Another Distraction While I Do My Taxes

Happy Monday everyone. As I begin my climb downward to drown in receipts to report to Uncle Sam - and promise myself I'll never be the kind of uncle that requires my relatives to pay me while I wear a ridiculous red, white, and blue hat - I have some distractions to offer you.

If you're not familiar with The Mountain Goats, you're missing out on some wonderfully witty, poignant, and at times heart breaking music. John Darnielle is known for his energetic live performances peppered with his speeches and stories told to crowds of nerds/intellectuals/indie fans. Snatch up this gem of him telling the tragic tale of Swedish music heroes Ace of Base in his version of The Sign.

The Mountain Goats - The Sign (Live)

And if you're doing your taxes today also, take a break from adulthood with Joey Ramone and this track:

Ramones - I Don't Want To Grow Up

(Both of these tracks via You Ain't No Picasso)

And now, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.

A Steal Of a Deal Of a Meal

At work tonight I noticed a new French restaurant was added to our online delivery account. Being particularly in the mood for duck, crepes, and red wine (I was also wearing a kickin' beret), I decided to check out the menu. However, I think the Euro goes a lot further than my $20 expense account:













click on the image for a closer look

Because $2200 is a lot for a steak, even if it's all the way from gay Paris.
Ok. Maybe this is a misprint. But this isn't.

Wild Drum n' Bass Beats Will Drag Me Away

During a meeting with a friend at a coffee shop the other day, I heard a techno version of Sympathy For The Devil playing in the background. Keith Richards is rolling over in his grave right now.

Wait, that guy's still alive. But barely though. Just barely....

What's In The Hall?: 3-8-07

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's....

WHAT'S IN THE HALL?

I know this week's WITH? is a little late, but man oh man, it's a good one and you'll be glad you waited. Or, I waited.

So this week there were several choices of what was in the hall - lottery tickets, an open bag of Dipsy Doodles, two teenagers making out for 45 minutes - and then this wonderfully strange piece of furniture:



















You could add this great specimen to your dark, dank basement and use it as a torture rack to get secrets out of all those Russian spies that live in your hood (they're so stubborn!!).

However, on the eve of posting this entry, I stumbled upon something else in the hall too good to pass up:
















A truly space age microwave. Not only does this microwave sport stainless steel (which is the ultimate in space age-iness), but it also boasts an infrared scanner to scan UPC bar codes on food packaging for automatic programmed reheating!

After a little research I found out this microwave was part of the BEYOND suite of digital living products. Basically, kitchen appliances integrated with "smart" computer technology so they're all connected together - and when you sleep they will take over your house with technical wizardry and evil culinary genius.

This week's WITH? wowed me so much I brought it out of the hall and into the apartment. I ran it through some simple diagnostic tests (aka, heated up some leftover Pad Thai) and it passed with flying colors. I found out this microwave comes preloaded with 500 UPC's programmed into it to recognize food packages when you scan them. I tried out the scanner wand but to no avail. However, I was scanning a pint of Hagen Daz ice cream, so I don't hold that against the folks at BEYOND. Because really, they'd be the fools if they programmed ice cream into their scanning rolodex.















Wielding the laser wand in the kitchen

I was pretty fascinated by the whole BEYOND line - mostly because I can't figure out why I'd want my coffee maker to wirelessly sync up to my microwave (especially because they're usually close enough together to use a short wire for any "data transfer" I'd need). I was also impressed by the BEYOND Breadmaker, pretty much because a breadmaker is one of those appliances that's owned by only 1 out of every 20 people I know. So I can only imagine how many less people have a breadmaker with an infrared scanning wand. I started to get the feeling that the BEYOND line of products was like a jetpack - or better yet - like a LaserDisc player in the late 80's/early 90's: they seem pretty freakin' cool, but not many people you know have one, and you can pretty much get along OK without it.















Laseriffic re-heating - Comin' at ya!

So after a few hours, I returned the BEYOND microwave to the hall (this was also after my roommate Stu said it smelled musty). I figure WHAT'S IN THE HALL, stays in the hall.

Come back for next week's WHAT'S IN THE HALL? !

And for a special WITH? update:
As of this morning, the refrigerator from the first episode....



















Still in the hall!

Great Breaking News

Coming soon, News just got better. And newsier. Get excited.

Everybody Eat Now

Tonight at work I ordered delivery from a place called The Bread Factory. I went downstairs to pick up my order and as I signed my check I noticed the guy was wearing a pullover from The Laugh Factory. And as he walked away, I swear he had on a hat from The Cheesecake Factory.

As I turned to go upstairs and enjoy my meal, something made me turn back around.

"Hey man", I said. "I can't help but be curious about all your Factory gear and....Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Yeah. I used to lay some hard stuff down at another factory."

(Pause)

"Freedom?? Is that you?"

He stared me down hard.

"Yeah it's me. And that cafe au lait and large order of mixed berry crepes are gonna make you sweat."

And off he dashed through the revolving door into the night.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm", I thought. "That makes me go hmmmmmmmmm."