BeatrixJar is Good for Me

On March 22, gerg, cBass, lEE, IIII, Dre (I need more pics of Dre), and I headed to the Nomad to check out BeatrixJar, OME, and Ice Palace.
















Obviously, my fanism of OME is evident. He was a featured Reetsy's Rogue, and I take photos of him. That means I like him. He played a few newer pieces with his band and then some solo stuff, promoting The Doom Loop. Just buy it already! (if you haven't already)

















I've been waiting to see BeatrixJar perform live, and I was not disappointed. We heard some pieces from their cd I Love You Talk Bird. They had bent 2 SpeakNSpells, 1 SpeakNMath, and 1 SpeakNRead. I think what I love most about their kind of experimental music are the endless possibilities. I look at the crap they're circuit bending, and I think of other crap to circuit bend.

In the same way I like drumming, I like circuit bending...because there is infinite variety for the musician. Also, I love robots, so things that go "bleep" are automatically of interest to me.

Click here to see snapshots from the show.

I'm looking forward to attending BeatrixJar's circuit bending workshops at the Bent Festival. I'd say I'm a rookie when it comes to circiut bending. I've ripped stuff apart in my dad's shop and crossed currents, but I want to learn some crucial techniques for making music with ripped apart kids' toys and a drum loop.

Springtime Motorcycle Rides and the Sniffles

we headed to Motoprimo on Monday night to pick up our new motorcycle. I spent most of the time at Motoprimo sniffling and trying to keep my head upright; I came down with a serious head cold(?) on Sunday, and spent all day Monday sneezing and whimpering, but didn't want to miss any of the action, so I joined gerg at Motoprimo. It also made more sense for me to drop him off, so he could leave with the bike.

It's a rad ride!...we opted to skip the red Suzuki Intruder listed in my previous post. We bought a 1993 Honda Nighthawk. It's red, but we plan to paint it flat black. We liked the Nighthawk better because of the price, build, power, and look of the bike.



We had blissful March weather on Monday....75 degrees with just a slight breeze...absolutely perfect for a ride on the river road. And it made the decision-making process and the wait worth it to ride with gerg again. Being behind him on the bike is one of my favorite places to be. It made me feel like a natural woman, and all that jazz. I even forgot about my cold for a little while.

Ok, enough with the romance. I need to blow my nose before something gross happens.

Town Talk Trio to Open Pasta Joint

Check out my previous post for the link to Girl Friday's blog. That's the first I had heard about the location for the Town Talk trio's new venture.

Gerg and I sat down at the Town Talk this evening. He with a pulled pork sandwich, I with a chopped salad with some of that yummy cured salmon they have on hand.

I spoke with Aaron Johnson and he confirmed the location for the new venture. 809 E Lake St. in Phillips and Powderhorn area.

He said New York style pasta will be the theme for this joint; he's envisioning quality pasta with wine and beer. Sandwiches and salads. Dine in or take out. Nearby pasta is good news for us. The nearest pasta worth mentioning is at Al Vento, which is about 4 miles away (or so, according to gerg). We love Broder's, and I hope we'll love this new place.

The potential Town Talk trio connection to Pham's new joint (as mentioned in the strib in January) isn't in the works, but that doesn't mean the door is closed on working with Pham in the future. In fact, Johnson seemed very open to the possibility.

So that means two new restaurants within blocks of our house.
*huge smiles over here*

This Just in...Lake Street Restaurants

Some dish on Girl Friday's blog about the new restaurants on Lake Street.

"The buzz about the Town Talk boys' new spot on East Lake has died down a little, so I'll spark it back up. I've already been asked half a dozen times in person about the closing of Carne Asada (kitty corner from the Midtown Global Market), and why the windows are all papered up, and if that's where the new concept is going, and I cannot tell a lie: Yes, that's the location."

.....

"...everything is still in place for Mix, meaning that it will be in the old Molly Quinn's space. I was always a little confused as to the plan for the Manhattan Martini Lounge, and I haven't heard much about it lately. So I really don't know."

Thanks Alexis!

I'm wondering where this leaves us regarding the possible Town Talk Trio and Thom partnership mentioned in the Strib in January:
"He [Thom Pham] bought the former Molly Quinn's on Lake Street and is talking to Town Talk Diner partners Tim Niver, David Vlach and Aaron Johnson about turning it into an Asian-fusion spot. No contract has been signed, but they're all on the same page. 'I love those guys,' says Pham, 'and would love if somehow we could work together.'"

