Thursday, March 25, 2010
G Dazzle Theme Hour CANDY
This week's show was all about the sweets.
Here's the playlist: (the recording starts at Wilco, sorry. You an click on the links before that to watch them on youtube)
Bow wow wow - I want Candy
Chordettes - Lollipop
Tom Waits - Ice Cream Man
Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy
Tiny Tim - Good Ship Lollipop
Wilco - Candy Floss
Lonely Island - Ras Trent
Mr. Loco - Bubblegum
MC Chris - I Want Candy
Harry McClintock - Big Rock Candy Mountain
Dave Rawlings Machine - Sweet Tooth
Nacho Libre - Encarnacion
Celia Cruz - Obla Di Obla Da
Dan Wilson - Sugar
Sleater-Kinney - Buy Her Candy
The Raveonettes - You Want The Candy
Dead Prez - Be Healthy
Tom Waits - Chocolate Jesus
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Spring Break Beer-nanza
In which I go with Sean on his pre-wedding trip to San Francisco and Santa Rosa to drink some of the best beer in the world (isn't California great?!).
Monday night in Fremont, a warm, gardenia smelling city that reminds me of my childhood trips to San Jose. It's March and the air is already warm by 8 a.m. A jump across the bay to SFO and we're into the city. We've picked up Paul, Sean's cousin. He's a soft-spoken beer judge, humble tome of knowledge and Germanic brew-wizard.
A few circles around the block and we're parked in the hotel garage. Immediately fire alarms are going off. A soothing, calm male voice suggests we use the stairs- not the elevator- to return to the first story. No one down there looks concerned and the elevators are running so we unload on the ninth floor and fill the sink with beer. Then ice. I begin to wonder if we should heed the voice that joins us in our room. As we leave, the maid beams. "Juss a tess!"
Magnolia Pub and Brewery for lunch - bratwurst and sauerkraut. A pint of cask 'Cole Porter' and another of 'Stout of Circumstance'. The pub is bright and airy and mellow. A good start to the day. I've already decided to try and replicate the appetizer Sean orders. Candied dates stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon. mmm. Also, scotch eggs, which I'm amazed haven't caught on here on the west coast.
OK. Amoeba, which takes a good while to browse through and I still don't feel like I saw even half of it. The comm system chirps, "Attention Amoeba shoppers: if you lost your string cheese, it's at the information counter." At least I found some Patton. Spoon's good too. Maybe not ga ga ga good, but good. We learn the McDonald's bathroom gambit.
As the buzz wears thin we walk to Toronado, the unlikeliest best bar in SF. It's packed at 2 p.m. and it only gets busier. We swoop a table from a fellow wearing an early 90s Arcata Oyster Fest sweater and it's on.
My guilt for going into a dark bar on a nice warm day is quickly assuaged by the maelstrom of Toronado. It's a dark, loud bar. The mellowest band on the jukebox is .38 Special - which I play - along with Waylon and... something else. Most of the day we listen to Mastodon and QOTSA, which is somehow perfect.
There are hundreds of tap handles, stickers, autographed magnums and other paraphernalia. This place is legendary, and they know it.
I order an Alagash White, Double Hefeweizen, Bombay by Boat, an IPA whose name I've forgotten and... I'm still pretty sure I'm missing one - we'll never know. Sean orders a $35 bottle of Lost Abbey's Cable Car. It's an American Wild Ale, and it's sour like nothing I've ever had before. It's indescribable but it's heavenly.
My in-the-trenches seminar has begun and it's the best way to experience beer. I may not remember most of the details, but I'm developing a palette, experimenting and exploring. Life is good.
Sean introduces himself to the owner of Moonlight Brewing, who also happens to be delivering the beer (that he personally brews) to the bar. Talk about a one-man-band. By the time he carries his keg into the back, there's a glass of beer waiting for him at the end of the bar.
We leave with a healthy volume of beer in our guts. The sky is yellow with high streaky clouds. We get our picture taken in front of the bar. Apparently, I've forgotten how to smile.
