Mobile Spinach : Tastemakers

Local Getaways

LocalGetaways.com is the only online travel company offering exclusive deals and travel tips on local getaway trips throughout Northern California. At LocalGetaways.com our team of local travel experts are dedicated to helping you find quick, easy, and affordable getaway trips in your own backyard by offering a whole new way to find and book local travel adventures. No other destination on the Internet has more to offer those who want to get away, save, and explore. Think of LocalGetaways.com as your personal travel agent for all things related to local travel in Northern California.

love to eat!

NY Female
I live in Manhattan and absolutely love the city... Whether it’s going to restaurants, bars, lounges, spas, working out at the nearby gym, walking around the park or just exploring new streets and sites of the city, Manhattan is my life.... I work hard by day and enjoy a great dinner and many drinks at night.... although a creature of habit, I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone and try new restaurants (esp when special deals are offered)- love learning about new wines, trying new cocktails and listening to music in the hot new lounge....

Love to even hear about new exhibits at the museum, as a little culture never hurts either! Having been in the fashion industry most of my life, fashion is a way of life for me as well- whether its shopping in bloomies on a sat, or finding a hot new boutique showcasing some new brands I have never heard of, I’m always into classics as well as trends and love to be 'in the know'....

I'd love to know where you hang out and what you love to do! Email mobilespinach@mobilespinach.com businesses that you like and things you like to do and we will do our best to get you discounts from your favorite places.

On Call

NY Male
I have lived and worked in NY for the past 7 years and I would not want to live anywhere else.
Working in the entertainment industry has opened my eyes to a fabulous life. Great parties, restaurants, theatre, you name it. However, one is always looking for the next hot spot, or cool thing to do. Any advantage one can have about finding the “in” places or special deals is amazing. I am always trying to go outside my comfort zone and explore more of the city. For such a large place it can feel rather small sometimes. I feel that people tend to frequent the same bars and restaurants and don’t venture out enough. I would love to hear about new places that offer deals. When I am not working crazy hours I enjoy going to the gym, theatre, trying new restaurants, hanging out with friends at coffee shops or exploring trendy clothing boutiques.

NYC has so much to offer, it’s just a matter of taking the leap and looking for fun, new experiences. Life is short, and therefore one must take full advantage of every opportunity.

Frontier

San Francisco Female
Ahhh, the infinite and invariable question with the every variable answer, moderately addressed, for the moment...(I love language)

Having a voracious appetite for books I read to learn, and write to understand. In an attempt to understand my insatiable curiosity I will try anything, and I am constantly seeking out to opportunity to do so. I have lived all over the country, and plan to live all over the world. My extensive international travel is a temporary 'satient' to truly experiencing other cultures. I believe you do not exist if not in relation to other, thus I find myself seeking to heal lost souls.

I believe in sustainability. I hunt because I refuse to be a passive participant in the slaughter of our planet and its occupants. I design, because creativity drives every part of me. I am learning what love really is, and that it is everywhere. I think the Buddhists got it right the first time. I don't believe in empathy, but it is possible to be sympathetic, and the fact is experience is relative. That said...I wish empathy were possible; I want to understand.

All that said, I am a product of my environment. I am a consumer, so in an attempt to lessen my impact I buy vintage. I love accessories - jewelry especially - as it is my family legacy. I also own and produce two jewelry lines, one of the family tradition utilizing recycled gold, and the other a series of one of a kind pieces made from redesigned vintage.

The last year of my life has been spent between Manhattan, San Francisco, Alaska, and Tahoe. I enjoy a Kettle martini with a twist and two olives. World renowned chefs, authentic Thai eateries, and cooking. Dancing till the wee hours in the hidden clubs of New York. Conversing at a chocolate and wine bar or an art opening. Skiing and boarding on the powder dusted steeps of the Sierra range. Mountain biking in the Alaskan mountains (grizzlier bear bait). Surfing the ominous swells of Ocean Beach. Fishing for King salmon on the Kenai River. I could go on...

