One of the most impressive auto ad campaigns I have ever seen. It’s too bad most morans running the marketing departments of todays big automakers can’t think up shi* that’s this cool anymore. With the music accompaniment this is a work of art. James Bond is jealous.
Our Bathroom was completed a couple weeks ago and I forgot to blog it. Well, I guess I've just been enjoying it too much and straight up forgot! Wow, the carpenter and all the other contractors did a spectacular job. Whenever you're in there it's like you're in an Inn or a B&B or something. It doesn't feel like our house. Everything is so nice and fresh. The room is more comfortable and everything feels so right in there; not hacked together like it use to be. It's amazing how hectic the transformation was from old to new and how great it is now. There are some pics up in the Gallery but nothing spectacular. I'll need a wide-angle lens or something to get some really good shots. View 'em here.
So, as the due date approaches and the walls of the house seem to squeeze inwards, my eBay exploits are at full steam and the great furniture rearranging begins. We’ve got a fairly small house (1500 sq. feet or so). Luckily the basement is finished. What we’ve decided is to rearrange the office from the upstairs blue room to the basement guest room. This will really be a paradigm shift for me. I’m so used to having the office right off the main upstairs hallway, now it will be down in the back of the basement. More den-like, which I’m looking forward to.
I took yesterday off to pack, move and set everything up. We got about half way done. All that’s left is to trim the top off the Ivar shelves, install the wall mount shelves, finish the cable/network/telco installation and set everything back up.
Restaurant on Wilson Blvd. in Clarendon, VA. I don’t understand how this got thru the sign shop unnoticed. Sign reads “Good Taste Gourment” … “U Like”. I sure do. Click for a larger view.
Thanks Randy & Pat
Saw Belle & Sebastian last Sunday night at the 9:30 Club. The show was fantastic. This was my second time seeing them there, the first time being on the Dear Catastrophe tour. The opening band, The New Pornographers, were great too. Their energy was massive and they were incredibly tight. Their drummer was hilarious. He was twirling and tossing his drumsticks and never missed a beat while taking generous swigs from a tank of, what looked like, gin or whiskey. He even shared with the other bandmembers at different times.
B&S came on and did a wonderful show. They opened with Stars of Track and Field – a slow one and a favorite of mine. They played a handful of new stuff, most of which I don’t really care for, and a good dose of oldies, including String Bean Jean, Century of Fakers, Electronic Renaissance, I Don’t Love Anyone & The State that I am In, another favorite of mine. The banter from the band was wonderful. At one point Stuart took his shirt off and requested a small v-neck from the merchandise counter in the back. The crowd passed it forward and he put it on, even though the thing was extremely tight… his mannerisms were hilarious. They played a beatles cover “Birthday” for one of their sound engineers who’s 40th b-day it was, which was a real treat because of how simply and tight the song was performed. I imagined the beatles themselves were performing. Discourse about the Scottish vs. American social practice and limits on public discussion about sex were hilarious; using colloquialism vs. being up front and overt, basically.
All in all an enjoyable night. The crowd at these shows is typically very friendly. Take, for example, the guy behind me who blew smoke in my ear twice. When I finally turned around and gave him a nasty glare, he apologised profusely. A few moments later he tapped my shoulder and offered me a drink he’d purchased at the nearby bar. I thanked him and politely refused (I don’t take candy from strangers), but come on – you would never see that at a Rob Zombie show. Aside from the turds in the “VIP” section (artsy-fartsy morons armed with cameras, picture phones, blackberries and cliches) the crowd was respectable (quiet enough to hear a pindrop during Stuart’s piano solos in Fox in the Snow) and fun.
You can listen to the second night’s show on NPR Here.
MoCo Park Police is teh suck! I got a parking ticket back in January for parking after sunset in the Bethesda Pool overflow lot on Little Falls Pkwy. in Bethesda. The ticket was an exorbitant $50. My gut instinct was to fight the power. I mean, I’d parked there for years and never had a problem – even after dark. So I mailed in my ticket choosing for a trial. I wasn’t going to go without a fight.
Then I realized (shortly after) that not only was I going to have to take a half day of work to go to court, but I would have to spend time preparing my case (if you can call it that). All for a $50 ticket. I convinced myself that it was all about principle and the money was irrelevant. Well, after today’s court appearance, I wish I’d bit the bullet and paid the fine just to get it over with.
I was there for an hour and change before they called my case. The judge was nice and very professional throughout the day. I was terribly nervous (I think because it was my first time before a judge) and did, what I thought, was a pretty good job stating my case. The crux of my argument was:
The officer pointed out that the lot was not a “commuter” parking lot. The judge asked if the sign there states this. She said yes. Well, at this point I was screaming inside because I had planned on driving over to the lot to snap pics of the signs but just figured that I wouldn’t need them since I already had the materials I thought I’d need to make my case. Now I’m going to go over there and take pictures just on principle to see if it really does state that. In all my memory, I’ve never seen verbage on the sign that states it is not for commuter use.
Anyway, that’s most of the story. The judge found me “guilty” but was nice enough to lower the fine to $15, but tacked on the court costs of $22.50. Add the $6.50 credit card processing fee (COMPLETE BULLSHIT) and I ended up paying $44. The original ticket was only $6 more. In principle, I did what was right. In actuality I’ve learned my lesson and next time those wankers leave a ticket on my car I’m going to tear it up and… I mean, pay the fine and be on my way.
I’m not one to subscribe too often to trends – most of the time they bore me to death or are already played out. The other day I read an article in the Washington Post about the increased popularity of Moleskine (see title for prononunciation) notebooks. These little black notebooks are the neatest thing I’ve seen in ages. I had to have one. Amazon.com to the rescue, 3 days later it’s in my hands and I must say I’m most pleased.
The book has a great feel to it – the cover is strong but not too heavy. The paper is high quality and I love the way that it curls ever so slightly after being opened for a while. In the back is a small accordion folder for small papers (a surprise to me). There’s a simple ribbon bookmark, ever so handy. And, of course, there’s the elastic band to keep your book closed or the pages from fluttering around.
I dig the Moleskine. I have written in a journal/notebook off and on since college and I treasure each and every one. They are a window into my past, into a time when thought flowed much more freely and in different streams of consciousness. I hope that my thoughts, sketches and words will find a comfy home in this new book.
Update After a little bit more searching, I uncovered a veritable Moleskine city online! The fans are everywhere. There is a great Flickr pool here showing various notebooks.