October Round-Up - 2012

It seems like I begin most of these posts with some variation on "OMG I can't believe it's already ____!" This month is no different. The holidays are barrelling towards me so fast, I didn't even really realize the first of the month had passed.

So let's pretend it didn't!

Movies Seen: Five. Only five?! And three of those were theatrical viewings. Click through to read my reviews of Argo and Cloud Atlas.

Books Read: Four! Brief reviews, where linked!

How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

The Girl In the Song by Michael Heatley

The Boy In the Song by Frank Hopkinson and Michael Heatley

Fancy Dinners Out: Two! Plouf, where I had mussels, some of which were not very good, and Locanda, where I had something I can't remember, but do remember was very good.

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Two pair! This pair of pristine vintage yellow pumps, and this pair of sparkly open-toe pumps that were super cheap at DSW.

September Round-Up - 2012

Oy, once again, having to actually WORK for a living is putting a damper on my blogging duties. So let's just pretend it's Halloween again. Woo! Candy! Tricks! Costumes!


Aaaand, September!

(And as an aside, I really really hate the new Blogger set-up. Blame it for why this post looks crappy. I tried and tried to fix it, and it was an exercise in sheer frustration.)

Movies Seen: Six, with three in a theater. Click through to read reviews of two of those.

Trouble With the Curve
Looper

Books Read: Four. Click through to read brief reviews.

Making of the Misfits by James Goode 
 

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 
 

The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey
 

When It Happens To You by Molly Ringwald    

Fancy Dinners Out: Six! 

Deviled eggs and BBQ shrimp at the Elite Cafe. 

Two dinners at La Traviata.   

Mac and cheese and steak frites at Grand Cafe.   

More steak at Forbes Island.   

Calamari steak at Tadich Grill.   

And, this wasn't fancy, but they sure made you wait around like it was something fancy, mac and cheese at Homeroom in Oakland.   

Live Shows Seen: None!    

Shoes Bought: One pair. Black ballet flats at H&M that I had to get because the shoes I wore to work that day tore my feet up.

August Round-Up - 2012

August was crazy. I got a job!

I went back to Palm Springs.

I GOT A JOB!

OK, not all that crazy, but a lot compared to some other months this year.

Having a new job has made updating my blogs a little more of a challenge, and I'm going to make it even MORE of a challenge by, once again, taking part in the Countdown to Halloween starting tomorrow. Thirty-one posts in 31 days! Eeek! Talk about scary!

So, in the interest of getting the hell on with it, let's get the hell on with it.

Movies Seen: Ten, with three in a theater. Read my reviews!

Hope Springs

Robot and Frank

Lawless

Books Read: Nine. WHAT!? (Click through for reviews.)

Grow Girl by Heather Donahue

Rancho Mirage by Aram Saroyan

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol M.D. Wallace

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

Mad Men Unbuttoned by Natasha Vargas-Cooper

Sybil Exposed by Debbie Nathan

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fancy Dinners Out: Six! There was celebrating!

Dinner at Wexler's, which was smoky goodness.

A return to the Bella Vista for some melt-in-your-mouth steak Diane. (Eventually I will upload the video of the preparation to Flambabes.)

Insanely good pasta at Farina.

Plus two dinners in Palm Springs: at TRIO and Spencer's.

Live Shows Seen: One, kind of. An afternoon Giants game that I guess was of some note because it was the day Melky Cabrera was suspended from the game. Since then, they went on to clinch their division to which I can only say: Melky who?

Shoes Bought: Two pair. These vintage gold stilettos, a steal at under six bucks. And these floral heels which look hideous but are actually awesome.

July Round-Up - 2012

July seems like a lifetime ago. Of course, the highlight of July was my annual trip to Palm Springs with the gals, and as always, it was fantastic. But since then, so much has happened! In fact, I went back to Palm Springs for three days just last week! And I start a new, full-time job this week!

Life is changing! For the better! Finally!

But this Round-up is shamefully late, so I'll have to speak of all that at another time...

Movies Seen: Only six, with two in a theater. Click to read my reviews of The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall.

Books Read: Seven! Bless vacation! Click through to read my brief reviews.

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Columbine by David Cullen

Good Enough To Eat by Stacey Ballis

Postcards From Palm Springs by Robert Julian

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

The Walking Dead – Vol. 15 by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

Palm Springs Holiday by Peter Moruzzi

Fancy Dinners Out: Six, with the majority in Palm Springs.

We ate at Melvyn's again, where we basically had everything flambéed. And really, the food isn't the point there. It's the spectacle and the fun.

We tried a new (to us) place called Spencer's, and I really enjoyed it. They had a great prix fixe deal and one of the choices was softshell crab, which I love, and they also had some really great cocktails. And! A tiny piano.

