Bradley Allen

The cocktail divide: West Coast and East Coast cocktail cultures couldn't be more different - right?

“San Franciscans tend to want to know where the ingredients in a cocktail come from in a geographic sense, whereas New Yorkers are more interested in where they came from historically”

–Phil Ward, Head Bartender, Death & Co., NYC

I want to know both. Hope that doesn’t have anything to do with spending much of 4th through 8th grade in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

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Swobo - Del Norte No, I wouldn’t rush out and buy this bike, but at least the target audience for the Swobo brand has a single speed/fixed-gear bicycle option that doesn’t equip one to behave like a total douche any more than necessary. Oh how I love their product description, which subtly touches upon such, uh… tendencies. And for that, I tinkle twice my brass bicycle bell in respect. Good stuff.

June 26

jaschu:

Stereolab, “Ping Pong” (via stereolab82)

An oldie but goodie.

Totally. This song is off my favorite album of theirs. I’m a bit wistful for the days of waiting for the next release of the Duophonic 45s and LPs. Uh, maybe I shouldn’t have sold all of my vinyl back in 2000?

June 25

via Duluth Pack

Duluth Pack Tales - stories told by their customers about themselves and their products.

Wow. What a well loved pack and story to go along with it! I’ve always been fond of natural materials, and am trying these days to avoid buying things made from petrochemicals, especially when the natural product performs better than the plasticky version. It’s not always easy, but when practical I think it’s a good way to go.

By the way, I found out from the Rivendell guys that Duluth Pack used to make their Baggins line of bicycle bags.

June 23

“ How do they serve tea in America, asked Mr. Taniguchi? Not with beautiful handcrafted bowls like this one (see photo), I said. Americans use TETSUBINs! Everyone in the room gasped. Tetsubins are hotwater kettles?! They said, incredulously. I told them Americans misunderstood the use of those cast iron pots intended to be put over charcoal fire pits to heat the hot water. The tea masters shook their heads, and took out proper clay pots to serve us. For the Shin Cha, the water temperature was brought to about 60 degrees C. I asked Shimooka san whether it’s appropriate to pour boiling water to sencha. Sure, he said, graciously, you can pour boiling water to quickly suss out the good and bad senchas, the bad ones will turn bitterly sour instantly. However, for the proper enjoyment of what the sencha (called sincha this time of the year) was intended, to get the right balance of astringency and rich flavour, the proper temperature should be between 60 to 70 degrees C. You heard it here from someone considered the best tea producer in Japan! His tea was sublime. — Tea and Personalities

June 22

Lobster antenna (via Andreas Duess)

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Coaster Hub Overhaul (Pedal Brake Hub)

While biking with the boys in Golden Gate Park this morning, Oski’s rear wheel became locked up. He couldn’t pedal forward, or at least not consistently. I wasn’t sure what was wrong - uh, maybe the cranks? - but figured it probably had something to do with the coaster brake. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any tools along (lame)… so ended up having to carry his bike all the way home since it wouldn’t roll.

After we dropped off the other bikes, we drove over to Valencia Cyclery where I’d purchased the bike earlier this year. It was way past their 90-day free adjustment scheme, but the mechanic said that yeah, it was the coaster brake assembly, and he’d fix it for free, no problem. Very cool. We headed across the street to hang out at Ritual Coffee Roasters where Ryan and Drew treated me and the boys like total rock stars. Thanks guys, for the coffee love!

Once we returned to the bike shop, we learned that the mechanic had re-built the wheel twice - but it was still fucked, so he ended up replacing the wheel with a new one. I gave ‘em $20 for beer money and thanked them for the effort.

What a day so far. Glad to be home again. Oh, and check this out… Park Tool has some repair how-to’s online. You know, for next time.

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Empty jar (via Bradley Allen)

June 18

Japan - ‘The Art of Parties’ single. Photo by Steve Jansen. (via www.lifeintokyo.net)

It’s been well over 20 years, and yet reconciling the 16 year-old me with who I am today is still easier said than done. At least I’ve kept my sense of humor!

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Chihuly (via Bradley Allen)

I wanted to see if I could capture his forms with these monotones. The colors are so fantastic and vibrant - almost overwhelming at times. Next time I return, I think I’ll wear my earplugs.