Chicago: Fake Meat Is Almost As Good

Hey, I saw Bug tonight. Being only one of two people in the theater made it creepier. Great actors, all five of 'em. Harry Connick is fantastic

Oh, I should see this. I'm not a fan of, uh, bugs, but I do like Harry and one-room movies.

I am listening to Curtis Mayfield, and I think he is some kind of nu god. "Sweet Exorcist" is my favorite right now.

Chicago: Textured Vegetable Protein

I'm going to have a soy bacon & avocado sandwich today in honor of this thread.

Hi Dan.

I misread the title as Chicago: Fake Meth Is Almost As Good.

I really have no idea what this thread title is supposed to be about, but I like it.

Hi.

I don't get it either.

my friend matt said he had a sandwich in chicago with 4 kinds of vegan meat and 4 kinds of vegan cheese. mmmmm...

It's like a vegan dagwood.

http://www.pr.com/upload/pressrelease_8775_1147278234.jpg

Best vegan meal I've had was vegan lasagna -- that must've been a medley.

Julia's frequent houseguest is vegan, and she had some vegan carrot cake which I sneaked a piece of without permission. And then, as if instant karma got me, it was TERRIBLE.

maybe that's what it is to have your cake and eat it too? I dunno.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/535211215/

ok, how far west is this "west wicker park" listing?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/346778233.html

sacramento? kedzie?

Iowa?

lol real estate agents are liars

What should I do today? I have the day off work, and I've spent the morning online, downloading music. (PS If someone wants to hook me up with the new Amerie album, I won't refuse.)

2x Amerie

Nice day for going out to Arlington and playing the ponies, John.

If I had the day off I would go for a run, find a recipe online for something good, go to the grocery store, and then make it.

Or you could go to a bar and try to get a free drink. :>

Heh. City of God has been sitting on top of my DVD player for at least a month, so that's tempting, but it's such a nice day out.

I am thinking of going to visit my friends at the LP zoo next week. It would be a nice bike ride and I would also maybe be able to see baby animals.

Your animal friends?

"Sure, stop by on Wednesday or Thursday...I'm free pretty much all next week."
http://yochicago.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/LincParkGorillahdr.jpg

"Oh, hi. Want me to put a pot of coffee on?"
http://www.african-safari-pictures.com/image-files/baby-chimpanzee-picture.jpg

I have no human friends there.

penguin friends are the best

http://www.stuffedark.com/images/penguinft.jpg

^^^ this is what I want for my birthday. I will name him Poogus and he will be my bedtime best friend.

weird

Have you no sense of cute?

My pengwine friend looks like this:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/Pengwine.jpg

Yes, but that is a stuffed animal.

(xp)

I just realized that that's a cat in a penguin costume. WHY U BRAKE BRAIN?

kekeekeekekee

Haha. Lying is the lifeblood of real estate agents. I once looked at an apartment in "West Andersonville" that was 2 blocks north of Foster at Rockwell . We knew that no such neighborhood existed, but thought we'd give the place a look. Place was pretty crappy and not very far from the Dominick's that is easily the most depressing supermarket in the chicagoland area.

Isn't that Albany Park? Or is AP further north?

I actually don't know the answer to that. Although, I think Albany Park is farther west. I usually refer to that area as the "Netherworld of Northwest Chicago."

http://www.dreamtown.com/images/maps/map-north-central.gif

interesting

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19099975/site/newsweek/

My ex is a huge horror movie fan. She can hardly be called a feminist, however.

My ex = also a huge horror movie fan, and I would say she is a feminist.

slightly lolzy astrophysics manuscript title: "THE HOT INNER DISK OF FU ORI

"

physics pr0n

Wow, the reasoning in that article is weak.

i realized that around page 3, actually

I need to get back to the gym. I really need a friends 'n family discount. If anyone can help me out with that, please let me know.

Last night a guy with a severe peanut allergy came into the restaurant and didn't tell anyone he was allergic, then he ate some calamari that had a dusting of crushed peanut on the garnish. Then he stood up, fainted and cracked his head on a piece of steel-covered corner molding, got up, lurched over to another table, and vomited on it and on the floor. His vomit was red, so everyone thought he was puking blood, but it was just vodka and cranberry juice. There are 2 former Army medics on our staff, and they took care of him. His head was cut open to the bone.

HAHAHAHAHA

whoah

IF YOU'RE THAT SEVERELY ALLERGIC, WOULDN'T YOU TELL SOMEONE?????

Yeah, what a dumb ass.

I remember seeing Silence of the Lambs the weekend it opened, which also happened to be during the first Gulf War, when everyone was concerned about where the war would go, how serious it would be, whether there would be a draft, etc.

Anyway, that movie, with its roller-coaster ride and its structure that leaves you spent at satisfied at the end, had a sense of closure that life didn't have.

I could imagine that horror movies, while not being feminist, might resolve tension for women in a similar way: by showing their fears brought to light but then avenged at the end or given some sense of closure.

The Greeks started writing plays so that they would have the experiences of enduring war (and enduring family and friends off fighting, and grieving, etc.) without actually experiencing those events in real life, not unlike dreams. Horror movies, terrorism movies, etc. can work the same way.

I started writing plays so that I would have the experiences of your mom.

The Eazy's Mom Experience

That Paris Hilton thread makes me want to self-lobotomize.

That should have been your Chilx band name. Oh well, next year.

xpost

dan, the thread about buying a vibrator for someone else's wife is way more satisfying

Yeah I read that one too.

the verdict: bad idea.

Even if fake meat is almost as good.

haha

Wow, today ended up being very productive. I bought an air conditioner from Sears, went to the library, bought the Cornelius album at Laurie's, scanned a couple of photos at Kinko's, and made appointments with a doctor and dentist for the next two Mondays.

See some of you at the show tonight? (I know EZ is coming.)

Ha Ha Man.

Belmont Arts & Music festival looks interesting, mainly because I want to see the Wrens again.

I do not agree with the thread title. But then again, I think I am the most carnivorous ex-vegetarian ever.

I don't think anyone on earth agrees with the thread title.

Those vegan breakfast patties are pretty tasty.
My ex, Zach, was vegan for Lent. That was an interesting experience. Not bad per se, we ate a lot of Middle Eastern food, but it was very hard to cook for him. And I really enjoy cooking for my boyfriends. He kept telling me not to make a fuss. This is why I am so confused by men in general right now.

haha "men in general right now"! me, too, man.

also, I am an extremely carnivorous vegetarian.

ex-vegetarian. god what is wrong with me.

you guys are all outside virtuously enjoying the beautiful day, aren't you?

Homemade burgers last night. Very very tasty.

I don't know what I'm eating tonight, but I'm sure it will have been alive at one point.

GIS for "don't eat me lisa"

http://distefano.com/GRAPHICS/melisa.jpg

It's funny, because she has a priority mail sticker on her.

It would be merely funny without that... with it, it's baffling.

I want to see Knocked Up.

me too! my wor week is bad... this coming weekend?

worK week... I get too excited.

I am seeing Knocked Up tonight!

I have a paper due Monday at 6pm, but I want to go sometime next week.

friday night?

http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/urbanwt/education/wildlifeeducationwebsite/otters%20drinking%20cr%20Helen%20Taylor.jpg

http://dlisted.com/files/CT1.jpg
I dont think I like this new Dove "real woman" campaign.

(Caption and photo from dlisted.com)

That looks eerily like a punk rocker skateboarder dude I used to know. Oh except without the boobs.

I was going to see Knocked Up last night, but we ended up talking too long, eating at this slummy local Kosher deli/pizza place, and watching Pan's Labyrinth. Which was much more political and less fantastical than I expected.

Kosher pizza place in that Mr. Cohen decided 50 years ago that matzo cracker-type pizza crust was the way to get around the unleavened rules for his customers. It's a weird, dry taste. I got a Reuben + latkes instead.

mmmm Reuben

Wow, weird. I decided to rest my eyeballs at around 6 PM, and just woke up. Now what do I do?

So I decided to come to work early, got here at 6, and my magic keycard wouldn't let me in. So, I took a ride waayy far south and on my way back got some pancakes at a diner on 83rd street.

Weird, I had a similar issue. I left the house early to get to work early and catch up a little at the office but forgot I had cleaned out my wallet prior to the wedding and left my keycard at home. No pancakes for me though, just sat outside until someone else came who could let me in.

Haha nerds. I slept in til 7:15 today!

Here are some 1 month old piglets that I saw at the LP zoo yesterday:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1071/539462513_3b69ede02c.jpg

Wow, Nick & Sarah are back already?? How was the trip?

piggies are so cuet.

Pan's Labyrinth. Which was much more political and less fantastical than I expected

yes, another mismarketed foreign film. :(

We were gone a week! Hi, Jordan. The trip was superfantastico. I am dead tired though. Our flight last night was delayed. Then I wasn't tired at all when we got home, and I was too excited about being in the apartment with the kitcats to just go to sleep. Instead, I uploaded a ton of honeymoon pix.

I've never seen garlic make anyone look more sad.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1178/540351356_197dbfa9d0.jpg

ooh... redwoods!

a high school friend of mine used to work at that restaurant.

welcome back, nick and sarah!

