Mostly I'm not about kicking people when they're down (and out) but in this case I'll make an exception. Good riddance to bad garbage.

Just a couple of quick programming notes/updates: as I noted previously, I will not be on the air tomorrow. My every-other-Thursday (mostly) schedule will start up next week, Thursday, 2/7. However, the early pre-show portion of the show will not be in effect this semester, as the station was able to find someone to fill the 6-7am shift. So I'll be starting at 7am. But I will be on the air this Saturday for Mondo Mundo: thee Radio Program. Probably I'll be doing a mostly reggae/ska show. Unless I change my mind and do something different...

Had dinner tonight at Crook's Corner and it was, much as it pains me to say this, a ghastly experience. The food itself was excellent. I had the mango salad and the shrimp & grits. Sarah had the duck onion soup and the cheese pork. It was all very good. But the restaurant was crowded and brain-crunchingly noisy. That's no one's fault, of course. But it wasn't making for a very nice night out. At least, for us. I know some people like crowded and noisy. (My understanding is that most of the Batali/Bastianich restaurants are designed with the tables close together and the music cranking because that's the kind of high energy vibe they want.)

But then the waitress totally screwed up my order, bringing me the gumbo instead of the shrimp & grits. So now Sarah's got her entree but the kitchen's got to fire a whole new one for me. We were eating out of sync -- she was basically done before mine even got to the table. And I realize there's not much that can be done except get the dish out to me as quickly as possible. But I just didn't feel there was much sense of urgency -- it all seemed rather blasé and ho-hum. And, it may be petty and completely wrong but I did sorta expect they'd knock a little something off the check for the screw-up with the main course.

Oh well. It's too bad we had such a negative experience get in the way of the food. But there's lots of places to get good food in the area now and we can vote with our feet for places with better service and just an overall dining experience that's more our style.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 27 jan 08)

Venus on Earth :: Dengue Fever
Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds and Nigerian Blues :: various
Nova Estaçao EP 1 & 2 :: Da Cruz
Hera Ma Nono :: Extra Golden
From the Badlands :: Papo Vazquez' Pirates Troubadours
Learn How to Respect :: Culture Brothers
Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics :: various
Esta Tierra Es Tuya :: Sones de Mexico
Charanga Chango :: Bobby Matos
Melodii Tuvi: Throat Songs and Folk Tunes from Tuva :: various

this week's video feature: Bobby Matos

Food glorious food report #3: Last night after the King Britt/Sylk 130 show, we trekked over to Watts Grocery w/ S & D to check out the late night menu, which has been much praised by the local blogerati. One word: sliders. Three fabulous little mini-cheeseburgers. Cooked just right and seasoned just right. Next time we're out post-10pm and wanting a snack, I know where to go. S had the grilled cheese and bacon and named it the best grilled cheese sandwich evah. I might try that next time. Except, y'know... sliders! Also enjoyed by the table: several fine beverages, inc. a double IPA; tasty, tasty fries; a red velvet cupcake (mmm... cake)
I should also mention the service which was both prompt and unfailingly nice, even though it was the end of (they said, and it certainly looked that way when we arrived just after 10 to find the place mobbed) the busiest night they'd ever had.
We don't have a lifestyle that often finds us out looking for late night noshes. If you do, Watts Grocery should be at the top of yr list.

Food, glorious food report #2: Lunched today at Taqueria Lopez. We were over at the station (Sarah was printing op logs and I was shelf-reading a couple of sections of the wrrld libray) and Sta Salsera (who was there spinning a vintage vinyl edition of Mondo Mundo: thee Radio Progam) suggested checking out the food stylings at TL. Another place that I can't believe we hadn't been to yet! Esp. since I drive by it every single day, just about. Sarah had three tacos (pastor, asada and pollo). Sta Salsera had the carnitas with salsa verde. Both reported that their food was excellent. I had posole and my god was it good. Nice big bowl of soupy, porky goodness. I think they used dried hominy instead of canned. The kernels had a bit more bite than the canned ones I've always used when I've made posole. Lots of pork. Nice chili kick to the broth. Served with limes, onions, radishes, and lettuce on the side to add to the bowl. Plus some freshly fried tostadas -- oh so good, and made up for the slightly stale tortilla chips they served pre-meal (altho the salsas and pico de gallo that came with were outstanding). We've only been once but I think Lopez has it all over Azteca. Further visits will absolutely be required to confirm this hypothesis.

