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Another 80s fave. Another video I'd never seen before. Magritte homage ftw! The opening is kinda messed up in this clip, which steps on the nifty synth intro. But on the other hand, bonus goofy VJ action and confirmation that their record label really did change the name of the song for US release.
End of August garden report: tomatoes continue to do well. Something happened to the Sweet 100 cherry tomato; it's withering and looking near death. All the tomatoes are in the same raised bed w/ the same soaker hose so it shouldn't be lack of water. And you'd think if it was some sort of disease or pest it would spread to the other three but that doesn't seem to be the case so far. The Better Boy continues to produce at a rate we can't keep up with. I need to make some sauce and freeze it or something. The Paul Robeson has also been doing well. Definitely the best luck we've had with any hybrid. The 'maters are great -- very low acid, among other things. Sungold has definitely lived up to its reputation. Tons of cherry tomatoes, all super delicious and sweet. The other hybrid, the Brandywine, hasn't done as well. And, frankly, I'm not all that impressed with the few tomatoes we've gotten. Probably next year we'll just go with three: a Sungold, a Robeson and some kind of big producing hybrid like Better Boy or Early Girl. Earlier this summer, I saw an article in the NYTimes about how Rutgers Ag Extension was re-introducing the hybrid that was the classic Jersey tomato. Apparently it doesn't travel well so it had been pretty much phased out all across the state. I think they had to go to some seed bank over in Germany to get seed to jump start their program. I'd be interested in that, if it'll grow well this far south.
Basil and serranos are doing well. We're getting a second batch of eggplants. And the chiles which were labeled as "ancho" are starting to come in and they're clearly something else. Not sure what exactly. I'll try to post a picture if I can't google up an answer myself.
I'm in a better mood today. Still frikkin' exhausted but whatcha gonna do... Was at the radio station this afternoon spinning the wrrld music. Playlist link is over in the sidebar, like always. Can't think of anything much else to add so here's a pic of Jane Lane, looking adorable, to wrap up your week.
It hasn't been an across-the-board trainwreck of a week. There was some good pizza. And I've enjoyed watching the Democratic convention (way more than I'd expected to). But on several fronts, this week has felt like a bucket that all the dregs of August have drained into. Mostly that's just the 40+ hours I worked, even though I came home at noon today. Well, and the fact that I have to go back in on Sunday. Feh! Plus a lot of bad craziness at the radio station. And some unsettled and hard-to-pin-down travel plans. Too much up in the air, not enough facts on the ground. And I should be taking advantage of the afternoon off and napping instead of reading emails and blogging.
One last thing. Governor of Alaska? That's the best he can do? Sheesh!
And 80s Fest rolls on w/ the Three Johns. Also known as Jon Langford's other band. Altho they are long defunct, while the Mekons persist. Fun fact #1: the one time I saw the Three Johns play they generated the world's smallest mosh pit (maybe 4 people, which was probably 10-20% of the audience). Fun fact #2: this is actually my second favorite of their songs, but there doesn't seem to have been a video for "Brainbox"
Line of the day, from Andrew Sullivan (who can be pretty on point when he's not obsessing about columns): "think about what it says about McCain that he would lie this blatantly for power."
Today's public service announcement is a reminder that online ticket sales for the World Beer Festival started today. As usual, there's an afternoon and evening session. 10/4/08. This year they're moving to the DBAP since the previous site, the old Durham Athletic Park, is all tore up and under construction.
That's all for now. Please feel free to resume your regularly scheduled evening..
XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 24 aug 08)
Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump :: various
New York City :: Brazilian Girls
Super Afro Soul :: Orlando Julius
Give Me Love: Songs of the Broken-hearted, Baghdad 1925-1929 :: various
Jah is Real :: Burning Spear
En Este Camino :: Pistolera
Marimba Music of Guatemala :: Chapinlandia
Ayombe!: the Heart of Colombia's Music Vallenata :: various
Mi Niña Lola :: Buika
Sidiki :: Sidiki Conde
this week's video feature: Buika
Cupcakes! In an Airstream!! Daisy Cakes is open for business, Saturday mornings, just up the road from the Durm Farmer's Market. I'm late to the game -- earlier reports here and here. I finally got a chance to check them out last Saturday. By 11am they were all out of the breakfast pastries. But they still had coffee (good!) and cupcakes (damn good!). They actually sat in the fridge until Sunday night when Sarah got back with no seeming ill effects. We had the pink lemonade and the banana. Both delicious. The lemon cupcake was a bit on the dense side but still nice and moist and very tasty. The raspberry buttercream was fantastic (and just the right amount). The banana was the clear winner, though. The cake was moist and light and pretty close to the ideal cupcake texture. The banana had a lot more buttercream than the pink lemonade. But, on the other hand, nutella buttercream... what's not to love?
That last post was a bit over the edge into frothing at the mouth and falling over backwards. So here's something fun (found via Womzilla).
I made the mistake of link surfing off some liberalish sites and ended up in some of those backwaters where the left goes all emo cutter on itself. Obama's healthcare plan is not good. Biden is in bed with the bankers. And on (and on and on and etc). My reaction, which I'm sure will appall a few of my occasional readers: I. Don't. Care. I just don't fucking care. So Biden's kind of a pompous jerk and way too cozy with banking types. Bush/Cheney have spent the last 8 years traveling the world looking for people to torture and kill for... well, I'm not sure why but there was probably a damn good reason. Anyone who can't see that McCain is just 4 more years of the same evil bullshit..; well, why am I fucking surprised? Many apparently sane people voted for Nader and continue, in the face of everything that's happened since then, to defend that decision. What are we supposed to do? Wait around for a candidate who farts rainbows and can solve all the world's problems by wiggling their nose? While more wars are started and more people are tortured and DHS turns this country into a panopticon?
I am not interested in your ideas and I definitely do not want to subscribe to your newsletter.
After a very long day at work today, I knew I was in no shape or mood to cook. And Sarah certainly wasn't, having been dealing with los perros locos. So I called in an order to Pop's Back Door. Which is the takeout/delivery pizza place associated w/ Pop's Restaurant. We've enjoyed the pizzas at Pop's and friends had recommended Back Door but we hadn't gotten around to trying it. Really excellent. We had the smoked chicken pizza and the mushroom lovers pizza. I'd rate the pizza right up with Rockwood. And even though they messed up my order, they handled it about as well as you could want. They caught the mistake, remade the correct pizza, gave me a Coke to drink while I was waiting and threw in the mistake pizza for free. So now I have lunch for tomorrow (and Wednesday probably). Definitely check them out if you're local.
(and it keeps getting funnier every single time i see it)
Recent movie wrap-up:
Bedknobs & Broomsticks is a rather silly, mostly live-action Disney movie from 1971, starring Angela Lansbury as an apprentice witch trying to learn magic to help fight the Germans during WWII. I remember seeing this as a kid, altho my memories of the movie itself were pretty vague. A lot of fairly forgettable songs and too many plucky Cockney kids. The high point of the animated section is a hilarious soccer match (which might have been my first exposure to futbol). One thing of interest I noticed this time is a small role for legendary British music hall singer Tessie O'Shea.
I don't know how I managed to miss Stardust when it was in theaters last summer, but I'm glad I caught up with it. I'm pretty much expecting to love any movie with air pirates and Stardust did not disappoint. Sweet and beautiful and full of ripping yarns. Based on the Neil Gaiman book (but you knew that). I particularly loved the Greek chorus of failed aspirants to the throne of Stormhold. If you're watching the DVD be sure to check out the deleted scenes which include nice bits for the brothers which didn't make it into the final version of the movie. Overall, I'd say the movie rates up there with the Princess Bride as one of the great swashbuckling romances.
