Top 12s for 2007

The end of the year. Time for reflection, shoddy resolutions that only last for the next month (which I can avoid seeing as how I've succeeded in sticking to my New Year's resolution of three years ago to not make any more resolutions) and of course the best of lists to sum up everything into one tidy bundle for popular consumption. It was an amazing year for me, professionally and personally. The new friends, experiences, activities, outings, movies, concerts, music and parties made the year fly by, while making it feel like 5 years in the making. To commemorate 2007, I give you the best movies, events and blog posts of 2007.

Movies: I've always been a huge movie watcher, but when I actually started keeping track of the movies I watch, it created a new way to judge, view and prioritize my movie watching. There's so many out there that the idea I'll be able to get to even a fraction in my lifetime is insane, but at least now I can know what kind of dent I've made. Here are the top movies I watched from each month this year. All told, I watched 182 movies this year. The month links link to the posts with the movies from that month.

Jan: Children of Men
Feb: Slam
Mar: Fast Food Nation
Apr: Amores Perros
May: La Haine
Jun: A Scanner Darkly
Jul: In the Bedroom
Aug: The Jacket
Sept: The Method
Oct: Darjeeling Limited
Nov: Rabbit-Proof Fence
Dec: Water

Events and Blogs: I'm always writing about what I do, and sometimes writing just to write. Sometimes I'll get done with an event or a blog and hope that never in my life will I have to repeat it. Other times, I'll return to it often for the joy I had doing it, or the fun I had writing it. Be it an event I attended or just a blog I posted, here are my favorites from 2007 complete with links so you can revisit them or see them for the first time...

Jan: Children of Booze
Feb: Grown Ass Men and Women
Mar: All Sorts of Randomness (or my City Circuit)
Apr: Don’t Drink Pear Vodka
May: Cocktail Stages of a Wedding
Jun: Dolores Spark
Jul: The Vicious Cutting of Rugs
Aug: Mementos
Sep: A Wedding in Time Saves Nine
Oct: Bringing Pumpkins Back
Nov: We Can See the Black Cat Changing Colors
Dec: 26 Fantastic Moments

My favorite non-event post of the year was Still Water. Off to a wedding tonight for the New Year's...hopefully it starts off 2008 with a bang. See you next year folks, unless I don't, and then I won't.

Birthday Bar Hop

So after a Thursday birthday, Friday night becomes the celebration. We begin with the long awaited pre-party at Topher's place. It starts out Sis, Hessica, Chaz and JG (otherwise known together as Jarles), Gavroche, VballKris, Topher, ChengJ and Marc. In addition to the drinks I have on the way up to the city, I polish off two more before we head down the street to the Bus Stop.

At the Bus Stop, we're joined by Z from HMB and Gavroche proceeds to get attacked by two girls, one of which tells me later she has a boyfriend. But apparently her boyfriend across the room says nothing about her throwing herself all over Gavroche (see picture)...We're there for two drinks, and upon leaving for 15 Romolo find ourselves face to face with a large contingent of rollerbladers in the middle of Union Street. We split up, throw ourselves in three cabs and take off for North Beach.

At Romolo we join JMill's party already in progress, complete with PandLVS, JoeMurph, PH, Mers, Whitta, Cat, McButter and Marga show up as well. Combined with the three cabs we bring, the bar is filled with an amalgamation of Crocker, SMHS, CSU and BHS kids. While here, a great many photos are taken, Amie complains repeatedly that she's ready to go dance and I get violently chucked from group to group being wished well. Amazingly, I manage to avoid excessive shot consumption. At around 12, JMill's party heads down the street to some club that involves people getting naked, the VS crew leaves for other parts and my group, now up around four or five cabs leaves for Fiddler's Green. It's at this point that I probably lost my glove.

We get to Fiddler's and it's the exact scene I was hoping for...good crowd, but not overcrowded, plenty of space to dance. At this point I've run into a Santa Claus, taken a picture with a Christmas tree, realized I lost one of my gloves and gotten repeated offers to enjoy a birthday gift courtesy of Jarles. Amie has introduced me to a girl, who I am still talking to on the curb outside the bar, without having any idea who she really is, where she came from or how I know her. I probably spend about 20 minutes, much to the chagrin of everyone around me, searching all over the bar for my glove. I'm really upset about that one.

By the time I'm on the curb getting in a cab with Hessica and Sis to go home, I'm having conversations that I remember nothing of now, and disappear so quickly I'm wondering if I was even there. All in all, the evening went exactly how I was hoping...a slow buildup to a heavy drunk, a wide variety of friends and family from past and present, a good mix of styles in the bars, dancing and no throwing up. That's what I call a perfect birthday celebration. For good measure, I top it off with a San Jose Sharks game on Saturday night.

I want to extend many thanks to everyone that showed up and helped me ring in my 26th. It's always great to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while, and continue celebrating with all the people I see regularly. The evening really was my idea of a perfect celebration, and it really means a lot to me that all of you came out, so again, I thank you! Hopefully we'll see y'all at 27.

