it is with a heavy heart that i report that this crab season — which launched last week — has been off to a very slow, grim start.

as soon as i knew of the season officially opening, i did research on actually learning how to crab — something i’ve wanted to do for years now. not offshore or anything, but on a pier, tossing some crab pots into the water. i think the park conservancy offers lessons too.

so i spoke with a colleague here in the know — he’s a skipper on a sportfishing boat — and he told me it’s pretty bad. no one’s been able to get any crustacean action. we then commiserated together about our disappointment of not being able to enjoy fresh crab anytime soon.

even if i can’t crab this year, i still want to do one of my favorite things — go to half moon bay’s pillar point pier and buy FRESH live crab right off the boats. take them home and create my own little crab feed. but that’s if the season even picks up.

without a robust harvest, how will we even have good community fundraiser crab feeds?!

last year one organization even resorted to switching to prawns since they didn’t have enough crab. and that is certainly not the same thing.

ohhh chris cosentino, how you confuse my feelings. so passionate you are, yet armed with a cocky and somewhat surly demeanor. it’s respectable though, a common genotype amongst many talented chefs. here’s sf’s very own star celebrity and king of offal in a gourmet.com video. haven’t found a way to embed, so here’s the link.

(yes. he is shaving a pig’s snout)

DUDE. the reno nugget rib cook off. man. that’ll be an epic blog post. stay tuned. so much crazy fun. peg’s pix — replete with bon mot captions — can be seen here.

tea time at the asian art museum’s MATCHA is this thursday, so come one, come all. only $5 for tons of tea and filling people watching. paul weller’s playing at the fillmore the same night. tempted. what time do you think he’d take the stage?

for now, just some random eye candy (for me) in no particular order:

a desert island fruit. golden kiwi. sweeter and creamier than its fuzzy green testicular cousin. with a hint of pear. delish. kiwis are good for you. my friend’s elderly mom eats one every day, and she’s a plucky healthy lady. kiwis are also called “chinese gooseberries.” i had to throw that in there.

FINALLY tried universal cafe. crossed that one off my list. didn’t disappoint. braised beef brisket hash with poached egg, salsa verde, sour cream (or was it creme fraiche?), and perfectly roasted taters. the chunks of meat were juicy and flavorful. definitely will go back. quaint atmosphere. the clientele is very SF, but not in an obnoxious way.

another conquest i can jettison from the list: dynamo donut out in the mission. i think it’s a husband and wife operation, tiny and charming with soul. they peddle “gourmet donuts” and yes they’re quite delicious. $2.50 a pop may seem pricey for a donut, but consider these quality nuggets of sinful sweetness. i wanted to try their banana caramel (win-win combo), but alas, we got chocolate star anise (rich and dense), vanilla bean glaze (more airy), and orange ginger (they only had three flavors). it’s a cute walk up structure too. lots of caffeinated beverage options.

the corner of 18th and guerrero was a madhouse on labor day afternoon. it was kind of gross, but what kind of person would i be (i know i’m misanthropic) to shudder at happy shiny people (including dirty hipsters) enjoying good food and the nourishing sunshine? crestfallen that they were out of the banana cream pie (an all time jyin favorite), i got the bread pudding, topped off with caramel-y bananas. perfect custardy fuel for the bike ride home.

oh yes. the last thing the internets needs is another banal rant about slow food nation. i went to the marketplace on friday. ambivalence. however, i did pay an outrageous $6 for these little pups. thank god they were delicious though, and supposedly regional to the south. perfect buttery biscuits sandwiching velveting shavings of succulent ham. with a side of fresh preserves. expensive, but worth it. never heard of or tried ham biscuits, so a first for me. disappointing? the let’s be frank $7 hot dog. nuh uh.

ain’t no party like a ham hock party.

over the wknd, i also managed to knock off two photo assignments for eater. bar jules and range. it felt productive. ps – i think i’m going blind in my right eye.

i have reservations about the slow food “movement,” some ignorant and unfounded and some because i’m usually not down with trendy “movements,” especially when they are founded on concepts that should be intrinsic to our lifestyles anyway. i’m a nasty naysayer.

regardless, i am a food fanatic (note that i refuse to use the tired term, “foodie”). my obsession with making every meal as pleasurable as possible is borderline unhealthy and problematic to my body image. so, despite my “hmm, i’m not sure about this slow food nation business” mentality, i can honestly say that i’m about to pee my pants with excitement about the slow food nation “market place” across the way from work.

they’ve done a nice job on the garden, but i stupidly didn’t know they were going to have vendors there as part of the food bazaar starting today. excellent. the vendor line up is thrilling: TWO ice cream purveyors (bi-rite and ici), fatted calf (fell in love with them during the cal farmers market days), VIK’s (yes, VIK’S), and a bunch of other heavy hitters. it’s not that big of a deal, but knowing it’s happening right outside our doors makes the convenience very nice.

