also the non-traditional face bacon (which won), but I wasn't passionate about ANY of the plain bacons. A lot of them didn't come out warm or hot, which is key with bacon cuz when the fact congeals or it gets tough it loses its appeal. Don't tell anyone but I still like Oscar mayer traditional the best. I just do not like thick cut bacon. I want to see through my bacon.

I only guessed a couple of the chefs, but Thiemann guessed every goddamn one simply by their cooking. Impressive. The best dish went to a woman named Rachel something who is the chef at Revolution Wines! Incredible. I guess I will have to go there, although can I bring my own wine? The dish was bacon on a crostini with a white wine reduction with brie (it didn't have a strong brie taste), brussel spouts and trumpet mushrooms. More creative than the average dish by a mile and coherent despite the long list of ingredients.

Gnocchi from the guy at Lucca (I think) was delicious as well for the excellent gnocchi. I want to go there and order more gnocchi. He won best in show, and Thiemann thinks he's a super good chef. Who the fuck knew?

I also thought both of these dishes would have been better without the bacon! Ha!

women still make 77 cents on the dollar

I had a couple of really thought-provoking incidents in the last 24 hours. One was that, during a meeting yesterday with a powerful committee (won't say what), the head of the committee, a male (who is awesome), turned to my supervisor (female) and thanked her for taking minutes. Not that big a deal except he followed it up with the statement that somehow at every meeting he's ever been at, a female ends up taking this duty.

Next to my supervisor was a man who is her equivalent, who has a different position but one that is not superior, and he has never been asked to take minutes, nor can I picture that happening. The only time my boss didn't do it was once when I volunteered, just to give her a break, because she has MANY more important things to do.

Then, this morning I listened to the TED talk by Sheryl Sandburg, the woman that wrote Lean In. That book has been discussed amongst my friends since it came out. This talk did not really focus on child-related issues, but the book does. Those aren't an issue for me, although it's an important issue.

She talked about how women are perceived as bossy or aggressive for behaving the same way men do in the workplace. This has become such a cliché that I don't think people take it seriously. One of the only doubts I have about my ability to advance career-wise pertains to the chance that I might be perceived as too aggressive. I know that I'm well-liked at work, which goes a long way, but I wonder if a man who was as outspoken as I am would worry about that? That's what's so hard about these issues - it's impossible to know.

She talked about how when people think about these issues, men and women, they can take steps to counteract some of them. Even in small ways, like not letting women take all the seats on the side of the room when a conference table is full. My department makes an obvious effort to hire women and is headed by a women, and my previous workplace was pretty much female-run.

If it's not blatant, it comes through in these insidious small ways like the taking of the minutes somehow seeming like a female job. I try to do the best I can to be outspoken and assertive. I have volunteered multiple times to speak in front of groups and give presentations in meetings. I even sometimes wear shoes with heels which make me about six feet tall, especially in a situation where I might be dealing with an intimidating male (which happens quite a bit). My job makes me happy I have that height, I'm not sure if you petite ladies out there have ever felt it to be a hindrance?

Anyway, lots of thoughts

no pink

I am looking for a pencil pouch to use at work and there are some fairly scathing reviews of this one on Amazon. Two people were very upset that their son got a pink one without realizing it. I guess the pink shame still continues today. Needless to say I won't be buying this shoddy pouch, although the fear of pink is not a factor.

weekend hijinks and shenanigans

Wow, pretty raging weekend. I wish I could have another 3 day weekend to have a completely non-raging weekend. This weekend is not shaping up to be non-raging, at least because of the !!! show and maybe something else I'm forgetting. Probably.

Friday I went to the Mother I-refuse-to-say-soft-opening. I can't wait to get their chile verde again and the desserts were off the chain. They did a last minute waldorf salad that was really good too. They opened yesterday so I wonder how that went. I think just for lunch and it was a state holiday. No offense to any state workers reading (I am one too) but they can be pretty harsh and don't expect to spend much. The Master Of The Woods kombucha was also delicious. I heard they are going to tone down the pepper but I hope they don't.

more after the jump

repectfully disagree

Rankings are rankings, and two people rarely agree, but I just have to say woahwoahwoah to any top ten ranking of Pho that does not include Pho Saigon. JM seems to be somewhat partial to chicken pho, which is Pho Anh Dao's specialty. That's why it gets so crazy, for some reason the rare Vietnamese restaurants that specialize in chicken pho are always hella crowded and often "sell out". I've seen PAD close early because of it. I don't like chicken pho - I find it to be bland. It tastes like something you would eat when you're sick. He does mention the beef pho there, i'm not sure I've had it.

I am a creature of habit when it comes to pho and 80% of the time I go to Pho Saigon. The Pho at Huong Lan is not bad. I don't think Pho Xe Lua can measure up to Saigon. I don't think Pho Bac can, either, although I have an old-school love of the Bac. And Star Ginger is pretty out of left field. I don't hate on Star Ginger, but I haven't tried their pho. Again, chicken pho is not really pho to me.

