Have you ever noticed that cinematic serial killers & psychos only listen to classical/opera or heavy metal? Why is that?

Ganglians are one of my new favorite bands. Stumbled upon them by prefabricated accident, liked what I heard, and plunked down $8 to see 'em at the San Francisco hole-in-the-wall known as The Hemlock. While their latest recorded offering, Still Living, is a bit shiny (actually more tinny), in living 3D they drop the disaffected glisten in favor of riveting surf gazer blow-out; their music drifts from demented, dreamscape doo-wop to ear glazing madness. This is deep-fried and sunny side up.

Today at 6:48pm

i have always been under the impression that maturity and fun are diametrically opposed to one another.

Spence Pontificates... on beer and sushi

"it seems best not to get drunk before eating sushi, but rather to get drunk while eating sushi. doing the former tends to make everything taste the same (i.e. bland). of course there's always the possibility that i’m just visiting the wrong sushi joints when i’m drunk..."

Spence Reviews... The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom - Short Take

It's like an OG Coen Brothers flick (think Miller's Crossing) mixed with a grifter themed collaboration between David Mamet and Wes Anderson.

Rachel Weisz is disarmingly sexy in the same way that Natalie Portman was in Garden State and Kate Winslet was in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Adrian Brody and Mark Ruffalo play off one another with droll sensibility and the cast of supporting players is sublime.

Entertaining all around.

Spence Sez... "always feeling surprised and satisfied."

Jimisan is Right On!

With signatures like Hirame In A Blanket and The Eternity Roll, which retain their tantalizing allure even after multiple devourings, this unassuming spot on 9th between Irving and Judah is, in my humble opinion, one of the Top 3 sushi joints in SF. Other equally creative items will satisfy the taste buds of even the most jaded roll fanatics, plus those with a more traditional bent will find the sashimi fresh and the portions beyond ample. What’s more, it’s never packed and the staff is warm and welcoming (i.e. the chef will probably come out from behind the bar and talk to you during or after your meal). The emptiness of the place will no doubt put passersby off, but that just means I’ll always get a table. In short, Jimisan has the goods to keep you coming back and always feeling surprised and satisfied.

Spence Observes... "Not so much a saying, but rather an observation:"

In the Tenderloin this morning I witnessed a couple exiting a corner liquor store, each with a single cigarette, a banana, and a small plastic bottle of OJ. Nicotine, potassium, and vitamin C...could this be the new breakfast-of-champions triumverate? About a block away a disheveled young woman wearing Dorothy from Kansas red high heels and a matching toque was cramming her index finger down her throat and expelling an equally red liquidic substance from her stomach. Only in San Francisco at 11am.