Parenthetically Yours

Favorite Things Friday

It's been a few weeks since the previous FTF and I've come across some great things in that time...but I won't bore you with all the mindless details. Let me, however, let you know about one of my LEAST favorite things these days: Aer Lingus. What is that, you say? Sounds like some airborne fungus doesn't it? Well, it sort of is. Aer Lingus (or Air Fungus to the Brits) is an Ireland-based airline that lost six (SIX!) of our guitars last week while we were in Europe. Not only did they lose them, but they did nothing to find them. Thankfully a kind employee at British Airways did some legwork for us at London Heathrow airport and found them in Aer Lingus' possession with no destination tags anywhere to be found on them. So...a big YAY to British Airways and a big BOO to Aer Lingus.

Now, on to the favorites.

PORTLAND BREW's Ethiopian High Priest Blend - My favorite coffee. Yeah, I know I talk about coffee quite a bit from time to time here. But, this is the mack daddy, the smoothest, the ultimate cup o' joe. Portland Brew is my favorite coffee joint in Nashville (but we desperately need one in Franklin!). In fact, if you look up and to the left at the photo under the ABOUT section of this blog, that picture was taken at PB of one of their more masterful latte creations. They do coffee/espresso right and the Ethiopian High Priest is a blend of African, South American, and Indonesian beans that is smooth as silk, and dark as an African night. It's also their best seller. I'm sipping some at this very moment.

The PALM PRE - Yeah, yeah. I know. The new iPhones are out. I love 'em and I want one. But it just doesn't make sense for me to get one for several reasons. I got the next best thing. And you know what? I LOVE it! The only thing it's lacking compared to the iPhone is Apple's App Store. The Pre only has a few dozen apps available at the moment, but there are hundreds in the pipeline. The Pre is sleek, fast, small, and is incredibly intuitive when it comes to syncing with your calendar, iTunes, mail, etc. Believe it or not, there are a few things it does better than the iPhone. First, it's with Sprint, not AT&T. Second, it has a real keyboard, not a sketchy at best software-based keyboard. Third, it's smaller. Fourth, your $7/month insurance covers it. Fifth, no need for a separate, proprietary phone plan for it. My $94/month (unlimited everything) is all I need. Sixth, you can leave multiple programs open and switch between them...while on a phone call. Plus it has all the other goodies: GPS, WiFi, full web browsing, universal search, cut/paste, multi-touch screen, etc. Phones are NOT just phones anymore.

PROGUITARSHOP.COM - I'm not really expecting many of you to care about this, but whenever I'm looking for a new piece of guitar equipment, this is my first stop. They have a YouTube channel with over 400 video demos of guitars, amps, and effects. The videos are bare-bones simple but do an amazing job showing the products without falling into hyperbole or over-promotion (which is what I'm doing here). If you're looking for gear, begin your search here. Here's one of their videos demonstrating my favorite new pedal, the Electro-Harmonix Micro POG. (that's a birthday hint)

That's all this week. It feels good to be back. Now...y'all come back.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday - Northwest Edition - Pt 2

Well...this is gonna be a quickie, but I wanted to get something up before I'm detained by the Canadian authorities. Ok. That's a joke. I'm sitting at a coffee shop in Seattle waiting to leave for Vancouver, British Columbia to do a show there tonight...so let's jump in.

TULLY'S COFFEE - There's a running joke in Seattle that if you want to find a Tully's, go to a Starbucks and turn around. This is my favorite chain coffee in Seattle, beating Starbucks' burnt bean juice by a mile. I'm enjoying a piping hot Red Eye (coffee with an added shot of espresso) and there's nary a hint of bitterness. Mmmmmm.

VANCOUVER, BC - If you're dying to go to Europe but don't want to bother with all the travel expense, hassle, and language issues, you have to visit Canada. I know, I know. Canada evokes images of snow, bad fashion, Bob and Doug McKenzie, and progressive rock music. Well, at least it does for me. But...three of the most amazing cities in the world are up here in the great white North: Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto. But for my money, Vancouver is where it's at. I really wish I had more time to dedicate to this paragraph, but just take my word for it. Good memories in Vancouver.

THIS VIDEO - Ok, this has nothing to do with the Pacific Northwest, but it's awesome. Below is an excerpt of a hilarious interview on Conan with the comedien Louis CK. I saw this the night it aired and loved every word of this interview. I finally found it on NBC.com (an amazing site). By the way, if you get irritated by the 12 second Lowe's commercial at the beginning of this, you may be one of the people Louis is talking about. Just a thought. 

