Go see these shows

My band phase3 is playing on Dec. 7th in the second of two shows being put on at the Visionary Dance studio in Fremont under the name, "Pillow full of Drone". The first show is on Nov.2 and you should try to hit that one as well.

attack

My wife sent these photos of some sticker grafitti today.

AMA AMA again

So my brother in law and his family gave me a gift certificate to AMA AMA. We were there a few weeks ago for the happy hour menu, but when we arrived today the menu had quite a few changes changed. We stuck to items on the small plate side of the menu so we could try a bunch at one time.

We started out with the Ahi Tuna Tartar and the Dungeness Crab Cocktail. The Ahi was a Mediterranean flavor with eggplant baba and sliced Moroccan olives. It was a party in my mouth. The crab cocktail was served on top of a avocado puree that complimented very well.

Next we had the iron roasted mussels. They were served on a skillet like fajitas, and were covered in a spicy rub. Amazing as well, I thought it was the best mussels I had ever had.

Last came the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads and the Pork Belly slider. It was a heavy duty end to a great meal, both dishes were very good, the Pork Belly was very rich, so I would suggest eating it earlier on, but I still recommend it.

If you haven't been to AMA AMA yet, now is the time to go.

to survive

So I was reading this article on MSNBC about people turning to survivalism because of the economic climate. I have never been one to "be prepared" as the Boy Scouts say, but you never know it might be a good idea pack some beans and rice, a propane stove, pots and pans, some first aid supplies and be ready for the collapse.

Then again it could all turn around. I just can't decide.

Fun photos of economic demise

So I was reading a post at Boing Boing that was talking about a blog that has photos of brokers with hands on their faces. I couldn't help but post my own link. Over the last few weeks I have spent plenty of time reading news articles and laughing at the photos of the brokers looking down. Now I can see them all in one blog. Come on you know you want to look.

Voting and the middle name Hussein

So my ballot arrived last night. I woke up early this morning and I'm thinking of filling it out now. That way I can be relived that its over right. Maybe not, if I send it in now I will still be held in suspense until the election is over. I think I'll do it anyway.

In other election related fare when I went onto Facebook this morning, I saw people are adding the middle name Hussein to their profiles. How it will effect the election I don't know, only time will tell. I just have no patience. I'm gonna go vote now.

This is your brain on TV.

Boris 1991-2008

We love you!!!

Nick and Norah's great adventure

The other night we went to see Nick and Norah's infinite playlist. I thought it was great. I say ignore the reviews, if you want a funny happy movie to relive some of the election/financial woes we are all subjected to this year go see this movie. If you liked "Empire Records" you like Nick and Norah's, if not well you should still go.

Skating on the last sunny day............

Right before the rain started we went to Sam Smith Park and I skated the I-90 bike tunnel.

Showbox sodo sound letdown

So Saturday night I took my wife to see Mates of State and Santogold at the Showbox Sodo . I have seen 3 shows there so far and 2 times the sound was great, but the other night it was not good. I did my best to not let it bother me, but I felt I had to write something after the fact.

We have seen the Mates of State many times. It is one of the bands my wife and I share an appreciation for. I've listened to their songs over and over. So when the sound is bad I know what is missing. The vocal harmonies are very important. For the whole set the other night Jason's mic wasn't loud enough to be heard. It was working, in between songs he could be heard, but the level was too low when they were playing. My experience as a sound engineer wouldn't let me be the guy who goes to the soundboard to tell them, but I also couldn't believe they didn't fix it for the whole show. The band put on a good show none the less. We've suffered through bad sound for them before and I'm sure we will again.

Santogold also had some onstage low end feedback. It was messing with her performance, but she let it go. She had two dancers/ backup singers that my wife thought looked like performance artists. She had a point as I don't think they were really singing. Her set started off good, but she went into a string of slow numbers that spiraled out of control. We left early.

How to stay out of the fetal position

So I remember the first time I heard about Thomas Friedman. My father had just read ,"The Lexus and the Olive Tree', Friedman's book on globalization, which he thought was a very important book to come out that year. He explained Friedman's ideas over thanksgiving day appetizers and I cataloged it in my head with all the other books he told me to read, most of which I haven't. At the time I was working with metal bands and didn't have time to think about the rest of the world. Fast forward to now and I still haven't read any of his books, his views on the world are still important and I do read him sometimes in the New York Times.

Today I did read what Thomas Friedman had to say about the bailout in this op-ed piece . I agree that, "The story cannot end here. If it does, assume the fetal position.".