2010 World Footbag Championship Photos

phil August 25, 2010

I went to the Oakland Convention Center to check out the 31st international world footbag championships put on with the help of local footbag (aka hackey sack) crew chaos footbag.  I got there just as the women’s doubles finals were finishing up.   Julie Symons and Jody Welch won the title after a spirited match.

The actual setup was pretty interesting to me.  A bunch of different footbag courts with hard puzzle-piece flooring and all were set up for competition on one side, while some plastic turf was set up on the other side of the rented space for freestyle purposes.  Bleachers were set up around the main court and the convention center’s own lone caterer (no BYOB allowed, apparently) served beers and wine to those looking for a little buzz.

Some of the open doubles finalists warmed up while other people juggled and performed some freestyle footbag routines in between the women’s doubles and open doubles finals.

One of the eventual champions, Florian Goetze from Germany sets up for a spike:

Florian spikes once again:

The spikes are pretty incredible.  It’s a 5-foot tall net, and it looks pretty tough to be able to have the flexibility, coordination, and the vertical to be able to kick the bag downwards.

The competition got started a little late, but was worth the wait.  Florian Goetze and Patrick Schrikel were in black, competing against Gilles Demers and Francois Pelletier from Canada.  I hadn’t watched much footbag prior to watching this event, but seeing the guys attempt to block was pretty incredible.

Seriously.  Look at this dude’s face:

And that dude’s.   Acrobatic.

The finals were played to 15 points with sideout scoring per game.  The match was decided by the first team to win two games.  I had expected a 45 minute match or so but the competition was fierce and both teams stayed close throughout.

and the blocks:

I love looking at the expressions of the people sitting in the crowd in this photo:

In the end, the match lasted almost two and a half hours.  The highlight for me was when, while in midair,  one of the Canadians realized he couldn’t kick the bag with his intended foot.  He was able to move that foot out of the way and switch feet to kick the bag over the net.  Like a double-pump in basketball.

bica coffeehouse, oakland, ca

phil August 19, 2010

Bica Coffehouse (5701 College Ave, Oakland)  just opened today across the street from Rockridge BART.  It replaces Cafe Lyon, which closed last May.  I had an espresso made with coffee from De La Paz’s 14th St. Espresso blend.  It was nice and brewed well on their La Marzocco Linea.  A bit bright, citrusy and a little sweet.

(Pardon the less-nice iphone photos)

de la paz 14th st espresso via bica coffeehouse

They plan on rotating their coffees between Flying Goat, Ritual, De La Paz, Verve and Barefoot about every 2 weeks.  In addition to coffee, they also offer teas and a few different types of pastries from Bisbane Bakery.

saw this on the way home:

I heart zombies

“I heart zombies”

Cafe Gabriela, Oakland, CA

phil August 13, 2010

Cafe Gabriela (988 Broadway Oakland, CA) is located downtown right off of Broadway.  The California Bar exam was being administered the day that I went and I got in just before a rush of test-takers came in for a break.

The Blue Bottle espresso was pretty good, but didn’t have the same combination of flavors that I’ve come to expect.  I feel that I’m terrible at describing nuances and undertones in coffee flavor, but here I tasted a buttery ristretto with a bit of tang, a prevailing smoky flavor with a bit of marshmallow.  I didn’t enjoy the coffee as much as the shots that come from the blue bottle people themselves.

blue bottle espresso at cafe gabriela

I also purchased a pork adobo sandwich which was predictably salty and pretty good.  They’d originally given away my sandwich by mistake – I think one of the bar takers picked up my sandwich instead of waiting for their own.

pork adobo sandwich at cafe gabriela

nuovo point demitasse double ristretto

best of the east bay party 2010

phil August 8, 2010

Went to the 2010 Best of the East Bay party at Jack London Square put on by the East Bay Express on Saturday. There was a good mix if people, food, art, merchandise and music. Here are some photos.  Good times.

I watched the skateboarders for a bit.  This is Lem:

Lem in the air

Ferry terminal, Jack London Square:

ferry

Lead singer for Everything Must Go!  Wild set.

