Top Chef Junior

The other night, Son #2 and I were home alone. He asked if he could make dinner for me. Of course!

Spiral noodles, butter, black olives and fresh, grated Parmesan cheese. Simple. Delicious. Love.

While I had to help carry the heavy pot of boiling water to the colander in the sink, he did the rest. He set the table, picked out his favorite drummer candle (that my girlfriend Kim brought to him from Africa) and made me close my eyes while he was "plating" my meal. Surprise! 

Swoon. It's nice to feel so loved!

California Stars

Customer satisfaction survey data tabulation. Net promoter scores. Employee focus group facilitation. Screening job candidates. Travel. Email newsletters. Secondary industry research. Market size. Growth rates. Testimonial ad campaigns. Outbound telemarketing vendor sourcing. Competitive analysis. Expense reports. Financial trends across business units.

Not complaining. Just need a nap. And more hours in the day.

I'd like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars

Wilco Will Love You Baby

Would it be weird to plan future family vacations around Wilco tour dates?

Three little words. Four syllables. Best show ever.

Such a gorgeous night for an outdoor concert at Artpark in Lewiston. Powerful sound. Soulful lyrics. Groovy beats with discordant sound. Poetic. Energetic. From entering the stage to the Price is Right theme song to shouting out to the lawn, "We mean your people no harm," Jeff Tweedy is hilarious. The music and Wilco performance was nothing short of phenomenal.

As an added bonus, Conor Oberst opened the show. Had I checked the tickets before entering the gate, I would have known prior. Instead I was really, really happy as Bright Eyes played the Main Street Armory a while back and I've kicked myself for ages for not going. (It was heavily promoted on WBER so I figured I would be at the tip of the tail on the Guassian age distribution for that event. Thanks but no thanks.) Anyhoo, the Mystic Valley Band was fabulous, too. And I loved that they performed in captain hats. I'm guessing they rode the Maid of the Mist before the show!?

After last night's show, I can understand why people packed up their lives and followed the Grateful Dead. I think I could take Wilco in doses large enough to kill.

Idiomag

I got an email update from Idiomag this a.m. telling me that they've "chosen some great new articles for me." Great concept, right? A personalized magazine that caters to my interests. Yep, no need to sift through a bunch of articles that don't interest me.

Thanks to information that Idiomag downloaded from my Pandora account, their site gave me an article entitled, "Wilco, Panic, Bowie set for 'Heroes' soundtrack." The article goes on to mention a bunch o' other artists that I like immensely including the New Pornographers (who, by the by, have a new iTunes-exclusive EP out while I'm still listening incessantly to "Myriad Harbor" from Challengers, the last release, MP3 here), Nada Surf, My Morning Jacket, Iggy Pop, etc. In other words, sounds like a swell soundtrack por moi. Thanks Idiomag!

(Although, upon typing that, it almost felt like I now subscribe to the magazine for idiots . . . quick grammar check. Phew. Idio has Greek origins: peculiar, one’s own, personal, private; of or pertaining to one’s self; distinct, separate, alone. Of course, idiot is derived from it but let's move on, shall we?)

In any event, I clicked to page three of my very own magazine and what do I find? They have a video of Wilco on the left side of the page strumming their little uplifting diddy, "What Light," that I blogged about a few weeks ago. I love them! Soooooooooo me!

But Idiomag. Me gotsta get used to that name. Duh.