Posted by lemonjelly on: Fri 25th Feb, 2011

At the reception of Patricia Selbert's latest work, The House of Six Doors, not only was there endless good food and a reading of passages from the book, but the cover was designed with a "digital watermark." That meant a scan of the cover taken by a smartphone would open up an interactive multimedia experience related to the book.

The digital watermark has been more popular for use in advertising, appearing in newspapers or magazines. This is apparently the first use of it embedded in the cover of a book.

It used a technology from clic2c.com, the concept sounded quite fascinating, like taking QR codes one step further. However, the UX nitpicker in me found the process of first acquiring the clic2c app was cumbersome. And once installed, the application couldn't actually detect the digital watermark. So, the execution of the technology failed tonight. Quelle bummer. Maybe we needed better light?

Overall, though, a good evening. It was a full house in the Faulkner Gallery, standing room only. There were photos of Curacao, nibbles reminiscent of Curacao cuisines, live acoustic guitar from the author's young son, and passages of the book read by Selbert herself.

Tags: books, technology, digital watermark, faulkner gallery, no bums were there to eat the food

Posted by lemonjelly on: Fri 25th Feb, 2011

There is just a fraction of Monarchs still at the butterfly preserve off Coronado Drive in Ellwood, but the ones who've stuck around from overwintering in the eucalyptus are going at it like rabbits.

Sit still for a few minutes and paired up butterflies will drop out of the air and slowly spiral down to the ground, stuck in marital bliss. If you look carefully up in the sky, you might see some of the better coordinated butterflies floating about and attached in coitus. But most flutter down to the ground and once they're done they flap about, appearing disoriented, and most eventually get back into the air.

So, get some free porn from our orange guest while you can. Wouldn't that be pornge?

Tags: butterfly preserve, ellwood, butterflies, Monarchs

Posted by lemonjelly on: Wed 23rd Feb, 2011

I know this is hard to see, but the round piece on the left side of the triangle is ucsb.

John Lawrence gave a presentation this evening on WTFITI: whut da f is da internets. And it started with a short history lesson on how the internet first came to be.

This was the 1969 diagram of the internet, then just a few universities connecting into a 4-hub web. And check it: ucsb is one of them.

Ok, here's a larger version, sorry I know it's still blurry.

I'm sure one of the other squiggles represents a cat.

By 1977, the internet looked more like this:

And of course in current times it's just a big mass of lolcats, porn and affiliate marketing.

The presentation was given at the Pescadrome, down in the funkzone. In addition to John Lawrence, two other fellows had time up in front of the crowd.

This is Jan Lundberg, the founder of the Sail Transport Network. His topic was peak oil and where we're headed. We've all heard the doomsday talk of the collapse after peak oil, but Lundberg considered himself an optimist - that the collapse won't create an anarchist society of guns and cannibalism (ok, it will at first but guns do run out of bullets eventually) but a drastic culture change which will be community driven. He pointed out that low density areas, near rivers or the ocean, would be ideal in the new world order. Hey, I know a city like that.

Best word from the audience during Lundberg's talk: "Lamestream media."

The third speaker was a subversive type named Alex, who spoke briefly on Hackivism. You know, like Wikileaks, Pirate Bay, Anonymous. While hesitant to give up the specifics, it appeared he had a role, via Telecomix, in developing and implementing an information distribution system to assist the uprising in Libya.  I do recall seeing tweets about this. The group collected fax lines in Libya and sent them translated pages containing emergency information, how to send updates to free phone numbers in other countries and messages of solidarity to the protesters. How cool is that.

Tags: hackivism, peak oil, the internet, fishbon, pescadrome

Posted by lemonjelly on: Wed 23rd Feb, 2011

Posted by lemonjelly on: Mon 21st Feb, 2011

Vices and Spices holds a long time place in my heart, as a child growing up in the area, riding bikes in the alleys, coming here after school for lemon drops and gummy coke bottles.

