November 2003 Archives

Rayne over at Radio Free Blogistan posts about Blog Block and asks the question:

What about you, fellow blogger? Or fellow writer - blogger or not; is there a pattern or cycle to your creativity? What seems to trigger your creativity or dry spells? [Radio Free Blogistan]

I know that I definitely hit dry periods. I'm kind of on the tail of one currently. I just hadn't had too much to ramble on about. But I've been feeling a little bit more talkative lately. For me I find it relates to how much I'm reading online. That is where I tend to get a lot of my ideas about things to post. Another big factor for me is mood. If I have a lot on my mind I have a hard time sitting down and writing. I feel much too antsy.

Now playing: Talking Heads - Houses In Motion

Gerald Nachman: "Nothing fails like success." [Quotes of the Day]

Golly!

Booming vehicle ownership in southern China has left police puzzled over how to deal with the new problem of couples having sex in card, a news report said yesterday. Until recently this notion was virtually unheard of in China as traditionally most people used bicycles and motorbikes. [Taipei Times]

Thanks to jlick for the link. I just wish I could read the link he also posts about, but it requires a subscription.

Charlie Chaplin: "In the end, everything is a gag." [Quotes of the Day]

Scoble tells a story about him and Dave Winer going shopping at a Best Buy in East Palo Alto. Their experience was pretty predictable based on my experience with Best Buy.

As part of my "Silicon Valley customer education" I visited a Best Buy in East Palo Alto with Dave Winer. Dave had $3000 burning a hole in his pocket. Well, heating up his Visa card anyway. The Best Buy is literally a mile from Steve Jobs' home in Palo Alto. The center of the technology world. It should be a showcase of retailing excellence. Here's a hint: Dave walked out without buying anything (and we went to Ikea instead for a meatball lunch)

So, what did Best Buy do wrong? Several things and it isn't just Best Buy.

The retail industry seems to be giving up the fight. Everything inside the store screamed "we know you're gonna buy a Dell anyway." I agree with Acer's chairman. This is a big mistake.[The Scobleizer Weblog].

He goes on to talk about suggestions for stores like Best Buy and talks about how he thinks IKEA is doing things better. I'd throw another example into all this. Apple's Stores. Being one of those Mac geeks I usually take a swing through the Apple store when I'm in the mall. Usually it is just to eye something I've been wanting for a while or to play around some on one of the machines that is on my wish list. But I've watched the sales people there a lot. Overall they are really good. They seem to be fairly knowledgeable (though I do think they could be a bit more so). I've watched them actually work with the customer to figure out the best computer for them (at least twice selling them a system that wasn't quite as fancy as they'd come in for and saving them some money).

And I'll add in a second example of how some companies really screw up with their retail outlets: AT&T Wireless. I personally had a good experience when I got my phone. I went in with a friend of mine a month later and the experience was sad. We were asking about some of the new phone models out there and they were clueless. The big difference between the two visits? The salesperson. The person I had was great, was able to answer all my questions, knew about all the different phones, even know about ones they didn't carry (cause I asked about the Sidekick). She was even able to help me figure out if my current dialing plan was still a good deal (btw, for those of you in the Cambridge, MA area, it's Jessica at the Central Square store). The salesperson when I went in with my friend was clueless. He knew some about the phones they had, but seemed to be very uninformed about other phones on the market, even ones from the same manufacturer (we were asking about some of the new Sony-Ericsson phones out there). My personal opinion is that if you're working at a company that is selling cell phones and service you should know as much as you can about the biz. Because these days many customers have done just enough research to have a general idea of what they want, but they're looking for that personal touch to help them make their final decision. Needless to say I left the store thinking, "how does this guy even sell anything?"

In my case I think companies need to train their salespeople better. Maybe include even a few training sessions a week so that they have chances to learn about things. Require them to fit at least one in every other week, anything to help make them a resource for the customer.

