Tonight we hung out at New England Brewing just outside of New Haven for a few pints and some tunes. (Old Home Place and Know You Rider were two I recognized. Bluegrass fingerpickin' style amid big chrome tanks for brewing and many pallets of beercans for fillin'.)

Final Friday it's called and they do it monthly. $5 for the band and the beer was free (as in beer).

And YES they have an IPA. It's their signature brew. It is called Sea Hag IPA and I love that dang hoppy bitter beeyotch. The freshness is exquisite. So happy. So very very happy. Having a local delicious beer is essential to a full and rewarding lifestyle.

Off to NYC tomorrow morning for The Disco Biscuits and then moe. Posting will be light until sometime next year. As in Wednesday.

This was one of the first times I've started with the title and then wrote from there.

But I knew it was happening even as I was talking to the guy.

He was giving me the keys to the City of New Haven, the things we need to know about this city to have fun and to feel a part of the community. This is the bar I was at.

Safety Meeting is his label, and he's booked bands at some other local joints.

He didn't really even do anything besides be a nice guy and pour me a beer or two and tell me about New Haven.

One thing I particularly like about this whole experience was that I was directed to this bar, Firehouse 12, by my friend Dan who lives in Chicago. He told me to go there because he works at the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and at Firehouse 12 they only have jazz shows. So that is why Dan knew about a bar in New Haven even... though.. he... yeah you get it.

Here's the punchline, though! On Thursdays, pints are $2.50, just like at Lucky 13. The only thing missing is the outdoor patio and gorgeous weather and 20+beers on tap and meeting my friends there after work just to chill and eat popcorn or simply sit and read the paper in the afternoon San Franciscan sun and... ah, well, that's not really 'a thing', is it? The bartenders at Lucky 13 are fucking cool, too.

Anyway, I've got Carlos (scroll) now, and he's a key to the musical community of this town. He even gave me a disc. The Weigh Down, they're called, and I'm putting them in... my... player... now.

Fucking sweet.

It's still vacation even though I'm working because the few days between Xmas and NYE really don't count. So that meant poker. Unfortunately because no friends live nearby, that poker had to be online. And because we're still gettin going here in New Haven, it had to be be for play money, taboot. Nonetheless, hitting a nice hand on the river and ropin in some suckers still feels damn good.

Then as the rain poured outside, Lu and I sat down for some OnDemand TV. The absence of Jon Stewart and the rest of The Daily Show has forced us into new viewing habits, and tonight we watched an episode of Iconoclasts. This one was Sean Penn and Jon Krakauer in Alaska, following the path of Christopher McCandless. And it was excellent TV.

But these are really creepy photos. Mouths for eyes. Whoa.

On the other hand, these are amazing bookshelves.

And you should also check out this guys impressive little performance. (via Neatorama, via boingboing). The second half of the video reveals what he was doing in the first part. Stick with it, it's pretty cool.

Labels: tv, youtube

Just arrived home from the last family holiday party of the season. It is so nice to not be furiously packing in anticipation of an early wakeup and long flight back to SF. But, then again, that also means I won't be waking up in SF anytime soon. To the left is what it looked like this afternoon with Christmas wishes from our friend. Thanks Karen! Xmas on the westside is a whole different ballgame than the cold and snowy northeast yuletide festivities.

And festive it was with a fantastic Festivus party, a great Christmas eve eve with the family (which of course included the star, Oren), a Jewish Christmas Eve just Lu and I with ethnic food and a movie, and then dinner and conversation on Strong Island with the rest of the family tonight. As you can see from the right, Festivus on the east coast is a little bit different than the west coast variety. The wonderful thing is that no matter which coast we are on, we are surrounded by incredible friends. All of whom are extremely good at having a very good time. The bonus of easy commutes to the family holiday fun has made this season even more relaxed.

But it's not quite done, is it? There's only three days of work ahead, and then one final weekend of 07 to blaze through. We've got music in our future. I can't freakin wait. But I have a question! Where the hell did this year go?

Labels: festivus, music, photos

So fun to have our apartment filled with friends and family. And check out that photo of the winter solstice! Amazing.

The Feats of Strength have begun.

I have no idea how they were able to capture this, but I love it.

