List 83

Love: Good salt. It just might be in my genes. My parents had a small cabinet in the kitchen of their old house that literally contained only salts. My mother had taped a note to the inside of the cupboard door that read "Try to cut back on salt." I always laughed whenever I was home and saw the note, as "don't have a salt cabinet" seemed an overlooked, easy step toward achieving that goal. But I digress. My new favorite is Jacobsen Salt from Oregon. It's - slight eyeroll - hand-harvested sea salt. But it's lovely sprinkled on just about anything - from a grilled New York strip steak to a scoop of vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce - as a finishing touch.

Like: The Hour, a 6-part BBC mini-series from last year which I made my way through last week, and which returns later this month for a second season. At its heart is a triangle that includes a very un-McNultyish Dominic West, Ben Whishaw (quite possibly the skinniest man in Britain), and the smart and beautiful Romola Garai. Set in the Cold War London of 1956, I found myself agreeing with The New Yorkers' assessment: "With its casting, its look, its unfolding mystery, its attention to important historical events, its sexiness, 'The Hour' hits every pleasure center."

Discovery: Persian cucumbers - the small, sweet variety which is becoming easier to find in more stores. My friend Josh turned me onto them, and to David Chang's quick pickling method, found in the Momofuku cookbook. Slice a bunch of Persian cucumbers, toss with 1 T sugar and 1 t kosher salt, let stand for five minutes, and you've got perfectly seasoned crudites.  

Obsession: Stella McCartney's uniforms for the British Olympic Team.  I love how she used graphic elements from the Union Jack in a modern way, making the Brits the best-outfitted athletes in the games.

Complaint: I'm piling on: but when did Apple stop thinking differently? 

List 82

Love: The highly original Beasts of the Southern Wild, made by New Orleans film collective Court 13. It lets you into a world and subculture - the fiercely independent and self sufficient "Bathtub" in the flood zone below the levees -  that manages to feel both very real and very fantastical. The story plays out as American folklore, with elements of magical realism, global warming cautionary visions, and Terence Malickisms. When it's all over, 6-year-old Hushpuppy - her face, her spirit - is near impossible to forget.  

Like: Any kind of grilled meat in lettuce cups, like this recipe for Vietnamese pork in lettuce cups.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-pork-tenderloin-50400000122081/



Discovery: This Pulp Fiction chronology poster via Kickstarter - they needed a certain number of people to fund the start-up printing costs, and I happily chipped in.

Obsession: I have always bought into the Olympics, alternately tearing up, getting goosebumps or yelling at the television. My early memories are of Nadia Comanici (I tried to vault over our living room ottoman in imitation of her Perfect 10 routines and was rewarded with the worst rug burn of all time when I wiped out.) I'm looking forward to the Friday night Opening Ceremonies and the coming two weeks, and will be passing the torch to Stella.

Complaint: Truck furniture of Japan has several couches and chairs I would love to import for our living room makeover - but their site - even the English version - is largely in Japanese and it does not appear possible to order anything.

List 81

Love:  The Cindy Sherman exhibit that just opened at SFMOMA. She has created such an amazing and wide-ranging body of work,spanning three decades. Rarely have I gone through an exhibit and fantasized about stealing so many pieces.

Like: My new everyday breakfast: 1 packed cup of kale,  1 packed cup of spinach, 1 cup of light vanilla soy milk, 1 frozen banana, 1/2 a granny smith apple and  tsp honey.  The fruit masks the greens, but it's not overly sweet.  It keeps you full until lunch. And by 8 am you've already knocked off 4 servings of fruit and vegetables.

Discovery: What I've been missing in my recent detour into dystopian YA novels: good writing, well-developed characters, thoughtful story telling.  This lesson was driven home by my welcome return to critically-acclaimed adult fiction via The Art of Fielding, which reads like an instantly classic American novel.

Obsession: Buns, for some reason.

Complaint: Newsroom haters.  It may be more like a top-flight Big Three Network show than an HBO (or AMC) series - especially this past week's episode, what with all the hanky panky - but Aaron Sorkin does that thing he does, and it's working for me.

List 80

Love: The Joey Roth ceramic speakers Erich gave me/us, which sound as lovely as they look.

Like: On the Gwyneth scale, I count myself as an occasional eye-roller as opposed to a full-time hater, but it's hard to deny the utility of last week's Goop feature on how to arrange flowers by vase type.   
http://goop.com/newsletter

Discovery: Rodeo Beach, a beautiful spot tucked away on the coast next to Sausalito, at the old Fort Cronkhite, which we only just found out about, despite having lived here for nearly 20 years.  Now that a drive all the way up and over to Muir Beach or Stinson beach isn't required for a sand-and-Pacific day, it's likely to happen a whole lot more often.

Obsession: Spice Kit's Asian breakfast sandwich - a steamed bun with Hobb's applewood smoked bacon, spicy egg, ginger glaze and scallions - made by guys who used to don toques at places like The French Laundry and Per Se.  

Complaint: Camping. It's just never been my thing, what with all the roughing it and outdoorsy-ness. I was excited to read about a new pop-up lodging service called Shelter Co, who'll set up luxury camp sites - tents with beds, fire pits complete with a s'mores kit, even an outdoor movie theater option - at the location of your choice. Many may no longer count this as camping, but for some of us it makes a night outdoors appealing. For once.

Their site:

http://shelter-co.com/index.html

Their gorgeous tumblr with imagery to get you in the mood:

http://shelter-co.tumblr.com/

List 79

Love: Vanity Fair's look back at The Sopranos, with the cast and creator David Chase, which makes me want to dive into the series all over again, from start to finish. The oral history has lots of interesting behind-the-scenes detail, not the least of which is the seemingly intense feelings James Gandolfini and Edie Falco had (have?) for each other.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/04/sopranos-oral-history

Like: Lounge-height cat's cradle bases for Eames chairs. I'd sure like to get a pair for the living room, in part to add a dash of color (red? green? yellow?) to our otherwise stark and dark palette.

(Late) Discovery: It took me WAY too long to make it to Mission Chinese Food, but it lived up to the hype.  Salt Cod Fried Rice was indeed worthy of 7 X 7's Big Eat list, and it's hard to find fault with Thrice-Cooked Bacon.

Obsession: Pouring through the banquet of stunning images that is the Lyla & Blu blog.
http://www.lylaandblu.com/archive

Complaint: Why is there so much television goodness on Sunday nights, and not enough on the other nights? I know one can DVR everything, but it's hard to avoid spoilers if you can't get through it all on Sunday night. Right now, it's a choice of what to watch first: Mad Men, where the glamour of the earlier 1960s has all but vaporized; Game of Thrones, with the great Tyrion as the King's Hand and a dozen other balls in the air; and, starting next Sunday, the promising-looking Girls. Sunday, don't be so greedy. Can't we spread the good shows around a bit more?