Now playing: The Age of Love - The Age Of Love (Jam & Spoon Remix)

Tim Bray tries out BitTorrent and posts some initial reactions to it, and also points to a response from Raph Levien. Pretty interesting reading, I'm a user of BitTorrent much like Raph is. I've downloaded a pretty insane amount of anime using it over the past year.

Now playing: The Jam - In The City

The folks at Cheapass Games have a few free games listed on their site. I think my favorite must be Nothing Beats Rock. Who wants to play?

Now playing: Primal Scream - Loaded

I've been kinda quiet a bit lately. But given that it is Thanksgiving I thought I'd do the traditional list of things I'm thankful for.

• My friends. You're always there for me. I sometimes wonder what I've done to be blessed with such wonderful friends. You all mean so much to me.
• My life. I'm still alive and kicking. Let's hope for another year.
• My Parents. They give me so much help. They should be enjoying their retirement more I think.
• The miracles of medical science. That will hopefully keep me going for a good number of years to come.
• Cheese. Because it is so yummy.

I guess that's it for now. Thanks to all of you out there who have helped make this another great year.

Now playing: Front 242 - Never Stop! V1.1

Not for a few months yet, but Funimation has released a trailer for it. It's actually pretty decent, though I'd hoped for something that also showed off the lighthearted side of the show too. I just started showing this to some friends and it really is quite an interesting experience watching it through a second time. There are lots of small details I missed first time around. I can't wait till people get to episode 10 or so.

I think I'm starting to feel the results of rehab. Neat!

It's a purple hippo. And it's dancing. There really isn't much more to say about it.

Requires Flash.

The Guardian Unlimited lists their choices for the 40 best (living) directors. Quite nice to see Hayao Miyazaki as number 8. I think I'd also like to see 40 all time best, to see what that would look like.

The other day I posted a link to instructions on how to get your PS2 to work if you were getting disk read errors. I'd been meaning to give it a try for a while and finally took the plunge this afternoon. The directions were just about perfect (though the inside of my PS2 was a little different), and after about an hour of fiddling I got things working again. I tested out all the various kinds of discs and they all could be read. The big important one was DVDs since my DVD player died and some friends are coming over to watch stuff this weekend.

All my friends who live in other places used to laugh at me because I couldn't buy liquor on Sundays. But now that's all changed!

Sunday liquor sales passed

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Massachusetts residents won't have to live near the state line to buy alcohol on Sunday under a plan lawmakers approved last night.

Tucked in a $100 million economic stimulus package - along with tax credits for businesses and a one-day ``sales-tax holiday'' set for Aug. 14 - is a provision allowing year-round, statewide Sunday liquor sales at package and grocery stores.

The move, which upends a long-standing tradition of banning booze sales on the Sabbath, would allow towns to opt out of the idea. Store owners would also have the option. [bostonherald.com]

Now I can go NYAH NYAH at my parents down in CT. Even if I can't really drink right now.

[Thanks to Boston Common for the link]

Jones Soda has always had some of the best flavors. Green Apple, Blue Bubblegum, Cherry, Fufu Berry, they're all great. But this time they've outdone themselves with Turkey and Gravy.

Seattle, WA, U.S.A. – Jones Soda Co. (the “Company” or “Jones Soda”), announces today that it will introduce a new seasonal flavor in its popular Jones Soda line –Turkey & Gravy flavored beverage.

In time for the Thanksgiving holiday, Jones Soda will launch a limited production of the sugar-free and no carbohydrate Turkey & Gravy flavored beverage in the Washington and Michigan markets.

“We are really excited about the limited test launch of our new flavored Turkey & Gravy beverage. This seasonal flavor allows us to enter a new market segment, the meal replacement market. The new flavor will also appeal to new consumers, those who prefers a savory type flavor to the traditional soda flavors,” says Peter van Stolk, President & C.E.O. “With consumers becoming more and more health conscious, Jones Soda's Turkey & Gravy flavored beverage is a zero calorie and zero carbohydrate beverage that can be served warm or cold with a full flavor that will meet and will exceed our customer's expectation.”