Hullo, Julia!

Nice pics! Redwoods so pretty.

They were so serene.

Did you guys stay at a B&B-type joint?

Yep, complete with breakfast, tea time, and a live-in cat named Pip and dog named Humphrey.

humphrey is a great pet name.

I was a little annoyed with Northwest airlines though. It was the absolute most no frills airline I've ever been on. For our 4 hour trip from Minnapolis to San Fran, we each got PART OF ONE SODA (ie: they didn't even leave you the can). There were no movies, games, radio stations, or even pretzels. And when we went up to the kiosk all giggly to see if we could get bumped up for being on our honeymoon, we got a very matter-of-fact no response. They reserve any open first class seats for their frequent flier customers, the jerks.

However, despite that wee bit of annoyance and a zit directly under my nose, I had a wonderful trip.

I have decided to name my next dog Mr. Smith.

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft/images/jimmy_stewart_in_mr_smith_goes_to_washington_cropped.jpg

i like the name groucho for a pet (it would have to be for a terrier dog, adorably grumpy fuckers that they can be), but i think my sister is going to take that name for her next airedale.

Ha, Sarah, I have just accepted that as the nature of flying these days. Although I do usually take Northwest, or AA.

Anyway that sounds sweet, I've always wanted to stay at a B&B.

My friends got a pair of brand new (still fresh) kittens, I went to play with them on Fri. One is named Simple (very appropriate), and they're still trying to pick one for the girl cat. Something respectable like "Vivian", or "Ruth".

Northwest said we could buy snacks if we wanted. Thanks!

It was super cute! Also the halls were lined with these amazing old photographs. I should have taken photos of the photos.

That's standard procedure for Northworst. Although, on my flights to and from AK, I got the WHOLE CAN. You're lucky if your bags show up, though.

Sunday food consumption log:

breakfast scramble w/bacon, eggs, gravy, tater tots, toast
coffee
hot sausage (grilled)
Miller Lite (1)
Chipper (i.e. vanilla ice cream & chocolate chips between two chocolate chip cookies)
gelato (mix of tiramisu, french vanilla, and Irish coffee, small)
gin & tonics (3)
beer (Ale Asylum Hopalicious, 1)

niiiiice.

I had a leftover cinnamon roll for breakfast this morning (from our morning after the weddin' breakfast). It was that or a cupcake.

I will be having delicious chicken salad for lunch, and I'm excited about it, since all the flavors will have soaked in by now. It's got celery, onion, apples, walnuts, a bit of dijon mustard, and instead of mayonnaise, Vegannaise, which is mostly grape seed oil, iirc. Anyway, it's good.

Did you make it yerself?

yep

So what happened while we were gone?

nothing

I killed a hobo.

Sarah you will be pleased to know that although the cupcakes briefly melted in an outlet mall parking lot, my coworkers took care of them last Tuesday.

Killing a hobo -- still funny? I just don't know.

We still have a ton of leftover white wine. We need to have a sangria party soon.

And invite someone who knows how to make it.

When I've made it, it's 2 parts wine, 1 part ginger ale, squeeze the juice of a couple lemons and a couple oranges into it, and dump in a little extra vodka for kick.

I learned how to make a mint julep this weekend.

Mint juleps are so disappointing.

oh btw -- Trader Joe's brand ginger ale is the shit. Very gingery, made with cane sugar... magnifique.

How so?

a mint julep is a mojito made with the wrong liquor.

I was just thinking the other day that I've never had a mint julep and wasn't exactly sure what was in them. Bourbon, I'm guessing?

Mint Juleps don't get lime juice.

yeah. Which is the problem, imo. Bourbon is too sturdy to stand up to being watered-down, sugared-up, and mint-ified. It's like putting a tutu on a linebacker.

xpost

Also in my experience, sangria is made with red wine and brandy. And fruits and stuff, too.

I've seen white wine sangria on menus, but I don't think I've ever tried it.

a mint julep is a mojito made with the wrong liquor.

That's kinda true.

brandy would be better, yeah.

ok, so i made downscale sangria.

Mint Juleps suck.

I'm not at work. Probably one of the best feelings ever. Also, I'm going to start drinking early today.

the ginger ale at my place isn't trader joe's, it's the generic whole foods brand. i had no idea i liked ginger ale, but i also had no idea it was supposed to taste like ginger. it's awesome.

i've always wanted to try a mint julep, but maybe it's the name that's more appealing than the drink. i've had mojitos--good stuff.

xposts of course

Yes thank you... it's the Whole Foods 365 brand. Anyway, it's awesome.

I have always wanted to try mint juleps also, I am a big mint fan. I had a strawberry mojito on Friday night. Kind of girly, but delicious.

VERNORS 4 EVA

oh, michiganpaws

Yes, white sangria exists. I think Kr used to make it, but I've never had it before.

xpost Actually, I'd be willing to try that. I would like to have a full stock of ginger ale at all times now. Can you get Vernor's here?

Grocery shopping commences Friday. I need to have a full selection of: ginger ale, mineral water, cranberry juice, orange juice, and soy milk. I become uncomfortable without a delicious beverage. I really like cranberry juice mixed with lemon-flavored Perrier. Mmmmm.

oh, michiganpaws

I don't get this. EZ bought a Vernor's at a gas station in Michigan a couple weeks ago and made some comment about how he'd never had it before and he had to try it since he was in Michigan. But I swear I've seen Vernor's in grocery stores in Illinois, too, since I don't think I only had it when I was in college. (Also, Kelsey to thread.)

I don't buy Vernor's regularly, but friends have said it's both harder to find and costs more here. No idea if either of these are true.

VernorsVernorsVernorsVernors

Juleps are sad because I don't like bourbon and they're just fussied up booze and not actually a drink that TASTES good.

my grandmother used to bring me vernor's from pittsburgh. i always thought it was vile stuff.

Vernors is a golden ginger ale with a pungent flavor, more like a ginger beer. This style was common before Prohibition when the less flavorful pale ginger ale became popular as an alcoholic mixer. While Michiganders who grew up with it tend to like it, many other Americans are suspicious of it, as it doesn't taste like a "typical" ginger ale.

That makes it sound like al-Qaeda is responsible or something.

Ginger ale is gross.

Vernors was not distributed nationally until the late 1980s. Previously the drink was only distributed within a few hundred miles of Detroit, with particular popularity in Michigan, western New York, Chicago, and Southern Ontario, but it is now found throughout the United States.

I love ginger ale, but associate it with being sick.

http://www.bevnet.com/news/images/2005114744390.vernors-can-regular.jpghttp://i11.tinypic.com/53ucxtl.gif

haha

I associate Sprite and Campbell's Chicken Noodle with being sick.

Coke syrup & saltines

I only drink ginger ale on airplanes.

xpost Also, puking into a small trash can by the bed.

You guys, I am totally into mineral water these days.

Get with the program, the mineral water program.

I can't jive with mineral water. I like the normal thing too much. My parents drink tons of that Klarbrunn stuff, and once in a while it's okay.

Does mineral water = bottled water? Or is it the carbonated kind?

xpost, oh I hate that Klarbrunn shit

I cannot rep for the fruit juice/mineral water combo enough.

Jordan -- mineral water is naturally carbonated. Perrier, San Pelligrino, stuff like that.

NON GASSETA POR FAVOR

Okay I'm out to look at some apartments for awhile

Isn't carbonation in general bad for bone density? A particular issue for women for obv reasons.

Ahh a little poking around tells me that sodas, esp colas, usu have phosphorus added for that extra little tingle and bite, and that calcium & phosphorus need to be in balance in the body: if one is too present, it depletes the other. Maybe plain old carbonated water prob doesn't have that problem, though.

I doubt it. Phosphates are bad for losing weight, too, iircm because you have to burn off the phosphates before you can burn off the fat. Anyway, I read that somewhere.

Have any of you seen any of S4 of The Wire? We're about 5 episodes into it, and it's just killer. Maybe my favorite season so far. The kids are just great... funny and adorable and occasionally frightening. Still no word when this will be out on DVD officially. :( :(

I'm pumped that deadwood comes out tomorrow. PUMPED!

This thread title is a Blonde Redhead reference, right?

No. It's just a phrase that came to me.

I love The Wire so much but we don't get to watch it until it's out on DVD. :(

Perhaps some DVD copying is in order.

I'll have to ask Julia about that, though -- can't speak too soon.

DVD copies never work for us ... we have a cheapo DVD player that can't handle DVD-Rs, and they never work in our computer either. Maybe they would work in the PS2?

No idea.

Julia's player can play avi files, which is handy, but not a lot of players do that. To copy it, I would burn it as a standard-format DVD using Toast. When I do that, I can play it in my cheapo DVD player, where avi files would not work.

it took a while to get dvd copies to play on my mac, but after some persistance, i can get most things to play now--it probably depends on how determined you are to get things to play, because codec bs can be really annoying.

my dvd player can play just about anything, but most dvd players are crap for copied stuff.

Isn't this pic really really weird looking? I mean, I don't look like that, right? I'm guessing Nick's dad tried to photoshop out some redeye or something...
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1194/537341544_88ca672644.jpg

Also, we both look British.