26 Fantastic Moments

I really don't know how I got here. Growing up, I couldn't see past 25, and yet here I am, turning 26. Some things have gone exactly how I planned them, and some of my best laid plans have turned to shit in my hands. Some experiences I knew I would have I've had again and again, others that I never thought I would experience I have. I've known enemies and friends, girlfriends and lovers, family and colleagues. So what's the best? Can't answer that one for you. But I can give you 26 of the moments, thoughts or experiences in my life that have made me feel like I'm sitting on top of the world...(in no particular order)

1) Taking naps in the grass during summers in Iowa.
2) Skydiving
3) The first time I made love (thanks H.C.)
4) Hearing my Dad say he's proud of me.
5) Running a 4:40 mile in high school.
6) Winning my first 330 hurdles race.
7) My first time at Morton's.
8) Scoring a 770 on the English SAT 2.
9) First time I got h__ (thanks Wolf)
10) The moment I came clean about Essaygate.
11) Anytime I play Ultimate frisbee.
12) Winning a soccer game in a shoot out as a goalkeeper.
13) First time I finished We the Living by Ayn Rand.
14) Flowing with Topher and ChengJ.
15) Riding the metro in Paris.
16) My first house sale.
17) Giving a commencement speech at middle school graduation.
18) The days of 7am to 7pm high school.
19) My college graduation party.
20) DJing for KSCR
21) Talking a teacher from a B to an A- in a college feminism class.
22) Coaching my team to win a distance relay track meet.
23) Traveling in Japan.
24) Dancing in the street.
25) The moment I gave up worrying about other people's opinions of me.
26) The moment I'm in. This one. Right here. And now.

You Killed My Brother!

Always on the look-out for weird and insane things, this one comes from a largely unexplored forest region in Indonesia. Recently discovered, this rat is 5 times the size of a NYC rat, which means that it eats cockroaches AND your toes for breakfast. It brings to mind the quote from the original TMNT movie, "You dirty rat, you killed my brother."

My question is...what was this guy thinking when he picked this thing up, and how did he get it to look so domesticated? I want to put it on a leash, take it to a dog park and let it feast on all those toy lap dogs that I always want to punt across the room. That or let it loose late night in a bar and yell, "There goes Splinter!"

The Fall of a Bachelor

With New Year's fast approaching, the wedding event of the winter season is upon us in the form of Coach's New Year's Eve wedding. Never have I been more excited about my New Year's plans, and I do mean never. In celebration, we rode out to the city to help him celebrate Saturday night.

I start my evening at 3 in the parking lot outside the stadium with Gavroche, PR and Hessica for the Niners v. Bengals game. To the enjoyment of all, the Niners actually manage to pull off a win, which leaves me, slightly faded, walking through the parking lot after the game yelling, "Who dey?!" to every Bengals fan I see. We get out of the stadium, I head home, shower and head back to the city for the bachelor party.

The group is 9 of us, mainly high school friends of the Coach. I seem to be the only new blood, but there is the former throws coach (P), as well as E and Airel who I've met before. Somehow, following the 40 I had at the game and the rodka I had coming up to the city, I still manage to be convinced to take a shot of Patron. For those of you that know me, you know I'm not good at shots, let alone tequila, yet for this party, I manage to hold it down.

We leave from there and head to North Beach where we grab pizza. The only person that knows the plan right now is E, and I see why as we head to our destination. It's definitely a bachelor party. What's funny, is that as the group gets to the door (we've already all been cleared to enter by the head of the party), the girl checking our IDs keeps seeing all these Filipinos. She goes, "Daaaamn, you Filipino's roll deep!" Me, at the back with the Coach, responds, "Hey now, not all of us." She looks up and sees me, but before taking my ID goes, "hold on just a second, these guys are in a different group," to both of us. I'm positive that this is because they're all Filipino and I'm the only white guy. I point out that the guest of honor is right beside me, and we indeed are all together, and she lets us in.

The rest I leave up to the annals of time and your imagination, as some things are better left unsaid. Wish him well people, he heads towards marriage now like a man aboard a train without brakes. But his lady, EdeJ, she's fantastic, so I wish them all the best in their future happiness!

I read a quote today which I thought worth passing on..."Marriage is like a bathtub...it's not so hot once you get used to the water."

Up next...birthday celebrations!

Plastic Glitz

The broken fixture spitting cement mixtures
churns the newfound day,
while the cement sticks and breaks on bricks,
to rumble round the quay.
But the water spits and bubbles up,
to turn cement to sand,
and the rubble fades to leave a mess that slips right through the hands.

So the fading sights of burned-out neon lights
lurk lonely in the past,
and the dimming wits of plastic glitz
bring the future soon to pass.
But the future moments, as they come,
become neon lights once more,
and the fractured fragments of now and then
become tomorrow's whore.

A Joint Bday/Going Away

When you can't find any nights to celebrate a Late Za Birthday/Early Me Birthday/Za Going Away Party, there's only one thing to do...get hammered on a Monday night and call it all three. And that's what we endeavored to do. With Hessica as my driver (Home, James!), Za, Gavroche, T, McButter, Jacks, Marg, Glass and a few others descended on Skylark. We start during football at T and Za's place, getting green and watching the decoration of the Christmas tree, and the lighting of the non-denominational Menorah. I'm already in fine form when we leave the apartment, and an entire j on the way helps matters along.

