Friday
April 27
night versions from the rum runner
MEtRoday: Thursday 
3080, 
5148, 2016, 
2011;
Friday 1105, 2040, 5042, 3095
Night Runner is slated to be the lead-off single from Duran Duran's as-of-yet-untitled new album, scheduled for release this summer. The single will available in Japan, Europe and America in CD, vinyl (!) and digital formats. The single is rumored to feature Justin Timberlake and is described as a "techno dance anthem". Track listing for the Euro release is:
CD1:
Sony/BMG (UK)
"Night Runner (Single Mix)"
"Traumatized (Dave Ross Remix)"
CD2:
Sony/BMG (UK)
"Night Runner (Album version)"
"Night Runner (Dready Dancehall Mix)"
"Night Runner (Ben Hudson Urban Mix)"
Also credited:
Timbaland—Additional production, remixer
Nate Hills—Additional production
Jimmy Douglass—Engineer
MEtRoday: 5139, 3064, 1050
ColorField.remix is
the largest celebration of painting ever held in DC and it is in full swing.
It is a celebration of the Washington
Color School artists of the 50s and 60s. The .remix has over 30 galleries,
large and small, in DC either showing, reinterpreting or in some cases, re-emplementing
classic Colorfield paintings
by Gene Davis, Tim Downing, Morris
Louis, Howard Mehring, Kenneth Noland, Paul Reed and others.
A full schedule of events which run April–June can be found here. There's also an interactive map of gallery locations in the site; be sure to expand the "Colorfield Remix Participating Locations" tab on the left nav of the map page.
Tonight I went to the WPA\C Experimental Media Series: ColorField.remix, Night 1 event at the Corcoran. Eight videos were exhibited (times ranged from 2:00–13:00), along with two live performances (20:00 and 25:00). My favorites were Frank Bretschneider's Looping i-vi (excerpt) 2004–5 (pictured left), Tina Frank + General Magic's Chronomops 2006 (pictured right), Ryoichi Kurokawa's Scorch 2005 and Sawako's live performance.
Descriptions
Bretschneider's Looping i-vi (excerpt): Actually it isn't a film or music video, but a visual realization of the frequency—and amplitude behavior of the music. [The building of] visuals just from horizontal and vertical lines, which—driven by and synchronized to the music—produce graphic patterns, looking like moving testcards.
Frank's Chronomops: ...opens up a shimmering colorful space that is simultaneously an excess of color, frenzy of perception, and pop carousel. An abstract architecture of vertical colors bars is set in endless rotation, whereby the modules and building blocks fly around themseleves—and the entire system likewise rotattes. The forced movement forms a digital maelstrom whose suction pulls the observer deep into it.
Kurokawa's Scorch: In this work, the elapse of time of scorching which is changing naturally is represented in the abstract, and it is composed of digitally generated images with sampled sounds. It stretches the moment and is constantly shifting the transient nature of time.
Sawako Live Performance: A sound sculptor and timeline-based artist, Sawako's field recordings, instruments, voice and electronic sounds float in space vividly with a digital yet organic texture. Almost paradoxical in nature, her music encompasses both deep contemplation and an arbitrary randomness of having totally no intentions.
MEtRoday: 1091, 5041,
y3072, 3186
It is my honor to be featured as this week's Guest Blogger on Patrick's site. I can't really remember exactly how Patrick and I came into contact, but it's been very easy getting to know him online, with lost of posts on each others' sites, and a sparking up of camaraderie. I tried to meet and have cocktails with Patrick when I was in NYC in February visiting with Ziska and Kilian, but schedules were tight and it just didn't happen. Next time I'm in the city I'm definitely going to section off some time where the two of us (or three if he wants to bring his husband, Dan) can have some cocktails or a dinner. Or both.
I'm the third to be featured in his Guest Blogger series, following Homer and kev.in, (their Guest posts are here and here, respectively) and his standard theme is "The subject… about some things that you think need to be said that are not said enough. Hopefully, this will create a forum for those things to not only be said, but heard as well. I'm choosing people from all over the world to participate. In the end… I hope to have a great collection of things that just need to be said."
With that said you can read my Guest post here.
