Thursday, January 29, 2009

Monday, January 26, 2009

Gourmet motherfucker! Do you speak it?

So I had a wonderful meal this evening. Took Trip out for his BDay to 202 Market. (Please spare me the gay jokes, I didn't even get laid.) Actually, first we went to see Slumdog Millionaire, which was good. A fascinating look into the life of a "slumdog" in India. Seeing how street children survive and the living conditions and everything will throw a serious wake up call your way.

Anyway, after that we hit 202 and ate the food of the wealthy. I was a little annoyed at first as the waiter informed me that we couldn't get the tasting menu and that they were out of several things I may have wanted. (I'm looking at you crabcakes.) Also some of the items they listed online were not on the current menu. So I was kinda irritated.

But from the first bite of our scallop appetizer I was mollified. Those scallops were the highlight of the meal and made all other scallops I've ever had pale in comparison. None of them come close. I ordered the fried chicken which is cooked sous vide, then fried and comes with parmiagiana mashed potatoes and green beans. Trip got the duck, which I was envious of, on the whole.

For desert I got what was called coffee and doughnuts-ish. Not bad, but the doughnut part seemed a little tough. Trip got four varieties of sorbet and seemed pleased with them. So all in all an excellent meal. I wish I could afford to eat there more often, but it is decidedly not cheap. Perhaps we will return if there is another stimulus check courtesy of Barack.

Now I'm just chilling and watching/listening to Kraftwerk's live DVD viewable this week only at pitchfork.tv. Fun, fun fun on the autobahn!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Mumble, rawr, mumble, baarrrrrr

OK I'll actually post something more than just a picture. I gotta say it's been a pretty damn good week: Steelers heading to the Super Bowl, the worst president in our history's reign is over and I've got half a buzz on. So I'm feeling good. There are only a couple more things that I would really want to go my way. If I get those, life will be perfect. Of course, that will never happen. Perfection just isn't truly attainable. So I'm enjoying what I have.

Been a slack weekend for me. Eating too much, as usual, and playing games, watching movies, etc. I finished watching the first season of Entourage and the last four episodes managed to win me over somewhat. Initially I felt no connection to any of the characters, but I warmed up somewhat in the latter episodes. I also watched The Andromeda Strain, which was ok. Not very exciting, but a good watch while I played Ninja Town on my DS. I do love multitasking.

By the way, I finished Ninja Town and it's a lot of fun. I like the desktop tower defense style and even enjoy the cute ninja thing so I'd say it's a solid foot massage. I think I may be outgrowing this rating system and need to revamp it into something less stupid. I'll think on it.

I also downloaded Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix on XBLA. Basically it's an HD remake of Street Fighter 2, which I enjoy. I do suck at it tho. I mean, really suck. Gonna have to work hard to get any game going at it. We'll see if that works.

I'm currently re-watching 28 Weeks Later. I love zombies, which I've mentioned before. And this is one of the top zombie films ever. I mean, it's no Romero joint, but it's damn good. Robert Carlyle is truly great as an infected. You can feel his anger and it's a deep hatred for all things living.

I suppose that's all for now. Did I mention the Steelers are in the Super Bowl? Man I'm loving it.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Super Bowl 43


Steelers are in the Super Bowl!



What more do I need to say?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Big, bright and with astounding clarity

So I'm having a good weekend. Started it off by visiting with Jill for a little while Sunday afternoon, which was fun. We finally exchanged Xmas gifts and she hooked me up with a sweet painting. From there I went to Trip's and watched the Steelers clobber the Chargers, which was nice. Pittsburgh looked better than they have all season, with that running game coming alive. So sweet. I'm nervous about next week tho. Beating the Ravens three times in one season is not an easy task. Gonna be brutal.

But watching next week's game will be sweet. Why, you ask? I'll tell you. Because I went crazy and bought a 46-inch Samsung television last night. Went to Best Buy to do some price comparison, as I was a little nervous about getting Amazon to deliver a tv and the whole tech support/service issue. Lo and behold, I find a tv that is right there in the price area I was looking for and it's even bigger than the one I was looking at originally by six inches. It's friggin beautiful.

I had decided to not spend the money on a tv and be frugal and sensible... but then my old tv started being a bitch and it pushed me over the edge. It may actually be too big... but that's something I'm willing to accept. I'm sitting here looking at Sportscenter highlights in glorious HD and loving it. I regret waiting as long as I did. Now I have to fight the urge to buy a PS3 simply for Blue Ray capability. I think I'll be ok until I pay off the tv, which hopefully won't take that long.

Hopefully this streak of good things will continue for at least the next month or so... we'll see.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Bob Dylan wrote propaganda songs

The last coupla days have been brutal. I've just been completely uninterested in working and wishing for a vacation that isn't likely to come anytime soon. Yesterday I came home and was completely glazed. I spent the entire evening once I got home plugged into my laptop playing Civilization 4. I swear that game is a time machine. I blink and 4-5 hours have passed and it's time for bed. But yeah, that was a good way to decompress and focus on nothing internal for a while.