We decided to try a place called the Tropicale, because they have a Wednesday happy hour that lasts all night, and the decor looked kind of tropical and kitsch. But I won't be going back. The food was fine. The decor was fine. But we definitely weren't made to feel welcome. I've been to plenty of gay bars and restaurants, and have never been shunned, but here, the waiter basically looked at us, and then went and got a female waitress to wait on us instead. Which, really?

Of course, we also went to the Falls again, for steak and smoking cocktails. Can't go wrong with that.

And finally, a return to Citron. I had a delicious cold soup, but am drawing a blank on what I had as an entree. Doh!

Back in San Francisco, another lunch at the Leatherneck Steakhouse, an excellent bargain as far as steakhouses go.

Live Shows Seen: One! A presentation of music from Pixar movies at the San Francisco Symphony. It was a lot of fun, and yes, it made me cry.

Shoes Bought: Two pairs. Some gold flats from H&M, and a pair of Easy Spirit flats that look kind of like this, but in all black; got them for a bargain at an outlet store outside of Palm Springs...

June Round-Up - 2012

This Round-Up is a lie! A LIE!

Well, its date of publication is a lie. Coming back from vacation was a hard reality to face, and as such, I have fallen way behind on my bloggy duties. So, let's just pretend it's actually the end of July, and briefly look back at June, shall we?

Movies Seen: Twelve, with four in a theater. You can read my reviews of a two of those below:

Rock of Ages

Magic Mike

Books Read: Five.


Marilyn: Her Life In Her Own Words by Marilyn Monroe and George Barris

Would It Kill You To Stop Doing That by Henry Alford

Girl Walks Into a Bar... Rachel Dratch

No Cheating, No Dying by Elizabeth Weil


Religion For Atheists by Alain de Botton

Fancy Dinners Out: I took advantage of Dine About Town and had dinner at Forbes Island, (my second time there, and it's definitely worth it...if you're eating at a discount!) and the Burritt Room, (I like their curtained booths; food was OK).

There was also a Father's Day brunch at Town Hall, in which they sold out of the fried chicken--which is what my dad wanted to order--right before we got there. Doh!

Live Shows Seen: One. A live taping of a Kristen Schaal stand-up special for Comedy Central. We were seated in the second row on the right side of the stage, so when it's on, look for me!

Shoes Bought: Two pairs, though only one pair was kind of bought. My mother got a pair of these Chelsea Crew t-strap heels in a light pink, but they didn't fit, so I bought them off of her. And Michele gave me a pair of vintage white, black and gold stilettos, just like these, that didn't fit her....

May Round-Up - 2012

As June comes to a close, and July, with its accompanying vacation plans, comes into view, I look distractedly back at May...

Movies Seen: Twelve, with four in a theater. Some were also part of the San Francisco International Film Festival. You can read my reviews below. (I guess I liked Trishna the best out of the below.)

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey

Trishna

Dark Shadows

What To Expect When You're Expecting

Men In Black III

None of the DVDs I watched are worth commenting one, either good or bad.

Books Read: Eleven, but to be fair, four of those were more volumes of The Walking Dead comic. The non comic books are below.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Guts by Kristen Johnston

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Mid-Century By the Bay by Heather M. David

A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson

Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson

The Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

So, after reading and absolutely loving Cheryl Strayed's Wild, I had a desire to keep going on a virtual hike, so I read Bill Bryson's A Walk In the Woods. That book was so fun, I just had to read more Bill Bryson, and while the two that followed weren't quite as good as Woods, I still thoroughly enjoyed them, and plan to read some more Bryson books in the future. (I love the library!)

Fancy Dinners Out: I forgot one fancy dinner in the last round-up, probably because it was at the end of April. Dinner at Harris'! Prime rib! Good!

This month there were four dinners. Kind of.

One dinner was at the Boxing Room, pre-ballet. It was good, but they don't have a full bar, and that's kind of a bummer for someone who doesn't drink beer, and steers clear of wine when possible. But still, the food was good. Normally I would have had their fried chicken, but I had had some Popeye's the night before, so went "healthy," having fish instead. I think it was trout, grilled. Tasty.

Two other dinners were really just happy hours at Bourbon Steak . They had a deal where you could get three burger sliders and a delicious special bourbon cocktail for 20 bucks. The burgers were huge, for sliders, and soooo syum.

Finally, (literally), there was tea at Crown & Crumpet. They're closing their Ghiradelli location, and hopefully moving somewhere downtown. I certainly prefer downtown to Ghiradelli, just because I find myself down there more, but I must admit they had quite a nice spot down in G Square. Too bad.

Live Shows Seen: One, Don Quixote at the San Francisco Ballet. Sadly, it was the last ballet of the season. I loved going this year, and hope to go again next year, even though none of their programs looks that exciting. Alas.

Shoes Bought: Four pairs! Two of those are vintage stilettos: this pair with orange and pink stripes, and this pair of blue patent leathers. The other two were some cheap H&M flats in blue suede and light pink satin.

