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Archive for March 2012

The Hunger Games – Novel & Film

Mar31

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: YA Distopian

Length: 388 pages, 99,000 words

Read: 2008

Summary: Intense!

_

The book: I read it four years ago on the recommendation of a friend. The beginning didn’t totally wow me, but the second 2/3 certainly did.

It’s written in a tight first person present, which for this kind of thing is my favorite tense/POV combo (I use it in my novel Untimed). Collins expertly builds sympathy for the character of Catniss via her harsh circumstances, sympathetic voice, and self sacrifice. This crucial “inciting event,” the selection of Catniss’ sister as tribute, occurs at the end of the first chapter, at the 5% mark. First rate construction. Our heroine’s choice and the voyeuristic need to find out what happens in the arena drags us through the 30% of preparation and political mumbo-jumbo.

I had mixed feelings about this future world. I liked certain elements. I enjoyed the setup, the whole lottery thing with escalating danger of more copies of your name being added every year or in exchange for food. But I just didn’t buy the political scenario as a whole. America is a big place, yet this district 12 felt like a small mining town where everyone knows each other. Small towns are less than 15,000 people. I would have bought it better if Catniss’ town were one among many in a whole region that was district 12. I know it sounds minor, but I’m a stickler for these kind of things. The level of economic/technical imbalance between the capital and the provinces seemed too great. How could this one little mining town really be that important? How could a whole continent be represented by one city?

But none of that really mattered once you pop into the arena at the 40% mark. Here Collins’ set up combines with the tight visceral present voice to work some serious magic. The action of young kids fighting and killing each other in a televised Lord of the Flies smackdown just worked. It felt real. It felt intense. There is some great survival writing here and that is what — for me — this book is all about. It’s made richer by sympathetic and well painted characters and by Katniss’ need to chose between her feelings and the practical requirements of survival (which includes the interest of her family). Nothing like a helpless little sister to up the sympathy factor.

Great stuff. A book doesn’t have to succeed on every level. This is one that hits 10/10 in perhaps 3/4 areas, and that is more than enough.

I can’t say I felt the same about the sequel which languished for too long in political marshland. But being a reader of real history, I have high standards with regards to politics.

_

Film: The Hunger Games

Director/Stars: Jennifer Lawrence (Actor), Josh Hutcherson (Actor), Gary Ross (Director)

Watched:  March 28, 2012

_

The film: Of course this is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, particularly for book lovers. I have to say that it executed effectively and faithfully as a translation. The story is identical to the book, although reduced of course. At a meta-level I thought that the pre-arena period, although a tad too long, was actually slightly better than in the book, and the area slightly inferior.

Overall, it lacks the true visceral intensity of the novel. Not that it isn’t well done, or isn’t engaging, but I sensed a restraint or hesitation on the part of the filmmakers to commit to the full reality of a bunch of teenagers killing each other in the woods. The movie is superbly cast. Jennifer Lawrence is great and does a fine job acting to fill in the missing narrative voice. She can’t make up more than some of the distance, but she does as well as any actress could. Interior connection and emotion is a strength of the novel format. Film can’t compete.

But it does do better at grand scenes. And I thought the costumes and makeup of the funky 19th century nano-punk world very effective. Perhaps not realistic, but certainly entertaining to look at. The adult actors are all good. Donald Sutherland is boilerplate but pitch perfect as President Snow. The sometimes annoying, sometimes fun Woody Harrelson leans toward fun. Lenny Kravitz is great as Cinna. Katniss’ mom kinda sucked.

The movie feels medium budget. The effects serve, but occasionally seem a little cheesy. This is just an observation, and for the most part, not a detraction. An exception involved Catniss’ two flaming outfits. Maybe it’s just the concept brought to life, but they fell pretty flat. The director does employ an interesting overall stylistic approach. By combining minimalist scoring, a sort of Appalachian feel (underscored literally by the soundtrack), and loose handheld shots, the film comes across as “underproduced” or “not very Hollywood.” This was an effective stylistic choice. He manages to squeeze a bit of genuine emotion out of us at the appropriate moments, like the death of Rue.

A couple nitpicks: The secondary tributes (basically everyone but Catniss, Rue, and Peeta) felt indistinct and underdeveloped. No one got very dirty. Come on, if you are living for a couple of days in the woods fighting for your life, you get really grimy and smelly. Hell, camping as a kid we looked downright gross without any homicidal incidents. Even as she’s dying, Rue’s cute little fro looked all perfect. The film felt to me like an 8/10, but if it had fully embraced the dark and nasty side, it might have been a 10.

For more book and film reviews, click here.

Or read about my own historical fantasy novel here.

Related posts:

  1. The Hunger Games Trailer
  2. Fright Night (2011) – Not a waste of film
  3. Kushiel’s Dart
  4. Before I Fall
  5. Story of a Girl
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Books, Movies
Tagged as: Arts, Book Review, Donald Sutherland, Fiction, Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss Everdeen, Lenny Kravitz, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Woody Harrelson

Game of Thrones – Season 2 Episode 1 Clips

Mar30

HBO has released six 30 second clips from “The North Remembers” which is the first episode of season 2. Spoiler alert! And the show is only 2 days away. Woot! But maybe, like me, you can’t resist.

Dragons!

Oh, how we love Tyrion.

And more Tyrion.

Beyond the wall x 2.

Robb isn’t bending no knee.

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My novels: The Darkening Dream and Untimed

or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews:

Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Season 2 Trailer
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 6
  3. Game of Thrones Season 2 Peek
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 4
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 5
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: dragons, Game of Thrones, HBO, Season 2, The North Remembers, Tyrion

The Call – Down the Rabbit Hole

Mar29

On Tuesday I got the call. (Technically, I’d gotten the call a couple of times before, but this time it was from someone that fit)

Backing up. Two months ago I sent a small blast of query letters regarding Untimed to a few top literary agents. Unlike a couple years ago when I did this for The Darkening Dream, I only sent them to people I was really interested in, and I didn’t engage emotionally (a few rounds of arbitrary rejection will inure you to that peril).

Untimed is more high concept than TDD, so my full request rate was a stellar 20%!

Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky sent this short email two weeks in:

Please send over the manuscript — this is definitely something I’m interested in!

Short – but sweet. So I sent the manuscript (about 30 seconds later). A month after that I got a note that he was reading and “so far, so good.” Then I flew off to the Maldives (in the Indian Ocean) for my friend and business partner Jason Rubin’s wedding (totally awesome BTW, pic here). In the back of my head there was that usual hope/worry thing, that voice that alternately mumbles “it’s a great book” and “probably, just another rejection.” Remember, of course, that publishing and literature are hugely subjective and even Harry Potter and A Wrinkle in Time were rejected countless times.

But on Monday, when I saw an email from him in my mailbox I somehow knew it was positive (of course I “knew” this on several previous occasions too…). But this time I was right.

In any case, I had a great (and long) phone chat with Eddie and we hit it off. And I like the intuitive feel of Jabberwocky. First of all their website is awfulagent.com – obviously they have a bit of a sense of humor – and second they represent a large stable of “real” science fiction and fantasy authors. Authors I’ve read like Charlaine Harris, Brandon Sanderson (my Way of Kings review here), Elizabeth Moon (I read her gritty military fantasy series way way back and loved it), and more recently Mark Hodder (my Spring-Heeled Jack review here). Eddie likes video games and graphic novels and got excited when I started talking about Julian the Apostate (more on that here). No one gets excited about Julian the Apostate.