Mmmmm. Puts me right in the mood for Thanksgiving

[found via BoingBoing]

Big thanks to elthar for posting a link to some Proof that the moon landings were faked. I always knew there was something fishy about them.

That days after the A/C is removed from the window the weather is warm enough to turn my apartment into a sauna. I think I need a fan.

Lewis Carroll: "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward." [Quotes of the Day]

Okay. Eternal Darkness on the GameCube is one of the more twisted games I've played. It's also pretty damn creepy. Especially when you start hallucinating and seeing bugs.

I'm in need of a new desk and this one would just plain rock. Maybe I could even start my own talk show.

From a mailing list I'm on: Worster Album Covers Ever II. I think I'm going to have nightmares tonight after some of those covers.

Ahh, the start of a new week. I'm off to Pulmonary Rehab in a few, so making a short random post. I'm hoping to get in a little early today so I can go get my flu shot while I'm at it.

Big thanks go out to Brian and Emily for pulling the air conditioner out of my window. Another big thanks goes out to Emilily for maid service, it's nice to have my place a little bit under control.

Saturday night was fun. My new friend Amy came over to watch anime, so I gave a sampling of some various shows, the first two episodes of Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex, Noir, and Full Metal Panic. And then the first episode of the Read or Die OVA. So I think there's now someone else to invite to anime nights at my place.

Last night I got taken to The Elephant Walk for dinner and it was really good, but I'll write more about that later on (including what I had).

Very nice. ICv2 is reporting that Witch Hunter Robin will be airing on Cartoon Network sometime soon. The only thing I don't get is how they can describe it.

The stylish series, which has been described as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Meets the X-Files," has demonstrated a strong appeal to the black nail polish and dark lipstick crowd as well as to anyone who enjoys a rollicking dark fantasy adventure, which combines teen drama with cool action sequences as the young protagonists take on psychic killers.

Um, "Teen Drama"? Uh, I don't know that I'd say it has a lot of what I'd call teen drama. X-Files-like stuff is in there though, so at least they got that right.

There's something nice about a cup of coffee and a book on a Sunday morning. I'm curled up on my couch, finishing up some manga I've got, then going to work on clearing out the TiVo some until my friend Cheryl comes over to bring me to dinner. Sounds like a perfectly lazy day to me.

Evan Williams posts a link to the Blogger Knowledge Base, which answers the question "What to do if your Mom discovers your blog...". Of course they left out my personal favorite: lie. "No mom, that must be some other Gregory Blake who lives in Cambridge, MA and has lung disease and is a DJ. I'm sure there's tons of them out there!"

According to Dan Gillmor, AT&T has received a patent for a way to defeat anti-spam measures.

"A system and method for circumventing schemes that use duplication detection to detect and block unsolicited e-mail (spam.) An address on a list is assigned to one of m sublists, where m is an integer that is greater than one. A set of m different messages are created. A different message from the set of m different messages is sent to the addresses on each sublist. In this way, spam countermeasures based upon duplicate detection schemes are foiled"

Nice. Thank you AT&T. Though I wonder how effective that method would be. It doesn't seem like it would scale that well.

I forgot to write about this yesterday, so here goes. Rehab for Friday was difficult. After not exercising this much for a few months it was taking its toll a bit. I found that I wasn't able to work myself quite as hard as I did earlier in the week. I used the same machines as the rest of the week. 15 min on the recline bike, 15 min on the arm machine, and 15 on the treadmill. Now it's the weekend and I'll get two days off. I have a feeling next week will go a bit better.

For those of you running OS X, Heath points to the "Best. Screensaver. Ever." And I think I have to agree.

Hmm. I'm thinking I may have to rearrange my apartment. I need a change and I think I figured out a way to make it less cluttered.