April Round-Up - 2012

Once again, a new month has taken me completely by surprise, so this is going up on "May 31st," not May 31st...
Summer's almost here! Let's look back at spring.

Movies Seen: Nine, with four, (well, technically, three), in a theater.
The best movie of the month was definitely The Cabin In the Woods, something I liked so much, I actually paid money and went to see it again. You can read my review here.

The other two, which I also reviewed, were Lockout, and Darling Companion (which was a capsule review during the Film Festival.)

None of the DVD viewings were that memorable, though I have to say I was kind of astounded by how boring J. Edgar was.

Books Read: Five. Click through to read my brief reviews.

Charlotte au Chocolat by Charlotte Silver

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman

Women Then: Jerry Schatzberg 1954-1969 by Jerry Schatzberg

Drive by James Sallis

Mad Women by Jane Maas

Fancy Dinners Out: One, at Le Central. I ate snails.

Live Shows Seen: Three! One was the San Francisco Ballet's presentation of three short works by Balanchine. (The last piece, "The Four Temperaments," was the best, which is ironic because I tend to prefer story driven ballets.)

I also saw the play Maple & Vine at ACT. It was fun, and worth seeing because of the costumes, but I'm not sure I entirely got what the ultimate message was...

Lastly, I saw John C. Reilly's band, which played at Bimbo's. It was good, and he's got a good voice, but they chose to do a lot of down tempo folks songs and country covers, so it was kind of a snooze. Something I'd like to listen to at home, but not exactly a rousing show...

Shoes Bought: One pair: these patent leather pumps, which are a nice combination of comfort and dressiness, and pretty comfortable to boot, on sale at DSW.

Round-Up - March 2012

Movies Seen: Twelve, with two in a theater. I reviewed one of those, Silent House, for the Appeal, and the other one, The Hunger Games, I had to go and see after it opened, like an animal! That one I liked, for the most part, but I hated, hated, the way it was filmed. The first hour of the movie is filled with shaky camera work and rapid editing, when there is really no reason for it. I mean, during close-ups? And calm moments of conversation? Really?? It was so bad I almost wanted to leave. Eventually it calms down a bit, but I dread the second movie if it's going to be full of that crap.

Of the DVDs I watched, I really liked Young Adult a lot, and I think I liked Melancholia, though that one is a bit of a stumper...

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my brief reviews, where applicable.

Starter for Ten by David Nichols

Whateverland: Learning To Live Here by Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt

Zone One by Colin Whitehead

Left In the Dark by R.A. McBride

Bringing Adam Home by Les Standiford and Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Fancy Dinners Out: One fancy dinner, at Alfred's Steakhouse, which was great. I hadn't been to Alfred's since they moved from their former Broadway location, but the place where they are now looks like it's been theirs forever. It's the perfect old school steakhouse.

And while this dinner wasn't really fancy, it did feature a star: My friend and I basically had dinner with Lauren Hutton at Hunan Home's in Chinatown. Sure, she wasn't actually sitting with us, but she was in the restaurant, right across from us, so I think that counts, yes?

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: I don't think I bought any shoes in March, but I did remember I bought a pair in February that I forgot to list: these pink flats from Target, which I got for 50% off. A friend also gave me a couple of pairs of vintage heels that were too big for her. I've only got a picture of one of them right now, though. Glittery!

February Round-Up - 2012

Once again, the end of the month sneaked up on me. I can't believe it's already April!

Let's get on with it, before it's May.

Movies Seen: Nine, with one in a theater. That one was Safe House, and you can read my review of it here.

Of the DVDs I watched, the best two were documentaries, and they're both terrific. Being Elmo brought tears to my eyes about five minutes into it, and Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles is just fascinating, but is probably better if you don't really know much about it going in.

Being Elmo is going to be PBS this Thursday at 10 P.M. Watch it!

Books Read: Five. Click through to read my brief reviews.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Shock Value by Jason Zinoman

Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

Coffee at Luke's edited by Jennifer Crusie

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foe

Fancy Dinners Out: Two. I'd never been to Bar Agricole before, and it was very good, although I can't remember what I ate! I know I drank an Old Fashioned that had one gigantic ice cube in it. The restaurant itself has a lot of concrete and wood, which, yeah, I realize most buildings are made out of concrete and wood, but the decor of this one just seemed a little off to me. But they have a large outdoor dining area that could be nice on a warm day. It was the first time I'd been in that area of SoMa in many years, and I was surprised by how dead it seems. It used to be the center of San Francisco night life, and now it feels like a ghost town.

The other dinner was at the new version of Original Joe's, now in North Beach. It's a testament to the quality of the restaurant that even though the chicken parmigiana I ordered was partially raw, I'd still go back in a heartbeat...

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Four pairs!  I got these Vince Camuto leopard pumps at Macy's for under 30 bucks.

These Lela Rose heels were only 19 bucks at Payless, and I also got a pair of silver flats there for about 10 bucks.

