List 91

Love: Zombies, which pop up in Fall like cherry blossoms in Spring, these three sightings in particular...

(1) The Walking Dead, which returned for a third bloody season this Sunday. Bring on Michonne and the Prison.

(2) The Twelve, sequel to The Passage which I went crazy for when it came out two years ago (it was on List 1), and whose monsters are essentially vampires channeled through a zombie filter - i.e. mindless, blood-thirsty hordes who've lost any sense of the people they once were. It downloaded at 9:01pm PST yesterday and I was reading it within minutes. Thankfully two long flights for a work trip are on the schedule this week, luxurious hours to dive into the book. 

(3) When we're in New York for a pleasure trip later this month, I'm highly tempted to join my brother on this Zombie-themed "fun run" on Roosevelt Island October 27th, in which you can sign up to play a human, wearing flag football-style strips which represent your brains, or be one of the pursuing Zombies.   

Like: New York's Beauty and Essex's take on a classic cozy and simple meal that always feels Fall-like: grilled cheese and tomato soup. Their version is called a dumpling, and it's actually a small pool of tomato soup topped with a tiny bacon-crowned coin of grilled cheese you can eat in one bite.

Discovery: This Pendleton Camp Blanket, the perfect thing to Fall-up your bed.

Obsession: These deadly good warm pumpkin donut-muffin hybrid thingies that I saw on Pinterest (which, when clicked, on takes you to a military housewife's blog for the recipe - ah, the random connections of the interweb). They make the perfect Fall weekend morning indulgence.

Recipe here.

Complaint: The Bay Area's Fall is in full swing, but I miss, for myself and for Stella, seeing and jumping in the Midwest's epic Fall leaf piles.

Stella at my parents' house a couple of years ago

List 86

Love: Water Right's Made in America (Oregon's Wilammette Valley, to be precise) garden hose.  It looks and works better than any other hose I've ever tried - strong but thin, light-weight and easy to move around - and it's nice to support a company that describes its mission as: "to make great garden hoses, take exceptional care of our employees and customers, and promote an American standard of quality, safety, and innovation."

Like: Modelo Especial, particularly in the can, as post yard-work refreshment.

Discovery:  Comal, Berkeley's swanky new Mexican joint, has a very cool back courtyard patio where you can wait for your table with a drink by a fire pit.  Surrounded by other buildings, it has that NYC back patio feeling, a rarity here. 

Obsession: Badminton.  I went crazy for it when it was a gym class unit in high school, and couldn't get enough of it when, back in the day, GSP had a badminton court on the 3rd floor of our office.  We finally ordered a set for our backyard where, granted, the width of the play area is likely half of regulation, leading to a doubled-up, ghetto-looking net.  Now I'm counting down the days until our daily evening fog bank gives way to Indian summer for sunny after-work matches.

(Alice Waters-Approved) Complaint:  Deep planting boxes plus kick-ass compost from American Soil = out of control cherry tomato plants.  It's hard to even get in there to water them and pick the ripe tomatoes.  On the bright side, our Meyer Lemon tree, which we had to cut way back a few years ago as it was blocking our view of the Bay, is finally beginning to produce lemons again, with green buds popping up all around its branches. 

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 67

Love: That the Milwaukee Brewers have won the NL Central - their first division win since 1982.  Aside from the Brewers being the team I grew up with, it's hard to not love a team whose home stands feature a "sausage race" in the bottom of the sixth inning - a bratwurst, a kielbasa, an Italian sausage, a chorizo and a hot dog, racing around the field.

Like: Tavern League, a book of artful photographs of old school Wisconsin taverns, many of which are cooler than any big city bar could ever try to be.

Discovery: This portrait of Milwaukee artist Jack Madsen and his wife from 1955, found at Milwaukee's Riverview Antiques store a few years ago. They look super chic and timeless.  

Obsession: The Thorn Miniatures at the Chicago Art Institute.  Whenever I'm in town (as I was for business these past few days), I make a stop here to see these little rooms. The level of detail at this tiny scale is pretty amazing.

Complaint: That Top Shop has yet to open in San Francisco.  I went through their flagship U.S. store in Chicago and there was the potential to need to buy an extra suitcase. I know you can shop online, but I prefer to wander a store.