I love this little film about my friend filmmaker Begonia Coloma. It’s nice to be able to watch videos of your friends who are far away.

Even if HP is trying to advertise through them.

A few weeks ago I got to see Gang Gang Dance, the Walkmen, and Grizzly Bear play a show at NYC’s newly revamped Governor’s Island. It was a lot of fun to go somewhere in NYC I’d never been, and the views were great.

A bit later, loving the light pollution:

Grizzly Bear’s performance of Showcase that night was just about the most rock n’ roll thing that ever happened to anyone of this generation. It was also seriously loud, thanks to the no DB limit on Governor’s Island. Check out Monica Yi’s video of it here:

Showcase- Grizzly Bear LIVE from Monica Yi on Vimeo.

I put this together very quickly yesterday afternoon before some guests came over. I’m playing around with a borrowed 7D. I’m still learning but it’s fun.

A few weeks ago we went to Monterey and Carmel for the weekend.

17 mile drive:

First seal siting:

Little bunny!

Cypress:

Seals!

If you look really really closely there is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in the middle of the frame—but it blends so well with the environment it’s almost hard to spot…

Point Lobos

Sticky Monkey wildflowers:

There were lots of moths and butterflies:

So many wildflowers:

Cutest baby deer:

Here with momma:

More vacation soon I hope.

It’s been way too long since I’ve been here. Things have been rough for the ARL family, and I just couldn’t bring myself to talk about it. In spite of many challenges, there’s no way I’d rather return than with news of Oakland’s own Korean taco truck: Seoul on Wheels.

Some background: Korean food has been a love of mine since I was about five years old and began to be allowed to go to Woo Lae Oak on Western and Wilshire with my mom and dad (unfortunately, this location is now closed). Elementary school brought further forays into this exotic cuisine with Korean classmates whose mothers brought trays piled high with mandu and rice to Girl Scout meetings. Years later I would meet and marry a man, who would, if he were allowed, eat Korean BBQ five nights a week. And only mere months ago I tasted Kogi’s Korean tacos for the first time and fell in love.

Since Kogi, I’ve been recreating Korean tacos at home using ingredients purchased from Koreana Plaza and inspiration from a handful of recipes that claim to replicate Kogi. They’ve been successful, and experimenting has been fun, but the prospect of eating a Korean taco made by a master (in this case Julia Yoon) was too enticing to pass up.

I found out about Yoon and Seoul on Wheels through SF Foodie’s post on the mobile food cart event that just sprung up called Off the Grid (also featuring ARL fave Peko Peko).

What I ate: Unfortunately for my taste buds and vicarious eaters, I’ve been cutting back on portions (which is all relative given my epic appetite) so I ordered with restraint: one tofu taco (I love Kogi’s rendition and have been trying to do as many meatless meals as possible these days) and one rib eye taco. Naturally I wanted one of everything on the menu, but I understand Seoul on Wheels is in Emeryville five days a week and tried to pace myself.

I went first for the tofu (above right). I was expecting raw wet-marinated tofu, and was pleasantly surprised by this seasoned, browned, and baked version you see above cut into big meaty pieces. The special sauce, similar to other Korean tacos I’ve eaten and made, appears to be have a fermented bean paste base, which I believe is called Gochujang. Yet, what is exciting about Seoul on Wheels is that like many great Korean meals from great Korean chefs, the same (or similar) recipe never tastes exactly the same from kitchen to kitchen. And Seoul on Wheels certainly has its own flavor. The experience is helped by soft corn tortillas, super fresh crunchy shredded romaine, sweet pickled daikon, and Mexican-style crema drizzled on top.

The rib eye was absolutely delicious. I loved that it had all the Korean BBQ flavor you would expect, but that the great tasting beef wasn’t overpowered by the seasoning. The beef is thin-cut, bulgogi style, but thick enough that the beef maintains some authenticity of texture and therefore flavor. The composition from taco to taco is consistent (corn tortilla, choice of meat, lettuce, crema, chili sauce, and sweet daikon) and the structure allows for the distinct presence of each element, rather than the every-burrito-I-eat-in-San-Francisco-has-started-to-taste-the-same-because-it’s-a-bunch-of-stuff-mashed-together-in-a-tortilla effect.

I admit it, I went back for a third.

Again, in a feeble attempt to live on the light side, I got a second tofu taco, but this time I opted for kimchi on top (for an extra 50¢) and then kicked it up a notch with a drizzle of Sriracha (ketchup and soy sauce are also available). Given Seoul on Wheel’s generous portions, the third taco was an indulgence more than a necessity, but I walked away smiling, with swollen Sriracha lips, and a K-BBQ buzz that sent thoughts like “taste the flavor revolution” running through my mind.