At first, I feel like an idiot. I've picked the Skylark as our venue because I've heard some good things about the Monday night festivities there. T is skeptical as she claims the last time she was there it was like a Mission Marina. We walk in, and there's no one there. I mean, the bartenders and djs and a few people are there, but it's pretty empty. T views this as a vast improvement.

As the night moves on, the place starts to fill up. And then comes what we came for. I had been told about the Monday Skylark night by a guy that works at the Shack named Hopper. Apparently, they didn't have anything on Monday night, and he approached them about throwing a party. This is also the same bar that the Shack's anniversary party was held. But the beauty of Monday night at Skylark is the reggae themed music and the ability to sit in the back and smoke. I asked the bartender who said, "You can't smoke in a bar. But this is reggae night. We turn a blind eye." Let me just say...the ability to smoke a j in a bar is both a blessing and a curse...you don't have to go outside to do it, but as a result, you sit there and chain smoke which can lead to some incoherency issues.

And the evening ended with some of those issues...next up...the office holiday party, where last year I had to drive someone else back from the restaurant.

Thursday Night Trouble

It all starts with a holiday office party serving drinks made of lemon juice, vodka (or gin) and champagne. Picture agents, all in their 30s and 40s, pounding these surprisingly ridiculously strong drinks in the office. Now imagine that starting at 3pm. By the time I leave at 5, I'm 3 deep, have a very healthy buzz on, and hear that the party went til about 7, complete with one assistant spitting on the carpet and proclaiming "I need something for my nose." Unfortunately, one can't stay for everything in life, and I had a club run to get to, so I'll have to hope she gets drunk and starts spitting at the next party.

I make the club run and meet up with Za, who's invited me to the SFJC.Center for their Hanukkah party. I walk in, can't find her, but that's never stopped me before, especially when I find bars of free beer and sake shots. I've downed two by the time I find her. The atmosphere is sweet...the place is crowded, everyone keeps shooting sake and the dj is keeping things moving. At one point, following an awkward conversation attempting to explain my Jewish heritage, we get out on the dance floor. Then a slow song comes on and I recreate middle school by asking a girl to dance. I don't remember the last time THAT happened. From the look on her face, I don't think she remembers either. I felt like some sort of antique.

By 10, Za is plastered, McButter is playing den mother and I'm furiously pounding water to get back into tip top shape. I get home at 11 and after seriously considering doing all manner of things that may or may not have gotten me in trouble, I decide on the water and bed course of action. An excellent decision as it turns out.

Get a Room, Or Bowl Already!

One thing you have to say for McButter...even if the plans are late, changed ten times and never quite finalized until four hours before, the result is still going to be fantastic. The idea last night was to give Za a bit of a surprise birthday party, so it's McButter, Jacks, T and myself. We met for dinner at Colibri, a Mexican place on Geary by the theatre district. This place is known for two things...a vast selection of tequilas and margaritas (I tried the Margarita Centenario which had Gran Centenario Reposado, described in the menu as "smooth and mellow, select ten year old blue agave plant, aged in new oak." yummy!) and making guacamole fresh for each table. It was phenomenal. The service, however, was not so stellar, but I came for the margaritas, not the service.

We then head to the "next event" as we keep calling it because Za doesn't know what we're doing. On the way there, we almost die as my mind wanders and I hear "go Adam" coming from the backseat. So I start to go and hear "go Adam, go" as I run a red light, through the intersection and on to the other side. Turns out what I was only half paying attention to was actually saying, "Don't go, Adam" even though I wasn't planning on it, the warning turned into an order in my head. Fortunately, no large trucks, unseen cars or police officers are anywhere in sight.

About halfway there, Za knows where we're going, but I don't think it lessens her enthusiasm as we head towards the Presidio bowling center. We meet up with Kat and her roommate there, and upon arriving, we are treated to perhaps the most infuriating set of circumstances I've ever seen...

This bowling place has like 15 lanes. All of which are packed. It's a younger, drinking, carousing type crowd, and for the most part, all is well in the bowling world. But then we are treated to two couples who break all rules of both bowling and public decency. In the middle two lanes of the venue, we have four people that apparently missed it when their parents' talked about being considerate to others. Here we are in a bowling alley where all the lanes are jammed and there's two people each on these two lanes. Are they bowling? Not really. They've come to the bowling alley on this fine evening to make out and look into each other's eyes, and make us wait for a lane while doing it.

On the left, we have couple number 1. Couple number 1 is a clean cut looking couple, a cute girl and a guy with some sort of wrist splint on his non-bowling arm. Problem is, they really came to talk. When she does get up to bowl, about every ten minutes or so, she half-heartedly throws the ball into the lane before sitting back down and waiting another five minutes or so before taking her second roll. Mid-game, she disappears, leaving her broken wrist boyfriend sitting and looking at the lane. Lucky for her, he waits until she returns to take his turn so she can watch him. The final two and a half frames of their game takes close to 40 minutes.

