Prouder Never Always.

One more reason I should have gone to law school

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:14:00 +0000

I was watching the news just now and they were talking about the Portland Trailblazers, and something I did not know, and think is quite cool, is that they have the first Asian American GM in NBA history -- Rich Cho.

According to the wikipedia entry, he is an engineer by training (how Asian?!) and then went on to get a law degree (again, how Asian?!) which is when he interned with and was subsequently hired by an NBA team. Very cool. (Although, why the Blazers got rid of his predecessor is a mystery)

I suppose my dream of working in the NFL might work out if I can figure out how to parlay this PhD thing into something with the Seahawks...

Real imposter

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 03:22:00 +0000

I've been in Seattle for about two months now, and I really like this town. I'm still doing some exploring, but we've already found a number of things to like:

a local coffee shop
a couple of good farmers' markets, and a regular market for those other days
a few reliable breakfast joints
a couple Asian markets
a Chinese pastry shop
a decent dim sum restaurant
a few good drinking holes
a homebrew ingredients shop
the goodwill (obviously)
and several good pizza joints

Not a bad list, so far.

But as anyone who's lived in the Bay Area for any significant period of time will know, there are bound to be few things that you'll really miss, especially food-wise. The three foods that I miss the most, so far, have been In-n-Out, a good burrito (especially, one from Farolito), and Zachary's pizza.

There is allegedly a good Chicago-style pizza place not too far from us, but we haven't gotten around to trying it. But I'm often skeptical about well-reviewed Chicago-style pizzas because as I've learned and heard, over and over, Zachary's is not authentic Chicago style. A few years ago, I tried "authentic" Chicago style, in Chicago, and it wasn't as good as Zachary's, in my opinion. I would say the same for other more "authentic" Chicago-style, like Little Star or Patxi's. This isn't to say they're not good, I just don't like them as much as I do "fake" Chicago-style. Long story short, I decided to try my hand at making my own Zachary's-style Chicago-style pizza.

I decided to embark on this mission because of a recent string of successful attempts at thin crust pizza. I have been using a slightly modified version of Emeril's pizza dough (I didn't use 1/4 cup of lard... seriously, he calls for 1/4 cup of LARD!!) Anyway, I noticed he had a recipe for deep dish pizza also, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I invite you to follow along this culinary odyssey (for astute followers, you've probably realized this is my first "cooking" blog entry). I went about making the dough and a sauce, and prep the other ingredients for assembly.

Dough boobs!

A concoction of mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes.

Some mozz, spicy Italian sausage, and red bell pepper

As I was reviewing the instructions on how to construct the pizza, something seemed amiss. It was a little different from what I remember from Zachary's. So I did a quick search and realized there is actually a recipe FOR Zachary's-style deep dish... n-Doy! Why didn't I just search for this in the beginning?

Anyway, the way they do it at Zachary's was different, as I suspected (and probably the reason people dismiss them as "authentic" Chicago style...) The main differences between these recipes were the dough prep and pizza construction. I was stuck with the dough I already prepped, but I wanted to try the Zachary's way of segregating the cheese and meats from the sauce (Who says hierarchies are always bad?)

I actually had enough ingredients to make two pizzas, but I am only posting pics of the better looking pizza (i.e., the second one). The pilot pizza was a little messed up because of the ad hoc dough modifications I made, and also I thought using a springform pan would be a good idea (it wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't my best idea, either - for you kitchen nerds, as you would expect, the springform just doesn't hold enough heat to make for a good deep dish pizza pan). So I placed part of the dough in the bottom of the pan (I used a cast-iron skillet on the good pizza), filled it with the meat, cheese, and peppers.

Rolled out first, of course

Filled it up (yeah, it's starting to sound dirty!)

and did some segregatin'

covered it with some sauce (dirty dirty) and stuffed it in the hotbox for about 30 minutes

And the results....

It looked pretty good, and tasted pretty good. Was it as good as Zachary's? Absolutely not, but I think after this first attempt, I know how I can make it better next time. Basically, I'll prep the dough the way Zachary's does, and instead of mixing the mushrooms and spinach into the sauce (I thought it would be a good idea), I'll just add the spinach and mushrooms in with the cheese, and leave the tomatoes alone.

In conclusion, I think this pizza experiment went pretty well, although it wasn't exactly like "authentic" Zachary's-style Chicago-style... but what is?

