Posted
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 4:54 PM
Welcome to a seriously first-person, self-reflexive version of this mess. Apologia! And onward.UE, Cementland: Unquestionably the worst-kept secret in local UE circles, Cementland is a delightful place to spend the day. Summer. Winter. No matter, it's always got something to recommend the journey, even when the mud's up to your knees. Quality UE run, for sure. And did you know it was featured by the New York Times? (Photo by Carrie Z.)
Restaurant, Revival: The place isn't far from home, the prices are reasonable, the vibe is laid-back, the servers are either unpretentious or personal friends (or both), and the food is... well, the food is amazing. I've never had less than an excellent meal at Revival. And, yet, I somehow go there only walk-in every six-to-eight weeks. Peculiar. If only I had some type of artificial reference point to use to stimulate myself to visit more. You know, like a calendar change. Because that fried okra is not to be missed. (By the way, if you sign up for the Revival e-mail newsletter, you get a 20% off discount to Cyrano's and Boogaloo, as well as Revival. I am obviously fired up about this restaurant.)
Book, "Population: 485": You ever picked up a book, simply because it was sitting in an unexpected place, clearly there for the grabbing? And, then, it turned out to be a really quality choice, about small-town life in rural Wisconsin? Yeah, me too! Excellent read.
Holistic healing, New Life Therapy Clinic: So, a while back, a good friend suggested that I visit Dr. Thomas Duckworth, a practitioner of traditional Japanese medicine, figuring that he could help me out with some health concerns. I'll say that his acupuncture treatments have been a real joy, though I'm someone who enjoys the immediate effects of having needles pinned into me for a 20-minute stretch. In fact, I've started up a blog for the clinic and can say that anyone within a reasonable drive of the West County offices of NLTC would benefit from the services offered.
Films, "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains" and "Jubilee": In my personal history of Netflix use (and abuse, in this case), I can't recall seeing a less-satisfying piece of cinema than "Jubilee." Don't be pulled in, people! Then again, I hated "A Clockwork Orange." So, you might even like this one. As for the "... Stains," a dated and a goofy romp through punk rock teen angst at the start of the era. Not bad, not worth a repeat view. And, hey, Diane Lane was awfully young to be doing nude scenes. Yikes.
Lame, New Year's Eve: At 11:34 on the blessed night, I realized that I was reading a Naomi Klein book (the brilliant downer "No Logo") and listening to Morrissey (the brilliant downer "Ringleader of the Tormentors"). With a quick trip to a neighbor's the only form of social interaction, this one enters the Weak NYE list at a modest #8, at worst.
Soccer, springtime!: Last season the STL UFC team started kicking around in late February, the last Sunday of that month, if not mistaken. Which would be a touch less than two months away. Yoinks!
New DJ gig, The Wedge: Starts, like, tonight. And, in theory, continues on the first Fridays of the month from here. We'll see. What do the Southsiders wanna hear, you think?
Band, Gang Gang Dance: Always late to the party, but glad to be there, just the same. Delightful stuff and thoroughly unclassifiable, though I'm sure some try (and even get close).
TV show, "Lost": Did a comprehensive job of not knowing anything about this show, past the fact that it involved people on an island, being terrorized by various-and-sundry thing. Managed this through four seasons of the show, successfully blocking out all media messages about the show. Maybe it was the fact that a student wrote about becoming, er, lost in the show during a recent, week-long marathon with the DVDs, but I cracked on New Year's Day and am now deeply worried about spending huge chunks of the next month immersed in the show. Only four episodes in and I'm hooked. Had to happen eventually, I suppose. But please, friends, don't give me any more boxed sets of quality TV for the next li'l while.
Quote, from Chuck Klosterman's "Killing Yourself to Live": If any minions of Klosterman come across this, please send me a note to remove, if it's too much in violation of copyright laws. Just don't sue me. But this chose graf had to be shared. "When you start thinking about what your life was like 10 years ago - and not in general terms, but in highly specific detail - it's disturbing to realize how certain elements of your being are completely dead. They die long before you do. It's astonishing to consider all the things from your past that used to happen all the time but (a) never happen anymore, and (b) never even cross your mind. It's almost like those things didn't happen. Or maybe it seems like they just happened to someone else. To someone you don't really know. To someone you just hung out with for one night, and now you can't even remember her name."
Radio, The Foxhole: The Kick Ass Award winning radio program, The Foxhole, is no more! The Team 1380 winner, about sports and general oddness, has moved on to programming heaven, as detailed in today's Post. Luckily, refugess Mo Drummond (on now) and Martin Kilcoyne (coming in the spring) will be reunited on the airwaves of 590 The Fan, in just a few months. My listening time between 10 a.m.-noon has opened wide, wide up.
Generation X, an update: A most-amusing read from Salon's Heather Havrilesky.
And with that... Happy New Year, etc.
1 Comments:
That photo should be used as the poster image for the movie on your life.
By 
Lord Spathington, at
2:49 PM