Ok...the weekend is your. Do something great or hilarious with it.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday - Northwest Edition

Today's Favorites come from the most beautiful part of these United States, the Pacific Northwest. I'm in all of my favorite cities this week (Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco), so it's only fitting to trump up these towns. If you're into the best culture and coffee the US has to offer, you have to come up this way at least once in your life. 

WEIRD PEOPLE - The strangest and oddest people live up here. I think it's because they didn't really fit in anywhere else, so they made their way west and when they went as far as they could without falling into the ocean, they called it a day. There also seems to be an abundance of homeless people in these cities. I don't know about you, but if I were a homeless person, I'd figure out some way to get to the NW and settle down. It's gorgeous, really liberal (lots of handouts), great bookstores (see below), with lots of free things available to the public. Make your way over to the grungy artist/musician parts of town and you'll feel that you stepped back in time, as if you just walked into a metal/goth/grunge documentary circa 1991 (completely void of hairspray). Do you like to people watch? Your eyes will be full all day in any of these cities. 

 

POWELL'S BOOKS - I have a fascination with bookstores. I'm not sure why, but somewhere in college I developed a slight obsession with them. When I'm away from home, my favorite way to pass the time is to sit in a bookstore (preferably an independent one, but I'm not picky) for a few hours reading the most random assortment of books and magazines. My favorite bookstore in all of America (and I've been to more than a few) is the crown jewel of Portland. Spanning an entire city block, Powell's is the largest independent bookstore in the world. Plus, let's say you'd like to own Jack Kerouac's personal copy of The Collected Poems of John Keats (and you have an extra $11,000), they have it in their rare books room. I've spent literal hours in this place and feel like I've only scratched the surface. 

QUEEN ANNE DISTRICT - In Seattle, most visitors head straight to Pike Place Market to see the guys throw fish, or buy fresh produce and flowers, or get a glimpse of the very first Starbucks. Or they head to Capital Hill for some funky food and people watching. Nothing wrong with any of that, but for my money (or lack thereof), I like the Queen Anne district. It's more of a neighborhood and not really a tourist destination, although it's dangerously close to the Key Arena and Space Needle, so I'm sure there are plenty of vacationers who happen to make a wrong turn, as I did when I first found this spot. Many of the condos and apartments here were originally hotels built for the 1962 World's Fair (which unveiled the Space Needle). Most have been updated, but they still have some of that retro-modern feel. My favorite places here are Caffe Ladro (best coffee in Seattle, period) and Easy Street Records, a great indie music store that has an unbelievable selection of foreign music magazines and pretentious alt-literature (which I secretly love). Hours of geeky fun on these streets.

Enjoy the weekend.

(rw)

Night of Joy

One of life’s great joys happened to me last night. Not just once, but twice.

Last night, Katie and I filled our respective bellies with chips, salsa, and enchiladas from our favorite local Mexican spot. Then we moved on to Curious Gourmet (only because Ivey Cake was closed) for a Lemon Basil cupcake (with the frosting piled so high we threw half of it away…heresy!) and then home for some French press coffee. Well, to say the least, all was right in the world. Katie settled in the back room for an overdue phone call with a friend, and I settled on the couch for an overdue date with a Wal-Mart documentary I’ve been wanting to watch (nerd alert!).

About 45 minutes in, I start nodding off. Bad. Like someone had roofied my coffee. You know, the whole head-violently-falling-into-your-chest thing. After a couple of those moments when I thought I was falling off the couch (or out of an airplane), my heartrate had skyrocketed and I was alert for another hour or so, just enough time for us to fast-forward through the American Idol results show we’d recorded. 

At this point, it’s only 10:30 but I’m barely keeping my eyes open. We’d gone to bed around 1 a.m. the night before, so this was a bit on the early side. Teeth brushed, lights out, kiss goodnight…ZZZZzzzz.

I casually woke up (as I often do around 4 or 5 a.m.) feeling hungover and/or dead. With a heavy sense of impending doom, I slowly turned my head toward the alarm clock glowing in the darkened room to my right. I feared the worse: that it was only 30 minutes or so before the alarm, which means my mind wouldn’t allow me to get back to sleep. If I know I have to get up soon, I can’t for the life of me go back to sleep. In fact, I never actually need an alarm because my body automatically wakes up beforehand. This is only one of the joys of being me. Welcome to my world.