And did I mention that he thinks Untimed is great as is (i.e. no big fifth draft – which I would do if I thought it’d make the book better, but I’m certainly happy to skip after four drafts and the line edit to end all line edits).

So we haggled out the paperwork. I’m represented. Now off down the rabbit hole to see what the publishers have to say. Will they be willing to offer Untimed the treatment it deserves? Time shall tell. We hope so.

Nice to have a another we in the equation!

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought–
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Untimed
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Brandon Sanderson, Charlaine Harris, EDDIE SCHNEIDER, Elizabeth Moon, Jabberwocky, Jason Rubin, JOSHUA BILMES, Julian the Apostate, Lewis Carroll, Literary agent, Maldives, Mark Hodder, Spring-Heeled Jack, The Darkening Dream, Untimed

San Fran – Starbelly

Mar27

Restaurant: Starbelly

Location: 3583 16th street, san francisco, ca 94114. p 415.252.7500

Date: February 11, 2012

Cuisine: Pizza

Rating: Great pizzeria +

_

We needed to seat a party of 13 including two young children in San Francisco at the last minute and so we ended up in this castro new-style pizza joint. This is the kind of reinvented American pizza that came out of New York 7-8 years ago. Fusing Cal pizza back with Neapolitan influences. I have to say it’s a good movement and Starbelly did a great job.


The menu.

An inexpensive Rosso from the list.


“house made chicken liver pâté, buttered bread, sweet onion marmalade & grain mustard.”


“house cut fries with three dips.”


“warm calamari, giant butter beans, onions, cilantro & citrus caviar.”


“butternut squash dumplings, sage, brown butter & shaved bucheret.”


“burrata di stefano, grilled bread, prosciutto and basil.”


“grilled lamb meatballs., dried cherries & pistachio, minted greek yogurt.”


“Pizza margherita – no basil”


“Pizza margherita”


“Pt reyes blue cheese, market pears, roasted onion & arugula.”


“house made chorizo, sunny eggs & cilantro pizza.”


“Pt reyes blue cheese, market pears, roasted onion & arugula with added prosciutto and salami.”


“Prather Ranch burger, house cut fries & pickle, grilled sesame bun.”


The dessert menu.

This meal was straightforward, but immensely enjoyable.

For more San Francisco dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: castro, Italian cuisine, New York, Pizza, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, Starbelly

The Pillars of Hercules

Mar25

Title: The Pillars of Hercules

Author: David Constantine

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Length: 411 pages

Read: March 16-17, 2012

Summary: Bronze-punk!

_

The Pillars of Hercules is a very fun read and takes a serious stab at something I haven’t really seen before and is very much up my alley. For lack of a better term: bronze-punk.

What we have — for at least the first two thirds — is a combination alternate history and speculative technology book, set in 330 BC. Now this is a fun and tumultuous period, that of Alexander the Great and one which was to see (in real life) immense changes in the euro-Asian political scene which shaped the world we know. At the political level, David Constatine is clearly knowledgable and very fond of the period. He speculates on a number of specific deviances from real history: The success of Athens‘ disastrous (in real history) Sicilican campaign, giving rise to a stronger Athenian Empire. And the survival of both Phillip and Alexander past their fated dates. I found this play out fascinating and entirely reasonable.

To this, he adds a rather extreme amount of extended technology based both on secret discoveries from previous (read Atlantian) civilizations, and real ancient tech amplified by geniuses such as Aristotle who are astoundingly more practical (in the vein of Tony Stark x 1000) then their real life counterparts. Most of these inventions are weapons and war machines. Plenty of this tech does have precedents in the ancient world such as steam engines. But in a society where the cost of labor was nearly zero (slavery being more the rule than the exception) there was no impetuous for mechanization (That would take the depopulating effect of the middle ages and the plague to bring about). I found this stuff fantastic fun. But Constantine does take it a bit far for little purpose in the form of semi-sentient gear work golems and the like (not that I don’t have clockwork men if my own in Untimed). The almost magic tech of the “gods” was also a little much. But it was good fun.

Against this rather magnificent backdrop we have an adventure and war story of lightning pace and heroic proportions. Point of view-wise about two-thirds of the story is told by a Gaulic mercenary who is along for the ride with a Persian noblewoman “in the know” about some of this extreme tech in her quest to stop Alexander from taking over the world. The big political scope of the book involves Alexander, having survived his in-real-life fatal illness/poisoning, and who goes on to try and conquer the Western Mediterranean from the Athenian Empire. In the other third of the narrative we see Akexander’s plots and conquests through the eyes of a couple of his generals and foes. One of these, his right hand man, gets a good number of pages and has a developed POV. Most of the others serve as human cameras.

The first two-thirds of the book is therefore mostly glorious (and very fun) high swashbuckling action on the part of the merc or generals in the midst of a near-continuous series of huge battles, sieges, daring breakins, escapes, and naval chases. There isn’t much focus here on emotions of character arcs. The characters aren’t cardboard either, just fun, and free of internal serious flaws that need resolving. And the action is often so grand as to completely stretch the reality factor. But it is good fun and reminds me of some of the best Philip Jose Farmer.

Then at about the 70% mark most of the threads pass west of the titular Pillars of Hercules and things get weirder. Not that the pace of action lets up, but instead of being set in the likes of Alexandria, Athens, Syracuse, or Carthage, literally descends into a sort of mechanized Hades filled with machines of the gods. While well executed, and providing the book with a larger mythic framework, I personally can’t help but think Constantine went too far. That the overall effect would have been a little more satisfying sticking to this fantastic world closer to our own.

Still, highly, highly recommended.

For more book reviews, click here.

Or read about my own historical fantasy novel here.

Related posts:

  1. Julian – The End of an Era
  2. Some Ideas Never Die
  3. Book Review: A World Undone
  4. Book Review: The Last Colony
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Alexander, Alexander the Great, Alexandria, Athens, Atlantic Ocean, Atlantis, David Constantine, Hercules, Pillars of Hercules, The Pillars of Hercules

Very Best Fantasy

Mar22

I’m frequently asked for a list of favorite novels and big influences on my own writing. So I drew up this list. In order to prevent my head exploding I kept it exclusively to adult fantasy. I have plenty more favorites in other genres, but this will keep anyone busy for a while — particularly considering many are the first in a series.

The Anubis Gates

by Tim Powers

Time travel, crazy 4,000 year old Egyptian sorcerers, romantic poets, and Victorian England. Oh, and it all works brilliantly.

A Game of Thrones

by George R.R. Martin

Simply the best modern fantasy work. The scope is huge, the characters intensely real, and the medieval-ness (as in “go all medieval on his ass”) is incredible.

The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss

NOTW is a beautiful book. Of all the Fantasy I’ve read in the last 15 or so years, this is perhaps second best after The Song of Ice and Fire. But that’s not to say that they have much in common, other than both being good Fantasy. NOTW is focused and relies on more traditional Fantasy tropes. How focused can a 700 page novel be? Not very, but it is good, and it concentrates on a small number of characters and a single (albiet meandering) storyline.

Wizard and Glass

by Stephen King

Stephen King’s best. Almost pure fantasy, told with his knack for making even the weirdest situations and dialog believable.

