Friends

Continuing the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:

Best Blog Finds.

2009 is definitely the year I started reading blogs and other websites on a regular basis. After getting comfortable in my new job, I found myself with a lot of time to spare in between reference questions. With Google Reader, I'm able to keep all my stuff organized and keep up with the new posts.

I have to give a shout out to Tony & Lewis' film criticism blog, Split Edit because I enjoy what they are writing and not just because it's Tony. Besides, Tony and I often watch movies together so it is interesting to read his reflections on these things. The posts have spawned/added to/ grown many of our discussions.

Best visual amusement is Black and WTF, a collection of black and white photos with wtf factors. Every day I get a laugh from that site.

Best commentary with hilarious results goes to Cake Wrecks, which had me crying with laughter the first time I stumbled upon it and then had to go through every frickin post because I couldn't get enough wreckiness.

The most informative blog, and the one that helps satiate my urban planning thirsts is The Infrastructurist.

Most awesome friend's project blog is Cooking with the Junior League. My friend and fellow librarian, Mary McCoy, is cooking fine regional cuisines once a week from various Junior League books from across the US. I like that she started with Charleston Receipts.

And finally, the best livejournal find was Audrey Kawasaki's art blog I_Seldom_Do. I love her paintings!

09:43 Last night's dinner: Indian Samosa Casserole www.flickr.com/photos/carmyarmyofme/4185472578/ #

23:33 Tony wants a helper monkey for xmas. Anyone got a hookup? #

Continuing the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:

Books.

Well, I just started The Gone Away World, so I won't factor that in to my post, even if 2009 is not over yet.

I've never been able to choose favorites well, and with something like books it becomes even more difficult. Since I love to read and never am without a book to read, I'll say that these are the best bookS that I have read (so far) this year.

Ask the Dust

Ask the Dust by John Fante.
Read in September, 2009
recommended for: Angelenos
Loved loved loved the descriptions of Los Angeles in 1938/39. Some things were so much of exactly the same of what they are now (some things that you might have expected would have changed) and some things were so very different. Since I'm in downtown most every day, I was thrilled to read about Angel's Flight, dives on Main street, breweries and warehouses along the river, and other downtown settings.
Can't say that I liked either the main character, Arturo Bandini, or his love interest, Camilla, but I will say that disliking the main characters did not take away from this book at all. Arturo's observations are the author's own from his experience living downtown after moving from Colorado. He definitely observed the place in a way that a transplanted person from a different area of the country would, and I found many of the descriptions to be dead on or simply intriguing in their choice of words.

Post Office: A Novel

Post Office by Charles Bukowski
Read in September, 2009
recommended for: anyone caught in the bureaucratic ladder
Quick, delicious like nachos (taste good, looks nasty, and you probably shouldn't have eaten them).
Bukowski has these things going for him:
*he really does conquer natural language. Flow, baby, flow.
*Anti-hero! You never get mad a Chinaski, even though he is an absolute wretch.
*His perspective turns the mundane interesting.
This really is a book that everyone who works for the government or major bureaucracy should read.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

Read in July, 2009
recommended for: food nerds, etc.
I learned a lot and was thoroughly entertained and informed. I loved the friendly, colloquial writing style, but also loved how full it was of facts and interesting stories. I've found myself recommending this book many times - and you don't even have to eat much Chinese food to find it relative and interesting.

The White Tiger

Read in January, 2009
The narrative is well-paced yet full of detail - the author paints an acute canvas of modern India, and our main character has a sardonic voice yearning to be free but which maintains both personality and perspective. Was the murder he committed blood-thirsty or a necessary part of class struggle? All serious themes aside, the author injects both wit and keen perception of India (and its ironies) into the story.

The Lazarus Project

Read in July, 2009
recommended for: anyone who reads a slightly intelligent book every now and then.
Hemon has me hooked. His acute descriptions of things both physical and emotional are woven into his writing making it rich and realistic. This was a parallel story of an event in the past and the writer that was researching it. It's the story of immigration in America, both now and then; of post-Soviet Eastern Europe; and of the classic quest for the meaning of (love, life, home). Hemon's writing is at times funny, sometimes dark, sometimes beautiful - but always coherent and expressive.

City of Thieves

Read in August, 2009
recommended for: many, it's solidly a good book.
I love how Benioff took his grandfather's war stories and spun them into a well-crafted, suspenseful, funny, and tragic novel. The very paradox of his humor mixed in with grueling conditions and brutal circumstances of war make this a compelling story to read. I'd definitely recommend it to most others.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

Read in December, 2009
recommended for: Chicago peeps, urban history lovers
When I studied history as an undergraduate, one of the greatest critiques of the volumes that we read was "History majors don't know how to tell a story and English majors can't keep their facts straight." Much of the non-fiction that I've read over the years has supported the truth of that statement. I'm happy to say that Devil in the White City is interesting, well-written, and well researched. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves urban history and anyone from/living in Chicago.


By the way, if you are on goodreads.com, you can also find me there.

Continuing the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:

First, I must pay homage to my favorite new restaurant discoveries of the year: Golden State and Würstkuche.

Golden State is definitely our new go-to restaurant. Tony & I love their food, love their philosophy, and love the personal attention we get when we dine there. It's easily the best hamburger in Los Angeles, and their curated mostly-Californian beer list matches their awesome menu perfectly.

Würstkuche is our second favorite restaurant these days. I've never been a fan of sausages until now, and Würstkuche's unique menu suits my palate fantastically - Apricot & Ginger, Filipino Marhalika (sweet pork), even the vegetarian choices like Smoked Apple or Chipotle are superb. Their beer list is a rotating one which is focused on German & Belgian brews, which are also excellent: Duchesse De Bourgogne, La Chouffe, Koningshoven, St. Bernardus, Schneider, and other delicious beers. We also like the area in the Arts District downtown and its convenience to my workplace. The one drawback is that the place is too damn popular, and it can be tough to get a seat.


As far as restaurant moments go, Tony and I had two great ones while traveling in New Zealand. After a long drive out to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of the North Island, we found ourselves hungry, off-schedule, and willing to settle for anything. So we picked the next place coming up in a guide book, which happened to be the Mangonui Fish Shop. We never expected to walk in to such a treat. The seafood in New Zealand was all around impressive (says the girl who grew up with some of the best seafood in the world), but this fish was fresh - the boat that caught it was still moored on the dock outside - and perfectly cooked to preserve the flavor, tenderness, and moisture with a beer-battered crispy coating.


Tony and I were also very impressed by a place in Hahei called The Church. We were staying in their cabins, which were awesome though chilly, and decided to dine in their restaurant. The food was so good, we came back the next night and abandoned our other plan for eating out. The restaurant specialized in local sustainable foods (much of NZ did this, but these guys did it particularly well)- and since this was New Zealand it was a nice treat for my foreign tongue. Both of the meals involved an incredible array of veggies ("veges" by NZ spelling), fresh fish, grass-fed-free-range beef, delicious wine, and delectable desserts. They were the kind of meals worth singing songs about.