There is some weird shit going on in that picture.

AND my hair got darker in that pic.

Nick, Hi. My productivity slowed way down this afternoon. I'm being baaad.

something isn't right with that picture, i agree.
there must be something wrong.

Fake Meat Can be Just as Good

Hair looks darker on both of you. Actually, pretty much everything in the picture is a little darker than it seems like it ought to be. But, I'm kind of horrible at picking out photoshoppings, unless it's something like a tear in the eye of an eagle with a reflection of the twin towers.

it definitely looks like color/contrast/something was messed with a little bit, in a way that makes it look kind of odd.

It has that "Sharpen" feel to it...

Anyway, hhheeeeyyyyy. I want to drink some drinx. Reviewing certificates of insurance for an upcoming audit is not my idea of fun.

It's also sharpened, I'm I'm not mistaken.

xpost Yes.

I am drinking Emergen-C

I think I am going to impulse rent an apartment. Only drawbacks = no dishwasher, ugly carpeting, far from the gym. I think I can deal with that, as long as I buy a gym bag and learn to go straight from work.

Why are you moving? Are you going closer in to town?

Yeah, my current place is too expensive and in a totally lame part of town. This is in a more community-ish neighborhood closer to downtown.

Under the "credit references" section on this rental application, do I put my bank???

I would guess so?

Another UP friend of mine is moving to town. This time, it's the eldest kid of the family that has lived next door to my family since we moved into town like 22 years ago. To top it off, she's going to work at U of C.

katieburger's big sister? or do I have my facts confused?

Nope, they live across town.

yupers.xls

town town town

Some editor dude from upstairs has been emailing me this afternoon telling me he's found my shared iTunes library and that I have an amazing collection -- which is funny, because I only have about a third of my digitized music here.

xpost: yoopers.xls

changed.

Dan, anyone I know? ;)

Heh, no, unless you know any members of the HHS class of 2000! God that makes me feel old...

Oh dearie me, no.

Wait. You didn't graduate HS until 2000?

No, 1996. This person is a younger acquaintance.

PHEW! CLOSE ONE!

My youngest sis graduated HS in 2000.

Can I link to a shutterfly image? We'll see...
http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b7d831b3127cce985488f41efc00000037112BatHDVo4Yq

That's webby, for anyone who didn't meet her.

I graduated HS in '99.

She's the one who converted to French, right?

No Hway, J.

Ha ha, yes. She converted to frenchiedome.

hi everyone.

You know what was really great? The Other Bolelyn Girl. I'm now reading another Phillipa Greggory book, The Virgin's Lover.

HI JESSE.

Hi Jesse.

My work environment is sucking my soul. I need a drink.

whadda fucking weekend.

Dan: Tomas: do u know a good puke/diarrhea fetish gay bar outside of boystown?
like in logan square or something?
me: no but I will ask jesse
Tomas: thanks dude

oh man

I went on a three hour bike ride today. I saw a dog in a doggie wheelchair, a dog in a baby sidecar and many other dogs. I started to feel guilty for not bringing my dog/s. Actually, Junie is too old for three hours of anything but sleepytime. But it was a nice day and now I have sunburns on me nose and arms.

PS Yesterday at the zoo I petted a goat named Carl.
PPS Nick and Sarah your honeymoon looks like it was FUN. Nice photos.

Also I discovered that I am v v slow bicyclist. :-/

Carl is a good name for a goat.

I need to get my bike fixed.

It was fun! I miss it.

I need to ride my bike. Actually, Nick needs to get himself a new-to-him bike so we can ride together.

tandem bike

I mean, COME ON! SO CUET!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/9217825_3a05ed6aec_m.jpg

I need to shine her up though, because she's been sitting on the porch all winter.

Tandem bikes look kind of complicated to me, unless it's like the paddle boats where I was able to get away with not paddling...

Hey! Courtney and I were at the zoo yesterday too! I didn't see any pigs there though!

I kind of think I saw a tandem fixie over the weekend. I'm not really sure how that would work, though.

You didn't make it to the PETTING ZOO? That's where we saw those piglets. We saw some sweet otter action too.

Oh yeah, I was sitting on that bike at the brunch.

The winners at the zoo

by far the #1 thing was the chimp with the block of ice. He kept banging it around right at the very,very front of the glass by the people. Also he would pick off dirt from it, and lick it.

-the baby hippo that was underwater and that kept jumping up and splashing around. awesome.

oh MAN I did not see a baby hippo!

Haha, actually Sarah you CAN get away with not peddling as hard on a tandem, but your partner might notice the change in his or her required effort. Your pedals are fixed into the same rotation as each other's so you're contributing to the same stroke each time, and the other rider would probably notice when his stroke became a lot more difficult.

This is to John, Kenan and Jenny--

Remember when John and Kenan crashed at Jenny and Jeff's when they lived in A-ville and we were WICKED hung over and we bought lube and walked by those condos on Berwyn and I said, "I want a condo," then responded to myself, "me too"? Well I was in them last night.

I met a guy who invited me over to his place to hang out and he lives there. He actually apologized to me before we got there, saying, "I live literally on the wrong side of the tracks. I'm in a bad neighborhood." I woudl KILL for one of those condos!

How could anywhere in Andersonville be considered the "wrong" side of anything? Goddamn, I was at 95th and Cottage Grove today.

Srsly.

It's Edgewater. Very near where Kenan lives actually. About 2 blocks away.

Courtney and I went to the A-ville street fair yesterday and we saw a sort of crazy looking guy in his late 40s or 50s walking in the middle of everything wearing nothing but rainbow speedos. Not even shoes. His penis was long and pencil-thin and it was NO GOOD.

My neighborhood is very nice!

I've been to the zoo three times in the last two weeks and haven't seen a goddamn otter yet.

They're in the "children's zoo" -- we couldn't find them either but then I said I AM NOT LEAVING TIL I SEE OTTERS and we found them.

Or do you mean that you were there watching and they weren't out/frisky?

The underwater viewing area is actually inside this hellish children's play area that was teeming with strollers, people, etc. but it was worth it to see their sweet little faces up close/personal.

They were not out, through the two outside viewing areas, or in the areas where the children climb through that crazy net thing.

I have this strange urge to play volleyball.

and tennis!!!!

That's weird. They were definitely out yesterday. That net thing looks like fun.

this hellish children's play area that was teeming with strollers, people, etc

This pretty much describes the whole zoo, right?

The otters were hands down the best thing all day at the zoo. They're like ferrets that can swim!!!!

xp - Well, kind of. But it was particularly bad in there.

Oh! And I saw baby swans! They were all gathered around the beautiful mama swan and they hadn't grown their necks yet. So cute.

I was there last on Saturday. I ran to the zoo, ate a pretzel and then ran back home.

and waited for the stupid otters.

I actually didn't see a single other animal, I just waited for the otters and ate a pretzel.

I woke up on Cam's couch on Sunday and watched Federer vs. Nadal at the French Open. I never watch tennis but it was cool.

I'm going home. I am the last person here. Fuck all that.

I want to go home. I'm going to try and sneak out early and pretend that I'll come in early tomorrow to make up for it.

If I had known that was the final, I'd have watched more of it. I saw that some dude named Nadal was playing, and I was like, "Must be one of the opening rounds." (I hadn't heard of him, even though I later learned he's been ranked #2 for, like, ever.)

I could go for a pretzel. And an otter too, for that matter.

Yeah, I googled him as I was watching and the backstory made it way better.

fried otter

I ferocious hungry.

What would you take to a picnic in the park right now?

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GK41BC2AL._SS500_.jpg

Um, that was not a response to what Jordan said.

Courtney and I were discussing this yesterday. We agreed that pretty much all we would need would be wine and cheese.

I watched City of God last night, since we ran out of O.C. episodes. Pretty good for a movie about gang warfare, with some nice stylistic touches. I totally get how some people were calling it the Brazilian GoodFellas.

The end with the kids figuring out which of them could read was great.

SPOILER

That's not a spoiler is it?

I don't know, I haven't seen it.

I just saw it last night, and I don't know what you're talking about.

Then again, Kr routinely makes fun of me for not understanding simple plot lines in The O.C. (which is partially why I don't usually watch movies about war, the mob, and power conflicts).

I just saw it last night, and I don't know what you're talking about.

It's a kind of humorous moment. The kids are working on forming a gang and one of them says, "we need somebody who can read--can you read?"

So I missed all the excitement, because I was eating mediocre cashew chicken from the not so happy takeaway, but evidentally a man passed out in our foyer at work today and he was so drunk he couldn't be revived, and in the meantime his mulleted friend was in the bathroom screaming "I'm going to cut your face off! Your face off!" we thought he was talking to said friend, until we realized he was all alone in there because the other guy was on the ground. I'm never around for the fun moments : (
If I were going to a picnic in the park, I would take hummous, cheese, pita chips, grapes and other small fruits, and some sangria. Or Blue Moon, if it's handier. Which is pretty much the contents of my fridge right now, minus the sangria. And a soccer ball. I can't wait until this lung infection is completely gone so I can play again.

I would take big crusty portugese rolls and herbed goat cheese and thin-sliced good salami and sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and a ton of chilled fruit. And beer.