On the right, we have couple number 2. Couple number 2 is a couple that looks like they were absolutely made for each other. I can tell because I got to watch them coo, flirt, kiss, hold hands and hug each other for a good 30 minutes. Bowling? What moron comes to a bowling alley to bowl?! They come in, sit down, put their beers on the table, hold each other's hands and look into each other's eyes. For fifteen minutes. Before rolling their first frame. Jacks points out, "it looks like their sex might only last ten minutes...they need to make the date as long as possible." I, at this point definitely under the influence, start taking pictures with my flash on of the happy couple in an attempt to make them uncomfortable. It doesn't work. They don't notice. It's still twenty minutes before their next roll. At this point, it's lucky we get a lane because T is ready to knock out the girls and castrate the guys. I can't say I'm far behind her...I mean, I wasn't taking pictures because I thought there WOULDN'T be a confrontation...

Finally, we get a lane and squeeze in two games of speed bowling. I manage to follow spares and strikes with gutter balls. It reminds me of Home for the Holiday's "par par bogey bogey par par" line. Sure, the strikes are nice, but they don't really help your score if you follow it up with nothing. I record the 2nd highest score in the first game, and the highest in the second game, but it's little consolation as my team falls to the other team in both rounds...there's no "I" in team and I feel like I let them down. Luckily for all involved, no one gives a shit who won, so we all win! Here's some pictures from the evening, including some of the couple obviously not there to bowl. Up next...I celebrate my Jewish roots with a party at the SFJCC.

Happy Birthday Momz!!

So maybe you've seen her at the bar...maybe you haven't. Or maybe, when you did, she was already passed out on the barstool. There's only so many reasons that you can call someone "Pass Out ___" but no name rings better in the phrase than hers. Up until now, life as a Cal grad has satisfied her. In the future, it could be med school. But either way, one thing is for sure...the girl we all know and love as Momz will continue partying and passing out well into the future. So raise your glass people, and send out a little toast and birthday salutation to Momz or -amie...she probably deserves it!

Idiot Executives

(for the full text of this blog, see the Evolving Music blog)

Read an interesting article this week in Wired. Actually, the entire magazine was phenomenal and prompted me to order a subscription, but one article jumped out. Examining the current state of the music industry through the eyes of Universal Music Group's CEO Doug Morris, author Seth Mnookin prompts a series of new perspectives and questions surrounding the idea of where exactly we are now and where we are likely to go in the future with regards to music rights management, distribution and artist promotion. All of which, obviously, are keen topics in the mind of MixMatchers.

Morris is an industry ancient. If it weren't for the fact that the past several years have seen him hammering other companies over rights to use and sell the Universal catalog with great success, he'd be a dinosaur. But he has. He's been very busy, limiting who can use the Universal catalog and when, making YouTube sign an agreement with regards to the licensing, he's engaged in a lawsuit with Myspace, and he has even gotten Microsoft to give Universal $1 for every Zune music player sold because they could be used to play music that wasn't directly paid for by the listener.

So why's he involved in all these digital disputes at the moment? It boils down to the record industry turning an ignorant eye in the 90's to the idea that the huge profit margins on CDs and the public's willingness to buy them couldn't be eradicated by something as non-tangible and silly as a, um, what was it called again? Oh, yea, mp3. When you look at this period in time, it would be easy from an outside perspective to see clearly and rationally that the record labels didn't want to go digital for fear of losing the justification for the large profit margins created by CDs. So rather than get out in front of the mp3 movement and attempt to control its direction, record companies dug in. The obvious initial example is the first assault on Napster. When Apple launched the iTunes store, they were only able to get major labels to sign on because when you break it down, Macs are a small percentage of the population, so how much could they possibly damage the sale of CDs? Of course, this is before the Windows iTunes was released....I doubt Jobs told the execs THAT when he was pitching for them to sign up and let him sell their music on the web.

Article continues here.

Neuvo Net(flix) of November (11)

Saw some great movies this month. Thanksgiving is always Home for the Holidays, so you can count on a fantastic Holly Hunter/Robert Downey Jr tragicomedy with the family. Watched a few classics, some fresh goodies and a few dealing with some amazing historical events. And of course, the new Futurama.

6: The Postman Always Rings Twice (Jack Nicholson version)
8: Chariots of Fire
14: Thomas Crown Affair ('68), Rabbit-Proof Fence
18: Lost Boys of Sudan
22: Home for the Holidays (if you haven't seen this one, I recommend it for some of the universal truths, hilarious moments, melancholy feelings and Downey Jr's drugged up performance)
26: Bloody Sunday
27: Lord of War
28: Bender's Big Score
29: Bender's Big Score (yes, it's that funny)
30: Enchanted (not by choice...democratically voted on by a group of 15-18 year old girls, it may have been cheesy, but it wasn't horrible)

10 Things to Think About on a Thursday

One reader, upon reading my "10 Things to Think About on a Friday" post of last week suggested that I make it a weekly thing. I don't know if I will, but being out of town tomorrow, I thought I'd shoot one out early for your enjoyment. So here you go...contemplate them or not.

1) Who deserves a longer prison sentence: Michael Vick or Barry Bonds?
2) Who is/was more deserving of impeachment: President Clinton or President Bush?
3) If you were to become a prostitute (male or female, mind you), what would be your going rate for a blow job?
4) In the Craigslist missed connection section, there are only 6 posts that include the word Thursday. Are people not getting out on Thursdays?
5) Who would you rather be: Soulja Boy or an amoeba?
6) Would you rather be dunked over by Shaq or scored over by Terrell Owens?
7) Would you rather be the victim of global warming or a flash freeze?
8) In a battle to the death, who would win: T or Za?
9) Nacho Cheese Doritos or Cool Ranch?
10) Who do you suspect is a better kisser: Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie?

