Catching Up in California
Memory Piece, Vacation Victuals, Eagles, Xander Schauffele, Heaven or Hell
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes my favorite American bands of the 60s, a novel set in the past and the future, dining out on our California trip, a popular California band from the 70s, the California golfer who won his second major this year, and a lovely place that you can never leave. I hope you like the picks and pics.
Barb and I spent five days visiting our west coast family last week. Ordinarily we would be seeing them in northern Michigan for our annual family vacation that starts on Saturday. But they decided to skip this year to avoid having to navigate multiple connecting flights from Santa Barbara to Traverse City with a two-year old and a four-year old. So this summer we flew out to Santa Barbara to catch up with the kids.
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Fave Five 95: Catching Up in California
Art/Ambition/Activism (Memory Piece), Vacation Victuals, California Country Rockers (The Eagles), California Champion (Xander Schauffele), and Heaven or Hell.
Fave Five Lists: Favorite American Bands of the 60s
I have previously shared lists of favorite American bands of the 70s (which included this week’s Marvelous Musicians, The Eagles) and British bands of the 60s. Here are my ten favorite American Bands of the 60s (it was impossible to limit it to five).
The Byrds
Buffalo Springfield
The Lovin’ Spoonful
The Mamas and the Papas
The Beach Boys
The Four Seasons
The Left Banke
Honorable Mention: Orpheus
Book Best Bet
Memory Piece by Lisa Ko
My son Roger gave this to me for Father’s Day. I have mixed feelings about it, as do many of the reviewers in Goodreads. The characters and the time shifting storytelling kept me involved. But the plot is somewhat meandering and vague. I liked Jackie (the coder) and the technical, community, and knowledge management elements: online sharing, collections, repositories, and archives.
From Amazon: The award-winning author of The Leavers offers a visionary novel of friendship, art, and ambition that asks: What is the value of a meaningful life?
In the early 1980s, Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng are three teenagers drawn together by their shared sense of alienation and desire for something different. “Allied in the weirdest parts of themselves,” they envision each other as artistic collaborators and embark on a future defined by freedom and creativity.
By the time they are adults, their dreams are murkier. As a performance artist, Giselle must navigate an elite social world she never conceived of. As a coder thrilled by the internet’s early egalitarian promise, Jackie must contend with its more sinister shift toward monetization and surveillance. And as a community activist, Ellen confronts the increasing gentrification and policing overwhelming her New York City neighborhood. Over time their friendship matures and changes, their definitions of success become complicated, and their sense of what matters evolves.
Moving from the predigital 1980s to the art and tech subcultures of the 1990s to a strikingly imagined portrait of the 2040s, Memory Piece is an innovative and audacious story of three lifelong friends as they strive to build satisfying lives in a world that turns out to be radically different from the one they were promised.
Praise
Named a Vogue Best Book of 2024.
"Adventurous. . .gritty and refreshingly girl-centric. . . lingers in the imagination." The New York Times
“Ko…draws characters with such deftness that they feel wholly alive." The Washington Post
"It belongs to an American literary tradition that includes Dana Spiotta, George Saunders, and their patron saint, Don DeLillo." The Atlantic
Restaurant Recommendations
Vacation Victuals
We took advantage of our layover in Phoenix on the way to Santa Barbara to dine at one of our go-to spots, Matt’s Big Breakfast. And we always enjoy dining out in Santa Barbara, so it was great to be able to walk to most of the restaurants shown below from our Airbnb near the Harbor and the Funk Zone.
