Holiday Mash-up!

Rudolph (You Don't Have To Put on the Red Light): Best holiday-themed mash-up that no one asked for.

Electric Guitar Gear

As you may know, my interest in music isn't only in listening, but in playing as well. Though I've had my electric guitar since January 2007, things didn't really get going until this past year when I decided to take the plunge into the wonderful world of effects pedals.

I really enjoy reading, researching, and listening to demos of these wondrous boxes of audio goodness and so have decided to make a page for my Guitar Gear on the blog to catalog my ever-changing pedalboard.

Apologies in advance for future posts regarding said gear that may bore you to tears.

Tuesday's Tunes: Christmas Time is Here...almost

This week I have a few Christmas tunes that I eagerly awaited adding to my iPod, an activity reserved for just before Thanksgiving where we usually drive down to NY and want some Christmas cheer for the drive back!


Skating - Vince Guaraldi Trio
I love the Charlie Brown Christmas special and the soundtrack even more.  The video above is a medley, which includes "Skating" that perfectly captures the joyful mood of the Christmas season.


Barenaked Ladies - God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman/We Three Kings
These guys were actually the first real concert I ever caught back in high school.  Great band, hilarious band members.


Starfield - O Come All Ye Faithful
Interesting rendition of this Christmas hymn


Sufjan Stevens - Come Thou Fount
Though not technically a "Christmas" song, this one comes off of Sufjan's Christmas album. I'm a big fan of the stripped down, lo-fi sound of this track.

TV Spotlight: Walking Dead

Probably our favorite of the new show from this Fall is "The Walking Dead" on AMC.  I was anticipating the premiere of this series as I keep up with the original comics' collected editions, which I'm happy to report my public library stocks and keeps up to date.

Now, both Taryn and I don't usually watch horror movies (which I'll chalk up to overactive imagination for myself), however while this show has some gore and spectacular special effects and makeup, there aren't too many what I call "Boo!" moments.  Instead, we get to see a great drama unfold: what do a band of people do to survive in a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested world, where societal norms have crumbled and everyone has to fend for themselves?  Mix in the natural conflict between different personalities and scarceness of resources and you have yourself one heck of as how.

One word of warning to those who may be interested in the comics: it is a dark, dark book.  The art is in black and white, and yes, the pictures are still, but there are some truly disturbing scenes where I've had to just put down the book and take a break.  The scary part is that the disturbing imagery isn't usually from the zombies snacking on victims, but rather to what depths will the surviving humans sink to when they're threatened by other humans.  Despite the warning, I would say the first volume or two are more tame as far as what I found to be disturbing, and worth checking out if you are even the tiniest bit intrigued.

This Sunday (12/5/10) there will be a Walking Dead marathon for any one wanting to jump aboard this great new show and will lead into the season finale.

Belated Halloween post

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  I've been fighting a cold since returning from NY, so thought this might be a good time to share some photos that got lost in the mix.  These are from an early October pumpkin carving session we had: 

This one's from Taryn, those who love the "Angry Birds" game should recognize it.

A collection of all the pumpkins that were carved.

Thanksgiving dishes as well as Christmas tree photos to follow!

Girl Power

I'm pretty picky when it comes to what female artists I listen to. I had the pleasure of catching Sara Bareilles at the House of Blues this past Tuesday, November 9. I wasn't sure what to expect, but man boy I blown away by what a talented musician she is and what a great show we got to be a part of. She shared a lot about some of what went behind the songs of her new album "Kaleidoscope Heart" and provided some great insight with the joys and difficulties of the songwriting process. I'm definitely feeling inspired to be a better musician and to even take a crack at writing some songs of my own.


Sara Bareilles - King of Anything
I paraphrase Ms. Bareilles, but she shared that this song was about people who should "mind their own f*cking business." Hilarious how upbeat and catchy it is too!


Brooke Fraser - Shadowfeet
This song comes off of her second album "Albertine", I saw Brooke Fraser perform live a few years back at Berklee College of Music. You may know her as a worship leader at Hillsong and the song "Hosanna", but she has some excellent solo albums I would highly recommend checking out. She falls roughly into the Pop/Folk genre.


Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
OK, I'll admit that I just can't resist a good pop song. This song will get stuck in my head for days and was covered by an all-male a cappella group in last week's episode of "Glee". Yea, a little weird for guys to sing it, but a nice arrangement nonetheless.

Listening update

Been picking some music since September, primarily through Amazon.com's MP3 store. Every month they have a great cross section of popular albums on sale for $5.00 each! Needless to say, I took advantage of these sales.

Here are some albums I'm currently making my way through. Feel free to share any recommendations in the comment section:

Age of Adz, by Sufjan Stevens - Caught this guy in concert last Thursday, very different from the majority of music I listen to, and very unique concert experience. I just love the cover for the new album, whether or not that's supposed to look like a vintage robot from 60's era science fiction.

