I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

Well, I'm only a few years late on this one, but better late than never, right?

Last night I finally had a chance to sit down and watch the Sam Jones film, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," which is a fantastic documentary on Wilco and the making of their highly-acclaimed album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch Records, 2002).

This film was an incredibly powerful yet simplistic behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album, without any trite commentary or cheesy flashbacks. Jones was simply a witness to the process, which makes the grainy black and white film even more honest and intimate. As a non-serious fan myself, it was especially compelling to watch the story unfold and to learn of all the drama that was behind the album release. It chronicled turmoil within the band, as well as the classic label vs. artist debate -- Reprise records droppped Wilco from their label after they heard the album, only to have them resign and release with another Time Warner-owned label to critical acclaim -- all without being sensationalist or cliché.

Ultimately, however you feel about Wilco, you can't help but gain a much larger appreciation for the musical process as a whole-- especially when watching such good and serious musicians and how their creative processes unfold. It was also interesting to watch the movie knowing how the Wilco story would continue after the film stopped rolling: The way Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would be viewed and judged by the masses, and their subsequent album release coinciding with Jeff Tweedy's drug addiction (briefly foreshadowed by the mention of the terrible migraines he battled).

For fans and non fans alike, this is hands-down an excellent music documentary. I only wish I could watch something like this for all my favorite artists and albums. Sure beats VH1's Behind the Music!

Finally, below is a sample track from the album. By coincidence, the album's original release date was supposed to 9/11/01, and many people think this song -- along with a couple others, including "War on War," and "Ashes of American Flags" -- are tributes to that day. Eerily enough, the album had already been recorded and finished (complete with the album cover art, which could be said to resemble the Twin Towers) prior to 9/11.

Wilco :: Jesus, Etc.

Happy 13th, Auddie!

Here's a big Happy Birthday shout-out to my lil' sis, Auddie, who today turns the big 1-3. That's right, my little sister, who I swore just learned to walk and talk yesterday, is now a teenager! It's kinda scary, but I know Auddie's got a good enough head on her shoulders to handle her teen years with much less awkwardness and much more coolness than I ever did. Let's face it, her social life is already much more active than mine! Thanks for being my pal, Auddie, and always letting me borrow (steal) your shoes and purses. Finally, congrats on surviving 7th grade!

Memorial Day: Rhapsody Revue

I had the pleasure of spending my Memorial Day weekend at the Laramy residence in Easton, MD, as guests of Molly and Tim, for their annual "Rhapsody Revue" weekend-long holiday throwdown.

It was an awesome time, extremely relaxing but also quite eventful, with two days full of eating (fried chicken! corn on the cob!), drinking, wiffle ball, softball, badminton, boat riding, more eating and drinking, and lots of great music all the while. The perfect weather sure didn't hurt, either.

I was lucky to have convinced some of my college pals to drive out and join the fun on Sunday, which made the event extra special.

All in all, I was not happy about having to go back to work today, and I'm already looking forward to the party next year...

As I've noticed some page-loading problems with the blog when I post lots of pics, from now on I'll (try to) update my Flickr as often as I can, and when possible, direct you to my albums there for extended viewing. Let's start right now... more photos from Memorial Day weekend.

Nike and Apple -- more techie toys!

So Kam informed me the other day about the latest partnership between Nike and Apple. The Nike+iPod product is the latest in snazzy technology, this time connecting your shoe wih your iPod Nano to allow you to exercise and store your times, distances, and calories burned and then view it and organize it on your iPod. You can also custom-build playlists that go with your workouts, and apparently you can decide when to "play your power song for an extra boost." But wait, there's more-- your iPod will also talk to you while you're working out, chiming out lines like "2 more miles to go" while also giving you pace information. Pretty sweet stuff. If only it said, "Are you feeling that Mickey D's lunch from yesterday yet? Pick up the pace, you slowpoke."

But seriously, it's kinda awesome. It may seem a bit confusing when you only read about it, but if you visit the Nike website they have a nice video set up to illustrate to you just how it works. Also see the Apple page for more info about the product and the software you need to run it. I guess the only catch is, you have to have a Nano. Oh, and you have to like Nike running shoes. I'm telling you, these big companies really know how to getcha!

The coolest part about all of this is that the initial link Kam sent me was directly linked to the original press release issued by Nike. Who sent it out, you ask? Why, PR Newswire. Oh, what a shameless plug.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, all!

Flowers in the Window

Ah, what a glorious Spring weekend it was. Perfect weather for just about anything. Some snapshots from the weekend...

