Spikely's Photoblog

Batman & Butter in Berkeley

2010-01-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

Salted caramel ice cream churning - rich, sticky and gooey, gelato-like

2010-01-06T10:25:00.001-08:00

Rosette of melting sugar - the beginnings of salted caramel ice cream

2010-01-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

Caramel nut tart - Christmas 2009 dinner

2009-12-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous, blue crisp sparkling 60F day in Napa Valley (from Freemark Abbey's patio, tasting 95 & 04 Sycamore Cab... So far)

2009-12-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

Filtering 2009 Greenridge Meyer Limoncello

2009-10-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Darth Pinata

2009-07-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

SFMOMA roof garden cafe with Amy - spidery sculpture

2009-06-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

Vampires? In broad daylight while Airborne Toxic Event is playing? Next up, Glasvegas.

2009-06-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

Look who we found at BFD in the Laguna Seca tent! No Rossi, alas, but still revving us up for MotoGP...

2009-06-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Most unconventional amigrumi prize goes to: Ochibo @etsy, as seen at Maker Faire #mf09

2009-05-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

About to see Eepy doing mentos & coke live! whee!! #mf09

2009-05-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Steampunk snail vehicle @ #mf09

2009-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Rumble robots @ #mf09

2009-05-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

Alternavehicle @ #mf09

2009-05-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Legojeep at #mf09

2009-05-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Good looking geese @ Tilden Park's Little Farm

2009-05-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ma(i)sonry in Yountville

2009-05-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Started with a splash of the 2008 Blackbird Arriviste Rose - strawberries with a light caramel finish. Lovely.

Maximilian Riedel

2009-05-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

"we are not a design house - we are making fine instruments"

Riedel Tasting Seminar at Freemark Abbey

2009-05-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Riedel tasting seminar at Freemark Abbey with Vitis glasses

AMA Superbike races @ Infineon in Sonoma - Bikes on Track!

2009-05-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

DiSalvo leads rolling start in Turn 3... Crash in Turn 7 (just behind in the photo) takes a couple of guys out in Daytona Sportbike race @ Infineon

AMA Superbike races 09 @ Infineon in Sonoma

2009-05-17T13:43:00.001-07:00

Waiting for Daytona Sportbike race to start at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma - about 95 degrees right now!

F1 Race in Singapore

2008-10-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

First ever F1 Night race, first ever F1 street race in Asia, OUR first ever F1 race and Thomas's first time ever in Singapore! Whew.

Miner

2007-02-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

On Silverado Trail. Excellent sangiovese, whites are too sweet though. They have a fantastic display of large format bottles with their names and sizes. The biggest "real" one is the Melchior, which is equivalent to 2 cases of wine! They also have one bigger, the Bigolemofo, which is 3 cases in one gigantic bottle that's probably a real drag to pour.

AVN sign

2007-01-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, goofy, but we couldn't resist :)

$21 ramen noodles

2007-01-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

The good news is the MGM Grand at least has comfort food, unlike Monaco. It sucks being sick in Vegas; I hate this place anyway.

smile

2006-12-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

In the restroom at Americano @ Hotel Vitale on the Embarcadero in SF.

I still heart SF

2006-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the traffic down the Peninsula can be really annoying, but with this sort of stunning weather, sunroof open, blasting Wolfmother, drinking the lovely hot quadruple latte Thomas makes me every morning, life can't get much better.

all Gaudi, all the time

2006-11-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Friday in Barcelona we did the full Gaudi tour: Sagrada Familia (absolutely incredible-first time I'd been inside as well), then Park Guell (got tip is to take bus 92 which drops you off at the back near Gaudi's house so you don't have to trudge up the hill from either the 24 or worse yet-Lesseps metro. Walking down the hill afterwards was bad enough...), and finally La Padrera.

pets on Las Ramblas

2006-11-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

A row of outdoor set stalls sold everything from fish to rabbits to reptiles to an incredible assortment of birds including pheasants, parrots and an array of chickens incl a massively huge breed with Clydesdale-style feet. They also had rodents including these adorable little guys: chipmunks! I had fantasies of smuggling one home on the plane. Indubitably, I still want one!

wed is Avignon

2006-11-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

We spent our last few hours in Avignon on Wed wandering around the Palais du Papes before heading to Perpignan to catch our train to Barcelona.

let's get awesome!

