ok, so I just spent the night at the bar at Woodfire Grill. Of top chef fame.  (Before I continue I should admit that I have noticed that I am especially typo prone these days, and  the bar and my state ensures that this post is going to be rather fantastic, but here goes). I got home and decided to play some Constantines, since their song Draw us Lines has been in my head all day.  And it WAS in my head all day but when I listened to it a few minutes ago I realized I had no fucking idea what the hell it was about. I assumed it was something rock and roll sexy. Ha.   I googled it and found this review at pitchfork.   Say what you want about pitchfork, it's probably fair, but the interviewer and I share the exact same sentimen:


The article goes on to express surprise that Draw us lines, and other aspects of the band aren't as Constantinian as we had been led to believe.  Now, I don't necessarily feel eco-whateverthissongisabout its anathama to whatever it is these guys represent, but I do feel that they  represent something foundational and simple, and now that the  explanation of their brilliance, which had already eluded me,  is even more complex makes me even more anxious now that I know they aren't as one-note as I previously thought. and loved. (That a rough sentence.. sorry.)

Speaking of redundancy, and eco-spiritualism, I was at Wildfire (not the same place) having happy hour with Yogi Gina, and the waitress kept saying "can I get you anything at the current moment". And I kept shooting myself in the head with an unloaded finger pistol.   If that fucking phrase catches on.......

So anyhow. Woodfire grill is exceptionally good. Nothing was challenging though, and that disappointed me.  It was like he turned everything into comfort food.   That a remarkable feat, but if the restaurant isn't walking distance from me, I don't want it to be JUST comforting.  Just one dish that confused me and I would be singing their praises.  As it stands, I will sing their praises, but only when asked: Nothing they did turned me into an evangelist.

The invaluable Robb Wolf, whose podcasts a listen to religiously, whose lectures are empowering, and whose website I constantly refer to, and refer other to (one of those uses has to be incorrect), is starting to get annoying with his lazy dismissal of CrossFit.  Every compliment is strained and framed, and the digs and dismissals  lost their novelty a long time ago.   Staring every positive comment with "one of the good things about" or "that's actually one thing that" just doesn't sit well with me. For one,  his programming and mainpage programming rarely have the same goal.  I think its lazy for him to sneer at the programming without mentioning the goal. Robb is clearly not a lazy dude, which leads me to the second reason it's annoying me: Glassman was supposed to be the petty one with an axe to grind

Robb, if you want to lay out your issues, DO IT.  Whatever you are doing now, sucks.

To make up for not providing more examples and possibly misquoting him in the ones I did provide, I am going to go buy some of his paleo meals.   I'd pre-order a book if he's let me. Which reminds me, paleokits are available again at www.paleokits.org.    Yum.

CFATL's Brandan Mahoney went to San Francisco, started teaching crossfit, and  Along with the incomparable k-star, got  a bunch on non-runners  with little or no long-distance experience to compete in and finish the QuadDipsea ultra-marathon.   Many of them were 200+ pound monsters, who are much stronger than I.

This is awesome.  Out of 20 runners, only one didn't finish.   The post run interviews were like "Fun... a bit sore.. only going to do a light workout tomorrow".

What does this say about fetishists who equate fitness with running?  Exactly how much are they missing out on?  I mean, these Crossfitters went in for a recovery workout the next day that featured lifts and loads well beyond most marathoners.....  awesomeness.

Meanwhile, It looks like CFATL secured 5 out of the 6 medals at the sectionals this weekend.   What's impressive to me lately about CFATL is that guys whom I was 'natually' stronger and faster than, all smoke me now.  And my times are as good as they ever were.  Hard work and smart programming tells.

Also, in the realm of fitness and nutrition awesomeness: Spend an hour listening to the much discusses and never derided (successfully), Gary Taubes, as he destroys all your feeble notions of  why people are fat, here:  http://www.dhslides.org/mgr/mgr060509f/f.htm

I will add that the paleo Diet is catching on at the office like wildfire.  I went up to three different people this weekend and commented on how much weight they had lost, and they cited Diet, not workout. In fact,  the only two people I saw who appeared to have gained some fat, had increased their exercise. (and did NOT follow a paleo or otherwise low-carb diet)

Thought I might come here and defend hippos, but the irony of heckling them over the internet whilst under the pen name 'anonymous' was surely intentional. Poster might have well added, "Hold me back!" and feigned trying to break free from his friends restraints.  

Bad Lieutenant is Awesome.  A masterpiece.  Wow.  What fun. 

Also, Archer, that adult Swim Spy Cartoon is freaking hysterical. The first 5 minutes of the the premier was stop-and-replay-each-scene-funny, and the drop off in the next 5 episodes was minimal.

