I have mixed feelings about Starbucks—frankly, I think they burn their beans,so the only blend I come close to liking is the "mild" Breakfast Blend, but I do like their "third place" ambience and wi-fi convenience. This article from Slate now tells me how to get a smaller, stronger cappuccino, something more like the superb…
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Make mine a Venti? Give me a break! I once asked a Starbucks counterperson why they called their humongous-sized hot-milk drinks "ventis." "That's Italian for twenty," the barrista said. Riiiight, like any Italian I've ever met would slam down 20 oz. of coffee at a time.
Jimi Hendrix on Swedish television in 1967. Need I say more? Computer speakers don't do it justice, turn it up.
"Larry, I've just come from the Alexis Park." Tom Norton, editor of Ultimate AV" button-holed me. "I think the Pioneer speaker is worth a visit. It's one of the only new things I've found over there." Tom's words rung in my ears. Had to see it!
Pioneer's room was downstairs from the very hot $45,000/pair TAD Model-2 loudspeaker. Both speakers were designed by Andrew Jones—Pioneer is TAD's parent company—and under Andrew's leadership, a multi-national team reconfigured the TAD beryllium technology into the 145 lb, three-way, $9000/pair Pioneer S1-EX. Both speakers use the same…
Hansen is a new line of ultra high-end speakers from Canada, using proprietary drivers and said to feature extremely dense, non-resonant enclosures. The company is headed by Lars Hansen, who, as former president of the Dahlquist Corporation, is no stranger to the world of high-end speakers. The sound of the Prince ($27,000/pair, third model from the top) was simply excellent—an auspicious debut, I felt.
Climb the AP's stairs day by day,
Push on through the screaming fray,
Get those pictures anyway.
Push on through the screaming fray,
Get those pictures anyway.
Make each vendor take his pose,
Just don't step on any toes.
Catch the eyes and the nose.
Maybe a piece of gear in repose.
Singing...
What new stuff can you show me?
And how much is the owner's fee?
Run back to the Amerisuites,
Shrink those photos but do it neat.
Squash 'em down to 50 squeaks.
Only thing waiting is my sleep.
Don't forget to check those facts,
Write it snappy with lots of cracks,
Not too long, not…
Jon Iverson, Stephen Mejias, and I were sitting in the Venetian's food court after the Primedia cocktail party on Saturday night with Mo-Fi's Coleman Brice and Music Direct's Bes Nievera, Jr. We'd wanted to grab some sushi, but Tsunami (what an unfortunate name) didn't have a reservation for five for another two hours and our second choice, an Italian restaurant (what else?) had just laughed when we asked. So we wound up eating pizza slices off of vinyl tables rather than sashimi off of bamboo.
I didn't mind, because the companionship was what really made the meal. Jon and Stephen…
I'm pretty happy with the way yesterday's entry came out, but it didn't go the way I meant it to.
Jon Iverson and I were standing in the parking lot of the Amerisuites Hotel, loading the trunk of his rental car, and saying goodbye.
"Do you need any food?" he asked, offering me a bag of pretzels and some delicious chocolate truffles. "These are good for you when you're sick."
"Thanks Jon." I was happy to take them. They did make me feel better.
I can't remember Jon's exact words after that, but they were something like, "You must be tired of all of us…
Already tired of the James Frey and JT LeRoy scandals? Actually, that sounds like a Jeopardy question: Two writers Wes never heard of before they got outed as fakes.
Encyclopedia Hansiana has a list of other writers who have been "less than completely honest about themselves."
Any additions?
I like Andy Ward's illustration style, especially some of these recreations of classic album covers. Of course, in his "Fantasy League Allstars 1," he does have Hendrix playing guitar right-handed, but maybe in his fantasy Jimi plays rightside up.
The best food writing isn't about snooty reactions to snooty cooking, but is like a personal conversation with someone you care about. A.J. Liebling's Between Meqls: An appetite For Paris, Jim Harrison's The Raw and the Cooked, and just about anything by Ruth Reichl all come to mind. And then there's The Great British Crisp Challenge, which is lively and entertaining as all get out.
Sample sentence: "The British passion for the crisp is due in part to an apparent genetic weakness for anything involving the potato."