Taxi to the 21st Amendment Brewery for dinner. I have two pints of their pale ale. It's good, but the pub is bright, loud and clean compared to our afternoon haunt. It's nice, but it feels gentrified and sterile. Sean mistakes imperial ale for "period ale," and our hostess pretends not to notice.
Bellies full, we're in a cab back to the hotel. Our cabbie mistakes us for gay bachelors, and roars through yellow lights. Cabbies on the east side of SF drive too fast.
Back at the hotel, I drink a tall can of Surly Bender - "the best beer in a can." Paul falls asleep with an empty can in his hand while Sean and I try to decide which $14.95 movie to order. Luckily we both fall asleep before charging anything to the room.
I wake up bright and early. Sean and Paul have been up for an hour at least, but 8:30 a few days after spring forward is good for me. Breakfast at the hotel ends at 9:30. We show up at 9:40. There's an above average diner around the block. A toothless gentleman wearing thigh-high white socks, pink crocs and camo shorts paces the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure he's the definition of "don't give a shit."
We spend a couple of comfortable hours in the car. From 580 south of Oakland I see an Old Crow tag daubed across a corrugated steel rooftop. We dodge around a smoking truck on a frontage road. We are not city folk.
Santa Rosa Travelodge: about what you'd expect. It's a great place to sleep, especially since it's only a few blocks from the Russian River Brewery. This is Sean's Eden. It's a damned shame he ate so many hotwings last night. He is physically incapable of appreciating his favorite beer. I start with Pliny the Elder, their double IPA. It's hoppy, slightly sugary and delicious. Then Redemption, a blonde Belgian. Happy Hops pale ale. Rejection Belgian black. AUD blonde. I now know what IBU and ABV means. Pliny the Elder again. I now know what a Randall is.
The Danish Dynamite, Sean's brother-in-law, eats an entire 16 inch pizza, then declares it disgusting. He will go on to eat an enormous sundae minutes later.
The Flavor Bistro makes me yearn for urban, sophisticated cooking. Lamb roast for $18. It's tender. I drink more Moonlight Brewing Company: Misspent Youth, and Lunatic Lager. I love lagers. We go back to the hotel satiated and drink Cazadores.
Congratulations, S+J.
Friday, March 12, 2010
G Dazzle's Theme Hour
Non-motorized transportation ... I decided to wrap up the theme this week. Enjoy (sorry, I didn't get the Proclaimers in time)
Flock of Seagulls - I Ran
Missing Persons - Walking in L.A.
Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills
America - Horse With No Name
Big & Rich - Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy
Gene Autry - Back in the Saddle Again
Bobby Darin - Michael Row Your Boat Ashore
Beach Boys - Surfer Girl
Weezer - Surfwax America
John Hartford - Gum Tree Canoe
Styx - Come Sail Away
The Thrills - Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Humby TV
Check out this site. These guys are doing awesome video productions about local arts, culture, sports, etc. A positive image of Humboldt County.
humbytv.com
humbytv.com
2010 Oscar Contest
That's right - the 2010 G Dazzle Oscar contest is underway.
In order to win this year's fabulous prize, simply post your predictions for each Oscar category into the comments on this page. The person with the most right answers will win the G Dazzle prize pack. You don't have to be local (Arcata, CA) to win.
To see this year's nominees, follow this link.
Be sure to tune in to The Man Who Knew Too Much on Friday at 5 for Oscar movie music and a few hints - if you need them. Listen live at KRFH.net.
- Answers MUST be turned in by NOON PST Sunday, March 7.
- The person with the most correct answers will win.
- Identify yourself - anonymous comments will not count (contact info can be arranged later).
Good Luck!
Here's a handy cut & paste template for you to post your answers in the comments for this page.
Best Picture -
Actor in a Leading Role -
Actor in a Supporting Role -
Actress in a Leading Role -
Actress in a Supporting Role -
Animated Feature Film -
Art Direction -
Cinematography -
Costume Design -
Directing -
Documentary Feature -
Documentary Short -
Film Editing -
Foreign Language Film -
Makeup -
Music (Original Score) -
Music (Original Song) -
Short Film (Animated) -
Short Film (Live Action) -
Sound Editing -
Sound Mixing -
Visual Effects -
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) -
Writing (Original Screenplay) -
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