You Think You Have It Tough

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Nicole has revealed her secrets to throwing a dinner party for 15 people in a 6 x 8 room with a table that seats six and chairs for only seven. For her next trick ...

It's a bit of a departure for her Home & Garden column in The Chron (it tops the "Home" section) because not all of the advice is entirely serious.

Consider moving: While we're on the subject of dishes, it's perfectly acceptable to move to a new apartment solely on the basis of its having a dishwasher.

I've always thought that, but have never had the guts to say it out loud.

Make sure there's enough wine: This is most important, as it ensures you'll laugh off any kitchen disasters and that you'll sail through the cleanup without a care at the end of the evening.

That is downright Galloping Gourmet.

Prepare for last-minute RSVPs: If your beautiful wooden dining table is large enough to sit six, perhaps it would be wise to ask just six, rather than 10, guests to the feast.

And even if they all do show up, you have all that wine to sail through finding them all plates without a care.

Anyway, I think our hostess is playing a support role this year, so you won't find her in the kitchen quite as much. But I'm sure there will be plenty of wine.

Quinoa Update

Fortunately, peepsNet has no rules about how many times it can write about the same thing. How could we, since we only write about the same five (or two) people. No Martian problem for us: the world consists of Nicole and Samer (necessarily in that order), some other people whose names escape me, and Samer and Nicole (not necessarily in that order).

Which brings us to the new crop of quinoa. Well, it's the old crop, and it has cropped up again as the #2 emailed story on npr.org three weeks after its original pub date. She's already done radio to explain the gravity-defying phenomenon of this seed (not a grain, as EVERYBODY knows) which can save the world, so can TV be far behind?

People: there's a writer's strike. You guys need content. It's either a reality show about cage-fighting between Survivor All-Stars and The Biggest Losers, or Nicole. Think about it. Shouldn't be taking that long.

Our theory is that many people are considering Nicole's Quinoa Stuffed Peppers as part of their Thanksgiving fare (that's called "Interpretive Reporting" for you civilians. Not "Making It Up" journalism. Definitely not).

Btw, you can email the story here.

About Tonight and the Segway Sharks

Segway Sharks Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

Amazing. I used that line in an entirely different context with Nancy just tonight ...

Anyway -- getting a picture published every day or so on DCist isn't uncommon anymore for the boy wonder -- oh no.

Perhaps Samer has become distraught with the deafening inattention peepsNet has given him, what with all those snaps that get picked up by the hip DC site making the phenomenon of his pictures getting picked up by the hip DC site decidedly un-newsworthy, by definition.

So he's kicked it up a notch. Here is the official tweet, timing in at 2014 ET:

A twofer on DCist, today: Photo of the Day (http://xrl.us/bbjkd) and About Tonight (http://xrl.us/bbjkh).

One's at the top, the other at the bottom.

Props to DCist writer Heather Gross for making the perfect "Land Shark" reference that nobody under the age of maybe 50 will get.

Cool Cocktail
Originally uploaded by Samer Farha

Radio Primps the Internet Star

Saturday afternoon Originally uploaded by nicspir.

Nicole has conquered yet another medium with a guest shot this morning on NPR's "Bryant Park Project."

Nicole appeared in the segment about the most emailed stuff. Regular peepsNet readers already know that "Quinoa, a Sacred, Super Crop" has been #1 on NPR.org pretty much since it was posted last week.

That's right. It isn't even an NPR story. It has nothing to do with the deteriorating situation in Pakistan. Nary a presidential candidate is mentioned in it.

Host Luke Burbank called the story "A love letter to quinoa" and then turned all Tim Russert with an opening question geared at knocking Nicole off stride -- at 5:17 a.m. PT no less, basically the time she usually just gets to go to sleep after a long night of replying to fan mail: "So, what is so great about quinoa, anyway!" he lashed out (well, that's what it sounded like).

An unperturbed Nicole chuckled and replied with the poise of a veteran that quinoa tastes good and is easy to make. Take that, Luke Skywalker. She then turned the tables and, speaking directly to the NPR universe, postulated that this amazing food could feed the world. What have you done for the world lately?

Check out the podcast, on iTunes or from this NPR page. Nicole's segment begins at about the 1:19 mark.

She's Number 1!

It's official.

Nicole's Quinoa article on NPR.org is the number-one emailed in the past 24 hours.

There might be another bit of great news coming from the publication of this article, peepsNet has learned. Watch this space.

Best. Clip. Ever.

Really. Nicole has had excellent play on substantial dead-tree publications like the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times (and their digital entities as well, of course) but today's article on npr.org looks really, really pretty.

