Connection

Ahhhhhh!!!!!! Just interviewed King Tuff!! He is nice!! I was nervous.  I hate how my smart phone goes dead in between people talking, you know what I mean? That dead air that makes conversation awkward? My awesome old dumb phone was more like a land line in that it did not do that.

English Singles were good last night.  Sophia's is a funny scene.  It's a real meat market inside.  The promoter dude is very cool.  Direct message to Knock Knock: if you wanna play there, you should probably just email him.  He likes you and would probably put you on a show, plus he remembers that show you were on with Dreamdate had more people than he expected.

Tomorrow is Mantles.  If as many people as RSVP'ed on FB show up there are going to be too many to get in.  Luckily, we all know a FB RSVP means very little.

Sunday is Scouse Gits, the band with OMB, Tristan, Alex Shrugg and Stan. It's at 6pm at Press Club.

molcajete!

This is part of what I had for dinner last night. This is an exciting/scary dish. It kept spitting for about 15 minutes and it was delicious.

English Singles tonight! Sophia's! 830! Davis can be fun for an evening if you don't work here.

Caution Joggers Ahead - ruined by a dick

Whoever did this is a colossal dick.  This is my favorite sign in Sacramento, by the train station.  There is so much construction over there that I have contemplated stealing it many times, in case they tear the fence down.  First, someone tagged it, which could be cleaned off.  And then some dick took the painstaking time to change the "j" to and "m" and scrapr off the top half of the "o".  And there aren't any fucking muggers in that area.  I can't believe anyone did this.  I should probably still take the sign and try to fix it.  I have often pondered the mystery of this sign and its location on an obscure strip of road.  I figured that a jogger must have been hit there at one time.

From my study of Cathy cartoons from the 80s I have realized that jogging was a really big deal.  It was like a revelation to people, and a whole lifestyle.

Anybody got any questions for King Tuff? I'm interviewing him on Friday.

photo post

First things first: English Singles are playing at Sophia's in Davis on Thursday.  It is currently a two band show, starting at 830 and maybe Singles are first?  My point is, this is a rad place to see a show and it will be over early.  The stage is outside on the patio.  You can get sugary drinks at Sophia's, or delicious brew at Davis Beer Shoppe.  If anyone will join me, I will go drink a Wicky Wacky Woo at Bernardo.

Photo post after the jump, which includes some of the best photos that man (or mankind or womynkynd) has ever seen:

ToHoShoHo

Had a reliably stellar dinner at Masullo the other night, including splitting the lemon posset (a kind of British pudding - Masullo serves it with a cap of cava gelee and a tiny oatmeal cookie) and his famous ice cream sandwich, also with oatmeal cookies and vanilla ice cream.

He said he's had an uptick in business since the mention by the most well-respected pazzaiolo in the U.S. (Chris Bianco) named him as one of his top picks.  Masullo's is about to be four years old and it's about damn time that people give him the respect her deserves.  Pizza of that caliber is very hard to pull off, certainly no other Neopolitan-style place in Sac comes close.

English Singles and Knock Knock at the ToHo tonight!!!

once again: suck it Breton

I know this is controversial, but I'm gonna say it: best plant in Sacramento.

Ok, take a sec and read Breton's most recent column and come back.  I'll wait.

Is it just me or did he take the exact wrong point from this debate in Seattle?  The real point is that every city has woken up to the fact that in the 90s and early 2000s a lot of cities got sold a bill of goods about what an arena would bring and financed them publicly and saw that they did not pan out the way they were promised and now no city, no matter how world class, is willing to foot these enormous bills.  amiright?  Add the recession into that and boom! It's not just Sac that has naysayers.

movie talk

This upcoming weekend is weekend two of the French Film Festival.  I attended two movies this last weekend, which is  indicative of the fact that there are hardly any good shows, or that I am now no longer following current music (or camping much).  Every year when the FFF happens I usually can't make it to any of the movies.  Oh well.  I like going to it.  It seems to be doing very well.