The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10

by Roger Zelazny

Hokey at times, but I just love the concept and feel of this reality bender. The pattern has haunted me for decades.

Master of the Five Magics

by Lyndon Hardy

Pure fun fantasy, but I love solid attempts to systematize and render magic into a real and “believable” system.

Carrion Comfort

by Dan Simmons

A horrific journey into the depths and nature of evil. One of the most chilling books I have ever read.

Wild Seed

by Octavia E. Butler

History, two kinds of immortals, themes of slavery and freedom, breeding of genetic powers. How can you beat that?

The True Game

by Sheri S. Tepper

I love this world in which “powers” come in systematic flavors which combine into unique specialties of super power.
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By: agavin
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Posted in: Books
Tagged as: A Song of Ice and Fire, Andy Gavin, Anubis Gates, Contemporary fantasy, Fantasy, Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, George RR Martin, Song of Ice, Song of Ice and Fire, Stephen King, Tim Powers, Very Best Fantasy, Victorian era

Immortals – Quickly Forgotten

Mar20

Title: Immortals

Director/Stars: Henry Cavill (Actor), Mickey Rourke (Actor), Tarsem Singh (Director)

Genre: Swords and Sandles

Watched:  March 15, 2012

Summary: Gorgeous and oh so confusing

_

It’s a moral imperative for me to see all films set in the ancient world (although that descriptor is stretched by this historically adrift fantasy). How this strange piece ever got made is a mystery. My best bet is that the studio wanted a movie to compete with the execrable Clash of the Titans remake (and I’m a big fan of the original).

Both share certain “themes” and elements. Stylized visuals (although Immortals notches that up past 300 and beyond), sexy female seers, pseudo-wise mentors, titans, incomprehensible writing, and irrational hatred for the gods.

What is up with this theme? I totally don’t understand and it utterly ruined Clash for me. Why would an ancient people, particularly one with proof of divine presence, deeply resent this lightweight governance? While there are certainly atheistic writings in ancient times, few espouse a bitter hatred of divinity. Is this some sort of modern sentiment refocused? Or, more likely, a need studio producers have to expand the scale of the combat? In any case, Immortals is considerably better than Clash – but probably not by the standards of the mindless masses.

Let’s take it apart. Stylistically this film is pretty damn cool. It’s not “realistic” or accurate, but it does borrow heavily from traditional costume and such in a highly interesting way. For example, the red oracle costumes (partially shown above) were wonderfully evocative of north African and Anatolian women’s dress. Even the overdone costumes of the gods were interesting — although not totally to my taste. Ares (I think) with his huge spiky headdress, Poseidon with a giant conch on his head. Interesting. The temples were cool. The over-cliffy landscape. It’s even the second movie in the last few months to feature the Brazen Bull. Certainly this would seem obscure and the movie makes no effort to explain this horrific and anachronistic execution/torture device (the film is set in 1200BC and the bull was invented in 500BC).

Considering the script, the acting isn’t even that bad. But this brings us to the point: the script, which largely fails at both macro and micro levels. First of all, like most big effects movies these days, there is little or no arc and characterization is minimalist at best. Archetypes all: The warrior, the old man, the evil king. All conflict is external. The basic nature of the macro external objective throws good and bad guys together. But at the micro level, this film has scenes where you go, “what the hell just happened?” Partly this was due to inexplicably black cinematography. But mostly just due to lack of editing clarity. For example, Theseus is a slave at a watering hole and the virgin oracles, formerly in their temple just show up as vague captives. Why? How? No one explains. Then they stage a breakout, which devolves into some black figures fighting in a lightless room. Then both Theseus and the real oracle and a bunch of other slaves are free and outside, and the three other virgins captive. Again, no explanation — unless it happened in the dark.

Oh, well. This movie could have been so much more. Why can’t they take their subject a little seriously, and most importantly use some real writing? It’s gorgeous to look at, but I crave a movie about the gods and goddesses with some real substance. Perhaps even a universal moral theme? Like the evils of war or the fatal overextension of hubris? That might be in keeping with the source material and we couldn’t have that!

For more Film reviews, click here.

Zeus (where's the beard?) puts the smackdown on Ares

By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: Ancient Greece, Apollo, Athena, Blu-ray Disc, Brazen Bull, Freida Pinto, Gods, Henry Cavill, Immortals, John Hurt, Mickey Rourke, Poseidon, Tarsem Singh, Theseus, Zeus

Game of Thrones – Price for our Sins

Mar18

Just 2 weeks from Season 2, HBO has released more trailer goodness (3/18/12).  This is one of the best yet, featuring all sorts of footage from the new season, and cut into a more comprehensible story arc.

And the 3/25/12 “Nowhere to Hide” preview:

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: a game of thrones, Blu-ray Disc, Clash of Kings, DVD, Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, HBO, Major houses in A Song of Ice and Fire, Teaser, Television program, Trailer

San Fran – Nopalito

Mar18

Restaurant: Nopalito

Location: 306 Broderick Street. San Francisco, CA 94117. 415-437-0303

Date: February 11, 2012

Cuisine: Mexican

Rating: Best Mexican I’ve been too since I was in Mexico

_

Continuing our San Francisco adventures, we met up with my college roommate and his family at a Mexican place in his neighborhood. This trendy — and hence crowded — little spot served up some of the best Mexican I’ve had since my wife and I used to frequent a favorite high end resort in Cabo.

The bustling kitchen.


The lunch menu.

“Hibiscus-Valencia Orange.”


“Ginger-Lemonade.” I love good lemonade and this one was pretty awesome, with a spicy ginger finish like Jamaican ginger beer.


My son got the straight up cheese quesadilla. Notice the small hand grab.


“Totopos con Chile. Tortilla chips, salsa de arbol, cotija cheese, crema and lime.” Thick homemade chips with a good bit of spice and tangy limeness. Real good. Not real light.


“Naranjas con Chile, limón y Queso. Salad of cara cara oranges, blood oranges, grapefruit, pickled red onions, chile, lime and queso fresco.” Very nice zesty fresh flavors.


“Ceviche verde de Pescado. Marinated fish, lime, tomatillo, jalapeño, cilantro, avocado and tortilla chips.” Again, reminiscent of my Cabo vacations.


“Taquitos de Papas adobadas. Crispy rolled tortillas, potatoes in New Mexico chile adobo, onion, guacamole, crema, queso fresco and salsa brava.” Yum yum. Fried is always tasty. As straightforward as the toppings are, they were incredibly fresh.


“Tamal empipianado rojo con Puerco. Corn masa, pork stewed in dried chilies, sunflower & seasame seeds, tomato, spices and queso cotija.” I’m a sucker for the sweet corny taste of a good tamale.


“Quesadilla roja con Chicharrón. Mulato chile-corn tortilla, crispy pork belly, salsa cascabel, jack cheese, queso fresco, onion and cilantro.” Very interesting jazzed up quesadilla.


“Quesadilla de Primavera. Corn tortilla, asparagus, mushroom, spinach, quesillo, queso fresco, spring onion, cilantro, and salsa de chile puya.” Good, but not as good as the pork one.


“Empanada con Deshebrada de res. Fried masa pastry, grass-fed beef, tomato, jalapeño, cabbage, avocado, queso fresco and salsa frita de guajillo.” Also really tasty.


