= May 2007 = Main = July 2007 =
Alton Brown once told me that the best place to get a knife sharpened was out of the back of some guy's truck. Well, at the Oakland farmers market today I handed over my favorite knife to a guy in the back of a truck... five dollars and ten minutes later, heck if that wasn't a sharp sumbitch. Those tomatoes don't stand a chance.
Happy Beer Day!
1. I posted pictures from our trip to the Philippines. They're up... here, and there are lots of them.
2. Pants Pants Pants' new album is up for download! The band's heart and soul are really in their live performances, but the studio stuff is fun too. So if you're in the area, come see them at Bottom of the Hill next Friday. Consider me to be Spreading the Word.
3. After years of discussion, we're finally throwing the Arrested Development party. I need to find an orange jumpsuit by Saturday. Let me know if I didn't send you the evite for some reason.
4. The website's been having some problems... things seem to be operating smoothly now, but lemme know if you notice any kinks.
I think we can all agree that Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" was pop music's best guilty pleasure of a few years back. Its American Idol pedigree all but guaranteed it to be unlisten-to-able, but much to my surprise, it was catchy, and... dare I say... pretty good.
So good, in fact, that I've been anxiously awaiting her third album, scheduled to be released this Beer Day season. I'm especially intrigued by the various news items I've seen in the past couple days... firing her manager, canceling tour dates, etc. Quoting that MTV News article, "Clarkson spoke out in the July issue of Elle magazine, claiming that [RCA head Clive] Davis offered her $10 million to drop five of her songs from My December in favor of more likely hits."
$10 million! As much as we talked about the evils of selling out in middle school, I've never heard of such a perfectly simple quid pro quo sell-out opportunity. And she said no! This whole affair is making me feel better and better about convincing Marie to buy the album.
On the flight home Marie came down with a nasty fever. We're pretty sure it's just the flu, acquired from her cousin and not something scarier. On the upside, Marie's on the mend, but this morning it hit me pretty hard, and I kind-of sort-of feel like I'm going to die. Hopefully my next post will be a little more lucid.
Annyong! Jeff here - writing from a travel hotel somewhere near Incheon, Korea. Our family trip to the Philippines was both fun an exhausting -- Marie's napping and I'm sitting here reading a brochure about an eco-tour of the Demilitarized Zone, but I doubt we have the energy to venture too far beyond the hotel room. We have to be back to the airport in three hours, and the room's complimentary internet service will easily keep me occupied until then.
More later. Happy whatever day it is!