Good News Everyone!

Long the forgotten better sibling of The Simpsons, Futurama packed powerful comedic punches mixed in with a good amount of satire and parody aimed at our present from the distant future of the year 3000. Bender, Fry, Leela, Hermes, Amy, the Professor and Zoidberg are but a few of the characters that, on an intelligent humor level, far surpass anything Fox has put on since.

And then, it was canceled. With a futuristic setting and comedy that asks a little more attention and understanding from its viewers than a fat man hurting himself and yelling "D'oh", Futurama was unable to gain the following of the Simpsons due to being relatively new, and unable to match Family Guy in lowbrow high school vulgar humor focused on dick and fart jokes. Gag me. It never got past season 4. To this day though, I'll re-watch the episodes because of how hilarious they continue to be. Hearing Fry lament, "I can't wait til I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff," and Bender cry, "Who knew that playing God would have such horrible consequences?" are lines that never get old, and succinctly sum-up the type of humor the show was known for.

And now, it's back. Thanks to the creators and folks at both Fox and Cartoon Network, the show has been resurrected in the form of multiple straight to DVD movies, the first of which, Bender's Big Score, came out on Tuesday, the next of which is due sometime in early 2008. If you want to read the CNN article, you can find it here. If you're just looking to buy, go here!

Friday Night's Beach (Superman THAT!)

Following the eventful, family and food filled Thanksgiving week, Friday was the time to start the Christmas season with the annual trip to House of Prime Rib and Beach Blanket Babylon.

For those that don't know, House of Prime is one of the best restaurants for prime rib in the city. You start with a great salad, prime rib of course, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. Hessica manages to spill twice during the meal (a glass of wine and my lemon drop), and we make it out in perfect time to head over to the Fugazi for BBB.

BBB is a satirical musical revue centered on Snow White's search for a prince in San Francisco and beyond. What's cool is that this has been a tradition for years, and now Shawna of our high school days is playing the lead. It makes the entire production a much more enjoyable experience when you know the star. After the performance, she comes out to say hello.

As we're talking, a woman walks up, slightly drunk, having just seen the show, and wonders if she can smoke a cigarette around us. We tell her no problem and she goes in on how fun the show was, did we need any tickets for the next show, she had some she wasn't going to use. All this time, Shawna is standing there in her stage make-up trying to blend in. Suddenly, the woman recognizes her and shrieks, "You're Snow White!!!" and goes celebrity star-struck on us. She's asking for Shawna to get on their party bus and say something to the group, but being polite, she declines, "I'm just talking to my friends right now."

But I'm not going to let her politeness in talking to us stop her from continued fame and success. I say, "Shawna, we can talk to you all the time, say something to the people, they love you!" So she gets on the bus and thanks them for coming, rewarding them with her signature Snow White laugh. Priceless.

After the show, we head to ChengJ's apartment for pre-gaming activities with Gw, D (of -amie), Hessica, Sis, her friend Kara and myself, where we get into a spirited put down and ridicule session of Soulja Boy's Crank Dat dance. We've all read a blog about it and seen accompanying videos, and for the rest of the evening amuse ourselves by making fun of the following people/things, not necessarily in this order:

1) Soulja Boy
2) Anyone that listens seriously to Soulja Boy
3) Anyone who has memorized his dance, for any reason
4) Anyone that would spend time actually researching and writing about the artist/song/dance for any reason
5) The state of pop music in general and mainstream rap specifically

Needless to say, the catch phrase for the evening is, "Superman THAT, ho!" We head out to Circa where the crowd is swanky and I'm actually surprised there isn't any cover. Inside, continuing to make fun of everything around us, we get the DJ to play the Soulja Boy song so I can record Sis's friend doing the dance in the middle of the bar. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone but our group gets the idea that we're mocking, not supporting the song. Also unfortunately, I have continued my habit of videotaping things in very poor lighting (it's not my fault if all the things worth having on film happen in the dark!), so the video of her doing this dance is garbage. Afterwards, we head over to City Tavern to close the place down. The evening ends with a trip to Jack in the Box.

Thanksgiving #3

There's obviously a lot to be thankful for this week...music, multiple meals, friends and family. Thanksgiving #3 was the main event, the full family eat-a-thon at Madre's in HMB.

The standard of practice is an appetizer board with ham rolls, chips and salsa, baked brie, vegetables and dip and fresh prawns. This moves into a dinner with green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, jello salad, and turkey. This year, P does the turkey right for me...he takes a few light meat pieces, melts some brie over them and tops the thing off with bacon.

