New Shins Preview

The Shins today announced that their forthcoming album, Wincing The Night Away, due for a January 2007 release, is now available for pre-sale through Sub Pop records. This is a huge deal, as we haven't had a studio release from these guys since 2003's Chutes Too Narrow.

Sub Pop has one of the new tracks, "Phantom Limb," available as its download of the week. Get on it! I streamed it once tonight and already have it stuck in my head. So far so good, Shinsies! Hope the rest is worth the long wait!

I'm a knitting beast.

I finally finished my second real knitting project over the long Thanksgiving weekend, and I have to say, I'm happy with the end result! My first scarf was not the greatest (I'm pretty sure it's sitting in a pile in the laundry room and has never been worn by Auddie, though I cannot blame her), but on this one I used a really lovely dark green yarn with oranges and blues weaved throughout, and I also decided to make a ribbed scarf, so I could practice both knitting and purling! The scarf turned out a little more skinny than I expected, but I think it looks okay since I made it longer and the yarn is quite thick. So yes, clearly I'm quite pleased with myself, but does this mean I'll move on to sweaters and socks like Kam? Probably not. Anyway -- here's a shot of Auddie modeling it (though I'm keeping this one for myself!! oops!). See another shot of the scarf and the rest of the weekend's photos on my Flickr.

Turkey Trotting

It's no secret that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and this year's festivities sure didn't disappoint! We started the day by rising a little after 6 AM to get ready for our new annual tradition -- the Turkey Trot 5K race in Centreville. This year was particularly fun because despite the miserable cold and misty rain, we had a big fam/friend group of over 10 of us come out to run.

The race itself was fine, and as always a good way to justify that extra piece of pie at the end of the night. Our thanksgiving feast, however, was the true high point of the day, with exciting new menu additions including Mom's cauliflower soup, Huan's succotash and Molly and my hot apple crisp! Everyone had a lovely contribution to make to the meal, which was just as good when I enjoyed it again this morning!

Anywho. Here's a shot of part of the running crew (all smiles at 7 AM!), one of the Turkey day feast, and lastly, a shot of me and Kyle just for good measure.

Bush rocks the ao dai!

In case any of you didn't get a chance to pick up today's paper, here's what you missed:

It's President Bush and his world leader pals all sporting ao dai to honor the tradition of wearing the APEC host country's attire! When I picked up my Post Express on my Metro ride this morning and saw a similar photo, I had to do a double take because this is just not something you see everyday! But seriously, this is quite amusing. The photo below, with Bush reluctantly raising his hand, is definitely one that could include some hilarious speech bubbles.

In other less important, but equally entertaining news, Oprah got totally dissed and left out of TomKat's wedding extravaganza this weekend. She tries to play it off and make excuses, but it's clear she got the big rejecto even after Tom got his footprints all over her leather couch. Here's a choice excerpt from her statement: "It's not that I'm not going... I was not one of the invitees." Um, Oprah honey, you know I love you but that makes no sense. No invitation = not going. But that's ok. Maybe TomKat will suffer by missing out on your next sweet action celebri-ful birthday party.

Couple musical things

This week TIME magazine posted their list of All-TIME 100 albums, assorted by decade. Check it out here, discover something new, or debate with your friends. Props to Radiohead and R.E.M. for earning two shoutouts each.

In other links to musical discovery, Ryan Adams has once again updated his web page, this time including expanding the Cardinals Radio section, and it essentially allows you to stream 8 "albums" of some pretty unedited tracks and lots of random material under various pseudonyms. If it wasn't clear before, it's safe to say that Ryan loves to record and doesn't care how good or bad it is. On the other hand, for those of you who haven't heard him yet, all his previously released material -- the good stuff -- is streaming too.

All eyes on VA

Yesterday's election turned out to be far more thrilling than I think most people imagined, not to mention the fact that the one race people were still talking about today was the Webb-Allen contest in my homestate of Virginia. Who knew all eyes would be on VA to decide the fate of the Senate? In any case, despite the fact that there may be a recount and there could be 2004-esque drama that drags out for a few weeks, coupled with the fact that George Allen has yet to officially concede, the Associated Press is reporting Webb as the winner of the race, and the Democrats in control of both houses of Congress (!).

Other noteworthy election-related tidbits include Rummy's resignation today, and the presumed appointment of Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Despite what anyone says about the next two years and what will be accomplished, yesterday's election clearly indicate that changes are in order, starting with the first woman Speaker who will be second in line to the Presidency (!). But as the NY Times Editorial puts it, more important than these personnel changes is how Bush and Rumsfeld's successor will rethink their foreign policy strategy while working with the new Congress. Should be interesting to watch.

Never one to let politics get in the way of pop culture, Brit Brit filed for divorce from K-Fed yesterday, in what is the least-surprising celebrity news of the year. Now they're fighting for the kids. Still sad, even though we knew it was coming.

Also, for those who missed Faith Hill's Zoolander moment at the CMA awards on Monday, check out the priceless clip here. I dunno folks, doesn't look to me like she was joking. Then again, who can blame her.. I'd be pissed if I lost to the American Idol, too. Didn't Gwen Stefani have a similarly disappointing (yet far more subtle) reaction when she lost the Grammy to Kelly Clarkson?

NYC Marathon (also, Lo is my hero)

This weekend I was up in the Big Apple for my second stint as an enthusiastic spectator of the New York City Marathon, this time cheering for my near and dear friend, Laura ("Lo"), who impressed and amazed us all with her excellent show of physical/emotional/human resolve. It was a great day for a race, clear and sunny conditions and an overall beautiful day in the City.

Not to take away from the incredible feat of running 26.2 miles, but being a spectator is not an easy task! Hopping the boroughs via the packed-like-sardines subway while trying to keep up with your runner (who, you must remind yourself, is running the entire time you're planning your viewing spots), is pretty stressful in itself. But in the end, it was a great adventure and we were able to catch Lo three times on the course before finally catching up with her at the finish, at which time she looked like she could have done it again (ok, maybe not, but she looked fantastic and her spirits were high!!) Here's a post-race snapshot of Lo and her cheering posse (that's right, those are custom-made shirts, don't be jealous) .

Lo, I couldn't be more proud of you for not only your strong finish (you beat Oprah!!), but for the determination and commitment you showed over the past several months. What can I say, I'm now inspired and am contemplating tackling a marathon of my own in the future! Ok, I don't want to get ahead of myself just yet. But I'm definitely in for the annual Turkey Trot tradition on Thanksgiving morning!

A special shoutout also goes to Alli, who basically decided the day of the race that she'd jump in with Lo and run for a "couple miles" and ended up doing an 8-mile stretch from mile 8 to 16! Major props.

See more weekend pics on my Flickr.