And finally, I scored the last pair of these super cheap green faux suede flats at H&M.

January Round-Up - 2012

Welcome to the first official round-up of 2012, happening on Leap Day no less. Does that make it more exciting?

Probably not.

But it does remind me, I never understood why the year with an extra day is called a "leap" year, when it seems to make more sense for common years to be called leap years because you are, essentially, leaping into March on years where there isn't a February 29th.

Right?

Whatever, let's look at January!


Movies Seen: Eight, with three in a theater. Getting off to a slow start this year...

The three theater movies started with a sing-along screening of West Side Story at the Castro, which was fun, but frankly, West Side Story isn't a very easy musical to sing along with!

The other two were The Iron Lady, which I didn't bother reviewing because not much could be said beyond, "Bad movie, but Streep was amazing," and Contraband, which I reviewed here.

Most of the DVDs I watched were lame, but I did enjoy Someone's Watching Me!, John Carpenter's 1978 made-for-TV movie starring Lauren Hutton. It's worth seeing because of her--she's just kind of a kooky character in it--and because, as far as TV movies go, it's above average.

Books Read: Four. Click through to read my (limited) thoughts on all.

Then Again by Diane Keaton.

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
and
Mockingjay, all by Suzanne Collin.

Regarding that trilogy, man. It started out so good! And ended so bad! But I'm still totally excited to see the movie!

Fancy Dinners Out: Four, although two were technically lunch. The first of the lunches was at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus, which I had never been to before, and would certainly go to again, if only for those popovers and strawberry butter.

I went to Disneyland for my birthday, and had what has now become a traditional steak dinner at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland hotel. Got the prix fixe. Delish.

On my actual birthday, I had dinner at La Traviata, per usual. Had pasta. Wish I had some right now.

And I ended the birthday month with another steak, this time lunch at the Leatherneck Steakhouse, which is in the Marines' Memorial building. It is pretty reasonably priced for what you get--which includes TRUFFLED TATER TOTS--and has a totally amazing view. I highly recommend it.

Live Shows Seen: None, but as I mentioned, I did go to Disneyland, which is basically a non-stop show.

Shoes Bought: Two pair, both metallic! The first are some goldish Old Navy flats that are kind of textured to look like lizard. Can't find a picture of them anywhere right now, though. The second are these silver American Rag pumps, which I snagged for under 30 bucks at Macy's.

December Round-Up - 2011

I just got done with a crazy week of birthday celebrating, which included a party and a trip to Disneyland. I'm still recovering, so this post is going to have to be a bit on the brief side.

So without further ado, here is a final look at 2011...

Movies Seen: Eleven, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of four of them:

Carnage
The Sitter
We Bought a Zoo
The Grey

The fourth theatrical viewing was Hugo, which I did like, but didn't love. It's was beautiful to look at, and touching at times, but really went on way too long.

None of the DVDs I watched was worth mentioning.

Books Read: Only two, but one of those books was over 800 pages long. That book was Stephen King's 11/22/63. Click through to read my brief thoughts on the matter. I could go further into it, but that would be spoiler-rific...

The other book was Joan Didion's Blue Nights, which I read in a night, and is good, but not quite as devastating as her Year of Magical Thinking.

Fancy Dinners Out: Four! It was Christmastime. Imbibing is de rigueur that time of year! The fanciest night was an evening at the Bella Vista in Woodside. It involved a limo full of friends, and lots of flaming foods. Check out my blog Flambabes for some video from the evening.

Bix has daily lunch during December, so that was a must. The most amazing part of that meal had to be the truffled deviled eggs. OMG so good.

We took my mother to the Buckeye for a birthday lunch, and the highlight of THAT meal had to be their oysters bingo. I could eat a dozen of those myself, easily.

Finally, there was a dinner at La Traviata, which is always good.

Live Shows Seen: One! The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker, which, as always, was tons of fun.

Shoes Bought: I don't think I bought any shoes for myself, but I did get a pair of new Keds for Christmas.

November Round-Up - 2011

Happy New Year!

Let's talk about November.

Yes, as is tradition on Musty TV, when the end of a month approaches, I talk about the end of the month before. Screwy, I know, but that's just how I roll.

In actuality, November, and Thanksgiving seems like it happened yesterday; the end of the year always comes too fast. And I suppose I should save my year-end reminiscing for December's Round-Up post. (Which I might try to publish before the end of January, just to change things up.)

But I will let you know that I've got some things in the works for 2012. I'm hoping some will be entertaining, for both you and me, and if they aren't, well, the world is supposed to end in 2012 anyway. We won't have to deal with the disappointment for too long.

On with the Round-Up.

Movies Seen: Ten, with three in a theater. Here are links to my reviews of those three (though to sum up, "The Artist" is the only one really worth seeing):

"A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas"
"Into the Abyss"
"The Artist"

None of the DVDs I saw are really worth mentioning, though I guess my favorite of the bunch was Errol Morris's "Tabloid."

