I already posted this as a bulletin, but I know those come and go too quickly for some of you.



As some of you may know, I work in advertising/..marketing. I'm working on a project and need to know what people in a particular age group think about it.

Below
is a list of names for a new program that will be directed towards
18-27 year-olds. This new program deals with money and financial issues. What is the first thing that pops into your head when you see each name?

Clover
CacheBox
The Take
Rackit Up
Grubstake
The Vault


After reviewing the list of names, what is your favorite name and why?

Thanks for your help!

Five days a week, I drive from Southwest Detroit to Ferndale for work. Five days a week, I drive north on I-75 and get off the highway at the 8 Mile exit. And then I take the service drive north for about a half mile until I get to the bridge that crosses over the highway. I follow that path through two traffic lights until I'm crossing the 'service drive' of 8 Mile, and then directly after that, I pass under 8 Mile where it starts to elevate over 75. As I follow that curve to get onto westbound 8 Mile, there's kind of a little on-ramp to get to the actual road.

There are two lanes to this on-ramp. The lane on the right merges directly into the westbound 8 Mile service drive. The inner lane (or left-side) fades out. Did you get that? It fades out. There is a road sign directly over the point where it fades that points directly downward and says "8 Mile West." That sign is poorly placed. Next to the poorly placed sign is a sign that has an arrow at a 45-degree angle and points to the northernmost lane as being where you need to be to get to John R. The whole armature that holds up these two signs should be nudged about four feet to the right (north).

So, while I understand that it looks like both lanes merge into 8 Mile, this is an incorrect assumption. Your mistake is heightened by the current road construction happening on westbound 8 Mile, which has the road narrowed down to two lanes instead of the usual four.

The first time I noticed this oddly and incorrectly-placed sign was probably ten years ago. It took me four or five different instances of driving under the sign to realize it was misplaced and I needed to be in the lane on the right when coming around that corner. Four or five times. Ten years ago.

What I'm getting at is I have a hard time believing that every single person who drives in that left lane at this point of merger is doing so for the first time. Or, maybe, you're a cocky piece of shit who's always trying to pass other cars at inappropriate times. Either way, FIGURE IT OUT.

Last night, I went to Union Street for a bowl of chili for dinner. Then, I walked across the street to the Garden Bowl to see if anyone I knew was hanging out. It was only a few minutes before my friend Jason came in. Perfect. It wasn't a drinking night, just social.

I just wanted easy conversation. We can always find something interesting to talk about. Anyhow, we were sitting there talking about some band's new record and something he heard on the CBC, and this guy sits down on the other side of me. He's messing with an iPod Nano and trying to talk to the bartender about guitar amps and which ones he thinks are the best. Everything he said was in terms of superlatives. It wasn't a discussion, it was just him asserting what is best as far as he's concerned. Eventually, the bartender gets a customer and happily uses that opportunity to get away from Talkative Stranger.

Then this guy turns to me and out of nowhere says "I think all drugs should be legalized, don't you think so?" I just kind of shrugged. Then he wanted to start discussing politics and why he thinks everyone should vote for the Green Party. I told him I didn't like to discuss politics at the bar. That isn't entirely true, but I just wasn't in the mood. Anyone else would've sensed from my body language and reactions that I was not interested in this discussion. Not this guy.

So he continues his attempt at a political discussion directly after I said I didn't want to discuss politics. That's another strike against Talkative Stranger. Then he tells me that he's a grad student studying sociology and that he's "impressive" because he's doing this and he's black. I struggled to think of where he was going to college, because there's a mixed bag of ethnicities at all of Detroit's local universities. But remember, I still didn't want to be in this conversation, so I didn't say anything and just kind of nodded without looking at him.

This next part offended me in ways I can't even describe. He then said "but most black guys you know probably smoke crack." He didn't say it like he was joking or trying to shock me. He said it like he believed it. A freakin' SOCIOLOGY major! He'll figure it out soon enough that some white people do have friends who aren't white and that not all black people who are friends with white people are crackheads.

I didn't even know what to say to him...after a long pause I said "no, none of my black friends are crackheads, none at all." I was just so shocked by it that I told Jason I was leaving and discreetly told him to avoid the dude sitting next to me. And the guy said "wait...I was hoping you'd elaborate..." What the fuck is there to elaborate on? You first try to force your political ideology about the Green Party on me, then tell me I should be impressed by you, then make offensive assumptions about who I choose to associate with...man, I want nothing to do with you.

