Chicago

I posted some pictures from my trip to Chicago. No titles, captions or anything yet, but click through to get there.

The trip was pretty good. Chicago is awesome, of course, and blows DC out of the water on so many counts, it's almost funny. [Which then becomes the exact opposite of funny when I think about where I live.] Neighborhood bars, cool little 24 hr restaurants, multiple indie record stores, and an amazing roster of upcoming shows, are just a few of the things that Chicago (or pretty much any city worth a damn) has but which DC fails to provide. It's things like these that make a city feel like a city. Like a visit to NYC, being there really highlighted what I'm missing by living in a second rate town.

I had fun, though. We went record shopping, ate great food, and saw a large amount of the city. Leigh and Paul were great hosts. On the less than amazing side, Slint on Friday were a bit underwhelming and the weather could have been a bit better. It was either cloudy or raining and cold nearly the whole time, so we didn't get to walk around as much as I'd have liked. And I didn't get to take many photos as a result.

I'll have to go back for another visit when the weather is nice. The lake looked amazing as I was flying in, and I bet it would be cool to ride bikes around town. I don't think we have another addition to my short list of permanent destinations, though. As cool as Chicago was to visit, I still can't picture myself living in the Midwest. And despite Leigh's insistence that Seattle is just as cold as Chicago (huh?), I don't think I could take the Chicago winters.

Existension

I'd like to alert you to a new addition to my list of links. My friend Shhh has put together a neat little site of her photography, called existention.org. I encourage you to check it out. It's quite lovely. And it makes me wanna throw my camera in the Potomac.

Why Burn Your Bridges

Why burn your bridges when you can blow your bridges up?

I've been enjoying M. Ward's Transistor Radio, his fourth album, recently thanks to a friend's recommendation. I'm not sure I've heard anything that pulls off old-timey American as successfully as this since another Merge Records release, Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over the Sea. Like that record, Transistor Radio sounds like summertime and is practically dripping with a classic sound. I find it hard not to like. See here and here for real reviews.

Listen to “Fuel For Fire”

Side note: This record also happens to represent another filesharing success story for my pals the at the RIAA. As I mentioned, a friend brought it up while we were talking music recently. The name stuck in my mind and I eventually downloaded the MP3s. I listened to the album for about a week before I decided I should get a hold of it. I found that Merge was offering a bundle of both Transistor Radio and M. Ward's previous album, Transfiguration of Vincent, for a discounted price. What the hell, I thought, and decided to add a copy of The Clientele's Lost Weekend EP. Merge threw in a sharp little album poster as well.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that M. Ward is currently on tour but is (of course) not playing here in DC. He is however playing in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 9th. So, if any of yous feels like driving me up there, you know, I wouldn't be opposed or anything.

Old House

All the doorknobs in my house are broken. They are purely for decorative purposes. The front door doesn't even have a knob or anything—just a deadbolt. It's funny to watch people try to open it. My bedroom door has an old shirt attached to it to keep it closed and my closet door doesn't shut properly at all. I guess the door frames are bit warped.

I've been sick with the flu for the past few days. I tried going to work yesterday instead of calling in since my bosses are out of town and we're short staffed. I only made it through about half the day before I threw up in my trashcan. I'm feeling much better now, thank you. Whatever it was, I mostly sweated it out this morning. Tim was kind enough to bring me some stuff (apple juice, cheerios) and offer me some drugs. Thanks, pal.

I'm just glad this didn't happen a few days later. Hopefully, I'll be completely back to normal when I leave for Chicago on Thursday.

Wild Parrots

I was going to post about something today, but I can't remember what I had in mind. I'm sure it was neither very interesting nor important, so no worries.

Marc clued me into this film showing at E St. right now called The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. I watched the trailer and it looks pretty cool. Plus, it's set in SF, which is rather timely in light of my recent post. Besides, I'm always up for an interesting doc and it's been a while since I went out to a movie. Think I'll see it tomorrow—by hook or by crook.

Yessiree, work is almost over for the week. In about 15 minutes I'll be in one of my favorite states of mind—that after-work-on-Friday feeling I get during my way home on the train each week. It's gorgeous.

Waffle Time

Do you like blueberries?
Do you like waffles?
Do you have trouble making decisions?



Eat Van's Gourmet Blueberry Waffles!




Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.
YOU'LL EAT THE WHOLE FUCKING BOX.

Available at finer yuppie grocery stores
[I wholeheartedly endorse this frozen waffle product]

If It Keeps On Rainin'

A week from now I will be en route to Chicago. Yes—the Windy City, the Pride of the Rust Belt, the City of the Big Shoulders(?). I'm going to visit Leigh, who moved there from DC about a year and half ago. I'll be there for about three full days. I've never been and don't get to travel nearly as much as I'd like to, so I'm pretty excited about it.

