cupcake club

Going to the goats

2010-03-07T18:26:57-08:00

Last month Holly, Pam, Jodie, Thom, Hal, David, Michael, Ania and I headed to Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero for a tour. We learned a lot about the operations, and everyone but me thought the best part was playing with the baby goats.

For me the best part was tasting all of the delicious cheeses in their store afterward, and then going to Duarte's for a 3-course artichoke lunch (steamed artichoke, artichoke soup, fried oysters with sauteed artichokes). They did not have artichoke pie or artichoke ice cream for dessert, which is good because I would have been tempted.

Magnetic, if not charismatic

2010-03-03T16:43:37-08:00

At Monday night's Magnetic Fields show at the Herbst, the music was most excellent, the between-song banter decidedly less so. Those people need to take a lesson on stage presence from Har Mar Superstar.

They did keep their clothes on, which Pam, Thom, Harold, Jenny and I appreciated.

Dance recital 2010

2010-03-01T12:01:57-08:00

My expectations were high for yesterday's school dance recital (the first one to feature Kiko as well as Isabel), and I was not disappointed.

Izzy was the jack-in-the-box in a group of toys come to life. Despite her big smile, I assume she's now as sick of the "Friends" theme as the rest of us.

Kiko and her friends were turtles. Just before this clip starts she had a slight wardrobe malfunction -- excessive jumping led to pants creeping down her butt. Her teacher stepped in, and the crowd loved it. I really need to bring a tripod or something to these events -- I can't hold the camera still when I'm laughing so hard.

Five years!

2010-02-26T13:55:03-08:00

My blog is 5 years old this month.

In 2005 many of my friends had blogs, now I'm the only one who posts with any frequency. Am I conscientious and focused, or is blogging over and I'm clinging to an outdated medium? Um, let's not answer that.

5 years / 467 posts / 539 comments / 37.28 average page views per day. Not "Huffington Post" numbers, but not bad. I love my regular readers! Thanks, guys.

If you want to see how far this blog has come over the years, check out my posts from Feb 2005. (It hasn't come very far at all, which I'm okay with.)

Songs for a cause

2010-02-19T16:58:26-08:00

My great affection for the original "We Are the World" song and video is on the record. I'm afraid my kindest words for the Haiti remake are, well, not very kind. What a missed opportunity! They should have put ME in charge of this. Well, me and someone who follows contemporary music.

At least thinking about charity singles reminded me of a great one I'd forgotten all about, Artists United Against Apartheid's "Sun City." Cool singers, a good tune, a clear message, and energy to spare. That's how to do it! And, apartheid is now over. Coincidence? Na na na na na na.

I want to go, I want to go, I want to go to Mexico

2010-02-17T16:57:57-08:00

Just back from Ixtapa vacation with Ted, Naomi, and the nieces. 10 fabulous days of reading, swimming, reading, sleeping, eating, reading, and UNO, UNO, UNO.

Books loved: The Piano Teacher, This Is Where I Leave You, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. Liked: The Happiness Project, Await Your Reply, When You Reach Me. Eh: Reproduction is the Flaw of Love , SuperFreakonomics.

Photos here.

Snowballer's Ball: The Return

2010-02-02T17:23:03-08:00

Hmmm, not sure what to say about this one. 22 of us drove up to the mountains last weekend to throw a dance party that, by accounts, many of us are still recovering from.

In attendance: Alix, Craig, David, Ed, Greg, Hal, Holly, Jay, Jen, Jeremy, Jodie, Kuze, Lauren, Leah, Lisa, Matt, Meredith, Syda, Tami, Ted, Walker and me.

Quote of the weekend goes to Jeremy, who said "In five years, we're going to have to have this party in the desert."

Photos here.

The Jill and Julia Show

2010-01-29T12:52:56-08:00

On Wednesday night Hunter, Leah, Jodie and I went to Yoshi's for a special show -- Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney performing together as part of SF Sketchfest.

They sang (mostly Jill) and told stories (mostly Julia) for a really entertaining 1.5 hours. Julia talked about the mechanics of frog reproduction, the frustration of sending letters to exes, the perils of obsessive knitting, and she and Jill being compared to The Golden Girls. Jill sang of love, Bobbie Gentry, aging in "the industry," and the BearBucks at 18th and Castro.

Celebrity non-sighting: Don Novello, who was apparently sitting in the balcony but we never saw him. (He, as Father Guido Sarducci, performed Julia's wedding! Jill was a bridesmaid. Awww.)

Listen Like Thieves

2010-01-26T17:20:30-08:00

Michael Hutchence, who passed away in 1997, can still draw a big crowd. Celebrating what would have been his 50th birthday Friday night: Alexis, Andrea, Craig, Dayton, Ed, Hal, Jen, Jodie, Julie, Leah, Mark, Tara, Ted S., Thom, and of course Pam, for whom this party is a tradition.

Though listening to 4 hours of INXS was quite enjoyable, in a once-a-year kind of way, my favorite part was when I sneaked in Journey's "Faithfully" (1/22 is also Steve Perry's birthday). I love a sing-along, and that was a really good one.

Photos here.

Har Mar Superstar

2010-01-24T17:15:38-08:00

My ears have finally stopped ringing from Thursday night's Har Mar Superstar show at the Rickshaw. Going to a concert that started at midnight made me feel pretty young and also pretty old at the same time.

Har Mar onstage is pure id. Typical stage banter ranged from "Give it up for me. I am awesome" to "Who wants to f**k me? It's possible." David G. and I were in the front row and had the best view of him stripping to his underwear, a staple of his live show.

This clip is not from our show, but down to song selection, gold arm-warmers, inappropriate audience interaction and egocentric proclamations, it certainly could have been. Love you, Har Mar!