If someone I already was acquainted with had brought up any of these topics, it would be different because I'd have an idea of where they were coming from. And any normal person whom I'd engage in a discussion wouldn't have brought up these topics out of nowhere. It would have been part of a thoughtful conversation. I avoid political discussions with most people because there are too many people who aren't interested in intelligent debate or discourse. They just want to force their opinions on others.

I think this dude definitely needs the major in sociology so he can learn how to have a simple conversation without making someone want to get up and leave.

Happy Birthday, Tim



(His birthday is 09/23)

Lately I find myself less inclined to over-sharing. I just typed out a long rundown of my weekend, and realized that I don't want to broadcast that information.

I have a situation coming up. I'm taking my car into the shop to have some work done on Wednesday. It will most likely be in there for a week and a half, possibly two weeks.

This is where I need help: rides. I'm willing to cover gas, that's not a problem. I could also offer drinks and/or meals as payment.

The thing is, I live in Mexicantown, and work in Ferndale. I need to be in Ferndale at 8:30ish, and I usually leave the office at 5:30 (or later). Of course, being early for work isn't a problem, and leaving later than 5:30 also isn't a problem.

I really hate to impose, and I'm not very good at asking for help. That's why I'd prefer not to make the same person late for work the entire time my car is in the shop.

I also might need a ride on Saturday anytime between 6pm and 9pm from my house to the Garden Bowl.

Any takers?

Yay:

Trattoria Stella: this is an Italian restaurant in Traverse City. It's built in what was once a mental hospital. The overall campus of several buildings is referred to as the 'State Hospital', but it was recently renovated into a mixed-use development including shops, restaurants, hotels, and apartments. The wine list is ridiculous; the food (mostly Italian) is fantastic; the service is perfect (although it's not old-school Italian/French in the sense of being all male); and the atmosphere works despite its former life as an asylum.

Scungilli: I had this for the first time at the restaurant above. Scungilli is an Italian-American word for Whelk, which is a sea-snail. I'd never had escargot or any other kind of snail dish before, but this was amazing. It was served in a chianti reduction with puff pastry and probably some other element that I forget, but it was so good.

Ronin: So, the sushi chef who was one of the original owners of Oslo opened up this restaurant after the original Oslo closed. And this takes it all to a new level. I wish it was in Detroit, but I almost think it couldn't exist there. Royal Oak seems to be where it belongs, but in a good way. I'm a big fan of minimal and clean design, and that's what the Japanese style is all about. This ideal was kept in mind when designing the decor and floor plan of Ronin. And the bar...I love the bar. For one thing, you can smoke there. Few newer restaurants allow that these days. But they have a great selection of liquors and beers. I love the Hitachino White Ale. Oh, and they have lots of varieties of sake, too. If Virginia's working, ask her to make you a Phil Collins - a Tom Collins with grapefruit juice and grenadine. The only food that I've eaten there was tuna tartar, but let me tell you...that was the perfect first taste. Besides a full sushi menu, they also have kobe beef sliders, which I've heard are amazing, but I haven't tried them yet.

Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka: dark brown, warm, and beautiful. That's it.

Blanton's bourbon: I find it hard to go to Slows and not get this.

Beck, Sea Change: I've said it before and I'll say again, I think this is the best album he's ever made. I know it's wistful and I know it's downbeat and I know it's depressing. But it's too good to pass over for those reasons.

David Bowie, Scary Monsters: so, a couple weeks ago, I was DJing, and I played the song "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" from Superchunk and a friend asked me who was doing the cover. I told him it was Superchunk, and I knew it was from Bowie originally, but then we started talking about the Bowie album. I wasn't familiar with it, so I made it a mission to find it used. And find it I did. Up until finding this album, my interest with Bowie went up until the 'Berlin' trilogy of Heroes, Low, and Lodger, but damn. This is a seriously good record. It kind of sums up those three Berlin/Eno records into a solid album that isn't too weird, but is still distinctly Bowie.

Pineapple Express: not just a stoner movie. Lots of bromance. "I'm glad I dipped my pen in your ink."

Temps in the 60s: bring on the fall! I love it.


Nay:

Getting into car accidents while out of town and on vacation: no one went to jail, no one needed to go to the hospital, and everything was fine the next day. But I still feel freaked out and not like myself.

Office jobs: Am I doomed to ride a desk forever?

