Republican Just Desserts 
Friday, July 21, 2006, 11:31 AM - Politics, Food

No, this is not a post about what the appropriate karmic punishment for the Republican would be...we're all about the future around here (although I probably wouldn't stop you if you wanted to hang around the corner of Francisco and Divisadero with a cream pie). On July 31st there will be parties to kick off MoveOn's fall Congressional campaign - there are already more than 400 'Just Desserts' parties scheduled across the country, but you can sign up to host your own party here - we hope to have at least 1,000 events where people will find out more about how you can be part of the master plan we've been cooking up to win back Congress in November. Can't host a party? Find one in your neighborhood here. All the work I'm putting into building a great GOTV program will be for naught without enough people involved and making phone calls over the next few months. Besides, how many other opportunities to change the political direction of our country involve pie and ice cream?

Katrina Dinner 2006 
Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 07:23 PM - Travels, Politics, Friends, Food
My friend Justin in New Orleans has devised a kind of next-year-in-the-Lower-9th ritual for the lost and wandering tribes of the city. Part voodoo, part seder, mostly party (of course) it has 5 questions, candles, bitter pickles, and red beans and rice. Send it on to the displaced and repatriated you may have sheltered last fall.



Fairy goddaughter 
Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 02:28 PM - Friends

Last night I had dinner with my friend Sue in suburban Boston - it's immensely gratifying that her daughter (my goddaughter Sarah) is full of cute bizarre fashion sense (note the eclectic ensemble she chose for her before-bed gogo dance). I should spend more evenings making lychee ice cream out of yarn to accommodate the whims of the monkey king and his barbiedoll girlfriends.


LA food 
Monday, July 17, 2006, 09:32 PM - Food, Los Angeles
My dear epicures, I have been neglecting you. I’ve sampled several of the tastiest parts of LA, and haven’t been writing about them at all. Here is your belated roundup:

Zankou Chicken: the perfect picnic for outdoor films at Hollywood Forever cemetery. Great dolma, too, for nongreeks.
Ford's Filling Station: superlative duck confit flatbread, and the best west coast fried clams I’ve run across. Went for a birthday party, and a post-gallery opening dinner. Trout and lamb both delectable. The chef/owner is easy on the eyes, unsurprisingly (it’s LA, so yes he is the son of Harrison).
Edendale Grill: I’m not exactly sure why you’d go here instead of Blair’s, except for the sweet patio in the back for a cocktail. Food was fine, but my fried green tomatoes were awfully red. Jon’s steak was really tasty, but Susie’s risotto cakes were too lemony, even for me who loves lemon most of all.
Blair's: you guys know this is my favorite place in LA so far, right?
AOC: I do love to support the women chefs – and sitting at the cheese bar is sweet. Morel special was divine, if a bit sandy… other plates were not quite as inspiring, but I’d go back. And I did, and the tomato salad made me very happy, but not as happy as the brioche made my dinner companion.
Water Grill: only had very brief pre-Opera oysters and raw fish treats, but they were superb. Made me curious to try more downtown places.
Los Balcones del Peru – down home ceviche and that fully addictive hot green salsa are now sourced locally, which makes me feel calmer.
Geisha House: Slightly overbearing preparation, but very nice fish underneath all the flashy saucing. I get way too much of a kick out of the tacky hollywoodness of these sorts of places. Will remember fondly scenes of de-vegetarianization that transpired. Great cocktails.
Square One: went for lunch yesterday – some innovative touches, but I hear brunch is the reason to go.
Yamashiro : amazing location/ views, food was fine but not outstanding. Probably somewhat compromised by how strange but pleasant it was to be dining with Matt Stahl again after so long.
Dusty's: best brunch I’ve had yet here, both times. But Blair's is starting brunch soon, I hear.
Ciudad: the food is good, but it always feels a little soulless and corporate to me.
New Gelato place on sunset: Red plum/ gran marnier was the best sweet thing I’ve eaten in a long time.
Table 8: solid and delicious but not fascinating. Angel’s calamari was great.
Guelaguetza strange herbs, tasty goat, and the best black mole ever smeared across a tamal.

Still on the list, and feel free to make suggestions:
Philippe Beacon Chameau real sushi places Jar Brandywine R23 Cobras y Matadores Josie Mission 261 dim sum Grace…….


Mission Expat  
Saturday, July 8, 2006, 12:18 PM - Sex, Friends
At Dengue Fever at Tangier on Thursday I could almost pretend I was back at the MakeOut - a big red room, a Dieselhed alum onstage, lots of friends and fellow Mission refugees in the audience...at least one I had no idea was down here (Jeff Palmer). I still can't confirm the rumored arrival of Case Hudson but I hope to spot him soon. I was terribly happy to have a small coterie of new LA friends to lounge around with...
This photo (thanks Betty!) is
a) surprisingly nostalgia-producing (I miss the feta)
b) slightly inaccurate - I'm a greek Mission export now I guess
c) wicked clever.