Me and Steph, enjoying the waterfront Baltimore breeze:

The J.Crew couple:

Only the freshest at the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market:

Mmm, my favorite fruit:

And finally, because everyone loves a puppy -- even if he isn't quite potty trained:

P.S. No snapshot for this one, but a big Happy B-day shoutout to my dear friend and loyal blogreader, Lo!

Apple-mania

By now most of you have heard about this weekend's big opening of Apple's Fifth Avenue store. The thing is basically like New York City's Louvre now, wouldn't you say? Instead of a pyramid, a cube, and instead of rare works of art, popular technology for the masses?

In classic Apple form, if you are bored/obsessed enough, you can visit the website to watch fast-forwarded Quicktime video of the first 24 hours of the store opening. That's right, in case you weren't one of the crazy people who camped out to get into the store, you can be one of the people to watch those people as they waited in line as the sun rose and fell. Anyway, it's so cultish and true to Apple form, but also totally cool. I'll be first to admit that I'm excited to check it out. After all, I'm the loser girl who loves to go to Apple stores in every city, even though I know all the products are the same.

This one will be open 24/7, 365 days a year, so in case you have a severe case of insomnia on, say, Christmas, or the bars have kicked you out but you're not ready to call it a night, you can stroll into the Apple store and play with iPods and check your e-mail. Apple probably hopes that you'll be drunk enough to throw down your credit card for some new headphones or maybe even a MacBook Pro.

Gothamist has a nice article wrapping up the grand opening weekend...

My First Nats Game!

Thanks to Tim and one of his extra season tickets, I was able to take in my first Nationals game last night, and it just happened to be the first game of the "Battle of the Beltway" series against the Orioles.

This much-hyped, first regular season meeting between teams from Baltimore and DC since 1971 didn't provide too much drama or action to get the crowd hyped up, and the stadium (RFK looks so tiny, by the way!) was 15,000 short of a sellout. See empty seats below:

It was a fun time, despite the late evening chill and the fairly poor showing of the hometown team, who fell 5-1 to the O's. I found myself rooting for the Nats the whole time, but at one point I realized, as if stumbling upon some amazing conclusion, "Wait a sec, I was an O's fan way before I was ever a Nats fan. Actually, I don't even know if I'm a Nats fan." After this inner battle of sports team loyalty -- during which I had to pause for a moment and laugh over how I used to love Brady Anderson -- I realized it didn't really matter and was interrupted by a more important thought: "This jumbo grilled hot dog and cold, overpriced domestic beer is damn good!" Then I remembered why I love baseball games -- it's just choosing between the hot dog/nachos/$9 chicken tender platter that always causes some problems. The home runs and the fireworks (which incidentally we missed as we were walking out of the stadium, oops!) are just fun bonuses.

Holy TV Week

Ok, I haven't been a great blogger and I'm sorry for that. The spring got me sucked into the vicious cycle of work-home-TV. Hopefully after next week, I'll be out of the rut. But in the mean time...

It's that time of year, folks... Season finales are dominating our lives, and within a few weeks when all our shows wrap we'll find ourselves flipping the channels and wondering, "What the hell do I do now?" Ah, how sad it is to realize how we let TV rule us, but soon with the good weather, we can re-devote ourselves to being more social and getting out more (or catching up on all the DVDs of the series we couldn't fit into our schedule! Kidding...). Anyway, Monday night started out what should be a fabulous week of the highly-anticipated May sweeps/finale period.

Millions of Americans breathed a sigh of relief after Bush's Immigration speech lasted less than an hour. Say whatever you want Dubya, just don't delay my "24" or "Grey's Anatomy"!! Sad, but true.

Monday's two hours of Grey's was probably the most anticipated episode the series has seen yet. After Sunday night's gripping ending, reminiscent of old ER-style drama (incidentally, ER's finale on Thursday also includes a hospital shooting), everyone tuned in to see what would happen to Burke and Denny, and whether my-scrubs-are-too-tight Izzie would lose her job over all of it. The episode lived up to all the hype, and as usual, I found myself wiping up tears at the end. I'm still amazed that a show with such an unlikeable title character -- Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey -- can be so popular. (For those of you who never saw Ellen Pompeo get Punk'd, it doesn't do much to improve her image, and it's actually a pretty poor Punk'd; sorry Ashton) Maybe it's that they cast such great guys to play opposite her -- ummm Hello Chris O'Donnell, thanks for crawling out from under that rock, and don't worry if you haven't shaved in awhile, we like you with the scruffy face!

