Hearing Impaired

Hello all, sorry for the prolonged absence from posting. This week has been nothing short of a maelstrom of work, domesticity, and rock starring. Mainly work though. Let's recap a few things, shall we?

So, last night, after I'd finally roped in most of my work for the week, the problems were solved, things were looking up, and I was looking forward to eating some delicious burritos, taking a delicious nap, watching some delicious oc, and then going to the delicious black cat with some delicious eckert and mottrams, to watch a really freaking dirty rock band. All of the above were executed - save one VERY important one. Imagine my distress upon waking from my nap, ready for some fun in Newport Beach, only to find - NO! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! - our loathesome president, babbling away about BULLSHIT, addressing the state of the union instead of The OC. WTF!!!!!!!! Someone I so strongly dislike denying me my week's most precious hour? That is IT! I have HAD it! Screwing up our economy, environment, society, the future, and America's standing with the rest of the world, well, that's one thing. Screwing with THE OC - that is just unacceptable.

*Please note: I do care more about those other things than the OC. Tongue firmly placed in cheek. However, F that guy!

Now, on to the really freaking dirty rock band. Last night it was Louis XIV.

I wasn't quite loving their album as much as Mottram was; the REALLY dirty lyrics and sort of unpolished sound didn't catch me at first. But the more I listened, the catchier "wind me up and make me crawl to you/tie me up and make me call to you" got. Though I'm pretty sure I really did get some pretty serious hearing damage at the show, it was a lot of fun. They had haircuts that were the intersection between Rod Stewart in the 70s and Spinal Tap. They sang and spoke (sometimes) in fake British accents ~ though they're from California. They had that post punk fancy suit/dishelved hair/lots of eyeliner look down pat. They had a hottie blond headed drummer. They had a raucus lead singer, and a high-voiced backup/guitarist. The Black Cat had "Dance Fever" Chris Mottram, and a fan whose dancing was one of the funniest things any of us have ever seen. It's sure to be immitated at every party where Chris and I cross paths in the near future.

Afterwards, Liz and I passed on going to Saint Ex with the guys in favor of pizza from the amazingly delicious place next door. As we're dining and enjoying hte deliciousness of made to order jumbo slices, sans chemical flavor or doughiness (as is the general state of Adams Morgan jumbo slice), Jenna comes home WASTED from happy hour. Tapas and pommegranite margaritas brought out hilariously drunk Jenna, who was ELATED when I told her that there were some Mottrams up at Saint Ex. It didn't take much convincing before we were out the door and living the hipster life in the basement with the guys. Stella, bubble gum smokes, a lack of chairs, some scintilating conversation, and we were on our way back home at about 2am.

Surprisingly, I'm kind of alive today. Kind of.

Concerts

Concert updates ~

5/6: Decemberists @ 930 ~ Sadly, I'll be in San Diego (psych, so not sad). But, you should all go.

5/12: Kasabian @ 930 ~ anybody interested?

5/19: Stereophonics @ 930 ~ anybody interested?

5/28: I've got tickets to the Raveonettes at Black Cat, but found out Rilo Kiley's gonna be at 930 the same night. Raveonettes would be cool, but, I'd rather see RK....anybody want Raveonettes tickets? Or to go to Rilo Kiley with me?

6/3: Spoon @ 930 ~ anybody interested?

6/8: Killers, Keane, Louis XIV @ Merriweather. Yeah, Merriweather sucks, but this show sure won't.

Internet

Oh Internet, you never stop coming up with ways to amuse me. This site appears to be a collective of IM conversations. It's the worldwide infinite profile those of us who never unplug have been clamoring for for years. Ahhhh, sweet sweet internet. :)

Seriously....

Rapidfire post #3....

Check out what Matt Allen and Gus are up to now. I mean really. Who in their right mind would respond to that?

Dalidio Ranch Marketplace

I just came across the website for a project my aunt and uncle have been pouring every ounce of their energy in for years now. If you know anybody out in San Luis Obispo, encourage them to get on board with this development project.