Monday April 23 ladytron dj tour
MEtRoday: 5163, 5096, 3075, 3142
From the press release:
Just back from a European tour opening for Nine Inch Nails, Ladytron's Reuben Wu and Mira Aroyo pick up their headphones and vinyl for a May DJ tour of North America. Clubbers can expect an eclectic dancefloor mix of seduction and destruction, electronic-rock, personal influences and undiscovered gems both old and new.
MAY
16 wed Atlanta, GA – MJQ Concourse [21+]
17 thu Washington, DC – Rock N Roll Hotel [AA] <<<<<
18 fri Chicago, IL – Darkroom
19 sat Toronto, ON – Spin Gallery
20 sun Cleveland, OH – B-Side Liquor Lounge [18+]
21 mon Louisville, KY – Exile [21+]
24 thu New York, NY – Hiro Ballroom [AA]
25 fri Vancouver, BC – Exchange Building
26 sat Los Angeles, CA – Memorial Coliseum [AA]
26 sat Los Angeles, CA – Avalon Hollywood [21+]
27 sun San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Shop [21+]
28 mon Dallas, TX – House Of Blues [21+]
30 wed Houston, TX – The Meridian [AA].
Also accompanying the press release is a free download from their latest album, Witching Hour. Download Soft Power – Vicarious Bliss [Gutter Mix] here.
Last week Tyra, her wig and the rest of the America's Next Top Model ballyhoo went down under for the rest of the season. No, I'm not talking down in the ratings (although that may be true) but they're finishing out this cycle's photoshoots in Sydney, Australia. Only five girls remain. Can you pick… WHO! …will be eliminated next? Download your placemat here and see if you have what it takes to sit on Panel.
America's Next Top Model airs Wednesday at 8E/7C on The CW. A recap of last week's episode can be found here, and all episodes can now be downloaded from iTunes.
Sunday April 22 i'd drive all night
MEtRoday: none
I first experienced Cyndi Lauper singing live during an HRC dinner a couple of years ago. She was receiving a lifetime achievement award, or something similar, and was not scheduled to entertain. But after her speech she did an impromptu acapella of True Colors and there wasn't a dry eye in the house when she finished. Some weeks later tickets for her concert at 9:30 went on sale. They were fifty bucks, but it was near my birthday so I decided that would be my birthday treat to myself. Plus I thought seeing her in an intimate place like 9:30 would be a treat. And it was. She was enthusiastic, powerful and personable.
If I owned a car, I would be attending the True Colors Tour at Merriweather Post on June 17. Although I think it would be fun on that day to stand on the side of the road with a "True Colors Tour or Bust" cardboard sign and a 6-pack and see who picks me up.
From the press release:
For the first time ever, music legends and today's hottest artists take the stage for a historical musical event—Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls, The Gossip and The Misshapes with host Margaret Cho join in celebration of the inaugural True Colors concert tour in support of the Human Rights Campaign. This 15 city nationwide tour, presented by Logo, kicks off Gay & Lesbian Pride Month on June 8th at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. The concerts will feture five hours of nonstop music with other exciting special guests appearing on select dates throughout the tour including Rufus Wainwright, Rosie O'Donnell and Indigo Girls with additional guests to be announced.
Cyndi has personalized some shout-outs and Jocko's is here and Joe's is here. With a little digging, I've located more here for other bloggers and media outlets. Although there are only 18 listed here, the last one is numbered 58. Can you imagine having to record all of these back-to-back? Good grief.
Saturday April 21 11 minute wait
MEtRoday: 3272, 
6047, 5128, 5096
Today was the first warm day of spring so I celebrated by staying indoors and burning through four episodes of Lost. Around 4:00 Melba called and twisted my arm to meet her for an early dinner at La Lomita. Her idea was to get there right when they opened, at 5:00, to beat the families and early diners that would be showing up around 6:30 or so. Plus we could score a table on their patio, and enjoy some of the sunshine. We decided on 5:15, because we didn't want to look too eager and when we got there the patio was already packed! But we did get a table, but I'm thinking we got our opening times mixed up. Regardless, the early dinner was perfect for me, because I had a ticket to the Hot Chip show at 9:30 Club later that evening. We enjoyed our dinner (duh) and blew through two pitchers of margaritas. Hoo-cha!