Some almond balls to finish things off.

While not light, this was a very zesty meal — and despite the large number of Mexican places in LA I don’t know any that use ingredients this fresh or bring to bear such a modern and sophisticated palette.

For more San Francisco dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: La Serenata
  2. San Fran – Kokkari
  3. La Sandia
  4. San Fran – Jardinere
  5. San Fran – RN74
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Broderick Street, Chicharrón, Mexican, Mexican cuisine, Mexico, Nopalito, Queso blanco, Salsa, San Francisco

PostDesk Interview

Mar16

An in-depth interview with Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and founder of Naughty Dog

Andy Gavin reflects and looks back on Crash Bandicoot, and Naughty Dog – calling Crash ‘…the really hot girlfriend that you dumped because of an important at the time argument’. He also offers some interesting perspectives on the games industry, drawing from his experiences – finally going on to tell us more about what he’s doing now, as a novelist – and how creating worlds has always been one of his great passions.

Crash Bandicoot

We interviewed Andy Gavin, the co-founder of Naughty Dog (with Jason Rubin) and creator of Crash Bandicoot. We asked Andy how he got in to the industry, about the inspirations, motives and ideologies behind Crash Bandicoot – one of the games industries seminal characters, and on on what makes a good videogame character. He also told us about the entirely different culture and ethos he built up at Naughty Dog – which meant putting the player first. We also asked him to reflect on his successes and ‘failures’ at Naughty Dog, about what he thinks of the company now and about his future plans. Today, Andy has turned his attention to writing – and is now an established novelist – so we also asked him about what he’s reading, and what he’s working on right now.

Andy Gavin

Just some of the highlights from this in-depth interview…

  • “Jason and I wanted to take Donkey Kong Country style gameplay and make it 3D. We called it the “Sonic’s Ass” game.”
  • “We wanted to do what Sega had done with the hedgehog and Warner Bros had done with the Tasmanian Devil and find some kind of animal that was cute, real, and no one really knew about… …we loved the word bandicoot.”
  • “I’m sure the games are still widely played, probably more than any other PS1 franchise.”
  • “Crash is a little like the really hot girlfriend that you dumped because of an important at the time argument. Then, years later when you run into her, find she’s a hooker with a crack problem’… ‘Naughty Dog on the other hand is the kid that grew up, got straight A’s at Harvard, then founded an internet company and made a fortune. Plus they still come home for the holidays and send Mom flowers on Valentine’s day.”
  • “My writing fulfils a very similar creative outlet, namely building worlds.”
  • “I don’t think the future [of games] will be better graphics – it’s not important any more. Part of it will be new business models of allowing certain aspects for free and charging for others. Making this all work in a way that doesn’t destabilise game balance will be a challenge” …”new ways of paying will have a huge effect on the structure of games”
  • “One of the biggest was difficulties in integrating with radically different corporate cultures after acquisition… Jason and I always put customer and innovation first trying to do ambitious projectswith a very high level of execution. Sort of an Apple (with Jobs) model. Not all companies run this way. There are other models like “rip off the other guy cheaper.” This is valid, but we just never thought that way.”
  • “Creating worlds and stories has always been one of my great passions. I’ve been doing it my entire life. With novels it’s very intimate and you have nearly infinite control”

Crash Bandicoot

What inspired you to start Naughty Dog – how did you get in to the games industry?

In the 1970s I was hugely into fantasy novels, fantasy role playing games, and early video games. When I first encountered a computer it was only natural that I tried to make games. Back then, unless you knew how to program, computers were pretty much good for a blinking cursor. Then about two years into my programming career I met Jason Rubin. My programs were better than anyone our age, and his art skills (particularly on the computer) were better than anyone else’s. It was a match made in heaven and we started working on games together. In those early days we called the company JAM Software, but we renamed it to Naughty Dog around 1985.

“Jason and I wanted to take Donkey Kong Country style gameplay and make it 3D. We called it the “Sonic’s Ass” game.”

What were the aims behind Crash Bandicoot – what was the brief? Was it to create a character to compete with Sonic and Mario, and to create a mascot character for Sony – or something more?

Yep. At that time character action was one of the most popular genres, and one of our favorites. Jason and I wanted to take Donkey Kong Country style gameplay and make it 3D. We called it the “Sonic’s Ass” game. And it was born from the question: what would a 3D platformer be like? Well, we thought, you’d spend a lot of time looking at “Sonic’s Ass.” Aside from the difficulties of identifying with a character only viewed in posterior, it seemed cool. Although we worried about the camera, dizziness, and the player’s ability to judge. When it seemed likely that Sony didn’t have a mascot character of their own we jumped on that too. Essentially we planed for Crash to become exactly what it did – but the fact that we were successful still stuns me.

We wanted to do what Sega had done with the hedgehog and Warner Bros had done with the Tasmanian Devil and find some kind of animal that was cute, real, and no one really knew about… …we loved the word bandicoot.”

What was the inspiration behind Crash Bandicoot – where did the concept come from?
We wanted to do what Sega had done with the hedgehog and Warner Bros had done with the Tasmanian Devil and find some kind of animal that was cute, real, and no one really knew about. We bought a copy of Tasmanian Mammals – a field guide and flipped through. The Wombat, Potoroo, and Bandicoot fit the bill. We loved the word bandicoot. Personality-wise we felt he should be goofy and fun loving, and never talk.

Crash Bandicoot

What was the symbolism and ideology behind the mannerisms, attitude and behaviour you gave Crash Bandicoot? 

As the machine didn’t really have the power to pull off giving Crash a voice that wasn’t lame, we needed to use animation to draw in the player emotionally. This jived with one of our main design goals, which was to make the animation better than had ever been seen in a game before. We wanted at least Looney Tunes level quality, if not Disney level. Animation is an emotional language and our top flight cartoon character designers showed us how to convey the whole range of human motion in the exaggerated vocabulary of traditional animation.

What was the reasoning behind the colours you gave Crash Bandicoot?

Simple, Crash needed to pop against the background so you could see him easily. Since he lived in a natural world of greens and grays orange was the hottest and most complementary colour. Real animals want to blend. Cartoons want to pop.

Crash Bandicoot is of a few games which has a real cultural impact and it’s created an extremely loyal group of superfans – a fan community which is still going strong, producing fan art, writing ‘fan fictions’ – some devoting much of their life to a character you created. What are your feelings about being behind a cultural icon?

It’s amazing that this happened and I feel very gratified to be a part of it. I chalk up one of the main reasons the game was successful to the character’s iconic quality. Crash is a sort of every-creature. While he has his goofy side, his natural enthusiasm and willingness to rebound from any upset (literally) make him highly endearing.

Crash Bandicoot Fan Art

Crash Bandicoot Fan Art is very popular – this piece is by ‘ZoDy’ on an online community for artists called DeviantArt

Could you share any interesting facts or ‘secrets’ about Crash Bandicoot that even the biggest superfans may not know?

The original Crash Bandicoot has an entire extra level on the disk that is not accessible without a cheat device. It’s called Slippery Climb and was a monstrously big and difficult “climb on the rainy castle wall” level. It was cut because it was too hard and we didn’t have time to balance it properly.

What makes a good videogame character?

Video game characters aren’t especially subtle, but they are appealing. They need to be visually distinctive, with clear expression of personality traits. Visually, Crash is orange, big head, and gloves. Then on the personality side, playful, resilient, not the brightest bulb, but willing to go the extra mile.