It could be the bitchin' pictures Nicole took. It could be that the recipes are tantalizing (peepsNet is making the peppers this week). It could be that this is the first food story she has been paid for, after giving away the store for free over at cucinanicolina for so long.

But we don't care. We just like it. Really, really.

More Great Press for Mike

More great notice for Mike, at AsOneNational, a national website that highlights and advocates for black businesses of note.

TYPE ILLY PRESS is turning the page on the next generation of comic books.

TYPE ILLY PRESS lays out a masterful comic strip featuring ethnic characters in the ultimate battle for survival from the everyday problems that plague our society.

Mike is always a great interview, but this is best line from him I think I have seen so far about his hero, Nefertiti Jones:

"If you ever wished PAM GRIER could play WONDER WOMAN, this series is for you."

Rich in ...

Rich comes up for air long enough to tell peepsNet that he has carved out a comfortable freelancer's existence and that Maureen is working on a book that is just about ready to be pitched.

He is shooting up a storm for a wide variety of clients, our man in Portland (Ore.) reports, including Reuters and Bloomberg. Apologies to Rich if this is the first time these competing agencies have learned of his mercenary lack of fealty. You have to say "off the record" right off the bat.

Rich says his description of Maureen's book doesn't do it justice. But his take -- that it is "sort of a yogic philosophical look at nostalgia and how we remember those events from our youth and what they mean" -- sounds plenty fascinating to me, so the truth can only be better.

We remind Maureen that peepsNet employs an ombudsman, who would love to hear from her. Or we can sort this out at the Politics & Prose reading.

Here is the money quote from his despatch:

"our cat is freaking nuts! she's 18 y-o and after she eats, she stands in the bedroom howling at unseen entities. just being a cat..."

Wrong. This is what Samer does every time he drinks.

Pets with a Purpose

You want worms. Red ones. Lots of them. Trust me.

Nicole's latest Chronicle column answers the question that loomed large when she wrote two months ago about gardening in your apartment: where you gonna get all that rich dirt you need to grow tomatoes on your window sill?

The answer is worms. About 1,000 will do.

They don't take up much space, you don't have to clean up after them (that is kind of the point) and they subsist on a diet of vegan scraps that, in San Francisco, would otherwise become part of the three tons of used food collected every day and processed at a commercial compost facility outside Vacaville (love the sound of that town's name).

If you are in Bay area check out the the print version of Nicole's article, which is framable, we hear -- it takes up the whole back page of the House and Garden section, on page on F - 8.

Samer, Exposed

Samer has begun to market his photos at Etsy, a e-commerce site that lets anyone sell their wares in the same empowering way eBay has turned everyone into an auctioneer.

Not much to see there yet, but since peepsNet was given a preview of Samer's portfolio we can say with great authority, though not for the record, that there are many more great shots to come at FarhaFoto (wonder why he didn't go with PharhaPhoto, which would have been really Phat).

Bookmark the page, but even better: Subscribe here.

On a housekeeping note: We are, of course, too lazy to check the archives and see if we have used this headline before, although we are almost certain we have. Can you plagiarize yourself?

Nicole, Redesigned

Well, her site is anyway. No reason to tamper with perfection.

After a long period of contemplation and the press of higher priorities nicolespiridakis.com has undergone a complete makeover (no way was I going to use that word in the headline.)

Gone is the iconic picture in the borrowed shirt, replaced with a graceful headshot (used here without permission, as usual).

Speaking of photos, the landing page is a nicely staged shot of one of Nicole's many SF Chron articles -- you know she has a monthly column there called "Common Walls?"

But our favorite page is "clips." There are lots and lots of them, and room for more. Get on it, girl!

The Pantry is Perfect. Of Course It Is.

On the theory that you just can't know enough about Nicole and the reality that peepsNet is too lazy to do any enterprise reporting, we invite you to surf on over to The Perfect Pantry and read up on what "the passionate cook behind the stove at Cucina Nicolina" likes to read up on.

She's got a birthday coming up (not A Big One, no, not until Next Year) but, who knows, you might get an idea or two about what the girl is into if you haven't yet bought that present yet.

We know this is all only about Nicole's shameless attempt to promote her blog, and we applaud her for it.

Hey -- we hear that a redesign in the offing @ nicolespiridakis.com. About time.

Square Curves

Square Curves Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

Samer scores a double today with another DCist "Picture of the Day" and a Flickr explore (#15 and counting)!

Ross in Santa Monica

peeps-in-law Michael Knud Ross is showing in Santa Monica starting Sunday, Sept. 23, as part of a tw-person show at Terrence Rogers Fine Art.