On Track

San Francisco Single Male
San Francisco is a small town with big city culture and flavor. This suits me perfectly. You can run into all your friends at a party at the SF MOMA, meet new people everywhere you go and have all the experiences of a big city while not spending more than $20 on a cab.

Staying abreast of openings is easy in such a small town.

restaurants

Elite Cafe
Gitane
Anchor and Hope
Salt House
Bix
Aventine
Orson
Michael Mina
Gary Danko
Waterbar
Epic Steak house

Bars

Clock Bar
Harlot
Sip
swig
Redwood Room
Rye
Le Club
330 Ritch
District

Openings are tough. They happen month to month...you know. Lots of parties though at John Varvatos, Prada, DeBeers, Shreve and Co., Duke et Duchess, Chanel, etc.

Shopping

Barney's
Jeremy's
Nomads
Prada
Gucci
Sisley
Armani
Crossroads

Sporting events I dunno much about. Of course there is great stuff during the summer with the Giants. Club Level seating, Momo's. etc.

Different land – same dirt

San Francisco Couple

From different countries but ended up together in SF.

We live in SF and if you have been here you know why. We have been married to 3 years and love to experience what SF and the Bay has to offer.

We submit to food as it rules our lives-we eat to taste not to survive.

We cook a lot: whether its making our own pate, bacon, or roasting a suckling pig we love it-(that is a lot of pork no that I think of it), love to try new restaurants and frequent our favs. We don’t care if a restaurant looks good – we care how the food tastes-end of story as the palette never lies.

We go out to eat twice per week and twice per weekend usually. The weekday ones are our usual suspects and we like to explore and try new places on the weekends. There is so much just in SF-even in the neighborhoods we have yet to try-shame on us-it is like we are punishing our tongues!

We like to go on nature walks and have some romance in the forests…tmi I know but its natural-that is where this civilization came from. We go to Napa and pretend like we are rich and drink too much wine and drive slowly home and pick out our future home. There are so many things to see in and outside of SF that every weekend is like a holiday.

Our yeah, we also love movies, art openings, tried to see Wicked in LA and the NutCracker in SF and it was the best nights sleep I have ever had.

Ok, back to food. We love to walk around and get dessert at local bakeries too.

So that is us, food, movies, travel, no particular order and repeat.

Power Couple

NY Couple
So we are sort of a power couple-at least that is what our friends tell us.
My man works in finance and I am an entrepreneur and our jobs have us in all different directions socially.
NY is good for us as we are always working, socializing and networking at the same time-and it seems like everyone else is too. This fits our lifestyle as we have many goals in all aspects of life that we will achieve!
This city is full of many in spots and out spots so knowing where to go is important if you are looking for a great new restaurant or nightcap. New place or hip places attract all sorts of fun and interesting people and for us, when we are there too, it makes our time more enjoyable...it’s hard to fight the machine but you can use it to your advantage.
There is so much to do in this great city that you really have 2 options:
1. let it come to you and take it day by day
2. create goals and dedicate time to certain themes:
I guess there is 3 if you can balance doing both…
We like to talk about what we want to do and then schedule time for it-whether it relates to art, road trips, train or buses (sometimes you need to get out of the city…), classes, charity, time together and time apart.
We are the planning type but also the doing type-we want it all!

Know it all

Los Angeles Male
- EVENTS: I love going to cool events, whether it's a promotional party for a new vodka brand, a magazine holiday party, a charity event, or whatever else! I love seeing how brands, companies, and charities create unique and fun events, promote them, and engage with people that come, from having a photo booth to live product demos. Plus, what's quite marvelous is that these events are often free, have free or discounted drinks, have free giveaways / samples, and have good DJs and bands!