I saw House of Pleasures at the late night.  It's loooong, with no plot, and a ton of nudity, oh yeah, and a panther on a leash that acts like a kitty.  You'd think it would be perfect for me, but in the last 45 minutes or so it gets pretty darn stupid.  It's set in a fin d'siecle brothel in Paris.  Lots of good stuff but by the scene when all the girls are crying and slow dancing because one has died of syphillis and the strains of "nights in white satin" (I shit you not) are ringing out, it pretty much lost me.  Still fun.

The next evening I went to Hotel Du Nord, a classic, and they had a very old print and the sound was fucked.  More than the sound has been fucked in any movie I've ever seen.  There was constant crackling insterspersed with heavy WHOMP noises.  I heard that it was so back that the projectionists upstairs were turning the platters by hand.  The movie was not stopped and no announcements were made about what was going on.  I can't believe how many people stayed! I made it about 40 minutes and when it just got worse I tried to get one refund for my mom (I didn't ask for one) and we couldn't get one.  Amateur hour! I know it would have sucked to give people a refund but it was insane.  They should have just offered people passes to next week's festival.

I haven't heard a single rave about Moonlight Kingdom.  Even people who love him seem to not be able to find much good to say.

I like motocross. Who knew?

I went to see Luis Palau this weekend and my writeup will be in this weeks SNR. It was a'ight (I can feel Scott cringing as I write this.  Now that we're married we're connected like that) The motocross RULED

I was reading people and would like to share with you the difference between my wedding and Matthew McConaughey's wedding. Yes, I just talk about weddings now:
1) I did not supply the guests with African robes to lounge in.
2) I didn't have custom coozies that said "don't mess with Texas"
3) No Woody Harrelson dancing up a storm (I feel that he and Joel would find some common interests
4) I did not have Guy Fieri cooking BBQ the next day.  This is a point in my favor.

English Singles show on Friday!NOW WITH 100% MORE KNOCK KNOCK

a million ways to die

Stopped by Mike C. and Hailey's bday night last night.  Hung with my tiny buddy Prince.  He didn't want too much attention so he just hung out in my purse most of the time.  Josh Ploeg had made delicious empanadas and salsa (although I wouldn't try it because it was fruit salsa and I don't "do" fruit salsas).  He is doing a big picnic in Southside Park on Sunday afternoon. Smiller, what time does it start?  Who was there for the hot dog eating contest.  Tip for the Press Club: instead of all the disgusting beer they have get a gin and tonic with Hendrick's.  It's only 5.50 and Charles for some reason got his for two bucks.  What a shameless flirt.

This weekend is shaping up to be so busy! There's Luis Palau (not kidding - for a writing assignment), French Film Festival (with a dirty movie Saturday at 11 pm and a classic one Sunday at 730 - if anyone has researched which of the modern ones look good, I'd love some recommendations), Josh's thing...

English Singles show next Friday on June 22nd.  Come out and buy the single!  I am pumped for the Mantles show on the 30th although that house it's at is so teeny tiny! Hope the porch doesn't collapse.  A lot of the house show times in my life have been spent hoping that the floor/porch doesn't collapse.  Have I mentioned before that I once sat outside during an entire Bananas show because the building was such a fire trap? That sucked.  I also used to hyperventilate about it at the basement space where Troy Bayless used to have dj nights.  I think I have written about this before.  After 8 years of blogging...

The one place I don't worry is at the Four Eyes and Halloween shows at Gbombs house because during those times I am so happy that it would almost be the best time to go, although I guess surviving with a crushed limb and watching all my friends die would be pretty bad (on a scale of 1 to 10).

various things and stuff

Have you guys heard the news about Rachel Leibrock and Nick Miller being co-editors of the SNR (of course you have it's all over FB)?  I am really psyched about this.  I heard rumblings for a long time that there would be someone brought in from out of town to do this and I think that would have been a big mistake.  This is great.

Mike C.'s birthday Leap In The Dark is tonight, and I heard there is a hot dog eating contest hence barfing. Or booting as I have recently learned that the frat boys call it.