Books Read: Eight. Click through to read my brief reviews, where applicable, (though, again, to sum up, "Among the Porcupines" was the most enjoyable read):

"The Prince the Showgirl and Me," by Colin Clark

"My Story," by Marilyn Monroe

"Among the Porcupines," by Carol Matthau

"Rules of Civility," by Amor Towles

"The Night Strangers," by Chris Bohjalian

"The Walking Dead – Vols 9 and 10," by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

"The Visible Man," by Chuck Klosterman

Fancy Dinners Out: Only one dinner, at Harris' Steakhouse. We sat in the bar area, the food was great, and there was a jazz pianist playing. Pricey, but a good experience!

Also had fancy tea at the Top of the Mark.

Live Shows Seen: None, unless you count my annual visit to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, which is always a hoot and a holler.

Shoes Bought: I am pretty sure I bought no shoes in November!

October Round-Up - 2011

Christmas is fast approaching, but it seems like October was just yesterday. Seriously!

No. Seriously.

But I can't dwell on that. I've got Thanksgiving food to continue to digest, and a holiday to plan. On with it!

Movies Seen: Fourteen, with five in a theater. Here are links to my reviews of those five films.

"The Ides of March"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"The Thing"
"In Time"
"A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas"

Of the DVDs I watched, I think I most enjoyed the latest adaptation of "Jane Eyre," this one starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska. And I probably least enjoyed "A Little Help," which was just a meandering and meaningless mess.

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my (often brief) reviews!

"The Internet Is a Playground," by David Thorne. (No review, but if you want to read the best parts of this book, just go to the guys site here.)
"My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me," by Hilary Winston
"This Is the Zodiac Speaking," by Michael D. Kelleher and David Van Nuys
"Popular Crime," by Bill James
"A Stolen Life," by Jaycee Dugard
"Record Collecting for Girls," by Courtney E. Smith

Fancy Dinners Out: Nothing too fancy this month. Had tea at Lovejoy's, (I think I prefer Crown & Crumpet), and dinner at Garcon, a small french restaurant in the Mission. Ate at the bar. Had a steak. It was good, if served a little on the cold side.

Live Shows Seen: Actually did make it to one show, the Dukes of Hamburg at Bottom of the Hill, as part of the Budget Rock Showcase. Hadn't seen them in some years, and it was as fun as always.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these American Rag t-strap pumps, which were on sale at Macy's. I love the color, and they have a hidden platform, giving height without the obvious look of a platform heel.

September Round-Up - 2011

Nearing the end of September, I realized it would be the first month since April that I didn't spend at least a few days out of town. And that would just not do. So a friend and I decided to take an overnight trip to the Madonna Inn, with a stop at Hearst Castle. I hadn't been to either since about 2004, and there were changes to both: At Hearst Castle, you can now wander around the grounds all you want after an indoor tour, which means if you want to hang out on a lounge chair by the pool for hours, you can. (Can't go into the pool, of course, but still...) And a pool was also a relatively new addition to the Madonna Inn. And a really, really nice pool, at that, complete with a fake rock waterfall and two hot tubs. The fact that the place has existed for years without it is kind of amazing since it is now, to me, the main reason to even go there. (Along with the pink steakhouse, of course.)

But oh my goodness, it is Halloween night, and it's almost coming to an end, so I should probably get this round-up over with!

Movies Seen: Eight, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of "Contagion," "Moneyball," "I Don't Know How She Does It," and "Killer Elite."

None of the DVDs I watched was memorable in any way, good or bad.

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my brief thoughts, where applicable: "Love Sick" by Sue William Silverman. "A Paper Life" by Tatum O'Neal. "Walks With Men" by Anne Beattie. "Found: A Daughter's Journey Home" by Tatum O'Neal. "The Walking Dead – Vol. 8" by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. "Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shtyeyngart.

Fancy Dinners Out: Five! Living large! I finally went to the House of Prime Rib, after many, many years. In fact, I think I was a kid the last time I went. I love it, especially how the meat is wheeled around the room in a silver zeppelin, but have to say, I was a little disappointed with my prime rib! I ordered it medium rare, which is how I always order it, and it's done me well in the past, but this time, it was just too well done. Not pink and slightly bloody as it should be, but pretty much cooked through. The sides were good, including the awesome salad that they spin tableside, so that almost made up for it. Almost.

Ironically, I had the same problem at the Gold Rush Steakhouse at the Madonna Inn, once again with prime rib. (Michele ordered a New York steak, medium rare, and it arrived perfectly cooked, so I'm not sure what the issue is! Other places I've ordered prime rib medium rare has always been fine, so, I guess I was just cursed this month.)

Meat was also on the menu at Absinthe, where I had the burger. This was perfectly cooked, and perfectly delicious.

