Look at this gorgeous little man. I just couldn't resist.

**cue music** You all know the tune....

Duh duh...duh duh. Wiilllllllllllllsoooooooooon.
Duh duh...duh duh. Wiilllllllllllllsoooooooooon.

They can still have fun!*

Hugs and kisses to the whole Q family. Excuse the bad parody. I only indulge myself.

*Coventry version

Posted by jmakunas at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, it's the last day of NaBloPoMo and I can't say I'm not glad. There were a ton of things that I wanted to write about and never got around to: Bob Dylan's new album, The Libertines, London slang, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, the "Christmas #1" phenomenon, why my posts have the names they do...the list goes on.

I think in retrospect that NaNoWriMo might have been better for me. I'm not sure that I would have been able to write 50,000 words, but I would have written a lot and I would have done a lot less agonizing on a daily basis. Having to post every day means making your words public (not just a word count). There were days (like tonight, frankly) where I simply didn't have time. There were days (and you've read them) where I simply didn't have anything to say. And there were days where I simply couldn't get the words right...but I had to put them out there anyway. I don't write like that. I don't want to write like that. NaNoWriMo would have made me write, but kept the bad stuff private until I was ready to re do it or to pitch it or to post it.

So tomorrow we're off for a secret long weekend. If you think hard enough about it, you'll figure out where we are. I might post about it when we get back and I might not. I will post, however. I'll do my best to find some happy medium between a post a month and a post a day.

And I might actually start that novel, too.

Posted by jmakunas at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry...nothing new to report. Meme-ing again:

1. Take the quiz: What was your Thanksgiving horoscope?

Aquarius: You're the sign most likely to do your own wacky thing for Thanksgiving - like skydiving in a Turkey costume.

Your signature dish: Tofurky (tofu "turkey")

Your signature dessert: A cocktail

This holiday: Give in to all your freaky ideas. Buck tradition!

2. Did you have either of those two dishes on your Thanksgiving table? Of the two, which would have been your choice? Cocktails, of course. Kir Royales beforehand and Port afterwards. Does Port count as a cocktail?

3. Which single food do you blame most for your weight gain? Wine. Next question?

4. Take the quiz: How thankful are you?

***You Are 66% Thankful***
You are a very thankful person - for both the big and little things in life.
Your optimism is powerful. Getting through hard times is fairly easy for you.

Really? Hmmm. Interesting.

5. Which are you more thankful for: your family, your friends, your career or your possessions? I am always thankful for my family, but this year I was most thankful for my friends because I actually HAVE some that came to Thanksgiving. After a year of missing our friends in California, I sincerely toasted having people to - well - toast with this year.

6. Did you do any shopping at all on "Black Friday?" I was working. Went shopping yesterday, tho.

Posted by jmakunas at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jo is here from the States this week and - bless her - she's brought me presents. Most of the presents are things that I've ordered from Amazon or such and had shipped to her, including the DVD and soundtrack for TLG's "Rock and Roll Band," the concert film that Justin Kreutzmann made of the boys at the Fox Theater in Boulder earlier this year.

I have been waiting for this set for a while and I can say unequivocally that it's worth the wait. But not for the reasons I thought it would be, however. The music is excellent - it's as good a show as anything I've heard them play this year, the jams are interesting and the songs are strong. Trevor and Josh are both becoming more refined, picking their moments and playing to their strengths. Ben's equally more creative and expressive, stamping around the stage like a fool in love with the groove. And Scotty is Scotty...understated and lovin' it (though I did think he got ahead of himself in places). The CD sounds wonderful, too. It's always great to get a CD-quality soundboard recording, especially when the show behind it is so good. And there's a Jezebel, which is always always welcome.

The DVD...well...Justin's dad may be a genius, but the DVD leaves a lot to be desired. It's a solid concert movie: the band's only demand was that the DVD leave the full jams intact - no cutting in and out just when the music's going somewhere - and that makes for a satisfying listening experience. But sadly, while there's so much exploration in the music the exploration of what makes TLG tick is stunningly anemic.

I've never ever thought that these guys don't have a lot to say - I wouldn't be listening to them if that were the case. I guarantee you that's why I woke up the morning after the first show of theirs I saw - a disastrous night for reasons I won't go into here - humming their music despite having left the concert early. What they're writing and singing about may not be the most original concepts but how they express them is certainly unique. Trevor has a way with words and with lyrics that he himself admits is born out of immersion in the "old" San Francisco sound: Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, the Dead, etc. etc. Josh admits that he's "a pretty big fan of the psychedelic jam." Scotty chokes up a bit explaining what headlining the Fillmore meant to them. Ben grooves his way down Haight St. with just the right amount of respect and goofy self-awareness. They have a lot of thoughts collectively on what makes music such a vital part of San Francisco and there's a lot to be said about what makes them such a vital part of San Francisco music...but Kreutzmann allows them to say very little and says nothing else himself.

