Note to self: call ahead to order crepes.

Closing up shop for the holiday weekend. The streets of old pas is bedlam. At least the brass band playing carols is quite good.

news

new touchpad. new job. new lease on life.

Comics Factory in Pasadena. Was it always next to Zankou Chicken?

Flying Pig Cafe: eat the tamarand taco, the buns - all of them esp. the pork belly, and the duck confit mac 'n cheese.

The gremlins of deliciousness are still trying to break free of the Spitz ladies restroom, fyi.

Seeing jonathan gold at the KBBQ Cook Off - worth gold.

Tanabata wishes...

"I wish for more art and beauty in my life.

And food.

Always food.

-C. Law"

Made using a spare tyvek wristband, the scissors I carry constantly, a Sharpie, and a MOCA Geffen ticket stub.


Now on display in the Nijiya/Yagura fire tower courtyard, outside the Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo. Look for it!

Worst Comic-Con ever. Even the line for volunteers is 200ppl long, out the doors.

Checking into a hotel is so much harder when a boy arranges things for you. Wish i had my own arrangements. To fall back on.

Just saw two members of the Guild walk past me on the train. Apparently theyre in the next car over.

Jonathan Gold: Off limits

Ooh LA Street Food Fest: tickets still available at the door. Its so delicious *drool*

Dear Spitz Little Tokyo, the gremlins of deliciousness are trying to escape your ladies room by tapping out morse code in the sink. Thanks for the doquito(e)s..

Textured wallpaper -1 points. Gives the cockroaches to much grip. Thanks, Anaheim.

The IRS says...

...that amending a 1040 using a 1040x requires on average 7 hours and $100.

I'm about 4 hours in and losing my mind.

The instructions are 12 pages long.

I'm just glad I'm doing this now instead of waiting until April like a true idiot. Now I'm just a partial idiot for not sorting out my employment status immediately after my last paycheck from this previous job.

Castle Green elevator down again. What else is new?

Omg, the IRS is kicking my ass. They really put you through the ringer if you want to get your money back.

Extreme couponing at this year's Bargain Festival ~FOOD.

Pre-chalking the Pasadena Chalk Festival. Having a great time with Tom, Patty, Marisa, Red Rosie - the DooDah Queen.

Free Mondays at "Art in The Streets" (MOCA:LA Geffen) by Bansky

Banksy, I Hate Mondays

FREE MONDAYS AT ART IN THE STREETS
COURTESY OF BANKSY
June 13–August 8, 2011

The Museum of Contemporary Art announces today that British artist Banksy will sponsor free admission at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA every Monday for the duration of Art in the Streets.

“I don’t think you should have to pay to look at graffiti. You should only pay if you want to get rid of it,” said Banksy. “MOCA is very grateful to Banksy for his unprecedented gesture,” said MOCA Director and exhibition co-curator Jeffrey Deitch. “Art in the Streets is drawing record attendance, and opening it up to everyone will have a lasting impact on communities in Los Angeles, many of whom have not been to the museum before.”

The gift will help engage the exhibition’s diverse audiences and make it universally accessible—an important trait of graffiti and street art, which the exhibition illuminates.

Free Mondays at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA will be every Monday, from 11am to 5pm, June 13 through August 8, 2011.

from MOCA's blog.

omg star wars tenugui!

At Kinokuniya. Ridiculously expensive, and low on stock...

Oinkster: Father's Office

Today at the Oinkster: Father's Office, by far one of the best crafted burgers I've had. (Richard's was better because he ordered his medium rare; mine was just medium.)

Day 2 of the Oinkster Burger Week: the Tommy Burger. My belly is bursting just thinking of it.

Dude, everyone is crankier today at Silverlake Jubilee.

The Eagle is a great bar. That also happens to be gay. Really nice people too.

Damn, missed the Highland Theater re-lighting. Free cake woulda been nice.

When a cherry tree blossoms, is there a corpse? Risa wataya, in a novel.

Th JW Marriott in downtown is harder to get to than previously imagined.

Kulov's Tea Fest is like a mad tea party.

My train guy in 731b goldline from sierra madre (11:03 shiftchange at chinatown) named r.w. is awesome.

I Heart Pies? That too. But I Heart UNIQUE LA too.

Setting up at UNIQUE LA with diane, patina, carol, aisha, and sonja. Having a great time and eating fabulous food!

Glad to find a safer stop away from all-night convenience stores and late stations.

Fight for Air

At the Fight For Air Climb at Aon Downtown LA with American Lung Association. Smoggy today. Wish my air was cleaner...

At wizard world anaheim comic con, laughing about the ridiculousness of turnstile attendee counts. Unique attendee counts are the only way to go.

LA Asian Pacific Film Festival

Meeting Julian Ayrs from the tattler...

Followed by a custom burger from the Counter...

On my bike today I could have sworn I ran over a seemingly huge lizard right through the belly. I stopped and went back to see what happened to it, but it disappeared

Artisanal LA - Eat Local, Eat Well

I made the registration table look pretty. That was my contribution for the weekend.


Like Farmer's Market for Specialty Desserts...


OMG, I've never had so many generous samples in my entire festival-going career. These amazing vendors are so passionate for food - their products, their methods, and their source ingredients - that any individual who dares to be called a 'foodie' will find themselves in good company.

Try the caramels from Pasadena-based Le Bon Garcon - they're stirred and worked to within an inch of their smooth, creamy lives. (I hear he's got buff arms.)

Chat with the gentleman from the goat farm in Mojave. He loves his goats and the products made from them. (I told him I wanted to come back as one of his goats in my next life... He's such a sweet man.) I spied some herbed goat cheese preserved in oil at his booth that I'm going to hit up again tomorrow.