Tiring Day today. I definitely pushed myself a bit, which is good. Started off with 15 minutes on the treadmill, didn't push myself too hard. Then did the arms machine (this thing has two handles and you kind of pedal them with your hands. And last but not least was 15 minutes on the reclining bike. That's the hardest one because those muscles haven't gotten as much of a workout in ages and ages. After my doc appointment this afternoon I'll take a nap and that should help things.

This weekend The Animation Show is going to be playing at The Brattle. It looks pretty cool, I may go on Sunday. [Found on bradley's almanac via Boston Common]

And for other cities that will have The Animation Show visit their website.

The wonderful folks over at Ars Technica have posted a guide to fixing your PS2 if you are getting read errors on some disks. I've been having this problem myself, especially with old PS1 disks, so I think I may give this a try later.

Oh yeah, and the folks over at TechTV's X-Play have a guide to doing it also.

Augh, what a fucking pain in the ass. On a mailing list I'm on, people started complaining about my sending out digitally signed messages. Checking their email headers it looks like the ones complaining are using Outlook Express.

Problem number one, when Outlook Express gets a digitally signed message it displays a somewhat confusing message in the message pane when the user goes to read it. You have to click on a button to see the actual message, There is a checkbox to say not to display the message again, but it's still confusing to the user. I had one person say they thought it was spam. Which, if you don't know what a digital signature is, is understandable. How many valid emails ask you to click in a box marked 'Display Message'

Problem number two, if you click reply to a signed message, OE automatically selects the 'sign' option. This isn't bad in theory, but if you don't have a certificate it complains and won't send the message (unless they deselect 'sign'). Once again, to someone who hasn't ever seen or heard of a digital certificate, they just see that they tried to reply to me and got an error. And there is no way to change this behavior, at least that I could find. If anyone knows of how to turn it off please let me know so I can pass it on.

Thank you Microsoft for providing me with yet another reason to get annoyed with you.

This one from over on LiveJournal. You take the text provided for your month and cross out the parts that don't apply to you.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciates praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

Hmm. I hope I wasn't too hard on myself.

From the Landover Baptist Church: Mind-Altering Energy Drink Turns Senior High Bible Study Into Godless Sex Orgy

And some news of the weird: Mystery surrounds 70 pairs of shoes filled with butter in woods.

Today was the first day of my second time through Pulmonary Rehab. I'm actually glad to have started this again. Though they ask you to keep exercising after you go through it, I found it hard to keep things up to the same level.

Today started off with stretching, I used 3 pound hand weights, and no leg weights. Since I was just starting we did a six minute walk (to see how far I could go). I actually went further than I did the last time I did one a month and a half ago. Cardio exercise today was 15 minutes on the arm machine, 10 on the bike and another 10 on the treadmill, all at really low levels. I figure I'll keep some kind of online log here of how the sessions go, so hopefully it will get more interesting as time goes on.

Time to get back onto a schedule. I start back in on Pulmonary Rehab this morning. Right now I'm drinking a bunch of water to get all hydrated beforehand. I'll grab an apple too to give me some energy. The only problem is this takes up most of my morning.

On another note VH1 Classics has sucked me in this morning. Right now A Girl Like You by The Smithereens is playing. I feel like I've taken a trip back in time.

Hee Hee.

Thanks to the Church Sign Generator, via Halley at Misbehaving.net. Damn, I keep getting more and more ideas for this.

From Elizabeth Spiers via Bookslut:

Lou Reed had a book party. Elizabeth Spiers reports.

8:48 - Friend points out tiny yappy dog running around leather art gallery furniture. "Who brought their dog?" friend asks. Dog is summarily scooped up by Lou Reed. Realize that Lou Reed has a tiny yappy dog. Lose tiny bit of respect for Lou Reed.

I still can't quite picture it.

I'm no longer the second Gregory on Google. Must do something about that.

I've been mostly happy with Apple's iTunes Music Store. They don't have the most complete selection, but they have a fairly eclectic one. Just recently I noticed they added in chunks of the 4AD catalog (including some Colorbox) and the Beggars Banquet catalog. Heck, they've even got the Christmas with The Brady Bunch record. The one place where the store has a lot of improving to do is with its customer service.