In contrast, 24 messes with my emotions in a completely different way. It's a totally ADD-driven show and since everything happens so quickly, it leaves no time for you to register a death, an injury, a big reveal, or really anything significant. Again, can I remind everyone that President Palmer, Michelle Dessler, Tony Almeida and Edgar all died this season? Forgive me if I'm leaving out other significant characters; my brain is so fried from the drama that I can't keep everyone's fates in order. You're turning us all into robots, Jack! Shed some tears, or for crying out loud, find a hot pocket or cup noodles and eat something, you must be starving! Forget being trapped on an island, everyone at CTU could stand to get some food deliveries from the well-nourished bunch on Lost.

Tonight's Idol was also a goodie, and I was glad to see McPhee return to her old form with a beautiful rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." So she can be a little too big for her britches and she's had her off moments, but when she's on, she's really the best, and come on-- did you really want Daughtry to be THE Idol? He'll be fine on his own selling millions of hard rock albums. And if not, he always has Fuel (or maybe even Creed!). Either way, guess we can look forward to a thrilling Taylor Hicks/Katharine McPhee final next week!

To conclude, I know House is like the best show ever, and while I've seen a couple episodes and enjoyed it, I'm no regular and thus cannot comment on what a great season it's been. BUT, I can contribute a fun link to Tweevs and her sneaky L.A. adventure to the House Soundstage... What fun!

Before he was Sawyer...

Thanks go to EW.com for pointing out that Josh Holloway, also known as Sawyer, the bad boy (and hottie) of "Lost," is the same guy who got his butt kicked by Alicia Silverstone in the awesomely huge and memorable Aerosmith "Cryin'" video. Gotta love the "before they were stars" trivia.

Pop cult. update

Since Meevs just sent me the latest news on Britney (she's preggers, again!), I thought it was a time for a short pop culture update.

This week on TV, Jack Bauer does the improbable and manages to land a freakin' airplane on a short stretch of freeway, somehow managing to slam on the brakes before careening into a overpass without so much as a spark or small fire igniting. Thank god there are only 3 hours left, I don't know how much longer I can suspend my disbelief! (Honestly, since when is the Prez. left alone for multiple hours in a mysteriously dark room during a huge national crisis, and does he really have his own RAZR? Does 'W' text message??)

Watching this week's Iron Chef America rematch between Morimoto and Galileo's Roberto Donna was, for me, equally exhilarating as the 24 episode. My heart was actually pounding during the judging session. I was elated to see Donna come out on top after his disappointing and lackluster showing the first time around. How no one manages to accidently cut off a finger during the intense competition is still a mystery to me.

My dad is currently watching the ABC TV movie, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," centered around the "what if..." of a bird flu pandemic. All these scenarios, not to mention the gazillion number of press releases I've processed on the bird flu, are starting to freak me out a bit. They're starting to remind me of the scene in "Outbreak" when Patrick Dempsey (now known only as "McDreamy") boards the plane and spreads the virus and you can see all the particles floating through the air and infecting everyone. Way to make everyone paranoid, people!

In more serious television (not really), Katharine McPhee needs saving on American Idol. Those of you reading this within voting hours must do your best to save the only female remaining in the competition!

Scrubs alert: the Season 3 DVD was released today and Best Buy has it on sale. This is still my favorite comedy on TV; I can't think of another show that has me laughing out loud more often.

In music news, some new Radiohead tracks are floating around on the 'net, mostly from their May 6 show in Copenhagen. These guys are so the opposite of Ryan Adams that this is very exciting news for fans. Go here to find some tracks.

Finally, to round out this completely random post, here's one of the best recent open letters posted to McSweeney's: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OCCUPANTS OF A HOUSE ON THE NINTENDO GAME "PAPERBOY."

Oh, what I'd give for a Nintendo marathon right now!

Kyle cleans up nicely, don't you think?

Kyle... in a suit! How could I resist?

And one with his rents:

Foxfield Photo Diary

Ok, so there are no excuses for my poor blogging etiquette, but I hope you'll forgive me with this update from last weekend's wonderful trip to C'ville.

Below are a series of photos to illustrate what was a perfect day at the races.

Rounding up the crew in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, one of Charlottesville's finest hotels off Route 29...

In case you forgot to bring your own hat...

Funny joke? Or starting to feel the mimosas?

The gals of 354 on the back of the pick-up.

Will and Ingrid in their Foxfield best (Check out those orange sherbet pants!!)

Pouy and fried chicken = happy camper.

I actually caught a couple horse races this year, and guess what? They're pretty exciting to watch!

It's all fun and games until someone has to clean up the mess...

I'm actually mid-air in celebration over finding some porta-potties with no line (nice camera work, Lo!)

And this one's just to illustrate what a freakin' amazing blue sky day it was. (And of course, to show Alli nuzzling Lo)

Sunday was another gorgeous day to end the month of April, and we strolled the grounds and enjoyed a delicious bagel brunch. Where, you ask? Why, at Bodo's... on the corner!!