I don't make it here so often these days, but popped in for a morning coffee and a bag of candies. Considering the number of chain store coffee shops now in the area, I was pleasantly surprised to find it fairly busy with sitting customers and people stopping in to pick up beans or beverages to go.

And even 25 years later, you still have to take the jars of goodies you want up to the counter to be scooped out and weighed. I'd forgotten about that.

Tags: vices and spices, coffee shops, local shops, coffee, candy

Posted by lemonjelly on: Sun 20th Feb, 2011

Spotted in the car park of the old Bay Cafe.

Also spotted about 15 feet further down Anacapa.

Tags: sad man, graffiti, street art

Posted by lemonjelly on: Sun 20th Feb, 2011

Are you sick of snow photos yet? Well, have a couple more!

The  juxaposition of mountains, snow, and oro mediterrean climate instantly brought back memories of botanical explorations in Spain. We were in the Andalucia region, heading towards Lanjaron, home of the first bottled water company of Spain, and an epicenter for exquisite jamon curing from the ceiling rafters of every shop and bodega.

We stopped in the mountainous region of Bubion, hiked, ate bread and olive oil, and reached the snow. Here's a really bad scanned slide from that afternoon, I think it's 2002.

I was inspired to the point of pulling out a bunch of Spanish ingredients this morning and making a squab and chorizo paella, with a white bean salad, and ate it outside with a glass of sherry.

But now the snow is all melted from my view. Time to get on!

Tags: snow, sbweather, San Marcos foothills

Posted by lemonjelly on: Sat 19th Feb, 2011

I'm sitting here, feeling cold, wondering why I'm feeling cold. This is out my window, looking into the San Marcos foothills.

Oh hey there.

Sweating last weekend, shivering this weekend. You can't explain that.

Temperature goes down, heater turns up. No miscommunication.

Tags: San Marcos foothills, snow, sbweather, noleta

Posted by lemonjelly on: Thu 17th Feb, 2011

At the grand opening of the latest open space art gallery, new works were up for scrutiny by the public.
Comments overheard included:

"Well it sure is different."
"Is it Banksy? I heard Banksy's stuff is really popular."
"This definitely is a poignant interpretation of the growing disparity between mental intellect and the aggressive quest for power."

One nearby resident, a well-respected long-time public accountant, noted, "don't be coming in on my turf ese..." He later inquired whether it was for sale.

The work will be remain on display until someone figures out how to remove it.

Tags: noleta, satire, I made everything up but the photo is real, housing project

Posted by lemonjelly on: Thu 17th Feb, 2011

This is Edgar. He's the super cutie patootie doggie that hangs out at Warbler Records. He's totally kawaii! And he's attentive and loving.

His breath also comes from a deep dark place referenced by fire and brimstone sermons, and some guy named Milton. So just keep that in mind when you go to huggle him.

That is all.

Tags: kawaii, bad breath, dogs, warbler

Posted by lemonjelly on: Tue 15th Feb, 2011

Here is the cast of Opus, currently playing at the Ensemble theatre. It's the story of a world famous string quartet, who do their recording sessions in Europe and play shows for the President. It takes place during one highly charged week of their life, as they resolve issues with one of their members whose increasing fits of irrational and selfish behavior force the group to rebalance their roles or face breaking up.

Opus by Michael Hollinger runs approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission, so do your business beforehand. And it's captivating. I thought it was a fabulous play. Ensemble gets extra props for casting the part of Carl, the practical cello player with little patience for petty squabbles, with Santa Barbara actor, Brian Harwell (far left).

It opened on 3 Feb (during the SBIFF so I won't be surprised if you didn't see opening night, I sure didn't!) and runs until 27 February.

Website: Opus at Ensemble Theatre

Tags: opus, Brian Harwell, precious objects, Theater, Ensemble theatre

Posted by lemonjelly on: Mon 14th Feb, 2011

The Arts and Letters Cafe is my top pick for a romantic spot for a meal. Why? Oh, let me list the reasons.