Where there's 'will, there's a way

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:54:00 +0000

One of the things I've enjoyed most, in Seattle, has been their Goodwill stores. I'm no stranger to Goodwill, but I never really spent much time at the ones in the Bay Area. The times I've checked them out (most often the Berkeley location), the offerings are generally mediocre, at best. For me, Goodwill was just a place to either kill a little time between classes or to find wolfshirts (the shirts, not the people) or other costume ideas. That is no longer the case, at least for the Goodwills up here in Seattle, primarily the Ballard location, which is, simply put, AWESOME.

First off, they have a generally excellent selection, and for whatever reason, there are a lot of donations, and a lot of inventory turnover. That means, there are lots of things to find. In the month or so that we've lived here, I have bought a nice shirt, 2 pairs of shorts, a couple books, a paper shredder, a surge protector, a salad spinner, a bathroom cabinet and an awesome Leatherman tool. To top it all off, these probably only cost about a hundred bucks in total. Since then, I've been addicted.

I go at least once a week now, and though I may not find things that I want to buy, there's usually at least one or two things that are just really weird or interesting. My most recent trip probably can't be beaten...

I was sifting through the office supplies, and buried under a pile of greeting cards, there was this...

That, my friends, would be an "Opulent Lacquer Cote Massager"... aka, a vibrator... or as I shall herein refer to as the "Goodwildo".

I'm about to embark on another visit to the Goodwill, partly because I'm curious is this is still there.

Well, Hello there

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:43:00 +0000

It's pretty hard to keep track of how many times I've stopped and re-started my numerous blogs over the years, but consider this as notice of my most recent re-start (or reboot, as Hollywood would call it).

So, what's been going on for you since the last time I posted?

Me? A lot! Here are the bullet points:

(1) I moved
(2) I got engaged (...to be married. I know, who'da thunk it?)
(3) I finished my bike
(4) I found out what happened to the survivors of Oceanic 815 (sort of)
(5) I went to Costa Rica
(6) I made pizza a couple times
(7) I found an awesome Leatherman at the Goodwill

So now, you're mostly caught up on things.

I'm going to try to write a little bit more now since I have more time on my hands, and if I'm short of interesting ideas, I can always just post a video of Dante like this.

This is just plain offensive...

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Gross.

I didn't think this day would come...

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:59:00 +0000

First off, congrats to Dr. Richardson on this day for making it official. I think she can prescribe narcotics now or maybe it was dispense valuable public health knowledge, not quite sure...

But that is not the day that I thought wouldn't come. No, today is also the day that I'm putting my foot down and saying this Bacon Resurgence movement has gone too far. It's not cool or hip anymore. It's the fixed gear bikes of the culinary world.

Yes, yes, yes. We all love bacon! (or at least those of us who eat meat or don't keep kosher or halal) Back when bacon was for some reason taboo, bacon love, or rather coming out of the bacon love closet carried a funny-in-an-ironic-sort-of-way coolness. That of course went away the moment everyone was jumping on board left and right. The outpouring of bacon love is pretty ubiquitous and borders on the edge of blatant commercialism, not for the love of bacon, but just for the love of what people think will make money. Bacon shirts? Bacon Salt (although I have to admit this is a funny ad)? Baconnaise?

Again, don't get me wrong, I still love bacon, and always will. But I'm tired of the idea that loving bacon is some hip thing. It's not.

Vamos Los Suns!

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:50:00 +0000

In case you haven't heard about it by now, the Phoenix Suns are trying to make a statement about what they think of the Arizona legalized racism law.

Good on them, just another reason to root for them (as if Grant Hill and Steve Nash weren't enough).

Musical Nostalgia

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:37:00 +0000

I may not be a real Canadian, by many standards, but I remember and was at Expo 86. which happens to be the new Wolf Parade album.

Gonna be sad to miss their show in Oakland, when I'll most likely, and ironically, be visiting Vancouver.

(see also, Deathcab song)

Television Injustice

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0000

For some reason I'm in a really big huff today because I just learned that Southland got cancelled by NBC. Not just any old cancellation, but a bitch-slap of a cancellation - to the fans as well as to the makers of the show. I got excited that it was coming back after a promising short run late last season. However, apparently after 6 or so episodes were already produced, and its expected return to air in less than 2 weeks, they canned it.

It wasn't the Wire, but it was still one of the better cop shows on TV recently. But I guess if you've been reading/hearing anything about NBC, they're pretty much fucking everything up (with a possible exception of 30 rock and office).

Just to rub salt in our collective wounds, NBC cancels a decent show like Southland, but churns out mind-numbingly dumb stuff like Trauma, which not only insults your intelligence but also the geographic logic of SF (you don't need to drive over to Hayes (not in North Beach), en route from Caffe Trieste in North Beach to Enrico's, also in North Beach. Also, they cut a scene from the most recent episode that was supposed to feature a friend.