And Pho Saigon Bay suuuuxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ox pizzle

I enjoyed the article for what I learned about pho but I respectfully disagree with the rankings.

warms my heart

 These pics are out of order here. But anyway, we went to Yang's Noodles on Stockton last night, as recommended by MH on Sacramento Foodways (linked at right) and beautifully photographed by RD. Also AMR had reviewed it as News and Review but that one flew by  me a bit.

more after the jump

like wha?

Now that I can't tweet, I just have to say my tweets to Scott. It's not the same. Here was one, but he was doubtful that anyone else besides me has this problem:

There should have a name for the disorder when you can't estimate how much salad to make for two people.

I had to eat so much salad just so he would stop busting my chops about how much salad I made and there was still salad left. This is a the cruel world I live in.

There's a glowing piece in the Bee today about Thiemann's restaurant Mother. Pretty exciting. I hope you guys read that review of that weird Oak Park place Arthur Henry's Supper Club. I like that something opened there but when I heard that concept I was like, "wha?!"

Here's more gripping information about me besides the salad thing: I thought I would read more books when I stopped subscribing to the New Yorker but instead I am just watching more crappy TV. Didn't see that one coming. I have been reading this Philip K Dick book with an Abraham Lincoln replicant in it for a while. Even though the book is funny I think I'm avoiding it a little bit. Recommendations?

todd barry guys

I've been neglecting heckasasc because of stupid facebook. I hate my phone. It's a weird modern phenomenon that scott pointed out. hating and loving a stupid thin rectangular thing that sits in your purse/pocket.  Being beholden to this constant stimulus. I am not exactly treading new ground here. Smiller pointed out that since I understand better than some exactly why this appeals to the human brain and becomes addictive I should maybe be better at dealing with it. I can't believe that I actually got busted texting in the front at a four eyes show. that is really really insane. yeah, it was people who needed to know how to get there but they either would have found it by texting someone else or I could have checked it during like a bathroom break or something.

so I'm going to check facebook less, I just deleted fb and twitter from my phone (not that I check twitter any more anyway) and luckily I have never figured out what the hell instagram is for even though I recently found out that friends have tagged me "hundreds of times".

Excited about the Halloween show! I didn't think I could think of a band and then within minutes I did and it was happening. The idea of being up there with a band rather than solo is a huge relief.

I'm djing the no bunny show on sunday. Matinee show starting at 5. I'm stoked I have the next day off so I can go to soul night after. I really want to spend 9 hours at the press apparently. rap seems weird at this show for sure but I asked NB and he said he's "down with the hippity hop". I offered a bubblegum/power pop set but he said rap. I will keep it light and silly with songs such as Laffy Taffy.

Friday/Saturday is Todd Barry. I might go to both since I paid for Friday and got passes for Saturday. It depends on the set.

polly want a sauce

So the REAL story of the Round Table at Round Table was not the Halloween show theme (ho hum) but the fact that the Round Table in Old Sac has the Polynesian Sauce. I was simply browsing the round table menu online (as you do) when I noted that they said that some locations did not have this sauce. That intrigued me, so I ordered a side of it. The guy behind the counter said "one side of Polly sauce" and that made me feel cool.

 It is sweet and spicy and everyone could not get enough of it. Smiller claimed he did not like it but you wouldn't have known it from how he was dipping his pizza in it (heh). Charles liked it so much he double dipped! Of course he did. All in all it was the hit of the round table at the square table at round table.

Halloween Show 2014

Matt S. is now in charge of the Halloween blog. I think he is just going to make a new one. He will probably get it up soon. Please for the love of miller don't just play this out on fb. It will make him sad (enraged).

spike jonze

If anyone reads this on Saturdays, there are two excellent art openings tonight, both starting at 6. Tim White has a new painting in a group show at Elliot Fouts and Future Art Notables have a show, "Gal Pals" at Delta Workshop. I really like Delta Workshop so that's a good reason to go, too.

Man, getting more and more bummed on Bows closing. I wish I had gone there a bit more. Sometimes it would fall of my radar a little bit, but everything does that. I had this phase of going to Lowbrau constantly and then not for like two months and now am back to occasionally. Aren't my habits fascinating psych.

There's a No Bunny show in Sac on the 19th. Starts at 5, which is awesome for a sunday show. Although the next day is a holiday so I will be going to soul night for sure. if you haven't been, I'd say that it's the most sac dance night perhaps next to old school lipstick. mixed races, mixed ages, sweaty crowd, it's awesome. speaking of dance nights, an old blogpost post (4 years but it seems like longer) about oh dang surfaced recently. Those ladies (and Rafter) really killed it with that thing. I only went to like 1 or 2 and didn't really cut loose, but it was packed with people having a super good time. Now I know how hard this is to pull off. One thing they did right was only had it a few times a year. I should do that with heckarap but since they want us to do it more and it's fun I have been caving on that. We have one in Feb and March.

Also, quite a few of the people behind making oh dang so rad have moved away. But really wow. The trip to me is how many of these people I didn't really know or barely knew that I know now. Probably mostly through OC.

