Edition Twenty Six 19 December 2009 to 7 February 2010 (World of Cush)
He is back. The holidays passed and I almost restarted my blogs only to get sidetracked. I could have restarted a second time but also needed to get more things than just my blogs started. I think I have done that. I have snapshots and photographs on a regular basis coming in and I post live when I write. This will help create more and do less publishing stuff which is not what my blog is about. I will add video clips and video blog episodes in short time. Right now my hands are full because I am finally doing events and tastings which are a lot more work than expected. I should adjust shortly and then the other stuff will start to appear. My blogs are the same but have also changed in ways that help communicate better. I look forward to 2010 as a prolific year and hope the readership also benefit from the time they take reading my blog posts. My commitment to making a blog (blogs?) and doing my best to contribute also means the readership should have some level of commitment to make blogs of their own for such purpose or at least share my blog with others to help develop things.
Photos by Cush – Edition 26 covers more than a month and that is the gap between my last edition notes and this one. I have made a few changes to my photo blog since then and the most significant one is the addition of snapshots I take here and there. Analyzing photographs is a very rich way to learn about photography and what makes some photos work and how versus the rest. I will continue that in the future as I have in the past. Taking photographs myself and posting them is a load of work that has to be organized so it can be done on a regular basis. For now, I am able to analyze a few photographs every week and post them. That is regular activity. What I have been able to do in the past month is the addition of basic snapshots that can serve some purpose in my blog as a mainstay of the blogs. I took about 1400 snapshots before the restart of my blog posting. That will supply me for a while and I can continue to take more to keep the snapshots coming. Snapshots make the second part of my photo blog that can be done one a regular basis from now on. I looked at the snapshots posted in this edition and compared to the 1400 I am working on to post, these snapshots show the lack of focus on what my subjects should be. The 1400 have much clearer topic areas and I am slowly developing the subject areas for the snapshots.
Writing by Cush – Edition 26 of Writing by Cush has only a few posts and I am happy with that. This blog has a hard time producing more than a few blog posts each week and that is the proof of its quality for me. The blog posts written for Writing by Cush often are very long and require substantial thinking to provide something of genuine value. That brings the number of blog posts possible down to a handful. I am taking snapshots for obvious reasons and also to make visual notes of places, people, events and so on. Some of these snapshots will appear in my blog posts because they are relevant to the topic or that they have some intrinsic value. That is the only change for Writing by Cush blog since last edition. As is posted in the side bar, I would like to attend your events, lectures and speeches if my schedule permits me and may write something in my blog about the occasion. Read the sidebar for more information.
Wine by Cush -
Edition 26 marks the first since last year. 2010 is the year for Wine by Cush. This blog has been the hands-on blog for my career and has provided more than a few pointers for people in the industry. It has also been long awaiting to take off and provide more. Wine blogs in general, by industry standards, are nothing but crap (in most cases) and that is the first problem this blog has had. There is not a welcoming reception for wine blogs in food and wine industry because they offer so little. Just read through the more prominent ones for a couple of weeks. Waste of time is an understatement. I have been fighting this general problem and doing my best to actually contribute something to the field. That will be taken one step further in 2010 since I think I will be able to make a commitment to attending events and tastings. There is plenty out there that is worth exploring and sharing but each activity that I commit to requires a few hours more of my time on a regular basis each week thus I have been hesitant to overload myself. I think time has come to do this and that should help provide a few more things for those in this field. I am sure I will have more good things to say than bad things. The sidebar to this blog also shows my willingness to attend events and tastings (pre-events and pre-tastings preferred) and hopefully will find something to share. My schedule is not that flexible and will continue to remain such. I prefer to go over what is offerred in events and tastings at some prior time and date. That will help the event also and increases the chances that I can actually attend more events.
