In Case Anyone Needs a Movie Recommendation

From the looks of it, a large portion of the general public drank the Netflix haterade, including myself; but I simply modified my subscription. I downsized to one movie at a time (plus streaming), and lately the ones arriving in my mailbox have been pretty good. Specifically, Flipped and Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest—two very different movies.


Flipped is for anyone who wants something light-hearted. It is about a young boy named Bryce and a young girl named Juli. They first meet when Bryce's family moves into the neighborhood, and for Juli, it is love at first sight. Not so for Bryce. The movie takes place in the late 50s/early 60s, so there is a certain innocence to the entire story. I rarely watch movies for artistry behind the filmmaking (although I can appreciate beautiful cinematography), so I can't comment on this as a film. That being said, I loved it! I enjoyed this so much, the book it was based on (also of the same title) is next on my reading list.


The other movie I thoroughly enjoyed was Michael Rapaport's documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest. It follows the hip-hop group, a Tribe Called Quest during their 2008 reunion tour. I have to admit, I did not really know much about the group, other than songs like Left My Wallet in El Segundo and albums like Midnight Marauders, but this sounded interesting. Michael Rapaport did not disappoint! It felt like a very honest look at the group, without too much Hollywood-sensationalism. Then there was the music! Like or love hip-hop, put this in your queue, because it is a history worth learning.

Superfudgebrownie

London is burning and equities are sinking. There's a lot of fear and panic out there, but I have to tell you about these "ultimate fudgy brownies" from America's Test Kitchen. This brownie recipe uses two types of chocolate, in addition to cocoa powder, so if you are one of those chocolate-loving people, I think you will like it. I made it for a couple of friends, and I think they liked it...I'm not a chocolate expert in any way whatsoever, so I couldn't tell you if this is good or not.

The one thing is that you have to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. This is hard stuff to find unless you want to pay $15 at Williams-Sonoma. I went to five different stores before I gave up and used a "substitute." Actually, I added 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to natural cocoa powder. Of course, the next day I found the $15 can from Williams-Sonoma.

Superfudgebrownie
adapted from America's Test Kitchen

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder (or 3 T natural, cococa powder + 1/8 t baking soda)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Put the oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 350.

2. Melt the chocolates, butter, and cocoa in the microwave, stirring often, 1 to 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool a little.

3. Whisk the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt together until combined. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until no streaks remain.

4. Scrape the batter into an 8x8 pan and smooth. Bake about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs.

5. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about two hours.

*The cookbook recommends that you line the pan with foil so that you can easily lift the baked brownie out. Basically, you fold foil to fit into the pan so that you have some left over on both sides. Then you fold another piece of foil to fit into the pan so that there is left over foil on the other sides. Lightly coat with vegetable oil spray.

I haven't forgotten about the song thing!

Day 08 - a Song That You Know All the Words to
This Land is Your Land

A Song That Reminds Me of Someone

Day 05 - a Song That Reminds You of Someone
Wake Up by Arcade Fire

This is kind of random because I don't know this particular person. I just love the Dan Patrick Show, and this song is played every Friday. So, the song reminds me of Dan Patrick.

Day 04 of 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 04 - a Song That Makes You Sad
Hurt by Johnny Cash



No explanation needed.

Day 03 of 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 03 - a Song That Makes You Happy
Solid as a Rock by Ocean 11



Ska is always some good happy music.

There's another song too that comes to mind, but I can't figure out who performs it as it is a cover of Sugar Sugar.

Johnny Flynn Came to San Francisco

In the four-plus years that Seth and I have been together, there has been exactly one artist that I played for him that he: A)Didn't know about; and B)Really liked. That artist is Johnny Flynn, a British musician of the folk rock/indie rock genre; and frontman of the band Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit.

Last night, Seth and I finally got to see Johnny Flynn perform live, and it was so very cool. He played a solo show at The Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. As the headliner, he didn't go on until 11:00 p.m., after Cheyenne Marie Mize and Goh Nakamura. It was a bit tough getting motivated to get there on a Sunday night, but it was worth every sleepy moment I dragged through today.

The venue was perfect. As one of my friends said, The Rickshaw Stop is "very hipster" and it provided just the right atmosphere. It is an 18 and over place, but that made for a pretty empty bar scene, and it was quite easy to get a pint of Speak Easy IPA. In such a relaxed, intimate atmosphere, with a British musician about to take the stage, how can you get anything but a pint of beer? By the way, there is also a full bar.

The opening acts were easy on the ears, and I really enjoyed Cheyenne Mize's performance. Her voice is quite nice, but not unique to me. Then she broke out the violin and the banjo. I was sold.

Just before Cheyenne's performance I decided to go downstairs and find the bathroom. It was a good thing I did, because when I walked by the bar I noticed that a young blond man was selling stuff. The young blond man was Johnny Flynn himself, hawking is own CDs and t-shirts. Of course I jumped in line before I headed back upstairs, and Seth joined me so that we could buy the new CD, Been Listening, get it autographed and take a quick picture.


Johnny Flynn is such a nice guy. Okay, and he's good looking. He was patient with all the fans—even the girl who locked onto his arm and gushed "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm touching you!" She looked like she might gobble him up right there.

All right on to the performance.

It was amazing. Seth and I didn't quite know what to expect because part of what makes the A Larum album so good is the band, and we knew they wouldn't be there. I'm glad we got to see Johnny Flynn perform on his own. He has such a rich voice for someone of smallish stature (he's not super tiny, but he's not a big guy either), and he is fantastic on the guitar. Cheyenne Mize performed with him at one point, but most of the songs were done by Johnny on his own. He sang stuff from the new album, and he did my favorite song, Brown Trout Blues. Unfortunately for Seth, there was no guitar-only rendition of Leftovers, but we understood that perhaps there's just too much of the band in in that one.

I hope that one of these days we can see the whole band perform, but I think we might need to go to Europe for that kind of show.

Adrienne's Cousin

After years of hearing about Seth's cousin Ty from PA (learned to call it "P-A" from Ty himself), I finally met him last night! Ty and his fiancee are visiting NorCal, and lucky us, he brought his guitar. Seth's mom arranged for us to come over to her place so we could all hear Ty play, and it was a lovely way to spend Friday evening.

Ty is a part of a band called Adrienne's Cousin and you can check them out online at www.myspace.com/adriennescousin. Sample and/or buy some songs, and see pictures of the band. Ty does the lead vocals, writes songs and plays the guitar. Adrienne's Cousin has a chillaxed sort of vibe. The kind that's perfect for lawn concerts in the summer.