Check it out here:  http://www.hulu.com/watch/127971/archer-mole-hunt-aka-pilot

Austin was a blast.  I introduces Peche to The Penicillin Cocktail, and the first one, made by Rob was exceptional.  Later in the week I ordered two more, made by the line, and i they were not nearly smokey or gingery enough.   "More ginger, and in a Collins or Rocks glass" would be my suggestion.   I don't know the history of the drink, but I'll give credit to Erik at Drink shop for introducing it to me (if not actually inventing it).

Tried to go out each night, but on the fifth night I failed. I did, on that final night, go to Fino's sister restaurant, Asti, with the boss and was very impressed with the ambiance and pleased with the food, though I didn't experience enough of it to be certain.

On of my trainees tells me the Management at Fino turned their noses at him and his under-dressed college friends, and so he threw a fit last week.  I am not sure if I need to write off both restaurants, or just fino, or if I can continue to frequent fino's bar.  They have always been nice to me.    They should email me here to apologize to Eddie.

Thanks to Matt for introducing me (us) to the following brilliance:

There is this guy who runs a blog called the BS Detective. He’s studied nutrition (at Florida) and knows a good bit. Still, he picks easy targets most of time, but brings a lot of science into his posts.  it’s nice to know WHY there is no scientific backing to say, a colon cleanse, even though it’s not entirely necessary.   Anyhow, a few weeks ago the guy calls Gary Taubes as an Uber Bullshitter.  Taubes is a scientific journalist whose book Good Calories Bad Calories, meticulously outlines how bad science and politics have ‘informed’ everything we ‘know’ about nutrition, and there is nothing in his persona that merits that bit of name calling.  That the book ultimately only suggests four hypothesis’s that Taubes feels should be scientifically pursued, should spare it from some wanker’s Photo-shopped name calling.

But whatever, the BS Detective quickly retreated to the narrowest, and strictest reading of his original post, and still manages an epic-fail, coming off shrill (think cartoon version of StarScream) and desperate (think William H Macy  in Fargo ).   It’s all unremarkable and I only bring it up now, because he recently went after Dr. Eades  on the good Doctor’s own blog. And Dr. Eades, in the comments, has put on a case study on how to treat sophists like the BS Detective.   I encourage you all to go buy Eades' Protein Power Life Plan. It is easily the most recommendable book on Nutrition and its DIRT CHEAP.

While I am here.. hmm… not much new .. I had Veal Hearts and Holeman and it was INCREDIBLE.   Wow.  Veal Hearts.  My poor over-leveraged soul……

First Ski trip was a success except that no one has paid me for it. Second ski trip is in the works. Email me if you want to come.

Started book 1011 of the Wheel of Time Series.   Whatever the number is, the one after RJ died.  It’s good.   As was the previous, if I recall.

I also started StarShip Troupers (Heinlen), after enjoying his “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”.   

Kay’s latest comes out in April.  It's his celestial novel, as Al would have said.


Finally: BookHouse on Ponce is worth a visit.   Maybe a bookhouse/MJQ night soon. That would be something.    "Get the Pot Pie and bring a cozy group of friends", about sums it up.They have a great beer selection, and a tiki room out back.

Kia Sorento Vegas daydream, #1
Google's French vacation #2

Saints #1
Colts #2

Cakes and ale... I give a 3. The food was good but the service, everywhere except the bar, was disorganized.   If I had to describe the place based on its what little I knew about it before Saturday-- which was what it looked like, and what I has heard from Atlanta Fooduminaries (one of which was at the bar, incognitolike on Saturday)-- I would have said, "bustling hardworking servers, slinging original , forward comfort food, off a small menu, in the kind of place you love to go to before you go somewhere else".   So  the fact that a full meal at  table missed some marks shouldn't concern you too much.  That the 'bustling' staff was still chronically late, should.


But on  a positive note,  Alon's the deli/bakery, out here in Sandy Springs , which I have since learned is an outpost of the original somewhere in the highlands, serves the best soups I have ever had. Yeah, that's saying something. I MAY have had better soups, as one offs from fancy restaurants (Tomato at Jeanty, Carrot Ginger and Scott Howard, and Chestnut and Joel), but Alon's Celery Root, and Alon's Pumpkin-kale were in the same category, and both in one place..   Every few years I look for a good soup kitchen in Atlanta , and wind up and Souper Jenny.  No more.    Alon's is the place.


--

On a side note, and in one sentence, and one pass: Part of my response to certain people who have called my music collection forced, that that the lack of popular music was somewhat explainable by my reluctance to buy something I was going to hear so muchanyway, was validated yesterday, when I heard that darn Arcade Fire where-the-wild-things-are song 8 million times, which is a lot more times that I have played it myself , since buying it a few weeks ago.