Versus = best movie evah! Okay, I exaggerate. Slightly. But it's got yakuza. It's got zombies. It's got yakuza zombies. (note to self: if involved in gang war, DO NOT hire yakuza zombies who are slow and can't shoot for shit). Plus some sort of demon zombie vampire martial arts dudes. Crazy cops. Bigass guns. Arterial spray. Swordplay. Ninja assassins. Inexpicable plotlines. My only quibbles: the big bad monologues all the time. At one point, Our Antihero™ even tells him to STFU (hey, no one cares about the damn plot. Just go cut some more heads off); the incredibly stupid epilogue -- makes no sense and, if you stop to think about it (which I don't recommend), it makes the whole movie make no sense. My advice is to just stop the DVD after he gets on the motorcycle and rides off.
80s-fest continues. This time it's the Suburbs, and I vaguely remember seeing the video for this song way back when. Altho this is not that video but a live performance. I think pretty much everyone I ever made a mixtape for in the 80s got either this or else "Rattle My Bones" (from the same rekkid) somewhere along the mix.
Today's xkcd cracked me up.
The rollover tag (or whatever you call it... i'm not geeky enough to actually have that easily accessible in my brain) is the high point. There SHOULD be a special holiday to honor the countless kind souls with unsecured networks named 'linksys'
In wholly unrelated news, Bruco (the Caterpillar) was the winner of last Saturday's Palio dell'Assunta. Here's a link to video of the race.
Special return engagement for Moron of the Week to shout out Mr. Jacques Rogge. He is, in case you didn't know, president of the IOC and he apparently felt the need to give a verbal smackdown to Usain Bolt for celebrating after he broke 2 world records in winning the 100m and 200m races. Something which I'm told, btw, has never been done before. But god forbid anyone appear to be having fun. Quick, someone check and see if Rogge has actually been replaced by Roger Goodell. Well, I guess having fun is okay if you're a US swimmer stutting and screaming like Kong or a beach volleyball player dry humping the sand. Maybe it's not okay if you're a 6' 6" Jamaican. Or maybe Jacques Rogge is just a humorless moron.
Another song I had no idea there was a video for. This (or rather the Megamix version) was one of my early introductions to the Factory sound.
While I was trying to track down some info for Divaville Lounge (btw, I'll be guest-hosting Divaville Lounge this Sunday, 2-4pm EDT, WXDU, 88.7fm or click on the link in the sidebar for the website), I found this awesome site, Solid!. And it certainly is. Lotsa info on lotsa big band and swing performers and a few lounge acts as well. Altho it's not as on point there -- they have an entry on Esquivel but nothing on Martin Denny or Les Baxter. Still there's biographical info, recordings, even movie listings.
Well, all reet...
I didn't even know there were Way of the West videos. This is one of their less well known songs. Well, as much as any of their songs can be said to be well known. If you were around in the 80s you might remember "(Don't Say That's Just for) White Boys" or "City for Lovers" but there don't seem to be any videos for those, at least not on YouTube.
Time for another round of Moron of the Week. And this week's winner is Newt Gingrich, who wants to warn y'all about Big Air. I know... I know... picking Gingrich as moron of the week is kinda like picking nitrogen as atmospheric gas of the week. Fish? Check. Barrel? Check. Shotgun? Check. But if he's gonna talk to us like we're stupid, well then shenanigans must be called. I mean, really... where to start? Does he really think people are so fucking stupid that they think the quarters that go into the compressed air tire inflating machine are going straight to ExxonMobilMcCain? Srsly?!? Arrogant dumbfuck lying sack-of-shit MORON.
XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 17 aug 08)
New York City :: Brazilian Girls
Super Afro Soul :: Orlando Julius
Marimba Music of Guatemala :: Chapinlandia
En Este Camino :: Pistolera
Mi Niña Lola :: Buika
Ayombe!: the Heart of Colombia's Music Vallenata :: various
Sonantes :: Sonantes
Nine Heavens :: Niyaz
Soul Science :: Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara
Romance :: Rosa Passos
this week's video feature: Pistolera
Nice interview with Byrne and Eno in today's NYTimes. I particularly recommend the audio clips from the interview, which add a few anecdotes not in the text version, including Eno talking about working w/ Herbie Hancock and about having to go on an archaeological dig thru his old computers to find the original tracks of the mixes he'd sent to Byrne while they were working on this project. There's also bits of two other songs from the album. (Reminder: released tomorrow at the official site)
Today TCM was featuring Fred Astaire as part of their month-long "Summer Under the Stars" programming. We just got finished watching a 1991 program about Fred Astaire as a singer. Which was great, w/ lots of clips from the movies plus some rare footage, like a rehearsal from Shall We Dance, an alternate take of "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man," and some kinescopes of Astaire on Oscar Levant's TV show from the 50s. Absent any concerns about rights and clearances and whatever, Astaire had a long career full of brilliant work, so it was inevitable that they wouldn't be able to fit everything into 1 hour.