We had dinner tonight with D & S at Jujube and it was amazing. How is it possible that they've been open for over a year and a half and this is the first time we've been? Boo on us. They do an Asian-fusion cuisine but in a very broadly-defined way. For starter, Sarah and I had the surf & surf & turf, which had their take on shrimp toast, a shrimp coated in shrimp paste then deep-fried, and foie gras with caramalized onions. Each was amazing on its own, plus the progression across the plate was very nice as well. Sarah had the lamb special and I had the "bolognese" (rice noodles with pork, ginger & hoisin) which I highly recommend. Also excellent: the gin rickshaw cocktail and the roasted banana ice cream (w/ an amazing chocolate sauce). Great vibe to the restaurant, which was hopping. No surprise for a Friday night. Service was excellent. We'll definitely be going back.

Here's some nice pics from the Neon Boneyard in Vegas. Such coolness! Watch this space for more info on this topic, coming later this year.

Most of this evening I spent trying to wrap my brain around MT stylesheets or themes or whatever. If you popped by earlier you might have seen the blog looking like refried ass. I know I'm doing something wrong. I keep getting the one-column format instead of two. There's a tutorial that seems like it should be helpful but I'm going to have to read it again. And, yes, I know I'm losing major geek points by admitting to this level of non-expertise. Such is my tale of woe...

The new XDU schedule is out and I'll be continuing at 7-9am on Thursdays. That'll be every other Thursday, starting on 2/7. Heads up if you're an early riser or listening online from some other time zone -- I almost always start about 6.30am with an album side of classic jazz or blues from the XDU vinyl library. Just a little something to ease into the day before I start spinning for reals at the top of the hour.
Also, Mondo Mundo: thee Radio Program will continue on Saturdays from 1-3pm for all your wrrld musical needs.

Finally caught up with the Bourne Ultimatum over the weekend. It's a great ride. Not the sort of movie you want to spend too much time thinking about. Although I give them credit for at least trying to come up with some kind of backstory to explain why Jason Bourne can out-think, out-fight and out-everything the combined staffs of the CIA and NSA. There are two great chase scenes. The Tangiers chase lives up to the Paris chase in the first movie. And the NYC chase is one of the best movie car chases I've seen since Ronin. Special citation should go out to the Bourne movies for providing work for just about every vaguely sinister white guy character actor of a certain age: Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, and Albert Finney. One of the things I like about the Bourne movies is that they have such good acting, even when they don't need to.
More, including some spoilerish stuff below the cut.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 20 jan 08)

Learn How to Respect :: Culture Brothers
Nova Estaçao EP 1 & 2 :: Da Cruz
From the Badlands :: Papo Vazquez' Pirates Troubadours
Hera Ma Nono :: Extra Golden
Charanga Chango :: Bobby Matos
Esta Tierra Es Tuya :: Sones de Mexico
Azucar :: Celia Cruz
Disko Partizani :: Shantel
Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics :: various
Big Band Urban Folktales :: Bobby Sanabria

this week's video feature: Papo Vazquez

What an amazingly cool thing that is. (via Slashfood) Ernie Kovacs was a fucking genius. I'm pretty sure it was my brother who discovered Kovacs reruns on TV before me -- I have this vague memory of him trying to explain the Nairobi Trio to me, with only limited success. As the Slashfood blogger points out, that clip is all the more incredible for having been done in the 1950s.
Plus music by Esquivel. What's not to love?

So I commented this morning that, with the storm tracking east, the amount of snow we'd probably end up getting would be squadoosh. And Sarah asked what that meant. Obviously, from context, she knew it meant bupkis but wondered about the origin. I googled and found three (conflicting, of course) explanations: Urban Dictionary has one definition saying it's Italian-American slang and another saying it was coined by Norman Chad on ESPN poker coverage. Wikipedia credits it to Tony Reali, on Pardon the Interruption. I'm inclined to think it's probably a combination of 1 and 3 and that it's a word (or similar to a word) that Reali heard growing up and which he then popularized on PTI and Around the Horn.

Time for another round of unrestrained panic. This time the forecast is for actual snow, possibly up to 2 or 3 inches. Time will tell if that'll actually happen. Trust all you locals have appeased the french toast gods and laid in your stocks of bread, milk and eggs. Just in case it really is the snow-pocalypse for reals this time.

Today's storm turned out to be non-frozen, non-white, non-death from above. Kind of a letdown to wake up and find it was already switching over to sleet. Looking back in the archives, I noted that we've had small wintry-mix type events right around this date several times in the last few years -- 1/18/07 and 1/19/05.
Before we move on from all things weather-related, I want to announce that Bull City Rising wins teh internets for snow-pocalypse.

