The Jew and the Ex-Vegetarian Cook Sausage

...and if I do say so myself they came out pretty damn well. Rob next door is a writer for a local paper and, in addition to doing music reviews, does food reviews, and gets to go to all these food tasting event-thingys, so after attending a Food Network-sponsored shindig, meeting Emeril, getting free shit, and having risotto cooked for him... he decided he was going to cook (risotto) for us. I volunteered to be his sous-chef, but in a last-minute lineup change, due to the fact that I had cooked before at all, Rob was demoted to sous-chef and I stepped into the spotlight as lead cheftarist. Together in our "e-kitchen of the future" (read: with Rob's laptop set up on the counter so we could google things like "how do you cook sausage?"), we rocked both the risotto -and- the sausage. And since we had/shredded way too much cheese, we ended up having an impromptu wine and (shredded) cheese party while we were cooking. Classy. Except for the shredded part. All this after an exhilarating bike ride to and around the nearby Hook Mountain Park with Mateus. Reclaimed Sunday #455.



"The Jew and the Ex-Vegetarian..." sounds like an Aesop fable... heh...

Man, it would have been a great weekend for camping up in Mohonk... I doubt we'll get to do it now.

The Olive's show was alright. Lots of technical difficulties, but we actually still put on a pretty good show. Decent crowd given that it was raining a lot prior to show time. We've got Vertigo this Friday night, which should be better in the sound equipment field at the very least. The gear there is top-notch. It?s a cool venue... 3 stories high, with only a ceiling on the very top, with the stage jutting out from the 2nd story. It should be quite a party actually... drinks and hors d'oeuvres (seriously)... the kicker is that I'm heading down to Montclair, NJ the next morning, getting up around 7:00(!) to join my Uncle, Aunt, and three cousins for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) services. I'll be tired. But it'll be good to spend the holiday with the (extended) fams. Phil (uses) too many (parentheses).

Yael bought a live Pink Floyd DVD yesterday at Target, "Pulse," I think from a show in 1987, and we watched some of it last night on our big screen/wall... man. Tom used to call them the "perfect band." I see where he's coming from... everyone gets a say. David Gilmour fucking -kills- on his solos but the drums and thumping bass on "Another Brick" kill as well. And don't get me started on the keyboards. My point (and Tom's) is that it's very much an ensemble cast, performance-wise. They can shred, they can take it slow... they always move you. Pink Floyd. I was just, taken in last night, as I'm sure the other guys were. Nodding my head in disbelief. Maybe some of it was because I hadn't listened to Floyd in a while... you know how that happens, you give that one band or song a little time, then you revisit it and, whoa! I love it! This concert is ridiculous, though... huuuuge stage setup, lights and lasers, backup singers... and none of the band members are showmen. They're making this ridiculous music without breaking a sweat, completely matching the size of the venue, crowd, and show with their sound. Creating something much larger than the sum of the band's parts. The music just speaks for itself. "Shiiiiiiiine on you craaaazy diaaamond..." anyways. Every now and then something hits you.

Being without a cell phone for two weeks... yes, it's been a pain in the ass at times, asking for Dylan's phone to call home or check my messages or order something for dinner... but at the same time, I want to say it's made work a little more tolerable...? When I have my phone next to me on the desk, I'm constantly, constantly checking it for the slight possibility that I may have missed a call or text message or something, even though I know damn well in the back of my mind that I would have heard it vibrate or ring! Without the phone, my hopes rise and fall less.

Fall is coming... there's so much I want to do while the weather's nice. Apple/pumpkin picking, frisbee at Hook Mountain, or soccer, or a picnic... other stuff I can't remember... I like this time of year.

Before I go, some quick product placement: the new french toast Pop Tarts are pretty damn good.

-Phil "New England Slim"