On the bright side of the TV world, I'm really enjoying Modern Family and FlashForward.

Okstupid

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Interesting read about race and online dating, from of all places, OkCupid (via NYTimes)

A little bit of n-doy for anyone who's ever had to experience the dating world as a non-white person, but a very interesting way to quantify it.

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Also, Happy Birthday, Grandma!

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Interesting discussion about Healthy San Francisco on Forum. Check it out here.

One of the panel was a prof of mine, Will Dow, who is amusingly called a member of the "Bush Regime" by the GGRA.

Listen, enjoy.

N-doy!

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Obese Americans Spend Far More on Health Care

Really? How is this news to people?

Reminds me of the prescience of Paul Shirley when he wrote, "Fat people: pray univ. health care doesn't happen. If does ->daily abuse. We won't like paying for ur diabetes b/c u can't stop eating."

.

See Food Conundrum

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Awhile ago, I subscribed to the Farmed and Dangerous mailing list. It's an organization advocates against salmon farming. The mail has been spammish but generally harmless and occasionally informative.

Today, they passed along some info about the fish in major grocery stores. The report is put out by Greenpeace, so understandably I was/am looking at it with a grain of salt, but nevertheless, there are some somewhat surprising findings.

Looks like most of the major chains have improved over the past 3 years, but something that we should all notice is where the following three stores fall:
Wal-Mart
Costco
Trader Joe's

I was well aware that Costco's fish was mediocre at best. My mom gets salmon there often and I usually urge her not to. I've only seen farmed atlantic salmon with coloring offered at Costco.

I was, however, rather surprised by Trader Joe's poor performance. But then I remembered the last time I went there in search of fresh fish. There weren't any decent choices according to the guidelines that the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch prescribe, and that I usually try to follow or at least feel guilty about not following.

Wal-Mart may be bad or even evil in many people's eyes. But at least in terms of its willingness and ability to offer organic produce and (apparently) above-average seafood to many people across the country, it might not deserve the poor reputation it still holds.
(Also, they even back an employer mandate for health insurance, although I'm a bit more skeptical about their motivations there than with their food selection; perhaps to be discussed another time...)

This is not to say that Wal-Mart is doing a good job. Not even Whole Foods is doing a good job; doesn't seem any one is, at least not of the major chains.

Eating seafood in an environmentally conscious manner might be the most difficult part of being a responsible diner. I try to do my part, but as I mentioned above, I am not always able to. This scorecard is pretty interesting, and it makes me wonder how other stores (either smaller, regional chains; or local markets) do. I have the perception that some places I go to offer good seafood, but then again a lot of people probably thing Trader Joe's does, too.

If you are looking for a handy-dandy guide for all your seafood-eating needs, find one here.

.

Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Seems like everyone is issuing/posting some sort of michael jackson tribute... I'm just doing my part (by reposting Goh Nakamura's tribute)

I bought a new phone!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:34:00 +0000

No, not the iPhone. Despite reports that it may be the best phone ever made (well, with a few exceptions), I am fundamentally opposed to getting one - as a matter of price, lack of keyboard, and principle.

However, these things are not stopping hordes of prospective iPhone buyers and/or upgraders from waiting in line for the privilege to spend at least 500 bucks on a nifty little device... as evidenced here. My fave pic below:

I don't know which is scarier. The fact that new iPhone releases have become the new Star Wars/LOTR midnight premieres, or that he has not cut his fingernails in at least 6 months.

Oh yeah, the phone I bought. HTC Fuze. It has yet to arrive, so I have not played with it yet. But hopefully will be an upgrade from the crash-friendly Crackberry Curve or the circa 2005 Razr.

.

Policy Window in the Healthcare House?

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:26:00 +0000

"Providing health care is like building a house. The task requires experts, expensive equipment and materials, and a huge amount of coordination. Imagine that, instead of paying a contractor to pull a team together and keep them on track, you paid an electrician for every outlet he recommends, a plumber for every faucet, and a carpenter for every cabinet. Would you be surprised if you got a house with a thousand outlets, faucets, and cabinets, at three times the cost you expected, and the whole thing fell apart a couple of years later? Getting the country’s best electrician on the job (he trained at Harvard, somebody tells you) isn’t going to solve this problem. Nor will changing the person who writes him the check."

If you haven't read Atul Gawande's New Yorker piece about McAllen, TX yet, do it.

Lately, there has been a windfall of really interesting blogs, podcasts, opinion pieces, and other discussions about healthcare and health reform... it's HPM nirvana. Hopefully the public is reading and listening.