is it lunch time yet?

also, the taste pavilions for the entire wknd are sold out. don’t matter, cuz tonight we embark on our own gastric adventure: the nugget rib-off in sparks, nevada. it is going to be a rib orgy of unimaginable, sick awesomeness. will report on that for sure, if we make it out alive and don’t succumb to heatstroke and/or heart failure.
fried zucchini, here i come!

oh god my mouth is actually watering.

courtesy of peggy

**addendum**: over the weekend my mom probably asked me five times with genuine care and concern, “are you eating organic food?!” to which i’d reply only half-facetiously something like, “pfft, of course. i live in san francisco, that’s all we do.”

yes, that is colossus seconds away from crashing through the sf moma. you know why?

the uncanny x-men move to SF in the newest issue, #500. AWESOME!

wow, i didn’t get think marvel could get me excited anymore but i gotta hand it to them, this was a wise move. NY is overrated, people! err, i mean, mutants, i mean, editors. thanks for finally coming around. feeling neutral that the art is penciled by terry dodson (good, but inappropriate) and greg land (meh but skilled). penned by ed brubaker, who used to work at comic relief. a bit of history in the making here, folks.

wonder if the asian art museum will ever make a cameo? now’s a good time to confess i used to have a crush on (arch)angel. gosh, i think it’s great that the crew bunker down in the marin headlands, one of my favorite places.

i think i might just have to buy a copy now.

make that two. one for keeping in mint condition and another for reckless reading (bathroom condensation is bad for paper yo). i kid i kid!

ps – i wonder if there are any comic geeks at the moma who are feeling proud right now (there it is again in the background). note the psylocke wannabe, and is the banshee wannabe taking a pic with his iphone?

pps – wolverine wandering noe valley. niiiiiice

pretty pathetic when you post about your weekend when it’s already the next one. oh well. regardless, it was more or less perfect. got errands done, walked a lot, spent time with friends, ate well, danced (thanks dj nako!), AND got plenty of solo moments in.

thursday night. peg and i went to the opening of the contemporary chinese art exhibition at the moma. we made the rounds at least five times to stalk all the art luminaries, as well as observe the wealthy, tall gallery folks. afterwards we went to anchor & hope and got high off clam juice

friday night. ambled over to j-town after work and took my sweet lil’ time soaking it all in. it really is one of my favorite recuperation activities. you climb that slight hill on geary, right on gough, left on post, and you come down on nihomachi. it sorta takes my breath away every time. at super 7, i caved and bought a new skinner design tee (yay!), which i’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of. in the mall, there were wish trees everywhere. this particular “i wish” note made me sad

and this one perked me up…right on brotha!

i ended up at halu, where coincidentally dan lee (scrabbel), goh, and gary were dining in the corner. they kindly incorporated me into their group. serendipitous and congenial. then, sleepover time with my buddy!

the ultimate therapy, no? it’s like sleeping with a warm sandbag. dude loves to crawl under the covers, but then he gets really hot and pants like crazy, which stirs me from my slumber. i lift the covers to offer him some relief, but he still seeks refuge under the blankets. repeat throughout the night

saturday. went back to halu (right in the neighborhood) to photograph it for eater sf. cozy mom n pop spot run by the sweetest couple you can imagine. he’s associated with the mermen, and his band (also surf guitar-esque) is the shitones. wonderful folks. their daughters work there. and guess what? the food’s good! yakitori, ramen, donburi, that kind of fare. they play great music too.

then i meandered on over to park life. took my time looking around. whenever i’m there i am reminded of how friggin awesome david shrigley is. say what you will, but i think we’re humor soulmates. he’s wickedly spot on, so droll and strange. matt palladino show was up, that was okay. nicole had seen his work earlier in oregon. i like this piece, cuz i’m a sucker for anything anatomical/physiological and creepy

later that night, after starting summer palace (a devastating piece of ambivalence and meditation on futility of relationships, with a gorgeous male protagonist) and gorging on four bowls of cereal (i’m a pig), we went to the hyphen issue release party (they used space ghost on the flyer, i was sold)

i love it when everyone’s just flailing about and having a crazy fun time, like dr. lam here

forcing friends to do your bidding (thx alex, peg, and hyphen!)

singing along

being scary and weird (what?! she played the smiths and james for godssake, so naturally i went nuts)

(pix by peggy)

sunday. ahhhh yes, the big day for…

loved it! saw it at the four star. wasn’t perfect per se, but mostly what a movie experience should be. i’ve always said that i’d be perfectly content with just watching hellboy and BPRD doing day to day domestic stuff.

then, walked to penny’s going away at the park chalet. came out on sutro heights park, greeted by a pretty view of ocean beach. the scene was quite lively. families, bicyclists, couples, dogs, the whole shebang.