2006-11-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

Crazy taxi at the train station in Perpignan, where we finally arrived after a 3 hour ordeal looking for the rental car return in that town...

thomas takes a dip

2006-10-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

His first time in the Med. Apparently a little chilly, but still a good thing.

cinc sentits

2006-10-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

Phenomenal tasting menu for lunch, with a little cava to start and a recently almost endangered white wine, godello. My fav so far was the Iberian pork belly with veloute of butternut squash; Thomas loves the scallops with jerusalem artichoke puree and ham chip. YUM.

sagrada familia

2006-10-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

orange

2006-10-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

The most intact Roman theatre in the world is in Orange.

le chat noir #3

2006-10-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

Thomas's new friend in Orange, in front of the Theatre.

dejeuner a La Mere Germain

2006-10-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Le soleil is finally out today-almost too much so out on this terrace! Avez-vous du creme solaire svp? The blackbirds flying through the sky en masse are incredible.

Ch du Papes

2006-10-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

best dinner so far

2006-10-24T02:28:00.000-07:00

Was ce soir at Hiely Lucullus in Avignon. Service was amazing, food was great esp the cheese selection, wine was fantastic and local-a cotes du rhone from Ch. d'Hughes near Orange. They kept giving us little amuses bouches as well incl a bit of fried chocolate (who'da thunk?) and a house-made marshmallow which Thomas declared tasted like a peep! (yet not quite so sweet or brightly colored of course)

Frejus

2006-10-22T05:42:00.000-07:00

About an hour Ouest of Monaco is the little village of Frejus, which used to be a Roman naval base.

nice boots

2006-10-18T01:13:00.000-07:00

Fashionable horse w a model's physique - HUGE!

royal press frenzy

2006-10-16T03:37:00.000-07:00

A mass of press descends on our booth surrounding Prince Albert as he tours the show floor.

le casino derriere

2006-10-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

lovey pigeons

2006-10-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Even the rats with wings find Monaco romantic.

look familiar, race fans?

2006-10-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

sac-o-mat!

2006-10-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

Keeping Monaco poop free for however many years.

le baggage est arrive!

2006-10-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

monaco b'fast view

2006-10-15T03:59:00.000-07:00

So this would be even more fabulous if they hadn't lost (sorry, Delayed) my luggage so I wouldn't be getting insta-sunburn enjoying a leisurely cafe ou deux out here... Not being able to take liquids on the plane means no moisturizer, no sunscreen (for face or body - if I were Bernadette Peters I'd be trapped in the room I suppose!), no hair product or deodorant (good thing it's France :), not to mention no clothes-it's a little too nice out for boots, but c'est la vie. It's still Monaco and it's still pretty freaking stunning!

The Stills

2006-10-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

@ Independent w Stewart and Lori

mini mini!

2006-09-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

super-cute!

2006-09-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sat, Sep 9, 2006 at 3:51 PM: la vaca!

2006-09-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Awesome new addition to Napa Valley: La Vaca & BBQ. Centrally located in Oakville, too. Super authentic Mexican food - and reasonably priced. We pshaw the Oakville Grocery lemmings!

wanna help me...

2006-08-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Your girlfriend let you out of the house wearing this? Oh, right - you couldn't possibly HAVE a girlfriend...

Editors @ Fillmore

2006-08-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

One of the best shows in a long time. Phenomenal sound, some new songs, great stage presence.

Thomas's 40th

2006-08-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we're superior lame-o's for not taking ANY (like, not a single one) photos at Thomas's 40th b'bay bash, so you will not see his alien impression with giant waving king crab legs sticking out of his stomach and screaming through the living room (plus the added comedy when the juice started dripping out of them onto the carpet), nor the faces of all of our wonderful friends who came to celebrate and made new friendships among each other, nor the pitchers and pitchers of Thomas's primo margaritas and his famous shredded pork tacos and chili lime steak. So here's just a bit of the aftermath: 3 large-format fantastic wines, perfect for an epic party like this. 2002 Ridge Geyserville, 1997 Turley Dogtown Zin, and a 1997 Turley Black-Sears Zin. Hell yes.