The other day I bought The Gunslinger from iTMS. I'd wanted to give the whole audio book thing a try (which, btw, is quite nice on long drives). Things were great until about 1 hour and 46 minutes into the first track. At that point whoever was encoding the audiobook must have screwed up. Because for a few minutes, you hear a bit of the second chapter, then things resume where they left off. At first I thought i was just not following the story, but I compared it to the actual text and it is definitely not right in the recording. So, I sent off a help request to customer service. My first reply from them was next to useless. They asked, what OS I'm running, what my network connection was, what kind of machine I'm running, etc. All OS/hardware/connection related things. I looked back over my initial email and realized it might not be totally clear. So I answered their questions and reiterated that it was a problem with the file itself. It exists on the two machines and iPod I played it on. Today I got a second response that told me I could download the file again. Had they gotten a corrected version of it? Nope. Same exact thing. For some reason I don't think they are understanding me. Oh well, hopefully this time around things will be better. All I want is the corrected file or a credit for the purchase price if that isn't available.

Oh yes, and Apple? Audible? To the one of you that produces the actual files. Could you please break your audiobooks up into CD length tracks? It would make archiving them MUCH easier. And it would mean I could take them with me to listen to when in places I can't use my iPod.

It's 33 degrees F out. Brrrrr. Of course the part about this I don't mind is that I get to curl up in a blanket on the couch and drink hot cocoa. Supposed to go grocery shopping today, but if it doesn't warm up maybe I'll look into using Peapod.

Last night my friend Heather was taking me out to dinner for my birthday. She'd been talking about a place called Evoo for ages and how she thought I'd love it. The added bonus was that when we got to the restaurant a bunch of my friends were waiting there to surprise me. Dinner was amazing. For an appetizer I had this pork and garlic sausage that was on some cheese and it was really yummy. The entree was a Chinese Box Full of Mustard Glazed Shrimp, Sesame - Hoisin Braised Beef, Gingered Vegetable - Cashew Salad and Jasmine Rice. They actually bring out a plate with an upside down chinese takeout box on it, then lift it up and everything is right there! Desert was some Concord Grape Sorbet that was very very grapey!

Have I said lately that I have the best friends in the world?

Catching up on anime and watching Looney Tunes (Now I just need to find a girlfriend who enjoys those things).

The New Hampshire Supreme Court made a major decision yesterday.

N.H. Supreme Court: Gay sex cannot be adultery

By Anne Saunders, Associated Press Writer, 11/7/2003

CONCORD, N.H. -- If a married woman has sex with another woman, is that adultery? The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Friday said no.

...

Looking at a dictionary and old case law, the court determined that the definition of adultery requires sexual intercourse. The judges point to a Webster's dictionary definition that mentions intercourse and an 1878 case that refers to adultery as "intercourse from which spurious issue may arise."[Boston.com]

Spurious issue huh? Also, is oral sex considered intercourse? So guys can go and cheat with another woman and as long as they don't fuck it isn't adultery? Who says this just has to apply to same sex interactions? My personal opinion, cheating is cheating. Playing around with technicalities like this is just wrong.

We see the fish below the ice sometimes.

Thanks to those fine folks at MediaBlasters. Invader Zim will be coming out on DVD in spring of 2004. Damn, now I REALLY need a job soon.

Mo Kin.

This is a truly amazing amazing music video of Mo Kin, a cute , three-year-old North Korean girl performing a very complicated and interesting song on the xylophone. Translation by Rob Pongi.

I like Lost Highway, but I don't think I ever considered it being an opera...

How to Make an Opera a Riddle: Adapt David Lynch

Ever since she was 13, when she first saw "The Elephant Man," Olga Neuwirth, a 35-year-old Austrian composer, has felt an affinity with the filmmaker David Lynch. "In his films, you are put into a vortex without actually knowing what is going on," Ms. Neuwirth said recently from Venice, where she lives. "So this has always been a part of my thinking."