Would you say that seminal ‘mascot’ characters like Crash, Sonic, and Mario are playing a less important or significant role in the games industry? Why do you think it might be the case? 

It does seem that as games become more realistic they have less distinctive characters. Many current console games now are essentially military. The badass space marine is iconic, but not really distinctive. What makes one different from another?

Crash Bandicoot

“I’m sure the games are still widely played, probably more than any other PS1 franchise.”

Some say that Crash ‘failed to innovate’ over the years ‘rendering the character useless’ – what would you say to that?

It’s not fair of me to comment on the non Naughty Dog games. I feel that our four Crash games innovated relative to the speed of release (1996, ’97, ’98, ’99). We tried to really pack tons of new stuff into every successive game while keeping the best of the old. Fans knew that with our games they would really get their money’s worth. They voted with their wallets in huge numbers, and I’m sure the games are still widely played, probably more than any other PS1 franchise.

How much would you credit the sophistication of Naughty Dog technology to your background in LISP at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory?

I was always a technically ambitious programmer, but MIT and the addition of Dave Baggett to our team really helped us up the ante. Dave and I fed off each other, each convincing the other that the next impossible thing was possible. But Mark Cerny also played no small role in this ambition. While he only coded a guest module or two in each game he’s brilliant and he really pushed Dave and I to rise to the next level.

Why did you decide to leave Naughty Dog 2004?

This is a complicated question and there are several answers. A) My contract was up and to stay (on terms I wanted) I would have had to haggle out a new one (boring). B) I was burnt out after over ten years of 90-110 hour work weeks. C) And most important, we had been training our top guys (Evan Wells, Stephen White, and Christophe Balestra) to run full game teams. They were ready.

Since handing over the reins, are you happy with how Crash Bandicoot has developed over the years?

Crash is a little like the really hot girlfriend that you dumped because of an important at the time argument. Then, years later when you run into her, find she’s a hooker with a crack problem.

What do you think of the company now? Is it how you visualised it would be?

Naughty Dog on the other hand is the kid that grew up, got straight A’s at Harvard, then founded an internet company and made a fortune. Plus they still come home for the holidays and send Mom flowers on Valentine’s day.

Would you ever consider returning to the company?

I still have tons of friends there. I just dropped by the other day and I had a rush of nostalgia for all the excitement and the sense of being part of something huge. But Evan and Christophe have things totally under control. More than that, they keep the ship running better than ever. So they don’t need another officer at the helm.

Crash Bandicoot

My writing fulfils a very similar creative outlet, namely building worlds.

Do you think you’ll ever return to the gaming industry as a whole – or even create another video game?

It’s hard to say. My writing fulfils a very similar creative outlet, namely building worlds. There are still games I crave making (achem… fantasy games). Really I’d love to build the most incredible MMO ever (I’m a huge WOW and Diablo fan) but then I think about the $150 million budget, the six year development plan, and the 200 person team…

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the gaming industry throughout your career?

Ha. I can’t even begin to answer that. My career started when the Atari 2600 was king and continues to modern console games, iPhone, and Facebook games. But the really big thing that is changing is the move away from the packaged goods model where a complete game is sold for $40-70. Download only games with subscription and micro transaction models will soon be the norm.

What do you make of the games currently being released now, …including Uncharted – Drake’s Deception? What do you make of console gaming as it is today …and the games you find most interesting right now?

UC3 is a blast, I love it. I still love fantasy games. My favorites this year, having finally quite WOW (again, for now), are UC3 and Dark Souls. I really want to play Skyrim too, which I’m sure I’ll love. I got it release day too, but I had one novel to finish editing and a second to publish – I didn’t dare put it in the machine.

Uncharted 3

Zoë Ainscough couldn’t recommend Uncharted 3 enough in a review which appeared recently on PostDesk Gaming

“I don’t think the future [of games] will be better graphics – it’s not important any more. Part of it will be new business models of allowing certain aspects for free and charging for others. Making this all work in a way that doesn’t destabilize game balance will be a challenge” …”new ways of paying will have a huge effect on the structure of games”

What do you feel the future of gaming will be – and how is it going to develop over the next few years? Will it rely on enhancements in technology – or are you seeing other trends?

I don’t think it will be better and better graphics. That will happen to some extent, but it’s not important anymore. Part of it will be new business models of allowing certain aspects for free and charging for others. Making this all work in a way that doesn’t destabilize game balance will be a challenge. Integration of even more elaborate social structure is another trend. I think that in the next few years we will actually start to see less of the incredibly expensive monolithic console games. As disks go away new ways of paying are going to rear their heads and this will have a huge effect on the structure of games.

Farmville Social Facebook Gaming

Is this forming the basis for the future of gaming?

Across your entire career to date, what achievements are you most proud of? What was your biggest success?

#1 is founding Naughty Dog and establishing in it a kind of corporate culture and ethos that puts the player first. Really NDI is all about providing good value to the player. Value in games is wow factor, fun, novelty, and a polished entertainment experience that minimizes frustration. I’m also proud individually of each of my “projects.” This includes all thirteen major games I wrote, Flektor, my compilers, both my novels, and even my website:http://all-things-andy-gavin.com .

One of the biggest was difficulties in integrating with radically different corporate cultures after acquisition… Jason and I always put customer and innovation first trying to do ambitious projects with a very high level of execution. Sort of an Apple (with Jobs) model. Not all companies run this way. There are other models like “rip off the other guy cheaper.” This is valid, but we just never thought that way.

What has been the biggest ‘failure’ that you’ve had to overcome in your career?

I don’t have what I consider any serious failures. More a lot of “lessons” of various degrees of severity. One of the biggest was difficulties in integrating with radically different corporate cultures after acquisition. Hint this had nothing to do with Naughty Dog or Sony which went great. Jason and I always put customer and innovation first trying to do ambitious projects with a very high level of execution. Sort of an Apple (with Jobs) model. Not all companies run this way. There are other models like “rip off the other guy cheaper.” This is valid, but we just never thought that way.

Has being a novelist always been an ambition of yours? 

I’ve been an avid reader my whole life (over 10,000 novels and who knows how many non-fiction volumes). Mostly fantasy, horror, historical or science fiction. In high school, I won several national literary awards for my short stories and I was an editor and contributor to our high school literary magazine. In college, despite being a diehard science guy, I took creative writing classes (sometimes I was the only guy) and submitted stories to Science Fiction and Fantasy magazines (not that they ever bought any!). I wrote the stories for some of our games (don’t judge my novels by that, in the old days games couldn’t afford real stories). But the insane work output needed for Playstation games didn’t leave me the time to write and so it was with considerable zeal that I turned to it seriously two and a half years ago.

“My first novel, The Darkening Dream, was just published. You can find out all about it at the-darkening-dream.com and it’s for sale now.”

Tell us about your new books – and what are you working on right now?