This edition has a few posts from Farmer’s Market and a couple of restaurant – related posts. I did attend Fancy Food and they had done a great job though the event was not designed to accomodate neither food professionals nor journalists (including citizen journalists) the best way possible. It was just an industry event. I made some suggestions in my post and such events can have not only more visitors but local professionals who have limited time but fall close to the business of the events will look forward to EFFECTIVE visits if better accomodations are made. I really like a map that lets me pick my choice booths and guide me through the maze in a SHORT TIME. The staff of local papers and the like are PAID by their jobs to (as someone succinctly put it for me:) talk and eat. They have time to make a day of such events and eat their hearts out and socialize. Industry people who actually DO things have limited time for such events. I think organizers should figure out ways to accomodate their visits and they will visit them on a regular basis. My suggestion is one way and the industry has resources to figure out how to do it better. Fancy Food has been around for 30 years but times have changed. Local journalists are on the way out (though they are all in denial) and serious professionals will fill all positions in the future. They should be accomodated better starting today.
I expect to attend more events and hopefully I am not the only one and the industry will follow as a trend. ZAP people would not give me a press pass so I did not go. I doubt if they feared I have anything bad to say (though California wine is out of favor for many years to come and they know that) but probably did not like me asking for a press pass to make a quick trip through their tasting. I can do some tastings in 15 mintues. You can spend your time in trade tasting finding good wines to buy (for your establishment) just to find out how many of them have no importers. I can go through such events in a short time since there is little to buy anyway. ZAP is a half-an-hour to 40 minute visit at its best judging from past visits and they have more to lose by not letting media in than gain.
Fractal Time (Book Mention)
I read through Fractal Time and nothing ambigious was found. The book is clear and straightforward. The formulas and calculations start to make a good deal of sense by end of the book. I frankly am not that interested in the subject to follow each calculation closely but they seemed legitimate. The general background covered in the book is fine and makes sense. The book is not a scholarly text though may appear so and is more of a popular text (authored by NY Times Best Selling Author!!!). I am sure it will sell well and do not doubt the content is legitimate in many areas. The subject is not my area nor I care to study that close to have a solid opinion. It is an interesting book to read. It is not written to entertain or amaze you and seeks to convince.
*This post belongs to this week’s edition of Reviews by Cush blog and published early in World of Cush also.
Fancy Food 2010 (Case Study)
Fancy Food show did arrive in San Francisco as it does every year. When I worked in restaurants, the show did create little excitement to attend. I never did because food was not my top area and knew few people who cared to attend. I did have time on the second day of the show and showed up to check it out. I asked for a press pass because Fancy Food does not allow photography except for press and when I got it I found out I have to ask each vendor for permission. I am sure the rules are not strictly enforced but without an abundance of photographs (I expected a few hundred snapshots by myself) I would have little to present and changed my plans. Instead of attending twice for a short time to visit my choice vendors, I did one quick visit to check the show.
I had reviewed the guidebook to the show and picked a couple of dozen vendors to visit for sure. Mostly they were cheese, cured meat and some chocolate and olive oil vendors. I marked them on the map but once I got lost in the show, I realized marking maps does little for a show like this. I think Fancy Food can do something to improve the quality and the number of happy attendants by helping organize the visit. The show is large and is all over the place and one needs much time to get into it. One thing I thought was if they would enable their show website, a potential attendee can go through the list of vendors and put checkmarks by the ones interested to see and the website can create a map or list that helps follow one’s path through the show and visit the choice vendors for sure. Any website can be organized this way and helps the professionals with limited time to organize a successful visit and return in the future. I had made my own map by writing on the show floor map but that helped little once I was lost in the maze of tables. Wine tastings are not half as bad to visit. Fancy Food was difficult because too many vendors show too many products of various nature and everything is mixed to some level. I am sure after 30 years of doing this show, they can take one step further to help a busy professional organize a solid visit. They will have more serious food and beverage people from Bay Area in the future..