Observations from the Hot Chip show: Five guys, five keyboards (a Nick Rhodes dream), four microphones, two guitars (switched from the keyboards), two congas. During the middle of No Fit State they mashed in lyrics from New Order's Temptation: You've got green eyes, you've got blue eyes, you've got grey eyes, I've never seen anyone quite like you before, no, I've never met anyone quite like you before. Brilliant, but I don't think any of the AU kids there got it. They also intro'd one song with Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere, and again I think the kids with their bushy nouveau Lindsay Buckingham-style 70's throwback hairstyles didn't get it. And I sweartogod the fratbro next to me was doing the Molly Ringwald Dance and two kids in the balcony were pogo-ing throughout the entire concert.
MEtRoday: Wednesday
5175,
2034,
3046,
2021;
Thursday 4021,
2057,
4008,
3086;
Friday 1241,
3135, 4078,
3077
There has been a lot to absorb this week. I can't spit-out words for the current events, so instead I'll share some about past events. It's 1984 and I'm driving a red Fiero with the windows down and the sunroof off, no doubt cranking up some great British new wave/pop, driving to Blackburg to visit my brother at Virginia Tech.
Chuck graduated high school the year before me and is only 13 months older than me. I think that's called Irish Twins, but technically we're not by 22 days. After high school I was taking some boring courses at a community college and working, so it was exciting to make the five-hour drive to visit him on weekends. My brother was in the Corps of Cadets and was on the Eager Squad, the team that does precision rifle twirling and cadence. Sophomore year he was captain, and there is this fantastic VHS video of him goosestepping through two rows of cadets, with the cadets facing each other and rapidly tossing their rifles to the person across from them, all about three inches from my brother's face. His jaw is out, his lips pursed and he doesn't bat an eye. It's fantastic. I really enjoyed seeing his squad in parades and on the drillfield. (One summer he taught me some basics, so that I could stand at attention and twirl and catch the rifle with one hand.) He lived in Rasche Hall, in the old quad, along with all the other cadets. They were friendly to me, Chuck's younger brother, who barrelled into this quiet college town in a sports car and mousse in his hair.
We spent all of our time on campus, which seemed enormous to me, but most of my memories of those numerous weekends consist of hanging with his friends in the dorm, or drinking beer with his friends in some of the campus dive-bars. It is there that I learned the drinking games "Do You Want to Buy a Duck?" and the sticking-your-thumb-on-your-head after someone burps. I even went Tunneling there, going down about six or seven levels into the steam and electric ductworks of the University.
During Chuck's graduation, which was held in the football stadium, grad's families and friends took their empty-from-beer stadium cups and stacked them in continuous lines over your head from bottom row of the grandstand all the way to the top. You'd grab whatever cups were lying around stack them in and hold it while the people behind you did the same. Also, in a humorous moment that I will never forget, one side of the stadium started yelling "Tastes Great!" after which the opposite side yelled "Less Filling!", mimicking a popular beer-commercial phrase of the time. All of this back-and-forth happened during the middle of some important person's commencement speech.
By the time I was serious enough to really go to school I applied there, in their architecture department which I remember to be in Cowgill Hall, right behind Burrus Hall, which is next to Norris Hall where 30 people were killed. I had become pretty familiar with the school map by now, and new where the other (read: non-Cadet) dorms were. And of course I already knew where the bookstore and cafeterias were. Their arch department was full until the following year, so not wanting to lose my enthusiasm for quitting my three-year-job I decided to enroll in nearby Radford University and then transfer over after a year. This gave me the opportunity to be in a regionally familiar environment, and I was always looking for an excuse to go to Mish Mish, the art supply store near VT.
A year later, for some reason VT didn't end up on the list of schools where I wanted to transfer. I don't remember why. I was accepted to Boston Architectural Center (now College), but opted to return to Texas and attend the University of Houston. VT has always meant something special to me, even though I never attended classes there: my brother, my first exposure to college life, the thrill of being away from home and the beginning of one's adult life.
If you would like to donate to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, please do so by clicking here. The fund will be used to cover expenses included but not limited to: assistance to victims and their families, grief counseling, memorials, communication expenses and comfort expenses.
MEtRoday: 3003,
3057, 2036, 3038
I like this MEtRoday graph because it's tiny.
Things are really busy for me, in the way that one's life gets from time to time, when it feels like you can't get on top of things. So there isn't a lot of posting goin' on. I'll add some up in the next day or two, but I wanted to get the ANTM Placemat up in time for tomorrow's ep. You know what to do.
