Gastronomic Adventures in Portland
–By Helen Gordon Last November, I flew up to Portland, Oregon, on a catering job for my aunt. Yes, she flew me up to Portland to bake for her dinner party. I brought my trusty assistant (A.K.A. husband) and since we were going to be there for a few days, we went on a gastronomic [...]
Ólöf Arnalds: “Innundir Skinni” visits San Francisco
–By Julia Dodge Ólöf Arnalds, with her extra terrestrial-pitch and soothing accoustic guitar, opens up a world of magic on her sophomore album, “Innundir Skinni.” If you’ve been feeling emotionally-stunted, computer-logged or crushed by the weight of the world, the Icelandic folk princess will make it all go away. Seriously. Like the ephierial and liberating sounds of Tori [...]
Gaga’s Semi Precious Weapons come to Slim’s SF
–By Julia Dodge “I can’t pay the rent, but I’m fuckin’ gorgeous.” That lines explodes on the opening, self-titled track of the Semi Precious Weapons’ debut LP, You Love You. And it’s certainly not the last time a line belted by sparkly extra-terrestrial singer Justin Tranter will slap you in the face, nor the last [...]
Review: You’ll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again
Actress Heather McDonald reveals how staying locked at the knees helped her find that needle in the Hollywood haystack –By Ellie Geyer A few years ago I would have considered Heather McDonald to be my arched nemesis. A sorority girl who didn’t put out for 27 years? We couldn’t be more different. Unfortunately, years of [...]
Review: Sex and the City 2 goes to the desert
–By Julia Dodge It was a ladies night out, with gaggles of middle-aged, overly-blonde-and-glittered women flooding theaters for the highly-anticipated Sex and the City 2. A few Carries, a couple Charlottes, and LOTS of Samanthas, the theatrical bachelorette party was underway with flying popcorn, rows of cupholders containing brashly-mixed cosmos, and echoes of “woo-hoo’s!” throughout the theater [...]
Review: And the Heart Says Whatever
We can aspire to “Sex and the City” status, but we are all, in fact, Emily Goulds –By Ellie Geyer Bitingly sarcastic and sometimes unenthusiastic, author Emily Gould takes you through her late teens and twenties in the form of short stories in her second book, aptly named “And the Heart Says Whatever” (Free Press, [...]
Down and Dirty: Chelsea Chelsea, Bang Bang
–By Julia Dodge Masturbation, magic mushrooms and mayhem: simply put, Chelsea Handler’s third autobiographic endeavor is a rumpus ride. From ridiculous family squabbles to behind-the-scenes-hijinks at E!’s “Chelsea Lately”, this book is for anyone who enjoys crude humor, practical jokes and has a penchant for affectionately calling everybody “Chunk.” You can tell that Ms. Handler [...]
Dum Dum Girls: Teenage angst, 60s-style
–By Julia Dodge The 60s garage, Shangri-las-inspired chick rock is once again completed on I Will Be (Sub Pop Records), the debut full-length LP by the newly-formed L.A. girl group, the Dum Dum Girls. Following the classic “Leader of the Pack” formula and echoing-cave harmonies of doo-wop divas, the Dum Dum Girls sing of teenage angst and [...]
She & Him Shine “In the Sun”
–By Julia Dodge I first fell in love with Zooey Deschanel’s enchanting voice in Elf. When she sang ”Baby, it’s Cold Outside” it channeled Judy Garland “Somewhere-Over-the-Rainbow” chills (which leads me to another thought: she’d absolutely shine Oscar-style as Garland in a biographic film.) Today marked another milestone for She & Him, the folk-indie duo of actress Deschanel and M. [...]