furlinedteacup

120 Minutes era alternative rock videos

Back in the day, I would crawl into class on Monday mornings, wishing I could curl up and go to sleep under my desk. No, it wasn't just a case of the Mondays -- it was post-120 Minutes sleep deprivation in action. That's right -- MTV used to actually have shows that collected MUSIC VIDEOS and played them back-to-back for hours! Shocking, I know. And these were from bands like The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Peter Murphy, etc. Stuff you couldn't really here outside of 91x in San Diego, KROQ in L.A. and Live105 in SF.

And now someone has collected a whole slew of 120 Minutes style video links from youtube and posted them here.

Enjoy! (and send me links for any JAMC you find on there)

RESfest founder Jonathan Wells has launched a new film fest

My college classmate Jonathan Wells has always had a good feel for what's new and captivating in the video arts. Back in the day, he had a local cable access program that showcased indie rock videos, local art, and other cool stuff of interest in the visual arts. A few years later, he founded the RESfest, the roaming digital film fest that has long been a must-attend on my social calendar.

This morning, I received a note that he'd moved on from the RESfest to start a new film festival, Swerve, with West Coast flavor. They're open for submissions through August 8, so get crackin'!

I'm excited to let you know about a brand new festival that I'm directing and that is being produced by my new company Flux. After ten years at the helm of RESFEST, it was time for a change.

Inspired by art, film, music and action sports, Swerve Festival celebrates west coast creativity and culture. The festival is a brand new initiative of FUEL TV and will include screenings of independent feature and short films, music videos and live music performances. A Swerve art show of original art installations is being organized by Beautiful Losers co-curator Aaron Rose. Todd St. John and Gary Benzel of HunterGatherer have designed the festival logo and are creating the visual identity of the festival.

I'd like to invite you to get involved. Submit a film, music or art project or just join us for the last weekend in September in Los Angeles.

Swerve Festival
September 28-30, 2007
Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles

We are seeking innovative films and videos from around the world for the film programs.
Entry Deadline: August 8, 2007 (postmark deadline)

For more information visit:
www.swervefestival.com

Please join the festival mailing list on the Swerve site if you'd like to receive programming updates.

best,
Jonathan
--
Jonathan Wells

Polaroid art show at doe sf

Go see Charlie's show and shop for some treats for yourself too at doe sf. You can get a preview of the show here.

More Foodie Reads Around the Web

• Alcopopsicles. Mmmm. The Baltimore Sun came up with a slew of grown-up ice pops to help keep us cool. I think these are good candidates for putting my Hello Kitty ice cube trays to use.
• In my house growing up, zucchini bread was almost as ubiquitous as popsicles during summer.  The

  San Antonio

  newspaper’s food section offers up a lighter version of this childhood staple. They also have a luscious-sounding Strawberry Napoleon with Sugared Wontons recipe.

Marthapedia...coming soon

I'm going to pick I've picked up the new issue of Wired magazine because they had Martha Stewart host their how-to issue. Yeah Martha! In the Martha interview conducted by boingboing co-founder Mark Frauenfelder (long a a favorite writer of mine) Martha announced she's working on... a Martha wiki. Whoo-hoo! I admit to having some of her how-tos clipped out and sitting in a binder, and am excited about being able to search them wiki-style in the future.

Getting out of the chocolate chip cookie rut

I think tonight might be the night for trying out everybodylovessandwiches chocolate chip blondie type snacky things recipe. Especially since I forgot to make my chocolate chip scones for breakfast this weekend.

Recent foodie reads

I'm a little later with this post than intended but better late than never (or something):

• I'm really enjoying the Serious Eats group blog. Check out the Manila Pizza post to get a flavor for their newsy posts. Reminds me of how I felt about Saveur when it was a newly minted publication. Just right level of personal details without overwhelming the food content.
• I had a little bit of a giggle reading this Pasta Pomodoro review. I'm used to my local paper's policy of not reviewing chains, and didn't realize other papers actually do. Also in the Philly Inquirer, I liked the Crispy Chicken Salad recipe, though for the life of me I have no idea what Panko bread crumbs are (specific company? type of bread product?)
• Bay Area Bites had a great ode to fried chicken that makes me wish I'd get over my fear of frying. For now though, I think I am sticking with my small chunks of chicken fried in the tiniest amount of oil possible.
• On a hot Summer day the last thing I want to do is cook. That's why this NY Times article with 101 bullet-size recipes for 10 min meals was right up my alley.
• Diners love to complain about bad dining experiences. This Dallas Morning News article turns the tables -- with restaurant staff sharing their pet peeves about diners.

Keeping Harry Potter Spoiler-free

Around my house, we're doing everything we can to keep ourselves spoiler-free for the final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Although our copy of the book doesn't arrive from Amazon until tomorrow, we had to start early with our spoiler-blackout tactics, thanks to the multiple bootleg PDF copies floating around and being voraciously consumed by fans.