I saw Her last night. I really liked it. Very thoughtful movie. ScarJo was actually perfect for the role of the disembodied voice. I used to think she was a terrible, stiff actress. She's better now but the fact that I thought this was her best acting ever shows that I think it's more her stiff or artificial physicality that makes her not as good as she could be. Maybe she'll grow into it. Maybe her stunning looks and the fact that people have been staring at her probably since she was a teen contribute to this?

My favorite thing about it was how, because she was a disembodied voice, there romance was much more talking and laughing than just having sex, which is shorthand for love in most movies. Think about how romantic some woody allen movies are and what's his most iconic love scene ever (and not only his most but any group of critics would agree probably one of the top 5 romantic movie moments in film)? Alvy and Annie Hall laughing in the kitchen when the lobster escapes. Those moments are really what a relationship is about. If you can't laugh and talk forever you are screwed. Scott and I just chatting about comic strips can be my favorite part of the day. BTW, Crankshaft is having a really shitty storyline right now where he is joking about using agent orange and napalm on weeds. wow, insensitive. luann it having a gross story line about blueballs. why isn't she having sex with her boyfriend? she's in college.

I can't help but compare Spike Jonze really favorably to Wes Anderson. They both have fussy visual styles but Jonze doesn't let his overwhelm the movie and make it feel precious. And the music doesn't overwhelm either. Anderson tries to use songs as shortcuts to emotion and it's cheap. I loved Rushmore just as much as anyone else, and liked the last one, but his movies are not very affecting.

round table approacheth, my lady

Show tonight at Bows! Audacity/2014/Croissants/another Burger Band. This is our month to say goodbye to Bows, which is very very sadmaking.

I haven't had a drink in 5 days. That probably happened some time in the last few years but not more than a time or two. I just need to lower my tolerance a little to save money (jk). Doesn't feel that different but my face is less puffy although I doubt anyone would notice except me. I think when I'm in the bag I always get dehydrated.

Not only did I eat roundtable last night (which is a sure sign I had to stay late at work) but the first Round Table at Round Table at the round table of 2014 is this weekend. At this point I don't really have a dog in the fight. Well, two: I don't want a theme that will overly encourage 90s bands, and I would like to do M.I.A.

Don't forget to check sacramentofoodways and "like" us on facebook to get post reminders! We are going gangbusters for only being a week old.

yonce

Here are some stats for ya: 406,798 pageviews, 3194 posts

That's right, suckas, I'm closing in on 10 years of heckasac and only a pube's breadth (which is different than pube breath) away from 500,000 pageviews. I never noticed this stat before. 

And now you, all half million readers, are waiting to hear what I think of the Beyonce album. I love Drunk In Love as much as anyone else, I'm human after all. I was very happy to see that Hype Williams directed it. It was especially good to see something from him after seeing Belly to remind me that he can actually direct as long as it doesn't entail anything more complicated than walking in slow motion while a song plays.  NH observed that Jay Z does look like he's actually drunk and I agree with her.

I really like Yonce and was thinking I might play it at Heckarap. It was fun picking out all the people in No Angel but I really only recognized Paul Wall and Bun B. The video with the skinheads and moshing kind of embarrassed me and was kind of awesome.

There are finally a couple of good shows this week. Audacity/2014/Croissants at Bows on Tuesday. Black to the Future and Charles Albright Band on Thursday at Press. I don't know who this Charles Albright is but I read in the news and review that he has something to do with the arena plan, so I'm going to go protest at the show. I am also collecting signatures so that we can bring his existence to a vote on the ballot. My only problem is that so many people want to vote this guy out of existence that I have to keep replacing my front door...because everyone keeps knocking it down! 

snapseed to icloud to wordpress

I've become the person who is sitting here with a laptop and two cellphones (one is for work). How did this happen? It's because of freelancing for three pubs (including foodways) and because i like everyone else am addicted to my iphone. I also just bought beats by dre earbuds (which horrifyingly do not seem to be that much better than regular ones!) and a jbl flip speaker thing that uses bluetooth to communicate with my phone so i can listen to mostly podcasts and maybe some music in my kitchen while I cook.

I am currently struggling to upload my snapseed food photos to icloud so I can insert them into a wordpress post. My god. PS it's not working. Has anyone else heard of snapseed? I read about it in saveur. It's an app specifically for making food photos look better. I have to improve mine so they look nice enough to be on foodways with all those good photographers.

well, I give up. I am going to s.s.' house to taste some sriracha-style sauce for a piece she is writing and then to pick up crabs for a dinner tonight. I accomplished nothing.

sacramento foodways is born

Happy New Year! For me it doesn't feel like things are back to normal, at least work-wise, because the quarter still hasn't started so I can't get back into the full swing. I am really ready so I will be glad after the 6th.

Let's not talk about New Year, or the holidays, let's move on! Sacramento Foodways is a new website about, uh, food.  Check it out. I like the name - it was Ryan D's idea. He said I was not allowed to come up with something that had "sac" in the name, understandably enough. I will just have to wait until I launch my website about lunch: The Lunch Sac. We are working stuff out right now but I think it will settle in nicely soon. I'm very excited that MH is going to write for it. Stay tuned!