But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for Lola...

Lola is a magnet, always the center of attention where ever she goes. People love her. Now it's my turn to see what the fuss is all about.

We drove down to San Diego to see the amazing SPZ perform last night. I was ready to be in the same car and even be roomies with Folkhands' terrier, Lola. This year, I want to overcome all my fears and my terror of dogs has been the hardest to overcome. My one goal was to just have Lola on my lap and lightly pet her... Simple right?


We were all hungry so we made a quick stop at In'n'Out in Long Beach. Animal style was great at the time but haunting afterwards.


Checked into the W and munched on some passable sliders and cocktails at The Beach, their rooftop lounge (yes that's really sand in the pic). The crowd were TGIF types who were digging the light techno/house music universally found at every trendy boutiquey hotel lounge. But all of the sudden, Vampire Weekend came on followed by B&S. Felt like the invisible DJ was scanning the crowd and thought that he should play some indie music to satisfy us. But then it was back to self-inducing vomiting house music with some Brazilian flair thrown in. Thanks for being edgy DJ, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.


Kev was once afraid of dogs (never even touched one really) but on a recent SF trip with Lola, they bonded and are now mates. He said that Lola is special; she is super predictable so holding her, you know she won't go berserk and say, bite you in the face...


Lola with her surrogate master as Folkhands is still in NY.


After the thrilling show, we hung out at Tilbury's nice loft with amazing views of downtown (thanks for the late-nite yummy omelettes). Pictures of the SPZ show won't do it any justice as you had to be in that room to experience how such simply crafted songs can impact you so emotionally, so profoundly. These songs are romantic, mournful, full of rue and acceptance, transcendent. When I first heard Acoustic Mainlines around a year ago, I weeped. I loved how it made me feel even sadder and welcomed it. Then, when I saw the show for the first time last fall, the songs made me nostalgic of my past but never wanting to go back to that past. Last night, those same songs made me happy, I have so much to look forward to. SPZ is rock music. It's soul music. It's modern day classical music.


After getting up super late the next day, we headed up the coast to Encinitas. The day before, a surfer was killed a mile away by a Great White.


Lola is not fond of other dogs. This is the only time she barked and freaked out, a full on epileptic seizure. Conor quickly calmed her down and all was good again.


As we were pulling up into the parking lot at yummy Swami's Natural Foods Cafe, Jason Spaceman, in the same shirt and dark glasses from the night before, walked past us!!! Wtf? What are the chances of this happening? What are the chances???


This fortuitousness encounter gave me strength and I felt it was time. I motioned to Lola, then picked her up and put her on my lap. She was into it. I was into it. It felt fantastic. Major breakthrough.

We brake ornaments, and get them repaired. We bring up past events that hang in the air...

I went to a dirty downtown party last night. The band was okay cuz' the sound was crap. The DJs fared better but the facilities were just frightening, tragic. BUT I was with good friends and was surprised by the clean & safe embraces of old warm friendly faces. But it was still dirty.


The band.


The White Dog DJs.


It doesn't matter where you are as long as you're with good friends. A sweet quick visit from Amy (yes! we're all caught up with our stories now aren't we?), Parisienne Dorothée and Wiggles.

*P.S. Forget sweltering Coachella this weekend, I am absolutely besotted with the prospect of going to see Spz tomorrow night in San Diego. I am just beside myself right now... and I think I'm strong enough now to face my fears of dogs... Lola, please be nice to me!*

Put Your Arms Around Me

Here you go Nate. Satisfied? You deserve it...


Zach's Rose Bowl Air Jordans purchase this past weekend. I wonder how smelly this will be on the scorching asphalt streets of Manhattan on a hot summer's day?


Getting some yummy pickled and candied treats with my Vietnamese soul sister.


Shaka bra, my handsome Hawaiian sweethearts.

And I've been listening to this song on repeat for the last week... JLekman.mp3

Could it be... SEITAN?

"If you're going to kill the animal, it seems only polite to use the whole thing."

My blog is about being positive and I'm really conscious about trying to keep the entries Pollyanna as I'm so terribly repugnant and bratty in real life. Today, I had a friend tell me that we can't be friends right now cuz' he doesn't think he can take my blunt criticism as it's just too much. Just too much.