I have three books in various stages of production. My first novel, The Darkening Dream, was just published. You can find out all about it athttp://the-darkening-dream.com and it’s for sale now. This is a fast paced historical fantasy about a bunch of teens who try to stop some really creepy supernatural chaps from maiming, killing, and destroying the world. The teens get in over their heads. Really over their heads. All of the magic (and there’s a lot) is based on real historical occult, which makes it much creepier than the made up stuff – because truth is stranger than fiction. My second book, Untimed, is a YA time travel novel about the crazy adventures of a boy no one remembers, who falls through a hole in time and finds himself lost in the past. It’s really slick, funny, and fast paced. I just finished editing it and am now figuring out who I want to publish it. Then I’m supposed to be writing my third novel, but instead I’m answering interview questions and learning how to layout a print ready file. J

What are you reading right now?

Julian, by Gore Vidal. This is a historical bestseller from the 60s about Julian the Apostate who is a really interesting Roman Emperor from late antiquity. It’s part of a particular a branch of investigation for my new novel. All of my books involve history in some way. One of my ambitions is to show that history doesn’t have to be boring, quite the contrary. Untimed bounces through four centuries and it’s lightning paced.

“Creating worlds and stories has always been one of my great passions. I’ve been doing it my entire life. With novels it’s very intimate and you have nearly infinite control”

What are your plans and ambitions for the future?

In the short run (2012) I’d like to finish two more novels (gulp) and turn The Darkening Dream and Untimed into bestsellers. The writing part of being a writer is really fun and creative – although way more work than I imagined, and I imagined a lot. Creating worlds and stories has always been one of my great passions. I’ve been doing it my entire life. With novels it’s very intimate and you have nearly infinite control. There are limitations of the medium, POV, etc., but there are few technical tradeoffs and no budgets or meetings. Only time and imagination limit what you can do. This is why, despite the profusion of all sorts of fantastic new mediums, novels are still one of the beststorytelling devices. Most games are more about gameplay and fun than story – even if Uncharted has been changing that. Long form television (like high budget cable shows) is also very good now. I love HBO and Showtime dramas. They sport some of the best writing in film or television today. Film is really too short for in depth characterization, although the best of them rise above this limitation.

You can find more on Andy Gavin’s writing at andy-gavin-author.com, on his first novel at the-darkening-dream.com, and the second novel atuntimed-novel.com. The Darkening Dream is available on Amazon Kindle for $4.99 at Amazon.com and for £3.27 at Amazon.co.uk. [Prices correct at time of going to press]

The Darkening Dream Andy Gavin

The Darkening Dream is an “ominous vision and the discovery of a gruesome corpse lead Sarah Engelmann into a terrifying encounter with the supernatural in 1913 Salem, Massachusetts. With help from Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant, Sarah sets out to track the evil to its source,never guessing that she will take on a conspiracy involving not only a 900-year vampire, but also a demon-loving Puritan warlock, disgruntled Egyptian gods, and an immortal sorcerer, all on a quest to recover the holy trumpet of the Archangel Gabriel.Relying on the wisdom of an elderly vampire hunter, Sarah’s rabbi father, and her own disturbing visions, Sarah must fight a millennia-old battle between unspeakable forces, where the ultimate prize might be herself”.

This article was originally published here on PostDesk.

Related posts:

  1. Way of the Warrior – The Lost Interview
  2. All Your Base Are Belong to Us
  3. Making Crash Bandicoot – part 5
  4. Making Crash Bandicoot – part 1
  5. Crash Bandicoot – An Outsider’s Perspective (part 8)
By: agavin
Comments (13)
Posted in: Games, Writing
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Crash Bandicoot, Jason Rubin, Naughty, Naughty Dog, Sony, Video game

More Special Prize Winners!

Mar14

The second round of the crazy Naughty Dark Contest now has three special prize winners! Unfortunately, my broken wrist has slowed down my mailing speed, but I’m finally getting some of this off my plate. The winners are:

Tyson Cleary of Tasmania

and

Rob Larkin from Newcastle

and

Robert Šebo from Bratislava

For more info on the contest, a detailed list of prizes and rules can be found here!

The prizes are below:

A signed copy of Crash 2

CTR: The Music CD

And a poster

Thank you all immeasurably!

It’s also worth noting that this has made the virtual hat for the second round even more lucrative for the rest of you. Due to their prize winning each first round ticket is worth at least a 2% chance of winning a prize now — and if someone else claims a special prize, it could be even greater. So read up on the rules and participate.

Start by purchasing The Darkening Dream!

Related posts:

  1. Special Prize Winners
  2. Round 1 Winner Selected!
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Contests, Darkening Dream, Games
Tagged as: cd, Crash Bandicoot, List of prizes medals and awards, Naughty Dark Contest, posters, Tasmania

Untimed – Meet the Tocks

Mar13

I finished the line editing on my second novel, Untimed, last December, but that doesn’t mean the work is really over. On one front, it’s out to various agents and editors, but on the other I’m working on spit and polish.

I had it professionally proofread and just finished going over all those little fixes. This is just an extra step to make sure it’s as free of errors as possible and that the comma, hyphen, and spelling niceties are as consistent as possible. And apparently I don’t like commas half as well as I should.

But far more exciting is that I’m having the book illustrated! I know it’s relatively rare to illustrate novels, but I love art and believe — well done — that it really adds to the overall experience. Working with the agent who represented the awesome cover artist for The Darkening Dream, I found a talented illustrator named Dave Phillips (his website is here and some portfolio samples here). He has a real knack for character (see this for example) and knows how to capture lifelike personality in his figures. Over the last few weeks we’ve been developing character designs and now the first (more or less) finished image.

To the right, our hero Charlie (in front), confronts the mysterious Tick-Tock, a rapier-wielding clockwork man who serves as the only link to Charlie’s missing father.

But Tick-Tocks are full of surprises, including the ability to punch holes in time!

Two free Naughty Dark tickets to the first reader who guesses the exact physical location of the scene (reply in comments here). You must not be one of my beta readers or one of their relatives. Hint: “Ghost H…”

Related posts:

  1. Untimed – Two Novels, Check!
  2. Untimed – The Second Cover
  3. Untimed – Two Novels, Two Drafts!
  4. Untimed Fourth Draft Finished
  5. Untimed – Off for Line Editing
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Untimed
Tagged as: Andy Gavin, Arts, books, Cover art, Dave Phillips, Fiction, Illustration, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tocks, Time travel, Untimed, Writing and Editing

San Fran – RN74

Mar12

Restaurant: RN74

Location: 301 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Tel: 415.543.7474

Date: February 10, 2012

Cuisine: American

Rating: Good, but not spectacular

_

I really wanted to go to Michael Mina‘s front line restaurant but given the presence of my three year-old son his more casual bistro seemed a wiser choice.


The decor is casual, chic, and modern. This is part of the new wave of post recession more “pubby” fine dining.


Le menu.


“Cauliflower and sea urchin soup. Crispy-poached egg, fava beans, parsley root, tarragon.”


In French style, in soup is poured in table-side.


“Ahi Tuna Cru. Fallot mustard, french pickle relish, breakfast radishes, watercress.”


“Roasted beets. Hawaiian hearts of palm, winter citrus, savory almond brittle.”


“Cascade mountain artic char. Spatzle, black trumpet mushrooms, brussels sprouts, whole grain mustard.”


“brussels sprouts.”


“Grilled mediterranean sea bass. Steamed mussels, prawns, chickpea panisse, lobster-blood orange bouillabaisse.”


The sauce is added after. This is really a form of deconstructed bouillabaisse, not being a proper soup. Personally, I prefer le classique. This was fine but it tasted rather of “grill” and I prefer tomato and garlic!