Knowing this, I was certain that my day was beginning. I didn’t want to look at the clock at all because it was going to be bad news. But the only thing worse than knowing something is NOT knowing something, so I made myself look.

But something didn’t look right. Now, if you know me, you know that without glasses or contacts, I have the vision of an 85 year-old bat. As you can imagine, at night it’s worse. So here I am, pressing my face closer and closer to the green glowing numerals until they come in clear. 11:58. 11:58?? Really? It’s not even midnight yet? Oh Hallelujah! I’m not even usually in bed at this point! I have an ENTIRE NIGHT of sleep remaining. Oh Heavenly Day! 

With a cozy sense of relief and joy, I snuggled back under the covers and pulled the comforter up close.

Then it happened again! I woke up, this time in a heated fear that the house might be on fire because I’M BURNING ALIVE! I violently throw the comforter off and begin wiping the sweat from my face, neck, and torso. Katie’s awake too doing the same thing. I jumped up to turn the heat down (when I say “jumped up,” think “stumbled like a wino across the bedroom”) and came back to bed. Another glance at the clock: 12:48. What? We went to bed later than this the night before! AHHH…Glory to the Lord of Hosts on high.

Twice in one night, I thought my sleep was over. Twice I was given the gift of many more hours of sweet slumber.

Needless to say, I woke up refreshed and ready to take on the day. Lots of writing to do today, quite a few items on my to do list…but I’m prepared.

Maybe after just the tiniest of naps.

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday

It’s good to be back on the blog and to be sharing all my opinions with anyone who will listen (er…read?). Turns out, that’s about 100 people. Not enough to swing an election…but more than enough to, say, help me move. A good number. (note: no. I’m not moving. Just a figure of speech.)

It’s Friday. It’s time to let you in on my little secrets this week.

KONA COFFEE  So yeah, I went to Hawaii last week and got back this past Monday. Before I even boarded the plane in Nashville, I knew what I would be bringing back home: a tan and some Kona coffee. Only coffee grown in the Kona region of the Big Island can be labeled “kona,” therefore it’s a very limited (and expensive) coffee. On the mainland, it’s generally only available once a year (late spring) and usually fetches $30-$50/lb. I thought it would be much cheaper in Hawaii. Ha. Nothing is cheaper in Hawaii. Even sunburns have a consumption tax. I bought two 8 oz. bags (one for me, one for a friend) at $19 a pop and am a third of the way through mine. You really can tell a difference. It’s mild and mellow, like Hawaii. Even this dark roast I’m sipping this very moment has zero bitterness, but strong flavor. I’m more than a little tempted to drink this other bag and not tell my buddy I got any for him. Is that wrong?

AMERICAN IDOL  Yeah. It’s that time of the year (we’re about five or six weeks deep at this point) and I have to admit, I’m completely hooked…again. For the most part, there’s a ridiculous amount of talent on that show, year after year and my picks have won the past three years running. The top 12 was just rounded out last night (I picked 10 out of the 12 so far, thank you) and now we get into the popularity contest of it all. My picks for the final two? Lil Rounds and Danny Gokey. They both have great stories, humility, charm, and talent for days. I used to be totally ANTI-IDOL…but with my growning appreciation for David Cook, Carrie Underwood, Eliott Yamin, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, etc…well, you can’t argue with genuine talent. I’ll admit a few big disappointments so far this year (which I won’t mention for risk of sounding too much like a super-geeky-fanboy), but all in all, once again, Katie and I are glued to the TV every Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW. My friend Tony Lucido gave this groundbreaking book by Philip Yancey to me a little over a year ago. I’m just now picking it up to read. Why did I wait? I recommend this book to anyone who grew up going to church.

Thank you, and good night!

(rw)

Favorite Things Friday!

First of all, let me start out by telling you that it's 6 outside. No, that's not a typo and I am not exaggerating for comedic effect. It's 6 degrees. So, when you live in a house that was built in 1924, well...let's just say that insulation technology has come a L-O-N-G way since the roaring 20s. Our thermostat is reading...well, it's not reading anything. It's totally pegged all the way to the left, resting somewhere below 55. My guess is that it's high-40s, low-50s in our house right now. I'm wearing snow boots, thermal underwear, lined pants, a sweater, a scarf and a winter hat. This is an intro for my favorite thing today: Drew's Brews Coffee. Drew Park roasted coffee for years at Nashville's first artisan coffee house, Bongo Java, and started roasting his own beans in 2007. He's slowly built a following around his own hand-made recipes, roasted daily in small batches. Today I'm having a cup of his Gravel Springs roast. Dark and smoky...sooooo good on this frigid morning. Mmmm...hands warming.