Here's one thing that got missed -- a bit of Astaire and Crosby from Holiday Inn
Today's thing to check out: classic 20th century photos recreated with Legos. Brilliant! Found via Womzilla who is absolutely correct that "obsessive, eccentric brilliancy" is what makes the internets so grand.
One sure sign that the students are headed back into town is that the displays at Sam's, which are usually of the new arrivals of craft brews or imports, are now seven-foot tall stacks of Bud Lite and Busch.
And speaking of tasty beverages, World Beer Festival tickets will be on sale next week. I notice they've made a few changes this year, including where tix will be available, and having the frist day of sale be Wed. instead of Sat.
So perhaps you've heard that Hollywood is out of ideas. Well, yeah, they are apparently really out of ideas. Latest evidence? Lost Boys sequel out on DVD this week. What in the what now? That is not a franchise anyone needs to be revisiting. Also, here's Wil Wheaton letting you know that a Rocky Horror remake is BAD idea. Me, I'm that appalled and then some at the news that Howard Stern is planning to remake Rock & Roll High School. Argh. Just, argh.
I was listening to the Retro music channel on cable last night while I was working on something. It does tend to err on the side of the obvious, but they will roll out some more obscure gems like "New Rose" or "Bone Machine" or even something I've never heard before, like the Peter Murphy cover of "Funtime". However they also perpetrated possibly the worst segue in the history of segues:
"Do You Wanna Dance?" :: Ramones
"Too Shy" :: Kajagoogoo
"Holidays in the Sun" :: Sex Pistols
one of these things is not like the other...
XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 10 aug 08)
Super Afro Soul :: Orlando Julius
Mi Niña Lola :: Buika
Nine Heavens :: Niyaz
Marimba Music of Guatemala :: Chapinlandia
Sonantes :: Sonantes
En Este Camino :: Pistolera
Soul Science :: Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara
Ayombe!: the Heart of Colombia's Music Vallenata :: various
Amor, Dolor y Lagrimas :: Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano
Romance :: Rosa Passos
this week's video feature: Orlando Julius
As we get deeper into the fall, I'm sure there will be many more opportunities for this, so let's kick off the Moron of the Week. And our first winner is Cokie "I know Hawaii is a state but..." Roberts. I mean, I'm used to media types saying stupid shit, but that's raising the idiocy level way too high. John McCain flies around on a private jet, has eight houses and fuckin' $500 shoes but I'm supposed to be outraged cos Obama went to visit his granny in Hawaii?!?
Cokie Roberts needs to chill the fuck out and shut the fuck up.
Check this: new off-Broadway musical about Fela. Directed by Bill T. Jones. And with members of Antibalas in the band. According to the article, it's only scheduled for a short run in Sept. Hmm... might be another road trip in the works...
Playlist update: my show from last Thursday is now entered in the online playlister (the "i am what i play" link over on the left there). I had an under-caffeinated moment and forgot to log in, so the whole show got entered under the 6am DJ's login. Doh!
Artcar update: as in, hey, I saw an artcar driving around Durm today. Unfortunately, I was in the far right hand lane and they were in the far left lane heading in the opposite direction so I only got a quick glimpse. It appeared to be painted and with a pretty complicated design but that's all I got so far.
