Dusty Chalk

Devin Townsend Project, Deconstruction & Ghost should be coming out soon, to follow up Ki and Addicted (four album series, not sure what the encapsulating theme is).

That's so wrong.

I have nothing to add, except: Nice! Castles are awesome.

A French malbec. It was okay. I drank the whole bottle. Whoops. Yes, it was one of those sufficiently advanced technology bottles that got better the more you drank from it.

Oh that's right, the Alaska -- that was hilarious! And yes, again -- I do appreciate the lift. The reason he picked me up was because I didn't want to walk up Castro -- not because I'm homophobic, but because it's all uphill. So I went up 17th instead. Yeah, that was better. Only because it held off being uphill for a couple blocks. Al ended up picking me up about a block past the top of the hill. Phone conversation went something like this: Al: Well, the only thing I can think of is that I just pick you up where you are. Me: Yeah, that's fine. Al: Well, that's at least 10 or 15 minutes away. Me: I'll catch my breath. Al: It'll take you at least 10 or 15 minutes to catch your breath? Me: Yes. It's funny -- you remember things that happened while inebriated -- only while inebriated (which I am now, mildly); and one remembers sober things sober (of course). Ah yes, the Alembic and ...Toronado, of course, how could I forget? Good times. And yes, I am much less stressed out when I'm on vacation. And: hooray! I succeeded at being less of a dick. I have such lofty goals.

Glad to hear you're doing well. Srsly, what was wrong with the Strad? Did it need refurbishing? On a completely different note -- hey, Al -- I never posted a "that was nice" regarding the time we spent together, but it was really nice. And memorable. Well, alright, the names of the places aren't memorable, but that's because I suck at names of places -- so what were the two places we went? Was Magnolia one of them? Which one had the bartender who was featured in the cocktail book (and which book)? So, on a similar note, before I forget -- 901 (DC)! Just opened on Wednesday or Thursday, went there on Saturday, and it was outstanding. (I think I overused that word that day, but I'll start over here.) It's run by the same people who do Capitol City Brewing Company, but they really took things to the next level. Everything was just perfect -- these Thai summer rolls came with three completely different sauces, but none of them outshone the others, they were all that good (one was a wasabi pesto? another was a chili cream...). The service was excellent, Dusty thoroughly approves the decor choices (lots of black and dark green) -- very nicely upscale. I was within line of sight of the front door, and there was a discussion over there -- I couldn't hear a word of it. Don't know what it will be like crowded, but it bodes well. Even the beer was outstanding -- they brewed a batch of about 5 or 6 brews exclusively for 901. I made the mistake of ordering something else for the first round (didn't realize column B was from other breweries), but I didn't make that mistake for the second beer I had. And the two tastes I had of two of their other beers tells me that they have an excellent line-up. So: 5 stars all around for 901.

Mentallo & the Fixer, "Brutal Rapture", paulstretched

Was: Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira, "Run Away"...paulstretched, of course. Now: :Wumpscut:, "Loyal to My Hate" -- yes, the first bit is my ringtone.

...not only that, it does iPod. Digitally. link

Yeah, I know. (sighs)

Hey, Colin, did you see this (JetBlue deal posted in the AXPONA thread)? I can't do it, because I need to come back by Monday afternoon, but your sister might. Actually, I still might, because at $59/pop, the total comes out to $140 for me, it would just require me to get up insanely early, or skip sleep that night. I think that might be cheaper than the train.

WAT.

Blue Microphones Mikey 2.0 -- & I don't even have an iPhone/iTouch...yet.

Les Trois Mousquetaires...something -- doppelbock? I forget, has kind of a peach-ish label. Very, very good. EDIT: Yes, the unfiltered doppelbock.

Jacob -- what's the verdict on Keisuke Wakao? Thinking of getting this. ...in addition to Rush's Moving Pictures (yes, really this time).

That was outstanding -- loved it. Faux-rizona.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers -- this is kind of wonderful. I'm really enjoying the chemistry between Antonia 'Toni' Marachek (Lizabeth Scott) and Sam Masterson (Van Heflin).

New Holland Dragon's Milk

So what new releases are you excited about? Me: I really, really dug their last two releases, Polarity and Vertical Theory, though I doubt this will be anything like that, based on the description. But I'll love 'em whatever they do.

Was cleaning in the basement, so in a little bit, having a Bashah (totally forgot it was my favorite beer for a while, need to drink them now).

Nice!

I don't remember McCann's taking particularly long to cook in the microwave, but I do remember it taking long, but I thought that was because the way I did it -- I had to keep the heat down to 50%, because the bowl would keep boiling over, and I'd have to keep stopping it. (No, we don't have a rotator.) I'll have some tonight, see how long it takes. I seem to remember 10-ish minutes.

Dew. Et. Tomorrow. Or rather, later today.

Meh. The two I've gone to in NY were better, IMHO. But I have a tendency to prefer "Americanized" indigenous dishes more than "authentic" (Chinese, Indian, Mexican). I'll have to remember to hit one or two when I go up (to NY) in September, but this will hold me over until I do. The quest remains.

Finally trying first of the ramen places in DC, Toki Underground Sent from mah Droid