After dinner, we watch Home for the Holidays (this happens every year) and we watch SC take down ASU. Tonight...House of Prime Rib

11 Songs to Be Thankful For

(for the full text of this article, see the Evolving Music blog)

In a mainstream musical landscape of, for the most part, rapidly declining talent and increasing acceptance of incredibly low musical standards (I mean, you have just read an entire blog about people actually performing and videotaping jack ass Soulja Boy's song, complete with the lyrics "superman dat ho," and didn't think it was entirely out of the ordinary, in fact, you were probably entertained), it's important to keep somewhat grounded by recognizing the unrecognized...the real musicians and rappers that slip through the crack because they can't sell or ink deals with the majors. Also in need of recognition are songs of the past that we sometimes discard as the next CD/download comes out.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, I give you a newly discovered or enjoyed song from each month of my musical year. Not all of them are new to this year, the month merely represents when I first heard them or came back to them. Some of them you might have heard, some you may not have, but the idea is these are songs that immediately sunk in and made an impression, and can probably offer you three minutes or more of something you'll enjoy more than taking a hammer to your head (which is what 94.9 makes me feel like doing). For whatever reason, of the 600 or so new/refound songs I've heard this year, these stood out and deserve a listen if you're looking for something new, or a revisit to a song you've heard that's worth hanging on to. Copyrights prevent us from posting the actual songs, but I'm sure y'all are smart enough to do a little research...

January: "Tulips (Club Version)" (Single) by Bloc Party. Actually a 2005 song, but hidden in single format, this one sounds just as relevant as their more current work. With the driving rock mixed with a melancholy edge, the song is at once both energizing and haunting. Honorable Mention: "Classical Hit" (Straight From the Crates, Vol. 1) by Phil Da Agony

February: "Float" (Half Full Ashtrays, Half Empty Glasses) by the Lab Rats. Off their 2006 self-release, "Float" provides some of the most intricate and touching lyrics of any of their songs. This group, independents out of Ohio, usually vent on the struggle of a below middle class life and the difficulties of getting their music conceived, written, produced and distributed. This one though finds a more harmonious tilt and examines the feeling of letting the tide of life come to you rather than chasing it. "Where you are right now is a specific composition of every single decision that you've made in the past." Honorable Mention: "In Love" (The Medicine) by Planet Asia feat. Jonell

March: "4 AM in 4 Parts" (Prox EP) by edIT. Off the 2006 various artist EP, this super glitch song displays edIT's diversity as he breaks the song into 4 parts to elicit different aspects and moods of the rave culture. A must listen for anyone trying to get a grasp of what edIT is all about. Honorable Mention: "Mirror in the Sky" (Atlantis - Hymns for Disco) by k-os

April: "Cooter Brown" (To Tha X-Treme) by Devin the Dude. Off his 2004 release, the laid back beat and old sample of this song had me cruising for weeks. His smooth delivery as he examines the issues in his life and his progress through them drift over this melody with a relaxed purpose that make it good for any mood. Honorable Mention: "Pusherman" (Supafly Soundtrack) by Curtis Mayfield

May: "Groundswell" (Moonbeams) by Throw Me the Statue. If you wonder why we keep plugging TMTS over here, it's because the music is worth the listen and you may not hear it elsewhere. This song, utilizing the same excellent mixture of driving rock, positive sounds and yet still slightly melancholy feel that made "Tulips" stick to me, does it with horns and an acoustic riff that you can take with you. Honorable Mention: "Do It" (Loose) by Nelly Furtado (I'm still dancing to this one, a rare tasty pop treat)

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Thanksgiving #2/Thanksgiving Eve

Thanksgiving #2 is at Pop's house on Wednesday night with him, KC and Sis...he does a pork loin roast, garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. I contribute a carrot cake from the Love Shack. Of course, I'm an idiot and forget to take pictures of this one, but Pops always puts on the good spread.

Following dinner, it's the standard Wednesday before Thanksgiving descent of everyone from the two major HSchools here. I'm talking down at the Steelhead, you can't walk two feet without needing to to say hello to someone you either a) haven't seen since last year, b) didn't ever want to see again, or c) don't remember from that sophomore journalism class that they obviously remember you from. I cab down from the apt with Hessica, Chuck and Gavroche.

For some reason they shut down the brewery early and the party moves to several other area bars...we end up at the Alibi, a pool hangout/bar off BAve. All is fine until on my way to the bathroom I'm confronted by about a 55 year old 5'4 woman with a mustache that tells me I'm cute and indicates something about taking me home. I disappear to somewhere else fast.

Then, as everyone is having a good time, two jack asses on the sidewalk outside the bar decide they're going to mix it up. One guy gets in the other guy's face and before you know it, these two fine gentlemen have brought the attention of about 10 cops to the area, who, once subduing the fighters, move inside to tell everyone the bar is closed. I'm sure everyone loves it when two people ruin it for the rest of us....the video is almost too dark to see anything, but you can kinda get the idea, especially with one guy's favorite line..."who the fuck you think you is?!" Ahh, Bgame.

Thanksgiving #1

What a great way to kick off the Thanksgiving week (which has somehow become a fat making tradition). It started with a Monday night Thanksgiving feast prepared by Chef C (some know her as Sexy), over at T and Za's place...It was a group of about 15-20, and the Chef put on a masterful show with a full turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, carrots, a fresh salad and brussell sprouts (which you know I dodged!).

We burned two blunts (see K's hilarious quote on the right there about one of them), and the evening culminated with Za, accepting a dare, and drinking white wine from her shoe. Now that's a classy Thanksgiving.

