Andy Gavin's Blog, page 172
March 2, 2012
Canon 5D Mark III – Finally!
Finally, after 3.5 years, the Canon 5D Mark III is here (or at least on the way)!
Big specs are:
22MP full frame CMOS sensor
ISO 100-25600 standard, 50-102,800 expanded
6 fps continuous shooting
Shutter rated to 150,000 frames
1080p30 video recording, stereo sound via external mic
61 point AF system
63 zone iFCL metering system
100% viewfinder coverage
1040k dot 3:2 LCD
Dual card slots for CF and SD
Oddly missing are:
Any resolution gain
A flip out screen
Still, after nearly an eternity with the Mark II, I'm ready for my sixth Canon body.
March 1, 2012
San Fran – Feng Nian
Restaurant: Feng Nian
Location: 2650 Bridgeway, Sausalito Ca.94965. 415 331-5300
Date: February 10, 2012
Cuisine: Chinese
Rating: Solid
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Something tells you nothing on the Westside of Los Angeles is decent regular Chinese food. While in the Bay Area I try to take advantage of the bounty provided by Northern California's Chinese-American population.
A friend of ours from Hong Kong who lives in the area recommended this place for lunch.
The menu big as usual.
"Vegetarian egg rolls."
Straight up garlic noodles for my picky son.
Sauces.
I can never get enough peeking duck.
Rolled into the usual pancake.
"Vegetarian's delight."
House specialty: "honey glazed prawns." I've always had a weakness for this decadent dish.
"Szechwan crispy fish." Tasty chunks of fried fish. Catering to American pallets this wasn't exactly spicy, but it was pretty good.
Overall, this is a satisfying if not terribly exotic lunch.
For more San Fran dining reviews click here.
February 29, 2012
Kindle Select – The Sales
On February 7-8 I ran a Kindle Select sale giving away The Darkening Dream free (Kindle version) for 48 hours. Free downloads were fantastic and the book was nailed to number 4 overall in the Kindle store for almost two days (details here).
But what about real sales?
The two hours immediately after the sale ends are really crucial. When my novel when off free, my free ranking had slipped to about #7. For about two hours it was no longer free but was still listed there on the first page of the bestseller list in the free column. During this period, it slid slowly down to #11. Meanwhile, with this high visibility, people were still clicking through in high numbers. Watching the sales figures, I saw approximately 1500 "buys" during this period. But what I don't know is how many of them were free and how many paid. Amazon reports both in the same column! Only when the February sales report comes in mid-March will I be sure. However, during the next 24 hours I received about 50 returns which has me suspecting a good number of these were paid — and in some cases unintentional. Amazon does not distinguish between free and paid in a very obvious manner and the one-click button looks virtually identical in both cases.
The day immediately following the sale, downloads slumped, to about thirty. After the rush of "selling" several hundred copies an hour (for free) this was a serious letdown. I panicked, and dropped my price from $4.99 to $2.99. But then, almost exactly 24 hours after going back to being paid, whatever mysterious promotion Amazon does in the wake of a successful free days kicked in.
I sold about 200 copies the next day. And about the same the day after. My paid sales ranking peaked at 398. Then two days of about 70 copies a day, then sales have slowly drifted downward. Still, even three weeks later, they're better than they were before the free day. In addition, the promotion resulted in reaching thousands of new readers who wouldn't otherwise have found the book and also generated numerous reviews and small articles. Overall, a definite success, but despite having ranked extremely high during the free period, did not in of itself create a longterm sustaining sales momentum.
Some advice for those planning free days:
1. Plan on either one or two days but do not commit to both. You may need to gauge the momentum of your sale so that you can exit with the highest possible ranking.
2. Promote the hell out of your first day. Notify all possible sites that announce free books, particularly pixel of ink. This one seems most effective on downloads. Buy some of these ads if you can.
3. Before running your day, be sure you have the best description and cover possible as well as a decent complement of reviews.
4. Offer sacrifice to Promotius, Roman God of sales and marketing.
Since putting the book on the market two months ago I've tried a great number of promotional tactics and this has probably been the most successful, still, I'm searching for a truly great way to get the book in front of more readers. If you have a good product — and reviews seem to back up my assumption that I do — book marketing is all about exposure. There are a tremendous number of books out there, far far more than even the most aggressive reader could actually read, so people are unlikely to just stumble upon your book by accident. Bestsellers aren't just fun reads — and they generally are — but also benefit massively from the social nature of reading. We don't want to be left out of the latest cultural phenomenon. They reach that position by luck, marketing, or phenomenon. Or sometimes all three.