Festivus is almost here and I can't freaking wait! More than anything, I'm just looking forward to having this place filled with friends. We were supposed to get the pole tonight, but we've pushed that Home Depot run until tomorrow. And if you can't be here but you've got something to air, you know where to go. (You'll have to fix the address before you send. Can't make it too easy for the spambots.)

So looking over my recent posts and it's clear I've got a theme going. Lots of astronomy and photos from the dark reaches of space. Perhaps part of that is a response to the fact that on Saturday night the stars will have a long, long time to shine. I love the winter solstice. There is something sublime and beautiful about the longest night of the year. Which also makes for a long night of games during the Feats of Strength. Call me crazy, but I'm nearly certain there's a poker game or two a-brewing.

Check out this frozen sea. Or put the face of a loved one on a ring for your finger.

I signed up for this site tonight, but I'm not sure if I'll use it. What I still love most about the web is all the information there is to read. I'm still not really in the habit of watching videos online. I suppose that will change. It will probably be sites like Miro and Joost that make it happen.

Feeling kinda dumpish and grumpy tonight. The move east has definitely taken a toll on my buffer system and it's just one of those nights where it takes every once of will to remain calm and cordial. And for some reason, this quick little story fit my mood perfectly. I feel like that robot right now, vainly reaching for a restart button that is just beyond my grasp.

I know this is just a phase, though. This is a moment in time when everything is not quite lined up properly, but the frustrating part is how close we are. Just beyond the next peak I can see our life fully formed with all the right parts moving at the right speeds and in the correct direction. But for now I'm stuck in the snow without a shovel, deciding whether to dig it out or walk on for some help. Unfortunately, neither choice seems all that appealing. Guess I could always just hop back in the car, turn up the heat and crank some tunes. 'Cause the fact is, no matter what the question, the answer is always music. (Or 42.)

The tune above was Unsolved Mysteries by Animal Collective. I can't tell if the discordant weird-rock is fitting my mood perfectly, or exacerbating it. Definitely gonna have to check this on headphones.

The photo on the right is from my friend Michelle who's back in SF and I miss a ton. It's a picture of the sunset at the North Pole, and yes, that's the moon above it. I don't see Santa in the photo, though, so he must have been elsewhere when this was taken. (thanks Michelle!) And here's a link to 5 other amazing sunsets, these all from Norway and by someone I do not know.

Today's Find of the Day. And I had no idea that the first jukebox was installed in San Francisco. I guess that city has always known how to have a good time. We certainly did while we were there! But we gotta enjoy what we've got on the eastside, here in New Haven. Even if it is snow crusted and cold we are still going to have fun.

It was going to be Kucinich, but I think Senator Dodd just got my vote. He was the only one to stand up today and I am truly proud that he is my Senator. Can't say the same about the other guy from CT, unfortunately.

Here's a new site I found to upload and share files. Enjoy.

And Tis the Season, so here's a little Santa-freakout for ya.

A trip to the farmer's market on Saturday led to an amazing dinner of lobster, oysters, and roasted potatoes Saturday night, and then a delicious beet salad with goat cheese and squash risotto on Sunday eve. And all of it fresh, locally produced and incredibly delicious. We even walked there and back!

So from NPR check out some of the top albums of the year. I totally agree on the first two, so I'm going to have to check out the others on the list. Specially Iron and Wine. Just yesterday a friend mentioned them and now seeing their name again reminds me I gotta give a listen. Via Google, have a look at the top trends and searches of the past year.

Lastly, have you ever wondered how many 5 year olds you could take on? Well wonder no more. The answer is here.

Labels: food, google, music

Now, this is just plain weird. But this article could be one of those barely noticed things that twenty-five years from now people can look back and point at this moment and say, that's where it all started. Kinda like the Eternal September of 1993, or a hundred years before that with Tesla's wireless communication. It can be very hard to identify a technological revolution as it is happening.

To the left is a photograph of a giant hole on the surface of Mars. It's part of this list of the top 10 Astronomy photos of the year. And yeah I guess I'm a little obsessed with Astronomy right now since I'm taking a class at Yale about it. Well, not actually *at* Yale, so much as in my den on my computer, with a beer in hand. And without actually having to do the math or turn in any homework. But I did learn today why trying to see planets around other stars is actually really really difficult.