I would take a hard cheese (parmesan or something like that), a soft cheese (herbed goat sounds delish), small crusty French rolls, some olives, a bottle of wine and a blanket. And a large bottle of water.

I would take your mom.

On the blanket.
Ooh olives, I forgot those. Kalamata, preferably. And some prosciutto.

I forgot the grapes. But the thing is that D doesn't like grapes, and unless I'm having a romantic picnic with someone else, I would only need the grapes for myself. I guess I could bring some grapes for my own enjoyment, but that seems selfish. If you're having a picnic there should be foods that both people can enjoy.

Yer sweet, but I wouldn't hesitate to bring grapes if it were me. Bring some extra of something he does like.

I can't bring extra of ME

HEYO

Now it is time to make dinner. Pappardelle pasta with tomatoes, mushrooms and something else TBA...not sure what else I will throw in there. Not myself.

That would be quite a passion for cooking.

We have all these morels. I need to make something with mushrooms.

I've been thinking about what Jesse's acquaintance said about Edgewater being "the wrong side of the tracks," and I just can't figure it. I can't imagine being frightened for my safety or property, or even uncomfortable in this neighborhood. The only thing I can think is that it's very mixed, racially and economically. You basically see everyone walking down the street. But that's not bad at all... a nice black woman just complimented me on my shoes. See? I'm home.

I guess it's a little less fancy than on the other side of Broadway, and there things get sketchier-- or at least less new and well-kept-- the farther south you go. I think his main concern was that his property values were not appreciating the way they are in Andersonville. His condo is probably an investment property as much as a home.

Varies from block to block around here, though. If it's an investment, that's probably different. But if it's ONLY an investment, why is he living in it?

I have a couple of opinions to express now:

Things that are ULTRAMOTHERFUCKING CLASSIC:
-contact lenses
-crab legs
-making out

Thing that sucks
-Su Casa """"Mexican""""" restaurant on Ontario street. http://www.yelp.com/biz/C1xOG4mrOBEVsbq70d4-bg
Pretty crappy food (the mole was kind of all right, but everything else suuuuucked) and mediocre service. We got a bowl of salsa and no chips. When we asked for chips the waiter said, "oh, well we're out of chips," but then he said that he could bring the round chips they use for nachos, which he did, but wouldn't have, had we not asked.

I don't know that much about his condo. But I you can have a place as an investment that you're also living in while fixing it up.

Oh, on the Classis list, add
-Knocked Up
Loved it.

I wish Su Casa were good because it's a lovely spot and I would love to sit on the balcony and eat DECENT, EDIBLE Mexican food.

But I (know)(sic) you can have a place as an investment that you're also living in while fixing it up.

yah, but to live in a neighborhood you don't like? Tell you waht buddy, why dontcha leave? Fuck you.

Or at least don't bitch about it. That cannot help your resale value.

based on the little I knoq about him, I can't stand this guy. "Wrong sid of the tracks." Eat me and then die.

whoa late night pissiness and typos.

Morning Chicago! I feel much better this morning. :)

I really like the song Scentless Apprentice. Also, the book (Perfume:The Story of a Murder)that inspired the lyrics sounds interesting. I think I'll get that from the library today. Anyone read this?

IT'S CRAB LEG TUESDAY!!!!

I haven't read perfume, but another book by the same guy, Mr. Summer's Story, is one of my favorite books. Kind of a kid's book, but not at all, too.

Where is it crab leg Tuesday?

And one more invitation to anyone who wants to join the caravan to Ravinia tomorrow night for this on the lawn.

Perfume is really, really good. I haven't read Mr. Summer's Story, but I have The Pigeon, which is also good in a very different way.

Anyways, read Perfume. It's awesome, and creepy, though not so creepy that Sarah didn't also like it. A movie version of Perfume just came out in the past year but I don't think it was supposed to be that good. I didn't really understand why anyone thought it was a good idea, since the whole book is about smells, basically. How do you make a movie about smells?

I am near the end of The Testament of Gideon Mack, which I am enjoying. I think I'll go read outside at lunch time so I can finish it.

Eric, I can't believe that you haven't been around for my declamations on ALL YOU CAN EAT CRAB LEGS FOR $29.95 AT GLENN'S DINER. (Though I certainly can believe that you might have tuned me out or forgotten.) In any case, they're huge crab legs--as big as the ones at my work--and they're delicious and they're all you can eat plus sides for $29.95, whereas at my work they're $44.95 for 1.25 pounds with sides.

I bet they're made of that fake crab meat. It's almost as good!

Nick and Eric (and maybe others), if you haven't already, read Museum of Love. This has been my favorite book for over 10 years. Jenny tried to read it but stopped, saying it made her feel like she was in a cold, damp place. The book is heavy on mood and style, though the story stays interesting too. The sentences are gorgeous.

Sounds good, I'll try and remember to look for it next time I'm at the library.

Smell-o-vision theaters make an appearance in Where's My Jetpack? -- perhaps unsurprisingly they've already been built, but did not see much success.

Ugh I don't feel like working today. Here are things we can talk about:
1. Me not understanding why the Justice album is "controversial" to dance music dorks (see today's Pfork review).
2. Books
3. ?

4. Smell-o-vision

I think they've tried a couple of ways to incorporate smells into movies: one where there was a system built into the theaters to pump odors in, which I think might be the "smell-o-vision," and another where they just hand out scratch and sniff cards to be used at certain points in the movie - I think maybe John Waters did this? I could be wrong, this is just off the top of my head.

Oh, that's where those photos of you eating crab legs were shot? I missed a day or two and whoosh, in the dark. I just looked up at the address -- is that near Damen on Montrose?

xpost - Sounds good x2. And, hey, Canadians.

xxpost - John Waters did a smell-o-vision movie that came out when I was about 9, which would have been the right time to see a movie like that. Apparently when you saw the movie you got a scratch-n-sniff card with different numbers on it, and then during the movie occasionally a number would flash on the screen, and that's when you would scratch and sniff. Roses and poo were two of the scents.

Dan, what are you talking about?

I was just funna say that John Waters did this with Polyester--smells included air freshener and fart.

Nick, I don't get it either (re: Justice) but it does have a lot of dance fans all up in arms. Basically it amounts to the "real" dance music fans being pissed that the average joe is suddenly glomming onto dance via Justice. I guess most "real" dance music fans think Justice sucks.

(xpost)

http://www.kulture-void.com/motion/swelter_in_vogue/images/polyester_2.jpg

http://www.kulture-void.com/motion/swelter_in_vogue/images/polyester_1.jpg

TAB HUNTER

I guess I'm not a "real" dance fan. Well, I know I'm not a "real" dance fan. Justice is exactly how I like my dance music: loud, obnoxious, fun, over-the-top.

"D.A.N.C.E." was on our wedding playlist but it was near the end and we didn't make it that far before having to shut down.

I was reading Museum of Love last night and at 2 am something weird happened--I was half asleep (and I only got 1 hour sleep the night before, so I had been half-asleep all day) and in a hypnogic state and I was still reading, but what I was reading was basically turning into a dream. It was hey, hey, hey, like being stoned.

As David Sedaris said about another book, I would wear a sandwich board for MoL. I have at times considered buying a few extra copies to lend out. Not to oversell it, but it is beautiful. And I love the cover image.

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41U%2BU68w26L._SS500_.gif

The author is also an animator and he works with the Brothers Quay, which totally makes sense.

Dan, what are you talking about?

Shaft! No, what? Smell-o-vision? I read this book about sci-fi technologies that never really went anywhere, and that was one of them. You know, like the "feelies" in Brave New World and shit? The John Waters thing got a mention in the book, too. If I remember right, a lot of the scent-enhanced theater stuff was done in Japan.

Other technologies covered: underwater cites, death rays, space elevator, hoverboard, etc.

I don't really get the potential benefits of underwater cities.

I would take your mom.

well played

More room for PEOPLE.

Btw I did not take crusty herbed parmesan olive bread or anything like that. Just trail mix. :(

I want me some trail mix.

I still don't feel right from this weekend's screwed up sleeping/going out schedule.

SOMEONE GIVE ME GYM MEMBERSHIP!

I'm eating trail mix right now.

I still don't feel right from this weekend's screwed up sleeping/going out schedule.

2x

Yeah, I'm still messed up from traveling all day Sunday, four hours of poor sleep on Sunday night, and still kind of being on California time. I slept like 7 hours last night but still feel wiped out.

In reality, what do I bring on every picnic ever?

PB&H sandwiches
trail mix
water

I was living in a dream world up there. Like I would tote around a g-d bottle of wine and a corkscrew? Ha.

Pasta salad!
Grapes!

There were snap peas.

From Museum of Love--the 12 year old protagonist gets advice on women from his family.

'There are many kinds of women on the earth,' my father interrupted. 'But the worst are the French. They trap boys in birdhouses and feed them double-pointed nails. Some fly in the air and become like owls and swoop down. Ecoute bien. In the meadows I have seen women with hair in their nostrils. They grind boys. They burn their heads with hot irons. Tu m'comprends-tu là?'

'Oui, Papa.'

