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A Few Rough Edges
If
Silks in the Mandarin Oriental, once obscured within a sea of hotel restaurants, seemed to garner an unprecedented level of buzz in 2006. After reading so many good reviews of the Asian-influenced haute cuisine, we hesitated to order the same things that had been raved about. We took a chance on the tasting menu ($95), so we could really give the chef a chance to show his stuff. From the moment we walked into the lovely Silk Road-themed dining room, there were subtle signals that the balance was off.
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Rap with Cream and Sugar
With a vocal style that can shift from staccato, rapid-fire rhymes to gloomy croons over spooky electro beats, L.A. rapper Busdriver's style is unparallel. He stands out even among his peers in Project Plowed, the seminal collective that spawned noted lyrical stylist Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Mikah 9, and several others. Busdriver performs in support of his latest LP roadkillovercoat on January 30th at the Great American Music Hall. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from L.A.
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SF Station Blows
It Up
With a vocal style that can shift from staccato, rapid-fire rhymes to gloomy croons over spooky electro beats, L.A. rapper Busdriver's style is unparallel. He stands out even among his peers in Project Plowed, the seminal collective that spawned noted lyrical stylist Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Mikah 9, and several others. Busdriver performs in support of his latest LP roadkillovercoat on January 30th at the Great American Music Hall. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from L.A.
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"Lost Boys" Documentary Soars
Directed by Christopher Quinn and Tommy Walker, God Grew Tired of Us follows several "Lost Boys", Sudanese refugees, from a Kenyan refugee camp to the United States and their experiences here over the course of five years as they struggle to learn American culture, overcome self-doubt and survivor's guilt, obtain employment (and go to school), all while holding on tenuously to hope of reuniting with their families and friends.
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No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
When word leaks out that a horror film some fans consider a cult classic is about to be remade by a movie studio, it's pretty obvious that artistic pretensions have nothing to do with it. Releasing the original doesn't work either. Moviegoers won't pay to see a film theatrically when they can rent it for a fraction the price on DVD. The only alternative for cashing in on a cult classic is simple: switch out the actors for younger models from television, bring in an inexpensive music video director to helm his first film, superficially modernize the setting, and cynically increase the violence and gore.
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An Urban Oasis Awaits You
On an unassuming Tuesday afternoon, I find myself in the waiting lounge of Spa Bar, tucked away on a busy vestibule of 2nd Street. The atmosphere certainly seems to spell out "deluxe digs for the urban primadonna" but something about the ambience is casual enough to make me want to take a deep breath (perhaps with the help of their signature oxygen bar) and leisurely stretch my limbs out to the loft ceilings or, perhaps, curl up on the sprawling couch with the latest issue of Vogue and do some shameless people-watching.
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Some of the Best Property You Can Buy
With the exception of John Updike's work, you rarely see sequels in literary fiction. You really have to like a character well enough to ask yourself at the bookstore, "Wow, What is he up to now?" This is a big commitment when you know that this character won't be dodging any boulders, saving himself from a snake pit, or battling Stormtroopers. Actually, Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe is that guy. He is the man you hope to see at the end of the crowded bar precisely because you and he don't really like anyone else there.
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