Role Reversal

Gonna take a moment to revel in coming full circle. Tonight, my mom is coming over to my house, and I'm cooking dinner for her. There's no way I could ever even come close to matching the number and quality of dinners she's made for me over the years, but it just feels kind of nice to be at that place. And, for those of you not quite sure what to be making for dinner tonight, here's the menu:

Good & Easy Chicken
Combine the folowing ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup oil
• 4 tsp water
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 tbl brown sugar

over 6 to 8 chicken breasts in a casserole. Bake at 375% for 1 hour.

I'll probably add some fresh basil in there too.

Green Been & Tomato Salad
Combine fresh cut green beans, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, thick-cut onion pieces, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, basil, italian seasoning, salt, pepper in a dish. Let stand in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

Orzo
...Cook orzo. Add butter and salt. Cheese cloth or a strainer with really tiny holes is helpful.

And finally....
Some sort of dessert - probably gonna make the key lime bars I have sitting in my cabinet. (If Backaw were coming over for dinner, I'd definitely make lemon bars.)


Sometimes my domestic half takes over.... as Derik and Liz are very familiar with, as frequent receiving ends of my helpful hints.

Ladies & Gentlemen, My Dad

I heart Google.

Redskins Report

Couple things here...

1) 2005 Schedule's been announced
As usual, it's a toughy. We play Dallas Monday night at Dallas in week 2. Play Philly twice. I'm psyched for gametime already!

1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11 -- Chicago Bears (FOX)
9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19 -- at Dallas (ABC)
Sunday, Sept. 25 -- Open Date

1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 -- Seattle Seahawks (FOX)
4:15 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 -- at Denver (FOX)
1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16 -- at Kansas City (FOX)
1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23 -- San Francisco 49ers (FOX)
1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30 -- at New York Giants (FOX)

8:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 -- Philadelphia Eagles (ESPN)
1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 -- at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (FOX)
1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 -- Oakland Raiders (CBS)
1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27 -- San Diego Chargers (CBS)

4:05 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 -- at St. Louis Rams (FOX)
4:05 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 -- at Arizona Cardinals (FOX)
1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 -- Dallas Cowboys (FOX)
1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24 -- New York Giants (FOX)

4:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1 -- at Philadelphia Eagles (FOX)

2) Come on, guys.
Alright, what could Joe Gibbs have possibly done that's so bad that Sean Taylor won't return his phone calls? Quit being such a brat and talk to your freaking head coach. I don't care who you are or how special you feel. It's your damn job. Moss and Arrington have gotten over themselves it's time you do too Taylor. Don't get me wrong, I love watching you play, but you gotta earn it!

Rock Report

The Kills
Black Cat

Went into the show a bit trepidatious. The music I'd listened to beforehand was a little more rough/screamo/punk/harder than I usually get on with, however, it had its merits and hell, we already had the tickets, so I went in with a positive mindset. After the horribly awful show from last week, Liz and I decided to take our time making our way up there. We got there while The Routineers were playing. Wow, so bad. The instruments were sloppy, the vocals were femme nazzi screamy, the overall tone was unpollished 90s disaffected youth. Thumbs down. Scout Niblett followed. Once again, way 90s (up to and including Courtney Love style bleached out hair and baby doll dress), however, a vast improvement upon the first band. They had this whole dichotemy angle of dissonant instrumentals and baby-voiced vocals. Sometimes they got it really right, and sometimes they didn't quite make it. Alright, at this point we're getting a little nervous. But hey, the crowd's filling in, we've both read heaps of praise for The Kills (particularly regarding live performance), so ok, let's bear with it here. First notes had us wondering if perhaps we were a little too far past solemn teenager moodiness to enjoy this kind of show. The heroine chic couple next to us who literally stood in the same spot the entire night and never once changed their facial expressions or postures were the stark comparisson that made us question how right we were to be there. But then, they really got started. While it's still not the type of music I would listen to every day, this was one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen. The lead singer - VV - is one of the most charismatic performers I've ever witnessed. Her magnetism is present when she's standing still and giving a religiosity to her vocals, or when she's twitching uncontrolably to the guitars of Hotel (her band mate) and giving the most kinetic and electric show I've ever witnessed. She's model beautiful, but you can only tell that in the moments when she's flailing and her midnight colored hair moves out of her face. She interacts with the microphone in a way that would make her boyfriend jealous. The two had a tangible chemistry that was really extroridnary. They'd move up towards each other as they played/sang, and had this sort of rhythmic approach dance, it was pretty incredible.