- MUSIC: I am obsessed with going to shows and concerts and one of my biggest frustrations in life is when there are two or three shows going the same night and I have to choose which one to hit up, or sometimes I can make it to two. This happens a lot in LA. I consider myself an indie-rock guy, but I also love good indie-pop, alt-rock, indie hip-hop, electro, mash-up DJs, americana, post-rock / instrumental, punk-rock, funk, reggae, and sometimes a bit of post-hardcore, pop-punk, and ska. I definitely prefer smaller, more intimate venues, but I also dig festivals and arena shows once in a while, when the lineups are excellent. In Los Angeles, I frequent Spaceland and Echo (especially on Mondays for their FREE residency shows), Cinespace, and the Roxy and I also like the Music Box @ Fonda and Avalon a lot. The Palladium, The Wiltern, Club Nokia, The Viper Room, the Key Club, and the El Rey Theatre are also quite killer venues! A few of my favorite bands include Counterfit (RIP), Sigur Ros, Idlewild, Caspian, Sufjan Stevens, Brother Ali, Cold War Kids, Underoath, Bloc Party, Limbeck, Pretty Girls Make Graves (RIP), Jimmy Eat World, Anathallo, Iron and Wine, RX Bandits, Death Cab for Cutie, Thrice, Matisyahu, Lovedrug, Sage Francis, Mute Math, Hot Hot Heat, The Cat Empire, The Shins, Ben Kweller, The Bomb Squad, MeWithoutYou, Hit the Lights, 311, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Rage Against the Machine (RIP), Saves the Day, Feist, Justice, Relient K, The Mars Volta, Silversun Pickups, and VHS or Beta. A few upcoming LA bands I like a lot right now include: The Diamond Light, Darker My Love, Henry Clay People, The Submarines, The Mae Shi, The Parson Redheads, The Hanks, The Movies, Western States Motel, Faded Paper Figures, and Glare of Rockets.

- SPORTS: I love playing and watching sports, especially college football, of which my teams are (1st) Michigan and (2nd) Oregon. My NHL allegiance is the Detroit Red Wings (my Dad's from Michigan). I lived in Boston the last three years, so I like and follow The Patriots, the Celtics, the Red Sox, and Bruins. I am from Connecticut and miss the Hartford Whalers a great deal; they were wonderful! I have played ice hockey my whole life and miss playing men's league, which I am not playing in LA now. I currently play Ultimate Frisbee in a league. I also love and grew up playing golf, tennis, basketball, water polo (played for seven years between boarding school and college), football, baseball, and just about everything else except Crew. Disc golf and beach volleyball are excellent too!

EATS AND DRINKS: I am not obsessed with going to restaurants, but I do love to eat, anything from steak to sushi to crepes to Thai food, to lots and lots of sandwiches. I don't like paying too much for food and rarely go to real nice restaurants, but I don't like dive places that much either. I like checking out new spots and I especially like bars and restaurants with good beer selections: American craft beers and/or Belgian and German beers. I LOVE diners and sports bars!

OTHER: I love checking out new spots, new bars, new companies, new stores, and knowing what is new and hip in culture. I like to then get involved, if possible, and use my creative ideas to further the cause! I also like volunteering and promoting social causes and charities, to give back and help others in need. I am an entrepreneur (used to run a record label and productions company for six years) and am working on launching a few small projects/companies in Los Angeles right now. I like to be diversified in all areas of my life and I love to try new things and travel to new places, around the world especially!

LASTLY: LA has so much going on and I love finding out everything that is worth knowing about. Follow my Mobile Spinach Tastemaker Profile to be in the know!

A lot

Los Angeles Female
I’m easy going, I like long walks on the beach, I like to rent movies and snuggle….scratch that! I’m not from this landmass and I take advantage of my life and surroundings. I like to party, drink myself to bed, dance until my feet are sore and surf...maybe I will see you out there.

For work I do a lot of travel but they give me some extra time so I get to see some sights and try out a lot of hotels, spas and shopping in different cities.

Of course, I party, as it is LA, we invented it. I like to go in style to the trendy spots but also a lot of low key off the strip spots where I can just enjoy my friends.

I do try to get some culture too so I go to some poetry reading…lots of hot guys there in clark kent sort of way...if you are into that-don’t judge me!

I drive everywhere as they will arrest you if you are walking around in LA-nobody walks. Just know when to go!

LA is big with who you know, you need to know people and those people need to know people-it is a boring night if you just walk into a club or bar or restaurant and not be in.