I also had dinner at Jaspers Corner Tap, which isn't particularly fancy, but is relatively new, so on the list it goes. Stuck to smaller bites, with some mac and cheese, deviled eggs, sausage bites, and a chopped salad. Deviled eggs won the evening.

Finally, had one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had at Nizza La Bella in Albany, along with some very good French onion soup.

Live Shows Seen: None, unless you count the swing dancers that were performing at the Madonna Inn the night we had dinner.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these vintage "lizagator" pumps, found for under 20 bucks on eBay.

August Round-Up - 2011

In August I took a brief trip to Las Vegas, which you can read about here. Being able to take off on a spur of the moment trip is totally awesome, let me tell you.

But there were other bits of entertainment to be had in August. So let's look back at those now, shall well?

Books Read: Six. I found "Full Dark, No Stars" by Stephen King, a collection of short stories (novellas?), a little hard to get into at first because the opening story was a slow start. But eventually it kicked in, and I got through the collection quickly, as tends to be the case with better King.

Another edition of "The Walking Dead" (Vol. 7) was followed by two memoirs about love addiction, "Love Junkie" by Rachel Resnick and "Desire" by Susan Cheever. I read an article on the subject that was kind of interesting, and then looked into some books about it, and those were at the library, so I checked 'em out, and read 'em...Unfortunately, neither were that compelling.

Jenna Jameson's "How To Make Love Like a Porn Star" seems like a natural follow-up, doesn't it? But really, it was a bit of a coincidence. I borrowed it to read in Vegas because it seemed like the perfect combo.

Finally, there was "Summer and the City" by Candace Bushnell, the second in her series about Carrie Bradshaw in her younger years. This one takes place in the early 80's, and I have to say, young Carrie Bradshaw is a lot more tolerable than later Carrie Bradshaw ended up being...

Movies Seen: Eight, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes;" "Final Destination 5;" "Conan the Barbarian;" and "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy."

Fancy Dinners Out: Three. Two of those dinners were in Vegas, and the other was at the bar at the Big 4. (Chicken pot pie. Mmmmmmmm.)

Live Shows Seen: One! Adele at the Greek Theater. So much about this show was just pissing me off. First, it was supposed to be at the Warfield at the beginning of June, which was great. I can walk there, and I got first row balcony seats. But then her album was released, it was huge hit, and the show was moved to the Greek Theater in Berkeley. I hate the Greek Theater. It's hard to get to; it's uncomfortable; and it's too big. But fine. They were going to reserve a section for people who had reserved balcony seats, so that was good, even if it still meant we'd have to get there early and wait in line to guarantee a good spot.

Since the show was the first weekend of June, that meant my trip to New Orleans would have to end by a certain date, even though it would have been cool to be able to stay longer. So, of course when I got back to SF, the show was rescheduled because Adele got sick.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Luckily, it was rescheduled for a day I was actually in town, and in the end, we had good seats, and it was a fantastic show, but man. Such rigmarole!

Here's one of my favorite moments from the evening:



Shoes Bought: Two pairs. One are this pair of vintage brocade pumps, bought on Haight Street. The other are these fake TOMS called Bob's, in blue. Sketchers pretty much ripped off the TOMS concept and released their own version, but whatever. They were cute, comfortable, and cheap!

July Round-Up - 2011

July July July. Oh, how I miss July, mainly because I spent a week of it in Palm Springs, and I am still pining for it.

So let's look back on that magic month, shall we?

Movies Seen: Six, with two in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of "Cowboys and Aliens" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love." (You might be surprised to find out which one I liked more.)

The best DVD viewing of the month was definitely "Source Code." Why wasn't that movie a bigger hit?

Books Read: Nine. I wanted to get one more "Little House" under my belt before departing for the desert, and it ended up being "The Long Winter," which is the total opposite of a summer read. Although, I suppose it could help to cool you off by reading about months of relentless snow...

My first poolside read was "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" by Janelle Brown, which was really silly, but a perfect thing to read by the pool. It kind of reminded me a bit of "Valley of the Dolls," both because of it's kinda bad writing, and because of its subject matter (rich white ladies with drug problems).

Of course, a trip to Palm Springs would not be complete with reading at least one Sookie Stackhouse book, which I did: "Dead In the Family." And if you were to ask my right now what the story was this time around, I would not be able to tell you! Memorable!

Once I got back from my vacation, I just had to check out "Bedtime Stories of the Legendary Ingleside Inn" by Mel Haber from the library since we had a memorable couple of nights in his restaurant. The book is a hoot, mainly because most of the stories he tells are about how he's an easily conned rube.

I actually ended up reading more books after my vacation than on, probably because I just didn't want to leave the house and face the reality of being back home! So, add "The Psychopath Test" by Jon Ronson to the list. I sat down to read the first few pages as I was getting to bed one night, just to decide on what to read next, and I ended up reading it for the next 30 minutes, it was that engrossing.