San Gorgonio Wilderness 
Tuesday, July 4, 2006, 04:34 PM - Travels

This is where I hiked yesterday. I can't believe I can get my snowmelt swimming fix so close to (new) home. By August this lake should be the perfect temperature - now it's brisk and lovely.
This means my weekend included both ocean and lake dips, and it really doesn't get better than that, does it?



Mexican Elections 
Saturday, July 1, 2006, 04:16 PM - Politics
Update: Ugh. The last omen I want right now is a really really close election where my side loses...
I am holding my breath for the vote in Mexico tomorrow. How much will the rabid anti-immigrant rhetoric from up north factor in a Lopez Obrador victory, if he can pull it off? Seems like he's perfectly placed to capitalize on the always-simmering nationalist tendencies in Mexican culture and the sputtering inadequacy of the Fox/Bush alliance - especially given how badly the neoliberal project has failed the majority of Mexicans. And can anyone give me a good reason why WE don't vote on a weekend?

Sparring with the other side 
Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 12:58 PM - Politics
I was having another one of those conversations with a conservative (this time it was with Claudia's friend Skittles - how can a conservative go by the name of candy, anyway?) where they're just falling all over themselves about how RATIONAL I am and how I'm so adept at real dialogue. Usually I take this to mean that they just want to get my pants off (Sean, Ken) but I don't think that was Skittles' goal. (It also makes me realize how much my intellectual proclivities were shaped by scrappy debate of the CC core.) Are there truly no other fearless liberal chicks out there to drink Sancerre and fight with? Is our side really that incapable of articulating our positions or allowing that there are plenty of well-reasoned conservative arguements? Perhaps I’m just not afraid to admit when I agree with them, which I’m sure is refreshing. I usually end up respecting the logic behind most fiscal/ libertarian conservatives’ positions, while finding their baseline assumptions to be fundamentally flawed (e.g. the core lack of altruism/responsibility for the community that percolates through what would otherwise be fairly appealing libertarianism).

Our chat last night reminded me of the last serious middle east discussion I was part of (more accurately as a 3rd wheel in a slugfest between Nick and Adam)- I wish I had time to think more coherently about middle east foreign policy/ long term implications, and I wish I understood the Saudi and Egyptian internal dynamics better. I won’t concede the pure ‘I will save the world with democracy’ motivations that were put forward last night – everything there is too mixed up with oil – but I can’t totally discount the impact of the ascendency of idealistic interventionist neocons. I’m fascinated with the Iranian trajectory (which our Iraq quagmire is influencing in unexpected ways)– did you hear they just appointed a new foreign policy committee? Makes me think they’re less likely to become North Korea, more hopeful that the moderating influence of gradually increasing economic interaction with Europe and their profoundly young population can move them towards a less repressive, more democratic incarnation of the revolution. (Is Ahmadinejad a trend or an anomaly?) I don’t have a lot of hope that Iraq will become a shining advertisement for the benefits of democracy any time soon…and for all its flaws, Iran (as Pez pointed out) does have a complex and multi-layered civil society, and (in addition) a strong history of education and women's political participation. Where’s Mana Kia when I need her?

THIS afternoon 
Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 12:04 PM - Politics


You should be going to your local Rally for an Oil-Free Congress

Here's the summary from the MoveOn site:
Gas prices are off the charts, the situation in the Middle East is unstable, scientists are warning that global warming is at a tipping point, and last month, MoveOn members decided that "clean, sustainable energy" should be one of our key goals. That's why it's time for an "Oil-Free Congress."

On Wednesday, June 28th — right before the 4th of July when gas prices will be front and center as folks plan for the long weekend — we're going to be holding gas station rallies across the country. We'll tell Congress it's time to say no to Big Oil's money and become Oil Free.

I'll be at the Shell Station at the corner of Fair Oaks and Walnut in Pasadena at 5:30. What does one wear to a gas station?


This afternoon 
Tuesday, June 27, 2006, 05:05 PM - Friends
doesn't feel like California outside. The air is wetter and more present than usual and full of vaguely unsettling potential. I am far too sensitive to barometric uncertainty, and I feel like a dreamy addict when I'm in it. Two small raindrops on the way back from lunch (with 'Peaches', for those of you who know your Lusty Lady history) and a series of NYC references are making me homesick for summer drenching thunderstorms and a time when we couldn't all keep tabs on each other electronically.


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