Here's the real me. I like food. Like A L O T. About two weeks ago, my culinary experience traveled to fantastical ecstasy, then plunged to plebeian grime and then back where it should be, top-drawer... From Bouchon, I dined at Real Funt Daily with some dear old friends* visiting from up the California Coast. They are vegan (maybe macrobiotic, I can never remember these things.). Anyways, what they thought was the "Shit" was really shit to me. My main entrée was the special salad which filled me up but gave me a tummy ache. Not good. Dude, I am besotted with fruit and tormented by veggies... I do organic almost all the time but RFD is so lame. Last year my colleague got kicked out of this joint as she was waiting for takeaway cuz' she was eating some ice cream from yummy Boule! They say they do not allow any diary products in their facility but leather is okay as well as mobile phones. WTF? How hypocritical. I've eaten Buddhist vegetarian food since I was a newborn. It's delicious. I'm all for it but when it becomes this inane, there's no excuse for it. Recently, I had a whole milk latte I got from Boule and took it to RFD and when asked about my beverage, I lied and said it was "soy" and they all smiled, super impressed and seated me right away.** I did right.


"The Shit"***

By week's end, I went back to what I know. I had Vietnamese seven courses of beef and felt right at home. I'll eat anything... anything... as long as it's delicious.


* I love my vegan friends up North regardless of their dietary habits.*
** I only went cuz' my bourgie friends love this place. I make a lot of sacrifices for my friends.**
*** I did not photoshop this image whatsoever. ***

Love the Game, Pt. 2

I got invited last minute to a Clippers game (vs. Memphis Grizzlies!) by Ez with his bro. Hanging with the Woods... Yes, I was in for a sweet time. OMG, what a freaking treat! There were so many fun dance performances in between breaks, not as transcendent as the Jabbawockeez but I'm so into dancing right now... Everything is happening the way it should be right now.

Awesome seats right?


When the Clipper Spirit Dance team threw out tees towards the end of the game, I requested the new friend I made in the front seat to make sure he got me one but I ended up getting one all by myself!!! It bounced off Ez's shoulder and landed perfectly into my palms. This is a first in all the games I've ever been to in the last decade. "Fan Patrol." How appropriate is the tee for my blog?

And the best thing? The Clips won.

Special Treatment

Was requested last minute by the sis to install all her window treatments and to rearrange her office. Yeah I was flown up to do some manual labor, some feng shui consultation, the usual. I'm pretty good with tools, especially with the electric drill (while on the step ladder too!) Yep, I'm pretty handy. A day of work and a day of play. It was totally worth it... I even had time to go to my favorite shop, the Painted Bird, and scored some really nice duds. Here are the "play" pics:


Met up with Will who I haven't seen in ages. He was once a fancy tie wearing BMW kinda serious guy. Still serious, he's all about "sexy" bikes (seriously, wtf does that mean?) and hypochondriacing on being a hypochondriac these days. Will, you're not manorexic, you're just really fit.


Will seriously pondered whether or not to purchase a bottle of the Green Fairy.


On Easter Sunday, the sis and I drove through bucolic Napa Valley. In the background against the clear blue sky, you can see a faint cross, we're in God's Country now.


Indian Springs, Calistoga. The hot springs, that geyser-fed mineral pool has magical healing powers. Massage, Buddha Pond, perfect 80s degrees sunshine. Complete relaxation. Nothing bad to say about this place except for the less than stellar customer service which is not surprising for this country bumpkin sort of town. JK :)


And the highlight of the trip was our dinner at Bouchon. The Maine lobster, pork belly with grapefruit frisée salad was absolutely D E L I C I O U S.


Made it back to the city just in time for my rock'n'roll nite with Jens at BOTH (my current fave, he blew me away back in LA a couple of days before). Sound guru, Mickey, with his new longboard he scored at SXSW. So sweet.


Yoshi with Jens. When he played this Arthur Russell cover (which I suggest you listen to while reading this entry) with his kalimba, that was it for me.


It was Easter. The Easter Bunny was at the show of course. I was thinking whether or not I was going to have Easter egg hunting dreams or Alice in Wonderland nightmares that night.

Too Many Kims?

Can there be Too Many Kims? I think not. I had the pleasure of spending some quality time with 4 tonight. Now that is something that might never ever happen again. Thank you Folkhands, Woju, Souri and lovely Olivia...

The birthday soiree. The big 4 0. The start of a very distinguished decade. I know all about it. Happy Birthday Mark. I love your Lautner house. The Mulholland drive home was a nice night cap.

