Props! Vol. 2

"Props!" is a reoccuring feature on this site that will basically consist of a short list of things that are cool, things that are awesome, things that are recommended, and things that rule. I, therefore, will be giving mad "props" to everything on the list. You can read the first installment here. I apologize for not doing this again sooner, but I've been busy. Hope you're satisfied... So stop bothering me about it, assholes!

1. "America's Test Kitchen." Check your local listings on PBS for this cooking show, which usually airs on weekends. I'm now a cooking show expert, as my lovely girlfriend enjoys watching them (despite not really actually cooking herself). Most cooking shows are either kind of elitist in their assumption that everybody's kitchen just happens to have 9 quarts of squid-stock lying around, and make things that are too complicated or expensive for everyday use. ATK has much more of a populist appeal, and I've learned things from how to dice an onion to how to make shrimp to which is the best microwave popcorn. When this show ends after 30 short minutes, I am sad. I could watch it for hours.

2. The Elephant 6 Collective. This was a group of musicians/bands in the mid to late 90s, stemming from Athens, GA, which each released albums influenced by 60s Sgt. Pepperesque psychedelic pop, to put it the most simply. Everyone played on everyone else's albums, produced each other, and seemed to operate on a completely different level than all other 90s rock. The bands involved include the Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control (see previous post), and Neutral Milk Hotel. The latter's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" is probably one of the top 10 records of all time, buy it tomorrow if you don't have it.

3. Bob Costas. Since he only comes out of hiding to do his HBO show and Olympic broadcasts nowadays, I don't get to see much of him, but the man is always on his game. I remember his play by play from the NBA finals and World Series more than the games themselves, his steady intelligence and quick sarcastic wit never fall to brighten my sports-viewing experiences. He's going to be doing the pregame/halftime show next year when the Sunday night football games are on NBC, about 390 days away. I'm going to make a paper chain with 390 links, and each day i will cut another one off until, finally, I can be immersed in his brilliant radiance.

4. Tilapia. When it comes to fish, this one is great. Usually pretty inexpensive in a supermarket (4-5 dollars a pound, most of the time coming in individually vacuum-sealed packs), it is easy to make and very healthy. Best yet, most of these are raised in 'farms', instead of pulling out of polluted waters. I usually add salt/pepper, dill, lemon juice and occasionally garlic, then bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes for 4 fillets. Tonight I made some on my George Foreman grill. It was OK, but the outside was kind of toughly hardened. Baking is 'where it's at,' though, as the kids say.

5. Public Transportation. Sure, you may love the Jaguar that you drive, and be secretly intimidated and confused by your city's public transportation system, but once you figure things out you'll realize how simple and easy it is. Why waste your commute cursing at traffic when you could be reading a book or dirty magazine?

Bringing about the apocalypse is not considered cool

There's really not much to tell, this weekend is the last in a long while in which I'll be doing absolutely nothing. Today I created an N-shaped indentation in the couch, while watching nothing in particular in TV. I feel no guilt, there is no sense of a wasted opportunity here. The next bunch of weekends are all going to be filled with so much activity it's crazy. Next weekend i'm flying to mpls to get into 87 sorts of mischief, the following weekend M's family is visiting, then labor day weekend I'm going camping for three days with M (which should provide hilarious blog stories, stay tuned... she already freaked out as I was making the reservation when I told her what a 'pit-toilet' was. ha ha ha), then I plan on bathing and getting a haircut in time for two successive weddings, which will land me exhausted in the second half of september. Sometime in the middle of that I also have to draft the best fantasy football team ever, as well.

It's been so long, so I'll just hit the highlights of the past few weeks:

July 29, the Olivia Tremor Control concert. OTC is a band that broke up after their 1999 album, and is only playing a handful of shows before splitting up again, so I was super stoked to catch them. The show was sold out, held in a very small club. With everyone as excited as I was, that meant for a lot of squished sweaty people who knew all the songs. The stage was no less squished, as up to 10 people were playing in the band at once, each a variety of instruments: two guitarists, bass, keyboards, banjo, drums, clarinet, tuba, trombone, sax, trumpet, and various tape and effects machines. All of this while a constant looping psychedelic video projected on and behind the band. The sum effect was actually overwhelming at times, unlike their records the live show wasn't perfectly mixed, so if someone was watching without knowing the songs, they would have a hard time knowing what was going on. The sound got better after the first few songs, luckily, and the experience was as fantastic and trippy as I had hoped. They played for about two whole hours before the sound guy cut them off and kicked everyone out of the club at 2 in the morning. Great times.

The next week I had my first business meeting with a client. Going in, I wasn't too worried since someone else was going to be there. But, of course he happened to bail at the last minute, so I had to pretend I knew what was going on while I talked to this person. I took her out to lunch at a fancy Italian restaurant; I had the swordfish, it was superb. It was kind of like an awkward first date. Or so I can imagine, all of my first dates have gone completely smooth.

Last friday I went to a party. A real party, with a barrel of beer and loud music, people smoking on the balcony. I guy I work with was hosting, a bunch of coworkers showed up. I was asked to provide music, so I hooked up my iPod to his stereo and unleashed my partytime playlist, which surprising was a big hit. There is nothing that pleases me more than a bunch of people asking me questions about music. I got orders to burn several CDs already. Aside from getting completely drunk, I stayed out of trouble (no smoking, no drugs, no stealing things, no smashing things, no making out with anyone), left the party at 3:30, grabbed a gyro and a 'pizza puff,' and crashed at someone else's place, who has the best view I've ever seen anywhere in my entire life. Slept until the sun heated the room up to 120 degrees, and took the trains home saturday morning, where I sat on the couch and drank water the rest of the day. Great times.

The past week went pretty quickly, mostly due to the fact that i missed work on wed and thurs to attend a seminar on the west side of the city, which was so painful that I wished I could've worked instead. The best thing about it was that I got to take the bus through the ghetto on the way there. That was fun and interesting for me.

I think I'm going to go crazy and get cable television. For the sake of my fantasy football team.

For some reason I spent 45 minutes online today looking at Playstation 2 consoles and games. I may be done with books. I also finished the 'Firefly' DVDs, already super excited for the movie, out 9/30.

I may get forced to get a cell phone this week. We'll see.