we run the tides

We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

i had a feeling this would be in my wheelhouse growing up in san francisco albeit NOT in sea cliff. vendela has captured the landscape of the foggy beaches of san francisco to a tee. something i constantly have to clarify to non-left coasters about the major difference between northern and southern california. i saw someone compare vida to ferrante, and i'd have to say vendela's depiction of teenage female friendship hits deeper for me. the characters are more engaging for my taste and the lies more tangible. again, caveat that i'm probably overrating for my affinity to my hometown as it's resonance is personally palpable.

the family upstairs

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

okay, i've been a fan of lisa jewell since ralph's party and was in a anglophile reverie in the early aughts. i have since been fortunate to live in london and now can picture vividly the places that jewell writes about. for this latest suspense turn (i still miss the early chick lit jewell novels), i have to say i enjoyed it much more than her past efforts. jewell has always had easy reading prose that i can devour in a sitting. this story unfolds with a few red herrings and tidies up to an amiable ending. recommend!

2020 mixtape invitational

my coworker sam puts together an annual collation of top song for the year end.  my third year participating here are 2019 and 2018. 

niners win!

 

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

niners were out of the wild card race last weekend, so their win today against the cards was a welcomed surprised. i'm glad the d laid it all out on the line because saleh will likely not be back with us next year. felt like the d-line was going extra to make him proud, especially fred warner.

hbo max

 

i haven't written words in a while, but wanted to pay homage to hbo max for entertaining me for the past few months.  i've heard folks mention not watching original content on hbo max, but friends there are gems.  i started off with the anna kendrick-led series, love life. it was cute.  then, i watched season two of search party. i was late to the party and feel like i didn't miss much.

but this month has been stellar with two standouts, stylish with jenna lyons and house of ho.

as a fan of j crew in the aughts to the introduction of madewell, lyons was at the helm. this sorta competition show to become an associate for jenna's new venture only further my love for lyons.  also, made me rethink tulle.  she is such an empathetic boss that i would drop everything to work with her IF i had any style.  jenna help me.  noted: reinvent classics, denim on denim, monochromes!

house of ho is a revelation in a sea of silly family-based reality shows.  first off, yes crazy rich asians meets that other rich family show that's finally off the air.  it's more than that as it tackles multi-generational and cultural norms that have rarely been tackled on television. there's also lesley, who isthe wife of the eldest ho son.  she wasn't born into money and provides a nice dichotomy, though she can be a bit of a control freak. 

lastly of note is the bee gees documentary, how can you mend a broken heart. it's a great profile of the gibb brothers from decades of reinvention to formidable songwriters. 

from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: Special Edition 

by E.L. Konigsburg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

on the heels of the met reopening this coming weekend, it was a joy to read this book in anticipation. my edition included an afterword that konigsburg wrote for the 35th anniversary edition. she compares what she's written back in 1967 to a post-9/11 of the then present. though she past several years ago, i wonder what ms. konigsburg would think of 2020 manhattan.

the last dance

note: best read listening to the spotify playlist for max 90's vibes. 

so if you haven't heard of the last dance, you truly live under a rock or really dislike sports. with the absence of live sports during rona times, folks have been relishing in past recorded sporting events. i'm not big on recorded sports and thrive on the live nature of a sporting event if i can't be there in person. i stumbled on a re-air of this year's super bowl and no thank you. i don't need to relive that heartbreak. when my not-so-sporty friend recommended the last dance i dove in, largely because it was a docu-series and fav coach steve kerr would be getting a segment. i love that kerr sports his dubs gear prominently during his segments. if you needed more reason to love a guy that took a punch from michael jordan and didn't back down, this reporter's story will undoubtedly have you lauding kerr as the kindest dude.

in the 90's, i was a sad warriors fans. one shining moment was when chris mullin was part of the dream team, but largely it was disappointment from talented players that wouldn't get their true due: tim hardaway, chris webber and latrell sprewell. we didn't really get a glimmer of hope until the late aughts with the we believe team. i still obviously watched the nba finals in that decade. it was crazy how many nostalgic feels i had for players who lost to the bulls: isiah thomas (does another remember the mary thomas movie?), charles barkley, john stockton, mailman karl malone and reggie miller. also, i forgot how physical it was in those early 90's and the pistons were no joke. 

i will probably get a lot of beef for making this comparison, adding loose comparison.  there's no doubt that bulls are the all-time greatest team, but the recent kerr-helmed warriors aren't too shabby. they did take away the all-time regular season wins record from the bulls, but yes they didn't get that ring in 2016. draymond!!! draymond is the dennis rodman, with the fire and basketball iq. dray has more heart for the team than rodman did, but they were both the key defensive piece on their championship squad. next loose comparison, klay thompson is scottie pippen, taking a backseat to the star, however integral to the core efficiency of the group contributing with clutch shooting and defense. quiet and stoic. trade rumors. big difference is that klay got paid and scottie didn't get his due monetarily.  ok truly, no comparison for jordan, but if we look at the star of the team that'd be steph curry although he is like a million times nicer and less salty than michael. then, turn to compare to kevin durant and that explosive, nike toting athlete does have a stronger thread, but he wasn't franchise player like michael was and steph is. the key to a comparison is the link that is steve kerr, who was part of both teams and translated that triangle offense to the warriors. 5 back-to-back appearances in the nba finals with 3 championships, albeit not a 3-peat. draymond!!!!! this season was a wash, but perhaps warriors will return stronger than ever with th core intact - steph, klay and dray. missing my sixth man, andre iguodala. ido feel he would come back if the right dominos fell into place. until the nba season resumes, i keep believin'.