LA Strong
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Cat and Dog, Dawes, Cade Cunningham, Topless Tank
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This issue includes 16 recommended TV series, a book about books, feline and canine dining, an LA band, a Detroit all-star, and a thrown-out throne. I hope you like the picks and pics.
My brother David loves attending the Grammys every year. He called to tell me about how much he enjoyed Sunday’s all-day event.
David lives in Valley Glen (formerly Van Nuys) and the recent fires were near to his home and deeply affected him. Our daughter Kathy lives in Marina del Rey and was also close to the fires. Fortunately, they are both fine and they didn’t have to evacuate, although they were told to be ready to do so.
I streamed the FireAid concert and the Grammys show and was impressed by the strength and spirit of the participants. I salute the first responders, including those who came from other locations, including Santa Barbara. And I am impressed by the strength of the resilient residents of Los Angeles, including members of this week’s featured band, Dawes.
The Grammys and FireAid concerts raised $125 million for fire relief
Thursday’s FireAid concert, held at the Intuit Dome and Kia Forum in Inglewood, featured sets from more than 30 artists including Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Green Day and Joni Mitchell. The event raised a formidable $100 million from an estimated 50 million viewers tuning in across 28 streaming platforms. The total includes matching donations from the venues’ owner, Steve Ballmer, and his family, along with donations from music industry heavyweights the Azoff family, rockers U2 and the Eagles and others.
Meanwhile, the Grammys and affiliated events raised a combined $24 million toward fire relief, with $9 million coming from Grammy night and $15 million from MusiCares events during Grammy week, including its annual MusiCares Persons of the Year gala honoring the Grateful Dead, and other events during Grammy week.
The fires were a core theme of Sunday’s Grammys telecast, with local firefighters presenting the award for album of the year to Beyoncé and an opening medley from L.A. rock band Dawes, whose members lost homes and studios in the Eaton fire.
On a rainy winter day here in Santa Barbara, Barb and expert cookie dough lickers, Noah and Julian, helped Tracy bake delicious chocolate chip cookies. My role was to run out to buy vanilla extract and to enjoy the finished product.
The winter has been much more severe on the east coast, where our other grandchildren, Sommer and Kieran, enjoyed playing in the snow recently. Our west coast grandsons can only dream about this.
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Fave Five 122: LA Strong
Swedish Sara (The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend), Cat and Dog (Happy Cat, Lama Dog), Goldsmith Guys (Dawes), Piston Picked (Cade Cunningham), and a Topless Tank.
Fave Five List: TV Series to Watch
Here are 16 TV series we have watched recently or are still watching.
Netflix
A Man on the Inside - waiting for season 2
Black Doves - waiting for season 2
The Diplomat - waiting for season 3
Paramount+
Hulu
Tell Me Lies - waiting for season 3
Packed to the Rafters - still watching
Paradise - still watching
Amazon Prime
The Street - still watching
Apple TV+
HBO/Max
The White Lotus - waiting for season 3 to start on February 16, 2025
NBC/Peacock
St. Denis Medical - watching weekly
Book Best Bet
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
Being a lover of books, I knew this would be a good one. It was.
From Amazon: Katarina Bivald's The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a sweet, smart, and uplifting story about how books find us, change us, and connect us.
Once you let a book into your life the most unexpected things can happen: Like the bestselling historical novel and Netflix film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a heartwarming reminder of why we love books.
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara: Sara traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her book-loving pen pal Amy, but when she arrives she finds Amy's funeral guests just leaving. The residents of Broken Wheel are happy to look after their bewildered visitor―there's not much else to do in a dying small town that's almost beyond repair. You certainly wouldn't open a bookstore. And definitely not with Sara the tourist in charge.
You'd need a vacant storefront (Main Street is full of them), books (Amy's house is full of them), and... customers. The bookstore might be a little quirky. Then again, so is Sara. But Broken Wheel's own story might be funnier, more eccentric and surprising than she thought.
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a warm and slyly funny look at small towns and romance. ― New York Journal of Books
A heartwarming tale about literature's power to transform. ― People
What begins as an unlikely international friendship based on a mutual love of books becomes a sweet and soulful discovery of America. Quirky, unpredictable, funny, and fresh―a wonderful book. ― Nickolas Butler, internationally bestselling author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Beneath the Bonfire
Katarina Bivald grew up working part-time in a bookshop. Today she lives in Älta, Sweden, with her sister and as many bookshelves as she can squeeze in. She has still not decided whether she prefers books or people.
Restaurant Recommendations
Cat and Dog
Happy Cat Eats 23 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Barb and I pass this place most days when we take our walk along the beach. We decided to stop for a late lunch/early dinner/snack, ordering what a local friend, Sadie Guillen, recommended. The shrimp po’ boy we shared was not a traditional New Orleans-style sandwich, but this version was mighty good.
Happy Cat Shrimp Po' Boy on hoagie roll grilled with garlic butter, rock shrimp tempura, house made tartar sauce slaw, driz of sriracha aioli
Lama Dog Uptown Tap Room 3435 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105
Last year we dined at the downtown Sama Sama location. This new spot close to where Tracy lives is in a tap room and bottle shop that offers Sama Sama food. We dined with Tracy’s family and thought the food was even better here than at the other location.