Matt's Big Breakfast Sky Harbor Airport, Terminal 4, Next to Gate B5
Arizona Scramble: 3 eggs, ground sage sausage, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, home fries, flour tortilla, salsa, lots of rosemary
Chad’s 216 W Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Corned Beef Hash Benedict: poached eggs, corn beef hash, avocado, spinach, and homemade hollandaise
Lucky Penny 127 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101
Salty Surfer: San Marzano marinara, mozzarella, prosciutto, wood fired pineapple, pickled Fresno chile, parmesan
Helena Avenue Bakery 131 Anacapa Street, Suite C, Santa Barbara CA 93101
Chocolate Almond Croissant - this was the best I’ve ever had
Wexler's Deli 38 W Victoria St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (in Public Market)
Reuben: pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, grilled rye, coleslaw
Marvelous Musicians
Monday was Don Henley's 77th birthday. When I heard "Take it Easy" in 1972, I immediately became a fan. My favorite albums are Desperado (1973) and On the Border (1974), and I love all of their great songs. Don Henley's hits "The Boys of Summer," "The Heart of the Matter," and "The End of the Innocence" are also favorites.
From Wikipedia: The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. The founding members were Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals). With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards, and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. Their albums Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California rank first and third, respectively, among the best-selling albums in the United States, with 38 million and 26 million album units in sales. The Eagles are one of the world's best-selling bands, having sold more than 200 million records, including 100 million albums sold in U.S alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
Take It Easy
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Lyin' Eyes
Hotel California
Tequila Sunrise
My Playlist
Sports Star
Two major wins this year is pretty, pretty good for the golfer from San Diego.
Xander the Great! Schauffele wins British Open for 2nd major this year by Doug Ferguson of AP
Xander Schauffele went from the most nerve-wracking putt of his career to the coolest walk toward an 18th green he ever imagined. He won a nail-biter at the PGA Championship in May. He delivered a masterpiece Sunday in the British Open. Two different finishes, two different feelings.
One major conclusion. Schauffele has more than enough game and all the confidence in the world to win the biggest championships. Questioned at the start of the season whether he could win a major, he now has two of them.
Schauffele closed with a 6-under 65 with a final round that ranks among the most memorable in British Open history, particularly the 31 on the back nine. It matched the best score of the week at Royal Troon with nothing less than the claret jug riding on the outcome. He played bogey-free in a daunting wind and turned a two-shot deficit into a two-shot victory for his second major of the year.
From Wikipedia: Alexander Victor Schauffele (born October 25, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the Tour Championship in 2017 and the gold medal at the men's individual golf event of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He has won two major championships in the same year, the 2024 PGA Championship and the 2024 Open Championship.
Schauffele was born on October 25, 1993, in San Diego, California, to Chen Ping-Yi and Stefan Schauffele. His mother was born in Taiwan but grew up in Japan before moving to the United States. His father Stefan was born in Stuttgart to a French mother and a German father. Stefan was an aspiring decathlete. While traveling to the German national training center at age 23, he was hit by a drunk driver and suffered career-ending injuries. During recovery, he became interested in golf, and later moved to the United States. He worked at a golf academy in San Diego and as an assistant golf professional in Hawaii.
Schauffele's parents met at San Diego's United States International University in 1988 and married three months afterwards. They then moved to Germany, where Xander's elder brother Nico was born, before returning to San Diego.
Schauffele's father introduced him to golf at age nine, and they joined Bernardo Heights Country Club. Stefan was Xander's only swing coach from that point, until Xander was aged 30. Stefan's teaching philosophy relies heavily on basic ball flight laws and golf club mechanics. As a result, Xander did not see his own swing until about the age 18. Schauffele began working with Chris Como, formerly a coach of Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau, in November 2023.
Two of Schauffele's great-grandfathers played soccer at the European premier level. Johann Hoffmann played for the Austria national football team and won multiple Austrian, Bohemian, and French national titles. After playing football for VfB Stuttgart, Richard Schauffele excelled in track and field, garnering over 40 titles in discus, javelin and shot put. Xander himself played soccer in his youth before focusing on golf, after his soccer coach refused to reposition him from a defensive midfielder to offensive midfielder.
Inside Xander Schauffele's Open Championship Triumph
Picture Pun
This could be Heaven or this could be Hell.