America's Next Top Model airs Wednesday at 8E/7C on The CW. A recap of last week's episode can be found here, and all episodes can now be downloaded from iTunes.
Saturday April 14 we're losing our eyes just to say that we've won
MEtRoday: none
Technorati is a company that tracks links to blogs, and rating their relevance by the number of links to a blog. They currently track 75.2 million blogs and state "there are over 175,000 new blogs… every day. Bloggers update their blogs regularly to the tune of over 1.6 million posts per day, or over 18 updates a second." The future is here, let the world know what you think about it.Technorati has 31 (soon to bee 32) employees, about the same size as the company I work for. On my company's website, the "Team" section highlights ten people who are going to have face-to-face interaction with our clients, while at Technorati all employees have profiles, even the office dog. Of course, I am not one of the people highlighted. In my opinion, this illustrates to clients and, more importantly to potential clients, that I am not part of the "Team" and therefore my role is crap . Whatever. I interact with clients all the time through email and voice and occasionally face-to-face. But I believe the Technorati way is the way to go, throw everybody up there, so that even the person answering the phone has a face.
The Evolve Urban Arts Project was celebrating, I believe their first this year, Second Saturday. Frontloading @ Goldy's beforehand, I knew we were in trouble when the art show was winding down and the activity at the upstairs bar was heating up. I was behind the bar, making Hooker Saturday Night Specials (or some such nonsense) but they tasted really good and everybody seemed to be enjoying them. Even after that, Chris sparked up the grille and provided delicious rounds of noshes, then back to Goldy's for nightcaps before a ride home in the cold rain. Good thing Sunday's weather was so miserable, it provided ample time to lie on the couch and watch movies all day.
Friday April 13 this is not my beautiful house
MEtRoday: 4065,
3022,
3052, 3024,
3092, 2028,
1191
Today at work I took a break to fantasize. It started with an email that I received from PN Hoffman, the homebuilders. A client of my company (that I do not own) is also a homebuilder, so I probably signed up with the competition just to see what was being offered. The email tells me that The Flats at Union Row is having a Model Unit Grand Opening this weekend. Knowing I could never afford to even entertain the thought at buying a condo in this brand new building at 14th and V, NW, I entertained entertaining the thought. I clicked. And I was in La-La-Land for about half an hour.
The Flats at Union Row are "open loft designs in a multi-story building overlooking vistas of Washington." Fabulous! They feature: "Inside—every fine finish and detail including European-inspired kitchen design with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and sleek and stylish baths with oversized tile and innovative fixtures. Outside—a vibrant streetscape of shops and cafes, a unique setting among the rhythm and revival of U Street." Terrif! I can't wait to sign on the dotted line and move in. Now, to pick my floor and plan. Penthouse, by jingo!
Not
wanting to go really outside the realm of the fantasy I was building
in my head, I only evaluated the 1-bedroom and 1-bedroom with Den. After
very careful fantasizing consideration, I chose #915. Unfortunately
it's not on the south side, where I could view downtown and the Monument,
but instead on the northwest corner which means I will get brilliant sunsets
and also get to watch dark clouds roll in from Maryland as storms arrive.
915 doesn't feature a den (too bad, thinks my iMac) and the living/dining area is a bit small which means I'd have to put the dining table in the kitchen, but that's fine because the kitchen is somewhat large and open. The closets are small and it only has one bathroom, but I'm looking at that as one less bathroom to clean. It's cute and I would be very happy and content to live in this cozy space in the sky.
Oh, have I mentioned that there are two terraces, one downstairs and one upstairs? My bad. My downstairs terrace is about as big as my entire new fantasy condo, and this is where I will put a table for four (but we could squeeze in six) with a big umbrella, and this is where I will serve tasty treats right from the nearby grill. There will be scattered plants around and maybe some sort of sculpture piece somewhere. And, setting the mood, there will be candles with hurricane glasses on them, because nine stories up it tends to get a little breezy, y'know.
On the upstairs terrace I will place many, many more plants and two more sculpture pieces, and I think I want some sort of water feature up there, too, that trickles in the background while you're drinking a cocktail and having hearty conversation with friends, away from the music which is playing from the downstairs terrace, natch. That's another thing I forgot to tell you, there is a corky party going on and you're invited! Of course you may bring a friend with you. Wear something festive yet comfortable. Don't bother to bring anything, I've got it covered. You're a sweetheart for offering, though. Drop by right at sunset, it's really gorgeous up here. See ya then!