Here's some of what MTV.com had to say about them, background style:

London, Brixton Academy, October 29, 2004. Two figures, under dim lights, which obscure more than illuminate. One, his jacket zippered up to his chin, eyes glaring headlight-style at the distant balcony, slashes and twitches in time to the rhythm of his guitar riffs. The other, her raven hair matted over her face, sways and thrashes along, incanting into her microphone the sweetest seduction one moment, then untethered rage the next.

This Anglo-American duo force you to engage deeply in their music. Where most contemporary groups hit you with an elaborately orchestrated reading of a song, Kills reduce rock & roll to its barest components.

The Kills, VV and Hotel, have a special relationship. You don't see chemistry like this on a stage every day of the week. They met five or six years ago in South London, while VV, née Alison Mosshart, was on tour in Europe with her band at the time, Discount. Hotel, then known as merely Jamie Hince, had just wound up his group Scarfo and was just knocking around a few solo ideas. Before Alison returned home to Florida, they exchanged numbers. They corresponded, sending each other letters, tapes and occasionally splashing out on a pricey international call.

At the turn of the millennium, Alison moved in with Jamie in his flat in Gypsy Hill, London. They gave each other a stage name, and The Kills were born. In many ways, The Kills had been born the very day when they met. The band was an expression of everything they experienced together, a document of them. They were entirely self-sufficient. While Alison did most of the singing, Jamie did most of the guitar. He also learned to drum and lay down some backing beats on tape. What else did they need? Anyone else would be an intruder.

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

Well, more like minimal makeover. But I just thought I'd call your attention to some blogstretch improvements, here and hear.

Please note the addition of links on the sidebar. These are sites that I like and visit all the time, ya know, the ones not run by friends of mine. I saved myself the trouble of witty quipping on the sidebar, so here's a guide for ya:

• Hip Clicks: A writer at USA Today's blog. She's got a great sensibility and is generally fun to read. She links to various things of note going on 'round the Web.
• Fark: AKA, The Productivity Zapper. This eternally updated site compiles links to the absurd, obscure, or just plain interesting. With the added bonus of witty headlines!
• Slate: An MSN news magazine with great feature takes on current events. Well written and always compelling and thought provoking.
• The Onion: Fake news, some could say a TDS predecessor, but I just say it's funny. And if you don't already read it, you're way out of touch.
• The Onion AV Club: They pull great interviews with a really eclectic mix of musicians, filmmakers, artists, etc. Their reviews are always pretty good too, and their features are on point.
• Spin: Website of the other music magazine. I particularly like their band of the day feature. Good for perusing and, ya know, keeping cool.
• Pitchfork: An alternative music online magazine with reviews, news, and more. They tend to be a bit effusive when they love things, and a bit damning when they don't, and I don't always agree, but it's a pretty solid place to start.
• Alternet: One of a few liberal news/opinion sites on here. Tends to have really well written essay style stories.
• Talking Points Memo: A favorite democratic blog. This guy is on top of absolutely EVERYTHING. No breaking news, scandal, detail or explanation is left uncovered.
• Tetris: Yes, that's right. Tetris.
• Screenhead: In its own words: "Screenhead is an online review of funny shit. Gross Photoshop humor, idiotic Flash animations, laughable Japanese commercials—updated twelve times a day."
• Bob and David - It's Official!: Bob Odenkirk and David Cross run this hilarious site. That should tell you enough.
• dcist: The Life section of the Post not really giving you the tips you had in mind for weekend plans? dcist is a great site with event notices, reviews, news and more, all aimed at the twenty-something sect that's not lashed to capitol hill.
• Oliver Willis: Another great liberal blog. Tells it like it is. When "gimme a break" is the most logical response, that's where he takes you. Then backs it up with support. In his own words, this site is like "kryptonite to stupid."
• Overheard In New York: The site that spawned eVesdropper. A hilarious and widely used site posted to by a gaggle of new yorkers with the absurdities uttered in their midsts.
• Rocket Kids: The blog of a poet recommended to me by a coworker (who is friends with said poet). She's got some pretty good stuff on there, makes my inner English major happy.
• You Yes You: This is a great site; an artist posts sketches. The style very unique, but the site still maintains that blog element of running commentary.
• 10x10: Pretty cool site. Every hour, they update with the 100 most relevant images (judged by some sort of advanced googling practice I believe). Quite literally, a snapshot of the moment.
• Washington Post Blog: Just read this for the first time the other day, but seemed to be promising. Just some dude, blogging via the post.
• Redskins: Hail to 'em!
• Page 2: Sub-page to ESPN.com with great columnists, hilarious contests and great concepts. Just plain funny.
• Gardenstate: Zach Braff's blog. It's as funny and charming as he is.