I went to see the Cap Stage play How I Learned to Drive last night and it is stellar.  This is the last weekend to catch it.  It made me cry, it made me think, it's got some comedic parts but I can't say they really made me laugh.  According to the play notes (written by their excellent dramaturge, Stephanie Tucker) the playwright was thinking of it as Lolita written from the nymphet's point of view, which I totally get and which is made clear in the scene that made me cry, which mirrors the comics reading scene in Lolita.  If you've read it you remember that scene.  The relationship between the abuser and the abusee is very complex and there are real feelings on both sides; it's not as simple as a leering creep and a victim.  My only beef (and I think B Street is a big offender on this point, Cap Stage usually isn't) is that the current parts are set in 1988 by my calculations and the star is wearing a completely modern outfit.  Wrong jeans, wrong shoes. 

angry crank

I was 20 minutes late to work because of that stupid yellow plane that flies over the causeway!  It filled me with rage, just because everyone knows that this plane does it but no one can do anything. I already emailed the FAA last year.

I don't know if you guys read Saveur, but the newest one also filled me with rage.  Almost every single article (at least five of them) started with the lazy "remember when?" intro.  As in, "I always picture my grandmother with a gin and tonic in her hand" for an article on making tonic water (who has the time?) or "My first taste of creme brulee was during a summer roadtrip in France when I was 16". These are not direct quotes but are based on two real articles in the mag.  This is just lazy writing and a tired cliche.  Who the fuck cares when you first experienced something?  It's usually not that exciting of a story.  Can we keep it a little more current? How do you feel about it now? I can't say I've never done it, but I try not to and I wrote a column (probably not one of my best) making fun of it.  It was about having shabu shabu in Japan.

At least half of my rage is because this type of intro usually reveals a very privileged background on the part of the writer (like in Bon Appetit last month, the daughter of some super famous painter - can't quite recall which one - recounts summers on a yacht in Greece and the cooking their servants did for them).  Yes, I am jealous because it is often the 1% that have the connections to get these writing gigs.  Vogue is dripping with this, of course, not that I'd ever want to write for Vogue.

gettin' hitched

As some of you may know, I got married to Scott (duh) on Saturday.  I only have a few pics so far, with more to come (although these are probably the only ones I'll post) so here ya go.  Can't wait to get back to normal heckasac, though! oh my god, blogspot is being such a dick about me adding some photos that I forgot at first. so, consequently the one at the top is all out of order, but it's us crushing the glass at the end of the ceremony.  it was a last-minute addition and I didn't know if I was supposed to do it, too.  I hope I didn't offend Jah

me and my sis

psychedelic

party bros

natural four eyes reaction

The Incompetent Jazz Quartet (IJQ) reunited for this occasion.

More bros.  Check out MS's tie and shirt combo.  Daring

The moment of joy (and relief)

Look at the Verge!

Franklingasm

You know that gas station across from Morant's? The one that has had the revolving cast of Mexican restaurants on the side?  The gas station has changed its name, and as I was walking into Morant's some trees were blocking my view and this is really how I read the sign!  It's actually "Franklingasmart" all as one word.

Pictures of London after the jump! And that's the end of vacation photos!

fucking finally, flam and fjords.

 So we left Oslo and went on the Norway in a Nutshell "cruise".  We weren't sure if it would be some cheesy tour group thing with a bunch of blue hairs, but it's not really a cruise.  You just go to the train station, get on a train by yourself and then do a bunch of transportation transfers.  It's pretty self-directed.
more fjord pictures after the jump

tired of vacation photos

I am kind of tired of vacation posts. You probably are, too. I still have to get to the fjords, though. Those were cool. Maybe tomorrow

Let's talk about Bows brunch! Here is the chef.  He said these were Mario Batali brand crocs, but maybe he was joking?

brunch attender

chilaquiles with poached eggs. I found out after I ordered that you can get an egg AND black beans if you choose.  Gabe made the chips and salsa and they were both excellent.  I also liked the corn and cotija cheese.  They also have Temple coffee and bloody beers, etc.

Natalie got eggs benedict.  It comes with bacon and asparagus

I walked around a lot yesterday.  Just feeling it.  This may be my favorite tree in sac.  It might not be obvious since it's backlit, but it's a palm that is completely blanketed in blooming trumpet vines.  And as you can see, it's like 3/4 stories tall.

National Day

And then we were in Oslo

Pictures after the jump