I will take you on a ride!

keep it tight

Los Angeles Couple
We have been married for a few years both met outside of LA even though we are from LA.
LA is diverse in food and people.
This is what we like to do together:
Charity-there are so many people that need our help-why not give it once in a while
Food-farmers markets, health food.
Restaurants-tons of dining out and dinner parties with friends from in and out of town and co-workers
Cool indie art galleries-love supporting our local artists
Health- there are a ton of fun activities from skiing, surfing
Music-too much music in our heads, love concerts of all sizes
Relax-very important on where to spend your ‘you’ time

Bloke

Boston Male
I’m from Boston, moved away for school and after-moved back here after all my travels and fun-I like it-it’s home.
I am a 9-5 guy that usually works anywhere from 40-50 hours a week. I have recently finished my MBA degree which has given me alot more free time. After work, I usually hit the gym. I like to go the gym 4-5 times a week. It can be a mental challenge getting to the gym but there is no better feeling then when the work out is over and your body thanks you back in return. After the gym its dinner with the girlfriend, a movie or a ballgame to watch during or after dinner. I love to watch sports, football, basketball, and baseball. I enjoy cooking in, pasta meals, seafood, steak and poultry meals. One of my favorite nights is taco night...I just can't have enough. When cooking and cleaning get tiresome we like to go to the local bar/restaurants...have a beer and burger while she has wine and something less carb friendly. My favorite meal out is seafood and/or steak.

I enjoy the weekends although they are never long enough. During the winter I like to go skiing and during the summer I play golf. I have to fit in a boys night out every other weekend which usually consists of poker, drinking and hitting the local hot spots.

Velvet Hammer

Boston Female
I am a work-aholic but I love my job-which is why when I have a moment to myself I like to choose wisely and have things be easy for me.
I work hard during the so I like my nights and weekends to be simple and effortless. My work has opened up a lot of social doors for me so I tap into those contacts during my non work hours.
Summers-I go to Cape Cod-enjoy some great bed and breakfasts, enjoy deliscious fish and somehow always end up on a boat!
Winter I go to different ski resorts and split my time between the hard cold snow and the nice comfy spas…
When I am in Boston I take advantage of the seasonal farmers markets, diverse cuisine, energetic night life and all the learning centers you could imagine from schools to museums to the natural history-Boston is an old place with high energy driven people which works for me.
When I go out, which for dinner is 3-4 times a week-I like to go out in small groups -4-5max. Even going out to dance or listen to music-I like to go to more intimate places where we can talk and have fun.
I am from Boston and I would never leave!

Nutshell

Boston Couple
MOVE: Walking everywhere, hiking around MA, NH and ME, jogging along Charles River, tennis, surfing (yes, Jay is a die hard ever since Ocean Beach surfing in SF where we lived for 5 years)

EAT: This is a big one! We're total foodies and love to check out local farmers' markets and new restaurants, from swanky new spots on the scene to great new sandwich spots. We eat out probably 2-3 times a week and cook a ton - it's therapeutic! Hosting dinner parties is one of our favorite things to do - great food, new recipes, delicious wine and fun friends! We're always looking for tips on new wines to try as well - love local tastings.

LEARN: Check out speakers on topics like renewable energy, global NGO work, cool new books, etc. at local universities and networking events (Boston has some brains!).

PLAY: We love great DJs and lounge scenes without a major club vibe (we miss this about SF!). We'll check out a new bar or one of the local favorites about each week. We also try to see new documentaries and indie films at local theaters (and of course some of the blockbusters) to give us new perspective.

EXPLORE: We try to see something "new" in and around Boston each weekend. This means visiting a new town in the area, checking out some of the city's amazing arboretums, a new museum exhibit, new bar spot or even new street with some great buzz and people watching. Oh, and of course great new shops and trunk shoes - love supporting local artists and designers.

Casually Uncommitted

Miami Male
You all know why we live in Miami-love the warmth and the fun-there is too much to do! I’m from NY but visited here a few years ago and decided to take up residence. More my style but can be the same speed if you know where to step.

If you are like me then you like to go out for dinner and brunch on the weekend every chance you get! I love tasting the city…in a few ways.