#2 on the list is Fred Armisan and Kristin Wiig.  The time I saw Fred Armisan on SNL several years ago, his humor and delivery was so subtle that I thought, "This guy is either an idiot or a genius." Turns out, it's the latter. He can be Adam Sandler ridiculous or Andy Kaufman awkward--either one cracks me up. Kristin Wiig is the funniest girl on Saturday Night Live since Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Her characters and accents are uncanny and she's not at all afraid to look ugly for a laugh...and that makes me laugh. Suffer though the ads for a couple of my favorite sketches featuring these two.

Finally...this photo by my friend Jeremy Cowart. It's an older photo of his, but one of his most enduring. Go to his website and freak out. For this one, from his book Hope in the Dark, I'll let the picture speak it's thousand words.

(rw)

Accidental Sabbath

I suppose I took a sabbatical.

I didn’t mean to, it just happened. First came Thanksgiving week. I knew I wouldn’t be able to contribute much to the blog that week but I figured I’d make up for it during December with my love of all things Christmas. I even was planning a 12-Days-of-Christmas theme where I’d write about that song over the dozen days leading up to the Big Day…but plans (and rules) were meant to be broken.

Break them, I did. Scrapped is more like it. I found myself enjoying the lazy mornings with coffee and conversation too much to even open the computer for writing purposes. Instead, I read and conversed. There’s something that happens when you let information come in rather than only go out. It does something for me, at least. Don’t get me wrong—I love giving my opinion and I usually feel pretty strongly about it. But if you want to see me inspired or contemplative, give me a good book or article or catch me after a conversation with Randy Elrod or Matt Gilder. Or a movie, a documentary.

I love information. I love analyzing it, reformatting it, and disseminating it again. I guess that’s why I got my degrees in Journalism and Education.  And I guess that’s why I took some time off from this site. Just needed to get inspired, watch some TV, listen to some music.

I did just that and now I’m back, inspired (again), and fattened from too many dense holiday meals. In the last 30 days I’ve probably had 15-20 carb-heavy meals, thanks to the Christmas tour I was on. I don’t want to see another potato or cheese or a dinner roll until next Thanksgiving.

Or maybe next Thursday.

(rw)

The Paralysis of Analysis

What to do, what to do? Decisions can be so difficult sometimes. I mean, go one way and it seals your fate this way. Go another, and an entirely new set of unexpected circumstances arise. It can be paralyzing. That’s where I am right now. I have a decision to make and I’m literally stuck in the middle of both directions. Either way is equally appealing for a variety of reasons. Let me explain.

I wake up in the morning, see my wife off to work, make some coffee, and try to come up with some sort of a game plan for the day. Calling it a game plan, though, may be overstating it, but the first hurdle (to continue with the sporty metaphor) consists of deciding if I’m going to take a shower or not.  I know, I know…it sounds like a throwaway decision: either you do it or you don’t. But there are so many other factors involved that it takes me a little while just to gather the required data. There’s a very specific flow chart to all of this. First of all, have I showered in the past few days? There is an exponentially higher probability that I will take a shower if I haven't showered in the past two, three, four (gasp) days--or if I've travelled to Puerto Rico lately (which I have, but that's a whole other blog entry).  However, if I showered last night, then most likely I don’t necessarily need to shower. That is unless I’m planning on getting together with anyone for breakfast/coffee/lunch at some point. But then I break it down further: is this person a buddy who I don’t need or care to impress? If not, no shower.  If it’s a more formal meeting, then sure, a shower.  So what if I’m not getting together with anyone but I didn’t take a shower last night? Well, do I feel grimy? Was it humid last night? Then yes…unless, I’m planning some sort of physical activity—a light exercise (stop laughing Katie), helping a friend move, golf, working in the yard or garden, etc.  Then NO, no shower until after the sweating.

So, how’s today’s decision shaping up? Well, let’s see…I didn’t shower last night so I could go either way at this point. But I’m meeting my friend Matt for coffee this morning so maybe I should. But I’ve known Matt about six years now so there’s no need to impress him, so maybe no shower. But I could possibly run into someone at the coffee shop who I’d like to be presentable for, so maybe I should clean up. But I’m thinking about a run this afternoon so shouldn’t I just wait? But I really need to shave today so why not get it all out of the way? Hmm…decision becoming clearer. Plus, I keep going back to the I’m-gonna-be-in-a-highly-trafficked-public-place factor.  Ok, decision made. Taking a shower.