Gorgeous tulips we observed in one of the gardens as part of our botany field trip.

'Til next year!...

Off to the Races!

Sorry I've been such a bad blogger, but I know you all didn't mind loading up my page and seeing Kyle's adorable face staring back at you. In any case, I'm off to good ol' C'ville tonight for what should be a glorious weekend of fun. It's Foxfield time, that annual event when we get all dolled up to go to a horse race and pray to see at least one horse. Really it's an excuse to see old friends and to enjoy the beautiful sights and all the delicious foods of Charlottesville! And of course to spend an entire weekend reminiscing about the glory days of college. (See last year's post for a reminder...) I'll be back with a full update and photos. Cheers!

Mischievous Kyle

According to Lan, this is what happens when you leave a clever little 9-month-old unattended for a quick minute... He gets into his Aquaphor jar, and the rest is a story he'll hear about for the rest of his life. Oh, that and an absolutely priceless and adorable photo! Kinda reminds me of when I pretended I was putting on sunscreen with an orange creamsicle that was melting all over me. I knew Kyle and I had a special bond.

Ray LaMontagne/Gnarls Barkley

This post comes courtesy of Stereogum (who posted via Village Indian's Amrit).

Now available for listening is a fantastic mp3 of Ray LaMontagne covering Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Gnarls Barkley (duo of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse) are already making waves for their yet-to-be-released debut album St. Elsewhere (U.S. release date: May 9). Officially, "Crazy" is the first #1 single in the UK to make it to the top spot based on download sales only. And all that in just about a week. Pretty impressive.

Anyway, rather than post the link here, I'll refer you all to Stereogum's post for the mp3. And from there you can also visit Village Indian's original post which has the Gnarls Barkley version for comparison.

Web o' music

I'm pretty late on posting about this, but I figure what the hey, someone out there may not yet have stumbled upon the wonder that is Pandora. The Music Genome Project created this incredible website to help people discover more music they loved, based on the artists they already loved. Sure, it seems like an obvious concept, and there have been some more simple versions that appeared on the web before, but Pandora takes it all a step further by actually creating "radio stations" with streaming audio for you based on your selection of a favorite artist.

For example, I picked The Decemberists as a favorite artist of mine, and it automatically selects a bunch of other random songs based on similar music qualities that describe The Decemberists. So you think to yourself, "Why the heck did you pick this to put in my Decemberists radio station??" And they answer, "Based on what you've told us so far, we're playing this track because it features a subtle use of vocal harmony, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, major key tonality, acoustic rhythm guitars and many other similarities identified in the music genome project." Oh, well you got me there...! The cool thing is, from there you can let them know if they picked well or picked poorly, and they'll continue to personally customize your radio stations to adjust to your tastes. It's quite brilliant in an almost-stalkery way.

According to the FAQ, the peeps at the Music Genome Project have "carefully listened to the songs of over 10,000 different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time." Ummm, well thanks guys. That saved me a lot of time.

Anyway, it's definitely a great way to discover new music, hear some old favorites, and kind of have a fun little music adventure along the way!

Things to do while your coworker is on vacation...

I don't know how long this one's been spreading around on the Web, but I just saw it for the first time last week and found it pretty hilarious! Guess it's a good thing I don't work in an actual cube!

Oh, how I love the small things in life.

Today Huan alerted me to the fact that tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 3 seconds after 1:02 AM, it will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. Freakin' sweet!

Does that excite anyone else as much as it does me?

24 vs. the National Championship?

Count on Tony Kornheiser to accurately reflect everyone's feelings on the 24 vs. NCAA b-ball final tonight... Thank goodness for Tivo/DVR though, right?

By the way, did anyone else know that Jack Bauer's given name is...
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland? That's a ridiculous number of names, but they're all pretty sweet!!!

Late-night update:
Ok, so the game was kinda boring (except One Shining Moment, of course) and 24 wasn't bad. But the question is: as ridiculous and unbelievable as 24 is on a regular basis (I loved how Jack escaped the natural gas plant unscathed, while Bierko was on the brink of death), I feel like they may have officially "jumped the shark" tonight when they revealed the latest mole. But naturally, I'll continue to eagerly tune in...

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, take 2...

Today was my second go-round of the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile run around D.C. to celebrate the fully blossomed cherry trees around town. I woke up around 6 am along with Huan, Molly, Auddie, and Tim (Molly's bro) to do what we do best-- err, not really, but at least we try hard.

This year was instantly ten times better than last year's race because it was a most beautiful spring day-- sunny, slightly breezy and probably about 60 degrees at race time. You really couldn't have asked for better running conditions, and compared with last year's frigid chill and wind, it was really a pleasant run (as evidenced by my reaction below... just what am I doing??)