I also like to look great where ever I go so I do shop too much but I get great deals as I am friends with a lot of fashion industry people. I like to look good but not over do it…so I have a lot of classical elements.

Addicted to wine and stiff drinks-I usually go out Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and drink way too much and end up in some girls bed that I don’t want to see again. Not because she is unattractive (although the great odb did say if you can’t f* and 10 at least you can do is F* 5 2’s) but because when I hear “I never do this, you are special” that means there is only one thing on my mind.

I just like to meet people and like the thrill of the hunt-I’m not committing to anything but myself these days.

I work out a lot, so I am in pretty good shape, I have been taking muay thai for the last 4 years…had some fights but I would rather keep my nose.

On the weekends, its gym, brunch, walk around the cita with friends or a date and do it all over again at night.

Sophisticated Soul

Miami Female
I’m in my late 30’s and live in south beach (from here too).
My best day is a day at the beach, eat a great lunch, work out, and enjoy a nice evening with friends drinking wine and eating great food that pushes the pallete.
Miami is one of those places that when my friends come to visit they are truly sad to go – sometimes it is a problem as they overstay there welcome,…but no complaints- it’s not their faults.
Going to the lavish hotels is fun, there are ton of tourists to meet as well as locals if you know where to go.
Getting out of the sobe is nice too, take drives on the weekends solo or with friends and explore and meet people.
There is a lot of culture here, Cuban roots, American, tourists, hard working immigrants (oh yeah that is the entire USA), great art, architecture, sandwiches and coffee.
I am sure you have heard of the party, music and sports scene here. It is a big part of life. There is the winter music conference, great venues and parties, but in the same night you can just have fun dancing salsa with friends and eating great hot dogs at 4am-highly recommended…I know some spots.
There is some weird symbiotic relationship happening here with the people and the energy, its high and it keeps on going.

Paper Tigers

Miami Couple
We are pretty much out of control…potential train wrecks... but that is what makes it fun.
Miami is great when you know people, know where to go and when…stick with us.
We entertain a lot-due to our jobs and our nature so we love going to unique places and having fun experiences.

We are both from nowhere so we moved to Miami 10 years ago and never looked back.
We are fully committed to each other and to ourselves which we think is healthy.
We have our alone time, time with friends (even though we are each others best friends) and most fun-time together. I hear from my friends that relationships are boring…not if you do it right and let it come natural. Treat the other person right and don’t forget about yourself and have fun!
For us, we go out a lot to plays, music venues, the hottest new clubs after great dinners-love the seafood here. We go out a lot but don’t overspend as we know where to go, when and who to know.

I think because of our lackless upbringing we were eager to be embraced by a city-we found miami and miami found us. So we take advantage of our days and nights.

Stylebabble

Stylebabble is a site that translates trends by actually connecting the dots. It reveals the origin of the trend and shows how it trickles into an array of industries.

Latest Posts:
Hmmm ... ABOUT MENSWEAR

You must admit, menswear can't be as adventurous as women's fashion. Even the most stylish of men's clothing is nowhere near as emotional or as expressive as those designed for their female counterparts. With every season, womenswear is granted the flexibility to push limits with color, pattern, fabric and trend interpretations. In contrast, many menswear labels live with the same "safe" color palette and silhouettes year after year. This, I imagine, can be a real bummer for men.

Menswear often falls to one end of the spectrum. One side is classic, while the other is euro trash.

THE SHOPPING LIST

For starters, I believe a worthy menswear label needs to have purpose, one or more of the following attributes should be included.

fills a void in the market place
is a necessity
provides a function
facilitates a specific aesthetic of a lifestyle or status
So where is the perfect balance when it comes to style? How does men's clothing become livable fashion?

WHAT IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT?

Artificial Flavor, the contemporary menswear label has everything mentioned on the shopping list (above) and most importantly, they have found the harmony between daily wear and fashion. Did you catch that? Artificial Flavor understands that men's clothing needs to be approachable and liveable but it doesn't mean it can't be stylish. Described on their website as a "lifestyle brand that remixes classic garments similar to how DJs remix existing music". They are definitely on to something here.