Also, these:

- about healthcare "Rationing";

- about how physicians affect the healthcare crisis;

- a good discussion about some of the health reform proposals;

- and some pro-single payer perspectives

.

Happy National Doughnut Day!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Please celebrate this hole-iday properly (wow, that pun was so bad, even I'm shuddering). I was even willing to sacrifice and get a doughnut from 7-Eleven because there are no decent doughnut shops near my office. (Yes, I could have walked a couple blocks further to Happy Donuts, and based on the quality of the 7-Eleven doughnut, I should have.)

The Last Picture Show

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Another one bites the dust. In case it's news to you, the Cerrito Theater is now officially defunked.

Last email from Speakeasy:

Speakeasy Theaters is signing off.

Thank you for 14 amazing years. What a long, strange trip it's been. We are proud of what we've built and are looking forward to whatever is next. We've built community, lovingly restored two beautiful theaters, met some wild and wonderful people and learned a lot along the way.

Our public demise has been glowingly at hand and we are here to bear witness, rejoice and mourn. It has been a fitful, exciting, exhausting and eventually frustrating tenure but it was a true representation of us. Catherine and I had a blast in the process and through the guidance of our genius shrink, learned much about our real selves.

Catherine and I are mulling over our next adventure. We need to walk the beach, clear our minds and let the universe speak to us. That's how we found Speakeasy Theaters, our publishing company before that and the neighborhood pub. The beach heals what ails. Thanks to all of you who have enjoyed what we have offered, who have shared in our vision and who love the idea of building and sharing community.

It is awesome and often extremely embarrassing to have your life play out in such a public manner. But you learn that you must strive to be bold in attempting to be true to your realest self. For better or for worse this has been an expression of our essence and people will judge us as they choose. Hey - whatever. We are at the same time amazing and flawed. Life is a great teacher. Rejoice.

Kyle and Catherine

PS. We had some wonderful employees. If any of them should pass your way, please offer them your assistance or a job. They served with very little compensation.

Potential good news on the horizon though... fingers crossed...

Equal Opportunity Disease

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Ohhhh.... this is news to me. Looks like I didn't need to do that masters afterall...

Mo' Ko.

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Another repost from Serious Eats' Korean Korrespondent.

I love these Korean Korn Dogs! Salivation, initiated. You heard it here first. I'm gonna make these...

Cerrito Speakeasy Theater temporarily closed!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:46:00 +0000

I just got word that the Cerrito Theater is temporarily closed, until May 28 (for now).

Craving Korean Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:46:00 +0000

On the heels of having an impromptu, delicious, post-workout Korean meal last night at Pyung Chang in Oakland's Koreatown, I have Korean food on the brain.

So when I saw this post this morning, I was reminded how awesome some of the "fast" foods in Korea are:

This takes the Chinese Hot Dog "bun" and kicks it up a notch! Those Koreans be crafty!

Missing the War(field)

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:02:00 +0000

I've been to my share of Ben Folds concerts during past decade or so, and he has been and continues to be one of my favorite musicians, although I have to admit my fervor for his music has fallen off a bit lately. Nevertheless, when I learned he was playing the (sort of newly-opened) Fox Theater in Oakland, I was definitely interested in seeing the show. I never got around to buying tickets however, due in part to my ongoing distaste for service fees rendered by Ticketmaster - in sum, one ticket would have run close to 50 dollars. I honestly just don't care to pay that much for a show (unless Radiohead or Arcade Fire is performing, and I'm not even sure about my willingness to pay for them).

Today, I received an email from Goldstar with an offer for discounted tickets to the show. $17.50 with a 6.50 convenience fee is a pretty good price for any venue, but for the new Fox Theater and for Ben Folds, it's a fantastic price. Alas, I will not be taking advantage of this offer due to scheduling conflicts. Great deal aside, this offer made me think of the state of the concert going experience, at least when it comes to indie-ish bands.

It used to be that Ben Folds or other more successful artists that would still be considered more "independent" than "mainstream", could sell out the Fillmore or the Warfield, but there seems to be a trend of moving into larger venues that they have trouble filling. It's obvious that the reason these Goldstar tickets are available because the show is not sold out (with 2 days to go) and they want to either appeal to some cheapskate holdouts (like myself) or attempt to allure others who are just looking for a good deal on live entertainment.