"everything must go!"

Gift of Gab and Lateef the Truth Speaker + Headnodic from the Crown City Rockers = The Mighty Underdogs.  They put on a damn fine show.  Gift of Gab shredding the mic:

gift of gab

Lateef the Truth speaker:

lateef

Freestyle:

lateef and gab

lateef: freeze!

freeze

Peerless Coffee, Oakland CA

phil July 28, 2010

I tried to stop by Peerless Coffee Company (260 Oak Street Oakland, CA) for lunch,  but found that they didn’t serve food except for the candies in their gift shop.  It’s a neat building and they have a gift shop that holds various tea and coffee accessories as well as candies and books.  There’s industrial-scale roasting equipment in the rear that you can catch a glimpse of while browsing the gift shop.

I ordered a shot of espresso.  The girl behind the counter said it’d be a ristretto, but once I got the coffee, it reminded me more of a “double” that you can buy at Starbucks.  The espresso wasn’t very enjoyable but it was drinkable and contained caffeine that I needed for the afternoon.  There wasn’t much crema.

peerless coffee: espresso

Oddly, there was an Oji brewing machine in their tasting room (which was closed when I visited)

peerless coffee: oji brewer

Eating About Beer 2010

phil July 28, 2010

this past weekend, about 32 of us were treated to an eight-course beer-paired culinary adventure: eating about beer 2010.  More extensive descriptions of the event will be written by the makers in the near future, so for now just I’ll share a few pictures:

homemade sopressata

sopressata, cured at home

pickled veggies

“a selection of seasonal pickled vegetables” arranged symmetrically

homebrews

homebrews in fancy packaging

soba-to-be

buckwheat soba noodle making

avacado cutting
beer

homebrews on ice

soba

soba going through the pasta maker

for the fritters

topping for the sicilian chickpea fritters

pickled veggies

pickled vegetables cut up for serving

beer model

marzen model

soba

soba with cale, shredded daikon and dipping broth

empties
ceviche

peruvian ceviche

ratatouille

ratatoullie with cheese scraping

pork

pork chop

prost

prost!

salad

adding wheatberries to the salad

mustard

mustard, in nugget dipping containers

nuggets

nuggets, with dipping containers, in serving boxes

silverware

fancy napkins for the nuggets

dessert

tapioca with a hazelnut and coffee shortbread cookie

the eab crew

the eab crew at the end of the night

Espresso at Woody’s Cafe – Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

phil July 21, 2010

Woody’s cafe (1841 Park Blvd Oakland, CA) located across from the Parkway Theater and next to Woody’s laundromat.

I had an espresso and a turkey panini:

espresso at woody's cafe

The espresso was drinkable but I can’t say that I enjoyed it.  It tasted a little weak and burnt with hints of acidity (I might have liked it a bit stronger) and it also tasted a bit stale.  but it was drinkable, and I needed the caffeine.

turkey panini at woody's cafe

The turkey panini was pretty tasty.  The people working there were really nice and there’s currently a lot of interesting photography on the walls of signs found in oakland.  during the lunch hour, the crowd seemed to be mostly people hanging out on their computers.  I wouldn’t come back here just for the coffee but it’s not a bad place to visit.

the parkway theater:

parkway theater

cafe 504 – Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

phil July 15, 2010

cafe 504 (504 Wesley Ave Oakland, CA 94606) is a pretty sweet spot to chill.  I had lunch and an espresso here:

504

super friendly barista pulled shots of ritual‘s lloyd dobler from a la marzocco machine.  It was quite bright.  I don’t taste the same fruity tones as indicated in ritual’s description, but it was bright, light-bodied and pleasant.   served in a bodum polka-dotted demitasse.

espresso

I also had a salad and a sandwich.  I wasn’t too impressed with the salad (though this didn’t matter too much to me) and the sandwich was good.  the space inside was neat – a small kind of dark space with blue walls with a kitchen that reminded me of a cabin.

there was also a dog patiently waiting outside.  I really enjoyed relaxing outside and enjoying a beautiful day in oakland.

dog