Gourmet Ghetto

DW1 and I believe that Walnut Creek is overtaking North Berkeley with new, exciting restaurants.

I don't know how to do a review of each one of them that we have tried.

So, now I'll try to import a file from Open Office:

Well, that didn't work. Let's try this:

New Walnut Creek Restaurants

(August 2010)

Sasa
Contemporary fusion Japanese. Good, busy atmosphere. Helpful, friendly service. Foods are varied, interesting, and good. Have gone back.

Shiro
Japanese, South Asia cuisine. Excellent (I was surprised) food with eye- catching presentations. Sushi was great. Lumpia reminded me of Guam. Funky atmosphere. Will definitely go back.

Eleve
Vietnamese fusion. Good imaginative noodle dishes. Open, stylish décor. Will return.

1515
Great décor, good service, excellent small plates of California fusion. Will return.

New China Cafe
California Chinese. No chopsticks. Enticing menu. Familiar Chinese specialties presented in unusual ways. Will return.

VeSu
Stark, tres moderne décor, small plates, beautiful presentations, helpful waitstaff. Food is good. Everything is $1-$2 overpriced, so final bill is high. Probably will return.
 
Just let us know when, and we'll make the reservations. . .

Old Time Pictures

Albuquerque in 1912...a mixture of cultures.

Lincoln Nebraska in the 1940's. I was there, then. Good prices!

Suburban Sprawl

Christoph Gielen photographs new housing developments across the USA. They are not comforting.

Architecture

Well, Frank Gehry's at it again, this time in Las Vegas. The Cleveland Clinic Ruvo Center for Brain Health has opened to its architect's approval.  Under construction, it appeared a bit, well, destroyed:

But Mr. Gehry knew well what he wanted, and he and his staff had compliant computers. The future is here.

I think it's pretty good that I got out when I did.

I don't this today's students spend much time with Sir Bannister Fletcher's efforts, either.

(This might actually have a negative action on my brain.)

Comments cordially invited.

Another Pic from apod.com/

Awesome site with awesome sights.

On Easter Island This Morning

there was a partial eclipse.  The statues watched in silence.

(HT: APOD)

Venetian Macau

Good grief! This is absolutely astounding:

The camera distorts in order to include the breadth of this complex.

Now, here is the Grand Staircase at the center of the Casino:

The entire place provides a mere 10,500,000 sq. ft., 3000 suites, 300 restaurants, etc., etc., etc.
This, and many other pictures, were on page 1 on http://www.twistedsifter.com/ on Tuesday morning. (If you get there late, you will have to dip inside the document.)

This is worth a look, in person.

121 Years.

Baffled on this Fourth

Please watch (12 minutes) this Boston Pops rendition of Tchaikovsky's "1812", enjoy the instruments, and connect all this to July 4. Do not mention Russia. Be brief.
 http://www.mediaite.com/online/happy-fourth-watch-the-boston-pops-fireworks-spectacular/

Thanks in advance.

July 4, 2010

"Same swing. Any club"

If you ever wondered what was going through a golfer's mind during his tee shot, consider:

(click to expand)

BLAM! CRASH!

Lighting strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time! from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.

The Abdication of Edward VIII

That's Edward. Not a very dashing sort, but that sure is a neat sword.

He also had a typewriter.

And a hankering for the ladies.

You know the rest of the story.

Summer Solstice 2010

Precisely at 0428 Pacific Daylight Savings Time on Monday 21 June.
Do please enjoy your extended daylight hours.

Concerto for Vuvuzela in B Flat

Here it is, folks. Just grab your vuvu, follow the notes, and you too can be on world-wide television. (At 4:30 a.m. on the West Coast of the USA.)

Or, if you prefer, just copy this warning sign and put it on your TV set:

Summer Fog

I'm thinking that finally we have reached Summer equilibrium. The days are sunny and warm, the late afternoon brings the strong West winds, and the evenings are cooled by the fog over the Bay. Mornings are foggy and cool until about 11:00 a.m.

That's a typical summer. We welcome it.

Flag Day 2010

Monday, June 14 is Flag Day in the United States. So, go fly it!
And the 235th birthday anniversary of the U.S.Army!

The Second Stanza

6 June 1944 - DDay

Just sayin'

Remembrances (1906)

Now, read the account of the '06 Earthquake as recorded by Arnold Genthe, photographer of City Hall (above) and his famous shot down Sacramento Street:

http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/ag/ag-asi-10.html

This one is worth the time it takes to read. So, read it.

(Thanks)

Memorial Day 2010

Remember the Days?

Sorry. I guess I'm feeling morose.

Time for a Cool One

Tulsa Needs Parking Lessons

I'm having great difficulty with text wrapping.

In any case, this guy driving his wife's Volvo ('cause only women buy Volvos, right?) went to park in the bank's parking structure.

He's an excellent driver, right? ('cause all men are excellent drivers.)

So, he backs into the parking stall, on the seventh level, in Tulsa Oklahoma.

And, his pictures will live forever.

Kittens Learning

Is this applicable in other circumstances?

Two Airplanes. Different Times. Different Missions

I just couldn't avoid the comparisons.

That's a Russian Flying Battleship from WWII.

And an American Reaper from right now.

Interesting contrasts.

New Walnut Creek Restaurant

Lunch this Friday with Dear Wife #1 at Eleve (place accents over the first and last "e") in town. It's in that weird triangle bounded by Locust, Civic, N.Main next to the Honda dealer and kity-corner from police headquarters.

This is, ostensibly, a Vietnamese-fusion restaurant. Whatever, the food is delicious. I'll return for dinner, where the peanut-carpaccio is on the menu. Good service, a bit pricy, might be noisy when full.

I'll give a preview of the calimari. Go to http://www.eleverestaurant.com/ for lots more.

I used to ride a BMW

Those were fun times.

Dish Lane

I don't know, but the historical contrasts in the photograph, as well as the colors, attracted my eye.

Twitter has a Conference @ Ft. Mason

And, guess who was there?

(photographer unknown)

Oh, April showers, bring May flowers

But April storms bring rainbows!

How cool is that?

Left Hand, Right Hand

This is a Stutz Bearcat. Stutz made luxury and racing cars. Stutz was the last American car manufacturer to make a right-hand-drive car,  in 1921.

The movie below shows a slow cable car ride down Market Street in San Francisco in 1906, only four days before the earthquake. (Date was determined by shadows, license plates, and etc.)

And, here's a Stutz Limousine, from 1927

(Notice the steering wheel location.)

 

The Discoverer

Young Master Henry takes after his scientific parents and closely investigates how buttons, handles, and pedals work. This is very important for a young, inquiring mind.

Mexicali Mexico Earthquake

This purports to be a pic taken outside of Mexicali at the time of the earthquake earlier this week.  I picked it off a Twitter post attributed to @SteffanAntonas.

Fascinating illustration of the power our gentle world has within it.

Merle Haggard. 'Nuff said.

Please enjoy.

What a Real Vacation is Like

First, there's eating; a lot of eating

Then, there's playing with cousins. Lots of playing