Soon to come (when I can convince my good friend Drew to give me another HTML 101 lesson), there will also be some frequently updated sidebar action regarding my current media intake and mental output. Hope you enjoy!

I've gotten some complaints that for some of you, the blog content doesn't show until after the sidebar content (i.e., tons of scrolling down). This is a problem with Internet Explorer that I'm not sophisticated enough to know how to remedy from my end, so I urge you to download and use Mozilla's Firefox, a much safer, friendlier, better browser.

eMemory Lane

The products of random mining through IM logs

mads t r e t c h: montana
gdariusjr: WTF
gdariusjr: i haven't seen that word in a long time
gdariusjr: that word is up there with Ghettysburg
gdariusjr: and Encyclopedia Britanica
mads t r e t c h: HAHAHAHAHHA
mads t r e t c h: platypus
gdariusjr: yah good good
gdariusjr: Carl Weathers
mads t r e t c h: jason priestly
gdariusjr: mayam bialick
mads t r e t c h: haha
mads t r e t c h: tempest bledsoe
gdariusjr: Ryan Mroz <>

mads t r e t c h: Ya know what I love?
GordonBShumway: little cheetahs?
mads t r e t c h: well, yes
mads t r e t c h: but also
GordonBShumway: fat black men?
mads t r e t c h: ha, not exclusively
GordonBShumway: pirate treasure?
GordonBShumway: aka booty?
GordonBShumway: i like this game

ike spivey: cute girl, kind of a drag
ike spivey: also, I'm from the 60's
ike spivey: and often use terms like drag

mads t r e t c h: but now, need to go home
mads t r e t c h: errr...to bed
mads t r e t c h: which i apparently think of as my "home"

mads t r e t c h: how were the birthday festivities last night?
ike spivey: drunken
ike spivey: there's much to elaborate on, but it makes the Drew look bad
mads t r e t c h: sounds like good storyness
ike spivey: well...
ike spivey: I just got home from dropping a girl off
mads t r e t c h: hahahahhaha
ike spivey: no clue what her name is
ike spivey: oh man, I have to drive to philly at 12, I've never wanted to do anything less in my life
mads t r e t c h: sounds like you need gatorade, multivitamins, popeyes, and lots and lots of coffee
ike spivey: your ideas intrique me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter

LKE16: ok
LKE16: im gonna go do something with me damn life
LKE16: like
LKE16: shower
LKE16: and
LKE16: do laundry
LKE16: and
LKE16: figure out what to wear tomorrow

normcdnld: pee pee
normcdnld: i love saying that, a lot
mads t r e t c h: freud would have a lot to say about that
normcdnld: then i'd karate kick his face off
normcdnld: then he wouldnt have anything at all to say, cause he couldnt
mads t r e t c h: meany
normcdnld: yeah right i'm a ninja its what i do

Raando23: how have you been?
mads t r e t c h: can't complain
mads t r e t c h: ya know, livin the nova life, so, hustlin, makin dat paper, the usual
Raando23: sure, sure
Raando23: so, how long have you been living in falls church?
Raando23: because you've got the lingo down pat
mads t r e t c h: fightin' word #1 in under 30 seconds of conversation, new record?
Raando23: haha, i mean, we could be wandering the desert 40 years down the road and we'd run into each other and you'd say "so, at some point, you looked at that shirt and said 'hey, this looks like a good idea'"

Raando23: i can't imagine you with a dumber guy
Raando23: god help you if i ever see you dating one
Raando23: because that scene won't be pretty

mads t r e t c h: e.g., this whole schiavo fiasco
Raando23: yeah
Raando23: and the steroids thing
Raando23: are you telling me that's the most pressing issue facing this country?
Raando23: can you say "smokescreen?"
mads t r e t c h: i could, but you wouldn't be able to read it through the smoke
Raando23: well played

Sick Mulletude, Part II

Sam's mullet before a part at the alamo last year - side view

Sick Mulletude, Part I

And just to make matters worse....