I've been asking around here and there about things I should check out. Of course Leigh will be there to show me around, but I'll have at least one free day to myself. I have a few ideas so far (see below), and we're seeing Slint play at the Metro on the 25th, but everything else is wide open. So I'm wondering if anyone reading could suggest some things a first time visitor should check out. Main interests include record stores, book stores, museums, sites of photographic interest, and good restaurants.

The List so far:

Quimby's
Sweet Thang
Museum of Science and Industry [esp. this!]
The Field Museum
The Art Institute
Shedd Aquarium

Jumble

Things are getting a little hectic upstairs. I've been thinking about moving for a while now but still have no clear ideas or plans. First it was NYC. Then Seattle came into the picture. Now Tim is trying to convince me to cast my hopes and dreams towards San Francisco. Well, ok; to be fair, he mainly wants to move there himself, and he's not exactly bullying me into anything, but he's been talking about it more lately and dropping these little seeds in my mind. His technique seems to be working.

I lived in the SF area for two years when I was younger. I loved it and I miss it, still. I was very happy when I lived there, and when my family moved I was pretty upset. In fact, the way I figure it, I haven't really been the same since. Maybe it was just that particular time or a set of circumstances, or—more likely—my young age, but there seemed to be so many possibilities. There were neat and shiny things that swirled around my head back then.

I have fond memories from that time in my life. It's when I really started to know myself. My tastes in music and culture were expanding, for once independently from my older brother's. I went to my first few memorable concerts there. And it was then, in some shop on Haight St. that I bought my first (and only) pair of Doc Martens. I made music videos with my parents' camcorder and watched 120 Minutes (recorded the night before) on Monday afternoons after school. I went to coffee houses and watched Ren & Stimpy, became fascinated with lucid dreaming, started building a decent home stereo, and dialed into the BBSs and studied the lost art of phone phreaking. And I was happy.

So anyway, I have no idea what to do yet. I know it's time to move on——at least that much is clear. There's much research to be done. I should get going on that, huh?

In the meantime, I guess I'll have a beer or something. If you're in the DC area and looking for something to do tonight, consider checking out Hump Nite at Galaxy Hut. My friend is DJing and I can tell you from personal experience that it will be good.

Mouth Mouth

I've posted some pics from the dinner I mentioned earlier and created a set on flickr. As you might guess from the picture here, some of these pics aren't exactly veggie-friendly. Don't say you weren't warned. [See below for the full menu]



In other mouth-related news, my visit to the dentist yesterday (my first time in about 10 years) wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected. First of all, they didn't yell at me for having so many cavities. I went in there with these memories of being scolded when I was younger and pretty much expected the worst, but it was fine. And the dentist was cool, too, not some cheeseball. The bad news is that I do have plenty of cavities. A bunch of them. I mean, even my cavities have cavities. It was inevitable, I guess, after avoiding it for so long. We decided to get started right away filling those suckers, so after my cleaning they ended up filling a few of them. It wasn't too bad, though. My only real gripe was the cost. Even with full insurance I paid nearly $500 out-of-pocket! Is that normal for a cleaning a few cavities? I can't believe it. What a racket.

Birthday Dinner 03.13.05 Menu

Grilled Squid stuffed with Chorizo and Penko Breadcrumbs
- with a mixed green salad w/balsamic vinegarette.

Seared Lamb (rubbed with cumin, allspice, cinnamon, etc.)
- with matchstick sweet potatoes.

Broiled Red Snapper
- with red sauce, olives, capers, on fennel

Prime Rib
- with green beans

Fresh baked sourdough bread

Dessert: Coffee Creme Brulee

Ministry of Information

I had an excellent birthday-related dinner yesterday, thanks to my brother and sister-in-law. Brian made us five courses, if you include dessert. It was insane. We ate from about 7:30 until 11, all told. I took many pictures and will post some of the best ones this week on flickr.

Oh, but it's back to the real world today (where I eat cereal for dinner). Today's highlight will certainly be a trip to the dentist after not going for oh...ten years. Yikes. And then there's all this:

Democracy Now! has a few items today on the sorry state of the propaganda-infested, corporate-run media in this country. The most 1984 of them — State Propaganda: How Government Agencies Produce Hundreds of Pre-Packaged TV Segments the Media Runs as News

Global Warming is a lie. Or not:
The peak of Mt Kilimanjaro as it has not been seen for 11,000 years [Guardian]

Filesharing 4ever:
BitTorrent May Prove Too Good to Quash [W. Post]

X-Ray Specs?
How to Spot a Terrorist [Wired]