Here's an excellent farewell to Starlu from today's N&O. Just nice to see Sam & Co. get a proper sendoff. One of the last things I'd read was a post on Chowhound about the Starlu closing that brought out a few too many of the haters and the clueless. And I'm glad that's not going to be my final memory of Starlu in the media.

In other news, tomorrow is scheduled for this year's first round of Frozen White Death from Above™. And it's my radio morning. w00t! At least that means I'll be on the road before rush hour really gets going.

Whatever anyone offers you as an over/under line for accidents tomorrow morning, take the over. And be careful out there

Can we stop taking the Mayor of 9-11 seriously now? I mean, he nearly got doubled up by Ron Paul tonight. He got beaten, easily, by Fred "chung-chung" Thompson. Hell, almost as many people voted for Dennis Kucinich as for Giuliani. And the main thing those three have in common is that they will not be the next President. Hey, Rudy, I think there's a seat for you at their table...

Just found out recently (via VarmintBites) that Bill Smith, the chef at Crook's Corner, in Chapel Hill, has a blog. Crook's was one of the first "nice" restaurants in the Triangle I went to and altho I tend to forget about it in all the buzz and howl over new places, I've never had a bad meal. It's nice to get a look at things from the kitchen side of things. Generally I agree with something I read last year (I think it was by Shuna Fish Lydon at Eggbeater) -- that it's a good thing that more chefs are blogging. I think it helps break down the perceived wall between chefs/cooks and "food bloggers." But mostly I'm just interested in reading what people like Lydon and Smith have to say.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 13 jan 08)

Hera Ma Nono :: Extra Golden
Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics :: various
Esta Tierra Es Tuya :: Sones de Mexico
Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds and Nigerian Blues, 1970-76 :: various
Ethnic Minority Music of Southern Laos :: various
Melodii Tuvi: Throat Songs and Folk Tunes from Tuva :: various
Big Band Urban Folktales :: Bobby Sanabria
Azucar :: Celia Cruz
Breath :: Mercan Dede
Disko Partizani :: Shantel

this week's video feature: Extra Golden

Ahh... today is one of the best days of any sports year: the day after the Cowboys are eliminated from the playoffs. While not quite as much fun as the day after the Yankees get the chop, it's still right up there for top quality schadenfreude.

In top notch geek news, Star Trek: the Tour is coming to a town near you. Well, I don't know if it's coming to a town near you, but it's definitely on the schedule for a town near me. And, yes, I'm planning on seeing this. We went on the Trek "Experience" at the Vegas Hilton a few years ago and it was a lot of fun. Haven't been back to see the 2nd show out there (the Borg one). Pru, Spacegrrl, and Dr. Bob went to that when we were all out there in 06 but Sarah and I had to miss out (something about picking up a marriage license or something like that we had to do that afternoon). They said it was fun. So, yeah, I'm a geek but I'm rather looking forward to the Star Trek tour coming to Raleigh (or wherever it ends up).

Today? Trip to the dump to offload the remaining bits of the torn-down shed, the first bit of the fallen down fence, the ramp we'd made for Thirteen and a few other odd bits o' trash. Radio. (An especially good show, if I do say so myself. At least, I enjoyed it..) Shopping -- mostly cos I realized this week that I was down to 1 pair of pants that I actually wanted to wear on a regular basis. Cooked dinner. (roasted butternut squash w/ chorizo & mushrooms, tossed w/ a cilantro pesto). Played Katamari Damacy.

hope y'all had good days too...

Here's a crazy hard quiz (via Womzilla). It's a little bit intelligence test & a little bit trivia contest. I did use the internets to confirm a couple of my answers (including one that I still go wrong even after "confirming" it) but I mostly tried to do the quiz as if it were trivia night. The first time I did it I realized that I forgot to answer 1 of the questions. When I got that one right it jumped me up about 8 percent which surprised me at first but I guess if there are 20 questions then that makes sense as a difference for getting one more question correct.

good times...

Here's some great interview clips of HoD hero Jacques Pepin. Always a treat to see Pepin, whether he's talking or cooking. I must admit I found the production on these clips (esp. the music) a bit annoying and intrusive but only in a minor way.

btw, this is post #1234 on my blog

This is one of the coolest things I've seen lately. DIY Bender. And not just a home-brewed Bender but a home-brewed Bender that homebrews.

like fun!