Thanks Seoul on Wheels. It’s good to be back.

Seoul on Wheels on Twitter

I never know whether to make excuses for unintended blog absences or just to march on with content. But if you’ve been disappointed by my lack of posts I apologize. Sometimes things come up and the Internet is the last place you want to be (although there seem to be great bloggers who manage to just slog through whether it’s sickness or birth or death—I’m not sure how they do it).

I’ve been busy teaching recently, ironically, since it’s the end of the school year, but young minds need to lean over the summer too. I love teaching middle school kids, I love teaching the process of writing in a systematic way that gives the kids a structure to hold on to and depart from when they’re ready, but sometimes I wish I could say “just write something, tell me what you think.”

I have an addiction to windows AND tabs, which make up a horrible “system” in which I catalog my “to do” and “to read” etc. I typically have so many at all times that I can barely run Word, which is silly. Some friends and family are traveling far away, and in the interest of being able to open Skype, I’ve begun hacking away at these windows and tabs. Sometimes I think I should just close all of them—if I haven’t read this stuff yet am I really going to? and will my life truly be improved by it?

But not being able to just close them all without looking back, the first thing I read this morning was Oxford Tradition Comes to This: ‘Death’ from the May 27, 2010 New York Times (almost 30 days on queue to be absorbed by me). No longer will applicants to All Souls College be asked to write an essay based on a single-word prompt.

If, as Sir John Vickers says, the exam has truly not been of use in recent years, I support the decision, but I might have to lift the Oxford tradition for my own teaching. Watch out seventh to twelfth graders everywhere.

Past words, chosen by the fellows, included “style,” “censorship,” “charity,” “reproduction,” “novelty,” “chaos” and “mercy.”

Corn is in season, but artichokes go to flower this time of year if you don’t pick them just as they mature. Look out for flowering artichokes in your neighborhood. They’re all around Rockridge. This one is my mother’s (Pasadena):

This Saturday June 26th I’ll be at the Gala Fundraiser for Open Opera. Most famous for their immensely popular production of the Marriage Figaro in John Hinkel park last summer, Open Opera is the new Bay Area-based professional opera whose mission it is to bring free opera to audiences in our public parks.

This summer Open Opera brings us concerts in Live Oak Park and the Orinda Community Center Park in addition to their full-length production of Don Giovani for two weekends this August in John Hinkel park. See all future events by clicking here.

Tickets are still available for the gala celebration and silent auction fundraiser on Saturday, June 26, from 5 to 7 PM in Berkeley. There will be live music (jazz and opera), great food and wine, a silent auction, and opportunities to meet and greet other supporters of the only local nonprofit offering accessible and free outdoor opera in local parks. Tickets are $75 per person. Should you be interested in joining us please contact Executive Director Ellen St. Thomas at 510-547-2471 or ellen@openopera.net.

A new independent news group called The Bay Citizen was “founded in 2010 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to fact-based, independent reporting on civic and community issues in the San Francisco Bay Area” and is now responsible for the majority of the content on the Bay Area pages of the New York Times. One particularly talented young reporter named Richard Parks wrote Embargoing Arizona Proves to Be Not So Easy, which ran in Sunday’s New York Times. Parks has previously reported on the California gubernatorial race, the Freedom Flotilla, the Mesherle trial, and Martinez’s beaver population for the Bay Citizen in addition to writing for McSweeney’s and Salon.

Tonight is the June Pop-Up General Store at Grace Street Catering (4629 MLK Jr Way in Oakland) from 5-7PM. I’ve been following the Pop-Up General Store on Twitter since its inception, but didn’t get around to going until last month, and it was incredible. My first visit happened to coincide with that of Carol Ness and Michael Macor from the SF Chronicle, whose piece brought unprecedented attention to the small, elegant affair. Given the news article, I’d go early and expect a crowd. While the market runs on pre-orders, each vendor has a stash set aside for drop-in customers. Bring your cash (and better yet your checkbook) and walk away with Peko Peko’s gyoza, Katz & Co. olive oil, Ghost Town Farm produce (last time I got mustard greens and leeks), and more. See the Pop-Up General Store blog for more information on vendors. Sign up to receive the Pop-Up General newsletter here.

On Friday night I’ll be at the opening of SENSEable Cities: Exploring Urban Futures, featuring the works of MiT’s SENSEable City Laboratory at the Gray Area Foundation. Since I cannot seem to paraphrase what the SENSEable City Lab is in my own words, here it is via the Gray Area site:

“MIT’s SENSEable City Laboratory has been investigating how emerging digital technologies can be employed to make cities more livable, sustainable and efficient. We recognize that the digital revolution has lent our cities a new layer of functionality and that now is the time to explore how sensors, cellphones, micro-controllers and networks of other handheld devices can be used to more effectively manage city infrastructure, optimize transportation, analyze our environmental impact and foster new communities.”