The exhibit, also featuring David Molesky, runs through Oct. 27. The artists will be on hand at the Sunday opening, 2-5.

If You Want Her, She'll Be In The Closet

We wonder if Nicole needs to phone ahead for reservations anymore, or if Barry Bonds wants to be photographed with her, or if it's starting to get a little creepy for Gavin Newsome to keep dropping by because "I just happened to be in the neighborhood?"

Not that we think she should stop writing. And neither does the Chron, which today publishes Nicole's latest column about life as a renter in San Francisco. We can't get enough of these. So keep it up. And just tell the mayor when he drunk dials you that you can't hear the doorbell in your closet. Office.

Fare Card, Dave?

How May We Help You? Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

More DCist love for Samer.

When we saw this, we were immediately struck by how this image evoked HAL 9000 from "2001: A Space Odyssey," even down to the colors and brightness. Amazing. But we were not alone -- a previous commenter on this picture at flickr made the same observation, first.

This is a great example of how the eye and brain of a true photographer work. Here is something that tens of thousands of people see every day, but this capture seems unique -- special.

On the other hand, maybe nobody has taken this before because there is never nobody in the shot. There is always some poor soul struggling to get one of these machines to do what it is told, fighting to prevail.

Hmmm ... perhaps they are HAL.

A view of HAL 9000's Brain Room in the Discovery.

On T-Mobile

On T-Mobile Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

Samer has now taken control of his iPhone and has provided photographic proof.

In his words:

"Look at the top left of this screen capture from my iPhone. "T-Mobile" it says! And I've got Edge working on it, too. It rocks.

"I used the free iPhone Dev Team solution and did it from an SSH session to the phone. It was a bit nerve wracking as it takes approximately forever to do its thing, but it worked. Like a charm."

Letters to the peepsNet Ombudsman

Dear peepsNet ombudsman,

I'm all about a shrinking world wrought by the digital revolution but at heart I'm a pretty provincial guy. Can you arrange to have Nicole's latest article, about that neighborhood in San Francisco, published on my local newspaper's web site?

Mike in Raleigh

Dear Mike,

No problem. Here it is. And tell your like-minded friends in Boston they don't have to cruise to far-flung servers either.

The peepsNet Ombudsman
"It's all about you."

________________________

Dear peepsNet Ombudsman,

His work is good and all but some of us actually take pictures for a living and kinda resent all the attention Samer is getting with his DCist play. Any chance you can cut back on the articles about him and leave a little air in the room?

Rich in Portland

Dear Rich,

No.

The peepsNet Ombudsman
"It's all about you."

________________________

Dear peepsNet Ombudsman

I may be wrong about this, but it seems like you only write about the same 6 people over and over again. People tell me I'm pretty interesting -- is there any chance you can do an article about me? You could talk me into an interview (wink wink) and I don't look half bad these days on TV.

OBL in ?????

Dear OBL,

Am I mistaken or did you an advice column for our sister publication? Frankly, we were disappointed that you couldn't come to terms on a renewal, but, hey, I also thought Hell would freeze over before CNN walked away from Reuters.

I don't really know how to answer your question. Our subjects generally beg us to stop writing about them. We've never been actually invited to cover anything. We'll have to think about this and get back to you.

The peepsNet Ombudsman
"It's all about you."

DCist: Morning Roundup: Six Years Later Edition

10
Originally uploaded by Samer Farha

DCIst staff photographer (he isn't?) Samer scores again with Morning Roundup: Six Years Later Edition.

I think he needs a challenge. He should start shooting exclusively with an iPhone.

[19:21] Samer: I have an 8GB iPhone in front of me

Sexy
Originally uploaded by Samer Farha

These words aren't exactly "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" -- but they are close.

They have met Samer's price, and only part of that was reducing the retail of the first generation iPhone by $200. The deal maker was the release and verification of a free unlock, which lets the iPhone buyer spit in the general direction of ATT's two-year contract and Steve's hard-wired SIM.

For some of us (ahem) this development comes too late. While the Jesus Phone wasn't important enough for some of us to lose sleep and dignity over, waiting on a line outside the Apple Store with guys who have never kissed a girl, it was too important to wait for the Neo to crack The Matrix. This was especially true for those of us whose mobile phone just died out of nowhere (really) and you can't go a day without coverage because that's when the Big Call you've been waiting for all your life will come. But we digress.

peepsNet, which has already benefited greatly from Samer's general Mac expertise and specific pre-ownership iPhone interest, expects great things to be discovered now that the boy wonder has one in his mitts.

You can start by porting VNC and building an IM client that works in the background and notifies even when not in focus. If it isn't too much trouble.