Good news, everybody! Tiki bar opens in Asheville. Must plan another trip to Asheville soon. Actually, what's funny about the article is how easy it is to read between the lines and tell that, even though he likes their place, wishes them well, and is trying to say only positive things, it's clear that the guys running the Yacht Club aren't quite tiki purists enough for Beachbum Berry.

In other tiki-rific news, there's now a Trader Vic's in Vegas. It's at P-Ho (formerly Aladdin). Will have to add that to the agenda, as well.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 6 jan 08)

Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds and Nigerian Blues, 1970-76 :: various
Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics :: various
Esta Tierra Es Tuya :: Sones de Mexico
Maestro of the Indian Flute :: Hariprasad Chaurasia
Melodii Tuvi: Throat Songs and Folk Tunes from Tuva :: various
Big Band Urban Folktales :: Bobby Sanabria
Rokku Mi Rokka :: Youssou N'Dour
Breath :: Mercan Dede
Complete Recordings, 1949-50 :: Ben Baruch
Azucar :: Celia Cruz

this week's video feature: Sones de Mexico

While we're waiting for some good footage of this year's string bands to show up on YouTube, here's Ferko's performance from the 2007 parade.

Y'know what I hate? OK, there's too many things I hate to list here. But the one I want to rant about today is this: the smug intolerance of the self-excluded. And, no, I'm not talking about you. Sunday morning is random websurfing time and I guarantee you that the post that set me off was not made by anyone I know or have met or even read with any frequency. Anyway, speaking as someone who has made various choices that set me apart from the so-called social norms, I just don't want to hear how you're so much fucking better than them. Yeah whoop-de-crap. That's all nice & spiffy when yr in yr 20s and trying to form an identity and all. But if you've made it to yr 30s or (gasp!) 40s and still feel the need to proclaim how much better you (and people like you) are than "normal" people... well, fuck you. Shut the hell up and enjoy yr life then. And if you don't want "those people" looking down there noses at you, perhaps you might want to consider also shutting the fuck up about how, say, having children transforms you into a selfish asshole who doesn't care about anything other than their kids. Having kids (or not having kids) doesn't make you an asshole. Being an asshole makes you an asshole. Oh, and perhaps you might try getting the fuck over yrself.
I'm just saying...

Bwa-ha-ha...
Here's a fun list of planet-destroying weapons. I have a feeling there's some good ones missing from that list but I'm tired so I can't think of what just now.

1991-2008

Didn't hardly sleep at all last night but managed to get myself over to XDU this morning for my show. And then just before 7, Lindsay, the DJ I split the shift with arrived. Because, of course, it was actually his week to do the show. Since I was already rolling he let me keep going. Which is what I'd have done in his place. But I still felt like a total doof. Other than that, though, it went pretty well, I thought.

Here's a quiz, Something of a holiday tradition, apparently, altho this is the first time I've encountered it. Way hard. I only knew answers to: 4 (6 of 8), 6 (2 of 6), 7, 12 (2 of 4), 15, 18, 19.

One more NYE big-dropping-thing report, this time from Elmore, Ohio. While I don't think "LED-lit sausage" is quite as good as "glowing, 3-foot pickle" but it's in the running.

This just in: it's an exciting 26°F right now in Durham. Mmm... wintry...

Like Sarah said on her blog today, let's hope today's not a harbinger of 2K8. In addition to Thirteen's trip to the emergency vet, my car flatout refused to start this morning. I'm now assuming it's the alternator and not the battery. Feh! Also, altho this is much more of a petty annoyance, the start of the Mummer's Parade was delayed by rain this morning which meant that the 4 hour syndicated broadcast was showing the clowns and the fancies, instead of the string bands, which are the best part. Actually, the fancies were pretty interesting. I don't know that I'd ever seen them before. Lots of small floats and costumes in very specific categories which I won't attempt to describe. They don't use bands but recorded music. As I understand Mummer 101, the fancy brigades, which are big floorshow kinda-things which actually take place indoors after the parade, are a spinoff from the fancies, which date back to way early in the parade's history. But the clowns (and wenches, a subgroup of the clowns that involves men wearning dresses) were pretty boring. Basically just a bunch of people in identical costumes running up to the camera and jumping around.

Okay, even tho we missed the string bands, the last fancy totally paid off with a Mummerific version of Satan trying to storm the gates of heaven and getting driven back by angels with swords. All to the strains of a rave version of "Carmina Burana". Orfftastic!