"The Illumination" by Kevin Brockmeier, was a little less engrossing, and some of the stories within (as it is more a series of stories than a novel) were better than others. Still, I just didn't really think the whole "illumination" conceit worked, or at least, was I wasn't able to get why it needed to be in there at all...

I had been meaning to read "Starting Out In the Evening," by Brian Morton, ever since I saw the movie, and for whatever reason, finally got around to it. It was probably the best book I read in July.

"Ant Farm" by Simon Rich is a series of comedic vignettes, some very, very short, and some funnier than others. Kind of reminded me of Steve Martin's first book, "Cruel Shoes."

And finally, I ended the month with another "Little House" book, this time "Little Town on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've only got two more left, and I think I am going to savor them...

Fancy Dinners Out: Five, and most of those dinners were in Palm Springs.

Once again we ventured to Las Casuelas Terraza, not once but twice. I wish I could find somewhere around here that does a chicken ranchero like theirs!

On our second night in town, we ventured to Melvyn's at the Ingleside Inn. Now, I know we had talked about going there in years past, but we never really knew where it was, and never really bothered to look. Turns out, it's a five minute walk from where we stay every year, and it's worth the walk. Totally old school, with great service, tableside prep of things like steak Diane, and crepes suzette, a bar straight out of the 70's, complete with a piano player and a dance floor. We went back two more times (to the bar) and will definitely make it a regular stop on all Palm Springs trips.

We also went to Citron again, where the drinks are always a little better than the food, and the Falls, which also has great (smoking) martinis, and steaks.

The San Francisco dinner was at Zuni where we had the awesome roasted chicken with bread salad. Da-ROOL.

Live Shows Seen: Two! One was at Kimo's to see a friend's band called Complaints and the other was...Dolly Parton! DOLLY PARTON! Enough said.

Shoes Bought: I think only one pair, these espadrille wedges by Calypso for Target, which I found at the Target in Palm Springs, the last in my size, for only nine bucks. See! Palm Springs really is magic!

June Round-Up - 2011

Wow! I'm actually posting this Round-Up on time! As we come to the end of July, (I can't believe August is already upon us!), let me try to remember June. I know the first two days were in New Orleans, and that the remainder of the month was basically me counting down the minutes until I could leave for Palm Springs in July. Still, there was some fun to be had in those intervening days...

Movies Seen: Ten, with five in a theater. The best of those five was "Super 8," which I didn't get to see in advance and review, so instead saw on opening day. I loved it, both because it's a fun movie, and because of the nostalgia it brought up...

I reviewed three of the other movies, so click through to read about "Green Lantern," "Bad Teacher," and "Larry Crowne." (There's also a small blurb about "Trollhunter.")

Books Read: Eight. Four books, and four graphic novels. Of those graphic novels, three were more volumes of "The Walking Dead," and the other was "Mr. Wonderful" by Daniel Clowes, which I really liked, even if it was ultimately kind of depressing, as his books tend to be.

The book-books included "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua. Yeah. I guess it was a little weird for someone without kids to read a book about extreme parenting, but it was at the library, and so many people have talked about it, that I had to read it. Indeed, her methods are a little frightening at times, but I think it's a lot funnier than her critics realize...

You can click through to read what I thought of the last two books, which were, "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder, (my re-reading of the series continues), and "Candy Girl" by Diablo Cody.

Fancy Dinners Out: Three. A Dine About Town evening at the Big 4, (had chicken; it was fine); a post-movie meal at Brenda's French Soul Food, (OMG those biscuits; THOSE BISCUITS); and a Father's Day dinner at Town Hall, (and I can't remember what I had. Doh!).

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: One pair. If you know me, you might know that I hate flip-flops, both because I hate their ubiquity, (especially in any setting that is not at the beach or by the pool), and because I hate to have anything betwixt my toes when I am walking. HATE IT. So, it was with much happiness that I was able to find some cute flip flops that DON'T have that toe thing. They're by mel, and they're red, and they have a bow. Perfect!...Almost. After wearing them I realized that the between-the-toe thing is kind of necessary to keep your feet from sliding forward in front, giving you tremendous shrimp cocktail toes.

Whatever. I'm still not going to wear real flip flops.

May Round-Up - 2011

My last round-up was delayed because of a trip to New Orleans. And now this one is delayed because I am about to leave for another trip, this time to Palm Springs. I wonder what will delay the next one?

Movies Seen: Seven, with four in a theater. Of those four, I covered two for the SF Appeal: "Bridesmaids" and "Hangover 2." I saw "Another Earth" at the tail end of the Film Festival, and will probably have a review of that when it opens nationally. The fourth was Terence Malick's "Tree of Life." I saw it at a screening (the same day it played at Cannes, coincidentally) but left for New Orleans before I could review it. Not that I really think I could review it, as I'm still not entirely sure what I though of it. It certainly didn't capture me immediately like "The Thin Red Line" did when I saw it in a theater; I didn't leave looking forward to seeing it again. In some ways, it should have been shorter, (the Sean Penn scenes are the weakest in the movie), but in other ways, I could see an eight-hour version being even better. (And rumor has it, a longer version does exist, and may make it to DVD). Also: dinosaurs. There are dinosaurs in it. For real.