Up next...Thanksgiving #2 at Padre's house.

BeerPongaPalooza

Saturday night brings me to a Beirut tournament in the city. It's a closed double elimination bracket with matching uniforms and plenty of fanfare. Because every group plays Beirut differently, it's important to know the rules. The house rules for this game are as follows:
1) 10 cups, 1 rerack, your choice of when
2) A bounce can be swatted, but if it goes in, it counts for 2 cups
3) Finish your drink before you shoot
4) Both balls make, balls back
5) Rebounds are live and can be reshot if recovered
6) Elbow must behind the table mark
7) Both balls going in the same cup gets 3 cups.

Chaz comes as my partner and at 8:15 we're into the first round game. We get a nice easy draw on the first round, a twosome that have just met for the first time and don't have too much experience between them. It's a good game to get a rhythm. That's when we find there's been some shenanigans...apparently, the host team has not only given themselves the highest seed in the tournament, but scheduled themselves in for a first round bye. We're incensed, but we need to work on winning our games. The host team barely wins in OT, and we follow it up by playing two guys who have obviously been training.

Our second game is against Team Brown, a twosome that looks harmless enough. But on the first throw, they're following up the throw with a quick bounce that almost gets us twice (see rule 2). Luckily, the bounce isn't going down for them. Unluckily, they don't seem to need it as they start burying shots without really seeming to try. We get in a big hole and need some magic to turn the game around if we're going to win. Chaz knocks down a cup, and as I step up, I tell him, "I can hit that cup." I focus, and nail the cup. He and I start going crazy...rule 7 means we just took the lead. Then we're told that, apparently, sometime in Round 1, that rule was abolished, and no one told us. This takes some wind out of our sail...we thought we had just put ourselves back in a position to win. Then, to make matters entirely worse, they tell us that not only does it not count for 3, but it doesn't count for 2 either, and all we get for me hitting the same cup is the balls back. How much sense does it make when a bounce counts for 2 but the same cup counts for nothing? We go on, following the loss of adrenaline from the quick turnaround, to lose.

In the third game, we put up a good fight against the team in red, but again become victimized by the rules as we lose two cups on a bounce and can't find the tempo that we played with earlier. We make some good shots down the stretch, but it isn't enough to keep us from being eliminated. All in all, it's a fantastic tournament, but kids, make the rules solid before you head off into battles! We had a great time, but several times felt victimized by sudden changes in the rules...but hey, you have to make your cups, and while I give both of us high marks on a solid level of consistency throughout the three games, we didn't make the cups necessary to take us to the next level. One thing that's fantastic about playing Beirut with brackets and a closed format like this is that it forces social interaction with opposing teams that grows throughout the night as games go on and beers get downed.

Before we can stick around and see who brings home the trophy, we take a walk and end up with a few drinks in hand at the Marina bars before finding the crepe stand at 11th and Folsom. Think Nutella/Banana/Chocolate, Strawberry/Chocolate and Nutella/Banana/Coconut crepes.

Next up...another week of Thanksgiving.

10 Thoughts to Keep You Busy on a Friday

People. The weekend has come. It seemed like a quicker week than most, which is good. But the odds are that means the weekend is going to fly. And think about it...with Thanksgiving next week, followed closely by UCLA v. USC (1), Hanukkah (4), the Day of Infamy (7), my birthday (20), Christmas (25), New Year's (31), there's not a whole lot of year left at all. Where the hell did 2007 go? But that's all besides the point...you came here for 10 random thoughts to keep you busy on a Friday. Hey...it beats reading about the latest instances of STDs in Hollywood stars, or whatever else y'all do to keep yourselves busy.

1) Would you rather be the goose that laid the golden egg, or the cat that ate the canary?
2) Who would win in a dance-off: Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny?
3) How many oatmeal chocolate chip cookies by Cam F. do you think you could eat in one sitting?
4) Really...what is the difference between destiny and fate?
5) Who would win in a battle to the death: New/old roommate Hessica or just departed roommate JGlace?
6) If Michael Scott of the Office and Charlie of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia got together, how long would it take for the overall IQ of the conversation to reach 0?
7) Why do people like to wake up and smell the coffee? Doesn't bacon smell better in the morning?
8) Cuban citizens have not overthrown Castro. American citizens elected George Bush twice. Which is worse?
9) If you woke up tomorrow morning with the strength and agility of a monkey, would you build a new house in the trees of a forest, or would you update your current residence with jungle gyms?
10) Would you rather die eating a bad blowfish or being eaten by a bad shark?

Happy Friday!

We Can See the Black Cat Changing Colors

When an evite list has 900 RSVPs on it, you know the party is either going to a) Get broken up within two hours, b) have no one show up because they're worried it'll be too crowded or c) will be the best party of the year. I know, I know, you're going to say that we're only in month 11/12 for the year, so how can this be the best? Well, you have PS and his friend Ams celebrating joint birthday parties on a Saturday night in a warehouse.