Most men need a jacket that can dress up their daily uniform. The jacket (below) is perfect because it looks classic, yet the pocket angle and button details add style. It definitely serves a purpose and comfort is considered. The fabric of this coat is a soft cotton french terry. Ooh... I want something like this for myself! What more could you ask for? Oh yeah...the price, 114.00 what a steal!

This Artificial Flavor black snap front jacket is available at http://www.aflavor.com

Artificial Flavor was brought to life 4 years ago when co-founder John Vitti (one of four) discovered just how "terribly uncomfortable" men's underwear was. At the time he was commuting from San Francisco to Cupertino, so he had plenty of time to be motivated to offer a better solution. Ha! That's right, their first product was underwear. Which, I have to say, is a pretty clever place to start since the T-shirt world is saturated.

Since then they have expanded into lounge wear; pants, shirts, hoodies. They also offer a strong collection of jackets, as featured above.

I believe the key to their success is that the founders formed the company out of necessity and voids in the market place. They found inspiration from their own closets, not from trade shows or the runways. They were just a group of guys that wanted to offer their perspective to the world of menswear.

So what's on the horizon for Artificial Flavor? The Spring 2009 collection, of course! John Vitti was kind enough to provide Stylebabble with a sneak preview into this coming season. Inspired by the materialism revolving the fashion industry, Artificial Flavor decided to take a light hearted approach to this reality.

This Spring the inspiration theme is Plastic/Fake. The materials used visually emulate plastic. They offer classic silhouettes with unexpected hits of plastic like fabric. For example, a Hoody that is made of parachute nylon instead of french terry.

Check out these Spring 2009 pieces that will be available Feb 2.

storm hoody

Mesh sweater with rip stop bands.

Polo with mesh fabric.

Check out their blog and shopping site for more information regarding Artificial flavor.

OM Records

Founded in 1995 as a response to the cross-polination of the funky underground music scene in San Francisco in a time when club music was only found in the clubs on mix tapes. Om released Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz, one of the first nationally recognized continuously mixed CD's by a DJ. Now 15 years strong, Om Records stands as one of the only true independent labels still surviving for the love and growing with the times. Branded the United Nations of Future Music (with labels, Om Hip Hop, and Child’s Play), Om's mission is to find and put out music that is refined, sexy, and always pushing boundaries. Explore your Buddha Nature ...

Events:
03/28/09 – Miami, FL @ Karu & Y Ultra Lounge

04/12/09 – San Francisco, CA @ SOM (Opening Party)

07/24/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Vanguard – Om 15 Year Anniversary

07/25/09 – San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine – Om 15 Year Anniversary

Backstage Artist Lounge

Backstage Artist Lounge is a private rockstar’s paradise backstage where famous musicians sample the hottest brands on-camera before they take stage in front of tens of thousands of fans.
Rockbands have enjoyed the Lounge at Rock the Ink, Rock on the Range, and Pointfest just to name a few. Rockstars spend their down time looking through racks of clothing, sampling drinks, and picking up new products, whether it be tattoo sunscreen or a bracelet made of recycled guitar strings. Partners are always welcome backstage and they can also meet and dress band members.

Christina Martin founded Backstage Artist Lounge in 2005. Says Martin of the lounge, “We invented the Backstage Artist Lounge because no one was doing it. There are tons of lounges every Emmys, every Oscars, every Golden Globes—that market is oversaturated and overrun. Then there are these huge rockstars all in one place for these multi-act concerts. Brands want to reach them, but no conduits provide that access. By producing this lounge, we provide a unique service. The Backstage Artist Lounges are truly “value-added” for brands who participate and we are the exclusive providers of this.”

Martin is accompanied by a well-rounded team that reaches out to companies that have that special something to offer these musicians. They share the responsibilities backstage, making sure that photos are taken of rockstars with products, catering to the needs of a partnering representitive, and assuring the smooth transitions throughout the day. Living a dream, the team shows no signs of stopping or slowing down.

