Dusty Chalk

Ta.

The argument goes something like this: Prof: You're off topic! Jin: But everything reduces to mathses.

Weird. Sucks to be me. I guess I'll just stick to all topics, then.

Friendly Fires -- indie poprock goodness. Mmmm...Talking Heads-y. Yeah, they're kind of IDM, kind of ambient. If you like it...well, there really isn't anything else quite like Music Has the Right to Children, but you may want to investigate further in: IDM, ambient, electro. Probably Orbital's Snivilization and In Sides are the closest touchpoints.

No Ordinary Family -- Main characters are certainly charismatic...we'll see.

Don't get me wrong -- the headphone amp shootout that Absolute Sound ran a decade ago at this point influenced my buying and trying of the AudioValve and the Wheatfield, neither of which I was unhappy with, but I don't always agree with their conclusions (they preferred the E.A.R. HP-4 over everything else, IIRC, which I was least happy with, of that trio of products). And really, the only way to know is to buy it and install it in your home system for long enough to have an opinion stabilize. We're not talking a long time here -- 2 weeks to a month should be sufficient. I mean, you can ask for Right of First Refusal from the person you sell it to (meaning they have to sell it to you at some future date if you ask for it back, usually at the same price, but at some predetermined price, and with some predetermined deadline [and of course within some predetermined timeframe -- I.E. you can't ask for it back in 50 years] [and there are, of course, other issues -- like what do you do if they end up not in the condition they were in, that needs to be predetermined as well]). But if that person is a distance away, then it's practically honor system anyway. If I were you, I'd convince the wife that it really isn't a good idea to sell one before buying the other. Just make sure and promise her a month max or something (plus however long it takes to sell, if you're friend who wants to buy the Apogees isn't willing to do that for you). You know how to read reviews, right? When he says he can't live with the Stax exclusively, but he can with the Quads, that's code for, "maybe not such a good idea". Seriously, I would make sure that's a decision I wouldn't regret before letting your Apogees go.

For some reason, "latest updates" doesn't show the "what are you drinking now?" thread. I'm sure there are others, but that's the only one that I regularly miss. If I click over to "all threads", it shows up. Is it that it doesn't show stickies, perhaps?

I would at least keep the Apogees long enough to decide for yourself...that you're not making a mistake. I use reviews as guidance, not gospel.

That's pretty much the original bromance.

I approve of his fashion sense -- or does everyone there dress in dark colors, you know, to absorb the sun's radiation?

Void of Silence, Grave of Civilization -- funereal doomy dirge metal, yes again, love this album. Much of the vocals are practically howled in pain. Also, noticed that it follows the noun-preposition-noun form of Shape of Despair's Angels of Distress -- is there something artier about saying that, as opposed to say, Silence Void, Civilization Grave or Despair Shape, Distress Angels? Just an abstract question, not really expecting an answer. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've done the same thing myself, I'm just wondering what the reasoning is. (Named one of my previous "projects", The Aerodynamics of Chaff -- for which the reconstruction, "Chaff Aerodynamics", just doesn't work as well. Despair Shape, in particular, does not have the same poetic quality as does Shape Of Despair.)

And again, I learn something -- thanks!

I just wanted to thank you for posting this -- it actually makes a lot of sense, not just with mead, but with any supposedly "sweet" beer, and explains why chocolate beers are usually in the dark chocolate variety rather than milk chocolate end of the spectrum. The ones that are sweet, are usually sweet with malts (scotch ales, barleywines, sweet stouts, etc.), not sugar or honey necessarily, which is an entirely different kind of sweet, and one I don't mind so much at all. I mean, yeah, there is a lot of residual flavor from honey or milk, in ones that are made out of those, but...less so than drinking, say, milk, or tea with a lot of honey. I.E., not so much. Between this and ...I forget who, but someone explained why ommegang's chocolate indulgence was sour tasting to me in the early days of my trying beers...it's been very helpful understanding why beers taste the way they do, and helps me appreciate them more.

I meant that it did not make the cut for whatever year that it came out. I think Bolt was 2009 as well.

No, that wasn't my point, I just can't imagine you would consider selling your Apogees.

I think if you modified the shark costume to make it look like the shark was eating the dog would be awesome. Or similar. Or sprouting an alien. EDIT: Someone needs to come up with a My Little Pony doggy costume. EDIT: Someone with multiple dogs should put together the Village People. EDIT: Or you could just shave your dog in a Brazilian and say it was a bikini model.

That may be the best dog evar.

I have this set, for which I paid substantially more, so you win. Also, I still don't 'get' Mahler. Time to revisit.

I think since it's Smeggy-approved, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that.

Muppetphiles.

That's what I'm saying -- to me, the best picture should go to the best picture, and there is no such thing as "best picture" on any kind of absolute scale, there is only "my favorite", and "most popularly voted for as 'my favourite' by everyone else". I think Hurt Locker got best picture because it was so fucking intense. And it really is a really great picture -- after watching it again when it came out on disk, I decided it did make my final "favorite movies of 2008" (was it really 2008?) list. And Up did not. Bolt did. No, wait, Up may have been right on the line. Now I don't remember.

Ah, so you're an art snob. I'm totally selfish in my gauging of movies -- my only criteria is whether or not I like it. Art, gratuitous explosions, or dramatic resonance, doesn't matter, it's what I like that matters.

No, it wasn't that. Believe it or not (and yes, this is coming from me), Up was a little too down. I mean, did you see Bolt? I actually liked that better. Completely under-rated movie. Not really comparable, in terms of stories (there's no fantastical set piece on a blimp), but just a really great movie. And can you imagine Terms of Endearment with explosions? Terms of Endearment 2: The Revenge -- now that's a movie I would probably see.

Yup, Up had a powerful opening. I'm not recalling Monsters, Inc., but that's just an excuse to see it again, so...win.