Here's an interesting article from Gourmet about the science of taste. There were a few things I already knew, like the part about how we can only taste certain things on certain parts of the tongue being wrong. But I wasn't aware that researchers had tossed out the "five essential tastes" idea. It's telling that the article really doesn't mention how many tastes there are because it sounds like they don't know yet. One thing I thought was interesting was that the writer mentions that most people mistakenly think flavor and taste are the same thing and the link actually demonstrates that -- the article's about the science of taste but the link to the pages says "science of flavor." The other thing I found most interesting was seeing again how close industrial food chemistry and molecular gastronomy often are. So we've got companies trying to figure out how to synthesize something that will block the bitter taste of the potassium chloride they've added to reduce the sodium content of their super-salty products (and pleased that the amounts needed will be so low that they can "hide" it under the listing for artificial flavors). And we've also got MG chefs trying to figure out some substance that will mask the taste of sugar so they can create an wholly savory ice cream. I think the savory ice creams that exist now tend to be interplays between the sweetness of the ice cream (sugar is essential to getting the correct ice cream texture as anyone who ever tried to make sugar-free ice cream can tell you) and the savory elements (bacon, avocado, curry, fish, etc).
On Andrew Sullivan's blog yesterday, he referenced a suggestion that the Obama campaign start distributing tire gauges. Hey, I had that idea on Wednesday. Guess that's what I get for just mentioning it here in my living room instead of writing to WaPo.
Tonight we switched off from Rockwood Thursdays (I'd been there each of the last three weeks) and paid a visit to El Paraiso w/ Sta Salsera. It was as excellent as previously reported (by Sarah and Phil among others). Sadly, the watermelon agua fresca was not available tonight. The tamarindo was very good though. Much lighter than most previous versions I've tried. I'm generally not a fan of the tamarindo & usually prefer horchata or jamaica but if all tamarindos were like Paraiso's I'd be down with it. Everyone was supernice. I do believe that the corn tortillas are made there They're very fresh, at any rate. Altho I wish there were two per taco, as they really couldn't stand up to the filling. I had what's become my standard check-the-taqueria order: dos de cabeza y uno de lengua. So good. The salsas (rojo y verde) are both good, and also very fresh-tasting. The green's got some serious kick to it. Highly recommended, y'all. They're on Alston, just down from Main.
w00t!
David Byrne and Brian Eno have a new project called Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The album drops on 8/18. More info at the official site, including a free download of the first single "Strange Overtones" and info on the upcoming tour. Which starts in Sept., sadly sans Eno, altho Byrne will be focusing on the new rekkid plus stuff from earlier collaborations w/ Eno, inc. Remain in Light and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. So far, the closest he's getting to Durm is Asheville or Newport News, VA. But there's a promise of more dates to come so here's hoping. Otherwise, a road trip may be in order.
XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 3 aug 08)
Super Afro Soul :: Orlando Julius
En Este Camino :: Pistolera
Ayombe!: the Heart of Colombia's Music Vallenata :: various
Sonantes :: Sonantes
Amor, Dolor y Lagrimas :: Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano
Marimba Music of Guatemala :: Marimba Chapinlandia
Import-Export a la Turka :: various
A Tribute to Gonzalo Asencio: Tio Tom, 1919-1991 :: Orlando "Puntilla" Rios y el Conjunto Todo Rumbero
Romance :: Rosa Passos
Nine Heavens :: Niyaz
this week's video feature: Orlando "Puntilla" Rios
We went to the DBAP tonight to see the game between the US and Canadian Olympic baseball teams. Even though it's the last tune-up game for both teams before they head to Beijing, I was expecting something with about the intensitry level of a spring training game. But it was nuts. 4 US batters got hit by pitches. The Canadian manager got tossed from the game. I'm not sure why. I was watching Davey Johnson (the US manager) argue a call at home plate. It took my a while to realize there was another argument going on at first base. Still not sure what all was going on. That's the only disadvantage to watching games at the stadium -- no play by play to explain shit. The US team scored at least one run in every inning, had at least 4 home runs, and scored 9 runs in the 5th inning. I know I've seen teams bat around before, but I've never seen anyone score 9 times in one inning. And altho the US hitters were pounding the ball (there was a home run in the 5th, a screaming line drive that was still going up when it sailed over the bull out in left field), the Canadian team was giving them a lot of help. In addition to all the hit batters there was a throwing error that kept the 5th going. Plus the first baseman dropped the high popup that should have ended the inning. I've seen plays like that a lot, and you always seen the runnners circling the bases and it's always pointless cos the infielder always catches the popup. Well, not tonight. Tonight was that 1 chance out of 100 that the coach sites when he tells you why you have to run out everything.