 

So let’s see, I finally had a solid meal through-and-through at Rathbun’s. Oh, the food, and Service, and Ambiance is always great, but by the time I get through the yaya fries and muscles I’ve usually  put the entrée in a compromised position.  This time, though, armed with hungry colleagues, I managed to reserve enough appetite such that the Veal Chop and Spaghetti Squash carbonara hit the spot.  The meal was still absent anything green or fibrous, but it sure went down well.  Oh, and it was on the company.

Also,  I  went on  a 5 day ski vacation to  Avon Colorado. We lodged aside arrowhead mountain, skied, played poker , Ra, and Puerto Rico, got massages, hot tubbed, smoked cigars and drank.  Same old script, actually.   It was basically spring skiing conditions:  Warm and patchy snow coverage.  

I think this was the first trip ever where I didn’t end up a better Skier than I was the last trip, but there was a three year gap, and , um, I think my skies were amateurish.   I hesitate to call them  that because I am probably not good enough to  be better than these ‘performance’ skies, but after skiing the last three trips on long volkl 6-stars, these average size k2 Rangers seemed too… ambivalent.  Certainly was harder to maintain Edge Lock on steeps, but one weakness of the mountain is that there really weren’t a lot of long steep groomers to bomb.      I can't blame the music, "Quiet Dog Bite Hard" was in fact the killer ski track I expected it to be.


B-rad, however, was killing it.  He doesn’t have Dave’s recklessness and his mere 3 months of crossfit didn’t build enough leg for him to enjoy the moguls,  but he was scary adept at getting down the bumps he accidentally found himself on.  I mean, anyone can learn to slide down a mountain, be b-rad managed to navigate some gnarly bumps. He’s a natural athlete, and only looked awkward when he was thinking too much.

Little Will found his own legs late the second day  and Alex bottomed out on day three due to foot issues.  He redeemed himself by winning the last three board games.
I’m thinking about getting a single speed mountain bike.   I asked a colleague and he said no.  He said that you have to be a monster to ride one, and that it helps too to be unemployed, since such monstership precludes a job.    This warning, of course, only further set my direction.

 

saw “Up in the Air” last night.  I like George Clooney.  He does this thing where he makes his romantic leads ‘Simple’.  They aren’t all fast talkers, many of them take a few beats to get the jokes, aren’t too cool to laugh when they get it, and are likely to explain it back to prove that they got it. They get momentarily confused not just as a way to make an endearing facial expression (see Hugh Grant) but because they were in fact momentarily confused.  Yes, this is an acting decision designed to ultimately make them appealing, same as grant, but it’s an effect that is affected through the character, not the actor (hugh again).  Anyhow, I saw the movie and was planning on writing a bit about it this morning, and maybe what I just wrote about George, but then I had a dream last night brought on in part by the movie so I have decided to write about that.

So, last night before I went to sleep  I got an email from the company’s heads inviting everyone who was ever a part of the company to come to party, where entertainment would be provided by a musician I recently wrote about.   The president of the company, I may have already noted, is pals (and was pals) with many of the singers I idolize.   I think that email, combined with the movie, which features a man who travels a lot, led me to this dream.  I write this seems less of clear of a proposition. 

Maybe if I describe the dream, it will make more sense to you and me.   Basically I was invited to a ‘jam session’ in a cozy warehouse (the build oxymorons) filled with old curios and ephemera. As the Musician/friends sat around a table they would write songs on a list, and then take turns playing/singing the songs that they wrote.   I am a compulsive doodler during meetings, a fact I had recently made light of at work, and  one that explains why while everyone was writing songs they were going to perform, I, who was only there to observe, was caught scribbling the line “Living on the road my friend”. (It’s  funny thing how writing never actually is legible in a dream, but my doodle almost was. It wasn’t, but almost). They guy sitting next to me read my line out loud, finishing it, and then wrote the song on the list , for me to sing.   Of course when it got to me, I was nervous and though I got to the cusp of actually singing, which felt quite like getting ready to jump out of an airplane,  I ultimately did not sing, instead explaining the people at the table that it my shame that I never have learned to sing or play, especially since the songs I would love to play are all so simple, and easily sung.  I cited Townes and John Prine.     For some reason this admission was very emotional, and the people at the table were emotional too, treating it as if I had shared some deep and personal secret to a support group.

Ok, so that’s the dream. Writing about it, I think revealed that it  has very little to do with the movie, except perhaps the line I scribbled down, though  I may have scribbled it anyway, since it’s one of my favorites.   No, I think the dream was probably brought on by the email, which reminded me that  Office in Austin was a tight community of like minded individuals, that I hate to see dissolved. No one at the table was familiar though, which was interesting.

But the movie was good, and relevant in some other ways .   It was overloaded with short meaningful moments, but saves itself from heavy handedness somehow.    The ‘twist’ was very real.  At least in my experience.  Though  to be clear here, I have never experienced anything similar to that myself, since Orlando circa 1999, a fact that only occurred to me a split second before I wrote it,  three seconds ago.