'Listen,' Bill said. 'When you come home from the tavern your wife shrieks. Well, the hell with that. Beat off her monkeyskin. Punch her in the stomach. Knock off her bearskin. Put a fist in her face. Knock off her catskin.'

'Yes.'

'When she hops out bleeding, bite off her rabbitskin. Belt off her muleskin. Drub her on the pigskin. If she falls on her knees smash her. Knock off the insect-skin. You got to bust through to the woman-skin. Then she'll put her tongue in your ear.'

'Çé ça,' M. d'Aube said. 'She'll put that tongue anywhere you want.'

I WILL STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK! someday.

gCal?

Books I have sitting around to read.

Anthony Bourdain, the Nasty Bits
Patricia Highsmith, Ripley Under Ground
somebody, the Interpretation of Murder
Nicholas Baker, the Mezzanine (for a book club thing in two weeks, haven't started it, probably won't happen...did you like this one, Nick?)
Caleb Carr, the Alienist
Jonathan Lethem, the Disappointment Artist

People be lending me books lately.

The Nasty Bits is a skip-around quick-read kinda thing.

I think Nick and I both like The Mezzanine, although I liked it more when I was 14 than when I was 21, mostly because the second time I read it I was annoyed by the narrator's self-absorption. But I love the discursiveness: footnotes!

One of the most lolzy parts of my jobs is doing tech support. I just wrote an email explaining how to "right click, save as..."

I am trying to make it through The Omnivore's Dilemma right now, even though I keep putting it down for other things (most recently Jonathan Lethem's You Don't Love Me Yet and the Daydream Nation 33 1/3 book).

Books I have sitting around waiting for me to read:

The United States of Arugula (from library)
D.F. Wallace, The Broom of the System (on loan from Kr)
Lydia Davis, Samuel Johnson is Indignant (bought used for $5)
Collected Stories of Alice Munro (given to me by a co-worker)

I like The Mezzanine.

I thought The Nasty Bits was much weaker than Bourdain's other nonfiction, he's getting very repetitive.

I read The Alienest a really long time ago, don't really remember it.

Can't remember if I've read Ripley Under Ground or not, but Highsmith rules in general. I like the movie of The Talented Mr. Ripley, but the book is way better.

Haven't read The Disappointment Artist but I don't usually like Lethem, though Motherless Brooklyn was pretty good.

I don't know anything about The Interpretation of Murder.

oh man jaymc, i would avoid broom of the system if i were you.

Once I finish The Testament of Gideon Mack, I'm moving on to this book, which I bought on a whim in San Fran.

-I got into a Highsmith phase awhile back and read the other Ripley books + her bio. Also I just saw Notes on Scandal and I thought it (or at least Judi Dench's character) was Highsmithy as fuck.

-John, did you like You Don't Love Me Yet? It seemed kind of slight and flawed but I liked it anyway.

-Interpretation of Murder is about Freud's one trip to the U.S., which left a very bad impression on him. Apparently it tries to fill in the gaps with a murder mystery, etc.

I like The Disappointment Artist a lot. It's an essay collection.

John, did you like You Don't Love Me Yet? It seemed kind of slight and flawed but I liked it anyway.

Yeah, I mean, I thought it was entertaining. But you're right that it was slight and possibly flawed. I had a hard time reading anything that had to do with the band: band dynamics, songwriting, etc.

Huh, I thought the same thing about Notes on a Scandal, though it also reminded me of Muriel Spark (who I constantly talk about), in its veneer of British sophistication and coolness with nastiness lurking underneath.

Huh, I actually thought the band stuff in YDLMY was pretty decent!

I have not read any Muriel Spark.

I liked The Mezzanine a lot. I still remember parts of it pretty vividly years later, like the long paragraph on where everyone in the office puts their signature on a card for the boss, and why plastic straws don't sink.

I'm still in the middle of Eleanor Coppola's diaries from the year of shooting Apocalyse Now.

I thought The Nasty Bits was much weaker than Bourdain's other nonfiction, he's getting very repetitive.

There's no need to read the whole thing. It's just a bunch of leftovers and unpublished crap. I don't know why he published it at all, really, other than to whale on Woody Harrelson. He's got a TV show, that must pay the bills.

Too bad, Cook's Tour was so good.

The most famous Muriel Spark is "The Prime of Miss Jane Brodie," which is a good start because it's a novella. You have to read the whole thing though, the tone shifts heavily from the beginning to the end.

This is so illuminating:

in a 1997 letter to David Foster Wallace, [Don DeLillo] wrote that his prose is characterized by “a sensitivity to the actual appearance of words on a page, to letter-shapes and letter-combinations.” (DeLillo saved a copy of the letter.) He goes on, “At some point (in my writing life) I realized that precision can be a kind of poetry, and the more precise you try to be, or I try to be, the more simply and correctly responsive to what the world looks like—then the better my chances of creating a deeper and more beautiful language.” (In his response, Wallace wrote, “I found your comments on the physical architecture of clauses and words and letters real interesting and yet identified with them not one whit. I think I’m maybe 100% aural. My eyesight’s really bad anyway.”)

I like both writers, but I'm definitely drawn more to DeLillo's style. I would say that the quote explains why I like DeLillo, except I suspect that my attraction is at least partly due to having read him at a formative moment, and so it's less about DeLillo sharing my inclinations as much as my inclinations having been greatly influenced by DeLillo. But Wallace's rejection of this style does explain why he sometimes bothers me. What I like about Wallace (and I'd add George Saunders) is this desire to just throw a bunch of words down on paper, long passages full of slang and jargon and digressions, but the conscious lack of beauty in this method sometimes grates, like can't you smooth this out, without the incessant parentheses and abbreviations? (Although sometimes it creates a weird language all its own, which can be fascinating.)

And Wallace is right that it's more of an "aural" style. Just look at the construction of the response: "real interesting," "100%," "eyesight's." And Saunders especially seems really keen on capturing the nuances of American dialogue patter.

Interesting.

I am way into DFW's essays right now, but I just cannot see myself reading Infinite Jest. I don't know if I'm even interested in his fiction.

Book discussion huh? Yeah well, Mike Ditka's in my office today. He entered by ripping off the door, then punched our secretary through her head, and ate 17 polish sausages. Right now, he's challenging everyone to fight him and doing shots of beefeater. Mike Ditka says books are for pussies!

IJ is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth reading

No.

FITE.

just kidding, i can totally see how people would hate reading it. but if you're not into IJ, you're really gonna hate Broom. But maybe not.

I think Infinite Jest is one of the few books Jenny and I have found we agree on (we both like it).

yeah!

I will say that my style on ILX is definitely more of Wallace-style than DeLillo-style, because it's fast and conversational and "hey I can throw random things in here." Most of my writing for "publication," though, is DeLillo-style, which is why writing ultimately stresses me out and makes me freeze up, since the process is goddamn painstaking.

yeah that NY article (where that DeLillo cquote comes from, as I'm sure you know) was rad. there's a really cool slide show on the NYer website that shows manuscript pages from Underworld. I guess he would draft a single paragraph over and over, using a new piece of paper each time?

Mr. Que, I think the plan is that I will attempt to read Infinite Jest again in 2009, after aborted efforts in 1997 and 2003.

I prefer Wallace's essays, but I do like some of his short stories. He's sort of like Rick Moody, where the formal experimentation of his fiction sometimes works like magic but just as often falls totally flat.

yeah his short stories for me are like, super hit and miss. when he hits, it's really awesome, but man he has some stinkers.

I guess he would draft a single paragraph over and over, using a new piece of paper each time?

Yeah, what I don't get is how he has the discipline to write novels. Like, I do dig this technique: to really feel the physicality of the words, to visually assemble them in conjunction with each other -- but it's such an intensely focused way of writing that I've never been able to write much more than a 10-line poem like that.

So wait, I just read an Anthony Miccio blog post, and it turns out Brian Cox and Stephen Tobolowsky are on Deadwood? Man, I wish it weren't an old-timey western.

I wish it weren't totally inscrutable. :/

Yeah, what I don't get is how he has the discipline to write novels. Like, I do dig this technique: to really feel the physicality of the words, to visually assemble them in conjunction with each other -- but it's such an intensely focused way of writing that I've never been able to write much more than a 10-line poem like that.

I've read a few interviews with DeLillo (in the past few weeks, coincidentally) where he said that he wasn't born a novelist and really basically needed to train and discipline himself to be one. It's hard to imagine someone like him doing this in, what, 1968, '69, and not really reaping the artistic or financial rewards of it for another 10-15 years.

I think he worked in advertising before switching to writing full time, so maybe that helped him.

Postmodern Fiction: Fake Meta Is Almost As Good

I want to read Falling Man.

hi chicago. tell me about the beach boys. i thought i hated them, but really it was just select songs which i will probably nevah like.

now i has a beach boys mix and i like a lot of it, especially the more i listen to it. also, now i want to hear this song:

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Vegetables-lyrics-Beach-Boys/5B01250DA58B8757482569850002DA7A

vegetables!

i'll get you the whole album, if you like. :)

The Beach Boys are rad. If you like "Vegetables," you might like Brian Wilson's Smile, which the song was originally written for. (I think there's a version on the band's Smiley Smile as well.) My favorite album is Friends.

