Digital Debrief Volume 10
A new frontier (or online platform, as it were), inns, and seafood by the seashore.
As this newsletter enters double digits, it feels appropriate to be on a new and improved platform - Substack, where all the good parts of the internet seem to reside these days. I’m switching up the format as well, and will continue to, in an attempt to let the content dictate form. Don’t worry, you’ll still get a hot new playlist, some work updates and recommendations.
A Deeper Understanding
A few months ago my music consumption habits took a turn. Inspired by some carefully curated and assembled CD-Rs aptly titled “Prince 4 Connoisseurs” that totally re-contextualized the catalog of an artist I already loved, I’ve found myself obsessively digging into overlooked periods from the output of a few of my favorite prolific artists from the last half century.
I’m looking forward to sharing more specifically curated highlights of my deep dives into Prince, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison’s archives in the future (perhaps recreating the track lists from those CDs). For this installment I had a lot of fun sequencing a playlist of some of my current favorites from the three of them into one wild ride that actually flows together surprisingly well. Rave On!
On the Beach
The local coastline here in Marin County continues to be a strong source of inspiration for me, whether that’s warming up in the Pelican Inn after splashing in the surf at the beach for Hunter’s collaboration with Rowing Blazers or shucking oysters on makeshift rock tables on cliffs over the Pacific.
All this fun on shore culminated in a morning on the high seas for some recreational crabbing. We set out from the Sausalito Harbor just before dawn on Christmas Eve, cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge at daybreak and watching the sun rise over the Bay as we headed for a shelf a couple miles out from Muir Beach. Looking back at the Marin Headlands, where I’d spent so much of the year staring out the other way, was a great change in perspective to cap off 2022.
Further Down the Road
As you may have noted from the caption of the initial image, I started the year not at home, but down in Big Sur. With a last minute reservation at Deetjen’s secured, we headed down in pouring rain and had a couple cozy, unplugged nights at the quaint inn. I can’t recommend their restaurant enough for some considered but unpretentious comfort food served up with genuine hospitality.
With the coastal road closed just a mile south, traveling to and around the area might prove difficult this year, but the journey’s worth it for a short stack of their pancakes and some bottomless coffee on a misty morning. Still accessible from there is the infamous Henry Miller Library, a required stop and handy place to pick up a new book for some entertainment and enlightenment while you’re out of cell service.
That’s all for now, back soon.
Spencer