The show itself was great. Fancy Food is very organized and I did not see even one attendant or booth that is less than perfect in appearance. They know what they are doing and they are the manufacturing people. Someone told me for each booth and its tables, there is a factory or more the size of Moscone center. Fancy Food has many small vendors that I cannot present here because I could not take pictures and just went through them but the show is hardcore package food for millions. They do a good job however. All of the samples I had were great (in taste). Some of the tables look incredibly good in layout and arrangement and must be photographed to be appreciated. It was a good show overall but offered very little for anyone serious about specific categories presented. The attendance was not good on the day I visited and the photograph above shows why. That must have been the first time in years that I have actually had to step out of the rain and seek shelter with others. The word storm did have meaning this time and the photo is one block from Fancy Food Show.
I will visit the next Fancy Food Show if they bother to adjust their website so I can pick my itinerary within the show and just follow the lines and the turns on my own printed map. Fancy Food has a great number of cheese vendors though they are good for passive visit. They were not organized to allow exploration of the cheeses. Chocolate and cured beef are also enough in numbers to justify a visit. They did a great show and too bad I got lost and the rain is nobody’s fault.
*This post belongs to this week’s edition of Wine by Cush Magazine blog and published early in World of Cush also.
Bart Plus Confusion (mylife)
I moved to East Bay recently and have been trying alternatives for commute. Bart has become more expensive than ever and offers little extras. I finally found something of value. Bart Plus ticket is a combination of Bart ticket with public transit privileges. I read the brochure and seemed all transits are covered except East Bay so I avoided it. A week after, I happened to ask a Bart attendant in East Bay and she explained to me how it works and assured me I can use it in East Bay. I tried to buy a ticket in San Francisco and the ticket people sent me to the Bart ticket machine. I bought the ticket and also reviewed the brochure and still nothing that said East Bay was covered. I headed to a Bart agent (in San Francisco) and asked. She assured me I could not use it in East Bay and the contract was dropped two years ago. I figured I still save something for SF commute so was not a total loss. That night I stopped by the Bart agent I had spoken to that morning. This time a guy was sitting in there and he assured me I can use it as a pass on the bus here in East Bay. I told him what happened and he changed his story and apologized. I am curious how mistakes like this are made. Everyone in one location are equally uninformed and people in another location have some right idea. I give up and don’t think Bart is worth all the money they get.
*This post belongs to this week’s edition of My Life as a Cush blog and published early in World of Cush also.
Memorable Exteriors That Bring Business (Snapshot)
A very interesting arrangement for the front of a restaurant. The small front space is used very intelligently by using the plant and the bench. The bench color gets plenty of attention and is very memorable marking the location of the restaurant. I am sure many people eventually venture inside just to check the food out because the bench took so much of their positive attention. It took me a while to notice the bench is heart-shaped! It always was there but I never noticed the shape has a meaning. The color dominated the scene and worked really great in focusing attention. A smart and effective way to visually mark the spot of the business and pick up a few customers here and there by using the exterior space.
Photo B of the restaurant exterior.
*This post belongs to this week’s edition of Wine by Cush Magazine blog and published early in World of Cush also.
Sugar Canes at the Farmer’s Market (Reflection)
I would have never seen the canes had I not tried to avoid the crowd and walk the path behind most tents at the Farmer’s Market. That is where I came across several tables filled with sugar canes. You never see them when passing by the front of the vendors. I immediately recognized them and the first thing that came to my mind was ‘rum.’ I kept thinking ‘rum’ and ‘rum.’ I realized I cannot think of any other good uses for the canes.
The little lady mumbled something when I pulled my cellphone out to shoot the canes. I think she said “fuck you. don’t take my picture.” I looked at her puzzled if the little old lady really said that and she avoided me. I am still surprised at some people. Who gives a damn to take any pictures of most people in public in the first place, and how do you get to do well in business without publicity? That is why Civic Center Farmer’s Market is at best a second or third rate venue. Selling stuff is more than just setting up a table with a bunch of something to sell. You have to do many things right to have a good thing going. The Ferry Farmer’s Market vendors are not selling stuff that are that much better than here but they are more businesslike and hence the more successful market.
Anyway, the canes look very interesting and somewhat curious to buy one and figure out what can be cooked with it besides making rum. I don’t recall recipes or dishes based on sugar canes.
*This post belongs to this week’s edition of Wine by Cush Magazine blog and published early in World of Cush also.