(Btw, what is on your mix?)

This all started with julia telling me how much she hates "California Girls," and me feeling it my duty to spring into action to save the beach boys from her rancid opinion.

Isn't Paul McCartney credited on "Vegetables" for chomping on some celery in the background?

jaymc: it's some favorites off of Endless Summer and a good portion of Pet Sounds and then some 70's stuff (like "Feel Flows" and "Till I Die" and such).

oh, and "Friends"

wouldn't it be nice
let him run wild
you're so good to me
don't worry baby
girl don't tell me
i'm waiting for the day
here today
country air
good vibrations
help me rhonda
sloop john b
god only knows
i just wasn't made for these times
feel flows
friends
til i die
disney girls
warmth of the sun

yeah, that.

No "Surf's Up"? Criminal.

i was fully expecting to like some of the songs but largely be rolling my eyes at the whole thing. but, nope!

No "Surf's Up"? Criminal.

that's just one of those records where it's so hard to pick just a couple of songs.

"Surf's Up" >>>>> "Disney Girls (1957)"

no.

ok, i have to go back to work.

Yeah, the song "Surf's Up" is basically their best song, I think. Honestly, I think "Pet Sounds" is the only must-have BB album. I have a bootleg of the original "Smile" if you want that instead of the fake new "Smile."

Essential BB songs missing from that mix: "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder," "Caroline No." I am a sucker for their sad songs.

Missing close parenthesis, oh well.

Parenthesis = singular of parentheses?

I want that too, Nick. I hate the new fake version, but to read reviews of it you'd think it was the food of the Gods. It's not.

Other great sad BB songs: "Wonderful," "In My Room."

I listened to a little bit of the fake "Smile" on a listening post somewhere and couldn't take it, the production is too shiny and his voice is so weak.

I read somewhere that the reason that most Beach Boy covers/rip-offs suck is that people try to sing the songs quietly and reverently, but that the BB sang really LOUD, which is the secret reason why the harmonies sound so good.

No "Kokomo"?

I'll try and remember to post the Smile bootleg in the next few days; hopefully I still have it, at some point I lost a lot of the A and B artists on my hard drive and I don't have a CD hard copy of that.

nooooo not kokomo, that's one that i don't think i could ever like.

I have the bootlegged Smile, too. Here's [SELF-PROMOTION ALERT]something I wrote about hearing the 2004 version for the first time. I think I've warmed up to it, though.

kokomo is, like, the worst song of the 80's. Srsly.

When I was in 5th grade, I wrote alternate lyrics to "Kokomo" filled with sexual terminology. I did this while watching my grandma's church's production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Best to worst:

1. "Surf's Up"
2. "Til I Die"
3. "Long Promised Road"
4. "Feel Flows"
5. "Disney Girls (1957)"
6. "Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)"
7. "Don't Go Near the Water"
8. "Take a Load Off Your Feet"
9. "A Day in the Life of a Tree"
10. "Student Demonstration Time"

The Beach Boys are one of my jaymc bands ("why would I etc.").

Although a friend once played me some outtakes from that Good Vibrations box that were pretty incredible, just them rehearsing harmonies and stuff.

Actually, none of the songs in the bottom half of Surf's Up are very good at all.

I have Pet Sounds but I never listen to it. I've concluded that I don't like it. All I know is that and the parade of awful singles. I'm wondering if maybe it doesn't have enough rhythm for me. Who knows. I do know that I don't love them.

Chicago: Maybe It Doesn't Have Enough Rhythm For Me

I don't really listen to Pet Sounds much, either. I was going to say something upthread about how I think Pet Sounds is overrated at least in comparison to the six albums that followed it, all of which have at least three or four really good songs. Pet Sounds is the only one that doesn't really have any outright bad songs on it (even I'll admit that "Sloop John B" has its merits, even though it's not really my thing) and seems more like an album-as-work-of-art.

I keep thinking "Sloop John B" sounds like a Billy Joel song title, but that's not right.

Rhythmically, one thing I like about the Beach Boys (which you don't really hear until after Pet Sounds) is that plodding, unaccented, straight-eighth rhythm that's sort of the basis for every High Llamas song ever. "Feel Flows" is a good example of this. It's kind of trancey. (The opening of the C4n4st4 song "Imp0st0rs" also uses this rhythm.)

Plodding. Hmm. I like dirges, but not plodding. I also don't think I've heard more than one High Llamas song. This is the same reason I can't take Tobin Sprout's solo albums. Every song sounds eeexxxaaaccctttlllyyy the same.

GET TWO RHYTHMS, BEECH BOYZ

Yeah, but they have two: slow and plodding.

"Plodding" may not be the most apt description, I dunno.

"Don't Go Near the Water"

Ugh. That's their "Big Yellow Taxi."

I am putting together ads for blank lots in Panama and Belize, and I can barely resist headlining them "Future Home of Stucco Monstrosity."

hahahahahahaha

Here Come the Rome Plows to build the Future Home of Stucco Monstrosity

Kenan, too true.

Another good BB song: In My Room.

Also, I wouldn't call the BB plodding.

Hey... Jesse never gave me his salad spinner...

If you don't know, don't ask...

hahahahahahahahahaha salad spinner

I can just see Sue Johanson reviewing that one. "And here we have an interesting piece of plastic. They call this is the Salad Spinner"...

I think I OD'd on the Beach Boys as a kid so it's diffucult for me to think of them as "adult" music. I know this is my own flawed thinking, but I just can't shake the memories of hours in the station wagon with juice boxes. And I agree about the plodding.
I felt "You Don't Love Me Yet" was disappointing, mostly because I like my Letham a little more fantastical, and the characters were too close to people I've met. It was not a bad read, but it needed more fleshiness and something to drive the plot forward. I wanted more kangaroo, dammit!

Books that are waiting for me to read:
Him Her Him The End of Him (Again)-Patricia Marx (free from work)
The Ministry of Special Cases-Nathan Englander (also free from work)
My Name is Red-Orham Pamuk
The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
I need to finish:
Gregor the Overlander-Suzanne Collins
The Feminine Mistake-Leslie Bennetts
Slip & Fall (for work)-Nick Santoro
Right now I need to go to the BMV though.

My Name is Red-Orham Pamuk

I read this a few years ago, it was good. Sarah read that kite runner thingy, it looked too depressing for me.

Oh, The Kite Runner was good! I want to read My Name is Red.

My brother (who was lived in Afghanistan) highly recommended The Kite Runner.

I liked My Name Is Red a lot as well.

Everybody seems to love that Kite Runner book.

Barack Obama keeps sending me emails inviting me to have dinner with him.

Earth to B: I do not have that kind of money.

I didn't like The Kite Runner but I also read the entire thing under the delusion that it was a memoir. While reading it I was inclined to let some of my problems with it/disbelief/loss of interest go, because people to whom things happen are not required to be stylists etc etc. HAH! Surprise to go to book group and be told, gently, that it was fict all along.

I haven't read that but I do have many books (too many to type out) waiting for me thanks to the mammoth book sale I attended this past weekend! (Not Printer's Row)

I have been enjoying Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallender mysteries and just finished Richard Price's Freedomland. Recommended! I'm on a mystery kick.

You know that scene in Clerks where they are bitching about stereotypical bad customers? I was at B0rders the other day and this lady was standing directly in front of the huge, huge display for The Kite Runner author's new book, yelling at any passersby "WHERE CAN I FIND THE NEW BOOK BY THE KITE RUNNER MAN? I CAN'T FIND IT!" She was literally right in front of the display. It was pretty hilarious.

OK, check this one, BSG nerds:

http://www.fanboy.com/images/cylon-halloween.jpg

lol fanboy.com

heh

i don't get it.

Oh, not blocking html parsing in free text fields is my favorite QA bug to find. I just inserted pictures of my cats all up in the software.

It's a cylon jack-o-lantern.

that does not help.

oh wait, Battlestar Galactica. Duh.

I also want to read Love is a Mix-Tape by Rob Sheffield and the Miranda July short-story collection.

LIAMT was written by a UVA grad and is very Charlottesville-a-fied, not that anyone would care but me.

I like having books around ready to read, but don't like to think about what is on my mental list, because then it feels more like a chore and less fun.

i agree with you wholeheartedly. i read whatever i want and do not keep to a schedule of any kind. then it's more like work and reading is FUN not WORK.

(this is assuming you agree with me that WORK, in general, is not FUN.)

i mean, it can be, but when something becomes a "task" rather than a "leisure activity" i instantly start to dread it.

Totally.

Has anyone read The Red Tent?

I agree with all that. I like having a list in the back of my mind, not as an obligation, but to remind me so that when I'm finished with whatever I'm reading, I know what's there for me to start on. Or when I'm at the library, I know what to look for. In all honesty, that Alice Munro collection is probably going to sit on my bookshelf for at least a couple of years.

Yeah, reading can become very tasky for me. This is why I'm not reading Infinite Jest, because I would probably get anxious about how long it's taking and the books I'm not reading during that time.

Bbbut, John, a few hours ago you were talking about some book you had decided to read in 2009! :-D

Sarah, I read The Red Tent about 3-4 years ago, and I remember liking it lots. It could be schlockier than I remember, though...? Try it!