Some pleasant complementary cookies. Almond cakey things.

Overall, this was a solid meal, but nothing blew me away. Execution was fine, and call me jaded (a word coming from the Norse for a broken-down old nag), but I was a little bored.

For more San Francisco dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Jardinere
  2. San Fran – Kokkari
  3. San Fran – Feng Nian
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Cooking, Michael Mina, Restaurants and Bars, RN74, San Francisco

Game of Thrones – The More You Love

Mar10

As we close in on Season 2, HBO has released more trailer goodness (3/10/12).  This is one of the best yet, featuring all sorts of footage from the new season, and cut into a more comprehensible story arc.

And this other from a week ago with a different — but awesome — style:

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Season 2 Trailer
  2. Game of Thrones – The Houses
  3. Game of Thrones – Season 2 – First Look
  4. Game of Thrones – Invitation to the Set
  5. New Game of Thrones 2 Teaser
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: a clash of kings, Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, HBO, Season 2, The More You Love, westeros

Going Indie

Mar09

A nice post on one author’s journey toward Indie Publishing.

My experience in 2009 was a lot worse than I originally expected. From what I can tell, a literary agent is a great job for a person who lacks social skills. If you’re an agent who’s any good (good enough that people have heard of you) then you get way more queries than you can handle. Most of them you probably wish would just go away. Some of them, certainly, break the rules. And there are lots of rules. Don’t send anything unsolicited. Don’t send an attachment. Don’t send me anything in the mail. Don’t call me. If I do decide to represent you, I will do it how I want and when I want. And my personal favorite: Don’t waste my time.

Find the full original article here.

Or posts by me on writing and publishing.

Related posts:

  1. Follow The Money
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Writing
Tagged as: Business, Literary agent, New York, Publishing, Publishing and Printing, Query letter, Writer

Food as Art: Dark Illuminated Forest

Mar07

Restaurant: CR8 by Roberto Cortez [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: LA

Date: March 5, 2012

Cuisine: Modern Art

Rating: Absolutely Amazing

_

About a year ago I came across online a chef named Roberto Cortez who hosts periodic themed modernist dinners. Looking at Roberto’s work (visible on his blog) it was instantly obvious that his visual style and presentation were out of this world. They exhibit a standout playfulness and creativity well in advance of even top restaurants. But what you can’t tell from pictures is how does it taste! Any which way, I was dying to find out. I emailed, and finally, this winter, the opportunity came. March 5, 2012.

Even with founding Foodie Club partner Erick out of town for business, this could not be missed.

To ruin the suspense: what followed was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. And, you, my readers, know I had a lot!

Roberto doesn’t just put on a dinner, he stages an event, a kind of modernist play for the senses. This one, part of the CR8 series, was called Dark Illuminated Forest and it has a wintery theme befitting the season. Food, drink, music, and ambiance all help create the evening.

Discover the cryptic “menu”!


Roberto chose a midtown gallery space for this particular event. And above you see several of us gathering in the back patio prior to the meal. Another interesting element is that there is a single table for ten, composed of three different parties mixed together. Everyone who comes to an event like this is a foodie and so part of the fun is meeting and socializing with new people. In this way it’s a bit similar to the experience at Jose Andres’ É — but Roberto takes it to a whole new level.


First he whipped up — literally — a specialty cocktail.


The base is fresh winter melon, compressed to bring out the flavor with a bit of cream and of course some booze. The top is a white foam of St Germain with a bit of chili.


The result was a wonderful blend of flavor and texture. The top velvety soft, the body intense and refreshing, with a pleasant burn on the finish. Really quite spectacular.


We move inside to the forest. The table has been set with a smoldering centerpiece of salt, bark, and flame. Paper walls cordon off the open gallery space to make it more intimate.


Above hangs part of the “forest” – painted by Roberto himself.


Each course featured unusual modernist silverware which was often amusing and conversation worthy, if not always totally practical.


As the candles melted, the flame began to sputter amongst the salt. This caused tiny volcano-like explosions, pops, and crackles. Advice: don’t pour water on burning salt, big flame results.


Our host introduced each course — then he was back behind the curtain whipping up the good stuff.

2007 Montenidoli “Carato” Vernaccia di San Gigmignano

The current release is, yes, five years old from the first Vernaccia to be aged in Barrique from a fine selection of free run grape musts, one can taste and feel the Leroy influence here. Deep minerality floated in creamy clouds. Grandiose, wild, and important. Here’s a pic of where this wine comes from. I discovered it last summer while Eating Italy.

This is a BYOB event for the most part. I brought a box of wine and another guest brought some too. Roberto opened various bottles to match — like this complex floral white from my cellar.

Liquid Moules Frites

With this post I’m experimenting with audio descriptors. Most are recordings of Roberto, but this one is me. Click the play button to listen.

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav

In any case, this dish is an amuse that riffs on “moules frites” the mussels and fries. The spoon contains beer gelee. There is a fried mussel and the shot is a potato soup tasting like… fries. Other than the oddity of the bitter beer goo, it tasted superb, particularly the “fries.”


The gluttons.

Leftover Christmas Garden

Roberto had a vision to create a dish out of the remains of his Christmas tree. The green oil is actually a resiny pine oil distilled from the tree, then there’s an arugula granite, and pears done 3 ways. As fruit leather, straight up and as a chip. But the best is that white blob, a mousse made from Brillat-savarin cheese. The cheese was mind blowing and the overall combination of flavors and textures truly startling. Really, quite divine.

Roberto speaks:

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav

Faux Stout

It looks like a Guiness, but no, it’s truffle soup with foamy maple syrup on top! And even better, it tastes amazing!

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav


Instead of wine the next dish was accompanied by this unique Belgian beer. It has a soft bubbly strawberry soda like flavor.


And a cool drinking spoon.

Duchesses’ Noodle

The beer was specifically chosen to pair with this fois gras dish. Noodles of liver are matched with sphereized dark cherries, anise, tarragon, mushrooms, and a crunchy powder. The dish was slightly reminiscent of the frozen fois noodles I had in Madrid.


My cellar isn’t deep in California wine but I do like this sophisticated 2000 Neiman Cabernet. It’s very Bordeaux-like even down to the lead pencil nose.


Earth’s Deep Perfumes

This has two components. The 1st, served in this glass-like “spoon,” is a savory broth of mushrooms. You just have to be careful when you put it down.


The 2nd part, is this risotto. And it was the best dish of the evening, which is saying a lot. Creamy rice is paired with a Syrah coffee reduction. There’s something crunchy in there to adding yet another delicious textural component. Utterly, totally, mind blowing.

Roberto on this dish:

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav


Thunder in the East

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav

Here, Roberto makes a sort of Japanese and Chinese surf and turf. Chinese congee (rice porridge), the Christmas tree oil, Chinese style pork belly, are paired with exotic shrimp. Lots of subtle savory flavors.


Parker 96 for this boutique Spanish blockbuster. The 2008 Ultreia De Valtuille received the same elevage as its less expensive sibling. To say that has more of everything is a gross understatement. The complex aromatics leap from the glass; on the palate the wine is dense, rich, and velvety, and it gives true meaning to the expression “iron fist in a velvet glove”. It is an extraordinary effort that should drink well for 10-15 years, probably longer.