I was slightly concerned about my race preparation, if only because I'd been away on a ski trip and not exactly focusing on my training. Aside from my semi-routine runs before work, I hadn't really gutted anything out this time around. But I guess I'm beginning to realize that even if I don't have a strict training regimen, I can still count on finishing ten miles-- it's just how well and how fast that may vary-- and I have to say, that's a pretty cool feeling.

Anyway, the race went well and I felt great the whole way. My pace wasn't spectacular, but it was about expected, and I really didn't mind because I was actually enjoying myself throughout the long course. Unlike last year, I really took in all the sights and my surroundings, especially all the beautiful blossoms everywhere around me! It was just a perfect day, really!

Now for some post-race pics (thumbails again, sorry!):

The runners and our devoted fans.
It's crazy enough that people pay money to wake up at the crack of dawn to go running, but even crazier that they have people who support them! Thanks guys!!

Three sibs.
Auddie got contacts!! (Is it just me or do we look like we're the same age?)

The rents.
Look at those blossoms!!!

Finally, a big happy 80th birthday to my G-ma Ba Noi, and also happy birthday wishes to my uncles Chu Ban and Bac Bao!

Happy Spring to all! The idea that I will be able to leave work and still enjoy some sunshine is enough to put a smile on my face. Time to put those scarves away and pull out the flip flops, yippee!!

Rocky Mountain High

Well, the trip out to Colorado was just about perfect. Since it was my first work vacation-- and therefore I would have been content to do just about anything so long as I wasn't at work-- I had minimal expectations, so it was just icing on the cake that everything about the trip was completely amazing and I was basically spoiled and pampered for 5 days straight.

After arriving on Saturday morning, we drove from Denver out to Beaver Creek and arrived at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton at Bachelor Gulch resort. After a long day of travel, we decided to hold off on cramming in any afternoon skiing and to just explore the area and kick back.

Check out the residence:

Sunday was our first full day of action and we immediately appreciated the wonder of ski-in/ski-out, as we put on our ski gear and were basically at the foot of the mountain and entrance to the ski lift. I started the day on my snowboard and it was like heaven to be on the wide open slopes of the West, complete with a few fresh inches of powder.

(Look how there's no one else in sight! It was like having a private mountain all to myself!)

The end of day 1 found us all aching and exhausted, and the best remedy for that was the spa/hot tub/heated outdoor pool. What better way to end the first full day on the slopes?

We started day 2 with a private ski lesson with Jim, an awesome instructor who moved out here a number of years ago to retire and is now a full-time Beaver Creek instructor. After realizing I was holding people up on my board and also that I couldn't take full advantage of the mountain as a "beginner," I decided to switch over to skis for a confidence boost and to be able to keep up with the gang. Before the lesson, all of us had different skiing styles, as evidenced by the fact that we ended up at the bottom of the runs at different times. Jim showed us some basic tips to improve our skiing, and by the end of the lesson we were handling a rough and narrow mogul run (not by choice!!) After the 3-hour lesson with Jim, it seemed we were all on the same page and suddenly, according to My-Van, we looked almost like clones coming down the mountain at exactly the same speed and form. This made the rest of the trip really great, though, as I really felt like I was skiing and truly enjoying it for the first time, comfortable in my form and not exhausted or too sore at the end of the day.

Here's the group on lesson day:

We all suddenly felt like pros on our skis, so we decided to venture out to Vail for our last full day of skiing. We made the short drive over to the village and spent a great day out on the mountain. We explored the front-side bowls, some other nice blue runs, and ended the day with one great run down the China Bowl, on the back-side, which opened itself up to some incredible views.

In the midst of all this ski excitement, I forgot to mention that we ended every day with a hot tub soak followed by a delicious dinner. We enjoyed quite a variety of Colorado's finest: Frites, a fun, french style Brasserie, Blue Moose Pizza in Beaver Creek village (where I got to fulfill my Fat Tire beer craving), Sweet Basil in Vail Village, and finally Splendido, in a lovely mountainous Chateau. Let's just say it was good thing we squeezed in some daily exercise on our skis!

Lastly, I must give another huge thanks to Co Chau, Bac Thong, and Meevs (we missed you Tweevs!) for inviting Dad, Auddie and me out to spend the week with them. It was definitely memorable and though it was short, Auddie was quick to dub it as her "Best vacation of all time." And we all know those are big words coming from a well-traveled gal like her! On the drive to the airport she and I decided that I'd move out to Colorado, she'd go to college there and we could just become a couple of ski bums. Sounds pretty appealing right now, that's for sure.

