are we there yet? cjm exhibit for j. the jewish news weekly

The art of the question: Robotic algorithms put visitors in an auditory sea of queries
If you enter the top-level Yud Gallery in the Contemporary Jewish Museum these days, you’ll be greeted by a question.

It could be any number of questions — from a bank of 2,500 different questions, in fact — and the proximity of the voice you hear will change depending on where you are in the room. A small camera, unseen even to the knowing eye, will follow your every move, using robotic algorithms to calculate mathematically which of 20 floor speakers to activate. The walls are white and bare, and the only sensation is crisp, clear sound [...]

tofu dearest: rescue chocolates for poor taste mag

Vegan Chocolate Rescue Bunnies
It’s everywhere this month — crunchy, chocolate, Peep-y Easter candy. It fills our drug store aisles and taunts us with milk derivatives and smooth bunny shapes. My own Easter memories are warm with huge baskets stuffed with chocolate eggs and character Pez dispensers. My brother and I would stalk around our Irish-Polish Catholic grandparents’ backyard in Antioch, Calif., sniffing out brightly colored eggs then pouring our finds across the living room carpet [...]

bernal heights juke hunt for sf weekly

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in Bernal Heights
Bernal Heights is often unfairly lumped in with the Mission as a whole. While it is backed up against the Mission, Bernal has its own plentiful offerings -- Indian pizza, indoor street food, and lesbian bars with three-story patios, to name a few. So, in deference to the vibrant nature of this hood, we embarked on yet another juke hunt, this time to bars posted within Bernal's district lines [...]

cults for sf weekly

Cults Play a Short, Sweet Set at the Independent
It was short but sweet.

Like most, I went into the Cults show at the Independent last night knowing a mere three songs by the headlining band: "Most Wanted "(aka that sugary doo-wop one), "The Curse" (that Cramps-esque swaggery one), and "Go Outside" (the hit). Such is the nature of a newish buzz band, especially one made known throughout the blogsphere thanks largely to its Bandcamp profile.[...]

tofu dearest: beet burgers for poor taste magazine

Just Beet It: Vegan Burgers Get Street Cred
You know that old adage — when your CSA gives you beets, make beet burgers? Or something along those lines, correct?

Last week our community-supported agriculture network, Farm Fresh To You, delivered a cardboard box that included three giant, hearty beets with long, red-veined leaves sprouting off the bulbs like plumage, among other less-tantalizing fruits and vegetables. When choosing what to do with those magnificent purple root vegetables, the answer seemed obvious: veggie burgers [...]

richmond juke hunt for sf weekly

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in S.F.'s Richmond District
Thanks partly to the diversity of its residents, the Richmond District has a lot of great bars and restaurants. The neighborhood is a confluence of Russian bakeries, Chinese markets, and Irish pubs, and the songs available on the few scattered classic jukeboxes reflect this diverse blend [...]

j. column: ska and torah study for j. the jewish news weekly

After a fall from grace as queen bee, I found solace in Torah and ska
Sometimes I think that an amalgamation of ska music and Judaism saved my life. Not to be overly dramatic. But looking back at the events surrounding and leading up to my bat mitzvah, now 15 years later, I can’t help but point to those two parts of my life as rescuing me from junior high hell [...]

tofu dearest: vegan love for poor taste magazine

How to Make Culinary Love to a Vegan
Confession time: I live with an adorable meat-eater. I throw in the adorable because he really is, despite our surface-level divergent eating habits. He may devour roast chicken or fried calamari when we hit local food establishments, but at home he mostly keeps it vegan with me — another reason to throw in the complimentary descriptor [...]