The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Achewood => Achewood => Topic started by: side_show on March 10, 2012, 05:57:05 pm
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So I was all ready to assume Onstad wrote one review and crawled into a hole to die or something due to the lack of chatter on the board about it, but I checked and apparently he has been putting out some consistent work (http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/ArticleArchives?author=2519003) since his Hog and Halo review. Based on the lack of discussion, I'm thinking there's not as much interest in this area of his work.
Before we start discussion about the articles, what is everyone's thoughts - do we just want one thread about all the columns or individual threads about each column? The original thread about his first review (http://touamb.com/index.php/topic,6213.0.html) seemed to set a precedent for individual threads about each review, but I'm wondering if individual threads for each review or just a single "general discussion of the reviews" thread is best?
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I'm not that interested in reading restaurant reviews for a city I don't live in, but I do want to talk about them. Quandary. Do I have to read the reviews to talk about them?
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That's a good question. After posting the poll I just read through all the articles and some are unreadable, while others are interesting. One thing that I'm really noticing is that he is directly engaging his readers and asking for comments, but then when I read the comments some of them are brutal direct attacks. For a dude who has expressed straight up dislike for hearing criticism from his readers, he certainly has put a target on his head.
Side note to wombat: Onstad encourages readers to email him ideas through the email address posted to his articles, so if you want to inquire about the best way to send him your book, this would be the way. Considering he is getting freebees sent to the Mercury for himself and for give away contests, I'd say it's pretty safe to send the book to him through The Mercury office though.
This all reminds me of when I was A&E editor for my University paper. I couldn't believe the amount of freebees sent my way. Mostly crap, but occasionally something alright.
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Based on the lack of discussion, I'm thinking there's not as much interest in this area of his work.
I don't think you can jump to that conclusion. I would say that the lack of discussion is due to the fact that no one believed he was actually ever going to turn in any more reviews to his editor, so we haven't been looking for them.
After I regain conciousness after passing out from clicking that link and seeing how much stuff there is, I will try to answer your actual question.
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After I regain conciousness after passing out from clicking that link and seeing how much stuff there is...
Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction. I did LOL a couple times, so some of it is good stuff, while some, not so much.
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OK, I am a little less impressed now that I see that most of those are not full length restaurant reviews, they are short blog posts. Also did you see that the oldest article, posted in May 2010, is a recipe from the Achewood Cookbook II, described as "set to be released this month"? Isn't that sort of an embarassment? Does it really not bother him? It must be nice to be that person.
Anyway: I would say that one thread is enough. The actual restaurant reviews, I find that parts of them are worth reading, mostly the intros, but the detailed description of food I am never going to eat is not interesting. The other, shorter posts have some amusing aspects that might start discussion here - surely some of you have comments on food at strip clubs? But I don't think we need individual threads.
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Via persistent following of links, prompted by curiosity over whether mention of a "girlfriend" was merely a literary device, I find that he has gotten divorced. OK, I cut him slack for not producing the cookbook YET.
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I was confused by that too, but I thought he was maybe calling the vodka his girlfriend.
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Via persistent following of links, prompted by curiosity over whether mention of a "girlfriend" was merely a literary device, I find that he has gotten divorced. OK, I cut him slack for not producing the cookbook YET.
That gives me a sad.
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Yeah. Don't you hate the internet when you have to be sad for people you've never even met? As if there weren't enough sad in your real life. But at least he's got a girlfriend. Hey, he even changed his Facebook relationship status. Maybe things are looking up. Maybe we'll even get a cookbook someday.
And that's your Onstad-stalking report for the day.
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I do think sometimes about Louis C.K.'s bit about how you should always say "congratulations" when someone says they're divorced, because it means the shitty part is over. That is funny, and it is often true, but it still sucks that there was a shitty part that came before. But I am glad that he seems to be doing well now.
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Onstad having hard times and getting divorces doesn't seem surprising to me. Maybe it's just me, but I always assumed that something like this has been going on. The only question really in terms of how much content we're going to see is 'how long ago did this begin in earnest, how long ago did it get its official stamp, and how far along the road of grief has he gotten?'.
Everybody's different, but for some people divorces can be horrible (even if they choose to not broadcast too much of their turmoil about it to others).
One thread for the food reviews is probably okay.
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I can't help but wonder, knowing this, if the divorce was related to the downfall of the strip in a... chicken way... or in an egg way?
Did the divorce destroy the timing of the comic or... was it like "you're not updating the strip, what the fuck are you doing, this goose is shitting golden eggs and you're cutting its neck for kicks, get the fuck back to the vector box and make with the weed jokes, Mister Monet!" slowly causing the downfall?
I'm not enough of an asshole to expect an explanation of that part of his life, of course, but I can't help but wonder what the order of causality is there.
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Onstad having hard times and getting divorces doesn't seem surprising to me. Maybe it's just me, but I always assumed that something like this has been going on.
I always figured, there had to be a reason he was so good at writing the depressed Roast Beef, you know? Which is why I was more worried than annoyed, while hating the internet for having to be worried about people I never met - well, once - as if there weren't enough real live people to be worried about.
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OK, I am pretty sure that despite what a fangirl I am, I draw the line at following his Twitter feed for the food stuff. Don't I?
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He's made the transition from great comic artist to mediocre writer. It's pretty sad really.
This comment sums it up pretty well for me.
"The only mood and scene that Onstad has captured is one of two aging hipsters, stuffed with too many readings of On the Road, Fear and Loathing, and the alcohol-fueled ravings of Tom Robbins.
Mextiza sounds pretty good, I think. I don't know too much about the atmosphere, though, because Onstad was too busy waxing poetic on his fat friends mustache. "
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I ate at that Tambayan (sp?) place and I gotta figure that his friend has an in, because it was not good. And not not good in a weird food way, not good in a boiled chicken in thin broth way.
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Every review has a couple of great descriptive phrases of the food I like, but then can sometimes go in a direction I don't necessarily think adds to the piece. But since it's Onstad I have that bias of liking these reviews overall. Had I read this with no knowledge of his stuff, I would probably think less of the whole thing.
Here's an example of great food writing imo (from the Mi Mero Mole review):
The foundation of the menu are the large, fresh, hand-made corn tortillas, formed and griddled at the counter. They puff expertly on the hot iron before deflating into a firm, golden flatbread of ancient heft, chew, and straightforward grain flavor. Supermarket tortillas would tear to heartbreaking ribbons in the face of these wet contents; Zukin's hold their shape impressively for the duration.
That's good stuff.
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@achewood Home again. Next assignment: Belgium, Netherlands, late April, for Saveur. Stay tuned!
OK, I guess you can't blame a guy for not producing comics when he's got a gig like this. And God knows I am in no position to throw stones at someone for changing careers.
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He wants to see if he can get mayonnaise on his McDonald's fries like they talk about in Pulp Fiction.
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They are fuck*ng with him in the letters section. I'll have to post some shit when I get home.