Props Vol. 4

"Props!" is a reoccurring feature on this site that will basically consist of a short list of things that are cool, things that are awesome, things that are recommended, and things that rule. I, therefore, will be giving mad "props" to everything on the list.

1. Saturday Looks Good To Me. I've written about this band many times before, but mostly in terms of 'I saw them for the Xth time and it was awesome' or 'I can believe they aren't more popular.' Well, now I've decided I don't want them to be more popular. I want them to stay the same. I want to not have to worry about getting into their shows, and not worry about having room to dance about. I like buying limited run records directly from the bandleader, and not be afraid to talk to him. I like the people I meet at their shows, and I like that I never get tired of them. I like their songs, and if the rest of the world doesn't, that's their problem.

2. Seared Shrimp. Growing up in a very small town meant any seafood I'd eat at home would be that which our family caught ourselves, meaning fried fish and fried fish only, with occasionally deep-fried and beer-battered fish and sometimes, if we were lucky, frozen breaded shrimp, also deep fried. I began making salmon and tilapia a few years ago, but largely shied away from the more expensive seafood, fearing I'd fuck it up and waste a bunch of money. Well, seared shrimp is easy as balls, aside from the hassle of peeling them. Recipe here. Serve with pasta.

3. Over the air HDTV. My dependable ten-year-old 20" TV died during the NFL playoffs, and I did some research and bought an LCD HDTV two days later. While my choice of TV may be debatable (A few things disappoint me), the fact that I have watched the rest of the playoffs, many many many college basketball games, the Office, and fucking alligators eating antelopes on PBS in High Def all using a $10 cheap antenna is fricking sweet. I may cave and get cable next fall (Damn you, Big Ten Network!), but I said that last summer as well. Granted, having to occasionally get off the couch to adjust rabbit ears is akin to powering your car with your feet, Flintstones-style.

4. Brick. While Netflix has mostly afforded me the luxury of catching up on TV-shows on DVD (Fucking THE WIRE is as good as they say and deserves its own mention), it also has allowed me the chance to watch movies that I ordinarily wouldn't have the time or energy to seek out from a video store. I've caught up on a few old classics and have been unafraid to test out movies I haven't heard too much about. I had heard relatively little about Brick, other that it was described as a neo-noir and generally got positive reviews. I picked a night spent alone to watch it, and I was so impressed that I watched all of the DVD special features and then started the movie over again with director's commentary turned on. I don't want to give much away, not that the plot is the most important thing (and is pretty confusing at first), but it is basically The Maltese Falcon set in a high school, complete with antiquated gumshoe slang and all the stock characters from the genre. I also have decided that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the best actor around who is younger than me.

5. Proxy Servers. My previous complaints about work internet filters have finally been answered, thanks to websites that access forbidden websites for me. No youtube, but at least I can check daily the roster of The Racing Sausages, my head-to-head fantasy baseball team, currently in first place after one week.

6. Children of Men. Another movie. This one just came out on DVD as well, and I have purchased and watched already. But the real fireworks came when I saw this in a theater a couple months ago. I don't usually go for the bleak, post-apocalyptic thing, but this one completely held my attention for nearly two hours, with some moments so intense (not to mention technically amazing and real-feeling) that I nearly forgot to breathe. Probably best on decent home theatre set-up (the DVD looked good but I don't have any sound system), but definitely worth checking out. Watchability factor is high as well, due to the fact that the movie doesn't hit you over the head with exposition, and prefers to use background imagery to fill in the backstory. I wouldn't classify it as an 'ACTION' movie, but if it were it would be the smartest action movie I've ever seen, and probably was my most satisfying trip to the movie theater in my lifetime.

7. A Spicy Falafel Sandwich and a Large Lentil Soup from Sultan's Market, Chicago. Once again, the small-town factor affects culinary matters, as middle eastern food is something I completely ignored until the last few years. I did go a few times to the mideast restaurant on 55th street (I think) in Hyde Park when I lived there, but nothing compares to having an insanely cheap place (the above costs $6 total) for take-out within a couple blocks from my apartment. My stomach did briefly protest to the strange new combinations of ingredients, not to mention eating an entire meal without any meat that didn't involve pasta, but the taming power of hummus has prevailed.

8. Sexy Librarians. I don't think any explanation is necessary, though I will say that some people's idea of a S.L is to stick a Playboy Playmate in cat-eye glasses. This is not what I have in mind. While the term does refer to particular aesthetic features, ideally it would involve a high level of literacy as well, and I'd like to think I can beat at least a vast majority of Playmates at Scrabble.

We got Deserts, We got Trees, We got the Hills of Beverly

We're going to California on Saturday for vacation, driving from SF to SD in a hopefully satisfactory rental car. The weather is not going to be as nice as I had hoped; I picture CA, especially the southern half, as some sort of tropical paradise, so I was shocked to learn the avg temp for LA is only in the low to mid 70s, and for some reason SD is even cooler, despite the fact that it is further south. I'll probably go to the beach anyway.

Aside from the first two nights, no hotel reservations are being made and no events are firmly scheduled. We will be spontaneous and play it by ear. Most likely we'll take 3 days to drive from SF to LA, stopping at every chance we get.

Here's where you come in: since there will be a lot of time spent in a rental car, I am making some mix CD's. Last night I finished 'California #1,' which consists of both band/artists from the state and songs about it. I realized that I don't actually have a ton of music from the state. I downloaded some West Coast hiphop and that song from the beginning of the O.C., and had no trouble making a CD, but aside from Pavement and Deerhoof I don't have too much. East Coast rap is so much better!

I didn't save or printout the tracklist, but here's what I have from memory:
California - Phantom Planet (the OC song)
California Dreamin - The Mamas and the Papas
California Love - 2pac
Gin and Juice - Snoop Diggidy Doggy Dogg
Ain't Nothin but a G Thing - Dr. Dre
Going to California - Led Zeppelin
Some Weezer Song
A few pavement Songs
a deerhoof song
a grandaddy song
I get around - Beach Boys
Move to LA - Art Brut
Down South, Ten Hours, I-5 - All Girl Summer Fun Band
Expressway to Yr Skull - Sonic Youth (no idea if this song is about CA, but it is mentioned in the first line, plus it is a good album closer).

There were 5 or 6 other songs too, all really clever ones I'm sure, but I can't remember any at the moment.

Obviously I already have the obvious choices, but I'm going to make another CA themed CD and need some ideas. Death Cab is not allowed, this is for driving, after all. And whoever suggests 'Hotel California' is banned from the blog. So far all I have that isn't on the first CD is the Flying Burrito Bros. Oh, and the Minutemen, too, I just thought of that. I think I need some L.A. punk music but I'm actually not sure where to start there. Please leave your suggestions in the comments, along with any tips for things to do and places to go along the way.