A Literary Warning

The cooler weather had me cozied up and reading under blankets yesterday.

This is a warning to all who were charmed by Julie & Julia, the movie: do not, absolutely do not venture to read the bore of a book by Julie Powell that it was based upon.

The memoir packs a potent dose of the obnoxious, pouting Powell (BARF! I had to stop reading because it was literally--or *literarily*--giving me a headache) with none of the Meryl Streep-sparkle.

If you want to read a memoir, and read something good, might I suggest The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, who, having grown up poor in Appalachia living in a deplorable shack, pooping in a growing trash pit in the backyard, and digging through refuse for her meals, still does not complain as much as middle-class, mediocre writer Julie Powell.

Summer is...

A tropical popsicle by an infinity pool with a view of the city.

photo courtesy Christine Goo

Ah....

(BAKED) GOOD NEWS

BIGGEST, HAPPIEST NEWS EVER since Sprinkles stepped onto the sweets-scene.......

Magnolia comes to the West coast this fall!!!

My penchant for petite-sweets will have yet another outlet...I want to do a sugar-high happy dance!

Blog Blues, or Blahs

I watched Julie & Julia today, and am currently annoyed with the 'Julie' character. What a mope. A mope with an ugly mop of hair. So for the moment I am grossed out about writing a 'me-me-me' blog. This personal sentiment in no way extends to other blogging friends, whose pages I love reading and commenting on, by the way.

How amazing is Meryl Streep though??

Pet a Piggie

The best part of my weekend was petting this little black pot-bellied piglet at the Montrose Farmer's Market (no offense to friends and family and all the other fun activities--I just love pigs that much). Other kids tried to pet the piggie but I *hogged* her the whole time.

Jessica the piglet.

Baking Bygones

I used to be really into baking. Some highlights include pineapple upside down cake with this amazing caramelized brown sugar glaze, carrot cake with raisins and pineapple, just the way I like it, bagels (involves finicky yeast and you have to BOIL them first!), and chocolate cheesecake (the water bath was so complicated).

Then one day I realized I hated the cleaning part--ooey gooey batters and viscous chocolately mixtures do not wash away easily, and encrusted remnants are difficult to get out without soaking for like 50 hours. So I gave it up.

That being said, I admire people who put up with the clean up. My sister baked a delicious strawberry cheesecake this weekend for my mom's birthday, and Katherine made three separate items for Ban's birthday bash at Hotel Fig.


Triple-Chocolate: Bakestress Katherine and her chocolate cupcakes with nonpareils, chocolate white chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered grahams topped with fleur de sel.

A Puppet. A Puppet Pet.

After two years in the making, Ben Jackel's first solo exhibition at LA Louver finally came and went (if you find yourself in Venice/Marina del Rey, definitely check it out). The pieces and the turnout were amazing. The best part of the evening, however, had nothing to do with Ben's beautiful creations...


What?! That eccentric old woman brought a little fuzzy kitty with her to the art opening!


How adorable! Can I pet it?


It's cute. but strange. eh?


It's not a pet--it's a puppet!

So random, so wonderful.

*puppeteer/puppet-maker Evelin Popp

Love ya, Mother!

Celebrated Mother's Day with mini-foods and milky tea at the posh Peninsula Hotel.



Happy Mother's Day!

Pilgrimage

I used to think the Getty was really cool. Then I spent four days in New York, visiting five museums and one gallery with fellow art-pilgrim Noelle, and realized the Getty is only a little bit cool.


MoMA--Sol Lewitt wall drawings.


Christie's Auction House--mini-Moore.

We also stopped by the Guggenheim to revel in the genius of Frank LLoyd Wright, the Frick for fabulous French furniture and lots of Old Master paintings, and the Neue Gallery to visit Klimt's Adele.


And then of course, the Met--mecca for all that are art-inclined. We went twice and still didn't finish.

At least our Getty badge gained us free entrance (probably saving us well over $100) to all these places.

After spending an eventful, fun-filled four days with high-strung, neurotic people, walking through urine-laced subway tunnels, sleeping in glorified hallways and closets posing as apartments, standing in unavoidable lines and wading through thick crowds, I realize that while of course I heart New York, LA, I heart you soooo much more :)

(for complete pictures see flickr page)

Reviews: Eats and Beats

Across the street from Canter's, longtime landmark and elder statesman of Los Angeles eateries, comes the edgy, scrappy new kid on the block--The Golden State. The creation of 20-somethings Jim and Jason (Jim is nephew to my friend Christine, hence the writing of this review), The Golden State boasts a spare and functional decor, and serves a small, specialized menu of typical American fare--hamburgers, ham and cheese sandwiches, selections of sausages and beer--but all with a subtle twist. The juicy, robust burger (BEST I've EVER had...) is offset with the sweetness of thick-cut brown sugar glazed bacon. Run-of-the-mill french fries are spiced up with a side of Hazelnut Romesco dip, and the ketchup is curried. Dessert features Scoops ice cream, the fairly new but now indispensible neighborhood ice creamery in Silverlake. Like the purveyors of The Golden State, the crowd is made up of 20-somethings looking to forgo the glitz and grime of Sunset Blvd. a few streets away for the quirkier feel of Fairfax Ave.

( a smorgasboard of Scoops! served up special just for us)

On a different NOTE, I've been listening to Raphael Saadiq non-stop and it makes my commute actually pretty tolerable...soothe the traffic jam with a jive. The New Yorker calls it "so retro it's avant."

Atelier Bow-Wow

Reviewing Atelier Bow-Wow show at REDCAT for Art Asia Pacific.

Early verdict: A definite must-see (and not just see but touch and sit and rock and swing!)

The note-scribbling stirred quite an appetite. Mo was my guide at Orochon in Little Tokyo ("I like the #4, it's the right amount of spicy, and I like to add a cha-su slice and bamboo..."), which I've been dying to try after hearing her rave about their ramen time and again. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the spicy warm broth... (verdict: a must-eat)

Brokedown Baroque

Diana Al-Hadid, Spun of the Limits of My Lonely Waltz, 2006, Perry Rubenstein Gallery

One of the best things about working at the Getty is that inspiration is all around--beautiful weather (conducive to mid-day hikes with co-worker-friends), gorgeous landscape, aura of amazing art, and tomes upon volumes upon stacks of books and magazines that pique curiosity. Perusing the periodicals, I was reminded of the work of Diana Al-Hadid. I first saw Al-Hadid featured in ArtNews "Artists to Watch"; she reminds me of Jhumpa Lahiri or Zadie Smith--stunning young women with serious thoughts. (To see more of her work, click link.)

mini-belts

vintage mini-belt bracelets cinched upon my wrist.

Starting the New Year

(photo by Emma Goo)
It was the New Year and we had a romp(er)rollin good time...