The appeal of the vortex — not to mention the labyrinth, which partly explains her move from Vienna to the mazelike Venice 10 years ago — has been an essential part of Ms. Neuwirth's compositional process.

"How can you draw people in, making it impossible for them to escape from listening?" she asked. "It's so hard in our times to listen. But I never want to make music very clear. It must always be a riddle. There is never a theme you can easily latch onto. A different kind of psychology is happening, one of not knowing what is going on. That's why I'm so close to Lynch."

And that is why Ms. Neuwirth (pronounced NOY-veert) has dared to turn Mr. Lynch's most enigmatic film, "Lost Highway," into an opera. Ms. Neuwirth's "Lost Highway," which just had its premiere in Graz, her hometown (and much to her horror, Arnold Schwarzenegger's), runs through Nov. 8 at the Helmut List Hall. [NYTimes]

This time right now is 10:36PM. When I just looked at UPSs web site to track a package, the last line was this:

Date: Nov 5, 2003
Time: 7:31 A.M.
Location: SOMERVILLE, MA, US
Activity: OUT FOR DELIVERY

Out for Delivery? At 10:38? Maybe, but I doubt it. I did call and was informed that if a driver is running late they will try and delivery till midnight. But come on, this is ridiculous. I'm kind of annoyed because I can't hang around all day waiting for a package to arrive, but I could today. Bastards.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Warning and congratulations! Wake-up calls are on tap. Here are examples of the kinds of benevolent shocks you may be treated to. 1. You reverently approach a cherished idol. As you bow down, you spy a dirty sock on the floor. 2. You dream of hiking through green hills in springtime. As you loop around a huge boulder, you come upon a mare giving birth to a colt. 3. You receive a Hallmark card in an envelope with no return address. The corny cartoon on the front turns you off. But when you open it up you find a slip of paper on which is handwritten a brilliant poem that fills you with catalytic emotions. [Free Will Astrology]

I miss my laptop. I brought it in for service yesterday and already I find myself itching to use it. I think the big reason is that I really have started to use my laptop as an organizer. I take notes on it, I keep my calendar on it, I've customized how things work on it. And now using my desktop machine I'm going through that whole initial user configuration thing again. Bleh. Hopefully I'll have my laptop back by the weekend.

This morning I found two cool applications for OS X that I thought I'd share. The first is the oddly named Logorrhea.

Your one-stop iChat log-viewing solution Logorrhea is your one-stop solution for iChat log browsing and searching. iChat can be configured to log all messages sent and received, which is all fine and good - until you need to actually find a specific conversation, at which point you're stucker than a bleeding pig. Enter Logorrhea. It pulps, it purees, it locates incriminating past conversations with incredible speed!

Until Apple gets off their asses and makes that part of iChat a little better, this product will be very handy. You can search through your old chat logs and view them without even having to open up iChat.

Next up is an application called Comictastic. It is kind of like an RSS reader for comics. But it is more a screen scraping app (though it would be cool if it understood RSS too). It comes with around 18 web comics defined, including classics like Red Meat and Penny Arcade. One thing I like the most is that you can point it at just about any web comic and it will figure out what the comic is (or give you a choice of what the comic is on the page). I just started using it this morning, but dig it so far. Both these apps are from the cool people over at Spiny Software.

Carl Sagan: "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

One of the things Mom and Dad gave me for my birthday was a gift card for Borders. One nice thing I just discovered is that I can redeem it online. Of course, now the big question is, do I go for the Looney Tunes set or the Lord of the Rings special edition. One of them is just about the same as the value of the gift card, the other requires some extra cash. Hmmm, decisions decisions.

Philip Pullman has a great essay in the Op-Ed section of the NYTimes today.