Mama You've Been on My Mind

Seeing Bourdain's recent Romania show made me look back on my trip there exactly three years ago today. On a short break from tour in Europe, I flew to Bucharest to visit friends who were residing there on a 3-year post for the American gov't. I knew this was my one opportunity to visit a country that isn't exactly on the top of my all-time essential places to go to in my lifetime.

But Eastern Europe conjured up a magical, mysterious and darkly romantic visual for me. I was thinking more of a classical antiquity, medieval and Byzantine feeling rather than Cold War imagery here. I mean, I was going to get to go Dracula's Castle. How cool was that?

A beautiful and tragic mix of decrepit old and shining new, it felt like Prague 13 years ago.. on the cusp of a major commercial, economic, tourist and cultural boom. I felt like I was at a tiny gig watching a brilliant band right before they broke and you knew that the next time, it wouldn't be as intimate, raw or brilliant. Yes that's what it felt like.

***

Descending into the freezing unknown. I was broken down from touring, dead tired from days of sleeplessness but the extreme cold excited me as to what was to come. First stop, Dracula's Castle!



After a flight, then a taxi, then a train, then finally a local bus to Bran where Dracula's Castle resides.



Perhaps I was wrong about Dracula (I can be you know, it's rare but it happens). Tourism was definitely in full effect with this tacky banner. Watch Tony's episode on Dracula's Castle. Deftly funny and depressing. It's a total sham! I've been played like a fool!



Who cares that Dracula never lived here? There's proof that he at least visited it once. Always in denial, one visit from the "Vlad the Impaler" justified MY visit. It's what I had imagined. So gorgeous. I remember taking the deepest freshest breaths of air.



With Bryan, one of the nicest hosts and friends one is ever so lucky to have.



Moi.



My friends posing in front of Romania's national (yet reliable) Dacia automobile and the Communist block cement building where we rented an apt for a day. Lovely isn't it?



I love this photograph. Back in Bucharest, also known as the "Paris of the East," or "Micul Paris," in the Old Center. You know how I LOVE Paris. Dude, I will go to every "Little Paris" that exists in this world.



I don't even want to show you the new parts of Bucharest or Ceauşescu's tacky tyrannical parts. I just love the old parts, the parts that seem like they will fall apart any second but won't. Those are the best parts.



I like to obsess on the cold and this was the coldest place I've ever been in my life. NY in the dead of winter seems like summer to this place. I still loved it though.



My hosts, Nam & Bryan with their dog, Devi, whom they adopted when they first moved to Bucharest. This is where Nam first introduced me to Yoga Nidra. Their next post begins this fall in Chennai, India! I guess I'll be going there sometime in the next few years as I've been fortunate enough to visit them at their every assigned post.

UWS

A last minute getaway weekend to the Upper West Side.


The view from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center. Their tomato soup and accompanying grilled cheese are on par with mine which is to say that it's delicious, just exquisite.


I had hoped that it would snow and I got my wish Friday night. What a treat for a Californian. Perfect little fluffy snowflakes...


One of the only three friends I saw was... Matt Wolf... He just made this awesome Arthur Russell documentary. All he could talk about was his big zit (see left side of his forehead) and not about how we had madly fallen in love with one another at Jeremy & Jamie's wedding last September. Insensitive bastard. I hope that zit scars.


A little bit of California in the Big Apple...


Went to the New Museum to check out My Barbarian's video installation, "The Golden Age." You HAVE to go. The New Museum is what all new museums should aspire to: gorgeous roof-top panoramic views of the city (which itself was worth the price of admission), perfect sized galleries, good looking bookshop and okay art. Hell Yes!


Dolcetto and yummy artichoke dip at Freeman's with Gigi.


The other friend I met up with was Arthur at the Met. It was just so easy to just hop across the park from UWS... F*** downtown... The new photography gallery and the Courbet exhibit are a few of the many new things there. It's just one of the best museums in the world.


Damien Hirst's iconic shark. I mean the new shark. I mean the new preserved shark.


The one of two supposed highlights of this trip was to go see Keren Ann at the Bowery... Hmmmm. Let's just say her t-shirt said it all (C A S H). It was underwhelming, too casual, too short, random song selection... For a modern day chanteuse, there was just a general lack of flair. BUT her voice sounded amazing, the guitarist/bassist offered lovely harmonies and I scored a nice table upstairs! I'll still buy her records though.