I think it's at home on my bookshelf. My sisters loan me books and I put them on the shelves and discover them months later.

Ha, that's sort of a joke. I tried to read Infinite Jest when it first came out and only made it to page 100 or so and gave up in frustration. Six years later, after hearing friends rave about it, I thought, well, maybe I should try again, since I was only 17 when I tried it the first time. So I checked it out from the library and, again, only made it to page 100 before giving up in frustration. So I told myself I'd wait another six years before trying again.

I honestly wouldn't bother except for the fact that some people whom I respect think it's amazing, and I really want to like it.

...

Some Bright Eyes-looking dude is currently reading a Chuck Klosterman book in the kitchen. I think he must be an intern?

Try talkin' to him! Let us know what happens!

I just met a new guy in our office who looks like he's 14.

He also looked... fratty. Like a fratty 14 year old.

Where is Kevin these days?

Not that those two posts have anything to do with each other. ha ha

xp - That's probably the douche who interned at Jenny's office! Remember that guy? Yikes.

Eek or that one.

His last day of work was last week, I imagine he will be only sporadically on ILX anymore.

later noize board

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/images/200/ryan.jpg

^^^^^his cameo in Knocked Up made the movie for me.

Knocked Up was comedy gold. I want the dvd.

I don't remember his part though! There were a ton of great comedians thrown in there.

who's that? he's cute.

He was one of the many gynecologists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._J._Novak

But should we know him from something else?

I never really realized until now, but he looks (at least in that pic) a lot like my friend Br@nd0n who works where Jordan works.

xpost: He's a writer/actor on the US Office.

Oh yeah...

"Ryan the temp"

OK, got it. I thought he looked familiar. Wait, has The Office ever made reference to the fact that his character's name is the same as the Philadelphia Phillies slugger?

On the late night comedy talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien on April 4, 2007, Novak brought up the Cadbury Creme Egg size conspiracy, as he collects Easter candy right after the holiday to save for the rest of the year, as the candy is seasonal and cheap after the holiday.
ha, we do that too. this year i hoarded about 2 dozen of the little bastards when they were on sale. they're almost gone ;_; (i don't eat them but d likes them) anyway that picture makes him look like a young clooney.

J, that might be a question for resident Office scholar katieburger. Girl knows her trivia about that show.

It just seems like something that a show like The Office would comment on.

michael_bolton.jpg

While it is rumored that Ryan's character was named after the Philly's first baseman, I do not recall an episode that alluded to this tidbit. They do make reference to his participation in MTV's Punk'd, though.

Dan, you're right, your friend does look kinda like him.

Today's notable guest at the restaurant

-did not look peculiar--white guy, glasses, short, polo shirt--but he ate no eggs, dairy, starches, or oils of any kind and refused to eat from any plate that contained anything with oils, and insisted on sauce on the side.

The thing that made him REALLY stand out was that twice I saw him use Purell sanitizer which he kept in a little holster clipped to his belt.

:(

No king crab legs for me tonight.

What did he eat?

Tuesday = chicken wing night

He ate blackened swordfish and steamed vegetables. If I was his girlfriend I would leave him.

WTF Jesse, was that Howie Mandel?

WOOO HOOO!! NO JURY DUTY TOMORROW!!!

I read my summons closer and it turns out I'm a standby, and I just called in and they said I was not needed!!

Howie Mandell? I don't get it.

HE HAD FUCKING HAND SANITIZER CLIPPED TO HIS BELT, WHAT A FUCKING LOSER.

sarah--i've read the red tent, several years ago. it seemed like SO many people thought it was this wonderful wonderful book, and then i didn't like it at all. but i tend to be crankybitchy about things, so.

i have now had hannah's bretzel and that stuff is fucking AWES.

The plumber is here, so after 3 YEARS I can finally leave the bathroom door open and 1. hear dripping noises (though the bird will still supply them) and 2. return home to Everglades-level humidity.

It was a lousy OCD joke...

(from wikipedia)

Mandel has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)[5] and mysophobia (fear of germs)[citation needed] to the point that he does not shake hands with anyone, including enthusiastic contestants on Deal or No Deal, unless he is wearing latex gloves. Instead of shaking contestants' hands when they offer them, he will give the contestants congratulatory gestures such as tapping another's fist with his own fist, or putting his hands on their shoulders. Howie now takes medicine to control his condition and even pokes fun at himself for it. He revealed on The Howard Stern Show on March 24, 2006 that his shaved head is not related to natural hair loss, but to his mysophobia. He stated that the lack of hair makes him feel cleaner.

He did look pretty dirty:

http://www.cjnews.com/photos/apr6/mandelfront.gif

Ooooh! Me so phobia!!

Okay, crossword rescue squad: "game where the people hinted at in the four clues appear"

It's pretty much the key to the puzzle. I'm learning how to do xwords, I've only ever done a couple of them.

Oh uh I don't know how many letters because I left the paper in the car, but it's long.

I'm not sure but it sounds to me like that refers to other clues in the puzzle.

It totally does, but those just say "CLUE #1" and "CLUE #4" and I think they refer to some external game.

And it's not Clue.

I need more to go on than that. You might need to fill in some of CLUE #1, CLUE #4, etc. through the answers going the opposite direction to get an idea of who those people might be.

otm

Okay okay I will get the paper later this morning.

Flat tire this morning. Which led me to discover that we don't have a jack in the car. ;_;

I am ready for another vacation. So tired. Not helped by starting to read that sleep book, which so far is all about how nobody sleeps enough in modern society and we're all suffering for it.

Did you stay up too late reading the sleep book? :/

I am sooo tired also, esp. since I came in early today in order to sneak out to play a gig this evening.

Now I will talk about positive things:

* Downloaded new No Age, Dizzee Rascal and Liars (!!!) albums. Am saving the Liars album for last to listen to since I am most excited about that one.

* Had first FF practice in a long time last night, in our new practice space, and things sounded good. Ben took some of our burnt-up amps to Sp3cimen and they fixed my Kustom combo, so I get to use that now instead of the borrowed Peavey amp, and it sounds so much better. We need to spruce up the practice space and buy some box fans and a PA, but it was good to be set up in our own place again.

Dizzee album is great.

I love, love about 3/4ths of the new Dizzee, but there are some stinkers. I'm so tempted to download that new Liars, but with them being one of my favorite bands going right now... I'm trying to hold out for an official release.

What the hell is wrong with the haters on the Flipflops thread?

Yeah, I feel a little guilty about downloading the Liars album, since it's something I would pay for if I couldn't download it. I am still holding out for the official release of the new Spoon though.

I can't tell if the lyrics are worse than usual on the new Dizzee Rascal or if they're just easier to hear than usual, but yeah ... some of the lyrics are REALLY bad. I love his production though. "Sirens" and "Bubbles" are the winners so far.

It's impossible to look cool in flip-flops.

Maybe for you.

I look fucking dashing in them.

I do too.

I hate the flippies that have a band between your toes though. I guess what I like are techincally slides.

Actually, I was just thinking about it, and a lot of people look pretty cute in flip-flops, esp. with jeans.

The only track on the Dizzee that I really skip is the first one. Favorites: Flex through Bubbles, the UGK track, Wanna Be

Yes it may be a personal failing, my inability to rock flip-flops. Most of the dudes I see wearing them looking really fratty.

flip-flop rock

I, uh, may have a weakness for fratboys.

So these would hurt my feet:
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:kkbsu01MR3t3yM:http://www.uncrate.com/men/images/ae-create-flip-flops.jpg

Actually, a lot of the guys I see wearing them look fratty, but in that Boystown sort of way.

But these wouldn't:
http://www.zappos.com/images/718/7180020/2249-169455-t.jpg

The only problem I have with boys wearing flip flops is when they don't have great toe/toenail/general foot hygiene.

But that goes for the womenfolk too.

I feel sort of unhinged without Lost in my life.

I was reading some rumors and blind items about how there is one "no-talent diva" who has alienated herself from the rest of the cast and is therefore going to be written off the show. Popular opinion has it that it's Claire.

Wait, Nick, what's that sleep book?? I am chronically underslept because my goddamn job requires me to be here at 8.30 even though I normally work until 6 or 7. Flextime is the answer, assholes.

Flip-flops don't necc look bad in and of themselves but they make a lot of people walk like shuffling idiots.

Jesse Jesse -- frat boys? Really?

What about frat boys? Show a frat boy to a typical group of gay guys and see if they don't get all het up. Also, investigate the number of times the term "frat boy" comes up in gay porn--A LOT. For better or worse, it's a way that I conform to the stereotype of the gays

Laurel: this book, which I linked to yesterday

How can someone have added me as their facebook friend when I don't have a facebook account...?(or DO I??)

I am falling asleep over here. HELP!

I have had this exchange with Jesse many times: he'll point out a guy he thinks is cute, and I'll say something like, "Him? God, Jesse. He looks like Fred Durst." And then I remember... I'M NOT GAY. So wtf do I know?

I want more coffee. WITH SOME BOOZE IN IT.