Champaign, Tapas, and Noise Violations

Another eventful weekend in the illustrious life of Amanda Mattos. I hit several different levels of the social spectrum this weekend. Why don't you sit a spell, and find out about it!

Friday, Friday, Friday!
Durring the day, Liz and I still weren't sure if we were gonna try and go to the Fiery Furnaces/Dios Malos show, but we knew we wanted to cap off the evening at liberation dance party. The night did not end up having anything in common with either of those plans. Sometime durring the work day I got a message from one miss Jamie Chiriboga that she was in town for the weekend, and heading out in Adam's Morgan. Well, awesome! Liz and Jenna were on board with the Adam's Mo plans. Ruddock, Stephanie and I cabbed it out to preparty with midget and some of her friends in Woodley Park. We ended up beating the midge to the party, so we (and the vodka in stephanie's purse, and the soco & lime in rachel's) walked on up to Adam's Morgan to a lounge/bar called Bossa. We were, apparently feeling celebratory. Before Jenna & Liz joined us, we were living it up with a bottle of champaign and some delicious tapas. One bottle turned into three, three girls turned into six, the friendly patrons turned into skeevy old men, and we were on our way to bar #2. We wanted to meet JamieCh and her pals at Reef, but the bar was aparently so packed, we got put in a holding room more or less. So on to Roxanne it was. Roooooooooooooxanne! Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddd Bull! Sooooooooooooocoooooooooooooo! Yeah, this is where the night starts to fall off a bit. We were both buying and making soco and lime shots (from Rachel's stash). I got to hear all about Jamie's adventures in Cali, and the ties that bind her to VA ;) And then, RBVManda came out and well, yeah. We went to the Blue Room and met up with some Italians. Jenna and I danced danced danced (allegedly). People made out. We went for jumbo slices. As I stood in line for jumbo slices, a british guy walked up to me and goes "How many pieces do you need?" "Three!" "OK." Comes back about 30 seconds later with three jumbo slices. MAGIC! We bonded with all our international imports outside the pizza place (the chemical slice place, as Jenna claims), then finkled on home for a no pants/pass out party - but not before I decided to throw away my contacts.

*Exhale*

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday!
I hopped from Liz's bed to Jenna's around 10am. Shortly thereafter, we discovered that it was the most gloriously beautiful day possible. Liz was still in "Phase 1" (Drink water! Go back to bed!), so Jenna and I ventured out into the city on our own. Having, so wisely, thrown away my contacts before bed on Friday, my field of vision was very limited, so the whole afternoon was kind of dream-statey. Might have been, even if I'd been blessed with vision. We walked around and found the greatest little French cafe. We sat outside and enjoyed cappucinos and cokes, crepes and lox. The patrons were all grade A for people watching and hipstering. Our waitor was a real trip. When I asked for change for my $20, he said, "Oh, I fear change." Hilarious. We worked our way back home, where Liz was still about Phase 1.5 so Jenna, Luna and I headed out to my place. We had a really lovely afternoon of planting floweres in my window box, writing cover letters for Jenna, and grocier shopping. Seriously, it was a really fun day. Cause I'm a million. Anyhow, clock was tickin around and it was about time to get ready for Tony & Felicia's housewarming party. Their place looks so great, Felicia did such an amazing job. It was a really nice evening (that turned into a bit of an eventful night with the less-couth guests causing some drama), but all in all their house has been sufficiently warmed.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!
After getting back to my mom's house to crash at six a.m., Liz and I slept till 2pm. Whoopsies :) We had a very European-style breakfast, then helped my mom out in the yard by picking up sticks, or, making faggots. We sang the vitamin d/bundling sticks song, and as you can imagine, made many many jokes about making faggots ("Liz only kept the pretty ones, she put all the ugly sticks in my faggot." "And the crooked ones."). We also had an epiphany and made the connection between Sunny Delight (Sunny D) and Vitamin D/the sun. Fantastic! It was about time to go retrieve our cars, so mom gave us a ride back to Reston. She got to meet Ottis & Missy, and is now officially in love. The party aftermath was just about cleared away, so my mom thought it would be an appropriate time to drop a case of beer in the parking lot. Ha. The fun just doesn't stop! Liz and I sat around for a while, picking at their Chipotle (before procuring our own), and discussing very important issues, like whether Otis will try and hump Missy when he's older, or if Tony was a dog, whether he'd want to hump Missy. It was a lovely day out on the porch, a relaxing end to an eventful couple of days. Around dusk, we all packed in in and called it a weekend.