Opening Reception is Friday, June 11th, 2010 7:00pm – 10pm at Gray Area 55 Taylor St. in San Francisco.

Last week City Arts and Lectures announced the lineup for its 2010 Fall Literary Series benefitting the 826 Valencia College Scholarship Fund and if I could afford it I’d go to every single one. The series kicks off on September 13th with Jonathan Franzen in conversation with Mark Breitenberg. The star-studded program will conclude with two of my heroes, Patton Oswalt and Andrew Leland on January 4, 2011 (recently postponed from 11/30/10, see here). The word from the City Arts Twitter page is that tickets are selling like hotcakes so get your seats for these amazing evenings while you still can.

Women Without Men, the feature debut by Iranian-born director Shirin Neshat is playing this weekend in San Francisco, San Jose, and Berkeley. Based on the book by Shahrnush Parsipur, the film follows five women through the tumultuous days surrounding the coup of 1953 when British and American forces removed the democratically-elected government.

If the eighteen stills available on the film’s website are any prediction (see one above), Women Without Men is an absolute visual triumph.

From June 2 through August 29 this year, Women Without Men will screen in ten states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. Check the website for dates and times near you.

In the Bay Area:

Friday, June 4th: San Francisco-Opera Plaza on Van Ness Avenue at 7 PM
and 9:40 PM

Saturday, June 5th: San Jose-Camera 12 Cinema on South 2nd Street at 2
PM and 4:35 PM

Saturday, June 5th: Berkeley-Elmwood Rialto Cinema on College Avenue at
7:15 PM and 9:40 PM

I’m reminded today, like so many other days, that there is beauty and suffering in the world.

Richard Parks puts a local, human face on the Gaza-bound flotilla story in the Bay Citizen.

I went to the San Francisco Symphony (for the first time !) last night to see Pink Martini (I will commence to go to the symphony once per month). Highlights included “La Soledad,” sung by NPR White House correspondent Ari Shapiro, and the audience’s great rounds of applause when he noted that we (at Davies Symphony Hall) were just across the street from San Francisco City Hall, where he and his husband were married. Also thrilling was the band’s always exuberant “Brazil.”

Pink Martini carves out a truly unique space for themselves in our popular music lexicon. To me, their versatility echoes the sentiments Charles Isherwood recently made about Nathan Lane and his talents that make him, as Isherwood says “a great stage entertainer.”

I may not eat sushi for a long time, but I may be able to celebrate the ban of plastic grocery store bags with a vegetarian feast. (Boston Globe, SF Gate)

I don’t think Marina Abramovic could have planned a better time to stage The Artist is Present. While I mourn the fact that I will not have sat with her, I’ve found the resultant media from her performance to be a extension of the performance itself, and that meta-performance is one I have enjoyed immensely—in particular, through the eyes of a hero, Arthur C. Danto. What better way could there be to explore the beauty and suffering we all face today.

Some recent sketches of mine:

Theresa Smalec writes about And Everything is Going Fine, Steven Soderberg’s documentary about one of my heroes, the late Spalding Gray on the Fanzine.

Jonathan Lethem is leaving New York to take David Foster Wallace’s former position as the Roy Disney Chair of Creative Writing at Pomona College.

When Elizabeth Greenwood of the New Yorker asked him how he felt about leaving New York, the author said:

“I take a lot of pleasure in New York, but I’m always kind of here in my mind. In a way, I need to be dreaming my way back here. The longing and exile are part of my relationship to writing about this place.”

The SF Underground Market: I’ve never been, but I’ve got plans to go, especially with the promise of an East Bay spin-off. SF Weekly catches up with Iso Rabins and news on upcoming markets on their blog SF Foodie. It is, afterall, how I discovered Christopher David macarons, the best I’ve had this side of the Atlantic (My friend Daphna of INNA Jam who has sold her amazing products at SF Underground got me wise to CD macarons, which I later picked up at the Sandbox Bakery in Bernal Heights).

Roasted Lemon macarons via the Christopher David Macaron Yelp profile.

Speaking of dreaming your way back to New York, I hear the weather has been beautiful lately. The Photo of the Week on the Met’s Flickr stream is of the Cloisters by user myny1974:

Here’s a song with some nice percussion and vocals to get you through hump day:

Mueve by Lido Pimienta (via Said the Gramophone)

Make sure to make it to the one minute mark for the horns.