February 27, 2012
Stake Land – Vampire Zombie Scramble
Title: Stake Land
Director/Stars: Connor Paolo (Actor), Nick Damici (Actor), Jim Mickle (Director)
Genre: Zombie Thriller
Watched: February 22, 2012
Summary: Impressive addition to the genre
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Steak Land is a very ambitious film. On a diminutive budget, it attempts to paint a fairly complete vision of a post-apocalyptic America — and is successful enough to be impressive. There is nothing original in the set up. Some kind of virus has devastated the world turning much of the population into vampires/zombie hybrids. Those that didn't suffer this worse-than-death fate had their necks torn out or their brains eaten. Our heroes are a teenage boy and a kick ass monster hunter known only as Mr. They travel across America seeking a monster free zone picking up various strays along the way. Meanwhile, the zombie-like "vamps" pop out of nowhere on a continuous basis. And even worse there are homicidal religious maniacs deal with.
None of these themes are new. And the film feels a bit of the mashup of The Road, the Book of Eli, I am legend, Zombieland, and 28 days later. It's on the darker side, rarely comic, and closest to The Road. But without the completely unrelenting sense of dread and hopelessness of that film. Despite costing a fraction of the above, Steak Land manages to feel pretty authentic. And it's ultimately more successful and watchable than The Road or the Book of Eli. the director spends time his characters, and in particular on post-apocalyptic America as well. By frequently lingering on the devastation, and on the multitude of corpses, he fairly effectively paints the bleak landscape. There some effort here to imagine different approaches to survival. Not only complete sense, but I give him an A for effort. The monsters a fairly interesting, combining the mindless qualities of zombies with some of the powers and weaknesses of vampires.
The same is true with the characterization. The writer-director wants to make these fleshed out characters. And some extent he succeeds. There are occasionally cheesy moments, but they are certainly forgivable given the budget. His religious nut job villain is quite enjoyable — although when he inevitably vamps out a little gratuitous. And the concluding events felt a little rushed, robbing them of proper emotional depth. Still, the film is a surprisingly impressive addition to the genre.
Interestingly, the film has many superficial similarities to Naughty Dog's upcoming game The Last of Us.
February 26, 2012
Ghirardelli Ice Cream
My son's first visit to San Francisco would not have been complete without a visit to Ghirardelli's world-famous chocolate and ice cream factory.
The former chocolate factory looms over the old port.
How can anyone resist that kind of advertising?
Inside, we have all sorts of old timey machinery churning chocolate.
This all pretty much all for show but it looks cool anyway.
Yum. Vat of chocolate. And they hand out free Ghirardelli squares randomly too.
Some of the good stuff coming off the assembly line.
My son is a purist. He wanted chocolate ice cream with chocolate waffle cone.
I went for this peanut butter sundae. Vanilla ice cream, peanut butter sauce, chocolate sauce, chocolate peanut butter square. It was darn good, although not as decadent as the bacon sundae.
Classic hot fudge sundae with one scoop vanilla, one scoop chocolate.
At the next table they had this ape-stopper kind of thing. 6 or 8 scoops at least and lots of sauces.
All in all, some darn good stuff that pretty much killed our appetite for dinner — although we managed anyway. Plus we were well fortified for the two-hour cable car line.
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February 25, 2012
Game of Thrones – Season 2 – First Look
HBO has released more trailer goodness (2/24/12). This is one of the best yet, featuring all sorts of footage from the new season.
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February 24, 2012
San Fran – Jardinere
Restaurant: Jardinere
Location: 300 Grove St. San Francisco, CA 94102. (415) 861-5555
Date: February 9, 2012
Cuisine: California French
Rating: Solid flavors
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We left the reservation aspect of our San Francisco trip to a bit late. S.F. diners, it seems, make their reservations early. Besides, we were traveling with my 3-year-old, so long involved tasting menus were not an option. Sigh. Coi even had availability. In any case, we ended up at this overpriced but tasty California French. Although not pictured, the dining room is lovely in one of those ornate between the wars styles.
"Pierre Gelin, Gevrey-Chambertin "Clos de Meixvelle" 2007." This turned out to be an excellent example of young Burgundy. Bright notes of berries I soft round charm.