What to do, where I've been, and other stories

*GASP!*
As I went to write this post, I noticed that one of the color chips i used to make a frame around a poster in my office is missing! Jack Kerouac as photographed by Allen Ginsberg may slowly leak beyond frame if I don't do something about this quickly....

In other news, anybody interested in checking out the DC International Film Festival? Seems like a pretty cool thing to do.

It's a pretty gloomy day thus far. I know this because I am writing this from the vantage point of an office with WINDOWS! The scenic scapes of lovely Tysons Corner, VA lay out before me. The mysteries of Greensboro Drive, Route 7, and the Tower shopping center (Pike 7 Plaza) evade me no more!

It always kind of seems odd to me that Tysons Corner is actually a city on its own. I've always considered it the mall adjascent to Vienna, and not much else. Does anyone else ever wonder why there's no apostrophe in the name? I'm fairly certain that the name refers to some dude named Tyson who owned this whole piece. Give me my apostrophe, dammit! I couldn't find anything very conclusive about the history of Tysons Corner online, so my quest continues. I'll keep you posted.

I'm moving a little slow this morning, stayed up too late last night. I watched an oh so great episode of...hey, bet you can guess!

The crystal egg from Risky Business, a long overdue Summer "Ewe!", seeing Ben McKenzie sans-shirt (um, whoa, who knew?!), self-referentiality to the pilot with the whole tie-tying scene

& the ryan giving marissa his jacket scene,

some delicious near-moments with Ryan and Marissa, Seth as wingman (that key thing was hilarious), bloc party's "banquet," ....yeah, that's about it. But, hey, this is good stuff here, people! Anyhow, following my romp in orange county, I met Jess up at Whitlows for an evening of mad high run ins, and meeting a host of odd and random dudes. And NOT running into Jon Henry, as I would have liked to do. Then I came home, and after much hedging, decided to fall asleep to Varsity Blues. Then woke up (late) to a report on the Today Show about a Texas high school football coach getting shot by a player's parent. Yeesh.

I had a lovely lunch with Cowden yesterday, I can't believe how long it had been since we hung out. I'd like to also wish BECKY KINLEIN a belated happy birthday, happy birthday today to DAN CRENSHAW, and happy birthday tomorrow to BABY KULL. I love you all, and you know this. OK, back to my professional persuits. Have a lovely day.

Reeeeeeaally advanced planning

I got an email from McFaddens about a deal they'll be running for Nationals games. $35 for transportation to & from game (from McFaddens), the ticket to the game, and all-you-can-drink Millter Lite Drafts. Um, sweet! Basically I can't go to any of them until June 5 (birthday of the wonderful Joey Kull and the fantastic Meagan Burke). My dear Beth Anne Tommasone will be in town then, and, as she's even CRAZIER about planning things in advance than I am, well, we've decided to definitely go. It's a 1:00 Sunday game. Right now it's me, Beth, Robbie (Tommasone) Christine, and possibly Russel, the Love Muscle (Now Open for Pleasure) (LMNOP). If anyone else wants to come, give our good friends Ali or Heather a call at 202.223.2338 to make your reservation. Yeah, I know I'm crazy. But as the time approaches...I'll still be doing this, so if you are too...see ya there :)


Oh, and a note:
Got the O.C., Mix 4 (the fourth OC soundtrack). So far not quite so impressive as 1 & 2 were (3 was a Christmakuh album that completely evaded me - I tried to buy it several times to no avail). The first two really are great mixes. This one's good, but so far hasn't grown on me quite so much. Time will tell.

