I’m always in search of the best pho.  Apparently NYC is pretty much void of anything decent.  This is Cong Ly in Chinatown. 3.5 stars out of 5. (Ilford)

I have 999 Joost invites to give out. Let me know if you want one.

A dinner party. (Ilford XP2)

A while back while I my foot was getting better, I went on several food escapades. One such escapade was to make pasta, and I literally mean make pasta. Semolina + Durum + Eggs + Water = Yum. It took about 2 hours, but there’s nothing like fresh pasta and there’s nothing like fresh homemade pasta that you slaved away for 2 hours to make. I also made pesto from scratch–not the food processor variety, but how it’s done in Italy–mashing up the ingredients with a mortar and pestel. Fresh pesto + fresh pasta = one of the best home cooked meals ever.

I’m getting tired of the simplicity and ease of digital photography. I think that’s why the Japanese are so hung up on film (aside from it’s techinical qualities). Camera stores in Tokyo have soooo much film (this is only one of many film fridges). Shooting with film is ceremonious. I smell the fresh film, load it, shoot away–knowing that each frame is permanently ingrained on the film. No chimping (looking at the LCD to see if you took a good picture) no deleting. I take the film to get developed (I suppose it would be even more ceremonious if I processed my own film). A couple days later, I get the film back and go, “oh yeah, I (don’t) remember taking that one.” I dust and scan for hours (more ceremonious would be enlarging in a darkroom), and finally I’m left with a black and white, noisy, soft-focused 241 meg tiff file.

Sherry at Sushi Club 06.