1. Beautiful ambiance. It's a lovely courtyard. It's open air, but with an awning, so you get the fresh air and light, but protection from elements if you need it. Plus, they have heaters.

2. Inside an art gallery. When did this country become anti-intellectual? I stand against that. People need to be in art galleries more often. Sullivan Goss is a good art gallery to hang out in. They support good art, local art, education, and are generally arty approachable folks.

3. Locally owned. I know of another really nice romantic-y place for lunch downtown, but it's in a national department store, so if I had to pick between the two of best value for local money, it's here. 

4. Affordable. Sometimes the difference between an ordinary meal and an extraordinary one is just $5 (hat tip to Risa for pointing that out to me). The lunches here are $15 average instead of $10, and look at what you get. Not only all the above, but locally sourced, sustainably sourced where possible. Grass-fed beef, farmers market produce, seasonal menus. For just $5 more? You can't explain that.

5. Valentine's Day, oh, if you must succumb to the consumer pressure of the Hallmark holiday this day has become, at least you can be spared a high-pressure high-price average meal of the dreaded prix fixe that a Valentine's Day dinner offers. I'm not dissing the restaurants for doing this, btw, today's a crazy insane day for restaurants and they need some way to manage the load and expectations. But since I'd rather be romantic 'n stuff year round than on a day a year (when roses aren't actually supposed to be in bloom), here's the best way to hit a balance of good quality and a good experience. Lunch plates for two, shared dessert and coffee, under $45.

6. Their dessert was a warm chocolate chipotle cake with vanilla ice cream and harissa icing. Sure beat a whulp-man sampler.

Tags: arts and letters cafe, lunch, romantic places, local eats, Valentine's Day

Posted by lemonjelly on: Mon 14th Feb, 2011

Note: event took place the night of 12 February, Saturday.

Good times, but I do wish the first round of silent bidding had been open longer than 45 minutes. People need to arrive and get properly liquored up before unleashing their bids on the wine magnums and artisanal products.

Posted by lemonjelly on: Sat 12th Feb, 2011

I was down in the Funk Zone today, chatting with the Burger Bus people and they let me know that a new food truck was opening for business and that they were at the Wheelhouse *right now* and since that wasn't far away, I rushed over to try it out.

Culture Shock is the name of the truck and it specializes in Sri Lankan food. It's a local husband and wife team running it (ditto with the Burger Bus) and it looks like they're in the process of setting up their service route.

We tried the chicken curry, with dal, rice, mango chutney and carrot salad (about $8), and the bratwurst with mustard and curry wrapped in paratha roti (that's the layered flaky roti) for $5. Very filling and the roti dog was our favorite of the two. Actually, we just wanted the roti and a dipping sauce, that's probably coming soon on the menu.

As with all new launches, they had some bits to iron out. They ran out of business cards (a good problem to have) and they forgot the chalk to make a posted menu. It's all good, the guy working there just talked us through the menu.

It looks like Wheelhouse might be the Saturday lunch stop. LOVE the Wheelhouse for being so friendly to food trucks.

Twitter: @cultureshocksb

Website: www.cultureshocksb.com

More photos posted at gutfud.com.

Tags: food, wheelhouse, food trucks, culture shock, sri lankan food

Posted by lemonjelly on: Sat 12th Feb, 2011

The Burger Bus is a lunchtime fixture when the Touring and Tasting gang has their warehouse sales. I was nearby and said hello to them before things got too busy.

Touring and Tasting's wine sale prices are pretty darn good, as long as you're a wine consumer that's willing to pay more than $5/bottle. I know plenty of Y'ALLs who aren't. 

Il Fustino olive oil company was also there representin' and I sampled some of their newer products: a basil infused olive oil and a roasted pepper vinegar. They were discounting their products by $5 across the board, so I picked up bottles of the above two items. I also recommend their 25 year balsamic, at an amazing price of $25...unless you were at the Touring and Tasting sale, in which case it was $20. :)

Tags: funk zone, touring and tasting, il fustino, food