Oh hi there, readers. Sorry I’ve been absent of late. The past few weeks have been quite busy for me socially. This has left little time to write new posts. Mindhunter came and went on Netflix and now everybody is geeking out on Stranger Things. My friend who works at that company might have spoken a bit hyperbolically while describing the “greatness” of the former. I enjoyed the first season of that new show, but it wasn’t anywhere near as brilliant as I hoped it would be. In fact I would go so far as to say that poor writing and direction was a common theme throughout the ten episodes. To be certain, it was no season 1 of True Detective. And as far as 2017 television is concerned, it was no Twin Peaks: The Return.
Speaking of Twin Peaks: The Return I went to a Halloween party this weekend. A guy there was dressed as Dougie Jones, and he kinda killed it. I usually don’t care much for this holiday, but for the second year in a row I felt compelled to dress up as the eggplant emoji and show my face in public. At least two people told me that my purple bodysuit left little to the imagination, and that I should consider doing more squats when I go to the gym. Ouch.
Last week my mother came to town. When she visits, most of what we do together revolves around food. After ten years of living in Los Angeles there really isn’t that much we haven’t done already, so most of our tasks this weekend revolved around chores. Most of one day consisted of re-planting the planters on my front porch with things that require less water than whatever I inherited from the guy who lived here before me. Even with a fancy modern sprinkler system I still managed to kill all my plants. Now there are pretty succulents that require water only once a week instead of once a day. I think I can handle that.
…I think.
We dined at Michael’s in Santa Monica one night, which I really enjoyed. Chef Miles Thompson (formerly of The Vagrancy Project and Allumette) took over the kitchen somewhat recently and is showcasing some great dishes right now. The next night we tried Uovo (also in Santa Monica), which was way less exciting. The remainder of her visit included trips to Bed Bath & Beyond in Westwood, a beachside restaurant in Dana Point, and sushi at our regular spot near the airport.
This past week Dinner Club met at The Venue in Koreatown, and boy was that disappointing. That place is probably awesome if you just want to go out in K-town and drink some quality cocktails, but the food was completely under-seasoned, and at times downright terrible (example: our requested medium-rare ribeye came out closer to well-down). On Saturday I went down to AleSmith to pick up my bottles of Double Barrel Speedway Stout and stopped at Societe beforehand. I’d never visited Societe before but the atmosphere was great and the beers were mostly above average. AleSmith was a blast, as they had a special Halloween flight at the bar (pictured above) and the list inside Anvil & Stave was even better. There was also a stop in Old Town, San Diego for fresh flour tortillas…which were incredible. By some miracle (or, more likely, a brain fart) I’d never visited Old Town before. I left impressed. It should become a more-common stop on future visits to SD.
And today is Sunday. I spent my day cleaning house and running errands. Now you’re caught up on most of my October. Feels good, doesn’t it? All right. Let’s get to the mix tape, shall we?
RULES for uninitiated noobs: I give birth to a weekly Mix Tape to be deposited on your iPhone or iPod or iBrain or whatever the industry is currently pushing on you. Sometimes there will be themes that link all the songs together, other times I’ll just throw songs at a wall (not literally – iPhones are expensive!) and see what sticks. Lots of new releases to share this week. From Spirit Adrift and Esmerine to my buddy Dan’s band Scavenger Hunt to the return of Swan Fungus favorites Die! Die! Die!.The goal of this endeavor, as always, is to pique your interest in these artists so you’ll support the artists and buy their albums.
01. Vattnet – Spun [MP3]
02. Spirit Adrift – Earthbound [MP3]
03. Deradoorian – Love Arise [MP3]
04. Scavenger Hunt – Eyes Wide Open [MP3]
05. Die! Die! Die! – How Soon Is Too Soon (It’s Not Vintage It’s Used) [MP3]
06. Mirah – The World Is Falling Apart [MP3]
07. Esmerine – La Penombre [MP3]
08. Andrew Bird – Gypsy Moth [MP3]
09. Tiny Vipers – Living On A Curve [MP3]
10. Ben Frost – If Anybody Asks We’re Already Fucked [MP3]