Tonight was more of the same, broadcasting the BCS Championship game and all. I was also saddened to find out that I'm broadcasting an NFL playoff game on Saturday night (Arizona at Carolina). I hate running NFL games. I'm not conditioned to work them properly as I watch the game and not the commercials typically. That can lead to disaster, but it's hard to break decades of conditioning. At least it's not Pittsburgh playing or it would be insufferable.

Anyway tonight I came home and popped in We Jam Econo: The Story of The Minutemen, which arrived in the mail today. It a documentary about seminal punk band The Minutemen and I love them. They are about unfettered creativity. Making art that suits you and doing it yourself so noone else needs to approve. It always makes me want to create something... which is something I need to do more often.

Ohh one other down note for this week so far, 1UP.com got bought up and they liqudated about 2/3 of the staff and cancelled all the podcasts, which bums me out more than I can tell you. I've listened to those podcasts and the people on them every week for over a year now while driving to and from work. It's silly to say, but those people seem like my friends, even tho we've never met. (The internet fosters such odd emotional attachments.) So it sucks that all those people are jobless and I have to find new ways to entertain myself while driving, when I was so happy with the way I had.

Monday, January 05, 2009

The Evil Penguin Top 20 Albums of 2008

OK, fine I won't just bore you. I'll actually take some time and decide what my favorite albums of 2008 were. I was going to just do 10, but there were so many I went to 20. Here ya go.

  • 20 - Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams: A solid album by an artist I've grown to love in the last couple of years. Some quality tracks, but just not as exceptional as 2006's Destroyer's Rubies.
  • 19 - Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust: Lyrics written by a legitimate poet and music put together by Trent Reznor. The cover of Sunday, Bloody Sunday is a fantastic reworking.
  • 18 - Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles: A combination of electronica, video game noise, dense atmosphere and odd vocal stylings. Beeping and booping you can't help but love.
  • 17 - Parts & Labor - Receivers: Solid indie rock with a touch of noise thrown in for seasoning. I really need to listen to this album more.
  • 16 - Torche - Meanderthal: Doom metal with a lighter edge, but still maintaining the thunderous riffs. Guitar solos slice through these tracks with the edge of a Hanzo blade.
  • 15 - Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: Reminds me of Depeche Mode minus the S&M undertones. The track "Out There On The Ice" puts this in my top 20 singlehandedly.
  • 14 - Deer Hunter - Microcastle: There is something soothing about this album. The sound washes over you like a wave balancing between delicate and immersive.
  • 13 - Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel: Beautiful noises lashed together with soothing vocals to make an sparse and soothing album.
  • 12 - The Hold Steady - Stay Positive: I still say this is The Hold Steady's weakest album. Good thing for them they set the bar so high in the past.
  • 11 - The Magnetic Fields - Distortion: Aptly named and wonderful. Clever lyrics, lovely vocals and a subtle grind of noise make this album wonderful.
  • 10 - The Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost: These guys crib from The Velvet Underground's style of fuzzed out spacey rock and the world is better for it.
  • 9 - Boris - Smile: Crash doom metal, experimental noise and shoegaze and you have a start of what Boris is. The track Next Saturn makes noise so beautiful it defies description.
  • 8- TV On The Radio - Dear Science: The more time you put into this album the better it gets. One of my favorite bands releases another masterpiece.
  • 7 - Portishead - Third: These guys return from the dead to astound everyone. Beg, borrow or steal to listen to The Rip. I think it's maybe the single best song of the year.
  • 6 - LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver: Electronic music at it's best gets you bobbing your head without you ever thinking about it. This does that.
  • 5 - Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple: What can't Dangermouse do? On first listen I didn't think this was as good as St. Elsewhere. I was wrong.
  • 4 - Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing: Electronic noise turned up to 11. This is the music I didn't know I wanted, but man I so did. I'm still considering moving this up the list.
  • 3 - Beck - Modern Guilt: Another album produced by Dangermouse that I love. Beck brings us some psychedelic pop rock that does not disappoint.
  • 2 - Blood On The Wall - Liferz: Combines punk rock from the Pixies/Sonic Youth traditions and I can't seem to stop listening to it.
  • 1 - Girl Talk - Feed The Animals: You can play this album for almost anyone and they will love it. Gregg Gillis gets better and better at his craft of combining thousands of old pop tracks into something new and wonderful.
So there it is. I'm making a mix CD of my favorite tracks that I could be talked into making a copy of for those interested.

Coma inducing blog post

It's been a motherfucker of a week. Got called in on Tuesday, had to air a bunch of football games. Friday I had a hint of a cold when I left for work and it turned full blown by the time I arrived at work. Lots of sneezing, mucus and general ill will towards everyone around me.

But enough bitching. I'm feeling better now. Watched football today, then smacked Trip around in Tiger Woods 09. Good times. Then we watched the final episode of Generation Kill, which ends with a lot of unanswered questions... not surprisingly. I mean, the Iraq War show can't possibly have a definitive ending where everything is settled right?

So yeah, exciting times. I could not be more dull could I? Yesh. You'd think that if I had nothing to say I wouldn't write, but no, banality isn't gonna stop this guy. I may work on some end of year lists for my next post. I've been thinking of them, but haven't really had the energy to focus on doing it properly.

Thursday, January 01, 2009