Atlas Global Bistro: I rarely find something there that I like. More often than not I find myself thinking "wow, this is not good, and I paid $15 for it. Fantastic."

From today's Detroit Free Press. (cartoonist Mike Thompson)



So...didn't Governor Granholm say that she couldn't step in and force a recall of Kwame until he was charged with a crime? Isn't this close enough? I guess we'll know tomorrow at 10am when Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announces whether or not he's gonna charge Kwame for shoving/assaulting a Wayne County sheriff. The sheriff was in the process of serving a subpoena. Assault of an officer of the court is a pretty big deal. Especially when they're serving a subpoena.

This Saturday. DJing as usual, kicking it out new school. Supposedly there's going to be a party in the bowling alley for a local film production. The party isn't 100% confirmed, and it's entirely possible that none of the actors will be there. But it's possible.



love,
jeff

So I was looking back at the previous blog post I did with music reviews and realized that shit, I have TONS of new music since then. And yeah, some of it's old, some of it's brand new, some of it you'll have a hard time ever finding unless you look real hard. I'm going to do this in chunks, otherwise I'll go off on crazy tangents and this post will be miles long. So here it is.

The Clash - Combat Rock (1982)


This is such a difficult album to like. Okay, so you know Rock the Casbah and Should I Stay Or Should I Go. I know you do. And maybe you know Straight To Hell. But is the rest of the record worthwhile? I think so. What's good is great, and what's mediocre for the Clash is still pretty freakin' great.

It was a tumultuous time for the band. Their previous album Sandinista was a sloppy and ramshackle triple album that had a fantastic single record contained within. But even then you could tell that there were tensions within the band and it was being pulled in two different directions. Strummer and Jones had different visions.

It was around the time of Combat Rock when the band started to really fall apart. Topper Headon (drums, percussion) was kicked out of the band right before the albums' release due to his heroin problem. In 1983, after co-headlining a festival in San Bernardino, CA with David Bowie and Van Halen, Mick Jones was asked to leave. This was due to his creative differences with the band.

Listening to this album, you can hear traces of the members' later bands starting to crawl out. After he left, Mick Jones started up the reggae/jazz/funk band Big Audio Dynamite. Paul Simenon was involved with (but left after the first album) Havana 3a.m. I realize this really shows my age, but I remember when Havana 3a.m.'s first single was on MTV's "120 Minutes" in 1991. I was excited, but it wasn't that good. It was kind of rootsy, in fact, despite the band's name coming from an obscure Cuban jazz record ("Havana 2a.m.," which I came across in a thrift store a few years ago).

Combat Rock, besides the big hits, is a reggae record and a soul record and a dub record and a pop record. But a punk record it is not.


Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony (2008)


We knew it would happen one day. Ever since Good Mourning in 2003, we knew this band would turn on us. I actually defended that record as evolution and a progression for the band - as a good thing. But deep down, I knew that at least half of it was bland and that it wasn't going to get any better. Two years later, we were all more accustomed to the band's newer sound and Crimson actually had some really catchy stuff on it.

But here we are in 2008, Alkaline Trio is on Sony Records, for chrissakes, and their new album blows. Blowwwws. I can only say two good things about it: the production isn't as glossy as it was on Crimson, so a little bit more grit shows through; and the cover of Teagan and Sarah's "Wake Up Exhausted" is sort of a flashback to the handful of acoustic ballads from the first few albums. Otherwise, I'm over it.

I can't even tell you any standout tracks, because nothing stands out. There's a total lack of hooks here. For me, the title is a reference to us, the fans. It's the agony and irony of watching a band we love turn into slick crap because that's what they have to do to sell records on a major label.


Stop Drop & Roll!!! - Foxboro Hot Tubs (2008)


Finally, something fun. Do you know who the Foxboro Hot Tubs are? No one did the day the album came out. But it didn't take long for people to figure out that it's a pseudonym for Green Day. Yep, all three members are involved.

Now, think of all the really fun, slightly sixties-ish pop songs from Green Day (think Kinks and the Who). Imagine if they made a whole record of those songs with appropriate lyrics to match. That would be "Stop Drop & Roll!!!"

My gut reaction is that they made this record because they were tired from touring and knew it would be hard to top 2004's "American Idiot." So they made a fun record that doesn't have to be judged within the rest of their Green Day discography. Makes sense, right? But who knows, maybe they have it in them to top AI and the Hot Tubs are just a momentary diversion.

Okay, there's more coming, really, there is. But it'll have to be in a separate post.