I'll ask Alexis and report back what I hear.

Who Put the Dip in the Dip D-Dip D-Dip?

Now, if you know me, you know I love dips. I love dipping hunks of bread, crackers, veggies, chips, fruits, candies, pretzels, spoons, even shrimp!

This is only speculation, but I'm willing to bet most people love dips, including you.

I'm the kind of person who will eat a whole bowl of salsa with two chips (iff I'm not sharing). I'll just dip the chip, eat the salsa, and dip again! SCANDALOUS!!

Anywho, on what seems to be an unrelated note, I am a panelist for various taste tests at the University of Minnesota. As such, I was recruited once for a wine tasting panel (but had to decline cuz I was working at the time). However, tomorrow, I will be participating in a "veggie dip study" at McNeal Hall and shall be compensated for my effort with cash!!

I am a desirable panelist for this study for the following reasons: I have no known food allergies, I work on campus, and I LOVE dips!!

My favorite dip dish in recent history was the baby vegetables with truffle fondue at La Belle Vie.

My favorite dips throughout my history are baba ganouj, curries, fresh guacamole, roasted corn salsa, and horseradish/wasabi dips. There are ton more, I know, but I have to leave now to buy cremini mushrooms.

Round Round, Get Around....We Get Around on our Motorcycle!

For a few years, gerg's been riding a 1982 Suzuki Temptor.

He had several great rides on this bike, and it's a rad bike IMO, but some electrical issues have deemed it "unreliable" in his book. We are the kind of people who enjoy tinkering, but we conlcuded that we'd rather be out riding a bike than in the garage working on it. Plus, my skills regarding motocycle tinkering are almost non-existant, so gerg would be doing most of the work.

So we went together and bought a new bike this weekend at Motoprimo. Our experience there was pretty good. We took time to look at everything, and while the sales rep. talked with us throughout, we didn't feel a lot of pressure to make a decision right away. I noticed that the salesperson seemed to fuss more over me than gerg, which was amusing. He must've read a few articles about selling to women.



This is a Suzuki Intruder. It's a 2000. 800cc. We asked for about 25% off the sticker price, just on a whim. They talked us up to about 20% off the sticker price.

We're totally stoked to hit the road with this bad-ass bike. And in case you're wondering...no, I don't how to drive a motorcycle. I do intend to get my permit. For now, riding with gerg is a-ok with me because his level of coolness could possibly make me look slightly cooler - although, I might be beyond help.

RIP Caesar! The Ides of March

The Ides of March, also the day Caesar was assasinated.

Shakespeare is my favorite writer of all time, just in case you didn't know. I'm a HUGE fan of the revenge plays. However, today we celebrate one of his most famous lines from his tragedy, Julius Caesar. Great play.

The treacherous Cassius convinces Caesar's friend Brutus that Caesar is plotting to create a monarchy in Rome. A murderous plot against Caesar emerges, and a crazy soothsayer mutters to Caesar "BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH." Brutus struggles between honoring both his friend and his country. Eventually Cassius' arguments wear on Brutus, and when Caesar is mobbed by a group of senators and stabbed to death, Brutus stabs too. What a jerk. On the other hand, what a patriot. Caesar comes back and haunts the living hell out of Brutus. I ain't gonna reveal the end. I do recommend a reading of the sexy tragedy Antony and Cleopatra following Julius Caesar.

Anywho, RIP Caesar. I guess you should have listened to the soothsayer!

To celebrate thye Ides of March, we shall eat Caesar Salad for supper.

Check out the great technique used in Tiajuana, Mexico, where the Caesar salad originated.

Curling is Cool and Cold but not Especially Hot

In case I needed any more reminders that we live in the north central region of the US, gerg took me to his Curling Club match in St. Paul on Sunday. I took photos of the team from IB (that's gerg's office).

Here's what I observed:

So basically curling is like bocce, except you slide a "stone" on ice, rather than rolling a ball through grass.

The "skip" (Andy Kruse) uses a broom to indicate where the person delivering should throw his/her stone.

Team members help the stone move along by sweeping the ice vigorously in front of the rock as it slides toward "the house".

Each team delivers 8 stones. They get one point for each rock that is closest to the center of the house if it is closer than the opposing teams' stones. After 12 rounds, whoever has the most points wins.

