Steven Rubio's Online Life

what i watched last week

Knocked Up. I’ve liked Judd Apatow’s work in the past. The comedy here is uncomfortable in good ways. Apatow’s stock company does an excellent job. And yet this was my least-favorite Apatow creation to date. He shows the good and bad sides of his beloved slackers, but they are ultimately lovable, while the female characters never quite make it that far. It’s casual pacing is itself slacker-like … Apatow is willing to let scenes play out without forcing them … but the result is a movie that is too long (heck with Booty Call, it’s half-an-hour longer than Juno, to which is was compared, and which I liked a lot better). 6/10.

nerja today … well, last month

Nerja Today is a good English-language web site to keep up with the goings on in Nerja, or just to enjoy memories of recent visits. One of things they do is post short videos of Nerja life. Here are a few that bring back our time in June, and other visits.

Plaza de la Ermita is a place where Robin and I kicked it in the past, although this time I was the only one who stopped by. At the beginning you’ll see Hostal la Ermita, where we stayed in 2000 and 2003:

We walked this street every day … among other things, it has a gazillion restaurants. The second one, Sevillanos, is a place where we ate with Katie and her friends and family:

This is the bar next to our apartment. I was headed there to watch USA-Spain, but it was closed for a holiday:

Here is Burriana Beach, where Ayo (and others) makes his paella:

And finally, the view from the Balcón:

If you wonder what our days are like in Nerja, these videos give a good idea … if only there was one of Robin eating an ice cream cone …

eating chili

We celebrated the 4th of July with our daughter Sara, at her urban farm in Rancho Cordova, just outside of Sacramento. Earlier in the year for her birthday, we had bought Sara a pig, which she named Chili, in part to remind her what the animal’s ultimate fate would be. Here’s what Chili looked like awhile back:

Yesterday morning, a large crew from the farm, along with some much-welcomed guidance from a few friends (notably Mundo, who provided just the right amount of mentoring), slaughtered Chili and quickly processed the remains:

When Robin and I arrived in the early afternoon, most of the work had been done … Mundo and his son Ray were cutting the last parts into pieces for carnitas. Mundo brought a carnitas pot his mother had given him 25 years ago, and folks proceeded to cook up what became a delicious batch of one of my favorite dishes:

There were also chicharrones, loins … well, basically, everything. We were lucky to take home some leftover carnitas and a frozen loin.

Meanwhile, there was other fun going on. Sara’s farm is by a river:

A farmer’s work is never done, and so the sheep had to be corralled into their pen:

The deer get to play wherever they want:

Before the eating began, everyone formed a circle and Sara said a few words about her pig and all that had happened that day, thanking everyone who had helped with Chili over the months she was on the farm. Later, I talked to some of the farm folks who had been closely associated with Chili, and they marveled not only at how good the food was, but also at how amazing the process was, from morning kill to evening meal. They had great respect for Mundo’s expertise, felt they had learned something important, and also knew that what they had done was … well, Sara used the word “humane,” and I can’t think of a better word … what’s the animal equivalent of “humane”? I thought about how meat is usually processed in this country … the thing that really hit home for me is that as I stood where the food was being served, I could see where Chili had lived, maybe a hundred yards away. No wrapping it up, freezing it, transporting it across the country … it was ecological the way meat rarely is.

Honestly, I’m not one to get too emotional about my meat … Chili tasted good, that’s mostly what mattered to me. But it was also good to see what an impact she had on Sara and her friends and workmates. Even if I didn’t make a spiritual connection, I appreciated that connection existed for many, and I was glad to be there.

There was a carnival right next to the farm, and so just before 10:00 we got to watch some fireworks, which capped off a memorable 4th of July, especially since Sara and I have shared many fireworks nights at Giants games over the years:

friday random ten, 1984 edition

Didn’t intend for this first edition after my vacation to be so barebones, but lots has happened this past week as we adjusted to being back, so here ya go: ten songs, with videos, but no comments. Except to note that shuffle play wanted to work Michael Jackson into the mix.

1. Ray Parker, Jr., “Ghostbusters.”

2. Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”

3. Art of Noise, “Close (To the Edit).”

4. The Minutemen, “Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing.”

5. Ashford and Simpson, “Solid.”

6. General Public, “Tenderness.”

7. The Time, “Jungle Love.”

8. Laurie Anderson, “Sharkey’s Day.”

9. The Bangles, “Hero Takes a Fall.”

10. The Pretenders, “Middle of the Road.”

first pre thoughts

Finally got my Pre working today … well, I exchanged it for one that worked, same thing. It’s already just another thing … I suspect it will take awhile for me to figure out how much it “changes my life.” I like that it has true multi-tasking, like the Pandora app, like the way when you load Google Maps the GPS puts up a map of where you are at that moment, like the way it downloaded stuff from Gmail/Google Calendar/Facebook. In other words, I like it. But I’ve only had it for about eight hours, so this story is to be continued.