The menu changes frequently.
"Roasted Butternut Squash Soap, herb goat cheese, prosciutto and spiced pepitas." The specific soup pictured did not include the ham.
"mushroom cappuccino." One of our diners did not order the 1st course and received this as a free substitute.
"Venison Tartare, cara cara orange, celery root and mustard seed." I'm totally becoming a Tartar addict.
"Carnaroli Risotto, Delta Asparagus, English Peas and Parmiggiano-Reggiano."
"Liberty Farms Duck Breast, Savoy Cabbage, Preserved Kumquats and Farro." Perfectly rare.
Homemade pasta with tomatoes for my son.
And the all-important cheese.
The dessert menu.
"Bonne Bouche Platter. Crème Brûlée, Opera Cake, Petite Tarts, Cookies, Fruit Jellies, Chocolate Truffles and Candies." A bit of everything — and in a good way.
"Bearss Lime Cake. Coconut Crème, Margarita Sorbet and Salt Air." Basically deconstructed piña colada.
Overall, this was a good meal. The price tag reflected the location near the theater and the ornate dining room. The food was not stunningly guard, but it was on point.
February 23, 2012
Drive
Title: Drive
Director/Stars: Ryan Gosling (Actor), Bryan Cranston (Actor), Nicolas Winding Refn (Director)
Genre: Crime Thriller
Watched: February 20, 2012
Summary: Very stylish, character in driven, crime thriller
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I have been waiting for Drive since I missed in the theaters. Everyone said it was fantastic, and they were right. This is an old-school crime thriller in the vein of The Grifters. One of those movies about the underworld where the cast is small but the characters quirky and memorable. There are none of those boring blockbuster style heavies right out of comic books – the villains are more Pulp Fiction style, each with their own distinctive larger-than-life personalities.
Gosling plays a man of few words – and I mean few words. He's a loner with skills: namely driving skills, and a kind of tough guy, with an under pressure calm that is really good in a fight. The brilliant opening scene introduces his particular code of operation – and said skills. It's slick without being over-the-top, infused with instant tension.
And that's one of the things that really makes this film work. The director's a master of tension. Sure I was lying in bed with a broken arm and on narcotics but my heart was pounding nearly from start to finish. The over-the-top qualities are reserved not for the action but instead for the characters – where they should be. Both heavies, played on type by and against type by , were glorious fun to watch. All the acting in this film stands out. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is great too.
This one of these movies where everything goes a really wrong – for everyone – except the audience.
February 21, 2012
Game of Thrones – Invitation to the Set
As we ramp into GOT season 2, HBO releases yet more and more goodies. Here we have one of those overwhelmingly positive video previews – but with lots of good footage. Enjoy.
San Fran – Kokkari
Restaurant: Kokkari
Location: 200 Jackson Street (at Front) San Francisco, CA 94111. 415.981.0983
Date: February 9, 2012
Cuisine: Greek
Rating: Really fresh – transported me back to Greece
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Yelp pointed me to this excellent San Francisco Greek place — that and I recognized it from the Zagat guide.
Close to Embarcadero.
Inside this is the modern Greek equivalent of a classy reinterpreted Mexican space like Las Ventanas in Cabo. Things don't really look like this in Greece, but maybe they ought too.
Case in point.
The menu. It's mostly traditional fare, but the Greek names have been dropped.
Pretty plates that match the decor conceptually.
"Cheese Pies – traditional feta cheese filo pies." SPANAKOPETA, but particularly artisanal versions.
And same goes for this "Tzatziki." Not only was it great, tasting of fresh dill and garlic, but the bread was superb and very very Greek. The marinated vegetables were also a nice touch.
"Saghanaki- pan fried Kefalograviera with lemon & oregano." Melted cheese! I was just bummed it didn't come out on fire!
"Kokkari Salad – mixed baby lettuces with shaved apples, beets & candied walnuts."
"Moussaka – traditional casserole of spiced lamb, eggplant, potato & yogurt béchamel." I love this traditional dish.
And this was easily the best I've had in the states (I've spent months in Greece). You can see the meat there and it had that lovely cinnamon / nutmeg thing going on which pairs with the rich béchamel.
And on the plate.
Kokkari was a great "find." In truth flavors are rarely even this pure in Greece, although there was this one restaurant I ate at on Rhodos that was very similar.
For more San Francisco dining reviews click here.