Last time around, the World of Warcraft forums were overflowing with spoilers disguised as controversial posts. This year, amidst early reports of spoilers being in the forum post titles themselves despite Blizzard assertions that spoiler posters would potentially be banned from the forums, that became a no-click-to zone. For that same reason, my household's in-game general and trade channels are turned off. I don't want to find out who dies in the end until I actually REACH the end of the book tyvm.

I'm also avoiding Salon.com after a livejournal friend noted they have a spoileriffic article. I'm just waiting to see someone on the street with a homemade t-shirt spoiling it for the rest of us. I am sure it is only a matter of time...

To Do: Go See Celebrity Junk Drawer exhibit

There's only about a week left to go see the Celebrity Junk Drawer exhibit at 111 Minna. Celebrity portrait mosaic art by Jason Mecier, made out of junk, often even refuse chucked by the pictured celebrities.

Read the SF Gate Culture Blog article for more links than you can click a mouse at.

Support a Local Indie Bookstore and Save Money Too

Stacey's Annual License to Save Sale, 7/19-7/21

For three days only, Stacey’s Literary License members save 20% on everything (excluding periodicals) in the store. Their loyalty program is free to join --sign up at the Mezzanine Service Desk. In addition to this special sale, they give you a $10 certificate every time you spend $200 (it's cumulative not a one-shot thing), plus 10% off every book you buy every day.

And as they mention on their website, this Saturday, July 21st is Harry Potter Day -- might as well get that hefty hardcover for less.

Wikipedia Founder at the Commonwealth Club next week

Wikipedia's founder, Jimbo Wales, is going to be the guest at the next INFORUM Commonwealth Club event on July 18. I have lots of respect for his creation -- not only has it allowed many a lazy writer such as myself the ability to avoid a trip to the library, it's also spawned one of my favorite websites -- WoW Wiki.

Personally, I'd like to create my own wiki to categorize my recipes and foodie articles, culinary website links, etc. But since I lack the time and willingness to spend the cash on setting one up, maybe I'd just better find some existing wiki and start a build-out in that area.

Battle of the Wine Heavyweights at Indigo

Williams Selyem  vs. Dehlinger -- yes, it's not quite at the level of suspense as an Iron Chef America episode featuring Todd English, but it's a great idea nonetheless. San Francisco's Indigo Restaurant has put a fresh spin on their popular wine lovers dinners with a new "Battle of the Varietals" format for the rest of this month.

Details from the restaurant behind the cut.

SF's Legion of Honor Kicks off a new "Cinema Supper Club"

The new DeYoung Museum may have gotten the lion’s share of the press over the past year-and-a-half, but its sister organization, the Legion of Honor, is still alive and kicking. I just received an email about their summertime cinema dinners, starting today.

Mirroring the DeYoung’s extended hours on Fridays, these Thursday night events pair special 3-course dinners in the Legion’s café with a selection of films that tie in with their special exhibition Rembrandt to Thiebaud: A Decade of Collecting Works on Paper.

Selected Foodie Readings Elsewhere Today

• The Dallas Morning News had a yummy sounding recipe for a chili lasagne. My nostalgia for hamburger helper lasagne (a staple around my house as a child) and my grown-up love of spicy chili means I am putting this on my "to make" list for the weekend.
• The NY Times has a piece on the excellence of Engish candy bars. Nice to know I'm not the only one who requests chocolates from friends going abroad.
• Bay Area Bites had a great post about planning for a green friend's "super crunchy" baby shower.

Twidget

Typepad apparently just launched a twitter widget. I know a few of my friends have twitter accounts, but I still haven't drank the Kool-Aid®. It seems like an amped up DodgeBall, and that lost its novelty pretty fast for me. Would be interesting to know what folks are using it for, other than to fill up their phone mail inbox...

Garlic-free Italian Cuisine?

I love garlic in large quantities. I knew not everyone shared this love, but I didn't know that there's a movement afoot in Rome to reinvent an Italian cuisine that omits the herb completely. A garlic-free Italian cuisine? No thanks!

Food Activism Starts at Home

Great food activism article in today's SF Chronicle around the idea of "using the farm bill to improve childhood nutrition, public health, pollution problems, environmental quality and farmer incomes."

PowerPoint for Tots

At the end of this NPR piece on technology for kids, the reporter talks about how some 3rd graders are "already giving presentations in their classes in PowerPoint" and has obtained a laptop for his 5-year-old so he's not "left behind."

That's the scariest thing I have heard in ages.

Shouldn't we allow children time to be children? Won't they have decades upon decades of toiling away in PowerPoint® ahead of them? What's the big rush? Are our children failures if they don't start their first entrepreneurial venture by puberty?

Simpson's Kwik-E-Mart in Mountain View

Kwik-E-Mart
Originally uploaded by almostgold

We drove down to Mountain View today to see the 7-11 turned Kwik-E-Mart in homage (or should I say marketing synergy?) to the upcoming Simpson's movie.

The big donuts with shocking pink icing were actually really tasty.

Mmmmm donuts.

Read more:

• SF Gate's article on this marketing campaign
• The Kwik-E-Mart blogspot site
• 7-11's Kwik-E-mart site