Why I Don't Believe In Ghosts

By Philip Pullman

Oxford, England
Tonight is Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, a time of ghosts and spirits walking by night . . . which leads me naturally to think about literary realism, and about politics. How can you write in a truthful and realistic way about something that doesn't exist?

I don't take much notice of critics, except when they praise me extravagantly. But one of the remarks they sometimes make about my work does coincide with a mild puzzlement I feel about it myself: in common with some other writers whose work is read by children, I am chided for writing fantasy, because fantasy is a lesser form than realism, and everyone knows that there are no such things as elves or hobbits or, for that matter, ghosts and disembodied spirits, so nothing interesting or truthful can be said about them.

My usual response to that is to deny that I'm writing fantasy at all, and to maintain that all my work is stark realism. But that implicitly accepts the basic stance of the critic: that fantasy is a lesser kind of thing, and that realism is the highest form of literary art. [NYTimes]

I'm not sure if I believe in ghosts or not. I think on most levels I don't, but there's still a part of me that thinks they might exist. Just enough that I get easily creeped out and sometimes have to sleep with the lights on. I can be horribly afraid of things that go bump and creak and "greg I'm going to kill you" in the night.

My parents came up this afternoon to take me out for dinner for my birthday a day early. We went to a restaurant I've been wanting to try for a while called Salts. It was amazing, it's definitely going on my list of favorite restaurants in Cambridge. For my appetizer I had the Venison Pierogi with toasted caraway, black pepper, and butternut squash, which was really yummy. My mom had Smoked Wild Surgeon with fresh horseradish, potato blini and caviar and dad had the Fresh Rabbit Sausage with a pistachio crust and cape cranberries. I have to say that I wish I got the rabbit sausage because I had a taste and it was amazing.

For the main entree I had Mixed Grill of Niman Ranch, maple braised beef short ribs and pork tenderloin with poppy spaetzle with veggies. It was amazing, and quite filling. I think I liked the beef a little bit better than the pork, but both were amazing. My mom had the Long Island Duckling with toasted cinnamon gastric, poached figs and sugar pumpkin flan. I had a taste of that and it was amazing. It looked like it was a good half a duck's worth of meat. And my dad had the Pan Roasted Native Cod with a potato mousseline, cepes, and chives. Which was pretty good, but not my favorite of what I tasted. I was too stuffed for desert, but mom had the maple sugar creme brulee and said it was great.

It was really nice to see them. My parents really are immensely cool and so it was great to see them. And it's always fun going out to eat with them. And now it's time for me to kick back and try and figure out what movie to watch tonight.

George Santayana: "There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval." [Quotes of the Day]

The other day I was looking through the upcoming DVD releases from Amazon and saw one called Death Bed - The Bed That Eats. Being a curious type I just had to take a look. While the movie didn't look that appealing to me (I've never been a big fan of horror movies), the sole comment about it was. The reviewer is someone who is writing a book on horror movies and was talking about when he first saw the movies and how he tried to track down who exactly made it.

I first saw Death Bed: The Bed That Eats in 1988: a friend had discovered it whilst browsing at a cheap video sale and decided to spring the film on me. I was smitten by its weird aura right there and then, and mystified too. Who on Earth made it? What was the director playing at? How did such a movie get made? Death Bed, with its cheesy cover and 'you're kidding me' title, was devoid of any credits, save for the words "(c) George Barry 1977." The mystery of Death Bed's origins was intensified as the film gathered momentum, from creepy comedy to poetic folk-tale to surreal horror: its mood ricocheted between registers in a way that defied categorisation, either as mind-warped outsider art, insane student project, or exploitation film gone awry....[Amazon.com - Death Bed Customer Reviews]

And of course, I also just realized where I'd heard the reviewer's name, Stephen Thrower, before. It's the same Setphen Thrower who was part of Coil.

Of course the point of this post was going to be that that Amazon's reviews are full of all kinds of obscure information that one might not normally run into, but it's also showing how you never know who you might run into reviewing a book or movie there.