young victoria

acceptable hollywood adaptation of a royal: the young victoria. shar's a sucker for period piece dramas so not surprising here that i saw this latest film. emily blunt (aka soon to be mrs. john kransinski) has gotten praise for her portrayal of the monarch. she's good but i don't think she deserves an oscar per se. i did really like the pairing with rupert friend as prince albert. julian fellowes did a great job scripting the subtleties of the budding romance. there's a bit with him taking a bullet for vic, which friends did not happen in the real life. in any case, i'll take the hollywood rewrite.

bling at legion of honor

must sparkles: cartier and america at legion of honor. shar admires jewels, but not much for wearing them. my pal lin got me into the newly opened exhibit. the place was pretty packed however i was able to see, for the most part, the array of tiaras, watches, broaches and other jewelry. my favs were the emerald ring that belonged to majorie merriweather post. that girl had a lot of cartier bling. i do admire grace kelly's 10+ carat engagement ring, but too much ice for me. it's up until april 18, so get there before the jewels got back in their velvet bags.

fltgc (sf edition): mocfa, sfmoma, needles and pins

much belated fltgc location: san francisco. sorry shar's been mia with the gallery crawlin'. okay it's not friday but i've got the fine ladies of spark, kristin and marie, in tow. first up was the museum of craft and folk art. i'd never been or even known of its existence, but marie clued me in on the embroidery exhibit that was going on. they let you embroider couches.

stitch kristin, stitch!

from there we hit sfmoma for the "new" sculpture garden, but not before checking out the 75th anniversary exhibit. kristin and marie having a good time with the golden beaded curtain.

the exhibit was pretty much the permanent collection moved to the second floor. kristin and i were stoked for the barry mcgee though.

chris johansen, the sunlight of the spirit is the warmth of love. kristin said when she interviewed him that he said the background was all good and positive, but those wooden sculptures were bad.

last up was needles and pins for some 25 cent art. i had wanted to go and check out the latest here when marie and kristin told me about the 25 cent candy machines that dole out art. they got a bunch of drawings that they weren't so happy with. also, takes a little more than 25 cents to get your art if the spiral isn't lined up right. i was not dissuaded to get me one.


i got me a little paiting on a scrap of wood. it's got a silver whale against multi-colored shapes. cost me 50 cents. SCORE!

niners win

although our playoff hopes are done, thanks for keeping the faithful geared up for next season. happy to be home enjoying the game at greens sports bar with my hometown niner fans joe, cindy and leigh-anne.

freaks and geeks

best vacation mass viewing: freaks and geeks - the complete series. shar loves shows that inevitably get cancelled (i.e mscl, cupid, arrested development, wonderfalls, veronica mars). i never watched the entire series, so finally hunkered down and did it. funny that i'm back home in the town i grew up in and watching a protrayal of high school. i ask myself was i a freak or a geek. i think i fell in the middle, but not as brave as lindsay weir. it's funny because james franco (aka daniel desario) went to a high school only a few towns down. a friend of mine actually knew him at palo alto high and said he was pretty quiet back then. not the freak he was on the show. if you haven't seen the series, i highly recommend viewing all 18 epidsodes.

home for the hols

shar will be home in the yay area starting tomorrow. hope to see all your faces and give you big hugs. hit me up!

the lonely man of winter revisted

all time best host: alec duffy. i was fortunate enough to meet alec back in late april when my buddy adam invited me to a special sufjan stevens listening party. (wish you were there adam!) it was an experience i would never forget, so when i received an email from alec to return to said treasured locale i could not pass it up.

there was chocolate chip chilli and some serious egg nog all provided by the host. i brought some glögg (aka swedish mulled wine), which was a hit. it was a reunion of those who were fortunate to have listened to the unreleased sufjan holiday tune and a few newbies. i must say listening to it again with snow still on the sidewalks of brooklyn was magical. alec also told us an enduring story of meeting the man behind the song. when they met after his gig at the bowery this past fall, sufjan said "i love your song" to alec and he returned the compliment. apparently, there were 16 verisons of the song before "the lonely man of winter," and sufjan wrote the song after picking alec's. the song was personally written for him. wow and wow. but best part of the meeting was alec getting to shotgun a tecate with sufjan and his posse. priceless!

from there we listened sans headphones to the track again. it was my guest mollie's first time hearing the tune and alec graciously offered the same personal headphone experience. skullcandy sent alec headphones when he said that he some times didn't have enough to go around. they were most stylish. i was able to take away the lyrical goodness, such as "unicorn and buffalo bags" and "long drives to denver". thanks alec for continuing this intimate tradition.

more reason to hate atlantic yards

must support: freddy's backroom. the proposed atlantic yards project that will bring a new jersey basketball into my hood is threatening my favorite neighborhood bar, freddy's backroom. in a protest against the impending take over, freddy's installed chains on the bar. no joke, here's proof.


get your pints and support freddy's. here's hoping the take over will be delayed indefinitely.

first snow in brooklyn

oops i forgot the next lyric, which is "but the fire is so delightful. and since we have not place to go. let it snow. let it snow let it snow." happy hols from brooklyn!

tiny desk concert w/ fanfarlo

shar's smitten with fanfarlo. they had her heart at cmj. so this tiny desk concert following the heels of their wxpn gig sent me overboard. can they be anymore awesome? ummm yes, check out their advent calendar. enjoy!

some guys have all the luck

shar's been in a grouchy, cruddy mood today, but this like totally cheered me up. hope it brings a smile to your face too.