To conclude, here are some additional photos... you know, the requisite cheesy "poles in the air" pose as well as some other postcard-worthy shots.

I swear there were other skiiers on the mountain...

From the room balcony:

From the top of Vail:

Time for a vacation!

George Mason in the Elite Eight? Who'da thunk it?

Just so my blog readers don't get antsy, I'm giving you all fair warning that I'll be away and hopefully (though unlikely) -- nowhere near a computer for a few days. I'm off to Colorado for a 5 day ski jaunt, and I can't wait! Updates to follow with photos included. Cheers.

Quick Elliott Smith shout-out

I rediscovered an amazing live version of Elliott Smith's "Angeles" tonight and subsequently repeated it about 10 times. Then I decided I wanted to share it because it's such a beautiful version.

Elliott Smith - Live in Stockholm Sweden (6.2.98) - Angeles

The guitar work is impeccable. The recording quality is top notch. And the song is... well, just hear it for yourself. It doesn't get any better than this.

The softer side of Jack Bauer?

My weekly browse through the iTunes music store led me to Jack Bauer's celebrity playlist. (Yes, I know it's actually Kiefer Sutherland's list, I just prefer the idea that Jack Bauer is not a fictional character.) Anyway, through the list I learned that Mr. Bauer himself is quite the music fan, and aside from boasting a collection of over a couple dozen Gibson guitars, he started a music studio/record label with none other than artist Jude Cole, who I guess is best known for his early '90s work.

The label, Ironworks Music, which claims to be all about real artists -- those who aren't necessarily "pop hit acts" but "really believe in themselves" -- is not so original in its goal to find undiscovered, talented artists who deserve to be signed over, say, Lindsay Lohan, but it is the only label that can claim to be co-owned with artists hand-picked by the most ruthless and intimidating government agent ever.

Anyway, the first release under the label is for a guy/band named Rocco DeLuca & The Burden. The album, I Trust You to Kill Me, will be in stores on March 21 (but incidentally is already available for purchase on iTunes) and of course, a few cuts are streaming on MySpace.

And suddenly I feel duped... clearly it's a coincidence that Kiefer Sutherland would release his celebrity playlist to iTunes with three songs from his own label's artist on the very week the debut album for the record label is released, right? Jack isn't that sneaky, is he?

Geez, I've barely given it a listen but somehow just because Bauer digs it, I'm all about the promo. It's shameless, really. He's got all of America held hostage!! Damn him for duping me. Sorry for being so careless, dear readers. I guess that's why Jack Bauer really is the man.

A very Sweet Sixteen!

This weekend's basketball games continued in their excitement as they set the stage for the Sweet Sixteen next week. For local fans, the results were especially awesome, with both George Mason and Georgetown advancing in huge upsets (and thus wreaking havoc on lots of brackets). Though GW fell to Duke on Saturday, it's nice to have two other area teams to cheer on.

Today's funniest March Madness moment came via the CBS score box for the Bradley-Pittsburgh game. Everyone had to have a good laugh over this one:

Teeheehee!

March Madness & Shamrock Shakes

The below post was prepared for publication on Thursday, March 16, but due to what I discovered was a widespread "Blogger 505" error, I was unable to post it. Rather than delete it outright, I'll leave it in its original form below, and update the following information: after gloating about my great first round March Madness picks through Thursday, Friday's games left me with a 21-11 first round record. But at least I enjoyed last night's games at an extremely overcrowded and loud bar whilst enjoying a Guinness!!

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3.16.06

Today kicked off one of the most exciting sports events of the year. Whether or not you're a sports fan, or whether or not you "follow" college basketball, March Madness is a time that all can enjoy. This year is particularly exciting because I'm participating in my first-ever office pool. I've got my bracket filled out, and with five TVs spread out around the office, it's hard not to get distracted by the daytime games to see how your teams are doing. As the Post reports, some companies are cracking down on the potential lost productivity. (Sorry, friends at CEB!)

If today's near-upsets of BC and Tennessee (both of whom I picked) are any indication of how nail-biting and exciting the tourney will be, we're in for a great couple weeks.

And GW's second-half 18-point comeback and run to win in OT over UNC-Wilmington tonight just topped off what was a great opening day of basketball. Talk about under pressure. Whew!

Through 12 games that have finished, I've only had one bad first round pick (Seton Hall). So far so good, eh?