I'm in charge of backstage and on-air integrations with Mudvayne,
Offspring, Motley Crue, Alice In Chains, Korn, Slipknot, Avenged
Sevenfold, Taking Back Sunday, Chevelle and Buckcherry. Here is my
entire 2009 festival roster:

Rock On The Range with Motley Crue, Alice In Chains, Korn, Slipknot,
Avenged Sevenfold (70,000 fans, Columbus OH, May 16 & 17) full
integration opportunties backstage with the bands www.rockontherange.com

Pointfest with Offspring (KPNT 105.7 The Point's biggest annual, 29
bands in 1 day, St Louis, 30,000 fans, also: generous station airtime)
www.1057thepoint.com

Maloof Money Cup (California, July 10-12th, televised CBS, backstage
includes pro-skaters) www.maloofmoneycup.com

In De Goot tour with Theory of a Deadman & Shinedown (8-cities, 15-days,
in the fall) exposure in all 8-cities www.indegoot.com

The Roxy's charity red carpet rock show with Buckcherry (April,
celebrity & press driven event) www.theroxyonsunset.com

Dino

Dino-Ray Ramos is a freelance writer who combines high and low brow culture and makes them into magic. He has worked for the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times as the resident fashion columnist and entertainment writer. Most recently, he has written for 944 Magazine, Examiner.com, StyleHive.com, AsianWeek as well as other online and print publications. When he isn't enlightening young artistic minds at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco as a journalism instructor, you can hear his enjoyably disgruntled discourse on his personal blog, "the finer dandy." And when he isn't doing that, he's doing one of the following:
1.) Working on his Academy Award-winning screenplay, 2.) Eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants, 3.) people watching in the streets of San Francisco (discreetly, of course), 4.) singing Heart's power ballad "Alone" at Do-Re-Mi karaoke in Japantown, 5.) glued to his TV soaking in all the premium cable he can, 6.) reading the "it" book of the month and trying to look literary or 6.) feeding his addiction and contiuing his role in society as a pop culture junkie.

Read my blog: http://blog.dinoray.com
My SF Examiner site: www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner

http://blog.dinoray.com/2009/03/17/hooking-up-with-kelly-clarkson/

http://blog.dinoray.com/2009/03/16/things-that-facebook-needs-to-include/

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d11-Doubletake-of-the-moment-Jorge-Nunez-and-the-dude-from-Soul-Man

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d11-Is-the-term-recessionista-really-necessary

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d16-Apparently-Zac-Efron-is-our-future

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d16-Twittering-at-the-Lady-Gaga-concert

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d17-Uh-oh-Dora-hits-puberty

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d3-Who-dresses-the-Watchmen-Part-I

http://www.examiner.com/x-508-SF-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m3d4-Who-dresses-the-Watchmen-part-II

Mobile Spinach

Mobile Spinach bringing you its own deals since the mid-to-late naughts.

SHOPSF

Show your Zip in San Francisco and Get More. Residents in the nine-county Bay Area (San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano and Santa Clara) will receive these offers when they show their ZIP code at participating merchants. It could be on a driver’s license, business card or other proof of residence. Offers are valid from Sunday, November 15, 2009, through Sunday, January 31, 2010.

Bay Area Family

We are a family of 4 living on the Peninsula. I have 2 wonderful children: my girl who is a doll, she is 11 and my boy who is 6. Plus, we have a big hairy dog!
When it's not school or work time, we love working on our small but productive garden, cooking and eating together.
My husband works out early in the morning and then rides his bike on the weekends, but he prefers his golf.
I have a book club with my friends and love playing tennis-I'm addicted.
We are constantly going to soccer practice, baseball, swimming, dance, music lessons,...it's amazing these kids have time to sleep! But they seem to like keeping busy, and keeping us busy driving them around!
We get out too...we go to plays, concerts, movies, shopping, and dinners with friends!
Travel is also important to us, we want to expose our children to the world at a young age.
There is so much to do in the Bay Area that keeps us pretty busy.
It's important to keep a balance ...or at least try and keep a balance.

About	Terms of Service
Contact Us	Privacy Policy