Kaleidoscope Heart, by Sara Bareilles - Post on her concert at the House of Blues last week coming tomorrow! If you liked the first album, I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Flags, by Brooke Fraser - Had no idea she had a new album that was released in October. Excited to check out what our girl Brooke has to offer this time around in her third solo album.

Ellipse, by Imogen Heap - Same deal, I enjoyed her previous album and only found out about this 2009 release from a random blog I read.

Invented, by Jimmy Eat World - I was honestly a bit underwhelmed in my first listening of this one, but I'm coming around to it. No standout track just yet, but you'll be I'll share it once I find it.

Conan's Return

I am thankful for the return of Conan on TBS. His time off-air made me truly appreciate his unique brand of awkward, slightly inappropriate humor.

Rock on Team CoCo.

Chef Wylie Dufresne & Meat Glue

This past Monday I had the pleasure of attending one of the Science and Cooking Lecture series at Harvard. The featured speaker was Chef Wylie Dufresne of wd~50 in NYC and his lecture was entitled "Meat Glue Mania".

Transglutaminase, a.k.a. meat glue, was the star of the lecture, an enzyme that opens up a world of possibilities to individuals who are one part chef and one part mad scientist.

Though you wouldn't know it, meat glue has been applied to the delicious looking dish above: Wagyu flap steak, barley, malt, turnip.

Flap steak is typically reserved for fajitas and other applications for flat cuts of meat. With the meat glue, he's able to stick together multiple flap steaks, and after its been bound together in plastic wrap in a cylindrical shape and set over night, you can recut the meat and get a nice sear on the outside of the meat yet retain a medium rare center.

What's more amazing is that they're finding non-meat applications, as is with the barley cake accompaniment above, and wd~50 is currently experimenting with gluing together vegetables. All in all, a truly fun and inspiring lecture.

Click here for more wd~50 food porn.

Good Eats TV & Drunk History

Fellow "Good Eats" friends, they've made a large chunk of current and past episodes available on a YouTube channel called Good Eats TV. The episodes are split up into two parts, so it makes for easy watching and easy tracking if you have your computer close by while cooking. Here's one of my favorite episodes from this season covering the Porterhouse steak:



And because its Monday and who doesn't need a good laugh, I bring you Drunk History Vol. 5.
*Warning: Contains strong language, vomiting, and pure awesome.

TV update

I don't really hit the movie theaters anymore, but still a big fan of TV. Figured I'd share a little update about what I've been watching.

• Modern Family is a hilarious show. Glad so many friends recommended it to me.
• Decided to power through and finish the 6 remaining episodes of Battlestar Galactica I have left. Figured I made it halfway through the final season, might as well finish the journey despite the negative reviews I heard of the Finale. At least the first two seasons were awesome.
• Dropped How I Met Your Mother. Episodes were less and less interesting and I'm just not a fan of Ted, who's got to be one of the least likable starring characters in a tv show.
• My wife and I have been slowly making our way through the series Bones, thanks to Netflix and their extensive library of streaming content. It has a great blend of darker comedy and mystery, but ultimately, a very interesting and endearing cast.
• Still bummed that Lost is done and gone. Next on deck for my drama/sci-fi fix is Fringe.

Tuesday's Tunes: Oatmeal Song

This week is a 2-for-1 of music and laughter with comedian Mike Birbiglia's "Oatmeal Song." I first heard his material on an episode of NPR's "This American Life" where he had a hilariously tragic recounting of his struggle with sleepwalking.



And now for your listening pleasure, the Oatmeal Song:



If you'd like more of Mike Birbiglia, check out his site My Secret Public Journal.

One Year Anniversary

This past July, Taryn and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. Now being a practical, game-loving couple, we thought it'd be nice to start the tradition of getting each other gifts on this special day that will promote new shared experiences. So what'd we come up with for this year?


His and her bowling shoes!

Tuesday's Tunes: If It Kills Me (acoustic)

One of my favorite artists to listen to, especially in the summer, is Jason Mraz. I had the pleasure of catching him in concert last year at an outdoor venue, and Mraz and his band were just phenomenal.

One tune in particular stood out: "If It Kills Me", a great combination of a catchy melody and angsty but whimsical lyrics. Check out an acoustic version of the song below:

Tuesday's Tunes: With or Without You (live)

This week is an oldie but a goodie, U2's "With or Without You", live from the venue formerly known as the Boston Fleet Center, circa 2001. I associate the band with a lot of good Boston college-time memories, I hope you enjoy:

Hsieh hsieh cookies

In this year's offering of Girl Scout cookies, there was a new offering called Thanks-A-Lot: shortbread cookies with fudge on the bottom and the word "Thank You" in different languages.