It was 14-4 when we left, in the top of the 6th. The US team hit another home run while we were walking out of the stadium. Final score was 17-5, with the game stopped after the 7th inning. International baseball has a mercy rule, ending games if one team has a 10+ run lead at the end of 7.
I can't say I think much of Canada's chances at the Olympics in a couple of weeks. The other teams qualified are: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Cuba, the Netherlands, and the US. Other than the Netherlands (who knew they played baseball in Amsterdam?), that's a pretty formidable group of traditional powers.
It was a meat-tastic weekend. Like Sarah mentioned, she got me a mail order sampler of barbecue from the Salt Lick, which is in the Hill Country, southwest of Austin, TX. I've heard them mentioned as being among the best of Texas 'cue. So far we've tried the ribs and they were awesome. We should be getting into the brisket later in the week and that should really be the test. Texas 'cue is all about the beef.
The other meaty highlight of the weekend was dinner at the Pit in Raleigh. It's in the old Nana's Chophouse building, so it's a really nice warehouse-y space. Service was great, very prompt and friendly esp. the bartender who was chatting w/ us while we had a tasty beverage and waited for our table (we got there early). I had a particularly tasty French Broad Altbier on draft. They have an excellent selection. For starter, we had the BBLT, which is barbecue bacon, lettuce, tomato and house-made pimento cheese on little silver dollar biscuits. Ohmigod... so good. There was also a basket of biscuits and hush puppies to nibble on while waiting. On recommendation of the bartender, we both went for the chopped whole hog. And it is killer. Absolutely the best chopped pork 'cue I have ever had anywhere. The pit's being run by Ed Mitchell, a legendary Eastern NC barbecue master. We opted for the 2 meat combo and both got the fried chicken. Excellent chicken altho I'd probably skip it next time, just cos that's a lot o' food. Sides were: mac & cheese (outstanding!), marinated beets (great; very lightly pickled), sweet potato fries (also great), and fresh fruit (mostly melon; tasty, and more important, light). Oh, and slaw comes w/ the plates. It's more what I think of as classic slaw, not that barbecue slaw that you see more in western NC. For dessert we split the peach turnover (fresh peaches!) w/ blueberry ice cream. Way too much food but, hey, celebration. Highly recommended, even if it does mean driving all the way to Raleigh.
Dahlias in bloom. I don't remember if we got any flowers at all last year, what with the drought and all. Maybe one. In addition to these two, there's another bud that should be open soon. Tomatoes are doing well, altho later than last year. Poblanos are slowly recovering from having all the leaves eaten off them back in June. Also getting some eggplants as well. And basil, of course. It wouldn't be summer (and all you gotta do is step outside to know that it's summer) w/o basil.
And now, for all your hate-to-get-up-in-the-morning needs, it's the Wake 'n Bacon. That's right, it's an alarm clock that wakes you up by cooking bacon. Sadly, it seems to just be at the prototype phase and not available to buy anywhere. Yet. Hopefully some venture capitalist or some other type of visionary investor will see the brilliance of this deviee and provide enough cash to bring this ingenious device to the people.
The other day, Patrick Nielsen Hayden made a Bonzo Dog Band reference over on Making Light. Which lead ML regular (and occasional FunnyStrange commenter) Kip W to post a link to a brilliant fan video of "the Intro and the Outro" which pulls together all the many folks named in the song. It's always been my fave Bonzos tune. Possibly because it was the first of theirs I ever heard -- a long time ago on the college radio station of Seton Hall University. And here it is...