List 98

Love: COACH ERIC TAYLOR, and pretty much everyone else in Dillon, Texas. After watching the first three seasons of Friday Night Lights, I fell out of it for reasons that now escape me. But seeing it listed as one of only a handful of series on a magazine's bucket list of shows to devour on DVD was the motivator to dive into the final two seasons. So good. Has there ever been a better portrayal of small town American life, in all its details, or of what a solid and strong but real marriage looks like? Clear eyes, full hearts, and Texas Forever. (Trivia side note: what actor appeared in two series on that list, The Wire and FNL? MICHAEL B. JORDAN, who's so talented, and whose film Fruitvale Station about the BART police shooting won at Sundance and will be out soon.) 

Like: SIR TERENCE CONRAN'S new lights, which have made me utter words I never thought I'd ever say, ever: I'd like to go shopping at JCPenny's. 

Discovery: JAMES SALTER wrote one of my all-time favorite books, Light Years (List 4). Now, almost 35 years after his last novel was published, and at the age of 87, he has a new novel out called All That Is. Salter was featured in an April New Yorker article, that provided some fascinating backstory, and The New York Times wrote "If there were a Mount Rushmore for writers, he'd be there already."  In the wake of press like this, hopefully more people will read Light Years now, in addition to All That Is, as Salter's name deserves to be met with widespread nods of recognition, not blank stares.

Obsession: GUY-MANUEL DE HOMEM CHRISTO and THOMAS BANGALTER aka Daft Punk, whose infectious new record (on vinyl, of course) Random Access Memories has conjured up my own memories of disco obsession: my parents heading off to weekly disco lessons and my grade school music teacher deciding that teaching a bunch of 9 year olds the intricacies of both the Latin and Manhattan Hustles, accompanied by the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, was a completely legit use of class time for two straight months. Songs like Get Lucky also bring to mind a movie I've always had a soft spot for: WHIT STILLMAN'S The Last Days of Disco, with the ever spot-on Chloe Sevigney.

Complaint: That I don't have much occasion to use stamps, especially now that the US Postal Service has issued these badass JOHNNY CASH tribute stamps.  

List 97

Love: The Oaktown Spice Shop. At first I was jealous that someone had actually executed an idea that always lurked in the back of my mind: opening a version of Milwaukee's Spice House out here in the Bay Area. But then I met the guys who did it, found out that they, in fact, were from Milwaukee and had worked at the Spice House, and couldn't hold it against them. Their Better Than Everything Bagel Spice mix is a new favorite.

Like: The *free* Video Star app that lets you easily create professional-looking music videos, complete with a wide range of effects and seemless jump cuts to allow for costume and location changes. We now have a veritable library of Stella's takes on One Direction, Taylor Swift and Adele.

Discovery: Spencer's Pantry, a restaurant that comes to your house. My friend Jaime arranged this as a birthday dinner for her husband James last month, and it was such a lovely evening - an intimate, delicious, relaxed 6-course dinner in the comfort of your home, for no more than you'd spend at a nice restaurant. Chef Spencer grows or forages most of what he serves - vegetables from his own and his parents' gardens, eggs from a friend's chickens.  

Obsession: Stella's, with typewriters. We've raised her to appreciate all things vintage, and it's finally manifesting itself. A trip to San Francisco's The Perish Trust turned her onto typewriters and prompted one of the best questions ever: "Did you live in the Time of the Typewriter?" "Yes," I said, "I was alive when Smith Coronas walked the Earth." Truth be told, if I concentrate, I can still conjure up the smell of Liquid Paper. Her new-found fixation has had me scouring Etsy for the perfect candy-colored relic for her birthday later this year.

Complaint: I've been making my French Press coffee wrong for, like, ever!? I had the chance to meet Peet's Coffee Master Roaster Doug Walsh and learned a lot about the art and science behind what Peet's calls an Uncompromised Cup of coffee. Here are their precise instructions. Try it their way and you will notice a difference. Possible next experiment: would this sexy wood-handled press pot put it even further over the top?