Curlers are serious about their sport. I heard many skips screaming "SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP!" as sweepers damn near gave themselves curling elbow.

Curlers don't wear sexy outfits. Roomie warmup gear is the favored apparel. Not that hot. Naturally, gerg was uber hot as usual...duh!

It's a male dominated sport, although there are women's teams, and I did see women playing.

Equipment includes slider shoes, a "broom", and the stone.

Some curling trivia: (from the internet and from me)

In the 2006 Olympics, half of the U.S. men's and women's curling teams hailed from the small Minnesota town of Bemidji, population 13,000. Hell yeah!

A front-end (lead or second) player will walk as far as 2 miles during an 8-end match.

The first America versus Canada curling match was held on Lake Erie.

Founded in 1888, the St. Paul Curling Club is the largest curling club in the country.

Curling is one of four winter Olympic sports contested indoors. The other three are hockey, figure skating, and speed skating.

You can watch curling from a warmed viewers area at the St Paul Curling Club. Check it out sometime!

Check out my photos from the event.

From Pencil to Published: The Birth of my Book

First of all, the activities that led to the creation are the best part. I like to get down with my bad pencil. *wink*

Announcement:
I've received my ISBN! It's kind of like a birth certificate for my book.

Sara Jolin, the graphic designer is busy as a bee working on a crucial full color layout of the final proof. And based on her previous design work, I'm feeling confident about the looks of the book; it never hurts to have attractive offspring.

Checkout the breakdown of an ISBN (this is an example, not my actual number):

Winning Stuff is FUN!

The World Saxophone Quartet is playing at the Walker Art Center this weekend. And guess who's going?....we!

On Monday evening, gerg and I were tinkering on a PC monitor in our new office. Mark Wheat was broadcasting on The Current. Suddenly I stopped what I was doing cuz I heard Wheat say, "the 10th caller will receive 2 free tickets to the World Saxophone Quartet performance at the Walker this Saturday."

I flipped open my cherry blossom Katana and speed dialed the Current (it's #3 on my speed dial).

A dude answered the phone. "This is the current. You're the 4th caller. Try back." Then he hung up.

I immediately pressed "talk" twice, thereby redialing in a split second. BUSY SIGNAL!!!

"Crap!" (at this point gerg is wondering what the hell I'm doing)

I immediately press "talk" twice again. It rings twice.

Then, "This is Mark Wheat. You're the 10th caller!"

Me: "Mark Wheat! Sweet!"
MW: "You've won two tickets. Do you know what show they're for?"
Me: "The saxophone quartet"
MW: *laughs* "That's good. I get some callers who don't even know what they're trying to win when they call" (that's not an official quote, but it's close)
Me: *laughs*
MW: "I need your name, address, and phone number. I promise we won't bug you."
me: *provides name, address, and phone number* "You can bug me if you want."
MW: "I'll remember that. Take care and congratulations."
me: "Rokk on, Mark!"

I then inform gerg that we won the tickets. We high five and continue working on the PC. Not bad for a Monday. Not bad at all.

Suzy Said Wellies!!

Suzy said I'd better get some wellies for skipping around Ireland for the raininess that we could encounter.

"Tis a grand idea!" says I.

So a little searching led me to the coolest rain boots I've ever seen. I purchased them immediately. They are on their way to my feet right now. Raindrops will be lucky to land and rokk out on these bad girls. ROKK!!!!



western rubber rain boots by Jeffrey Campbell

March In Like a LION!

MPLS weather has been all the talk this week. Forget about Britney's shaved head! We're all gabbing about the SNOW!


Quick! Call X files or sumpin! Our firepit has turned into a UFO!











Um, shoveling snow in full length fur is the new hotness. You go, Minnesotan, you go!











Does it look like this guy has done this before? He walks in the snow with AUTHORITY.










There's no shortage of daredevils in MPLS. I wanted to tackle and steal a potential load of Peace Coffee, but I just had too much respect for the lad/lass.






This shovel mysteriously appeared in our snowbank about 3 days ago. Everytime it snows, you know, it snows snow shovels from heaven.









What with all the strange weather, parking in ramps is an appealing option, especially when you get to park next to a SUV detailed in benjamins.








I hope his Girl Scout cookies don't get soggy in there...maybe I'd better help by eating them.