Something different today: restaurant recommendations. I know, I know… you probably don’t even live here so these are of little value to you. But I’m trying hard not to burn out on this weblogging thing (especially with it being so suddenly trendy and public, popping up in the media everywhere). And the last (and unfortunately final) time I ever ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant, they sadly told us that they were losing the battle with the deluge of Chinese places that had opened across the street. We said “we’ll tell all our friends to come here!” But I never spread the word, not that it would’ve made much of a difference. The next time we drove by, a sign on the door said “On Vacation”. They never returned.

Hammerhead Fish House at 5291 Prospect Rd., San Jose impressed me with their perfectly cooked vegetables. Often the veggies on the side at American restaurants are steamed to death and tasteless. This place knows how to cook vegetables, and if they pay attention to the details, you can imagine that your entree is going to be decent. Real reviewers, of course, have to talk about the fish, so here’s a recent Merc review.

Red Tractor 1320 El Paseo De Saratoga,
San Jose is where you should go when you think you want to go to Boston Market. When we asked if they had corn and they said “only when it’s in season”, I knew this was a place that cares about the quality of their food, not just the marketability of their menu. It is true American comfort food (with no-meat meatloaf thrown in because, well, it’s California!). Meatloaf, turkey, chicken, yummy side dishes, tangy barbecue sauce (OK, I am not naive enough to call it real BBQ), amazing cheddar biscuits, and fresh lemonade. They claim it’s all made from scratch, and it tastes that way.

Tofu House at 3450 E El Camino Real in Santa Clara is Korean comfort food. First you get a selection of fresh, snappy kimchi, some spicy, some sour. A clear tangy broth, sort of a palate cleanser arrives. Soon a big stone bowl of rice is hefted onto your table and they mix in peas and serve it to you in metal bowls. Your main dish is a big, boiling bowl of organic tofu in a broth spiced and flavored as you requested: vegetables, kimchi, mushrooms, or various meats. It’s a steamily yummy concoction. And when you’re done, you can scoop up more crunchy bits of rice from the bottom of the stone container which they’ve filled with hot water so you can have a digestive soup. Oh, and their drinking water is purified. Attention to detail wins me over every time.

There is an abundance of girls’ series books which I was not previously aware of, probably because my hometown library didn’t have them. Many are from the same production houses that churned out the well-known Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames series. They all stick to the usual formulas: titles with a set pattern, either a mystery/adventure, or female career to follow, and standard characters (often a dead parent(s) or other interesting family situation for the heroine, always perky sidekicks, sometimes annoying adversaries). The three books I’ve recently encountered are: “Puzzle in Purple, A Connie Blair Mystery” (thanks Lisa! There’s also “Clue in Blue” and “Riddle in Red”), “Betty Gordon at Rainbow Ranch” (a Stratemeyer Syndicate series), and “The Secret of Magnolia Manor, The Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess Series”. Reading these books is like watching sitcoms. You know the formula, what to expect from the characters, and there’s not much underneath. Since they are all from earlier decades (1920’s-1940’s), I enjoy them as snapshots of history. I try to imagine what a girl in those times was getting from these books and how women are presented in them. Sometimes it’s not as bad as I expect. Many of them were written with the goal of encouraging independent thought. But the social differences are always pretty extreme! And the racism is, unfortunately, often worse than the outdated female roles.

The Millennial Medley Medals places me in good company. And it reminds me that you can’t be afraid of expressing your opinion if you want to be an effective writer.

The new trend where VCs cut their losses by closing down start-ups that have plenty of money left in the bank is mightily unsettling. I’ve worked through plenty of low cash situations (some which I probably never heard the worst of thanks to level-headed top management), and can make educated decisions about whether I want to tolerate a shaky financial climate. But you need different gauges for determining if a company is stable when VCs are looking to pull out the plugs when you have plenty of payroll left.

Before South Park, there was Ren & Stimpy. Yes, Nickelodeon used to have the sophisticated oomph of crass jokes too. It was just a few short years ago that people were bopping around to “Happy Happy Joy Joy” and singing the log commercial jingle. I’d almost forgotten. So what happened to those creative minds behind the behinds of the cat and the dog? Find out in The Completely Uncensored Unbelievably True Ren & Stimpy Story!. In a nutshell, Nickelodeon tried to get the cartoonists to sell out, and eventually decided that the network’s image shouldn’t be made in the potty-mouth show that gave its big break. (via Kestrel’s Nest)

Whew… I was away from the log for longer than I expected. But it was good for me to have a break. It helped me to remember that I started this log because I had interesting items and thoughts to share, and that I have them regardless of whether I have to have something to write in my log. Does that make sense? Ah well. Happy 2001 to all!

I am the proud owner of some amazingly random, stuffed Sushi Seal characters. They are seals in sushi configurations. The seal goes where the rice would be. Don’t question it; it’s one of those Japanese inventions that I sincerely hope they laugh about too. I have the Tamago-Kids: “They are always togehter (sic).” Indeed they are; they are attached in a pyramid and it would be difficult to separate them. Dad gets to carry around a slice of salmon and Mom is, fittingly I suppose, the roe.

I got a Digital Elph for Christmas. It came in handy for the foot of snow that blew in a few days later. I never took pictures of snow before because snow wasn’t a special event worthy of photography. Now I’m “from California”. But I’ll always be a Connecticut native. They can’t take that away from me.

I enjoyed this revealing gem of an expose on the amazingly similar Bush + nominees photos. Splice splice splice! Of course, this isn’t much better than all those photo-op reenactments of Senator Hillary being sworn in. Seems other people had to settle for Al Gore holding the Bible himself.

One of my favorite Christmas-time programs is on Wednesday night, The Kennedy Center Honors. Walter Cronkite hosts and it is always a pleasure to hear his voice. They put a lot of thought into the event, choosing memorable performances and participants who hold great meaning for the honorees. It’s not really a show for the general public as much as it is a tribute for the recipient. Someone who worked at the post-production firm used by their television producers told me that they insist on the highest quality work, and I believe it. It’s a genuine class act, which you don’t see much of on TV these days. Sadly two of last year’s honorees just died, Victor Borge and Jason Robards.