Bovine Symphony #8

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav

Classical pairing with novel technique. Succulent sous-vide beef short rib with polenta mousse and a soft blue cheese ice cream with a bit of zest. Heavy. Delicious.


Parker gives the 2005 Doisy Daene 91 points. I found it to be very pleasant sauterne, in the lighter style, but well-balanced with nice floral notes.


LAs first Snowball

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav

Yes, it looks a bit like a hostess snowball, but that’s about where the similarity ends. You can never go wrong with coconut and kafir lime, plus the textures were really interesting. Even the sprigs of dill and the pomegranate seeds worked. Roberto has an incredible knack for pairings.


A shot glass from the dessert wine in the magic egg — inside is the caramel sauce for the next dish. he is


Xocolatl 2012

https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Evernote-20120305-200139.wav

Of course there would have to be a chocolate dish. You have to listen to the recording to discover all the random items in here, but unsurprisingly,  given Roberto’s track record so far,they blend superbly. I particularly enjoyed the caramel with popcorn flavors.

I had high hopes for this meal, but on all levels the results were truly outstanding. The most similar meal I’ve had was this one at 2-star Calima in Spain — but the overall experience of Dark Illuminated Forest took everything to the next level. Roberto told us that many of these dishes were cooked for the 1st time this night. He didn’t even give them a test run. That he can just taste them in his head. The man is like a Toscanini of food. It’s mind-boggling. Every single dish worked. Some were a bit better of course, but all were great. They show technical virtuosity, but more importantly, they show his incredible talent for predicting the nature of sensory experience. Like a Mozart symphony, the notes were all harmonious. Really, Food as Art.

Roberto details this meal on his own blog.

Check out more of my grand Foodie Club meals.

Related posts:

  1. Near Dark – The Hurt Coffin
  2. Dark Souls
  3. Kindle Select – The Results
  4. Jak & Daxter Retrospective
  5. Game of Thrones – Iceland
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dark Illuminated Forest, Foodie Club, Modernism, Roberto Cortez

Story of a Girl

Mar05

Title: Story of a Girl

Author: Sara Zarr

Genre: YA contemporary

Length: 192 pages, 43k words

Read: March 4, 2012

Summary: Great little character study

_

Nominally, this is an issue novel, about a 15 year-old girl dealing with the fallout of having slept with a guy when she was thirteen. But really it’s just a well written and well characterized slice of teen life story — reminiscent even of something like Judy Blume’s Tiger Eyes.

The prose is first rate. Told in first person past, the narrator’s voice is pitch perfect. Funny, poignant, honest, all without being forced. And the characters are all great. The don’t feel like they exist to serve the plot. They exist as people exist. This was just a great little read — a kind of quick escape into someone else’s head. It felt effortless, but I know it wasn’t. The basic three act structure is there. Girl has a problem — and not really the external one she thinks she has — but instead a need for internal change. She messes up, comes to crisis, and grows.

A simple formula. But everything is in the execution.

Or for more book reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: The Windup Girl
  2. Book Review: Girl Walking Backwards
  3. Short Story: The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
  4. The Inside Story
  5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: Arts, Book Review, books, Fiction, Judy Blume, Literature, Reviews and Criticism, Sara Zarr, Story of a Girl, Tiger Eyes, YA contemporary

Julian – The End of an Era

Mar04

Title: Julian

Author: Gore Vidal

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 502 pages

Read: January 24 – March 3, 2012

Summary: Impressive portrait of a complex man and time

_

This excellent novel was a bestseller in the 1960s and that in of itself is a sad testament to the intellectual decline of the American reader. Its subject, a novelized biography of the fourth century Roman Emperor Julian, is one that would have today’s Harry Potter, Twilight, and Da Vinci Code reader scratching his head. You’re probably even asking yourself, who is Julian? And why should I care?

Julian was the nephew of Constantine the Great and one of history’s most peculiar figures. An intellectual, a general, a nerd, a statesman, and the last Hellenistic Roman Emperor. And most of you probably don’t know what I mean by this. Known as The Apostate he fought a brief and probably hopeless rearguard action against the church’s infiltration of the western mind. His world, described by Vidal with sensitivity and detail, is the final phase of antiquity. A world in transition. The cosmopolitan and immensely polyglot empire of the Romans was turning a corner, stagnating, ossifying, shrinking, transforming itself into the dark ages of the second half of the first millennium.

With this book Vidal pulls off a bit of a magic trick. He makes a gripping and compelling read out of a story that is dominated by esoteric theological argument — and does so without unnecessarily burdening the narrative. It feels very natural and in period. But that is no easy task because this is such a complex period and so unknown to the typical reader. This isn’t the Rome of Gladiator — although similarities linger — but one where Milan and Constantinople are capitals and gladatorial contests have given way to squabbles amongst Bishops. We get a clear sense of the often accidental nature of power and the importance of luck in history, both good and bad. But most importantly Julian himself feels human, even modern, as do the pair of scholar-friends who co-write his narrative. As distant as this time and place is, we are reminded that people haven’t changed. And so the sad hopelessness of Julian’s quest to save Western culture from the grasping fingers of the church feels all the more poignant!

Or for more book reviews, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Books, History
Tagged as: Constantine the Great, Constantinople, Da Vinci Code, Gore Vidal, Harry Potter, Julian, Julian the Apostate, Milan, roman, Roman Emperor

Canon 5D Mark III – Finally!

Mar02

Finally, after 3.5 years, the Canon 5D Mark III is here (or at least on the way)!

Big specs are:

  • 22MP full frame CMOS sensor
  • ISO 100-25600 standard, 50-102,800 expanded
  • 6 fps continuous shooting
  • Shutter rated to 150,000 frames
  • 1080p30 video recording, stereo sound via external mic
  • 61 point AF system
  • 63 zone iFCL metering system
  • 100% viewfinder coverage
  • 1040k dot 3:2 LCD
  • Dual card slots for CF and SD

Oddly missing are:

  • Any resolution gain
  • A flip out screen

Still, after nearly an eternity with the Mark II, I’m ready for my sixth Canon body.

Find out all the gory details on dpreview.com.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Technology
Tagged as: 1080p, Active pixel sensor, Autofocus, cacon, Camera, Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS-1D Mark III, DSLR, Liquid crystal display

San Fran – Feng Nian

Mar01

Restaurant: Feng Nian

Location: 2650 Bridgeway, Sausalito Ca.94965. 415 331-5300

Date: February 10, 2012

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Solid

_

Something tells you nothing on the Westside of Los Angeles is decent regular Chinese food. While in the Bay Area I try to take advantage of the bounty provided by Northern California’s Chinese-American population.


A friend of ours from Hong Kong who lives in the area recommended this place for lunch.

The menu big as usual.


“Vegetarian egg rolls.”


Straight up garlic noodles for my picky son.


Sauces.

I can never get enough peeking duck.


Rolled into the usual pancake.


“Vegetarian’s delight.”


House specialty: “honey glazed prawns.” I’ve always had a weakness for this decadent dish.


“Szechwan crispy fish.” Tasty chunks of fried fish. Catering to American pallets this wasn’t exactly spicy, but it was pretty good.

Overall, this is a satisfying if not terribly exotic lunch.

For more San Fran dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Jardinere
  2. San Fran – Kokkari
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese American, Feng Nian, Hong Kong, Northern California, peeking duck, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, Sausalito
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