My love of all things Spanish ebbs and flows. Right now, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'm about a 6 on the language-learning but a big 9 on food. I've been to three Spanish places recently and each one had something outstanding. Overall, I like Picaro the best. It's in a neighborhood full of fun bars for some post-sangria imbibing, the restaurant is cute and the albondigas are out-of-this-world good.

Zarzuela, on the top of Russian Hill, has a small, adorable dining room and serves phenomenal chorizo. The sangria is smooth -- oustanding. And Alegrias in the Marina has the best patatas bravas I've ever had. And really good pork skewers. Like, amazingly good. Good enough to make you put up with being in (and getting to) the Marina.

Weird Week

Green Screen!
Originally uploaded by tjdee.

On Thursday I wound up riding BART for 20 minutes without realizing I was sitting right next to Ben. "I never run into people on BART!" I exclaimed when we finally spotted each other while getting off the train.

On Saturday I was at an ATM on Market St. when Greg slid next to me and tapped me on the shoulder. "So weird," I told him. "I just had another random encounter with a friend."

This morning I couldn't bear getting up at 8:30 (poor me, right?) so I slept in a half hour and took the later train. As I was reading Details I felt some asshole kick my foot. I looked up to give a deathglare and the asshole with the lovely Angelique, whom I met in November and hung out with a few times (including at PodcampWest, where this picture was taken) before she headed home to Puerto Rico. Turns out she's been living a mile from me in Berkeley for the past month. Yay!

Click To Play

GUBA's T.J. DeGroat (that's me!) talks to coworker Kathleen Morford about penis power, vagina power and hosting sex shows with mom.

I Hate Muni

Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by tjdee.

BART can be lame, but nothing compares to Muni's insanity.

Kelly's new single:



I love the bridge and I bet it'll sound awesome with a live band. Diggin' the Pat Bentar look to go along with this journey further into the pop/rock world.

Kelly Singing Breakaway 10 Feet in Front of Me

Kelly Singing Breakaway 10 Feet in Front of Me
Originally uploaded by tjdee.

"Never Again," the first single from Kelly Clarkson's new CD, "My December" debuts a week from today.

RIGHT ON.