Within a 24 hour period, the last day before we left SF, we grazed some of the great HIlo dining that San Francisco has to offer: late night, just before the 11pm rush, at Yuet Lee on Broadway in Chinatown; soup dumplings WAY out in the Richmond at Shanghai Dumpling shop; then around the corner from the Rector apartment to four star French dining at La Folie. All of it was great, in its own way, although we fed twelve people dumplings for less than the cost of one person at La Folie, but there’s more to be said about that…
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Rectors West
Here is a montage of a recurring motif during our visit to SF: getting out of the car on the sidewalk and waiting for the car to be parked (admiring the view) and the garage closed up. The hill, the pastel stucco, the clay tile roof, and the sidewalk level garages (not to mention the typical postcard view from almost any spot in the city) just says:
“San Francisco”
Rector’s Arrival
Eric and Alison landed in California on Thursday and were immediately whisked north into the wine country where we enjoyed two days tasting our way from Ukaih down to Sonoma with dinner and breakfast in between and an overnight in Santa Rosa.
The last time Alison and I were near Ukiah it was our pilgrimage many years ago to the Solar Living Center in Hopland where we learned about flushless urinals, functional passive solar heating, and other things that we’ve since applied in Maine. The center grew out of Real Goods, which is now owned by the “lifestyle company” Gaiam, which spun the Center off as a separate non-profit. The Center now hosts a growing summer festival, SolFest, which has become something of a Sundance for the alt-energy community.
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PRIMUS SUCKS!
Primus appeared at the Tabernacle in Atlanta last night, and good ‘ol Unk T made the scene. I was first introduced to Primus when Andy was skateboarding in Southern CA (“92 or so) as their music was used on a lot of the homemade skating vids. Les Claypool, lead singer and electronic bass player extraordinaire, organized the band in the late 80’s in CA. Their music is difficult to define; Primus has been called everything from “thrash–funk meets Don Knotts, Jr.” to “alternative rock” to “the Freak Brothers set to music.” Les Claypool himself once described their music as “psychedelic polka.” Primus is the only band with its own ID3v1 genre tag, as extended by Winamp. (For a sample, go to
Amazon for a taste.). They are characterized by their irreverent approach to music. The band’s catchphrase is “Primus sucks!” a tradition that dates back to their first album. To this day, at concerts, fans can be heard chanting “Primus Sucks!” until the band takes the stage.
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Happy Halloween from Maine
Pumpkin is from Bernis Doak’s dairy farm up Route 141 on the way to Monroe Center. Carving by Eric.
Bud and Lou do Windows
ABBOTT: Ultimate SuperDuper Computer Store. This is Bud, may I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I’m setting up a home office in the den, and I’m
thinking of buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name is Bud.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name is Bud.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Does it get stuffy?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don’t know. What do I see when I look out the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
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Happiness
Painted across the back of a huge dump truck parked on Sacramento Street near Steiner in San Francisco:
Happiness is takin’ a dump
The Buzz on Wine
Kelly and I dined at a spectacular Southwestern (Santa Fe) restaurant here in town called Agave on Saturday evening. It was the fourth or fifth time we have enjoyed their hospitality, but this visit was notable for the outstanding red wine suggested by our server: Tittarelli Tempranillo Reserva 2003. We were told that the grape was originally grown in Spain, in the area of Rioja. It has only recently been resurrected as a wine grape, due to the overwhelming demand for Argentinean wines forced the rediscovery of the potential of this grape.
Its flavor is BIG, with aggressive tannins, but is well-balanced, and aromatic. Very velvety mouth-feel with notes of wild fruit, black plums, cherries and raspberries. Gives a good buzz.
It was $35 at the restaurant, so I suspect it can be purchased in the $15-20 range at a jug shop. I highly recommend it!
Here is a link to a site about this region: http://www.welcomeargentina.com/vino/index_i.html
WHS 50 The Notebook
THE NOTEBOOK
Ohio is written, all I, II, and III of it. Some stuff just didn”t fit, but was too precious to ignore. Here it is.
CHEERLEADERS
The Reds have Cheerleaders! There are three and they dance on top of the dugout between innings. I don”t recall any organized cheering. Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah, Go Reds!
VEHICLES
I saw one Prius in Ohio. Of course there are more, but it is obvious that trucks (including SUVs and the giant “minivans”) outnumber cars by at least two to one.
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A Perfect Maine Autumn Afternoon
Notice the cows in the field below our garden.
RectorSite 