2010 whitney biennial

KAWS and kiehl's

niners win!

ummm yeah, not in our house. cards are denied the nfc west division title (for now). 24-9!

nate

noteworthy capturer of moving image and melody: nate chan. i've been familiar with his works for la blogtheque and always intrigued since he is based in my hometown. i was recently reminded of him when i saw holly miranda's cover of jeff buckley's "lover you should've come over". by the by, holly is doing a good job with the covers.

Holly Miranda "Lover You Should've Come Over" (Jeff Buckley cover) from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

it's a simple close up shot of holly working her soulful pipes against sunbeams. this was not a la blogtheque effort but rather a yours truly production. a new find to add to my already growing web address book.

phoenix and paris collide

long awaited take away show: phoenix in paris. when i heard that fellow frenchman vincent moon had videoed phoenix in their hometown, shar was intrigued to say the least. there are three vids up on la blogotheque, but i must say the last was my fav. thomas mars testing the acoustics under the eiffel tower. the rippling water. the random jogger. another magical performance captured by mr. moon.

Phoenix - Long distance call - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

p.s. good interview with the band on npr's weekend edition too.

if shar was rich...

...she would purchase these lovelies. they are the epitome of retro cool. would love to hear the sweet, warm vinyl tunes out of these puppies.

saturday gallery crawl

fltgc make-up: wasn't able to hit david zwirner like i wanted to yesterday, so i hit it up today for the dan flavin exhibit that i've been meaning to see for weeks now. it didn't disappoint and i got out of the gallery seeing spots. here's some of the fun mel and i got into.



the great thing about crawling on the weekend is that i'm not limited to my lunchtime. we continued onto the gallery strip on 24th (via a stop into printed matter). we met up with bill at zach feuer for some r. crumb action.


hit stellan holm for david levinthal's toy soldier photo exposition. reminds me of my friend mike's photos of shaggy in m.o.m. next door susan inglett had some fun chalkboard art.



we popped into the gagosian for the mike kelly exhibit, which i wasn't really feeling. mel did spot stefan sagmeister there. he is tall. i did like luhring augustine's irreverent object exhibit, with these gems.

in the back there were these lovely prints.

lotta holiday sale

more reason to love girls

girls got voted #1 on the urban blog. they interviewed the acts with a questionnaire on the bests of 2009. chris of girls highlight one particular gem:

Five favorite albums of 2009:

1. The Pet Shop Boys - Yes
Its great pop anthems that I can't get enough of, perfect pop aesthetic and sensibility.

2. Cass McCombs - Catacombs
You saved my life.

3. Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
These are the coolest kids on the block, be my girl diamond boy.

4. The Oh Sees - Help
This is San Francisco. They've always been a huge support and influence to us, GO SEES!

5. Mariah Carey - Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Just think this is a solid record and I think Mariah is an underrated artist. I am obsessed with you cause I love you Mariah!

- Christopher Owens

they are playing my hometown on valentine's day/chinese new year at my fav venue gamh. wish i could be there, but if you are so fortunate to be in sf then get your tickets early. they will not disappoint. i know it. can't wait to come home for the hols and hope to have as much fun as these kids below.

holly miranda covers lauryn hill

belated video post: holly miranda covering one my my fav lauryn hill tracks, "ex-factor".

holly miranda from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

damien hirst: nothing matters

early early fltgc: damien hirst's nothing matters at white cube. shar's been planning this visit for a long time coming. shar was smitten with white cube since seeing them at the armory show this year.

unfortunately, i won't be able to make it to the mason's yard location to see the rest of the hirst pieces. from what is online they seem to be more complex compositions than the crows and skulls that reside in hoxton square. i quite fancy the crows shot down in mid flight. i especially enjoyed the one with the head shot off. not sure what that says about me, but i liked the fragility of life depicted in that moment. i don't think i was suppose to take pictures inside, but i managed this one and immediately exited.


p.s. jac still planning to hit up something on friday.

london calling

sorry shar's been mia. have you missed me? if so, you might enjoy these. if you don't, skip to the fever ray review.

friends abroad - diego and kristen met up with me friday night for pints and tunes.

must transatlantic fltgc: damien hirst at wallace collection

so ummmm yeah, the try outs for britain's got talent is in my hotel.

old school skates at portobello road. no skating for shar this trip. :(

stumbled upon the famed label. didn't go in because i was afraid i would never leave.

yeah, went to sunday masss and stayed for thw whole thing. wow, brought back memories of catholic school.

kisten and me at the balconey of the tate modern overlooking st. paul's

fever ray at hmv forum

much belated transatlantic concert: fever ray at hmv forum. shar's scoured the listings everytime she's been in london for a show. shows, shar and london go hand in hand, but never the right timing until last night. what a show to be the first. there was fog and incense to set the mood. there were lasers. there were tasseled lamps beating in synchronized unision to fever ray's beats. there was karin andersson.

wow, oh wow! michelle, rich, kristen, ben and hayden were all in tow for this extravaganza. some knife fans, some fever ray fans, and one who knew nothing about the artist. all in all, we all enjoyed the production and the tunes.

the band was always absconded in the darkness with only temporary rhythmic pulses of the lamps and the illuminating netting of lasers. shar was expecting quite the production and she was thoroughly satisfied. the perfect first london concert.