The penthouse floorplan is here and you can find the floorplan to my condo, 915, right here. Check out those terraces and I dare you to tell me I'm not spot on. From the listing, my condo sells in the mid-$400s. As in thousands. As in thiiiiiis much (pinch your thumb and forefinger so that they're almost touching) shy of half a mil. Can you picture the thought bubble above my head popping and me getting back to work? Yep, me too. Raspberries.
MEtRoday: 3104,
3274,
2046,
3029
Wednesday April 11 "keep safe, keep to yourself"
MEtRoday: 5044,
5167,
5149,
4000
Relating to Monday's post, in today's Express there is an article titled Scavenger Hunt which explains Nine Inch Nail's pre-release marketing campaign for their new album, Year Zero. I think they saw futurejunkie and decided to run an article. Yeah, right. They mentioned all the subversive subtleties that Jocko mentioned, including even more websites, but there's no mention of the ART IS RESISTANCE site. So I have officially broke that story in DC. Related sites mentioned in the article:
I
Am Trying to Believe
Be
the Hammer
Another
Version of the Truth
Church
of Plano
The
Price of Treason
Fantastic quotes from the press machine:
"It is the CD booklet come to life. It precedes the concept album and the tour. And it will continue for next 18 months, with peaks and valleys."
"…errant clicks on sites… result in interception by the Bureau of Morality, which will then email warnings that the user is a "A CONSUMER OF DISSIDENT MATERIAL… Any further attempts to view, consume, or distribute un-american [sic] content will results in the loss of citizenship increments and/or the imposition of fines, penalties, or imprisonment. You have choices. Make the RIGHT ones."
It's all very futurespeak and doubleplusgood.
MEtRoday: 1238,
3088,
6001,
3103
I hope I've explained the object of the game a little clearer in this week's America's Next Top Model Party Placemat. Maybe by the end of this cycle I'll have made it clear and won't need to be tweaking it every week. Your comments/suggestions on improving gameplay are always appreciated.
The rules are on the Placemat which can be downloaded here. The past two weeks I've won by picking the eliminated model, so I'm going for three in a row. I won't tell you who I think will be eliminated next. Who do you think?
America's Next Top Model airs Wednesday at 8E/7C on The CW. A recap of last week's episode can be found here, and all episodes can now be downloaded from iTunes.
Did anybody notice my 2nd 6000-series train today? Two days in a row!
Monday April 09 art is resistance
MEtRoday: 3012, 5079, 2006, 3100, 6045, 1173
Tonight was my first time riding one of the 6000-level Metro cars, the ones where they have removed vertical bars and seats, expecting people to corral in this open pen and stop crowding by the doors. It's weird. You enter the car and are looking for something to move you along as everyone's shuffling in and there's nothing. Then I noticed there are rails overhead, and circling the map/adverts. Also, the two seats near the door resemble ski lifts, and people's legs are literally hanging into the door area. It seems like a good idea, but I don't know if it's really going to work. The only riders who will use the overhead bars are the men, for the women can't reach them. That means they'll be congregated around the lower bars around the map/adverts, which means once overloaded they'll be blocking the doors. Great.
So what was I doing on a green-line train you ask? I decided to pop up to Black Cat to get my Junior Boys ticket for their Friday show. While I was at it, I decided I may as well pick up my Hot Chip ticket for next Saturday's show from the 9:30 Club too. I successfully purchased the Hot Chip ticket, but the Black Cat's box office didn't open until 8:00, and it was only 6:45 and I wasn't about to wait that long. I guess I read that website incorrectly. So I came home and had to pay the $4.00 service charge for a $13.00 ticket, almost a 1/3 markup. Ridiculous.
While
I was walking down U St. I saw gummed posters for artist's recent releases
plus one that caught my eye: black background, red flag-looking graphics
and "Art Is Resistance". That's all. Now that certainly
is interesting.