Night starts with me watching USC beat up on Cal. Doesn't get much sweeter than that. Watching it with Za, her brother (another USC student), McButter and Doyle, we're amped and a little faded by the time the game ends. Lucky for us, Maurod the Cabbie is out and about and takes us right to the party, despite the fact that we all have drinks in hand and there's five us us for the backseat. We get the j going and it's perfect timing by the time we pull up.

They've got a few guys working the door, and when we get in it's obvious that the warehouse is huge and if they can avoid the cops coming, the party will go all night. They've got the guest list and are checking peoples' names against their ids inside. There's an area to the left of the front door that has a large screen playing Baraka. This quickly becomes the smoking area. To the right is the dance/drink area with the stage set-up. By the time we get there at 10, the place is already packed, and it stays that way up until I make it out of there at 2.

A huge mixing table and numerous kegs throughout the warehouse make getting a drink easy, and by the time the bands start playing, the fade is on. McButter, Za and her brother have to leave early because apparently they tried to drink/smoke a bit too fast. This leaves me with Topher, ChengJ and a few others. As the party goes on, people leave, people arrive, but the warehouse is consistently full. The bands get peoples' attention and for a party where I'm sure there are numerous different genres listened to, it goes over surprisingly well.

It's after a majority of our friends have left and Topher and I are standing around that we realize, having kept drinking steadily and even sneaking him something to breathe on, we're beyond the point of being useful. It's around two at this point and we've run into virtually everyone we know at some point, blown several good opportunities to meet new people (if anyone knows Amy that listens to Metallica when she runs, I've been looking), and I've blown through seven js. At two, we understand that we're not going to be able to pull a recovery, so we head outside.

There, waiting for a cab to show up, we find a girl waiting for a cab to go to the Marina. I call Maurod, and he shows up right as a cab does. At this point, I'm extremely glad I can jump in Maurod's car and send Topher off to meet his destiny. I hear later that it could have, but did not, lead to anything.

The ride with Maurod leaves me at Za's place, drunk, spinning and hungry. Luckily for me, they live next to a 7-11. After ringing the bell for several minutes and finally getting someone to come down and let me in, I find the keys that Za gave me as she left the party in my back pocket. I sit down, try to control my spinning and eat a spicy dog with some water. T, Marge and Windy get back from their party at this point, and I make it about another thirty minutes before I go to sleep. On the floor. In their hallway.

Congratulations go to PS and his lady friend for throwing an amazing party. I'm told that the cops broke it up around 4:30. And yes, it was the party of the year thus far. Next up...Beirut Tournament.

Statues and Bimbo's

Friday night, Throw Me the Statue (aka Scott Reitherman) descended on Bimbo’s in the city to hype his new album Moonbeams and visit with the hometown folks on his way to the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Because of the nature of the concert, it was packed with the high school crowd.

I was excited to hear how the album songs translated to concert, knowing that Scott wasn’t bringing some of the session musicians brought on for the CD. With Aaron Goldman and two others, the four man set did a remarkable job of turning out the songs, often in ways that brought more energy to both the venue and the sound.

Despite the fact that it felt like a concert in high school, complete with Gavroche heckling Scott from the crowd, it was an impressive set in a great venue. For those that haven’t been to Bimbo’s, you should get out there if a band you’re even remotely interested in is playing. It’s spacious enough to provide comfort for everyone, and at the same time small and intimate enough that it feels almost like a coffee shop show of sorts.

While I don’t remember the set-list order, they came out and started “Written in Heart Signs, Faintly.” From there, they played “Lolita,” “Groundswells,” “Yucatan Gold” (which they made very cool by passing out shakers to the crowd and asking them to assist with percussion,) “Young Sensualists,” which was amped up with a strong amount of tempo and energy not found on the album version, and “About to Walk.” “Young Sensualists” surprised me the most…as the album opener, it’s a very nice song, albeit slightly lower on energy. In concert, the song found new life and was right up there with “Groundswells” and “Yucatan Gold” for me in terms of enjoyment.



What was most interesting to see was the transformation of one of our friends from a high school/gig musician to an actual rock band on stage. They fit perfectly into the crowd and the venue, looking well rehearsed, and easily poking fun at their own mistakes (“sometimes we like to test the patience of the audience by playing wrong notes. You guys are still here!”). What I didn’t expect was how easily, once off the stage, Scott went right back to being Scott. There were no handshakes or hellos in the lobby that felt forced. Scott was still Scott, and still genuinely glad that people came out and enjoyed his music. It didn’t feel like he was in the band and we were fans. It felt like he had just got done doing something and we were back at a party from high school or college. His parents came out as well. Mainly, everyone had a great time.

Scott certainly appears to have the right mix of crowd sensibility and notions of grandeur, while keeping a grounding that should keep him close to his closest friends and supporters. It makes for an interesting mix in a rock group, and one that will be interesting to chart as he gains a larger following (which will happen…they heard "Lolita" on KCRW in a cab ride home in Los Angeles following the Troubadour show).

At the end, no one was particularly impressed with Jens Lekman. It wasn’t that he was bad, he just wasn’t that interesting or pro-actively good. So we spend almost the entirety of his set deciding if we’re going to go somewhere else. This is debated on and voted on multiple times, and several times we actually almost leave. In the end though, we stay til they close it down and head out on our separate ways…waving to the Throw Me the Statue Tour van as it started off.