That doesn't count as candy. I'm mad I ate that.

Jenny alerted me to this hilarious slideshow of flavored candy corn varieties and Bon Appetit tasters' reactions. For the record I think all candy corn is gross. Not enough chocolate.

Lana Del Rey v. Lizzy Grant

I don't totally understand the controversy, but I do like the voice.

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif



Thanks to The Million Dollar Deli for the tip.

Best chocolate chip cookies of all time?

Apparently the secret is in the refrigeration time. Recipe here. They were good, but didn't change my life ... yet.

Oh little Scuba, where have you gone?

Oh Scuba in size medium, color forest, where have you gone?

Did I leave you on the floor? Did someone sell you at a store, are you lonely and looking for me?

Oh won't you come back to me?

Lonnie Loosie

I am a few months late to this article about Lonnie Loosie, a man who makes a living by selling single cigarettes on the streets of New York. This story is full of hilarious anecdotes and race-based stereotypes come to life: he employs two brothers named Norman and Carlton, his brand of choice is Newports, and he has been arrested approximately 15 times.

I learned what a loosie was after hearing the word on a Dave Chappelle special and asking around. There are some things I didn't learn in high school.



P.S. Thank you to the Robert Wood Johnson foundation for leading me to this article.

The Rapture - Fonda Theatre, Oct. 6 2011

We went to see one of Mike's favorite bands, The Rapture, at the Fonda (f you Music Box). I don't have much invested in the band but I was very impressed by the energy level of the crowd. Aside from LCD Soundsystem at the Palladium, this was the most active, dancing group of people I have ever seen a show with. Thank you, random fans.

This one is fresh from Brazil

I take a lot of gym classes, and the two key factors that determine whether or not I like a class are:

1) The teacher. Are they positive and encouraging without veering into bumper sticker mantra territory, or referring to a Maroon 5 song as their "new favey"? Then they have a shot.

2) Other students in the class. Are they wearing perfume? Are they extremely territorial? Do they talk a lot or look way better than I do? Then, I leave.

I have never had a teacher offer to be my fresh meat, but I still identified with this cartoon.

I still miss Kate's Bodyworks class at the decrepit LA Fitness on Wilshire. She inserted the phrase "no judgeemnt zone" into my life. Thank you Kate.

Birthday in Beertown (Santa Rosa)

Mike turned 39 over the weekend and we celebrated by drinking a large volume and variety of beer(s).

On Saturday morning, in keeping with Yom Kippur traditions, we flew to Oakland and picked up our rental car at Advantage. Did you know that Advantage car rental in Oakland is so far from the airport that you have to take two shuttles to get to their rental center, which is in an abandoned parking lot near a vacant field haunted by the ghost of John Wayne Gacy? Their office is in a trailer, and I had to wait a long time to pick up my vehicle because the woman in front of me in line didn’t have enough money in her bank account to pay for her car.

We had time for a quick stop at McDonalds (Mike got a breakfast meal, I got a 3 piece Chicken Selects) and then it was time for the North Bay Brewery Tour. We went to Lagunitas, The Beverage People, Bear Republic, and Third Street Aleworks. My favorite stop was Lagunitas, because I like their beer (esp. their pilsner and Lil’ Sumpin Sumpin) and all of their employees appear to be dropouts with criminal records, who are back on their feet thanks to the generosity of Tony Magee, founder and owner of Lagunitas. Lagunitas recently bought a ROLEC (huge German beer making system) that is so big it has to be brought to the US by ship and will be helicoptered into Petaluma.

Besides visiting Lagunitas and Bear Republic (Healdsburg is very pretty), my favorite part of the tour was when Mike almost strangled our bus driver so she would stop the bus so he could get out and relieve himself. He held out for a freeway offramp, near a Burger King.

On Sunday we went to Russian River and back to Third Street Aleworks. At Russian River, Mike had great wings and I had some good sour beers. Then I bubble-wrapped some bottles of beer, packed them in my luggage, and we flew home. This trip confirmed what we already knew: Mike likes IPAs and Belgians, I like pilsners, porters, stouts, and sours.

“Apples to Apples 4D” (The audience is pummelled with apples at the end of the movie.)

I don't care for romantic comedy genre nearly as much as Mindy Kaling, but I do have interest in seeing some of her proposed movies:

"Bananagrams 3D”

“Apples to Apples 4D” (The audience is pummelled with apples at the end of the movie.)

“Crest Whitestrips”

“Sharks vs. Volcanoes”

“King Tut vs. King Kong”

“Streptococcus vs. Candidiasis” (Strep Throat vs. Yeast Infection)

Kavinsky - Nightcall

Like a real creeper, I play this on repeat.

One Pot Kale and Quinoa Pilaf and Fraudulent Cabbage

Lisa is always singing the praises of Food52 but I have never really gotten into it. The homepage is too cluttered for me, and I am generally satisified by SK and BA. But I was looking for some low-carb, vegetarian (read: no pasta) inspiration and decided to make Suspiciously Delicious Cabbage and One Pot Kale and Quinoa Pilaf. I love love loved the kale/quinoa and would make it again a thousand times (adding more lemon juice and zest to suit personal preference). The cabbage came out very bland, and I can't tell if I made a mistake or if one man's suspicially delicious is my boring. Maybe both are true! I filled that void with more kale fried up with pancetta so I still came out on top.

Lee Clow At Ground Zero of California Cool: Think Different

DJMG: not just a purveyor of feet-tapping beats, but a published author as well. Excellent piece by an even more excellent human being.

On that note:

5353 Fest

While I was buying fall denim at the Neiman Marcus in King of Prussia, PA, some people I know were having a fantastic dance party in a parking lot.

Waters


DJMG


He's my Brother, She's my Sister

Dengue Fever

Dustbowl Revival

Class Actress was there too. Here is some footage of her elsehwere.