After getting home, I feel lucky and go directly to artisresistance.com (turn your speakers off or way down). I've hit the nail on the head, by jingo! That's swell, just swell! Corky! The site vaguely reminds me of my senior thesis project, the Two Minutes Hate, and is full of subversively vague speak that would make Winston Smith proud. It looks remarkably familiar to the NIN-sponsored I Am Trying To Believe, with its Brave New World Parepin-as-Soma hysteria. (Jocko alerted me to this.) The Resistance sight has some desktop pix, and sticker & poster art to download, join in on the fun, etc. They do have a fun little tip for using the stencils: Fact: if you use hairspray like spraypaint, the design is invisible until it rains, at which point it fades into existence, fading out again when the concrete dries. Not that I’ve ever done it. It would be fun to see if this actually works. Also linked their is Another Version of the Truth, which appears to be a messageboard. In the messages are links to Be The Hammer, which further propogates the madness. Another links references Parepin, securing the NIN tie-in. Others have audio mp3s of "underground" confessions, reportings and lies. It's quite fun and tot brill. Let's hope the NIN tour plays into this theme.
Sunday April 08 happy birthday, helvetica
MEtRoday: none
This year the world-renowned Swiss typeface Helvetica turns 50 years old. Helvetica, a classic face used heavily in the 60s and 70s, is used for the corporate identities of Harley Davidson, BMW, American Apparel and yours truly. It also is the official typeface for the New York and DC subways. (Update: also Knoll, Douglas Coupland's Microserfs graphic pages.) There is a documentary film currently in advanced screening worldwide, aptly called "Helvetica". Interviewees in the film include such heavyhitters as Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister and David Carson, amongst others. Information and screening schedules can be found here at the film's website. Some history from the site:
About
the Typeface
Helvetica
was developed by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann in 1957 for the Haas Type
Foundry in Münchenstein, Switzerland. In the late 1950s, the European
design world saw a revival of older sans-serif typefaces such as the German
face Akzidenz Grotesk. Haas' director Hoffmann commissioned Miedinger, a former
employee and freelance designer, to draw an updated sans-serif typeface to
add to their line. The result was called Neue Haas Grotesk, but its name was
later changed to Helvetica, derived from Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland,
when Haas' German parent companies Stempel and Linotype began marketing the
font internationally in 1961.
Introduced amidst a wave of popularity of Swiss design, and fueled by advertising agencies selling this new design style to their clients, Helvetica quickly appeared in corporate logos, signage for transportation systems, fine art prints, and myriad other uses worldwide. Inclusion of the font in home computer systems such as the Apple Macintosh in 1984 only further cemented its ubiquity.
That last paragraph mentioning Helvetica's inclusion with the original (and subsequent) Macintosh font set is crucial. If you're a non-designer or working on a Windows machine (or both) you might wonder what all the hubbub is about, since you use Arial and it's just as good. Not. You can learn more about Arial, Helvetica's bastard cousin, here.
Everything you need to know to tell the difference between Helvetica and Arial is here, then go here to take a quiz and see how well you do. I got a perfect 10/10 score but I did luck out with my guesses on some of them. Now that you've had your education lessons for the day, and mastered your quiz, you may go here for recess. School's out!
Saturday April 07 gayest. movie. ever.
MEtRoday: none
Even the "snow" couldn't get me out of Jump Street today. Another reason was the fact that I was struggling to make it through the 2-1/2 hour movie-that-I'm-too-embarrassed-to-mention. That's the thing with having 344 movies in my Netflix queue, some of them I don't remember even adding, and upon receiving them wonder why I put them in my queue in the first place. I guess this was a referral when I was adding the homophobic Mary Tyler Moore show.
The
cast: Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing: Gay.
The elevator in the Priscilla Hotel (Gay) where Millie and Miss Dorothy reside
that one has to tap dance in order to get it to move: Gay.
Phrases exclamed throughout movie: Corky! Swell, just swell! Terrif! By jingo!
Oh, pook! Raspberries!: Gay.
Recommendations on the DVD were Sweet Charity, The Best Little Whorehouse in
Texas, Xanadu: Gay, Gay, Gay!
MEtRoday: 5077, 3076
Check out lcdremixed.com for a complete, cut-for-cut remix of LCD Soundsystem's latest album. There's even album art to embed into the tracks so you can get the proper album viewing through iTunes or on your iPod. Sweet.