It really is the best 10 bucks admission you'll spend all weekend. Forget Coachella - Sugarbird's Sweets & Teas gave me a box of scones at the end of the day - for free. You'll regret not going.

The Artist Formerly Known as Swork

Reading an LA Weekly is my monthly indulgence.

The scent of toasted coconut granola at swork is like a siren, beconing me to crash against an iced vanilla latte shore.

Can't bottle this stuff...

OMG! I won!

From a crafting blog I follow:

Also, because I like free and I'm sure you do too, a giveaway! One lucky person could win this small handbag upcycled from a t-shirt. All you have to do is leave a comment. I would love for you to follow the blog and tell all your friends as well, but it isn't a requirement. I feel like you should follow the blog just because you love it. Winner will be announced Thursday March 31.

And here's the awesome bag:

I'm really excited! 7 must be my lucky integer.

UPDATE: It's the perfect size to hold my library books!

Umami

On Tuesday, March 29, for every burger sold at any of their five locations, Umami Burger will donate one dollar to the American Red Cross to benefit the Japan Earthquake & Pacific Tsunami Fund.

Normally I try to donate to organizations like Medecins san Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) that don't earmark funds for specific disasters. They were one of the first on the ground after the tsunami and they continue to devote resources to ongoing humanitarian crisis' worldwide.

I hope Richard comes back okay.

Food doesn't taste the same without him.

Oatmeal

I called 5 (FIVE!) different bookstores in search of "5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth". Each time I gave the title of the book I got different reactions, to the point where I started saying, "ummm... I think the title is like '5 Very Good Reasons'" or "The author/illustrator is Matt Inman..."


When Richard does a favor for me, I repay him in coffee. Oddly enough, neither of us had gone to swork in a long time, so we were probably overdue. We saw this car parked in front of us.

I call this 'serendipity'.

Thankfully the line for the book signing didn't go on very long. And afterward we went to punch dolphins.

Gallery Nucleus

I'll admit it - I might be stalking Michael Zulli. Just a bit. He was at a group show this weekend at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, one block down from a yummy tea place I frequent with my college friends. And then I read a familiar sounding name pulled from the cover of my Fables #100, Joao Ruas. (I wonder if Brasilians are trending strongly as rising comic artists (see Umbrella Academy).) Naturally, I cleared my schedule.


The theme was graphite; and indeed, it was one of those rare pencil shows that makes you linger at the shiny glass display cases, marveling at the linework and delicate shading. I could have stood rooted for hours.


Barron Storey was present. He kindly signed my well-tagged Sandman Volume 11 aka Endless Nights. I complimented the Mysterious Mister Zed on Fracture of the Universal Boy, of which I am his Kickstarter backer #503. I picked up a sketchbook from Shelly Wan, whose self-portrait as Salome is very visually appealing. But mostly it was Joao Ruas' work that blew me away. I even picked up a print, though I've been trying desperately to cut back.

You need to see these wolves up close. Their eyes glitter.

LA Central Library: All Book Talks Should Be Tasty

THE CULINARY HISTORIANS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PRESENT

ANDREW F. SMITH SPEAKING ON

“HOW FOOD WON THE CIVIL WAR” AND “POTATO: A RAGS TO RICHES STORY”

Saturday, March 12th, 10:30 a.m. at the Los Angeles Public Library

Mark Taper Auditorium, Downtown Central Library, 630 W. 5th St.

Free and open to the public

Andrew F. Smith will discuss his two soon-to-be published books: Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War (St. Martin’s) and Potato: A Global History (Reaktion Books).

Did hunger defeat the Confederacy? Culinary historian Smith will take a gastronomical look at the war and its legacy. From the first shot fired at Ft. Sumter to the surrender of the

Confederacy in April 1865 food – or its absence – played a crucial role in how the war was fought and its outcome. While the Civil War split the country in a way that affects race and politics to this day, it also affected the way we eat and drink.

He will also discuss the rags to riches story of the potato, examining how the once lowly vegetable that has changed – and continues to change – the world. Despite its popularity, in this era of fast food and health consciousness, the potato is now suffering negative publicity. Its health benefits continue to be debated, especially since it is most often associated with the ubiquitous but high-calorie french fry.

A reception with themed refreshments will follow the talk at approximately 11:30.

Chorizo & potato tacos with pico de gallo, fruit punch with slices of green apple, potato cake with a blackberry reduction, homemade potato chips.

ABOUT ANDREW F. SMITH

Andrew F. Smith teaches food history at the New School University in Manhattan. He is the author or editor of 19 books, including his most recent books Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War and Potato: A Global History. He serves as the editor in chief for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. He has written more than 300 articles in academic journals, popular magazines and newspapers. For more about him, visit his website: www.andrewfsmith.com

Kadomatsu

I had never been to the Terasaki Foundation Laboratory Building, so naturally I got lost looking for it. But just after the Chinese New Year, the Nibei Foundation - Japan Study Club was having a Kadomatsu show. It's pretty rare to see actual pine/bamboo/flower displays in LA, but I've understood them to be more common in Hawaii.

Ikebana instructor Youkou Kitajima of the Sogetsu School gave an interesting slide show lecture and demo of modern vs. traditional kadomatsu techniques. Of course, the best part was getting to make our own miniature kadomatsu. It was well worth the materials fee.

Kitajima-san is an awfully nice guy. He owns NK Nursery - specializing in Japanese pine - in the City of Industry. And he volunteers to prune the pines at the JACCC. He took questions and instructed us on the proper way to prune pine and fruit trees (which I never really understood til now).

Hatsu-ocha

From NPR:

The Japanese have elevated the everyday affair of tea drinking to a high art. In January, many Japanese will observe the "first kettle," the first tea-drinking party of the New Year. Novelist Liza Dalby lived in Japan for several years. This month, she describes her celebration of the "first kettle" in San Francisco.