In other news, I tried my first McDonald's Shamrock Shake today. Apparently since they introduced this seasonal green milkshake (tastes like a Mint Chocolate Chip shake-- delicious!) back in the 70s and then only offered it on a very select and limited basis thereafter, the Shamrock Shake has had a cult-like following. As a lifelong McDonald's fan, I feel like I completely missed the boat on this one and am actually a bit embarrassed about being out of the loop. But I guess it's not too late, as they seem to be back on the menus (or at least available upon request at select locations) and available as a delicious St. Patty's day treat. I did kind of have a stomach ache for the entire afternoon though, and while I'm not completely certain the Shake was to blame, I'm not quite sure I should back this product 100%. Either way, a Happy St. Patty's Day to all, Irish or not...


Current Music: Clementine, by Elliott Smith

A new download, at last...

Since I haven't plugged any music in a while, I'll take this opportunity to bring back my Sunday downloads. Most of you (whether or not you've known it) have probably already heard Joshua Radin's music featured on popular television shows such as "Scrubs" and more recently "Grey's Anatomy."

I first heard him on an episode of "Scrubs," which is one of my favorite shows in part because of the fantastic music. Zach Braff's got some good taste, and he's been plugging his pal Joshua Radin for quite some time. After I heard "Closer" on an episode last season, I scoured the web to find out more on this guy. Finally, a year later, he's released his first full-length album, We Were Here, which, as of now is only available as an album download on iTunes. But word has it he just signed with Columbia Records, so the album should hopefully be available in tangible record-store form soon ("late spring," according to his website). Among his original tunes, the album also features a surprising acoustic cover of Yaz's "Only You." Who can resist?

Click here to stream some audio of Joshua Radin's recent in-studio performance and interview with the fabulous KCRW.

And in the meantime, here's a sampler... enjoy!

Joshua Radin :: Closer

Congrats to Chloe!

Before I head to bed (it's my third night on Tylenol Cold PM-- works wonders!), I must quickly post on tonight's "Project Runway" finale. In what was a surprising outcome (at least before everyone saw the runway show), Chloe came out on top, rising above frontrunners Daniel V. and Santino to be crowned the winner. After last week's episode in which we got a preview of everyone's collection, I swore it was going to be Santino, not only because his designs seemed to be the best, but moreso for the way Bravo was turning him into this apologetic and suddenly (more) likeable character.

In any case, I was pleasantly surprised that the final two came down to Chloe and Daniel V! And while I truly think the others may have wanted it more than Chloe, and while I didn't love all her pieces, I definitely think her collection was the best-- most professional, sophisticated, and basically just immaculate in its creation. I bet she's all like "Aw man, now I gotta go hang out with some Banana designer? New York is played out, honey, I'm ready to go back to Houston..." And I'm sure Daniel V. is laughing in her face now that he's got a Michael Kors safety net to fall back on!

Anyway, I thought the dress that Grace wore, in particular, was just stunning and so well-made. I never really liked Grace as a model but I thought she looked great!

See Chloe's full collection here with some additional detailed shots here.
And if you want to judge for yourself, check out Daniel's and Santino's collections, too. (You can also see Kara's... I have no idea how she snuck her way into Fashion Week with some of these designs)

One last observation: So I know I'm short and everything, but is it just me or is Chloe literally like 4'9"??? Even when wearing shoes she looked to be about half the size of average-height people! Way to keep it real, Chloe.

TGIM?

"TGIM?" was the beginning of the subject line of an e-mail that I, along with all my coworkers, received this afternoon, alerting us to our new company-wide dress code.

Apparently after reviewing employee survey results from '05, one of the higher-ups made the decision to "relax" the work environment and allow Casual Fridays everyday. Yippee! Granted, the definition of Business Casual in my bureau was already pretty relaxed before, but now that we can roll in wearing jeans (so long as they are "neat, clean, and unripped") whenever we want is pretty freakin' sweet. It was definitely the highlight of the day, and I'm sure the new policy will make going to work that much more pleasurable, at least for the immediate future and before the novelty wears off. I know all you people with the artsy-fartsy jobs (or the young and fun corporate jobs) who never considered not wearing jeans are just scratching your head at this one, but I myself am pretty psyched! No more thinking ahead about how I'll rotate and match my dress pants and tops for the upcoming week. And a great excuse to shop for new jeans!

Monday Television Commentary

Post-Oscar Thoughts:

In what seemed to be a year of fair play, with no "Lord of the Rings" to sweep the show and almost every big movie winning at least one award (Each of the six big categories-- Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress was taken by a different movie), last night's Oscar show was a bit lackluster. Perhaps it was the fact that -- with the exception of "Crash" as best picture stealer-- much of it went as predicted. That said, I was still extremely happy to see the actress awards go to Rachel Weisz and Reese Witherspoon (Whoa, two "RWs," crazy!).