Maybe he's trying to strip it back and let the audience draw their own conclusions, but I think it just feels unfinished. I've done a lot of thinking about the "new San Francisco sound" this year and I think there's really something there - something interesting and true and worth exploring. And I thought this would be a great vehicle in which to explore it. When the son of the drummer for the Grateful Dead makes a concert film about a young San Francisco band just starting to come into their own you expect great things from both the band and the filmmaker. I'm still just as impressed with the band as I ever was, but the filmmaker leaves me cold.

I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who wants to hear truly excellent music. But put the DVD on in the background and just listen to the music. Go to a show if you want to see for yourself what TLG really has to say.

Posted by jmakunas at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been doing a bit of exploring British music to try and figure out why everyone's so obsessed with it, and why they're so obsessed with bands that no one else in the world has ever seemed to have heard of. Why is Pete Doherty such a "legend?" What is NME? Who the heck is Jools Holland? Where did Top of the Pops go? Why does everyone listen to the same thing? At the same time? And why oh why oh why do people like Jarvis Cocker and Oasis and Morrisey and Kate Bush still hold such mythical status?

Part of my exploration has involved picking a few really popular bands and buying their albums to try to figure out why they're so damn popular. So far, so good, actually. (I did some selective picking...sorry, but I'm never going to like McFly, no matter what.)

One of the nicest surprises has been Lily Allen - the teenage wunderkind that was this summer's hottest of the hot. The Observer Music Mag (really a wonderful publication...shockingly unpretentious and democratic writing, if a bit indulgent of wankers like the aforementioned Jarvis Cocker) "broke" Lily Allen last summer after she'd been discovered through her MySpace page. She's the daughter of an old English TV star or something or other and has lived somewhat of a vagabond life and is now currently settled on music, producing a weird hybrid of reggae and pop that's somewhat chavvy and totally addictive.

She was EVERYWHERE this summer and I was determined not to like her precisely because she was everywhere. I hate the flavor of the moment just on principle. But I saw one of her videos on Yahoo! Music one day and it was good. Not just good, REALLY good. Funny and silly with great lyrics and a totally infectious hook. Everything that good pop should be. So I bought the album and I love it. Sad to say, but the hype was right on...she sounds like what Liz Phair would have sounded like if Exile in Guyville was made 15 years later. She's equally wise and dirty and vulnerable and tough and I haven't heard a grrrl as authentic since - well - Liz Phair. Totally worth my time. Totally worth yours.

Does this mean I'm going to have to listen to Keane, Kasabian, and The Magic Numbers now?

Posted by jmakunas at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We did have a lovely Thanksgiving last night, but we're paying for it today...I wasn't kidding when I said that the party broke up after 2am. The bottle count this morning was 11.5...including a bottle of port. That's just shy of two bottles a person, which is just wrong. It was good wine, though. This is what happens when you have two decanters, one on each side of the table.

The final menu was as follows:
- Curried pumpkin seeds, marinated olives, a cheese plate, and melon and prosciutto for appetizers (D and N brought the melon. Was GOOD melon, too. Must eat more melon.)
- Kir royales, champagne, and beaujolais nouveau with the apps
- Fennel and grapefruit salad to start (our own recipe, almost perfect but not quite there yet)
- Turkey
- Ham cooked in Coca-cola, which sadly fell apart and was more brisket than sliceable ham. But it was REALLY tasty.
- Cornbread, pecan, cranberry, sausage stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Garlicky green beens
- Butternut squash and creamed spinach gratin
- Cranberry sauce
- Sour cream herb muffins
- Gravy! (a personal triumph)
- Pumpkin pie
- Pecan pie
- Apple-cranberry crumble
- Lots and lots and lots of wine. And then some more wine. And then some espresso, and then some more wine.

It was a lovely evening, relaxed and casual with good friends and good food and good conversation. Lots of leftovers, and everyone went home with food, too, though I barely remember who I gave what to. I barely remember anything after Midnight, but I do remember having the presence of mind to spot bleach and throw the tablecloth in the washer. Heh. I love Thanksgiving.

Photographic proof below.

Posted by jmakunas at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanksgiving is still going on...go away!

Posted by jmakunas at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cranberry sauce has been made. Stuffing (cornbread, pecan, sausage, and cranberry) has been made. Pecan pie is in the oven (no overflows yet...). Once the pecan pie is out, I'll put the curried pumpkin seeds in. I just cannot bring myself to prepare the squash gratin yet, I'll do it tomorrow.

Turkey and ham are sitting out on the porch. We have a LOT of wine.

The bathroom is clean, and Mike's almost dead from the fumes.

The house smells like an odd mixture of sage, brown sugar, and Dettol with bleach.

Thanksgiving! Woo!

Posted by jmakunas at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)