penny’s going away to alabama for grad school, so susie threw her a very nice going away. park chalet gets a LOT of action. i can see why it’s a popular place. it opens up to gg park, serves rib-sticking food (didn’t actually eat much there, but the buffalo wings and homemade chips were fine), and is quite atmospheric.

after that i just walked through the park, exploring this and that. there was a lot of sweat buildup in my jeans; that was a bit unpleasant. cool, gnarly (get it?!) trees.

frothy water babbling around stepping stones near a small waterfall

kismet! peg and i were both in the park at the same time. we met up in front of the de young, then proceeded to park chow for dinner. an appropriate close to a robust weekend

perfect fries sitting in a shallow pool of flavorful steak juice. AMAZING

celebrated lady liberty with a super-spontaneous but fruitful gathering. to sum up the evening with a few words: tater tots, lucky charms, taboo, and fireworks called “the rebel.” laying low with good folks and lethal food? that’s the way to do it. SF’s too foggy for firework surveying anyway.

pictobrowser is good in theory but in practice a bit stilted. so here’s the slideshow if you’re so inclined.

i’ve made a nasty habit of injecting sporadic shots of me stuffing my big fat face, so might as well keep the tradition alive. call me chubby cheekers

imagine that, for whatever fortuitous circumstances, you were at stinson beach yesterday soaking up the sun, a respite from the usual SF fog. you’re on a rendezvous, or maybe you and your friends spontaneously drove out there right after work. your legs breathe in the gentle breeze, smooth sand tickles the webbing between your toes, and you don’t care where you left your flip flops because you’re caught up in the lovely sunset.

and then, before the sun has completely descended into the horizon, this happens. the ultimate killjoy.

i’ve been freaking out doing everything i can to make sure we get the word out about THIS. will feel much better when the kickoff event is over. til then, i’ll continue to be in pouty, haggar insular mode. it’s been a terrifically harrowing past couple of months!

so if y’all are free on thursday and have only $5 to spare, come on by for some acupuncture, qi gong, tea, shiatsu, live chinese music, cupping (heh), and a whole lot more. it’s a total steal.

anyway, i really dig this art by wu gaozhong. his show is called spectral memory, on view at the zendai MoMA in shanghai. it heaves a visceral impact on many levels; so repugnant, yet so…beckoning. of course, anyone who’s familiar with my neuroses will immediately know exactly why these objects creep the $*#! out of me.

i also gravitate toward this art because it looks like how i feel.

photos from this flickr account

i am drifting in a strange stupor, a numb head space. it feels like an out-of-body experience.

i touched down at SFO pre-dawn this morning, reeling from the emotions that came with seeing a childhood friend graduate from law school. i woke up grateful for the bit of sleep i could get, anxious about the work that awaited me. i checked my email, and found missives from various friends (thanks nat, branwyn, ryan) informing me that rory root had passed away yesterday. he was only 50. the news knocked the wind out of me. now, mentally, i’m like a horse with blinders on.

i can’t concentrate. all i can think about are rory and the store.

comic relief was a fantastical refuge, a dreamy play land. when i first stumbled upon it in college, i felt as if somebody had answered all my wishes for THE perfect retreat. it alone bumped up the value of living in berkeley. i spent hours there, lost amongst the awesomeness, reverting back to my childhood days. i loved it so much that i had to work there, so i did. the store not only remained all those wonderful things to me, but it also became a home away from home.

comic relief was/is one of the best things that ever happened to me. it generously bestowed upon me a fun job, amazing talented friends, a way to get even closer to one of my lifelong loves, and most importantly, it delivered on creating vivid memories that still thrive in my mind.

if there was no rory, there would be no comic relief. in this startling sense, i was deeply affected by this singular character (flawed, quirky, but with a good heart). imagine the stirring impact his passion–and his dedicated, desire to share this passion–has had on countless others. it’s a pretty special thing.

branwyn (CR alumna) says that the best thing folks can do now is patronize the store, and i wholeheartedly agree. it’s a fragile, transitional stage. before people check out with their purchases, they should play with todd and give him a good backrub. he, of all people, will have to bear the brunt of this severe blow. tomorrow’s new comic book day, so bring your wallets and a healthy appetite for visual storytelling. it’s one way to celebrate the spirit of rory, the store, and comics.

ps – the first thing i thought of when i heard the news is rory’s proclivity for packing hearty snacks for cons. early on, he found out i had a fondness for summer sausage and liverwurst. for subsequent cons, he’d always exclaim to me that he had packed these particular vittles in the cooler. also, he liked ginger soda a lot.

pps – landry’s blog entry really nails what i suspect is a common, complex sentiment amongst CR employees, past and present.

the joy that is comics; this magic happens all the time in the best damn comic book store on earth