Drinking at 9:30 a.m. on a Weds. morning - y/n?

cute does not equal cool

xpost, y

Nick, we need to drink some more white wine/oJ on the rocks cocktails. We have a TON of both.

I need a gigantic tumbler of whiskey.

Maybe once you finish all your wine.

Actually, a lot of the guys I see wearing them look fratty, but in that Boystown sort of way.

So, uh, twinks?

I have to say, I love flip-flops on girls. One of the highlights of spring and summer.

I was reading some rumors and blind items about how there is one "no-talent diva" who has alienated herself from the rest of the cast and is therefore going to be written off the show. Popular opinion has it that it's Claire.

I heard something similar, but it wasn't clear that it was a woman. Also, what I heard is that those conflicts were being written into the show.

Hi, no more Lost rumors please.

I watched The Departed last night and couldn't help thinking that maybe it was supposed to be funny? Was it? Every time Alec B was on screen I larfed at least once.

Also the romantic subplot with the pointless pregnancy was, to use a Nick word, dumb.

Sorry to shut you guys down. I realize the appeal of Lost rumors for some people, but I prefer to be surprised by the show and not be distracted by behind-the-scenes stuff.

I don't remember liking the Departed. (I have a short memory. :-( )

It was entertaining -- I was looking to be distracted and I was. Mission accomplished, I guess. But I swear to the mothership that I didn't know ANYONE's name in that movie til the very end.

Probability that I will get some iced coffee later today: 101%.

I just drank some. It was good!

It was totally supposed to be funny. The jokes were the best part.

xxpost I thought you were on the sauce.

Ok -- I was hoping it was supposed to be funny. It was!

I wish I had some iced coffee. Maybe I'll make some fakey iced coffee w/ice cubes (Nick, your sister was a genius for doing that at the brunch).

Wahlberg was HILARIOUS.

I loved his flipouts and his booties.

Infernal Affairs may be a better movie but it had no joeks.

Nick, I mostly agree with you about LOST rumors, so I won't say anything more. That rumor was pretty vague, though, so it didn't bother me.

But I swear to the mothership that I didn't know ANYONE's name in that movie til the very end.

See, one of the reasons why I liked The Departed so much is that this is usually a problem for me, especially in movies full of men wearing suits giving orders to other men (see: all Guy Ritchie movies, all Mafia movies, etc.), but while the film challenged my understanding of what was going on throughout("wait, so he's working for them but doesn't want them to know he's really working for the other guys?"), I usually got my bearings quickly and was able to continue following it.

I love the men wearing suits giving orders to other men genre.

I followed the story fine, I just didn't know anyone's name.

Oh. I think one was named Sullivan.

Oh man, why did I not go to this:

www.dane101.com/technology/2007/06/12/got_bent_images_and_video_from_im_just_sayin_is_alls_circuit_bending_workshop

Yeah, and one was named Corrigan? They almost never used anyone's name in that movie other than Costello, Dingus and Queenan. At least not til the end. I sure as hell didn't know their first names until the very very end. Billy? Wha?

nobody calls me Queenan anymore. I am disappointed.

The shrink didn't even HAVE a name as far as I could tell.

I thought of you the first time they said Queenan, if that makes you feel better.

They should have just called the characters by the actors names (like they did for most of the supporting cast in Knocked Up!). "Hey, I think Matt Damon is actually a spy for Jack Nicholson!" "OMG, I can't believe you're saying that, Leonardo DiCaprio!" I call this "Tony Danza style."

That's what we did when we had to pause the movie to let the noisy train go by/discuss wtf was going on.

Watching TV with the windows open is a real challenge for me, as well.

Even so, I am a fan of the "let's pause and make sure we're all on the same page" time during complicated plots. Everyone learns something.

I'm not a fan ... maybe I'm overconfident, but generally I assume that if I don't understand something it's because it hasn't been explained yet, and I patiently wait for the clarifying moment in the movie.

I'm a fan. I'm pretty dumb sometimes.

Oh wait, no, I DID like that movie! I just don't like Jack Nicholson any more. He's gross.

Also, I'm a fan of explanations.

I'd rather wait for the movie to be over, especially during really good movies, I hate to ruin the flow.

I'm not a fan ... maybe I'm overconfident

Maybe so, but it took me until season 3 of The Wire to really nail down which one was Burrell. That show might require repeat viewings, though.

My favorite moment of the movie may be the shot of the cars racing down the freeway to the final meet-up while that Dropkick Murphys song plays.

Also, is it just me or do Leo and Matt look almost exactly the same in that movie??

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/pmms/productpagemovies/08/03/2151604

plays...again.

he really really really needs to let go of "gimme shelter." seriously. unless that was supposed to be funny too?

i like in the wire when mcnulty was drunk driving to "transmetropolitan" -- the pogues suit him better, i think. i think that was the song playing. i can't really remember. i think that was season 2.

xp they both look like total duderz.

There are a bunch of shots in The Departed -- like the one early on, when they're both taking a test -- when they're framed the same way, so the cutting between them emphasizes how similar they are.

I was thinking a week or two ago how good a choice it was to set this in Boston instead of NYC.

I think there needs to be like a 5-year moratorium on movies set in NYC and LA.

I want to visit Boston some day.

Fifteen minutes later
We had our first taste of whiskey
There was uncles giving lectures
On ancient irish history
The men all started telling jokes
And the women they got frisky
By five oclock in the evening
Every bastard there was pisskey

The new Shellac album is interesting. It's got a few spoken-wordsy kind of tracks, including one with this movie trailer-narrator voice that cracks me up. Couple of rockin' songs too.

I don't like the movie narrator voice song, though I think it's supposed to be a DJ, assuming you're talking about "The End of Radio." I decided I don't like Shellac as much as I thought I did, they're too fussy-sounding for a rock band. HE SURE KNOWS HOW TO RECORD DRUMS THOUGH, AMIRITE?

There are some hits on that record though. Nothing as good as "My Black Ass," but some solid hits. I think I'll give it another listen right now.

The one I was referring to with the movie voice thing is "Genuine Lulabelle"... which I guess is not a wholly spoken word track but it has a breakdown in the middle.

I really like "Be Prepared".

Note: the subject the voice is talking about does not crack me up so much as the sound of the voice itself. It just comes in out of nowhere.

Oh OK. I don't remember which ones I liked. The shorter ones, I think.

Whoa my company is going on a hiring spree. We have two people testing in the office right now.

They should've gotten Gob to do it.

xpost

I like the new Shellac too. It's not At Action Park or Terraform, but there are some solid tracks. The packaging is awesome. I'm sad I missed them play earlier this year. They are always one of my favorite live shows. Esp. the Q&A section.

is anyone interested in seeing the dave rempis percussion quartet tonight at the hideout? i saw them on tour in chapel hill and thought they were cool. two drummers, sax, bass.

That does sound cool, but I've got planz.

In other news, I was just re-acquainted with this SA comedy goldmine, and now I've got tears in my eyes.

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/choose-your-own.php?page=1

Drummers should not play ultimate.

xp I think we've talked about those before.

This is funny too: http://www.somethingawful.com/d/photoshop-phriday/classic-comics-iii.php

http://images.somethingawful.com/mjolnir/images/cg04052005/CosmoDNA1.jpg

http://i.somethingawful.com/inserts/articlepics/photoshop/12-23-05-comics/Sid-the-Squid1.jpg

Yeah so our snare drummer fell on his wrist playing frisbee last night and can't do the gig today. :(

TAPE THAT SHIT

meaning, tape the drumstick to his arm like a cyborg drummer-man

REPLACEMENT SNARE DRUMMER:

http://www.central.doncaster.sch.uk/images/jan2004/year_2_balby_central%20(372).jpg

http://www.geocities.com/angelacater/hippycat75.jpg

hippie cat is a hippie

lolz

REPLACEMENT SNARE DRUMMER

http://www.doktoravalanche.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/doktor.avalanche.gif

http://www.capturedbyrobots.com/images/drmbothell.jpg

http://www.equop.com/fruits/images/thumbs/224_over.jpg

I saw this one on tv and find it crepey. Look at those calves!

http://www.newscientisttech.com/data/images/ns/cms/mg19025516.200/mg19025516.200-1_250.jpg

http://www.kollectablekaos.com.au/images/alien%20signature%20series%20classic%20statue.jpg

?

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/84/200px-Rallen2.jpg

Now's your chance to step up and usurp him, Jordan

I PLAY DRUMS

ME TOO

I haven't played straight-up snare in... like 12 years though? I don't think I was ever good enough for M@m@ D|gd0wn, either.

(actually I am going to play snare, with one of the youngbl00d dudes on bass)

I just uploaded about 175 more pix to my wedding photo pool. Seeing as how just about every second of the event was captured (thanks Nick's dad!), you can definitely find a pic of yourself if you were there.

Why is the new girl giving me a project? :-(

John looks mysterious here:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1040/544292710_971bf879ba.jpg?v=0

he's veeeery suspicious

Coke dealer.

Great photos.

New girl just gave me something else to do. Go away! The boss isn't here! That means I shouldn't have to do any work!

I am one productive motherfucker today.

Congrats.

I was in the sense that I uploaded and titled all those photos. Well, I guess I was productive with actual work this morning...