Korean Fried Cauliflower: Gochujang Glaze, Toasted Sesame, Scallion
Gem Salad: Little Gem Lettuce, Miso-Tahini Dressing, Roasted Oyster Mushrooms, Orange Supremes
Wagyu Burger & Fries: Miso Caramelized Onions, Tillamook Cheddar, Tomato Jam, Gem Lettuce, Kewpie Mayo
Vietnamese Wings: Fish sauce, lime, herbs, pickled thai chili, sesame
Crispy Rice Salad: Puffed rice, pork sausage, pickled red onion, cucumber, herbs, fried egg, lime, fish sauce
Julian and Noah shared a kid’s burger and fries. Noah was particularly protective of his French fries, covering them up so Grammy (Barb) wouldn’t take one. Both boys like ketchup even more than fries.
Marvelous Musicians
I previously included the group in my list of favorite bands of brothers. They were very active last week in both the FireAid Concert and the Grammy Awards ceremony.
I first saw Dawes on Cayamo 2013 and they were good but did not make a big impression on me. When they returned for Cayamo 2019, I really began to appreciate Taylor Goldsmith's songwriting and singing. It was fun to see dad Lenny Goldsmith singing with them on the pool deck. And I met my friend Denise Feikema on that cruise. She is one the band's biggest fans, and her enthusiasm was contagious. Dawes is now one of my favorite bands — may they stay together.
I also saw Dawes perform at Power Center for The Performing Arts in Ann Arbor later in 2019. I was in the front row, and it was a memorable experience, especially when Taylor's sunglasses fell right in front of me.
Dawes drummer Griffin Goldsmith reflects on Grammys, FireAid, and losing Altadena home in Eaton Fire
The brothers who make up the Los Angeles folk band Dawes lost a lot in the Eaton Fire. They've also done a lot to help other victims. Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith opened the Grammys on Sunday with an all-star rendition of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."
Dawes was chosen because of their tragic connection to the Eaton Fire. Lead singer Taylor lost his Altadena recording studio, leading to most of the band's equipment being destroyed. Griffin lost his home. His wife gave birth to their first child just over two weeks after the fire.
"I've never been one to ask for help. And so it's been a lot for me to be like, people want to help and I actually need it and I have to open my arms to it. My way to give back is to try to highlight other people in the same situation. Yes, we lost everything. Even still, we're better off than so many people in our neighborhood," said the band's drummer.
It wasn't just the Goldsmith brothers who fell in love with Altadena. Their parents lived there as well and also lost their home in the fire. "It was just like, get the things that are living in the car. My wife. My unborn child, my niece, my three dogs and we go. We leave everything else. Because this felt like it could be on our block momentarily. This is where we're from and it's such a part of our DNA as musicians. We're tethered here and we love it. That was the hardest part — seeing the city as vulnerable as it was," he added.
The month since the fire has been a whirlwind for the Goldsmith brothers. They've played benefit concerts like FireAid, the Grammys, and done whatever they can to support their community. "Musicians feel hopeless. We play music and then we see people fighting fires or saving lives and thinking wow, this feels miniscule and marginal compared to the real work people are doing. It felt really nice to be able to know exactly what to do in order to raise money. Frankly, that's what people need," said Griffin Goldsmith.
Dawes has released their all-star rendition of Randy Newman's classic "I Love L.A." with proceeds benefiting the fire relief effort to support music professionals. The band is also part of a new compilation, which includes 90 songs of new music from artists released this Friday. It's called Good Music to Lift Up Los Angeles.
From Wikipedia: Dawes is an American folk-rock band from Los Angeles, California, composed of brothers Taylor (guitars and vocals) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums), along with Wylie Gelber (bass) and Lee Pardini (keyboards). Dawes was formed from the band Simon Dawes after the departure of co-songwriter Blake Mills, subsequently abandoning a post-punk sound in favor of folk rock. Dawes has been described as having a Laurel Canyon sound derived from artists such as Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Joni Mitchell; and Neil Young.
Time Spent in Los Angeles
A Little Bit of Everything
When My Time Comes
Somewhere Along the Way
All Your Favorite Bands
My Playlist
Sports Star
The Pistons former overall number 1 draft pick is having an outstanding season, leading the team with last season’s worst record to the verge of the playoffs this year. His performance was recognized last week with an NBA All-Star selection.
Cade is a great leader, passer, and scorer. The only area in need of improvement is to cut way down on his turnovers. Once he does so, he has the potential to make one of the three All NBA teams.
Pistons' Cade Cunningham named 2025 NBA All-Star Game reserve by Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Pistons breakout star was officially named a reserve for the 2025 All-Star Game on Thursday, becoming the first player from the franchise to make the game since Blake Griffin in 2019. The 6-foot-6 guard is enjoying a career season, averaging 25 points, 9.3 assists, 6.4 rebounds and nearly a full block and steal per game.
Cunningham's profile has risen along with the Pistons. Cunningham's selection drew the approval of Charles Barkley during the reveal: "I'm so happy for that kid," Barkley said.
From Wikipedia: Cade Parker Cunningham (born September 25, 2001 in Arlington, Texas) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Bowie High School in his hometown of Arlington, Texas, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida, where he was rated a consensus five-star recruit and among the top players in the 2020 class by major recruiting services. As a senior, he led one of the best high school teams in history and received national player of the year recognition.
Cunningham committed to playing college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and was named a consensus first-team All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year after his freshman season with the team. He won a gold medal with the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. He was the NBA first overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2021 NBA draft. He was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in 2025.
Cade Cunningham Goes Off for 40 Points
Picture Pun
Nothing left in the tank.