There's 2 reasons. 1) the distance between the star and the planet is so tiny, and the distance from us to that star is so great, we simply cannot discern that miniscule speck, and 2) the planets, they hide in the powerful light of those distant stars, making them impossible to see with our current instruments. We have found planets around other stars, though, and the professor is going to tell me how. But not until next class.

However, I have been keeping up with my reading over the years, and I believe the way these exoplanets are discovered is by the wobble they cause in the star they orbit, due to their gravitational pull. But we'll see.

That photo to the right is #5 on the list. It's a shot of Europa (bottom left) and Io (top right), which are two of Jupiter's many moons. That plume of blue on Io is actually the volcano Tvashtar erupting molten sulfur. Awesome.

Alright last bits and then I gotta play some online poker or something. Damn I miss my SF buddies and our rare but fantastic evenings around the table. Anyway, here's the final whisper of Lost In Translation, if you want to know. (And if you believe it's real. Seems plausible to me.)

Also check out a short video on one of the terrible epidemics tearing through our schoolchildren. It is a tragedy, but there is hope.

Last offerings are pure Friday fun. I tried Samorost-2 but it's one of those point and click flash-puzzle games that usually drive me insane after about 2 levels. Maybe that's your thing. But if not give JellyBattle a try. It's sure to delight. Nothing says fun like tiny translucent jellymen getting 'sploded lasers. And if anyone's into a multi-battle, bring it on.

Labels: astronomy, games, movies, youtube

I was a guinea pig at Yale today for a cognitive study in the Psychology department. Then tonight I stumbled across this site. And now I'm learning about Astrophysics and I'm hoping I have time to get my homework done! Exoplanets, Black Holes and Dark Energy are the focus of the course. They also happen to be 3 of my favorite things in the sky. This is going to be interesting.

There's also the Geminids to watch out for Thursday and Friday night. And snow for us starting tomorrow afternoon.

It's always awesome when you get an email from a favorite band that says this:

Chicago in mid-February. Those of us who've spent a few winters there can attest that it is not for the meek or easily intimidated. That said, there's nothing like walking out of a venue post show to a howling 30 mile an hour arctic wind off the Lake (a few short blocks from the Riv...), icy snow blowing in your face. In the old days, we usually opted for the Green Mill while the crowds thinned. Anyway, now that we've weeded out the less ambitious among you, we'll also explain what makes this a sort of "don't miss" week for Wilco fans. Over these 5 nights the band will endeavor to perform every song in their now extensive ouvre (or is that canon)? This includes all the studio recordings and their contributions to the Mermaid Avenue records. Plus, who knows what else? To further clarify, the plan is NOT to do the material sequentially or chronologically. Rather, they're just going to attempt to cover it all over the 5 shows. It'll be a real blast, we're certain.

Unfortunately we won't be there. But the simple fact that Wilco is even doing this makes me very very happy. And speaking of music making people happy, here's some re-ax to last night's historic Zep show.

These are also a rather spectacular performances, both by the surfers, and the waves. Have a listen to Grant Washburn talk about the experience.

Labels: mavericks, music, wilco

Yes! I was looking for this link for about an hour last night at home. Luckily I had bookmarked it here at work. It's called The Sixty-One, and it's a music website slash game to help you find new music, and to give new bands a chance to break out. Haven't played with it much, yet, but it could be fun.

Also check out The Daily Swarm for music news, and here's another plug for The Hype Machine to help you find new tunes. And if you're not stopping by Ropeadope often you're missing out. Great links and great music on that site every dang day.

Labels: music

I was disappointed with the interwebs this afternoon. Everything seemed blah and boring and moving really slow. Tonight though I'm finding a bit more fun out there. So it's a double-shot tonight. Basically, I just had to be sure you knew about Mr. Splashy Pants. Who is not to be confused with Mr. Fancy Pants. The former is a whale, newly named. The second is a game, recently played.

Well it was definitely a winter wonderland up there in New Hampshire. Almost too much for the Honda. There was a lot of fishtailing and skidding in the driveway of my brother's snow-bound home in the hills.

Oren gets a ton of play on this blog, and at home he's the star every single day. Unfortunately, that means that Brook--the dog--isn't getting quite as much attention. So this is a little homage to an awesome pooch. She's so smart, loyal and strong that I'm sure, one day, she's going to pull Mark out of a keg-party and drive him home.