BTE

2006-08-08T01:30:00.000-07:00

Better Than Ezra at the Independent last night, courtesy of Tim Wallen. Great live show as always, fun and wandering into other people's songs, plus covers of Stones & James. Love 'em!

Missing: Bobby Hill?

2006-08-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

Tell me this doesn't look like Bobby from King of the Hill... "wow, I'm a REAL boy!"

Muse

2006-07-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

Mary came over for dinner, then we stumbled over there-we actually heard them start since we're basically next door. ran into Warren Christensen who escorted up inte a VIP area stage right that was worlds better than where we were out on the floor originally.

the girls

2006-07-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

sunday in SF

2006-04-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous day out here at Chrissy Field. SO good to be home.

Editors

2006-04-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

Editors at Mezzanine last night ROCKED! Thanks to Mary Nite as always for the tix, and Lori Bachelor for coming through with an extra for Matt West, our man in London.

i hate vegas

2006-04-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

This place is so freakin WEIRD.

South Beauty

2006-04-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

Slate or old wood? This is the wall over the bar at South Beauty in Shanghai, where we had our best meal of the trip. It was once a bank, and a lord's house, and a communist bureau of some sort.

laundry

2006-04-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Why do all kitties like fresh laundry?

Shanghai!

2006-03-18T22:50:00.000-08:00

Angelina was kind enough to drag me around town yesterday, all day. The best bit was Old Shanghai, where everything is still in the traditional architecture and there are shops that have been there for 100 years, all specializing in one thing: chopsticks, scissors and cleavers, musical instruments, tea. The Yu Garden was pretty incredible-some rich guy's estate and gardens dating from the Qing dynasty (I think), with multiple covered bridges over ponds absolutely teeming with carp. Every pathway was laid with intricate pebble patterns, and stone carved reliefs dot the garden walls. You could imagine living there, wandering through all the intimate little nooks and always having something new and lovely to enjoy.

Lola

2006-02-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Enjoying a little chin rub. These girls are elusive! Super quiet, and still a little shy as they get acclimated to their new home. Thomas did wake up to find that one of them had made it upstairs (soundlessly) and was staring at him. We're going to have to put bells on them or something!!

Bruce Hix!

2006-02-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

Where old record people go... The SF animal shelter! Bruce is processing our new kitties right now, currently called Dottie and Boots but soon to change, whom Deb Campbell helped us spend some time with! Thomas worked with both of them at the Polygram branch here back in the day.

Paw RIP

2006-01-28T00:55:00.000-08:00

I had to put my baby to sleep today:-(
she was beautiful right to the end.
Thomas says the angels are fighting over her.
She was the best kitty in the world. I am heartbroken.

rawk

2006-01-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

Disturbed at Warfield, courtesy of Scott Perlewitz. Tight. Sold out. Rockin'. Massive drum kit with 2 bass drums. Love this shit!

Stinson Beach

2005-12-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

Drove up to Stinson yesterday (Dec 28). Gorgeous & warm, clean & crisp from all the rain, plus huge waves. Also found a massive chunk of beached whale carcass which was a little gross... We were wave hunting. Started at Fort Point to watch the surfers under the Golden Gate Bridge, then Stinson, then all the way up to Point Reyes with plenty of deer, reindeer, cow and horse sightings along the road. Fun day!

Weekly World News

2005-12-27T18:09:00.000-08:00

Gotta love it... As seen in the checkout line at Safeway.

LA

2005-12-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

Roof of The Standard for drinks with J9 and Tim on Thurs before Christmas. Knapp called right when we were talking about him-eerie!

Sharks!

2005-12-22T01:43:00.000-08:00

Went to our first Sharks game at HP Pavilion last night. Awesome!! They beat the Ducks 4-2. We were up in the Hitachi skybox thanks to Kevin, and brought Jason along as well. Great company as well as a great game. Last time we saw them was when they were still playing at the Cow Palace - only been to the "Shark Tank" for shows... I believe the last was Queensryche!