Books Read: Eight. Reading the terrific "The Wilder Life" by Wendy McClure, which is about her obsession with the "Little House" books, and her visits to the historical sites associated with the books, of course got me hankering to re-read the series again, which I indeed began to do, getting though "Little House In the Big Woods," "Little House On the Prairie," "On the Banks of Plum Creek," and "On the Shores of Silver Lake" by Laura Ingalls Wilder in a matter of weeks. (I'm up to "The Long Winter" now, in July...)

All that reading about prairie living compelled me to re-watch the PBS series "Frontier House," which in turn made me realize I had actually bought the companion book when the series was first on, but had never actually read it. So I read that too.

And in between I also got through volumes two and three of "The Walking Dead."

Fancy Dinners Out: One at Commander's Palace in New Orleans. And let me tell you, if you are ever in New Orleans, you have to do this. It's a very famous, old, and popular restaurant, that, unlike some other New Orleans mainstays, actually has fabulous food. Dinner there can be pricey, but the lunch is worth every cent, especially since you can get martinis for 25 of those cents. Yup, 25 cent martinis, of various flavors. I partook, oh yes. A melon martini, as well as a cosmopolitan, to go along with my trio of soups, and entree of cochon du lait with crawfish boudin and corn chow chow. Dessert was bread pudding souffle. I am currently drooling just thinking about it.

Live Shows Seen: One, the San Francisco Ballet's production of "The Little Mermaid." It was intense. They advertise it as not being for younger viewers, but that's not because of anything overtly adult about it. It's just a very intense and kind of depressing version of the fairy tale, and a very well done one at that. PBS will be airing a taped version of it sometime in the fall, I think as part of "Great Performances." Be sure to check it out when it does.

Shoes Bought: Two pair, both at DSW for super cheap. I could not possibly resist these bow-tied flats by Coach. Striped bows!! The other pair are the Meg flat by LifeStride, in navy blue. They were very comfy when I wore them in S.F., but gave me blisters in New Orleans. Synthetic material shoes and humidity just don't mix.

April Round-Up - 2011

Holy crap. Since I was out of town at the end of last month/beginning of this month, my Round-Up completely slipped my mind. And I'm under a week away from having to do one for May as well, so I'd better just put this one up now, half-assed as it may be.

Movies Seen: Seventeen, with five in a theater. I reviewed a bunch of those movies, so if you want to know what I thought of the following, click on through!

Your Highness
Scream 4
Stake Land
Meek's Cutoff
Miss Representation
Fast Five
The Selling

Books Read: Four books, and three trade comics. Follow links to read reviews, where applicable.

"Zombie Spaceship Wasteland" by Patton Oswalt.

"Faithful Place" by Tana French.

"Stephen King's N."

"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.

"The Walking Dead – Vol. 1 and 2" by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.

"Bossypants" by Tina Fey.

Fancy Dinners Out: None!

Live Shows Seen: Technically, none, but I did go to WonderCon for all three days of its ridiculousness.

Shoes Bought: None!

March Round-up - 2011

Let's pretend it's actually April 30th, since I kind of forgot to get this post done in time. As such, it will also have to be short, which is ironic since I actually accomplished a lot in the entertainment realm in March. Oh well...On with it!

Movies Seen: Fourteen, with six in a theater. All of those six were reviewed for the San Francisco Appeal, but the only good one was "The Adjustment Bureau."

Of the DVDs watched, the most disappointing was probably "Morning Glory." The best was easily "Winnebago Man." See it. Now. I said NOW!

Books Read: Nine. Nine! I can't possibly write about all of them, when I already have, for the most part, on Good Reads. So, instead, I will just list the titles, which include links to my comments.

"What the Dead Know" by Laura Lippman.

"Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M." by Sam Wassons.

"Bad Mother" by Ayelet Waldman.

"Manhood For Amateurs" by Michael Chabon.

"Being There" by Jerzy Kozinski. (Nothing to link to, but I re-read this in one evening after re-watching the movie during the same evening.)

"Going In Circles" by Pamela Ribon.

"The Fashion File" by Janie Bryant.

"Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn?" by Pamela Keogh.

"True Grit" by Charlies Portis.

Fancy Dinners Out: One. At Town Hall. Again.

Live Shows Seen: Two! One was a punk rock show at the Li-Po in Chinatown, but I can only remember the names of three of the bands: Paper Bags, the Complaints, and Neighborhood Brats.

And what pairs best with a punk rock show? Ballet, of course! I saw what is perhaps the only comedic ballet out there, "Coppelia," as performed by the San Francisco Ballet. It was very lovely and pretty and colorful and like cotton candy. Loved it.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these ruffled flats from Target.