I look forward to getting my death metal on tonight as Liz and I visit the Black Cat to see Eagles of Death Metal (ironically, not a death metal band). Ohhhhh yayer.

Guess Who Said It!

I've just discovered the Corner Bakery receipt upon which Jill & I wrote quotes down as we happy houred at Rock Bottom last week. So let's play a little game of Guess Who Said It! Your options are me, Jill, or random dude in the bathroom.

*Note: We took some more down on a pad in Jill's purse, but...I don't know where they are. Probably, Jill's purse.

1) To (x): "Oh, you're in realty?"
(x): "Yeah, I'm in mortgages."
*a few minutes later, same people*
(x): "Oh, so you're in construction?"
To (x): "Yeah...except it's architecture."

2) "Oh my god, that's the guy that I gave a lap dance to!"

3) (x): "Dude, you need to come back to the Bahamas with me."
To (x): "Why?"
(x): "Because your cock's too valuable to lessen civilization."

4) "Oh no! There are so many things wrong with your outfit, I don't even know where to start!"

5) "It was new year's! Two summers ago!"

Always & Forever

I am Kip Dynamite and I love technology.


Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I have an American friend who SAYS

Despite being terribly upset over the loss of Mitch Hedberg, I had a hell of a time at the Phoenix/DDIHC show last night. It ended up being Tyler, Jean, Drew and I, soaking up the atmosphere with alternative dc kids and french imports with fancy haircuts, steadily grooving to the jerky Scottish vocals and muppet-inspired keyboards from Dogs Die in Hot Cars, and the oh so French and kissable vocals and rainbow-producing guitars of Phoenix. I could seriously listen to Thomas Mars saying "SAYs" and "everythin" for hours on end. Tyler got so excited during "Too Young" that he blacked out for a minute. It was pretty frickin sweet. Phoenix is a band that hails from Paris, so apparently the entire contingent of young French imports in the DC area attended the show and stood right up front. They yelled things in French the entire time, and the extremely American audience that comprised all rows beyond the 1st & 2nd were yelling anything they could think of in French (forgive my spelling, don't know jack about French) - "merci," "pepe le pew," "voule vou couche avec moi," "croisant," "je tem," etc...

Seriously, look at them - they're just SO FRENCH:


Both bands were really tight (as in well practiced, but also as in "yo dat shit's tight), and feature strong front men who are charismatic and easy on the eyes.

Thomas Mars of Phoenix (who we decided looks like Jason Schwartzman + Adam Levine):
+ =


Craig Macintosh of DDIHC (who we agreed bears a striking resemblance to Jeremy Sisto mixed with our very own Dan Crenshaw):
+ =
(side note: dan, your google image search is hilarious)

Perhaps the most laughable element of the evening was the fact that the female keyboardist from DDIHC was the most muppety person I've ever seen in my life. There was simultaneous recognition of her muppetude amongst my friends. I couldn't find a solo pic of her, so you'll have to just interpret what you can from this group shot...and imagine lots of furious head shaking:


Rapid recap of the week gone by's events, as I have been too busy working and/or enjoying myself to do it justice: INTERPOL!, time is like a broken watch, osama bin laden's speech writer, "my bangs feel very rock 'n roll right now," "i just poured beer down my face," my friend, Ashish, the ticket fairy, jellyfish/parachutes, Alyssa Belle: never drives the same car twice, Robbins Eggs for dinner, Tom Toms and the free drink/phife/whoopsies/jumbo slice bonanza, Kuttin Heads, beer dropsies, free RBVs, the resurgence of PERU, vailed mysogeny & shit talking, the little giant, hell for an organized person, SERVICE AREA ONLY, mexicali blues and bad table manners, PJ Skadoos and seeing elementary school friends back that ass up, so much lunch with Drizew, Rock Bottom with its blonde explosion, past blasts, HtoHs, more PERU, wacky Jill time, and prospects. And, well, that just about takes us back up to...last night!

And tonight, the train just keeps on rollin, as GAVIN IS IN TOWN!!! I think it's safe to say, that nothing sober can come of this.