NSSN

2005-12-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

Not So Silent Night w/Hot Hot Heat (who were GREAT), Death Cab (who were good but not as good as at the Warfield a few weeks back), and White Stripes (who kinda sucked). Thanks to Mary for the tix and passes - she always takes great care of us!

NSSN

2005-12-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

Ran into quite a few folks we hadn't seen in ages at the show, incl Scott Perlewitz here, Adrian Moreira, Amy (Rose Frager's niece), and Jayn.

tiki hut

2005-12-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

Boo!

Tuesday

2005-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Went to Mary's Stoli promo at Jillian's, them to Spud's 50th b'day party at the Tiki Hut in North Beach. His band, Drifting Sand, played their surf music, and we ran into a lot of Live 105 old timers incl Richard Sands and Steve Masters.

Singapura kitty

2005-12-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

Went to visit the Singapura kitty at the bookstore on Valencia on Sunday after brunch with the Bachelors at Las Ramblas.

death cab!

2005-11-13T22:53:00.000-08:00

Death Cab For Cutie at the Warfield - fabulous! First time we've been to this venue since we moved back, though we've seen a million of shows here (NIN, Mission/Wonderstuff, Michelle Shocked, Radiohead...). HUGE thanks to Mary Nite for the tix.

living legend

2005-11-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

Wow-went to see Dr. Stephen Hawking lecture at the Paramount in Oakland last night. As Thomas said when I asked him if he wanted to go a few weeks ago, it was kind of like our parents having the opportunity to see Einstein-how can you let that pass? The lecture itself, on The Origin of the Universe, was very short-just 20 minutes or so, and expectedly superficial as a result. But "the Hawk" is very funny, and the Q&A bits at the end were insightful and entertaining. Unfortunately his new blink trigger was a little on the fritz, so it wasn't as interactive a Q&A as usual. Instead of taking a lot of questions from the audience, he selected a few from recent interviews, including one that came very close to answering mine (which guest appearance were you more excited about: Star Trek or the Simpsons?) - he "still thinks the Simpsons is the best thing on American TV." Despite the incredible difficulties in communicating, exascerbated by the tech issues with his infrared blink switch, Hawking still managed to squeak out a little spontenaiety. When asked how he felt about Bush's plan to get to Mars by 2010, he said, "Stupid." At which point we all laughed uproariously and missed the second part of his answer. His assistant David clarified: "actually he said we should send *robots* because we wouldn't have to bring them back and it would be cheaper, not *politicians*." Hawking tosses out: "Maybe."

Clive Barker

2005-10-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Met him at Booksmith on Haight earlier this week. Super-nice guy! There to promote his new art book, "Visions of Heaven & Hell", and let us know about an upcoming gallery exhibit & sale in LA - finally, I may have a shot at getting a piece of his originl art!

Reno!

2005-10-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sweet & Viscious

2005-10-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Met Ollie & mate Ian for a lovely Saturday afternoon cocktail in the Bowery.

NYC

2005-10-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

Look familiar?

bye London

2005-10-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Rosemary is sad to see me go back to the States.

4 Tisbury Court, Soho

2005-10-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Was still able to find it instinctively from Picadilly tube after 20 years.

--
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Falafel Palace

2005-10-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

Actually it's Palffy Palace, in what is now a music conservatory and used to be a private residence. Gorgeous baroque sort of room, great meal.

best sign

2005-10-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

No guns, no dogs, no ice cream.

Kafka Street

2005-10-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Prague is pretty quiet

2005-10-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Outside of the tourist track.

eek

2005-10-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ministry of something-or-other (or at least that's what it looks like) in Nove Mesto : definitely not the sort of place you want to be summoned to.

rooftop view

2005-10-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

From the top of the Aria Hotel.

palace courtyard 2

2005-10-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

St. Vitus

2005-09-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

The family cathedral up at Prague Castle.

snausages

2005-09-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

robots in Wenceslas Square

2005-09-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

random decorated buildings

2005-09-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

KFC

2005-09-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

18th century KFC.

Old Town Square

2005-09-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

And the astronomical clock which was not really as interesting as expected.