So what does it mean that Ben Folds couldn't sell out the Fox Theater? I see a few contributing factors to the non-sellout status of this show, but the main reason is that the venue is probably too large for him and his fanbase. I'm not really sure how big the Fox is, but I think it's larger than the Warfield, and probably smaller than the Greek. Last time he was in town, he barely sold out the Warfield. That was a smaller venue, with smaller ticket prices, and during a more favorable economic climate. Also, it was his first show in the Bay for more than a year, so his previous absence created a sense of urgency to buy tickets to that show. Given all those factors, I don't believe it was a significant sellout - based on my unscientific perusal of Craigslist for tickets before the night of the show. If there are a bunch of people trying to sell tickets significantly above face value, then it points towards a good sellout.

Based on the Warfield show (don't get me wrong, it was a really good show), I am not at all surprised that he couldn't sell out the Fox Theater. My guess is that Ben's fanbase is fairly stagnant and reasonably stable, meaning those who go to his shows have a pretty good chance of going to most of his shows, but this group isn't getting any bigger, especially when he hasn't put out an album of note in more than 5 years! All signs seemed to be pointing at a non-sellout. In fact, another reason I held off on buying tickets was that I could sense that I could get a good deal on the show because someone was going to cut prices on tickets - I was thinking a craiglist seller, but Goldstar getting involved is a little unexpected, though not at all surprising. Just as a sidenote, Ben has played a couple larger venues - Davies Symphony Hall and Concord Pavilion - but they were either in support of or alongside other artists, which would have increased the likelihood of selling those shows out. (Davies sold out, but that was alongside Rufus Wainwright, who always sells out SF; not sure about Concord where he was opening for John Mayer.)

Ben Folds is not alone here. A few other bands and artists whom I am inclined to see perform seem to be trending towards larger venues... The Arcade Fire played one of the best shows I've ever seen at the Warfield, and would easily sell out several nights at the Warfield, but did not sell out their shows at the Greek back in the summer of '07. They still put on a very good show, but they didn't sell out the amphitheater.

I see a couple things happening here.
1) What was once called/considered "Indie" music is getting more and more popular, so there is actually greater demand for these artists in a lot of places, thus creating an increase need for larger venues.
2) Most musicians make a big chunk of their money by selling concert tickets (and schwag at said concerts). By shifting to larger venues, you're potentially increasing revenue.

There are probably a few more nuanced things going on, but the core of it is that these larger shows meet demand and are likelier to bring in more money. The flaw in that is that some artists may incorrectly understand their fanbase and its willingness to pay more or see shows in larger venues, or just that they may not actually have as large a fanbase than expected. Furthermore, I personally feel that larger venues are not as enjoyable regardless of the artist. The best show I've seen in the past year was Will Sheff playing the ~200 person Cafe du Nord. Arcade Fire at Shoreline or the Greek is not as good as Arcade Fire at the Warfield; Radiohead at Outside Lands is not as good as Radiohead at the Greek; Spoon at Treasure Island is not as good as Spoon at the Fillmore.

With the continued popularity of large festivals or smaller bands playing larger venues, I worry that the overall quality of the concert experience is declining. I think I have an inkling as to why they are happening, but perhaps the rate at which they are happening is what's troubling me. Nevertheless, these can't be all bad. It probably means that small acts are getting exposure to larger audiences; others are getting more and more buzz; and perhaps it just means that concert goers' tastes are improving overall and the artists are merely trying to meet demand. Ain't capitalism grand?

We Love You, Cerrito

noreply@blogger.com (Bernie) — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Got an email from Speakeasy Theaters, who run the Cerrito Theater and recently-closed Parkway Theater:

Dear Speakeasy Patrons:

As many of you know, Speakeasy Theaters has been experiencing extreme financial difficulty since opening the Cerrito Theater. We learned much from the closing of the Parkway. Of most importance, we learned that our patrons would have preferred more warning of its impending closure. The El Cerrito City Council is meeting on Monday, May 18th to discuss the fate of the Cerrito Theater. Speakeasy Theaters has already agreed to leave as operators and we have offered to locate and train a new operator.

If any of this is of interest to you, I suggest that you attend the meeting.

Due to our present financial difficulties, the theater will no longer be opened Mondays and Tuesdays. Sorry for any inconvenience to you.

Thank you for your support.
Kyle and Catherine

City Council Information
The City Council meets at 7:30 the first and third Mondays of each month. When Monday is a holiday, the council meets on Tuesday.
Council meetings are normally held in the Council Chambers in the new City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Aveune (between Schmidt & Manila).
http://www.el-cerrito.org/gov/city_council.html

This is very sad, and if the Cerrito shuts down, a la Parkway, it will be a tremendous loss to the community and to the Bay Area. I would hate to take another picture like this...