Jellyfish and the Eager Crowds (Snapshot)
If the darn jellyfish would stop moving, the photo would have been in perfect focus. They still look interesting. The blue background makes a nice combination with the shape of the fish and their colors.
It was harder than I had thought to take a simple snapshot. The window is too small and the creatures won’t stop swiming. Two or three people in the way and nobody can get close to see or take photos. I actually had to wait in line for my turn.
Too many hands with camers following the fish around. I am amazed how little people know about photography but are also so eager to snap photos away. I think it is more of a psychological thing to point and shoot than actually expect good photographs. I have seen enough point-and-shoot shots to doubt the value of these shots.
* This post belongs to the Weekend Edition of World of Cush Schlog and may also appear in Reviews by Cush and or other blogs. Snapshots are cellphone photos unless noted otherwise.
Scientific Proof of Existence of Extra-Terrestrial Life (Snapshot)
The above photo should be enough to show everything was fine that day and the photographs should have turned out flawless. As you can see I was having a good day outside of the museum and enjoyed my own presence.
Another photograph proving nothing was wrong with the equipment and so on.
This photo shows clearly the phenomenon taking place. The blurry light next to my head is the beginning of the alien mind probe action targetting my brain cells.
The actual brain scan recorded on film. This is proof that aliens do exist. Their devices are scanning my brain looking for valuable information about Earth and life on this planet. Unfortunately, I make a poor subject because I believe humans are no more than germs and microbes. The aliens must be very impressed how intelligent some humans are. I think they should try their brain scan on some of our leaders to find out some real dirt about life on Earth. Our local mayor Gavin Newsom or our wonderful President (who is getting more and more disliked and despised by all cross-sections of the American population) Barak Obama make wonderful subjects. Once the alien equipment has targetted their minds and encounters the evil (or nothingness in the void) that fills their minds, there is a good chance, their equipment will be damaged and break down. That is when they find out what humans are really like. I don’t make a good subject though this photo proves they do exist. They should try again.
* This post belongs to the Weekend Edition of World of Cush Schlog and may also appear in Reviews by Cush and or other blogs. Snapshots are cellphone photos unless noted otherwise.
Apple Store Before IPad (Reflection)
I caught the last minute glimpse of Apple Store before it closed. Nothing unusual but interesting. This is right a few days before IPad is public news. It is interesting to look at the place and think one knows all about Apple and what it stands for and makes. We think we know it all but a few days later after this photo a new device (IPad) is released that if lives up to the expectations will redefine what Apple is and stands for.
Apple was once the rebel computer company fighting the establishment and its dictates of how things ought to be done. Their pirate flag is long gone but the spirit of the company is still here and vibrant. They got away from their core business (computing) by their music products and became the largest music company in the world (Apple Computer was changed to Apple). Today, IPad is here as an attempt to get work done that traditional computing devices cannot.
Computing devices have been around long enough so we even have a whole generation of people that were born and raised after advent of Internet. They do not know what life without Internet means as the previous generation did not know what life without Television would be. The computing devices are however partially effective. They are efficient by nature but as far as how much and what really gets done, they computing devices we have are lagging. Nobody really cares that much since devices are designed to do a few things and bring sales in until the next device. Apple thought differently and has won by getting a great deal done by its devices for its target market. IPad is a first step in the direction of getting work done and not pretending that it is getting done. The price is also right to allow millions to join and benefit without being part of the traditional Apple consumer base.
There is a great need for computing devices that do more than a few things and are truly effective for many of our needs thus making us more effective. Let’s hope IPad and its future relatives succeed and stay loyal to this spirit so we can throw out all desktops and laptops that function as toys and pretenders for the real things.
Photo Note: The photo did not turn out bad though that guy is really big and seemed to distract everything but time was limited and couldn’t wait to move him. It worked out okay and he is less of a distraction than I had expected.
* This post belongs to the Weekend Edition of World of Cush Schlog and may also appear in Reviews by Cush and or other blogs. Snapshots are cellphone photos unless noted otherwise.
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