So guess what it means in Mandarin Chinese when you translate saying my last name twice?

Tuesday's Tunes: Ben Folds

I still remember when a friend of mine in high school let me borrow his Ben Folds Five cassette tape and their song "Brick" was playing on the radio. These were back in the days when almost I listened to was Top 40 and J-pop...those were interesting days.

Most recently I had the pleasure of catching Ben Folds in concert at Boston's House of Blues, which just confirmed his quirky genius, musical prowess and all around funny guy. He has a penchant for swearing, but it compliments beautifully the often exposed and painful nature of his lyrics. He often writes about the difficulties of "growing up" and entering adulthood, so the humor helps takes some of the edge off topic without trivializing it.

Ben Folds - Still Fighting It

Ben Folds Five - Brick

Tuesday's Tunes: Gungor - Beautiful Things

Things are a little hectic this week, so this is going to be short and sweet: the following video was sent to me by my good buddy Pat, a combination of great lyrics and melody with a distinctly indie vibe, Michael Gungor's vocals on this track are intimate, gentle yet powerful, and totally worth checking out:

Gungor - Beautiful Things (acoustic)

Tuesday's Tunes: Leeland - Sound of Melodies

Happy June everyone!

By no means new, today I'm featuring the album Sound of Melodies by Leeland. Originally released in 2006, what I enjoy so much about this Christian band from Texas are the poetic but accessible lyrics, and haunting, memorable melodies.

Here's a link to one of my favorite songs off this album:

Leeland - Carried to the Table

In this video, the main two members of the band (who so happen to be brothers) talk a little about how the song was formed and then offer up an acoustic performance.

Leeland - Beautiful Lord

Tuesday's Tunes: John Mayer - In Repair

Ok, I know a lot of people have a love/hate (or in some cases, hate/hate) relationship with John Mayer, but I quite honesty enjoy his music and believe him to be a very gifted musician.

So with that said, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite songs, "In Repair" a great song about love, heartache, and the healing process. (I originally had the YouTube videos embedded in the post, but the formatting was all funky, so please click on the links below to check out the musical goodness):

John Mayer - In Repair (Live at Webster Hall, NY)

And a special bonus for the musicians and songwriters out there, a little video about how John Mayer went about crafting the song:

• In Repair (One Song: One Day) In the Studio Pt1
• In Repair (One Song: One Day) In the Studio Pt2

Viva, Las Vegas

I returned this past Friday from a week-long work trip to Vegas. I share with you now some highlights:

• Saw Stephen Colbert during my delay in the Houston Airport
• When we finally got onto the plane after the delay, the lady next to me started flossing her teeth...in her seat...
• Had dinner with my in-laws at "The Buffet" at the Wynn hotel & casino
• Heard a great talk by James Cameron about how he got into directing and some very technical details on how he filmed the movie "Avatar"
• Attended a concert with Maroon 5 by the "beach" at Mandalay Bay. Yes, they haven't had any new material out in awhile, but I think they were perfect with the venue and lead singer Adam Levine seemed to have a good rapport with the crowd
• Found out my breaking point for going without any real Asian food is a threshold of about 5 days

Tuesday's Tunes: Muse

A quick nod to my friend's blog no carrots, please and her Music Mondays posts, which inspired this (hopefully) weekly feature.

Songs from Muse have recently made a come back on my heavy listening list, namely the radio-friendly "Uprising". I haven't caught them live yet, but I've vowed to try and see them this year if they come through Boston again.

In the video below, upon being told to mime to a pre-recorded track, the band plays a prank on an Italian TV show by swapping their instruments roles:

There's also some great concert footage from their 2007 concert in Wembley Stadium. Be sure to check out leading man Matt Bellamy's sparkling red Fender Jazzmaster guitar and matching red suit:

Valentine's Day 2010

[Note: I started a draft for this post in early March, but better late than never, right?]

For our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, we wanted to start tradition we could easily repeat for years to come. We don't like to battle the crowds in the restaurants and typically don't make too much fuss over the day, but still wanted to take sometime out to honor and be thankful for our relationship. The solution: to try cooking a new dish together. Our inaugural dish: Taryn's favorite brunch item, Eggs Benedict.

And now some pictures of our tasty results:

If you'd like to take a crack at it, here's Alton Brown's recipe for Hollandaise sauce.

Bunnies

NY TIMES: Don't Tell the Kids

This recent article reminds me of an episode of Kitchen Confidential, where the kitchen staff was mistakenly given a shipment of live rabbits (instead of butchered) and had to somehow solve the problem before dinner service that evening.

It's really unfortunate that this show was cancelled after only one season. If Food Network were looking to diversify its programming by adding a food-based sitcom, this show would be the perfect fit. Check it out on Amazon, NetFlix or however you get your DVD fix.