After playing with the dog we took a stroll up the jeep trail and then stopped to make some snowpeople! We were thrilled with the idea of someone else wandering up the trail and being greeted by their tiny, snowy grins.
But let's go for a few links. The first of which is a classic cafeteria sport, updated for the digital age. Also check out the evolution of Google. I remember using google in '97, but I don't remember the logo looking like that. And speaking of Google, Google Base is a service they offer that I haven't thought about in years, but it seems it's becoming quite useful. From recipes to jobs and everything in between, give it a look next time you're searching for something on the web.

I realized looking over this photos that without this final one, the snowpeople don't really appear as they should. That should clear it all up, though.

Labels: brook, google, snowpeople

Great article about Radiohead in the NYTimes today. And a great archive of articles here.

And check out these amazing structures that are either being built, or will be soon.

I stepped out of Grand Central Terminal at 6pm last Thursday evening to the mad rush of humanity that is New York City. I had taken the train there from New Haven and over the course of the next few days I traveled to Jersey City, to Brooklyn and all over Manhattan with only a Metrocard and my own two feet. It was incredible. To be able to move so quickly and efficiently through the world, covering vast distances, all via public transportation was simply incredible.

It was daunting, as well, though. The huge superstructure that is the greater New York Metropolitan area is almost impossible to fully comprehend. I've been to New York many times in my life. But this was the first time I had ever traveled there by train and then used the subways exclusively. It is also the first time since living in San Francisco that I have had a chance to truly explore NYC again. I was amazed by my surroundings. I allowed myself to be consciously dwarfed by the towering buildings. I took the time to feel the pavement under my feet, to notice the endless miles of roads, to view the uncountable windows, to feel hot breath of millions of humans that swarmed around me. It was wonderful and scary and overwhelming and awesome, all wrapped up together. I can't wait to go back.

But in a few hours, I'm going the other way, both physically and metaphysically. North instead of south, we are heading to New Hampshire to hang with three other people instead of thirty. A few hundred or maybe a thousand humans will be in the miles surrounding us, instead of 7 million. We will drive up there and when we go anywhere it will be in a car, or if we do walk, we will be the only people on those snowy trails, encased by barren trees and beneath the vast expanse of the open sky. And it goes without saying we'll be stopping at McNeill's in Brattleboro on the way up!

Here's some Friday fun. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Well it's not at all the way I expected, but I've been published in a book. Lu actually published the book, but I wrote the haikus. It is called Full of Joy Yoga Kids and it is just absolutely adorable. The book takes you through the poses and stories Lu uses to teach her classes using photographs of her students in San Francisco. I'm very proud to have been a part of this, and I'm so excited that she was able to put this together. It was a ton of work, but really, nothing stops her. And look at that! Just in time for the holidays. It surely would make the perfect gift for a lovable child in your life!

Okay enough pimpin, but no seriously go buy it. That is our ticket to the big time. In fact, instead of just buying it, talk to the hotshot kids book publisher in your family, the one with an in with Oprah and let's make it happen! A Full of Joy Kids Yoga Book for YOU and YOU and YOU and YOOOUUUUUUU and EVERYOOOONE! I can see it now.

I can also see the bones of your feet whenever you put on these socks. Or here you can see what causes aging. Unless you're so old your freaking eyes are falling out. I hear that happens after 33. And here you can see what it looks like when some kids ignite about 30,000 matchstick heads. Definitely don't try that at home. But do try Kids Yoga!

When we drove across the country, I was worried about a lot of things. Speeding tickets, the cats in the back seat, mechanical failure and accidents topped the list. But it wasn't until after Colorado that another concern crossed my mind. And by the time we were pulling into Lu's parents' house in New Jersey that concern had become the overwhelming obsession of the drive. Turns out my fears were extremely well-founded. In 2 of the states we drove through there was a 109 in 1 chance (or worse) that we were going to hit a deer. And hitting a deer is catastrophically bad for the deer, the car, and the people in that car.

But here's a quick lesson on a 10 second way to tie a tie. Looks kinda complicated at first, but I'm definitely gonna give this a try.

And this is an exhibition I would absolutely LOVE to see. Even better, though, would be the real deal.

Last bit is a game I found last week that is both difficult and rather addicting. It's called Ragdoll Invaders. Enjoy.

Labels: cross country, deer, games