Tonight I was at Cactus Cantina in Tenleytown; I hadn't been there in years. My memory bank recalled cheese enchiladas and margaritas outside on a patio... So I did a little research for their menu and found they had the regular cheese enchilada platter, but then below I discovered this li'l gem: The Santa Fe Platter: Two cheese enchilada [sic], cheese chile relleno (redundant), guacamole taco. Service with white rice and black beans, $9.95. Turns out there's only one cheese enchie (I tried to argue this with the management but they would not budge), but it was still a good meal, and that 2nd enchie would have been too much.
It was obvious we were in Upper Northwest: white people everywhere, screaming children, $150 haircuts, shopping-mall atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time but I think I was just exhausted from the workweek. I had two margaritas and I was about to pass out.
MEtRoday: 1261, 3036, 3074, 5132
Tonight was the first night of JoyLuck off location from Henry's, where we've decided to take it home and do it at everyone's house on a rotating basis. So Katie Ryan(n) was the first guinea pig, and decided to have an early Easter theme which was JoyLuckEarlyEasterEdition. By the time I got there the event was in full swing, with Goldy, Judy, Ammiiee (that 2nd "e" is silent), Shamus and [click]Tom[pop]mi in attendance. Katie Ryan(n) made deviled eggs (of which I had about 30), glazed ham, delicious carrots, taters and chicken. I wanted to take my cam but my batts weren't charged so I had to leave it at home. Darn. Cuz we had a lot of fun shootin' the shit, keepin' it real, throwin' it out the window, slammin' it back again, passed it around, discussed it, threw it back in the mix, cut it up, threw it down, put it out, said whatthehell, showin' a boobie, quoting Kelly, smackin' each other and all around goodness. I think JoyLuck is keeping its spirit.
MEtRoday: 3048, 3039, 3002, 4080
Goldy came over to watch ANTM and place the Placemat game. We both chose _____ to be eliminated, and she was, so I'm on a two-week winning spree here, having picked Diana last week. I told you it got more exciting as the cycle progresses!I think I need to revise the rules to make the object of winning more coherent: You can win two ways. One, by guessing the model to be eliminated with your "E" option before the show begins. Two, if the model with your lowest point score on the Rating Bar is eliminated. I'll make that more clear for next week's Placemat.
Here is the periodic table for aluminium. Beautiful, ain't it? Don't ask me what it means.
MEtRoday: Monday 3106, 3103, 2057, 2041;
Tuesday 1243, 3016, 3106, 1192
An advance for everyone who needs to download & print, here is tomorrow's America's Next Top Model Placemat. Rules are on the Placemat and also here, so invite some friends over Wednesday night and have some fun. The models' story arcs are starting to get enteresting, as it does once half of them have been sent home. Who's going to step up their game to compete with Cha-Cha? Is anyone going to out-bitch Renee? Will Natasha understand taking a criticism? What's Dionne going to blurt out this week? Will Sarah stop directing her own photoshoots? Can Whitney bring it? Will Brittany step out of the shadows? Will Jael clear her throat so we can understand what she's saying? Tune in, drink up, play on.
America's Next Top Model airs Wednesday at 8E/7C on The CW. A recap of last week's episode can be found here, and all episodes can now be downloaded from iTunes.
MEtRoday: 5135, 3172
Like an April fool, this morning I woke up at the crack-ass of dawn to schlep my body through 10 miles of running for the Cherry Blossom race. And it was fun! Okay, maybe it was fun without an exclamation point, but still I'd still do it all again, training and everything. If you ever want to get to know your city better, sign up for a run that snakes you throughout its streets. For instance, I had never really looked too closely at the Watergate, unless it some out of someone's sunroof at 35 mph, and usually at night. Even with its curvature, it still looks as if it was constructed out of Brix Blox. And how often does one get to run across Memorial Bridge, in the traffic lane, or see Rock Creek Park from the skreet?
I kept pace with Katie during the run, and we both were totally illegal, using our iPod shuffles. The race bans any headphones being used, but a lot of people were using them. The iPod takes another step into our society. Pretty soon we'll all being looking like this guy. Today was also a mini-D20 with Todges, who joined us downtown for the race's finish. T went over to the Corcoran to unload some stuff while us runners went home to pretty up, and then we all rendezvou'd at Henry's, where I scarfed down two plates of brunch food and three screwdrivers. There was to be some reward for that race, right?
Race time: 1:44:45, which is roughly a 10.5 minute mile.