D'oh! I have to meet Matt in 10 minutes. No time for a shower now!

If you think this is overanalyzing, you should see the flow chart for brushing my teeth.

(rw)

And because it's mid-week, it's time again for Randy Elrod's Watercooler Wednesday.  Check it out!

Tourist Trapped

Dear readers, you're not going to hear much out of me this week because I'm spending a couple of days off in Montana.  When I’m in places like this (Kalispell this morning, Glacier National Park today, Great Falls on Sat) I wonder why people spend their money vacationing in Orlando or Anaheim or San Antonio.  Oh, I know—when you have kids, you have to hit the theme parks and tourist traps.  But my goodness, this place is beautiful.  Why isn’t it crawling with tourists?  Now, I realize that I’m not very cool and my idea of a good time ranks right up there with toe-stubbing for most people.  But come on.  Shouldn’t a vacation mean getting away from plans and people and stuff?  Maybe it’s the elderly man in me, but this is almost heaven (I say almost because I haven’t found a Starbucks yet).  From my window, I’m looking at a mountain range surrounding the banks of a practically untouched lake.  In most locales, this would be called a state park.  Here, it’s just undeveloped.  This is what a tourist town should be.  There’s a population of around 12,000 and it triples during the summer months.  That’s only 36,000 people.  Nashville gets 36,000 visitors every few hours it seems.  And they’re all wearing the same uniform: a visor with the phrase “Too Blessed to Be Stressed,” a Garth Brooks t-shirt, denim shorts, socks and sandals (the hip ones wear footies and crocs), not enough sunblock and a camera—you know, just in case they see Tim and Faith at Chili’s.

In the hands of an over-aggressive developer, this place would become unbearably crowded and spoiled.  But as it is, it’s perfect for people who want their tourist destinations to be un-crowded, simple, gorgeous.  Perfect for people who just want to be left alone.  Like Tim and Faith.  Get out the camera.

(rw)

Love/Hate

A few months ago I was picking up my favorite hot beverage (short vanilla latte) at our local Starbucks and noticed a small pamphlet called “My Starbucks Idea.” My first reaction was genuine elation, but I’ll get back to that in a few hundred words.

I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks. We all do. We love the tasty goodness and the predictability, but hate the price. I love the hang and the convenience, but I hate the McDonald-ising of coffee shops. And even though it’s June right now, I’m already excited about the holiday cups in December and how cozy every store is around Christmas. I’m also a BIG fan of Starbucks, the company. They have genius marketing, a moral business plan, take care of their employees (profit sharing, health care, etc), and promote fair trade. Unfortunately, though, they’re becoming the Wal-Mart of the food industry. Because of sheer volume, the quality of the coffee has dropped considerably and they’ve become an easy target for locals-only coffee snobs, intellectuals and anti-corporate city punks, all of which practically defined the original target market for espresso consumers. However, thanks to the Seattle company, Americans are used to paying $3 or $4 for their lattes which has indirectly made it easier for mom-and-pop coffee houses to survive. The non-conformist, anti-sbux consumer will be happy to plop their $4 down at Portland Brew (or Bongo Java or wherever). But I digress.

I’m an idea person and occasionally these ideas will incorporate Starbucks to some degree. So naturally, when I saw the brochure asking patrons to visit www.mystarbucksidea.com, I was overcome with joy. I could just see it—my bank account filling higher and higher as a result of royalties from the scores of genius ideas/advice I would send to the suits in Seattle. Then I read the legalese. Let me sum it up for you: Zilch. Nada. Nothing. You will receive no payment, no royalties, and maybe even no credit whatsoever for your idea. Not even if it makes them millions. Nothing. Basically, it’s an easy way (and an absolutely genius plan, by the way) for Starbucks to get the public to do what their Marketing and Merchandising departments (who no doubt came up with the concept) are paid to do. Except you don’t get paid.

So, here’s my Starbucks idea: Don’t give Starbucks any free marketing or merchandising advice. I’ll keep mine to myself and let another company pay my consulting fee.

As a P.P.S. (a pre-postscript in this case), everyone can get two hours of free wifi at their stores now. See? I hate them…but I love them.

So. Much.

(rw)