Reese in particular was one of the highlights of the night and delivered what was, for me, the best speech of the night. It's funny when you're listening to speeches and in your mind you kind of guide yourself through what you think they should say next ("ok, now thank your husband, then wrap it up with something poignant and thoughtful...") and the actor does just that in a very articulate way. The gal is just so cute and whenever she's on camera I can't help but love her and have a big smile on my face. Maybe it's because no matter what roles she had before or after "Legally Blonde," she'll always just be Elle Woods to me. And did we really ever think Elle could win an Oscar? I'm just so proud! Now that I think about it, Reese has pretty nice repertoire... "Cruel Intentions," "Election,"... and for those of you who haven't seen Reese's first movie, "The Man in the Moon," it's worth a rental, not only to see Reese as a 14-year-old but also because it stars Jason London. Great flick! And to think, she's getting paid $29 million for her next movie. That's just wrong, isn't it? I bet Ryan Phillippe sure didn't know he was getting that big of a sugar momma when they got together.

Um, ok, moving on from Reese...

John Stewart's hosting gig has gotten pretty poor reviews all around. I think he was pretty much hit-or-miss on the night (the hit, of course, being his Bjork-Cheney joke, and misses being, well, lots of other jokes that fell flat). All in all, I think he may be a little too deadpan for the Oscar audience with not enough tap-dancing Billy Crystal in him to keep everyone awake-- especially the old peeps-- when the show enters its third hour...

24 (spoilers below if you missed last night's episode):

I just have to comment on tonight's new and "explosive" (to use a TV critic word) 2-hour episode of "24." You know Jack is getting really ruthless when he starts not only threatening the bad guys with guns in their faces, but then shooting their wives instead. Yikes, ease up there Jackie. And what's with Tony Almeida rising from the dead again? Last season you get shot in the neck and you're up running around within 5 hours, and this time it's a car bomb explosion and you're on your feet again on the same day? What say we take a breather and watch some Tivo or something.

So we're about 12 hours into the day now and out of nowhere comes the Vice President. Where ya been, pal? Not out hunting, I hope. Just when it appears someone wise may have arrived to give hopeless President Logan some support, we find out his second-in-command is just as whacked out as he is. "I don't know what's going on since I've been M.I.A. all day, but since I don't feel like dealing with it, let's impose Martial Law!!!" Oh boy, this should be good.

In more serious news, the death of Edgar tonight came as a shock to all loyal "24" fans. He and Chloe were like the CTU peas in a pod, and that he would succomb to death from nerve gas within the hallowed halls of CTU Headquarters is a true television tragedy and is made extra ironic by the fact that his good-hearted nature is what led to his ultimate downfall.

That last scene, however, completely summed up what's clearly a pervading high-school culture at CTU. You had to feel bad for the random and unnamed CTU employee after she banged on the door of the sealed room and all the "popular" A-list kids inside (Jack, Audrey, Buchanan, Chloe-- but only because Chloe is smart and does everyone's homework) just kind of stared blankly, basically shrugged their shoulders and were like "Oops, sorry, you're on your own!" Only when they saw Edgar in the danger zone did they actually show a shred of emotion at the thought of a human being actually dying before their eyes.

Anyway, it should be interesting to see what happens next week when Jack is the one in trouble... which kid will be the one to sacrifice himself for the captain of the football team? Stay tuned.

Writer's Block

Just as I thought my blogging inspiration was back, I've been staring at this blank screen for a good five minutes thinking about my next post. Chalk it up to the rut I feel like I'm in or blame it on my bad case of whooping cough, but I've got nothin..nothin good, anyway.

I guess since the Oscars are on tonight and there's no "Grey's Anatomy" to look forward to, I can discuss that a bit. Since I've actually seen a number of the movies, I'm pretty excited to see who takes home the awards. I've been a big "Brokeback" fan since I saw the movie, and since I got a haircut yesterday in which the stylist fully blew out my hair and made me look like Anne Hathaway did in the movie (i.e., a Texas beauty queen in the 70s), it must be a sign that it will live up to all its Oscar hype. However, I did finally see "Walk the Line" a couple nights ago on DVD and was thoroughly impressed by both Joaquin and Reese's performances, particularly the fact that they sung every note heard in the movie.

Other than that, I'm rooting for any award for "The Constant Gardener" (definitely one of my favorites all year) and rooting against "The History of Violence" (might have been the worst movie I paid to see that received so much critical acclaim). "Syriana" was pretty good but frankly, it confused me, and "Good Night and Good Luck" was brilliantly done but ultimately difficult for me to connect with. David Straithairn did an amazing job in his role as Edward R. Murrow though, and I think the Best Actor category will be one of the toughest to pick tonight.

Anyway, as my dad and Huan currently argue as to whether or not Jessica Alba is actually hot, I'm going to kick back and enjoy the show...