[a] tribute to the [m]an who mixed the music.

forever applause - outside lands festival - sf, ca

an impressive person has left the planet.  someone who seized his passion, shared it with fortunate masses, and, for craftsmen like him, replaced doubt with the possibility of success.  dj am will be missed on many levels, by more people than he could have ever imagined.  

your schedule will open up at just the right time.

blue sky, spring branches - home - napa, ca

this weekend is going to be nutty.  and with my saturday and sunday clear as they are, i just might just forget that monday awaits.

finding the right places to scrounge around.

digging dogs - home - napa, ca

i'm over the marina.  i'm over the triangle bars.  find me--from now on--in a better space.

back to la paz. back-to-back.

prayer flags over the garden entry - home - napa, ca

i'm beginning to notice that my pictures are starting to resemble each other.  even if the subjects change.  that either means that i'm developing a personal style or i need new terrain slash inspiration.  in effort to keep everyone interested, i'm taking my camera to the streets.  watch out for the urban captures.

flipping the bird to the bull.

noodley zinnea - you know where - napa, ca

cut the bullshit.  prioritize your life.  and focus on what matters.  if people are saturating your everyday situation with stupid shit, ask yourself why you let them.  ask yourself if the nonsense that they're spitting has anything to do with you or your happiness or your most certainly brilliant future.  if it doesn't, tell them to f-o.  and quick.

make them apples last.

compost heap - home - napa ,ca

i finally got to making apple sauce tonight.  as you can see, the apples at home abound.  they grow by the ton.  and i--channeling my inner john and carol euser--did what a smart person does when presented with ten pounds of quickly ripening gravensteins.  i made apple sauce.  

simple instructions:

1. start with tunes that remind you of home.  it is impossible to make good apple sauce without great background noise.

2. peel your apples

3. quarter and core the peeled apples

4. place quarters in a large pot (apples shouldn't rise above 2/3 mark)

5. add a 1/4 cup of water to prevent burning

6. cook over a medium flame, stirring frequently

7.  apples will begin to break down, and while they do, mash occasionally with your stirring spoon

8.  continue to cook, stir, and mash until--voila--you have delicious, homemade apple sauce.  

cooking time: approximately ten minutes

sugar: optional

all the seriousness halts on sunday.

hands up - the farthest pedestrian point - sf, ca

on a day-to-day basis, i tend to be pretty critical.  but i'm a different person on sundays.  i embrace that chubby men will jog shirtless despite their bouncing man-boobs.  i forgive drivers who ignore me in the crosswalk.  and when trader joe's is out of its organic, nonfat plain yogurt, i give their european-style alternative a try.  i think it would behoove me to hold onto the sunday spirit--sprinkle it on top of the rest of my weekdays and heave-ho the rest.  

slap that saturday right off your face.

the beach house - beach drive - aptos, ca

while i'm working on this most painfully perfect saturday, i'll be thinking about how much i'd rather be at the beach.  

eighty grams a day keeps the doctor far far away.

vegetables in a a row - the garden - napa, ca

people, are you getting enough fiber?  i'm not talking about that metamucil bullshit.  i know that you know that your body doesn't want fiber in the form of artificially-flavored, chalky, orange water.  in fact, scrap all of the fiber intake methods that don't occur naturally.  the sooner you introduce fruits and vegetables into every which one of your three to five meals per day, the better.  

pick your letters at random and the record-breaking is only inevitable.

scrabble board - at the beach - aptos, ca

the most points ever earned on a single turn of scrabble is 365--the gentleman-scholar michael cresta earned the points using the word QUIXOTRY (adj. exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical) back in october of 2006.  watch out cresta, my eye is on your prize.

produce knowledge: hard avocado, green cure.

spindly little sunflowers - the garden - napa, ca

so you might have noticed as of late that grocery store avocados are one of two things:  ripe and overpriced or stone-hard and semi-affordable.  well, i refuse to spend $2.50 per fruit, so i'll share with you some knowledge i picked up in the check-out isle.  

place your yet-ripened avocados (i find that they ripen best in groups of three or four) in a brown paper bag (you're thinking, duh, everyone knows that).  BUT, here's the sparkle point that will put the yellow-to-green, buttery deliciousness in your sadly pre-picked produce:  

add a green apple to the bag.

why?  because i'm telling you to.  then give those suckers a couple days.  

but don't forget to investigate the potential of an avocado before buying.  if it's completely green, chances are it'll end up watery and not worth your while--even after a brown bag vacation.  and if it's too soft from the get-go, you're bound to find mushy bruise marks that'll inevitably gross you out.  so choose wisely, be patient, and add that avocado to everything your healthy heart desires.