Ultimae's Ambrosia -- another psybient gem

For those of you who love the music from Ultimae Records in France -- especially if you were into the Fahrenheit series -- you'll love this new compilation they released in November. Called "Ambrosia," you can buy it directly from Bandcamp (preview it here). If the currency exchange rate doesn't work out for you in euros, Amazon and iTunes carry it as well.

Enjoy.

Stating the obvious about today's economy

I realize that many of us know this already, and many of you might have already seen this viral video... but... it's worth repeating again. This is Robert Reich's two-minute rundown of why many people in the USA are scrambling just to stay in the same place.

Manor Coffee Shop, San Francisco

I'm very late in posting this video footage that I took in December. I was invited to a friend's birthday party, and he hosted it in a really cool, vintage coffee shop in the West Portal district of San Francisco called Manor Coffee Shop.

It was pure kitsch. I loved the space and the theme decorations (it was during the holiday season, in this case -- which explains the Santa stuff). Apparently they have several different themes throughout the year. In addition, they made custom french fries with an assortment of unique flavors and had pretty good omelettes and other basic "American style" breakfast food.

I'll put some photos here, too, because the video compression came out weird.

If you're in San Francisco, I highly recommend that you visit Manor Coffee Shop. Oh, BTW, they're closed on Sundays.

someone else's podcast

I felt like embedding a podcast here...not mine, surprisingly (though I just uploaded my latest chill episode-- #72--  here if you want to hear it).

This is Secret Archives of the Vatican episode 43: No More War.
Have a listen.

No More War - Secret Archives Of The Vatican Podcast 43 by Secret Archives Of The Vatican on Mixcloud

great little short film with a message

A friend from Germany alerted me to this short film. The German version has very clear HD quality -- and you can understand the story line even if you don't speak German. But here's another version with English subtitles.

I think the message applies to many cultures that manifest intolerance or ignore its consequences. Watch it through till the end!

last day, for awhile

I spent my last couple of days in Paris cramming in as much as I could... I met another musician near Nation and interviewed him for my podcast, I ran around buying last-minute things and snapping photos, and I had to clean the apartment and do the laundry before I left.

I met Pascale for dinner and we ended up around Canal St. Martin, first having coffee at l'Atmosphere, then dinner at a place that we didn't know...it had nouvelle cuisine, but with a surprisingly bland taste.

Here are a few parting snapshots from this séjour:

day-to-day stuff

Here are a few things that I can buy in a supermarket in Paris very cheaply that are done so much better than at home: packaged soup that's actually quite good, milk (which can often sit on the shelf for months before you open it), ham, mustard. I'll miss these when I go home.